Month: December 2021

Adkins Cycle Store

Today’s Advent Calendar opens for C. E. Adkins and Sons, your local independent bicycle shop and cycle repair experts. Trading since 1923, Adkins are one of, if not the oldest retailer in town. On the face of it, not much has changed in their 98 years, which is good, because it’s hard to find good ‘old fashioned’ customer service like you do at this shop.

Gerry, grandson of the original Mr Adkins, showed us around. He and his father Dave run the shop. They do have a selection of bicycles for sale but are mainly fixing bicycles at the moment, mainly due to a shortage of bicycles caused by the pandemic. Gerry (pictured below) hopes that these supply issues are sorted soon, as he expects to have sold out by Christmas!

Repairs start from just £9.50 for a puncture, £12 for a bent wheel and £25 for a gear and break service. They also have parts and accessories available.

C. E. Adkins & Sons stayed open throughout the pandemic as an essential repair service at the request of Wellingborough Council. They also support the monthly Critical Mass cycle rides to encourage people to swap four wheels for two, plus are very positive about our Repair Cafes and are happy for us to refer people who need cycles repaired to them.

Visit Adkins Cycle Store at 8a Cambridge Street or call them on 01933 222678. Their opening hours are Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10am until 2pm. Do pop in for all of your bicycle repairs or if you fancy something new to ride on.

Wellingborough Library

Today’s Advent Calendar window opens for Wellingborough Library who are hosting their Christmas Fair today!

There’s always something happening at the Library and the staff were very keen to tell us all about it, so we videoed them for you. On the video, Sophie, Dee and Jen tells us about Wellingborough Library and the exciting things they do, plus all about today’s Christmas Fair!

The Christmas Fair opens at 10 and finishes at 2. There will be a visit from Father Christmas, a few raffles, lots of craft stalls, some live music and plenty of pocket money games. Entry to the fair is free and it costs just £2 per child to see Father Christmas, which includes gift! Bring family and friends for a festive treat!

Watch now to discover the activities at Wellingborough Library

About Wellingborough Library

Wellingborough Library is a large, busy library in the heart of town, offering a wide range of services to customers: from business support to children’s activities. Staff are friendly and happy to point you in the right direction. The library is always kept clean and presentable. There is also disabled access via a lift and disabled toilets.

As well as having thousands of books, they have computers to use and meeting rooms for hire. The Library shop sells a selection of greetings cards, gift items, children’s toys and educational material. They are also the place to find out about local tourist information.

Opening hours

​​Opens​Closes
​Monday​​9am​​6pm
​Tuesday​​9am​​6pm
​Wednesday​​9am​​6pm
​Thursday​​9am​​6pm
​Friday​​​​9am​​6pm
​Saturday​​9am5pm
​SundayClosedClosed​

You will find them at Pebble Lane, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, NN8 1AS. They also have a busy Facebook page that shares lots of posts about their activities. Visit Wellingborough Library at any of the times above, or if you can for their Christmas Fair today!

Happy Birthday Food for Thought!

With today’s Advent Calendar, we are opening a new window for a fabulous shop, that is celebrating its first anniversary with a party tomorrow. Happy Birthday Food for Thought! We featured them on last year’s Advent Calendar on their opening day, and we’re really excited to show you around again a year later…

Food for Thought have food, cleaning, personal hygiene products and accessories for sale. Kerry, the shop’s owner, gave us a tour of her emporium, and we videoed it for you. Here is Kerry telling us all about the products available at Food for Thought, including lots of new ones:

Say hello to Kerry and packaging free food

Kerry has opened her ‘zero-waste emporium’ in Nene Court, Wellingborough, to reduce plastic pollution & celebrate locally made. Their motto is more joy with less waste!

At Food for Thought, you can buy loose and eco friendly goods, such as food stuffs, self-care and cleaning products. You simply fill, weigh and pay for what you need. So save your jars and bottles. Wash them out and refill at Food for Thought!

