Lincoln Independent March 2023

Awards hat-trick

MULTI award-winning David Burghardt Vision Care has scooped three more accolades recognising its commitment to providing its patients with the best possible care and experience. Annual awards held by eye care organisations, Sightcare and Hakim saw David Burghardt Vision Care named as ‘Practice Team of the Year ‘ and the provider of the ‘Best Customer Experience’ respectively.

Practice Manager, Richard Spencer, received the Dispensing Optician of the Year award at the annual ceremony hosted by the professional journal ‘Optician’.

Continued on page 3.

Hat-trick of awards

Continued from page 1.

He explained the Nettleham-based practice was dedicated to delivering the best services for all its patients and was delighted that the awards had recognised its success in achieving its aims. “Our patients are at the front and centre of every decision we make - from providing a delicious Stokes’ fresh-ground coffee to individual care in calm, relaxed surroundings.”

In 2019 David Burghardt Vision Care unveiled an extension to the 300-year-old, historic, Church Street cottage. This created an easily accessible clinical area, housing the latest eye care instruments, and a dispensing suite displaying the best in independent eyewear. Fusing ultramodern, with the beautiful old building. Clinical Lead and Director, David Burghardt said, it was gratifying that the judging panels of each awarding body had recognised the team’s hard work and commitment to providing personal and bespoke care to all, with much of the evidence submitted coming from patients. “The awards do represent our values and what we all set out to achieve every day in terms of the experiences patients have when they visit us. We firmly believe our team is our greatest asset.” The Sightcare judges agreed: While the team

may be small, it is clear that each member has an important role to play in delivering the best experience to all. Feedback from patients highlighted the extent to which each team member works to achieve this, with clear evidence of how they have a positive impact on patients’ lives

The team’s care and attention covers all its patients, with Richard’s dispensing award recognising his valuable work with children with Down’s Syndrome.

“We’re proud to offer the same high-level of care and attention to each of our patients, tailoring their visit to their individual needs. I made it my goal to provide the best care available to those who may struggle to find it elsewhere. Receiving this award reflects my journey with Harvey and all of the other children I have been able to help. He added the practice was also shortlisted for the Investors in People award for Best Use of Technology, which covered a much larger field than the optical industry so it was up against corporate giants, such as the Law Society and Prezzo.

David Burghardt Vision Care, The Cottage, 1 Church Street, Nettleham, Lincoln LN2 2PD. T. 01522 754821.

Pictures - front top: David Burghardt (centre) with the award-winning team and (left) the three prestigous awards. This pageclockwise from top: Practice manager Richard Spencer with young client Harvey; a welcoming Stokes coffee awaits patients in in the beautiful surroundings; Richard receives his Optician award from TV’s Vernon Kay and the practice is the official eye care provider for Lincoln City FC.

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Council had little choice over Christmas Market

CLOSING down Lincoln Christmas Market may not have been the best decision for the city but it was the right one. Excuse the apparent non-sequitur and bear with me.

The Independent as a publication and I personally have long been advocates of the market. I went three times in 2022 - Thursday, Friday and Sunday. As a local living along side the market I knew not to go on the Saturday. It’s long been unpleasantly busy and crowded in my book, but last year the press of humanity reached a whole different level on December 3. Unpleasant doesn’t cover it - try dangerous and terrifying.

We know how choked up the Sincil Bank area gets when the Imps are at home and the final whistle goes. Imagine a ground with Old Trafford’s 70,000-plus capacity emptying out into Lincoln’s uphill cobbled streets.

I may have been safe at home, but my Better Half decided to go for a pint in The Strugglers around the Saturday’s peak time and described the experience as horrific.

We’ve since heard of other people’s experiences and the very real fear that the frustrated and anxious crowd between 2.30-8.30pm could have turned ugly at any point. The report that prefaced the recommendation talks about the negative impact on the visitor experience.

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That seems a pretty mild summation to me, but the report acknowledges there is no way to control the crowds and they are likely to growremember 2022’s market was hit by a train strike.

Yes the market makes a deficit and yes only £2m of the £13m generated by the event stays in the local ecomomy, but City of Lincoln Council has always looked at the bigger picture and how many people could return to Lincoln throughout the year after discovering what a fabulous place it is. I’ve always agreed with that stance.

However, there is no bigger picture when you know or even just suspect you are staging an event that could lead to a fatal human crush.

Dexter & Sharpe

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Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN1 3SN

Tel: 01522 533588

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End of the line for Christmas Market

CAMPAIGNERS have all but lost their battle to save Lincoln Christmas Market from being scrapped.

City of Lincoln Council’s Executive voted to close the huge tourist attraction at its meeting on February 20 amid safety concerns –that decision could be called in for scrutiny and council chiefs asked to reconsider, but that had not happened at the time of going to press.

Photographer Rachel Whitaker of Burton Road, Lincoln, started the Save Lincoln Christmas Market: Public Support Group and quickly amassed over 2,000 followers and collected 3,700 signatures against the proposal.

Rachel was disappointed by the ratified decision, but is still campaigning to have an event in place in 2023.

Lincoln MP Karl McCartney accused the council of acting like Grinches and Scrooges and slammed the ‘terrible’ decision as ‘shallow, stupid and shoddy’.

In a report to the Executive, Simon Walters, Strategic Director of Communities and Environment said the 40th Lincoln Christmas Market in 2022 was hugely successful in terms of attendance figures – 320,000 visitors compared to the previous years’ highs of 250,000-270,000.

The safety of those attending was ‘the most important factor’ behind the proposal, said Mr Walters, but others included visitor/resident experience and the commercial success of the event itself.

Crowds had a negative impact on the visitor experience in 2022 and the market’s deficit was only likely to increase in the future. The Executive also voted to use the market’s £260,000 budget for events to promote Lincoln throughout the year.

2022 Lincoln Christmas Market statistics

• Over 320,000 unique visitors attended

• Over 11,700 cars at the Park and Ride

• 577,000 people passed through Castle Square

• Over 100 stewards

• Over 200 stalls (cross council and partner sites)

• 88 medical incidents dealt with by 50 St John ambulance staff

• 9 different contractors to make the event happen

• Almost £750,000 in cost to erect, operate and take down the market infrastructure

• £13m (est) generated of which £2m stays within local economy

• Approx 60 city council staff involved in the market

• Approx. 120 police officer days were deployed across the four days

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Compensation culture is a myth, but the need for justice is a reality

BY JOHN KNIGHT SENIOR DIRECTOR AND SOLICITOR

A RECENT report shows the number of injury claims has fallen sharply continuing a downward trend.

The data from the Compensatiom Recovery Unit shows the decline in claims is across all catergories of persomal injuryfindings that will not shock anyone involved in this area of law. They may though come as a surprise to the public and will have certainly have been a surprise to a number of newspaper editors and politicians who have been mistakenly under the belief that we have an increasing ‘compensation culture’ in this country. Pre-pandemic this was, of course, a popular newspaper headline.

The number of claims registered with the Unit has been falling for many years. Specifically motor injury claims have reduced 44% since 2018, and is now the lowest figure on record.

Claims overall, which include clinical negligence, employers liability and public liability, are at the lowest since figures were collected using the current methodology in 2010.

At Ringrose Law we have one of the largest dedicated teams of personal injury and clinical negligence lawyers in the region and act for hundreds of claimants ever year and know full well the trend of these figures over the years.

Unfortunately we also know the sustained campaign that has been ongoing to reduce access to justice for those who sustain injury, against a perceived compensation culture backdrop.

Let’s hope that those in positions of responsibility will now accept that there is no compensation culture and that solicitors like ourselves are only there to help those genuinely injured people, through no fault of their own, get their lives back on track again.

Find out more through the website (address above) or call the Personal Injury team on 01522 561020.

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Earthquake rescue heroes return home

AFTER searching for survivors in treacherous buildings and freezing temperatures the four-strong Lincolnshire members of the UK rescue team have returned home from Turkey.

Ashley Hildred, Colin Calam, Mark Dungworth and dog handler Neil Woodmansey with the four-legged Colin, were part of the 77strong United Kingdom International Search and Rescue Team that landed back at Stanstead Airport to a water cannon salute. Since arriving in Turkey on February 7, the UK team has searched hundreds of buildings destroyed by the two earthquakes of 7.8 and 7.6 magnitude in the southern region of Turkey along its border with Syria killing 47,000 people.

The team members said they experienced ‘devastation on another level’, but located and rescued a number of survivors including two people after five days in the rubble.

Councillor Lindsey Cawrey, executive member for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said: “Working alongside other fire and rescue colleagues from around the country, and teams from across the world, they’ve searched hundreds of buildings, in gruelling conditions, and offered hope to people in their darkest hour. They may have missed quality time with their families and loved-ones back home – including Valentine’s Day – but through their search and rescue operations, they’ve managed to reunite other families with their loved ones.

“Our sincerest thanks go to Ash, Neil, Colin and Mark – and, of course, Colin the dog. What they have achieved in the most difficult of conditions is nothing short of amazing, and I hope you can now enjoy some well-earned rest.”

Colin picked up a slight injury to his paw, but was back in action after a day of rest and, along with the rest of the team, received numerous well-wishes from Lincolnshire.

The UKISAR team was deployed through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office following a request for assistance from Turkey, after it announced its highest level of state emergency.The base of operations was established in Hatay province.

The team was self-sufficient upon arrival and provided its own food, water, shelter, sanitation, communications and all necessary equipment to undertake search and rescue operations for up to 14 days.

WORK has started to transform the landscape surrounding St Mary Le Wigford Church in Lincoln city centre. This project has been funded by Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zone scheme, from which City of Lincoln Council received a successful bid for funding of £1.68 million in April 2020. It will rebuild the lost historic boundary and enhance the setting of the church by removing the hard landscaping and replacing with a landscaped grassed area.

The grade I listed church of St Mary Le Wigford is located at a busy intersection on the High Street and the project seeks to reinstate enclosure for the church and create a public green open space in the city centre area.

Cllr Neil Murray, Portfolio Holder for Inclusive Economic Growth at City of Lincoln Council said: “St Mary Le Wigford Church is steeped in local history and also had the longest record of unbroken service in the City of Lincoln.”

Glory hole closed

PEDESTRIAN access to the famous walkway, the Glory Hole, in the centre of Lincoln has been closed off while a highways team carries out an emergency investigation into the danger of the path failing.

Running alongside the river, the suspended walkway is a popular route to bring pedestrians onto the High Street.

A recent routine inspection of the structure by Lincolnshire County Council Officers found that some of the slabs were beginning to lift. Upon removal of the slabs the crew discovered a series of fractured wooden beams, that were part of the original construction, and areas of the concrete bed beginning to fail. The wood used was part of a former jetty upon which the walkway was built.

LCC is carrying out further investigations and surveys are taking place to find out what can be done to safely re-open the footway. It appears likely that a new structure will need to be built to support the footway, with some of the works likely to be required from the river itself because of the limited access. A timescale for the repair works will be determined once the full extent of the degradation of the walkway is known following the investigation.

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Is the menopause driving you crazy?

BY MELANIE DUNN NUTRITIONAL THERAPIST

LET’S talk about the menopause and what actually happens to women in plain English.

Menopause is a natural transition, the symptoms of which include –but are by no means limited to – hot flushes, brain fog, night sweats, dry skin, mood swings and insomnia. Menopause means the permanent loss of estrogen and progesterone that is produced by the ovaries.

For women, estrogen is a master hormone with receptors on nearly every organ of the body. It affects our metabolism, immune function, cardiovascular system, mood, digestion, insulin sensitivity and brain health. So it’s no surprise that when the menopause hits, women find it harder to keep the weight off. And any weight gained usually goes around the waist which is even harder to shift. This is accompanied by constant tiredness. Other unwanted side effects include increased reflux, higher incidences of heart disease and strokes, depression and mood swings.

Sleep is affected not only by night

sweats or hot flushes but by the influence estrogen has on our body clock. Estrogen helps to maintain the function of our body clock so when it drops the body clock can also be out of whack. And we all know the ramifications of poor sleep on our ability to cope with life!

Then there is the effect of stress.

Stress is a major progesterone reducer. Every time you are stressed, your body responds by dropping progesterone levels in order to produce cortisol to help you get through the stress.

So it makes sense to work on reducing your response to things that stress you out. And whilst no foods contain progesterone there are plenty of nutrients that can support your progesterone levels. The good news is there are lots of little things you can do to support your hormones and some incredibly effective natural supplements that can support you.You do not need to battle with this on your own.

I take a holistic approach and help you to get all your systems working optimally again, giving you back some control of your health and your life when sometimes everything feels out of control.

Email: mel@melaniedunn.co.uk. T. 07539635575

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Family specialist Lisa joins Sills & Betteridge

REGIONAL law firm Sills & Betteridge has recruited Partner Lisa Kellett to the role of Head of Matrimonial Finances.

With 30 years’ experience, Lisa specialises in advising agricultural and commercial clients in relation to complex financial settlements arising out of divorce. She will work closely with the firm’s commercial and tax lawyers. Though primarily based in Lincoln, Lisa will also spend time with the team in Nottingham where she will help to develop their Family Mediation practice.

Head of Family Helen Derry said: “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Lisa to the firm. Her experience is unrivalled in her area of work and we look forward to the significant impact her appointment will have on our service offering, the family practice and wider business.”

Lisa is a specialist family lawyer accredited by the family justice professionals’ body Resolution, chairing the Lincoln group. She is also a qualified mediator and collaborative lawyer – of her appointment at Sills & Betteridge she said:“To head up such a large matrimonial team represents a fantastic professional challenge for me.

“Having lived and worked in a number of the locations Sills has

offices, I’m excited to join a firm which has a significant regional presence.”

Sills & Betteridge have 15 offices across Lincolnshire,Yorkshire and The East Midlands offering a wide range of services to individual and business clients.

Lisa can be contacted on 01522 542211 or 07825 484549 or by emailing LKellett@sillslegal.co.uk

Feel the Difference

Helen Derry (left) welcomes Lisa Kellett to Sills & Betteridge.

Enjoying and wee dram and bidding farewell to the Dean

I HOPE, like me, everyone is looking forward to the Spring. Unfortunately, I suffered from a horrid virus, that lasted nearly six weeks and I know many of you may have had the same. Therefore, I think we all deserve a lovely spring, with lighter nights and somewhat warmer weather.

My Mayoral Year of Office comes to an end in May and I can honestly say, it has been a brilliant and most interesting year. I have been to some incredible events. I have met some amazing people and it has been great to share this on all the social media under LincolnMayorUK and, of course, with you.

