A bandstand would serve Spalding better than a town manager.

That was the view of members of the Town Forum when they met last week.

Spalding and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce had written to the Forum asking for a letter of support for their bid for Section 106 funding to pay for a town manager.

Deadline for bids for the £265,000 pot left from the Springfields development was Friday.

However, the Forum has also put in a bid to pay for a bandstand at Ayscoughfee Hall and Gardens, which has been a long-standing aim of the members.

Coun George Aley, who has been re-elected chairman, said he had agreed to take the request for support for a town manager to the table for discussion, but could not see how they could agree to providing a letter when they were also applying for the cash.

Coun Christine Lawton said: “It would be nice if we could finally get the bandstand. People want to see visible projects - that’s what we are aiming for.

”It’s longevity with legs.”

Coun Roger Gambba-Jones said: “A bandstand could be there for 100 years.”

Phil Scarlett, Chamber president, said he was disappointed with the reaction as the Forum had been supportive in previous discussions about getting a town manager.

He said: “I’m not worried though. So far we have had 11 letters of support. Would a bandstand really fit the criteria for the funding, which is to promote the town centre?”

A pair of Als have brought a razor-sharp cutting edge to the Long Sutton hairdressing scene judging by the response to their new barber shop.

Alex Howes and Alecia Hayes opened Al’s Barbers in Market Street three weeks ago and they have been encouraged by the steady flow of customers from the town, as well as Spalding and Boston, wanting a simple, no-frills hair cut.

“We’re pleased to have our own barber shop and we’ve had some really good feedback from people,” Alex said.

“The shop is named after both of us and everybody seems to like the idea that we’ve used the first two letters of our names in the title.”

Alex from Holbeach and Alecia from Long Sutton worked together in the same premises when it was under different ownership and when the previous barber shop closed, they decided to go into business together.

“We get on really well and we both really like working in Long Sutton so when the old baber shop closed, we decided to strike out on our own,” Alex said.

“I’ve been a hairdresser for eight years and Alecia has been doing it for about five years, but we’ve only been working together for the last four years.

“We both did two-year apprenticeships in hairdressing, Alecia’s was in Sutton Bridge and mine was based in King’s Lynn.”

The barber shop does men’s, women’s and children’s hairdressing six days a week, Monday to Saturday, with an 8pm finish on Thursdays and an 8am opening on Saturdays.

Alex said: “Long Sutton is still growing as a town and people need somewhere convenient to walk into and have their hair cut without having to make an appointment.

“We hope to get a lot of customers from the old barber shop back and try to attract new customers to the shop.”

You know things are getting pretty bad when the guys from the tip turn up with rubbish to give to you!

In John Ward’s case it was a side car, and it hung about at his home for a while until a Mini engine and gear box turned up.

The side car was then transformed into a five-wheeled Mini with rotors, radar scanner and wings, and became known as The Woganmobile.

It was a lovely piece of English eccentricity and only served to reinforce John’s reputation as an eccentric inventor.

In that role he had built unlikely notoriety, with TV appearances and magazine articles written all over the world talking about his penchant for recycling rubbish into weird and wonderful inventions.

Move forward a few years and John (“38 plus VAT”, he says), has been living in Moulton Seas End with his partner Mo for the past six years.

He clearly enjoys his status as local celebrity, having been interviewed by people such as Richard & Judy and Roland Rivron about his inventions that range from bra warmers to musical frying pans.

John makes no claims to inventions that help mankind, unless you count the laughter caused by things like his numb bum reviver or his royal waving hand (clips on the interior of the Royal car door and automatically waves).

He says he’s still inventing – John’s currently into unusual bird tables – and he also has ideas, the most recent of which went down remarkably well locally.

John came up with the idea of a cabbage hurling competition for Holbeach Town & Country Fair, thinking it might fill ten minutes in the programme.

“I didn’t realise it would take off but we had 14 teams of three on the first day and half an hour stretched into an hour and three-quarters,” said John. “Not one person left the arena, and it was even better on the Sunday.”

Four crates of chilled cabbages were donated by Naylor Farms of Moulton Seas End and these were hurled by contestants using John’s own design for a trebuchet, or giant catapult.

John says: “Some shattered on impact, some didn’t, depending on how they hit the ground. There was no waste because it was all picked up afterwards and went for cattle feed.

