I'd Rather be in Deeping February 2023

Welcome

If there was one thing not in short supply this Christmas it was the generosity of spirit that pervaded throughout the community. Rotarians and Lions were out with the Santa Sleigh visiting all roads in the Deepings, sometimes braving sub-zero temperatures, while Round Table made sure that the surrounding villages had a visit from Santa too – over £9,500 was raised for the charities to distribute to good causes throughout the year. Meanwhile the Facebook group Deep-in Christmas, the brain child of Raechell Culff, unleashed a whole tide of goodwill with Deeping Cares, Tesco, Insideout Home Store and many individuals stepping up to the plate to spread the good cheer. The community pushed the boat out with their participation in the Living Advent Calendar Windows and light decorations that made the town and villages sparkle. In the immortal words of Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: ‘I will honour Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.’ Not a bad sentiment to take with us into 2023!

Judy Stevens

l-r Gina Jones, Keith Warren, Chris Warren, Brenda Gottelier, Pam Byrd and Julie Ellis

Matt Holland

Curves galore as a trio of classic cars meet at Tesco car park with a couple of Morris Minors on the way to a Morris Minor Owners Club event at Spalding, contrasting with a Volkswagen Beetle. Rotarian, Amrit Mistry presents two Grimethorpe tickets to the lucky winners, Mr & Mrs Martin, of the November ‘I’d rather be in Deeping’ competitionthey answered the question correctly that the brass band was formed in 1917.

The Deepings Swimming Club squad of 13, aged from 9 to 25, won 18 medals over the two days of the City of Norwich Open Meet at the end of last year. The Team competed against City of North, Team Ipswich, City of Ely, Great Yarmouth, North Norfolk Vikings and Thetford Dolphins at the Sportspark pool at the University of East Anglia. Deepings’ newly appointed boys’ team captain Jacob Briers led by example, winning five medals from his six events in the boys 14yrs age group. He achieved Lincolnshire county qualifying times in all six races, which were also all swum in new personal bests.

Full

Traders in Market Gate came together when a water leak on a busy Saturday before Christmas presented a safety hazard and caused a temporary closure at Pets Pantry and has meant that Sound Advice has had to move their business to the Community Centre for the time being. Jayne Tattershall of Pets Pantry said ‘We had so much support from our neighbours and the Fire Brigade were fantastic so we were soon up and running again and very thankful for the support we received.’

squad: Emma Affleck, Chloe Bellis, Jacob Briers, James Cash, Millie Edwards, Charlotte Jenkinson, Lucy Jenkinson, Mieke McDonald, Isabella Reynolds, George Shaw, Annabel Shepherd, Oliver Shepherd and Isobel Vause.

The Deepings School welcomes new Headteacher, Matt Watling.

Sharon and Nick Green blew away the Christmas cobwebs with some Frognall litter picking which yielded 134 cans!

Linchfield Community Primary School took 29 children from Key Stage 2 to Sheffield Arena for their final performance in Young Voices which for over 25 years offers young people the opportunity to perform in full scale arena concerts.

Introductory sessions

Patrick Archer was welcomed as a new member to The Deepings Lions in November. l-r Vince Sterland, Patrick Archer, Club’s President Lynne Roberts.

The Granary is the perfect, adaptable backdrop. Whether you want your special day to be wonderfully romantic, dreamily intimate or daringly different, here you can let your imagination run wild.

Uncover the UK on Shaws of Maxey’s carefully planned Great Days Out and Door2Door Holidays, packed full of exciting destinations and interesting itineraries. Choose from 120+ days out starting from just £15 and 40 UK holidays starting from £450 in their brand new 2023 brochure. Contact their friendly team for your free copy or download it online today. 01778 342224 | www.shawscoaches.co.uk | enquiries@shawscoaches.co.uk

Former Watch Manager at Market Deeping Fire Station, Mickey Culff had a double lung transplant just before Christmas which has given him a new lease of life. Having been diagnosed with Welders Lung in 2020, Mickey was put on the transplant list when his condition deteriorated. After five false alarms, it was sixth time lucky for Mickey who is also a foster carer with his wife, RaeChell who was previously a PCSO in the town.

One of the top areas in the country to see house prices rise, DSJ has seen prices rise by 19% in the past year according to a study by Rightmove. Meanwhile, close by Stamford has been ranked by The Telegraph as having the fourth best high street in the country and Peterborough Cathedral is in the final ten Cathedrals to find Britain’s favourite cathedral treasure. You can vote here: https://www.englishcathedrals.co.uk/ cathedrals/favourite-cathedral-treasures/

Not only are Age Concern offering a selection of shopping trips this month but they are also taking a bus trip to Baytree Garden Centre on Tues 21st Feb. In time to see springtime primulas and primroses, there will be time for lunch and an optional visit (additonal £6) to the Owl & Wildlife Centre. Pick ups starting at 9.30am suggested donation £5. Shopping Trips: Weds 1st Morrisons/Aldi Stamford Weds 8th Sainsburys & Vine House Farm,Spalding, Weds 15th Morrisons/Lidl Stamford, Weds 22nd Lidl/Tesco/Sainsburys/Bourne - pick ups from 9.30am - all shopping trips £4. To book ring Sandra 07773453039

Ranked No 2 in UK for boiler supplier in 2020

boiler

New Year - time for a

Worcester Bosch accredited installer for the Deepings and face of Worcester Bosch 2012

The 2022 Snow Ball sponsored by Devonport’s Kitchens & Bathrooms and Pet Stop raised £3,600 for Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice. The annual event organised by two local business women Paula Machin and Emma Lannigan has raised nearly £10,000 in the last two years with the support of local businesses and their friends.(l-r Sarah Devonport, Paula Machin, Emma Lannigan, Helen Kingston from Thorpe Hall).

This year there is a national challenge to recruit new bell ringers to ring for the Coronation. Bellringing is a fun and an interesting hobby for young (aged 10+) and old alike. Although linked to the church, ringers do not have to be churchgoers but and aim to ring for the main church services and also at times of national importance. Ringing is an enjoyable pursuit providing a gentle physical and mental workout as part of a team and provides regular new challenges. It has been described as the “ultimate heavy metal” because church bells are the loudest and heaviest musical instruments in the world. St Guthac’s regularly practice on Thursday evenings from 7.00 p.m. More info Keith Brown email: kbconsulting10@googlemail.com or call/text on 07957 336764

The Turkish Grill opened in Rycroft Avenue, DSJ next to Sams Off Licence, to great acclaim.

The Christmas House in Spalding Road DSJ.

Image: David Pearson

Image: Bill Fisher

For the first time the Deepings Bargain Hunt has doubled the investment put in by I’d rather be in Deeping magazine and with generous help from Jessica Spencer of Stamford Auction Rooms, who waived her commission, and the stall holders at Market Deeping Antiques Centre £100 has become £204! The beneficiaries will be St James Deeping Signal Box Rebuild Group, who will add £94 to their coffers, and the Maxey Charity chosen by Carol and Tory from Shaws Coaches, who made £112 for the Charity.

The selection of vintage and later pill/trinket boxes, including a Capodimonte example chosen by Tory and

Carol, proved to be the stars of the show – returning a profit of £70 for a £10 investment. The Royal Crown Derby Imari patterned dish was disappointing on the day, reaching the hammer price of just £10 for an investment of £16.75.

A pair of vintage riding boots, black leather with a tan top coupled with a Brown, Muff & Co of Bradford hat box with a bowler hat by Joshua Turner of London performed well for Lynda and Stuart of the Signal Box Group with a hammer price of £50; the couple had originally bought the two items for £33.

