FOCUS - April Online Version 2020 - web

So from humble beginnings as the middle farm in an
area of agricultural settlements, through the arrival
of the railway, and despite the trauma of two Worlds
wars, Milton village, New Milton and the surrounding
area has become a thriving market town. The district
has a history to be proud of.
The author of this brief history of Milton Parish is
local historian Nick Saunders who can be contacted
on 01425 618549.
MILTON MUSICAL SOCIETY
We all know the expressions “Break a Leg” & “The
Smell of the Grease Paint and the Roar of the Crowd”
and indeed many of us relish the experience and
regularly enjoy watching live theatre, whether locally,
on a holiday or in the West End. However most never
get to experience the real wonder of performing on
stage themselves. Fear, embarrassment or natural
shyness may stop most from considering “Treading
the Boards”. This should never prevent anyone from
pushing themselves a little and stepping out of their
comfort zone to see what it might be like.
Milton Musical Society has been performing shows,
entertaining people for over 50 years and has a
proud tradition of introducing young and old alike to
the joys of “Getting on Stage” or maybe taking a step
into the magical world of theatre by working
backstage. What starts out as a bit of fun soon
becomes a hobby and can even lead to a career
change! Never doubt that in many of us there is an
inner thespian, trying to get out! Perhaps you have
just left school or college and enjoyed involvement in
production there, do you feel like stepping up to the
next level or continuing this avenue of
enjoyment......?
In this new decade MMS is keen to widen its appeal
within the local community and let as many people as
possible into the fascinating world of amateur
theatre. With two productions each year we always
have opportunities for young and not so young to get
involved, experiment with their unknown talents and
maybe discover something about themselves as well.
We’ve taken on the greatest shows like “My Fair
Lady”, “Oklahoma” & “Oliver”, challenged ourselves
and our audiences with “Ragtime”, “Titanic the
Musical” and recently “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”; as
well as writing and producing our own material to
entertain our audiences and sometimes ourselves!
We are currently midway through the rehearsal
process for “South Pacific”, (currently postponed) but
we also have more productions lined up for the next
18 months and would love to be able to introduce
some new members to these.
SO, if you are reading this and wondering, do I really
think I could do it, or maybe bring a friend along to
ease the first steps and also introduce someone else
to the theatre experience, now might be the time to
get in touch?
The New Milton area has a population in the
thousands, so there’s bound to be someone out there
who wants to join us. Membership is easy and does
not involve an audition or interview. We spend about
7 months each year rehearsing, mostly on a couple of
evenings each week, in local halls; and of course there
are two “Show Weeks” which always bring great
excitement. In between we make time for a bit of
fund-raising and social events like the Great After-
Show parties; Awards Night, Quiz night and summer
garden and BBQ days. So the social side has much to
offer as well, by way of meeting people and widening
your circle of friends.
If you would like to know more, we have a website
www.miltonmusicalsociety.co.uk and a Facebook
page as well. https://www.facebook.com/
miltonmusicalsociety/. There are contact details on
both and you can see what we are going to be doing &
it’s easy to send us a message….. What could be
simpler?
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
From a Resident of Old Milton Road and our apologies
that it was not reproduced in an earlier issue of
FOCUS.
Could I please express my thanks to the people who
picked me up after I fell into a pothole filled with
water whilst crossing the road on Christmas Eve. They
sat with me on a wall nearby and waited with me for
the ambulance to arrive. I was taken to Poole Hospital
where I had a hip replacement on Boxing Day. I am so
very grateful to you, whoever you were.
Maureen Burnett.
STOP PRESS
TOWN SHOW: The New Milton Town Partnership has
announced that The New Milton Town Show
scheduled to be held on the 27 th June has been
postponed for a year and will now be held on
Saturday 26 th June 2021.
MESSAGE FROM FOREST LODGE VETS PRACTICE:
Some people may have seen a post circulating
misleading warnings about hand sanitisers containing
ethylene glycol (the toxic ingredient in antifreeze) and
therefore being poisonous to pets that lick our hands
when we've used it. We would like to reassure
anybody reading this that while hand sanitisers do
contain ethanol, they do not contain ethylene glycol
and there is no risk to pets who may lick your hands
after you have sanitised them. Ethanol (alcohol) is
toxic to us all in large quantities and therefore we
would encourage people to keep hand sanitiser out of
the sight of pets and small children as it could
potentially be harmful if ingested in large enough
amounts.
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