“It was probably one of my better ideas, but I didn’t know it at the time.”

It’s some years since the TV companies came calling requesting interviews, but if cabbage hurling becomes a national pastime it’s possible John will be brushing up his eccentric inventor persona.

However, Holbeach cabbage hurlers need no persuasion when it comes to John’s amazing ingenuity.

John Ward’s crazy inventions began with a failed attempt to paddle across the Channel for charity on something made out of four bikes and four oil drums. A choppy sea put paid to that.

However, the madcap idea made page 3 of The Mirror, and led on to ever wackier projects. John accomplished these while working at everything from cinema projectionist to engineer in a shoe factory where the machinery was so old no spare parts existed so John made them in his own workshop.

The eccentric inventor tag stuck firmly in 1981 when John was invited on to the Pebble Mill at One TV show to talk about a Mini he had stretched – to 18 feet.

From then on his notoriety spread, the invitations to talk on American TV started arriving and he was even asked to launch the Ford Focus in 1998.

John says: “I did the full circle of interviews, I suppose, and there was an article in Reader’s Digest that sells 22m copies world wide in 47 languages.”

However, John would like to put the record straight as far as one interviewer is concerned. He was never ever interviewed by Noel Edmonds.

A man was flown to hospital by air ambulance after a horse kicked him in the head and injured his arm at Crowland Show on Saturday morning.

Show secretary Helen Turpin said the horse reared up and a group of people were trying to get control.

“It kicked the man in the head and the other hoof went down his arm,” she said.

The injured man, who owns the horse, was flown to Peterborough City Hospital with his wife – who was also slightly hurt. The man is believed to have been allowed home on Sunday.

A second man was also slightly hurt but remained at the show.

It is believed to be the first accident of its kind in the show’s history.

Around 3,000 people attended the event on Snowden Field and organisers were delighted with the turnout.

Horse classes were really busy with events including jumping, dressage and driving.

Other attractions included a fairground, classic cars and vintage tractors and a display by German Shepherd owners.

Baby show winner Sebastian Lawrence – born on February 21 this year – was presented with his prize by his uncle, Daniel Frisby, who won the contest 20 years ago.

Anne Broderick said: “We had 16 entrants and they were all beautiful – it’s not a record as we’ve had as many as 36 with five sets of twins.

“It was a marvellous day, really good.”

Show chairman Tom Henfrey said money raised pays for future shows and spare cash goes to the community.

Pupils and staff from Spalding Grammar School have been hosting visitors from the Nikolaus-von-Weis school in Speyer.

Twenty boys and girls from the school enjoyed a series of outings and were welcomed to the town with an official reception in the council chamber.

Our picture shows pupils with (front) Uwe Shulz, Angelika Woerner-Langhammer, council chairman Robert Clark and David Jones, from Spalding Grammar School. SG140613-117TW

Sums took on an exciting new twist when a Spalding school held a mixed up maths day.

St Norbert’s Roman Catholic Primary School involved all 189 pupils in various problem solving exercises, from examining the scene of a mountain climber’s potentially fatal fall to making cakes with a random selection of ingredients using no recipes and no measurements other than estimation skills.

The day was organised by the school’s numeracy coordinator, Jeanette Jameson, to help children understand how maths can be applied in a wide variety of situations.

Year 6 teacher Jenna Withers said: “It involved lots of problem solving.”

Two men in the mid-30s were hurt in a microlight crash at an airfield in Gedney Dyke over the weekend.

A Quik 9125 P & M Aircraft developed rotor problems as it was coming into to land at Wingland Airfield on Saturday just before 1.30pm when it ran off the runway and crashed.

The microlight pilot and passenger, both from Essex, were treated at the scene by paramedics and the passenger was later taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn, with whiplash-type injuries.

Peter Higgins, owner of Wingland Airfield, said: “The microlight was having some rotor problems while landing at the airfield which caused the pilot to come in a little bit quicker than he normally would have.

“The result of that was the microlight went off the edge of the runway and crashed,

“Both men were checked on by the medics but the pilot was perfectly okay and the passenger was taken to hospital as a precaution.”

The accident is now a matter for the UK Air Accidents Investigations Branch but Mr Higgins said microlights were designed to withstand most types of accidents.

He said: “Microlights are robust and extreme safe, so it was unfortunate that the pilot misjudged the landing speed.

