WHAT’S ON

#WhatsOnPulse

Discover Nature Session Wednesday, June 1, 10am-3pm An action-packed day for 8-11 year olds featuring activities including discovering tracks and trails; foraging, hunting minibeasts, habitat surveys; pond dipping; creating mini-habitats; bird identification. Wild and wonderful: theparkstrust.com

Jubilee Beacon Lighting Thursday, June 2, 7pm Head to Milton Keynes Museum in Wolverton for the free community event, with food and drink available from the cafe. Live music will also feature. Illuminating: wolvertonandgreenleystowncouncil.gov.uk

Jubilee Beacon Lighting Thursday, June 2, 8pm Enjoy music from Milton Keynes Brass from 9pm together with a speech from Vice Lord-Lieutenant Alexander Boswell in Campbell Park. Ma’am-ellous: theparkstrust.com

MK National Trust Association Thursday, June 2, 2-4pm Kay Goddard presents a talk, ‘The Underground Railroad – Patterned Path To Freedom,’ at the Oak Tree Centre, Wallinger Drive, Shenley Brook End. More details: sue-davedee@talktalk.net

Guild of Motoring Artists Exhibition Thursday, June 2 - Wednesday, June 29, 11am-4.30pm An exhibition of 40 paintings by five Guild members, with media including watercolour, oils, acrylics and 3D. Includes classics, motorsport and a few images with a local twist. Showing in the Three Hares Gallery at Cowper & Newton Museum. Making a splash: cowperandnewtonmuseum.org.uk

Mikron Theatre Company Sunday, June 5, 2.30pm Arriving by boat, the collective of drama aces present the show Raising Agents (see show details on June 17) at Great Houghton Village Hall. Narrowboat, but big show: mikron.org.uk Space Pistol Sunday, June 5 The Milton Keynes-based noise bringers who caused a bit of excitement on last month’s Pulse Music pages check in at The Plough in Newport Pagnell. Well worth checking in for if you like your music noisy and promising! Fired up: www.facebook.com/spacepistol

Gallery Live Monday, June 6 - Sunday, June 12 While Stony Stratford enjoys the return of its Stony Live Festival, Gallery Live will turn the High Street into a big art space, with 17 local artists having their work exhibited in the windows of local stores. Artists taking part include Sally Luff, Shelly Wyndebank, Roddy Clenaghan, Melanie Watts and Debra Danu Matthews. Window shopping: Stroll the High Street!

Prepare to get messy at Northampton Colour Run and help support Cynthia Spencer Hospice

These Hills Are Ours Thursday, June 9 Award-winning Daniel Bye and Chumbawamba founder Boff Whalley bring together story and song in a collaboration about escaping it all by running to wild places. Can we go too? Running men: thecorecorby.com

Refreshments in the Courtyard Thursday, June 9, 10.30am-midday Enjoy delicious homemade cake, a drink and a walk around the beautiful gardens at Olney’s Cowper & Newton Museum Tranquility: cowperandnewtonmuseum.org.uk

11th & 12th June 2022

At Towcester Racecourse

www.towcesterfoodfestival.co.uk

facebook.com/TowcesterFoodFestival @towcesterfood

Northampton Colour Run Saturday, June 11, 10am A very messy and very fun cross-country run in support of the Cynthia Spencer Hospice, at Overstone Park, Northampton. Great for families, friends and colleagues, and it’s for a fantastic cause. Count me in: cynthiaspencer.org.uk/ northamptoncolourrun or call 01604 973340

ART EXHIBITION & SALE

WOOTTON MEMORIAL HALL, HIGH STREET, WOOTTON Saturday 11th June

10.00am - 4.30pm Sunday 12th June

10.00am - 3.30pm

Up to 30 artists exhibiting original paintings photography & sculpture. Come and browse, enjoy tea and cakes.

