Lincolnshire Pride January 2016

LincolnshirePride

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JAN 2016

NEW YEAR, NEW YOU

LINCOLNSHIRE WEDDINGS

COVERING LINCOLNSHIRE AND NEWARK ON TRENT

LincolnshirePride

THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR HIGH QUALITY HOMES

Wishing all of our readers a very Happy New Year!

PRÊT A PARTY Cocktail dresses for New Year’s Eve and school proms

Winter Walks Around Lincoln EXCLUSIVE ACTIVITY

ACTRESS VICKI MICHELLE Pantomime fun in Lincoln with the wicked queen...

Appearing in Lincolnshire, the ‘Allo ‘Allo actress. Page 24

CREATING OUR VAST LANDSCAPE How the Fens were fashioned...

Page 32

£3.70

STYLE FOR YOUR HOME Creating Comfy Reception Rooms this Season

Soft furnishings, furniture and more. From page 62

January’s Restaurants of the Month

San Pietro, Scunthorpe & The Plough Inn

Winners Our Restaurant of From Page 38

EXCLUSIVE

the Year Awards

We’ll reveal the top places to enjoy a meal in Lincolnshire

JANUARY 2016

This Month: Lincolnshire landscapes celebrated by photographer Jon Fox...

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From the whole Pride team, please accept our best wishes for a really happy, healthy and prosperous new year. Winter may not have the balmy temperatures or blue skies of the summer months, but it has a charm all of its own with crisp air and the opportunity to enjoy winter walks in the county.

JULIAN WILKINSON MANAGING DIRECTOR & PUBLISHER

To that end, we’re this month looking at a few of Lincoln’s nicest winter walks, and examining the Lincolnshire landscape courtesy of author Jon Fox. His new book is a beautifully illustrated celebration of the diverse landscape of our county.

Elsewhere, we’re revealing our Restaurant of the Year winners after three months of asking readers to nominate Lincolnshire’s best places to eat - we’ll reveal our three restaurants of the year, bistros or coffee shops of the year and our three ‘food heroes’ later in this edition. Congratulations to all of our winners!

ROB DAVIS, EDITOR 01529 469977, editor@lincolnshirepride.co.uk

LincolnshirePride JAN 2016

NEW YEAR, NEW YOU

LINCOLNSHIRE WEDDINGS

COVERING LINCOLNSHIRE AND NEWARK ON TRENT

THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR HIGH QUALITY HOMES

EXCLUSIVE ACTIVITY

ACTRESS VICKI MICHELLE Pantomime fun in Lincoln with the wicked queen...

Appearing in Lincolnshire, the ‘Allo ‘Allo actress. Page 24

CREATING OUR VAST LANDSCAPE How the Fens were fashioned...

Page 32

££ 3 . 7 0

PRÊT A PARTY Cocktail dresses for New Year’s Eve and school proms

Winter Walks Around Lincoln

STYLE FOR YOUR HOME Creating Comfy Reception Rooms this Season

Soft furnishings, furniture and more. From page 62

January’s Restaurants of the Month

San Pietro, Scunthorpe & The Plough Inn

Winners From Page 38

EXCLUSIVE

Our Restaurant of the Year Awards

We’ll reveal the top places to enjoy a meal in Lincolnshire

This Month: Lincolnshire landscapes celebrated by photographer Jon Fox...

COVER PHOTOS

We’re always looking for beautiful images for our front covers. Email your county scenes to the above email address if you’d like to see your photograph on our front page!

Elsewhere in this edition, we’re looking towards spring with our ideas for refreshing your home, we’re celebrating weddings in Lincolnshire and we’ve two rather exceptional recommendations for where to dine in the county this month.

We hope you have a very happy new year!

Julian Wilkinson, Publisher

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LincolnshirePride JAN 2016

NEW YEAR, NEW YOU

LINCOLNSHIRE WEDDINGS

COVERING LINCOLNSHIRE AND NEWARK ON TRENT

THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR HIGH QUALITY HOMES

EXCLUSIVE ACTIVITY

ACTRESS VICKI MICHELLE Pantomime fun in Lincoln with the wicked queen...

Appearing in Lincolnshire, the ‘Allo ‘Allo actress. Page 24

CREATING OUR VAST LANDSCAPE How the Fens were fashioned...

Page 32

£ 3 .. 7 00

PRÊT A PARTY Cocktail dresses for New Year’s Eve and school proms

Winter Walks Around Lincoln

STYLE FOR YOUR HOME Creating Comfy Reception Rooms this Season Soft furnishings, furniture and more. From page 62

January’s Restaurants of the Month

San Pietro, Scunthorpe & The Plough Inn

Winners From Page 38

EXCLUSIVE

Our Restaurant of the Year Awards

We’ll reveal the top places to enjoy a meal in Lincolnshire

This Month: Lincolnshire landscapes celebrated by photographer Jon Fox...

With best wishes from the Lincolnshire Pride team Managing Director and Publisher: Julian Wilkinson.

General Manager: Ian Bagley.

Executive Editor: Rob Davis. Features Editor: Tilly Wilkinson.

Graphic Designer and Customer Care Manager: Mandy Bray.

Accounts Manager: Sue Bannister.

Sales Manager: Zoie Wilkinson.

Sales Executives: Liz King, Roberta Hall, Emily Brown, Lauren Chambers and Carissa Clay.

Distribution Manager: Joe Proctor.

www.facebook.com/lincolnshirepride Why not follow us on Facebook? You can keep up to date with any news we may have for our lovely magazine!

twitter.com/@LincsPrideMag Follow us on Twitter so you can read our tweets. We’ll let you know what’s going on and keep you well informed!

By supplying editorial or adverts to Lincolnshire Pride you accept in full the terms and conditions which can be found online at www.pridemagazines.co.uk. In the event of an advert or editorial being published incorrectly, where Pride Magazines Ltd admits fault, we will include an advert of equivalent size, or equivalent sized editorial, free of charge to be used in a future edition, at our discretion. This gesture is accepted as full compensation for the error(s) with no refunds available.

Enjoy Lincolnshire Pride, read it cover to cover.

Pick it up, put it down and when you have finished with it pass it on. When everyone has had a good read, pop it in the recycle bin!

Pride Magazines Elm Grange Studios East Heckington, Boston Lincolnshire PE20 3QF Tel: 01529 469977 Fax: 01529 469978

www.pridemagazines.co.uk enquiries@pridemagazines.co.uk

Contents

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January 2016

Enjoy January’s NEWS, and events on our What’s On pages, with great ideas for winter pantomimes in Lincolnshire.

It’s a vast swathe of landscape that’s often underrated. So this month, we’re uncovering the real history of the LINCOLNSHIRE FENS. Jon Fox’s new book celebrates Lincolnshire’s NATURAL HISTORY, the diverse geography and features of the county’s different regions.

On our FOOD & DRINK pages we reveal the winners of our Restaurant of the Year awards, and we visit Scunthorpe’s San Pietro.

Meanwhile, our HOMES & GARDENS pages feature a preview of 2016’s soft furnishings, and furniture for your lounge with Oldrids.

Our WEDDINGS pages this month celebrate the marriage of Sophie and Will, plus we’ve a preview of the latest catwalk wedding dresses.

This month’s FASHION pages feature occasionwear from Lincoln’s Red Carpet Ready, and watches from Andrew Michaels.

Create a NEW YOU IN THE NEW YEAR, with this month’s lifestyle and wellness feature, using local experts’ knowledge.

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JOHNSONS

BOSTON'S BEST KEPT SECRET

FANTASTIC FOOD HALL

With all your basics plus Hambletons Butcher and Delicatessen, Nick Harper Produce, a coffee shop and much more

GARDEN CENTRE

Everything you need to make the most of your garden

GIFTS AND CARDS

An extensive range of greetings cards, plus a huge range of gifts, from Yankee Candle to Murdoch Troon.

Also a huge Aquatics and Pet Centre | Klass Clothing Studio 10 Hair Salon | Seacroft Mobility

SP falconry - probably the best Falconry Centre in Lincolnshire Plus of course our popular restaurant.

Wainfleet Rd, Fishtoft, Boston PE21 9RL. Tel: 01205 363408 www.johnsonsofboston.co.uk OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK

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County News Spalding War Memorial Gains Grade I Listing Designed by Sir Edward Lutyens, this beautiful local landmark is now a Grade I listed building...

Spalding is now home to a Grade I listed site, a very rare status and the highest award a property can achieve.

Last month, Historic England announced that all 44 First World War memorials by Sir Edwin Lutyens are now protected by listing, in keeping with Remembrance Day. The Spalding memorial at Ayscoughfee Hall was upgraded from Grade II to Grade I – the highest grade of listing.

Spalding’s War memorial commemorates 224 lives lost during the First World War. Lutyens’s tranquil Tuscan pavilion design was chosen above five others, and includes a Stone of Remembrance.

Spalding’s MP Francis McLaren

Creating Magna Carta Sculptures

Local Holiday Cottages Win Industry Awards

New competition for designing the Magna Carta monument

Cottages celebrating win after Select Lincolnshire’s Food, Drink & Hospitality Award winners were announced at the Lincolnshire Showground...

A new sculpture will be created as a lasting testament to this year’s 800th anniversary celebrations of Magna Carta with students at University of Lincoln now being set the challenge of designing the monument.

The University of Lincoln has been awarded a grant of £4,500 from the Magna Carta Trust’s Committee to create a sculpture as a piece of public art on its main Brayford Pool Campus.

Lincoln Cathedral has one of only four remaining originals of the famous scripture.

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was killed in a flying accident on 30 August 1917 and it was his wife Barbara who proposed the memorial. It was unveiled 8th June 1922.

The announcement brings to light Lutyens’s war memorials as a previously unrecognised national collection, a legacy like that of Wren’s churches or Nash’s Regency terraces.

“The commemoration of the First World War Centenary has inspired people all over England to remember our shared history,” says Tracy Crouch, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Heritage. “Our war memorials provide a legacy for those who sacrificed so much, so it’s important for local memorials to be listed to preserve them for generations.”

Elms Farm Holiday Cottages are celebrating after winning the ‘Self Caterer of the Year’ award at the Select Lincolnshire Food, Drink & Hospitality awards held at the new Riseholme College at Lincolnshire Showground last Tuesday.

Carol and John Emerson were delighted to receive the award for the second year in a row.

Elms Farm have nine four and five star self catering holiday cottages in converted barns and stables in addition to a recently converted Wedding Barn.

Elms Farm Cottages were just one of the Boston businesses celebrating, with Mountains, winning Wholesaler of the Year and the People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Lincolnshire Co-op won by Manor Farm Shop, Swineshead.

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Send your press releases and county news to: Features Editor via tilly@pridemagazines.co.uk.

Lincolnshire Pride’s Pyjama Day for Children in Need

Let There Be Light at St Botolph’s, Boston

Last month at Pride Magazines, the team enjoyed a ‘comfy clothes and cake day’ to raise (and gain) a few pounds for Children in Need...

Boston Stump has been floodlit for the first time since the devastating tidal surge of December 2013, which badly damaged the chuch’s stonework...

In 2013, Boston suffered very damaging flooding, and the town’s landmark, the Boston Stump, formally known as St Botolph’s Church, was also a victim of the tidal surge.

Recently, as the town has finally picked itself back up from the devastation over the past few years with flood gates put in place for protection, the Stump has received brand new floodlights to illuminate the magnificent church.

Lincolnshire Pride held a ‘pyjama day’ recently with the whole team involved, baking each other all sorts of delicious treats from banoffee pie to tiramisu.

However, this wasn’t just a day for us to enjoy homemade cake.

We were raising funds for the fantastic charity, Children in Need, raising almost £100, setting up a small bake sale in our boardroom.

People across the BBC were involved in the telethon. The massive annual event is broadcast live, with The One Show raising millions with an annual challenge involving presenter Matt Baker and his team.

We’re very proud to be a part of such an incredible charity and proud to be able to donate so much to a great cause.

We discovered what the charity has been able to do for our local community across Lincolnshire and children have benefited immensely from the money raised for Children in Need.

It’s estimated that Lincolnshire alone contributed over £50,000 for the charity, helping to raise a grand total of over £37m.

“People of the UK should be feeling incredibly proud of what has been achieved this evening.

Their remarkable generosity will go on to help us change a lot of young lives,” said David Ramsden, Chief Executive of BBC Children in Need.

The event has been running since 1980 and has raised over £600m.

n If you’d like to raise money for Children in Need, visit the website www.bbcchildreninneed.co.uk.

loved ones alongside the switchon celebrations had made it a bright occasion.

The tidal surge caused around £18,000 damage to the original lights and the church suffered a setback with some of the lights being stolen.

However, a fantastic donation of around £2,000 made it possible for celebrations for the floodlights to go ahead.

The switch-on coincided with All Souls’ Day - a traditional day of prayer for the departed, and the church invited all the families who have lost loved ones in the last three years to take part in the service.

The Reverend, Alyson Buxton, team rector at St Botolph’s, said there were about 500 people in the congregation, and the lighting of candles to remember

Brand New Pop-Up Restaurant Comes to the Town of Stamford Javawocky is a brand new ‘pop-up’ restaurant that’s arrived on the streets of Stamford...

Stamford’s newest coffee shop Javawocky caused quite a stir when it opened in August, bringing a fresh, modern take to coffee. As Pride goes to press, it’s also playing host to Pop Out Dining, which aims to redefine quality eating in Stamford.

For two nights in November, Pop Out Dining created an exquisite four course tasting menu, which was accompanied by four perfectly matched wines, in the very warm and comfortable surroundings of Javawocky’s cosy interior.

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To view and purchase photographs from The Event visit www.pridemagazines.co.uk

A Night at the Circus

Raising money for JDRF in Spalding...

Spalding’s JDRF Ball took place at the town’s Castle Sports Complex venue last month, raising money for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital.

The annual event has raised in excess of £30,000 over the past three years and is always a night to remember, with a different annual theme each year. This year’s theme was A Night at the Circus, with special guest performances, entertainment, raffle, auction plus music courtesy of DJ and band. n For more information on the charity, see www.jdrf.org.uk.

Feature your event in our magazine.

Call 01529 469977 and speak to our Events Desk...

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Purchase photographs from this event online.

Visit www.pridemagazines.co.uk.

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www.mountandminster.co.uk

Greestone Terrace, Lincoln A prestigious Grade II Georgian residence with generous accommodation and enviable views, believed to date back to the 16th Century, altered mid to late 17th Century and refronted in it's current elevations in the late 18th Century. The 5 bedroom residence is conveniently situated off Greestone Place which is directly linked to Minster Yard next to Lincoln Cathedral. The location is one of the most exclusive and popular addresses in the City. In addition to the main residence, a Brewhouse has recently been converted to a self contained one bedroom detached house as ancillary accommodation. EPC: Exempt.

Guide Pice: £545,000

High Street, South Kyme An excellent opportunity to acquire a fabulous 6 bedroom family home in the tranquil village of South Kyme. The residence occupies an excellent position on the edge of the village which has a rich history and benefits from a large 18 hole golf course and a popular public house. The River Kyme runs directly opposite the property offering superb views of wildlife, boats and fishing. The village is located 9 miles north east of the town of Sleaford and 12 miles south of Woodhall Spa. The Cathedral City of Lincoln is 20 miles to the north west of the village. 6 bedrooms, 4 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms. EPC: F. Guide Pice: £425,000

Atton Place | 32 Eastgate Lincoln | LN2 1QA – 01522 716204 40 St James’ Place London | SW1A 1NS – 020 7839 0888

Ralph Wyrley-Birth Lincoln

James Ward Lincoln

Bob Bickersteth London

Sam Garmany London

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MANTON Guide Price £785,000 A spacious stylish executive family residence with stabling set among secluded gardens and grounds of approx. 0.65 acres on the edge of one of Rutland’s most picturesque conservation villages. Reception Hall, Lounge, Dining Room, Breakfast Kitchen, 4 double Bedroom, all with en-suite Bath/Shower Rooms.

Outside: south-facing Gardens, detached dbl Garage, ample parking, 3 Stables, Tack Room. Energy Rating TBC.

A beautifully appointed and elegant 1930s family home set on a large plot enjoying uninterrupted views across the Welland Valley in the much sought-after location on the edge of town yet within a few minutes' walk to the town centre. 3 Reception Rooms, charming Kitchen, 4 Dbl Bedrooms, En-suite, Family Bathroom. Outside: large single Garage, ample parking, mature gardens of generous proportions. Energy Rating E.

UPPINGHAM Guide Price £540,000 Superb, large Grade II listed period house situated within a short walking distance of town centre and providing spacious accommodation which has undergone a thorough refurbishment programme whilst retaining a wealth of original character. 2 Reception Rooms, Country Kitchen, 4 Bedrooms, 2 Bath/Shower Rooms. Parking, outbuildings, south-facing gardens. EPC exempt.

WING Guide Price £485,000 A spacious five bedroom Barn Conversion offering extensive family accommodation in one of Rutland's most sought-after villages. The accommodation is arranged over two storeys providing a good deal of flexibility. Large Sitting Room, spacious Living Kitchen, 5 Dbl Bedrooms, 3 Bath/Shower Rooms.

Outside: single Garage, patio style garden to front. Energy Rating D.

WING Guide Price £395,000 An attractive single storey Barn Conversion situated in one of Rutland's most delightful villages and offering spacious and well proportioned family accommodation. Good sized Dining Kitchen, spacious Sitting Room, 3 Bedrooms, En suite Bathroom, Family Bathroom. Outside: area of hard landscaped garden to front bounded by timber fencing, a store and 2 off-road parking spaces. Energy Rating D.

STAMFORD

£850,000

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g n i r e v o D isc

LINCOLNSHIRE’S

LANDSCAPES

IF A VISITOR TO THE COUNTY ASKS YOU WHERE TO GO DURING A TRIP TO LINCOLNSHIRE, YOUR LIKELY CANDIDATES INCLUDE LANDMARKS LIKE LINCOLN CATHEDRAL, THE CASTLE, TATTERSHALL CASTLE AND OTHER SUCH PLACES. FOR LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHER AND KEEN RAMBLER JON FOX, THOUGH, IT’S THE BITS IN-BETWEEN WHICH REALLY APPEAL...

Words: Rob Davis, Jon Fox. Images: Jon Fox.

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- DISCOVER LINCOLNSHIRE -

LINCOLN EXPLORER JON FOX’S NEW BOOK AIMS TO CELEBRATE THE SEASONS, THE SCENERY AND THE DIVERSITY OF LINCOLNSHIRE’S LANDSCAPES. THIS MONTH WE TAKE THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF HIS NEW 200 PAGE HARDBACK BOOK CHAMPIONING THE VERY BEST VIEWS AROUND THE COUNTY...

An Exploration of

One of the most impressive aspects of Lincolnshire, beyond its sheer size - some 2,687 square miles - is the diversity of its landscapes.

Lincolnshire

Author Jon Fox’s book on Lincolnshire’s landscapes has been divided up into eight ‘character areas’ from the Isle of Axholme to the coast.

How many counties in the UK can claim to feature huge open fenland vistas, gently undulating Wolds-like areas, and a peaceful coastline that’s home to some of the rarest orchids, wading birds and other wildlife in the country?

Even Lincoln itself is a comfortable fusion of history - especially with Magna Carta’s recent prominence - and modern vibrancy thanks to an influx of students.

The diversity of Lincolnshire’s landscapes has long fascinated ecologist, landscape historian and keen photographer Jon Fox. So much so, in fact, that he has written a new book dedicated to celebrating the county - not in terms of its landmarks, but the bits in-between.

“I’ve been lucky enough to live in several parts of Lincolnshire, having worked first in Peterborough and latterly in Lincoln.”

“In my spare time I really enjoy photography, walking and cycling so Lincolnshire, to me, really is a playground, with natural and historic characteristics that have moulded a distinctive landscape with a quiet sense of separateness from the rest of the UK.” “The county encompasses a wide variety of landscapes and topographies, reflecting its large size and geology.”

“Many writers have emphasised the isolation of Lincolnshire and taken inspiration from

it. In this book though, I wanted to celebrate the diversity of landscapes and champion each one.”

i. Isle of Axholme. ii. Vale of Trent. iii Heath & Cliff. iv. Kesteven Uplands. v. Fens and The Wash. vi. Mid-Lindsey Vale. vii. The Wolds. viii. Marsh and Coast.

“Landmarks around Lincolnshire quite rightly enjoy the prominence they do, but I wanted to create a book which would concentrate on the landscapes that it’s all too easy to take for granted, those which are a real reward for those pursuing interests like rambling, cycling or photography.”

n Jon’s book is available for £24.95, from all good Lincolnshire bookshops. Alternatively, obtain your copy by visiting www.greenploverbooks.co.uk.

Over the page, we’ve reproduced a few extracts from Jon’s exploration of the county...

Above: Jon Fox, author of a new book celebrating the diversity of Lincolnshire’s landscapes.

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- DISCOVER LINCOLNSHIRE -

I. ISLE OF AXHOLME...

Like the better known Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire, the ‘isle’ of Axholme refers to a physical feature - literally an island of higher ground once surrounded by wetlands.

It’s the only part of the historic county which lies west of the River Trent.

Because of the Isle’s proximity to Yorkshire, the Pennine Hills can be seen on the western horizon. Main villages include Epworth, Belton and Haxey, the latter home to the Haxey Hood, a raucous, folk-legend inspired rugby-style game played in January.

The ‘island’ itself has been the main source of archaeological finds, especially of flint and stone tools. It’s also of interest for those keen to explore a unique history of settlement and enclosure from the Medieval and postMedieval periods.

