A string of warm days in early March had new sugar producers Shawn McNamee and Jackie Lamb worried their first season might end before it even began and the pair settled in for a marathon run This was not their first year collecting sap McNamee would work with Matthew Reid during sugar season and in exchange he would boil their sap “It was always kind of in the plan to eventually go our own way and do it ourselves And it just happened at the right time that we got this evaporator at auction and Matthew got bigger the exact same year,” he says the pair set out to convert the original granary at their Butternut Farms location in Godmanchester into a sugar house It was previously being used as a garage and for storage They emptied it out and added a new concrete floor in the fall then reinforced the century-old structure so tanks could be stored above the main floor and a new building was more expensive than renovating an old one,” says Lamb McNamee admits he thought for months about the logistics of moving the evaporator and installing it “It took four hours to get that beast in and all the tanks set up,” he says with a laugh noting the evaporator has wheels and it swiveled right into place With ten years of experience helping at Reid’s McNamee was more confident when the time came to fire up the boiler on March 16 as temperatures swung wildly from highs in the low 20s to freezing cold nights The tanks would be dry one day and overflowing the next who says the season has gone well despite the starts and stops “The machine is a little big for our situation,” he admits noting they were not able to boil every day because the evaporator outsizes the supply of sap they can pull from their 1,900 taps There is capacity to increase their taps to a certain extent which McNamee suggests they will do in the coming years “We are happy to keep the trees going,” says Lamb noting the forest behind the farm was previously cleared and there is a lot of regrowth you can see sections that were harvested differently,” she explains noting there are still some beautiful big trees that were left standing they were also in the barn with a lambing group of 100 ewes “We’d see each other for two hours in the morning and two hours at night,” says Lamb with being especially patient and supportive “They helped in the bush doing big days tapping,” she says noting she would sometimes come in to find supper on the table an entire community sprung up to help make sure this first season went well raising a glass to those who made their first season both memorable and successful and website in this browser for the next time I comment Home   What's On   Article Godmanchester resident Roger Leivers is a local historian and speaker who has documented fascinating aspects of the town’s history related to the Second World War in two books Stirling to Essen: The Godmanchester Stirling: A Bomber Command Story of Courage and Tragedy a stricken Short Stirling Royal Air Force bomber crashed into fields to the east of Godmanchester “It all started way back in 2012,” says Roger who used to work in sales before retiring a few years ago I was doing Second World War history walks around Godmanchester and the money I raised went to the museum in Godmanchester So it was just a little fundraiser for them really “Then an email dropped into the town from a gentleman who lived in Surrey and he was asking a question about the bomber crash in 1942 “It got passed to me because I was doing these walks and I got it confirmed from some of the old guys that were here that it had happened.” Roger was curious as to why the man who sent the email was interested in the crash “He actually owned the 1930s sports car that belonged to the pilot that was killed in the crash,” notes Roger who is originally from Mansfield and moved to Godmanchester in 1989 “It was a Squire Supercharger – only seven of these were made before the company went bust – and they’re worth about two-thirds to three-quarters of a million pounds each we brought the car to Godmanchester on a gala day – it’s a superb “He came along with it and he was already in touch with the son of the squadron leader that was killed in the crash… “He came down from Scotland with his family and we put the car outside the Queen Elizabeth School in Godmanchester and people were throwing money in the bucket “And as it disappeared up the road that day I thought to myself ‘I wonder if I could trace any of the crew?’ and then five years later which is the story of that captain from his birth to the crash.” Roger notes that the book has been very successful “I’ve lost count but I think we’re round about two-and-a-half to three thousand copies [sold] worldwide on it “It’s been a very successful book because it’s a story of people but also it’s the story of a bomber that’s been sort of forgotten “The Short Stirling bomber was our first four-engine bomber of the war so it’s not an area that people have necessarily delved into that much the Grand Arcade in Cambridge (where I met him) the Serpentine Green shopping centre in Peterborough He says that he and his team have donated around £40,000 “in memory of the people whose stories we’ve told” to various charities since 2012 “It sounds quite parochial because it’s called Godmanchester at War,” he says “so it sounds like it’s just about the town – but