Admission Free

Jimmy Regal & The Royals Tuesday, June 14, doors at 6.30pm, music from 7.30pm London-based tough and howlin’ blues threepiece with harmonica, guitar and drums return to Bletchley Blues Club. Regal times: bletchleybluesclub.uk

Linford Eats Thursday, June 16, 5pm-8pm Bring your friends and family to Great Linford Park and enjoy street food from some of MK’s tastiest vendors. Bringing your own camping chairs and picnic blankets is advisable. Parking is at Great Linford Memorial Hall. Tastebud tickler: theparkstrust.com

The Teapot Prince Thursday, June 16 & Friday, June 17, 6-9pm A contemporary re-imagining of the lost 18th-century French Ballet des Porceleines will be performed in the fairy-tale grounds of Waddesdon Manor, bringing to life a story of magic, desire and exotic entanglement. Temperatures rising: waddesdon.org.uk

Summer Festival Friday June 17 Wootton Primary School celebrates its 150th birthday with a special event at Wootton Community Centre from 3.30pm to 6pm. Enjoy bouncy castles, entertainment, stalls, face painting and much more. Thursday 16 June - Saturday 18 June Abbey Centre, Northampton Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most celebrated Sherlock Holmes story gets a gloriously funny makeover in this stage version of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Join us at the Abbey Centre this June. Performances take place at 7:30pm between 16th - 18th, tickets are £8 for adult, £3 for under 18’s. Book tickets: abbeycommunitycentre.co.uk 01604 767568

Jess Jocoy Friday, June 17 Jess brings her beautifully atmospheric Americana to Milton Keynes as part of her First Time Here tour to plug her Let There Be No Despair album. Twang and texture: stables.org

Towcester Midsummer Music Festival Friday, June 17 – Sunday, June 19 Two days of music across the town centre with drummers, brass, a Cappella, community choirs and much more on the menu. At a glance: towcester-tc.gov.uk/midsummer-music

National Gardens Scheme Saturday, June 11 & Sunday, June 12, 11am-4.30pm Things are blooming at The Cowper & Newton Museum in Olney, and this is your chance to investigate as part of the national event. Green-fingered delight: cowperandnewtonmuseum.org.uk

Denton & District Gardening Club Monday, June 13, 7pm AGM followed by ‘My Favourite Plants of the Moment’ by Colin Ward, at Denton Village Hall, Vicarage Lane, Denton, NN7 1DT Seedlings: m.pateman@yahoo.co.uk

Mikon Theatre presents the show Raising Agents on June 5

Mikron Theatre Company Saturday, June 17, 7pm The team who bring professional theatre to canal and riverside venues deliver Raising Agents. When a PR guru becomes a member of the Bunnington WI, the women are glad of new blood...initially! Essentially though, this is a show about friendship. Grab a picnic blanket and enjoy. At The Canal Museum, Stoke Bruerne Messing about by the river: mikron.org.uk

Mikron Theatre Company Saturday, June 18, 4pm Mikron continue their tour of the waterways, this time with Red Sky At Night, a show about the wild and wonderful world of weather, showing at The Old Rectory at Blisworth. Making a splash: mikron.org.uk

Northampton Music Festival 2022 Sunday, June 19 If you love music, you’ll love this; 60 performers going live across six stages in a showcase and celebration of local music, from opera to rock. Scream for me, Northampton: northamptonmusicfestival.co.uk

Little Houghton Open Gardens Saturday and Sunday 16th & 17th July, 1-5pm both days

Ten mature and beautiful gardens will be open around the village, including Little Houghton House Gardens. Deep borders and thoughtful planting will inspire garden experts and new enthusiasts alike. Stunning floral displays are also to be found inside St Mary’s church, where cream teas and home-made cakes will be served from 2-5pm both days. There will also be an ice cream stall in the village. A lovely day out. £5.00 entry per person, to cover all the gardens. 16 years and under are free of charge. Easy, sign-posted parking in a paddock within the village.