The Nachtmann crystal thistle form candlesticks with hexagonal bases, engraved with the maker’s name, (18cms

high) that had caught Lynda’s eye right away, also attracted the attention of an auction room buyer – maybe with thoughts of Christmas on the horizon – and they reached a hammer price of £22 from an original investment of £8.

So Carol and Tory from Shaws Coaches were victors on the day, and Lynda and Stuart of the St James Deeping Signal Box Rebuild Group were very creditable runners up! And of course the Charities were the real winners! Proof if proof were needed that you can pick up a bargain or two at Market Deeping Antiques Centre. I’d rather be in Deeping will raise a New Year glass to that!

Lynda and Stuart Hall

Carol and Tory of Shaws

Jessica Spencer

George Henry Dean Meet

Let me introduce you to George Henry Dean – so imperious a character that when, as Clerk to the School Board he was charged to recruit new teachers, he wrote to one applicant, Mr Trinder, ‘I see a train from your part (Blandford, Dorset) reaches Waterloo Station at 11.00, and I will be there in the Refreshment Room if there is one and if not I will walk to the Booking Office. You will probably recognise me by tinted spectacles and long ulster coat.’

Well, the interview was successful and in his letter of confirmation, George Dean wrote, ‘The Board understands that you very shortly intend marriage, and the Board require their Master to be married.’ There had been 60 applicants for the post of Master at the Boy’s School after Mr Warren had left the role on his marriage to Ophelia Titley, Mistress of the Girl’s School. George Dean had written to them effusively, ‘You see the result of your labours and the neighbourhood see it too.’ was keen that their successor should fill a positive role in the community and asked specifically if Mr Trinder could sing and if so what voice and would he be willing to sing in the Choir? The answer was clearly in the affirmative!

Baker’s son George Dean had swept into Deeping St James as a 20-year-old with his 18-year-old bride, Celia (née Burke). He had been a Pupil Teacher in Greenwich and the wedding had been held at St John’s Church, Deptford. C.R Burchnall described him as ‘a widely read scholar, masterful, dictatorial and ambitious, and was the driving force in putting the 1870 Education Act into local operation’.

Behind every great man is a great woman, so it is said, and Celia, the daughter of mariner James, was no exception. She had attended teacher training school at Preston in Sussex, had classical music training and was a proficient organist, all attributes that she put good use in raising her brood of eleven and in supporting her husband in his endeavours.

Initially George worked in the Priory Church Hall which housed the DSJ Church of England Infants’ School from 1861-65; he was Master and his wife

Celia was Mistress. It had been set up by the Rev. John George for the poor of the parish and each scholar made a weekly payment of one penny. George Dean was then promoted to Master of the Boy’s School when it opened in November 1866. This was celebrated with a tea followed by a concert at which there was a large attendance. Miss Hubbard was at the pianoforte, Miss Jackson played the harp and George Dean the harmonium. Mr Pimlot from Langtoft gave several solos on the cornet and piccolo.

Ten years later George resigned from his teaching post to become Clerk of the Deeping St James School Board which included the Boys’, Girls’ and two Infant Schools. In his view he was ’the Board’ signing one letter of appointment, just one of 500 pieces of correspondence he issued from 1877-88: ‘As the entire management of the schools is delegated to me, and the Board hold me responsible for their success or otherwise, I trust I shall find in you a cordial seconder in everything for the School’s welfare.’ Not only was he responsible for engaging teachers but for arranging salaries and living arrangements and chasing up absentees from school. He had no trouble in finding supply teachers as either his wife or one of his daughters would step up to the role. He was also responsible for the formation of School Boards in Deeping St Nicholas, Tallington, Northborough and Maxey.

George was also Board Inspector, and held appointments as an Accountant, Estate Agent, Assistant Overseer, Vestry Clerk, Collector of taxes and poor rates and Agent for the Scottish Widows Life & Lion Fire Offices and Britannia Fire Insurance. After the 1894 Local Government Act formed the Parish Council with Lord Burghley in the Chair, George became the Parish Clerk, ‘paid no more than £20’.

It was thought that about the time that he took on his position at the Boys School he moved his family into Welland House, 82 Church Street. It had a long garden leading down to Church Walk, part of which formed a bowling green. Proud of his garden, in 1876 George advertised for a mole catcher at one penny an acre – they were reported to be the scourge of the neighbourhood!

Picture taken in 1900 Back Row l-r Herbert Dean John Dean, Ivan Reynolds , T Holding and Hugh Dean. Front Row l-r George Henry Dean George Hector Dean.

George Dean

In April 1890 the Parish Vestry meeting wished to appoint a highways surveyor and a contest took place between George Dean and Mr Gunn. After a day polling in the Vicar’s schoolroom when both individuals were thought to be neck and neck, George Dean pulled ahead and won by 37 votes. The result was announced to great cheering outside and George’s supporters carried him home in a chair, shoulder high. On reaching Welland House he addressed and thanked his supporters promising to ‘give able bodied men who worked on the roads the same as the farmers’ and to ‘spend all the parish money in the parish’.

Celia and George had thrown themselves into the social life of the village from the outset. In January 1894 it was recorded that they were honorary guests of The Mutual Improvements Society at their annual soiree attended by 90 people. Ten ladies had supplied tables laden with all sorts of delicious offerings. The members then looked at a collection of stereoscopic slides and admired an elaborate writing desk which had previously been presented by the teachers and scholars to the Vicar. The Choir sang and led the singing of the National Anthem after refreshments had been served at nine o’clock.

Penny readings, popularised by Charles Dickens, took place over a number of weeks in March 1865 in the Vicar’s schoolroom, the readers being Mrs Marter, James Kelly Junior and George Dean who also lead the choir in pieces of music which interspersed the readings. George Dean was keen not just to educate the children of Deeping St James but the adults as well and in November 1878 he presided over a lecture given by Joseph Simpson of Newport Pagnell on ‘George Stevenson’s Life & Work’. Interesting diagrams illustrated the talk and the Church choir performed a selection of songs in their usual ‘spirited style’.

George and Celia Dean formed the driving force behind the building of the Institute, raising money for the build which began in March 1885. Not only did George’s community spirit extend to cerebral matters but he was also the manager of the Deeping Fire Engine and in March 1889 attended a fire at Elijah Dixon’s hay store under the workshop. A slate fell on his helmet but no one else being hurt the fire was soon put out.

George Dean vehemently disapproved of the consumption of alcohol and continually wrote to the Council and attended meetings to get the pubs closed earlier. This did not endear him to the publicans of the village and one accused him of being ‘an old wind bag’. During his life he moved from being a Churchman to being a Methodist, from being a Conservative to being Liberal.

His eldest children, Ellen and George, both followed their mother and father in becoming Pupil Teachers but in October 1881 Ellen succeeded in gaining the 32nd seat in 40 chosen out of 1,500 competitors for a situation as a Clerk in the General Savings Bank. She moved to Battersea to live with her brother George who by this time was an Assistant School Master, while their sister Flora moved with them to act as housekeeper. Their brother John George moved to live with his siblings on his appointment as Clerk in an auctioneer’s office, and their sister and scholar Grace also moved in. Emmeline attended Whitelands Training College in the Kings Road, Chelsea and her brother George Hector was a successful candidate of the Intermediate Examination of Arts at London University.

Meanwhile, back in Deeping, George Dean purchased land at auction and also rented eleven acres of arable land from the late Mr Cunnington. In November 1892 a large meeting of agriculturalists from Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Rutland was

Wedding of John Dean in 1900. Back Row l-r I Reynolds best man, Ann Dean, John Dean , George Dean, Sister of the bride. Front Row Mrs Celia Dean, Annie LLoyd bride , Mr and Mrs Lloyd

convened to ‘consider the present serious depression’. Mr Dean moved that ‘an association be formed having as its objective the improvement by all legitimate means of the circumstances of those connected to agriculture’. The motion was carried. In March of the same year George Dean was returned unopposed as County Councillor for Maxey.

