Community

The Fenland branch of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) has been supping pints for 40 years – and is planning to brew a beer called Fenland 40 to celebrate. Back in 1974 the first informal meeting was held, at The Bull in Pinchbeck. On June 21 that year Fenland branch was formed at The Bull Inn at Market Deeping, with ...

A legal fund set up by the Save Lincolnshire Libraries campaign group has received a donation of £1,000 from The Library Campaign, the national charity dedicated to supporting public funded libraries. The fund has been set up by campaigners to help Simon Draper in his challenge of Lincolnshire County Council’s proposals to cut the library service by £2million. The challenge ...

Spalding’s cycle action group has a leisure ride to Crowland as part of the forthcoming national Bike Week. PEDALS is inviting anyone to join members for the 20-mile ride on Sunday, June 15. Meet at The Vista (in front of Spalding parish church) at 2.30pm. Adults are asked to accompany riders under 13 and all bikes should be roadworthy.

The popular Spalding School of Dance wants to move to new, purpose-built premises at Low Fulney. Hundreds of youngsters aged two and over attend classes in styles including ballet, tap and hip-hop. The business is going so well that it has now outgrown its base in Horseshoe Road and has drawn up plans to relocate. The new facility on agricultural ...

A parade and service of remembrance for the D-Day Landings is being held in Spalding on Sunday. Organised by the Spalding Royal Naval Association, fall-in for the parade is 10.30am at Ayscoughfee Gardens cafe. The service will take place at the garden’s war memorial at 10.45am. Ex-service organisations are invited to attend with their standards. A Spalding RNA spokesman said: ...

A very determined but muddy Sarah Le Sage fought her way around the toughest assault course in the UK at Burghley House, Stamford. Sarah was taking part in the 20-mile, 200-obstacle Dirty Weekend Rat Race in aid of her favourite charity. After completing the challenge, Sarah said: “It was an amazing experience and, although hard work, I really enjoyed myself.” ...

An annual football tournament has boosted a charity’s coffers to the tune of £900. The Bakkavor charity football tournament, organised by Bourne Prepared Produce and held at Spalding’s Castle Sports Complex, raised cash for EACH (East Anglian Children’s Hospices). Trevor Hewson, operations manager at Bourne Prepared Produce, said: “Teams from as far as Somerset and Scotland made up 24-team competition ...

As gestures by best friends go, Jacky Mitchell was ready to show her utmost support for breast cancer sufferer Caroline Bunning. Caroline (38) started four months of radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment on Wednesday. So the night before, Caroline pre-empted losing her hair by shaving it off – and Jacky followed suit. Jacky (28) said: “Caroline was told that she would ...

More than £4,000 was raised for Help for Heroes at a spectacular concert held in Spalding. The RAF Swing Wing concert, organised by Graham Dark and held at the South Holland Centre, raised an amazing £4,249, which takes the total raised from RAF band concerts, to more than £30,000. Mr Dark said: “The concert was again a great success and ...

The Tulipmania Prince and Princess are riding round in style thanks to Spalding’s Gibbons Cycles. Prince Joseph Porter, a pupil at Swineshead St Mary’s Primary School, and Princess Georgie Van Dyke, who goes to Sutton St James Primary School, went along to the Winsover Road store to choose their bikes which are part of their winner’s package. Joseph and Georgie ...

The decision to refuse homes to be built on Ye Olde Dun Cow site in Cowbit has been appealed. Market Homes believes there are grounds for South Holland District Council’s decision to be quashed and the Planning Inspectorate will hold a hearing on July 8. Meanwhile, Cowbit group The Campaign to Save Ye Olde Dun Cow has vowed to maintain ...

Spalding worker Andrea Cameron has completed a mammoth fundraising hike – the equivalent of seven marathons in seven days. Andrea strolled back into the town on Friday – her 34th birthday – to complete the final leg of a 184-mile hike from Bristol. She hopes to have raised more than £3,000 from the Severn in 7 challenge to share between ...

Pinchbeck History and Archaeology Group begins a new attempt to find the village’s lost manor next week. The diggers will move onto Abbey Field in Northgate on Monday and will remove earth to create deep trenches six feet wide in six designated areas highlighted in a survey carried out in a geophysical scan. Visitors will be able to watch the ...

Theatre-lovers are in for a treat on Friday night when Cutwater Productions take to the stage with their adaptation of Ill Met By Moonlight. The show takes place at Pinchbeck Village Hall from 7.30pm. The play is set on the English/Welsh border at a time not so long ago when rural superstition was rife. A descendant of Puck still roams the ...

A Spalding mum is holding an online auction through Facebook to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Since January Liz Batterham has dedicated her spare time to raising money for cancer charities by holding a series of auctions and events. Liz’s two previous auctions raised £515 for Cancer Research and £1,600 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Items on offer in ...

The entrance to Holbeach is looking a whole lot smarter thanks to a bit of teamwork. Holbeach in Bloom, Lincolnshire county councillor Nick Worth and a local artist have worked together to get the sign on the beacon at Wignal’s Gate repainted. Coun Worth said: “I was approached by Holbeach in Bloom who wanted to get the sign smartened up ...

Sixty years after its formation the Spalding hospital League of Friends is going from strength to strength. Over the years the group, which is officially known as the Friends of Johnson Community Hospital, has fundraised to pay for things ranging from Christmas gifts for patients to hi-tech equipment. The League of Friends of Spalding Hospitals was formed by a group ...

Music from the era of the First and Second World Wars rang out across Ayscoughfee Hall School as pupils performed for special guests. Senior members of the community were invited along to the school for a performance of “musical memories” by the whole school and to enjoy tea and refreshments. Headteacher Clare Ogden said: “It was a fantastic afternoon in ...

Pets can bring great joy, companionship and comfort – but what happens when their owners fall ill or are injured and can no longer take care of them? Animal-lover Gillian Burch is trying to recruit volunteers in the Spalding area for a charity which provides a vital lifeline. Tracey Sweetland met Gillian to find out more about The Cinnamon Trust ...

A Spalding mum is holding an online auction through Facebook to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Since January Liz Batterham has dedicated her spare time to raising money for cancer charities by holding a series of auctions and events. Liz’s two previous auctions raised £515 for Cancer Research and £1,600 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Items on offer in ...