Community

Poet, author and actor Benjamin Zephaniah was on hand to launch a new community bookshop in Holbeach last week. The Holbeach Bookshop on Park Road is being run by volunteers to provide the town with a supply of second-hand books. The brainchild of Rev Kate Plant, curate at All Saints, is currently applying for charity status and the five-person committee ...

Spalding blacksmiths Chain Bridge Forge is embarking on an ambitious art project this weekend – and everyone is invited to help out with the creative endeavour. On Saturday (27), the forge –one of South Holland’s most popular heritage sites – will host a free event at its site in High Street, Spalding. A spokesman for the forge said everyone is ...

The mum of a 16-year-old with cerebral palsy who spent years learning to walk, is hoping to raise money for an operation that will allow him to stay on two feet and pain free. Kieran Evans, of Pinchbeck, was initially given just 12 hours to live after being born three-and-a-half months early. The resulting bleeding on his brain led to ...

South Holland Cyclists raised hundreds of pounds on a 60-mile ride. A total of 32 cyclists took part in the Sunday bike ride, organised by Castle Sports Centre operators, 1Life. The ride started in Spalding at the Castle Sports Complex and rolled through to Deeping and onto Stamford before heading back to the leisure centre for a Sunday roast dinner ...

Spalding Children’s Centre has unveiled its latest treasure – a new pirate ship bought by a parents group. The Friends of the Spalding Children’s Centre has purchased the new outdoor play activity after several fund-raising events. It was officially unveiled and is to be named HMS Gail after Gail Tolson who is leaving after five years working at the Bank’s ...

A decision on whether a Spalding care home will be allowed to keep a biomass burner next to residential gardens has been deferred by a planning committee. Residents in Westminster Drive were left shocked when the biomass boiler and its nearly 30 foot chimney appeared metres from their homes in May. After complaints to the council, Tanglewood Care Home submitted ...

The good times rolled on Friday at the 2018 Spalding Pumpkin Parade – and we’ve got the pictures to prove it. Can you spot yourself in the gallery? Check out Thursday’s paper for the full report.  

A generous anonymous donor has stepped forward after a hospital run by the community hit unexpected costs in its new £660,000 expansion. Holbeach Hospital has unveiled its recent expansion nearly 30 years after volunteers saved it from closure. It is still community run thanks largely to donations, and opened a new wing with eight much-needed bedrooms to ease the waiting ...

Allotment holders have changed premises to make way for a development in Crowland. Up to 45 homes are planned for the site on James Road with the project well under way. The scheme has been called the Abbey Farm Development and the land is owned by the parish council. Developers Seagate Homes are working with the council to develop nearly ...

Five innovative new groups including a reminiscing film club and a get together for adults with autism are to be launched by charity Tonic Health after receiving a share of a £300,000 NHS cash pot. Sessions to support the likes of those with autism, mental health issues, dementia and the carers of people in need themselves are among those being ...

Grandparents were invited into a Crowland primary school last week for a special breakfast. To celebrate National Grandparents Day, South View Community Primary School invited the children to bring in their slightly older relatives for a scrumptious early meal on Thurday and Friday, October 4 and 5. Headteacher Mrs Joanne Tomlins said: “We have so many dedicated grandparents who not ...

Spalding’s popular Pumpkin Festival is back for its 17th year tomorrow (Friday, October 12). Crafts, carving, fireworks, fancy dress, a parade and plenty of pumpkins will take centre-stage as the horticulture and harvest in South Holland is celebrated. The festival will run from 11am to 8pm in Spalding town centre and has an array of thing to see and do ...

Lorraine Swepson and Veronica Pryke were the big winners in Spalding Arts and Craft Society’s River Welland Painting Competition. An exhibition of all the entries has taken place at Spalding Library over recent weeks and the public was asked to vote for their favourite image of the town’s river as created by the artists. Lorraine’s work entitled Twilight Over the ...

Staff have been recruited by a new academy which was to open in September, but has been delayed. The Springwell Academy Trust was aiming to open a centre in Spalding for pupils excluded from elsewhere. The former post-16 centre at Matmore Gate is being converted to accommodate the students. But delays by the Department of Education mean students are being ...

There was cake with a cherry on top for pupils and friends on Spalding Parish Church of England Day School. The annual Macmillan Coffee fundraiser was held at the venue. Staff, parents and children demonstrated their Bake-Off skills to produce a fantastic spread of cakes and biscuits. Year Six pupils, Harley and Tom, worked hard to make sure that everyone ...

The Priory School in Spalding has received a boost towards getting a new all-weather sports pitch thanks to accountancy firm Moore Thompson. The company chose the Neville Avenue school for those with special education needs as its charity of the year. Colleagues took on a host of events including a sponsored abseil down the Orbit Tower at the Olympic Park, ...

Children and staff at Ayscoughfee Hall school commemorated the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War by dressing in red, white and blue and donating to various forces charities. They learnt about the work of nurse Edith Cavell and the Great War and also took part in related curriculum activities. Many children painted commemorative scenes on pebbles ...

South Holland adults (aged 18-65) do the least physical activity in the East Midlands it’s been claimed. Lincolnshire County Council’s commissioning plan for an Integrated Lifestyle Support Service states that nearly a third (31.9 per cent) of adults are considered “inactive”. The national average is 22.2 per cent. The figures are taken from the Public Health Outcomes Framework. The idea ...

A local philanthropist who believes he’s raised nearly £800,000 for veterans over the years has come good again. Harold Payne, the owner of the Anglia Motel, Fleet, recently handed over a cheque for £10,000 to The Royal Anglian regiment’s Benevolent Fund. Soldiers from the regiment received the cheque at the motel’s recent Wheels Weekend which saw a display of classic ...

If you know a young person who is reaching for the sky, Holbeach Air Cadets has just the thing. The 2430 Royal Air Force Cadets will be holding a recruitment event later this month. The squadron was founded in 1964 and is looking for new people to join. It meets at the Squardron HQ, Fairfield, Church Street and the open ...