It was a family affair just after Christmas in 1892 when Flora married Thomas Holding of London. She was given away by her father and her sisters Emmeline, Celia, Catherine and Grace were bridesmaids. Brother of the groom, Evan, was best man and brother of Flora, George Hector, played several voluntaries on the organ before the ceremony and the wedding march as the couple left the church. A reception followed at Welland House and the couple set up home in London where Thomas was a schoolmaster. Two years later, George Hector married Henrietta Tait at St Marks Church Battersea Rise. In 1895 Herbert Dean married Eleanor Shelton, eldest daughter of the late J.C. Shelton of Market Deeping. The ceremony took place at St Guthlac’s and the couple set up home in Desborough, where Herbert was a Chemist and Druggist. In 1896 it was the turn of Emmeline to marry at the Priory Church. The groom was Thomas Reynolds, an accountant-solicitor and after a reception in a large marquee in the grounds of Welland House, the couple set up home in Wandsworth.

Back at home, George Henry joined Metcalf Auctioneers, serving in the office. In the following year he bought Eastgate Villa (188 Eastgate) along with its garden and barn and left his childhood home. The house was burgled in 1898 when an intruder entered the house through the front window facing the street. Fortunately the locks resisted the efforts of the robber who was successful in taking a purse containing seven shillings and a pair of boots. Inspector Dennis of Market Deeping had discovered a strange youth had crossed the station about 5.30am en route for Crowland. He was traced to Spalding and then to Peterborough where he was

arrested by the City Police. The prisoner was Thomas Hosgood, aged 15, of Plumstead, Kent, who confessed to his crime.

At home only Edith and Grace (now a teacher herself) remained with their parents; May and Celia were teaching in London and Hugh was a bank clerk also in the capital, marrying Blanche Doggett at St Anne’s Wandsworth in 1906. John George had married Annie Lloyd in Chester in 1900.

It was time for George Henry to shed some of his responsibilities and in 1899 he gave up his Eastgate farm, auctioning 10 horses, 52 long wool sheep, 25 beasts, 50 pigs and various farming implements. In October 1901 he bought another house in Eastgate with three acres of pasture land for £260. But he continued to resign from his posts, in 1903 as School Board Clerk after 40 years, and in 1905 as a Rate Collector. By 1911 he had moved from Welland House and was living at Rosebrook in Eastgate with his wife and two daughters.

On 13th September 1912 George Henry Dean passed away at the home of his daughter Flora Holding in Enfield. He didn’t recover from an operation for an internal complaint he had undergone in 1911. He was 71 years of age and had an impressive career in public service. He had been an Alderman of the Soke of Peterborough County Council, Vice Chairman of the Education Committee, Justice of the Peace, Chairman of Peterborough District Council and a very active member of the Peterborough Board of Guardians.

After his death his daughter Grace married bank manager Robert Spencer in Wandsworth and Celia and daughter Edith moved south of the river also, to Wimbledon. George Henry Dean left an illustrious legacy and financially £4210 in his will. Celia died seven years later in 1919.

Welland House today

How the house was in Mr Deans day

DEEPING ST JAMES PHARMACY

DEEPING ST JAMES PHARMACY

DEEPING ST JAMES PHARMACY

fast and efficient wholesaler service to enable us to fulfil all the prescriptions promptly. We also keep a wide range of over-the-counter medicines and also vitamins and mineral supplements

Our other services include

● We offer blister pack medication to patients who meet the criteria.

● Flu vaccinations will be available this winter as a pre-book or drop-in service.

● NHS unwanted medicine service, where you can return all unwanted medicines to the pharmacy where we will dispose of them safely.

● Emergency supplies: if you need one of your regular medicines in an emergency and you are unable to contact your doctor, we may be able to help.

We are an independent pharmacy giving patients a one-to-one service. We like to model ourselves on the old community pharmacy where patients get to know us and you will always see a familiar face. Here at Deeping St James Pharmacy, we are proud to be part of the community and are always striving to give the community the best service open to them.

Come in and say hello, we’d be very glad to see you and assist you with anything you need.

Deeping St James PE6 8NT

deepingstjamespharmacy@aah-n3.co.uk

We understand how important it is to speak face-to-face with a pharmacist about your medicines and prescriptions. Our services give you the chance to chat to a pharmacist about your concerns, while getting expert advice on how to impove your health in our private consultation room.

JANUARY 2021

We are an independent pharmacy giving patients a one-to-one service. We like to model ourselves on the old community pharmacy where patients get to know us and and you will always see a familiar face. Here at Deeping St James Pharmacy, we are proud to be part of the community and are always striving to give the community the best service available to them.

We stock a wide range of prescription medications and dressings from all the main brands. We keep a comprehensive stock of all medicines and use a fast and efficient wholesaler service to enable us to fulfill all the prescriptions promptly. We also keep a whole range of over the counter medicines and also vitamins and other mineral supplements.

*Come

fast and efficient wholesaler service to enable us to fulfil all the prescriptions promptly. We also keep a wide range of over-the-counter medicines and also vitamins and mineral supplements

WOur other services include

We are an independent pharmacy giving patients a one-to-one service. We like to model ourselves on the old community pharmacy where patients get to know us and and you will always see a familiar face. Here at Deeping St James Pharmacy, we are proud to be part of the community and are always striving to give the community the best service available to them.

e are an independent pharmacy giving patients a one-to-one service. We like to model ourselves on the old community pharmacy where patients get to know us and and you will always see a familiar face. Here at Deeping St James Pharmacy, we are proud to be part of the community and are always striving to give the community the best service available to them.

Our other services include

• We offer blister pack medication to patients who meet the criteria.

fast and efficient wholesaler service to enable us to fulfil all the prescriptions promptly. We also keep a wide range of over-the-counter medicines and also vitamins and mineral supplements

● We offer blister pack medication to patients who meet the criteria.

● Flu vaccinations will be available this winter as a pre-book or drop-in service.

We understand how important it is to speak faceto-face with a pharmacist about your medicines and prescriptions. Our services give you the chance to chat to a pharmacist about your concerns, while getting expert advice on how to improve your health in our private consultation room.

fast and efficient wholesaler service to enable us to fulfil all the prescriptions promptly. We also keep a wide range of over-the-counter medicines and also vitamins and mineral supplements

Our other services include

• Flu vaccinations will be available this winter as a pre-book or drop in service.

● NHS unwanted medicine service, where you can return all unwanted medicines to the pharmacy where we will dispose of them safely.

● We offer blister pack medication to patients who meet the criteria.

Our other services include

● Flu vaccinations will be available this winter as a pre-book or drop-in service.

• NHS unwanted medicine service, where you can return all unwanted medicines to the pharmacy where we will dispose of them safely.

We stock a wide range of prescription medications and dressings from all the main brands. We keep a comprehensive stock of all medicines and use a

We understand how important it is to speak faceto-face with a pharmacist about your medicines and prescriptions. Our services give you the chance to chat to a pharmacist about your concerns, while getting expert advice on how to improve your health in our private consultation room.

● We offer blister pack medication to patients who meet the criteria.

● Emergency supplies: if you need one of your regular medicines in an emergency and you are unable to contact your doctor, we may be able to help.

• Emergency supplies. If you need one of your regular medicines in an emergency and you are unable to contact your doctor, we may be able to help.

We understand how important it is to speak faceto-face with a pharmacist about your medicines and prescriptions. Our services give you the chance to chat to a pharmacist about your concerns, while getting expert advice on how to improve your health in our private consultation room.

● Flu vaccinations will be available this winter as a pre-book or drop-in service.

Come in and say hello, we’d be very glad to see you and assist you with anything you need.

