Community

Marching back for Flower Parade

A band that’s led Spalding parades for a number of years is to return for next year’s Flower Parade. The Romford Drum and Trumpet Corps (RDTC) is one of the oldest independent youth marching bands in the country. It has played across the world but is set to return to Spalding when the Flower Parade is due to return in May. “We ...

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Charities help duo make memories

Two people have been given the activities trip of a lifetime in The Lake District thanks to the local Rotary club groups. James Leverton and Harry Dobson were sent on the trip with the Calvert Trust charity thanks to the Rotary Clubs of South Holland and Spalding and the Welland. Both clubs are part of Rotary District 1070 which took ...

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Owzat for helping veterans?

A very special cricket match is being held this weekend to raise money for two military charities. The Long Sutton club will be hosting its second Veterans’ Day on Saturday (August 6), and members are hoping to build on the success of last year’s inaugural event. It’s being sponsored by Tonic Health Veterans’ Project in association with the Veterans’ Foundation, ...

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Town charity donates £20k

A Holbeach charity has donated £20,749 to local community groups since January. The amazing figure comes from the Chosen charity which has given amounts out from £80 to £1,300 to a range of different causes so far this year. Everything from jubilee celebrations in Fleet to Holbeach Football Academy and the Boxes of Hope for Ukraine all received money as ...

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Daughter fulfils POW dad’s wish

A Whaplode St Catherine woman has kept the promise to her dad by getting his memories of being a prisoner of war in Sumatra published in a book. After John Geoffrey Lee (known as Geoff) failed to find a publisher for his novel in his lifetime, daughter Christine Bridges vowed to ensure her dad’s story lived on. Taking his own ...

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Can you help drive Spalding charity?

A local charity that helps bring elderly people together says it’s in urgent need of new volunteers, particularly bus drivers. The Meadows is a day centre based just off Park Road in Spalding which elderly people can pay a fee to attend. The idea is to give them the opportunity, meet others, take part in games and crafts and enjoy ...

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Need for more Good Neighbours

A group that aims to beat loneliness in one of the most isolated areas of the county says it needs more volunteers to come forward or it may have to close. The East Elloe Good Neighbour Scheme, which covers Holbeach, Long Sutton and surrounding villages, offers a service where volunteers either go out or ring people for a chat who ...

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A woolly idea to bring back bloom

Plans for the Spalding Flower Parade are continuing to knit together and a new thread is being followed to overcome the lack of tulips compared with previous events. The idea was put online that people could knit flowers for next year’s Spalding Flower Parade on May 6 instead. And chief organiser Steve Timewell (pictured) was inundated with around 70 volunteers ...

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Crowds visit car show

The second Holbeach Classic and Modified Car Show proved so popular that plans are already being worked on for next year. More than 200 cars and motorcycles travelled from around the county and further afield to take part. Organised by the parish council, member Isobel Hutchinson said they estimated that around 2,000 people had visited. “We are already planning next ...

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Wendy hangs up her woggle

A woman who has helped the scouting organisation in South Holland for over 40 years has hung up her woggle. Wendy Smith was given a special thank you at the South Holland District Scouts AGM at the Pecks Drove campsite. For a number of those she’s been the badge secretary, a role she’s handing over to Christine Gratton. There was ...

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Rotary Club’s new president

The Rotary Club of South Holland has a new president. Sue Baker has taken on the role for the next year, backed by vice president Carole Lewry. Sue replaces the outgoing George Clement for the charitable group. A spokesman said: “Well, the seasons come and go and we have reached the end of another Rotary year. “But that means we ...

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Ann ‘amazed’ at public support

A Holbeach woman says she’s been overwhelmed at the generosity of people offering to pay for her to get planning permission to continue her own fundraising for charity. Ann Gregory says she’s had some incredible donations, including random people pushing bank notes through her door, since The Voice last week reported she’d been told by South Holland District Council she ...

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Queen’s pleasure at over 60s group’s 70th

The Queen has sent her best wishes to a Crowland group on its 70th anniversary. Crowland Over 60s club marked the occasion with a special toast and music from Graham Cleaver at its meeting last Friday, July 15. The club sent a letter to Her Majesty for her Jubilee and received a reply. Coun Bryan Alcock read out the reply ...

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Bike ride to help CALM

Spalding cyclist Trevor Corney is set for a 600-mile ride, climbing more than 43,000 ft, to raise money for charity. He covered 150 miles non-stop last year in a five piers challenge on the coast of Norfolk and Suffolk to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society and Mind. This time Trevor, 56, of Churchill Ciders, is covering the distance between ...

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Shop’s help to light up Holbeach

A charity shop has stepped in to help light Holbeach up this Christmas. Chosen says it had heard the funding for the Christmas lights had been cut by Holbeach Parish Council, so had stepping in itself. Chosen have donated £1,000 to Holbeach Millennium lights fund to help the volunteers put up and maintain the Christmas lights in Holbeach. A spokesman ...

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Couple’s 60 years together

A couple living in a Spalding care home together have celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary. Keith and Doreen Smith celebrated with their fellow residents at Fenchurch House Care Home in Spalding recently. The couple enjoyed a day of celebrations with their family to mark the milestone anniversary, including a beautiful meal provided by the hospitality team at Fenchurch House Keith ...

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GALLERY – Scarecrows help village funds

It was a good year for the scarecrows when more than 40 appeared in Moulton as part of a special fundraising weekend. Making a welcome return after the pandemic, the popular event saw visitors vote for their favourite scarecrow over the two-day festival. It was also a record year for the number of open gardens taking part, with 24 welcoming ...

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GALLERY – UAH pupils’ wide range of activities

There’s been plenty of different lessons on offer for pupils at University Academy Holbeach recently. The school held an Enrichment Week for pupils in Years Seven to 10. The purpose of the week was to provide pupils opportunities to develop a range of life skills, and provide a broad range of experiences for them which are outside the usual curriculum. ...

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Friends are reunited

Beech Lodge Care and Nursing Home resident Brenda Mitchell got to reunite with one of her oldest friends this week as part of Country Court’s Make a Wish initiative. Residents at the Holbeach home are given the opportunity to tell staff about somewhere they have always wanted to go or a special activity they always wanted to do. Brenda spoke ...

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Cast your vote for community help

Free cookery sessions could be coming to Holbeach if a new scheme receives enough support. A plea has gone out for votes in the Tesco Community Grants initiative by Coun Tracey Carter who is organising the scheme. “After a successful application to Tesco, we are delighted that we have been shortlisted as Holbeach Moving Forwards and are bidding for a ...

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