Under the Grid

We talk to two of the people featured in the Paralympic Heritage: Stories from Milton Keynes exhibition on at the Museum until the end of May 2023. Baldip Sahota was the first Indian man to represent GB&NI in fencing, he coaches para-fencers at Touché Fencing Club based in Towcester and coached the GB&NI paralympic team for the 2012 and 2016 games. Dima Aktaa is a sprinter from Syria, who moved with her family to the UK in 2017 and lives near Milton Keynes. After fundraising for a running blade to continue the sport she is passionate about, Dima hopes to inspire others. Transcript available at ⁠https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/⁠ Twitter: ⁠@mkmuseum⁠ Facebook: ⁠MKMuseum⁠ Instagram: ⁠@miltonkeynesmuseum⁠ Web: ⁠miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

How we can discover the lives of women who lived in the past? We explore this topic by using Wolverton Carriage & Wagon Works and the Saxon cemetery at Wolverton as examples. Can we ever really know a skeleton's gender? How many women were working at the male-dominated factory and what were they doing? Listen on to find out! Online exhibition: https://bit.ly/WorksWomen Transcript available at https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

Shopping as it should be! We explore Iron Age and Roman retail, how you formulate shopping provision for a target population of 250,000 and link them together by deciding Magiovinium was a district centre. Transcript available at https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

We're visiting Stony Stratford this month – historic coaching town on Watling Street full of pubs, narrow passageways and lots of history! Catherine reveals the impact of the new city on the town and Tabatha explores a nationally significant Roman religious hoard found nearby. Transcript available at https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

We're getting specific in this episode and each picking a special item from our collections to explore. Is it a sun disc? Is it a wheel? Tabatha talks Iron Age and Roman sun gods. Catherine tells the story of an object you wouldn't want to fall from the roof of, but that you might like to get your lunch delivered in. Transcript available at https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

We talk tea bags, stone circles, roundabouts and a temple of the sun in an effort to prove or debunk local myths and legends. Let us know if there's any stories you want us to investigate! Transcript available at https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

We welcome guests Ellie and Julie from The Parks Trust to tell us all about Great Linford Manor Park. We explore the original pleasure gardens, learn about the doctor/reverend/occultist Richard Napier, find out just how furious canals and railways can make people, and hear about the park's recent restoration. Ellie Broad is Project Engagement Officer with The Parks Trust and led the community engagement and activity parts of the Great Linford Manor Park Heritage Fund project. Julie Ireland is a volunteer with The Parks Trust and leads walks around the manor's parkland. You can find out more about the project at https://www.theparkstrust.com/our-work/great-linford-manor-park-heritage-fund-project/ and more about the history of Great Linford at https://www.greatlinfordhistory.co.uk/ Transcript available at https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

Inspired by Heritage Open Days, we highlight some of the free historic sites to see. Travel back to Roman Britain, Norman castles and new town firsts with us, all for free and all in Milton Keynes! We also explore the brick making industry and what Pokémon Go can tell us about the world around us. Transcript available at https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

We explore all the Bradwells – New, Old and Abbey! Along the way we consider hoards – what are they and why are they, what to do when your priory is in decline and when is retirement not retirement? Transcript available at https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

Catherine takes us back to meet the enterprising young women's football teams of the late 1930s. We discover who was dominant, who was nicknamed “the canaries” and how they all let their hair down after games. Transcript available at https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

We hand over this episode to the museum's volunteers and let them tell you some stories of their own. What it's like volunteering at an interactive, hands-on museum? What do they get up to behind the scenes? Listen on to find out! Transcript, plus pictures, available here: https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynes

What do one of Milton Keynes' most controversial buildings, monkey-saving firefighters, owl pyromaniacs and Neolithic grid roads have in common? Wolverton! Find out how in this month's episode. Transcript, plus pictures, available here: https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynes

We welcome our first guest to Under the Grid and talk with Tim Skelton about our new town history that never happened. Tim tells us about the buildings and schemes that didn't get past the drawing board, including an Italian hill town, the ambitious City Club and environmentally friendly eco towns. Tim Skelton is chair of Milton Keynes Forum, the civic society for Milton Keynes, and worked for Milton Keynes Development Corporation, 1979-1989. He tweets about all things MK via @TimSkeltonMK Transcript, plus pictures, available here: https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

Or: the names of things. We take a look into why the streets, roundabouts and buildings in Milton Keynes have particular names. Tabatha takes us back to Saxon times, Sarah celebrates women in STEM and Catherine discovers why you should always question everything. Transcript, plus pictures, available here: https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

As we dig into the history of Newport Pagnell we talk about the big subjects – war, religion and... ceramic models. In this episode we discover spies and dissenters, and ponder tipping your hairdresser with pottery clay. Transcript, plus pictures, available here: https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk (Catherine meant to say Joseph Gibbs, not John.)

We answer burning questions from the public – like how we'd survive the zombie apocalypse, our ideal museum pet and what is our favourite object. Transcript, plus pictures, available here: https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

Our gift to you this December is a bumper Christmas-themed episode. Tabatha talks mystery cults, Sarah introduces us to bangs of expectation and Catherine reminisces about Middleton Hall. Let us know your traditions and memories of shopping centre grottos! Transcript, plus pictures, available here: https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

Sarah tells us about the boat-making business 74 miles from the sea, Catherine gushes about bright yellow boxes and Tabatha reveals an industrially devoid archaeological record. Transcript available at https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

We're pretty convinced Passenham was the inspiration for Janet and Allan Ahlberg's Funnybones books. Why? Skeletons galore. This Hallowe'en, come with us on a journey to discover the cursed excavations of a possible Saxon war grave. Content warning: discussion of human remains and animal sacrifice. Transcript available at https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

Catherine looks at the modern development and architecture, Sarah reveals our local connection to steam power and Tabatha's talking coffins. Is cultivation better than ploughing? What IS apotropaic imagery? And how do you maintain a village's rural setting in a new development for 250,000 people? Listen on to find out! Transcript available at https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

Tabatha takes us back 2,000 years to the Battle of Watling Street, Catherine treats us to her party trick and tells us why the grids roads aren't straight, and Sarah reveals the essential 1838 guide book for railway travel in the area. Transcript available at https://miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk/under-the-grid-podcast/ Twitter: @mkmuseum Facebook: MKMuseum Instagram: @miltonkeynesmuseum Web: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk