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Northamptonshire Day: 25 October 2026

This year, taking place in Kettering, this is intended to be a celebration of the county’s history, culture and visitor attractions, and will span multiple locations across the town centre.

Focusing on the Market Place – and coinciding with the full reopening of the Alfred East Art Gallery and Kettering Library – Kettering Leisure Village and Wicksteed Park will also join in the celebrations.

This year’s event will include:  
 – Community groups, arts organisations and sporting partners coming together to celebrate the county
 – Family activities and children’s entertainment throughout the day
 – Heritage exhibitions celebrating local history and community stories
 – Live performances in the heart of Kettering town centre
 – Historic venues opened for exploration and activities
 – Vintage and heritage bus experiences linking key attractions, and
 – The chance to visit Wicksteed Park and Kettering Leisure Village.

Click here to find out more.

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Holcot Youth Club Bingo Night; Holcot Village Hall, Back Lane; Tuesday 29 September; 7.00pm to 8.30pm

Open to anyone between the ages of 6 and 18. And at just 50p per person with all manner of prizes to be won, it’s a great way to spend a Tuesday evening. The only thing you have to ask yourself is “do I feel lucky?”

You bet your life you do!

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UPDATE… UPDATE… UPDATE… UPDATE

Fun in the Field Charity Event: FREE beer, FREE paella, FREE music. What’s not to like!

You can always tell when the editor is trying to be groovy and ‘down with the kids’ by using hip terms like ‘moss pit’. The fact that it’s actually ‘mosh pit’ reflects this ageing hippy’s complete lack of experience in attending any outside music event… (I blame my sheltered upbringing).

Please forgive an old geezer his silly moments. And come on down anyway!

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Fun in the Field Charity Event*: FREE beer, FREE paella, FREE music. What’s not to like!

Sunday 27 September; 2.00pm to 4.30pm; ‘Roger’s field’, on the road to Hannington (see below).

Come along and join lots of Holcot residents (and their friends) for an afternoon of wine, women and song.

Well, OK, change that to FREE beer^, FREE paella^ and, yes, FREE song! (HOBO – always a cheap date…)

And if beer and paella don’t tick your gastronomic box, feel free to bring your own preferred forms of sustenance. There’ll be a gazebo to shelter under in case of rain, but please bring chairs, tables or picnic blankets to relax on. And of course, make sure Jeeves is on hand to serve the requisite bubbly and cucumber sarnies…

So come on down – and arrive early to bag the best place! There’ll be masses of free parking, on-site toilets and a St John Ambulance team – just in case anyone gets crushed in the moss pit.
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* Collecting for local charities – all contributions much appreciated
^ Beer and paella supplied by the inimitable Mr Roger Gunnett

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Local Housing Notice: bungalow for sale in Walgrave.

As a neighbouring village, Holcot Parish Council has been notified of this listing and is required to share this information with our community to satisfy local planning and housing policies.

In the first instance, this property is being exclusively reserved for residents of Walgrave and surrounding villages. This exclusive reservation ends on 31 October 2026.

Click here for full details.

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Holcot Parish printed newsletter: July 2026

Hopefully, you have all received your copy of July’s printed newsletter – hand-delivered to every household in the village over the past week or so.

If you haven’t received your copy – or it’s been torn to shreds by your cat, pet parrot or over-zealous puppy – you can read an online PDF version here. (Once there, scroll down to the ‘Previous newsletters’ section – you can print from this version too.)

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Roadworks alert: Brixworth Road; Monday 20 July until Wednesday 22 July

Gulley-cleaning work taking place. This will be a two-way traffic-light system, and the map suggests it’s just opposite the Fishing Lodge entrance/exit. Some delays almost inevitable.

(Unless you follow the example of a lady who wanted to bypass the ‘Road Closed’ signs on Moulton Road – a couple of weeks ago – by driving along the pavement! NOT to be advised!)

Click here for more details.

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National Grid work on Back Lane; 14 July to 20 July

Taking place at the Memorial end of Back Lane (see below), this work is to install a ‘new service connection’ for the proposed new dwelling on Moulton Road. They say that disruption to traffic is unlikely, but I guess they’ll need to park their van(s) somewhere close by.

