Tributes to former Spalding Isobel's Pantry and Red Lion figurehead Joyce Wilkins

Tributes have been paid to a lady who was always the ‘life and soul’ of the party.

Joyce Wilkins was well known in the Spalding area for her glowing personality while she worked at The Red Lion Hotel and Isobel’s Pantry, which used to share premises with Ye Olde White Horse.

She passed away on January 13 aged 93 as a much-loved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Born in King’s Lynn, she moved to Moulton as a youngster - where she met her future husband John, a nuclear physicist.

The pair moved to Oxford and had two children, Nigel and Julian, while Joyce took up a part-time job in an Italian restaurant.

After the tragic death of her husband, Joyce was left a single mother at 34 so she travelled back to Spalding and took a job at Isobel’s Pantry. Its owners recognised her natural talent, and before long she was in charge herself.

“It was a very successful period. Mum built it up into a fantastic trade,” Nigel said.

“She started off cooking in there, and eventually employed chefs and did her main thing - which was being at the front of house.

“She was great with people, just a natural. She drew people from Peterborough and Stamford, and they’d all come to Isobel’s Pantry.”

Forced to give up the business after Ye Old White Horse was converted back into a single unit premises, fate led Joyce to The Red Lion on Market Place. She became a joint partner, and after a few years Nigel bought into the business himself. They finally sold it last year.

Joyce worked at the front of the pub for a short while, but left most of the shifts to Nigel as she got older. Instead, she would come in and entertain customers.

“It took the pressure off my back, because she was just a natural,” Nigel said.

“She was on the customers’ side of the bar, and they all loved it because she was such a personality.”

All the while, Joyce was splitting her time between Spalding and Europe.

“She had a little property in Spain, and she loved going over there,” Nigel added.

“We benefited from that, because any time we visited we were swept into the culture. It was fantastic.”

Unfortunately, a car accident broke Joyce’s leg and her mobility was badly affected. Nigel and Julian said her spark started to wane after that.

“Having spent most of her life being the life and soul of the party and loving it, she’d probably had enough,” they said.

However, the brothers say she will be well remembered for her outgoing personality and excellent cooking - with her Sunday roasts, secret Italian recipes and chutneys among her specialities.

She always loved the hospitality industry and was a popular figure.

Nigel added: “She loved it. It was her life - Isobel’s and The Red Lion.”