Deepings Rugby Club hosted most successful beer festival a decade ago and other stories from the long archive of the Rutland & Stamford Mercury
We’re on our weekly stroll down memory lane looking at news from up to 200 years ago.
Our Rutland & Stamford Mercury Memories is produced thanks to the support of the Stamford Mercury Archive Trust.
10 years ago
Most successful beer festival for rugby club
Thousands of people enjoyed ales, cider and Pimm's in the sun as a rugby club held its most successful beer festival yet.
The home of Deepings Rugby Club in Linchfield Road, Deeping St James, was packed with people for Friday and Saturday's festivities.
And with more than 80 real ales, 25 ciders, 40 barrels of Fellowship 5.0% Belgian strawberry beer and all manner of other drinks, spirits were certainly high.
There was live music all weekend, with three acts on Friday and four on Saturday.
Stamford Soul and Motown 10-piece kicked things off and visitors enjoyed rock, folk and reggae before The Brays closed the stage on Saturday night.
No doubt emboldened by a pint or two, plenty of people took the chance to challenge Deepings darts legend Martin “Woolfie” Adams at the oche.
And win or lose, the challengers all walked away with a signed festival programme. The festival started in 2003 and has remained free to the public thanks to the sponsorship of local businesses.
Club chairman Mark Owen said: “Every year it has grown and this year was probably busier than any year we have had before.”
Mr Owen said it was tough to judge how many people came over the weekend, but the best part of 3,500 glasses were sold at £1 each.
Money raised from the festival will be split between the club and this year’s chosen charity, the Sue Ryder. Thorpe Hall Hospice appeal.
Cyclists achieves personal goal
A prolific fundraiser cycled 116 miles - completing a personal goal to replicate the first stage of Le Tour De France while raising funds for a charity.
Richard Lomas-Brown competed in Le Tour earlier this month, taking on the first stage of this year's Tour de France route from Leeds to Harrogate.
He completed the 190km - 116 miles - route in seven hours, 56 minutes and 50 seconds. Rich, who is a member of Bourne Town Harriers but turned his attention to cycling a few months ago, finished in the top 20 of 99 riders, despite his bicycle chain coming off and getting stung!
He was treated by a medic at one of the checkpoints. Rich, of Eastgate, Bourne, has also raised more than £500 for the Alzheimer's Society. The charity is his employer's Halifax chosen charity of the year and the Spalding branch where he works has agreed to match fund what he raises, so he has raised more than £1,000 - well in excess of the £300 target he set himself.
Rich, who trained with Bourne Wheelers in preparation for the event, said: "I was very pleased with how it went.
“It was a fantastic atmosphere and the scenery along the route was absolutely amazing.
"It was really strange to think that the professionals had rode the same course just a couple of weeks before me.
"It was hard work but well worth all the effort and training. Two or three of the climbs were an absolute killer.
"The highest summit was at 1,725ft at Buttertubs Pass with a total of 8,617ft climbed over the whole course.
"The scenery was beautiful, and the weather was kind while I was riding as I managed to avoid all the downpours as they occurred over the course."
Business opens new showroom
Thirty five companies were represented by health and safety managers, maintenance engineers, general managers and other representatives from as far as Scotland who visited Advanced Handling, based in Market Deeping to learn, watch and test lifting equipment to help them reduce manual handling risks across their business.
Advanced Handling officially opened their new showroom which hosts materials handling equipment for different applications and working environments.
Visitors had the opportunity to join brief presentations covering key product ranges, a tour of the factory and testing equipment in the new showroom.
Companies represented during the open days included leading aircraft manufacturers, food and drink manufacturers, power and energy suppliers to packaging manu-facturers.
At its site on the Northfields Industrial Estate, Market Deeping, Advanced Handling design and manufacture a range of lifting and handling equipment including Movomech overhead vacuum lifters, Pronomic lifting trolleys and stackers, mezzanine goods lifts, static scissor lifts and mobile scissor lifts.
These solutions support many industries in reducing the risks of manual handling injuries, making efficiency improvements and assisting in streamlining production processes. Managing director, Mike Prince said: "The extent and commitment to invest in these solutions makes it even more important they work for the specific application - seeing and trialling them can make all the difference."
25 years ago
Three generations talk about how marriage has changed
Three generations of a family have all lived in town their whole lives.
Shirley met her future husband at a dance in Wittering and married him at 25. She said: “I wanted kids and you didn't have them outside marriage in those days.
“There's just no way I could have gone to my parents and told them I was pregnant the way girls can nowadays. So you did things the right way round and got married first."
Jaynie, Shirley’s daughter, was married at 19 and had Katie two years later. Although her marriage has been long and successful, she feels she wouldn't want Katie to do the same. "Girls have more going for them now, there's more scope at school and there's no need to rush into anything. Shirley supported Jaynie's early wedlock but thinks there are modern problems with marriage.
Shirley said: "I don't think women take marriage as seriously as they used to. They look forward to the wedding day, but not what comes after it. It’s too easy to get out of.”
Shirley and Jaynie saw their marriages as a support as they set out on their lives, but for Katie the feeling they all seem to share is that it might hold her back.
The emphasis has switched from security to independence, from getting by to aiming high. The increased importance of the 'social life' since Shirley's day is another indicator of change.
Shirley recalls staid dances and the occasional family party. In Jaynie's day, courting couples went out together in twos and fours. Katie says when she goes out, it is in a big, mixed group. Boys and girls have equality as friends and feel less pressure to find that 'someone' Shirley and Jaynie are pleased that Katie has more choices than they did, although they realise young women also have certain pitfalls to negotiate.
