I'd Rather Be In Deeping June 2020

ISSUE 061 / JUNE 2020

Onlin Editi e on

FEATURE

The Black Bull

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Welcome

You will have heard the expression ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’ Well that has certainly been true in the Deepings and you will have expected nothing less! After Alison Ireland rallied the troops and DSJ Parish Council stepped in to act as a local hub for the Lincs Resilience Team and Round Table, Rotary, Deeping United and Lions stepped up to the plate with the Feed Deeping campaign there was a thought as to what will Deeping look like after the lockdown? With the pressure on local businesses, representatives from those groups and Market Deeping Town Council, Deeping Business Club and DSJ United Charities put on their thinking caps and now the Deepings Business Support Scheme has been unrolled. With funds from DSJ United Charities, Deeping Business Club, Rotary, County Cllrs Rosemary Trollope Bellew and Barry Dobson, District Cllrs Jill Thomas, Bob Broughton and Judy Stevens and DSJ Parish Council the group are already putting local business owners in touch with professionals who can help them successfully navigate their way into calmer waters. Call 07488350839 & 07780854119 or email deepingsbsg@gmail.com Judy Stevens 3

From 18th May we will be

ing r e v i l e Now D eers* B Wines & od Order Fo r u o y h t us wi n e m e n i See onl ction. for sele

N E OP

S Y A D 6 ay

turd a S o gh t u o r h yt 8pm a o d t n Mo 12pm

* the Delivery Driver reserves the right to ask proof of age when delivering alcohol if appropriate.

COLLECTION

DELIVERY Phone the shop directly on 01778 342201 or 01778 347080

Place your order and you will be given a collection time (payment by card over the phone or in the shop) Order will be ready and placed on a table for you to collect with a separate exit from the shop Staff will be wearing protective gloves changed after every order is made up

We will take payment over the phone where possible.

You can also use the JUSTEAT App service to order which is easy to access A minimum order value of £10 is in operation and only a £1 delivery fee will be charged to help towards the costs of a van and driver

Social distancing measures are in place 4

ŸWe will have our menu on the website and on social media as well as it appearing on the JUSTEAT App. ŸAvailability of some products will depend on supplies, however we hope to have as wide a menu as possible ŸDuring this difficult time, we cannot offer any shop promotions, however our menu pricing is exactly the same as the take away shop pricing We hope you will use our services and enjoy our food. Thank you

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Inside Editor: Sub-Editor: Designer: Features Writers:

Research:

07-11 News 13 Inspire Dance 15 Borough Fen Iron Age Hill Fort 16 The Black Bull, Deeping Gate 20 Profile: Alf Avison 23 Poem: Shopping 25 Bees make honey 28 Lockdown treasures 31 VE Day memories ‘45 ’70 and 2020

Judy Stevens Susan Hibbins Gary Curtis at Zerosix Design Judy Stevens, Zoë Kornfeld, John Parsonage, Abi Fletcher, Stuart Render, Graham Magee, Sue Hibbins, Si Fox and Jez Rose Joy Baxter, Nancy Titman

Photography: Publisher: Printed by:

34 39 42 43 45 48 50

The Welland Travel in the Deepings?

Music: Abi Fletcher Poem: The Lockdown Our Voices Are Louder Together Chelsea as Unusual Found in local shops in Deeping…

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Poem: Time passing

Ian Baxter, David Pearson and John Parsonage Judy Stevens Warners Midland PLC

Kingfisher in Flight’ Graham Clegg Peoples Choice at the 17th Annual Deepings Camera Club Exhibition

PRINTED BY WARNERS 01778 395111

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NEWS Lockdown in West Deeping!

On 23rd March West Deeping started to put into place a series of never before considered initiatives! We posted self-isolation notes through doors, we shopped for each other, we shared flour and toilet rolls and we decorated our phone box!

Disaster struck for Morag Winston and her son Harry when rats chewed through his Lay-Z-Spa hot tub. Not only was Harry without the day care on which he relies due to the lockdown but his favourite pastime was denied him as well! Mum Morag, retired paediatric nurse and full-time carer, explained how Harry enjoys the outdoors, horse riding, trampolining and ice-skating but lockdown saw him confined to quarters. Now, with the help of friends, charities and strangers, Harry is once again enjoying a hydrotherapy hot tub which was installed

by Posh Spas at cost price.

After the purchase of the (listed) King St phone box in 2017, the Parish Council removed the phone and West Deeping Heritage group took over maintenance. At Christmas it is a focus for festive floral arrangements and the odd Santa hat. In lockdown it has flourished as a focal point for locals and something of interest for the increased footfall of visitors.

First there were messages of thanks to all the key workers , then on VE Day printed copies of photographs, mainly featuring streets in Peterborough on VE Day were displayed. The icing on the cake was a large crown created from chicken wire, cotton wool and cardboard boxes printed with the union flag found at Morrison’s, which sat proudly on top.

As the weather turned the crown became a rainbow and simple designs fill each pane with the words “Somewhere over the rainbow”, a message of hope for a brighter future on the horizon! With thanks to the Heritage Group and West Deeping Parish council for allowing us to use it.

Ruth Bowman, Tracy Williams and Jan Bullock.

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Trained youth workers available to talk to and you can catch up with your friends. Contact Cass on casswales84@gmail. com or drop her a message on the deeping youth group Facebook page or Instagram. Ages 11 to 18 all very welcome

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NEWS Twice thwarted! Market Deeping Model Railway Club’s annual show was destroyed by vandals last year and cancelled as a result of Covid 19 this year! But the Group remain undaunted and have produced a You Tube showcase of some of the best model railways that would have featured in real life with some superb photography of the meticulous detail of some of the work done. The Group hope to make a special announcement regarding the future of the Club in the next few months.

Pet Stop has been shortlisted not for one but two business awards this year, the Peterborough Small Business Awards and the Pet Industry Federation Awards!

Due to the current crisis the Deepings Charity Ball 2020 has been postponed until 31st October 2020. For more information www.deepingsummerball.co.uk

• Body Repairs • Machine Polishing • Light Scratch Removal T. 07801 494 311 E. avb1@hotmail.co.uk Unit 7, Peacock Sq. Northfields Ind. Est., Market Deeping

Family, friends and pupils of The Black Cat Music School Grantham have banded together to create a musical video to keep residents of Rose Lodge and Tallington Lodge Care Homes entertained during lockdown. “Music is so important for our residents, we find it really lifts people’s mood, triggers memories and gets people singing and dancing along too” said Diane Williams, Activity Coordinator at Tallington Lodge.

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NEWS

To recognise the wonderful work of the NHS, the Boundary were happy to deliver 50 complementary fish and chip meals to the Deepings Health practice during April. Bill Shaw MD said “We will do this once a month during this current difficult times with the second delivery going out in mid-May. Thanks to the NHS and particularly the Deepings Health centre for your commitment to the community while Corona Virus persists.”

The Boundary is open Tues to Sat between 12 noon and 8pm. Order on 01778 342201 or 01778 347080. Deliveries to your door or you can collect from the shop. Minimum order value is £10 plus £1 delivery charge.

