Lincolnshire Pride July 2021 by Pride Magazines Ltd

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WELCOME

e love to tell interesting stories. In fact, one of the pleasures of my job is being able to sit down with folks who have had interesting life experiences and find out ‘what happened?!?’ The lifeblood of a magazine is good stories and this month we’ve a pretty extraordinary story in the form of Andy Green of Washingborough, the millionaire... who very nearly wasn’t! If there’s a nicer guy, more deserving of the happy ending he eventually enjoyed, we’ve yet to meet him! Speaking of good stories, we’re also catching up with Lincolnshire author Margaret Dickinson this month, to find out why Bletchley Park has inspired her new novel, the 29th saga she has written from her study in Skegness. We’ll also meet the Great British Menu chef, Gareth Bartram, who left his kitchen team back at Winteringham Fields a couple of months ago to compete in the BBC’s flagship series for professional chefs. Also this month, we’ve all creatures great and small. Firstly we’ve our pick of the county’s zoos, animal sanctuaries and an interview with the founder of the county’s only internationally affiliated wildlife park, Neil Mumby. Next, we’re enjoying a carriage ride through the beautiful parkland of Grimsthorpe Castle with Grantham’s Stuart and Bridie Fawcett, who are working hard to ensure the Clydesdale breed isn’t lost to history. And at the opposite end of the size scale, we’re meeting beekeepers Ian & Blaga and their swarm of honey bees. Our best wishes for a wonderful month!

Executive Editor robin@pridemagazines.co.uk

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84 CONTENTS NEWS & EVENTS 08

NEWS The best ‘good news’ stories from across the county. Find out why the Pilgrims are being celebrated at Boston’s Guildhall this month.

GOING WILD IN LINCOLNSHIRE The county’s wildlife parks, zoos, animal sanctuaries and 20 years in the life of conservationist Neil Mumby.

52 4

HEAVY HORSES Stuart and Bridie

THE BEES’ PLEAS Beekeeping in Boston with Ian and Blaga Peters.

FOOD & DRINK 52

GREAT BRITISH DINING Gareth Bartram, star of the BBC’s Great British Menu, on cooking and fame.

WHAT’S ON Live events in July.

HIGHLIGHTS 16

HOMES & GARDENS 64

WELCOME HOME A bold, beautiful Georgian property near Spalding.

GARDENING Enjoying the result of 20 years of hard work at Grantham’s Easton Walled Gardens.

Fawcett are ensuring heavy horses will endure at Grimsthorpe Castle.

LADIES & GENTLEMEN

LUXURY GETAWAYS Enjoy a luxury

104 WEDDINGS Summer nuptials with

break with no departure lounges or passports with Barefoot Retreats.

ANDY GREEN A high stakes battle.

MARGARET’S NEW NOVEL Skegness writer’s new book is set in the secretive world of Bletchley Park.

John and Laura in Southrey.

108 FASHION & BEAUTY All things light and dutiful; neutral summer outfits.

AND FINALLY... 120 MOTORS Porsche’s brilliant hybrid.

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24 THE WEALTHIEST PEOPLE IN THE AREA READ PRIDE MAGAZINE

READ

FREE ONLINE

Pride Magazine is delivered free of charge, via Royal Mail, to high value homes in the county. Our circulation is to homes in the top three council tax bands, which are predominantly worth over £300,000. This guarantees the magazine has an affluent readership commensurate with our content. The magazine is also sold in supermarkets and newsagents and our in-house distribution team also works hard to hand-deliver the magazine to selected hotels and restaurants, doctors, dentists, executive motor dealerships and golf clubs. This helps to ensure we have a continued presence, right across our catchment area. Our titles also have more social media fans than any other local magazine. In addition we have over 30,000 online readers each month who view the magazine free of charge, online, on their tablet, computer, laptop or mobile phone via our website, our app, and via the Readly and Issuu platforms. If your business would benefit from being showcased to the wealthiest people in the area, please call our friendly sales team on 01529 469977. Amazing new app out now: You can read our magazines on any device anywhere.

Read Pride Magazine free online at www.pridemagazines.co.uk or by downloading our free iOS and Android App. LEGAL DISCLAIMER

THE PRIDE TEAM

By supplying editorial or advertising copy to 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. Selected images in our content may be sourced from www.shutterstock.com.

Managing Director: Julian Wilkinson. Sales Director: Zoie Wilkinson. General Manager: Ian Bagley. Sales Manager: Charlotte Daubney. Sales Supervisor: Cydney Dyson. Executive Editor: Rob Davis. Illustrator: Jocelyn Lawman. Customer Care Manager: Mandy Bray. Web Developer: Joe Proctor. Administration and Office Managers: Debbie Wellington, Sami Millard, Paul Robinson-Marsh.

Pride Magazines, Boston Enterprise Centre, Enterprise Way, Boston, Lincs PE21 7TW

Tel: 01529 469977 Fax: 01529 469978 www.pridemagazines.co.uk | enquiries@pridemagazines.co.uk

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NEWS & EVENTS

Pilgrims celebrated in new exhibition BOSTON’S GUILDHALL REOPENS WITH ITS NEW ‘THREAD TO AMERICA’ EXHIBITION... BOSTON The Guildhall in Boston will reopen from Wednesday 30th June with a new exhibition postponed from 2020. “‘Boston: The Threads to America,’ will be running until the end of August,” say organisers. “We hope that by having our doors open, rather than having limited access through a booking system, more people will have the opportunity to view the exhibition and the museum collections.” “The exhibition shares a complex and compelling tale of intrigue and influence. It explores Boston’s role in the Pilgrims’ story and also the later founding of Boston, Massachusetts, in 1630.” “The thread that links the story of the Pilgrims in Boston to the puritans, who left for America in 1630, is a Boston cloth dealer, Leonard Beetson.”

“The exhibition is supported by original documents on loan from the Lincolnshire Archives, which have never been on public display together before, and that help tell these stories.”

Local food, national delivery FOOD DELIVERY COMPANY YUMMY CAN NOW DELIVER LOCAL FOOD NATIONALLY

Built in the 1390s, Boston Guildhall is the very building where the Pilgrims were tried and held. Visitors can also view the prison cells and stand in the court room where they were tried.

Boston is known as the port and market town where, in 1607, a group of separatists famously attempted to escape to the Netherlands, only to be betrayed and arrested. n See www.mybostonuk.com.

YUMMY The sister company of Pride Magazines, Yummy, reached its first anniversary last month and to celebrate the milestone, we’ve launched Yummy nationally, and can now provide ‘Local Yummy food, nationally delivered.’

Your order is delivered anywhere in the UK, fresh to the door, in a single consignment.

Partnering with our new national courier means we can now deliver meat from our high quality local butchers, fish from our fishmongers, fruit, vegetables, artisan bread, cheese, and speciality foods like our Smokehouse barbecue products, DIY pizzas, homemade cheesecakes and other produce, right across the country. 8

Our national courier can also let our customers know when their order will be arriving and when it has been delivered. Customers can also pay a little extra to specify a delivery before 10.30am or 12 noon, or opt for standard delivery (up to 8pm). Yummy now partners with 25 of the area’s best suppliers and has delivered over 100,000 products. We will add more speciality food products from the UK throughout 2021. n See www.yummy.co.uk.