Since my last article I have opened the renewed Abbey GP Surgery. I do love those red ribbon events! It looks fantastic and it is a great asset for the community.

It was also a great pleasure to be at the Assembly Rooms event to see what the plans are to renew this wonderful building. I was also delighted to accept an invitation from the Mayor of Milton Keynes to watch the football at MK Dons, I cheered-on Lincoln City FC and it finally ended in a draw!

It is always an honour to be at the University of Lincoln Graduation Ceremonies. My Sheriff and I attended them all and, despite it being absolutely freezing in the Cathedral, the Graduations certainly brought a smile to my face. It was so heartening listening to all the achievements.

For Holocaust Memorial Day, I attended a very poignant service at St Hugh’s RC Church, Monks Road. Such a thought provoking and emotive service, that certainly touched my heart.

I hosted a Whisky Tasting evening at the Guildhall for my charity which is to help the Urology Department at Lincoln County Hospital and raise awareness of Prostate Cancer. The evening was a great success and enjoyed by all those who attended. Thank you so much to Nick and Kathy at the Whisky Shop for giving up their evening to come and talk about the different Whiskies.

I would also like to thank the City of Lincoln Freemens’ Guild for their extremely kind donation of £500 towards my charity, which was presented to me at their annual dinner at The Lincoln Hotel. The leaving Evensong Service, at Lincoln Cathedral, for the Dean of Lincoln, Christine Wilson was very thoughtful and moving on Candlemas (picture above) I would like to thank Christine for all her hard work and dedication and to wish her well in her retirement.

These are just a few of the highlights from my very busy diary!

Councillor Rosanne Kirk

The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Lincoln

‘My life has completely changed for the better’

How LACE Housing helps get lives back on track

WHEN planning for retirement most people want to stay in their own homes for as long as possible. However, plans can and do change, and knowing there is extra care and support in place when you need it most is everything. LACE Housing combines high specification, self-contained flats with onsite planned care for people who have a

support and personal care need, providing reassurance to those who also value their independence.

LACE is a voluntary, non-profit making association with charitable status, and has three housing with extra care developments in Lincolnshire designed for people aged 55 and over.

The care team is commissioned by Lincolnshire County Council, and responds to the planned care needs of all LACE extra care residents. Further support is provided by LACE’s on-site support staff, including arranging regular social activities throughout the year, and encouraging residents to engage with their neighbours and community which aims to help alleviate feelings of loneliness and isolation.

The sites are located in Lincoln, Grantham, and Bourne, and every home is designed to feel very much part of the wider community, with easy access to local amenities and neighbourhoods.

Taking full advantage of housing with extra care

Maureen lives at the extra care scheme in Lincoln. Maureen lived with various family

members all her life but never independently. Due to a death in her family, Maureen had to move out from her cousin’s home and take the leap into independent living.

She was terrified of the idea of living alone, but after just one visit to the extra care scheme, she knew it was the right decision. Since moving Maureen has taken control of her finances, managed to successfully run her own home and continues to build relationships with her neighbours. Maureen has taken full advantage of what extra care housing offers and has developed bonds with the team at Lincoln. She is thriving from the benefits of receiving support.

‘My life has completely changed for the better’

Sue lives at LACE Housing’s extra scheme in Bourne, Lincolnshire. She said: “Moving to Bourne has completely changed my life, being here has taken me out of the black clouds and into the sunshine.

“The staff are fabulous and so helpful. I am now able to freely move around which I couldn’t do before and was so isolated. “There is always someone for me to chat with now and I am so much more confident. My life has completely changed for the better – it’s like living in a five-star hotel.”

Sue enjoys ‘five-star’ independent living at LACE’s extra care site in Bourne.

Strangles outbreak warning

HORSE owners, riders and yard managers are being urged to review their biosecurity measures and to keep a careful watch on the health of equines in their care following reports of a Strangles outbreak in the East Midlands.

Strangles is a highly infectious respiratory disease affecting horses, which can be fatal. It spreads through direct horse to horse contact and also indirectly through contaminated equipment, such as a handler’s clothing, buckets or boots. Both feed and especially water sources can also be significant in the disease’s spread.

Bransby Horses veterinary advisor Jeremy Kemp-Symonds recently co-authored a research paper which defines the rate Streptococcus equi – the bacterium that causes Strangles – spreads. He said: “We have defined the R0 number – that’s a measure of the rate at which the infection spreads – for the first time at just over two. That means that, on average, every horse that is infected with Strangles will infect another two, if no preventative action is taken.

“Although this may seem quite high, we now know that, with the right

interventions, it is possible to break the cycle of infection using some simple measures such as strict quarantining of known and suspected cases, good biosecurity and regular temperature checks of equines, to help assess those that may be infected.”

And he added: “Bransby Horses is challenged by welfare cases arriving with Strangles on a regular basis, but because of our stringent biosecurity and isolation measures in our quarantine unit for new arrivals, we haven’t had a single outbreak for over 15 years.”

Anyone concerned about their horse’s health should seek advice from their vet. Owners can also track the occurrence of Strangles, together with common clinical signs and other data, on the Surveillance of Equine Strangles website: SES View (jshiny.com) This year Bransby Horses is both supporting and giving technical, veterinary advice to the Strangles Awareness Week campaign, which runs from May 1.

To find out more about taking a horse’s temperature and Strangles in general visit BransbyHorses.co.uk/strangles

Keeping your horse healthy

THE Bransby Horses Welfare Team on Welfare Team will be informing equine owners how they can make a difference to your horse’s health on Thursday, March 9, 6.30pm – 9pm. The latest information on weight management will be come from guest speaker, Anna Welch – Veterinary Nutrition Director at TopSpec Equine. Owners will learn:

l More about the health implications of an obese horse

l How to prevent obesity and restrict a horse’s diet safely

l How to prevent other health-related issues such as laminitis, EMS and arthritis. Event organiser Rachel Dixon said: “We are all finding the need for effective weight management plans that work for our individual yards and horses. Here at Bransby Horses we are constantly working to keep the ‘good doers’ at a correct body condition score so we understand the challenges.”

Book via https://bransbyhorses.co.uk/news-events/made-registration/keepingyour-horse-healthy/

Testing for Strangles disease at Bransby Horses.

Just the ticket - free entry and bus ride at museum

THE bus is boss - Lincolnshire Road Transport Museum is offering visitors museum entry and the opportunity to experience a ride on a vintage bus free of charge on Sunday, April 1.

“We have a ‘Bus Running Day’. The reason we are doing it free is because with the cost of living everyone is struggling, we thought we’d try to give the community a few hours out,” explained Peter Cairns, Director of Lincolnshire Vintage Vehicle Society (LVVS).

Run by the society and its volunteers, the registered charity LVVS is one of the oldest vehicle preservation societies in the UK. “The museum started in 1959 by a group of four businessmen who had a little shed and they started with a small collection of cars and buses and it has grown from there,” said Peter, who is pictured top right on a 1948 Guy Arab bus that was in operation for Lincoln Corporation until 1967.

Vincent LeTall, a founding society member, set out in 1959 to find a group of likeminded people to help in his mission to preserve vehicles for future generations.

BY REBECCA POOLE

Sidney Twell from Ingham offered the first society vehicle, Leyland Lion No. 5, and in appreciation Mr Twell was offered a Vice Presidency of the society.

Temporary premises were then rented from the army at the barracks on Burton Road, Lincoln, but with the help of prominent business people, the museum was able to financially secure the plot of land it sits on today. The museum moved to its current location on Whisby Road, North Hykeham in 1966 and now houses a collection of over 50 static vehicles.

“We tell the story of road transport in Lincolnshire using a wealth of exhibits and a lot of our vehicles have local connections. We have some cars that were Lincoln registered, and we have buses that served with Lincoln Corporation.”

The corporation started from horse tram beginnings in 1904, and through the years saw the electric tram era and the earliest petrol engine buses. The end of Lincoln Corporation came in 1991, however the museum showcases vehicles throughout its 87 years of public service.

“Our aim is to preserve it all. We have other items in our collection such as traffic signs from the last 100 years, bicycles including a pennyfarthing, we have motorbikes, commercial vehicles, and there is a fire

engine in our collection from the 1940s,” said Peter.

Lincoln Road Transport is an accredited museum, but it is currently looking for someone to help with the accreditation, as it runs out at the end of the year.

“To be honest it is quite a big job because there’s all of the paperwork involved. We are trying to find someone to do that.

“If there’s someone out there that has some spare time and would like to volunteer, but they think ‘well I don’t know anything about engines’, it doesn’t matter. There’s a whole range of jobs that we need doing.

“We have jobs like sweeping up, cleaning vehicles’ windows, helping on the publicity side, doing the documentation, helping with the charity returns each year – there’s a wide variety of roles that people can get into. It is a very welcoming place.”

Anyone interested in volunteering or joining the society should email lvvs1959@gmail.com or leave a message on the answer phone 01522

1942 Leyland Merryweather presented by Lincoln Fire Brigade in 1968

Remembering Myle Cross

IN 1974 four schools combined to form Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School. One of those was Myle Cross Secondary Girls’ School which opened in September 1958 as St Giles Secondary Modern Girls’ School but changed its name to Myle Cross in 1962 partly to avoid confusion with the nearby boys’ school. Prior to 1958 the St Giles estate had been served by one mixed coeducational school.

Myle Cross School flourished under its headmistress, the able and resourceful Miss J K Gentry. Sadly, however, few documents survive from either Myle Cross or the St Giles Secondary Boys’ School and I am therefore grateful to Norma ‘Biddie’ Richardson, a former pupil of Myle Cross, for sending me this delightful and rare photograph.

The picture was taken at the Lincoln Music Festival in the early 1970s and shows a group of pupils from Myle Cross School led by music teacher Miss Jenny Bean on the left.

In the School’s Log Book, which thankfully has survived, it was recorded that Miss Bean took a choir of first year girls in March 1971 to compete in the Lincoln Music Festival at the Newland Congregational Church.

The photograph was probably taken on that occasion, as I am unable to find any other references to the Festival during that period.

Seated at the piano are Mr Clifford Hewis, who was assistant organist at Lincoln Cathedral and part-time music teacher for many years at Lincoln School, and Miss Cynthia Watson, a highly respected music advisor for the Lincoln Education Committee over several decades.

The website of the Lincoln Music and Drama Festival tells us

something of its history.

It was founded in 1936 by Dr Gordon Slater, former organist and choirmaster at Lincoln Cathedral. It was established as a competitive festival to promote and encourage artistic and literary appreciation by providing a platform for amateurs to perform a wide range of different aspects of music and drama.

It is neither a religious nor a denominational festival. World class adjudicators were engaged from the outset and performers have been awarded trophies, certificates, and bursaries ever since. New classes have been introduced subsequently when appropriate, but the aims have remained the same. For most of its history the Festival has taken place at the Central Methodist Church in Lincoln.

Over the years, many of the Festival’s performers have become renowned professionals in their field. These have included the celebrated conductor Sir Neville Marriner, a former pupil of Lincoln School; Jane Eaglen, a South Park High School alumna; and Skegness-born concert pianist Ashley Wass, who performs regularly in Lincoln as well as on Radio 3 and the international stage.

Many others have gone on to carve out illustrious careers, working in television and the West End both on stage and in orchestras and other ensembles.

When she was a schoolgirl in Grantham, Margaret Thatcher entered piano classes in the Music Festival, as did a certain Lincoln School pupil Peter Harrod, who invariably played all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order!

As I write, there is an excellent Music department at Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School, and a thriving choir.

Peter Harrod continues to delve into the pictorial past of Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School.

History of the hospital

THE site of the current Lincoln County Hospital is the third occupied by a building bearing this name.

The first, which opened in 1769, comprised premises which had previously been used for malting. Accommodating just ten inpatients and 40 out-patients, it was located on the south side of the River Witham, to the east of the Broadgate bridge.

The second County Hospital building was situated on Drury Lane. It opened in 1777 and was funded by subscription. Over time, it was enlarged and improved, with a new wing added in 1855 at a cost of £896.

The building later formed part of Lincoln Theological College. Admission to the hospital was not open to all. As White’s Trade Directory noted in 1856: ‘Persons are not admitted … without a recommendation from a subscriber or benefactor…’

As the city and county population grew, it was decided that a new location was needed which would enable further developments to take place as necessary.

On 4 December 1874, the Stamford Mercury reported that, a tenacre site owned by the Rev. Francis Swan had been selected, in a ‘field beyond the north east corner of the Arboretum’.

The foundation stone of the hospital was laid in August 1876 by Earl Brownlow, who stepped in to replace the Queen’s youngest son, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany who was ill.

Some £21,000 had then been raised across the city and county. By the time the hospital finally opened in 1878 it had cost £38,000. Some trimming of the original specification was required owing to lack of funds: instead of accommodating 120 beds, ten fewer were provided.

A competition was held to select the hospital’s architect. Of the seven entries, the designs of the London architect Alexander Graham was selected. The red-brick building was constructed in what was known as the ‘Hatfield House’ style. Inspired by the early

seventeenth-century Hertfordshire stately home, this was a fashionable design, used extensively in the construction of many public buildings at the time.

An ‘E’-shaped layout was employed. The eastern wing housed Clayton Ward on the ground floor and Dixon Ward above. The western wing included a dispensary, board room and the outpatient department.

The central section was occupied by a chapel, an operating theatre, an accident ward, staff living accommodation and offices. State-ofthe-art technology was also installed, including a complex ventilation system, hot water pipes and, to aid communication, speaking tubes along the corridors and an impressive array of electric bells.

In order to fund the hospital, each September the Hospital Saturday movement canvassed many households and workplaces in the city for funds.

Prior to the coming of the National Health Service in 1948, Lincoln County Hospital, like many medical institutions, also depended upon large benefactors, including city industrialists such as Nathaniel Clayton and Joseph Ruston.

In 1891, owing to a large donation by Joseph Ruston, a new outpatients’ department was constructed and the old one became a dedicated children’s ward.

Other key additions included a new nurses’ home, built in 1914 and, following the adoption of the hospital by the National Health Service, a multi-storey maternity wing was added in 1968 and a physiotherapy unit in 1975. Since the 1980s, much of the hospital has been rebuilt. It continues to provide an essential medical service to patients across the county.

The Survey of Lincoln’s latest book, Lincoln’s West End Revisited, is available in local bookshops, priced £9.50.

For more information see www.thesurveyoflincoln.co.uk.

County Hospital and its predecessors.

