Grantham charity shop overwhelmed with donations in 1996

The PDSA charity shop in Grantham was overwhelmed by goods to sell after the shop was struggling to get stock to fill its shelves.

Robert Collins, who was acting manager of the shop, said if stock wasn’t brought in soon then the shop would have been in big trouble.

Then one afternoon, 162 plastic bags of items were delivered and over 100 bags followed the day after.

Mr Collins said: “I’ve been waiting three weeks for stock and now I’ve got more that I know what to do with.

“There’s not enough time and staff to sort through it all, but I’m pleased, it’s very good quality - clothes, bric-a-brac and a few good books.”

Empty PDSA bags were pushed through letter boxes of Nottingham homes and they were later collected with many of the bags full.

50 years ago - New machines make a big difference at college

Grantham College received an engineering boost in 1973.

The college acquired approval to install machines and ancillary equipment, costing £17,500.

This was the outcome of special arrangements made between the Department of Trade and Department of Education and Science.

The college had four new machine tools and ancillary equipment installed.

The machines that were installed included an automatic plug-programmed capstan lathe for bar and chuck work, a universal milling machine complete with equipment for differential indexing and spiral milling, and a vertical milling machine with power rotary table and a hydraulic surface grinding machine.

At the time, they said the machines would make a substantial contribution to future teaching programmes in the Department of Engineering.

10 years ago - Cider bar opens to bring feeling of traditional pub

Westgate became home to a cider bar in 2013, which aimed to bring the feel of a traditional village pub to the town centre.

The Apple Tap Coffee and Cider Bar was opened by manager Ruby Scott, who was working on the idea for four years before.

Ruby said: “Nobody else has opened a cider bar before in Grantham but it’s something I’ve been looking at doing for about four years now. I just wanted to bring a little bit of the old village pub feel back into the town - something a bit retro.”

When it first opened it attracted a lot of customers.

Ruby added: “I can’t believe how many cider drinkers there are. Everybody who has come in has loved it. We have lots of regulars already who love the atmosphere.”

The bar had plans to introduce an outdoor area, rustic food and also turn the warehouse into a function room.