Axholme retains its Medieval open fields to a greater extent than anywhere else in England, offering a remarkable window on an earlier phase of the English countryside.

Older still are the surviving areas of peat bog lying west of the island, now protected for their wetland ecology and rare species such as nightjar.

Above: River Trent near Garthorpe.

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II. THE VALE OF TRENT...

Superficially, the Vale of Trent landscape can appear uneventful while, in places, industry and urban development erode any sense of rural tranquility.

However, the character of the Vale is complex and fascinating in detail, combining aspects of a Midland clay vale with drained fens, sandy heathland and forested areas, as well as the Trent’s own floodplain corridor.

Historically the River Trent has been a major physical barrier, whilst also providing one of Lincolnshire’s main routes to the outside world. Even today bridges are few and far between, but the river’s trade has dwindled almost to nothing and survives

mainly as memories in the Trentside villages and Gainsborough’s regenerated waterfront.

The Trent today appears fixed, but has shifted its course repeatedly during the Ice Age. Originally flowing through Ancaster and Sleaford, glaciation moved it north to Newark, Lincoln and Boston, leaving the gravel deposits and relict valley that can be seen today. The present course to the Humber was probably established towards the end of the Ice Age. Above: Laughton Forest was created in the 1920s on a large expanse of sandy heathland. Its fauna includes woodlark, nightjar, crossbill and adder.

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III. HEATH AND CLIFF...

Jurassic limestones form a belt running the entire length of Lincolnshire from Stamford to the River Humber. It is part of the so-called Stone Belt of England which also includes the Cotswold hills and the limestone uplands of Northamptonshire and Rutland.

The section from Ancaster to the Lincoln Gap is called the Lincoln Heath, often shortened to the Heath, while north of Lincoln, the whole ridge is known locally as the Lincoln Cliff or simply the Cliff.

Both the Heath and the Cliff are uplands in

Lincolnshire terms due to their elevation above the adjoining flatlands. However, the height of the land is modest, reaching a maximum of just 372 ft (114m) at Normanton Heath. Much of the present-day landscape dates back to the enclosure period, including the large fields and straight, wide-verged lanes.

As part of the new crop rotations of the Agricultural Revolution, flocks of Lincoln Longwools were folded in the fields to strip graze on fodder crops such as turnips, thereby improving the light soils with manure.

In the last century potatoes and other cash crops became more important but ‘corn and sheep’ farming continued into the post-War period. Today, folding is only occasionally seen and the plateau is almost exclusively arable.

FLOCKS OF LINCOLN LONGWOOLS WERE FOLDED IN THE FIELDS IMPROVING THE LIGHT SOILS WITH THEIR MANURE...

Left: Mist fills the Lincoln Gap in this view from South Common on a December evening. The ridge of Jurassic limestone that forms the Heath and Cliff is breached here by the River Witham as it turns east towards the Fens.

Above: Dunston Pillar was built in 1751 by Sir Francis Dashwood to assist travellers when the Lincoln Heath had a reputation as a desolate and even dangerous area. It was surmounted by a lantern that was regularly lit until the 1780s, when enclosure of the Heath and road improvements rendered it redundant.

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TOWARDS SLEAFORD, THE FEN EDGE BECOMES WIDER AS THE UPLANDS LOSE THEIR DISTINCT EASTERN EDGE AND DECLINE MORE GRADUALLY TO THE FENS...

Above: Ewerby church in the Kesteven Fen edge; House of Correction, Folkingham.

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IV. THE KESTEVEN UPLANDS...

The varied natural environment of the Kesteven Uplands has attracted a human presence since at least Mesolithic times, with management of the landscape for hunting and agriculture evolving through the Neolithic and beyond. Early farming probably focused on the lighter limestone soils but the clays had also been cleared of woodland over large areas by the time of the Domesday Survey.

The Fen edge is the transition zone where the Kesteven Uplands meet the Fens.

Further north towards Lincoln, it is also marked by a line of Medieval villages like

Ruskington, which exploited the combination of upland and wetland resources available.

Towards Sleaford, the Fen edge becomes wider as the Uplands lose their distinct eastern edge and decline more gradually to the Fens.

Limestone dominates the architecture of the area for all categories of traditional building including churches, farmsteads and houses of all sizes and contributes greatly to its distinctive character. There are architectural exemplars of almost every period including Bassingthorpe, Belton, Boothby, Culverthorpe, Grimsthorpe, Harlaxton and Irnham.

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- DISCOVER LINCOLNSHIRE -

VI. MID-LINDSEY VALE...

Lying between the uplands of the Lincoln Cliff and the Wolds is an area of lowland that forms one of Lincolnshire’s least explored landscapes. The Mid Lindsey Vale runs for over 40 miles (64km) from the Humber in the north to the Fens in the south.

V. FENLAND AND THE WASH...

Most of Lincolnshire’s lowlands once contained freshwater wetland or fen, but one area has pre-eminence in taking its name from such – the Fens. Nowadays, the term Fens or Fenland usually refers to the entire flat, low-lying basin around the Wash that reaches inland to Lincoln, Peterborough and Cambridge, and encompasses the reclaimed marshes and settled siltlands of the coast as well as the true fens of the basin’s interior.

It is by far the largest former wetland in England, stretching nearly 70 miles (112km) on its longest axis from north to south and up to 30 miles (48km) east to west.

The flatness and strangeness of the Fens have encouraged myths and generalisations about their history.

The familiar narrative is of a uniform arable plain created by the drainage of permanent swamps by Dutch engineers like Vermuyden, but Lincolnshire’s Fenland hides a more complex history of Medieval settlement and drainage, as well as former sea banks, salt making and a rich pastoralism.

Main: Evening near Guy’s Head, Sutton Bridge.

Most of it is gently undulating clay farmland, never quite flat and never quite hilly, and almost wholly lacking in obvious features.

However, this does not mean that the Vale lacks identity or is unworthy of attention.

Taken as a whole, the area can even be described as the heart of Lincolnshire, given its central location, mix of landscape types and proximity to most of Lincolnshire’s other defining landmarks and landscapes, including Lincoln, the Wolds, the River Witham and the Fens.

Geologically, the Vale is underpinned by Jurassic clays but these are hidden across most of the area by later deposits from the Ice Age, such as sands at Woodhall Spa.

Above: Barlings Abbey, between Lincoln and Wragby, is a Premonstratensian monastery, founded in 1154.

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- DISCOVER LINCOLNSHIRE -

VII. THE WOLDS...

The Wolds are generally considered to be the scenic highlight of the Lincolnshire countryside. Nowhere else in Lincolnshire has the sense of being a true upland with a bold topography of ridges, hills and valleys.

They include the highest land in eastern England between Kent and Yorkshire, reaching 550 ft (168m) at Normanby Top, and offer Lincolnshire’s most extensive views. On a clear day, most of Lincolnshire’s other landscape character areas can be seen and the far horizons extend beyond to Norfolk, Holderness, the Yorkshire Wolds and the Pennines.

They form a belt of upland running for over 40 miles (64km) from the Humber to the Fens, yet are only eight miles (13km) wide at most.

Today the chalk Wolds are still predominantly under the plough, though ‘corn and sheep’ farming has been replaced since 1945 by mainly arable production focusing on cereals, rapeseed and sugar beet.

The southern Wolds have a completely different character from the chalk country further north. This area is one of Lincolnshire’s most intimate landscapes – secretive, damp and bosky – with small fields, quiet villages and sandstone churches set amongst trees.

Below: A chalk spring in the Wolds.

Opposite: Dunes with marram grass and sea buckthorn, near Saltfleet.

VIII. LINCOLNSHIRE’S MARSH AND COAST...

The character of the Marshland is often elusive and, despite being one of the most traversed parts of Lincolnshire, is probably amongst the least noticed as a landscape.

The Marshland divides geologically and historically into three distinct but linked landscapes; namely Middle Marsh, Outmarsh and Coast.

THE RISING SEA LEVEL OF OUR POST-GLACIAL EPOCH HAS PLACED MUCH OF OUR COASTLINE AT RISK OF EROSION

Established by the original villages of the Middle Marsh, seasonal ‘cotes’ for salt making and grazing colonised the coastal marshes, eventually becoming independent settlements.

The area also has an important 20th century military heritage focused on the coastline and Humber, including the twin estuarial fortifications of Haile Sands Fort and Bull Sands Fort.

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Find Out More: Jon’s book, The Lincolnshire Landscape: An Exploration, is now available from bookshops or via Green Plover Books (01522 533613, www.greenploverbooks.co.uk) priced £24.95. Hardback, 192 pages.

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- VICKI MICHELLE -

VICKI Say ‘Allo ‘Allo to

From a cheeky French waitress to wicked queen, via the odd bushtucker trial.

It’s been a long, varied career for acress Vicki Michelle, with more than its fair share of excitement.This month Vicki returns to one of her favourite places in the country to share pantomime joy with children across Lincolnshire...

Lincoln is one of actress Vicky Michelle’s favourite places to visit. That should come as no surprise to us locals, who appreciate the city’s history, its beautiful architecture, the vibrancy of the Brayford area or the wealth of activities around the Cathedral Quarter. But to a regular visitor to the city, like Michelle, it makes coming to the county a real treat. And when better to visit than Christmas?

“Everyone is so nice in Lincoln.

I’ve been to the county a number of times and I really love it.”

Vicky is, of course, best known for her role as cheeky French waitress Yvette Carte-Blanche in the 1980s wartime sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo. Michelle says she still sees the many of the cast members today, not least among which is Lincoln resident Sue Hodge, who played Mimi Labonq.

It was a dream role for Viki, albeit an unexpected trajectory for her career given that her first loves in the profession were

Vicki’s initial roles were in 1970s TV crime drama Softly Softly, a spin-off of Z-Cars, but she also appeared The Likely Lads before taking on more comedy roles in shows alongside not only Dick Emery, but The Goodies, The Two Ronnies and Les Dawson.

In addition to plenty of TV appearances, Vicky also maintained a strong career in theatre, debuting with Dudley Moore in Play It Again, Sam, and later bringing ‘Allo ‘Allo to the stage and also working alongside Lincoln producers Ian Dickens and Chris Moreno.

“As soon as I read the script I really wanted to go for the role,” says Vicki.

“I read the script and was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes...!”

“I was speaking to a man here the last time I was performing in the county and he was telling me how much he loved the city.

He asked what I thought of the place and really wanted to me to enthuse about his as much as he was doing.”

Vicky was in the county last month to switch on Lincoln’s Christmas lights, and returns this month, too, to appear in Sleeping Beauty at Lincoln’s Theatre Royal alongside Martin Daniels - magician and son of Paul - and former Emmerdale actor Peter Amory.

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Words: Rob Davis.

ballet and performing in dramatic, rather than fully, roles.

“I took ballet lessons from the age of three years and followed my sister Ann into the Aida Foster Theatre school. I’m really lucky in that I’ve never stopped working. I began in more serious drama roles, but that all changed when I worked on the Dick Emery show.”

It was around 1981 that both Vicki and her sister attended the ‘Allo ‘Allo audition, with Vicki originally trying out for the part of Michelle (of the Resistance).

“As soon as I read the script I really wanted to go for the role,” says Vicki. “I read the script and was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. If you’re given an unfunny script, you really can’t go anywhere with the role, it’s a dead loss. But if you’re given a funny script, you can really go with the role

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and get to grips with the character. The writers, Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft were really wonderful and David’s previous work on Dad’s Army made him a really established name.”

In total, 85 episodes of the sitcom were produced, attracting around 15,000,000 viewers and spawning a stage show in which Vicki was involved, touring for over four years to auditoriums of up to 2,000 strong-audiences.

“I think we all knew from the scripts that it would be a success, but we didn’t

know just what a runaway success it would be,” says Vicki.

“Everybody seemed to love it, and people do remember it; I was coming out of a Marks & Spencer in Blackpool, when a woman rushed up to me and hugged me, then just giggled and ran off... and in Darlington too, I met a fan who reminisced about how much they enjoyed the show.”

Naturally, Vicki is still greeted by fans with ‘Allo ‘Allo’s various catchphrases - ‘listen very carefully, I shall say this

NATURALLY, VICKI IS STILL GREETED BY FANS WITH ‘ALLO ‘ALLO’S VARIOUS CATCHPHRASES - ‘LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY, I SHALL SAY THIS ONLY WENCE’ AND ‘OH, RENÉ’ BEING THE TWO MOST POPULAR! 26

only wence,’ and ‘oh, René’ being the two most popular!

Post ‘Allo ‘Allo’ Vicki was kept busy with TV appearances on Blankety Blank, Celebrity Squares, as well as in the theatre, before joining Emmerdale as Patricia Foster, leaving in 2009 when her character’s son was written out.

In between, she’s also a keen supported of no fewer than 21 charities, and regularly hosts corporate events, awards ceremonies and charity functions.

In 2014, she also returned to the TV to appear as one of the participants of I’m A Celebrity.

“I really do enjoy celebrity shows.

I really wanted to compete in Strictly, and was offered the opportunity to do Dancing On Ice - it would have been wonderful to dance professionally - but it clashed with my theatre schedules.”

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- VICKI MICHELLE -

Vicki will soon take to the stage in her latest theatre role, Hello Norma Jeane, in which she plays a Marilyn Monroe who faked her death and moved to Essex (Vicki is from Chigwell), to escape the pressures of celebrity.

Seeking a return she tries to convince the world that she’s the real Marilyn.

Before that though, Vicki will also appear in one of her favourite roles, the pantomime villain. “I’m a really nice person in real life so it’s lovely to have a theatrical alter-ego that allows me to be really evil!”

“Pantomimes are really great fun; spectacular productions, funny and enjoyable. A panto is many children’s first introduction to the theatre so it’s really important that we inspire them and show them how wonderful theatre can be right from the start!”

“I’m really looking forward to appearing at Theatre Royal, because it’s such a beautiful old building. Its age gives it sense of grandeur which really suits pantomime.”

Opposite: Vicki in costume for this year’s production.

Above/Left: With co-star Gordon Kaye in ‘Allo ‘Allo and the rest of the cast.

Above: In The Jungle, 2014.

“The script is great, with the usual pantomime silliness, but there’s a real sense of grandeur, too, in the sets, the costumes and the cast. It’ll be a really great performance and it’ll be great fun to perform in it too, so if you’re looking for some theatrical fun this season, come along and say ‘Allo ‘Allo!” n Vicki Michelle will perform in Sleeping Beauty at Lincoln’s Theatre Royal this year, from 7th - 10th January, with matinée and evening performances available. Tickets £15-£55, see www.lincolntheatreroyal.com or call 01522 519999. The actress will also appear at London’s Park Theatre in Hello Norma Jeane from 23rd February 19th March.

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What’s On...

Find out What’s On this month with events taking place in many different venues across the county. We’ve the last of pantomimes and other shows throughout January...

LEE MEMPHIS KING

Friday 8th January Europe’s most successful Elvis Presley tribute artist, Lee Memphis King, presents the biggest and best tribute to The King at Baths Hall in Scunthorpe, celebrating the career of the musical legend.

08448 542776 www.bathshall.co.uk

GRIMETHORPE COLLIERY BAND

Sunday 17th January The real stars of the hit movie Brassed Off, the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, are in constant demand throughout the world for concert appearances, with every brass accolade won possible! They’re performing in the Grimsby Auditorium.

01775 764777 www.grimsbyauditorium.org.uk

RULE THE WORLD - TAKE THAT

Saturday 23rd January Rule The World have been recognised as the Number One Take That tribute act in the world. They’ve been featured on ‘Daybreak’ and ‘The Graham Norton Show’ and they’ll be performing at Trinity Arts, Gainsborough.

01427 676655 www.microsites.lincolnshire.gov.uk

VIENNESE STRAUSS GALA

Saturday 23rd January World on Stage bring you a Viennese Strauss Gala but now a new production of this ever popular show, reminding you of an age of glamorous soirées and Strauss waltzes at Baths Hall in Scunthorpe.

08448 542776 www.bathshall.co.uk

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Turandot at the Met Opera...

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

Sunday 24th January Many suitors dream of marrying the lovely Bianca, but her father won’t let anyone marry her before her elder sister, Katherina.

Ballet by the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, screened at Trinity Arts Centre, Gainsborough.

01427 676655 www.microsites.lincolnshire.gov.uk

- LIVE SCREENINGS JANE EYRE SCREENING

Wednesday 13th January This re-imagined version of Brontë’s piece was first staged last year, and now, director Sally Cookson brings her incredibly powerful production to The National, presenting an exhilarating performance screened at the South Holland Centre based in Spalding.

08448 713016 www.southhollandcentre.co.uk

LES PECHEURS DE PERLES

Saturday 16th January One of Bizet’s most well known operas, Les Pecheurs de Perles, full of lust and longing is set in the Far East and returns to the Met Stage for the first time in 100 years. This show is screened live at the Stamford Arts Centre.

01780 763203 www.stamfordartscentre.com

PUCCINI’S TURANDOT

Saturday 30th January Christine Goerke, Lise Lindstrom, and Nina Stemme, three of opera’s greatest dramatic sopranos, take turns in the title role of the proud princess of ancient China, whose riddles doom every suitor who seeks her hand.

Screened live from the Met Opera at Stamford Arts Centre.

01780 763203 www.stamfordartscentre.com

LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES

Thursday 28th January Another live streaming from the National Theatre featuring, Dominic West from the Wire, and Janet McTeer from the White Queen. It’ll be shown at Trinity Arts Centre, Gainsborough.

01427 676655 www.microsites.lincolnshire.gov.uk

THE BIG BAND

Friday 29th January As featured at London’s Leicester Square Theatre, the Big Band provide five star swing. Swing-along with songs from Glenn Miller, Sinatra, Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Jazz & Blues and many more in Grantham.

01476 406158 www.guildhallartscentre.com

Grimethorpe Colliery Band...

CARL ORFF’S CARMINA BURANA

Saturday 30th January This is a performance of Carl Orff ’s Carmina Burana, by Lincolnshire Schools’ Choirs, together with orchestra and soloists.

Organised by Lincolnshire Music Service and held at Lincoln Cathedral.

08448 542776 www.lincolncathedral.com

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Send your press releases and events to: Features Editor via tilly@pridemagazines.co.uk.

CLASSIC SAX SOLOS TOUR

Saturday 30th January Legendary UK saxophonist Snake Davis and band have unveiled their exciting show of classics from Baker Street and Born to Run to Yakety Yak. They will be performing these hits at Trinity Arts Centre, Gainsborough.

01427 676655 www.microsites.lincolnshire.gov.uk

TOY & TRAIN FAIR

Sunday 31st January Based in the Exhibition Hall of Lincolnshire Showground, J&J Webb Toy fairs have over 25 years experience hosting enjoyable events whether you’re buying or selling. You’re sure to have fun looking around the show.

01522 522900 www.lincolnshireshowground.co.uk

BLOOD BROTHERS

Monday 1st February Written by Willy Russell, the legendary Blood Brothers tells the captivating and moving tale of twins who, separated at birth, grow up on opposite sides of the world, only to meet again with fateful consequences.

01775 764777 www.grimsbyauditorium.org.uk

GREAT MINDS: ANN CLEEVES

Monday 1st February As part of Lincoln University’s Great Minds Lectures, Ann Cleeves, award-winning crime writer will be providing a lecture of her own. She’s the writer behind ITV’s detective drama Vera and BBC’s Shetland.

- PANTOMIMES -

CINDERELLA IN LOUTH

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Friday 8th - 16th January A classic ‘Rags to Riches’ story we all know and love performed by the Louth Playgoers’s Riverhead Theatre.

Thursday 10th Dec - 3rd January Polka Dot Pantomimes present Beauty and the Beast; a classic story for all the family in Grantham’s Guildhall.

SNOW WHITE IN LINCOLN

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

01507 600350 www.louthplaygoers.cloudvenue.co.uk

01476 406158 www.guildhallartscentre.com

Monday 7th Dec - 3rd January Join the Drill Hall for the fabulous annual Drill Hall family panto which this year is the popular tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Friday 11th Dec - 3rd January Pantomime is back with a bang this year at the Blackfriars Theatre in Boston, this time in the form of Jack and the Beanstalk.

CINDERELLA IN STAMFORD

SNOW WHITE IN SCUNTHORPE

01522 873894 www.lincolndrillhall.com

Monday 28th Dec - 2nd January Join the Stamford Pantomime Players this Christmas with their fantastic production of the classic Cinderella at Stamford’s Corn Exchange.

01780 766455 www.stamfordcornexchange.co.uk

01205 363108 www.blackfriarsartscentre.co.uk

Saturday 5th Dec - 3rd January Annie Fanny returns for her 10th year at The Plowright Theatre, one of Scunthorpe’s theatres, as she stars in Snow White.

01724 290640 www.plowrighttheatre.com

Lincoln Drill Hall’s Snow White...

01522 837100 www.lincoln.ac.uk

Author, Ann Cleeves, in Lincoln this month...

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FENS

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The Ages of the

The story of the Lincolnshire fens is like the story of Atlantis - simply in reverse. The land was once a part of the Wash, completely flooded, until different generations dating back to the very first century drained the land for various uses. We enlisted Graham Morfoot, curator at the Pinchbeck Engine Museum - once used to drain the area itself - to guide us through the ages of the Fens...

Words: Tilly Wilkinson.

The story of the Lincolnshire Fens isn’t dissimilar to the story of Atlantis; just in reverse. What was once an area of marshland, streams and rivers leading out to the ocean, is now a number of towns and villages. But exactly how did that happen?

Neither my parents, nor my parent’s parents won’t remember a time when their homes were once marshland. You would have to go back hundreds of years, to an age when land-clearing equipment was not as readily available

to aid in the draining of the Fens.

