Leonites are very, very special people

When the 2021 writing project starts blowing one million kisses for our NHS - CHECK IT OUT - the first book to be published on e-bay will be our 1991 IN SEARCH OF THE LEIONS. Yesterday I was reading the book and making mental notes for additional material to add to the re-write. I am not going to change the original text but there is a need to add to the content things that have come to light and things that have hapopened over the past thirty years.

I need some very special people, our LEONITES, to help me with the additional material.

If it had not been for this book part of the history in Bletchley The Home of The Code Breakers would not have seen the light of day. Pardon the pun but the LEION FAMILY, which is central to the development of Bletchley in the early 20th centurey, would not have given us the area we know today.

These are the sections within the original 1991 publication:

Foreword By Sir John Leon

From The Headmaster

Introduction

Bletchley Park

Herbert Samuel (Sammy) Leon

In Politics

The Leon Estate

The Leon Mansion

Benefactor Of The Town

Fanny Lady Leon

Sir George Leon And The Sale Of Bletchley Park

The Leon Line

To Conclude

That's fine, those chapters will remnain with the original text but additional small chapters will need to be added.

Extending The Conclusion

Enigmatic Memories Of Bletchley Park

The Search Goes On

Leonites Are Speial People

Memories Of Leon School

Brainstorming new content: ALL the original secondary schools in Bletchley - Wilton,

Denbigh - Bletchley Grammar School were built on former Leon Land. So when Bletchley Road School moved to its new home on The Lakes Estate and took the name LEON it was leading all the rest.

Sir Herbert (Sammy) Leon gave us Leon Bridge which I am determined to bring out of obscurity, he placed a water trough hear the main line railway bridge for horses to drink after climing the hill, sadly this is lost. Sammy played a significant part in setting up Fenny Stratford War Memorial. He and Fanny Leon gave is Bletchley Rec after which Leon School was originally named. It was Headmaster Bruce Abbott who linked the school with Sir Herbert, taking him as an inspirtion for the school.

I have twice been honoured to fire the Fenny Poppers, surely Sir Herbert must have fired them. We need to research this.

Lady Leon sacrificed land for the building of factories at Denbigh, not for profit but to bring employment to the area.

Does the ghost of Lady Leon still wander around the area ?

LEON SCHOOL - our Leon School: Did you know we kick-started Milton Keynes Community Trust ?  Do you know the part we played in the very first Comic Reliefv Red Nose Day ?  One of the very first fund raising events for Willen Hospice was run by our school. We are all familiar with The Food Bank but who remembers our tinned harvest festivals for local people ? We must not forget Leon

Dinosaur,

Who remembers Leon's performance of The World of The Worlds staged at Bletchley Leisure Centre ?  Who remembers Leon's Pirates of Penzance ?

Brilliant !

The centre of the original book showed a map of the Leon Estate. It covered much, but not all of West Betchley where I am proud to serve as a councillor. It covered a siginifiucant area of Central Bletchley.

Amazon is useless when it comes to formatting images around text so I will not be able to include this map, I will have to describe it ion words so present day residents can find out if they are living on Leon Land or not.

SPECIAL PEOPLE - the thing that strikes me so much is the love of our former pupils, I have experienced it in my life so many times. I am proud to have invented the name LEONITES. Did you know a Leonite is currently Deputy Mayor of Milton Keynes. We have many Leonites working in our NHS. We have Leonites in just about every area of life you can think of and we have Leonites all round the world. How many tines have I said IF YOU NEED SOMETHING DOING ASK A LEONITE.

I am here asking Leonites to do something special for the re-publication of our book.

I want every LEONITE with whom I am in  contact to share with me a memory of their time at Leon.  Message me on Facebook or drop me an e-mail: dashford566@gmail.com 

I am in contact with a small group of Leon Teachers:  Mrs Capp, Mrs Salver, Mes Anderson,

Mrs Ray, Mr Riddy, Mrs Palmer - my secretary. Are any of you in contact with former staff members ?  Draw them into this project. Get them to add me as a friend on Facebook.

I want an absolute minimum of FIFTY memories. Keep them fun but do not slag anyone off. 

Any Leonite who does not send me a memory, I will send the ghost of Lady Leon to haunt you and did you know that during the Cold War the nuclear attack siren for the area was located on top of the tower block ?  Need I say any more LOL ?

I am NOT cheating preparing the re-write and gathering information. I will not put down the first word until the early hours of  Friday1st January 2021. I want then to publish this book within the first week of the New Year.

As an e-book down,oads will sell for 77p with royalties pre-tax at 30%.  That 's about 20p, I plan to keep half for myself to cover the costs of running this project with the other half being donated to a hospital within ONE MILLION KISSES FOR OUR NHS.

FINALLY (Almost): These words will appear on the first page of the re-published e-book:

The republishing of IN SEARCH OF THE LEONS is part of something I am doing during 2021. I am going to write one million words which I will publish in a minimum of twenty-four e-books on Amazon. I am calling this task ONE MILLION KISSES FOR OUR NHS. I am inviting people across the year to support a number of hospitals up and down the country, blowing one million kisses of love and appreciation for the work all staff at every level within our Amazing NHS.

CHECK IT OUT - www.nhskisses.com

PS: I am still in contact via Facebook with Sir John Leon 4th Baronet of Bletchley Park. John is the actor John Standing. In his 80's he is very much into painting these days.