Music

Live Music
A return of the singer/guitarist Johnny Wheeler, whose repertoire includes swing, rock and roll, ballads, a little country and a bit of dance. Members £5, non-Members £7.50. Call 01494 711144 to book.
8 February, 7pm, Holmer Green Royal British Legion, 48 Beechtree Road, Holmer Green.

Nicola Benedetti plays Brahms Violin Concerto.
World-renowned violinist and philanthropist Nicola Benedetti joins the Ealing Symphony Orchestra in Buckinghamshire on 8 February to perform Brahms' Violin Concerto. One of the best-loved pieces for the instrument, this tuneful concerto nevertheless places formidable demand on the soloist. The programme will also include highlights from Tchaikovsky's classic ballets The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. Tickets £15, accompanied under-16s just £1. Tickets can be purchased online from our website at http://ealingso.org.uk/tickets.php or on the door.
8 February, 7.30pm, All Saints Church, 8 Castle Street, High Wycombe.

Amersham Concert Club.
Programme includes Pergei Verbunk Op.40 - Weiner; Tema con Variazioni - Francaix; Sonata in E flat Op.120 - Brahms; Three Miniatures - Penderecki and Grand Duo Concertante Op.48 - Weber. Supported by the Countess of Munster Trust. Call 01494 724606 to book tickets which are £12.
8 February, 8pm, Dr Challoner’s High School, Cokes Lane, Little Chalfont.

Dusk til dawn live.
Back in Wooburn, this is one of a series of low key warm up dates for the band, prior to major summer tour.
8 February, 9pm, The Red Lion - Wooburn Green, The Green, Wooburn.

Rock The Night Away
With their killer heels, killer curves and killer harmonies, The Rockabellas are joined by the amazing Rock Choir, the Pandemonium Drummers and friends.  Compered by Chris Clarkson, this promises to be a show to remember. All money raised from this event will go to SignHealth, the healthcare charity for deaf children and adults.  www.signhealth.org.uk. All three performances will be signed performances. Tickets £15, concessions £2 off. A booking fee of £1.50. Call 01494 512000 or go to www.wycombeswan.co.uk
10 to 12 February, 7.30pm, Wycombe Swan, St Mary Street, High Wycombe.

Romantic Tchaikovsky with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
A spectacular celebration of Tchaikovsky’s Romantic classics, from the sunny Capriccio Italien and popular tale of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers in his Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, to one of the most significant works for the instrument in the history of Romantic music, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. As the true master of ballet music in the nineteenth century, the concert concludes with a fantastic array of excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s enchanting Swan Lake. Call 01494 512 000. Tickets £15.50, £22.50, £25.50, £30.50.
13 February, 7.30pm, Wycombe Swan, St. Mary Street, High Wycombe.

Miscellaneous

Valentine's photo booth back at Eden
The Valentine's Photo Booth will return to Eden outside Starbucks. You can have your photo taken in the booth to give to your Valentine. All photos will be uploaded to the Eden Facebook page and if you tag your photo before 5pm on Thursday February 12 you will be in with a chance to win a meal for two at Zizzi.
8 February, 10am, Eden Shopping Centre, Oxford Street.High Wycombe.

Skinny Dip
Go for a skinny dip in the club's indoor pool- for people wishing to try naturism in safe, family friendly surroundings. Diogenes is one of the UK's top naturist clubs and celebrates 50 years in Chalfont St.Peter in 2014, though they have been in existence since the 30s. Book at www.diogenessunclub.co.uk. Tickets are £5, under 18s free (must be accompanied).
8 February, 7pm, Diogenes Sun Club, Shire Lane, Chalfont St Peter.

Storytelling Day: Storytelling Workshop for Adults
Join Master Storyteller, Peter Hearn, for a practical workshop in storytelling. Great for parents, grandparents and budding storytellers. Cost: £8. Join master storyteller, Peter Hearn, for a practical workshop in storytelling. Celebrating National Storytelling Week
8 February, 10am to 12.30pm, Wycombe Museum, Priory Road, High Wycombe.

Young entrepreneurs showcase their businesses
Introducing the next generation of business entrepreneurs. The Young Enterprise trade fair returns to Eden launching the latest business ideas from the executives of tomorrow. The annual event will take place outside Starbucks, where a host of schools from the surrounding area will showcase their own businesses to the public. The budding entrepreneurs hope to impress shoppers with their products which will be on sale throughout the day. They also will be working to convince local judges, including the Centre’s Marketing Manager, to award prizes for the Best Stand, Best Product and Most Innovative Company.
9 February, 10am, Eden Shopping Centre, Oxford Street.High Wycombe.

Children's activities

Charlie trail
For all ages: follow the clues to find out fantabulous facts about Roald Dahl’s love of chocolate and the writing of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, now in its 50th year. Free for Museum visitors. Call 01494 892192 to book
8 to 9 February, All day from 11am, The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, 81-83 High Street.Great Missenden.

