Community

More than 90 senior citizens enjoyed a free Christmas party organised by Spalding and District Round Table. In the first of what is hoped will become an annual event, the Table invited guests from some supported housing schemes in Spalding. A three-course meal by Whaplode firm The English Takeaway was laid on at Surfleet Village Hall, alongside festive performances from ...

Schools contributed to the annual Christmas tree festival at Spalding’s Broad Street Methodist Church. All 40 nursery pupils at Monkshouse Primary School made “stars” with their faces on, and went along to the church last Wednesday to see them in place on trees. The festival fundraises for Mission Direct. Forthcoming at Broad Street Methodist Church: Family nativity service on Sunday ...

Welland Ward at Spalding’s Johnson Community Hospital is looking a lot brighter this Christmas thanks to donations by local firms. Birchgrove Garden Centre at Pinchbeck, Festival Garden Centre at Springfields and Baytree Garden Centre at Weston all donated festive items. Spalding Lions Club gave £100 for decorations and Spalding Signs are making festive banners. Meanwhile, staff nurse Jo Neal is ...

School pupils enjoyed a “Welly Wednesday” to plant more than 1,000 daffodil bulbs on their school field. The youngsters at Deeping St Nicholas Primary found the field covered in holes – drilled by school governor John Atkinson – which they enjoyed filling and stamping them in. Headteacher Anita Bandey said: “The school is very fortunate to have large grounds which ...

The Give A Gift Appeal has received a huge boost this week thanks to Baytree Garden Centre donating 300 presents. The gifts donated by the Weston garden centre will be added to scores of amazing gifts given by our incredibly generous readers, ensuring children who wouldn’t normally get a present will have a happier Christmas. Harry Drury, of We’ll Let ...

For many people, a trip to see Jack Turner’s stunning Christmas lights display in Holbeach is an annual fixture. This year an extra 8,000 lights takes the total at his Fleet Road home to the highest ever – more than 60,000. It took Jack (86) and pals Daniel Harrison, Tony Parker and Andy Pegler a fortnight to put them up. Proceeds ...

One Spalding couple have even more reason to celebrate this Christmas after getting engaged during a visit to Santa’s Grotto. Ryan Barry got down on one knee at Baytree’s Winter Wonderland in Weston and asked girlfriend Amanda Wright to marry him and with Santa as a witness, Amanda said yes.

A group of business people have put forward a proposal to buy Spalding’s former magistrates’ court building. It is hoped the Sessions House, which was built in 1843 and was last used for court proceedings in January 2014, could be renovated and brought back into use. Last month the group behind the plan, which includes representatives of some of the ...

Spalding Blind Social Club enjoyed its annual Christmas lunch and social afternoon on Thursday (December 10). Vice-chairman Trevor Rose welcomed two special visitors for the day. Dick and Margaret Lawson recently celebrated their golden wedding anniversary with a party at Burtey Fen. In lieu of presents, they asked for donations and, as a result, presented £410 towards club funds. A ...

The small team behind a Spalding charity ball is expanding its fundraising events next year. As well as a fifth annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation ball, also planned is a 90s themed party and a golf day. The ball itself is on the move after outgrowing The Castle Sports Complex venue. Next year organisers hope to have 500 people at ...

A Spalding couple are “chuffed and delighted” after scooping the top prize of a car in a raffle. Joss Slater, of Spalding, bought just one ticket – but it was a lucky one – in the raffle in aid of the League of Friends of the Johnson Community Hospital. The Hyundai 10 car was offered as the top prize by ...

A new women’s choir is tuning up for its first concert. The Mirinesse Singers only formed in October, when music lover Samatha Wray decided to get some women together to enjoy the music she has enjoyed performing and studying in the past. The choir, whose name is an old English word for “joyful women”, sings a range of music including ...

Ayscoughfee Hall School children from Year 5 visited Stamford’s Burghley Houseto experience a Tudor Christmas. Their day began when they met Henry VIII and ended with a chilling ghost story in a candlelit room. The children played traditional games and took part in Tudor dancing. Headteacher Clare Ogden said: “The children looked amazing in their costumes, especially in the setting ...

Christmas is fast approaching and our readers have been incredibly generous in supporting the Give A Gift Appeal but there’s still time to donate – so no excuses! The Spalding and South Holland Voice teamed up with We’ll Let Your House to launch the appeal and kicked it off with £200 of toys bought from The Spalding and South Holland ...

More than 2,500 bulbs were planted in just an hour in Long Sutton. The “mammoth bulb plant” in St Mary’s churchyard, was led by Long Sutton in Bloom with the bulbs funded by the Parish Council. Around 20 people of all ages took up the invitation to join the work party including Bloom members, parish councillors, children and local residents. ...

A war memorial design competition with a £500 prize has so far attracted very little interest. With just two weeks left until the closing date, competition organiser Harold Payne, of The Anglia Motel at Fleet, has received no entries. Only University Academy Holbeach has indicated an interest in taking part. Mr Payne wants the proposed war memorial to honour fallen ...

Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance is £100 better off thanks to a donation from the Caledonian Society. Caledonian president Chris Charlton and treasurer Val Rowley presented a £100 cheque to Air Ambulance representatives Tom and Heather Chambers at the society’s annual St Andrew’s Night ceilidh at Spalding Services Club. The air ambulance is one of several charities supported by the ...

Long Sutton garden centre Silverwood has become a collection point for the Give A Gift Appeal. The Spalding and South Holland Voice teamed up with We’ll Let Your House to launch the appeal and kicked it off with £200 of toys bought from The Spalding and South Holland Voice Community Fund. Since then readers have been getting on board leaving ...

A Spalding man has a very personal reason for fundraising – and more importantly raising awareness of his chosen charity – in his first-ever marathon. Adam Davis, who was a police support community officer in Spalding and Crowland for eight years, is in training for April’s Virgin London Marathon. His aim is to raise £1,750 and spread the word of ...

A project to help provide clothes for some of the country’s most vulnerable children has put out an appeal for storage space. Ella’s Project was set up earlier this year by Spalding couple Mark and Sarah Le Sage to collect good quality clothes for children aged birth to five. In its first few months the scheme, named after Mark and ...