TRISH TAKES FIVE: By award-winning blogger Trish Burgess

The perfect Sunday: a lie-in, full English breakfast, newspapers, roast dinner, a snooze in the garden...

Or how about donning scruffy clothes and joining your AmDram mates for a day of set-building?

I was so tempted by the former option but, sadly, manual labour was part of the deal I signed up to when I accepted the role of Gran in the next SADOS production of Family Planning. However, coffee was provided and fellow cast member, Nathan, had brought doughnuts and brownies so it wasn’t all 
bad.

Building the set before we reach the South Holland Centre is actually a very useful task. Rather than have months of acting in an empty space, trying to imagine where the doors will be, the set is constructed in our rehearsal shed before being taken down and re-erected in the theatre.

Probably the most complicated part of the set creation was the issue of how to create Gran’s bedroom upstairs, with the rest of the action occurring downstairs. There was a lot of discussion using theatre terms such as ‘flats’ and ‘sight lines’. Walls were constructed, a clever cutaway fashioned with a jigsaw and my bed was raised at one end using blocks so that the audience can see my lovely face. Everyone worked very hard whether they were the holding the drills or holding the walls steady.

The living room was painted a bright lemon but Gran’s room needed to have wallpaper as it’s specifically referred to in the script. Never having wallpapered in our lives, Dougie and I were given this job to do and we soon had to learn about pattern repeats and the swift elimination of bubbles. Dougie, reminded of his days in the operating theatre, started requesting me to pass him things – brush, tape measure, scalpel. Yes, scalpel. He preferred this to a Stanley knife for precision cutting. I felt as if I were in a scene from Holby City.

We very nearly did end up in casualty. Someone had an accident. That someone was the resident doctor, slicing his finger with a saw. He assured us it didn’t need stitches, only some glue but, unfortunately, his own bottle had dried up. You’d have thought with all the tool boxes the macho chaps had brought along, someone would have had a tube of Superglue. No. The day was saved by Colette, who keeps Superglue in her handbag at all times in case of acrylic nail breakages.

After a long day, tools were downed and we headed home, pleased with how much we had achieved. There is still some way to go, not least finishing the wallpapering and putting actual doors into the frames. It was a day of hard work but there was also a lot of laughter. We are building a set but, more than that, we are building a team.

You can follow Trish on Twitter @mumsgoneto and read her blog at www.mumsgoneto.blogspot.com

Seven unexploded bombs have been found on the seabed of The Wash by contractors building an off-shore wind farm.

DONG (Danish Oil and Natural Gas) Energy is installing 75 turbines on Race Bank – some 16.8 miles off Blakeney Point on the north Norfolk coast and 17.4 miles off Chapel St Leonards, north of Skegness.

Cables from the wind farm will come through marshland at Sutton Bridge and then go underground to a substation at Walpole in Norfolk.

A spokesman for DONG said: ““A pre-construction survey for the Race Bank offshore wind farm has so far identified a number of confirmed incidences of unexploded ordinance (UXO), with other possible cases still being checked.

“Following approved procedures, confirmed UXOs are marked with buoys and then, subject to permission being granted by the Marine Management Organisation, they will be safely detonated by a specialist contractor.”

Dredging boats have been moored at King’s Lynn.

Moulton Mill’s “Blue Mill Project” has been awarded £15,000 Heritage Lottery Fund cash for an exciting venture focusing on the origins of woad.

The plant was once grown as a source of blue dye.

The project is expected to enhance the visitor experience at Moulton Mill and it involves volunteers as well as artists Carol Parker and Angela Daymond.

The mill’s project manager, Janet Prescott, said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and are confident the project will raise the awareness of woad production and its importance in shaping the fens and its impact on those families associated with it.”

Vanessa Harbar, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund East Midlands, said: “Moulton Windmill is a gem of the Lincolnshire countryside, attracting visitors with its unusual history.

“The Heritage Lottery Fund is a long-term supporter of the windmill, having funded its original restoration, and this new investment will help better tell the important story of the woad industry to visitors.”

Moulton Windmill was built in 1822 and is the tallest working windmill in the UK standing at over 100ft to the top of the cap.

It attracts more than 20,000 visitors a year and is manned entirely by volunteers.

The Blue Mill project will give visitors a better insight into the social and economic history of the Fens as well as preserving valuable skills that would otherwise be lost.

The following decisions have been made 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 here are taken from the legal records held by the magistrates’ courts.