Enquiries to 07980 750319 or 07929 855709 Wildflower ID for Beginners Wednesday, June 22, 10am During this workshop you will receive an introduction to the common ways to identify plants in the wild and get to grips with using plant ID keys. This two hour event is being held in Great Linford Manor Park. Petal power: theparkstrust.com

Carpenters Gold Friday, June 24, 7.30pm Enjoy the musical brilliance of Richard and Karen Carpenter, delivered by West End star Vikki Holland-Bowyer, who perfectly emulates Karen’s legendary rich contralto. Greg Stevenson will take care of duties at the piano. Top of the World: theoldsavoy.co.uk

The Midday Moo Saturday, June 25 A challenge to local people to walk a five or 10 mile route around Milton Keynes. It’s a relaxed affair, starting and finishing at the MK Rugby Club in Emerson Valley, including pub stops on route and a finale at The Big Food Festival. Walking boots on: willen-hospice.org.uk/moo

Sparks: Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside Saturday, June 25, midday Visit The Lab at The Core and check in with Sparks, the youngest theatre group at The Core as they present some fantastic summer holiday adventures; by the beach, on the sea and underwater. Bucket and spades: thecorecorby.com

Olney Cherry Fair Sunday, June 26, midday Head to Glebe Field, Church Street for a fruit filled afternoon as the town hosts its Cherry Fair, which also features a fun dog show, tours of the Bell Tower, Olney Brass Band and Country Dancing. There will be a visit from the local Fire and Rescue, Organ Recital, refreshments and open garden, and much more. Not to mention the Pimm’s tent! Entry is £2 for adults, under 16s go free. Fruity: olneycherryfair.org.uk

Hugh Budden & The Blue Chords Tuesday, June 28, doors at 6.30pm, music from 7.30pm Hugh is a harmonica player and a showman to boot and with his band the Blue Chords they deliver joyous swing, jump, jive, rock, funk and soul, but all within the blues idiom. Swing-in: bletchleybluesclub.uk

> Don’t forget to check our special Jubilee round-up for a peek at some of the events happening in the area between June 2 & 5 - see page 22

Enjoy live international and national theatre and dance performances from the best seat in the house at MK Gallery’s Sky Room independent cinema.

Event Cinema NT Live: Prima Facie (15) Thursday 21 July | 7pm Jodie Comer, the Emmy and Bafta Award-winning star of TV’s Killing Eve, and more recently Bafta Award-winner for Channel 4’s TV series Help, makes her West End debut in the UK premiere of Suzie Miller’s award-winning play, Prima Facie which takes us to the heart of where emotion and experience collide with the rules of the game.

NT Live: Much Ado About Nothing (12A) Thursday 8 September | 7pm Following the award-winning success of National Theatre Live’s Romeo & Juliet, Twelfth Night and Antony and Cleopatra, director Simon Godwin returns with this irresistible comedy, broadcast live from the National Theatre stage.

NT Live: Jack Absolute Flies Again (12A) Saturday 8 October | 7pm After an aerial dog fight, Pilot Officer Jack Absolute flies home to win the heart of his old flame, Lydia Languish. Back on British soil, Jack’s advances soon turn to anarchy when the young heiress demands to be loved on her own, very particular, terms. Emily Burns directs this spectacularly entertaining new version of Sheridan’s The Rivals. Featuring a cast including Caroline Quentin, Laurie Davidson, Natalie Simpson and Kelvin Fletcher.

Exhibitions Vivian Maier: Anthology 11 June - 25 September MK Gallery presents the first exhibition in the UK of acclaimed photographer Vivian Maier (1926 – 2009) – celebrating the talent and remarkable story of a Chicago nanny who took hundreds of thousands of photographs of everyday life, carefully storing them during her life and posthumously becoming one of the greatest street photographers of the 20th Century. Curated by Anne Morin and produced by diChroma Photography. Free guided tours every Tuesday & Saturday at 2pm.

Vivian Maier, Self-portrait, New York, 1953 © Estate of Vivian Maier, Courtesy of Maloof Collection and Howard Greenberg Gallery, NY.

Visit mkgallery.org or call on 01908 676900 for more information and to book.

Film Reviews by Jordan Adcock

BOILING POINT

FILM OF THE MONTH - Star Rating: 4/5

Boiling Point, now available to buy and rent digitally, is less sensational than the average Kitchen Nightmares episode and yet has much more genuine drama packed into its ninety minutes, all very impressively filmed in one unbroken shot.

