Leon Dinosaur - An update of concern

 

I am NOT looking for sympathy but want to say the way Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council is behaving in regard to its failure to protect Leon Dinosaur is causing me great anxiety. I am particularly unhappy with what is appearing in the media. Below is a report I have filed telling the full and true picture.  I am NOT looking for sympathy but  I AM looking for support – SUPPORT FOR OUR DINOSAUR. Please read the following and share it as widely as you can, invite people to add their support to the petition:  

https://www.change.org/LeonDinosaur

If the media is to report on the demise of Leon Dinosaur it may like to give both sides of the story and not simply help Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council sweet its failure under the carpet.

The stature was the idea of Headmaster Bruce Abbott. He wanted something at the bottom of the school field which would be the first thing seen from trains heading North into the New City of Milton Keynes. This was in the early 1990’s. Bruce’s original idea was for a like of Easter Island heads along the field but I persuaded him to go for a dinosaur. Partly given the vast community interest in the Peartree Bridge Dinosaur and partly the popularity of the film Jurassic Park.

Headmaster Abbott appointed me as project co-ordinator. I had to obtain planning permission which was granted with the support of local residents. I then engaged community Artist Bill Billings to make things happen. He worked with my students, I was Head of Year, and Leon Dinosaur was built. Within its body students placed a time capsule.

Sadly, in later years the school expelled the dinosaur and it was relocated to its present position AND PLACED IN THE CHARGE OF BLETCHLEY AND FENNY STRATFORD TOWN COUNCIL.

Sadly Headmaster Bruce Abbott and Community Artist Bill Billings are no longer with us. As project co-ordinator for the past TWO YEARS I

have been trying to save our dinosaur from its present state of destruction. I am in contact with and am supported by so many of my former students who were involved in the dinosaur’s original construction.

The Clerk from Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council told me early in my campaign that Leon Dinosaur was the property of Milton Keynes Council. In recent months she forcibly repeated this false information.

I tried to engage with the Lakes Estate Regeneration Team who did agree to meet with me but when I tried to set a date it evaporated.

Milton Keynes Citizen did run a supportive feature on the dinosaur at this stage.

Also at this time a member of Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council attacked me on social media for what I was doing saying it was nothing to do with me and would be part of the Lakes Estate regeneration.

I featured Leon Dinosaur in my 1994 book NOT THE CONCRETE COWS and again in 2020 in MILTON DREAMS THE CITY THAT NEVER WAS.

Not The Concrete Cows was a collection of articles I wrote for a weekly page in Milton Keynes Citizen together with national magazines. I filmed a brief feature regarding the dinosaur with ITN.

Milton Dreams The City That Never Was, was intended to spark a dream that one day we would be granted a city charter.

I used my writing to make a personal presentation to Buckingham Palace supporting Milton Keynes being awarded a city charter. I know for certain that my work was placed before Her Majesty. Milton Keynes Citizen did run a feature on this presentation.

When Milton Keynes was granted a city charter within Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee such was so special, so special as being within a royal celebration our country has never seen before and probably never will again.

I wrote to Her Majesty saying Thank You for granting Milton Keynes its city charter. Buckingham Palace wrote back saying Thank You for saying Thank You !

My book Milton Dreams The City That Never Was instantly became out of date. I set about writing MILTON KEYNES THE CITY OF LEGEND. From Amazing Grace, the world’s most recorded by artist piece of music, to Olney Pancake Race. From Queen Boudica to Queen Elanor. From the prince murdered in the tower to the role of Bletchley Park during the Cold War. It is a fact that Milton Keynes has more legends and heritage per square mile than any other town, city or village in the country.

Within the book I celebrate our city’s legend and set out to rescue a number of legends which were in danger of being lost:

·       Leon Bridge

·       The Satellite Pub & Telstar

·       Sir Frank Markham’s writing. Sir Frank was knighted within Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Honours.  I met Sir Frank on two occasions and Lady Markham decades ago gave me permission to use her late husbands writing within my own.