So how did they do it? We spoke to the curator of Pinchbeck Engine Museum, Graham Morfoot, for a little more information.

“The Fens was once a vast morass in which the Trent, Witham, Welland, Nene and Ouse Rivers discharged themselves,” says Graham. “Gradually, the land rose by the deposition of silt from the rivers and the constant growth of vegetation, leaving creeks subject to inundation by the sea at high tides.”

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Pastoral: Drainage Mills in the Fens, Crowland, Lincolnshire, John Sell Cotman (1782–1842).

This made the Fens a growing problem and one that would not simply sort itself out, but gradually become worse, rendering it inhabitable. Although, surprisingly enough, people did live in the area at the time.

“The original inhabitants of the Fens are believed to have migrated from Holland and Belgium in the first century, from land around the mouth of the River Rhine, which was very similar in geography to the Fens.

The tribe of Britons who occupied

Lincolnshire were known as Iceni. They eventually joined with the Coritani, who occupied the east coast up to Cambridge. This tribe was known as the Cor-Icen tribe. Their principal occupation was the pasturage of the rich marshes, so the Fens was an ideal home

“THE FIRST INHABITANTS OF THE FENS MOST LIKELY MIGRATED FROM HOLLAND AND BELGIUM IN THE FIRST CENTURY...”

for the Cor-Icens. In AD61, the Roman military colonists began to settle in Lincolnshire. By AD359, the rich land bordering the Fens was some of the most productive in the Empire. A fleet of 800 vessels, built on the Rhine and used to transport food to their armies, was sent to this area to fetch corn.”

“The principal port used by the Romans was Wainfleet. Several roads ran from Wainfleet into the county, some built on elevated ground and still known to this day as Roman banks.

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- THE FENS -

It is thought that these roads around the Wash were principally made as military thoroughfares, but they also acted to protect the land from inundation by tide.

“During the era of Romans in Britain, until AD420, they were responsible for excavating the Fosdyke and Cardyke, changing the course of the Witham from Lincoln, and work on the Welland and numerous dykes and drains in South Lincolnshire.”

D

uring the Anglo Saxon period and the Norman Conquest, the general conditions of the Fens remained almost unaltered, compared to what the Romans were able to accomplish.

“As ownership of land and its use became more important to the Crown, the monarchs became involved in its drainage. In 1253, Henry III instructed the Sheriff of Lincoln to ascertain ownership of the dykes and the drains of Lincolnshire.

Subsequently, Courts of Sewers and Commissioners of Sewers were created.”

“There are many records of major floods in the south of Lincolnshire. In 1287, there was the Great Flood of Whole of Holland in Lincolnshire, in1467, there was Extensive Flooding from Rain and Snow Throughout South Holland recorded, and in 1571, there was an Extensive Flood in South Lincolnshire.”

“As a direct result of this, the General Drainage Act was passed in Parliament in 1600, and in the same year Dutch Engines, known today as windmills, started to be used to drain the fens.”

“From 1600, work started to begin to reclaim marsh into farm land. These works where often financed by the gentry of the time such as the Earl of Argyle, Earl of

“THERE ARE SO MANY RECORDS OF MAJOR FLOODS IN THE SOUTH OF LINCOLNSHIRE FROM THE 1200’S TO THE 1500’S. AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THIS, THE GENERAL DRAINAGE ACT WAS PASSED IN PARLIAMENT...”

Bedford, Sir William Russell, and Lord Carrington.”

“Some of the engineers who undertook this work came from Holland - men like Cornelius Vermuyden and Philibert Vernatti. However, the man who was responsible for most of the drainage around Spalding was John Grundy.”

“Reclamation continued for 300 years around The Wash. The size of these enclosures varied from 1,500 acres to 9,400 acres, and this ‘new land’ was then owned by the investors or the crown.”

“One such parcel of land, 3,400 acres of fen in Spalding and Pinchbeck, was allocated to Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I.”

“In addition to reclamation of sea marsh on the coast, draining of the inland fen areas continued. Land to the west of Spalding, bordered by the 34

River Glen and the River Welland, known as Deeping Fen, had always been prone to flooding from run off water from higher ground to the west and occasional breaches of the river banks.”

T

his area was very difficult to drain into the sea due to it being below average sea level. In 1763, at least 50 wind pumps were working in Deeping Fen, their function was to lift the water from one drain to another by as much as eight feet. Once the water had been lifted gravity would take over, and the water would run down the higher level dykes to the next wind pump, and so on, until discharged into the sea or a tidal river.

“The wind pumps looked like, and worked like, a windmill, but instead of turning stones to grind corn, the motion was used to turn a large wheel

Top: In 1763, at least 50 wind pumps were working in Deeping Fen, their function to lift the water from one drain to another by as much as eight feet.

Above: A Howard and Dennis type weed cutter working in North Drove Drain.

Right: There was a grand opening of Pinchbeck Museum, originally a beam engine, in 1989.

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with paddles or scoops on the outside of the mill.”

“In a water mill, water falling on to the paddles turns the wheel, but with a wind pump the process is reversed. The wheel is turned by wind power and the water is lifted.”

“Because of continued flooding of the Deeping Fen, the trustees of Deeping Fen obtained an Act of Parliament in 1823 to install two steam beam engine pumps at Pode Hole. They were called Kesteven and Holland, still using scoop wheels to lift the water, to drain 32,000 acres, thus making the 50 wind pumps redundant.”

“The pumps proved very successful, and in 1832 another Act of Parliament was passed to build another steam beam engine on the Blue Gowt Drain to the north east of Spalding.”

T

his is called the Pinchbeck Engine and it drained 7,000 acres north of Spalding and around Pinchbeck.

“The engine was completed in 1833, with a Butterley 20HP beam engine.

Steam was generated by a Lancashire Boiler consuming 50kilo/hr of coal.”

“The engine would have been run for approximately 180 days a year between October and March, and the volume of water drained per year varied from 1,093,000 to 3,690,000 tons. After lifting the water, it continues along the Blue Gowt Drain and is discharged into the River Glen and onward into the tidal Welland.”

“The engine ran continuously until 1952, when it was replaced by electric pumps with approximately three times more capacity. Originally, these electric pumps where manned by an employee living on site. Today, they are fully automated using low cost night tariff electricity.”

Luckily, the beam engine was not dismantled when retired, and it is now maintained by the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board, and forms the centrepiece of the county’s Land Drainage Museum. n Visit www.wellandidb.org.uk. The Drainage Museum is open from June to September on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays each year from 11am to 4pm.

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CIBO P er la Bella

Per la Bella Cibo! Italian for ‘Exceptional dishes with a Mediterranean influence.’ This month we enjoy a visit to what is easily Lincolnshire’s best Italian restaurant blending cosmopolitan fine dining with Sicilian provenance...

Words: Rob Davis.

“It’s beautiful!” says Michelle Catalano.

She could easily be talking about the Sicilian inspired cuisine at Scunthorpe’s San Pietro, of course, but in fact, she’s describing the village from which husband and the namesake of the restaurant, Pietro, originates.

“It’s baking hot in the summer; arid, with golden fields of corn and vines of olives, tomatos and capers.”

The village of Villalba has a population of just 1,800 or so, and is located in the province of Caltanissetta. Like Lincolnshire (perhaps, the only respect in which it’s like Lincolnshire), Villalba takes its food very seriously; it’s especially well-regarded for its tomatoes.

Main Course: King scallops with Jerusalem artichoke, truffle, Iberico ham, parmesan, pea shoots.

We couldn’t help feeling envious of the landscape Michelle described on an overcast, grey and generally miserable day in England, but if we couldn’t enjoy Sicily, we could, at least, enjoy the next best thing; authentic Mediterranean-influenced dining at what is easily Lincolnshire’s best ‘Italian’ restaurant.

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Left: Michelle and Pietro Catalano.

Below: Rack of new season Yorkshire lamb and braised neck, sundried tomato gnocchi, aubergine caviar.

“Executive Chef Pietro works alongside Head Chef Chris to bring French finesse to a menu that remains authentically Sicilian.

This is NOT Italian pastiche, but impeccable fine dining with a Mediterranean bias...”

Bottom: The restaurant is situated in the Grade II listed mill.

Pietro had been running Colosseo in the town with his brother Carlo, and took the opportunity to create a new restaurant in the building, offering contemporary fine dining.

His partner in life and business, now his wife, too, was Michelle, whose skills range from interior design to a knowledge of wine, gleaned from her previous career as a sommelier - both skill sets are utilised in the restaurant today.

We’re a little reluctant to refer to San Pietro as such, for the use of ‘Italian restaurant’ implies the usual remit of pizza, pasta and suchlike.

In fact, San Pietro offers none of that.

Instead, Executive Chef Pietro works alongside Head Chef Chris Grist - trained by Germain Schwab in the twin-Michelin-star wielding days of Winteringham Fields - to bring French finesse to a menu that remains authentically Sicilian.

This is not Italian pastiche, but rather, impeccable fine dining with a Mediterranean bias, a style influenced from Pietro’s time working under Giorgio Locatelli, before he and Michelle opened San Pietro in 2003.

The restaurant is set in a Grade II listed former windmill dating back to 1882.

Run as a pub from around the 1980s, its previous owner was Punch Taverns who sold up when the wind was blowing the wrong way (and new licensing laws plus extended drinking hours damaged the pub trade).

The restaurant’s first floor was a lounge, but now provides a round room for private dining parties for up to 14. The main restaurant has a capacity of 100 but is capped at 80 to ensure better service. It features limestone flooring, open fires, exposed beams and glamorous design with sequin wallpapers and metallic finishes.

In February 2014, the restaurant converted the old barn and added 14 bedrooms to create a ‘restaurant with rooms.’ They look absolutely stunning, with high end furnishings and opulent decoration. And, as a bonus, the barn also provides a function suite for up to 120 guests.

Open six days a week from Monday to Saturday, there’s a set menu with four starters, main courses and desserts each, priced at £14.95/two courses or £18.95 /three courses at lunchtime, £22.50/two courses, £27.50/three courses during San Pietro’s evening service.

Two further options greet diners though, a lunchtime or evening à la carte menu (£31.95/two courses; £38.50/three courses) with more intricate elements to dishes, perhaps with two or three elements, and a tasting menu at £49.50/six courses, exclusive to evening service.

Our recommendation is the latter, with Pietro and his brigade providing diners with

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“Can we recommend San Pietro? Absolutely!

It’s blends exceptional chefcraft and fine dining with a really stylish environment.”

perhaps an apple Martini with spiced apple jelly, caramelised apple compote, apple and mint mousse and lemon sponge crumble.

the full San Pietro experience, but à la carte dining still provides options like our starters of king scallops with Jerusalem artichoke, truffle, Iberico ham and parmesan, or beef tartare (served with beef dripping breadcrumbs and egg yolk purée.

As you’d expect all bread, petit fours and stocks are made in house, whilst à la carte diners enjoy amuse bouches and a pre-dessert palate cleanser. There’s a choice of 120 bins of quality wines from £19-£300, with an Italian bias to the menu, with recommendations from Michelle to match your food beautifully.

Suggested desserts include the restaurant’s chocolate pyramid, served with salted caramel and chocolate ice cream, or

A trip to the restaurant is one that’ll prove rewarding, and absolutely perfect if you’re looking to add some Sicilian warmth to your otherwise dreary Lincolnshire winter!

Main courses during our visit included an assiette of pork with slow cooked belly, pig cheek and pan-fried fillet, or the duck breast option served with duck confit, foie gras tortellini and a cherry jus.

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Can we recommend San Pietro? Absolutely!

It’s a dining experience that manages to blend the exceptional chefcraft of Pietro, Chris and the team with a really stylish environment.

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À La Carte Dishes £31.95/two courses; £38.50/three courses STARTERS

Beef Tartare

Beef tartare with beef dripping breadcrumbs, egg yolk puree, parmesan shavings, black truffle.

Wild Mushroom Galette

Wild mushroom galette with red onion chutney, blue cheese and garlic espuma.

Sesame Rabbit

Sesame rabbit loin rabbit bon bon, carrot puree, carrot relish.

MAIN COURSES Pig Three Ways

Slow cooked belly pork, pig cheek and potato croquet, pan fried fillet, chorizo & butter beans, wilted spinach Sea Bass

Fillet of stone bass with a pork crackling crust, roast pork belly, melted fennel.

Sirloin Steak

£5/supplement

35 Day Aged Sirloin Fillet Steak ox cheek croquette, roast red onions, bone marrow mash, red wine reduction.

DESSERTS Apple Martini

£2/supplement

Apple Martini with spiced apple jelly, caramelised apple compote, apple and mint mousse, lemon sponge crumble.

White Chocolate Tart

White chocolate and pecan tart with elements of mandarin.

Cheese Board

£5/supplement

A Selection of Cheese from the board.

Served with homemade oatcakes, crackers, Lincolnshire plum bread, grapes, dates and chutney.

Find Out More:

San Pietro Restaurant, High Street East, Scunthorpe DN15 6UH Tel: 01724 277774 www.sanpietrouk.com.

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COME & ENJOY OUR NEW YEAR OFFERS

Candlelit Couples Evening Every Friday night. £40 for 2 including wine.

Sparkling Weekend Treat

Enjoy an overnight stay, full breakfast, dinner & glass of prosecco. £55 per person.

Valentines Treat for Two

Overnight stay, 4 course dinner & bottle of prosecco. £145 per couple

See our website for more information. T&C’s apply

Riby Rd, Stallingborough

Nr Grimsby, N/E Lincs DN41 8BU

Tel: 01469 561302

events@stallingboroughgrange.co.uk www.stallingboroughgrange.co.uk

Restaurant Enjoy beautiful food in tasteful surroundings with a menu carefully designed by our talented head chef, and prepared by his team.

We specialise in sourcing the finest local ingredients and produce to give you a memorable dining experience.

Hotel We have seven comfortable standard rooms, in addition to our newly refurbished Executive and Bridal Suites. Whether your stay is for business or indulgent relaxation our tastefully designed rooms are simply perfect. Each room has complimentary Wi-Fi.

Functions e Baskervilles houses its own spacious, state-of-the-art function room, with its own private bar for Wedding Receptions, Parties, meetings and Business Conferences.

Main Street, Baston, Peterborough PE6 9PB Tel: 01778 560 010, www.thebaskervilles.co.uk

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Great Pub DINING Where better to wait out the winter than in a nice warm pub, enjoying high quality dining in a relaxed environment. Mark ‘Beanie’ Hines this month treats us to pantile floors, home made bread and a pint of real ale at The Plough in Greetham...

Words: Rob Davis.

Love your landlord. They’ll warm up your winter with real ale, open fires and a friendly welcome. Take Greetham for example. It’s a little village, home to about 300 people, on the border of Lincolnshire and Rutland.

In the summer, it’s popular with tourists all of whom come to enjoy cycling and walking around nearby Rutland Water, or one of several golf courses in the area.

The village is also home to no fewer than three pubs, of which The Plough is our recommendation for high quality dining.

10 years ago or so, people were a bit sniffy about pub dining, but pubs have really upped their game in recent years, and now pub dining that was once considered ‘gastropub’ quality is now the standard we expect everywhere.

Main Course: Slow cooked feather blade of beef with buttered cabbage, mash and sticky stout sauce.

In Lincolnshire and Rutland there are good pubs, but comparatively rarer are excellent ones, but The Plough goes above and beyond the remit of pub dining, offering excellent quality food but in a really warm and friendly environment.

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Left: Filo pastry baked smoked salmon with sweet chilli sauce.

Bottom: Chocolate brownie with homemade Baileys ice cream.

“Good food doesn’t need to be fussy or complicated. It’s flavours and quality that matter, and those two elements are foremost in our mind when we choose which dishes to put on our menus...”

Opposite: Potted garlic mushrooms with homemade Parmesan tuille.

freshly baked bread out of the oven ready for evening service.

“Warm, freshly made bread is one of life’s simple pleasures,” he says. “It’s proof if proof were needed that good food doesn’t need to be fussy or complicated. It’s flavours and quality that matter, and those two elements are foremost in our mind when we choose which dishes to put on our menus.”

The place is home to Mark Hines - known to locals as ‘Beanie,’ and partner Karen Mason. The couple are approaching their third year at The Plough, having made the move from London to Rutland in 1996.

Mark comes from a hospitality background, his father running a number of pubs in native Essex. Having worked at Barnsdale Hall and The Red House for a number of years, he ran The Black Horse in the village before taking on The Plough in early September 2012.

Mark’s plans for The Plough were to create a village pub, but one that would offer high quality dining in a cosy environment, using locally sourced ingredients and an ethos of ‘homemade, homemade, homemade’ permeating the whole dining experience.

To that end, all of the bread, sauces and ice creams are made in house, and during our visit on a very foggy afternoon in early November, Mark was just taking a batch of

Dining at the pub restaurant is via a single menu with a section for lunchtime ‘light bites’ served from noon until 2.30pm Monday to Saturday. Served during lunchtime and evening service, the menu also includes more formal options, from six starters, seven ‘Pub Favourite’ options, and seven further ‘Chef ’s Corner’ dishes as well as three staple puddings, daily changing puddings and a cheese option.

Being in a fairly remote village, and being a fan of pizza, Mark also treated himself to a stonebake pizza oven for customers to enjoy in the restaurant or to take away. These are available on the menu too, with customers able to create their own bespoke pizzas.

In addition to the menu, a number of specials are available on the pub’s blackboards, and there are a number of concessions available on different weeknights, from Monday’s ‘Pie & Pud’ evening to burger night on Tuesday; steak night on Wednesdays; curry night on Thursday and fish night on Friday.

The dining environment is pretty and traditional with pantile floors, exposed stone walls, and a sage colour scheme. The Plough is divided up into a main dining room and a bar area, with diners able to choose where to eat. Naturally, being a pub, there’s also a selection of local real ales and a wine menu comprising 21 bins, including dessert wines and three sparkling options.

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Dessert: Homemade lemon tart with blackcurrant sorbet.

“Mark’s plans for The Plough were to create a village pub, but one that would offer high quality dining in a cosy environment...

sauce and new potatoes, light and lovely for lighter winter appetites.

This month, The Plough also provides a Christmas menu, with four starters, four main courses and four dessert options for £14.95/two courses, £16.95/three courses.

During our visit, we enjoyed a potted garlic mushroom starter with homemade Parmesan tuille, and an apple and mackerel salad. Main course options were a blade of beef with buttered cabbage served with a lovely unctuous stout gravy that’s a perfect treat for the winter months.

Our other main course option was a filowrapped baked salmon dish with sweet chilli

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Desserts at The Plough are consistently excellent and our visit didn’t disappoint with a tangy homemade lemon tart served with blackcurrant sorbet, and a winter staple in the form of a chocolate brownie with homemade Baileys ice cream.

Local suppliers Grimsby’s M&J Seafood and Sleaford’s Mel Ward Butchers providing local ingredients, and the talent of Mark and sous chef Paul in the kitchen, The Plough is a pub restaurant which goes well beyond the remit of the village boozer.

It’s a superb dining proposition that we can highly recommend. Within easy reach of Stamford, Grantham and Sleaford, it’s well worth venturing over the county borders!

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Sample Dishes STARTERS

Crayfish

Crayfish and smoked salmon cocktail.

£6.50

Deep fried Brie with homemade red onion chutney.

Deep Fried Brie

£5.95

Garlic Mushrooms

£5.50

Creamy garlic mushrooms with Parmesan tuille.

MAIN COURSES Feather Blade Steak

Slow cooked feather blade of beef with buttered cabbage, mash and sticky stout sauce.

£13.95

Pulled Pork Wellington

£13.50

Fish & Chips

£10.50

Pulled pork wellington with cider and apple stuffing, mash and carrots.

Beer battered haddock with chips and mushy peas.

Pizza

From £6.95

Homemade stonebaked pizza with choice of toppings from 72p-£2.50/ea.

DESSERTS Crème Brülée

Homemade crème brülée with homemade tuille biscuit.

£5.50

Rich chocolate brownie with homemade Bailey’s ice cream.

Chocolate Brownie

£5.50

Cheese Board

£6.95

Selection of cheese with biscuits, celery and homemade chutney.

Find Out More:

The Plough, 23 Main Street, Greetham, Oakham LE15 7NJ Tel: 01572 813613 www.the-plough-greetham.co.uk 51

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Find Your Valentine’s Day Gifts at Gates is Month...

...and don’t forget to enjoy fresh coffee and a home made cake in our cosy coffee shop!

Gates Nurseries

& Garden Centre Somerby Road, Cold Overton, LE15 7QB 01664 454309 | www.gatesnurseries.co.uk

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- GOOD FOOD AWARDS 2015 -

The Great Taste of

Lincolnshire THIS MONTH WE’RE DELIGHTED TO REVEAL THE COUNTY’S BEST RESTAURANTS, AS DECIDED BY THE COUNTY’S TRUE EXPERTS: YOU! WE ASKED ALL OF OUR READERS TO VOTE FOR THEIR FAVOURITE RESTAURANT, COFFEE SHOP OR BISTRO, AND TO DECIDE WHO IS OUR COUNTY’S ‘FOOD HERO.’

Main mage: A creative main course at Grimsby’s Oaklands Hall Hotel. Chef Steven Bennett is one of this year’s Food Heroes.

Image: Chris Waud.

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- RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR 2015 -

Left: Head Chef Paul Reseigh with Chris Pitman General Manager (right), at The George at Stamford.

Above: The team at The Doubletree by Hilton’s Electric Bar. Right: The Queens’ Head, Kirkby la Thorpe, near Sleaford.