● NHS unwanted medicine service, where you can return all unwanted medicines to the pharmacy where we will dispose of them safely.

● NHS unwanted medicine service, where you can return all unwanted medicines to the pharmacy where we will dispose of them safely.

We stock a wide range of prescription medications and dressings from all the main brands. We keep a comprehensive stock of all medicines and use a

We stock a wide range of prescription medications

● Emergency supplies: if you need one of your regular medicines in an emergency and you are unable to contact your doctor, we may be able to help.

● Emergency supplies: if you need one of your regular medicines in an emergency and you are unable to contact your doctor, we may be able to help.

Come in and say hello, we’d be very glad to see you and assist you with anything you need.

in and say hello, we’d be very glad to see you and assist you with anything you need.

Clare Stubbins

and The Antique Centre

by Maggie McKay

How many of the present population of Market Deeping and Deeping St. James have not spent some of their most pleasant leisure hours strolling around the indoor market which is The Antique Centre, the emporium on the High Street, Market Deeping where it borders Deeping St. James? We now take it rather for granted as an intrinsic feature of our town and dear to the hearts, I would say, of all. Who can remember a time when it wasn’t there? And when was that exactly?

Well, in 1994 the premises, which were then empty, were rented from the owner, by John Strutt, a native of Essex who, after an earlier career in the Royal Navy and as an estate agent, got the idea of setting up an indoor antiques and second-hand market. The premises beside the Welland could be ideal: the space would be divided into separate ‘units’ to be rented to individual traders who had things they wanted to sell. That was the beginning, and there proved to be many people, often with a special interest or collection, who needed an outlet where their things could be displayed and sold. The idea, after a slow start, has proved to be a great success and, by the time that he ‘officially’ retired (though he still retains some functions – and a great interest in the business) John had an excellent team to whom he could hand over the running of it. The chief of that team was a young woman who had walked into his emporium with her sister one day, serendipitously ‘just visiting’, (from Peterborough) in 1995. She caught his attention. They got talking and, before they knew it, Clare had a new career and John Strutt and Clare Stubbins had formed a personal, as well as a professional, partnership.

Clare was born in Thorpe Hall, an ‘almost’ stately home which was a Grade II listed building and a maternity hospital from 1943 to 1970. Her mother was from nearby Peterborough and her father, from Kilmallock, County Limerick in Ireland, came in the 1950s to work in the Peterborough area where he met the pretty girl from Peterborough – and never went back! Clare grew up in Peterborough and attended Walton school, and she says it was at school that her interest, which became a passion, for literature began. In her teens a friend gave her a birthday present of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. She set herself the target of reading all the plays and achieved ‘the 18 or 19 best ones!’ and she learnt all the best speeches in them by heart, from Viola in Twelfth Night, to the beginning of Richard the Third, Beatrice in Much Ado, and many more. She had fallen in love – with poetry, and the English language, and she still is. She remembers many of her favourites from Yeats, Donne, Auden and, of course, Shakespeare’s sonnets (though she confesses to not knowing all 154!). Not surprising then that many of her fondest memories from her youth are the theatre visits she and her sister Barbara made to London. On one occasion she recalls seeing Anthony Hopkins and Judi Dench in a matinee of Peter Hall’s Anthony and Cleopatra at the National, followed, after a dash across to the Riverside, by seeing Alan Bates in The Dance of Death – and then it was home on the 125 to Peterborough!

Clare had a number of ‘after school’ jobs even before leaving school. One was for the Arts Council which was promoting contemporary dancers. Pam Woods was a ‘dance animator’ and Clare cycled around a large area delivering leaflets to publicise her. She

‘We have met people from all over the world and every walk of life; politicians and professors and prison officers, nurses and nurserymen and nightclub owners’

also worked for a time, in 1981, as an usherette at the Odeon cinema in Peterborough. (The Odeon closed in November 1991.) In the 1980s she was able to follow up her literary passion by doing a degree in English and Contemporary History and she has maintained her enthusiasm for literature by doing voluntary tutoring of students who are preparing for their GCSEs and A levels in English literature: this is a task that she has always thoroughly enjoyed.

Her longest-lasting full-time job after leaving school, however, was one that demanded aptitudes that by no means everyone has. Her employer was the PressCutting Agency, Romeike and Curtice, and the demand of the job was that you had to ‘speed-read’ all the day’s newspapers, monitor Reuters international news agency, extract what would be of interest to the agency’s clients and send those extracts to the London office (now in Canary Wharf), which would distribute them to interested parties. Clients could be individuals, for example performers/celebrities (Max Bygraves was one), or companies (car companies were some), or institutions, like universities, and organisations such as the Scouts movement. You had to be quick, able to spot items relevant to the agency’s clients and send them off promptly. Clare recalls that she was on duty, working, when the news broke that Robert Maxwell, the publisher and one time politician had gone missing from his yacht. When news like that broke, the lines of communication would be buzzing and there was high tension at the agency. However, despite the demands of the job Clare was able to pursue more artistic interests in her spare time such as painting pots –and her sister sewed. She was with the press-cutting agency for ten years but by the middle of the 1990s, and after the chance visit to the Deeping antiques centre and the meeting with John, she was feeling the need for a change. The Antique Centre has now been her workplace for 22 years – including nearly every weekend for 16 of those years.

Clare muses on her experiences over those twenty two years. She writes: ‘I’ve learned a lot about myself certainly; what I’m good at and what I’m not... I’ve come to realise I like the balance between the routine of certain duties having to be performed daily and the variety that comes with meeting dozens of people every day.

‘We have met people from all over the world and every walk of life; politicians and professors and prison officers, nurses and nurserymen and nightclub owners (the late Peter Stringfellow bought a leopard print child’s armchair for his dog!). Every age group has been represented too. We have been introduced to hundreds of babies over the decades. A few years ago one was absent-mindedly left in its pram in one of the aisles. For how long I’m not sure. All I knew of it and all I remember is the distraught father bursting through the front door and announcing: “I’ve left my baby at the back of the shop. PLEASE don’t tell my wife!”At the other

end of the spectrum we now have many more very elderly customers than when I began working at the shop in 2000. Our oldest is a marvellous lady of 97!

‘Most of those who rent a unit live locally and some 75% of them have remained with us for 15 or more years – one or two have kept their units for 25 years! Many of them come in to stocktake several times a week. One man who closed his unit not so long ago (he had turned 90!) had been a champion speed-skater when he was young and just missed taking part in the 1948 Olympics. Yes, all of human life is here,’ says Clare. And there’s plenty to do to keep the business running smoothly and in taking care of the property. As well as Clare on front desk there’s her sister Barbara, Diana and her son Nathan, Sue four days a week and Clare’s youngest sister Jo, mostly behind the scenes.

‘Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of staying in one place for so long,’ says Clare, ‘is the relationships that have developed with our regular customers. The children who used to come in with their parents to buy doll’s house furniture 20 years ago, now come in to buy tables and chairs for their first flats – or bring in their own children! I love hearing the narrative of their lives, and this is what I shall miss when I eventually retire… finding out what happens in all of those next chapters.’

Yes, and well, wouldn’t our Antique Centre make the perfect setting for a 21st century novel?