·       LEON DINOSAUR

I sent a copy of the book as a gift to Iain Stewart MP and to Ben Everett MP, NEITHER HAD THE GOOD MANNERS TO SAY THANK YOU !

I attempted to engage Iain Stewart as I began to try and rescue Leon Dinosaur. He ignored each and every letter.

At this stage the Clerk to Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council forcibly again stated that

Leon Dinosaur had nothing to do with the council and such was the council’s position. By so saying she was speaking on behalf of every councillor, now we know she was giving false information each and every member of Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council is implicated.

Having been again instructed by the town clerk that the dinosaur belonged to Milton Keynes Council I tried to engage with this body in order to bring about this icon of heritage’s rescue. I received a series of strange letters from Milton Keynes City Council on plain paper, NOT council letterhead, with such unsigned. I passed copies to the Local Government Ombudsman but matters have now moved beyond this stage. I then received another letter, again on plain paper but this time signed, saying the dinosaur was privately owned. This caused alarm within the dinosaur’s growing support base that the land on which it stood had been sold for private development.

I then made a Freedom Of Information Request under the 2000 Act of Parliament asking who this private owner was. I received a properly written and signed letter from Milton Keynes City Council stating Leon Dinosaur was owned by Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council, had been for seven years and the town clerk had confirmed such ! PLEASE NOTE Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council is a public body and not something which could privately own Leon Dinosaur as stated in one of Milton Keynes City Council’s plain paper letters.

On 13^th April 2023 I filed a formal complaint against Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council. This has not yet been acknowledged. Given recent events, including your inaccurate media reporting, I will be composing a new complaint with evidence superseding that in the original complaint. I need to gather information from the strong support base Leon Dinosaur now has so this updated complaint will be filed on Wednesday 10^th May 2023.

An on-line petition was launched and has gathered significant support. On a daily basis more people are adding support. Comments filed by supporters can be found at the end of this document.

There is concern within the support base concerning a posting made by Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council which contains false information which has been used by the media.

Please note the following false information contained:

This community asset is now in poor condition and was never intended to be a long-lasting public art installation. Poor condition TRUE.  Never intended to be a long-lasting public art installation. FALSE AND UNTRUE. This was my project, I was its co-ordinator acting on the instructions of Headmaster Abbott. I have detailed above his plan and would confirm Leon Dinosaur in its original location was always intended to be a permanent item of public art.

Recent oral information has suggested that the town council took over responsibility when the dinosaur was moved to its present position from Leon School. FALSE AND UNTRUE. The information I received from Milton Keynes City Council was in writing. I copied this and sent it to Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council. Being a response to a Freedom of Information Request this is a legal document. To claim the council has nothing in writing but such being oral is untrue and misleading. If indeed Milton Keynes City Council did advise the town clerk initially by way of a telephone call surely this was followed up in writing. IF NOT WHY NOT ?

The town council has previously advised in good faith that the dinosaur was the property of Milton Keynes City Council. How can a public body responsible to its community not  know it owns a community asset ?  I would suggest, given that the town clerk agreed when told by Milton Keynes City Council that ownership of Leon Dinosaur was with Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council, the last thing it can claim is good faith. Incompetence perhaps in failing to keep proper records. Why when I initially engaged and then more recently  repeated a request for information was the documentation which must exist not revealed ?

Beyond this failure I would ask how members of Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council not be aware and ask about the demise of Leon Dinosaur as a community asset they oversee ?  If Leon Dinosaur were the property of Milton Keynes Council why did its members covering East Bletchley ignore the situation ?

Why did a member of Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council attack me on social media when I first started to campaign to save Leon Dinosaur ?

Considerable frustration and anger has developed within the support base over the inaccurate and false information suggested within this post.

I have made a Freedom Of Information Request to Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council seeking to obtain the name of the author of this posting and where within the elected council authority was given for such.

Not part of such a request  but I find myself pondering:

·       Who holds the key to the gate on the fencing surrounding the dinosaur ?