“The only things that were really hurt were his pocket and pride.”

Dedicated Poppy Appeal collector Joyce Doades (front, second right) was the toast of Spalding Royal British Legion on Friday.

Joyce has been collecting for 41 years, going door to door in Weston Hills, and had a bar added to her medal to recognise her long service.

She received her award at a buffet dance at Spalding Services and Social Club.

Collectors also being honoured are Trevor Carr (15 years) and Yvonne Edgoose (30 years). SG280613-237TW

New children’s author Jane Harriss says her harshest critic is just ten years old.

It’s her daughter Eve, who first heard the newly published story when her mum made it up to read at bed-time.

But Jane (39), who lives in Crowland with husband Mark, Eve and Edward (13), was only slightly older than her daughter when she came up with the idea of The Grossasnotarus, a monster who eats children.

It was written for a school essay that earned good marks but the name refused to go away. It stayed at the back of her mind until, when Eve was about five , Jane thought she would like to turn it into a story for her daughter.

When Mark heard the story he encouraged Jane to try to get it published, but Jane says most of the mainstream children’s publishers she approached didn’t bother to reply, and those that did rejected the idea.

It was during a clear out of her daughter’s bedroom last year that Jane came across the story again, printed off and stapled together, and decided she would try once again.

She says: “I tweaked it a little bit and sent it off to smaller publishing houses and got some interest.”

She was asked for more material and so had to come up with a couple more tales about her character, Arthur, who uses his troublesome trunk to save the day in various situations.

Jane says: “They said they would like to use all three stories for a book and publish me, so suddenly it all got very exciting.

“I got to choose my own illustrator and we worked really hard because I had this character firmly in my head and we had four attempts and then got Arthur just right.

“Suddenly I have a published book. It’s delightful. I have really enjoyed the whole process.”

Jane, an early years practitioner at Abbey 345 Preschool, has been doing book signings and visiting primary schools to inspire and encourage pupils to read and write.

She has also read the story, both at the schools and at her own preschool, and says: “Every child I have spoken to who has read the story really enjoyed it and that’s the biggest compliment really, and that’s the whole purpose of it.”

The book – The Grossasnotarus published by Book Guild Publishing (ISBN 978-1-84624-874-0) – is available from most bookshops, including Bookmark in Spalding, where a signing event is due to happen on August 20 (2pm to 3pm).

Seeing her first book in print – and watching the enjoyment that children gain from joining in the actions that the story promotes – is all the encouragement Jane Harriss needs.

She has ideas for more adventures for the main character in her first book, and says: “I would love to write some more. I think he’s got a lot more adventures on his way.”

Jane writes in the evenings and on occasions when she has time to herself. She keeps a little notebook by the bed so that she can jot down any ideas that come to her.

She says: “I am looking at it as a long-term thing. I definitely enjoyed the experience – it’s satisfying people are reading what I have written and I want to write some more, but it’s a very, very difficult thing to succeed in, and you can imagine the amount of publicity the well-known authors get, but we’ll see.

“I am quite taken with Arthur at the moment and I think there is more of him to come.”

The following decisions have been made recently by magistrates at court hearings. In all drink-drive cases the legal limit is 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood or 107 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine. Addresses of defendants published in these registers are taken from the legal records held by the magistrates’ courts. The details are given to the court by the defendant – but this may be some time after the original charge and they may have moved in the meantime.

Boston Magistrates’ Court

Algis Dhrguzas (33), of Albion Street, Spalding. Failing to give driver ID. £600 fine, £60 victim surcharge, £85 costs, 6pts.

Timothy Knight (34), of Thames Tunnel East Street, Crowland. Speeding (Spalding). £60 fine, £20 v/s, 3pts.

Lisa Silver (43), of Macarther Court, Spalding. Speeding (Spalding). £60 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Muhamet Januzi (36), of Coslany Street, Norwich. Speeding (Whaplode). £100 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Elaine Skinner (56), of Low Road, Crowland. Failing to give driver ID. £120 fine, £15 v/s, 6pts.

Christa Ridley (32), of Musicians Mews, High Street, Kirton. Stole four touch screen tablets worth £599.96 belonging to Maplins. 12 month conditional discharge, £85 costs.