Popping Poems.
For 5+ years: Listen to Paul Lyalls, the Big Friendly Poet in Residence, perform some of his and Roald Dahl’s poetry, then create your own plexicated poem. Inflate a balloon with your poem inside and throw it into the air. You’ll be able to catch someone else’s balloon and, with a bang, reveal some one’s special poem inside. £3 per person call 01494 892192 to book.
9 February, 12 and 2pm, The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, 81-83 High Street, Great Missenden.

The Table
Innovative puppetry company Blind Summit present The Table. Moses is a cantankerous two-foot high puppet. He is fed up with only playing characters in fairytales and at children’s birthday parties. He decides he’s had enough and wants to be taken seriously. Moses will be clambering on top of his table and performing the show of his life, telling the epic story of life, inspired by Beckett, the Bible and Ikea. However, as Moses tries to explain the nature of puppetry, his disagreements with puppeteers and shows off his dancing skills, not everything goes to plan, and the show begins to descend into chaos.  Tickets are £14 (£12 conc), £11 Friends from 01628 788997 or go to www.nordenfarm.org.
11 February, 7.30pm, Norden Farm, Maidenhead.

Theatre

Wicked
The global musical phenomenon that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz is at Milton Keynes Theatre. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire that ingeniously and wittily re-imagines the stories and characters created by L. Frank Baum in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Wicked tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two sorcery students. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. Packed with thrilling technical wizardry, stunning costumes and show-stopping songs Wicked is an unforgettable experience for audiences of all ages.  Call 0844 871 7652 (bkg fee) or visit www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes (bkg fee).
7 February to 8 March, Milton Keynes Theatre.

The Drowsy Chaperone.
Musical Theatre Course presents A Musical Within A Comedy Tickets are £12 and £10 for under 16s from 01442 890222.
10 February, 7:30pm, Tring Park School, Park Street, Tring.

West Side Story
With ground breaking choreography by the legendary Jerome Robbins, book by Arthur Laurents, an unforgettable score by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story changed the face of musical theatre for ever. Based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and packed with unforgettable songs including Maria, Tonight, Somewhere, America and I Feel Pretty. Tickets range from £15 to £45 from 0844 8717607 or got to www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury.
11 to 15 February, 7.30pm, with Weds, Thu and Sat matinee at 2.30pm, Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Exchange Street, Aylesbury.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream  
A new and highly innovative adaptation of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedy. What makes this production different is that there are two versions of the play to choose from; the same actors play the same roles, but in dramatically different ways, on two consecutive nights. Audiences are invited to choose between the light comedy version on the first night, or the dark nightmare version on the second night - and a discounted ticket price is available for theatre enthusiasts who want to see both. Both versions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream are set around the time of the First World War. The light version is set just before war breaks out, in a time of peace and prosperity, when the horrors of 1914-1918 seem unimaginable and Shakespeare’s fantasy woodland is a happy and magical place. The dark version is set at the height of the Great War when, in the dead of night, the dangerous woods play host to mourning spirits who have fallen before their time. For tickets go to www.kentontheatre.co.uk, or call (01491) 575698.
12 and 13 February, 7.45pm, Kenton Theatre in Henley

Talks

Family History Talk: The Website of the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies.
Chris Low, archivist at the Centre for Buckinghamsire Studies (CBS), will give a demonstration of how the CBS website can be used in your Buckinghamshire research. He will cover the records and various reference materials that are available. Free; non-members of Buckinghamshire Family History Society are very welcome; a small donation will be appreciated. Go to www.bucksfhs.org.uk.
11 February, 7.45pm, Community Centre, Wakeman Road, Bourne End.

Chiltern Humanists meeting.
'Where is Humanism Going - A Biomedical Scientist's View'. At the first meeting in Wendover this spring, the group welcome Laurence Smaje to talk about his work at the Wellcome Trust where he developed a programme concerned with the implications of medical genetics. How is Society going to deal with the implications of increased genetic understanding and its impact on the possibilities of embryo selection? What should the Humanist ethic be? What is our view of the embryo? And what about end of life issues? Everyone is welcome. Free entry.
11 February, 8pm, Wendover Library Room, High Street, Wendover.

Growing & Showing.
Marlow Horticultural Society will be hosting a talk by Grahame Talbot. Grahame will be advising us on seeds and plants suitable for developing into good quality plants for showing. Everyone's welcome. If you would like to join the society the annual membership is only £4 and you can join at any of the meetings. Call 01628 486206. Tickets: £2 for non members and £1 for members.
11 February, 8pm, Liston Hall, Liston Road, Marlow.