·       Who oversaw the current graffiti painting of the dinosaur and when ?

It would be interesting to know if such can be found within Bletchley & fenny Stratford Town Council ?

Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council has shown itself to be an incompetent and disrespectful body in allowing Leon Dinosaur to decompose ton its present state. It has disrespected the community it represents, disrespected Leon School Headmaster Bruce Abbott, disrespected Community Artist Bill Billings and disrespected the Leon School students who were involved in the original project. This is nothing short of a scandal !

Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council has clearly shown itself unfit to be responsible for Leon Dinosaur’s future. Talk of community consultation and that reported in the media could be regarded to simply sweep failure under the carpet and avoid liability.

Leon Dinosaur is a citywide asset and NOT confined to East Bletchley.  I would repeat Headmaster Bruce Abbott’s intention for it to be the first thing seen from the train heading North into the new city.

Community consultation has already taken place within my campaign. Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council has proven itself an unfit body to undertake such a community consultation.

Within my complaint against Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council the following is included offering a way forward:

It is my suggestion that ownership of Leon Dinosaur be placed into the hands of a small group of trustees and removed from Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council.

Given responsibility for the present situation Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council must finance repairs and removal of Leon Dinosaur to a new location. I would invite the council to then make a yearly grant to the trustees to maintain the statue.

Given the thinking of Leon School Headmaster that the statue being located at the bottom of the school field would make it the first thing seen by train passengers from the South when entering Milton Keynes and the last seen when travelling in the opposite direction, there is only one place Leon Dinosaur can be relocated from its present position and that is to where Headmaster Abbott had it built. Co-operation and support from the present Leon School will be required but the burden of responsibility need not to be placed on its shoulders, such being with the trustees. I would ask the present school to celebrate all that Leon Dinosaur stands for and raise such celebration within the heritage of Milton Keynes.

Speaking on a personal note, as the original project co-ordinator I would like to see a plaque placed with the dinosaur acknowledging and thanking Headmaster Bruce Abbott for the idea, Community Artist Bill Billings for turning that idea into reality and all Leon School Students involved in the construction.

Leon Dinosaur has within its body a time capsule reflecting life in the 1990’s, this was put together by Leon School students. I would suggest to present students they put together a time capsule which could be buried adjacent to the dinosaur on the school field reflecting life in the 2020’s.

There now follows comments made by some of the 260+ supporters of Leon Dinosaur:

Within the signing of the petition the following comments have been made. I have removed the names of the petitioners but haver reproduced their comments EXACTLY as given without any editing. Please note the consensus of Leon Dinosaur being a city issue and not that of the limited geographical area covered by Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council.

·       This dinosaur was my childhood its deserves better treatment

·       I remember seeing it from the train before the trees hid it and knew I was almost home, I would like it to be a,restored and b, restored to it's original location where it was safer than where it is now.

·       It's Miton Keynes History , needs to be saved , thanks

·       Art should be restored . This is part of a valuable MK history timeline. We must preserve our heritage

·       I went to leon in late 70s we used to go Down to the and Dinosaur and smoke or bunked off 1 class they never came and looked down to here, we saw him every day its Leon its our history bring him home xxc

·       This was part of my childhood

·       The dinosaur is part of local history. Needs to be protected.

·       Bill Billing’s art is part and parcel of MK Heritage. This piece should be treasured.

·       This is a monument to a local talented artist which should be preserved

·       I would like to see the Leon school dinosaur,as it was called when I was younger, put back into it's correct position and be completely restored . It took many hands of children and adults to make some they could be so proud off

·       Because culture counts

·   I grow up with this dinosaur he should have never been moved from Leon school he is a landmark

·       Bletchley Dinosaur is not just a sculpture but a symbol of our community's history and identity. It has become a familiar and comforting sight to generations of Bletchley residents, and its loss would be deeply felt. We urge you to invest in the necessary restoration work to ensure that this unique piece of public art can continue to bring joy and inspiration to our community for generations to come

·       I was one of the students that helped build the dinosaur and I was the one that designed it..

