The replacing of the 240 litre black bins with smaller 140 litre bins from Monday 2 March 2026 onwards. The process is simple and will coincide with your normal black bin collection day.

Just keep putting your black household waste bin out for collection, as normal. At some point in March, it will be emptied, taken away and replaced with your new, smaller black bin. This will be done all in one go, so that your old bin is emptied, removed and replaced at the same time, on a normal black bin collection day. RCC plan to complete all bin swaps by 30 March.

There have been reports that some of the smaller bins delivered today havef mis-shapen lids. 

The supplier and he has advised that the plastic has a memory and will settle and return to its right shape and that this can happen during storage and transportation. 

Just one week to go until the biggest social event in the village so far this year!

The latest news from the North Luffenham Stables is that a horse has had to be withdrawn following the discovery that it was pregnant and so was not in a state to run. Apparently in June, she is due to give birth to a baby horse. (I know it’s not the correct terminology, but I’ve been told that I can’t use foal language on this site!)

So, on with the details.

Why not use this weekend to snap up some of the final tickets on sale? You can do this either by calling in at The Fox, or giving one of the phone number on the posters around the village a call and the lovely people behind them will gladly sell you some tickets. This promises to be a really fun evening so make sure you don’t miss out!

There will be races throughout the evening that you can try your luck wagering on as well as other games and a raffle with superb prizes all alongside a thriving bar.

The event will be a cash only event so please make sure to empty all the local ATM’s and bring a sturdy shopping bag with you to hopefully cart away all those lovely winnings!

The final countdown has started! Please make sure you’re not the ones missing out a week from now!

See you all next Saturday 6.30pm onwards at the School Hall

🏇 Race Night – Only 2 Weeks to Go! 🏇

Tickets are selling fast – only a limited number left.
If you’re planning to come along, please buy your ticket soon –

DON’T MISS OUT

It promises to be a fun evening for the whole village with plenty of laughs and the chance to back a winning horse 🐎

Please bring cash – Bets, Games & Raffle are CASH ONLY

*Have a bet on the Races*

6 in total such as – The Monday Club Stakes, Do Yoga Donkey Derby & Woody’s Electrical Sprint

*Try your luck on the Fairground Games*

Including Splat the Rat, Quoits & Pin the Tail on the Donkey

*Take a punt on the Raffle*

Valuable Prizes – Hamper, Lunch Vouchers & a Round of Golf

Please bring cash – Bets, Games & Raffle are CASH ONLY

Pay Bar (cash and card) open 6.30 – 10.00

🎟 Tickets: £10 includes your first drink
📍 School Hall, North Luffenham
📅 March 7th
⏰ 6.30 – 10.15

This Post will expire at 11:21am on Monday March 30th, 2026.

Rutland County Council is currently consulting on a planning application submitted by Heidelberg Materials (Castle Cement) for the extension of Grange Top Quarry (application 2024/0066/MIN). The proposals include revised access arrangements, which may alter HGV traffic patterns on the A606 and possibly the surrounding villages. Residents who wish to view the application documents or submit comments can do so via the County Council’s planning portal;  https://publicaccess.rutland.gov.uk/onlineapplications. Search for application 2024/0066/MIN and click “Make a comment”. The consultation period closes on 11 March 2026. You can contact Empingham Parish Council if you would like more information or you need any help.

A performance of country, folk, and pop songs by the very talented Athenrye Duo

Saturday 21st February 7.30   

St Peter’s Church, Barrowden 

Bar. Doors open from 7.00.

Tickets £15 from Barrowden Community Shop

online at https://wegottickets.com/event/687763

or from Chris Barrett 07818 176549 / Steve Preston 07754 118257

Proceeds shared between The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust and St Peter’s Church 

https://www.instagram.com/theduoathenrye

This Post will expire at 7:22am on Wednesday March 18th, 2026.

We are so excited to be presenting Handel’s Messiah for our Spring concert on Saturday
28th March at 7.30pm, Oakham School Chapel, Oakham. Rehearsals are now well under
way of this powerful and much loved work under the enthusiastic and expert leadership of
our musical director Jamie Conway. We will be joined by the Raikes Consort orchestra
together with professional soloists. This will be the biggest production Rutland Choral
Society has ever put on making this a stand out, not to be missed concert.
Jamie says “The Messiah is in many ways the pre-eminent choral masterpiece. I am so
excited to bring this story to life with the Rutland Choral Society. The choir has come on a
tremendous journey in the two and a half years I have been working with them, and they
perform with not only beautiful singing, but such meaning and a connection to the music and
libretto. This is a wonderful opportunity to experience all three parts of the Messiah
performed with the Raikes Consort and a top-rate team of soloists.”
Make sure you don’t miss out and get your tickets now priced £20 (under 16’s free) from
choir members or https://wegottickets.com/rutlandchoralsociety

The Fish and Chip van will be at Pinfold Close this evening from 6:25 to 7:15pm

As I write this I am pleased to report that a record number of horses have been entered for the races. This makes for an even better than hoped for event. However there has been some interesting news from some of the local stables which I felt I needed to share with you.