Taking our top three accolades in this year’s awards is a satisfyingly diverse list of restaurants headed up by traditional coaching inn and fine dining restaurant, The George of Stamford.

It’s true that we love the hotel’s Garden Room, which offers less formal dining in a lush setting with options like fish & chips, steaks and shellfish, but its the hotel’s Oak Panelled Dining Room which has the real sense of charm and luxury.

It’s one of the more expensive places to dine in the county, but justifiably

OUR WINNERS ARE A DIVERSE SELECTION OF FINE DINING RESTAURANTS AND COUNTRY PUBS...

so, given the quality and nature of ingredients, as well as the attention to detail in both the food and the excellent front of house service.

The George of Stamford may be traditional, but our next winner, The Doubletree by Hilton’s Electric Bar, is very different in its style.

Contemporary, with magnificent views over the city of Lincoln, and with a stylish cocktail bar, and newly acquired AA Rosette rating, it’s a great looking venue.

And finally, congratulations to one of Lincolnshire’s most popular quality pub restaurants, The Queen’s Head at Kirkby la Thorpe. It’s a great place to dine, refurbished in 2015, with open fires and a chef, John Clark, whose classical French training yields exceptional dining.

RESTAURANT

OF THE YEAR 2015 The George of Stamford

Electric Bar & Restaurant, Lincoln Queen’s Head, Kirkby la Thorpe

The Sebastopol, Minting The White Hart, Lincoln The Lincoln Hotel, Lincoln The Petwood, Woodhall Spa The Comfy Duck, Grimsby Winteringham Fields, Scunthorpe The White Horse, Baston

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Top/Left: Abbey Parks Farm Shop.

Top: Doddington Hall.

Above/Opposite: Millers of Sleaford.

The next category in our food awards commends places suited to morning coffee, lighter bites or casual dining.

We’re delighted to see Abbey Parks rewarded in the list, given that 2015 was a year of hard work. The team established a new butchery headed up by Mountains - Boston Sausage - and continues to host pop-up restaurant evenings, throughout the year. The team has a well-stocked farm shop selling anything from epicurean ingredients to its own vegetables, grown on the family

ABBEY PARKS IS A BISTRO WITH A DELI THAT NOW INCLUDES PRODUCE FROM BOSTON SAUSAGE 56

farm. Abbey Parks is well-known for its excellent asparagus (used in London’s best restaurants) throughout the summer, but we think it has all year round appeal as a bistro too, and our readers clearly agree.

Next on the list is the excellent shopping destination and farm shop of Doddington Hall. With a productive kitchen garden growing its own produce, and a deli with butchery stocked by the hall’s own Lincoln Red herd, plus charcuterie and bakery, it’s a conveniently located place to find the best Lincolnshire food and enjoy lunch.

Finally, congratulations to Sleaford’s Millers, who offer everything from brunch to à la carte dining, and an especially excellent Sunday lunch.

It’s definitely worth a visit!

COFFEE SHOP OR BISTRO 2015

Abbey Parks, East Heckington Doddington Hall Café, Lincoln Millers, Sleaford

The Cosy Club, Stamford Stokes High Bridge Café, Lincoln Uncle Henry’s, Grayingham The Old Stables, Horncastle Cheese Society Café, Lincoln Pimento Tearooms, Lincoln The Loft, Brigg

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- BISTRO/COFFEE SHOP OF THE YEAR 2015 -

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- FOOD HERO OF THE YEAR 2015 -

Above: Grasmere Farms. Top/Right: Steven Bennett (right) of Grimsby’s Comfy Duck Restaurant. Right: Sally Jackson of The Pink Pig, Holme near Scunthorpe.

Our final category recognises Lincolnshire’s food heroes, those businesses or personalities which contribute to the promotion of Lincolnshire’s best produce, from sausages to plum loaf, to artisan cheeses and its best fruit and veg.

The name of Grasmere Farms crops up time and time again when we ask restaurants about their favourite suppliers. The farm’s Hampshire cross outdoor bred pigs are some of the best our local chefs have tasted, and the farm’s continued presence at Lincolnshire’s

GRASMERE FARM’S NAME ALWAYS POPS UP WHEN WE ASK CHEFS ABOUT THEIR BEST SUPPLIERS...

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county shows and food fairs prove that the public are just as keen on Grasmere’s products as our professional chefs are.

One of the county’s best-loved farm shops is The Pink Pig at Holme near Scunthorpe. Established for over 400 years, it’s been the home of Sally Jackson’s family since 1929. A well-stocked farm shop and deli and restaurant attracts over 120,000 visitors each year, keen to take away some of the area’s best pork.

Finally, we congratulate Steven Bennett, the Lincolnshire Chef and director of Oaklands Hall Hotel’s Comfy Duck. We hope to see him back on Grimsby’s Estuary TV soon; the chef co-hosted cooking show Two Men and a Fish back in March.

FOOD HERO

OF THE YEAR 2015 Grasmere Farms, Market Deeping The Pink Pig, Scunthorpe

Steven Bennett, Lincolnshire Chef

Curtis Butcher & Bakery, Lincoln Boston Sausage/Mountains Cote Hill Cheese, Market Rasen Gary Simpson, Sleaford/Lincoln Rachel Green, Chef Kate O’Meara, Cheese Society Carl Dunham, Boston

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TheWineCellar

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This month Harish Khanderia has selected a staple selection of winter warmers you simply must have to hand when celebrating the season this month. From turkey-friendly red and white options to fizz for Christmas or New Year, to a couple of spirits designed to lift yours...

Our Gift Subscriptions last a whole year

Dicky’s Flask Filler Sloe Gin, £call.

This sloe gin is a superb tipple when hunting or shooting. Great besides an open fire, too! Take it neat or mix it with ginger liqueur, featured opposite, for a very naughty winter treat!

It’s also a wonderful accompaniment to champagne for a New Year’s eve cocktail.

ChassagneMontrachet Vieilles Vignes, £49.85

The newly formed domaine is a fusion of two family holdings.

A white burgundy that’s compatible with turkey, enjoyable with friends and beautiful with a smoked salmon starter.

Highly aromatic when young. Quite feminine wine of great delicacy – elegant and well-rounded.

Champagne Drappier, £29.99/75cl

A Pinot Noir-based champagne of style and finesse. Delicate aromas of white peach, quince and a touch of spice.

The dry, elegant palate shows an impressive degree of concentration, along with fine bubbles and a long, crisp finish.

Split, half, standard, magnum or methuselah.

every single month in 2014!

Château Batailley 2007 5ème Cru Classé £39.99

A lovely Burgundian wine with a deep ruby/purple colour with elegant blackberry and blackcurrant and truffle flavours, notes of cigar box, pepper and spices lead to hints of liquorice and earth on the finish.

Batailley also goes very well indeed with turkey; it’s a great Christmas option.

Our featured wines are available from Lincolnshire’s leading independent wine retailers, prices are correct at time of going to press but may vary according to each retailer.

Kings Ginger Liqueur, £26.96

Gingerbread and nutmeg on the nose, a little dash of orange zest and digestive biscuit. Lovely Tangy lemon peel mixes well with fresh ginger, also stem ginger in syrup and tasty spice. Simply on the ice or with champagne or with single malt whisky.

Great for cocktails too!

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- HOMES -

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A Victorian

VICTORY

A VICTORIAN VICTORY FOR INTERIOR DESIGN. THIS IS WHAT NIGEL AND SARAH KING AT THE HORSLEYS HAVE CREATED WITH THEIR MODERN ADDITIONS TO A BEAUTIFUL VICTORIAN PROPERTY. THE HORSLEYS FEATURES ORIGINAL VICTORIAN COVING, TILE FLOORS AND BRICK WORK, COMBINING MODERN ELEMENTS WITH PERIOD STYLE, MAKING THE PROPERTY A FAMILY HOME ONE CAN USUALLY ONLY DREAM OF...

Words: Tilly Wilkinson.

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- HOMES -

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It’s so inspiring to see a couple take on the challenge of converting something almost uninhabitable, into a beautiful family home, with passion and dedication to making it something they can call their own, clearly shown in every detail.

This is exactly what Sarah & Nigel King have done to their beloved family home, The Horsleys, in Theddlethorpe.

The couple moved here five and a half years ago with their five children and Sarah could only describe it as uninhabitable. The electrics, plumbing, plastering - everything needed repairing.

They were first attracted to the property by the Victorian brickwork and the history behind what was once a vicarage. The exterior, Sarah says, was and still is stunning.

It was in the interior that was in serious need of a facelift.

“Before we moved in, an elderly lady lived here,” says Sarah. “My husband, Nigel, used to be a GP in the area and visited her regularly. This is how we first found out about The Horsleys.”

Above: The downstairs cloakroom/bathroom is beautifully designed with bold colours and bespoke cabinetry.

Main: The kitchen, similarly has beautiful bespoke cream cabinetry and a bold print on the walls.

“The couple moved here five and a half years ago with their five children. Sarah could only describe The Horsleys as uninhabitable...”

“Before the previous owner, the home belonged to the church next door. She’d bought it in 1971, but it had been a vicarage long before this - ever since it was first built in 1873, in fact.”

Sarah’s love for the property mainly derives from the history it holds. It’s beautifully built and the original bells are still in place from when the servant was called by the vicar.

“It’s quite clear in the structure,” she explained, “that the property was divided into two halves. One half shows beautiful Victorian coving and elaborate design - the half used by the vicar and his wife - and the other half is quite simplistic in style - used by the cook, maid and coachman.”

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- HOMES -

also own another building that they refer to as The Cottages, used as a guest building mainly for when children visit - the youngest being 22.

“The Cottages used to be the coach house so the servants for the house used to live here. All the original stable doors for the horses are still in place. The vicar would’ve travelled by horse and carriage.”

The story behind The Horsleys indicates that nothing has changed about the property it’s still a very grand Victorian house. There are four reception rooms comprising a grand entrance hall, dining room, study, and a garden room with a lantern roof letting in so much light, making it an enjoyable space to look over the three and a half acre garden.

There are five bedrooms in the main house, one with an en suite and the others near to the two other main bathrooms and a shower room upstairs.

The work Nigel and Sarah have done to the property is phenomenal. As the lady who used to live there before them was a dog Above: The second bedroom has a purple theme and a modern print, similar to the print in the kitchen, theming the rooms slightly.

Main: The principal bedroom is a cool mint and cream colour combination.

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“The story behind The Horsleys indicates that nothing has changed it’s still a very beautiful, grand Victorian house...”

breeder, there were a number of outhouses attached to the house which was where she kept the dogs.

Rather than knocking them down, the couple converted this into the garden room.

Another outhouse was converted into a potting shed which is in the courtyard, near to the garden room. Here, there is also a decked area, a pond with fish and a formal garden.

“The whole house has been replumbed, rewired, double glazed and is now not just habitable, but a very warm and enjoyable space,” says Sarah. “The furniture is of the finest quality with solid rose wood furniture in the dining room, also a log burner, perfect for this time of year, and bespoke cabinetry in the kitchen with polished wood worktops.

There’s also top quality Rangemaster

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- HOMES -

appliances in the kitchen like the gas cooker and the oven.”

“All the furniture used is from local suppliers and the joiners, electricians, plumbers and everyone else who helped to create our beautiful house have been absolutely tremendous. They’ve all offered reasonable rates and have worked so hard.”

There’s so much potential for The Horsleys.

The Cottages outside could easily be rented out with two bedrooms, a kitchen, a sitting room and a dining room. Equally, this could be used for guests, as Nigel and Sarah currently do.

As Theddlethorpe is about six miles from Louth, three miles from Mablethorpe and only one and a half miles from the east coast beaches, The Cottages would make a nice Above: The garden room looks onto the formal garden and small wood at the bottom. There’s also a hot tub, barbecue area and patio, perfect for summer parties.

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holiday home. With the amount of land they have, the property could be turned into a caravan park or a bed & breakfast.

“Just beyond the formal garden, we have a spinney with some incredible specimen trees. We have cedars, copper beeches, walnut trees and Scott’s pines trees. It attracts all sorts of nature. We’ve seen buzzards, kestrels, woodpeckers, badgers, rabbits and the odd fox.”

“Our black labrador, Angus, loves the amount of green space we have and because we’re surrounded by fields and only a mile from the beach, there are some lovely walks we can take him on.”

“We’re very sad to be leaving but with the children now a lot older and living down in London and Norfolk, we don’t really see enough of them so we’re moving south to Norfolk, close to our daughter.”

The next owners can enjoy the heritage and detail of the Victorian property, and , of course, an idyllic rural location.

The Horsleys, Theddlethorpe

Location: Louth six miles, Mablethorpe, three miles.

Style: An old Victorian rectory dating back to 1873 with original coving, tiling and other features.

Receptions: Four, currently arranged as study, conservatory, sitting room and dining room.

Beds: Five, not including the cottage.

One with ensuite and others near two main bathrooms.

Other Features: Separate two bedroom cottage, garden room, hot tub.

Guide Price: £665,000

Find Out More:

Estate Agency: Savills Tel: 01522 508908

Web: www.savills.com

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New Year, New Look for your Home...

ELIZABETH & STEVENS

FANTASTIC FURNISHINGS ALONGSIDE UNIQUE HOME & GIFT IDEAS

The Showrooms, Great North Road, Markham Moor Retford DN22 0QU Telephone: 01636 822000

www.elizabethandstevens.com

Open daily Monday-Saturday 9am-5pm. Free parking.

Please call us if you are making a special journey

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New Year - HOMES -

NEW STYLE THIS MONTH THE COUNTY’S BEST INTERIOR DESIGN RETAILERS WILL REVEAL THIER SUPPLIERS’ NEWEST FABRIC AND WALLPAPER COLLECTIONS. HERE’S A SNEAK PREVIEW OF 2016’S TRENDS...

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January is the month that the we turn our attention to transforming our homes, ready for spring, and Lincolnshire’s interior designers and homes retailers have the newest ranges from the winter releases of leading fabric and wallcovering brands. Key trends this season include russet coloured county motifs, as

illustrated by Voyage’s Country collection above. Look out for bright, bold botanical floral prints, and for silver or metallic bronze with quirky monochrome prints too examples include Arthouse Lagoon wallpapers featuring feathers, dragonflies and stags, and Voyage Country’s dog, stag and equestrian

SEEK OUT A DEDICATED INTERIOR DESIGN STUDIO WHO HAVE ACCESS TO THE LATEST COLLECTIONS TO CREATE BESPOKE SOFT FURNISHINGS FOR YOUR HOME...

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designs too. Botanical influences can be seen in Zoffany’s Winterbourne, and Harlequin’s Palmetto.

Our advice, as always, is to seek out the help of dedicated interior design studios who can provide the help you need to bring your project to fruition, and who have access to the latest collections to create bespoke soft furnishings to perfectly suit your home.

Find Out More: Oldrids & Downtown www.oldrids.co.uk; Classic Curtains & Interiors, Spalding 01775 711654, www.classiccurtainsltd.co.uk; G H Shaw, Lincoln, 01522 521066, www.ghshaw.co.uk; Gilly Henson Design Lincoln 01522 536840, www.gillyhensondesign.co.uk; J&L Ball, 01780 481416, www.jandlball.co.uk.

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Above: Voyage Maison, at Oldrids Downtown.

Opposite: Designer’s Guild Caprifoglio at Classic Curtains & Interiors; Zoffany Winterbourne, Arthouse Lagoon at Oldrids, Jane Churchill Maracatu, Harlequin Palmetto at J&L Ball, Stamford, Clarke & Clarke Anatolia at Classic Curtains & Interiors.

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Unsurpassed Quality, Affordable Craftsmanship Bespoke Kitchens, Bedrooms and Bathrooms - full project management and free quotations

Peter Jackson Cabinet Makers Ltd Devereux Way, Horncastle LN9 6AU

Tel: 01507 527113 W: www.peterjacksoncabinets.co.uk E: info@peterjacksoncabinetmakers.co.uk

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Peter_jacksonCM

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BLANKET Snuggle int o a Winter

REFRESH YOUR SOFA, PROVIDE YOURSELF WITH A LITTLE EXTRA WARMTH IN BED, OR JUST SNUGGLE INTO A WINTER THROW WHILST YOU WELCOME THE NEW YEAR. WE’VE SIX SNUGGLY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM INDEPENDENT RETAILERS...

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1. Emma Bridgewater throws, 130cm x 190cm, wool, £125, Oldrids of Boston, Grantham, Lincoln and Gainsborough, www.oldrids.co.uk.

2. Arran throw from a selection of Voyage throws at GH Shaw, 01522 521066, www.ghshaw.co.uk.

3. Brontë by Moon windowpane throw, 140cm x 185cm, British wool, £85, Gracegentle, Newark, 01636 611933, www.gracegentle.co.uk.

4. Buttercup lemon wool throw, 180cm x 180cm, £50, Elizabeth & Stevens, 01636 822000, www.elizabethandstevens.com.

5. Lachlan throw from Voyage Maison, 200cm x 136cm, £95, Oldrids of Boston, Grantham, Lincoln and Gainsborough, www.oldrids.co.uk.

6. Leila Dove Grey panelled throws, 240cm x 260cm, £175, from Laura Ashley at Marshall’s Yard www.marshallsyard.co.uk.

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LALIQUE

Modern Day Brand, Style Icon of the Past Advises Golding Young & Mawer auctioneer Colin Young

The clean lines of Art Deco design are distinctive and a definitive period of the early 20th Century.

The 1920’s and 30’s were the height of its timeline but it feels like it has never gone out of fashion.

Even with today’s interiors Art Deco decoration easily merges and complements home aesthetics.

Extensive use of core materials such as exotic woods, bronze, ivory, marble and glass formed the basis of this movement in terms of furniture and decoration.

His influence created a whole market for contemporaries such as Sabino, Jobling and Bagley, who were prolific but not as critically acclaimed.

Lalique designed a whole range of jewellery, perfume bottles, chandeliers and clocks but is predominantly known for his art glass.

n Colin Young MRICS - Colin is senior auctioneer with the Lincolnshire Firm Golding Young & Mawer, established in 1864 and is a BBC Bargain Hunt antiques expert.

René Jules Lalique (1860-1945) was a predominant French glass designer of the period and his inspirational works remain in demand and highly collectable to this day.

With a substantial catalogue raisonné of Lalique designs, produced by Felix Marcilhac, rarity ultimately decides the value, assuming condition is good. One such example is the Sirene charger, which recently sold at The Bourne Auction Rooms, realising £3,000.

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Main: The important scenic and recreational area of the Lincoln Edge looks picturesque in the winter months.

Inset: Stuart Parker.

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COUNTY

Winter Walks around the

FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO LOSE WEIGHT AND BE HEALTHY THIS YEAR, WE’VE SOME GOOD NEWS. IN LINCOLNSHIRE, THERE’S A WAY OF DOING EXACTLY THAT WHILST ENJOYING THE COUNTY. WE ASKED LOCAL RAMBLER, STUART PARKER, FOR HIS RECOMMENDED WALKS...

Words: Tilly Wilkinson.

January. The New Year’s Resolution time we all loathe, and at the top of most people’s lists is to ‘lose weight and be healthy.’

But doing so may not be as arduous as you first thought.

Walking is an easy way to give yourself a healthy boost into the new year and it can be quite an enjoyable pastime, especially around the Lincolnshire countryside.

We spoke to Stuart Parker, Area Secretary of the Ramblers Association in Lincolnshire, and asked for his recommendations for the best winter walks in the county.

“If you’re seeking a full day out in the countryside, a seven mile linear walk from Navenby to Bracebridge Heath - part of Viking Way - is such a lovely winter walk,” says Stuart.

“Start by taking the Stagecoach InterConnect No.1 bus out from Lincoln Bus Station.

This runs every half an hour in each direction.”

“What’s so great about this walk is that you can shorten it at any village and walk up to the main A607 road and catch the No.1 bus back to Lincoln, it is clearly signposted and waymarked with yellow arrows featuring the Viking helmet logo so it’s great if you’re new to rambling, and there are several pubs serving good local Lincolnshire food along the way!”

“WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT USING VIKING WAY IS THAT YOU CHANGE THE LENGTH OF A WALK VERY EASILY...” >>

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There are also superb far reaching views right across the Witham and Trent Vales from Viking Way. It’s the main long distance path in Lincolnshire covering almost 150 miles from its start under the Humber Bridge at Barton-upon-Humber to Oakham in Rutland.

Its name derives from the area ruled by the Danelaw and many of the communities it passes through. Those ending in ‘by’ are a clue to them being former Viking settlements.

“At Navenby, walk along North Lane for a short distance and just before the lane heads downhill, turn right onto the footpath marked with the Viking Way yellow helmet waymark,” says Stuart. “Follow this cliff edge path to emerge at Boothby Graffoe.”

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“Continue straight ahead along the village main street into a leafy lane at the far end and cross the field to follow the path along the hillside. This path emerges in Coleby just opposite the Tempest Arms Inn. Follow the road around into Rectory Road and turn left onto a path leading out of the village. This brings you to the main A607 road.”

“Bear left at the road along the footway towards the traffic lights and turn left into the village of Harmston. Take the path on the right across a field, straight over Vicarage Lane and this heads along the ridge all the way to Waddington.”

“Walk straight ahead along the High Street, passing the church, then turn left into Far Lane, then bear right to follow the cliff edge path all the way to Bracebridge Heath.”

“Walk up to Grantham Road to catch a bus back into Lincoln or you can continue along the Viking Way route into the centre of Lincoln if you’re wanting a challenge!

“The path follows to the top of South Common and has one of the best views over the city, well worth the journey.”

Lincolnshire has a large network of public rights of way and are signposted as footpaths, bridleways and byways. By law, these should be kept clear and open for use.

