Community

Mr Bean made a guest appearance in South Holland at the weekend, but he didn’t say much. Dolly Parton arrived to join the fun on Saturday as well. She had nothing to say either. It may well have had something to do with the fact they were made of straw and taking part in the Cowbit Scarecrow Festival. Resident Claire ...

A Deeping St Nicholas farm has been thanked by a charity for raising over £2million for it. Vine House Farm has raised the figure for the Wildlife Trusts by giving percentage of its birdseed sales over the last 14 years. More than 400 acres of bird seed crops, hedges, ponds, and wildflower margins at field edges have all been created ...

Members of Spalding based charity, Tonic Health Dementia Support Focus Group were treated to a special garden party with a brass band last week. More than 25 members attended on a pleasantly sunny afternoon at Park Farm and were entertained by St Nicolas Brass Band during the afternoon courtesy of Coun Nigel Pepper. “Their performances led by Tony Fell, were ...

There was fun and games for all the family at a pop-up picnic in the park at Donington Community Centre. With everything from space hoppers to the Rock School Bus, there was plenty to keep visitors occupied. Ella Marie Harris (7) and Kelsey-Marie Lovelock (10). The event is part of the South Holland Outdoor Festival which is offering free events ...

Visitors to Deeping St Nicholas Church enjoyed an afternoon of music recently. Arranged by Rodney Britten and Carolyn Sumner, the programme included various pieces of music from Andrew Lloyd Webber and The Beatles, as well as some traditional music played on the church organ. One young composer played her own piece on the piano called ‘Labyrinth’. An entertaining afternoon was ...

Holbeach Food Festival is set to return next month. Now in its seventh year, the festival is looking forward to bringing some normality and fun back into the town with a variety of food, drink and community stands on Saturday and Sunday, September 4 and 5. It’s being run once again in conjunction with Royals Gym which will be putting ...

A volunteer at a Lincolnshire hospice for 37 years which ended up looking after her mother has launched its latest campaign. Marie Pattison, the supporter care officer at St Barnabas Hospice, is backing the new Wildflower Appeal after thanking colleagues for the support they gave her mum Chris Davies. The Wildflower Appeal enables people to remember loved ones by planting ...

For the past ten days a team from Newcastle University and the University of Sheffield have undertaken an archaeological excavation at Anchor Church Field, near Crowland. This work has identified important medieval remains, at a location traditionally associated with St Guthlac – a saint who lived as a hermit in the Fens during the seventh and eighth centuries AD. On ...

A local charity that provides days out for the elderly is back on its feet and ready for an exciting future – even without one of its founder members at the helm. The Meadows in Spalding is back offering people the chance to socialise, learn new crafts and enjoy food and drink together after the enforced COVID-19 break.A special open ...

Thousands of visitors made their way to Holbeach for a great weekend of music and beer. With live music, food, rides and beer on offer, some 12,000 to 15,000 people helped made the event a huge success.Bands including The Upbeat Beatles, Wild Boys, Bon Giovi and Queen tribute band Flash – provided music for all tastes.“It was definitely our best ...

A popular local group who have come together to beat loneliness have taken inspiration from a popular TV programme and set up their own ‘Repair Shop’. The Long Sutton Men’s Shed was formed several years ago as a place for men to come together, learn crafts or just enjoy each other’s company.It proved a huge success but hasn’t been able ...

A man raising money for a nearby hospice held a coffee morning in Weston Hills last week.Matthew Mahabadi is set to run the London Marathon later this year for the Thorpe Hall Hospice in Peterborough.He held the coffee morning to continue his fundraising efforts.In total he earned £150 in donations, £112 from Coffee and Cake and £38 from a raffle ...

As temperatures soared in July so did missions for the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance (LNAA), continuing an upward summer trend. June had been the busiest month on record for the charity with 151 missions but in July specialist crews were called to 179 incidents.Senior Operations Manager, Chris Bailey said: “How busy we’ve been reinforces the need for our area ...

Dozens of children flocked to Surfleet’s Glen Park for last Saturday’s re-opening of the children’s play area after a major refurbishment. Some 25 months after it was forced to close because of repair costs and the effect of the Covid pandemic – thanks to the efforts of two local businessmen and a small army of volunteers.Glen Park’s owners, Surfleet Play ...

Residents and staff at Fenchurch House Care Home in Spalding Common have been enjoying their very own Olympic Games.They’ve been taking on a range of Olympics and sport-themed activities.Named the ‘Country Court Oomph-Olympics’ (through a combination of the two companies running the event), residents have been trying their hand at Boccia, bop-fit, artistic swimming and other events.Fenchurch House hosted an ...

Work is being planned to replace the roof of Long Sutton’s library.The building, which also houses the town’s Register Office, has two main roof sections which are described as ‘very shallow.’A planning application submitted to Lincolnshire County Council says the library will have to be closed while the work is carried out.It’s proposed to temporarily house library services in a ...

A South Holland butcher and darts ref battled his fear of heights and completed a charity skydive.Ian Tilley, who works at Vine House Farm in Deeping St Nicholas, even shouted “180” while preparing to leap from 15,000 feet through the skies over Durham.He raised £3,200 for a prostate cancer charity.“It was very emotional because it had been cancelled twice in ...

There may not be a Platform 9 and three-quarters at Spalding, but that hasn’t stopped the Hogwarts Express from arriving in South Holland. Artists Karl Barfoot and Adam Sadd created some eye-catching work at the town’s railway station as part of improvement works being carried out by local volunteers. Jan Whitbourn is among those helping out in cleaning up the ...

They had to deal with extreme heat, got trapped in weeds and complete a job interview, but that didn’t stop two friends raising over £1,500 for a new community centre. Aga Smith and Kinga Rupniewska took on a triathlon in Spalding town centre recently to raise money for Project St Thomas, a bid to turn the former Methodist Church into ...

A Spalding postie and his girlfriend have delivered over £700 for charity thanks to a run around London on Sunday. Ade Mills and Rachael Nichols ran the London Landmarks half marathon to raise money for the babies charity Tommy’s. “We had an amazing day and Rachael ran a personal best time for the half marathon distance 2:04:50,” Ade said. “What ...