Exercise

Weekly Hash (Run).
High Wycombe Hash House Harriers meet every Tuesday at a local pub (normally within a 10-mile radius of HW town centre) and go for a run, seeking out a trail that has been previously laid. No-one gets left behind, and they all end up back at the pub for a post-run drink. Find out more at www.hwh3.co.uk. Tickets are £1 or free for the first time.
11 February, 7.45pm, The Beaconsfield Arms, 110 Hughenden Road, High Wycombe.

Art

Precession
A solo show of drawings and sculpture by the artist Alan Franklin, is the focus of a new exhibition, Precession, by fine art gallery One Church Street. The drawings originate from simple, familiar processes and repetitive mark making, but result in works that are temptingly intriguing, delightfully unexpected and profoundly meditative.  The idea of a wobble suggests an unpredictable, or perhaps an accidental divergence from a dynamic system.  Franklin’s works play subtly with the fault in a rule, or a slip from the expected. The artist will be in residence, 2 to 4pm on Saturday, February 15.
14 February to 8 March, 11am to 4pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, One Church Street Gallery, Great Missenden.

On The Radar

Hearing stars at Stowe
A new and unique event is coming to the magnificent National Trust gardens of Stowe, near Buckingham. With special funding from Arts Council England, Sounds of the Night Sky will allow visitors to experience the night sky at Stowe through a sound-based art installation from award-winning contemporary artist Robert Jarvis. The multi-speaker sound installation will combine art with astronomy to connect listeners with the wider universe over three nights. It is a real-time sonification of the stars, triggered by the turning of the Earth and creating a 3D musical map of the night sky. The entire event takes place after dark.  Hot drinks and other refreshments will be available. Tickets £10 adult, £6 child, £29 family ticket.  Book tickets at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stowe or call National Trust ticket line:  0844 249 1895 (5% booking fee applies).
20 to 22 February, 6.30 to 9.30pm,  Stowe Landscape Gardens.

The Life of Riley Music Club
Presents a great local favourite, the award winning Megan Henwood, supported by Maybe Neverland. Booking advisable. Entry is £8. You can buy your tickets in advance online via PayPal, Gigantic or WeGotTickets. Responsible young people 8+ welcomed if accompanied by parent/guardian or elder sibling who is over 16.
22 February, 8 to 10.30pm, Christ Church, Quoiting Square, Oxford Road, Marlow, Bucks. SL7 2NL

Murder comes to Gerrards Cross!
Local theatre company Lacey Green Productions is staging a Murder Mystery Evening to raise funds for Scannappeal. Guests will be able to examine the evidence and question suspects over a delicious home made supper with prizes for the winning team.  Tables of eight, smaller parties most welcome and will be grouped together. Tickets: £25 or table of eight for £175 (includes two course hot supper) from www.scannappeal.org.uk/events or 01494 734161.
22 February, 7pm, The Memorial Centre, 8 East Common, Gerrards Cross SL9 7AD.

The Two Worlds of Charlie F
A soldier's view of service, injury and recovery. From the war in Afghanistan, through the dream world of morphine induced hallucinations to the physiotherapy rooms. Performed by real ex-service men and women as part of the first Theatre Recovery Project for the Ministry of Defence. Tickets are £14 to £50 from 0844 8717607 or go to www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury.
13 to 15 March, 7.30pm with a Sat matinee at 2.30pm, Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Exchange Street, Aylesbury.

Peter James' The Perfect Murder
Starring Les Dennis, Claire Goose, Gray O'Brien, Steven Miller and Simona Armstrong. Victor Smily and his wife Joan have been married for a long time. But their marriage has reached crisis point and Victor has decided there is only one way to get Joan out of his life forever... but he is going to get a nasty surprise. As a young detective Roy Grace starts to investigate his very first homicide case, dark forces intervene and Grace begins to fear that nothing is quite as it seems. Tickets are £18 to £27 from 01494 512000 or go to www.wycombeswan.co.uk.
10 to 15 March, 7.30pm, with matinees on Wednesday and Saturday, Wycombe Swan, St Mary Street, High Wycombe.

Towersey Festival 2014
Famed independent festival Towersey celebrates its 50th anniversary this August. Among those taking to part in the festival’s half-century birthday celebrations are folk legends Richard Thompson, Seth Lakeman and Lau. They’ll be joined by Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy and Martin Carthy, Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker, Georgia Ruth, Dick Gaughan, John Smith, Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, The Urban Folk Quartet, and many more, including The Bootleg Beatles, who’ll be headlining the opening night spectacular. Music has always been at the heart of the festivities, but the modern day Towersey Festival also embraces poetry, comedy, theatre, circus performers, visual arts, films, workshops, dances, storytelling and great food. Tickets for the full festival start from £55 to £120, with under 5s free. Camping available. Day tickets (Fri-Mon) £10-£40. For further information and to book tickets, call 023 8071 1818 or see: www.towerseyfestival.com
21 to 25 August, Towersey, Oxfordshire OX9 3QF.