Boston Magistrates’ Court

July 23

Kristaps Mitenbergs (29), of Surfleet Road, Pinchbeck. Failing to give driver ID (Nettleham). £300 fine, £30 v/s, £150 costs, 6pts.

July 27

Nicolaj Komorov (53), of Laburnum Grove, Spalding. Drink driving (Spalding). Community order with alcohol treatment requirement, £60 v/s, £150 costs, £150 c/c/c, disqualified from driving for 36 months.

Richard McGaffin (34), of Arundel Road, Peterborough. Speeding (Crowland). £300 fine, £30 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

Frances Blyler (60), of River Terrace, Wisbech. Speeding (Whaplode). £100 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Ben Collings (21), of Clarkson Avenue, Cowbit. Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

July 29

Colin Grunnill (33), of Kiln Drive, Tydd St Mary. Drink driving (Boston). £110 fine, £20 v/s, £150 costs, disqualified from driving for 14 months.

Darius Petraitis (32) of West Parade, Spalding. Drink driving and failing to stop after an accident (Spalding). Community order with 150 hours unpaid work, £60 v/s, £85 costs, £150 c/c/c, disqualified from driving for 24 months.

Sergejs Neverovskis (29), of Hartley Street, Boston. Driving while disqualified (Spalding). Community order with 80 hours unpaid work, £60 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 6 months. No separate penalty for no insurance.

Vladimirs Senbruns (25), of Stonegate, Spalding. Stole two bottles of whiskey worth £73 belonging to Sainsbury’s (Spalding). Community order with drug rehabilitation requirement, £73 compensation, £60 v/s. Stole two bottles of fragrance worth £74 belonging to Hills (Spalding). Community order with drug rehabilitation requirement, £74 compensation. Breach of suspended sentence. Suspended sentence of 90 days imprisonment suspended for 9 months extended by 3 months.

Grantham Magistrates’ Court

July 13

Laura Rimane (29), of Spilsby Road, Boston. Driving while using a hand held mobile phone (Cowbit). £100 fine, £20 v/s, 3pts.

Richard Sadd (50), of Scotland Street, Stoke by Nayland. Driving while using a hand held mobile phone (Spalding). £35 fine, £20 v/s, £85, 3pts.

Harry Calderbank (23), of Spalding Road, Deeping St James. Assault (Market Deeping). Three weeks prison sentence forthwith consecutive to nine weeks activated on suspended sentence, £80 v/s.

Simon Gilbert (34), of Thames Road, Spalding. Carried three passengers in a motor vehicle when there were only two seats (Keal Cotes). £170 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts. Defective tyre. £170 fine.

David Large (43), of John Bates Close, Dereham. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Alexander Lowndes (30), of Swift Close, Peterborough. Driving while using a hand held mobile phone (Spalding). £300 fine, £30 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

July 20

Gary Parsons (62), of Manor Lane, Sleaford. Drink driving (Billingborough/Sleaford). £110 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, £150 c/c/c, disqualified from driving for 18 months.

William Saunders (39), of Swallow Hill, Bourne. No insurance (Thurlby). £325 fine, £33 v/s £85 costs, £150 c/c/c, disqualified from driving for 6 months. No separate penalty for driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

Lydon Smithers (26), of Bath Close, Bourne. Drink driving (Bourne). £350 fine, £35 v/s, £85 costs, £150 c/c/c, disqualified from driving for 20 months.

Nicolae Suta (30), of St James Park Road, Northampton. Stole alcohol worth £598 belonging to Tesco (Market Deeping). Two weeks prison sentence forthwith consecutive to suspended sentence activated, £80 v/s, £180 c/c/c.

Dovel Taylor (38), of James Road, Crowland. Drink driving (Bourne). £110 fine, £20 v/s, £150 c/c/c, disqualified from driving for 36 months.

Daniel Pethers (25), of Hammond Close, Wittering. Used threatening or abusive words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour (Morton). Three months conditional discharge, £20 v/s.

July 21

Karin Carling (55), of Laceby Road, Grimsby. Speeding (Moulton Seas End). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Aleksandrs Gubins (29), of Market Rasen Way, Spalding. No insurance (Holbeach). £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs 6pts.

Marius Zalinkevicius (30), of Ellen Crescent, Spalding. Failing to give driver ID (Boston). £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

Bogdan Rzasa (56), of Main Road, Deeping St Nicholas. Speeding (Whaplode). £135 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

July 22

Trevor Lyon (60), of Water Lane, Bourne. Speeding (Whaplode). £400 fine, £40 v/s, £85 costs, 4pts.

