Community

Former staff at a Spalding GP practice held a reunion at the weekend. The High Street Surgery closed its doors on November 9, 1996 to relocate to the then newly-built Munro Medical Centre. Some 26 years later, former doctors, nurses and support staff were reunited at Woodlands Hotel in Spalding. It was organised by Michelle Smith (former dispenser), Mary Barnes ...

The area’s Give It A Go Day has been hailed a huge success with more than 1,000 people visiting. Organised by the South Holland District Council’s Communities Team, the event took place at the Sir Halley Stewart Field in Spalding, and saw a number of groups and organisations in attendance. The idea behind the day was to give visitors the ...

A group of young people have been raising money for local good causes as part of the National Citizen Service (NCS) scheme. The NCS is a voluntary scheme that intends to build the confidence of young people by getting them involved in their community and taking part in trips and events. As part of it the 15 to 17-year-olds taking ...

A Spalding family says they’ve used life savings and given up jobs to help their mum fly to Mexico for cancer treatment. Katarzyna Chipala (69) has been in the Central America country for four weeks being treated for multiple myleoma, a form of bone cancer. Her daughter, also called Katarzyna, says after two years of suffering the family looked for ...

New play equipment has been officially opened in Pinchbeck. The parish council has organised the new features at Rotten Row Playing Field Its chairman James Avery took the opportunity to mention all of the groups, individuals, local companies and primary school age children who had all helped by making donations towards the cost of the new play facilities. Two children ...

Members of the Spalding and East Elloe Classic Car Club have donated £2,000 to their chosen charity this year. The cheque to Lincolnshire Emergency Blood Bikes was handed-over recently and the money was raised from the club’s 50th anniversary celebrations, hosted by president Robert Oldershaw, and the Annual Run, organised by Alan and Jackie Aistrup.

Kind public donations to help a Holbeach woman keep raising money for a charity has helped her reach a truly incredible milestone. Ann Gregory feared she may no longer be able to hold the sales for Jerry Green Dog Rescue at her Boston Road South home after she was told she needed to make a retrospective change of use planning ...

Hundreds of youngsters descended on Carter’s Park in Holbeach last week as Activate sessions returned. The sessions put on by South Holland District Council’s Communities team returned after a COVID enforced break and retained their popularity. Over 500 people attended the first hour alone at last Wednesday’s event. There was a whole host of activities to try out, from the ...

Youngsters from across South Holland have been recognised for achievement in the face of adversity, thanks to Spalding Lions. During the last week of school term, members of Spalding Lions visited local primary schools to present certificates and gift vouchers. In praise of young people, Walking Tall is an annual prize for a pupil in the last term of their ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...