Found in Deeping for Valentine’s

Visit Market Gate Deli by Grasmere Farm for great gift ideas including Valentine’s hampers; locally made chocolate (from Melton Mowbray); handmade cards by local artists; super selection of wine and English gins and so much more. Opposite, find Grasmere Farm’s Traditional Butchers and treat your loved one with dry-aged Steak. Grasmere dry-ages it’s prime beef cuts for three or more weeks this adds to the flavour of the specially selected Lincoln Red beef, chosen by their buyers. Thinking of breakfast in bed? Well Grasmere’s range of award winning Sausages gives you plenty of choice and don’t forget their traditional, dry-cured Bacon which tastes like bacon should! Valentine’s

Boxes of delicate macaroons handmade in Deeping come with a personlised gift tag . Pictured a box of 7 macarons is £10, smaller packages and flavours are on the link.www.hajnishomemadecakes.co.uk/ macarons

If it’s true love it has to be Foragers Clogau Gin, beautifully presented £80 from The Cigar Box, Market Place, Market Deeping. Weds-Fri 10.00 - 6.00 Sat 10.00- 5.00pm

An abundance of faux flowers at Market Deeping Antiques .

England’s only Trappist Ale -Gift Set £12.99. Box of 12 £39.99 or £3.85 individually from The Cigar Box, Market Place, Market Deeping Weds- Fri 10.00 -6.00, Sat 10.00- 5.00pm

Silver Heart Pendant on Frosted Rainbow Agate Beads’ available from www.lesleyadolphson.com and also in Murano Silver in Stamford

If you do one thing this year....

Try intermittent fasting. It’s been researched extensively, and it really is the panacea for improving your general health. The main benefits are: weight loss, lower risk of type 2 diabetes, reduced risk of cancer, improved blood pressure, improved heart health, improved brain health and reduced inflammation in the body. As with any new regime, it’s always a good idea to get the go ahead from your health care provider before trying it. You should avoid it if you are pregnant/ breastfeeding, under 18, or if you have certain medical conditions or a history of eating disorders. Once you get into the rhythm of it, it’s surprisingly easy to follow. Just eat healthily when not fasting, and you will soon feel and see the benefits.

Cheryl Baskeyfield, Cheryl’s Yoga and Fitness, 07587 709 270 e: cheryl@ cherylfitness.co.uk www.cherylfitness.co.uk, FB: Cheryl’s Fitness and Yoga

We reach a point in our lives where our feet matter. Sport, work, play and thousands of miles catch up with you. Joints wear out, injuries come back At the end of the day, the expression ‘standing on your own two feet’ may not be possible! Podiatrists are the people trained to assess diagnose and treat feet as dentists are trained to deal with teeth. ONLY PODIATRIST & CHIROPODIST are Titles protected under British Law. Michael Staines wwwdeepingpodiatrychiropody.co.uk

If you do one thing this year, give your creativity a go! Pursuing a new craft can help focus the mind, and has even been compared to meditation due to its calming effects on the brain and body. Even just card or jewellery making releases dopamine, a natural anti-depressant. Creativity reduces anxiety, depression, and stress… Riverside Crafts and Beads offer a wide range of courses many for beginners. Visit www.riversidecrafts.co.uk

If you do one thing this year learn to breathe deeply. As you breathe in through your nose, breathe into your stomach to the space behind your belly button. Pause for two seconds and then slowly exhale through your mouth. The more you practise this you will feel the benefits of bringing more oxygen into your body and releasing more waste gases. You will also feel calmer and more relaxed. Deep breathing is great for mental clarity too. Practise deep breathing when you wake, during the day and in the evening before bed.

Instagram: @emmalannigan

Exercise:-

The right to say yes

The right to say no

The space to rest

The space to release fear

The energy to move, walk, run, dance, make love ❤

The energy to be free

The faith to grow

The faith to hope

The ability to be grateful

The ability to be empathic

The understanding of your needs

The understanding of your beauty

The sharing of your communication

The sharing of your spirituality

The creation of your thoughts

The creation of your dreams

The blessings of your WORTH

The blessings of your LOVE. Exercise YOU

Jill Eve www.feathershc.co.uk

Focus on spending time outside each day. Being outdoors in the fresh air boosts your physical and mental wellbeing in a range of ways, and you don’t have to spend hours at a time outside before those benefits kick in either. Go for a walk around the block, or if you can’t manage that, stand outside, face the sun and take some deep breaths. And if life is feeling more difficult right now, talking about things with a trained professional will help you to work through whatever is on your mind.

Fran Slater Counselling www.franslatercounselling.co.uk , hello@franslatercounselling. co.uk, 07434 687183

Prioritise your health – your physical and mental wellbeing are the foundations for everything else.

No fads – Eat well, sleep well, reduce stress and find exercise that you enjoy.

Make the time – ask the people around you for support, put down your phone, create your routine, diarise your time and do what your body and mind need to feel good.

JR Fit offers Pilates & Yoga classes, as well as Menofit™️ a programme for peri-post menopausal women. www.jrfituk.com

If you do one thing this year let it be healing yourself with gentle Bowen Therapy. If you suffer from chronic pain, which does not improve, no matter what you do, I urge you to try this effective, long-lasting therapy to reset your body and ease your mind. The Bowen Technique involves a series of moves across the body, through light clothing, which disturb the connective tissue beneath the skin. The brain responds to this disturbance with interest and sends full awareness to the area, allowing the body to create lasting change. It’s extremely relaxing! I’ve treated many local people and have noticed considerable improvement in pain management. Issues such as migraine, neck and shoulder pain, sciatic or back pain, anxiety, fibromyalgia, insomnia and IBS have been treated successfully. Clients report less pain, deeper sleep, reduced anxiety and an incredible sense of peace and wellbeing following treatment An initial phone consultation is available with Judith on 07595763372

Give yourself some peace, healing and love by investing in some self care. We offer many ways to connect back into yourself, to find balance, relaxation and connection during the winter months and into a new year! We offer Reiki and Reiki training for both people and animals. We help physical problems with The Bowen Technique and help your dogs with Canine Bowen Technique. We have full moon drum circles around the fire. We hold Women’s circles and Ecstatic Awakening Dances every month. We offer classes, circles and events to sit shoulder to shoulder in love, support and non judgement with others; we share our lives and find some answers to big or little questions, worries and imbalances in our lives. This year spend some time on yourself at Peace. Heal. Love. We would love to see you in the barn, in our orchard or around our fire pit. www.peaceheallove.com

If you only do one thing this year, reconnect with the relaxed, grounded version of you. When you are relaxed, your loved ones experience the best version of you. Reflexology aids relaxation, improves mood, aids sleep, relieves tension/ anxiety/stress and promotes a sense of wellbeing. Reflexology is a specialised massage of the feet which can improve your wellbeing on a physical and emotional level. Every part of your body has a specific reflex point on your feet. Reflexology detects where tension is stored in the body and works towards reducing it. In the process it also helps to release energy in a similar way to acupuncture. My clients find it extremely relaxing and have provided great feedback which can be found on my website

For more information, follow Deeping Reflexology on Facebook. Also find out more at www.deepingreflexology.co.uk or contact Helen on 07786 062 804

After a hectic festive period, start by doing something special for yourself. Join Diana and Glenn for an ‘Unplugged’ experience at Molecey Mill. Unplugged offers a champagne arrival before flowing through 3D yoga – followed by a beautiful immersive Soundbath and a healthy two-course lunch. All carefully designed to cleanse your mind body and soul! £100 Call 07855 242 356

If you do one thing this year, remember the old African proverb: ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ We weren’t made to parent alone – we need connections, support and nurture, not only for our children but for ourselves. So I urge you, wherever you can, use networking apps, social media, local libraries, children’s/ community centres etc. to build a network of friends around you; the kind of friends who not only share your highs, but are consistently there for you when times are tough, as they inevitably are sometimes. Find a tribe who you can talk openly to, who challenge you, who light up when they see you, who love your children like their own, and who you can ask for help when you need it… and don’t forget, asking for help is one of the bravest things anyone can do.

