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Milton Keynes


Ironside
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Despite regularly getting lost too and from the shop centre and the severe lack of decent accomodation near by I wouldn't choose to move Collectormania from MK. I think the centre has become part of it's character.

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I don't really mind MK myself. It's a bit of a strange place...has a very odd feel to it different from anywhere else that I can't put my finge on, but it's easy enough for me to get to from Folkestone. The train journey is pretty direct (I just have to change at London) and I'd not be too happy if the con moved to another area and I'd have to learn a new route all over again. I'm too used to CM being at Milton Keynes to want the venue changed. Plus, I like that it's free because it's in the centre. I hated paying the entry fee to Earls Court 2 for LFCC.

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Canterbury,York have been around for hundreds of years....of course they have character....they've have that time to build character....Milton Keynes has only been around for less than 35 years!

 

 

40 years, this year.

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mk is great, i live just outside of london so it gives me an excuse to book a hotel and spend some time away, the shopping centre is just like any other shopping centre filled with people and pushchairs!! the only way to stop it being like that is to take it out of a centre and put it in a hall and then we will get charged for entry!! just like earls court!!

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ok, i love milton keynes - i live there and get bashed enough at school about it - for some reason public school kids think its the worst place in the world although none of them have ever been there!

so its not a very beautiful city although it does have a lot of greenery - and the roundabouts - well i'm so used to them i find anything other than roundabouts every 500 metres or whatever quite strange!!! have yet to venture out of milton keynes in my car - far too scared of these weird things that people called junctions and those sorts!!

it has everything you need there as well!!! whats wrong wtih it? i don't live in the centre, i live in stony stratford just on the outskirts which has been there hundreds of years and is one of the founding towns that Mk was essentially built around so what i see every day are really nice old victorian houses - the thing is everyone who goes to collectormania from outside Mk obviously stays close to the centre, so you don't get to see what else our city has to offer!!

I couldn't see myself living anywhere else and I quite simply LOVE IT! Not a fault at all for me!!

 

And there's no point in changing location - why when the roots of collectormania are so strongly built in milton keynes? it would confuse people and theres no practical reason why it should move - just because one person finds is utterly 'soul destroying'.

 

ok, i love milton keynes - i live there and get bashed enough at school about it - for some reason public school kids think its the worst place in the world although none of them have ever been there!

so its not a very beautiful city although it does have a lot of greenery - and the roundabouts - well i'm so used to them i find anything other than roundabouts every 500 metres or whatever quite strange!!! have yet to venture out of milton keynes in my car - far too scared of these weird things that people called junctions and those sorts!!

it has everything you need there as well!!! whats wrong wtih it? i don't live in the centre, i live in stony stratford just on the outskirts which has been there hundreds of years and is one of the founding towns that Mk was essentially built around so what i see every day are really nice old victorian houses - the thing is everyone who goes to collectormania from outside Mk obviously stays close to the centre, so you don't get to see what else our city has to offer!!

I couldn't see myself living anywhere else and I quite simply LOVE IT! Not a fault at all for me!!

 

And there's no point in changing location - why when the roots of collectormania are so strongly built in milton keynes? it would confuse people and theres no practical reason why it should move - just because one person finds is utterly 'soul destroying'.

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Sorry, based on what?

 

It's clean, convenient, the public transport is ok.

 

What exactly is soul destroying about it? What parts of it did you see to make this judgement? Why is the centre any worse than any other centre?

 

Don't get me wrong, the event in itself was great, I enjoyed it. And most of the locals were pretty polite, the organisation was ok and good friendly guests too, no problem in that capacity.

 

But how anyone can say the place has any character I don't know.

 

I guess I should say exactly why I found the place depressing.

 

There just isn't any character to the centre of MK. Its functional, yes, but for me a little too antisceptic. Its concrete, glass and steel, like a giant skate park (and it was being treated like that). I just didn't like it from an architectural or asthetic point of view, thats my opinion. As with the local football team it feels something that has been 'transplanted' from somewhere else.

 

Want to go somewhere to eat and drink? well, thats ok if you want to visit an overpriced uber-global chain like Costa, Starbucks, Mcd's pizza hut etc.

