Phonebox Magazine

24/11/2025

Stoke Goldington Christmas Trees hosted this year’s Christmas Tree Growers Association competition.

Cadeby Tree Trust (Leicestershire) won the honour of supplying the tree for 10 Downing Street, and Strawson Woodland (Lincolnshire) won the Champion Festive Wreath for the PM’s front door.

When will you be putting up your Christmas tree? 🎄

21/11/2025

Just one week to go until the big late night shopping event in Olney!

Friday 28th November 5-8pm

Independent shops and businesses are integral to the character of the town, so it’s important that we support them to keep them open and thriving. Not only do they sell fantastic items that you’d be pushed to find elsewhere, you supporting them, supports our local economy. Help the money flow locally, not to shareholders or offshore tax havens. Support local people and they can help us.

19/11/2025

We are proud to share that our Phonebox foodbank has received many donations this year.

Thank you to everyone who has helped. If you wish to contribute, our foodbank is always open to donations. Monday to Friday 9.15am to 4.45pm.

19/11/2025

Phonebox theatre review: ‘Fawlty Towers – The Play’

Slapstick play is a towering success

It’s one of the most amazing pieces of TV trivia: there were only ever 12 episodes of Fawlty Towers ever made. Six episodes in 1975 and six more a few years later.

Such a brilliant comedy and yet so few of them to watch and enjoy. Perhaps that’s part of the brilliant series’ attraction: the fact that the shows were absolute comedy gold, the likes of which we will never see again.

Well actually… you CAN now see them again, or at least parts of them, acted out live on stage too. It’s all thanks to this brilliant tour ‘Fawlty Towers – The Play’ which is taking theatres across the UK by storm. This week it’s the turn of Northampton’s Derngate Theatre.

And if you have tickets, you’re in for a riotous night of great fun and laughter, bringing all the innocent humour and slapstick guffaws so reminiscent of those heady 1970s days of Fawlty Towers on the TV.

The Northampton stage is transformed into the instantly recognisable interior of the delightful Torquay hotel in which so much goes hilariously wrong.

Nearly 50 years since Fawlty Towers was first broadcast on BBC Two, comedy legend John Cleese has taken three famous TV episodes – ‘The Hotel Inspector’, ‘The Germans’ and ‘Communication Problems’ – and tuned them into a two-hour story, complete with a new finale.

Leading man Danny Bayne cleverly recreates Basil Fawlty’s character with the voice and the mannerisms. He is beautifully supported by Mia Austen who copies recently departed Prunellas Scales’ Sybil Fawlty superbly, Joanne Clifton bringing back Polly. And a lovely Hemi Yeroham crashes around as accident-prone Manuel. TV legend Paul Nicholas is the Major.

The three storylines cleverly intertwine to make this an delightful, funny and entirely enjoyable experience. It’s part new laughs, part reminiscences and part stage classic in its own right.

Another piece of TV trivia is that Cleese based his Basil Fawlty character on a grumpy real-life hotel owner called Donald Sinclair. Thank goodness for Donald then and thanks goodness for John Cleese too – this one’s a classic.

Fawlty Towers – The Play is at Northampton Royal & Derngate until Saturday 22nd November.

18/11/2025

Newport Pagnell & Olney Lions Club have just dropped in some of the 2026 Olney Christmas Calendars to our office. And they look amazing again - well done to David Purvis for yet another fantastic set of paintings.

Just £7.50 for a calendar

17/11/2025

📚 The Olney Writing Group are celebrating a year of encouraging reading, writing and a love of books.

They have many exciting plans for the upcoming season, including the launch of their poetry and prose anthology.

Find this story in the November issue of Phonebox Magazine to find out what else they’ve been up to and what books the members are recommending!

What books are you wanting to read
this winter?

14/11/2025

Looking back through the archives... 📖

This is how an advertising page in Phonebox Magazine looked 20 years ago! It’s fascinating to see the evolution over time.

Check out our latest issue — can you spot the three businesses still advertising in the magazine?

12/11/2025

Olney, Buckinghamshire late night shopping night!

Friday 28th November

With a Fun Father Christmas switch-on, Olney Brass performance and dozens of local businesses staying open until 8pm with special Christmas offers or a glass of bubbly, this is a night you don’t want to miss!

These are the shops and businesses who will be staying open late on the night:
BOO jewellery
The Cowper and Newton Museum
Every Thing We Wear
Gallery Aesthetics
KyeLee Flowers
Leo’s Antiques
Little Country Cottage Vintage
My Little Vintage
Nightingale Jewellers Ltd
Olney Pancake Parlour
Pickles Pet Pantry
Raff.and.Roo
The Nest at No.9
The Olney Flower Shop
The Revival Rooms
The Snug Bookshop
Toad Hall Interiors
Valeria C Boutique Ltd

10/11/2025

These lovely A6 cards painted by Olney town mayor Debbie Whitworth are now available to purchase from the Phonebox office as part of the Poppy Appeal.

Recommended donation is £1 a card or £10 for 12 cards.

All funds raised will go towards RBL to provide a range of support for serving personnel, veterans and their families.

07/11/2025

Congratulations to the Newport Pagnell Youth Club Pre-school for reaching its fourth consecutive ’Outstanding’ Ofsted rating.

06/11/2025

Feeling Festive? Chicheley Hall will be hosting their Christmas Fayre this coming weekend. Complimentary mince pies and mulled wine 🍷

Don't miss Chicheley Halls Christmas fair! 🎄🎁 Just 3 days to go!
8th November 12pm till 6pm
9th November 11am till 4pm

Shop over 30 Stall holders, plus wreath making, family fun including an appearance from the Ice Queen her self ❄ and so much more!

Have an mince pie and glass of mulled wine on us 🍷🥧

Book your FREE tickets below 👇 we cant wait to see you 💖😀
www.ticketsource.co.uk/countrywide-hotels

05/11/2025

Plans are being made to plant 5 Oak trees in key locations around Olney, Milton Keynes to commemorate an amazing year of special anniversaries.

You can read the full story in the November issue of Phonebox Magazine.