Zoë Kornfeld

Please believe in yourself. Self-belief is so important and without it success is difficult to achieve. Start 2023 with confidence and plan things, things you might never normally do, a 5k run or a marathon if you a runner already, maybe a charity bike ride or even walk the National 3 Peaks. Planning an event give you something to focus on and train for. You will be amazed at how you feel when you finish such a challenge and what it gives you: Self-belief, Confidence, Pride, Friendships, amongst others… I have completed most of these challenges and can honestly say the memories I have and the friendships I made I will never forget. So make that change, do something different, be a better version of yourself and create something you can be proud of. If you can do one thing this year, believe in yourself – 2023 is your year

With Love Claire Cross, Spin Room

If you do one thing this year, make sure you get your hearing tested! You probably have regular checkups at the dentist and the opticians, but when did you last have your hearing tested? Hearing loss usually occurs gradually and can be an inconvenience. It can cause embarrassment, depression, isolation and has been linked to mental health issues. The ability to hear sound is one of the most important senses, yet unlike vision and teeth it is often taken for granted. The most important thing is not to ignore your hearing. So why not book a free assessment with Sound Advice Hearing now? Better hearing really can make a world of difference!

No, it’s not a dog. That’s a Shih Tzu! Shiatsu??

Says Ray Pawlett

Shiatsu is a form of bodywork that combines a finely tuned intuition with a thorough understanding of the body-mind.

Shiatsu uses physical pressure, manipulation, stretching and holding to affect and rebalance physical, emotional and mental tension. Applying sensitive, mindful, static touch with thumbs, fingers and palms will affect the functioning of your physical systems such as nervous, circulatory and respiratory, thus supporting your body’s innate self-healing abilities and promoting a sense of relaxation and well-being.

Originating in Japan, Shiatsu has grown internationally since the 1960s. It is an evolving form of bodywork, incorporating influences from both East Asian Medicine and Western medicine and therapies. Shiatsu is given through clothes making it highly accessible. Traditionally practised on a futon at floor level, Shiatsu can also be received on a specially designed Shiatsu chair or a normal chair.

I usually give Shiatsu treatments in my studio in Bourne but frequently travel to homes and sometimes to businesses. In a treatment, you will be invited to either lie on the futon mattress or sit in either the shiatsu chair or a normal chair, depending upon your preference. I will then put my hands on to your body. I will use gentle techniques to communicate with your body on an energetic level.

This communication will then give me a diagnostic pattern of techniques and movements that I will apply to your body. The diagnosis is dynamic and an important part of the art of the treatment. The art of Shiatsu is for me to listen to what your body is telling me and act upon it with pressure, stretches, movement etc.

At the end of the treatment you will feel relaxed. Time will be given for you to ‘come back to the real world’. A drink of water sometimes helps people to come back. You will then be given an outline of what I found and have done in non technical language along with recommendations for self-help.

In a similar way to any other medicine, a shiatsu treatment will create changes in your body. These changes are not like the flicking of a light switch. It usually takes four days for a person to assimilate the changes in body, mind and spirit. Shiatsu can be a magical process that helps you to heal on all levels.

Ring me on 07413 620344 to book a treatment or take a look at the web site https://www. ki-ways.com/where you can sign up for the newsletter and take a read through the new blog which contains similar articles to this one.

Glenn and Diana invite you to join them on a beautiful journey to rest, re-energise & recharge your mind, body and soul

To unplug from the world

Arrive in the morning at Molecey Mill for a welcome drink and tour of the house and grounds

Follow Glenn through a gentle Flow 3D Yoga class

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To unplug from the world

After a nutritious snack you will be immersed in a beautiful Sound Healing experience with Diana

This will be followed by a delicious 2 course meal and time to saver being unplugged and uninterrupted in the historic charm

Introducing Unplugged T H E G R A N A R Y M O L E C E Y M I L L S T A M F O R D R O A D W E S T D E E P I N G L I N C O L N S H I R E P E 6 9 J D C a l l : G l e n n 0 7 8 5 5 2 4 2 3 5 6 E m a i l : U n p l u g g e d a t m o l e c e

y @ g m a i l Follow Glenn through a gentle Flow 3D Yoga class After a nutritious snack you will be immersed in a beautiful Sound Healing experience with Diana This will be followed by a delicious 2 course meal and time to saver being unplugged and

o n t a c t G l e n n o

At the marvelous Molecey Mill

Flow 3D Yoga class

Introducing Unplugged T H E G R A N A R Y M O L E C E Y M I L L S T A M F O R D R O A D W E S T D E E P I N G L I N C O L N S H I R E P E 6 9 J D C a l l : G l e n n 0 7 8 5 5 2 4 2 3 5 6 E m a i l : U n p l u g g e d a t m o l e c e

a i l c o m G o o g l e P i n : M o l e c e y E s t a t e s C o m e j o i n u s , r e s t

r e l a x a n

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s t a t e s C o m e j o n u s r e s t r e l a x a n d u n p l u g

d u n p l u g

Bringing the outside in!

There is nothing like bringing the outside in to bring cheer to a winter’s day!

Says Leonie Baldwin of Stamford Botanics, ‘Bringing plants into your home, or office, allows you to connect with nature and gives you the opportunity to care for something, which in itself can be therapeutic. Just the act of tending to a plant is proven to lift your mood and help reduce stress.

‘A study by NASA has shown that plants help to improve the air we breathe by removing harmful toxins and releasing oxygen into the air. The addition of greenery also aids productivity and creativity making them very useful to have around if you’re studying for an exam or preparing your tax return. There really are no negatives to having plants in your home or office,’ enthuses Leonie.

Whilst in their natural habitat where plants would flourish outdoors, whether a humid tropical rainforest or a hot dry desert, in our typically cold climate we have to provide them with protection, enabling us to have them in our homes and at work. This opens us up to a very exciting array of plants that typically we would only see on a far-flung trip overseas or at a botanical garden glasshouse.

Plants can make any space look good, and using them in your interiors can really help to transform an area. From windowsills of carefully arranged succulents and cacti to a lush statement plant framing a

Leonie Baldwin

Stamford Botanics

Image: Gary Curtis

Image:

Gary Curtis

Stamford Botanics

The Plant Room

– a Growing Trend!

Come and discover our extensive range of beautiful, high-quality great value house plants, Freshly stocked each week you’ll find everything from attractive foliage, cacti and succulents in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours to create your own urban jungle at home or in the workplace. Once you visit you will become a foliage fanatic and start benefiting from the cleaner air they produce. They look great and can make a room more welcoming and cosier, along with helping you to relax. See you soon to buy a plant or two!... The

Barn by Cherry Lane

Five Hundred Miles with Two Ponies

and Judy Robinson

My friend Sharon and I have enjoyed several riding holidays over the years, but our dream of doing a much longer ride had to wait until this summer when at last we had two suitable ponies and enough free time to complete the challenge. The ponies we used were Bramble, a 21-year-old Welsh cob, and Skye, a slightly smaller pony, about nine years old. They are both kept in a field at Bainton, where I now live. Sharon lives in Market Deeping.

I tried to plan our ride around three long distance routes; the Midshires Way, the Icknield Way and the Peddars Way. We were going to be independent, without any ‘back up’ support, riding to a different place each day, booked in advance, with a rest day once a week.

We planned to ride about 15 miles a day, but organising livery for the ponies was so difficult that we often had to deviate off our chosen route and sometimes ride much further. During our trip the ponies stayed in 29 livery yards. We booked our own accommodation as close to them as possible, though sometimes we had to stay several miles away and use a bus or taxi.

Skye carried our clothes and personal items, and Bramble carried the horse equipment, waterproofs and a portable electric fence kit. We also took a plastic beach shovel to scoop up any droppings that had been deposited in

an unsuitable place! We always had a map and printed directions to hand, to make navigating easier.