 

I looked around, couldn't find anything but theme pubs. I was itching to find somwhere, well a little bit grimy, a bit normal. I can think of a million better towns for a weekend out, Canterbury, York, Durham, Nottingham, somewhere with a bit of history.

 

Yes, I know it was a shopping centre what did I expect? your right, its like any other centre, but bigger. and being in MK Amplified everything I hate about shopping malls because its so big.

 

And its fair enough people going 'well its free', but don't tell me Collectormania didn't make an absolute packet out of the autographs and photo shoots, plus the trade through to the shops wouldn't have done the centre any harm. Swings and roundabouts I reckon.

 

I personally would be prepared to pay to enter somewhere where you can chill out for a couple of minutes in between the madness. The way I felt was when I left the show, you went to an outer layer to a crowded shopping centre, then out of the centre, just concrete and subways. I didn't feel I could 'escape' anywhere.

 

Screaming kids every five minutes didn't help neither, although I blame the roaming Alien for that :D

 

Maybe its just because its the first con i've ever done, but after two days I felt drained and I was glad to get home. Next time, i'll probably just do a day.

 

The other two things that I really hated about the place was that we went to see Spiderman 3 at the Odeon (about 8pm) and the kids in their were the rudest I've ever known in a multiplex - they talked right through the film and used their mobile phones all the way through the film. Total chav Brats.

 

the second thing that really narked me was down at the Railway Station, i know it was Sunday night on a bank holiday, but there was hardly anything down there in the way of facilities. I thought that having a major event on, they might have had a few places open.

 

And whats wrong with Newbies to the forum having a good moan, do I have to be registered for five years to have a point of view??? jeez i hate forum snobbery!

 

Thanks for taking the time to reply. At first I wondered if maybe you were a troll, but this post disproves that notion most excellently.

 

Allow me to reply to a few of your points in defence of the town (which happens to be my town!)

 

Firstly, it sounds like you only saw the city centre. In truth, it's just a shopping centre, much like Bluewater or the one in Sheffield. It was the first of the big centres and personally, I think the amount of glass in it is a positive thing that gives it a little character.

 

If you ever travel a little out of the centre, you'll find areas like Stony Straftford and Woughton on teh Green (to name but 2). Both these areas are less than 10 minutes drive from the city centre and both have a lot of history. (Stony Stratford is on Watling Street and was first built in Roman times, Woughton also has a history.) In these smaller areas, you'll find a lack of theme pubs and perhaps a little of the 'grime' you were looking for.

 

Yes, the towns you mention have more history in the town centre. As a result, they also don't have anywhere suitable for housing an event with over 120,000 attendees! Look at similar venues used for this type of event... The *****, Earls Court, Wembley Arena etc, none of these are in particularly aesthetic areas, they have been designed with events in mind. That's the same with Middleton Hall in CMK.

 

If you decide to visit C12, let me know. I can suggest a few places near that you can walk to and escape for a bit. Campbell Park is just over a bridge from John Lewis for a start It's a large, open, green area, with no concrete, steel or grass!. If you sdit outside the centre, on one of the many benches, you'll be able to get a little air away from the crowds.

 

I can't say much about your cinema experience, I went to see Spiderman 3 at teh Cineworld last night and was similarly annoyed by people inability to sit quietly for a couple of hours. To be honest, I don't think it's a CMK phenomenon, I think it's just the emergence of an ADD generation.

 

Not much can be done about the station I'm afraid. Neither it, nor CMK are owned by Milton Keynes, so there is no chance of anything extra being done at teh station on a bank holiday weekend.

 

I do think your comments about the football team are a bit of a cheap shot, have you been to any games there? We had the second highest average attendance in the division this year and there is a real community building up around the team (even including some old Wimbledon fans.)

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I love visiting Milton Keynes. That is one of the reasons I go to every Collectormania. It is a great place to go.

 

Its modern because its only existed for 40 years, but does everything have to be old to be good? Thats the sort of thing my Grandma would say.

 

I only wish I had the money, I'd move there. Long live MK! :wub:

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I think the thing is, yes MK is a little strange and different to other more historic and beautiful cities in the UK, but once you've been to a few Collectormanias you begin to get very attached to it .. if you come to C12 I'm sure you'll start to see what we mean!

