Former volunteers and other familiar faces from a former Spalding hospice have reunited to remember the people, friendships and experiences associated with the service.
The gathering was organised by June Wright, who previously volunteered at St Barnabas Day Centre. Also known as Jenny Freeman Lodge, the centre was based at Wygate Park and provided end-of-life care and support.
Those attending had been regular faces at the centre before it closed. The reunion took place at Spalding Golf Club, giving people connected with the former service an opportunity to meet again away from the building where many of their memories were made.
A service remembered in Spalding
St Barnabas Day Centre did not reopen after the COVID-19 lockdowns. The former Wygate Park centre has since been turned into a home, meaning the get-together was held at a different venue from the one remembered by the group.
The charity still has a base in the area, now at Johnson Hospital. The move provides the current local base for St Barnabas, while the reunion brought together people who had been involved with or regularly visited the former day centre.
Lunch was part of the occasion, alongside the sharing of old photographs and memories. June Wright said the friends who attended had not seen one another for years, and described the atmosphere as one of laughter and reconnection.
“A lovely lunch was enjoyed by all and it was lovely to meet up with friends that we had not seen for years.”
She also said the group laughed while looking back at their memories and old photographs.
“Everyone had a laugh about the memories and old photos.”
Although Jenny Freeman Lodge was a hospice supporting patients with life-threatening illnesses, Wright remembered it as a positive place for those who attended.
“Although the day centre and Jenny Freeman Lodge was a hospice it was such a happy place for patients with life threatening illnesses to attend.”
Keeping memories of Jenny Freeman Lodge alive
The reunion offered former volunteers and other regular visitors a chance to revisit a shared chapter in the history of St Barnabas’s work in the Spalding area. The event also highlighted the continuing connection between those associated with the former centre and the charity’s presence at Johnson Hospital.
The source report, published on September 2, 2026, does not give a precise date for the lunch. It identifies June Wright as the organiser and Spalding Golf Club as the venue, while confirming that the former Wygate Park centre is now a home.