Stephen Graham plays Andy, a head chef reeling from divorce, debts and faltering attempts at fatherhood all while failing to properly manage the kitchen for an upmarket London restaurant. The evening starts with a pushy health inspector and only gets worse from there for him, his fellow chefs of varying experience and waiting staff. None of the main characters are strictly good or bad here, every character has their flaws or blind spots as they work and clash with one another to try and survive an overbooked night filled with barely-concealed racist diners, obnoxious Instagram influencers and (what else?) a prominent food critic.

Rather than the experience feeling unpleasant or claustrophobic as a result, the well-observed details and the direction moving seamlessly between believable interactions give the film its thrilling veritas. The one-shot technique helps connects these characters in a shared pressure cooker which also highlights their individual stories and struggles. Everyone gets their turn in the spotlight but it revolves around Andy and Stephen Graham’s magnificent performance. He avoids any obvious theatrics while leading every scene he’s in with equal confidence and doubt, even as his character struggles to lead his own kitchen. Like him and the other characters, you won’t have time or space to focus much on the food. It might leave you marvelling that any fairly busy restaurant functions at all. ✪

THE NORTHMAN THE LOST CITY THE GREEN KNIGHT

Star Rating: 2.5/5 Star Rating: 2.5/5 Star Rating: 2/5

The Northman’s story of the young Viking prince Amleth driven to exile and later revenge by his uncle’s betrayal and murder of his father, was based on Scandinavian legends which helped inspire Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Despite what that might suggest, The Northman, for all its extended scenes of brutal, bloody violence and pagan enchantment, is a very straightforward revenge story that rushes the foundation to get to scenes of gruesome swordfights, bloody slaughter and incantations which consequently feel more gratuitous. It’s rather familiar territory for director Robert Eggers, whose previous films The Witch and The Lighthouse were similarly haunted by dark magic and grisly gore. Yet those films had more genuine spooky atmosphere whereas here it’s more, admittedly impressive, gritty texture than anything else. ✪ Sandra Bullock is the adventure romance author, Channing Tatum her books’ dashing cover model, forced into ironically going on their own jungle adventure for treasure by evil Daniel Radcliffe. Whatever the terrible punchline for that setup is, the actual silly jokes in The Lost City are mostly better than that. Sure, it’s close enough to being the 1980s film Romancing the Stone that it includes an obligatory background reference. Still, there’s plenty of light action and romance, and its appeal is, strangely, being breezy and unpretentious in an era with films of all sizes trying to show off their worthiness. But while Bullock and Tatum are decent as an unlikely onscreen couple, it could stand to have more genuine charm and wit. ✪ Indie filmmaker David Lowery adapts possibly the single greatest medieval Arthurian romance, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by mostly eschewing its courtly intrigue, complex symbolism and memorable characters in favour of a nihilistic and frankly simplistic telling. The story’s made both vaguer and more obvious, adding its own characters while diminishing the original’s. Sir Gawain, who in the romance was flawed but certainly chivalric, is turned cowardly and pathetic here as he journeys from a decaying Round Table to face the enchanted Green Knight. Lowery’s thematic interests in nature overcoming human civilisation would be better served in a new story than in yet another example of King Arthur and his knights being cinematically mishandled. ✪

DOCTOR STRANGE 2

Star Rating: 1.5/5

With this latest entry in the ever less coherent Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it’s not so much Multiverse of Madness (per this film’s subtitle) as MCU of Maddening. Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange is adrift in ostensibly his own film, that’s actually more interested in other characters like the bland America Chavez and the firmly wrong-headed “tragic” villain arc for Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch. There’s so many plot turns that would be laughable if they weren’t so wearyingly lame. There’s much visual chaos and expensive CGI shown off yet the lack of narrative imagination or overall point post-Avengers: Endgame is painfully clear. In that regard it’s no worse than other recent MCU entries but that’s no compliment either. ✪