King's Lynn festive lunches for elderly to return as one

A popular festive tradition is set to return to Lynn next month – but not quite as you might remember it.

The Shallow Lunch and Len Rush Lunch, for elderly residents of Lynn and Gaywood respectively, have been enduring features of the build-up to Christmas in the town for decades.

But, having not been staged in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the lunches, which are organised by the King’s Lynn General Charities, are now set to return as a combined event.

It will be held at the Novus restaurant on the College of West Anglia campus in Tennyson Avenue on Thursday, December 2, between noon and 2.30pm.

And free tickets for the lunch will be available, on a first come first served basis, from the Purfleet Trust building in Austin Fields from 9am on Tuesday, November 23.

The Shallow Lunch, which is in its 72nd year, was established through money left by former councillor George Swallow in 1939 for a Christmas meal to be provided annually for the poor and needy of Lynn.

The Len Rush event, which had been established for more than 30 years prior to the pandemic, was staged using funds raised from the sale of the house owned by the late pigeon keeper to the Queen.

Both events have traditionally attracted dozens of guests including civic and community leaders.

The Shallow Lunch moved to the Novus site for the first time in 2017, having previously been staged at Lynn Town Hall.