 

Oooooooh best thing about MK .. the purple muffin shop as I like to call it!! hee hee! I have to stock up on muffins to take home every time I go to MK!

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I love Milton Keynes and the venue for Collectormania - it's great for finding places to eat and shopping. Also right beside the Xscape centre where you can do just about anything for entertainment!

We usually go to the pool bit in the centre of the mall to 'chill' but there are seats outside if it's sunny.

 

Milton Keynes has other things to offer if you are staying over a weekend - we went to the Peace Pagoda and Buddhist temple at Willen Lake this time and it was amazing, peaceful and beautiful.

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Just to add my two pennorth lol:

 

As others have said, MK is a bit weird - I tend to think of it as a bit space age lol, but it IS clean and there's lots to do in the shopping centre, and all the entertainment stuff is close together so you don't have to wander for miles at night. There are some decent (and decently priced) hotels within walking distance too. I wouldn't change it, even though it's a four-hour coach journey (seven on Monday cos the coach was seriously delayed) I, too, like my little trips away to MK during the year :wub:

 

Can I just mention that this is the only thread I can access in the C11 section, cos it was the one with the recent post showing!!! If I click on the main C11 link under upcoming events I get an sql error message :clap: - is anyone else suffering this?

Edited by rainbowsparkle
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Can I just mention that this is the only thread I can access in the C11 section, cos it was the one with the recent post showing!!! If I click on the main C11 link under upcoming events I get an sql error message :wub: - is anyone else suffering this?

 

I should think it's the same with everyone. It's driving me crazy lol

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Can I just mention that this is the only thread I can access in the C11 section, cos it was the one with the recent post showing!!! If I click on the main C11 link under upcoming events I get an sql error message :wub: - is anyone else suffering this?

 

I should think it's the same with everyone. It's driving me crazy lol

 

thank god for that.....thought it was my laptop playing up!

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Want to go somewhere to eat and drink? well, thats ok if you want to visit an overpriced uber-global chain like Costa, Starbucks, Mcd's pizza hut etc.
Those places are "over-priced"?? A burger is only 99p I thought!! And surly a sandwich from Costa is about £3.50? Just how much pocket money are you on?? There is a supermarket though near the Xscape side, much cheaper, the name espcapes me.

 

we went to see Spiderman 3 at the Odeon (about 8pm) and the kids talked right through the film and used their mobile phones all the way through.
I hope you told them to STFU. Edited by nicky
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But how anyone can say the place has any character I don't know.

 

Want to go somewhere to eat and drink? well, thats ok if you want to visit an overpriced uber-global chain like Costa, Starbucks, Mcd's pizza hut etc.

 

I looked around, couldn't find anything but theme pubs. I was itching to find somwhere, well a little bit grimy, a bit normal. I can think of a million better towns for a weekend out, Canterbury, York, Durham, Nottingham, somewhere with a bit of history.

 

And whats wrong with Newbies to the forum having a good moan, do I have to be registered for five years to have a point of view??? jeez i hate forum snobbery!

 

I especially agree with all this stuff - oh to cross a busy street while the green man was flashing and call into a "Kwicky-Mart" for a can of coke, or a greasy spoon for a burger burger, as opposed to the synthetic type.

 

Personally, not one toss could I give if it’s free admission and you can go shopping if you get bored. I much MUCH prefer it costing me a fiver plus to get into Earl’s Court, the N EC or Gmex, safe in the knowledge that I can move around comfortably and safely, that the other people there WANT to be there (and aren’t anti-fandom like many shoppers can be) and that the town or city wrapped around the venue has a bit of life, character and personality. What’s wrong with pre-1967 architecture ? Independent shops and eateries ? Or a CITY as the vast majority of Collectormania attendees know one ?

 

Yes, I know the other three venues I listed are not problem-free, but a complainer’s opinion is just as valid as a sycofant’s. A newbie’s opinion is just as valid as the oldest, most seasoned user’s.

 

SMs events, in any venue, are arguably the best of their type. Their guests, their way of handling things, their general attitude, not in dispute ! But with no disrespect intended to residents thereof, MK is inarguably weird, occasionally unpleasant, and just not everyone’s cup of tea. Nobody’s right, nobody’s wrong !

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