Wojiech Borys (25), of Fulney Avenue, Spalding. Two counts of defective tyre. £500 fine in total, £25 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Rafat Thoun (35), of Winsover Road, Spalding. Licence offence (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 5pts.

Linas Ruibys (20), of Bowthorpe Road, Wisbech. No insurance (Fosdyke Bridge). £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 6 months.

Sarah Lincoln (28), of Cekhira Avenue, Moulton Chapel. No TV licence. £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

John McCarthy (61), of Bridge Road, Sutton Bridge. No TV licence. £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

Jackie Moore (22), of High Street, Holbeach. No TV licence. £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

Mimdaucoas Patrauskas (27), of Hannam Boulevard, Spalding. No TV licence. £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

Reece Barton (27), of Penny Gardens, Kirton. No TV licence. £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.

Julie Savage (44), of Clarkson Avenue, Cowbit. No TV licence. £200 fine, £15 v/s, £90 costs.

A Polish resident is protesting after a police swoop on pavement cyclists in Spalding.

Holding a £30 fine ticket and a doctor’s prescription totalling £42 for pain relief and depression after previously being hit by a car while riding on the road, Monika Nowak came to the Lincolnshire Free Press office to object on behalf of about 20 other work colleagues who she claims were also made late for work as a result of Operation Oatmeal last Thursday.

They were stopped by police on a stretch of pavement along Pinchbeck Road between two cycle ways while on their way to Morrisons Abattoir in Pinchbeck.

*Full story in tomorrow’s Lincolnshire Free Press.

The taste is the same but customers could be forgiven if they had to look twice at Frankie and Benny’s in Spalding after a major refurbishment.

Managers hope its new conservatory, plush round tables and extra capacity will make the restaurant in Camelgate an attractive option for individuals and families looking for a place to eat out.

There is also additional seating at the bar and panoramic views of the whole restaurant for customers eating at its tables.

The new-look restaurant was given a VIP reopening by South Holland and The Deepings MP John Hayes before he and other guests had a choice of both American and Italian dishes from a varied menu.

Ros Elsworth from The Restaurant Group, owners of Frankie and Benny’s, said: “Guests enjoyed the soft tones of a 1950s-style live singer and were also entertained by an up-close magician who wowed every table.

“Tulip Radio presenters in Spalding came down and they will soon be entertaining guests live from the restaurant.

“Throughout our opening weekend, children enjoyed face painting, balloon modelling and a magician.

“Everyone had a great time and were looked after by the restaurant’s fantastic team.

“Frankie and Benny’s in Spalding is open as usual and we are looking forward to offering a great dining experience for everyone in its new-look restaurant.”

The restaurant is open every day from 9am when breakfasts such as American stack pancakes and eggs benedict are available.

Friends from far and wide met at St Mary’s Church in Pinchbeck to say their goodbyes to Tony Rivett of Pinchbeck Miniatures .

Tony (54) collapsed and died whilst out walking on Monday, June 3.

He was very well known, and highly thought of, in the dolls house and miniatures circuit for the exquisite items he made and decorated over the last 20 years.

His beautiful little miniatures were very much sought after and treasured throughout the world by discerning collectors.

After the service at St Marys some of his friends met at The Bull in Pinchbeck to celebrate his life, each telling of their own memories as a tribute to a very special gentleman.

Tony will be sadly missed and never forgotten by all those who knew him and there is no doubt that his miniatures will always bring him to mind.

Sutton Bridge residents can look forward to a more festive appearance in the village after parish councillors agreed to a new Christmas lighting for 2014.

The cost of the scheme is expected to be less than £10,000 but agreement is subject to the council having sufficient cash to fund new lighting.

At a council meeting on Tuesday, Spalding and District Chamber of Commerce president Phil Scarlett said the group was willing to help with the scheme after the success of new Christmas lighting in Spalding for 2012.

In a report to the council, Mr Scarlett said: “Sutton Bridge looked sad over the festive period (in 2012), with the only clue that it was Christmas being the lit tree outside St Matthew’s Church.”

A proposal to start the scheme this year was voted down by councillors because of other projects in the village they are committed to.

UPDATE TUESDAY 1PM: A fire at a workshop in Gedney Hill was caused by sparks from welding, according to blaze experts today.

The fire at a commercial workshop in Station Road badly damaged a Citreon car, cylinders and other items kept inside.