Take an Ordnance Survey Explorer map to find the paths or buy a walking book.

Several are available now which feature some fantastic Lincolnshire walks.

The Lincolnshire County Council has a great ‘countryside access website’ which

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The Wolds

Walking

Festival...

Lincolnshire hosts one of the most popular Walking Festivals across the whole of the UK. This is known as the Lincolnshire Wolds Walking Festival and it’s being held this year from Saturday 21st May to Sunday 5th June 2016 with over 70 routes planned.

The programme will be available from 1st March and events, most routes are free and will also be listed on the website. This is a great opportunity if you’re planning on taking up walking this year.

Stuart Parker is the chairman of the organising Festival Partnership.

Opposite: A walk down Viking Way can be challenging or simple, depending on how far down you go.

Above: A rambling group exploring what the county has to offer.

Right: There’s a wealth of wildlife around Lincoln’s green areas. Look out for owls and even deer.

Below: West Common has many horses grazing. Exercise caution when walking through.

“We offer a variety of walks during the fortnight which appeal to all ability levels and it is a great way to discover the beauty of the Lincolnshire countryside.”

n For more information, visit www.woldswalkingfestival.co.uk.

promotes a large variety of walks around the county.

Apart from an Ordnance Survey map and perhaps a hot flask of tea, simply bring yourself ! Dress warmly using layers. A fleece jacket is wise choice as it’s lightweight and offers plenty of warmth. Also, take a light waterproof jacket in case of a winter downpour.

As well as the county’s Viking Way, Lincolnshire is home to a wide variety of landscapes from the level Fens and coastal marshes to the delightful gentle uplands of the Lincolnshire Wolds and Lincoln Cliff Edge. The countryside here is fascinating, packed with wildlife and heritage, and you’d be surprised with how much you can find when somewhere more rural than Lincoln...

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Lincoln on Foot: Where to Enjoy a Winter Walk...

SOUTH COMMON

LINCOLN ARBORETUM

With areas of flat lawn and more natural spaces with ponds, shrubs and wildlife, the South Common is the perfect venue for a picnic. Explore the vast grasslands with its ponds and shrubberies, and beautiful view over the city of Lincoln.

This was designed by of the most celebrated Victorian gardeners, Edward Milner. Enjoy the gardens, lakes, fountains and bridges and the Victorian bandstand. It’s a great place to walk around, not far from the city centre offering plenty of green space for dogs.

WEST COMMON

WHISBY NATURE PARK

Horses can be found grazing across this whole area. Alongside them are other wildlife including a big population of skylark.

You can enter West Common from the west end of West Parade, from Carholme Road or from Long Leys Road.

BRACEBRIDGE

The route takes in a former monastery, an old orchard, a delightful church and the river Witham. It’s around three miles long.

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Whisby Nature Park is a stunning landscape near Lincoln, full of wildlife, walks and trails. Once barren and lifeless, this place now abounds with wildlife so it’s a lovely walk if you’re interested in nature.

BOULTHAM PARK

Once a private estate, Boultham Park is a beautiful walk. It’s now open to the public with plenty to do for the family including an annual fair. There’s also a play area that was

designed by local children. There’s a wealth of local wildlife to discover thanks to a very large lake, in addition to tennis and bowling facilities. Boultham is a walk to enjoy with the whole family.

HARTSHOLME PARK

Covering more than 200 acres, Hartsholme Country Park is an absolutely stunning open space to the south of the city. Visitors can enjoy walks around the lakes and ornamental grounds and lots of wildlife watching.

WITHAM VALLEY

Witham Valley comprises of most of the green spaces to walk around in this list. It’s a connection of green parks and walks, allowing you to decide whether you’d like to do a long walk or a slightly shorter walk around only one of the venues.

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Rambling On with Stuart Parker

“It is a great time to get out into the countryside in winter for some essential exercise. Walking is described as the ‘almost perfect form of exercise.’ It’s good for your body and relaxes the mind. Some doctors are even recommending walking to relieve symptoms of stress.”

“The Ramblers have 11 local groups around Lincolnshire which between them organise over 650 led walks each year.

We are the nation’s largest walking charity and campaign to protect rights of way in addition to promoting walking.

We welcome people to try walking with us first before joining us. An organised walk is a good way of finding out where to go without having to plan the route for yourself. The knowledgeable leader will keep you on recognised paths and mention points of interest along the way. There are many walking groups around the county, including the 11 local Ramblers groups.”

Opposite: One of the Robins you can find at Boultham Park.

A winter scene at Swanholme Lakes by Witham Valley.

Country Parks. Main: Tunman Woods.

SKELLINGTHORPE OLD WOOD

Skellingthorpe is an expansive wood boasting a wide variety of seasonal flora including twayblade, early purple orchid and lily-ofthe-valley. Owls are often heard at dusk and you may even get a glimpse of some deer.

COW PADDLE

A vast area of open grassland with beautiful views and perfect for walking through to get to some of the other green spaces on the suburbs of Lincoln.

TUNMAN WOOD

Tunman Wood has been a woodland since at least 1774 and is reputed to have been on the old route between Temple Bruer and Eagle, used by the Knights Templar.

There’ll be some bluebells appearing around this time of year so it’s a beautiful walk.

HILL HOLT WOOD

This is a beautiful 30 hectare woodland in addition to being a social enterprise with charitable status. The Wood Hall, an ecobuilding at the heart of the woodland, is available for hire for weddings, parties, corporate events and social functions.

MILLENNIUM GREEN

Millennium Green is a public open space with 41.28 acres predominantly featuring a large lake around a mile long footpath.

If you’re seeking a shorter stroll, Millennium Green is perfect.

SWANHOLME LAKES

Part of Hartsholme Park, Swanholme Lakes is an important wildlife site for Lincoln, with dry heath, wet heath, sphagnum bog and open water habitats... rich in water wildlife!

“Joining a group of Ramblers isn’t just great for you health. Walking with them will allow you to soon discover the lovely Lincolnshire countryside with like-minded people, building a social group in such a healthy way. Membership is priced at £34 with a concessionary rate of £20.50 and you can then walk with any group in Lincolnshire and with any group in the UK. Members receive a full programme of walks each year. Come out and try it, I promise you won’t regret it - many say walking is the best thing they have done!” n Call Stuart Parker on 01522 534655 for further details, walk listings or to join the Ramblers’ Association see www.lincolnshireramblers.org.uk.

OS Grid References Finding our recommended rambles around Lincoln...

South Common: West Common: Bracebridge: Lincoln Arboretum: Whisby Nature Park: Boultham Park: Hartsholme Park: Witham Valley: Skellingthorpe O/Wood: Cow Paddle: Tunman Wood: Hill Holt Wood: Millennium Green: Swanholme Lakes:

SK 97453 69353 SK 96120 72251 SK 97194 68408 SK 97989 71311 SK 91060 66115 SK 96314 68965 SK 94599 69540 SK 97488 71694 SK 90333 72122 SK 98277 70275 SK 88339 65032 SK 86065 60612 SK 93515 66800 SK 94512 68380

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- FARMING MATTERS -

On The Farm A Study of Sugar Beet

January is a quiet time for many arable farmers so our farming expert, Barry Poston, visits a local sugar beet farm this month to discover more about the crop and share his extensive knowledge on the subject, having been a grower of sugar beet for more than 50 years himself. Find out why he hopes sugar beet become a big crop for most farmers once again...

With January being a quiet time on most arable farms, I thought readers would be interested in exploring the sugar beet crop and in learning a few more details about its growing and production.

Sugar beet has been grown over nearly 100 years in Great Britain, initially it was grown in Norfolk and processed there, during the 1920s another 17 factories were built.

Most factories were sited next to rivers so that a ready supply of water was available. In 1936, all the factories combined together to form one organisation, under the Government guidelines. In the 1980s the company was sold to Berisfords, and later to a company called Associated British Foods.

development, tomatoes are now producing heat for Wissington’s 18Ha of glasshouses, the crop also yielding millions of tomatoes.

Many improvements have been made to the growing of the crop, the main ones being the quality of seed, where the change from multi-germ to single germ seed has been made.

“As a grower for over 50 years, I have found sugar beet to be a very useful tool in the arable crop rotation...”

The number of factories was reduced dramatically to only four now - Wissington in Norfolk, Cantley in Norfolk, Newark and Bury St. Edmunds. All of these factories were enlarged with the tonnage of sugar being maintained. At Wissington, bioethanol for renewable fuel is produced. In a recent 88

This has meant that the vastly expensive job of single hand hoeing has been overcome by seed and drills that sow individual plants with the minimum of labour.

Also, seed producers have vastly improved the yield and sugar content with their development of the newer varieties. The dressing of the seed before planting with various chemicals has meant that earlier diseases are not allowed to grow to the detriment of the plants.

Chemicals to control weed and leaf diseases are now readily available and very little hand-hoeing is needed.

Modern expensive and sophisticated harvesters, with six rows being lifted, makes this operation much easier and less likely to damage the structure of the soil. A transport plan has been made with permits available throughout the season. Generally, with 30 ton loads there are fewer lorry units on the busy roads leading to the factories.

Unfortunately, the world and local price of sugar has fallen badly and for the 2016 season, the contract requires less tonnage and lower returns.

As a grower for over 50 years, I have found sugar beet to be a very useful tool in the arable crop rotation and I have always considered it to be a ‘bread and butter’ crop for most arable farms in Eastern England and I hope that the market price will increase and the sugar beet crop becomes a bigger part of Lincolnshire farms in the area once again.

Barry Poston is the area’s foremost farming expert with a long history working in both arable and livestock environments. He has seen a great many changes in the county’s main industry!

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- NATURE -

Nature ‘Green’ Keeping of Courses in

Richard Owens is revisiting the Golf Environment Awards this month as he discovers a golf club which is going above and beyond the call of duty to conserve nature and wildlife on their golf courses, being awarded the Operation Pollinator Award...

I would like to start off this month by wishing all of you a very Happy New Year.

(succisa pratensis), wild red clover (trifolium pratense), wild carrot (daucus carota) and self-heal (prunella vulgaris).”

January is always an exciting month for me as the Sports Turf Research Institute hosts the annual Golf Environment Awards. The prestigious award ceremony is held in Harrogate and is a celebration of achievement by both golf clubs and individuals who have gone over and beyond the call of duty to protect and enhance the natural areas on their courses for the benefit of our wildlife.

I was very proud to be awarded the title of UK Conservation Greenkeeper of the Year 2014 at these awards in recognition of the great work done during my time at Boston West Golf Centre. Indeed, some of you may have read all about it in a previous issue.

This month though, I want to sing the praises of, and tell you all about the tremendous environmental achievements of another Lincolnshire golf club. In 2015, Elsham Golf Club near Brigg in North Lincolnshire were awarded the nationally acclaimed Operation Pollinator Award sponsored by Syngenta - no mean feat when you consider they were shortlisted against an Open Championship venue!

The Operation Pollinator Award recognises a commitment to creating and sustainably managing habitat for our native pollinating insects.

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“As is normal with establishing these areas, patience has been the key and now these once bland, insignificant areas are awash with colour and crawling with bees, butterflies, moths and a plethora of insects that hadn’t been seen on the course prior to the work being carried out.”

The club’s environmental projects are overseen by my good friend Anthony Darker with the full help and support of both Head Greenkeeper Colin Hopper and the committee of Elsham Golf Course.

“The decision to create wildflower areas was taken in 2011 after attending an educational seminar,” says Anthony. “Areas of unattractive coarse grasses were identified and mown down to 50mm in height. The coarse grasses were chemically controlled and a heathland wildflower mix used so it would look natural on the course.”

“Some of the flowers in the mix were birds-foot trefoil (lotus corniculatus), common knapweed (centaurea nigra), lady’s bedstraw (galium verum), devil’s bit scabious

Anthony’s environmental work doesn’t stop at the creation of wildflower areas. He has also introduced, amongst other habitats, log piles, brash piles, reptile refugia, spider towers and nest boxes - the barn owl box even has a live TV link. Two of the best are the nesting rafts that attracted oyster catchers a week after it was launched.

As a county, we should offer congratulations to Elsham Golf Club and celebrate the work of all the counties golf clubs, and we surely have a future Conservation Greenkeeper of the Year in Anthony Darker!

n Richard has spent his career promoting bio-diversity within the world of turf and is a former UK Golf Course Conservation Greenkeeper of the Year.

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Schools Colleges...

This month, we’ve a round-up of the best schools and colleges in the area for those seeking high quality education for children, teenagers or for adult learning opportunities...

Worksop College & Preparatory...

As the end of the year approaches, it is often a time for parents to consider a fresh start and new direction for their child’s education.

At Worksop College and Prep School, 2016 marks a significant stepping stone in our multi million pound programme of investment over the next two years.

As a leading HMC independent school in the area, we’re dedicated to ensuring our pupils receive the highest quality education.

Our £15m development plan demonstrates our commitment to providing outstanding education for the children.

In February, a brand new 60-bed boys’ boarding house at 92

The College will open to accommodate the growing, thriving boarding community.

Weekly, flexi and casual boarding is provided at both the Preparatory School and The College, for boys and girls.

From September, Years 7 and 8 will move from the Preparatory School to the College into a dedicated Junior House.

The exciting plans will also see the relocation of the Preparatory School, currently situated a short drive away from the College, into a brand new state-of-the-art Junior School, for Nursery to Year 6, on the College site, which, subject to approval, will open in September 2017.

To fully experience for yourself everything that Worksop College and Preparatory School has to offer for your child’s future, why not arrange a personal tour with us. n If you want to visit call 01777 714387 or visit www.wsnl.co.uk.

Riverside Training, Spalding...

Riverside Training was first established in 2006 as a private training provider and is based in Spalding. They provide training for professionals in the East Midlands.

considerable amount of experience of delivering relevant qualifications to early year’s practitioners, teaching assistants and managers.

Between them, the staff have been assessing and delivering courses and qualifications within the sector in the areas of business administration, management, early years, teaching assistants, and customer service for many years.

Riverside Training is a successful training provider offering courses in childcare, teaching, business administration, customer service, team leading and management.

Riverside offer a range of learning opportunities for professionals at all levels from babysitting to management qualifications.

Riverside Training staff has over 25 years’ experience. All the members of staff have a

n Phone 01775 710945 or visit www.riversidetrainingspalding.co.uk for more information.

A recent Quality Assurance and Risk Assessment awarded Riverside a grade one. They have an excellent success rate with over 1000 students achieving their qualifications within their set target times.

Many of the courses are part funded subject to status. For further information on all of their courses, apprenticeships and the employer grants, which are available, please contact their admissions team.

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- EDUCATION -

Walton Girls School...

Principal of Walton Girls’ High School and Sixth Form, Mrs Caroline Saxelby, is excited to come to work.

“Walton Girls’ High School and Sixth Form has so much to be proud of and so much potential to move forward in this exciting educational climate.”

“We have recently received national recognition for the value we add to students’ achievement and we are in the top 20% of schools nationally for value-added progress. We are leading the field in improving outcomes for our students.”

Walton delivers a broad and challenging curriculum and pride themselves on personalised learning and inclusivity.

With fantastic sports teams, Performing and Creative Arts departments that are renowned for their excellence not to mention the Career Mark quality mark, Walton provides high quality learning, advice and guidance to its students.

Both staff and governors of the Academy are determined to ensure that they continue to offer high quality teaching and learning, enrichment experiences, leadership opportunities and development; and a safe environment for all students.”

“Our core purpose is to support our students to become high achieving, well-rounded individuals, fully prepared for life beyond school.”

“We welcome parents of Year 5 and 6 students to look at our facilities and offer personal tours. We also hold open days in June and September.” n For more information call 01476 563251 or visit the website www.waltongirls.co.uk.

Giles Academy, Boston...

At Easter, Head Teacher Chris Walls will be retiring from the Giles Academy after 24 years of service. During these 24 years, the school has seen a great amount of change whilst remaining true to its values of pupil wellbeing and drive for excellence.

The first major change during this time was the introduction of a Sixth Form in 1995, with a cohort of just ten pupils. In 20 years, this has grown to nearly two hundred pupils. A recent Ofsted report states that ‘Sixth form students receive outstanding information, advice and guidance’ and that ‘the school benefits from the willingness of many students to give up their time to selflessly contribute to the life of the school.’

With the school expanding rapidly over the past 24 years, new facilities have been added to cater for a varied curriculum.

In 2005, the school was awarded a visual arts specialism which allowed for the building of a new art block. The block contains teaching spaces for a wide range of arts.

More recently, their swimming pool was officially opened in 2012 by two Olympians; local swimmer Melanie Marshall and Chris Walls, who competed as a diver in the Munich Olympics.

Giles Academy continues to develop its curriculum to match the needs of its students and to prepare them for success in life.

New courses are now offered in both key stage four and key stage five. Students are supported effectively by skilled subject teachers and dedicated pastoral teams.

n Visit www.gilesacademy.co.uk for more information or give them a call on 01205 870693.

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New Youth Theatre, Grantham...

New Youth Theatre offers a great theatre experience to all kinds of children and young people. Classic shows specially written and scored for the young such as The Wizard of Oz, Fiddler on the Roof, Guys and Dolls or Peter Pan to name just a few, provide a wonderful outlet for emerging talent.

Usually the shows are divided to accommodate different age ranges; Tiny Tots (3-5yrs), Tots (5-8 yrs), Juniors (6-11 yrs) and Seniors (9-16 yrs). The blending of the age ranges enables the transition through the groups to occur more naturally, which you’d expect with the organic nature of talent development.

As a theatre group, New Youth Theatre is always looking for its 96

next star. Maybe you’ve held a secret wish to perform on stage.

Perhaps you’ve told yourself that this sort of thing is out of your abilities. Well, you needn’t worry. New Youth Theatre is famous for its friendly welcome.

It won’t be long before you too feel like an important part of its vibrant life. And you never know where you might go from here. Most West End stars began in such groups; after all, we all have to start somewhere.

All it takes is a phone call or the sending of an e-mail to get further information about New Youth Theatre. You can ask as many questions as you like.

The main thing is to get involved and soon you’ll be enjoying every moment as you tread the boards. After all, who knows where that might lead you in the years to come?

n New Youth Theatre currently have groups in Grantham. Call 01522 244365 or visit www.newyouththe atre.co.uk/grantham.

Sir William Robertson Academy...

Choosing a secondary school is one of the most important decisions you will have to make for you and your child.

The decision making process will be eased by gathering as much information as possible.

With this in mind, Sir William Robertson Academy would like to extend an invitation to you and your child to come and tour the Academy, where you will see first-hand the excellent behaviour of pupils and the high-calibre learning.

Sir William Robertson Academy is delighted as being judged as ‘Good’ in all areas of the school following its Ofsted inspection in June. The inspection report praised developments across the school, highlighting the

progress and behaviour of pupils and their engagement in their learning as a particular strength.

The Academy is a highly successful 11-18 school with a flourishing and expanding Sixth Form. The school fosters an ethos in which every child is expected to achieve the very best they can. Situated in a unique rural location, SWRA provides a safe environment with small class sizes and superb pastoral care.

Their pupils are well supported through an engaging and dynamic academic curriculum that is tailored to the needs of the individual.

The school is well resourced, with great outdoor facilities for a wide range of sporting activities. They offer a full and active programme of musical and performing arts from their purpose built studios. n Visit www.swracademy.org or call 01400 272422 for more information.

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Wrates School Photography...

Wrates photographers have been in the school photography business for over 60 years and have been producing pole-it pictures for around 10 years, and they have proved to be a hit with the schools!

It is a unique concept where the whole school - staff, children, building and grounds - can be captured in a fun and momentous occasion.

The photographers mark out the design, as specified by the school, on the playground, and the children are escorted to stand in allocated zones, maybe colour coordinated or in age or height order.

The camera is fixed onto a telescopic pole from their specialised vans and is elevated

to 25 metres. The image can be seen on the ground on a laptop and the photographers take the picture when they’re happy!

The occasion may mark some special event at the school.

Wrates have done the Olympic rings, stars (a favourite with schools) the anniversary year of the school and many other wonderfully creative ideas as requested by individual schools.

In addition to pole-it pictures, Wrates Photography offer easy and secure online ordering with a very quick turnaround.

They provide excellent customer service and of course a chance for the children to meet the very Humpty Dumpty that starred in many TV shows across the 70’s and 80’s with A-list celebrities.

Plus there’s always someone on the other end of the phone during school hours. Try it! n Visit their website, www.wrates.co.uk for more info. You can call their friendly team on 0800 028 8221.

St Peter & St Paul Catholic Academy...

St Peter & St Paul’s Catholic Voluntary Academy is incredibly proud of all their students, but this year they are very pleased to boast about their very own Poet Laureate: Peter Latimer.

Peter is currently studying for A levels at the school, but started writing poems when he was 13.

With the encouragement of his family and the staff in the English Department, Peter was persuaded to enter the competition to become Lincolnshire’s first Young Poet Laureate.

Peter knew that it would be an incredible experience whether he acquired the position or not although he never expected his aspirations to become a reality.

Peter had to submit three poems to the judges - one

inspired by Lincolnshire, one by human rights, and then one on a topic of his choice.

Peter is spending the next year visiting different schools and hopes to show other young people that poetry doesn’t need to be boring, or something that you only study.

He believes, alongside St Peter & St Pauls Catholic Academy, it’s something you connect with, something you relate to, whether it makes you happy, sad, angry or glad. It’s something incredible which is waiting to be read and can be something that you keep to yourself or share with others.