When DSJ District Councillors Jill Thomas and Judy Stevens heard of the plight of the Exotic Pet Refuge they each allocated a third of their ward councillors grant to the site. “We were pleased that SKDC increased the ward councillors grant to £1000 each” said Cllr Jill Thomas “ and so we each gave a third of our funds to the Refuge as their funds are completely depleted without the open days on which they rely!” you too can contribute https://www.gofundme. com/f/caroline039s-campaign-for-exotic-pet-refuge?utm_ source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_ campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

Market Deeping Mayor and Deputy Xan Collins and Bob Broughton raised the flag supplied

by Prentice Bros DSJ in commemoration of VE Day.

We can accommodate most motorhomes for services & MOT OPENING TIMES: Mon- Fri 7.30am - 5.00pm and Sat 8.00am - 11.00 am

We are open during these difficult times and precautions are being taken 11

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INSPIRE DANCE

Inspire Dance has spent lockdown releasing challenges each week to their pupils, creating videos, designing new leotards. Each week the school upload a warm up, tech, nice and stylised routines for pupils to work on. Techniques covered include ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and hip hop. Starting on June 1st online classes will be open for all students where teaching will be via zoom.

WE’LL BE BACK AS SOON AS WE CAN BE!

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DEEPING BUSINESS SOS! Need help navigating your way out of the current crisis?

Deepings Business Support Group are here to help!

Call us on 07488 350839 or 07780 854119 or email: Deepingsbsg@gmail.com Our team will help to signpost you through the government schemes and if more direction is needed we will help fund sessions with the professionals you need to drive your business through to calmer waters!

Supported by …….

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Last week Moor Farm, Newborough mowed the grass for silage around the Borough Fen Iron Age Hill Fort, circa 300BC. A local tribe established a fortified enclosure on the Fen edge between the Welland and the Nene. This is a scheduled ancient monument. From above the outline of the fort can easily be seen - the moat is left unmowed as it’s still too uneven to mow. The site is bisected by Decoy Road and is now protected by pasture land, preventing ploughing or cultivation damaging any history below the surface. This makes perfect grazing for the farms free range beef and lamb (available at Moor Farm Shop), combined with the hedge rows, it provides great shelter for them in all directions. https://peterborougharchaeology.org/borough-fen-iron-age-fort/

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FEATURE

The Black Bull Deeping Gate

In pride of place at the foot of Deeping St James bridge is The Black Bull. Now a family home, there has been a public house on this site since at least 1770 and probably years before that.

remember food being served was when piles of bread had to be buttered to make sandwiches when a darts match was being held – they were part of a very active local league.

then lay empty for a number of years until 1980 when Mike Crowson moved in and spent years recreating an authentic old Victorian pub in the front rooms, replete with pewter mugs and oil lamps.

But for Pamela Stevenson (nee Burton) this was also a happy family home, with chickens in the yard, a dog, paddocks and gardens running down to the river, a copper in the scullery and a mangle to dry the washing! There was an aviary with budgies and in the house across the road on the corner, thought to have once been the toll house, was Mrs Sneath whose ducks would swim in the dyke. Pam’s dad William Henry Burton (known as Harry) was the last but one landlord of this local hostelry. One of five Burton siblings (we wrote about his sister Cissy in issue 6 of this magazine) he was born in a cottage in Church Street, Deeping St James, and married the diminutive Minnie Rawlinson from Fletton in 1925 after seeing army service in the First World War where he suffered from the effects of gas. During the Second World War, Harry worked in the munitions factory at Peter Brotherhoods leaving Minnie, assisted by members of the family, to run the pub. Just wet trade then: the only time that Pam can

Local children had a carefree childhood.

Pam can remember going with her friends on their bikes to Hannah Smith’s in Bridge Street to buy sweets, and one memorable occasion when they all jumped on their bikes to ride over to Frognall where they heard a plane had crashed during the war.

When Harry and Minnie had moved into the pub in 1937 it had recently been renovated for Soames Brewery by well-known local builders and stonemasons, Horace and Arthur Day of Towngate.

It originally had four upper and four ground floor rooms. Now the ground floor became one large room, separated by a partition so the room could be opened up for social functions. The bar and serving area were behind. A half cellar was built on the side and there was a lounge at the rear. The sash window at the back of the original pub became a serving hatch into the

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Harry remained the landlord until his death aged just 58 in 1951. At first the pub had been owned by Soames Brewery but they had sold out to Stewart & Patterson in 1949. Minnie was left at the helm until 1955 when she retired and went with Pam to live with her eldest daughter, Jean Haycox in Eye. The esteem in which the locals held Minnie was reflected in her retirement gifts of an oak linen chest and a clock. Sadly she died just two days into her retirement.

The last licensee was Sidney Mitchell who was at The Black Bull when it closed in 1971. It

FEATURE

up of S.B Lake, W. Henfrey, T. Jibb, F. Johnson, P. Lambert, S. Wright, H. Weldon, J. Smith and W. Sanderson.

lounge. Toilets for the public house patrons were built with domestic toilets, coal house, kitchen, pantry and dining room with two access hallways. The family accommodation, lounge and bedrooms were upstairs.

possible to search. Three weeks later, when the water had subsided, his body was found by Mr Robinson, the water bailiff, downstream at the bottom of Eastgate.

Just like the Queen Vic in Eastenders, all human life played out in the local pub. On one happy occasion in September 1924, it was the scene of merriment and dancing when landlord Thomas Lambert’s third daughter, Hetty held her reception at the pub having married Walter Gregory from Uppingham in the Priory Church. On another it was plunged into the depths of despair when in December 1907, William Crowson had gone missing. having left his bicycle after calling at the pub. It was feared he had gone into the river but owing to flooding it had not been

The pub had been let to Mr and Mrs Ayres from Peterborough in 1902, described as being fully licensed with a stable and large garden, and the young family was happy to move in, but then tragedy struck in 1917 when their son Fred was lost in the First World War. Just as the Black Bull had a successful darts team in its later years in the early part of the twentieth century, it boasted a very well-established quoits team who very seldom lost a match! In 1913 the team were made

The pub as we can see the building now was originally owned by the Revd John Mossop, who put it up for auction with his son Robert, solicitor of Long Sutton in 1829. It was described as having extensive granaries, stables, barn, yard, garden, brew house and outbuildings, extending to one acre situated between the river Welland and the turnpike road to Peterborough. At this time Samuel Banks was the landlord and the pub was freehold but it would have been well suited for a coal or corn merchant,according to the sale particulars. It was in the end bought by Thomas Sharpe of Sharpe’s Breweries, Market Deeping. Several landlords worked the pub during the time of his ownership; John Bent with his wife and four children were there in 1841, and later Samuel Pawlett, a corn merchant with premises in Stamford Road was the occupier. He left the Black Bull to pursue his other business in 1850 when John Taylor Marston of Marston’s Breweries, Market Deeping, bought the premises Let out again with an inventory amounting to £15, Richard Rippon was the landlord in 1856. He lived on the premises with his wife Sarah, nee Thompson, and their two boys and three girls. At this time a macabre discovery was made when on 16 January 1866 a body continued >

17

FEATURE of a child of about ten days old was found in a water closet on the premises. It had been strangled, the mark of a cord being around its neck, but the circumstances surrounding this tragic event have gone with the child to its grave.

In 1876 the innkeeper, Thomas Dixon, was summoned by Inspector Scotney for unlawfully allowing gaming to be carried out on the premises.