Ricky Stancer (36), of Taverners Mews, Long Sutton. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Kim Stammers (54), of Gledstanes Road, Barons Court, London. Speeding (Folkingham). £65 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Laura Atkinson (23), of Gayton Road, King’s Lynn. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £100 fine, £20 v/s, £30 costs, 3pts.

Dominic Hobson (43), of Newton Court, Stamford. Speeding (Whaplode). £135 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Tonia Humberstone (32), of Baulkins Drove, Sutton St James. £110 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts. No separate penalty for no MOT.

Mary Youngman (80), of Stanley Drive, Sutton Bridge. Driving without due care and attention (Sutton Bridge). £35 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 4pts.

July 28

Ana Carvalho (42), of Union Street, Boston. No insurance (Holbeach). £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

Kazimierz Koprowski (59), of Abbey Path, Spalding. Speeding (Whaplode). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

WARD’S WORLD By John Ward

Putting the rubbish bags out recently with household waste in black bag, recycling in green sack and nuclear isotope waste in the yellow one with the pretty black propeller design by the side of the road I heard the squeal of brakes and behold a large white van had come to rest before my very eyes.

He was lost and so I pointed yonder in the not too far off distance to the most glorious and wonderful A17 as mentioned on a lot of traffic warnings on the radio, so famous in its own right plus it accepts traffic from both directions. Then was the Master Stroke as used by the Derek and Rodney Trotter School of Salesmanship – or not.

Was I in the market for a new carpet as he had some ‘lovely carpet in the back that were surplus to the job he had been on and I could – joy of great joys – have one at a much reduced price’ nudge, nudge, wink etc and despite there was nothing on the goggle-box that was remotely entertaining at that time and he could fill that vacant gap, I declined his 
offer as I had no loose change on me.

In the past one of my then neighbours bought a ‘cheap carpet’ in much the same way allegedly from commercial contractors who were laying carpet in ‘an office block down the road’ (unspecified) and although he brought it all rolled up and tidy with a very nice line in secure banding that did not allow him to unroll it in the road which was the showroom so to speak, so once we unrolled it to fit and despite manoeuvring the furniture about in his dining room, there was no way we could cover the portion that spelt out ‘Welc me to The Roy l Hotel’ in red letters stamped upon it and you like to think the Royal Hotel did get kitted up eventually.

What I miss these days is door to door salesmen that were about in the last century that provided so much entertainment from tea sets to vacuum cleaners to canteens of cutlery (‘made in Sheffield of course Modom, via their Hong Kong workshops’) on offer to my favourite, the encyclopaedia salesman. Before the likes of looking on the internet to find things out like when was the last time you brushed your teeth via the popular social media sites, there were rather time consuming methods and encyclopaedias was one of them to gain that elusive knowledge thingy.

One sales exponent arrived on our doorstep and mum answered as he fanned out one volume to her of a possible set of 48 – they only carried one due to the weight etc – and if you shelled out more than £200 plus for the set you got a ‘free’ bookcase to store them on or if you liked to move them about a bit, a free truss. This bod pointed to one page at random and asked mum if she wanted to know the exact length, say, of the River Ganges. It was there but she stopped him and said he really needed to speak to Ken, two doors down with the blue front door, who worked on the railways but went fishing at the weekends as he would be interested in the river side of things to wit the man slowly went away with a glazed look in his eyes.

I still think mum would have had a bright future in the Diplomatic Service.

Spalding is one of six towns and cities that will welcome some of 13 new PCSOs to have qualified after a nine-week training programme with Lincolnshire Police.

The new recruits were presented with their PCSO powers cards by Chief Constable Neil Rhodes at a ceremony on Friday also attended by Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Hardwick, close family and friends.

Classroom-based theory, presentations, practical sessions and uniform inspections were some of the elements of the training programme which the PCSOs will now put into practice on the streets of Spalding, Boston, Horncastle, Grantham, Lincoln and Gainsborough.

PCSO Sam Evans, one of the new recruits, said: “We’ve had a fantastic nine weeks and we’re all now eager to get out into Lincolnshire’s communities and help to make a difference.”

“We had some fantastic input from guest speakers, both internal and external, including Victim Support, Tactical Roads Policing, Firearms, Community Safety and Neighbourhood Watch, Age UK, Rogue Traders and many more.