“I was interested in the role of Young Poet Laureate as soon as I heard about it through my English teacher,” says Peter, “and I realised I could make some difference to young people’s views on poetry.” n St Peters & St Pauls Academy welcome visits at any time. Call 01522 871400 or visit www.sspp.lincs.sch.uk.

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St Hugh’s, Woodhall Spa...

St Hugh’s School is set in 32 acres of beautiful Lincolnshire countryside. They are a caring independent day and boarding school based in the village of Woodhall Spa accepting pupils from 2 - 13 years old.

In the Nursery, the children have a wonderful outdoor play area and access to an adventure playground, woods, French classes, Forest School, ballet and swimming lessons twice a week in their swimming pool.

Further up the school, full, weekly and flexi boarding options are available. Their sports pitches are enviable and they have teams for all of the major sports and have achieved notable success in regional and national competitions. They 98

are in the process of building an all-weather pitch to add to their already impressive facilities.

They have a strong team of peripatetic music teachers who encourage a love of music.

St Hugh’s has a caring, family atmosphere; their ethos is to bring out the best in your child by equipping your child for life and promoting individuality.

This year their pupils achieved a 100% pass record for the 11+ test and further up the school, their senior pupils earned 21 scholarships to top independent schools with all children gaining entry to their first choice senior schools.

They are the oldest prep school in the county, celebrating their 90th anniversary this year and have recently been voted in the top ten Best Value Prep Schools in the Country by the Telegraph and the Good Schools Guide. n For more information, visit www.st-hughs.lincs.sch.uk or call 01526 352169.

Dappledown House Nursery...

Dappledown House Nursery’s vision is Together we learn and grow. Everyday is an opportunity for children to learn and develop their skills in preparation for the future.

Dappledown is a rural village nursery, the building itself steeped in history. They achieved a Top 10 rating for East Midland Nurseries in 2014 from a parent review website being rated No.5 and the only nursery in Lincolnshire to have achieved the award.

In April 2015, Little Acorns preschool based in Leadenham School became part of the Dappledown Family. Little Acorns offers a preschool environment. Dappledown work alongside Key Stage 1 teachers

to provide an all encompassing learning environment.

Also as part of the Dappledown family, they provide afterschool care and school holiday club at Little Acorns. They currently serve four schools/villages for afterschool care. These include Ancaster, Caythorpe, Barkston and Cliffdale, Grantham.

The amazing outdoor area including a forest at Leadenham School lends itself to a fun, stimulating environment for the children. The last holiday club session included roasting marshmallows in the fire pit.

The Dappledown Team are dedicated to the children in their care, passionate about providing the correct environment for young minds to learn in, for the children to gain confidence in whatever they wish to achieve in life. n To contact them, please call 01400 250358 or visit their website www.dappledownhouse nursery.co.uk.

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Burton Hathow Prep School...

As Burton Hathow approaches its third anniversary, it is a time to reflect on the growth of the school. The preparatory school is converted barns surrounded by acres of beautiful woodland.

Over the past three years, pupil numbers have grown from 32 to 115 and expansion plans for the next phase are underway.

A new hall space for sports, concerts and dining will be completed by September along with a purpose built kitchen, which will cater for the expanding capacity of the school. The existing sports field will double in size. The school facilities will continue to expand with more ambitious projects in the pipeline.

Minilinguals, around Lincolnshire...

The school’s development does not just lie within its buildings.

Intervention is rapidly put in place for any child achieving at a slower than average pace and extension programmes are usual for children working beyond national expectations. Pupils are aware of targets and are involved in setting them

As the vision of the school evolves, curricular and extra-curricular opportunities are ongoing.

Numerous projects to expand learning have been introduced this academic year. Making History, a project where children research their family tree and make a movie, computer programming lessons and database building, a school jazz band and Russian lessons are examples of how they continues to grow.

Burton Hathow recognise and promote the need for children to enjoy learning.

n Visit www.burtonhathow.co.uk or call 01522 274616. and completing puzzles. Studies say that bilingual children also display increased concentration spans compared to monolingual counterparts, and have a greater capacity to remember sequences.

Although you can learn a language at any age, research shows that the very young are automatically programmed to pick up new languages almost effortlessly.

Recent research has also shown that bilinguals can reap health benefits in later life, with a delay in the onset of Alzheimer’s and improved recovery in stroke sufferers! If you want to develop your own little linguist, try interactive classes where parents and children can learn together in a fun environment.

They can recognise different rhythms and patterns, which in turn taps into the mathematical part of their brain. When you learn to switch between two different structures, the brain then starts to apply this skill to other areas, such as multitasking, picking out relevant information

n Visit www.minilinguals.co.uk to buy the activity pack or book a class.

Early language learning has greater benefits in later life.

Children who start in their early years, develop exceptional cognitive and communication skills.

This approach is adopted in Minilinguals sessions where you and your child learn Spanish using an innovative programme that includes music, play and stimulating props. Minilinguals has also developed a CD and activity pack, designed for the Early Years that you can use to learn together at home.

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Smile: Valerie Wrates, one of the Skegness firm’s photographers, in her striped blazer.

- HISTORY -

SNAP y p p a H We do like to be beside the seaside, and we love looking through old holiday snaps.

Imagine our delight, then, when Skegness’s Wrates Photography opened up their photographic archives and invited us to find out a little more about the company’s history... Words: Rob Davis.

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>> If you grew up in Lincolnshire, or if you visited the Lincolnshire coast as a child, take another look at your holiday snaps.

There’s a strong chance that printed on the cardboard folder - or mount - is the name Wrates. Today, the firm is one of the largest specialists in school photography, but when the company started out, back in 1907, the firm was solely concerned with holiday snaps - known as walkies.

“We think we’re one of the oldest firms in Lincolnshire and I can’t imagine anyone in Skegness is unaware of the name Wrates,” say Glyn Bagley and Martin Wrate.

“Of course, nowadays everyone has camera phones or digital cameras; the technology has proliferated to such a convenient extent that it’s almost impossible to remember a time before we all had the means to take

photographers on holiday. But back in the 1970s, even film cameras hadn’t been popularised.”

Wrates would patrol the whole of Skegness seafront and also further along the east coast taking pictures of holidaymakers day and night.

Wrates was established by Amelia Wrate in 1907 as a Victorian portrait photographers.

It was unusual for a woman to run her own business, let alone one of such unprecedented success. In the 1920s, Alfred Wrate, second generation of the Wrate family and grandfather of current owner Martin, established the walking picture trade, enjoying a virtual monopoly on the Lincolnshire coast.

At that time, seaside holidays in Skegness were hugely popular, just making the transition from a luxury for the upper middle classes to

“WE THINK WE’RE ONE OF THE OLDEST FIRMS IN LINCOLNSHIRE. THERE MUST BE THOUSANDS OF WRATES PICTURES STILL DISPLAYED IN THE DRAWERS AND PHOTO ALBUMS OF LINCOLNSHIRE PEOPLE!”

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- HISTORY -

Opposite: The firm soon used gimmicky props like stuffed lions and tigers!

Above: Huge queues would form in front of Wrate’s Skegness kiosks.

become more mainstream. The photographers had a shop on the pier entrance in the late 1930s and continued to enjoy huge commercial success.

Customers would have their photographs taken, then they’d take a ticket with a letter indicating from which of the windows they could view and purchase their photograph.

Wrates photographers could soon be identified by their red, blue and yellow jackets.

By the time the 1960s and 1970s arrived, the company - competing with the popularisation of compact cameras - needed to find new gimmicks, like colour photography in 1968, stuffed lions and tigers, and props like Wombles, gorillas behind bars, and bikini models which, according to Martin, weren’t as popular as one might imagine.

“Output at the time was really prolific,” says Martin. “During the business’s heyday, most locals visiting the seaside town had at least one photograph taken during their holiday.

There must be thousands of Wrates pictures still displayed in the drawers and photo albums of Lincolnshire people!”

The family still trade as photographers today, albeit in school market. Diversifying in 1962, the move was originally intended to keep Wrate’s small army of photographers busy in the autumn and winter months, earning the firm revenue out of season.

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T- HISTORY -

Wrates Today...

FROM HOLIDAY SNAPS TO SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHERS

Wrates is known throughout Lincolnshire as Skegness’s ‘walkie’ photographers, but from the 1930s the firm also began to offer school photography to keep its staff busy out of the holiday season.

Today, the firm works in over 1,000 schools, employing 60 processing staff and a small army of photographers to take pictures of hundreds of thousands of pupils each year.

This year Wrates has been able to offer schools a unique service; two-poses on two different backgrounds during a single visit to the school, which has proven to be very successful.

the charming notion of photographers taking pictures of Skegness’s holidaymakers has been consigned to the history books.

Nonetheless, there are still a great many, especially those living on Lincolnshire’s East Coast, who have fond memories of visiting the resort in their younger days and having their pictures taken by a Wrates photographer, queueing excitedly to see their print.

Even staff at the railway station reported delays because of holidaymakers from out of town holding up the rail service because they were still collecting their photographs.

“At its peak, the business was taking millions of walkies pictures of holidaymakers each year!” says Martin.

“AT ITS PEAK, THE BUSINESS WAS TAKING AN INCREDIBLE 5,000,000 PHOTOGRAPHS OF HOLIDAYMAKERS EACH YEAR!” SAYS MARTIN...

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“It’s nice that visitors to modern day Skegness can record and capture their memories with ease using mobile phones and digital cameras, but I think there’s a certain nostalgia in looking at the photographs we take.”

“We have liveried vans for our school-based work, and across Lincolnshire people still come up to us to ask if we’re the Wrates who took our photographs on holiday as children.”

“Hopefully the name will continue to be recognised and connected to photography in years to come, with past customers enjoying our photographs and remembering wonderful childhood holidays on the East Coast!”

Parents receive a personalised preview card featuring their child, tailor-made to each school. Each child’s image comes with a personalised password which downloads a ‘key’ to enable parents to access a school branded webpage which is created by the firm. Parents can then order prints securely online; this is 100% secure as the system was developed by Wrates themselves.

All of the firm’s photographers are DBS checked and the firm publishes a duty of care brochure with its child protection policies.

Wrates shoots individual students, ‘friendship groups,’ classes, choirs and sports teams as well as whole schools.

In summer 2013, owners Martin Wrate and Glyn Bagley purchased TV’s Humpty Dumpty as a company mascot - he’s very popular, and is available for charity work across the UK!

n Find Out More: Wrates are dedicated school photographers with over 85 years experience.Call 0800 028 8221 or see www.wrates.com.

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TOP MARQUES

& Top Marquees Sophie Duckworth and fiancé William Foster were always going to ‘get to the church on time’ as the car aficionados enlisted top marques to whisk them to there top marquee for a beautiful countryside wedding...

Photography: Flawless Photography, 08456 431488, www.flawlessphotographyblog.co.uk.

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A touch of class is the only phrase you can use to describe Sophie and Will’s wedding with a beautifully decorated grand marquee, violinists and plenty of guests with smiles on their faces.

Sophie works for the family business looking after the marketing for Range Rover dealership, Duckworth, in Market Rasen and Kirton, Boston.

“I’ve been in marketing for about 11 years, starting at the family business back in 2004 and then working abroad, and with other industries before coming back to the family business a few years ago,” says Sophie. “Will and I went to New Zealand in 2007 to live and work on the South Island.

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“Will started up an agronomy business with a spraying contractor over there but we came back to the UK in 2012, a year or so after the Christchurch earthquakes. The earthquakes brought home how far we were from family which myself and Will are very close to.”

“Will and I met about 10 years ago through my brother Guy and a mutual group of friends. We started seeing each other a year after that. Will grew up in the Horncastle area, and I’m from just north of Lincoln.

I grew up in Ingham where my parents still live.”

“Will booked us a log cabin in Keswick for five days last November. I thought we were just getting away for a few days, somewhere

“Will proposed next to the Millennium Stone on Derwent Water. Charlie took complete advantage of the fact we were distracted and spent his time rolling in the mud..!”

Photography: Flawless Photography, 08456 431488, www.flawlessphotographyblog.co.uk.

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- WEDDINGS -

we could take the dog, Charlie Brown, and go on lots of walks. When we arrived Will seemed anxious and was keen for us to go for a walk around Derwent Water, even though the evening was drawing in. Will proposed, on one knee, on the edge of the lake next to the Millennium Stone. Charlie took advantage of the fact we were distracted splashing in and out of the water and rolling in the mud!”

“I had always wanted a church ceremony and a marquee reception at home - mum and dads. Unfortunately, we decided we couldn’t hold the reception in Ingham as there just wasn’t enough space.”

“My brother Ben asked if we would like to hold the reception at his house where there is plenty of space for the marquee and parking, and no neighbours to upset with the noise!”

“Will is an independent agronomist with an agricultural contract spraying company so he is very busy! He gets a down time during harvest and for a couple of weeks in December and January. Therefore, I planned most of the wedding with my mum Sally. Will took on some responsibility towards the end when harvest started like organising the bar!”

“Mum and I really enjoyed organising the finer details like the place cards, the table names and the favours, which we spent hours putting together. They were mini kilner jars full of sweets adorned with pewter fairy charms.”

“Will’s mother Sarita and I spent hours going around the antique and junk shops in Horncastle looking for props, furniture and decorations and then we spent a number of days upcycling them to work with our glitz and glamour 1920s inspired theme.”

“When I started looking for bridal gowns I had a fair idea of the designers’ dresses I wanted to try. I absolutely fell in love with Jenny Packham. The nearest stockist was in Stamford. The Stamford Bridal Rooms were amazing! The dress I chose was the first dress I tried on. I did try other dresses but kept going back to the same one called Esme

by Jenny Packham.”

“Will had designed my engagement ring with an independent Jewellery Designer from Alford called Caron Yeomans. She was fabulous and thankfully has very similar taste to mine so she steered Will in the right direction. It was important to us to have our wedding bands designed by Caron as well.”

“James from Flawless Photography came

recommended by a friend, taking flawless and very professional photos.”

“Our cake was made as a gift from Will’s aunt Sue Kind who also made Will’s sister’s cake and his parent’s cake for their wedding.”

“We were very lucky to have such talented family friends. My auntie Jo and her friend Di did all the flowers both inside and outside the church. When I went to see the church the night before the wedding I cried. I couldn’t believe how absolutely stunning it was. Even professional photos don’t do it justice!

“Our very close family friend Barbara and her friend Claire did all the flower arrangements in the marquee. They too were amazing - absolute show stoppers.”

“The marquee looked beautiful! We were very spoiled and immensely lucky to have such generous and talented friends and family to help make the day special.”

“As for the cars, of course it wouldn’t be right if we didn’t have a Range Rover as our wedding car. We also used a number of other cars from the same brand for the bridal party and other family members.”

“I was so nervous about walking down the aisle and everyone turning to look at me, but it was fine. As dad reminded me, everyone there was either family or friends and there to support us.”

“Once we reached Will I completely relaxed and we both really enjoyed the ceremony. I can’t believe how quickly it went.”

“We got to know our Reverend, Sue Deacon, who is the most fabulous person you will ever meet. We were Sue’s first marriage as she had only just become ordained. It really was special both to us and to Sue.” “We were so lucky with the weather. It was the hottest day of the year and the sun shone all day. It was wonderful being able to have champagne and canapés on the lawn before the wedding breakfast.”

“We were entertained by Alexandra, an Electric Violinist who’s spectacular. The magnificent Rachel Green did all of our catering. Everybody commented on how good the food was. Rachel and her team excelled themselves and Katie, Rachel’s colleague, couldn’t have been more attentive and helpful. We really couldn’t recommend Rachel and her team highly enough.”

“Of course, it wouldn’t be right if we didn’t have a Range Rover as our wedding car...”

Above: One of the many Range Rovers and Land Rovers that transported friends and family from the church to the reception.

Right: Sophie’s Auntie Jo with the help of her friend made the church look beautiful.

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- WEDDINGS -

Left: The electric violinist, Alexandra, entertained guests at the start of the reception outside the marquee.

Above: Sophie & Will’s first dance before Crazy Ape, their band for the night, took to the stage.

Photography: Flawless Photography, 08456 431488, www.flawless photographyblog.co.uk.

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“We used Crazy Ape as our band. They were fantastic! Funnily enough the lead singer, Kevin, started working for us at the Boston dealership not long after we had booked them. Talk about pressure!”

“They were great and had everyone up on their feet all night. We’ve been passing their details onto our friends ever since.”

“For the honeymoon, we had a minimoon in Menorca for a week to relax after the wedding which was definitely welcomed and booked to go to Canada this winter. We’ll stay in a Vancouver for a few days followed by ten days of snowboarding and skiing in Whistler. I’m so excited to go - it’s going to be so much fun.”

“It was really important to us to use local companies, both individuals and family

businesses from across the county. All of our wedding stationery was by Mariposa Design. Heidi, based in Skegness, could read my mind! Everything she did was perfect.”

“We used David from Wood’s Marquees, also an absolute delight to work with. We use David for the Lincolnshire Show so we know how each other works.”

“Rod Austin from Brigg Garden Centre lent us the outdoor furniture and put together some amazing outdoor flower displays good enough to rival those at Chelsea.”

“We don’t really know where to start with thanking everyone. Everybody played a crucial part in making our day so memorable, although a special thanks must be made to family and friends who helped us enormously!”

Sophie & Will’s Wedding

Violinist: Alexandra, Electric Violinist, 01427 872641, www.femaleviolinist.co.uk.

Catering: Rachel Green, 07876 225869, www.rachel-green.co.uk.

Suit Hire: Andrew J Musson, 01522 520142, www.andrewjmusson.com.

Reception: Woods Marquees, 01652 680 202, www.woodsmarquees.co.uk.

Photographer: Flawless Photography, 08456 431488, www.flawlessphotographyblog.co.uk.

Make Up: Alluring Make Up, Fran Smith-Gott, 07515 894317.

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Stunning Bridal Boutique in Woodhall Spa 2016 Stockists of Justin Alexander, Allure, Ivory & Co and more To book an appointment call 01526 268030 or go to www.theivoryroombridal.co.uk Goodyear House, Tattershall Road, Woodhall Spa, Lincs, LN10 6QJ

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Bespoke & Made to Measure Suits by a Savile Row Tailor, Andrew Musson

Andrew J Musson Bespoke Tailor of Lincoln

CALL TODAY TO ARRANGE AN APPOINTMENT FOR A BESPOKE OR MADE TO MEASURE SUIT. 39 High Street, Lincoln LN5 8AS

Tel: (01522) 520142 info@andrewjmusson.com www.andrewjmusson.com

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SAY “I DO!” IN

Lincolnshire

THIS MONTH WE’VE A ROUNDUP OF THE BEST VENUES IN THE AREA TO HOST A VERY SPECIAL WEDDING...

If you’re planning a wedding this month, you’re not alone.

Over a quarter of all proposals take place on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and when the initial excitement is over and it’s time to begin planning the day, choosing your venue (and consequently, the date), is the first step.

In the heart of Lincoln is The Lincoln Hotel (01522 520348, www.thelincolnhotel.com) with afternoon tea weddings, its Boutique, Luxury and Royal packages. Also in the heart of Lincoln and overlooking the Cathedral is The White Hart Hotel (01522 526222, whitehart-lincoln.co.uk), with its Eastgate & Pink Lounge suites and cocktail bar.

On the edge of Lincoln is Washingborough Hall Hotel (01522 790340, www.washingboroughhall.com) whose new Winston Room provides a dedicated suite for brides and grooms.

In the north of the county, Stallingborough Grange (01469 561302, stallingboroughgrange.co.uk) is a quaint 18th century thatched country house hotel, with pretty grounds for photographs, and the beautiful estate of Oaklands Hall (01472 872 248, www.oaklandshallhotel.co.uk) is perfect for weddings, built in 1877 with a choice of three wedding packages.

In the heart of Lincolnshire, Woodhall Spa’s Petwood Hotel

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(01526 352411, www.petwood.co.uk) is popular for weddings, a grand Edwardian building with beautiful grounds and self-contained Woodland Suite for weddings.

Boston’s Poachers Country Hotel (01205 290310, www.poachershotel.co.uk) provides exclusivity to brides hosting their big day, or for a wedding venue with a difference, Wainfleet’s Batemans Brewery (01754 880317, www.bateman.co.uk) can host ceremonies in the windmill of visitors centre.

Finally, if you’re seeking a wedding venue a little afield, look to the 200 acre country estate of Melton Mowbray’s Stapleford Park (01572 787000, www.staplefordpark.com) or Rutland’s Barnsdale Lodge (01572 724678, www.barnsdalelodge.co.uk).

Top: A bride and groom at Woodhall Spa’s Petwood Hotel, Patrick Leverton Photography.

Above: The Lincoln Hotel, Lincoln.

Left: Batemans Brewery, Lincoln’s Oaklands Hall Hotel.

Below: The Poachers Country Hotel.

Opposite: Freya and Sean married at Washingborough Hall, Lincoln.

Image by Charlotte Maddison, 01205 872182, www.weddings bycharlotte maddison.co.uk.

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DRESS s s e r p im To 118

With 301,254 brides-to-be tying the knot each year, the demand for beautiful wedding dresses is greater than ever. This month we’ve a preview of 2016’s new wedding dresses from the catwalk of the National Wedding Show...

Words & Images: Rob Davis

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- WEDDINGS -

The National Wedding Shows are held in London, Birmingham and Manchester. They’re among the UK’s largest wedding shows, showcasing the newest dresses on the event’s catwalk shows...

Opposite: House of Mooshki at The Dressing Room, (www.house ofmooshki.com), and Peter Posh grey morning suit with check waistcoat.

Above: Alfred Angelo decorated basque wedding gown (alfred angelobridal.co.uk) and black suits

by Youngs Hire (www.youngshire.co.uk).