Thomas claimed that ringing the bull was played in all the villages around for the prize of some ale. This was an indoor game, the aim of which was to swing a metal ring, dangled from the ceiling on a rope, onto a metal hook on the wall. Originally, the hook was a bull’s horn. Quite often the hook is embedded in the nose of the head of a bull on the wall. The game is claimed to be one of the oldest in the country; legend has it that it was brought back by Crusaders from Jerusalem. However PC Brightwell testified that he had special instructions to watch the goings on in the Black Bull as complaints had been made that residents of Deeping St James had come across the river to play.

In spite of producing a testimonial to the orderly conduct of the house from the locals of Deeping Gate, Thomas was found guilty and had to pay fifteen shillings costs and had his licence endorsed.

There continued to be ups and downs in the village in the 1880s. In October 1881, Mr Adams, gardener at the Black Bull, had grown a green marrow which measured 3ft 3.5 inches in circumference, 20 inches in length and weighing in at 37lbs! The first anniversary of the Deeping Pig Club was celebrated here in March 1889. It was held on a Friday with supper for over fifty members and friends. Mr Huffer, the treasurer, presided supported by Mr Clough, the secretary. Mr Shillaker made a humorous speech, several songs were sung and Mr Hardy played some 18

violin pieces. This was a very worthwhile club as every householder had a pig at the bottom of the garden, which provided a ready supply of meat for a family during the winter months..

Each member paid a regular subscription and then, should their pig need the attention of a vet or even have the misfortune to die, some recompense would be made to its owner from the fund.

Later that same year disaster struck when Mr Frisby and Thomas Atkins, porter at Deeping St James station, went into the Black Bull having carried out some business in Deeping Gate. The pair met several friends in the pub, saluted them in the usual manner, replied to their enquiries as to their health and called for a pint of beer. This was brought over to them, at which point Thomas sat down and took a drink; directly afterwards he was observed to change colour, utter a slight groan and fall to the ground. The company offered every assistance but it is believed that he died within a few minutes. Dr Benson was sent for but it was too late. Thomas had been a porter at that station for 37 years and was thought to be about 67 years of age. He was a trusted and faithful servant and was much respected in consequence of his obliging manner and attention to his duties. His death sent shockwaves through the area.

In 1893 Marston’s sold the Black Bull to Soames brewery. The Faulkners took over the tenancy, but as was the way the actions of the drunk and disorderly made headline news as they do today. In the summer of 1899 labourer Thomas

Robinson of Deeping St James was disorderly and refused to leave the premises. Eventually, when he did leave, he broke all the windows on the way out. A summons was issued for his arrest but he absconded.

By Christmas that year George Brown had taken over from Faulkner and was summoned by the police for being drunk on his own premises for which he was fined ten shillings with nine shillings costs.

No longer a pub with its highs and lows, the building still retains some of its original features, including the mounting blocks outside the front door and the handsome light above it. But some of its secrets it still holds close.

Research: Joy Baxter, Pam Stevenson Words: Judy Stevens

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PROFILE FEATURE

Alf Avison

brings trade unionism to Deeping It’s hard to imagine Joe Gormley (leader of the mineworkers’ union) holed up in the Waterton Arms enjoying a pint with a Deeping local! But being Deeping St James you can perhaps imagine him being taken to task as a troublemaker by an elderly lady, a Church Street resident – he explained that he was only doing his job but it quickly became apparent that the lady was actually speaking to his companion, Alf Avison!

In fact the Waterton became a regular watering hole for the great and the good of British trade unionism of the early 70s including Arthur Scargill and journalist Richard Littlejohn, now of the Daily Mail.

Alf had moved to Rycroft Avenue when he had taken up the job as a Union Official with the Transport & General Workers Union (now Unite) in 1968.

His remit? To increase the Union membership from 4,000 to 6.500 otherwise Jack Jones, leader of the TGWU would close the Peterborough branch.

Alf ran the area from Kings Lynn to Oakham from Spalding to Huntingdon from a small dilapidated office where Queensgate now stands. It was next to the Registry Office and quite often Alf was asked to stand in as a witness to a wedding! Without the aid of any technology, Alf worked with a secretary. When he managed to raise the membership to 7,000 he was given an assistant, Arthur Hyland, an Italian speaker who was invaluable working with a predominantly Italian workforce at the brickyards.

Alf was from Grimsby the middle child in a family of six girls, whose father had left home when he was just eight. In spite of his working class roots, Alf attended the local grammar school becoming a cinema projectionist on leaving. After National Service in Egypt and Cyprus he returned home to Grimsby where he became senior fish buyer for the whole 20

of the fish store that was at that time on every high street, Macfisheries. Responsible for the purchase of thousands of tonnes of fish that passed through this thriving fishing port, Alf became interested in the plight of the fishermen who were often away for weeks at a time. He began to study employment and contract law and became a shop steward at Fisons Chemical Plant in Immingham. Alf was one of a new breed of trade unionists in the TGWU who, under Jack Jones, were encouraged to study union law backed by union research and legal expertise.

hauliers in Lincolnshire the board of directors agreed to a negotiation structure which would see a procedure allowing for a staged escalation of a grievance before industrial action could be taken, but where a basic wage would be guaranteed to striking workers. Said Alf in a quote in the Sunday Times at the time, “The original 8 day strike cost the firm real financial loss – about £4,000. But if it had gone through the full procedure, even if it ended in a strike, the basic wage would not have cost them more than £400. It’s a matter of simple arithmetic – buying both a cooling off time and better relations with the men.”

The industrial landscape for workers was very different in the 1970s with few rights, no pay or employment tribunals, no minimum wage and no redundancy schemes. In retrospect it is apparent that these schemes were hard won by the officials and workers who fought for a better deal in a decade which became known for its lightening and wild cat strikes.

Alf Avison was one such man. His pragmatic approach averted many a strike and saw systems enshrined in law which would improve the livelihoods for workers and ultimately make for a more peaceful future.

But it was not an easy time for Alf, whose influence with the Unions could bring Peterborough to a halt.

Aware of the magnitude of the responsibility Alf would tip the local Chief Inspector off in the event of an impending strike on the understanding that the information would remain under wraps. On one memorable occasion, Alf was driving into the city from his home which was now on the riverside in Eastgate in the Union’s Ford Cortina. He saw a family waiting at a bus stop and gave them a lift, knowing that the Eastern Counties bus would be delayed because of a strike. The man sat in the front with wife and two children in the back. Alf ’s name card was easily visible to the passenger in the seat next to him, while in the back the wife in blissful ignorance berated Alf all the way into Peterborough. As the family regrouped and made their way to the station, Alf would still love to have been there when his identity was revealed!

After a particularly costly strike to a firm of road

In the end the need for police protection and with incidents such as a noose being put through the door made Alf have second thoughts about the job, which he had first seen as a vocation. With the membership now at 12,500, Alf left the Union in 1974 and became an employee of Geest, with the responsibility

PROFILE FEATURE

for wage negotiation. Eschewing the title of Industrial Relations Director, Alf refused to become poacher turned gamekeeper! Worldwide consultancy work followed. Alf ’s unique understanding of the labour market was much in demand and he worked for the Government on the drafting of the National Dock Labour Bill.

While the strikes of the 70s caused wide scale disruption with unrest affecting power stations, coal yards, crematoria and refuse collection, Edward Heath introduced the three-day week. In this the scenario was similar to that which we have faced today with the Covid 19 lockdown, but as Alf comments, ‘In the seventies we knew what we were fighting; now we are facing a secret enemy.’

