The Met Office have issued yellow weather warnings for southern England on New Year’s Day, with the area including around Milton Keynes expected to experience strong wind.
The warning for southern England is in place between midnight and 3pm on New Year’s Day tomorrow.
Weather warnings do not include New Year’s Eve itself, although today’s forecast (31/12/24) is for strong winds for most of the day in excess of 40mph.
A period of unsettled weather is having effects elsewhere in the UK, with planned New Year’s celebrations, street parties and fireworks in Edinburgh cancelled and doubts raised over the annual New Year’s firework display in London, although at present it is still scheduled to go ahead.
Discussing the New Year’s Day system, the Met Office said, “Strong southwesterly winds are expected overnight and during Wednesday. The strongest winds are expected across coastal regions in the west and south of the warning area, where gusts of 65-75 mph are possible.
“Inland, highest gusts will typically be between 45 and 55 mph, but possibly 60 mph in places, particularly in association with the passage of squally cold front which will bring a band of heavy rain southwards. The wind is expected to ease quickly from the north through the course of the day as this cold front passes.”
Guidance issued for yellow weather warnings for wind includes notes that there is a small chance of longer journey times or cancellations as road, rail, air and ferry services are affected, that there is a slight chance of some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs, and that there is a slight chance that power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage.
In addition, there is a small chance that injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties, while there is also a small chance of injuries and danger to life from flying debris, and a small chance that some roads and bridges could close.
The weather is forecast to change rapidly when the storm front passes. From January 2nd, temperatures are forecast to plummet, going from over 10 degrees C down to around 3, with negative overnight temperatures and icy roads anticipated.
MK Dons head coach Scott Lindsey felt his side needed to be more assertive after taking the lead against Crewe.
The Dons had taken the lead against Crewe early on through Joe White’s ninth minute goal, but the team were unable to build on it before Jamie Knight-Lebel’s equaliser in the second half.
Speaking after the game, Lindsey said he felt his side could’ve done more to press home the advantage they had won early on.
He said, “I thought we didn’t step forward when we should’ve. We get the first goal quite early and I think that after we scored, we spent the next ten minutes in our half of the pitch. So I want us to be braver. I want us to step forward, keep attacking, keep playing and keep creating opportunities for us to go and get two goals and make it harder for the opposition.
“But we seemed to step backwards a little bit and invite Crewe onto us, and we spent the next ten minutes in our half of the pitch. So I was disappointed by that. I wanted to show a little more bravery after the first goal.”
Lindsey also said he had mixed views on the second half, feeling a slow start was seen around the equaliser but that he felt the side did improve in the final stages against a tricky defence to play against.
“Second half, I didn’t think we started the half very well. We huffed and puffed a little bit and then we kind of got a little bit more control through the second half. I think there was some good passages and right at the end, probably last five minutes, we looked like the team that were trying to win it.
“We didn’t create loads but I must admit we just played against a really solid defence in Crewe. Before the game, they were third in the division for clean sheets.
“They’re a really hard nut to crack and they don’t allow you much space or to cross balls or get in behind them or find spaces in the box. We tried very hard to do that but come up against a good team. They were fourth in the league before we played them for a reason – they’re a good side.”
Reflecting on proceedings as a whole, Lindsey said he felt that there were positive and negative qualities on display.
He said, ”I’m really proud of how we played in moments of that game and we’re getting there. But I want us to be braver. I want us to really step forward. When you go 1-0 up, go get another one, do you know what I mean? We looked a little bit nervy and wanted to defend that 1-0 but I didn’t. I wanted to step forward.”
He also said, “It’s an improvement from this performance today. I liked lots of today and it’s a work in progress. I’m new in the job and it’s a new squad in many ways, so it’s a work in progress. We played against a good side today and there were moments when they looked good and we looked good.”
Luton Town suffered a ninth consecutive away defeat in the Championship after an injury time goal saw them lose 2-1 away at Swansea City.
An early Carlton Morris goal had given the Hatters the lead in South Wales, before Goncalo Franco gave the Swans an equaliser.
The Hatters’ Joe Johnson was shown a second yellow card with just over 20 minutes to go but it looked as though Luton were set to navigate their way to a point only for an injury time goal by substitute Myles Peart-Harris to clinch victory for the hosts.
Another away defeat means Luton have failed to pick up a point away from home since picking up their only away win of the season at Millwall back in September.
Rob Edwards’ side have fallen to 19th place in the Championship table, with victories for multiple teams below them meaning the Hatters are now just four points ahead of the relegation zone.
On the back of a defeat down the M4 at Bristol City on Boxing Day, Luton’s visit to Swansea had got off to a flying start when they took a sixth minute lead.