Wedding dresses are more imaginative and more beautiful than ever, and 2016’s dresses include trends like feather designs, faux fur for winter weddings, and 3D appliqué florals.

The National Wedding Show catwalks provide brides-to-be with an opportunity to preview designers’ newest wedding dresses, and Pride was there to see them too, as part of our work

with our sister company, UKbride.co.uk, the wedding planning website which last month celebrated its 10th anniversary.

The National Wedding Show takes place in Lincoln, Birmingham and Manchester, with discounted tickets available to brides through UKbride.co.uk.

n See www.ukbride.co.uk/ national-wedding-show

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Main: Debenhams Ben de Lisi (www.debenhams .com/weddings) and suit by Youngs at Debenhams.

Right: Berketex column dress (www.berketex bride.com.).

Below: Grace

by Qiana bridal (www.qiana bridal.co.uk.

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The National Wedding Shows feature catwalks comprising 80 outfits from designers’ latest collections...

Above: Short dresses with lace embellishment and A-line gown by Qiana Bridal (www.qianabridal.co.uk).

Left: Mother of the bride outfits by Jaques Verts (far left; left and Phase Eight (right; far right).

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Far Left: Justin Alexander at Shades of White (www.justin alexander bridal.com.

Left: Allure Bridal’s fishtail dress (www.allure bridals.com).

Right: Susan Neville (www.suzanne neville.com) with cutaway front.

Below: Sottero and Midgely fishtail gown.

Find Out More: All of our featured wedding dresses are part of the 2016 collections previewed at the National Wedding Shows. The Spring 2016 shows take place on 20th/21st February Manchester Central; 26th-28th February London Olympia; 4th-6th March NEC Birmingham.

For tickets see www.ukbride.co.uk/national-wedding-show.

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WEDDING

FACTS

Lincolnshire Pride’s sister company, wedding planning website www.ukbride.co.uk, is 10 years old! Here are a few things we’ve learned from our 550,000 members...

DURATION OF WEDDING

24%

PLANNING 6 Months: 6% 1 Year: 23% 2 Years: 33%

3 Years: 15% Longer than 3 years: 23%

Time spans indicate duration of engagement.

301,254 weddings took place last year

Christmas Eve: “I Do!”

51% of brides marry in their own town/city

24% of all marriage proposals in the UK take place on Christmas Eve.

82% of couples will live together in the same home...

HOME SWEET HOME

13% of couples will move into a new home when they marry...

Popularity of weddings by days and months 15,062 12,050 12,053 21,087 60,250 162,677 18,075 5%

4%

January 6,025 (2%) February 9,037 (3%) March 12,050 (4%)

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4%

April 24,100 (8%) May 30,125 (10%) June 36,150 (12%)

7%

20%

July 42,178 (14%) August 45,192 (15%) Sept 39,162 (13%)

54%

6%

October 24,100 (8%) November 18,074 (6%) December 15,061 (5%)

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“Where there money goes...”

BUDGETS

WhERE CoupLEs MaRRY

Based on an average spend for a UK wedding of approx £12,000 with no contingency budget

VENUES ChuRCh 36% hotEL 15% REGIstER offICE 13% MaRquEE 12% CastLE 5% abRoaD 7% othER 12%

64% Civil Ceremonies 36% Religious Ceremonies

5% CEREMONY

30% RECEPTION

£50 for register office, £450 church/civil ceremony

£4,000 for venue, three course wedding breakfast...

12% OUTFITS

5% JEWELLERY

£1,000 for wedding dress, £400 for groom’s hire...

£600 wedding bands, bride’s accessories, veil...

3% CAKE

4% FLOWERS

£300 for wedding cake or chocolate fountain...

£500 for ceremony flowers, bride’s bouquet, buttonholes

8% PHOTO

5% ENTS

£1,000 for photography and/or videography

Disco, band, fireworks, budget approx £600...

3% STATIONERY

25% HONEYMOON

£300 for, e.g.: invites, table plans, ‘save the day’ cards...

Couples budget between £3,000 and £4,000...

£3.6bn

the wedding industry is worth around £3,600,000,000 each year, based on 301,254 weddings with an average spend by couples of £12,000 per wedding.

£12,000

Each couple spends over £12,000 creating their perfect wedding day. that includes a spend of £3,000-£4,000 on a honeymoon.

Popularity of Marriage by

UK REGION South East 16%, North West 12% East of England 10% South West 9% West Midlands 9% East Midlands 8% Yorkshire & Humber 8% London 6%, North East 4% (Scotland 9%, Wales 6%, Northern Ireland 3%)

+5.1%

increase in weddings from previous year 2014: 301,254 2010: 280,000 2005: 287,000

Figures indicate percentage of couples marrying in each UK region...

WHO’S COMING?

0-50 Guests 10.6%

33 31 Average age of brides and grooms in the UK

50-100 Guests 46.5%

100-150 Guests 29.4%

150+ Guests 13.5%

n UKbride is the wedding planning website for brides-to-be in the UK. Data obtained from the website’s 550,000 members. See www.ukbride.co.uk.

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Left/Below: Shelby wears white slinky-fit dress with encrusted collar and unique jewelled back detail shown below; £365.

Clutch bag £45, bracelet £25.

Available to purchase from Red Carpet Ready (www.redcarpetready.co.uk).

Glamour for Any - FASHION -

OCCASION

Whether you’re still seeking that dress for New Year’s Eve, or you’ve a young lady who’s seeking a beautiful prom dress, you’ll find yourself Red Carpet Ready with help from Lincolnshire’s premier dress specialists...

Words & Images: Rob Davis.

Red Carpet Ready is one of the UK’s largest dress specialists located near Lincoln.

Stocking over 29 brands & over 1,500 dresses any customer would be spoilt for choice with dresses for every budget, age and size across short, midi and long lengths.

There’s also a range of matching jewellery, shoes, clutch bags, plus hats and fascinators.

Due to the retailer’s rapidly growing customer base, it has recently opened a second dress showroom within its current location offering even more choice and diversifying into outfits perfect for wedding guests and the races during the summer months.

“Red Carpet Ready is unique, we offer the biggest selection of dresses, at the best prices in a

really amazing & unique location.

In our two years of opening we have over 30,000 followers on Facebook and reading the daily reviews on their page supports this statement,” says the firm’s Kirsty Gale.

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Opposite: Rhiannon in royal blue bow dress with jewelled back, £390. Also in navy, white, black and red.

Shelby in one of the retailer’s Swarovski scattered red dresses £545.

Also in black, olive and royal blue.

Left: Fitted lace dress in black with subtle detailing, capped sleeves and open back, £485, also in ivory, red and blush.

All dresses available to purchase from Red Carpet Ready (www.redcarpet ready.co.uk).

Find Out More: Featured dresses are from Red Carpet Ready, Lincoln.

Open seven days a week until 9pm by appointment call 01522 793777 Alternatively visit www.redcarpetready.co.uk, see instagram.com/ RedCarpetReadyLincoln or facebook.com/red carpetreadyltd.

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Right: Rhiannon in premium embellished fishtail dress with cut-out sides, as worn by celebrities including TOWIE’s Lucy Mecklenburgh £545. Also stocked in gold and navy.

Shelby in silver sequin oneshoulder split dress £360.

All dresses are available to purchase from Red Carpet Ready (www.redcarpet ready.co.uk).

Find Out More: Featured dresses are from Red Carpet Ready, Lincoln.

Open seven days a week until 9pm by appointment call 01522 793777 Alternatively visit www.redcarpetready.co.uk, see instagram.com/ RedCarpetReadyLincoln or facebook.com/red carpetreadyltd.

Makeup Artist: Jade Fraser, The Glamour Lounge, Newark. Hair: Jessica Turk, Salon Two, Lincoln.

Styling: Kirsty Gale, Hayley Gawne, Red Carpet Ready.

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- WINTER FASHION AT DOWNTOWN -

COOL STYLE SINCE 2013, OLDRIDS HAS ENJOYED A PRESENCE IN THE HEART OF LINCOLN WITH A STORE ON TRITTON ROAD. IN ADDITION TO GIFTS AND HOMES, THE RETAILER HAS A STRONG PROVISION OF FASHION, AND THIS MONTH, WE’VE ASKED BUYER HOLLY JACKSON TO PROVIDE A TASTE OF THE STORE’S WINTER BRANDS...

Above: Seasalt Seafolly jacket £99.95.

Above: Mens Joules Rory classic rugby shirt £59.95.

Above: Joules Raina floral print parka £139.

Winter Fashion

FOR GENTS 1. Gents underwear and socks, £19.95/set.

2. Camel Active Woodstock Denim £85

3. Barbour Bedale Wax Jacket in navy £229.00.

4. Camel Active Sports Jacket £179.00.

n Featured items on this spread are available from Oldrids at Moorland Way, off Tritton Road, Lincoln LN6 7TN. 01522 500588, www.oldrids.co.uk.

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Main: White Stuff Weavers Jersey shirt ÂŁ35.

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LADIES’ WATCHES 1. TAG HEUER LINK WATCH £2,450.

2. CHOPARD IMPERIALE £11,880.

3. ROLEX DATEJUST PERPETUAL £POA 4. BREITLING GALACTIC £4,280.

5. HUBLOT BIG BANG £29,800.

out

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t

YOU WON’T MISS THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT AND THE ARRIVAL OF 2016, WITH THESE LUXURY WATCHES...

GENTS’ WATCHES 1. CHOPARD ENGINE ONE, £65,000.

2. HUBLOT BIG BANG £25,900.

3. BREITLING EMERGENCY II NIGHT MISSION £13,570.

4. PANERAI LUMINOR 1950, £13,500.

5. BREITLING TRANSOCEAN 18CT ROSE GOLD £12,930.

Find Out More: Featured watches are available from Andrew Michaels Jewellers, Stodman Street, Newark 01636 679638, www.amjwatches.co.uk

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1. REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL

“Happiness makes people more sociable,” says Whissendine-based Kim Thomas.

She’s a hypnotherapist and psychotherapist who believes mental health is just as important as physical well-being.

“Being happy, being mindful, increases how much we like ourselves and others.

It improves the ability to resolve conflict and strengthens the immune system.”

“Given all the benefits of being happy it’s not surprising we all would like a bit of it in our lives.”

“Researchers suggest that to be happy you need to know how to use a pencil, how to keep a perfect diary, how to carry our small acts of kindness and how to develop the gratitude attitude.

Tip 1: “Spend a few minutes each day writing a diary. This helps make sense of what is happening in your world helping you work towards a positive solution.”

Tip 2: “Write a gratitude list. Research has proven that people who express gratitude

end up happier, more optimistic about the future, and physically healthier.”

Tip 3: “It is better to give than to receive.

Science has shown that people become happier after providing for others rather than for themselves. So a few small acts of kindness is a great investment, as it will significantly boost your happiness.”

Tip 4: “People smile when they are happy, they also feel happier because they are smiling. If you don’t feel like smiling hold a pencil between your teeth make sure the pencil does not touch your lips. This has forced the lower part of your face into a smile. Research shows you experience the motion of your expression. A new take on grit your teeth and get on with it.”

Tip 5: “Happy people move in a different way to unhappy people. So act like a happy person, walk in a relaxed way, swing your arms a little put a spring in your step. Wear more colourful clothing, use positive words.” n Kim’s ‘Beat the Winter Blues’ course is an introduction to mindfulness workshop, and will commence from eight weeks in January.

Call 01664 474966.

NEW YEAR, NEW YOU

YOU CAN IMPROVE YOURSELF WITHOUT ENDURING PAINFUL TREATMENTS AND THERAPY. WE’VE FOUND EXPERTS IN LINCOLNSHIRE Words: Tilly Wilkinson.

THAT WILL HELP YOU TO DO SO IN A FUN WAY...

2. UPLIFTING BEAUTY TREATMENT

Whilst beauty may be skin deep by proverb, the psychological effect of doing something to improve your appearance can be just as beneficial. You can make many superficial changes with a new wardrobe (Gente Bella, 01636 643733, Thomas Bell, 01652 600690) or perhaps a change of glasses frames (O’Briens, 01652 653595).

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For a more dramatic change, consider a treatment at Glen Eden Medical Aesthetics (01476 550056, www.glen-edenmedical.co.uk); their latest procedure is Silhouette, a non-surgical ‘face lift’ from around £1,560.

If it’s pearly whites you’re looking for, try the Dental Health Centre, Grantham (01476 594480, www.dentalhealthcentre.co.uk).

Alternatively, a range of cosmetic treatments are available from Peterborough’s Ramsay Fitzwilliam Hospital (01733 261717, www.fitzwilliamhospital.co.uk).

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- NEW YEAR, NEW YOU -

3. RELAX BOTH YOUR BODY AND YOUR MIND

5. SUPER

SMOOTHIES

What’s good for your mind is generally good for your body too. Superficially, a spa visit may be a treat, but the benefits of de-stressing shouldn’t be underestimated.

Stapleford Park’s spa is due to be refurbished and relaunched in spring 2015 (01572 787000, www.staplefordpark.com), whilst Eden Hall Day Spa is based in Newark (01636 525555 or www.edenhallspa.co.uk), promising both luxury and beautiful surroundings with high quality treatments.

Both spas offer such a wide range of treatments from a cocooning wrap heat massage at Eden Hall to a warm coconut oil massage just before a body exfoliation using jasmine red rice at Stapleford Park.

Both spas have award-winning spa facilities of the highest quality and offer a day to forget about the stresses of everyday - a great way to relax your body through massage and your mind through escaping for a day for yourself.

4. TURN ‘KEEP FIT’ INTO ‘KEEP HAVING FUN’...

How many calories does your hobby burn off? Lincolnshire is a good county for those who enjoy walking or cycling, but in the winter months, you can enjoy racket sports and gym workouts or perhaps a yoga session at some of the local sporting venues and gyms. We recommend yoga, so here are four positions you can learn in the comfort of your living room...

Perfect Pose Sit with your legs stretched in front of you. Bend your left knee and place your left heel next to your perineum.

Bend your right knee and place it over your left heel. Sit straight, relax your shoulders.

Shoulderstand Lie on your back. Put your feet firmly on the floor. Raise your pelvis and press your palms against your lower back. Straighten your legs up.

Tree Pose Put your left foot firmly on the floor.

Bend your right knee and put your right foot on the inner side of your thigh. Raise your hands, join them in Namaste.

Warrior Pose Put your feet shoulder width apart. Rotate both feet 90 degrees to the left. Bend forward, stretching your arms and rising your right leg parallel to the floor.

Downward Dog Sit on your heels, lower your head on the mat, stretch your arms forward. Go to the table pose. Push with your hands and straighten your legs. Extend your pelvic bones up and heels down.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and eating a healthy one needn’t be an arduous task.

There’s an easy way to create a whole week worth of superfood breakfast smoothies. Simply use a 500g bag of frozen berries, 500g fat-free yoghurt, and add 100ml semi-skimmed milk, and 25g porridge oats... for a sweeter smoothie, you can also add 2tsp honey.

Whizz the ingredients together with a full-size goblet blender, or use a stick blender, then divide up into five portions, one for each day of the week.

Supplement your superfood breakfast with a slowenergy-releases banana mid-morning for a daytime diet that easy to sustain.

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Attractive, natural-looking teeth help us look and feel our best. They let us enjoy the foods we love. And they allow us to be naturally confident where it really counts: at home, at work, or on the playing field, but especially on the inside.

If you are missing one or more teeth, then you may be a candidate for dental implants.

Implants look, feel and work just like your natural teeth. They serve as artificial roots, which are firmly anchored into the jawbone and they support fixed or removable tooth replacements, such as crowns, bridges or dentures.

Are you ignoring missing teeth?

The loss or damage of even a single tooth can have a considerable impact on your everyday life and self-esteem.

Do you suffer from headaches or migraines?

Often missing teeth affect the positioning of your other healthy teeth, causing a misfit of the upper and lower jaw, causing stiffness in

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Take back your

SMILE

the muscle and joints. Often, restoring missing teeth provides relief of these symptoms.

Has your facial silhouette changed?

Missing teeth can cause a loss in bone density, because the bone is no longer stimulated when chewing. The jaw line changes and shrinks, making you look older than you really are.

Do you wear dentures?

If so, you may experience problems with an insecure fit, or embarrassing situations and pain. Implants are a good option because they act like your own natural tooth roots and provide a secure anchor for dentures.

Unhappy how your teeth look?

Some teeth may be discolored due to medications taken as a child. Or your teeth may not be perfectly aligned, affecting your smile or facial profile.

We can help Colin Sutton, the principal dentist at The Dental Health Centre in Grantham, is a technically excellent implant surgeon who

has successfully placed hundreds of dental implants since 2000 and has an excellent reputation.

Our team always strives to evolve by having the most modern and up-to-date equipment and by providing all treatments under one roof without having to refer patients elsewhere.

The Dental Health Centre is one of very few dental practices to have invested in a 3D dental CT scanner. Our state-of-the-art scanner makes implant treatment safer, quicker and more accurate for our patients and makes us one of the most technologically advanced dental clinics in the area.

If you would like to find out more, please visit us for a free 30-minute initial consultation with Colin Sutton

The Dental Health Centre, 3 Avenue Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 6TA. www.dentalhealthcentre.co.uk

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SPECS appeal IF YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION IS TO CHANGE YOUR LOOK, USE A PAIR OF THESE SUPERB

DESIGNER SPECTACLE FRAMES

Rimless: Light, minimalistic and invisible, rimless frames are ideal for those seeking the most unobtrusive glasses frames.

Brands like Silhouette enable you to choose the size and shape of your lenses, then mix and match different arms and bridges, creating a completely bespoke look.

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Colour: Make a style statement with the latest colours. Spectacle wearers are becoming ever more adventurous according to O’Brien’s Sheeraz Janjua. Options for acrylic and metal frames include red, orange, yellow, green and blue...

Unique: For the true extrovert, opt for really imaginative spectacle frames. Combine metal and acrylic, incorporate Swarovski crystals, or yellow or white gold. Mother of pearl or even denim is being incorporated into some manufacturers’ frames.

4

Men: Men aren’t left behind in the spectacle revolution either; these Tag Heuer frames have been created in ceramic titanium for supreme strength and lightness, as well as style, following current fashion trends.

5

Spots and Stripes: A popular look for designer frames is the use of spots and stripes. From these dotty Christian Lacroix frames to Lafont Reedition’s striped mother of pearl inlaid frames, they’re fun and stylish.

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6

Cats Eyes: Retro ‘cats eyes’ frames are on-trend, with 60s style asymmetric frame thickness.

These examples from Face à Face feature quirky high heel shoe designs on the tips of the arms.

7

Children: Children need glasses frames which are stylish and fun to encourage them to wear their spectacles. Ray Ban and Wolf Cubs present these examples in colourful, tough acrylic with tough lenses.

10

Designer: And finally, for a touch of luxury, O’Brien’s has a range of designer spectacle frames from manufacturers like Bvlgari and Prada.

8

9

Vintage: O’Brien’s have a range of retro glasses frames, including these examples by Oliver’s People, with flip-up tinted lenses.

Sporting: If you spend any time on the golf course or out and about cycling or walking, these sporting frames from Oakley are engineered to help you perform at your best.

Comfortable, light and essential.

O’Brien’s Opticians is the county’s optical specialists, providing luxury designer eyewear. Established in 1979 and taken over by Sheeraz Janjua in December 2003, the firm is open on Saturdays and provides free home eye tests, as well as state of the art examination facilities with optometric eye testing software from its premises on Wrawby Street, Brigg.

As well as glasses, the company also offers a complete contact lens fitting service and aftercare service, and frameless glasses

by Silhouette - as worn by HM The Queen.

This month, Sheeraz and his team have picked out 10 frames which reflect current eyewear trends. Ranges stocked by the business include Prada, Tag Heuer, Paul Smith, Armani, Bvlgari, Tom Ford and Ray Ban, with a range of products for men and children too.

“New patients are always welcome at the practice, we enjoy really taking care of our patients and serving all of their eyecare needs,” says Sheeraz. n O’Brien’s is based at 43-44 Wrawby St, Brigg DN20 8BS. Call 01652 653595 or see www.obriensopticians.com.

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To view and purchase photographs from The Event visit www.pridemagazines.co.uk

Boston Rotary Club Charity Screening of Spectre...

Boston’s two Rotary Clubs hosted a gala event at The West End Cinema in town on the opening night of the latest Bond film, Spectre. An Aston Martin at the front, champagne reception, canapés and Bond themed music gave the evening a really special feeling. A black tie occasion, the evening was superbly supported by the management and staff at the Cinema . In excess of £2,400 was raised including over £300 from a bucket collection in the auditorium.

In addition to £1,100 being donated to The Boston Branch of the Royal British legion, Rotary charities supporting humanitarian relief and support for the under privileged have also been assisted. This was a super evening, thoroughly enjoyed by all concerned and the Clubs are extremely grateful to everybody who helped. n For more information on the group, see www.rotary-ribi.org.

Feature your event in our magazine.

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Call 01529 469977 and speak to our Events Desk...

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Purchase photographs from this event online.

Visit www.pridemagazines.co.uk.

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BOND

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THE SPECTRE OF - MOTORING -

A Spectre of DB9: The current incarnation of Aston Martin’s mid-range GT car, the DB9, is bowing out, and its final huzzah is this special edition, themed around its affiliation with 007 as Spectre reaches cinemas.