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New Potatoes Now Available in the Farm Shop Sweet and delicious, perfect for Springtime recipes.

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Deeping Kitty Kare has large range of Natural Dried pet food for your cats and dogs .

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Find us on Facebook or visit our website www.deepingkittykare.com

POEM

Si Fox

I’ve been allowed to do the shopping, I’d like to say its ‘trust’, But she’s stuck at home, her backs flared up, so it’s more a case of ‘must’.

As I queue up outside, with 2 metres in-between I stare idly at the trolley, and wonder where it’s been!

As we move slowly forward, I give it half a shove Then reach into my pocket to retrieve my latex glove!

I snap in on my hands, with surgical precision And as the raindrops start to fall, I rue this life decision.

Like the worlds most rubbish theme park, I queue for half an hour Zig-Zagging round the car park as I curse the April shower!

Once inside. I check my list, she’s written it all in order And so begins my quest, like Frodo seeking Mordor.

You see, no longer can you roam free, the aisles are much too narrow You’ve now got to do your shopping at the mercy of ’the arrow’!

Snaking round the store, a minimum two meter distance Trying not to pass germs on, and end all human existence!

Halfway round I clock the eggs, but it’s too late, and I’m too slow Everyone’s moving far too fast, and I’ve got to let them go I try to regain composure, and concentrate on the task in hand But will my wife be lenient, will she understand?

I finally pull myself together, and continue with the shopping The trolley fills, the aisles flash by, there’s not a chance of stopping Then finally I reach the end, the checkouts are in view Soon I’ll regain my independence , and not be the link in a living queue!

As I pay my bill I think back to the eggs that got away And I start to practice in my head, the words I’m going to say.

I’m going to have to tell my wife the reason that I missed ‘em I couldn’t go against the flow of the Tesco one way system!

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Call us on 07950 529 571 Email us at Mrmoverukltd@gmail.com Find us on Facebook @MrMoverUk Or visit our website mr-moverz-ltd.business.site

BEES

Bees make honey says Jez Rose

Bees & Co. is home to the native British honeybee, which Jez and his team are rearing and reintroducing to help battle the pollinator decline. Our native bees are much darker than the yellow and black bees most of us would recognise and are a largely forgotten strain of bee, but perfectly adapted to our climate. Where most honey farms are focused on the commercial production of honey, Bees & Co. are primarily concerned with the environment. Their hives are available for businesses to adopt as part of a sustainability programme to demonstrate to their customers and staff how they are being responsible as organisations, and their clients include The Ned Hotel in London; Sophie Allport; BeautyPro and Parker’s Tavern in Cambridge, but Bees & Co. also run a wide range of workshops and experience days, including their popular Beekeeper for a Day gift experience. ‘I wanted to invite people to the farm to see how passionate we are about the environment and our honeybees; running training workshops and gift experiences is just one of the ways we do that,’ says Jez, who used to present children’s television.

‘I hope we can encourage people to ask more questions about where their food comes from; what’s in it and whether there are better ways to do things to help the environment the way we live our lives.’ continued >

25

BEES

The bees at the farm also produce Great Taste award-winning honey, which is sold online and at various local shops including Swine’s Meadow Nursery, as well as sent to those who adopt a hive. The space Jez has created is almost entirely pollinator friendly, with more than 10,000 new plants and flowers being planted since he moved there in 2016, and the result is a unique honey that is simply delicious, the bees foraging on a veritable feast! Harvested by hand and to traditional artisan methods, it is true, raw, British honey: a spring-set honey from the abundance of oil seed rape crop, and a clear, runny honey from the huge array of blossom and flowers on the farm and native flowers surrounding it. ‘One of the many joys of raw, British honey, which is actually held in high regard all over the world as one of the nicest honeys, is just how versatile it is. We offer a honey called “Baker’s Honey”, which is ideal for baking; in most recipes you can simply swap processed sugar for an equal weight of honey for a healthier bake. It’s also great in drinks, including cocktails!’ There are a number of recipes on their blog for savoury, sweet and cocktail treats with honey at their heart but one of their most popular is this flapjack recipe created by Jez’s friend, cookery tutor and chef, Kathy Slack:

Flapjacks Makes 8 pieces (you’ll want to double up) 100g unsalted butter 1tbsp runny honey (or use our Baker’s Honey, which works especially well in these) 85g Demerara sugar 140g porridge oats (not jumbo)

Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Put the butter, honey and sugar in a large saucepan and set over a low heat until the butter has dissolved.

Remove from the heat and add the oats, stirring until every flake is covered in sugary butter.

Spoon into a lined dish or foil tray (roughly 10 x 15cm) pressing down into the edges and making sure the top is smooth.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool before cutting into 8 pieces.

This flapjack will keep in an airtight container for 5 days, but it really won’t take that long to eat.

For more information on Bees & Co. see www.beesand.co and follow Jez and his team on social media @ThatJezRose

Special Offer 26

Exclusive ‘I’d Rather Be In Deeping’ offer: Save £25 on a range of our award-winning workshops and experience days with the discount code DEEPING. Valid until 31st July 2020.

This lockdown space has set creative juices flowing - he LIFE IS BETTER WITH SPRINKLES

Musician Abi Fletcher of DSJ also has another string to her bow and created this mural during the lockdown!

This culinary triumph! A banana loaf from Estelle Heyhoe

Brandon Mattless’s partner illustrator Abigail Hookham started a Hashtag trend on Instagram called #draw4others. Artists have created a range of colouring in sheets for parents to access for free. Search for the hashtag on instagram and there you will find a wealth of work for you to screenshot and print off at home - or of course colour it in on a mobile device!

Karen Hollowell of Spellbound Book Art created this tribute to Captain Tom! www. spellboundbookart.co.uk Local ‘wonky’ artist Peter Scott has been busy on commissions and satisfying a little wanderlust on the way!

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here’s a selection of the treasures that have been made...

Mosaic garden created in Station Road.

Jade Beech’s front door wreath

Deeping map designer, Brandon Mattless has designed a series of free phone wallpaper backgrounds that can be screenshot or downloaded. Visit ‘free stuff ’ highlight on his instagram account @brandonmattless, or email brandon.mattless@gmail.com

Needle felter Victoria Doyle has been busy creating some loveable pooches!

Jill Pannell’s patchwork quilt.

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Wedding Mr

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.

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I do...

Be our guest

Feast with us

Marvellous Mill

Molecey Mill, Stamford Road West Deeping, Lincolnshire PE6 9JD thegranarydeeping.com | 07855242356 thesquire@moleceyestates.com

Health & Fitness

Special Occasions

Open for business

VE Day - memories ‘45 ‘70 and 2020

Alan Richardson took to Deepings Thought & Talk to share this memory “75 years ago, on VE day, I was 5 years old at home (Church St DSJ) with my mum and young brother when we heard a noise outside. We went out and found the local coalman Bill Taylors lorry had been washed clean of coal dust, decked out with flags and bunting. On the back of the lorry were a crowd of people clapping and cheering. Someone lifted me up onto the back and said I could turn the handle on a barrel organ. The lorry was then driven slowly round the village streets and then round neighbouring villages. It carried on for many hours and I was eventually taken home at 10 o’clock at night. We were on double summer time so it was still light! It was an experience that I will always remember!”