Here are some photos of Food for Thought:

So if you’re looking for great food and cleaning products with zero waste, find Food for Thought at 21 Nene Court, Wellingborough, NN8 1LD

Opening Hours

Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 8.30am-12.30pm
Wednesday: 10am – 3pm
Thursday: 11am – 7.30pm
Friday: 10am – 5pm
Saturday: 10am – 5pm
Sunday: Closed

+44 (0) 7912 696097

Find out more at https://www.foodforthought.shop/

Green Drinks

Members of Wellingborough Eco Group are already working at local events, to help improve our borough’s environment, to reduce, reuse and recycle items that would otherwise end up in landfill, and to help local people reduce their carbon footprints; and some of us work with other local groups tidying up our communities too. But it is hard, often dispiriting work, and renewing and making new friendships, in a relaxed setting is a great way to chill.

That’s where Green Drinks comes in!

Wellingborough Eco Group are hosting Green Drinks evenings, and these events are open to everyone. We are simply running friendly group meetings every month, over a drink in an old Wellingborough pub. The aim is to create a space where people who care about the environment can chat.

Join us to chat, network and to discuss the issues

Do join us for networking, news, chat and new friends; and be part of a growing global network where local people push for and build a sustainable future. Everyone is invited, there is no agenda, this is all about you and what we can do environmentally locally in a friendly and positive way.

We meet on the first Tuesday of each month at the Queens Head, Broad Green, Wellingborough NN8 4LH. The next one is on this Tuesday. We start in the lounge area, on the left as you come in the main entrance, from 6:30pm… Let us know you’re coming on the form below, on Facebook or just turn up!

Scope

Today’s Advent Calendar window opens for Scope’s charity shop in Wellingborough, because they are urgently requesting donations of good quality clothing, bric-a-brac, electricals, toys and shoes and bags. Don’t throw your unwanted items, give them a new life by donating them to Scope, the disability equality charity in England and Wales.

To help, Wellingborough Eco Group have Scope donation bags at our Swap Shops and Repair Cafes if you need them. Every donation of a pre-loved item helps them to fund their vital advice and support services; and it stops usable items ending up in landfill:

  • Scope provides practical information and emotional support to disabled people when it’s most needed, through a telephone helpline and via an online community forum. They also provide a range of employment and child sleep services, community engagement programmes, partnerships and more.
  • Scope are campaigning to create a fairer society with their Everyday Equality strategy. For the last 5 years they have campaigned for social change, on issues about fairness, justice and rights at home, at school, at work and in our communities; so that the 14 million disabled people in the UK have equal opportunities.
  • Donating items to charity shops like Scope for re-use, diverts millions of usable items from landfill and into low-income households, tackling poverty, saving hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO2, and supporting a vast, growing network of people through volunteering, employment and training opportunities.
Your guaranteed a warm welcome and plenty of bargains at Scope Wellingborough

There are no limits on number of bags you can donate and you don’t need to make an appointment at the Wellingborough Shop. Just drop off at your convenience to 26/27 Silver Street, Wellingborough, NN8 1AY. They are open Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm and closed on Sunday.

The Scope Wellingborough shop sells a wide range of new and second goods including: clothes, shoes, homeware, accessories, furniture, CDs and DVDs, books, toys and much more. They offer discount prices, with tops for £1, bags and shoes for £2, dresses for £3 and jackets for £4. Call 01933 227001 or visit https://www.scope.org.uk/ for more info.

Wellingborough Organisations

Welcome to the first day of our Advent Calendar! Today we open a window for one of our partners, Wellingborough Organisations, who this year are using our Advent Calendar to make a new Wellingborough Town Guide! We are supporting this to promote local sustainability and to support local businesses and community organisations.

Wellingborough Organisations have been sharing local services and events for five years. They have recently built a new website that features local organisations including businesses, charities, groups and services.  The organisations on the site can do anything, as long it is in or serves Wellingborough. All posts will be categorised as News, Community or Business; and categories will also attached to these so that you can easily find what you want. News and events will also be featured!

They also manage Wellingborough Forum, a place for everyone to share information and discuss services. They set this up to encourage discussion, to improve communication and to increase collaboration between Wellingborough’s organisations, but it can also be used by anyone to seek assistance or support, or to just chat. You can also join in and contribute to Wellingborough Forum on Facebook or on NextDoor.

We’re really excited that they are making a new Wellingborough Town Guide and you can help them by sharing what’s going on and what you do. You can do this on Wellingborough Forum, with an email to info@wellingborough.org or with them on social media. You can find Wellingborough Organisations on Facebook and Twitter (@wellyorg) like and follow them for the latest updates locally!