·  I went to Leon school and loved seeing the dinosaur at the bottom of the playing fields, especially when I moved to London and coming back to visit on the train I would look forward to seeing it. So sad what has been allowed to happen.

·       This may only be a local thing, not a national monument but, this is our history, the people who lived in and around the Bletchley, Lakes Estate area.

·       It's part of MK legacy. This and the Peartree Triceratops. Granted to today's standards it looks poor especially given its neglect but its not about aesthetics. Its about MK history.

·       This dinosaur is a testament to the artist, and all the students involved in its creation. It has to be saved and the local council must accept responsibility for neglecting it for as long as they have!

·      The Town Council need to be held to account. They have just put up the Council Tax by 9%. Where is all the money going?

·       We love that dinosaur &;my son was involved with the making of it

It could be perhaps thought there is some kind of conspiracy to hide the truth and protect Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council’s situation. Strange and unsigned letters from Milton Keynes City Council on plain sheets of paper. No acknowledgement of the complaint. Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council failing to engage with the strong support base gathering around Leon Dinosaur.

In concluding this presentation I would ask any future media reporting be accurate and not help Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council evade its responsibility. Please respect those who were involved in the original project.

Sincerely

David J B Ashford

https://www.change.org/LeonDinosaur

Rescuing Leon Dinosaur - AN UPDATE.

In campaigning to save Leon Dinosaur I have been careful in speaking about Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council to refer to FALSE information and avoid the “L” word. Now within its recent posting there are LIES ! Two of them.

Sign the petition:   

https://www.change.org/LeonDinosaur

Check out the council's posting at the end of this account.

“…recent oral information…” NOT TRUE. After much difficulty I received information IN WRITING from Milton Keynes City Council regarding the dinosaur’s ownership, stating it had been in the possession of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council for seven years. I photocopied this and gave it to Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council. It had the information IN WRITING. To use the word oral is to downgrade the information almost making such hearsay. It is also UNTRUE.

“….was never intended to be a long-lasting public art installation…” EXCUSE ME this was my project, its demise is the fault of Bletchley &

Fenny Stratford Town Council. It was Headmaster Bruce Abbott’s idea. I was the project co-ordinator and I know what I co-ordinated !  Bill Billings, Community Artist worked with Leon School Students to make it happen. How dare Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council give this false information within its posting claiming it was never intended to be long-lasting ! That is UNTRUE. Untrue and loaded with disrespect.

“…The Town Council has previously advised in good faith ….” 

Good faith ?  Incompetence perhaps would be a better word. Why when I first made enquiries were proper checks not under taken ?  How can a public body own a community asset and not be aware of such ?

Just how can members of that public body stand by and watch the demise of a community asset and not ask what is happening ? 

Why when I first started the campaign to save Leon Dinosaur did a member of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council attack me on social media ?

I have made a Freedom Of Information request to name the writer of the post and who authorised its publication. I will then add this person to the formal complaint.

Sign the petition:   https://www.change.org/LeonDinosaur

Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council is clearly not a fit and proper organisation to have anything to do with rescuing our dinosaur.  Please share this matter, send the number of signatures through the roof, we need to set aside the failings of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council and save our much loved Leon Dinosaur.

How many council members are aware of this situation and how many do not care ? How many feel guilty and how many regard what is happening an an annoying and unnecessary irrelevance ? For those who genuinely care and feel saddened by what their council has done I invite them to join the campaign and sign our petition.

https://www.change.org/LeonDinosaur

Signatures as of midnight Friday 21st April 2023:

MK Today - Wednessay 19th April 2023

What are your memories of driving in our New City ?

Here are some of mine.

What was the very first car you owned ?

Mine was a Triumph Herald registration LSS482D. I paid £125 cash for from a seller in Hunter Drive, Bletchley from an advert I saw in the Bletchley Gazette. To call it a rust bucket would be to insult the bucket !

What was your first car ?

