Milton Keynes - Unforgettable !!!

This Sunday me, my son Anand and wife Bhagirati were invited for lunch at the house of one of Anand’s friends, Shilpa Kanchan(Kulkarni). We took the National Rail train to Kings Cross Thames Link Station from East Croydon. We were to change to the underground from there and go to London Euston from there. From London Euston we were to take the National Rail services again to Milton Keynes Central Station. From Milton Keynes Station a cab will take us to the ultimate destination Shilpa’s House. Shilpa and Anand were colleagues in the past when Anand was employed with tech Mahindra. Tech mahindra have their London Head quarters at Milton Keynes. Shilpa’s Husband Rahul works for Accenture in Central London. Shilpa’s mother was visiting her from India.

We started from our house in Croydon at about 11 AM and reached London Euston by around 12.10 PM without much difficulty. We were surprised to find the next Train to Milton Keynes which was to leave at 12.09 PM still at the station. The next available train was at 12.39 and hence we made haste and managed to catch the 12.09 train whci was very crowded. After traveling through the compartments we found seats for all the three of us though not near each other. I settled down with my customary SUDOKU and my wife and son who managed seats next to each other were chatting amongst themselves about various trivial matters. We cruised along fairly comfortably till Harrow Hampstead and afterwards the trouble began. There was some announcement regarding signal failures and our train started limping afterwards with unscheduled stoppages due those signal failures. Finally we reached Milton Keynes around 2.10 mPm instead of the schedules 13.15.We promptly took a cab which Anand had booked as soon as we left Bletchley station and we reached Shilpa’s house. After the customary introductions and a welcome cool drink of lemon juice we started talking amongst ourselves. The two ladies, my wife and Shilpa’s mother were talking domestic matters while we me, anad and Shilpa were talking shop about our work and experiences all of us coming from the IT Industry. I found Shilpa to be a very smart and intelligent girl.

We sat down to lunch and were treated to the special delicacy “Neer Dosa” made from rice flour and masala rice.The preparation made by Shilpa’s mother was very tasty and we soon finished our meals. We deicded to explore Milton Keynes after the afternoon tea and hereunder is a short write up of what we saw and enjoyed.

Milton Keynes is a large town in northern Buckinghamshire, in South East England, about 45 miles (75 km) north-west of London. It is roughly halfway between London and Birmingham. Milton Keynes was formally designated as a new town in 1967. Its 34 square miles (88 km²) area incorporated the existing towns of Bletchley, Wolver ton and Stony Stratford along with another fifteen villages and farmland in between. It took its name from the existing village of Milton Keynes, a few miles east of the planned city centre. Uniquely for the UK, the urban form uses a 1 km grid for the top level of street hierarchy: the local form of most districts is more conventional. It is said that the layout was planned by some American architects and was modeled after the US cities made of boulevards.

We decided to walk around and visit an amusement place known as Xscape (www.xscape.co.uk) which had some good things to enjoy on a weekend.

Xscape is the country’s biggest indoor REAL snow slopes, Europe’s first purpose-built body flying tunnel! , rock climbing walls, bowling, multiplex cinema, gym and fitness centre, numerous bars and restaurants and urban retail outlets all under 1 roof. Please vsit the link for some detailed information on the various exciting amusements available – but for a price!!!

Snow Slope ( An Extract from their Website)

Nothing can beat the adrenaline rush of speeding down a slope covered in crisp snow with the cold air in your face. And now you don’t even have to leave the country!

The Real Snow Slope at Xscape Milton Keynes is the UK’s longest REAL snow slope. There is a 170m long main slope for seasoned slope lovers and a dedicated lesson slope, with qualified instructors for beginners. We offer lessons and coaching to suit all levels of ability and can even give you guidance of you want to try something different like freestyle or moguls. Family fun tobogganing sessions are the ideal opportunity to enjoy the thrill of the cold air while staying a little closer to the ground!

So whatever your ability or your passion – there’s 1500 tonnes of pure snow just waiting to be ridden!!