Image: Richard Moore

Tom & Paula Meeks, Spalding Road 2020

Everything was coming up... well roses! for David and Tracy Musgrove in The Primroses.

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Local resident Jill Gibb nee Guy (pictured centre) was on holiday at Weston-Super-Mare during the VJ Day celebrations. Here she is with her Mum, Vera (pictured left) and her grandmother Emily (right). The stylish hats and dresses were bought second hand from a butcher in Stonehouse who set up a little shop in his back room while clothing coupons were in force and new stocks were very limited. Looking through her Mum’s diaries Jill came upon these entries

Peter Foxon was still fighting the Japanese when the war in Europe came to an end - so at the time of the celebrations in the UK, Peter was in Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka). His naval career spanned the protection of the Atlantic convoys based in Nova Scotia to joining an assault training course in Scotland in preparation for the D-Day landings. There will be more about Peter’s illustrious career in our August issue.

8th May: VE Day. Simply marvellous. Ken took Jill & Roger out in morning. In evening Ken, Jill & l to service.

Stayed out till 10pm.

9th May: Kenneth served at 11am at church. In afternoon Mother came up and she, Jill & l went to Lynwood to tea.

To Park at night for dancing.

Jill remembers - “We had two days off from school. I was a pupil in the preparatory section of Stroud Girls’ High School in Gloucestershire (I was six at the time) which was just across the lane from our house. I recall the dancing in Stratford Park and a band playing, and more especially being allowed to stay up until 10pm on both days!”

Ken was Jill’s father and Roger a childhood friend, her grandmother lived in Stonehouse and would have travelled to visit her daughter and her family on the railcar (GWR line) a distance of about 5 miles. Her husband was a railway signalman at Stonehouse station, and was working over the VE Day celebrations.

Kim Parr 2020

Bells Farm 2020

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The Granary 2020

Ted Roberts in Eindhoven, Holland 1946

Mike & Linda Ellis 2020

Phyllis Wilson, West

Deeping 2020

Brian Thornthwaite 2020

Nancy Titman 2020

Erica Christopher recalls the celebration of the 50th anniversary of VE Day in more ‘normal’ times!

The Deepings held their own 50th VE Day Anniversary Street Party with celebrations and remembrance which took place on Saturday 6th May 1995. We managed to capture the spirit of May 1945 in the Leisure Centre Car Park by organising food, displays, Inter-School Sports, War-time and Military vehicles, a conjurer, Dutch organ and swingboats and a bouncy ‘Colditz’ castle. People arrived by Delaine shuttle bus with plenty to see en route. The tea was obtained using issued identity cards and tables were laid out in traditional style, in red, white and blue. In the evening the sports hall was transformed into a 40s Dance Hall with The Alex Gordon Big Band and the generations danced the night away. Tickets £7.50. A community day to remember.

Mel & Phil Savage 2020 33

THE WELLAND

Old Man River just keeps rollin’ along says John Parsonage When you have lived in The Deepings and the surrounding area for more years than you might care to admit, you start to appreciate many things that don’t change for a great length of time.

These long-lasting bastions of strength, standing up to the passage of time and all that can be thrown at them, might be social things such as community groups, businesses, families, friendships. Alternatively, they might be more physical and visual things like fields, trees, hedgerows or buildings which help to create the rich and varied tapestry of landscape in which The Deepings finds itself nestled. This richness of landscape along with convenient north / south bridging points on The River Welland could well be one of the founding reasons for the original development of The Deepings. Over time the population has grown and so have all the social aspects of society. Sadly, some of the old buildings full of charm and character have disappeared in the name of development. I often wonder what The Deepings would be like if these buildings still stood and had been sympathetically restored and developed. Would we now be living in The Cotswolds of Lincolnshire, attracting visitors and trade from further afield!? Regardless of this The Deepings still remains a very attractive place to live and this is evidenced by how many successive generations of families choose to live out their lives in the wider area.

However, something exists which is longer lasting than the buildings, the community groups, the friendships and the successive generations of families.

This ‘thing’ is something that many of us pass by in our everyday lives whilst in and around The Deepings. It is in the midst of our community but also extends far beyond it. It has, over time, brought happiness and sadness along with financial cost and prosperity to our community. It threads through 34

our lives, our community and the wider landscape like a silver life breathing eel, not so different from those eels which use its channel to fulfil their epic migration. I am, of course, talking about the River Welland. Not a mighty river like the Thames, Nile or Amazon but nonetheless an equally important river to us. Yet I wonder how many of us truly give it much thought, value or consideration?

Evidence from local historical digs arising from road building and gravel extraction proves that it has been a valued resource to mankind for thousands of years.

In the beginning, Stone Age man probably hunted on the shingle banks at the river’s mouth. Bronze Age man built settlements amongst the reed beds and

marshes created by the untamed overflowing channel.

Successive generations of Fen Folk have derived their livelihoods from the river and surrounding landscape, catching fish and fowl to sustain their families and provide an extra income where possible. As society developed, man exercised his power on the landscape by draining the fens and meres found in Lincolnshire and beyond. The Dutchman Cornelius Vermuyden was brought in to assist with plans to drain this (as described by some) wet, desolate, fly-ridden and unforgiving landscape. Investors were sought to back these drainage schemes, hence the term adventurers.

This terminology can be seen on some of the earlier maps of the area, when it says ‘Adventurers Lands’ i.e. lands which were still being drained. The widening

THE WELLAND

and embanking of the channel and the drainage of the surrounding Fenland was not without its problems.

Disputes between the Fenmen who needed the water and reeds to sustain their living, and the engineers and investors who wished for dry land to grow their crops of wheat and barley, were fairly commonplace across The Fens. Today disputes like these are now a thing of the past but problems still exist with us trying to control Mother Nature. The floods of 1947 had disastrous consequences for a lot of local families with farming families hit particularly badly.

Today similar threats remain. Changing weather patterns mean rainfall frequency has lessened but its duration and intensity have tended to increase and this, coupled with rising sea levels, means the threat of flooding still remains very real. Should we get intense spring rainfall corresponding with high

spring tides then it is not possible for the drainage authorities to let the flood water out of the mouth of the river and into the sea at Fosdyke. Luckily, we have some very good infrastructure to accommodate this extra water. Locally this is the Nine Bridges / Maxey Cut channel, also known by some as the Whitsed Cut after the engineer who designed it, and further afield the Coronation Channel at Spalding. Both of these channels take the extra water and divert them from the centre of Deeping and Spalding. Prior to the construction of these channels the Crowland and Cowbit washes were used to accommodate any extra water but they didn’t prevent the river bursting its banks in the 1947 floods. The last major body of water to come down the Welland was in 2000.

So, the silvery snaking river which gave our ancestors their fish and their fowl, the reeds for their roofs and continued >

35

THE WELLAND

the peat for their fires, but took away their harvests in bad years, is still flowing though our landscape: in summer a soft gentle flow, probably somewhat restricted or depleted by the construction of Rutland Water in the 1970s, and sometimes in winter a raging brown torrent. The passage of time continues and our actions have changed the landscape but the river remains a constant. It provides the water for our homes in the form of Rutland Water and the water for our crops, but it could potentially still remove all that we all take for granted.