Lincoln County Hospital, c. 1905. (Maurice Hodson collection)

Event aims to tackle poverty in county

TO highlight the impact of the Cost of Living Crisis, FareShare Midlands recently hosted a Help Tackle Poverty in Lincolnshire event with the support of the Greater Lincolnshire Food Partnership and the Lincolnshire Co-op.

Senior representatives from local businesses, the public sector and the food industry were invited to visit the FareShare Midlands Lincoln depot and two local community food organisations, to find out firsthand about the current chronic need, the support that is available and ways that they could get involved.

A recent survey by FareShare confirmed that 90% of the charities and community groups supported have seen a rise in demand since the Cost of Living Crisis took hold. Seven in 10 charities have seen people accessing support for the first time, and 78% of them are worried that this crisis will have a bigger impact than COVID19. In Lincolnshire at least 50,000 people live in areas recognised as being in the 10% most deprived areas in the country.

FareShare Midlands takes surplus food that would otherwise go to waste and redistributes it to local charities and community organisations. These organisations, at the frontline of the battle against poverty, offer access to food, meals and additional support to vulnerable locals in severe need.

Guests visited Lincoln Community Grocery, which was set up during COV19 as local people were unable to afford to put basic food on the table. Members pay a £5 annual fee and £4 each time they use the shop. Members have access to free courses and can also relax, socialise and enjoy the onsite café. The Grocery has seen a substantial increase in daily visitors in the last two months.

Abbey Access Training provided lunch created from surplus food delivered by FareShare Midlands. Abbey Access Training offers programmes that develop voluntary, training and educational skills and community activities. The onsite community-led café offers affordable meals, as well as training and learning opportunities for local people.

Gail Dunn, Centre Manager said “Working with Fareshare has been instrumental in us developing a series of new programmes to help those in our community struggling with the cost of living, versus healthy cooking and eating. The Centre puts on ‘Cooking on a Budget’ and ‘How to use an Air Fryer, Slow Cooker and Microwave’ sessions about how to make healthy and nutritious meals that reduce energy costs. The food for these sessions comes from Fareshare Midlands and learners get to take the meals home to feed their families. For some of the courses, learners get to take a slow cooker home too.”

Caroline Kenyon, of the Greater Lincolnshire Food Partnership, said “Lincolnshire was designated as one of the poorest regions in northern Europe when we were in the EU, and it’s heartbreaking that the need for help here is growing exponentially. Nonetheless, I’m hugely cheered to see the amazing work of FareShare Midlands, Lincolnshire Coop and Lincoln Community Grocery, which is a model of collaboration and ingenuity.”

FareShare Midlands needs local volunteers with spare time and a passion for food and/or the environment - visit https://faresharemidlands.org.uk/volunteer-with-us/.

Could Amy be on to a national cocktail winner?

AMY Warne has a passion for creating cocktails and her latest concoction could become a classic.

The 33-year-old Bar Coach (pictured) is taking part in the St Germain Spritz competition running at all The Botanist venues in the country.

“My passion is classic cocktails with a new twist and this can be seen in my latest creation, the Rosemary Bush.

“Last year I was offered one of eight places in the UK for the Double Dutch female bartending scholarship which I graduated from in October. I learned new skills and information that I am able to use day-to-day, including the science

of taste. And I now use this while creating new cocktail recipes.

Amy has been in the hospitality industry for over 14 years and first discovered her love of coctails around 10 years ago while working at Revolution (now Cognito).

“I’ve held nearly every role, however I always return to my first love of bartending. I love being on bar as I get to talk to guests and I am able to create an experience tailored to the guest rather than just a drink.

“I love training the new staff coming through and passing on my knowledge and my passion for the role.”

Try Amy’s cocktail recipe on page 19.

Who is responsible for food waste?

BY LAURA STRATFORD GREATER LINCOLNSHIRE FOOD PARTNERSHIP

IT’S a massive problem. And the short answer: it’s all of us - governments and policy makers, businesses and organisations, communities, households and individuals. Most of us could reduce our household food waste and also save a bit of money by planning and shopping thoughtfully, being savvy with leftovers and learning a few smart recipes.

Organisations and businesses also come up with imaginative solutions to food waste. Examples in Lincolnshire include:

l We’re Jammin’ group at Mint Lane makes condiments from waste food, sold in returnable jars through the new Condiment Club membership, and local business Eat More Good Stuff made

l Souperpots are soups from surplus veg;

l Lincoln Prison introduced drying technology to transform its food waste;

l Garden Organic’s Master Composter programme to encourage home composting, and

l Transition Town, Louth’s community composting project

In 2021, the Food Partnership brought together a consortium of foodbanks and community larders across Lincolnshire, and together with the Lincolnshire Coop, the Lincoln Community Foundation and Fareshare Midlands, established a food hub

and distribution system to redirect perfectly good surplus food away from landfill and into foodbanks, community larders, food coops, membership supermarkets, low cost cafes, and other organisations across the county, with the help of volunteers.

These organisations and volunteers are motivated by kindness and solidarity to meet the urgent need of people in our communities facing an emergency. Increasingly they are needed by people who cannot afford to feed their families through the cost of living crisis, or get by on a day to day level. (Please lend your supportthere’s a map on our website if you need to find your nearest, and details of how to get involved.)

However, surplus food distribution by volunteers through foodbanks and Fareshare Midlands, is not a long term solution to food waste or poverty: it is symptomatic of a terribly broken food system.

It’s also a losing battle to lecture individuals on wasting food when the supermarket model is reliant on us over-purchasing. A more holistic approach goes upstream for policies to address poverty head on, and

apply “the polluter pays” principle so that the real cost of food reflects the environmental and social impact it has, including the cost of waste.

We can all participate in reducing food waste (with the necessary enabling policy) by understanding and valuing food, and cooking and eating with the seasonal and regional availability. This implies a deeper connection with food, farming and land than the supermarket shelves can offer us, such as: urban spaces to grow food (community gardens and educational sites, allotment provision, well designed periurban land use); time to take pleasure in cooking from scratch; emphasis on food growing, cooking and taste exploration on the school curriculum and site, e.g. TastEd; post 16 learning and training opportunities (we find Denmark’s MAD Academy particularly inspiring).

Taking a holistic perspective, the journey to a less wasteful food system need not be one of consumer guilt, but one of connection, fairness, health and enjoyment.

For practical tips on reducing food waste for your household, check out lovefoodhatewaste.com.

Fareshare volunteers unloading and (below) sorting food.

Potatoes are the most wasted food.

Hearty vegan cottage pie

BY CARA OAKLEY, OWNER OF PIMENTO

THIS recipe has been on repeat at home.

What I love about it is you can chuck everything in the pan and let it simmer away.

I am a fan of letting things cook for longer to really make sure all the beautiful flavours are able to infuse through the dish, making it extra yum and a crowd-pleaser.

Even meat eaters enjoy this dish – I never tell them it’s vegan!

This month’s favourite warming dish is my vegan cottage pie. It is so hearty and flavoursome you will want another plateful. Serve with your favourite fresh greens; I always steam to keep the flavour and goodness.

Ingredients:

2 tins of green lentils – give them a rinse

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 white onion – finely diced

2 cloves of garlic

Sprig of fresh rosemary

Handful of fresh chopped parsley

2 bay leaves

Sprinkle of dried mixed herbs

2 carrots diced

One red pepper diced

Frozen peas – add as many as you

like

100ml good quality vegetable stock

Splash of balsamic vinegar (or glug) of vegan red wine

Vegan gravy granules to make it nice and thick

Salt and pepper - season to taste

5 White potatoes good for making a light mashed potato – peeled and diced

Optional – 1 medium sweet potato –peeled and diced

Optional – vegan cheese grated to top off the mash

Method

Rinse your potatoes under cold water then put in the saucepan with fresh cold water, once cooked, drain and mash with a plant-based margarine or to be indulgent ½ tub of vegan cream cheese. Leave to one side.

Put a casserole pan on the hob on a low to medium heat, when warm add the oil and let heat for a moment.

Put the onion in the pan and cook for a minute or two before adding your

garlic.

Now add your rosemary and bay leaves, cook for another minute or until the onions are looking translucent.

Everything should be smelling very fragrant. Add your carrots and pepper and lower the heat if needed, you don’t want to burn the onion or garlic. Now add your tinned tomatoes, stock, wine, balsamic vinegar, bring the heat up and let the sauce simmer away nicely for 15 – 20 minutes. You want to make sure the alcohol in the wine is cooked off. Reduce the heat and add your lentils, peas and a couple of teaspoons of your gravy granules, a sprinkle of mixed herbs, salt and pepper to taste.

Cook for a further 30 – 40 minutes. Take off the heat and let cool down –the longer you leave it the better. We do this so that when you add your fluffy mash it won’t sink into the mixture. I pipe my mashed potato and add a sprinkling of cheese.

When you are ready pop in a preheated oven at 200C and let the potato and cheese go golden – always check your food is hot, I usually cook for about 30 – 40 minutes. Serve with your favourite greens and a glass of that lovely red wine you’ve shared with your cottage pie.

Tip

Always taste as you cook – we forget that our taste buds differ to other peoples so be sure to keep trying your food as you cook and don’t be afraid to adjust to your own seasoning preference .

THIS is my own personal take on a classic martini base with the added extra spritz. This creation provides a slightly sweeter version of a standard classic spritz. With elements of elder, sloe berries, and blackcurrant and, of course, rosemary.

Ingredients

37.5ml St Germain

15ml Portabello sloeberry gin

15ml Noilly Pratt original dry vermouth

22.5ml elderflower cordial acid blend mix

Top with elderflower tonic

Method

Ignite the rosemary sprig on a wooden board and collect the smoke via turning the wine glass upside down over the sprig to collect as

Cheese Choice

much smoke in the glass as possible. Then add all ingredients except elderflower tonic in to a mixing glass and stir. Next take the rosemary smoked glass add ice and double strain in to the glass top with tonic.

Garnish

Golden Cross

Golden Cross is a soft, ash-coated log-shaped goat’s cheese that is hand-made by Kevin and Alison Blunt on their farm at Whitesmith in East Sussex.

As the Golden Cross ages its characteristic subtle flavour and moussey texture change and they become more distinctive and complex with maturity.

Before maturing the cheese is lightly coated in charcoal. The charcoal provides a nice contrast to the whiteness of the goats' cheese and alters the acidity of the surface of the cheese which aids maturation. It is also said to aid digestion. The body of the cheese is dense, creamy and fullflavoured.

We suggest cutting the cheese into 1cm wide discs, placing it over sourdough with roasted butternut squash and thyme and grilling until golden and melted. Serve with dressed salad and top with chilli flakes.

Key Facts

Age 3-4 weeks +

Country of Origin England

Milk Type Goats

Organic No

Pasteurisation Unpasteurised Region East Sussex Strength Medium Style of Cheese Soft

Vegetarian Yes

For a fantastic range of cheeses from around the world contact Lucie Nock, The Cheese Society, 1 St Martin’s Lane, Lincoln, LN2 1HY. Tel: 01522 511003, www.thecheesesociety.co.uk

Sponsored by

504506 www.cscbespokekitchens.co.uk

Rosemary smoked glass and a rosemary sprig

Rosemary’s Bush Amy Warne, Bar Coach, The Botanist

‘For your tomorrow we gave our todays’

Win copy of commemorative DVD

EIGHTY years ago this month the Chindits, the WW2 jungle heroes who fought behind Japanese lines in Burma, were on their first mission, Operation Longcloth.

The Chindits, and the main British and Indian Army Units in the battles and sieges that followed, were largely dependent on air supplies.

A new DVD produced in Lincoln, presented by 31 Squadron RAF veteran Terence O’Halloran, shines a rare light on the aviators who supported the ground troops.

Landing on air strips carved out of the jungle, dropping supplies while under fire to zones not much bigger than a suburban garden, their feats were also extraordinary.

The DVD, Dakota – Air Supply Drops –Kohima, will raise £5 from each sale for the Kohima Educational Trust started in 2004 by Allied veterans to help young people of the local Naga community.

Mr. O’Halloran, Curator of the 31 Squadron RAF Association Museum and collection, said: “What was achieved in Southeast Asia was remarkable. Against all the odds the Japanese enemy was

vanquished. They fled in retreat by the autumn of 1944 - a full year before the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. This DVD fills in so many historic gaps. “As 31 Squadron Curator I have produced this much-needed portrayal of air supply logistics without which the war could not have been won. Japan would have overrun India in 1944.” It was the Burma campaign that gave rise to the famous epithet ‘When you go home, tell them of us and say, For your tomorrow, we gave our today’. They are inscribed in the War Cemetery in Kohima which commemorates the fallen of the siege and battle there in April 1944. The words are attributed to John Maxwell Edmonds.

Mr. O’Halloran teamed with Lincoln’s Blow by Blow Productions to produce the 52 minute programme, also available on USB stick and via Internet streaming at www.blowbyblow.co.uk/shop price £18.95 inc P&P.

To win a copy of the DVD name the Dakota squadron involved in the air supplies. Send you answers to admin@lincolnindependent.co.uk.

Students follow in The Beatles’ Abbey Road footsteps

BUDDING sound and music producers followed in the footsteps of The Beatles during a visit to the Abbey Road Recording Studios.

A group of second and third year students from the University of Lincoln, UK’s BA (Hons) Sound and Music Production course were able to experience a day in the life of some of the world’s most eminent record producers and performers at the iconic studio complex.

The students spent most of the two-day trip in the famous Abbey Road Studio No 2, the studio where The Beatles made the majority of their recordings.

Dr Stephen Bruel, Programme Leader for Sound and Music Production, said: “Abbey Road Studios was an amazing and holistic experience for our students. As soon as you step inside that iconic building you realise you are somewhere very special.

“During their visit the students worked directly with award winning industry professionals on industry standard workflows and equipment in a world-class facility, they gained an understanding of and appreciation for the rich cultural heritage and history of Abbey Road Studios and learnt insights on how best to prepare for and progress a career in sound and music production.” Industry professionals on hand to lend their support to the students included Abbey Road engineer Paul Pritchard who has worked with artists such as Paul McCartney, Elton John and

Dino-mite for city

GET ready or some prehistoric fun when dinosaurs take over the city centre from April 1 -16.

Join Lincoln BIG for a bespoke-designed and custom-built dinosaur attraction in the heart of Lincoln this Easter! There will also be three caged dinosaurs located around the city… can you find them all?