For après ski join us in the Sno!bar and café where you can enjoy a cafe latte or a pint of Kronenbourg’s finest with a unique view of the slopes and all the action. We hold regular music nights and themed parties and can even let you have private use of the bar and conference suites if you want to enjoy a bit of exclusivity!

Some fotos. ( Again from the website)

Enjoy Skiing!! OOPs !! I Am Falling!! It Is very Cold here !!

Mountain Climbing

Tunnel Flying ( an Experience of a life time ( An Extract from the website)

It's flying!

Imagine a wind tunnel that could be used for testing the aerodynamics of an F1 racing car, turn it upright, step into the airflow and you are skydiving. It's a proven concept operating in several countries to the benefit of the skydiving community and anyone else who wishes to taste the thrill of freefall in a completely safe environment.

Many tunnels (in warm climates) simply suck the air in from ground level, push it through the flight chamber & diffuser and expel it at the top. Airkix recirculates the air which warms up quickly as 1000HP creates energy and heat. In winter it’s warm and in Summer it’s cool!

Starting at the bottom; we have a plenum that is 27.4m long by 8.5m wide and 4m deep (90x28x13ft). Inside are some huge aluminium banks of turning vanes thatsmoothly turn air around corners in straight lines. This takes out turbulence. The air is forced through the inlet contractor in the centre of the plenum and up into the flight chamber. The inlet contractor squeezes the air into the chamber at normal flying speeds of about 100-110mph (161-177kph).

The air travels through the clear acrylic walled flight chamber and on up through the diffuser before hitting turning vanes at the top that turn the air left and right into the huge fans which push the air out into the top corners where it is turned on its downward path through the return air towers (RATS).

At this point warm air can be forced out of a huge door and cool air sucked in from an opposite mounted door. The air then gets a final turn at the bottom corners before the cycle starts again at the turning vanes back into the inlet contractor.

Getting in and out

Don’t worry about small matters such as jumping, falling or hitting the fans – it just can’t happen!

The setup is simple, a 12ft (3.66m) diameter tunnel that has two open doorways into the ante chamber (in effect, the outer chamber) which can seat up to 15 people. Inside the flight chamber is the invisible airflow and all is calm in the outer chamber.

The flight chamber has a sprung floor made from aircraft standard steel wires. The instructor will spend much of their time walking on the floor as they look after flyers.

To enter the tunnel, stand in the open doorway and lean forward, you will feel your legs lifted from under you as you assume a horizontal flying position. The instructor will take a loose grip on your flight suit and help you get into a neutral flying position before teaching you the basic moves.

Movements including going up and down, forwards, backwards, sideways and turning are all simple and easy to master and you will soon be learning new tricks!

To leave the tunnel, simply fly to the second doorway, take a grip on the sides and stand up and you are back in the ante chamber. In goes the next person and you all shuffle up until it’s your turn again.

Some fotos. ( Again from the website)

A Real smile !!

At The Top Of The Tunnel!!!

One Of The Instructors Showing Off!!!

For a more detailed account of the flying Tunnel and some exciting videos visit the following website by copy pasting the link below :

http://www.airkix.com/pix_flix/flix.asp?

I am attaching some photographs and a video of the flying tunnel taken on the occasion by us. One must visit Milton Keynes and Xscape while in UK for the sake of the younger generation who are bound to have an experience of a life time there.

We had a good time there with some cool drinks and chips and hastened home at 8.00 Pm on the journey back home. We reached East Croydon back by 10 PM and that was the end of a memorable Sunday.

A View of the Skating rink - Artificial at XScape

Another view - Aren't the kids having a whale of a time!!

From Left to Right - Me, Shilpa, her Mother and my Better Half - Photographer Anand

Shilpa's Mother, Bhagirathi (my wife), Anand & Me The photographer Shilpa

Shilpa, Her mother, My Wife & Anand - photographer - yours truly!!

Rainbow captured on the camera by Anand - On the way home from Milton Keynes