“We also visited the Force Control Room and Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue to help us understand more about our role within Lincolnshire Police and working with partner agencies.”

Fire crews have been called to a gate post on fire in Morton this morning.

A crew from Bourne were called to an area of East Lane just before 7.55am after reports of a gate post smouldering.

Firefighters used a water hose reel and an axe to put out the fire.

Spalding dad Michael 
Carratt held a charity supermarket bag pack – two years to the day of the operation that saved his life.

Brave Michael (36) raised £400.81 for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research at Morrissons in Pinchbeck and is now preparing for his next fundraiser – a skydive in September.

Michael, dad of Finlay and step-dad to Emily, is still recovering from chemotherapy following a stem cell transplant after being diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in March 2013.

Michael was rushed from his GP surgery to Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital, where chemotherapy was started immediately.

The following day he was transferred to Lincoln Hospital and then Nottingham, where he underwent three stages of chemotherapy.

Over the next few weeks and months he endured more chemotherapy and total body irradiation followed by a stem cell transplant.

Michael eventually left hospital in December 2013 just in time for Christmas. He married his sweetheart Stacey on July 2, 2014.

Determined to give something back after the great care he received, Michael is now taking a break from his Network Rail job as he prepares for the skydive with his father on Sunday, September 6.

He has already raised £1,949.87 of his £2,000 target on his ‘JustGiving’ page.

The total includes individual donations from friends of £100 and £200.

Talking about the bag pack, Michael said: “I’d like to thank the generous Spalding public. They have been great.”

Finlay’s school, Spalding Primary, also held a fundraiser for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and achieved £684.70 from a non uniform day, cake and chocolate sale.

To sponsor the skydive at Sibson Airfield visit www.justgiving.com/Michael-Carratt

High risk child offenders in south Lincolnshire are likely to re-offend when they come back into society – unless they have your support.

The warning comes as former Swineshead man Gary Taylor (48) was jailed for eight years for a string of “horrendous and harrowing” sexual assaults on children.

Taylor was sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court last week after admitting sexual activity in the presence of a child, causing and inciting children into prostitution and pornography and making indecent photographs of 
children. He also pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images of children, including extreme pornography and voyeurism.

At the same time, Karen McNulty, a former partner of Taylor’s of Boston, was given a prison sentence of four years ten months after previously admitting to charges of child sexual assault, sexual activity in the presence of a child and voyeurism.

Latest figures show there are nearly 700 registered sex offenders living in communities around the Lincolnshire.

But according to a Yorkshire and Humberside charity, YOU may hold the key to preventing re-offending just by being there to offer support and a listening ear to offenders.

Yorkshire and Humberside Circles of Support and Accountability (YHCOSA) is an innovative community response service working with high-risk child sex offenders with the aim of reducing the number of potential new victims – and it is looking for volunteers in the south lincolnshire area.

Tammy Banks, director of YHCOSA, said: “We know there are nearly 700 people who have convictions for sexual offences living in Lincolnshire.

“One day the two offenders from south Lincolnshire who were jailed last week will be released back into the community. If communities want to be able to stay safe, they need to be willing to be involved in making this possible.”

The organisation says social isolation and emotional loneliness are key factors in increasing the risk of re-offending.

Statistics for the county on the police.uk website show violence and sexual offences has been on the rise again since March, with 186 cases recorded from July 2014 to June this year.

Cases show a sharp rise in winter, peaking in December 2014 when there were 23 incidents.

Violence and sexual offences remain the second biggest problem facing police next to anti-social behaviour, with 17 incidents in June,

One former offender, now a core member of a Circle, said: “The most important thing for me is that I’m challenged on my behaviour. If I’m on my own no-one’s there to correct me.”

Others said: “Having a Circle has changed my life. All I knew about was offending, I have a different outlook now and believe with continued support I won’t re-offend.

“What would you rather have – someone with a Circle around them to keep them accountable or someone who’s free to do what they like unchecked?”

At the moment there is no Circle in the area, but as soon as volunteers are in place, police say they are ready to offer referrals. A spokesman said: “We expect to receive referrals for offenders from all over Lincolnshire and will initially need to focus on where we have volunteers. Circles can only run when we have enough volunteers from the local area.”

A member of the probation service is also hoping there will soon be a Circle in place in south Lincolnshire.

The spokesman said: “I was really unsure of the project before it started – concerns about what it could offer and volunteers being too soft, but I’m completely converted.”