Crews from four fire stations spent about an hour tackling the blaze which broke out at about 3.20pm on Monday.

TUESDAY 12 NOON: Firemen spent about an hour tackling a blaze at a workshop in Gedney Hill which left the building and its contents badly damaged.

The blaze broke out at the workshop in Station Hill at about 3.20pm on Monday and firemen from Crowland, Holbeach and Spalding, used breathing apparatus and hose reels at the site.

A Citreon C2 car, cylinders and other items in the workshop were left severely damaged but the cause of the fire is at the moment unknown.

Badges from several vehicles parked in an area of Sutton Bridge have been stolen over the weekend.

The thefts took place in Pebble Close and Stanley Drive where badged from the front and back of the vehicles were taken some time between Saturday and Sunday.

Meanwhile, a vehicle parked in Churchfields Road, Folkingham, was damaged overnight between Sunday and Monday.

Finally, a commercial premises in High Street, Pointon, near Bourne, was broken into between 4.30am and 6am on Monday.

Anyone with information should call 101, quoting incident number 190 of July 1st (Sutton Bridge car badge thefts), 158 of July 1st (Folkingham vehicle damage) and/or 72 of July 1st (Pointon burglary).

Something should be done about Spalding’s ‘dowdy’ shop fronts.

That is the opinion of members of the Town Forum, with Eastern European shops the target of most the concerns.

Chairman Coun George Aley said: “I walk through the streets and I feel disillusioned when I see a lot of shops where you can’t tell whether they are closed or open.

“I’m wondering if there is any way we can speak to the owners.

“I just don’t think people will want to go in – it makes the town look dowdy.”

Harry Drury, representing the Spalding and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said he had visited several shops where the windows were covered in adverts and it was difficult to see in.

He said: “We want them to look open and welcoming. I know one of them has had a £100,000 refit, but still leaves the shutters down.

“In some cases doors are closed at the shops because it’s energy saving – in others windows are used for shelving to save on space and covered to deter shoplifters.

“At one shop things were moved around to install an oven to bake Polish bread on the premises.

“The owners don’t understand the problems we have with them because their customers know what they sell and will shop with them anyway.”

Coun Christine Lawton said she thought the foreign shops had a lot to offer.

She said: “I’ve tasted Polish bread and it is delicious.”

Coun Roger Gambba-Jones said: “They are not reliant on window shoppers. They think people know they are there and they will come.

“But they are Spaldonians, too, and they need to be reminded of that.”

The Rev Chas Sandhu, of the Lighthouse Church, suggested members invited one of the town’s integration groups, such as Linked2Gether – which in May held a community picnic in Ayscoughfee gardens to bring the towns diverse cultures together – to their next meeting.

He said: “Communication is a problem. We need to spend time with the Eastern European communities and negotiate with them.”

Mr Drury said he thought that would be an excellent idea. He said: “I know for sure they would be honoured to come here and sit with you and have these discussions.”

Council leaders in South Holland and The Deepings have vowed to protect frontline services despite facing budget cuts of ten per cent in 2015-16.

The Government’s spending review on Wednesday has left South Holland District Council and South Kesteven District Council, serving Bourne and Market Deeping, facing a budget fall of up to £600,000.

Exact figures will be known in two years’ time but both councils have pledged to protect residents from the impact of having less money to pay for services such as rubbish collection and leisure centres.

Coun Paul Przyszlak, deputy leader of South Holland District Council, said: “The spending review will mean more of the same for us and we’ll carry on looking to see where we can cut our cloth to live within our means.

“These cuts are two years away so we have time to get ourselves ready, but there are still difficult times ahead.

“So far, we’ve kept and will carry on trying to ensure cuts won’t affect services but it’s whether we can carry that on two or three years down the line because the longer the cuts go on, the harder it is not to cut service.”

South Kesteven District Council was allowed to put up council tax bills by £5 a year in April to safeguard frontline services in 2013-14.

Strategic director Daren Turner said: “At the moment, it isn’t clear how a ten per cent overall local government spending reduction will affect district authorities.

“But we have been preparing for this for some time now and we are working on the assumption that the reduction will mean the loss of between £500,000 and £600,000 to us.

“The mandate from the administration is to protect frontline services whenever possible and we are conducting a fundamental review of all spending to make sure it links to our priorities.”