NEW LOOK AND OLD NAME FOR NCCD

SLEAFORD A £1.2m investment in Sleaford’s National Centre for Craft & Design is complete, and the centre is due to reopen as Pride goes to press. It will also be given back its original name; ‘The Hub.’ The year-long programme to extend the café, re-order the gallery space, create new accessible dance and workshop space is designed to re-focus its community provision. The Hub maintains Arts Council England’s national portfolio status and continues

to operate as a national centre for craft and design, drawing world-class artists, exhibitions, and collaborations, as well as being a hub for more local-based and community creativity. The Hub opened at Navigation Yard in 2003, but was rebranded ‘The Centre for Craft & Design,’ in 2011. A £2.4m conversion of an old riverside warehouse, the building took over from The Pearoom at Heckington as the area’s arts and crafts centre. n

City Theatre’s Civic Award NEW THEATRE ROYAL REOPENS FOLLOWING COVID AND RECEIVES A SPECIAL CIVIC AWARD TOO!

Cleethorpes’ role in bird migration celebrated... CLEETHORPES A new twometre-tall recycling globe illustrates the vital role Cleethorpes plays in one of the largest mass migrations of animals on the planet. North East Lincolnshire Council teamed up with Blackrow Engineering from Grimsby and several other sponsors to create the globe. The sculpture recognises the fact that the area sees 90,000,000 birds each year take advantage of the rich feeding grounds found in Cleethorpes and the Humber Estuary. n

LINCOLN Double celebrations were the order of the day, as a top Lincoln entertainment venue received a special award and marked its re-opening after the latest Coronavirus lockdown. Custodians Natalie and Mike Hayes Cowley were thrilled to receive the Lincoln Civic Award for their renovation and reopening of the venue. “The whole theatre family is honoured to have been presented with the Lincoln Civic Award. Securing this prestigious accolade is beyond what we thought was possible when we became custodians of the theatre back in 2016,” says Natalie. n

£5,560,000

It’s Back to The Hub

GRANTHAM An investment of £5.56 million from the Government’s Future High Streets Fund was confirmed for Grantham last month. The money will pave the way for an ambitious programme of regeneration in the town, including converting empty retail units into new homes and workplaces, and an investment in the Market Place. n

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LOCAL

NEWS In Brief

LINCOLNSHIRE x

The truth is out there... and the Police are on the case! A Freedom of Information act request has reveled that in the last 12 months, Lincolnshire Police received five reports by members of the public of ghosts, and a report of a UFO, too. “We look at each report and assess the threat and risk based on the available information then respond accordingly,” says Lincolnshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Chris Davison. “We may not be the best organisation to contact regarding close encounters of the alien or supernatural kind, though, as we tend to concentrate more on offenders down here on Earth.” n 9

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YOUR HOME, OUR VISION

3-4 BEDROOM FAMILY HOMES AT COWLEY PARK Based in Donington, Lincolnshire, Cowley Park is a flagship development brought to you by Ashwood Homes.

3-4 bedroom family homes now released from £275,000-£305,000 ready to move in this Autumn. Donington is a popular village location with plenty of amenities and good local schools. The development is well situated with good road links to major towns and cities such as Boston, Grantham, Spalding and Sleaford. Our high specification offers a flooring package as standard with integrated kitchen appliances and a full choice of tiles, kitchen units and flooring. Cowley Park, Donington, Lincolnshire PE11 4TR Showhomes open Thursday to Monday 10-5pm info@ashwoodhomes.co or www.ashwoodhomes.co or call 01406 490590

01406 490590 • www.ashwoodhomes.co 1 GOODISON ROAD, LINCS GATEWAY BUSINESS PARK, SPALDING, PE12 6FY Please Note: Internal photographs reflect the typical style and finish of properties, but exact specifications and room layouts may vary according to individual plot and development. Help to Buy terms and conditions may apply, please call for further details.

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Church View, Martin, Lincoln

Church View, Martin is the latest exciting development by boutique home builder Morgan Lowe Homes, a family run business who pride themselves on selling homes, not houses. Church View is a superb collection of 14 three and four-bedroom homes which offer a modern open-plan layout whilst retaining the charm and character of this desirable location. There are two collections available; The Alder, four-bedroom detached homes and The Sycamore, 3-bedroom attached homes ideal for first time buyers. Church View is located in the tranquil, rural Lincolnshire village of Martin. With beautiful views across the surrounding countryside but within easy reach of all amenities and excellent transport links, Church View provides an ideal home for both families and professionals. ‘For anyone wanting to combine the delights of rural life with ease of connectivity to business, education and retail centres, Church View may well provide the perfect location.’ (Adam Lascelles, Managing Director Fine and Country Lincolnshire and Grantham)

Fine and Country specialise in the marketing and sale of unique premium properties in the UK and overseas. Whether you are buying or selling, find out how Fine and Country can help you. Contact Fine & Country Lincolnshire and Grantham on 01522 287008 or 01476 247070 Email: lincoln@fineandcountry.com

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Blacksmiths Lane, East Keal

£299,950

The Maltings, Swineshead

£375,000

This three bedroom detached cottage sits at the end of a country lane, occupying an elevated plot at the foot of the Lincolnshire Wolds and enjoys stunning interrupted views over the neighbouring countryside. Over the last few years the cottage has undergone quite a programme of improvement, meaning the new owners can enjoy the updated kitchen, plus the addition of a superb garden room, alongside traditional features, such as solid Oak latch doors and wood burning and cooking stoves.

A beautiful, Grade Two Listed former malthouse situated in the village of Swineshead with accommodation arranged over three storeys to include dining kitchen, three double bedrooms, first floor sitting room, bathroom and cloakroom. This totally unique property has been tastefully converted and also benefits from a triple garage, walled courtyard garden and kitchen garden and is offered with no onward chain.

Spilsby Road, Boston

Baythorpe, Swineshead

£370,000

A well-presented four bedroom period home on sought-after Spilsby Road, a pleasant walking distance to the town itself, and also only a short distance from superb local primary schools, Boston High School and Pilgrim Hospital. The accommodation includes both a separate dining room and a garden room - perfect for enjoying the rear garden on cooler days.

£560,000

Superb four bedroom detached property to include a ground ﬂoor bedroom and shower room with private, beautifully presented grounds in a semi-rural position on the outskirts of Swineshead village. This individual property has a separate studio / ofﬁce with garden room attached, ideal for a buyer looking to work from home.

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THE WILLOWS Gold Fen Bank | Wrangle | Boston | Lincolnshire | PE22 9BG

• Exceptional Detached House with 15 acres and over 7,000sqft of Agricultural Buildings • Modernised House with 4/5 Reception Rooms, Large Modern Kitchen/Diner, 4 Bedrooms • Integral Double Garage, Underfloor Heating, Garden Room • Set in 2 Acres of Formal Gardens with 1/3 of an Acre Lake, BBQ Area, Patio • Adjoining Agricultural Yard Extending to 0.63 Acres, 0.25 Hectares • Over 680sqm, 7,300sqft of Steel Framed Agricultural Buildings • Adjoining Fields of Grade 1 Land Totalling Another 11.75 Acres • Would Suit Smallholder, Equestrian, Self Sufficient Lifestyle

SOLD

ROSE VILLA 40 Lindis Road | Boston | Lincolnshire | PE21 9RT

• Well Modernised Detached House For Sale Freehold • 3 Reception Rooms with Open Plan Kitchen/Diner, Separate Office, Conservatory • Coach House, Outbuildings and Mature Private Gardens Extending to 0.33 Acres • 3 Bedrooms, Box Room, Family Bathroom, Ensuite

SOLD

THE LATTICES 49 Sibsey Road | Boston | Lincolnshire | PE21 9QY

• Impressive 4 Bedroomed Detached House Set in 0.4 Acres of Mature Gardens • Characterful House of Architectural Interest Including Spiral Staircase • 2 Bathrooms, 2 Principal Reception Rooms, Large Kitchen, Pantry, Garden Room • Integral Tandem Garage/Workshop • Desirable Location, Close to Pilgrim Hospital

SOLD

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GOING WILD IN LINCOLNSHIRE

GOING WILD in

LINCOLNSHIRE Lincolnshire isn’t just home to its native wildlife species, but to a wealth of creatures, great and small. This month we’ll suggest ways to go wild in Lincolnshire, and here we meet Neil Mumby, owner of the most long-established wildlife park in Lincolnshire to ﬁnd out how a visit to the 20 year old Woodside Wildlife Park helps him to support national and international eﬀorts to prevent the extinction of endangered species... Words: Rob Davis.