Events include Lush at Lincoln’s Dino Dig on the Cornhill and make a comforter dino bar - this is a first come first served event on April 1, 8, and 15 between 11am - 2pm. Get ready to unearth an amazing giant T-Rex fossil at the Dino Dig site on the Cornhill. You can visit the roar-some lifelike T-Rex at the Dino Paddock, but approach with caution…

Say ‘hi’ to the Dino Rangers and the very cute baby Rex at one of the scheduled meet and greets. There’ll also be the chance to hunt

the loose dinosaurs acr Lincoln’s Cor Quarter. Visit each location for f dinosaur themed activities accompanied a chapter of t accompanyin storybook by Sian Ellis.

Creativity harnes

DESIGNER and craftsman, Kenny Roach, has create three freestanding bike stands to go alongside the wall at The Joiners Arms Pub on Lincoln’s Victoria Street.

The pub is a voluntary member of Lincoln BIG and when the project was complete it hosted a celebratory event for the unveiling of the stands – all metal art bikes - with music from the Ministry of Ukulele Band dressed in Steampunk attire and a chance to speak to Kenny about his work.

Kenny and the Landlord of The Joiners Arms,

Paul M eye-ca materi people as wid Kenny conne more m metal take pr “I alw

Designer Kenny Roach (left) and landlord Paul Mann with one of the bike stands.

TAKE a trip to see the sights on the Lincoln Tour Bus, which will be revving up again this month.

The bus, run by the Lincoln Business Improvement Group, starts its tours over March 25-26. This is the Discover Lincolnshire Weekend and the trips will be free.

The first tour of the day is at 10:30am from Lincoln Cathedral (West Front) and the last departs at 3.30 pm.

The tours last for just under an hour, and stops include Lincoln Castle, Lincoln Cathedral, Brayford Waterfront, and the High Street.

Tickets for the bus can be bought either on the bus from the bus driver, or on the Stagecoach East Midlands App.

The bus will operate until October 29, but on a weekend only in March, April, May, June and October. July, August and September it runs even days a week.

Prices are:

Adult £9

Concession £7

Young People (16-19) - £7

Children aged 3+ - £3.50

Children up to 3 – Free

The bus is backdon’t miss free heritage weekend trips sses pedal power for unqiue cycle stands

Mann discussed design ideas to create the atching piece which has used upcycled ials and metal work donated by local e and reflects the history of the pub as well der events such as the Steampunk Festival. y said: “I think there is an important ction to this community project that feels meaningful due to the donations of old appliances. This helps locals feel they can roud ownership of the bike stand.” ways find it inspiring to be asked to produce

and create these artistic unique and obscure projects. The challenge is very rewarding whilst at the same time, taxing on my mind, with the added benefit of helping others to be inspired in the process.”

Paul Mann, Landlord of The Joiners Arms added: “The bike stand will be a great asset to the community. Not only will they be useful, but they’ll also look fantastic!

“After we improved our beer garden there was a need to find somewhere customers could park their bikes, with the help of Lincoln Creates |

The bus can also be booked for a private group / group booking at a competitive rate. Email admin@lincolnbig.co.uk for prices.

Lincoln BIG, we have been able to provide these amazing and functional stands”. This project, which aims to increase the use of cycling in Lincoln, has been made possible with the support of Lincoln Creates 2022, which is a Lincoln BIG initiative aiming to support new creative art projects in the city centre. It promotes collaboration between artists and local businesses. Following his successful application to the programme in August 2022, Paul was awarded a grant of £1,600 from the Lincoln Creates fund.

Alternate Fridays 4.30pm – 7pm

Thursday 2 March 7pm

SOUTHSIDE, COLEGRAVE STREET, LINCOLN

Commuter Jazz

Enjoy a glass of wine and some toe tapping tunes. Artists for each event to be announced.

Pay on the door, tickets Adult £7, Student/UC £3

www.southsidelincs.com, T 01522 437942

THE ENGINE SHED, LINCOLN

Sofie Hagen: Fat Jokes

A show bursting with big jokes and fat punchlines. Sofie returns to her craft of devastatingly brilliant joke writing and storytelling. This event is 16 +

Tickets £16

www.engineshed.co.uk, T 01522 837400

BROADBENT THEATRE, WICKENBY

Thursday 2 March –

Saturday 4 March 7.30pm

Friday 3 March 7pm

Gaslight

Common Ground Theatre Company perform their production of Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 play about a dark tale of a Victorian marriage based on deceit and trickery.

Tickets adult £12, concession £11

www.broadbenttheatre.org, T 0300 400 0101

THE ENGINE SHED, LINCOLN

David O’Doherty: Whoa Is Me

Here he comes again… there’ll be lots of talking, some apologising and some songs on a glued-together plastic keyboard from 1986. This event is 14+

Tickets £23

www.engineshed.co.uk, T 01522 837400

Friday 3 March 7.30pm

Friday

3 March 7.30pm

Saturday 4 March 2pm

THE DRILL, LINCOLN

The Spandau Ballet Story + Duran Duran

Presenting a double header of an evening, paying tribute to two of the 80s finest bands.

Tickets £18

www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

TERRY O’TOOLE THEATRE, NORTH HYKEHAM

The Queen Story

Telling the story of Queen through the eras, from their early performances through to stadium shows, including a recreation of the legendary Live Aid set.

Tickets Adult £21, Child £16

www.betterboxoffice.co.uk/terry-otoole-theatre

T 0333 335 5055

TERRY O’TOOLE THEATRE, NORTH HYKEHAM

Dynamix Dance Academy: A Night at the Movies

This York-based band are heading to Lincoln on their 2023 tour with their unusual sound and new songs.

Tickets from £8

www.betterboxoffice.co.uk/terry-otoole-theatre

T 0333 335 5055

Saturday 4 March 7pm

Saturday 4 March 7.30pm – 11pm

Thursday 9 March 7pm

LINCOLN CATHEDRAL St Barnabas Morriston Orpheus Choir

This world-famous choir is making its return as part of the charity’s 40th anniversary celebrations.

Tickets from £22

www.lincolncathedral.com, T 01522 504394

THE DRILL, LINCOLN King No-One

This York-based band are heading to Lincoln on their 2023 tour with their unusual sound and new songs.

Tickets £11.50

www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

LINCOLN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE

Fatherhood

Exploring the cultural and gender expectations on fathers and what it means to be responsible for a child navigating an increasingly complex world. Age guidance 12+

Tickets £9, Live Pass £5

www.lpac.co.uk, T 01522 837600

Thursday 9 March 8-11pm

Friday 10 March 6.30pm – 10.30pm

AKEDO GAMING BAR, 13 CORPORATION ST, LINCOLN

Alternative Sounds & Music

Performances from Nailbreaker, Stone Cold Steve Irwin, Fetlar and Experimental Sonic Machines

£4 advance, £5 on the door

Peter K Rollings, Experimental Sonic Machines, Lincoln UK Tel 07954719138

SOUTHSIDE, COLEGRAVE STREET, LINCOLN

The Mermaid Café

Based on the 1990s MTV Unplugged series & BBC Live Lounge, featuring popular artists performing a variation of their original songs. Co-curation from Katy Baggott. Pay on the door. Tickets £7

www.southsidelincs.co, T 01522 437942

Friday 10 March 7pm

THE ENGINE SHED, LINCOLN

Sigala – UK Headline Tour 2023

Following an unforgettable performance at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee concert, 2023 is set to be another standout as Sigala treats fans to live electrifying shows. Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.

Tickets £20

www.engineshed.co.uk, T 01522 837400

Saturday 11 March 3pm – 6pm

THE DRILL, LINCOLN Scruffy

Get ready for original poetry, hardcore gymnastics, and even an Avril Lavigne tribute act! This is Maisie’s time to shine!

Tickets Adult £11, Concession £8, Student £8 www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

Saturday 11 March 7pm

SOUTHSIDE, COLEGRAVE STREET, LINCOLN Ben Simmons + Special Guests

This passionate singer/songwriter combines his love for contemporary soul, blues, and folk to form a sound bursting with artistic integrity. Joined by Georgie Hanson.

Tickets available from gigantic.com for £7

www.southsidelincs.com, T 01522 437942

DECIMAL PLACE, 10 BURTON ROAD, LINCOLN LN1 3LB

Thursday 9 March 7.30pm

THE DRILL, LINCOLN Beans on Toast

Outlaw Folk musician is hitting the road with his guitar, songs to sing and stories to tell with unrepenting optimism.

Tickets £15

www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

Saturday 11 March 7.30-10pm free entry

Weird Garden

An evening of alternative sounds & music by Kanalkrank, Other Light Ensemble, Glider Theory Free entry

Peter K Rollings, Experimental Sonic Machines, Lincoln UK Tel 07954719138

Discover the weird and wonderful at Akedo Gaming Bar

What’s On sponsored by LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

Saturday 11 March 8pm

THE DRILL, LINCOLN

Red Herring Comedy Club

This month’s comedy club features performances from Josh Pugh, David Eagle, and Dinesh Nathan, joined by MC Pete Otway for a night of laughter. 18+

Tickets £15.50

www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

Saturday 11 March

7.30pm

TERRY O’TOOLE THEATRE, NORTH HYKEHAM Phil Collins Songbook

Staged by the five musicians from the tribute show Genesis Visible Touch, they return with a show for all fans of Collins’ 1980s solo material.

Tickets Adult from £14, Child £11 www.betterboxoffice.co.uk/terry-otoole-theatre

T 0333 335 5055

THE ENGINE SHED, LINCOLN

Sunday 12 March

6.45pm

Danny Baker: At Last… The Sausage

Sandwich Tour

A brand-new full tilt non-stop thunderous performance, the last ever instalment in this gleeful eruption of true-life tales and show business revelation. This event is 14+

Tickets £27.50

www.engineshed.co.uk, T 01522 837400

Wednesday 15 March

7.30 - 11pm

THE DRILL, LINCOLN Martin Simpson

The folk singer-songwriter and guitarist’s remarkable, intimate solo performances go from strength to strength – every gig is a masterclass.

Tickets £17.50

www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

Thursday 16 March 7pm

SOUTHSIDE, COLEGRAVE STREET, LINCOLN

Thursday Folk Night

From the tradition to the now… folk music from the county and beyond. Check the website and social media for artist announcements.

Pay What You Feel

www.southsidelincs.com, T 01522 437942

Friday 17 March and 31 March

4.30pm – 7pm

Saturday 18 March

6.30pm

Saturday

18 March 8pm

Sunday 19 March 3pm

Monday 20 March 7.30pm

SOUTHSIDE, COLEGRAVE STREET, LINCOLN Commuter Jazz

Enjoy a glass of wine and some toe tapping tunes. Artists for each event to be announced. Pay on the door.

Tickets Adult £7, Student/UC £3

www.southsidelincs.com, T 01522 437942

SOUTHSIDE, COLEGRAVE STREET, LINCOLN St Patrick’s Day Ceílí

Celebrate St Patrick’s Day with this event featuring The Castile Cèilidh Band.

Ticket only event £8, Ticket + Food £15, available on the website. www.southsidelincs.com, T 01522 437942

THE BLUE ROOM, THE LAWN, LINCOLN

The Paul Booth Quartet

Prize-winning saxophonist Paul Booth leads this musical quartet of pianist Tom Cawley, bassist Flo Moore, and Andrew Bain on drums.

Tickets £16, Member £14, Student £8, Under 18s £8 www.jazzpac.co.uk, T 01522 529717

THE DRILL, LINCOLN

Lincoln Symphony Orchestra

Featuring classic musical pieces by Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Brahms and more.

Tickets Adult £14, Concession £12, Under 16s £7 www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

THE DRILL, LINCOLN

10cc’s Graham Gouldman & Heart Full of Songs

This semi-acoustic four-piece performs a selection of Graham’s song-writing catalogue. Graham plays with10cc live band members Iain Hornal and Keith Hayman, and Dave Cobby.

Tickets £32

www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

TERRY O’TOOLE THEATRE, NORTH HYKEHAM

Monday 20 March –

Thursday 23 March

7.30pm

New Youth Theatre: Into the Woods

Tickets Adult £10.50, Child £9.50, Senior £9.50, Student £9.50, www.betterboxoffice.co.uk/terry-otoole-theatre

T 0333 335 5055

Thursday 23 March 7pm

Win tickets!

Thursday 23 March 7.30pm

THE DRILL, LINCOLN

Bright and Beautiful

An intimate exploration of loss and liberation of self. This one-woman show provides a private window into a relationship long past its expiration date.

Tickets £5

www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

SOUTHSIDE, COLEGRAVE STREET, LINCOLN

Snug Sessions

Bring your friends, have a drink and enjoy some cool music from the comfort of Southside’s living room, featuring Vigilantes, Who’s Misty, and Julia Rose. Event runs once per month.

Pay What You Feel on the door

www.southsidelincs.com, T 01522 437942

THE ENGINE SHED, LINCOLN

Friday 24 March 7pm

Join Chris Moyles’ night of 90s nostalgia

CHRIS Moyles is a household name through his broadcasting career spanning over 30 years.

He’s coming to Lincoln’s Engine Shed with his 90s Hangover show on Saturday, May 27 and we have a pair of tickets to give away.

Chris began his radio career as a 16-year-old working in his hometown of Leeds but is more widely recognised for being the host of Radio 1 between 2004 and 2012, attracting highs of 7.9 million listeners.

In 2015, Chris began hosting The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X, broadcasting to a weekly audience of 1.9 million. More recently, fans enjoyed Chris’ humour, energy and wit on the most recent I’m A Celebrity

Get Me Out of Here

“The 90s is a decade like no other and produced some of the greatest anthems of all time, so who better to take you on a journey through the best decade of music than Chris Moyles? He’ll be delving into the very best of indie, rock, pop and dance music from the 90s,” said Portia Batten, Commerical Events Manager.

“We cannot wait for Chris Moyles to deliver a whole load of belters to the people of Lincoln. Tickets are available now for this unmissable opportunity.”

For tickets and all the latest event updates, head to www.engineshed.co.uk

To win a pair of tickets tell us who was Chris Moyles’ sidekick on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show

Send your answers marked Chris Moyles to admin@lincolnindependent.co.uk.

Thursday 23 March –

Saturday 25 March 7pm

THE BLUE ROOM, THE LAWN, LINCOLN

Much Ado About Nothing

Join Shakespeare’s rich cast of heroes, villains, inept police officers and a wandering Barbershop Quartet (possibly not in the first folio!) to witness the ‘Merry War’. Please telephone to book tickets

Tickets £15

T 01522 523548

T 07765 854025

Saturday 25 March 10am

Saturday 25 March 3pm

Giants of Rock: The Guns N’ Roses

Experience + Pure Jovi

A very real alternative to seeing these U.S. rock legends as witnessed by millions back in their heyday! Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult

Tickets £19

www.engineshed.co.uk, T 01522 837400

LINCOLN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE

Lincolnshire Sings

Day of mass harmony singing workshops, led by local community leaders. This event is open to all who enjoy singing in a relaxed, friendly environment.