I learned to drive in 1977. In my younger days I did not particularly want to drive, I knew someone whose father was killed in a car accident and I did not want to be involved in a crash which hurt or even killed someone. But living in Milton Keynes a ser of wheels really was increasing in importance. I wasn’t a drinker as such but did enjoy the odd pint in the pub with my mates, signing up for driving lessons I made a conscious decision to stop drinking and I have not driven since.

Who taught you to drive ? I was taught by a gentleman teaching under the name of Drivewell based on Shenley Road in Bletchley. Much of my driving tuition took place on Water Eaton’s Trees Estate and the roads behind Queensway. Unlike driving students today I was not taught in a supermarket car park !  Well, we didn’t have supermarkets in Milton Keynes back then !

Can you remember the roads you learned to drive on ? Where was the test centre you went to ?  For me it was based in a wartime hut attached to Bletchley Park on Wilton Avenue. Make sure the doorway is wide enough for me to get my head through, I passed first time !

How old were you when you passed your test ? I was twenty-six and when my license was issued I looed with amazement at its expiry date, 3^rd November 2020. As a young guy it was incomprehensible to consider myself as an old man in 2020. 2020, that’s history now !

While I am being a bit autobiographical here I am touching a few legends from our New City’s youth. As I invite you to answer a few questions along the turn of our kaleidoscope ponder your own legends. Time for another question.

When you passed your driving test and had your first car, where in Milton Keynes did you but  its petrol ? For me it was on Whaddon Way in West Bletchley.

Can you still buy petrol on Whaddon Way today ? In those far gone days there were three petrol stations, one near the junction with Buckingham Road which is now a block of flats, opposite the Catholic Church with the junction at Shenley Road. That location is still operating. At the other end of Whaddon Way juctioning with Melrose Avenue was petrol station number three. No longer selling petrol it is today a repair and MOT centre where today’s Kia is maintained with first rate service.

Now this next question will tell your age if you are able to answer it. When you took your car to be filled with petrol was that before self-service ? Was there an attendant on duty at the pumps waiting to fill your car.

What is the worst car you have ever owned ?

Mine was a Russian (Soviet Union) Lada. There was a super car dealer in Wolverton which imported these vehicles from behind the Iron Curtain. Great car dealer, rubbish cars. In the short time I owned that cream coloured Lada it cost me more in repairs once the warranty expired than did its purchase price.

Let’s have a few legendary names from Milton Keynes the city built for cars.

Hertz Langhire in Bletchley’s Duncombe Street.

Also in Bletchley Cowley and Wilson Ltd

Bletchley Motors and Bletchley Motor Rentals

Across in Woburn Sands, Pikesley’s

Wolverton Motors

The wheels on the ‘bus go round and round:

Armstrong Coaches

Bletchley Coaches

Tri-Central Coaches, a bit down the A5 but still serving Milton Keynes.

As did Robinson Coaches

Milton Keynes City Bus

And we must not forget Milton Keynes Dial-a-Bus. As the Development Corporation was trying to work out where the ‘bus routes needed to be timetabled about its new estates Dial-a-Bus was short-term project seeking out where people wanted to go to and at what times of the day.

The Bletchley terminus for Dial-a-Bus is still there today. Stand on Sherwood Drive and face Bletchley Railway station. Look to your left and see the incongruous slip road joining the main driveway. It is full of commuter parked cars. That was the Milton Keynes Dial-a-Bus southern terminus.

I don’t recall how I got involved but Milton Keynes Development Corporation paid a number of people, myself being one of them, to keep a transport diary for a week. This was also ton help plan future public transport needs.

Going out on our infant New City’s road any day of the week it was hard not to spot a London Brick lorry going about its business. Long gone ?  So have Sibley Haulage and Bletchley Coaches little brother Brian Baldry Haulage.

Riding along in my automobile

My baby beside me at the wheel

I stole a kiss at the turn of a mile

My curiosity running wild

Crusin' and playin' the radio

With no particular place to go

Thank you Chuck Berry. Or should we invite Paul Evans to sign off this chapter with Seven Little Girls Sitting In The Back Seat ?