“YOU WANT TO SEE SOMETHING SPECIAL?” asked Neil Mumby in, of all places, the middle of a penguin enclosure. “Always!” was the predictable answer from the journalist with the camera.

“My hobby was falconry. I kept peregrine falcons, golden eagles, hawks and owls, and when I was made redundant just before the millennium, I wanted to turn my hobby into a business.”

Neil lifted up a piece of the enclosure, underneath which a nesting Humboldt penguin mum is cuddling her month-old chick.

“I purchased a derelict farmhouse – Wood Farm – with some tumbledown buildings and a large grass paddock. I opened the business initially on just a few acres under the name Woodside Falconry, just at the start of the Food & Mouth epidemic, on 12th April 2001.”

The fluffy little grey chick is wide-eyed and undoubtedly very lucky to have been brought into the world at Woodside Wildlife Park, five miles east of Lincoln almost equidistant between the city itself and Wragby. The colony of Humboldts are a relatively new addition to the park, having arrived just a couple of year ago, but the park itself is rather more well-established and in fact celebrated its 20th anniversary in April this year. It’s the only BIAZA and EAZAaffiliated wildlife park or zoo in Lincolnshire, and is now home to around 400 animals – great and small. Neil was born and raised in Waddington and Bracebridge, and after studying at Caythorpe Agricultural College, he worked all over the world in the poultry industry, advising on high welfare production environments. “From being a youngster in the late 1960s I had a lifelong interest in birdwatching, falconry, botany and pretty much everything to do with natural history,” says Neil.

The business opened with 15 birds of prey, but Neil realised that to broaden the attraction’s appeal and to ensure it had the footfall necessary to bring revenue into the business, to grow the site and to provide a home for more animals, it would have to diversify. And so, work began on adding a tropical house with butterflies and reptiles. The park would be known as Woodside Wildlife and Falconry Park from 2009, and from 2014 it was renamed Woodside Wildlife Park. A much more profound change than the name, though, was Neil approaching BIAZA, the British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums, and it’s this affiliation that sets Neil’s Woodside Wildlife Park apart from any other, more recently established, wildlife parks which have been created in recent years. Other parks around the county and across the UK are animal sanctuaries. Main: Julia, the park’s 15-year old Sumatran tiger.

Typically, these are private collections comprising of animals which have been purchased or rehomed from elsewhere and are allowed to open on a few selected days a year or, once they’ve obtained a full zoo license, open fully to visitors all year round. Though Neil is full of respect for the county’s other wildlife parks, Woodside’s affiliation with BIAZA and EAZA (the latter is the European parent body; the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums) means that Neil and the team are part of an international community which is scientifically led and conservation oriented. The network of 100 British member sites (in the case of BIAZA) and 400 European sites gives Woodside access to – and consideration within – a framework of European breeding programmes designed to hold information on the genetic stock of each species and to facilitate breeding programmes. “Joining BIAZA and EAZA enabled us to grow organically and to be part of a community of international animal conservation projects,” says Neil. “In 2012 we became home to Lincolnshire’s only pack of Hudson Bay wolves – our first carnivores – which proved to be a real success. Our lynx followed in 2013, and in 2014 our Sumatran tiger Julia came to live at the park.” >>

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>> At 15 years old Julia is an older tiger (they typically live to between 15 and 18 years of age), and whilst Bengal tigers are a little more abundant in number, Sumatrans are critically endangered. And so, with each species having a BIAZA/EAZA coordinator (in the Sumatran’s case, based at Whipsnade in Bedfordshire), consideration is already being given to which of the available females at the groups’ affiliated sites would suit which males to facilitate a science-oriented breeding programme to ensure the genetic integrity and longevity of the species. The affiliation puts Woodside Wildlife Park in the same category as, for instance, London Zoo or Chester Zoo; much larger sites. It also provides access to experts in husbandry, nutrition and veterinary science, and it means that Woodside Wildlife Park can be involved in – and it can help to fund – worldwide conservation projects. Part of your ticket price when you visit the site is used to fund projects beyond the care of the animals at the site and beyond your day out. But though Woodside Wildlife has grown to six acres – with the purchase of a further three acres due to be completed as Pride goes to press – and though it attracts 75,000 visitors a year, running a wildlife park like Woodside remains costly in terms of overheads. Even during the pandemic, those penguins still need to be kept in fish and the pack of four white wolves still needed to be kept in their preferred venison… literally Neil still needed to keep the wolves from the door! “It takes 23 members of staff including eight keepers to run the business,” says Neil. “Our running costs are over £2,000 a day – about £750,000 a year – including keeping the animals fed, keeping them warm and to ensure they’re looked after,” says Neil.

“New Africa is the biggest project we’d embarked on since 2014 when we relocated – piece by piece – the Sir Joseph Banks Conservatory from The Lawn. It’s now home to, among other animals and plant species, our Siamese crocodiles.”

“So, after being able to open for just nine of our 12 months, we were delighted to be able to reopen the centre to visitors post-Covid and begin to derive an income from admission again.” “The staff we have are really wonderful and they look after our animals very well. We’re able to take them on and train them, and we like to ensure they have experience of not just one species but a range of different ones across different habitats.” Sadly, I’m more often sitting behind an Excel spreadsheet than feeding animals or helping to build enclosures these days, but the fact that we’ve got such a great team is exactly why I can trust them to maintain our high standards of welfare, and that in itself is a balancing act.” “We’re keen for them to make a connection with their animals but also to maintain a safe and professional distance.” “A tiger will always be a tiger and a pack of wolves will always be a pack of wolves so in the case of the carnivores we never allow our keepers to go into their enclosures.” “But the past year has also meant we can embark on projects which have been easier to complete by virtue of the fact that we’ve not had to work around our visitors. We’ve just opened New Africa, a purposebuilt enclosure for our meercats and tortoise.”