Tickets £6

singing@soundLINCS.org

www.lpac.co.uk, T 01522 510073

TERRY O’TOOLE THEATRE, NORTH HYKEHAM

Cinderella

Join Stardust Theatre Company, a performing arts group for young adults with additional needs, for their unique version of this pantomime.

Tickets Adult £9.50, Child £1, Senior £9.50, Student £9.50 www.betterboxoffice.co.uk/terry-otoole-theatre T 0333 335 5055

LINCOLN CATHEDRAL

Saturday 25 March 7pm – 9.30pm

St John Passion performed by Lincoln

Cathedral Choir

The St John Passion and St Matthew Passion are two of Bach’s most famous pieces of sacred music, telling the Biblical story of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Tickets from £10

www.lincolncathedral.com, T 01522 504394

Saturday 25 March 7pm – 11pm

THE DRILL, LINCOLN Peatbog Faeries

Hailing from the Isle of Skye, these Scottish trailblazers have created a unique mixture of traditional sounds and dance-floor grooves to delight crowds everywhere.

Tickets £21.50 www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

Saturday 25 March 7.30pm

BROADBENT THEATRE, WICKENBY

Old Friends – Sounds of Simon and Garfunkel

A tribute to the wonderful music of two voices and one guitar. Relive the classics such as Mrs Robinson and Homeward Bound.

Tickets Adult £12, Concession £11

www.broadbenttheatre.org, T 0300 400 0101

Sunday 26 March 3pm

THE DRILL, LINCOLN Maja Horvat & Julia Hamos

Enjoy this instalment of the Classical Concert Series with music from prize-winning violinist Maja Horvat and pianist Julia Hamos.

Tickets £18, Concession £16, Under 26 £5

www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

SOUTHSIDE, COLEGRAVE STREET, LINCOLN

Sunday 26 March 6pm – 9pm

The Naughty Night Market

Enjoy a drink whilst you browse local sellers that specialise in risqué crafts, including inappropriate bunting, sex positive prints, skin care, ceramics and much more! This event is for 18+ only. Event runs every three months.

Free entry

www.southsidelincs.com

T 01522 437942

Thursday 30 March 7pm

Roachford tour dates include Lincoln Drill

ANDREW Roachford has been on the UK music scene since the 1980s and continues to grow and mature as an artist. His sound may have changed from the soul/rock fusion of debut hits ‘Cuddly Toy’ and ‘Family Man’ to more contemporary soul and RnB, but the quality has remained as consistently high.

Andrew’s trademark has become his rare ability to put into words, feelings you didn’t even know you had.

“It’s one of the reasons why I make music; to bring out those things that people feel, but haven’t always got a voice for. I like to bring the inner person to the forefront’.

And over the years, anthems like ‘Lay Your Love Out On Me’, ‘Naked Without You’ and ‘Complicated’, to name but a few, have done just that.

The tour supports a new album, Twice in a Lifetime, featuring Love Remedy, Gonna Be The One and What We Had with Beverley Knight

Andrew Roachford has also been a vocalist for Mike and the Mechanics - the side project for Genesis’ Mike Rutherford - since 2010.

Roachford, The Drill, Free School Lane, Lincoln, Thursday, March 30, 7pm, Tickets £26.50, www.lincolndrill.co.uk,

Wednesday 29 March 7pm

Thursday 30 March 7pm – 11pm

SOUTHSIDE, COLEGRAVE STREET, LINCOLN

Southside Jam Night

A great way to sharpen up your performing skills, make local and industry contacts, or just enjoy a social! Expect original material, covers and improvisation. Free entry Email to sign up: hello@southsidelincs.com www.southsidelincs.com, T 01522 437942

THE DRILL, LINCOLN

Roachford

This compelling and consistent rock and soul artist will be channelling his energy on stage right here in Lincoln. Joined by special guest Acantha Lang.

Tickets £26.50 www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

THE ENGINE SHED, LINCOLN

Thursday 30 March 7pm

Babatunde Aleshe: Babahood

One of the fastest rising stars in British Comedy is visiting Lincoln on his UK headline tour. His stand up presents a hilariously fresh perspective. 16+

Tickets £13.50

www.engineshed.co.uk, T 01522 837400

Friday 31 March 7pm – 11pm

Saturday 1 April 2pm – 4pm

SOUTHSIDE, COLEGRAVE STREET, LINCOLN

The University of Lincoln Chamber Ensemble and Choir + Folk Band

Music degree students present a relaxed evening of music, including instrumental music from across the ages and traditional music from around the globe.

FREE www.southsidelincs.com, T 01522 437942

THE DRILL, LINCOLN Goldie Lookin Chain

Straight out of Wales, Rhys, Eggsy, Adam, Billy Webb and Co are back to smash the stage with their brand of highenergy novelty hip hop.

Tickets £19 www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

ST MARY LE WIGFORD CHURCH, LINCOLN

Anne Askew: A Woman of Courage in Tudor Lincolnshire (pictured below)

An afternoon of drama and music from Script in Hand, with musicians from Sixteen Eighty Five, performs Margaret Crompton’s play about the woman who illegally read the Bible in Lincoln Cathedral, was caught up in political conspiracy against Queen Katherine Parr, and burned in 1546.

Sponsored by Lincoln University Medieval Studies Research Group.

Free admission, donations for Historic Charities of Wigford: JAQS TRUST: Relief in Need

What’s On sponsored by LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

Saturday 1 April 7.30pm

BAILGATE METHODIST CHURCH, LINCOLN

Faure’s Requiem

Local choir Cabra Singers will perform this classic along with Five Mystical Songs by Vaughan Williams and Cantique de Jean Racine by Fauré.

Tickets £5 including light refreshments, available on the door or by calling 01522 543168.

Saturday 1 April 7.30pm

TERRY O’TOOLE THEATRE, NORTH HYKEHAM Cilla & the Swinging Sixties

Celebrates the life and music of the legendary Cilla Black, featuring West End singer Sandy Smith as Cilla.

Tickets £16

www.betterboxoffice.co.uk/terry-otoole-theatre

T 0333 335 5055

Saturday 1 April 8pm

THE DRILL, LINCOLN

Red Herring Comedy Club

April’s comedy club features performances from Nina Gilligan, Harriet Dyer, and Dan Tiernan, joined by MC Barry Dodds for a night of laughter. 18+

Tickets £15.50

www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

Thursday 6 April 7pm

THE ENGINE SHED, LINCOLN Justin Moorhouse: Stretch & Think

A brand-new show that may contain: yoga, getting older, Madonna, shoplifters, Labradoodles, middle-aged cyclists, The Menopause, not drinking, shop door etiquette, horses, and much more! 14+

Tickets £15, JSA £5 (Unwaged with proof of JSA) www.engineshed.co.uk, T 01522 837400

Friday 7 April 6.30pm – 11.30pm

THE DRILL, LINCOLN Mamma Mia Ball

Celebrate Easter weekend ABBA style, featuring a Greekinspired table buffet, live DJ, and an exclusive performance from leading tribute DREAM ABBA.

Tickets £39, Full table options also available www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

Monday 10 April 7pm

THE ENGINE SHED, LINCOLN Razorlight

These Indie icons are back to cast out the boring in your life and write a new ending for themselves. Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.

Tickets £32.50

www.engineshed.co.uk, T 01522 837400

Thursday 13 April 11am & 2pm

TERRY O’TOOLE THEATRE, NORTH HYKEHAM

Nature Elly – Barmpot Theatre

This puppet theatre show is created especially for 2-5-yearolds, full of interactive fun, music, and a cast of adorable animal puppets to meet.

Tickets Adult £8.50, Child £6

www.betterboxoffice.co.uk/terry-otoole-theatre

T 0333 335 5055

Saturday 15 April 7pm

THE ENGINE SHED, LINCOLN From The Jam ‘Beat Surrender’ 40th Anniversary

Led by Bruce Foxton, original bass player and songwriter with The Jam, and Russell Hastings, celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Jam’s final farewell tour. Very special guests on the tour are The Selecter. Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.

Tickets £32.50

www.engineshed.co.uk, T 01522 837400

Saturday 15 April 7.30pm

Saturday 15 April 7.30pm

THE DRILL, LINCOLN

Fleetwood Mad

UK’s most exciting tribute to Fleetwood Mac relive the hits we all know and love.

Tickets £18

www.lincolndrill.co.uk, T 01522 534160

BROADBENT THEATRE, WICKENBY

Live & Local from the Albert Hall to the Music Hall

Presented by Dan Sealey featuring music from the bands he’s worked with and hilarious stories from along the way.

Tickets Adult £12, Concession £11

www.broadbenttheatre.org , T 0300 400 0101

Saturday 15 April 7.30pm-10pm

LINCOLN CATHEDRAL

A Night at the Opera London Concertante present a captivating evening with various works of the finest opera arias and overtures, including works by Puccini, Verdi, Rossini, and Mozart.

Tickets from £21.08

www.lincolncathedral.com, T 01522 504394

Sunday 16 April 3pm

THE DRILL, LINCOLN Paddington Trio

Enjoy this instalment of the Classical Concert Series with music from violinist Tuulia Hero, cellist Patrick Moriarty, and pianist Stephanie Tang.

Tickets £18, Concession £16

www.lincolndrill.co.uk

T 01522 534160

Sunday 16 April 7.15pm

LINCOLN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE

True Motion 2023

This event is one of the East Midlands six U.Dance performances, providing an insightful evening into the wealth of dance and creativity in the county..

Tickets £9, Concession £7.50

www.lpac.co.uk, T 01522 837600

Try Lincoln Mystery Trail

THE Lincoln Mystery Treasure Trail is a challenge for the whole family.

This self-guided walking trail explores Lincoln’s Cathedral Quarter taking people on 1.5-mile journey around the city’s historic streets, with plenty of fun clues to figure out along the way. The answers are all based on permanent features in the city, such as quirky signs or interesting buildings, To take part, download or print a map from the Treasure Trails website.

Maps cost around £10 but can be shared and reused.

https://www.visitlincoln.com/things-to-do/lincolnmystery-treasure-trail

What’s On sponsored by ART, LEARNING & CULTURE

Thursdays 2pm – 3pm

LINCOLN CENTRAL LIBRARY, FREE SCHOOL LANE Craft Club

Relax, socialise and share your story through the things you make. Suitable for 16 years and over FREE

www.better.org.uk/library/lincolnshire/lincoln-central-library

T 01522 782010

Thursdays

5.30pm – 7pm

Thursdays

7.15pm – 9.15pm

Fridays 2pm – 3pm

THE USHER GALLERY, LINCOLN Life Drawing Classes (Untutored)

Do you have an artistic flair that you wish to explore? If so, these workshops could be the perfect place for you. Combined sessions available.

Prices £8, Concession £6

www.thecollectionmuseum.com, T 01522 782040

THE USHER GALLERY, LINCOLN Life Drawing Classes (Tutored)

See listing above.

Prices £10, Concession £8

www.thecollectionmuseum.com, T 01522 782040

LINCOLN CENTRAL LIBRARY, FREE SCHOOL LANE Learn My Way

Join this free, basic beginners’ IT course. Free, booking required www.better.org.uk/library/lincolnshire/lincoln-central-library

T 01522 782010

Friday 3 March 7pm

Saturday 4 March, & 1 April 12pm – 3.30pm

THE BLUE ROOM AT THE LAWN LINCOLN

Charles Dickens: the Man Behind the Novels

The Mayor of Lincoln hosts an Evening With Lucinda Hawksley, Dicken’s great, great, greeat granddaughter in aid of the Urology Unit at Lincoln County Hosptial.

Tickets £12

To book visit www.lincoln.gov.uk/civicpay

BISHOP GROSSETESTE UNIVERSITY

Open Day Lite

A short and sweet introduction to the courses, campus and BGU experience. This speedy open day includes talks, tours and an opportunity to meet programme leaders. Book your place online. FREE www.bgu.ac.uk, T 01522 527347

Saturday 4 March –Sunday 5 March 10am – 4pm

MUSEUM OF LINCOLNSHIRE LIFE, LINCOLN

Airfix Weekend

Whether you’re a seasoned hobbyist or a newcomer to the world of modelling, come along to marvel at these miniature wonders.

Tickets Adult £3, Child £1, Family £6 (2 Adults and up to 3 Children) lincolnshirelife_museum@lincolnshire.gov.uk, T 01522 782040

Wednesday 8 March 6pm

CO-OP LECTURE THEATRE, MINERVA BUILDING, UNIVERSITY OF LINCOLN

Authoritarianism, Borders and Glocalization

The Politics of Disorder book launch of recently published works which focus on different contemporary ordering and disordering of the political with Prof Rico Isaacs.

Booking essential FREE

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/authoritarianism-borders-andglocalization-book-launch-tickets-535831535547

DODDINGTON, NR LINCOLN

Thursday 9 March 10am - 4pm

Garden Design

For anyone who would like to understand the rules and principles of good garden design and learn how to use this in their own garden.

Tickets £130 www.guypetheram.co.uk

Thursday 9 March 7.30pm

Until Sunday 5 March 10am – 4pm (Closes at 5pm Friday & Saturday)

Until Sunday 16 April 10am – 4pm

Until Monday 1 May 10 – 4pm

Thursday 2 March 6.30pm – 9.30pm

HARDING HOUSE GALLERY, STEEP HILL, LINCOLN

It’s About Time

An exhibition of beautiful paintings by artist and gallery member Glynne James, renowned for his unique style in depicting ever-changing landscapes.

FREE

www.hardinghousegallery.co.uk, T 01522 523537

THE COURTYARD GALLERY, THE COLLECTION MUSEUM

Jeanette Killner: Natural Collections

All of the pieces in the Lincoln artist’s exhibition have been inspired by nature, and feature recycled materials and a range of techniques.

FREE www.thecollectionmuseum.com, T 01522 782040

THE COLLECTION, LINCOLN

David Remfry: A Moment Captured

A celebration of scale, colour, and movement in this exhibition of watercolour paintings by renowned British painter David Remfry MBE RA.