Click here for more info.

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Holcot Parish Newsletter. Deadline for Edition 3 – 2026

The deadline for submissions for the next printed newsletter is 5.00pm on Friday 17 July 2026.

Anyone can contribute, so if you have any news or information about events happening in, or of interest to, the village please email the details to: holcotvillagenewsletter@hotmail.com

(We have to allow time for design and printing, so please get those emails in super quick!)

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Roadworks alert; Moulton Road closure; Sunday 12 July to Wednesday 15 July

According to Causeway one. net, Moulton Road will be closed for four days while Anglian Water carries out ‘new connection’ work. This is to connect the proposed new development on the left-hand-side just after the westerly end of Back Lane.

Assuming this really is a ‘road closed’ situation, it means that anyone aiming for Moulton will have to go via the Sywell Roundabout and the A43. Or, possibly, via Brixworth.

Click here for more details.

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Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio…

Calling all budding thespians – ever fancied being in a real-life drama?

The West Northamptonshire Council Emergency Planning Team is looking for individuals to play the role of evacuees in a realistic emergency scenario. This is your chance to experience how major incidents are managed in real time and play a vital role in making the exercise feel genuine.

Date: Wednesday 2 September 2026
Location: University of Northampton, Waterside Campus, NN1 5PH
Timing: 9.30am to 4.00pm

What’s involved?
You’ll be taking on the role of someone evacuated from their home during an emergency, interacting with real responders and seeing how support is delivered on the ground. No acting skills required – and refreshments are included!

To give you an idea of what an emergency exercise looks and feels like, check out this YouTube video (Dublin, 2018). And if you’re interested, please complete this registration form.

And HURRY! Places are going fast!

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3.00pm on Sunday 12 July is Fancy Dress time! Don’t miss out!

The Holcot Summer Fete is taking place on the Green by the Church on Sunday 12 July.

And we’re calling all princesses, clowns, super heroes, dinosaurs, cartoon characters, monsters, unicorns, fairies… and, oh… anything else you can think of!

Get Mum and Dad to help you create your favourite outfits! Tell them they need to get their imaginations into gear, and dig out some of those funky outfits they used to strut around in 20 years ago (that they hoped would come back into fashion). Yeah… as if!

Then they need to cut them up and sew them back together to create something NEW and FAN-TAS-MA-GORICAL! For YOU to strut around in!

The main event starts at 2.00pm, and to take part in the fancy dress competition, you MUST register your name by 3.00pm.

So come on Mum and Dad – time to step up!

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Your Parish needs YOU!

Want to have a say in what happens in Holcot?

One way you can make a difference is to join the Holcot Parish Council. There are currently just four people – all volunteers – who make up the Council. To be candid, this isn’t enough.

Ideally, there should be seven or eight people, because there are many advantages when more people are involved:
– Discussions can revolve around wider-ranging views and opinions
– Each debate can be better considered and balanced
– Decisions made are more likely to be reasoned and fair
– Those decisions will then be more representative
– The occasional absence can be more easily managed and integrated into Parish Council meetings.

If, in the past, you’ve found yourself frustrated, perhaps, by decisions made by Councillors, why not join the Council? And influence those decisions.

If you want to be involved, you can find more information here.

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The biggest threat to somebody who has collapsed from a heart attack?

TIME.

It takes just four minutes after a human heart has stopped before internal organs begin to stop working. A frightening prospect.

Most of us would be out of our depth. A mixture of panic and ‘little knowledge’ would prevail. Valuable time would be lost. And a well-meaning but untrained physical response might cause more harm than good.

Enter the St John Ambulance CPR and defibrillator team.

On Thursday 18 June, in the Village Hall, nine parishioners were educated and entertained by Chris and Cayti from Kettering St John Ambulance. They benefitted from 90 minutes of CPR demonstration and defibrillator use – with hands-on practice on the very compliant Annie (a plastic ‘body’).

While none of us would now claim to be expert, we have at least a foundation of knowledge that would, hopefully, enable a quick and appropriate response in an emergency.

A very worthwhile session and I urge you all to look out for the next training opportunity and come and join us! You can find out more about how to do CPR here.

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Holcot from the East

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