“Since opening 20 years ago, only a couple of the remaining parts of the site are original, the rest is all new. Next year, we’re planning to replace a couple of the enclosures, and those will be the very last of the original buildings from 2001.” “One of the implications of an affiliation with BIAZA and EAZA is that we have to plan two or three years in advance what we intend to do, so we already have a pretty good idea what will be happening that far in advance, but of course, everything is subject to change.” Speaking of the future, Charlie, one of Neil’s two daughters, is helping look after the park’s visitors and opens up on the morning of our visit. At 24, she’s had an incredible childhood growing up with more animals around her than the usual domestic dog or cat. Neil says he won’t let her take over “yet,” but doubtless she, sister Victoria and the rest of the Mumby family are invested not just in creating a visitor attraction, but a place with an ethos of making a real contribution to conservation. “We’re proud of what we’ve created here not just as an attraction, but in terms of our approach towards animal welfare and to conservation more broadly.” “Of course, we’re biased but we think that we’re one of the best places in the country to see the species which call Woodside home and to understand what looking after animals involves.” “We also think that our bias towards how great the site is can be justified by the effort we make to be part of international conservation projects.” n

Above: Neil tends to his colony of Humboldt Penguins, relocated to Woodside Wildlife in 2019... they’re a big draw for visitors and they’re always on the go in their purpose-built home. Opposite: Comparing the meercats at Woodside. Open wide and say “aah!” for the park’s Siamese crocodiles. The park’s pack of four Hudson Bay wolves. Poppy the Parrot. Find Out More: Neil Mumby is the Director and founder of Woodside Wildlife Park, based at Newball, Lincoln LN3 5DQ. The centre is open seven days a week, 364 days a year. Call 01522 754280 or see www.woodsidewildlife.com.

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CARING FOR WILD PLACES This month we’re featuring a few of the zoos and wildlife sanctuaries which are protecting animals from all around the world. Closer to home though, the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust manages over 100 nature reserves here in the county, but also protects 65 roadside nature reserves and 1,000 local wildlife sites.

Bengal Tiger at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park, Stickney.

Current projects include work to protect Lincolnshire’s wildflower verges, as 97% of the UK’s wildflower-rich grassland has been lost since the 1930s. The Trust has also worked with Scotts Precision Manufacturing to develop a Road Verge Biomass Harvester which cuts and collects grass to burn, which in turn can generate power. Another project being headed up by the Trust is Dynamic Dunescape, which will target 34 sand dunes – around 7,000 hectares. The aim is to restore the wildflower-rich fixed dunes and grey dunes by creating areas of bare sand, clearing some scrub, and removing nonnative species which have escaped from nearby gardens to choke the dune scrub. Saltfleetby, Theddlethorpe and Gibraltar Point’s sand dunes are all a focus for the project. Meanwhile, down in the fens, South Lincolnshire Fens and Fens for the Future are two working groups aiming to restore landscape-scale wetlands and biodiversity. South Lincolnshire Fens is seeking to restore up to 800 hectares of fenland to a variety of specifically targeted and threatened wet-fenland habitats. Lincolnshire’s Wildlife Trust is supported by nearly 28,000 members, caring for 3,877 hectares in total. It was established in 1948 as the UK’s third such Trust, with a mission to protect existing wild places, encourage people to use Lincolnshire’s natural environment, to support research projects and to share in a collective vision of maintaining the county’s ecosystems with decision makers. For more information on the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, see www.lincstrust.org.uk or call 01507 526667.

Northcote Heavy Horse Centre.

Meercats at Woodside Wildlife Park.

1. Zoos & Wildlife Parks in Lincolnshire

For little ones keen to enjoy fresh air and sunshine, a day out at a wildlife park is always enjoyable!

BACK IN 1999, Neil Mumby purchased a derelict farmhouse with tumbledown buildings and a grass paddock. Having taken redundancy from the poultry industry, he instead started the Woodside Wildlife Park near Lincoln, and opened it in 2001 just as Foot & Mouth struck. Despite the timing, Neil and his team made a success of the attraction and now counts white wolves, a tiger, red pandas, crocodiles and many mammals, reptiles and plants among his wards. Neil also took on the former Sir Joseph Banks Conservatory and relocated it from The Lawn to Woodside in 2017 to preserve tropical plants and flowers, renaming the glasshouse Endeavour (01522 754280, www.woodsidewildlife.com). Meanwhile, on the East Coast, the Lincolnshire Wildlife Park was formerly known as the National Parrot Sanctuary,

its renaming reflecting the fact that in addition to over 2,000 birds, it’s also home to Bengal tigers, white lions, pumas, monkey, plus a wealth of reptiles too. The attraction was set up by Steve Nichols and now covers 16.5 acres (0871 3841130, www.lincswildlife.com). Meanwhile, in Horncastle, the Wolds Wildlife Park (07748 617650, woldswildlife.co.uk) is Lincolnshire’s newest park, set up in 2013 by Andrew Riddel and Tracy Walters. It’s now home to an Indian leopard, reindeer, an African lion, brown bear and zebras. Finally, The Ark at Stickney is home to a number of big cars from lynx to servals, jungle cats and savannah cats. It’s a rescue zoo and independent exotic animal refuge a well as a visitor attraction open seven days a week (01205 481468, www.arkwildlifepark.co.uk). n

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Skegness Aquarium.

Making it snappy at Woodside Wildlife Park.

4. Alpacas & Llamas

2. Helping Horses

3. Aquatic Attractions

Local sanctuaries for horses and donkeys

Aquariums and coastal animal sanctuaries

JUST A FEW MILES north of Lincoln, Bransby Horses was founded in 1968 by Peter Hunt and is now one of the UK’s largest equine charities, currently responsible for over 900 equines, many of whom come from situations of neglect of mistreatment. Visitors can see and stroke some of the site’s horses, and there are play areas for little ones (01427 788464, bransbyhorses.co.uk).

ESTABLISHED IN 1965 by the Yeadon family as a not for profit attraction, Skegness’s Natureland helps to care for seals on the East Coast but also has a tropical house with reptiles including crocodiles, plus alpacas, meercats and more. Support from visitors allows it to continue treating and returning poorly seals and other marine life to their natural habitat (01754 764 345, www.skegnessnatureland.co.uk).

EVIE EWING was just 15 years old when she started Louth Llama Trekking, at Julian Bower near Louth. Evie now has seven llamas and offers trekking experiences which includes an hour long walk – at each llama’s pace, as they’re quite single-minded – plus the chance to feed, groom and generally find out a little more about the quirky creatures (07483 867444, www.louthllamatrekking.co.uk).

On the East Coast, the Radcliffe Donkey Sanctuary at Huttoft opens on selected days, publicised on the charity’s website, and invites its supporters to adopt a donkey for just £20 (07940 146330, www.radcliffedonkeysanctuary.co.uk).

A little further up the coast is Mablethorpe’s Seal Sanctuary with its big cats, primates like lemurs and monkeys, as well as its seal pools (01507 473346, www.theseal sanctuary.co.uk).

“My favourite part is seeing the children hug and smile at the llamas as they leave, it’s the best feeling to see people enjoying life and having fun,” says Evie.

Not too far away at Spilsby is Northcote Heavy Horse Centre (07899815960, www.northcotehorses.com), which, since 1989, has been looking after neglected horses. In previous years the centre has hosted jousting and medieval tournaments too. n

Finally, Skegness gained its Aquarium in 2015, with sharks, stingrays and the centre’s octopus (01754 228200, www.skegness-aquarium.uk). n Above: One of the 900 equines under the care of Bransby horses one of the UK's largest equine welfare charities; dedicated to rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming.

Wooly wonders in the Lincolnshire Wolds

Meanwhile, a short distance from Evie is Big Sky Alpacas as Beesby near Alford, run by Dave and Emma Cornthwaite (07944 103496, www.bigskyalpacas.co.uk). Alpaca experiences are offered either for visitors to the site or the couple can bring their alpacas to your residential home, school or even your wedding! n 21

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Fun on the farm at The Pink Pig.