Seven little girls sittin' in the backseat
Huggin' and a kissin' with Fred
I said, Why don't one of you come up and sit beside me ?
And this is what the seven girls said

All together now, one, two, three
Keep your mind on your driving
Keep your hands on the wheel
Keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead
We're having fun, sittin' in the backseat
Kissin' and a huggin' with Fred

Drove through the town
Drove through the country
Showed 'em how a motor could go
I said, "How do you like my triple carburettor ?

Did your first car have a triple carburettor ? How many people in today’s New City of Milton Keynes have the slightest idea what even a single carburettor is !

MK Today - Monday 17th April 2023

Today I am inviting the media, such as it is within Milton Keynes, to get behind saving our dinosaur. In so doing I would like here to share the content of the complaint filed against Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council and importantly within that complaint the plan t o rescue our friend.

This is a formal complaint against Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council

I am filing such on behalf of those who have signed the on-line petition regarding the demise of Leon Dinosaur. (Please see enclosed.) I am also doing so in respect of former Leon School Headmaster Bruce Abbott, Milton Keynes Community Artist Bill Billings (Sadly both left us some time ago) and all Leon School Students who were involved in the construction of the statue.

The complaint is against Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council as a corporate body and against all individual members  of the council.

The complaint relates to the demise of the Leon Dinosaur statue which has been caused by negligence on the part of Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council.

Please find enclosed Leon Dinosaur Story and Demise which gives background information.

Throughout Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council denied ownership and responsibility. After considerable investigation over a significant period of time I received notification from Milton Keynes City Council on 30^th March 2023 that Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council has owned and been responsible for Leon Dinosaur for seven years. Please find enclosed copy of the letter confirming such. Within this it states the clerk has checked records and agrees ownership. Although this person and the council is fully aware of the campaign to save the dinosaur no communication has been made with myself.

The complaint is in two parts:

FIRSTLY: Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council provided false information denying  ownership and responsibility for Leon Dinosaur frustrating and causing delay to the campaign seeking to save this item of heritage. This complaint seeks to put forward the fact that every member of the council has to be called to account for such.

SECONDLY: Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council has overseen the demise of Leon Dinosaur disrespecting all those who were responsible for its construction and the statue’s place within our city’s heritage. Councillors whose role it is to represent the community have watched the situation develop without questioning and intervention.

Not part of the complaint as such is not within the jurisdiction of those invited to process such, I would like to place on record the fact that  Iain Stewart member of parliament for the location on which stands Leon Dinosaur ignored each and every communication sent to him seeking help to rescue this icon of heritage.

When this complaint has been processed and the above confirmed, on behalf of those I am associating with such I would invite all  members of Bletchley & Fenny Stratford to consider their positions. It is their responsibility to confirm who was behind false information being given and what action should be taken against such persons.

Moving the situation forward to rescue Leon Dinosaur and preserve its heritage for future generations; it is clear that given liability resting with Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council this is not a responsible body to oversee such.

It is my suggestion that ownership of Leon Dinosaur be placed into the hands of a small group of trustees and removed from Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council.

Given responsibility for the present situation Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council must finance repairs and removal of Leon Dinosaur to a new location. I would invite the council to then make a yearly grant to the trustees to maintain the statue.

Given the thinking of Leon School Headmaster that the statue being located at the bottom of the school field would make it the first thing seen by train passengers from the South when entering Milton Keynes and the last seen when travelling in the opposite direction, there is only one place Leon Dinosaur can be relocated from its present position and that is to where Headmaster Abbott had it built. Co-operation and support from the present Leon School will be required but the burden of responsibility need not to be placed on its shoulders, such being with the trustees. I would ask the present school to celebrate all that Leon Dinosaur stands for and raise such celebration within the heritage of Milton Keynes.

Speaking on a personal note, as the original project co-ordinator I would like to see a plaque placed with the dinosaur acknowledging and thanking Headmaster Bruce Abbott for the idea, Community Artist Bill Billings for turning that idea into reality and all Leon School Students involved in the construction.