FREE, www.thecollectionmuseum.com

T 01522 782040

INTERNATIONAL BOMBER COMMAND CENTRE

The Jimmy Tarbox Memorial Lecture

Dave Gilbert, Trustee and Losses Archivist, hosts a lecture with easy explanations of the technology during World War II. In April 2022, IBCC lost supporter Jimmy Tarbox who regularly attended lectures. This lecture is presented in memory of him. Booking essential

Tickets £15 - Includes buffet supper

www.internationalbcc.co.uk, T 01522 514755

Saturday 11 March 11am - 3pm

Saturday 11 MarchMonday 10 April 10am – 4pm

Saturday 11 March 2pm

ROBERT HARDY BUILDING, BISHOP GROSSETESTE UNIVERSITY Dereliction to Tourist Hub

The remarkable story of RSPB Old Moor, Barnsley presented by Ian Rotherham.

Admission charge on the door, card or cash. Free parking on campus after 6pm.

Adult £5, RSPB Member £4, Accompanied Child FREE www.lincolnrspb.org.uk, T 01522 753809

INTERNATIONAL BOMBER COMMAND CENTRE

British Science Week – Connections

Join IBCC for a pop-up activity to discover some fun science-related crafts that are suitable for all the family. FREE

www.internationalbcc.co.uk, T 01522 514755

HARDING HOUSE GALLERY, STEEP HILL, LINCOLN Concepts in Clay

An exhibition displaying a great new variety of work by members of the Northern Potters Association. FREE www.hardinghousegallery.co.uk, T 01522 523537

QUEEN’S PARK COMMUNITY HUB, LINCOLN ‘Fenton Family’ by Sue Stennett

This talk explores how the Wells-Cole family came to be. This event is the Lincolnshire Family History Society’s Lincoln Branch meeting. Attend in person or via Zoom by requesting a link by email.

FREE

lincolnbranch@lincolnshirefhs.org.uk

T 07941 245322 (Tracey Fairhurst)

UNIVERSITY OF LINCOLN

Saturday 11 March 11am – 1.30pm

Postgraduate Open Day

Postgraduate study can help to further or change your career. Book your place online.

FREE www.lincoln.ac.uk, T 01522 882000

Jeanette Killner

Sunday 5 March 10am – 2.30pm

Great day out for the whole family

Countryside Lincs, Lincolnshire Showground

Sunday 16th April 2023, 10am – 4pm

Advanced tickets: £10 adult, £30 family (2 adults & up to 3 children), £6 child, Under 5’s go free

THE family-friendly favourite Countryside Lincs returns to the Lincolnshire Showground on Sunday 16 April, 10am – 4pm.

Organised by the charity The Lincolnshire Agricultural Society, Countryside Lincs offers a fun-filled day out, giving visitors the opportunity to get involved in lots of interactive indoor and outdoor activities to experience a flavour of food, farming and the countryside.

Visitors will be able to enjoy exploring the eight different zones with hands-on activities, cookery workshops, exciting demonstrations, live entertainment, plus an action-packed timetable of displays in the Countryside Ring including the everpopular BMX Show and the fabulous falconry display.

To book tickets visit

https://lincolnshireshowground.co.uk/whatson/event/countryside-lincs-16-04-2023

Sundays 10am – 11am

THE COLLECTION, LINCOLN Sunday Morning Yoga Sessions

All levels and experience are welcome. Everyone is invited to move and breathe in their own unique way in unity with their mind and body. Bring your own mat and blanket. £6

www.thecollectionmuseum.com , T 01522 782040

Until Wednesday 29 March 10am – 4pm Wed and Sun only

DODDINGTON HALL, LINCOLN Spring Bulb Pageant

See the spectacular pageant of spring bulbs, with snowdrops, winter aconites, Cyclamen coum and Crocus Tommasinianus.

Tickets (gardens only) Adult £8.50, Child £4.50 www.doddingtonhall.com, T 01522 694308

Monday 6 March and 3 April 12pm – 2pm

Saturday 11 March & 18 March 12pm – 2pm

LINCOLNSHIRE SHOWGROUND Toy Collectors Fair

The 200-table event is a trove of collectables with everything from Corgi and Hornby to Sci-Fi, Star Wars, film and TV related items.

Tickets Adult £3, Seniors £2.50, First Child £2 www.lincolnshireshowground.co.uk, T 01522 522900

LINCOLNSHIRE POACHER, BUNKERS HILL, LINCOLN Friendship Lunch

Come along to this event, organised by Bernadette House, specially designed to bring together local people – just like you – for food, fun, and friends. Please pay the pub directly for meals and drinks. Telephone to book your seat. T 01522 511788

MINT LANE, LINCOLN EarthLincs Drop-in Session

Come along to learn how to knit and crochet with Jane, share skills and learn new ones.

XR Youth Art Blocking with Heather. Bring along your old t-shirts, tote bags, and scrap fabric to repurpose into beautiful patches and designs. FREE

Friday 17th March 10-11am

Saturday 18 March 1.30-4pm

Saturday 18 March & 1 April 9am – 5.30pm

Saturday 18 March –Sunday 19 March 10am – 5pm

Saturday 18 March –Sunday 19 March 10am – 4pm

Sunday 19 March 2.30pm – 4.30pm

HARTSHOLME COUNTRY PARK Toddler Time

Get messy for seasonal activities for the under 5s. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

£3.50 per child aged 1-5.

01522 873735 or email hartsholmecp@lincoln.gov.uk

HARTSHOLME COUNTRY PARK Easter Wreaths

A range of spring foliage and Easter accessories will be available for wreaths and personal decorations can be added.

£26 per adult.

01522 873735 or email hartsholmecp@lincoln.gov.uk

WATERSIDE SHOPPING CENTRE, LINCOLN Artisan Market

Take a look at a range of unique artisan crafts by local businesses.

Free entry

www.watersideshopping.com, T 01522 529566

LINCOLN CASTLE

Dog Friendly Days

Explore with paws! Unlock 1000 years of history with your four-legged companion on selected weekends this year. Tickets apply for the Medieval Wall Walk, Victorian Prison and Magna Carta. Book in advance online.

FREE entry to castle grounds

THE COLLECTION, LINCOLN

Creative Family Workshops with LEGO Bricks

Instructed by LEGO Masters, Bricks McGee, these workshops will bring together the iconic building blocks and the museum’s historical collections, to produce some amazing creations. Suitable for 5 - 11-year-olds. Prices £5 per person

INTERNATIONAL BOMBER COMMAND CENTRE, LINCOLN

Mother’s Day Vintage Afternoon Tea

Afternoon tea complemented with an array of vintage swing and jazz with Lincolnshire based singer-musician Josh Wylie, and free bubbles for Mum.

Tickets Adult £32, Child £11.50

www.internationalbcc.co.uk, T 01522 514755

Saturday 25 March 10.30

Wednesday 15 February 10am – 12pm

ST MARK’S, LINCOLN

February Half Term Kids Club

Join Nature’s Den for all things balloons. Including balloon modelling, balloon dinosaur crafts, squishy balloons, and more balloon fun!

FREE www.stmarks-lincoln.co.uk, T 01522 575240

ST MARK’S, LINCOLN

February Half Term Kids Club

It’s National Bird Box Week. Join Lisa from Hartsholme Rangers and create your own bird feeder wreath for your garden and help our feathered friends!

FREE www.stmarks-lincoln.co.uk, T 01522 575240

Delight of the sky at night

MUM Alison Ackerman was driving home to Nettleham via Harmston when she came across this amazing sky over the Lincoln Cliff village.

She stopped to take a photograph and the resulting picutre is so impressive it not only inspired the Lincoln Independent team to publish it, but also to invite other readers to share their images of the photographs in and around Lincoln with us and we’ll print our favourite each month.

“As I drove towards the beautiful village of Harmston it was a very

Saturday 25 March 10.30am

LINCOLNSHIRE SHOWGROUND

Lincoln District Bee Auction

Bees and equipment for sale. To sell or buy, register at the desk before the sale begins and obtain a customer number. Auction of live bees at around 1pm Free Entry

www.lincolnshireshowground.co.uk, T 01522 522900

LINCOLNSHIRE SHOWGROUND

dark night when I saw the most amazing night sky that I have ever seen. in that moment I knew that I had to capture its beauty,” explained Alison.

Strictly amateurs only please - just as Alison was - we use the past tense because after her experience Alison has now set up her own photography business. She submitted her images to the Photocrowd website and was highly commended by its expert.

See https://www.instagram.com/creative_art_photography

Send images to admin@lincolnindependent.co.uk

Saturday 8 April 11am – 3pm

Tuesday 28 March 10am – 4pm

Sunday 2 April 8.30am – 3pm

Sunday 2 April 11am – 3pm

Arthur Swallow Antiques & Home Show

For collectors, interior designers, set-designers, and everyone passionate about creating a stylish living space. Trade buyers are welcome 7am – 10am at £15 entry

Public buyers £5

www.lincolnshireshowground.co.uk, T 01522 522900

LINCOLNSHIRE SHOWGROUND

The Vintage Flea Market Bag a bargain, rummage for bric-a-brac, or hunt down cool vintage items.

Tickets £2.50

www.lincolnshireshowground.co.uk, T 01522 522900

SOUTHSIDE, COLEGRAVE STREET, LINCOLN

The Southside Wedding Fair

Come along to the very first wedding fair supporting local suppliers and showcasing this beautiful Grade II venue. Expect stalls, live music, and a bar. Ample parking available

Free entry

Email hello@southsidelincs.com to book a stall

www.southsidelincs.com, T 01522 437942

Friday 14 April 10.30am – 3pm

Sunday 16 April 9.30am – 3pm

Sunday 16 April 10am

INTERNATIONAL BOMBER COMMAND CENTRE, LINCOLN

Teddy Bear’s Picnic

Bring along your own picnic and toy, teddy or mascot and have a go at some of the outdoor games. Prize for best WW2 dressed toy and for best children’s evacuee costume!

FREE

www.internationalbcc.co.uk, T 01522 514755

INTERNATIONAL BOMBER COMMAND CENTRE, LINCOLN

Up and Away Family Day!

Rockets, kites, rotor motoes and other ‘flight’ themed crafts and activities for the whole family to enjoy. FREE www.internationalbcc.co.uk, 01522 514755

THE ENGINE SHED, LINCOLN

Lincoln Record Fair

100 tables of vinyl records, from different national dealers in one large room.

Tickets Adult £2

www.facebook.com/AARecordFairs, T 07587 103047

LINCOLN CITY CENTRE

City of Lincoln 10k

Race time 10am, Start line Riseholme Road. Entrants must be 15 years or over on event day. Cheer runners along the route.

Tickets £26, Athletics Club Member £24 www.runforall.com

Anne’s love of acrylic on display

ANNE Mayes is an ever-evolving artist and her latest work can be seen in Lincoln later this month.

She has a lifelong passion for art, interior design and fashion and over the years has tried different styles and media.

“Growing up in Manchester in the 1950s and Swinging 60s, I loved drawing, visiting galleries and collecting art books. As a student in Cardiff, I formed an art group, and helped curate an Anglo-French exhibition at the National Gallery of Wales.

“My professional life found me teaching Modern Foreign Languages for 25 years as well as raising a family, so I had little time for painting.

Once we had retired to France..where we spent five years..I had the chance to attend Life Classes and to paint outdoors in the same light as Matisse and Derain. I spent hours in local galleries, learning much about French and Catalonian painters, past and present.

“Returning to the UK to live on Anglesey, North Wales, for a further 5 years, I continued attending Life Classes, sketching and painting ‘plein air ‘ landscapes and developing a more abstract approach to my work. I used sea glass and other beach debris, including sand, dried plants and fabric as a collage base for my paintings.”

After moving to Lincoln Anne started acrylic painting classes in 2017.

“I found the vibrancy and immediacy of acrylics very exciting; both colour and texture became a large feature of my work, which has been shown in both Gallery at St Martin’s and Sam Scorer Gallery. I have also studied the work of 20th century British artists such as Joan Eardley and the St Ives Group. whose paintings continue to fascinate me. I would say I’m a versatile painter, happy to interpret any subject matter, whether it be landscape, interiors, figurative or pure abstract.”

Anne is back at Gallery at St Martin’s from March 27 to April 2.

Jeanette’s a natural for exhibtion at The Collection

A NEW exhibition celebrating the innovative work of Lincolnshire artist, Jeanette Killner, has opened at The Collection Museum.

Killner has been working in the county since 1974. Taking inspiration from the world around her, the new exhibition is called ‘Natural Collections’ and each piece has been inspired by nature during lockdown.

All the pieces also feature recycled materials, in particular aluminium drinks cans, showing a range of techniques and skills, often influenced by a love of pattern and textiles.

As an artist Jeanette enjoys the problem - solving aspect of how to represent the varied textures, surfaces and structures found in natural forms.

The artist behind the new exhibition, Jeanette Killner, said:“Most of the work in this exhibition was done in the last three years, and obviously three years ago everything went into lockdown.

“I was restricted to getting inspiration from the area that I could

walk to around my house. It made me really focus on the natural world, like a lot of people did I think.

“When I went for walks, I would draw the feathers that I saw, draw the bird’s nests that I found in my garden, and that was the starting point.

“But what I was really interested in was collections of things in nature, collections of eggs in nests, collections of caterpillars on nettles, birds in flight migrating.

“That was really the focus and that’s why it has the title: Natural Collections. It’s the natural world and a collection of things within that.”

‘Jeanette Killner: Natural Collections’ is on display at The Collection Museum on Danes Terrace, Lincoln, until April 16 The Collection Museum is open from Thursdays to Mondays, from 10am to 4pm. Entry is free.

www.thecollectionmuseum.com

See an example of Jeanette’s work on page 31

Peter’s finally in print with first instalment of crime trilogy

Copies of novel up for grabs in competition

LAWYER Robert Vere learns the truth about an old crime and finds himself fighting not only for justice, but for his own life.

The suspenseful premise of his first novel, The Drysdale Confession, had been on Peter Warrilow’s mind for some time, but it was years before he was satisfied enough with its contents to get it published.

“I’ve always been an avid reader, particularly enjoying fast moving crime thrillers and wondered if I might just be able to produce one of my own. However, given family and business commitments, the idea had to stay on the shelf until retirement gave me the opportunity to sit down and face the challenge,” said Peter of Cherry Willingham.

The story is set in London in the Sixties. A violent bank robbery. The getaway driver sentenced to death by hanging. His accomplices escape with the money, vanishing entirely. A sealed letter from the condemned man handed to a young solicitor with instructions not to open until after his execution.

“Several years ago the work was finished and, you know what - it was a fair old story buried under layers of rubbish. So began the first of many rewrites - Ernest Hemingway once said that there are no good writers, just good rewriters..”

