Northants Telegraph Sunday Extra: Slimming World success, lottery grant and a 101st birthday

We've got so much news these days that we can't always squeeze everything into the working week. So every Sunday we'll bring you updates on recent stories, some news-in-brief and other things you need to know from across Corby, Wellingborough, East Northamptonshire and Kettering.

A new play highlighting homelessness will be staged at The Core at Corby Cube on as part of a UK-wide tour.

Commissioned by Big Issue Foundation the critically-acclaimed theatre production takes place on Friday, November 4, at 8pm..

UNKNOWN - a play about homelessness - has been created with support from The Arts Council and developed and produced in partnership with award-winning Roughhouse Theatre

With an estimated 6,000 or more people living homeless in the East Midlands alone - UNKNOWN explores how and why so many lives are affected by an ever increasing problem.

Moira Hunt, director of Roughhouse Theatre said: “UNKNOWN is a deeply compelling drama that tells the painfully true and profoundly moving story of a young man’s struggle to survive living on the streets of Britain today. It should be seen by everyone who has ever crossed the road when approaching a homeless person in the street.”

First performed as a radio play in October 2020 and developed as a stage drama for a short tour in 2021, UNKNOWN has already received widespread acclaim - including being listed by The Guardian as one its readers’ favourite plays of 2020.

Tracy Griffin, CEO of Big Issue Foundation, said “With the exponential increase in homelessness over the last three years there has never been a more important time to raise awareness of the issues and the reality of life on the streets in the UK today. It is in this context that we are working with Roughhouse Theatre to bring their compelling drama to as wide an audience as possible.”

For tickets go to https://tickets.thecorecorby.com/81922/81923?z=0

A Kettering woman celebrated her 101st birthday surrounded by her friends and family.

Edith Abrahams (nee Watson) was born on September 17, 1921, in County Durham and moved to Kettering in the mid 1930s during the slump with her mum, dad, sister and three brothers. Her other sister had sadly died of Spanish Flu.

The family settled at 198 Bath Road and found work at Timpson’s Boot & Shoe factory in their North Park works.

Edith married airman George Abrahams in 1941. After the war the couple settled in Isham, then Barton Seagrave before moving to Hampshire to run a small ironmongers and general store. After George died in 1984 Edith eventually moved back to Kettering to care for her recently-widowed sister who still lived at 198 Bath Rd.

Aged 99, Edith moved into Ashley Court residential home. For her 101st birthday last month, Edith’s many nieces and nephews threw her a party.

A Northamptonshire Slimming World consultant is celebrating 10 years in the role.

Sue Shone started a group on September 19, 2012, at the Ennerdale Community Centre in Corby and had 22 members through on the first night.

Now she runs two permanent groups - Tuesday mornings at St Andrew’s Church in Kettering and Saturday mornings at Corby Old Village community centre - and manages a team of consultants from Kettering and Wellingborough.

She was recognised for her work during a presentation at a National Field Conference that was held in Birmingham.

Sue said: “I feel so proud to be part of something that really helps people achieve their dreams - changing those habits and understanding themselves better, to eat better, to cook better and to shop better!

“This isn’t just about weight loss - it’s about lifelong friendships forming in the most amazing way.”

Irthlingborough’s Cando Care day centre has been awarded a £10,000 grant from National Lottery Community Fund.

Managing director Kathleen Meredith said: “This is a great help to us in continuing the work we do.

“We cater for the elderly, vulnerable and those with dementia, which can also give respite to their families.

“If you would like more information on our service we offer, or are interested in volunteering either in our centre or as a driver, please contact us on 07741 651170.”

School pupils aiming for a future career in the digital and technology industries will have the chance to network with local sector leaders at a showcase event later this month.

Tresham College, part of The Bedford College Group, working with North Northamptonshire Council, will host the invitation only Techspo event at the Kettering campus on Friday, October 21.

Tresham College will have a series of exhibition stands on their technology courses - from digital marketing to game design and software development.

Technology companies will be attending to share their work and career opportunities with names signed up so far including Smart Octopus Voice Agency, AR Media, Starship Robotics and Voi e-scooters.

Students from local schools will be taking part in a Dragons Den-style competition to pitch ideas for protecting the environment and improving town centres using new technology. There will be prizes of a VR headset for the best ideas.

Six Higham Ferrers schoolchildren are about to become YouTube stars.

The seven and eight-year-olds, who attend Henry Chichele Primary School, had lines to say in the movie that is currently in production to mark the 600th anniversary of the Henry Chichele College.

The 15th Century College, along with The Bede House which is in the grounds of St Mary’s Church, were founded by the town’s most famous historical figure, Henry Chichele, who became one of the country’s longest serving Archbishops of Canterbury.

The college site is owned by the Duchy of Lancaster and is under the guardianship of English Heritage. Higham Ferrers Tourism manages the day-to-day events in partnership with English Heritage and via The Chichele College Committee.

Now, to celebrate the special 600th anniversary, the Tourism Committee has obtained a grant from the Nenescape Festival Fund to make a film about the milestone celebrations and to tell the world the story of Chichele College and its famous founder.

The film, which was shot by Gareth Hughes of H. G. A. Studios, will go out on YouTube and be aired on the Higham Ferrers Tourism website.

Some 500 children from Higham Ferrers Junior School and the Henry Chichele Primary School visited the Chichele College in the run-up to filming to learn about Henry Chichele and to turn back the pages of history to learn how to scribe with swan and goose-feathered quills.

St Mary’s Church in Knox Rd, Wellingborough is holding a book sale on Saturday, October 15 at 10am.

Books are price from 50p and admission is 20p. There is a pop-up cafe and free parking.

The community was welcomed into the newly refurbished offices of Hope UK’s HQ in Gold Street, Kettering, earlier this month.

The Kettering-based drug education charity held an open day to showcase its work, with mini taster activities on offer for the young and old, as well as opportunities to meet some of the organisation’s trustees, staff and volunteers and find out more about what they do.

Visitors learned about the work of the charity, which operates nationwide as well as locally, and had the opportunity to sample short workshops on topics such as drugs and the law, and county lines.

Games and activities gave people a chance to test their knowledge about drugs and their effects.