Fun afternoon helps Freemasons give almost £4,000 to Teddy charity

Are you ready for a coffee in Long Sutton?

July 30, 2026

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Unknown Lincolnshire children will get unexpected comfort during tough times thanks to freemasons, their families, and friends having fun at the Burton Estate Club near Lincoln.

The club was the venue for the first-ever Teddies for Loving Care social afternoon to raise money for the charity of the same name which has given more than four million cuddly bears to youngsters needing hospital treatment.

All of the funding comes from Freemasons themselves, and is given to Graham Cadel, who administers the charity throughout Lincolnshire. He makes sure hospitals throughout the county have bears on hand for staff to give to their young patients.

Of the social event Graham said: “The food was excellent, the entertainment was superb, and the bouncy castle was in regular use throughout the afternoon.

“The raffle, auction, name the teddy and tombola stands all helped to boost the fantastic amount raised to £3,580, which will ensure that Teddies for Loving Care in Lincolnshire will go from strength to strength.”

The social afternoon – which finished at 11pm with a rousing chorus of Volare – was masterminded by Phil Crabtree of the Freemasons Minster Lodge, who also made the cut out TLC Teddies and the stand where visitors could have their photograph taken. He also put up and decorating the welcome arch.

Graham, nicknamed The Teddy Man, added: “It’s hard to underestimate the value of the degree of comfort offered to a child through the gift of a tiny teddy, but we have seen, countless times, just what a comfort it can be. Freemasons are more than happy to keep providing that comfort, from their own pockets, to people they’ll probably never meet.

”Our bears have been bandaged, scanned, stitched, and injected, and they even fly with the Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance,” he added.