36

I wonder how many of our predecessors would recognise the river in its current form if they were to travel from Deeping towards Crowland. The wide, embanked channel shining like a mirrored millpond early on a summer morning. Each reed head perfectly reflected in the glasslike surface. Or in the winter, white-capped waves blowing up the channel on a stiff easterly breeze which appears seemingly intent on blowing back the river to its source in the hills of Northamptonshire. The wind-rippled crops and dark black soil replacing the reed beds and meres where the fenmen drove ducks by their hundreds

into strategically placed nets. The now intensively farmed wash lands replacing what would have been summer grazing meadows. It’s not until they would arrive at Crowland Abbey that they would probably recognise the bulk of this impressive stone structure standing out as a monument and testament to the skill of the masons who built it and the importance of the Church who brought religion to an untamed land. They may also recognise the strategically placed stones in the wider fenland which depict the religious and commercial interests of the Church over the wider landscape: stones such as Saint Vincent’s Cross

THE WELLAND on the Crowland to Thorney road or Kenulph’s stone between Deeping and Crowland. They would undoubtedly recognise all the different bird and animal species which they would encounter. Sadly, there would be a good many species which are either now missing or certainly not as numerous! More recent ancestors would probably recognise or know of Borough Fen Duck Decoy on the Newborough side of the Welland, where Billy Williams (the last of several generations of the Williams family) caught wild ducks and sent them to market in London. Some truly amazing catches of duck were made here, especially when the Fens were starting to be drained. Towards the end of his career and more recently the Decoy has been used for catching and ringing purposes with any data going to help the Wildfowl Trust and the British Trust for Ornithology better their understanding of bird movements and life expectancy.

As you progress further up the channel you now pass what is now known as Deeping Lakes Nature Reserve which is run and owned by the Lincolnshire Wildlife

Trust. As a young man I can remember carting sand and gravel out of the newer workings for a previous employer. I can also recall planting the first shelter belt of trees on the Crowland road one bitterly cold winter’s day when the wind lay in the east and cut across the fen like a knife. Little did I think 20 years on I would be watching otters where the diggers had been or erecting an owl box on the trees my colleagues and I had planted. Prior to the recent extraction works the older pits had been dug towards the end of the 19th century for clay and gravel for the railway and were known by many as The Ballast Pits. I presume the clay was for making bricks and the sand / gravel was bedding material for the foundation of the railway across the black fen peat / soil? I and they worked 100 years apart but in my mind, it just reinforces my sentiments at the start, whereby successive generations come and go and leave their mark upon the land or society, be they from the Stone Age, Bronze Age or later periods. But the river remains a constant. It was here before us and I guess it will continue after we are gone.

I wonder just how many of us stop to give that silvery, life-breathing eel much thought, value or appreciation in our busy everyday lives?......

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The Wild Garden

Come and meet the team ready and waiting to serve you during this Covid crisis Fresh local supplies from Grasmere, Peterborough Dairy & Continental for bread, cakes and milk and eggs...

w

Come on in have a look around and talk to one of the team who are ready to serve whether in the shop or your Local Post Office.

Keep in touch and check out our Facebook page ‘SAMS Premier & Post Office’ for further updates.

WE ARE PLANNING AND FOLLOWING GUIDELINES IN PREPARATION FOR A LATE SUMMER REOPENING...

PLEASE BARE WITH US AND WATCH THIS SPACE FREE PARKING • NO ADMIN FEES • AFFORDABLE PERSONAL TRAINING 1-2-1 OR COUPLES WELCOME ONLINE BOOKING NOW AVAILABLE

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Natural, seasonal, eco-friendly flowers for all occasions.

Using the best of British, and beautiful blooms straight from the cutting garden. www.the-wild-garden.co.uk Mobile 07568 514182 email: wildgardenposies@gmail.com

County Councillors Rosemary Trollope-Bellew and Barry Dobson are pleased to support the Deepings Business Support Scheme Councillor Rosemary Trollope-Bellew T.01778 560634 E.cllrr.trollopebellew@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Councillor Barry Dobson T. 07855 309615 E. cllrb.dobson@lincolnshire.gov.uk

TRAVEL

Travel in the Deepings?

Woburn

Traditional travel and tourism might be some time before they return to any sort of normality.

But if you need a travel fix, the answer might be closer than you realise. Stuart Render reveals some popular destinations lurking in plain sight in the heart of our community.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to get out and about on foot, you do notice things which, in a car, you might very probably miss. At footpath level this includes road signs. Take a route off Thackers Way and up pop roads bearing names such as Foxgloves, Marigolds and Bluebells. A little further along come Curlew Walk, Wren Close and Nightingales.

Back home, and looking at a map of Market Deeping and Deeping St James, I soon realise that it’s not only flowers and birds that are adding interest to the landscape. A quick count reveals around 30 roads named after towns, cities and villages. There’s even a country, although being pedantic, it’s not really a country. More about that in a moment.

So, to give you inspiration for future visits, here’s a light-hearted look at where you can travel without ever leaving the Deepings.

The Italian city of Florence can lay claim to being the cradle of the

Renaissance.

This romantic, enchanting and utterly irresistible city is undoubtedly a place to feast on worldclass art and gourmet Tuscan cuisine. Located off Lady Margaret’s Way, Florence Way can surely claim to be similar.

Crowning a hill in rural Leicestershire, Belvoir Castle has been the home to the Duke of Rutland’s family since 1067. With exceptional views across the Vale of Belvoir, the castle remains one of the most magnificent and beautiful Regency houses in England. This ancestral home is the fourth castle to continued >

39

TRAVEL

Blenheim Palace

stand on the site and was built in the early 1800s for the 5th Duke and Duchess of Rutland. Belvoir Close is somewhat newer.

Home of the Cavendish family since the 1550s, Chatsworth is one of this country’s most magnificent stately houses. Home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, this hugely popular Derbyshire visitor attraction sits on the banks of the River Derwent in the heart of the Peak District.

Chatsworth Close meanwhile sits in the heart of Tattershall Drive.

Moving into Deeping St James and just off Millfield Road, we find a cul-de-sac named after the county town of Devon. Exeter Close might

be small, but its namesake city has one of the largest cathedrals in the country and a unique astronomical clock. Pre-dating the arrival of the Romans in AD 50, Exeter’s history is rich and long. This is reflected in its fascinating visitor attractions, including its unique Underground Passages, imposing Roman wall and beautiful quayside.

Heading to the Northfields Industrial Estate we find a group of roads all named after historic aircraft marques. These, in turn, often took their names from major towns.

Halifax Drive reflects the West Yorkshire town now famous for being the place to go if you fancy a last tango. But do check out the recently refurbished Grade 1 listed Piece Hall, a magnificent piece of 1779 architecture, and nearby Shibden Hall, the location for the BBC drama series Gentleman Jack.

Exeter Cathedral

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Our only Scottish destination can be found close by. Stirling is home to one of Scotland’s great castles. Often described as the ‘Royal Castle’, when compared with Edinburgh and its ‘Military Castle’, Stirling Castle, in this writer’s opinion, offers a more satisfying visitor experience. Don’t miss The Kelpies, the world’s largest equine sculptures, and the Falkirk Wheel, a rotating boat lift, just down the road.