Following a recent veterinary health inspection at a North Luffenham Stud, the county’s leading racing Shetland Pony has been rule out of the forthcoming race night with a mystery long term illness. The stud had requested the veterinary visit as Shetland Shifter had been noted to have a very, very sore inflamed throat resulting in a hacking cough. The result of the visit was that the vet immediately ruled Shetland Shifter out of any racing for the foreseeable future with a mystery illness that currently he is unable to diagnose accurately. In making this ruling the vet commented, “I cannot be sure exactly what is wrong with Shetland Shifter but is is patently clear from examining her that she is a little horse!”

We have also had photographic evidence sent to us of another horse due to race who is currently recovering from surgery. The secretly taken photograph, shown below would seem to suggest that the outcome of the operation may not be entirely satisfactory!

Don’t forget, tickets for this great event are available from The Fox or from the people named on the posters that are posted throughout the village.

It really is going to be a fantastic evening, so don’t miss out, make sure you secure your tickets before they run out and then watch this space for more updates!!

We are hosting an extra special open meeting on Wednesday 25th February with a special guest speaker – BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Adam Frost. We are extremely excited to welcome him to our Club and are very much looking forward to his talk, ‘How I Garden’. 
The event will take place in North Luffenham School Hall and doors open promptly at 7pm.

Please do join us for an inspirational talk, refreshments (tea, coffee & wine available to buy) & our extraordinary raffle to make it a really memorable night.

A limited number of tickets are now available to buy from The Fox, North Luffenham for just £27.50 per person (cash only please).

As you will probably know, the scheduled Uppingham <> Stamford R5 bus was replaced by an “On Demand” CallConnect Bus service (although there is still a scheduled bus 3x a day during school term time)

Bus timetable – Bland’s R5 | Rutland County Council

Users of CallConnect are encouraged to book via the app

Callconnect | Rutland County Council

However for users who are not able to use the app, you can also call the booking team on 03452343344 and they will arrange your journey.

Given the interest shown by so many of you for this fantastic upcoming event on Saturday 7th March I thought, in the light of the recent downpours and the ground becoming so waterlogged, that you might be interested in knowing what has happened to the training routines of some of the competitors. Clearly the jockeys and stable hands are taking this event very seriously and have taken to using alternative training methods given everywhere is so wet.

The team training Nobbled Nag found their stable underwater and so have resorted to water polo methods of training, a tried and trusted method for training horses!

Here we see Nobbled Nag and his stablemates at a recent training camp!

And we also have a picture taken secretly at a training facility just outside Empingham following an arduous swim in the swollen River Chater by Equine Enchantress and her hapless stablemate Cunning Fox

Don’t forget, tickets are available from The Fox or from those people named on the posters around the village. Either pop in to The Fox or give one of these lovely people a ring and they will be able to provide you with your tickets to one of the very best race meetings to be held in the UK this year!

Act soon – time is galloping away!

Mid January, dark days and long nights! Is there no end to the gloom?

YES there is! The North Luffenham Fun Club is very pleased to announce the first North Luffenham fun event of 2026. The North Luffenham Race Night to be held in the School Hall on 7th March.

This is going to be an evening of fun and games for the whole community (over 18’s only at this event to comply with legal requirements) . A series of races with tote including the ultimate pig race. These races will be accompanied by other interval games. A guaranteed fun filled evening to drive away the winter blues and usher in Springtime. There is also a licensed bar. Tickets cost £10 and included in that price is your first drink! Posters around the village (and at the bottom of this message) tell you who you can contact to buy your tickets. Tickets can also be bought from The Fox, so just pop in and ask at the Bar. What an excuse to visit the pub in Dry January!

Tickets are proving popular so don’t delay.

Like the pantomime, these fun events are aimed at all North Luffenham villagers, so why not end January with a bang and pick up your tickets for this fun filled event. See you there!

One of the horses currently in training for the big event!