Lawrence Vigouroux in the Swansea goal got an attempted pass out wrong, hitting it straight to Luton skipper Morris. The striker duly planted a first time strike into the back of the net to put Luton in front.
Swansea had plenty of opportunities in the first half to try to find an equaliser. Jisung Eom struck the post, while Liam Cullen and Ronald saw efforts miss the target – the latter via a deflection.
With seven minutes of the half still to play, Swansea were able to equalise. Goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski had saved an initial attempt by Ronald but Franco was first to the loose ball and scored to equalise for the home side.
Luton’s former Cardiff defender Mark McGuinness saw a shot go wide via a deflection, but much closer were the hosts in the second half, as Kaminski kept out a header by Harry Darling.
But the balance of the game shifted with just over 20 minutes to play as Luton were reduced to ten men. A foul on Eom saw Johnson earn a second yellow card, and with it, he was sent from the field of play.
Despite the disadvantage, Luton were seemingly set to hold firm and take a valuable point from the trip to South Wales. But that resistance was broken down in the first minute of stoppage time.
Matt Grimes’ cross picked out Darling, and the former MK Dons defender sent a header back across goal to Peart-Harris, with the man on loan from Brentford powering a header beyond Kaminski.
Kaminski had to deny Zan Vipotnik from grabbing a third for the Welsh club, but the victory was secured as Luton were unable to recover.
The Hatters will seek to bounce back on New Year’s Day when they welcome Norwich City to Kenilworth Road, before a trip to QPR in January as they seek to avoid extending their losing away run to double digits.
Northampton Town picked up their first point under new boss Kevin Nolan with a 1-1 draw at Shrewsbury in their final game of 2024.
The Cobblers had fallen behind through a goal by one-time Northampton defender Aaron Pierre, but a quick equaliser by Cameron McGeehan saw the visitors take a point on their trip to Shropshire.
A point was enough for Northampton to rise up a place in the league table, with the club jumping above Bristol Rovers after the latter lost 3-0 at Stevenage.
Northampton now sit 19th in the table and two points above the relegation zone in the third tier, albeit having played a game more than the teams below them in the table.
The first half saw Jon Guthrie head over early on before Shrewsbury came close when George Lloyd saw a strike deflected over.
Samy Chouchane would see an effort go wide of the mark, before two great chances came the Cobblers’ way as McGeehan and Aaron McGowan had shots cleared off the line in quick succession.
Shrewsbury would take the lead in the contest on the hour mark. The Shrews saw former Cobbler John Marquis have a strike denied by Nik Tzanev, but Pierre popped up from the back converted from close range.
Northampton would only be behind for three minutes, however. Chouchane’s cross into the box fell kindly for McGeehan, who glanced a header into the back of the net.
Tzanev made a firm stop to deny Josh Kayode, but despite the game having nine minutes of stoppage time, play ultimately fizzled out as the two sides settled for a point apiece from their relegation six pointer.
Northampton’s first home game with Nolan in charge will come next, with the Cobblers welcoming Stevenage to Sixfields on New Year’s Day.
Willen Hospice have announced details of the return of their annual Christmas Tree Collection fundraiser.
The scheme will run from 3 – 5 January 2025, with Willen Hospice confirming it will be sponsored by The Eye Place in Towcester.
The Milton Keynes based charity will be running their collection service in early January and the service is available for people living in postcodes MK1 to MK19, MK43, MK46, LU7 and NN12.
To book a collection, residents need to visit the Willen Hospice website, and give a suggested donation of £12. Once the festivities are over and the decorations are down, anyone who has booked a collection just needs to leave their Christmas tree outside their property on Friday 3 January ready for it to be collected over the weekend.
The trees will be given a second life as wood chip and used as mulch in the Hospice gardens, and on public land – so no plastic trees!
The Willen Hospice Tree Collection service has been running for a number of years now, and raises thousands for the Hospice.
Nikki Poole, Willen Hospice Community Fundraising and Events Manager, said, “Our annual Christmas Tree Collection is one of our biggest fundraisers, helping to fund our specialist, compassionate care.
“It’s any easy way to support the Hospice and takes the hassle out of having to dispose of your real Christmas Tree! It’s also a great weekend for the community, with volunteers and businesses coming together to collect Christmas Trees all over Milton Keynes, Towcester and into Leighton Buzzard. I would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to The Eye Place, Towcester for sponsoring our 2025 collection.”
Currently Willen Hospice only receives 15% of ongoing funding from the NHS, meaning they rely on the generosity of the local community to help raise £8.7million every year.
Book your collection here www.willen-hospice.org.uk/trees