Crazy golf at Rand Farm Park.

Hilarious hens at Rand Farm Park.

5. Farm parks for family fun in Lincolnshire For little ones keen to enjoy fresh air and sunshine, a day out at a family park is always enjoyable!

FAMILY FUN is assured at one of Lincolnshire’s farm parks, places where little ones can discover the county’s nature and enjoy fresh air and sunshine.

skyrider play area and aerial harness ride in its adventure playground. The park also offers camping weekends and on site is Lincolnshire’s largest toy shop too.

Based in Louth, Rushmoor Country Park covers six acres and includes farm animals, birds of prey and new for 2021, Rushmoor Creepy Crawlies. The farm also offers Farmer Experience Days which allows either children over 10 years of age or adults to get stuck in with mucking-out, grooming and feeding horses (01507 328706, www.rushmoorpark.co.uk).

Based at Holme, south east of Scunthorpe, The Pink Pig is Sally & Andrew Jackson’s working farm with its indoor and outdoor play areas. As well as pigs, chickens and alpacas, there’s also the Aerial Trail high ropes area, with five zip-wires and 18 areas.

Meanwhile, Rand Farm Park at Market Rasen (01673 858904, www.randfarmpark.com) features farm animals from horses to cows and calves, lambs and goats, plus small animals to stroke. In addition, the park offers tractor rides, a 150 square metre giant trampoline, summer sledges and electric quads, as well as crazy golf, the 22

The Pink Pig also has a really good café, The Greedy Pig, and one of Lincolnshire’s best farm shops too (01724 844466, www.pinkpigfarm.co.uk). And if you’re on the East Coast this summer, Hardy’s Animal Farm is a farm park set in seven acres which provides children with the chance to see and stroke, both large and small animals (01754 872267, www.hardysanimalfarm.co.uk). n

Rushmoor Country Park also offers ‘Farmer Experience Days’ which allows visitors to get stuck in with mucking-out, grooming and feeding horses!

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Personal injury lawyer’s plea – be safe on the country roads! Wilkin Chapman Partner, Steve Hennegan has recently seen an increase in accidents and incidents on our counties country lanes and calls for us all to be considerate of other road users. I last had the privilege of writing in this magazine in August 2019 and where I advised on keeping safe on our country roads. As a personal injury lawyer with Wilkin Chapman, I have seen a rise in the number of incidents on our rural roads over the last 15 months. Many involving horses and their riders, cyclists and pedestrians. Initially I put this down to the lockdown effect, with everybody getting out and about for socially distanced exercise, whether on foot, bicycle or on horseback. With such increased traffic on the roads, bridleways and back roads one could be forgiven for such an assumption. However, I recently had the pleasure of speaking to Alan Hiscox of the British Horse Society (please do have a look at their various campaigns on their website https://www.bhs.org.uk/

our-work/safety as well as their App for reporting incidents https://www.bhs.org.uk/ourwork/safety/report-an-incident) and where I learnt some startling facts. Despite the fact that only 1 in 10 incidents are reported to the BHS, between February 2020 and February 2021 there were 1010 incidents reported. From these incidents, 14 horses sadly died, another 118 horses were injured with 130 people being injured. Further statistical analysis revealed that 80% of these incidents involved vehicles driving too fast and/or passing too closely to the horse. Equestrians are not alone in this, cyclists report similar experiences. According to the Department for Transport, 15 cyclists were killed on UK roads in the first month of lockdown alone, such being an increase on previous figures for the same time of year. The reason I wish to return to this topic is that many of these incidents are avoidable with us all taking more care whilst out and about. Further drastic reforms to personal injury law are due at the end of May

this year (such deserving an article of their own). The impact of these reforms for horse riders, cyclists, pedestrians, children and motor cyclists amongst others (classified as “vulnerable road users”) who have the misfortune to be involved in an accident on the roads, is that they will require specialist legal advice. Therefore, when you are out and about on the country roads during the summer months, be increasingly aware of the chances of encountering other road users who may be just round that country bend. Please allow yourself time to react to the unexpected. For further information please contact Steve Hennegan on 01522 515004, email steve.hennegan@ wilkinchapman.co.uk or visit wilkinchapman.co.uk

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GRIMSTHORPE’S HEAVY HORSES

Send in the

HEAVIES This summer you can enjoy a sedate ride around the Grimsthorpe Castle Estate with Stuart and Bridie Fawcett, ably assisted by their four beautiful Clydesdales. But there’s a serious point to this pursuit too; saving our native breeds... Words: Rob Davis.

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THEY SAY IT’S BETTER TO TRAVEL than to arrive. Following a recent visit to Bourne’s Grimsthorpe Castle I’m inclined to agree.

through the countryside of the 3,000 acre country estate... and we won’t be the only ones to make that discovery this summer.

These days in our cars we hold dominion over many hundreds of horse powers... but proving that less is sometimes more, we discovered that just four horsepower was sufficient to provide a really sedate journey

The Castle and its grounds were still closed when we arrived in early May to meet carriage driver Stuart Fawcett and his wife Bridie, who were hosting a group of journalists and photographers in advance of Grimsthorpe’s

Horse Power & Horsepower at Grimsthorpe Both mechanised and four-legged transport are celebrated this summer at Grimsthorpe n Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th July: Baston Car Show at Grimsthorpe Expect to see all of the usual goodies with car displays and trade stands for all marques, car and bike clubs, live music, keen engines and polished bodywork... and what’s more this year will see the introduction of a new 4x4 Adventure Show. n Saturday 31st July: Festival of the Unexceptional Celebrating the cars that were the workhorses of their day: the base model saloons, hatchbacks and estates that were sold in their millions between roughly 1968 and 1996, and are now all so rare. There will be live music, good food and lots of unexceptional motors too! n Saturday 28th August: Grimsthorpe Speed Trials Authentic Edwardian and pre-WW2 vehicles and the excitement of vintage racing, against the background of the castle. Vintage attire is appreciated but not obligatory.

heavy horse drawn carriage rides, which are being offered throughout the summer. The Grimsthorpe Estate re-opens as Pride goes to press and is one of the county’s most established country estates, standing alongside Burghley, Belvoir & Belton as being historic buildings surrounded by working farmland. Today, Grimsthorpe is held in trust as part of the 75,000-acre Grimsthorpe & Drummond Castle Trust; the latter is located in Perthshire near Crieff. The Castle at its centre is home to The Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, a baronetcy established in 1491 with the abeyance of Robert Willoughby, 1st Baron Willoughby de Broke. The 28th Baroness Jane Heathcote Drummond-Willoughby served as one of the six Maids of Honour at the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. This month, visitors can enjoy the beautifully manicured gardens and Capability Browndesigned deer-grazed parkland, and the Vanbrugh-design baroque architecture

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BATTLE PROMS BACK AT BURGHLEY HOUSE... Classical music, cavalry displays and a Spitfire flypast all making summer special on Saturday 10th July at Burghley House! Classical music in the open air with the breathtaking backdrop of Burghley House! What could be better? The Battle Proms features a full orchestral performance by the New English Concert Orchestra. While the orchestra will be slightly smaller this year to allow for social distancing on stage, organisers have lined up yet another programme of soul-stirring classical favourites, including the 1812 Overture and Beethoven’s Battle Symphony, performed with the full complement of 193 live firing Napoleonic cannon – a Battle Proms speciality!

Heavy Horse Population Decline of the current building. Before we set off to enjoy the parkland, though, there were a couple more introductions in order.

