Author Archives: Richard Rush

Planners recommend Moulton Park be opened to the public

A bid to open Moulton Park up to the public looks set to get the green light from planners. South Holland District Council is in the process of selling the majority of the site to the charity the John and Maureen Biggadike Foundation who are to open the space up for people to enjoy. The authority’s planning officers have recommended ...

Read More »

Family’s Ray of light for mourners

People can now drop off letters to missed loved ones at Spalding Cemetery thanks to a family mourning a loss. The Woolsey family have paid out of their own pockets for the erection of a Letters to Heaven postbox in memory of Ray Woolsey who passed away on September 1 after a four and a half year battle with leukaemia. ...

Read More »

Family’s wood project in honour of poet Benjamin

A South Holland family are looking to create a new wood in memory of their friend Benjamin Zephaniah. The poet, activist and actor, who lived in Moulton Chapel, was laid to rest last week in a private ceremony after his death aged 65 last month.The Birkett family have been working on creating a wood for the public for several years ...

Read More »

Nicholas’ New Year’s honour

A Gedney Drove End man has been awarded an OBE for public service in the King’s New Year’s honours list. Nicholas Leader worked in the prison service for 40 years.After joining the prison service as an officer at HMP Birmingham in 1985, Nicholas moved to South Holland to work with HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire in 1993, before retiring last September.He’s ...

Read More »

Halting loneliness at Christmas

A fantastic 50 individuals turned up to enjoy Christmas dinner together. Vanessa Browning, of Community Mind Matters, for the second year running cooked the special meal on Christmas Day for those who might otherwise be alone.“It was amazing,” she said of the event held at St Norbert’s Church’s Project St Thomas in Spalding. “The fact so many people turned up ...

Read More »

Hole lot of money netted

A packaging company has delivered £1,150 for charity thanks to a golf day. Coveris raised the money for the Boston and South Holland branch of the MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Society.This year’s competition at Norwood Park in Southwell saw 45 golfers take part with Andy Williams from the Spalding office picking up the trophy and £100 prize for winning.Andrew Wiltshire, Coveris’ ...

Read More »

Appeal after dog is impaled on fishing hooks

A dog walker has urged anglers to be more careful after his Siberian Husky was injured by hooks left on a footpath. Kevin Kibble (62) was walking Rambo along the Coronation Channel in Spalding around 11am on Saturday, December 23 when he got one four-pronged hook in his paw and another in his back leg.Thankfully Rambo is set to be ...

Read More »

Thanks for retiring manager

Residents at a Spalding home for assisted living held a special surprise party for their departing development manager. Amanda Johnson has retired after 21 years working at Georgian Court.The grandmother of three is looking forward to spending more time with her family.Amanda, who previous to the role was a manager at Safeway said: “It’s been a wonderful two decades and ...

Read More »

LETTERS – Wonderful gates, awful bus shelter

Wonderful renovated gates on Winfrey Park, Long Sutton.Now all we have to do is remove that abomination of a bus shelter on Market Street and it will all be as right as rain.Let us not mention The Bull Hotel! Sue MasonLong Sutton

Read More »

LETTERS – Village hall allegations are untrue

In response to the letter in The Voice, dated December 20, 2023 regarding Gedney Dyke Village Hall.I am the chairperson of our village hall committee and take offence to the slanderous remarks that have been written about us.The event that was mentioned in the letter was a private booking and other than the booking fee, there was no other financial ...

Read More »

LETTERS – Angry at bypass decision

I am extremely disappointed and downright angry at the feasibility report from Lincs County Council Highways on their decision not to move ahead with the Whaplode/Moulton bypass.The balance of the ‘benefits to cost ratio’ criteria they have used to arrive at their negative decision is all about value for money ie about the users’ (drivers’) benefits of a bypass.The present ...

Read More »

LETTERS – How we spent donations

South Holland Rotary Club has been out and about with Santa these last few weeks, receiving generous donations from the people of Spalding, for which we are very grateful.In addition to making donations to the organisations, clubs and local charitable groups who help us with our collections, we thought we would let you know how some of the remainder is ...

Read More »

LETTERS – Can anyone help Janet?

I am a family researcher engaged by Janet Young who was born in Spalding on December 30, 1944. After her birth Janet was adopted by a family named Knowles who were also from the area.Janet grew up in Spalding and in the 1970s moved to Australia. Although Janet always knew she was adopted, it was only last year that she ...

Read More »

Devolution event at Springfields

A public event to discuss the proposed ‘devolution’ which includes having an elected mayor for Greater Lincolnshire will be held in Spalding later this month. It comes amid criticisms of the devolution itself.Lincolnshire County Council, which is pushing for the link up with North and North East Lincolnshire County Councils, is putting on 22 consultation events, though only one is ...

Read More »

Trust’s award on recruitment

A hospital trust has been given an award for the way it treats the staff it brings in from overseas. United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) has achieved the NHS Pastoral Care Quality Award. Over the last three years, in excess of 780 internationally educated nurses have joined ULHT across 42 cohorts, ranging in size from five to 65 from ...

Read More »

Most roads money leads to London

Lincolnshire councillors are outraged by the government’s decision to redirect £235 million from the scrapped northern leg of HS2 to repair roads in London. In October, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled a £36 billion plan to revamp British transport, allocating £8.3 billion for road improvements, in the wake of the HS2 line cancellation between Birmingham and Manchester.Yet, the decision to ...

Read More »

From volunteer to career

A woman who started volunteering at Johnson Hospital is the first in the county to use a scheme to make it into a proper career. Elena Orlova joined the Volunteer to Career programme after volunteering for fourth months with the Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust.She’s now employed as a health care support worker.The Volunteer to Career programme is a ...

Read More »

MP’s call for Halifax rethink

South Holland and the Deepings MP Sir John Hayes says he has outlined to boss at Halifax his alarm it’s to close its Spalding branch later this year. It was announced last month that the bank on Bridge Road was to close by April.“In a meeting I insisted upon with Halifax Building Society staff in Westminster, I expressed my constituents’ ...

Read More »

Start the year on a new note with choir

Do you enjoy singing and are looking for a New Year challenge? South Holland Singers are looking for new members and are inviting anyone who enjoys singing to give the choir a try at an informal rehearsal on Saturday, January 13.The event, a first for the long-established group, will be led by musical director Sam Graper and aims to demonstrate ...

Read More »

Mabel earns top Rooke’s label

Rooke’s has unveiled its face for 2024. The pet supply company on High Street, Spalding, launched their 11th annual Face of Rooke’s competition in August.The first competition in 2012 was open to puppies and kittens only before including pets of all shapes and sizes in 2014.It’s grown in popularity too with the number of entries received in 2023 surpass previous ...

Read More »