Rumours, celebrations and a strange visitor

FREEZING temperatures kept Ipswich and Felixstowe shivering as the cold snap tightened its grip on the county this week.

Drivers and commuters faced treacherous trips into work on Monday after heavy snow fall on Sunday night.

The snow opened up another fundraising opportunity for Peter Rawlings.

Last year he raised more than £100 by selling his snow friend on eBay and he got to work Monday on this year’s lot, hoping to again raise vital funds for the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

Teachers and pupils in Ipswich were praised by the town’s MP after only six schools closed as a result of the adverse weather on Monday. Meanwhile, only one school in Felixstowe – Kingsfleet – failed to open because of the heavy snowfall. The picture in Ipswich and Felixstowe was in stark contrast to the rest of Suffolk, which saw the closure of 203 schools – more than half of the county’s total.

A former Ipswich Hospital patient praised staff for their “fantastic” care as he donated more than £800 to the trust this week.

Staff at a car insurance website have donated £7,000 to Suffolk Young People’s Health Project which works with those aged 12-25.

It was announced this week that a new world auction record for a painting by Ipswich artist Edward Robert Smythe could be set in America next month when his 1870s oil painting of Suffolk hounds is set to fetch between £50,000 and £75,000 at an auction. If the picture, titled Favourite Hounds, does sell for anything like the pre-sale estimates it will smash the current world record which is £39,650.

A GP practice in Stowmarket has opened its own gym to help improve care for patients. Stowhealth, working in partnership with Woolpit Physio and the Abbeyfields Clinic has opened the Allactive gym with the aim being to cater for patients who do not usually go to a gym and for those who need rehabilitation to ensure their full recovery.

A nurse has been dubbed a “guardian angel” after she saved a man’s life on her way to work. Vicki Nunn found her nursing skills called into action when she saw a young man unconscious in a garden while walking to work. She performed CPR until the ambulance crew arrived, saving the man’s life.

A team of fundraisers has been out and about gathering donations for Mason’s Magic. The Hair Ministry team were at Sainsbury’s in Warren Heath, with eight-year-old Mason Fountain the star guest. The aim was to raise as much money as possible to help stage a fashion extravaganza in aid of the cause, which raises money to buy treats and grant wishes for children with brain tumours.

Ipswich Rugby Club was the latest organisation to show support for Age UK’s Bobble Day this week which aims to raise funds to help older people through the cold weather. Players donned t-shirts and orange bobbles to promote the campaign, which will see an array of fundraising activities take place on February 8.

A school placed in special measures following a critical Ofsted inspection last year is celebrating this week. Holbrook Academy, formerly known as Holbrook High School, has climbed 12 places in the league table rankings for GCSE achievements in Suffolk – and now sits in 18th position.

Midwives at Ipswich Hospital were delighted after scooping a top national award. The team at Heath Road were named Maternity Service of the Year at the Royal College of Midwives awards ceremony yesterday, recognising their work to improve maternity services and the team’s staff engagement.

An unusual visitor was found in the garden of a Suffolk home this week – a Californian quail, typically native to the United States.

Mike Stiff discovered the ground-dwelling bird in his back garden in Stoney Road, Grundisburgh.