Community

The wife of a man whose life was saved at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 2000 began fundraising for the Critical Care Unit soon afterwards. On Friday (August 10), Maud Gillen presented the unit with a cheque for £1,000 to show their appreciation to the unit. Mrs Gillen was braced to lose husband Joe (now 86) when he spent three ...

The community has rallied round to raise hundreds of pounds after a charity’s shop and cafe was targeted twice by thieves on the eve of a special celebration. The St Barnabas Hospice store is this week celebrating a year since moving from New Street, but a dampener was put on the celebrations when thieves broke into the shop overnight after ...

A club pulled together recently to celebrate its half century. Holbeach Weight Training Club recently held a fun day and display at its current Alison Avenue base. The club has more than 200 members with more on the waiting list to join. Past members include Holbeach shot putt legend Geoff Capes who regularly used to train with the club. It ...

Ration books, uniforms and classic cars all helped transport visitors back to the 1940s when the war years were revisited in Spalding at the weekend. Around 8,000 people took part in the special weekend which was organised by South Holland District Council. The two-day event concluded with a VJ Day remembrance parade which marked the day fighting in the far ...

After a charity was targeted by thieves earlier this week, a kind-hearted lady has set up an appeal to help recover the lost money. Emma Wilson decided to set up a Just Giving page so people could donate to St Barnabas Hospice after its shop and cafe was robbed overnight on Monday. Thieves stole two safes containing £800 worth of ...

A long neglected Spalding campsite is getting a new lease of life thanks to the efforts of the South Holland Scout Association. On Saturday, August 4, Scout Association members and friends and family started a big clean-up at Pecks Drove Campsite. The campsite is used by around 350 Scout Association members in South Holland and the group hopes its use ...

Two South Holland women won’t be feeling the heat as they brave the shave for a cancer charity. Georgina Harrison lightening the load after being successfully treated for a life-threatening tumour. She was diagnosed after a routine eye test at Spalding’s Molsom and Associates resulted in an immediate  referral to the Royal Eye Hospital in Boston. Unbeknown to her, she ...

More than 1,000 people rolled up to Ayscoughfee Hall last week for a fantastic celebration of circus skills. The South Holland Centre’s Family Circus Day saw potential performers of the future get a chance to try a host of circus skills including juggling and plate spinning on Thursday, August 2. It was held to mark the 250th anniversary of circuses ...

The daughter of a man who died when his motorcycle was hit by a car will take part in her first ever sponsored run to help the service that tried to save him. On Saturday (August 12) Melissa Elam (27) will take part in the Nottingham 10K race, raising money for the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance. The service is ...

The latest survey on the Castle Sports Complex and Peele Leisure Centre has been launched. South Holland District Council’s online survey is running until Friday, August 31 at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CastleandPeeleLeisureCentresSurvey Paper copies are available at the centres themselves. A spokesman for the district council, said: “We’d like to thank those who have already responded – your feedback will be used. “There ...

A member of Spalding Amateur Swimming Club has been recognised for spending over 100 hours helping his local community. Jed Devey helps children to swim at the Castle Sports Complex and at the Spalding Gateway Club for those who have a disability. Spalding Lions Club decided to thank him for his efforts by awarding him the Lions Clubs International Young ...

“Can you tell me a bit about the problem?” This question, when asked by doctors’ surgery secretaries, vexes half of you, according to a surgery’s customer feedback survey. But far from being a nosy intrusion, it’s asked so you see the right healthcare worker, says Anthony Cronin, Chair of Munro Patient Group at Munro Medical Centre, Spalding. Mr Cronin said ...

Hundreds of people of all ages descended on Carter’s Park as the first Activate! session came to Holbeach. The South Holland District Council event proved a huge success with games and all kinds of activities on offer for free. Coun Gary Taylor, portfolio holder for communities and facilities said: “What a fantastic start to our series of ‘Activate!’ August free ...

Could you join a team that helps some of the most vulnerable elderly people in South Holland every week? Age UK does fantastic work in the town, but they need more help to ensure as many people as possible who use their services are able to access them. Around 45 volunteers in the Spalding and District branch help to bus ...

A plan to re-open a village’s last pub and incorporate a village shop has been given a boost. Gedney Dyke campaigners have successfully lobbied to have The Chequers public house listed as an Asset of Community Value by South Holland District Council at the second time of asking. It came just days before the authority’s planning committee were due to ...

A local group’s efforts in raising £38,000 for people affected by cancer in Lincolnshire have earned it an award. The Spalding and Holbeach Macmillan Cancer Support fundraising group have been named the Regional Fundraising Committee of the Year for the Midlands by the charity. The numerous events members have put on in the last year include fashion shows at Cindy’s ...

The University of the Third Age (U3A) Monday Art Group will this month hold its exhibition, called The Pleasure of Painting, at Asycoughfee Hall’s Geest Gallery. The exhibition runs until Friday, August 31 and is open from 10.30am to 4pm, Wednesdays to Sundays (plus Bank Holiday Mondays). Admission is free. A U3A spokesman said: “Almost all the group members studied ...

Two local groups have got behind a fundraising drive for a four-year-old girl who has been diagnosed with cancer. Jocelyn Leaver, of Skegness, has been diagnosed with neuroblastoma and has a watermelon-sized tumour in her stomach. Anglia Motel, Fleet, owner Harold Payne saw her featured on a local news programme and wanted to do something. So he took the World ...

After raising a substantial sum for The Respite Association, Sainsbury’s Spalding has named its latest charity partner. Following a vote by the store’s customers, cancer charity Macmillan will be the latest to benefit from the Local Charity scheme which is in its 10th year. The Macmillan fundraising drive will officially be launched this weekend. It follows the collections and fund ...

Two members of the Holbeach branch of the Royal British Legion are to join thousands on a pilgrimage of remembrance in Belgium. Rhys Midwinter and Michael Barter will take part in the Great Pilgrimage 90 (GP90), parade around World War One battlefields which culminates in a ceremony in Ypres. The event marking the Hundred Days Offensive takes place from August ...