there’s a lot to it “It initially honours the fallen of the town in the Second World War so the first chapter covers how they lost their lives “We have children’s memories of growing up during the war in Godmanchester and it is obviously fascinating to find out what their memories are but they all remembered that in January ’45 one of the last V-1s that was launched came down close to Godmanchester we have the local politics between Huntington and Godmanchester… “It sounds boring but it’s quite funny actually – it ought to be a Dad’s Army script “Then we go on to a love story of a Godmanchester girl with a New Zealand airman through letters that he sent her that were found in the loft of a house Roger says that “about half the book” is dedicated to Farm Hall who were thought to have worked on Nazi Germany’s nuclear programme He concludes: “It [Godmanchester at War] sounds but actually so much happened there and so much that’s in the book corresponds to every other town and village in the country “It’s a lovely overall snapshot of an ‘ordinary town’ during the war.” I visited Hunts Archives on a regular basis and extracted all the Godmanchester stories from the Hunts Post from 1914 to 1918,” he explains “With the help of a guy called Steve Bengree we put them into a format of a Godmanchester newspaper called The Godmanchester Bugle “We put those out on Facebook every month so people could read them and then took them down again so they couldn’t be downloaded long-term we were left with this massive record of the town during the First World War – how it affected it and how life went in the town during the war – and so we created this booklet which covers all of the true stories of Godmanchester “In amongst that of course is news from the front and also information on any of our fallen “We ordered just a hundred copies and we sold those in three weeks “There are other thoughts of [writing] books but at the moment I’ve got a lot of other projects on the go “I’m organising talks for this year and then we’ve got a big project which will be coming to fruition later in the year which is under wraps at the moment To find out more about Roger and to buy copies of his books, email him at rogerleivers@yahoo.co.uk. For more on the story of the Short Stirling bomber crash, go to facebook.com/p/The-Godmanchester-Stirling-100064881962184/. CloseA man who was recorded on CCTV driving on the wrong side of two major roads in Cambridgeshire has lost his licence was seen travelling towards oncoming traffic on the three-lane A14 just before 03:30 GMT on 25 March Police then stopped him on the wrong side of the A1198 near Godmanchester where he was found to be more than twice the drink-drive limit drink driving and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence He was also disqualified from driving for four years must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and was given a two-month curfew Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRead descriptionExplore moreWatch: Drink-driver on wrong side of major roads 00:00:29Watch: Drink-driver on wrong side of major roads 0:29Up Next Drink driver ploughs into crops as police give chase 00:00:58Drink driver ploughs into crops as police give chase 0:58Motorcyclist falls from bridge after car collision 00:00:20Motorcyclist falls from bridge after car collision 0:20Ferrari crashes into city centre bike racks 00:00:35Ferrari crashes into city centre bike racks 0:35Car slides on roof after drink-driver crash 00:00:53Car slides on roof after drink-driver crash 0:53Editor's recommendationsWatch: BBC reports from pier 33 - the gateway to Alcatraz 00:01:44Watch: BBC reports from pier 33 - the gateway to Alcatraz 1:44Watch: Prince Louis steals the show as royals mark VE Day 00:01:25Watch: Prince Louis steals the show as royals mark VE Day 1:25Watch: How Lady Gaga's record-breaking concert almost ended in disaster Video 00:01:21Watch: How Lady Gaga's record-breaking concert almost ended in disaster 1:21'Trump was the game-changer': Three things to know about the Australian election result 00:01:20'Trump was the game-changer': Three things to know about the Australian election result 1:20Prince Harry 'can't see a world' where his family will visit the UK 00:02:54Prince Harry 'can't see a world' where his family will visit the UK 2:54Watch: Key moments from the local elections.. 00:01:32Watch: Key moments from the local elections.. 1:32Watch: Reform by-election win raises questions for Labour and Tories 00:01:11Watch: Reform by-election win raises questions for Labour and Tories 1:11Russell Brand's court appearance explained.. 00:00:50Russell Brand's court appearance explained.. 