Today, there are thought to be fewer than 3,500 Shire horses worldwide, an example of the decline in heavy horse populations since the mid-20th century...

“At the front we’ve Seamus and Sirius, and here we’ve Silas and Severus,” said Stuart. “The four Clydesdales are all around five years old and they weigh in at about 700kg each. At around 17hh they’re about as tall as they’ll get, but they will fill out a little more in the coming years.” As we set off, two things became abundantly clear; firstly, the horses clearly enjoy their work. They were keen to provide VIP travel and they love to meet their two-legged fans. Secondly, though, is that Stuart & Bridie both know their stuff and have a real passion for ensuring heavy horses aren’t consigned to the history books. “Heavy horses were in fact first mentioned around a thousand years ago with horses

being desired that were fit for the Plough and the Dray,’’ says Stuart. “There are four main breeds in the UK, of which three are native. We’re at Grimsthorpe this year to provide visitors of the estate the opportunity to help our conservation effort by taking a carriage ride with our Clydesdales and enjoy the splendour of the parkland.” It’s thought in the early years of the 20th century, when the population of the UK was 38,328,000, we had a heavy horse population of around 1,000,000. Today, with a UK population of 67,886,011 we have a heavy horse population of around 3,500, which demonstrates the decline in the population of heavy horses, relative to the growth in population. Indeed, it’s thought that there are fewer than 1,200 Clydesdales in the UK, around 1,500 Shires and approximately 500 Suffolk Punches alongside the French Percheron which came to prominence in the UK after

An annual highlight for many ‘Battle Prommers,’ the iconic Grace Spitfire will once again perform a meticulously choreographed aerial display to the opening pieces of the orchestral performance, including Elgar’s Nimrod. “There’s a family-feel to the Battle Proms, and that’s not just amongst the crew and cast behind the scenes, but every single one of the Battle Prommers who come along year after year. The impact of Covid hit everyone in different ways – but not to be able to meet up and share the spectacular, joyful, musical, magical Battle Proms Picnic concerts last year was a disappointment for us all. But we’re back delighted to re-join our Battle Proms friends to munch picnics, shed a tear at the dancing Spitfire, cheer the guns, singalong with the melodies and have a fantastic time together!”says compére, BBC Presenter Pam Rhodes. Tickets for the Battle Proms are (£48/person) available from www.battleproms.com and the organisers are encouraging people to book early to avoid disappointment. This is a spectacular summer event you really don’t want to miss this year!

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HEAVY HORSES AT GRIMSTHORPE CASTLE

the Army returned home with them after the First World War. It was the Second World, however, that signalled the decline of working horses. The move towards a plant-based diet led to lots of pastureland being given over to arable crops, which in turn necessitated greater mechanisation, and led to the rise in the tractor, commensurate with the new ‘threepoint link’ system still in use on modern tractors and invented in Britain, patented in the 1920s by Harry Ferguson. Farmers moved away from heavy horses and towards mechanised ploughing and haulage to and from farms. And this was exacerbated, too, by the ex-MOD vehicles which were available cheaply to farmers, post-WWII. Remarkably, it remained cost-effective for heavy horses to be used as beer drays right into the 1970s and 1980s, but larger breweries like Carlsberg and Heineken phased them out in favour of haulage. Still there remains four or five breweries who use heavy horses to make deliveries, but sadly, most drays have been lost to vans and lorries. The same is true in terms of the proliferation of motor vehicles through the first half of the 20th century and the gradual replacement of horses by mechanised transport, hence it was in the post-war era that the UK’s heavy horse population declined most dramatically. And yet there remains enclaves where the heavy horse endures. North America has a greater presence of heavy horses, certainly in states with Amish populations, but the Budweiser Clydesdales are probably the best-known examples of the breed worldwide. The stables have around 250 Clydesdales based in Missouri, and the heavy horses open the US Superbowl event each year. “We’ve always had horses but after I injured my leg my ability to ride was effected,” says Stuart. “Bridie worked with horses in the early 1900s town and pit village of Beamish. We decided to start keeping Clydesdales and it soon became our way of life, with carriage rides and driving tuition becoming both our living and that of our horses’’

“The parkland of Grimsthorpe Castle is stunning and we’re really looking forward to welcoming people to enjoy carriage rides this summer so they can meet our Clydesdales!” “The parkland of Grimsthorpe Castle is stunning and we’re really looking forward to welcoming people to enjoy carriage rides this summer. We’ve established different routes to provide a little bit of variety, and they’ll cover just over two miles during the 30-40minute rides. We’re planning to provide three rides each day, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.” “Dray horses would walk about 12 miles a day and plough horses would walk around 11 miles for each acre of land they’d plough, so this is a gentle workload for them, and you can tell they enjoy it.” “They’re quite playful and mischievous, but as soon as they get the harness, they become very serious and well-behaved. You can tell they love the attention too, they become very self-important and proud when there are people around to fuss them. They lap up all of the attention!”

As Pride goes to press the team will be hosting Grimsthorpe’s Heavy Horse Weekend which, in addition to debuting the carriage rides, will also see us welcoming Jonathan Waterer, who we believe is the UK’s last heavy horse farmer; Recommended Trainer’s Gary and Kelly from Intelligent Horsemanship with horse whispering techniques pioneered by Monty Roberts. There will be farrier demonstrations from Master Farrier Alex Mercer alongside some great Equine trade demos. Sweeping through the parkland though, remains the best way to appreciate the estate. The carriage experience is smooth, comfortable and very civilised thanks to our four very well-behaved boys (five if you count Stuart). So if you’d like to enjoy a trip back in time this summer, there’s only one way to travel... under horse power! n

Find Out More: Grimsthorpe Castle at Edenham near Bourne (PE10 0LY) will be hosting carriage rides through the parkland on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. For more information call 01778 591205 or see www.grimsthorpe.co.uk.

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BAREFOOT RETREATS

GET AWAY in

LUXURY A luxury short break or seven-day getaway, with no airports, no hassle and just a couple of hours of travelling! Enjoy laid back luxury in North Norfolk with Barefoot Retreats’ portfolio of beautiful holiday retreats. Zoe Fuller introduces her pick of the properties... Words: Rob Davis.

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1. Turandot, Titchwell A modern property ideal for keen birdwatchers

Puccini’s Turandot may be known for its soaring arias – not least Nessun Dorma – but the vibe at Titchwell’s Turandot is altogether more relaxed. The modern property has four bedrooms and a comfortable, light and spacious open-plan living area. Sleeping up to eight people, it’s ideal for family get-togethers, but also for keen birdwatchers, given the property’s proximity to the area’s RSPB reserve. Highlights of the property include an enclosed garden, parking for four cars, smart TVs and an Xbox games console, plus a wood-burning stove.

Above: An enclosed garden and terrace with bi-fold doors to the living area provide plenty of space for al fresco entertaining during your short break or seven night stay. Left: Turandot has a lovely open-plan living area with a well-equipped kitchen and troughs of fresh herbs.

Keen cooks will appreciate the Mieleequipped kitchen and the herb troughs enabling you to snip fresh some fresh herbs to enjoy with supper. n Turandot is available for seven night stays £2,050, and for short breaks at £1,640. The property sleeps eight and dogs are welcome.