Peter knuckled down to numerous rewrties, cut 20,000 words, injected some

pace and was finally happy, there was just one issue: “When I was satisfied with Drysdale, I realised how it naturally led to a sequel, which I then wrote (and rewrote countless times) to create The Far Reaches. Only then, with two manuscripts, did I feel confident enough to approach publishers to show that Drysdale was not a one off.”

Fortunately, Foreshore Publishing saw merit in my work and the book is now in print, with Foreshore ready to publish the sequel later this year – or early next year. Also, they have asked me for a third novel to complete the Robert Vere trilogy and I’m now about 45,000 words into the first – of many - draft. This I am calling Beyond the Fear.”

Peter has had a varied career that took in banking, the motor trade and his own business management company.

On relocating to Lincolnshire he started rowing competively and took part in the 31mile Lincoln to Boston Marathon on the River Witham eight times, but now calls himself an armchair expert.

Of his writing he says: “I hope people enjoy reading my work as much as I have enjoyed writing it.”

To win a copy of the Drysdale Confession tell us the name of Peter’s lawyer protagonist.

Send your answers with contact details to: admin@lincolnindependent.co.uk

Win county author’s new thriller

AUTHOR Nick Louth has written a suspenseful new instalment to his DCI Gillard series, and although it seems like a straightforward case, it’s personal for the detective. Nick has written 10 titles in this series, with his new book The Body in the Shadows the latest to follow the investigations of DCI Craig Gillard.

Nick Louth, who lives in. the county town of the same name, is a best-selling thriller writer, who began his literary career into fiction by self-publishing his first novel Bite in 2007. This became a No. 1 Kindle bestseller, selling a third of a million copies and has been translated into six languages.

Nick is also an award-winning financial journalist and an investment commentator, who regularly contributes to the Financial Times.

The first DCI Gillard book The Body in the Marsh was published by Canelo in 2017 and went on to be in the top 50 bestselling

books on Amazon UK.

The DCI’s 11th adventure was published in January and has been described as “fast-paced and utterly unputdownable”.

Fans of the DCI series can expect to be transported into the criminal underworld, as Gillard works on a big job, tries to solve a murder, and finds that sometimes old sins cast long shadows.

The Body in the Shadows has apaperback price of £8.99 but the Independent has three copies to give away. To be in with a chance of winning, answer the following question: What is the name of the DCI in the book series?

Email your answers to admin@lincolnindependent.co.uk

Time for green kids to shine

RACHEL SHAW LINCOLNSHIRE WILDLIFE

Lincolnshire Young Environmentalist Award open for entries

TRUST

‘THE children are the future.’

It’s been said (and sung) so often that its almost beyond a cliché.

Perhaps we should stop thinking of children as representing the future and start thinking about them being the present. It’s the same with the climate and biodiversity crises, we’ve spent so long discussing what will happen in the future, that we didn’t realise that it is happening now.

As the impacts of those crises take hold, it sometimes appears that children have a better grasp on the implications than the politicians and decision makers. Yet, their voices are often not heard. Through the Lincolnshire Young Environmentalist Awards we want to give children a voice. This is their opportunity to shout about what they are doing to improve their local and the global environment.

We want to hear from children aged under 13 years. We want them to us about what they are doing to improve their local environment, how they are trying to live more sustainably or help wildlife. This could be within the school environment, as part of a club such as the scouts or something they are doing as an individual. It could be growing plants for pollinators in the school garden, thinking of innovative ways to reuse rather than throw things away, creating awareness through art, litter picking in your local community and encouraging others to do the same, it’s open to your ideas and actions.

It’s really straightforward to enter - we need is 250-300 words about what the group, school club or individual has been doing. Remember everyone has a chance of winning. Dedication and enthusiasm are favoured over financial inputs – be sure not to undervalue your achievements.

Winning the Lincolnshire Young Environmentalist is more than a

pat on the back. The winner will receive a cash prize of £300 to put towards their project, to help them achieve more.

All entrants making it through to the finals will receive a cash prize of £150. We also hope that we can showcase the actions of young people, share ideas and encourage others to take action themselves. So don’t delay, the closing date for entries is Sunday, March 19, following which a judging panel will shortlist projects. Shortlisted entrants may be visited by a judge for a short discussion and tour as appropriate. Finalists will be invited to give a short, 10-minute presentation to a judging panel at the Education Centre, Whisby Nature Park, Lincoln on the morning of Wednesday 24 May 2023.

Entries can be make online via the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust website at www.lincstrust.org.uk/lincsenvironmental-awards

The awards are sponsored by FCC Environment and organised by the Rotary Club of Lindum, Lincoln and the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.

This is the first time we’ve run the Young Environmentalist Award since 2019 and we’re looking forward to hearing what the young people of Lincolnshire have been doing for the environment. Later in the spring, we will be announcing details of the Lincolnshire Environmental Award and we’ll be keen to hear from community groups about their achievements.

But for now, it really is about the children, and letting them lead the way (apologies for the ‘Whitney’ earworm).

Love or hate ivy - it’s a creeper

IN this and some of the following months I aim to highlight particular plants and this month I am looking at ivy because it is a very divisive plant; you either love it or loathe it.

I can’t bear it, to be honest, but I have it in my garden.

Ivy’s winter flowers are a welcome source of nectar for late and early flying insects, including bees and wasps. It’s habit of thick, tangled growth makes ideal nesting space

for blackbirds, robins, other garden birds and small mammals. The black fruits are also good for the birds and some moth larvae eat the leaves.

The genus name is Hedera and there are 12 to 15 different species. Ivies are evergreen, creeping, woody and native to Eurasia Africa and Eastern countries. Their seeds are spread by birds eating the fruit, but it will also creep. It has large, glossy green, sometimes red leaves, flowers in the winter and supports itself by strong filaments growing out of the stalk and clinging tightly onto anything vertical.

Horticulturally, ivy can be an attractive indoor houseplant, (really?) or it can cover house walls, looking beautiful, particularly during autumn when, in some species the leaves turn a vivid and thrilling red.

Ivy can hide unsightly walls or old tree stumps and has an air of mystery about it, reminiscent of The Secret Garden; it is so impenetrable we have no clue as to what it hides. See, I am doing my best to be nice.

It strangles trees, (well, that’s not strictly true; any harm it might give is generally minor) grows rapidly up walls and can rip mortar out from between bricks if not taken off carefully. It is very difficult to remove, heavy to prune and full of choking dust,

which makes me sneeze and feel like death for two days after cutting it down.

The interesting facts are a) the berries are slightly toxic, and b) the foliage contains a component that can cause dermatitis, but also has been shown to kill cancer cells. There, I think I have been more than fair.

Getting city ready for switch to hydrogen

RESEARCH into the future of hydrogen energy is set to help the UK reach net zero carbon targets.

“The research and development that is going on, particularly along the Humber estuary, is leading nationally in what’s happening with hydrogen,” explained Kate Bell, Climate Change Manager at City of Lincoln Council (inset picture)

“They are developing hybrid boilers that they are calling ‘hydrogen ready’ boilers, so when we have to change and upgrade, we’ll be switching automatically to hydrogen ready boilers without really knowing about it.”

The government plans for gas boilers to eventually be phased out and to replace natural gas with hydrogen which is more environmentally friendly.

Current research in Lincolnshire is into whether the newer boilers that many households currently have could work with a hydrogen and gas blend, and at what percentage it would be safe for hydrogen levels. Higher levels of hydrogen will require a ‘hydrogen-ready’ boiler.

The work is still in its trial stage to test cost and safety issues so a date for a shift to hydrogen has not yet been confirmed, but the government is expected to make decisions by 2026. Kate explained that the ideal outcome is that this mix will gradually bring down the carbon emissions, which will make a positive impact particularly to areas which rely on gas to heat their homes. “In Lincoln about 95% of the city is on gas, and gas is the target now and a real focus of government agenda is to transition people away from it.

“One of the things that has happened locally is that Cadent, which is responsible for the gas distribution network, hasupgraded all of the gas pipes. If last year you saw pavements being dug up, it was to replace all of the pipes with hydrogen ready ones, which are the right size to cope. They went through parks too, such as Boultham Park.”

Cadent also went round to homes in the city to check whether the pipes inside were suitable, if they were the wrong size, they would also have to replace these.

“The problem at the moment is actually producing the hydrogen because you are still producing carbon emissions. We want green hydrogen and that’s produced through renewables.”

BY REBECCA POOLE

Hydrogen is an invisible gas, but there are colour codes to determine different factors, such as source and emissions. Green hydrogen is produced with no harmful greenhouse gas emissions and is made using electricity from surplus renewable energy sources, such as wind power.

“The county has a real growth in producing renewables, such as wind turbines. We’ve got the opportunities and then also the skills and expertise because of companies such as Phillips 66 who are global leaders in this, but are based in North Lincolnshire.”

Through splitting water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen, green hydrogen is made emitting zero-carbon, which Kate says is the “ideal solution” to produce it.

With the move toward the use of hydrogen to help to decarbonise the city, the Lincoln Climate Commission Action Plan has objectives to ensure that low carbon heating doesn’t increase fuel poverty.

Benefits of delivering local heat networks include reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels to protect consumers from price rises by boosting clean energy in the county.

“Quite a substantial percentage of Lincoln’s Co2 emissions is as a result of burning gas in our homes and there’s no way we can reduce those emissions without an alternative to gas.

“It’s why we need it as part of our Climate Action Plan, because it will continue to be a really slow process without an alternative energy source.”

The primary focus for City of Lincoln Council is for people to get their homes well insulated so that they won’t need to use as much energy to heat.

“All new homes will have to be fossil-free by 2025. It’s caused a bit of confusion because some people think that means that all gas boilers will be banned from 2025, but it doesn’t.

“It is just new build properties that will have to be fossil-free and when it comes to people’s day-to-day lives, it’s a reassurance that they’re not going to have to suddenly change their boiler, it’s going to be a gradual approach over a period of time when we will transition to whatever is available.”

To find out more about the Lincoln Climate Action Plan, visit www.lincolnclimate.org.uk

Carol and colleagues clock up almost 1,500 years with NHS

DEDICATED NHS staff at Lincolnshire’s mental health, learning disabilities and autism trust have had their decades of service recognised at a special celebration event.

Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT) recognised the work of 62 staff from across a range of county services who between them have accomplished an impressive 1,480 years of loyal service.

Celebrating 40 years is Carol Rogers, a Senior Occupational Therapist working at Langworth Ward (dementia service) in Lincoln. Carol has been in the NHS since 1982, starting work at St John’s Hospital which was under the North Lincolnshire Health Authority before care in the community was introduced.

In 2005, she trained as an Occupational Therapist and has since been working with older adults with dementia which is her passion.

“LPFT has seen many changes but I have always felt very supported. The Trust has given me the wonderful opportunity to train and qualify as an Allied Health Professional, teaching me skills to make a difference in people’s lives.

“Despite the challenges, the NHS has so much to offer in terms of a career and I have met so many wonderful colleagues.

“The most rewarding part of my role is connecting with and seeing the essence of the person living with dementia, which can come as part of the patient-centred care and teamwork we provide. I also feel incredibly lucky to be able to support carers and families through such a

difficult time, especially when we manage to help patients to return home.”

Sarah Connery, Chief Executive, added: “It is a great honour to be able to congratulate so many passionate staff who have dedicated so much of their lives to working for the NHS. We understand how important it is to recognise the amazing efforts of our staff and particularly reward them when they achieve such impressive milestone years.

“They are a credit to LPFT and the NHS. I hope many others will be inspired to follow in their footsteps, make a difference to the lives of people in Lincolnshire, and launch a rewarding career.”

Find out more about working for LPFT

at www.lpft.nhs.uk/work-for-us

ONE of the last campaigns of St Barnabas Hospice 40th-anniversary celebrations, 40 Faces of Hospice Care – has been launched. Each Friday over 40 weeks, the hospice will share a photo and the story of one of the founders, staff members, volunteers and supporters who have helped contribute to the vital care St Barnabas can provide to those living with a life-limiting or terminal illness and their families. Visit www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk

Project Compassa lifeline for city’s homeless people

HOMELESS people in Lincoln can get access to life’s basic needs food through Project Compass including washing facilities, clean clothes, somewhere safe and dry to shelter - or even a haircut.

The scheme was set up in March 2019 by developmentplus in response to the ‘harrowing’ findings of the 2019 Lincoln Homelessness Report, in which 64 respondents, 67%, said they had been attacked while on the street and 22% claimed to have been sexually assaulted by members of the public, particularly on weekend evenings.

“It made me realise there was a gap within the city for a service that was drop-in that provided support, and services for people who are rough sleeping, so they knew where they needed to go and how they needed to progress in their journey toward finding somewhere to stay,” explained Becky Frost, Lead Project Worker on Project Compass.

The Homelessness Report, which Becky worked first hand on, was commissioned by the City of Lincoln Council. It uncovered stories and data that Lynsey Collinson, CEO of developmentplus, described as ‘both challenging and harrowing at times’. Of the 64 surveyed, 63% said that they had family living in Lincoln, but due to relationships being strained or entirely broken the option to stay with them was unavailable.

“Honestly most people have got a really complicated and sad story when you get to speak to them about it,” explained Becky,

BY REBECCA POOLE

who has worked with the homeless for five years.

She found that rough sleepers would meet in McDonalds as there were limited places for them to chat and keep warm, with some of them having to use the facilities to be able to wash.

“There was a gap for providing those basic services, things like hot drinks, a chance to have a wash, some clean clothes, somewhere to dry things.” Project Compass was created to help find where rough sleepers are in their journeys, and offer companionship, someone to talk to, and things like newspapers and books to read and games to play.

Along with the more social aspects offered, rough sleepers can visit the charity for meals, including unlimited hot and cold drinks, with fresh fruit always available. “We are open-door and we will work with anybody who is genuinely sleeping rough in the city. We provide breakfast, a hot meal at lunchtime, and takeaway meals for tea such as sandwiches.

“Breakfast is unlimited throughout the day, and consists of things like toast, crumpets, waffles, and porridge.”

The information on the report is now outdated, but things have developed for the better since the findings were published. Becky said that the number of rough sleepers has gone down dramatically in Lincoln since the report, due to the

introduction of wraparound services and support.

“We have seen the reduction in numbers of people sleeping rough, we have seen people being picked up more quickly, which has led to reduced deterioration in mental and physical health.

“It worries us that people make assumptions about how many people are sleeping rough on the streets in Lincoln, when that might not be a true reflection of what people think they see.