College course is top of the class
Staff training and development at Stamford College is top of the class - and that's official. The centre has been re-recognised as an Investor in People after impressing a team of visiting delegates from the Business Link section of Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, Trade, and Enterprise.
Jayne Olney, of Stamford College, said: "We achieved our Investors in People award a year ago, but you have to keep standards up to keep hold of it.
“We were delighted when Business Link re-recognised as Investors in People - it means we can keep the award for another year."
College Principal Andrew Middleton was said to be very proud of his staff and said it was one of many improvements the college had made over the last 12 months.
The Investors in People award is a nationally recognised indicator of staff training and development.
Tidiest villages are revealed
It Is that time of year again when the hunt for the tidiest large and small villages in Rutland came to an end.
The annual event is sponsored by the Rutland Mercury and county council, and on Monday news editor Simon Harris helped judge.
Here he explains how the judges came to make their final decision.
Eleven finalists were narrowed down to two winners on Monday as the annual Rutland Tidy Village competition came to an end. This year 25 villages entered the competition, sponsored by Rutland County Council and the Rutland Mercury, to award the best large and small village.
Judging of the first round had been completed by Rutland County Council - Lyddington was declared the most improved large village, and Barrow the most improved small village. Barrow also made it through to the finals.
Judges for the final round were Oakham Mayor Councillor Joy Gregg, Uppingham Mayor Coun Gerry Salmon and myself.
Judging would take into account four aspects of the village - anti-litter (35%), corporate effort (25%), residents' rate efforts (20%) and general appearance.
An effort had been made to keep most villages litter-free, although Barrowden and Barrow seemed to have more than most.
Dog fouling was also evident in many of the villages, but there were one or two without any: Ketton, Empingham and Market Overton were impressive because they were clean and tidy despite having busy shops, pubs and being on a main route through the county - all creating the potential for people to drop litter.
Clipsham and Teigh, both previous winners, seemed to maintain a high standard in all areas, but were not quite good enough to beat Stretton, which has won the small village title this year.
The only problem we found in Stretton was an unsightly coil of barbed wire leaning against a fence. Otherwise the village was impressive with a spotless bus shelter, which doubled as a notice board and was obviously well used.
Other good efforts included Wardley, one of Rutland's smallest villages, and Hambleton, both of which had just one piece of litter each.
Barrowden is one of the most picturesque villages in Rutland, and the centre of the village near the pond was impres-sive.
This was the first village we saw where litter bins had been provided, but it was a shame people hadn't made more use of them - there was more dropped litter here than anywhere else we visited. The bus shelters were clean and also had collection boxes for paper recycling in them which were well used.
Playscheme launches for summer
School’s out and the fun is just beginning for the kids at the summer playscheme in Stamford.
Around 500 children in the area will be part of the playscheme this month, which is being run at St Augustine's RC Primary School and Malcolm Sargent School.
The kids get together and take part in a variety of activities to beat the summer break blues. So far, entertainments on offer have included a treasure hunt, craft lessons and swimming trips.
More than 30 volunteer play leaders keep the kids in check. The playscheme is run and funded jointly by the town council and South Kesteven District Council.
Marion Paterson, town clerk and one of the organisers, says the scheme was designed with the children's needs in mind.
"We can all remember what it was like to be children in the holidays!
“The scheme is a fun time them, where they can make friends. We want them to enjoy themselves.
"It's not really for the parents, but if it helps them too then that's good! A lot of work has taken place behind the scenes to get this going, and all the play leaders have been great."
50 years ago
Stamford Chamber of Trade's plans to promote the town to tourists during the Burghley Horse Trials now rests on a final decision from Lincolnshire County Council.
The Chamber wants to keep the High Street pedestrian precinct closed to traffic for another three hours on two nights of the Trials so as to hold entertainment and attract Burghley visitors into the town.
100 years ago
May Newbold, Stamford, a widow, was charged at the St. Martin's Police Court on Friday, with being found drunk on the highway at midnight July 12th. P.C. Parish stated that he assisted the defendant to her feet. She had great difficulty in keeping her balance and had to be detained in a cottage until 3am before she could be allowed to go home.
He understood that the defendant had been drinking with two men in Stamford and they had then driven her out of the town in a trap and left her drunk on the roadside.
Defendant said she was being attended for "paralysed" fits and at the time the constable found her she was in one of these.
The sister of the defendant, after several interruptions, was ordered to leave the court.
There were two previous convictions against the defendant, one for an offence of similar character and the other for using obscene language. A fine of 10s. was imposed.
150 years ago
The Marchioness of Exeter has arrived at Burghley from London. Her Ladyship and Lady Isabella Cecil were present at the wedding in Westminster Abbey of Miss Cavendish Bentinck and Sir Tatton Sykes. Lord and Lady Aveland have arrived at Genartney Forest, and the Baroness Willoughby de Fresby at Drummond Castle, Scotland. Lord and Lady Carbery have gone to Castle Freke, co. Cork. The Darl and Countess of Carysfort have left town for Glenart Castle, county Wicklow.
200 years ago
On Wednesday afternoon whilst Mr Dewey, of Brown’s Hospital in this place, aged 63, (formerly a respectable farmer at Edithweston), was driving an empty cart at Geeson, near Ketton, he had the misfortune to fall before the vehicle, one of the wheels of which passed over his right leg, and occasioned a dreadful compound fracture. The other leg, and his head also, were slightly injured by the cart. The unfortunate man yesterday suffered amputation of the fractured limb, above the knee, and we are happy to say he is doing well.
