Start off at one of the public artworks in Milton Keynes
The Conversation: this sculpture is at approximately N52°02'32.4" W000°45'35.9"
The Conversation: Nicolas Moreton, Kilkenny Black Fossil limestone and bronze City Square, outside the shopping centre, Milton Keynes . A companion piece to The Meeting, The Conversation consists of two bronze figures in conversation, raised from the ground on a plinth, away from the bustle of the people below. The plinth is their table, an intimate and private space elevated above the rest of the world. Again the tea ritual is used as the symbol of a meeting. According to the artist, the column represents an arena of expectation, and the carved river motif and gold-leafed fish act as ' the natural life forces from which we come...all fish bar one swim in one direction - the one unleafed fish representing the one that would appear to swim against the tide'."
Find the face of the plinth where there is one “unleafed” fish swimming in the opposite direction to all the others. How many golden fishes are there on this face? A
Be careful counting here - there are fish which are on the corner - you only need to count the ones that are clearly on the same face as the unleafed one!
Add 1 to get B
How many golden fishes in total on all four faces? Take off 2! C
Now move on (just a little way) to “The Meeting” – at approx N52°02'31.8" W000°45'36.1"
The Meeting was specially commissioned for its site outside the Shopping Centre and Moreton chosen from a number of sculptors who submitted proposals for the site. The theme of the work evolved in response to the nature of City Square, a sociable space where people come together to meet friends and sit, talk and watch the world go by. The artist says of his work, 'The triptych represents an open ended story with a flowing river motif representing life's forces connecting all three panels. Dawn (left panel) .. depicts a woman thinking about the day ahead whilst a dove flies into the room to bring her a message; Reflection (right panel) .. a man contemplating the day's events; and The Cup (middle panel)... the man and woman sharing thoughts and wishes, symbolised by the sharing of a drink from the same cup.'
Look for the name of an English county on the plaque. How many letters in this name? D
There’s a date on the plaque as well. first two digits E, second two digits F
Now you might want a calculator!!
G=A*B
H=E+G
J=H*D
X=J-C
X is a three digit number! (As a double-check, X is an even number, and the sum of its digits is 13)
K=C*A*B
Y=K-D
Y is a three digit number! (As a double-check, Y is an even number, and the sum of its digits is 8)
The final location is at N52° 02.X W000° 45.Y
NOTE: The final is only a minute or two walk from the puzzle location - you won't need to move your car!
If you want to read more about the two artworks mentioned in this cache, take a look at the related web page link
This whole area is a high muggle traffic zone so please be stealthy and replace as found to maximise the chances of this cache surviving.
NB. One of the answers may require going down a few steps so I have not shown this as wheelchair accessible. The answer may be visible with binoculars or a zoom lens though!
Congrats to Tazmyers for the FTF