TRAVEL

The Kelpies

There are many more roads that deserve a mention, including Woburn Close, Sandringham Way and Blenheim Way (stunning stately houses),) Lincoln Close (majestic cathedral and historic city centre) and Douglas Road (capital of the Isle of Man and famous for its horse-drawn tram rides along the promenade. There’s also Beaufort Avenue, arguably our most international place name, with locations in Canada, Australia, France, Malaysia, the US, Ireland and many other countries. The residents of Beaufort Avenue will probably know the answer, but it seems likely that the road was named after the wind speed scale rather than the area of the mining town of Ebbw Vale in south Wales.

But to end, a word about the country that isn’t. Holland as a country doesn’t actually exist. The country is called The Netherlands. The term Holland refers to just two of the country’s provinces: North Holland (around the tourism hotspot of Amsterdam) and South Holland (around Rotterdam). However, the term Holland has been used for centuries, primarily to describe people from the northern provinces, and latterly as a tourism brand. Mind you, it’s unlikely to affect the residents of Holland Close, off Kesteven Drive, who no doubt regularly get together to discuss cheese, windmills, tulips, bicycles and clogs!

Chatsworth

Happy travelling!

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MUSIC

Abi Fletcher flautist from DSJ updates us on her lockdown experience Since the summer [when Abi featured in IDRBID magazine] I started my masters degree in Cologne (Germany). I moved to Cologne at the end of September to a lovely little flat. My landlords were very welcoming, they gave me apples from their garden and from hearing me practise for many hours in my room asked me to play at a couple of events for them. The first event was the landlord’s 70th birthday in a lovely little restaurant, and the next was a special Christmas party in an old castle for the local club. I invited my friend to come along; we played duets together, and thoroughly enjoyed the buffet after.

As part of the Hochschule I took part in many orchestral projects and got involved with lots of chamber music. I took yoga every Wednesday morning at 8am, with flute classes every Monday evening, and weekly flute and piccolo lessons keeping me very busy.

I took my A2 Deutsch exam (language qualification) at the end of January which was a big achievement for me as I studied for it on my own and with a little help from my German-speaking friend. This meant I could continue with my studies at the Hochschule.

I came back to Deeping for the semester break (Feb-March) in February. I was supposed to return back to Cologne at the end of March but could not due to my flights being cancelled and the virus. I am still in the Deepings now, keeping busy with practice, painting, running, and even doing a bit of gardening! I’m having weekly flute and piccolo lessons from both my teachers in Germany over Skype - which is a very strange experience for both teacher and student. During lockdown I have done another wall painting in my parents’ hallway and a canvas painting which I have just sold.

Before the lockdown I was having regular rehearsals with the NIA trio at the Royal Academy of Music in London. We had a concert booked in London for April but unfortunately this was cancelled.

Using microphones and video I am currently working on a flute quartet piece with my friends from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. This should hopefully be finished in the next couple of weeks.

I am enjoying my time at home with my family but am keen to get back to my studies!

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POEM

The Lockdown

By Ben Sanford (age 14) Families are together for twelve weeks, And just staying at home is quite bleak, Boris shut down the schools, And being 2m apart seems so cruel.

My birthday did make me sad, But I got a Nintendo Switch so that wasn’t so bad!

I also had Mr Pizza, With Chocolate cake, much sweeter.

We knew that schoolwork would be online, Piles of it sometimes grew up to nine!

Now we are working on “teams”, Its so bad, and “connect” appears in my dreams!

Whether it’s doing some baking, Or gardening which can be aching!

From feeding the ducks, To playing Just Dance which is deluxe!

Some days we go out for sunny walks, I try to get a tan at sweet 4 o’clock.

Mum rustles up the barbeques, I have even painted a picture of Ewes!

But we will be back in September, This summer will be something to remember, It has been really tough, But we will be together again soon enough.

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The Rose & Sweet Pea Show Online 2020!

This Show goes on! For the time being online but if possible followed by an event in the Church Hall and garden in the early Autumn. The Priory Church relies on the average income of approx £3,000 from this well-loved annual event to help fund the expensive outgoings of running the church. Parish Safeguarding Officer Ted Fisk said: “We didn’t want to be beaten by the current situation, so we have teamed up with a fantastic website provider to enable us to run the ‘Rose & Sweet Pea Show’ online in a way that the whole community of Deeping can get involved by entering some of the many competitions that we run each year.”

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The page will go live on Sunday 7th June and the community will still be able to enter the raffle and various competitions that are usually displayed in church on the last Saturday in June.

Reverend Mark said “The event has a long standing tradition and has never been cancelled for over one hundred years, so to be able to offer many of our

events and competitions online is simply excellent. Thanks to the creativity and experience of certain members of the congregation we are able to provide something that everyone can get involved with and I urge you to do so.

For me this is my first year, so it’s really exciting to see how we can still involve the community in this outreach event.”

Raffle! Alluring prizes from

discount vouchers for local food and retail stores to cash prizes. All of the prizes will be drawn at 4pm on Sunday 27th June live from the website.

Competitions! Enter by uploading photographs of your entries to the website. Most of the usual horticultural categories will be running by simply taking a photograph of your entry and emailing it in or uploading it with details of weight and height to the website. There are also new Art and Nature categories to celebrate the EcoChurch Bronze Award that the Church was awarded with earlier this year.

Art & Nature Categories:

1) Best wildlife photograph (taken from your back garden or whilst out walking in The Deepings or outskirts) - JUNIOR & ADULT categories 2) Art sketch or painting of a famous landscape within The Deepings - JUNIOR & ADULT categories 3) Make a Thank You card for a Key Worker JUNIOR & ADULT categories 4) Make a Home for Nature - As part of our ‘Eco-church Bronze Award’ our youth group members have been busy making Bug Hotels, Hedgehog Houses and even a Abode for a Toad the RSPB website provides some great guidance on how to do this. Why not give it a go and upload your photos of the process or end product.

Here’s a link to our facebook page which will have more information on the events during the day and the all of the competitions that you can enter (this will be in place by June 1st 2020) https://www.facebook.com/DSJ-Priory-Church938962326130409/?ref=bookmarks

PREGNANCY

Our Voices Are Louder Together

by Zoë Kornfeld

Peterborough and Hinchingbrooke Maternity Voice Partnership (or MVP) is an NHS working group: a mixture of individuals uniting with the shared goal of improving local maternity services. Led by two co-chairs, myself, Zoe Kornfeld, and Meghann Horner-Smith, with Hannah Pattison as our secretary and treasurer, the group includes service users, birth workers, doulas, service commissioners, and service providers such as midwives and doctors. Working in partnership, this group of men and women, review and develop local maternity care. Our work is heavily steered by feedback from those currently experiencing this care, and we are passionate about reaching out to those groups in our community who are less likely to be ‘heard’ due to location, ethnic background, or other external factors.

The MVP acts as a ‘critical friend’ to the maternity department at North West Anglian Foundation Trust which covers Peterborough and Hinchingbrooke Hospitals, by supporting and driving change, through co-production, and joined-up thinking. This means consistently holding up a mirror to those making decisions about maternity care, and asking how things can be improved.

As you may already know, Coronavirus has made a huge impact on the experience of birthing women and their families. We all have experience of the many restrictions covid-19 has had on our lives recently, and there have been many changes made to maternity services, in order to protect those using it, and those working tirelessly within it. These changes have often been difficult to make, and it will be important going forward to see what lessons have been learned, as we enter our ‘new norm’.