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IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO FEEL ANYTHING BUT SHAKEN, OR STIRRED, BY THE UNMISTAKABLY SLIPPERY SHAPE OF A HAND-BUILT ASTON MARTIN GT. A PROTOTYPE OF THE FIRM’S DB11 MODEL DEBUTED LAST MONTH IN SPECTRE, BUT THE OUTGOING DB9 MODEL BOWS OUT WITH A MODEL CELEBRATING AN AFFILIATION WITH THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS SPY...

James Bond is synonymous with Aston Martin motor cars. But it wasn’t always so. In the Ian Fleming novels, the author’s grittier, darker Bond drove pre-war Bentley cars, not the Aston Martin which featured in the first movie.

That technicality aside though, 007’s long affiliation with the DB5 and with the V8 Volanté, Vanquish and DBS has endured.

In Spectre, the 24th film in the franchise, Bond drives a DB10 which, says Aston Martin, will serve a preview of the DB11 model which is due to replace the current DB9.

Aston Martin says that the DB11 will replace the DB9, and has increased the car’s nomenclature by two numbers to reflect that the new car will be ‘two generations’ ahead of the current model. The DB10, then, will remain a movie only model.

Meanwhile, the DB9 is long overdue for replacement. It first went on sale in 2004 and so, in motoring terms, it’s pretty long in the tooth..

Its swan song is likely to be this special edition DB9, badged the ‘Bond Edition,’ and designed, one presumes, to placate fans of the brand desperate to put in an order for the DB11. Just 150 models will be produced, priced at £165,000 and available to order as Pride goes to press.

The company describes the car as offering ‘discreet sophistication,’ which is patently untrue given that its 6.0V12 engine develops 540 brake horse power, and can reach 183 miles per hour on a track, achieving 60mph on UK roads in less than 4.5 seconds. Which is hardly a resounding working definition of discretion at all.

ASTON MARTIN SAYS THE DB9 BOND EDITION OFFERS ‘DISCREET SOPHISTICATION’ ITS PERFORMANCE, THOUGH IS ANYTHING BUT DISCREET, WITH 540BHP AVAILABLE...

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>> The Bond Edition commands a premium of around £30,000 over the standard DB9, so what extra appeal does the run-out model have over conventional models? Ejector seats, perhaps? Missile launchers or machine guns? Adaptive camouflage like Bond’s Vanquish in Die Another Day, or the ability to travel through the water like his Lotus Esprit in The Spy Who Loved Me?

Unfortunately not. In fact, a more powerful state of engine tuning aside, the car’s additional features are limited to a special edition Omega Seamaster wristwatch and a Globe-Trotter 21” suitcase. Hardly worthy of Q-Branch. The DB9’s infotainment system features a model-specific Bond Iconic: Sean Connery helped to give the DB5 its status in popular culture with its debut in Goldfinger.

IT MAY BE A BEAUTIFUL CAR, BUT THERE’S VERY LITTLE TO SEPARATE THE DB9 ‘BOND EDITION’ FROM THE STANDARD CAR...

Edition start-up screen, and there are numbered sill plates when you open the doors, but apart from that, it’s all pretty standard issue.

The car’s default colour is Spectre Silver, and there’s discreet Bond Edition badging, but there’s very little to separate this version from the standard car.

A VULCANIC PERFORMANCE Is the DB9 a little too tame for you?

If so, Aston Martin’s other new release in 2015 was the Vulcan. Named after the Cold War bomber, it’s a track car powered by a 7.0 V12 engine generating 800bhp.

Availability may be an issue, with just over 24 units being produced, and the cost of the car - £1,800,000 - may prove prohibitive given that it isn’t even road legal and can only be used on a track!

The standard DB9 is, of course, a beautiful motor car. A facelift in 2013 modernised the centre console and updated the sat-nav to a more modern system. It added adaptive dampers and a modern sophisticated shiftby-wire automatic gearbox, but there’s no

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getting around the model’s biggest issue; this is a cosmetically updated version of an old car, whose rivals offer more sophistication.

compared to the standard car, its additional features don’t really justify the premium over the standard car in our opinion.

Mercedes’s S-Class AMG Coupé features a slew of features like adaptive cruise control with steering assistance, and night vision, Q-Branch features which make the DB9 seem pretty unintuitive and dim in comparison.

For a car that’s more modern and easier to live with on a day-to-day basis though, we think you’re better off with the S-Class coupé, which offers a more usable cabin and boot, more standard equipment and a softer ride.

The DB9 is still a fine car, but it’s losing ground to more modern cars, which benefit from more recent design and the latest technology.

Top: The DB9 is still a fine car, but it’s getting on a bit.

Aston will skip the DB10 and release a DB11 in December 2016.

007’s

Above: Allying itself with the release of the 24th Bond film Spectre, the ‘Bond Edition’ DB9 features bespoke sill plates.

If you’re keen to secure a DB9 before the model is discontinued, the Bond Edition is a good bet. As to whether the special edition DB9 retains its value more than the standard car; that remains to be seen, but whilst it does offer a little something extra

If you’re seeking a GT oriented towards performance, not luxury, you’re better off with the DB9 than the Mercedes.

Alternatively, you might want to wait until more information is released about the availability of the DB11... an Aston Martin for the Spectre generation that will doubtless leave fans of the brand, and the movie franchise, both shaken and stirred.

BEST CARS

James Bond’s DB5 will always be synonymous with the spy, but he’s driven plenty of other desirable motors, too...

Aston Martin DBS

Daniel Craig’s Casino Royale car manages to endow its owner with the same level of sophistication and attractiveness as the actor...

Lotus Esprit

The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 saw Bond driving a Lotus which could convert to a submarine. It seemed to impress Barbara Bach.

AMC Hornet

In the 1974 film The Man with the Golden Gun, Bond chased Scaramanga and performed a corkscrew jump in an AMC Hornet.

Land Rover Defender

Bond called upon another great British marque in Skyfall and drove a Land Rover Defender, just as the car’s production ended.

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ELECTRIC

DREAMS - MOTORS -

THERE’S NOW A NEW VERSION OF THE MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER. THE CAR IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE CLEVEREST SUVS ON THE MARKET, IT’S A CHUNKY, RUGGED 4X4 THAT’S PERFECT FOR LINCOLNSHIRE, WITH PLENTY OF GROUND CLEARANCE FOR MUDDY ROADS. BUT, TO SAVE ON VISITS TO THE PETROL STATION, IT ALSO RUNS OFF MAINS ELECTRICITY. THIS MONTH WE TURN UP, TURN ON AND TUNE IN TO ELECTRIC MOTORING...

Words: Rob Davis.

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Change can make people nervous. That’s probably why electric cars have yet to catch on. Many of them - like BMW’s i3 - are just too radically different in their styling, the public is also concerned about range anxiety (running out of charge and becoming stranded), whilst charging points around Lincolnshire remain few and far between.

Mitsubishi’s Outlander, when it was released in 2013, changed all that though, and a new model, reaching showrooms this month, builds on the outgoing model’s success even further. It’s a plug-in hybrid electric car which addresses all of the shortcomings of other such cars.

For a start, it’s a normal looking SUV. Five doors; five seats; a decent sized boot; good ground clearance for negotiating Lincolnshire’s backroads, and for muddy farm tracks, it even has four wheel drive.

And then there’s the implementation of its hybrid technology. The car plugs into a normal household socket and charges in around five hours. That provides around 32 miles of electric only range.

The Outlander also has a petrol engine though, and can automatically decide when and how to use it - either to drive the wheels directly, or to use it as a generator to recharge the batteries, enabling you to remain on electric power indefinitely.

Electric power is practical for stop-start traffic and in-town driving. It’s silent, power is instant, and the engine doesn’t have to rev up in a low gear, which wastes petrol. On roads like the A15 and A17 though, a petrol engine running in a high gear at low revs is 154

more efficient, so the car will choose the most economical means of propulsion.

The Outlander, in our opinion, has the potential to be one of the most practical cars for Lincolnshire... but only for a some drivers. If you traverse the motorway to commute each day, you’ll probably be better off with a cheaper, diesel engined car.

If you’re like me, though, it could work out to be a sensible investment. Assuming I charge the car up each night, at my home in Sleaford, my commute to East Heckington each morning and my return home could be completed without having to fill up with fuel. Likewise, any ‘local’ trips with my family - school drop-offs, visits to the supermarket, trips to see family - could all be completed on electric power alone.

That leaves my driving around Lincolnshire

and Rutland on Pride appointments to be completed using hybrid petrol/electric power, which should be reasonably efficient.

Irritatingly, electric cars only offer a ‘combined’ economy figure, not one broken down into urban and extra urban driving.

The Outlander’s ‘on paper’ economy figure is 156mpg - around three times more than a mid-size saloon car. In practice though, the savings you make with the Outlander will depend on the type of driving you do, and how diligently you charge it.

One immediate saving, though, is in company car tax. Charged at just 5% BIK, as opposed to, say, 20% for a BMW 3-Series or Audi A4 or Mercedes C-Class, the Outlander will cost company drivers just £35 a month, rather than £120 a month.

Contract hire rates should undercut those

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- MOTORS -

Key questions for those considering a plug-in car...

three premium saloons too, and the version we tested, at £35,999, is incredibly wellequipped with heated leather seats, heated steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, auto gearbox, sat nav, 360° ‘overhead view’ projected on the car’s screen, Bluetooth, power tailgate, power sunroof and parking sensors.

The car also comes with a smartphone app which allows you to monitor the charge and fuel levels of the car and turn on the climate control to heat the car in winter.

The car’s underlying complexity is, undoubtedly, impressive. Unfortunately, it’s also a bit of a show off.

In theory you don’t need to know, or to manually adjust, its power source. Still though, the number of graphs, displays and diagrams indicating what the car is doing makes the car appear needlessly complicated.

It’s a shame because, in practice, the car’s automatic gearbox makes driving a cinch and just a single button locks the 4x4 to provide safer winter driving.

Unique power source alone, the Outlander is just like any other SUV; it’s smooth, refined, cabin space is good, boot space is good and build quality is sound.

Arguably the Outlander doesn’t have the badge appeal of German cars, but we quickly got the hang of how to charge it, and quickly came to appreciate the car’s quiet, calm electric drivetrain.

Day-to-day, it’s a brilliant car - very clever, if a little fussy. We’d certainly consider the Outlander as an excellent company car prospect, and would recommend others to do so too... but only on the caveat that you examine how and where you drive first.

Q. Will I get stuck when the battery power runs out?

A. No. Unlike an ‘electric’ car the Outlander is a hybrid. That means it still has a conventional petrol engine, which either drives the wheels or acts as a generator to charge the car when it requires it, too.

Q. How do I charge it?

A. The Outlander simply plugs into a normal 13amp socket. Faster dedicated charging sockets are available, and will cost you about £200, charging the car in three and a half hours as opposed to five hours using a standard plug socket.

Q. Will it save me money?

A. Possibly. The car will travel 32 miles on electric power. After that, the engine powers up. With regular charging and for short journeys, you may not need to rely on the petrol engine. On A-roads or motorways though, you’ll most likely still use petrol power. If you’re a company car driver, the Outlander will dramatically reduce your tax liability.

Q. How does it work?

A. The Outlander tries to drive on electric power and its battery charge.

A petrol engine can recharge the car on the go (series hybrid mode), or work alongside the electric motor to provide driving power (parallel hybrid mode).

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

Price: £35,999 (GX4hs Auto).

Engine: 2.0 petrol, plug-in hybrid.

Economy/CO2 (combined): 156mpg, 42g CO2.

Performance: 112mph top speed.

0-60mph 11 seconds.

Equipment: Adaptive cruise control, 360° camera, f/r parking sensors, sat nav, heated leather seats, heated s/wheel.

Find Out More:

Address: Chandlers Mitsubishi, Main Rd, Belton Grantham, NG32 2LX. Call: 01476 590077.

Web: www.chandlersmitsubishi.co.uk.

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Incredible

JOURNEYS Whether you’re seeking a short haul destination or somewhere a little further afield, travel expert Suzanne Bracegirdle this month recommends her travel tip-offs for those seeking an adventure abroad...

Words: Suzanne Bracegirdle.

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There’s no disputing the joy of travel. Seeing the world, engaging with different cultures and taking in spectacular landscapes, food and experiences are the most limitless and enduring pleasures in life.

That’s not to say, though, that you have to venture far. In fact, with over 17 years in the industry, Navenby Travel’s Suzanne Bracegirdle says that some of her most popular destinations aren’t too far away. This month, we’ve challenged the expert to suggest some ‘fairly near,’ ‘far flung’ and home grown holidays which will take you on some incredible journeys. An independent agent, Suzanne is able to offer completely bespoke, tailored holidays, so our quoted prices are a rough guide, only.

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- TRAVEL -

The Joy of Europe: Discover the EU with six short-haul destinations...

Lake Garda: If you’re seeking an active holiday with stunning scenery, there are few destinations more breathtaking than Lake Garda. Stylish and cosmopolitan with incredible mountains tumbling down into beautiful blue waters. n Seven nights half-board from East Midlands airport starts from £650pp.

South of France: A new direct Eurostar service introduced in 2015 makes travelling to the Cote d’Azure even easier.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery! n Three nights breaks from £264pp.

Skiathos: For the ultimate in relaxation, enjoy the simple whitewashed villages, paper-white beaches and blue waters of this popular Greek isle. An easy, short flight from East Midlands, and a rewarding destination for those seeking heat and a slower pace of life. n Seven nights from £235pp

Austria: Enjoy picture postcard villages and Tyrolean hospitality in Austria, or up the pace and try some of the world’s best ski destinations. n Seven nights four star half-board £623pp.

Northern Spain: Who doesn’t enjoy a fruity Rioja, and with a Northern Spanish wine tour, you can educate your palate and travel at your own pace on a self-drive break. n From around £869pp.

Amsterdam: An incredibly convenient destination when you travel by ferry from Hull, Amsterdam is the ideal city break for those looking to explore a friendly city and take in some culture.

It’s great for a fun weekend away. n From only £89pp.

Opposite Page: A sunny bay in Skiathos, wine tasting on a self-drive break in Northern Spain, Amsterdam by night and Lake Garda.

Above: Halstatt, Austria.

>> Over the page, long haul destinations.

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1. Times Square, New York City.

2. Nayacuna Waterfall in Costa Rica.

3. Koalas at Australia’s Werribee Open Range Zoo. 4. The skyline of Cape Town.

5. The Statue of Liberty, NYC. 6. A traditional Japanese Kusakabe house.

7. Sydney Opera House.

8. Japanese Tea Ceremony.

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- TRAVEL -

Far & Away: Long Haul Experiences Australia: Discover the Australian east coast and take in Sydney Opera House. A camper van tour allows you to explore at your own pace and customise your trip. Visit the Werribee Open Range Zoo in Melbourne, the Jenolan Caves in Sydney, visit The Blue Mountains or enjoy Bondi Beach. n Self drive camper tour and city breaks in Sydney and Melbourne, starting from only £1,199pp.

New York: For those seeking excitement and sightseeing, where could be better than New York? Take in Times Square, see the Statue of Liberty, and enjoy the very best shopping, especially enjoyable in the run up to Christmas 2016. From Broadway shows to the 883 acre Central Park, to the Empire State Building, you can build a break to suit, all against the brash, showy and fast-paced background of the city so good as a long haul destination, they named it twice. n Four nights from £650pp.

Japan: An exceptionally polite culture and the offer of everything from super-modern cities to traditional, quaint Japanese scenery and rituals like a tea ceremony. An escorted tour will ensure you get the most from your trip. From the more spiritual Kyoto to Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park and the Shibuya shopping district, Japan always feels safe, vibrant and unusual. n 14 night escorted tour from £3,349pp.

Costa Rica: Off the beaten track, Costa Rica will ensure you enjoy some of the world’s most dramatic natural history.

From unspoilt and uncommercialised beaches to rainforests and volcanoes, Costa Rica’s varied scenery, microclimates and myriad flora and fauna ensure a completely unprecedented experience compared to other holidays. Visit the Foundation Jaguar Rescue Centre, La Paz waterfall and Sky Trek for a bird’s-eye view of the rainforest. n Seven nights from only £999pp.

South Africa: From the intriguing Cape Town to wildlife reserves and landscapes like that of Table Mountain, South Africa has a wealth of once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

A winelands and safari self-drive trip will ensure you sample some of the new world wines and see some of South Africa’s most impressive wildlife in their natural habitat. n Winelands and safari self-drive tour from £2,128pp.

Singapore: The gateway to the Far East, Singapore boasts a mix of cultures and attractions. Its food is among the best in Asia, and Singapore’s 21st century, 101 hectare, $1bn botanical garden is truly impressive. The city markets itself as a ‘city in a garden,’ providing a truly unique landscape and a unique travel experience. n Five nights from £685pp.

Home

Sweet Home

Hate flying? Many people do, and with the average time spent waiting in airports exceeding the four hour mark for the first time, there’s never been a better time to consider Suzanne’s home grown holidays...

Edinburgh by Rail...

Explore Ireland...

For a wee dram, visit the Scotch Whisky Experience, as well as the city’s other attractions, like Camera Obscura, the Museum of Childhood and the National Gallery of Modern Art.

Dublin’s craic is world-renowned, and is UNESCO’s City of Literature. Explore the Jeanie Johnson Tall Ship on the River Liffey, see historic Derry, or visit County Cork for traditional Irish music, and the Crawford Gallery.

n Two nights from £160/pp.

n Five days from £319/pp.

A London Reminder...

Escape to Jersey...

Theme Parks...

n From £99/pp, pn.

n Seven nights from £443/pp.

n Legoland, £340/family four.

It’s the city you overlook because you live in the UK. But when was the last time you really explored London?

Why not spend time in the capital and remind yourself of its attractions: two nights is sufficient to allow you to visit Buckingham Palace, take a trip on the Eye, visit the British Museum or Tower of London, or to just enjoy shopping at Hamley’s Toy Shop or Knightsbridge’s Harrods.

Scotland’s vibrant, cosmopolitan city is super at Hogmanay, if a little crowded.

At other times in the year, you’ll enjoy the Castle, the city’s Fringe Festival in July, and myriad galleries.

To really get away from it all, the landscape of Jersey is truly impressive. Cycling and walking routes and quaint harbours make exploring this Channel Island a joy, whilst spas like Hotel de France allow visitors to indulge. Slip into Jersey’s relaxed pace and spend a lazy afternoon wandering through the island’s capital St Helier, which combines charm with city-style fashion.

With local pickups across the country, Ireland is an incredibly diverse country that’s also a convenient ‘local’ destination.

You don’t have to travel far to enjoy family fun with children or grandchildren.

A visit to Legoland, for example, provides two day passes and a night in a nearby hotel for just £340 for a family of four.

It’s set in 150 acres and has 55 interactive rides, with Duplo themed areas for younger children, plus pirate trails and water rides for older children, all less than an hour from London.

Travel Recommendations by Navenby Travel...

Suzanne Bracegirdle at Navenby Travel has provided us with our 2016 holiday recommendations. Because the company is an independent agency, Suzanne has access to many more operators and can create completely bespoke trips, building each one to your exact preference.

For more information visit Bar Lane, Waddington, Lincoln LN5 9SA. Call 01522 722040 or click on www.navenbytravel.co.uk

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Crosswords CRYPTIC CROSSWORD Test your lateral thinking skills with this month’s Cryptic Crossword. Each puzzle has a set of perplexing clues to unravel, and as every lover of logic knows, the frustration is all part of the fun!

ACROSS

1. French composer’s freedom restricted by returning offspring (7) 5. Group of schoolchildren stumped by paper (6) 9. See 10 10,9. Economist, one foregoing Keynes, famed in Republican manoeuvring (6,8) 12. PROFIT? (7,5) 15. Foul reek — old and new sewers produce it (10) 17. Novelist lacking close friend (3) 19. Online paper shows amphibian (3) 20. One raising issue about letters backing the legislators (10) 22. Borderline character with impudence remains wild (12) 26. Novel that’s hilarious, one getting thanks (6) 27. Complaint about jerk being an MP (8) 28. Filthy place was first to be knocked into shape (6) 29. Stop media manipulation happening! (7)

DOWN

1. Take off from party with maximum volume (4) 2. Frenchwoman's distant, a bit of a cow, perhaps (4) 3. Very hot in Spain, the poor young socialite’s overcome (8) 4. Eastern mystic’s morning in the Belgravia area (5) 6. Model having shoots (6) 7. Old pet, heard outside, is set free (10) 8. Car goes around in gear just over bottom (10) 11. Police trap criminal with heart of gold (6) 13. How 10’s 18 25 starts abrupt current decline (5,5) 14. Whence one gets milk and a sandwich very regularly (3,7) 16. Starbuck’s first found here, healthier and with topping (6) 18. Garden is planted in March (8) 21. Woman eating cheap products displays figure (6) 23. What journalist wants — Sun to shut up (5) 24. See 25 25,24. What one makes up for depraved sentence (4,4)

1. Secret listening devices (4) 3. Opposite of legato (8) 8. Nose (slang) (4) 9. Diminished (8) 11. She’s expecting (6-2-2) 14. Drink of the gods (6) 15. Bother (6) 17. Canadian province (4,6) 20. Fiddle-faddle (8) 21. Scottish dance (4) 22. Plant with a two-year life cycle (8) 23. Lifeless (4)

DOWN

1. Comme il faut (8) 2. Study of heredity (8) 4. A score (6) 5. Bogart movie (10) 6. Skin complaint (4) 7. Likelihood (4) 10. Hurry up! (3,1,4,2) 12. So to speak (2,2,4) 13. Remembered (8) 16. Use an a’ (anag) (6) 18. Rebuff (4) 19. Formerly (4)

CRYPTIC ANSWERS

QUICK ANSWERS

QUICK CROSSWORD

ACROSS

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