A volunteer working in another part of the country said: “If I can sit here for an hour a week and it reduces the risk of someone re-offending, it’s worth it.”

Another said: “I have two children myself. I feel a responsibility to keeping them and others safe.”

CIRCLES ARE ORDINARY PEOPLE DOING AN EXTRAORDINARY JOB

Circles is coming to Lincolnshire thanks to a £2 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

This means that over the next four years nearly 200 more high-risk offenders in seven areas of England will receive support in the community once released from prison.

Locally, this funding means that Yorkshire & Humberside Circles of Support and Accountability (YHCOSA) will now be expanding into Lincolnshire.

YHCOSA is dedicated to breaking the vicious circle of re-offending.

Tammy Banks, director of YHCOSA, said: “This is an excellent opportunity for Lincolnshire. Research shows that where Circles do not exist, there is greater risk of further abuse to children.

“In partnership with local police and probation, we will ensure we offer Circles to the highest risk sexual offenders in your community. Our vision is ‘no more victims’.”

Circles is an approach which consists of ordinary members of the community who volunteer to sit in a weekly circle with an offender.

The offenders, or ‘core members’, are held to account for what they have done and given a safe place to talk about how they are feeling and thinking. The circles provide a place of support to be honest about triggers that could lead to reoffending.

Tammy said: “We know there are nearly 700 people who have convictions for sexual offences living in Lincolnshire and circles provides a positive way to help the community stay safe.

”Circles is an approach which consists of ordinary members of local communities who volunteer to sit in a weekly circle with an offender.

“Core members are held to account for what they have done and given a safe place to talk about how they are feeling and thinking. The Circles provide a place of support to be honest about triggers that could lead to re-offending.

“The volunteers are the magic ingredient. For a few hours a week each week these ordinary people do an extraordinary job.”

Circle volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds and do not need to have any specific previous experiences or qualifications.

They just need to be enthusiastic and emotionally mature. Volunteers receive comprehensive training and on-going supervision and support.

*If you are interested in volunteering email fo@yhcosa.org.uk or call 01904 630911.

WHO TO CALL IF YOU SUSPECT ABUSE

It is estimated that child sex abuse costs the UK £3.2bn a year.

* According to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCc), one in 20 children in the UK have been sexually abused.

* Nearly 30,000 registered offenders have been convicted of offences against children.

* Last year, 23,000 sexual offences against children were recorded.

* More than 2,800 children were identified as needing protection from sexual abuse.

* The NSPCC had 7,300 contacts about sexual abuse.

* One in three children sexually abused by an adult did not tell anyone.

* Over 90 per cent of sexually abused children were abused by someone they knew.

* More than 18,600 children talked to ChildLine last year about sexual abuse.

* One thousand young people talked to ChildLine last year about online sexual abuse.

Call the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000 and Childline on 0800 1111.

A fire crew from Spalding has been called to a car that was alight in Weston at luinchtime.

The car caught fire in Broadgate, near Baytree Garden Centre, at about 1.35pm.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used two water hose reels to put out the fire which was caused by an electrical fault in the dashboard.

SATURDAY 3.40PM: Person cut free from car after crash in Crowland

Firefighters have used cutting equipment to help one person trapped in a car which crashed in Crowland today.

Crews from the town, as well as Spalding, were called to Peterborough Road where a car had crashed just before 10.45am.

There is no news yet as to whether the person freed has been seriously hurt.

It is most unusual for us to communicate in this way. Our normal manner is to pen a press release in a slightly jovial style, in the hope that people detect the underlying serious message.

This, however, is a story that we felt should be expressed more directly.

Recently, we accepted care of a small group of pedigree kittens from a woman who had started breeding cats in the hope of making some income while staying at home.

The mother cat had contracted cat flu when the kittens were not yet old enough to be weaned.

When this happens, the kittens have to be taken away from their mother and bottle fed.

This leads to immune and nutritional deficiencies as the kittens grow, as well as social maladjustment when it is not handled adeptly.

Unfortunately, the woman did not understand the risks of cross-infection, and tried to reintroduce the mother and kittens.

When the mother was no longer able to nurse them, the woman found herself unable to cope with the role of surrogate mother.

Consequently, the kittens that arrived at our office were full of flu, as well as riddled with fleas and worms.

Some of the litter had already died, and the ones that made it to us were half-starved and caked in their own faeces.