2. Enjoy the company with family and friends in a Grade II converted watermill The Watermill in Burnham Market sleeps 10 people - so there’s plenty of room for friends and family, plus wonderful period style A stunning property, this former watermill was constructed in 1737 and is located on the River Burn. Grade II listed and renovated following a conversion into a family home in 2001, it now has six en suite bedrooms, arranged over four floors, with lots of exposed mechanical parts from the mill machinery on show plus chunky beams, timbers and flagstones inside. It’s located adjacent to the millpond and the former boathouse on the side of the property now serves as a private dining room. “The Watermill offers real character, and a completely unique experience for its guests. Groups of friends and families will be equally overjoyed with a stay here and it will certainly be holiday to remember!” says Zoe Fuller of Barefoot Retreats. n The Watermill at Burnham Market is available for seven nights for £4,100, sleeps 10 with dogs welcome. 34

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SUMMER BREAKS WITH BAREFOOT RETREATS

3. All aboard, for a stay in this quirky carriage... A restored railway carriage last used in 1952, now available at The Railway, Burnham Market

If you’re after character, you’re on the right track with The Carriage, an annexe next to The Railway, one of Barefoot Retreats’ newest properties. “Departing for its final journey in 1952, the carriage has since been restored to its former glory and was converted in 2021,” says Zoe. “It has received the care and attention it deserves including complete renovation and decoration of the external woodwork, treatment and decoration to all the furniture, fittings and also the wooden flooring.”

“The carriage has a double bedroom and has been thoughtfully styled to maintain its character and charm.” “At the front of the carriage, you will find the large walk-in rainfall shower, complete with a deep copper sink and copper fittings... we even managed to restore the original sink as it was too beautiful not to use!” Creature comforts include a coffee machine, and a landscaped garden with hot tub. n The Carriage at The Railway is based at Burnham Market, seven nights £1,505; short breaks £860. Sleeps two, dogs welcome.

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SUMMER BREAKS WITH BAREFOOT RETREATS

4. Reunite with family or friends at Hope House A beautifully restored Grade II listed former school, Hope House can accommodate 16 guests

After a long-awaited transformation, Hope House in Snettisham is now available for visitors hoping to gather among friends and family for a reunion in North Norfolk. With eight bedrooms – three super king, three king and one twin – there’s plenty of room, and there’s a games and cinema room too. “Hope House is a 19th century former boarding school. It’s been the subject of a beautiful restoration, and is centrally located in the village of Snettisham,” says Zoe. “You’re within walking distance of two renowned eateries; The Old Bank which is

a Michelin star bistro, and also The Rose and Crown which is an award-winning gastro pub.” “The village of Snettisham is situated on the North Norfolk coast, just a few miles from the royal residence at Sandringham and boasts a superb RSPB reserve and Snettisham Park Farm, a working farm offering fantastic family days out.” n Hope House is located in Snettisham and sleeps 16. Dogs are welcome and both seven night stays (£4,300), and short breaks (£3,440) are available.

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5. Kempstone Manor Luxury farm stay for up to 15... with a pool too!

Space to relax and reunite! Kempstone Manor Farm is based at Litcham, set centrally in grounds of 40 acres, surrounded by 800 acres of farmland. The farmhouse is a particularly attractive Georgian property dating from 1794 with later alterations and additions. The main house can accommodate up to 15 people thanks to its seven bedrooms, and there’s a separate two-bedroom cottage as well. There’s an indoor swimming pool complex, steam room, gym, tennis court and croquet lawn, plus beautiful views with formal gardens, and an orchard. The property’s games room/den is perfect for children and teenagers with multicolour disco lighting, table football, pool table, and a Yamaha drum kit! n Kempstone Manor Farm is available for seven nights, prices £13,000. Dogs welcome.

Above: Kempstone Manor Farm offers luxury accommodation with a swimming pool complex, sauna, and gym. The property is set within grounds of 40 acres.

6. Page Cottage A beautiful cottage for four in Docking

Beautifully renovated and sympathetically modernised, Page Cottage is ideal for a family of four, or a ‘couple of couples,’ providing two double bedrooms and an enclosed garden. There’s an open plan living space, a stylish kitchen plus a cosy sitting room with wood burning fire. Docking is centrally located in North Norfolk, and allows for easy access to the coast and surrounding villages such as Sedgeford, Hunstanton, Thornham. From Page Cottage, you’ll be able to enjoy easy access to many stunning beaches, wide open spaces, spectacular coastal walks, an abundance of wildlife, award-winning restaurants and plenty of unique, independent shops to discover. n Page Cottage is located in Docking and sleeps four. It’s available for seven nights £771 and for short breaks £620. One dog welcome.

Find Out More: See www.barefootretreats.co.uk and plan your short break at one of the company’s laid-back luxury holiday retreats in North Norfolk. Alternatively, call 01485 512245 for some help choosing the perfect place for your summer getaway. Please note prices are estimates based on May-Sept prices. Early booking is recommended for spring and summer 2022.

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NEWS & EVENTS

What’s On... LINCOLN

LINCOLN

3rd JULY - 9th SEPTEMBER

SATURDAY 31st JULY

THE LINCOLN IMP TRAIL 2021

A CELEBRATION OF LIFE AT THE INTERNATIONAL BOMBER COMMAND CENTRE... Over the last 12 months, many of us have been unable to commemorate or celebrate the lives of those we have lost in the way we would have liked, because of restrictions imposed by Covid. As a result, the IBCC will hold a special Service of Commemoration this month to enable families and friends to remember a loved one. The service will be led by the site’s padre and the IBCC will host an afternoon tea in its event marquee afterwards. n From 1pm, IBCC, Canwick Hill in Lincoln LN4 2HQ , 01522 514755.

Burghley Battle Prom Returns HAPPILY BURGHLEY HOUSE’S BATTLE PROM EVENT RETURNS WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING - BUT TICKETS ARE SELLING FAST! Image: Lee Helwig.

STAMFORD

SATURDAY 10th JULY

BATTLE PROMS

It’s one of our favourite events in the calendar and it’s back, following Covid, with reduced capacity – 4,000 instead of 8,000 guests – plus social distancing measures. Enjoy classical music performed by a live orchestra, plus cavalry displays, cannon and a Spitfire flyover. Take along a picnic and enjoy a superb evening with plenty of fun in the grounds of Burghley House. n Tickets £48, gates 3.30pm, concert 6pm, Stamford, PE9 3JY. Call 01432 355416 or see www.battleproms.com.

From this month you’ll be able to embark on the hunt for one of 30 colourful Lincoln Imp sculptures throughout the city. Lincoln BIG is incredibly excited to introduce the third sculpture trail which will run during from 3rd July to 9th September 2021 across Lincoln city centre. This is a mass participation public art event to celebrate Lincoln’s culture & heritage. Artists, both professional and amateur, local and national, have designed each sculpture to add lots of colour to the city centre through the trail. The Imps will assemble for their Farewell event at Lincoln Castle before being auctioned to raise money for St Barnabas Hospice on 1st October 2021 at Lincoln Cathedral. n For more information see www.visitlincoln.com.

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

LINCOLN

SCUNTHORPE

SUNDAY 18th JULY

16th, 17th, 18th JULY

The actor, author, ex-MP, One Show reporter and QI, Have I Got News For You and Countdown star is back on tour with his new show celebrating all things theatrical. Wit, wisdom, high drama, low comedy, and name-dropping. n New Theatre Royal Lincoln, 3pm, £21, 01522 519999.

The hilarious North East stand-up Sarah Millican is back on tour with a Bobby Dazzler of a new stand-up show. Sarah specialises in empowering women with her unique outlook on the world, giggling through life’s little misfortunes!