“People worry that there isn’t anything for people who are street homeless and aren’t accessing services in the city, but there is. We will work with anybody who’s sleeping rough in the city and there is that facility where people can be warm and safe, and fed all day with some things to takeaway. “We’ve got a really nice established team now of very skilled practitioners, so hopefully we will be able to maintain that. We are being really realistic about it but we have a good team to deal with people’s issues at the moment and hopefully we’ll be able to maintain our services.”

Future plans include developing a new scheme where the public will be able to make donations so the project can buy things that are appropriate and needed.

Project Compass is located on the corner of Rosemary Lane and Croft Street in Lincoln. It opens 9am – 4pm Monday – Friday, but on Thursdays provides breakfast only for its guests.

The Project Compass team (from left) Sue, CJ, Becky, Libby and Andy

Andy gives a guest a haircut

Training to avoid food allergen tragedies

NEW food training for businesses aims to protect customers with allergies.

Business Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire Trading Standards have launched an online training video to help make businesses aware of their responsibilities around allergens.

The Government introduced tougher new laws on food allergens after the death of 15-year-old Natasha EdnanLaperouse, who died after unknowingly eating sesame in a sandwich she bought in an airport coffee shop in 2016. The new labelling rules - widely known as Natasha’s Law - came into effect in 2021.

The video aims to highlight the importance of accurate allergen labelling and the laws that apply to food businesses of all types.

Angela Kane, Senior Lincolnshire Trading Standards Officer, works with Business Lincolnshire to provide advice to local businesses: “If you work in a food business, allergen training is

Improving job prospects for learning disabled

LINCOLN-based firm, Pipe Tool Specialists Ltd has become a corporate partner of Linkage Community Trust, a local charity supporting people with learning disabilities and/or autism.

Pipe Tool Specialists – home to Ridgid Toolshop - will be supporting Linkage’s Employability Service, which assists young people and adults with varying degrees of learning disabilities and/or autism to achieve their employment and independence aspirations.

Just 4.8% of adults with a learning disability in England are in paid employment according to 2021-2022 data from the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework.

This is compared to 75% of working age adults in the general population. Support from partners, such as Pipe Tool Specialists, can help Linkage address this imbalance through providing individuals with bespoke packages of support that forge pathways to employment opportunities.

This could include employability skills training, help finding work, job coaching, internship programmes, one-to-one in-work support, and a package of support for potential employers.   The company has championed Linkage for several years, offering paid employment opportunities for those supported by the charity.

Through this new partnership, they are expanding their support. They will be fundraising for Linkage by donating a percentage of the turnover from sales of tools via the Ridgid Toolshop website and offering customers the opportunity to donate to the charity when they place an order, as well as working with other employers to raise awareness and supporting the employability programme through careers talks and guidance.

crucial. This video training provides a valuable update and reminder to Lincolnshire’s food businesses and their staff about the importance of accurate food allergen information.

“Sadly, Natasha Ednan-Laperouse’s story is not the only one of its kind, and there have been numerous deaths in the UK of customers suffering anaphylaxis after eating something they didn’t know contained an ingredient they were allergic to.

“Lincolnshire Trading Standards does inspect food businesses to make sure there aren’t undeclared allergens in the food they serve. But we’d much rather business owners train their staff up and not ever run the risk of giving one of their customers a severe allergic reaction.”

You can watch the training video on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc_dK4LHLoA www.businesslincolnshire.com/contact.

David Carless, Operations Director at Ridgid Toolshop in Lincoln, said: “We have seen first-hand the vital role that Linkage play in supporting young people in the transition into independent living. All of those employed with the support of the charity have contributed to the whole Ridgid team in a very positive way, proving the value of expanding diversity within our work force.”

Suzanne Kavanagh- Mills, Head of the Linkage Employability Service added: ‘We are delighted and very proud that Pipe Tool Specialists continues to support us and recognises the value of our Employability Service.

“The funds raised will enable us to provide support to more individuals that benefit from Linkage services to live independently, learn new skills and make an active contribution to society through work.

“ We are always keen to work with local companies which are able to offer opportunities and we are there to help every step of the way. We look forward to working with David and his team and are very grateful for their support.’

Linkage is actively looking for more employers and organisations to be part of its mission at info@linkage.org.uk

James Pinchbeck Partner

Why you might want to spend more time with your accountant

FOR many in business the idea of spending more time with their external accountant may sound a bit alien.

It certainly is typical for most business owners and their accountants to only meet once a year to review the annual accounts and to discuss the tax returns. Invariably, most can then be forgiven for thinking that there is little to be gained from frequent contact.

More and more businesses, especially owner managed businesses, entrepreneurial start-ups and scale-ups, have a lot to gain from being in touch and meeting with their accountant more frequently, say at least once a quarter or even more often.

Certainly, accountants in practice, advocate a closer working relationship with their clients. They too feel that their work is much more than undertaking annual compliance assurance and that they have a key role in providing support and guidance as their clients’ trusted adviser.

In contrast to much of an accountant’s work focusing on looking back at historical figures to produce your annual accounts, there is much to be gained from a review of the in year management accounts – a role which your external adviser is certainly well placed to do by bringing their broader experience and commercial insights to bear on the numbers.

Also, if you don’t have the resources they may even assist with management accounts production. In focusing on the in year numbers, businesses can look to address any emerging issues and challenges around profitability, cost control, working capital requirements, capital investment decisions and even potential tax issues .

In an increasing digital world, not least in terms of financial reporting, being able to tap in to the knowledge of your

adviser can be a real asset ensuring your systems are set up and running correctly.

This also provides the unique and informal chance to help support and train in house team members and answer any queries they may have.

Like many other firms of accountants, Streets endeavours to ensure clients are informed and updated of legislative changes and other factors affecting their business. Busy working lives often means such information gets overlooked. However, more regular and structured contact helps to ensure clients are kept up to date of changes and issues that may affect them.

Finally, when it comes to your financial year-end, as a result of contact throughout the year, this should be a smooth and seamless process.

It should also be one with little or no surprises and that provides time for well thought out year-end tax and financial planning - an outcome which will no doubt harbour a better and more worthwhile relationship between client and accountant alike.

Workplace investigationswhat employers need to know

HELEN MOLLOY, EMPLOYMENT PARTNER, SHAKESPEARE MARTINEAU

YORKSHIRE County Cricket Club made headlines for all the wrong reasons after its investigation into racism allegations, which shone a spotlight on how workplaces handle accusations.

Not conducting a reasonable investigation into alleged grievances or disciplinary matters will count against employers. In a recent unfair dismissal tribunal a judge stated that “little or no independent investigation” had been carried out. Furthermore, a lack of investigation following alleged discrimination may be perceived as an additional discriminatory act.

In grievances and disciplinary procedures, an investigation should form part of the decision-making process. It should be treated as a fact-finding exercise, with the outcome being a report that presents impartial evidence to allow employers to make fair, objective and informed decisions.

If poorly handled, investigations have the potential to create legal risk and serious reputational harm.

While each investigation will be unique, there are general principles that should be applied to help safeguard positive workplace relations.

These include following a fair procedure; determining what the purpose and scope of the investigation will be at the outset; informing the employee that is being investigated and keeping the matter confidential.

Investigators should also ensure they lawfully gather evidence and keep a track record of how it was obtained.

Conducting a thorough workplace investigation can be a time

consuming, sensitive and complex process.

Managers often do not have the expertise or, if senior members of staff are involved, there is no-one to investigate independently.

As such, organisations are increasingly turning to external investigators to preserve the objectivity of an investigation’s findings, particularly where a case involves complex matters, reputationally sensitive issues, or senior members of the workforce. An experienced team of employment lawyers can help mitigate risk and navigate sensitive issues by conducting the investigation on a business’ behalf – including a formal investigation and producing a report that recommends next steps, which can be used in any subsequent internal process.

Alternatively, they can carry out legally privileged reviews that cannot be referenced in any litigation that may follow and assist an organisation’s HR team or managers to progress an investigation themselves, or conduct investigation training for teams, which is another option to reduce risks.

While some employers might see a full investigation process as too time consuming, there is no doubt that a documented, thorough and independent report can provide critical support in an employer’s defence and, ultimately, save the employer more significant legal costs in the long run.

Helen.Molloy@SHMA.co.uk

Tempus fugit

DAVID NICHOLSON, DIRECTOR, DEXTER AND SHARPE (LINCOLN) LTD

HOW is your Latin? For any of you out there who did not, as I did, reach the dizzy heights of Grade C O-Level Latin it means ‘time flies’.

That O-level was a long time ago, indeed some may be asking “what is an O-level?” but the saying seems to become more appropriate the older you get.

The consequence of this is that most people start to think about things like pension provision at a time that is, in the jargon, sub-optimal i.e. way too late!

In the inevitable conversations I have with clients about paying less in tax, I always point out that our current personal pension regime is one of the few relatively low risk tax saving options available to taxpayers.

There are a number of tax-breaks available. The annual allowance, although static at £40,000 for many years means that an individual (or their company or employer) can save up to that amount into a pension scheme and get tax relief

on those contributions. Then there is tax free cash; any time after reaching the age of 55 (this will rise in 2028 to 57) you can draw up to 25% of your accumulated pot tax free. It does not mean you have to start taking your pension, the rest can continue to (hopefully) grow within the pension wrapper.

The total pot can grow to anything up to £1,073,100 without any additional tax charge. Of course you will pay tax when you start to draw your pension but you can have flexibility to draw that at the time of your choosing.

Or, if you are in the happy position that you do not need to draw your pension you can pass it down to your heirs without inheritance tax. Again they pay tax when they draw that pension, unless you die before 75, when benefits from the scheme can normally be drawn tax free.

In my humble opinion this all sounds pretty good. Be careful though, because

the rules are complex and there are bear traps for the unwary. That is why we always work with a financial adviser; we will look at an individual’s circumstances in the round to advise on the best tactic. There are also rumours circulating (mind you, there always are) in the financial press that some of these advantages may be taken away in the budget on March 15th. Whatever happens, time will fly ever faster. Info@dextersharpelincoln.co.uk

for

of mesothelioma

RUTH CRAVEN, SENIOR SOLICITOR, WILKIN CHAPMAN SOLICITORS

MESOTHELIOMA is an asbestos-related disease and those who suffer from it as a result of negligent exposure to asbestos at work may be able to recover compensation via a legal claim.

The danger of asbestos

Exposure to asbestos is a big issue in the UK, with more people dying annually from asbestos exposure than in road traffic accidents.

Exposure to asbestos can lead to mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer. Fewer than 10% of the roughly 2,700 people per year in the UK diagnosed with mesothelioma live beyond three years.

If you or a family member has been diagnosed with an asbestos related disease, our team can help you to recover compensation to enable you to access the support you need.

What is mesothelioma?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibre which was commonly used in the construction industry in the UK from the 1950s to the late 1990s, before the dangers were widely known.

Mesothelioma is a disease caused by asbestos that affects the mesothelium, a thin membrane that lines the chest wall and abdomen. It has a long latency period, meaning that most people diagnosed with the condition are over the age of 60.

Who can be exposed?

Shipping, steel and construction workers were traditionally most at risk of asbestos exposure. However, as asbestos was only banned in the UK in 1999, it can still be found in premises across the country. Public sector workers including teachers and nurses have been exposed to

asbestos fibres due to its prevalence in many public buildings.

How we can help

While compensation unfortunately cannot reverse the devastating consequences of an asbestos related disease like mesothelioma, it can help patients and their families to deal with the various challenges that a diagnosis may bring.

Contact Ruth Craven on 0800 012 1113 or visit

www.wilkinchapman.co.uk/asbestos-

Construction award winners

DELTA Simons and, Starglaze Windows were among the winners at the fifth annual Lincolnshire Construction & Property Awards. Over 340 people gathered to celebrate the Construction and Property sector in Lincolnshire at a black-tie event, sponsored by Willmott Dixon, and were welcomed by host magician Ben Hanlin.

The winners were:

Apprentice / Young Achiever of the Year sponsored by Lincoln College - Dior Regan from Lindum Group

Consultancy of the Year sponsored by Waldeck - Delta Simons Ltd

Development Project (over £5 million) sponsored by Shakespeare Martineau - Lincolnshire County Council Development Project (up to £5 million) sponsored by Tradeglaze Ltd - Guy Forman Architect

Product Supplier of the Year sponsored by Marsh CommercialStarglaze Windows

Residential Project of the Year sponsored by Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce - JCO Developments Ltd – t/a Wilcox Homes

Sustainable Project of the Year sponsored by Viridis Building Services Ltd - Windmill Gardens by Lindum Group

Ursula Lidbetter former CEO at Lincolnshire Co-op won the

Lifetime Achievement Award.

A Play Your Cards Right game raised £2,663 for Headway Lincolnshire, the brain injury charity.

“This was truly a delightful evening celebrating the great projects that are taking place in Lincolnshire. The evening was a brilliant opportunity to honour the best of the Construction and Property industries within the county and highlight the remarkable projects, innovations and forward-thinking companies,” said Charlotte Watson, Deputy Chief Executive at the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce.

“We are so proud to see these awards grow each year. It was an extremely tough task choosing our finalists and winners, with the standards being exceptionally high including futureindustry leaders and multi-million-pound projects.“

Updating business on digital developments

BUSINESS Lincolnshire’s flagship #GoDigital conference returns for its fourth instalment this month.

Hosted at Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln, this year’s conference is on Wednesday, March 8 and is open to businesses of all shapes, sizes, and sectors.

It aims to showcase the latest technological developments and trends within the digital sphere, offering the most up-todate guidance on how Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland businesses can begin to embed digital into their everyday strategies.

This year’s event is themed around the topic of ‘customer of the future’, explaining the digital trends shaping tomorrow’s customers and providing actionable steps which businesses can take to get ahead of the curve and secure their business’s long-term viability.

Delivered through a blend of keynote speeches, case studies, panel discussions and workshop sessions led by engaging experts within the digital field, this half-day event looks to the future, forecasting how the digital world will begin to influence the physical one in years to come.

This year’s conference will be hosted by Katrina Pierce of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Lincolnshire. She said:

“I am a passionate advocate for SMEs and hope that this conference will help Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland SMEs address their skill gaps This conference intends to shed light on how digital technologies are impacting consumer decisions, providing local business owners with the information and tools they may need to future-proof their business in an ever-evolving digital climate.”

To find out more about Business Lincolnshire’s upcoming #GoDigital Conference, visit https://www.businesslincolnshire.com/events/eventdetails/?id=4168