One was severely dehydrated and would not have lasted the night without our intervention.

This is one of many similar cases that our volunteers have dealt with, but it perfectly illustrates the point that nobody should try to make a profit out of breeding cats, and nobody should support cat breeders by buying from them.

There are too many variables for it to be possible to be a profit-making responsible breeder, and when people risk an animal’s life with so many variables, they are not acting responsibly.

We apologise for bringing this to you in such a direct and forceful manner, but we hope you appreciate why we had to.

Photographs of the kittens would be too distressing to publish.

A man who has battled against cancer is hoping to give something back by putting on a concert.

Mike Wallace was due to have a routine knee operation in August last year but was in fact diagnosed with a 6cm tumour in his oesophagus.

The Tydd St Mary man lost half of his stomach during an 11-hour operation and underwent 18 weeks of chemotherapy.

But within weeks of 
being told the cancer had gone, Mr Wallace (68) is setting himself another challenge of singing at a charity concert in The Angles Theatre, 
in Wisbech, on Friday, 
October 2.

Mr Wallace, who “retired” from a band at the age of 19, will be singing songs he penned about his cancer journey with friend Tommy Loose.

The pair, who will also be launching an album, will be raising money for the Oeosphago-Gastric Cancer Team at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, along with the Macmillan Cancer Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn.

Mr Wallace said: “The people who treated me were wonderful to both me and my wife Lin.

“We have the best health service in the world. My surgeon would come in to see me four to five times a day and even came in on a Saturday to check on me after my temperature went up.

“The treatment I have had from these people has been brilliant and I want to put something back.”

Mr Wallace was due to go into Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital last year but his blood count was found to be low during pre-operative tests.

Despite having two units of blood, the problems persisted and Mr Wallace was booked in for further assessments at North Cambs Hospital, when the tumour was discovered in his oesophagus.

Mr Wallace was then transferred to the QEH under consultant Hugh Warren. He was also assigned two nurses.

He said: “What was wonderful was how they looked after my wife.

“Having cancer is not a pleasant experience but they made it a hell of a lot nicer.”

He was also transferred to Edward Cheong and his team at Norwich.

Here Mr Wallace had his operation which removed half of his stomach, along with 34 lymph nodes, but only two were found to be infected.

Mr Wallace said: “I was lucky to get the best team in the country.”

Mr Wallace penned songs throughout his journey and will be performing them along with music from the 60s onwards at the concert, which will start at 7pm for 8pm. Tickets are £10 from 01945 474447.

He and Mr Loose will also be launching their CD, When I Found Out, which costs £5.

A charity tin containing donations of more than £500 was stolen during a break-in at a takeaway in Market Deeping.

At 2.30am on Friday last week, a man broke into The Curry Hut in High Street, Market Deeping, smashing the bottom panel of the front door. He got away with a William and Kate money box, containing cash that had been collected for local charities.

Police believe that the thief approached the takeaway and left the area via Godsey Lane.

Takeaway owner, Jabeer Shabaaz was shocked to find out the news. He said: “To steal a charity box is disgusting. I hope that the police find whoever did this.”

Jabeer is offering a £100 reward to anyone who can provide any information in relation to the theft, which will lead to an arrest and conviction.

The takeaway, which is located opposite Market Deeping Police Station, raises funds for a number of local charities throughout the year. Customers who visit the takeaway make generous donations to help local causes.

Anyone with any information regarding this crime should contact Lincolnshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 313 of Friday, August 21.

A 35-year-old woman has been seriously injured after a car crashed into a lamppost on the A16 in Wyberton earlier today

The woman was driving a red Porsche Boxster convertible when it left the road near its junction with Tytton Lane East and struck a lamppost shortly after 9am this morning.

Firefighters helped the woman from the car before she was treated by paramedics and then airlifted to Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, with serious injuries.

No one else was in the car at the time and an area of the A16 between the Spirit of Endeavour and Kirton roundabouts has been closed to allow collision investigators to carry out enquiries.

Anyone who saw the collision and hasn’t as yet spoken with police should call the Collision Witness Hotline on 01522 558855, quoting incident number 148 of August 30.

Meanwhile, a section of the A52 in Horbling has been closed after a crash involving one vehicle at Bridge End Causeway.

There is no news yet as to when the crash happened and whether anyone is seriously injured, but emergency services did attend the scene.

