Entertainment

Film review: American Assassin (18)

Few films start as well – or as brutally – as American Assassin. We’re introduced to main character Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien) in an idylic beach setting, but it soon becomes the scene of a horrifying terror attack that lays the foundation for a pretty solid revenge thriller. Fast forward 18 months and Rapp’s something of a vigilante after failing ...

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Two hours of nun fun with Sister Act stage show in Spalding

Spalding theatre group Act II will perform the stage version of Sister Act at the South Holland Centre. Director Karl Gernert describes the show as “two hours of unashamed fun” and he says the music by Alan Menken (Little Shop of Horrors/Disney’s Beauty and The Beast) is “outstanding.” “They take the best bits of the film and add a great ...

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Add your Fenland tale to a collection by mobile historian

Historian and musician Danny Pedler (pictured) is touring South Holland on the mobile library to collect Fenland stories. As part of the project Field and Dyke: Your Fenland Stories, he will tour the district playing folk songs and tunes from South Lincolnshire. He will be collecting memories, anecdotes and tales from the area to inspire future projects. The sessions are ...

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Film review: Stephen King’s IT (15)

If a generation of people grew up with a strange fear of clowns, you can bet that Stephen King’s IT and the subsequent 1990 mini-series are to blame. Fast forward 27 years (that number won’t be lost on fans) and Pennywise the demonic killer clown is back to terrorise another generation, this time on the big screen. Directed by Andy ...

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Hillbilly hoedown from Utah coming to Spalding

Americana band 3hattrio travel from Southern Utah to the South Holland Centre for a night of stripped-back, barnstorming music. As part of their UK tour, the group plays Spalding on Thursday, September 14. The band comprises singer and guitarist Hal Cannon, Greg Istock on acoustic bass and foot percussion, and the classically trained violinist Eli Wrankle. World music magazine Songlines ...

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Film review: Annabelle Creation (15)

Even if you’re a fan of horror movies, it’s likely that the eery trailer for Annabelle: Creation sent a shiver or two down your spine. Serving as both a follow-up and prequel to 2014’s Annabelle, the David F Sandberg-directed Creation also tells the story of how the creepy doll introduced in both the original and The Conjuring (2013) came to ...

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Spalding Folk club serves up The Teacups

Folk festival favourites The Teacups will play Spalding Folk Club on Wednesday, September 6. The a capella group will bring to town their “murder ballads, exotic shanties and traditional songs of love and loss” that make up their second album, Of Labour and Love. The Teacups perform traditional folk music alongside their own original songs. They are another young group ...

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Places of worship open in festival of exploration

Places of worship have long been a landmark in the South Holland area. Countryside churches are visible right across the flat landscape and many of them are hidden treasures waiting to be explored. A two-day festival next month will help visitors explore some of these special places. The first Holland Places of Worship Festival will be held on Saturday, September ...

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Young creatives get chance to run a new arts festival in Spalding

Youngsters who want to get into the arts have the chance to plan, organise, perform at or run a mini-festival at the South Holland Centre. South Holland Centre’s Youth Takeover Team and Lincolnshire One Venues network host the Emerge project that aims to give young people a start in the arts. The scheme will also offer an arts award. “There ...

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Film review: The Dark Tower (12A)

I was expecting great things from The Dark Tower. Based on the acclaimed series of books from celebrated author Stephen King, many fans have described it as his best work. But there lies the problem, with director Nikolaj Arcel (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 2009) attempting to crowbar eight books worth of material into around 95 minutes of film. ...

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Elizabeth’s organ concert at Burtey Fen Collection, Pinchbeck

Organist Elizabeth Harrison will play a two-part concert at the Burtey Fen Collection organ theatre in Pinchbeck on Sunday. The Lancashire organist and keyboard player will begin the concert playing the brightly-lit vintage 1934 Compton Cinema organ and finish on the iconic Wurlitzer built in 1929. Elizabeth is one of the busiest performers on the circuit, thanks to her 25 ...

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Film review: Atomic Blonde (15)

I love it when I’m genuinely surprised by how good a film is. Atomic Blonde, while being on my radar for its impressive cast, wasn’t really overly hyped ahead of its release. But I can’t help feel that it really should have been, given that the David Leitch-directed action spy thriller is up there with the most fun I’ve had ...

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Two years of jive dance classes

Jive dance couple Claire and Neil Seabrook celebrate two years of their company Boston Jive with a sold-out show at the South Holland Centre. Claire and Neil teach retro 40s and 50s dancing across South Holland five nights a week. To celebrate two years of Boston Jive, the couple have put on a dance night at the South Holland Centre ...

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Celebs score slots on charity football team

Famous faces from the likes of The X-Factor, Liverpool Football Club, Emmerdale and I’m A Celebrity will form an all-star football team in Holbeach Bank this Saturday (August 12). The Charity Football Tournament Family Fun Day will be held at Holbeach Bank Football Club. Local team Growers United will be led by Liverpool FC legend Alan Kennedy. The opposing team ...

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Village halls are at the heart of the community

Reasonable rental rates and a clear space suitable for almost all events put village halls at the heart of their local community. The diverse events on offer at our local hubs – from exercise classes to film clubs – are testament to the creative and community-minded organisers who book the space. Whaplode Village Hall is an excellent example of a ...

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Wartime aircraft to fly over Ayscoughfee 1940s event

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will once again fly over Spalding this weekend. Spectacular flypasts of iconic World War Two aircraft will thrill people of all ages this Saturday and Sunday. The era of the war years, big bands and ration books will be vividly brought back to life at Ayscoughfee Hall Museum and Gardens. The historic Spalding venue ...

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Film review: Captain Underpants (U)

After such a great run of new films at the cinema in recent weeks, I suppose it’s apt that the sequence ended with Captain Underpants. We’ve been spoiled by SpiderMan: Homecoming, War For The Planet Of The Apes and Dunkirk over the past month or so. It’s fair to say that 20th Century Fox’s animated adventure isn’t in that league ...

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Chance to win tickets to watch Icons of the 80s in Castle concert

A star-studded line-up of 80s icons will be appearing in the county next month – and we have a pair of tickets to be won.   Spalding-based Live Promotions are staging an Icons of the 80s night at Lincoln Castle on Saturday, August 12, featuring the likes of Go West, Tony Hadley and T’Pau.   This year marks the 30th ...

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Film review: Dunkirk (12A)

Every now and then, a film comes along that gives you a unique experience at the cinema. I’ll never forget seeing Avatar in 3D, which was the first film (regardless of your view on it) that genuinely made you feel like you were in that world for a couple of hours. Christopher Nolan’s epic Dunkirk is one of those films. ...

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Film review: War For The Planet Of The Apes (12A)

For me, Matt Reeves’ Planet Of The Apes reboot is one of the best surprises of the last cinematic decade. After the 2001 offering directed by Tim Burton (and starring Mark Wahlberg) bombed, it felt like the popular series would be left in the past. But I’m glad that Reeves had other ideas. If 2011’s Rise Of The Planet Of ...

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