0:50Ros Atkins on.. What's in the US-Ukraine resources deal 1:23Kamala Harris hits out at Trump in first major speech since losing election 00:01:18Kamala Harris hits out at Trump in first major speech since losing election 1:18Watch: Moment Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi is released 00:00:46Watch: Moment Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi is released Credit: Cambridgeshire PoliceA woman stopped for driving "erratically" was three times over the legal alcohol limit and in a car without a front tyre was reported while driving on Hartford Road in Huntingdon Police followed the Volkswagen Golf to Stokes Drive in Godmanchester where officers discovered she had been driving with no front tyre was taken into custody where a breath test showed she was more than three times over the legal alcohol limit In interview Reedman claimed she drank once she arrived home - but a forensic toxicologist confirmed her reading would have been much lower had that been the case Reedman was disqualified from driving for three years and four months after pleading guilty to drink driving at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court PC Alan Stanford said: “Thanks to a member of the public another drink driver has been taken off our roads who chose to get behind the wheel of a car while over the limit are putting other road users lives at risk Cambridgeshire Police operates a confidential hotline to report suspected drink or drug drivers on 0800 032 0845 Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know Home   News   Article A tribute has been paid to an “inspirational woman” who treated everyone with “unmitigated compassion and generosity” after her death in a crash near Eltisley Emergency services were called to the junction of the B1040 and Eltisley Road at about 4.40pm on Friday was driving a blue Skoda Octavia out of Eltisley Road when it was in collision with a white Ford Transit van heading towards the A428 She suffered serious injuries and was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital Her family have issued the following statement: “Words cannot describe our devastation at the loss of our wonderful wife and mum “She was an inspirational woman who treated everyone - in both her personal life and work at the Citizens’ Advice Bureau - with unmitigated compassion and generosity embodied in part by the incredible food she so loved to make is a gaping loss to our family and the local community she was such a huge part of “We will take comfort in the memory of her kindness and continue to support each other as a family in this darkest period.” suffered minor injuries and was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital Sergeant Ian Manley said: “If there are any witnesses who have not come forward yet or you have dashcam footage of the collision Anyone with video footage or information should report it through the force website using reference CC-30082024-0303 Anyone without internet access should call 101 As you were browsing something about your browser made us think you were a bot There are a few reasons this might happen: please make sure that cookies and JavaScript are enabled before reloading the page We're getting everything ready for you and you'll be on your way in just a few moments We use some essential cookies to make this website work We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK remember your settings and improve government services We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services You have accepted additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time You have rejected additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports The Awards were presented by the ICE President at the annual Merit Awards Dinner as a celebration of civil engineering in the region I am thrilled that all of the hard work and effort put into this project has been recognised by the Institution of Civil Engineers I thank all those involved – the Regional Flood & Coastal Committee Cambridgeshire County Council and Huntingdonshire District Council for providing funding; our own Environment Agency officers; Atkins the design engineers; Jackson Civil Engineering and the local residents for their support and co-operation in making this happen Chair to the Regional Flood & Coastal Committee Floods across the country earlier this year have shown again the devastation and misery that flooding brings to people It is fantastic to see this scheme recognised in this way as it will significantly reduce the risk of flooding in Godmanchester one of the Cambridgeshire County Council representatives on the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee Flooding is devastating and the county council is keen to work with partners to reduce the risk of this happening where we can to our communities We are pleased that this work in Godmanchester has won an award but more importantly that our communities are at less risk of being flooded came very close to being flooded in 1998 and properties within low-lying areas are considered to be at significant risk of internal flooding The Environment Agency worked with the Regional Flood & Coastal Committee Cambridgeshire County Council and Huntingdonshire District Council since 2009 to agree an appropriate way of protecting properties in the town The scheme was finally approved in January 2012 The scheme cost £6.8 Million to construct and was jointly funded by Defra direct contributions from Cambridgeshire County Council and Huntingdonshire District Council and private resident contributions The completed scheme was unveiled on 28 February 2014 and includes a combination of flood walls and flood embankments alongside the River Great Ouse The new defences will increase the level of flood protection in Godmanchester by reducing the risk of flooding from a 1 in 20 year event to a 1 in 100 year event The scheme will provide flood protection to 556 properties Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details.