Last Thursday, while walking along Winsover Road near to the post office, I was almost knocked down by a cyclist who hit my arm as she rode past me on the pavement, with no apology from her for illegally riding on a pedestrian footpath.

I had to wait for my family to return and, while there, a further four bike riders went past on pavements on both sides of the road within half an hour.

Our police force are rarely seen in the town and they should get out of their cars and take a walk about to catch these people.

I know they cannot cover every road but I have seen police cars drive past cyclists riding on the pavement and this is when they should stop and reprimand these law breakers.

These people are not cyclists but bike riders, as club cyclists would not break the law and endanger pedestrians’ lives.

Until we get a police presence with on-the-spot fines, this practise of riding on the pavements will not stop. It continues to get worse day by day.

Something must be done now and not when pedestrians are injured.

I moved to Spalding 20 years ago when it was a nice, peaceful town. Unfortunately, it is now a hovel and full of people who have no respect for the law.

When is something going to be done to restore law, order and respect for one’s fellow citizens in Spalding?

Keep-fit instructor Kathleen Knipe is looking for new members for her class for older women.

Kathleen runs a friendly weekly session every Tuesday from 10am to 11.30am at Bourne Methodist Church Hall.

Call her on 01778 560574 for more information and to book your place.

Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Hardwick has pledged there will be no cuts in frontline jobs or services – provided the Government adopts a new funding formula.

Mr Hardwick revealed he is ‘cautiously optimistic’ that the Government will end what he called ‘years of discrimination’ against the Lincolnshire force by introducing a fairer funding deal.

He said the force was this week finalising an official reply to the Government’s latest proposals.

Mr Hardwick did not reveal any details but said the proposals were much fairer and would hopefully not lead to any additional reductions in Lincolnshire’s budget.

He added the formula would protect jobs and, in turn, mean the police could continue to provide a full range of frontline services.

However, he did sound a note of caution about PCSOs who, he pointed out, were funded with help from Lincolnshire County Council.

Mr Hardwick said: “There is absolutely no doubt that when it comes to funding, this force has been discriminated against for a long time.

“We have been consistently praised by the highest authority in the land. All our officers do an absolutely first class job but it has become increasingly difficult.

“Essentially, we have been penalised because we are one of the best forces in 
the country.”

Mr Hardwick said it appeared the Government was ready to ‘listen and act’ to Lincolnshire’s appeals for a fairer deal.

He added: “If you’d asked me a few weeks ago, I was pessimistic. Now, I am cautiously optimistic.”

Mr Hardwick said he hoped the force might even receive additional funding.

Regarding PSCOs, Mr Hardwick said much depended on the level of contribution the county council could 
continue to make.

Lincolnshire is one of the largest counties in the country but has a relatively small population – the criteria on which the Government’s funding formula is based.

The cash-strapped force was expected to axe hundreds of jobs – including frontline officers – because of on-going reductions in funding.

It costs around £113million a year to run Lincolnshire Police with the Government supplying around half that figure in grants.

The force was expecting a grant of £62.2million for the current financial year (2015-16) but received £59.2million.

Earlier this year, Chief Constable Neil Rhodes warned the entire future of the force was in doubt after claiming on-going budget cuts would lead to a predicted £10.4million shortfall in 2018.

Mr Rhodes said the force would have to axe a fifth of frontline officers.

He also warned the reductions meant there would be serious implications for security and public safety.

THOUGHTS OF A FRUITCAKE: By Carolyn Aldis

I am not very competitive… I really struggled when my daughters were babies and I found myself being dragged into competitions with other mums about the various stages their babies were at. These mums were proud of their babies as if they had something to do with it.

When my eldest was 6 months, I went to a toddler group. The first conversation went like this:

“Is she sitting up yet?” A woman asked me.

“ Yes.” I mumbled through my custard cream.

“ Aaah, that’s nice...how long has she been sitting up?”

“Erm, I think she was about 4 and a half months...” I said vaguely and felt my baby jump as the woman suddenly leant forward.

“That’s too early, she might have damaged her back. Oi, Lucy, this woman’s baby sat up at 4 and a half months...”

Lucy, sitting with her chubby baby boy on her lap looked at me as if I had 2 heads.

“ Ooh, you want to be careful if you force them to sit up too early...”

They both looked at me accusingly and I sat there dumbfounded. Force them? How on earth do you force a baby to sit? I was relieved as another woman came to join us with her bigger baby.

“Alright, girls, guess who’s standing up?”