Leon Dinosaur has within its body a time capsule reflecting life in the 1990’s, this was put together by Leon School students. I would suggest to present students they put together a time capsule which could be buried adjacent to the dinosaur on the school field reflecting life in the 2020’s.

That now concludes this grievance and presentation which I will leave in your hands hoping for a satisfactory conclusion endorsing the complaint against Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council enabling a positive way forward.

To add your signature visit: https://www.change.org/LeonDinosaur

MK Today - Friday 14th April 2023

When His Majesty recently visited Milton Keynes did he pay cash or use a silly ap on his smart phone to pay for parking ?

Three weeks tomorrow will be the coronation of King Charles III. Money is now being issued with his proudly on display. Will the reign of our monarch see the end of cash. His mother’s reign, that of our Late Queen Elizabeth II saw the ridiculous decimalisation of pounds, shillings and pence, saw the demise of the £1 note and paper money transformed into plastic.

In my book Milton Keynes The City Of Legend I talk about the role our city had within money. Let me now share that chapter with you:

Now here is a Milton Keynes Legend I bet none of you have ever heard of. Let’s see shall we.

TV comedy Birds of a Feather, first broadcast  in 1989. That’s before I wrote Not The Concret

e Cows ! Darryl Stubbs and Christopher Theodopolopodus are banged up for six years following an armed bank robbery. Where was their fictional bank robbery staged ?

Newport Pagnell ! See I said I doubted you had ever heard of that legend. Well now you know don’t you.

Newport Pagnell, are there any banks left in Newport Pagnell today ? Entirely by chance ahead of my writing this chapter I found myself in Queensway, Bletchley where I found that Barclays Bank has closed down and been kicked back into the bunk of history. When those fictional bank robbers were about they would have had the choice of two Barclays Banks, one either end of Queensway. (Since writing that paragraph even more banks have closed their doors !)

If armed robbers Stubbs and Theodopolopodus were to enter any bank, if they can find one that is, they are unlikely to find any money to nick. We live in a cashless society and that is not a good thing is it ?

Step aside from TV situation comedy and enter the real world. When banks used real money Milton Keynes was a vital part of the system operating that money.

Barclays had its area head office in Central Milton Keynes. Barclays Bank’s stationery department was to be found in Bletchley, just up the road from where the Bletchley Gazette had its office. All gone.

Up the road to Wolverton where you would find Maxwell Communications and Pergamon Press printing pension books and postal orders in a special security factory. All gone.

Over to Kiln Farm where there was a large unit sending out every day a fleet of vans to collect cheques paid into banks right across the region. Back in Milton Keynes these cheques were sorted and returned to their issuing banks. Nobody uses cheque today. All gone.

In the third decade of the twenty-first century large stores and supermarkets do not like cash. Why ? Because they have to pay someone to count the coins. It would appear that supermarkets do actually like pound coins which fit into their trolley locking devices. What will they do when pound coins are all gone ? Stick a silly smart-phone app in their place ?

Abbey National, now rebranded Santander, had its headquarters in Milton Keynes. Santan-whatever-it-is has just erected a new giant office block which complied completely with Milton Keynes Council’s deforestation planning strategy, no building shall be shorter than its surrounding trees. Nowhere near Santan-thingy to plant a tree anyway.

When the fictional Darryl Stubbs and Christopher Theodopolopodus were robbing banks how many banks were there in those adolescent years of Milton Keynes within the borders of our New City. Many more than we have today.

Roy Orbison, when was the last time you saw him walking up and down the penny arcade ?

Penny for your thoughts, shouldn’t that be a case today of tap your card on top of your head ?

Well in the days when money was real Milton Keynes was an important part in its cashflow.

One last thought. Alan Turing, when you and your mates finished cracking enigmas at the end of the day and you nipped into The Three Trees Pub for a pint or two did your code breaking machine have its own special app you used to pay the landlord ?