It has been the perfect time to reflect on what works well, and what could be improved. Safety restrictions have meant many changes, including antenatal appointments via phone or video, women being asked to attend scans without their partners, Midwife Led Units being relocated. Families have also found it a challenge being unable to support each other in the usual ways during this time – no baby showers, and getting broody together over a cuppa, and many are still waiting to introduce their new bundles to their loved ones. Everyone has had to adapt, and there has, of course, been much positivity shining through, however, and the strength and resilience of women as they give birth to their babies, never ceases to amaze me. We have been proud to share lots of positive birth stories filled with care, respect, compassion, and determination, during the last few months. continued >

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PREGNANCY

It has been a very busy time over the last few months for the MVP team. We have been working hard to keep our social media channels as up to date with key information about all aspects of maternity care – keeping up to date with national guidance, as well as providing FAQs, and information straight from your local maternity team, whether that be antenatal appointments over the phone, changes to facilities, as well as providing links to postnatal support groups. We have our first online ‘Ask the Midwife’ session this week, and are always ready to welcome your feedback. If you are expecting, have recently given birth (congratulations, you are incredible!), work in maternity services, or are passionate about improving local services - please do get in touch. The more voices we have in our partnership; the louder and stronger we will be. Find us on Facebook, Twitter or send us an email at peterboroughhinchingbrookemvp@ gmail.com to join our mailing list.

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When Abbie and Dan first learnt that they were to have a baby they could not have anticipated the circumstances of the birth on 27th March just four days after lockdown! While Dan was allowed at Abbies bedside for the birth he had to leave a few hours later and the family would have to wait for the welcome that they had eagerly planned. It was in the very early days of lockdown and nursing staff were not always sure of the procedure but what they lacked in this respect they made up for with an abundance of concern and care! At 8lbs and 2ozs, baby Arlo was no lightweight but Abbie was pleased to leave the hospital just 24 hours after his arrival. In spite of a traumatic start. Arlo is enjoying life with Mum and Dad closeby!

Click and collect available on all craft supplies Marabu Rainbow pen set half price only ÂŁ12.50 perfect for decorating rocks and writing on glass or porcelain. www.riversidebeads.co.uk/ product/marabu-porcelainpens-7-rainbow-colourpens/

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Send a virtual hug with a card designed by illustrator Brandon Mattless!

Available to buy on our new website where you can catch up with previous issues too!

www.idratherbeindeeping.com 47

CHELSEA

Chelsea as Unusual May 2020 saw Gladwell & Patterson not at the Royal Hospital Chelsea exhibiting at the world’s finest flower show but, as with all of you, firmly at home.

So they took the decision to deconstruct and reconstruct their usual stand at Chelsea here in the Deepings in the garden at Molecey Mill. Unpacking the walls of their exhibition stand and building it for 2020 meant that the gallery among the flowers went ahead in a virtual dimension. Instead of being up at the crack of dawn in Battersea Park in a steady vehicle queue of garden designers, builders, plantsmen and women and a whole host of the finest horticultural minds all ready to put on a wonderful gardening display, the run from the garage to the stables was a lot shorter and the walls seemed a lot lighter.

Glenn persevered to replan the layout and after an early start the Gladwell & Patterson stand Not at the Chelsea Flower Show started to take shape. The stand, 48

which you might recognise from the last few years, fitted well under the oak frames and the space gave some extra distance to the walls. Whilst G&P couldn’t take you to the 2020 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Graham and Glenn hope that you enjoy a glimpse of the stand at their home.

They proudly showcased a selection of their finest horticultural artists, carefully picked to appeal to the discerning gardeners who visited their virtual Chelsea Show. This year there was no artist in residence each day painting but there were plenty of visual surprises to entertain! The eyes of the gardening world are always firmly focused on the RHS Chelsea Flower Show during this special week and the RHS with the BBC ensured some exciting virtual coverage from the comfort of viewers’ homes for this unique year.

The show has been held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, every year since 1913, apart from gaps during the two World Wars and now in 2020.

Enjoy this wonderful stand, not this year on Southern Road close to the Bullring Gate, but next to the gentle millstream at Molecey Mill, West Deeping.

Get in touch if you see something which interests your green fingers.

CHELSEA

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Found in local shops in Deeping...

We all need some healthy treats at present so how about a pot of the Co-op’s Fairtrade strong coffee and a richly fruited Butter Enriched Granola slice to keep your spirits up?

Delicious! A raspberry ripple jam roll for Sunday tea! ÂŁ2 of scumminesss! From the Spar Shop Godsey Lane, Market Deeping

What could be nicer than an Ophir gin (zesty citrus, orange and cardamom) and Franklin’s sophisticated tonics ?

Choose from an enviable selection of gins including Gordons, Hendricks, Whitley Neill, Kappesberg and the Edinburgh Gin Distillery from Sam’s Newsagents, Rycroft Avenue, Deeping St James. One free glass bottle tonic with every premium gin purchased on mentioning I’d rather be in Deeping.

Frozzy’s are a delicious low fat, lactose free frozen yogurt.

Helping to keep your dog cool and giving a lip smacking treat to!

Available from Pet Stop.

Crumbly puff pastry with a delectable selection of fillings including Steak & Ale made with ale from the Oakham Grainstore Brewery - and two medium pies for just ÂŁ8.50 available from Grasmere at The Precinct, Market Deeping.

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Hadj and David have risen to the challenge while supermarkets ran short of staples they bought flour and pasta in large sacks to decant into smaller bags.

They sourced local produce suppliers for eggs, meat, bread, vegetables and fruit.

Their motto is “If we haven’t got it we will get itâ€? and they did!đ&#x;˜Š Shop local, stay safe, celebrate the small village shop!

Thanks to David Brown, Ann Taylor, Julie Wells, Liz Jarma, Jill Thomas

No Hide Dog treats and chews from Earth Animal and available at Pets Pantry, Market Place, Market Deeping are a natural alternative to raw hide using nutritious ingredients that are easily digested! Pure and simple!

MOZZYMAK

PEST CONTROL SERVICES

Northborough Post Office lives up to its name as a great corner shop - on the corner of East Street and Lincoln Rd, Northborough! Most shoppers are regulars and its no wonder as there is a great selection of everything! Including fresh flowers!

Make your own recycled bird feeder using a plastic bottle and a ‘Neat Ideas’ package from Vine House Farm Shop, Deeping St Nicholas just £3.95

Delicious fudge made in the Deepings!

The ultimate sweet treat!

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Wedding Stationery, Funeral Service Sheets, Birthday/Party Invitations, Thankyou Cards, Notelets, Art Prints, Photocopying Services.

Quote IRBIDO1 for 10% off all orders until 30th June https://deepingfudge.co.uk/

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POEM

Time passing The willow tree marks hours, days, seasons.

A grey winter day sinks into darkness and a single shaft of gold illumines bare branches, raindrops shimmering like Christmas.

Spring turns the bark red, and now the morning sun coaxes sleeping green to emerge, slowly, slowly, until there it stands, fully dressed, each leaf rimmed with light.

Wind turns the canopy back on itself, silvery, shooshing like the sea.

It learned long ago to bend, unresisting, until the storm is blown out, and stillness returns.

The thin crescent moon is caught in the topmost stems, until it shakes itself free, to soar upwards, to chase Venus through the starlight.

Night and day, the year is turning; an imperceptible breath of frost touches air and grass, and a solitary yellow leaf falls silently to the ground.

Sue Hibbins

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