The other women smiled as she held her baby’s hands and stood him on the floor. He grinned as his mother said “Now watch....no hands!”

She let him go and he stopped smiling, wobbled and fell face first into a box of toys.

“Oh, he’s just tired. How many teeth has she got?”

She motioned to my daughter on my lap.

“None at the moment… “ I replied.

“ No teeth? Mine was born with teeth. Is she crawling?”

“ No, she’s only 6 months.”

She gave me a withering look.

“They can if they have proper stimulation… she isn’t very strong then.”

I felt affronted and then Lucy piped up.

“She reckons her baby’s been sitting up since she was 4 and a half months, Ann...”

Ann looked suspicious. “Put her down then, so I can see her sitting up, all by herself.”

I felt flustered. My daughter was incredibly clingy and the reason she was on my lap was because she would scream if I put her down.

“She’s ok here, thanks...” I began.

“Oh right, your baby can sit on your lap ok, but not the floor.” She laughed and the other women laughed too.

Reluctantly, I put my daughter down on the playmat. She sat perfectly upright and then she started howling, so loudly we all moved forward and I scooped her up, cross at having to prove myself.

“I expect her back hurts, that’s why she cried.” One of the child experts said and at that point, I left.

I knew there was no point competing, they all develop differently, some faster than others, but that’s ok, it isn’t a race.

My daughters have grown up well, even though they sat up, crawled, walked, learned to talk, learned to read and write at different ages.

Who knew...

HAYES IN THE HOUSE: By MP John Hayes

The great challenge of reconciling tradition with aspirations is ever evident. How we ensure that people can realise their ambitions without unhappy consequences for the things we hold dear obliges careful consideration.

Perhaps the most vivid illustration of this tension is development. Many people are instinctively resistant to new planning applications – and rightly so, given that post-war Britain is peppered with identikit housing estates superimposed on existing communities with little consideration for local building materials or vernacular architectural styles.

It’s understandable, therefore, that sensible people want no more. Erroneously derided as ‘NIMBYs’, the brave souls who object to unsuitable buildings and structures brutally imposed on rural communities – particular in our flat Fenland landscape - are the true defenders of the countryside.

Development, where necessary, should be incremental; reflecting and respecting what is already there. We must better integrate new buildings into their existing surroundings - flowing with the landscape, so protecting and enhancing the beauty of our natural environment.

This emphasis on development as part of a continuum is perhaps best summed up by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, who wrote in ‘A Vision for Britain’ that the built environment “must be inspired by tradition and the laws of nature.”

The easily grasped, though utterly crass, notion that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ has been used to justify much of the ugliness imposed on our country by careless planners over recent decades – and still some people laud the brutalist tower blocks that blighted lives, destroyed communities and disfigured many town and cities.

How thankful we should be to live here, in an area free from that particular sort of soulless ubiquity; rural Lincolnshire being characterised by market towns 
and precious villages set against our glorious Fenland skies.

Nevertheless we can do more to protect the character of the Lincolnshire fens. That’s why I have long campaigned against the imposition of industrial wind turbines on communities that don’t want them; why I continue to fight large scale industrial solar parks in the open countryside; and why I have asked South Holland District Council to produce a local design guide and area specific design appraisals to inform the aesthetics of new development in our district.

Ultimately, a civilisation is largely defined by what it builds. How we see the Roman Empire or Ancient Greece is shaped by what they left behind for those born later - places to live, work, meet or worship. All successful civilisations have looked beyond the mere utility of immediate practicalities, to consider form as well as function.

Those of us who know that our sense of place shapes our sense of worth, know too that the built environment is inseparable from individual and communal wellbeing. Our collective value depends on the things that we require to be happy, healthy and secure – such as family, community, and the beauty of our surroundings.

Perhaps, when looking at the challenges ahead, we’ll take care to cast a look back and learn.

This is a message for the hundreds of disabled people in South Holland – disabled people who long for the companionship and excitement of activities enjoyed by many others in our community.

There are, within range of Spalding, two Sailability projects that enable disabled people between the ages of five and 50 to enjoy the exhilaration of sailing.

Help is available to get you to Sailability at Rutland Water and Peterborough.

Experienced help is available to sail with you and keep you safe.

Phab in Spalding and the Rotary Club of South Holland have long been supporters of Sailability, and we believe there are many more disabled people in this area who could enjoy the activity.

If you’re disabled and would like to know more about Sailability, please call me on 01775-723999. We have the necessary information and we can help.