The four of us set off on 21st June, starting our journey by riding through Stamford to Cottesmore. The following day we continued riding west and then changed direction to go south to Tugby, where we met the Midshires Way. We followed it on and off for the next few days until we reached Princes Risborough, where the Midshires Way meets the Icknield Way.

Because of the difficulty of finding livery on the Icknield Way, we had to detour and ride on busy roads from Princes Risborough to our next stopover at Kensworth. Just before Kensworth we passed Whipsnade, where the sounds and smells of the animals made Bramble very agitated.

Our next day’s ride took us through Dunstable and across the M1 before we met the Icknield Way again near Luton where the ponies stayed overnight.

We were pleasantly surprised by the number of lovely tracks and bridleways near that part of the town.

The livery we were due to stop at the following night couldn’t take the ponies because of a case of equine strangles, which is very contagious. We couldn’t find another livery, so decided to simply miss this one out and ride on to the next one, near Royston. We took the most direct route, going between Hitchin and Stevenage, but it was a hot day and the ride was nearly 30 miles long with busy roads and lots of hills. We were all pleased to have a rest the following day.

We were now about halfway through our trip and the next section of our ride went through Duxford and then past Newmarket, where we saw some

lovely thoroughbred mares and foals in the nearby fields. After Newmarket, we rode to West Stow, where we stayed at a site opposite the country park. We had a two-day break there which gave us time to wash our jodhpurs and get them dry, and have the ponies shod by a local farrier.

We then had three days of very hot weather. We coped as best we could by setting off very early each day and making our route as short as possible, so we reached our next stopover by midday, before the heat became unbearable.

We continued riding through Suffolk and into Norfolk, staying at several villages, until we joined the Peddars Way at North Pickenham. We then rode to Castle Acre where Bramble willingly crossed the two fords but Skye had other ideas! After a stopover at East Walton we went north to Hillington, near Sandringham. After another day’s rest we started our homeward journey, riding towards King’s Lynn, and then across the fens through Wisbech, March and Whittlesey. We crossed the River Nene on Shank’s Millenium Bridge near Peterborough, and then came home through Eye and Werrington.

We arrived home on 29th July, having ridden about 500 miles over 5½ weeks. It was certainly a challenge and a holiday to remember!

‘Long rides with your horse’ from Judy Robinson from Amazon at £9.50. All profits to World Horse Welfare.

Falling in love with Crowland Carpets

Bourne Branch: 11 Victor Way, Bourne, PE109PT 01778 424294

Deeping Branch: 3 The Deeping Centre, Market Deeping, PE68FG 01778 341827 e: enquiries@crowlandcarpets.co.uk Visit: www.crowlandcarpets.co.uk

‘Life would never be the same again...’

So starts your story in the latest short story competition from the Deepings Literary Festival!

For budding writers aged 8-18: complete the story in 500 words and stand a chance of winning a book token of £30.

Judging will be by Hannah Gold. Hannah is passionate about writing stories that share her love of the planet. The Last Bear was her children’s debut which became an instant classic and international bestseller. The Lost Whale was Hannah’s second novel which tells an incredible story about the connection between a boy and a whale and the bond

Call for New Trustees

that sets them both free. Finding Bear, the highly anticipated sequel to The Last Bear, is soon to be released. Hannah lives in Stamford, with her tortoise, her cat and her husband.

To be in with a chance of winning a book token for £30 adult storytellers should complete the story in no more than 950 words.

Judging will be by Millie Johnson, born, raised and still living in Barnsley. A Deepings Literary Festival favourite, she is one of the top 10 female fiction authors in the UK with millions of copies of her books sold across the world. In 2020, she was honoured

with the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Outstanding Achievement Award and was a featured author in the Reading Agency’s Quick Reads and World Book Night campaigns. A writer who champions women and highlights the importance of friendship and community, Milly’s characters are celebrations of the strength of the human spirit. Her 20th novel, Together, Again, will be published in paperback next month.

Entries should be sent to enquiries@ deepingsliteraryfestival.co.uk by 31st March

St James Deeping Signal Box Group is a registered charity formed from a group who got together to stop the demolition of our landmark Victorian railway signal box. We succeeded, and are now reconstructing the box in new location. We are now looking for 3 new Trustees to help make the project happen and launch this amazing new heritage and tourist attraction . To register an interest for the

Hannah Gold

Millie Johnson

Dreams do come true

Words and Pictures by William Bowell

Do you dream? Sorry to start the year in such a personal way, dear reader. I’m not talking about wishes, like lottery wins or fishes (if wishes were fishes, we would all be swimming, of course). I’m talking about REM sleep, dreams.

I dream. And it would appear that several of my friends do. Being bird nerds (if you like), we only disclose our weird wildlife dreams to each other. I shall spare you the details, but they include ‘My co-leading in South Africa did not go well; none of the guests complained, but we didn’t actually successfully identify a single bird.’ Or ‘Multiple Golden Eagles and White-tailed Eagles over our garden last night. First heard by my brother. I thought Golden Eagle was a first for the garden, but I remembered I had two previous records on the deck’ (from a person who lives in Peterborough city centre…).

We share all sorts of our nonsense, wildlife dreams. It’s strange how the mind works. It might be an unusual bird that we have just seen locally, which our dreams then exaggerate into an even better sight than we could possibly imagine.

At the end of last year, I gave you all a sneak peak of my list of Santa. My visits to Deeping Lakes had gone stale. I had had a super year, with birds I had never seen there before and a number of different species, but it had seemingly got stuck on a total and I wished for more. In fact, I dreamed for more.

Red-flanked Bluetails were near mythical birds in Britain, as recently as the 1990s. They breed from Finland, through Siberia and northern Asia but back then they didn’t breed in Finland and there were only eleven records in Britain until 1992, all of which were seen by the finders and a few others. This changed in late autumn 1993, when a confiding bird was found in Dorset.

It remained for about a week, which enabled a couple of thousand persons to see this dream bird. The stories of this bird include the initial crush, where birders feared for their lives, as they were literally swept off their feet. There were even reports of birders bursting into tears at the sight of this Siberian special!

Flash forward to these days. The once mythical Red-flanked Bluetail is a regular visitor to our shores. Each autumn, most years see around ten birds arrive on the coast, sometimes many more. But still, not huge numbers. Inland records are rare to non-existent still, whilst my childhood memories of this once rare Siberian spectacular are still there.

I got a message in early December, from Frampton RSPB warden (near Boston), that he had met a couple on holiday from Devon, and they had found a Red-flanked Bluetail on my patch, Deeping Lakes, two days before!

The description was near perfect but I had no idea where on the site it was. I dismissed it. Surely it couldn’t be? My friend Josh investigated further. He found the exact area where they had found it, and you know what – that’s where I would have said a Red-flanked Bluetail would have been (I’ve seen a few in Britain, don’t you know)! Surely not?

The next day, several local birders congregated at Deeping Lakes. No one really had much hope but those who try, win! I arrived on the site late, compared to everyone else, but immediately went off the beaten track and flushed two Woodcock – great to see once again on the patch…. But no Red-flanked Bluetail!

Then one of my pals, Weedon, called to ask if I had played Red-flanked Bluetail calls from my phone (this might attract them, friends). I was, but in hindsight I was

probably too far away for them to have heard me. Next, after another 30 minutes or so, I heard a Red-flanked Bluetail call!

I ran towards the sound! John Pegden had heard it as well, independently. It was a little way from where my pal had called me. We summoned everyone to join us. No joy. Had we been mistaken? We convinced ourselves we had!

A while later, we had all given up but thankfully our friend Paul hadn’t! He found it where my other pal, Weedon, had first heard it! What? I enjoyed stunning views of this first for our local area and one of the few inland records ever of the Redflanked Bluetail.

At times, the views were down to a few metres. It then flew to where John Pegden and I had heard it. We again had great views but then it flew across us and everyone else and was never seen again!

So, wait…. A rare, never to have been seen in our area before, found three days prior and then seen for an hour and never seen again. Was this one of our dreams? We had all seen it, some just in time! Surely this is one of our dreams?

Yes, dear reader, this species was my 141st species at Deeping Lakes in 2022. I then saw another four species, to get to 145 – all of them within the first weekend of December!

So, dreams do really come true! And thanks, Santa!

Will works at Grasmere Farm in Deeping St James (with a butcher’s and deli in Market Gate, Market Deeping) but in his spare time enjoys wildlife watching locally and across the country. He is also a keen photographer. Many of his images can be found at http://justwildimages. blogspot.co.uk/ and photo cards can be found for sale at Market Gate Deli in Market Deeping.

Five great things about the Deepings library

For Kids

Did you know that the Deepings are a harbour to a flotilla of storytellers keeping pre-schoolers spellbound with their tales? These are preceded with a song and often end with a craft activity. Such is the popularity of the Wednesday 2.00-2.30pm slot that there is now an additional session on Saturday mornings 11.00-1130 (1st and 3rd Saturdays) and Rhymetime for toddlers on Friday mornings 10.15-10.45. It’s never too early to introduce your little one to books – Book Babies starts them young at 10.15-11.15 on Tuesday mornings. Harness your child’s creativity and introduce them to Lego Club on the last Saturday of the month and every Monday during the school holidays (along with Craft Fridays with a 50p craft). Stay & Play encourages toddlers to come and play with the themed activities and books left out for them on Mondays. From 10.00 am on the 2nd Saturday in the month a jigsaw challenge is underway. The children’s library is well stocked and there are plenty of colourful chairs, rugs and cushions to encourage your family to choose their books and read them too!

For Adults

A coffee machine, glossy magazines, all the local papers and a comfy chair – what better way to spend a winter’s day than in the warmth of the Library? Not only is there an excellent stock of books and the opportunity to reserve a title that you would particularly like, but there are also a number of Library-based reading groups including a senior group for which there is a mini-bus pick up at 1.30 on Monday afternoons. For word lovers there is a Scrabble club on Friday from 10.30- 12.30 and for those who like a visual challenge as well there is a community jigsaw on Wednesdays and on the 2nd Saturday of the month. And for those who prefer a bit of a chat, then there is a knit and natter group that meets every other Monday from 2.00-4.00pm. During the year a series of informative evening talks are held, refreshments are served and a convivial atmosphere pervades. The Library also sells a selection of local books and cards.

Library Events

For one day a year (4th Feb) the Deepings Library is transformed into Hogwarts! Children in their wizardy costumes line up to have their photo taken by Platform 93/4 – the sorting hat ceremony decides who is in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff; Broomstick Fly Classes are held and with their created wand, children are taught wand choreography; there is a wizard trail, a themed raffle and of course Harry Potter cakes! The Library has made Star War Day its own and this year on 13th May you may well see a Storm Trooper accompanied by R2D2 posing for pictures by the Library’s magnificent Georgian front door! Make a light sabre and then learn how to put it to use! Enter the themed raffle, buy a Star Wars Cake and participate in one or two of the 20p games. And at Christmas time the Library is transformed into a glittering grotto ready for Santa’s visit with stories from Mother Christmas!

Access to technology

Ever thought of researching your family history but reluctant to pay the Ancestry fee? Then the Library provides the answer with a bank of PCs offering free use and free access to the Ancestry package and to Wi-Fi. There are also printing, scanning and photocopying services with free parking at the rear of the building (access in Douglas Rd).

Summer Reading Challenge

The staff and volunteers at the Deepings Library embrace the Summer Reading Challenge with gusto! It is an initiative by The Reading Agency which encourages primary school age children to read books for pleasure over the summer holidays. There is a chart in the library to log progress and there are rewards each time they finish a book with a presentation of a certificate in their school assembly for those who complete the challenge. In 2022 the Library was particularly proud that 355 children started the scheme (reading at least one book) and 320, reading 6 books from 17 schools, completed it. This year, with sponsorship from Liberty Partnership, the Library is looking for even more finishers!

what’s on

Great Cathedral Anthems

Saturday 11th March, at 7.30pm, Priory Church, DSJ

St Peter’s Singers, directed by Jeremy Jepson with Chris Brown at the Priory Church’s fabulous organ. This exciting programme will feature many wonderful pieces including Parry’s famous anthem ‘I Was Glad’ Tickets- £12 (children £5) including light refreshments from 01778 346879 , at the door or from www.stpeterssingers.org.uk

The Arts Society Peterbough Monthly Talk

10.45 am 9th March 2023

The Fleet, Peterborough

The Chair- 2000 years of sitting down, by Marc Allum. Chairs and ‘sitting solutions’ from antiquity to the 21st Century, with an Antiques Roadshow expert. For more information please visit: www.the-arts-society-peterborough.org.uk

£15 £15

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n t e e d t o h a v e a G

, W h e t h e r y o u " Y o u a r e g u a r a n t e e o a v e a G R E A T T

e e r y o u a r e a P r o , B e g n n e r C a n t D a n c e o r S h o u l d n t D a n c e ! e P r B e C a t a c o r S h u d n D n c e

DSJ Coffee & Cake morning

WIN!

Competition to win two tickets to visit Easton Walled Gardens in Snowdrop time! Just answer the question ‘When did the Cholmeley family first take up residence at Easton?’ Send your answer along with your name and address to idratherbeindeeping@gmal.com by Friday 10th Feb 2023.

NatureCraft

Monday 20th Feb, 7:30pm - 8:30pm

Love Nature! - online mini workshop with artist Kathryn Parsons - using natural treasures make unique ephemeral collages as a celebration of nature and all that we love about it. Plus Kathryn will share a top tip for making getting the heart shape! Tickets are by donation (recommended minimum £5). www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/naturecraft-onlinecreative-mini-workshops-tickets-228806525477

Glinton Horticultural Society talk

Need help in managing your budget?

All proceeds from tickets to help SOS Northborough Church

All proceeds from tickets to help SOS Northborough Church

T o p u r c h a s e t c k e t s p l e a s e B a n k T r h e i c k e t l e B a n k T r a n s f e r t h e n e m a i l u s t o c o n f i r m a t r f e t h e e m s t c f r c o n t a c t @ d e e p i n g s u m m e r b a l l c o u k o t @ p g u e r b a o o r c a l l o n c a 0 7 5 2 3 8 6 1 2 8 9 5 2 8 8 t o p a y b y c a s h t p y y c h

B a n k T r a n s f e r D e t a i l s n k T r a f r e D e e p n g S u m m e r B a l l D e S m m e r B a S o r t C o d e r C o e : 2 3 - 6 9 - 7 2 3 6 9 A c c o u n t c c t 2 1 0 2 0 9 5 7 0 5 7

S p o n s o r e d b y S o o e d b y D e e p n g S u m m e r B a l l e i n S m e & E u r o p r e s s P r n t E r p r e s i t

Sat 25th Feb 10.00-12.00 Thursdays in

Lent starting 23 Feb 12-1.30pm

Friday 17th Feb. Glinton Village Hall, 7.30. All welcome, members £4.00, visitors £5.00. “Gardening with Changing Climate – Gardening in the Global Greenhouse’ by Geoff Hodge, gardening author, presenter and magazine editor.

Then this course is for you!

1.45pm

Session 1 - 4th & Session 2- 11th Feb at the Priory Church Hall DSJ

To register email priorycap@yahoo.co.uk

Delivered by Christians Against Poverty

goal is to build longterm relationships with every one of our clients. We take the time to get to know our clients and to understand their objectives and priorities. We know that the world of

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