GYLES BRANDRETH: BREAK A LEG TOUR

GRANTHAM

17th - 18th JULY

THE BELVOIR CASTLE FLOWER AND GARDEN SHOW 2021 An enjoyable weekend of colour and inspiration for those with a love of gardening. Some of the UK’s finest nurseries and growers provide plenty of opportunities to purchase something special for your garden.

Wonderful show gardens and borders will inspire you with their design and planting combinations. Sculpture artists, tools, garden furniture, and crafts all feature, plus, there’s a music stage, a range of food and refreshments and the ‘Lets Talk’ area with experts like Jonathan Moseley. n Belvoir Castle, NG32 1PE. £15/adv, call 01476 871001 or see www.belvoircastle.com.

See Anton & Giovanni, live! ‘HIM & ME’ IS A SENSATIONAL NEW SHOW WITH ANTON DU BEKE & GIOVANNI PERNICE TEAMING UP TO PRESENT THIS STRICTLY-INSPIRED SHOW...

LOUTH

15th, 16th, 17th JULY

HOLLYWOOD HIGHLIGHTS

SARAH MILLICAN: BOBBY DAZZLER

n Tickets £31.10, from 8pm, Baths Hall, Scunthorpe. Call 0844 854 2776 or see www.scunthorpetheatres.co.uk.

Louth Playgoers invites you to join them on a journey through Tinseltown, with more than 30 songs from the golden days of cinema. n Tickets £10.50, 7.30pm, Call 01507 600350 or see www.louthriverheadtheatre.com.

SCUNTHORPE

WEDNESDAY 7th JULY

ANTON & GIOVANNI: HIM & ME LIVE

Strictly Come Dancing professionals Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice join forces in 2021 for their first ever tour together; Him & Me. Ballroom king and the two-time Guinness World Record holder Anton will be joined by a world class cast of dancers and singers. A true dance extravaganza, rescheduled from 2020 with audiences eagerly anticipating a little Strictly magic to brighten up the summer!

Du Beke joined the show upon its launch in 2004. From then, the ballroom and Latin dancer partnered with the likes of sporting coach Judy Murray and supermodel Jerry Hall, and first reached the final with Katie Derham in 2015. Born in Sicily, Giovanni Pernice joined Du Beke on Strictly in 2015, making his mark reaching the final with actress Georgia May Foote in his first series. In 2017, he repeated that success with presenter Debbie McGee. n Tickets £45.70, from 7.30pm, Baths Hall, Scunthorpe, DN15 7RG. Call 0844 854 2776 or see www.scunthorpetheatres.co.uk. 39

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Six eco-chic luxury treehouses, built around private secluded lakes, near Woodhall Spa... Two to six-night breaks available... Elevated terraces & outdoor bathtubs... Set in 17 acres of natural woodland...

Call 07771 867907 or see

www.treetophideaways.co.uk

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William Shakespeare’s

Love’s Labour’s Lost Charlotte Jones’

Humble Boy Oscar Wilde’s

The Importance of Being Earnest Dennis Kelly’s

DNA

TOLETHORPE HALL 8 June – 28 August 2021

We are thrilled to be opening our doors once more and look forward to welcoming you back. As the sun slowly sets, enjoy a picnic in the beautiful grounds, then take your seat, protected from summer showers, and see a stage like no other.

The Sunday Times For 10% off ticket price use code TOLELIPRIDEJ

Box Office: 01780 756133

www.stamfordshakespeare.co.uk 41

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LINCOLNSHIRE’S NEWEST MILLIONAIRE

HIGH STAKES Back in spring, Lincolnshire’s Andy Green hit the headlines in his bid to make an online gambling platform pay out on his £1.7m win. A couple of months later we join Andy to reﬂect on three years of high stakes and equally high emotions... ANDY GREEN is either the unluckiest lucky man or the luckiest unlucky man in the country. Either way, he’s a smashing one.

Online platforms these days share games, so one game might appear on a number of bookies’ apps.

“I was quite emotional, needless to say. I didn’t sleep that night and was still wide awake at six-o’clock the next morning,” he says.

In April this year, Andy won an extraordinary ‘David versus Goliath’ style fight as High Court judge Mrs Justice Foster delivered her verdict; that Andy did indeed deserve his win, three years previously, on an online gambling platform.

Andy was enjoying a flutter on a blackjackstyle game which, Andy says, has an element of luck, and skill, knowing when to up the stake, and when to walk away. It was about 9.30pm, and being the cautious sort, he staked a conservative £5.

Two weeks later, Andy finally received the £1.7m he’d won on 26th January 2018. But this wasn’t simply a financial victory; it was a moral one. Born and raised in Lincoln, and living in Washingborough since 1997, Andy is still working for his engineering firm, and wanted his win to be acknowledged not just for his financial security, but for that of his two daughters.

“That £5 became £100, and then it jumped up to £600!” Andy recalls. “The premise of the game is that there are seven lucky horseshoes across the screen, and drawing a card with a blue corner lights up one of seven bonus horseshoes.”

“The amount was too large to withdraw from the app, so I had to phone up and speak to a member of the customer service team. I don’t think even he could believe it when he read the amount, and I was told that the VIP team would call me back a couple of hours later.”

“I don’t drink, don’t go on holidays abroad, my transport was my work van, so the occasional flutter is my only real vice. Even then I can go for months without going on a particular platform, but on this occasion, I was on the sofa, watching TV and half paying attention to my phone on the platform.”

“I staked £100, banked £500 and with the next hand my winnings were £10,600. With my fifth hand I reached £38,000, and so I banked £30,000 and staked £8,000. Two bonuses later and I’d turned £30,000 into £78,000.” One final hand and with all of the bonuses achieved, Andy’s phone trembled in his hand and he confesses to shedding a few tears as the final amount appeared on his screen: £1,722,923.54.

“That call came and they congratulated me, asked for my bank details and advised that with such a large amount it would be prudent to spread the amount over several concurrent bank accounts. I spent the next few days setting up a few more accounts and supplied the details but still, two weeks later, I hadn’t received my winnings. And then the phone call came.” The company called on 31st January to tell Andy that there had been a glitch in the game, and that his win was void. Unable to provide proof of the glitch, nor elaborate on its nature, other than to say that too many ‘blue corner’ cards had been given out by the game, the company instead made a

Words: Rob Davis.

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ANDY GREEN

‘good-will gesture’ offer of £30,000 on 8th February which was upped to £60,000 a few days later, by way of a second offer – both with the condition of a non-disclosure agreement attached to them. “I was heartbroken, absolutely gutted. I had dared to dream that it really was going to come to me. Now, the stress and the sense that I’d lost what was – fairly and squarely – mine was like a form of grief.” Andy found an ally in Peter Coyle, of Amersham-based Coyle White Devine, a niche legal practice specialising in dispute resolution. Peter agreed to take on Andy’s case and so begun a number of texts and calls and emails between the companies, with no success. “Taking on a company whose turnover in 2018/2019 was £10bn is not something that came easy, and when communication was going nowhere, there was only one option left; The High Court,” says Andy. “Our first hearing in the court was set for later in 2018. A full hearing in the High Court typically takes four days, but the judge offered us what’s known as a green application – a one day preliminary hearing – which took place in October 2020.” “It was a day of legal terminology and hard benches. I was exhausted at the end of the day. We had an idea that we’d been successful, but Justice Foster wanted time to consider the case so I had to return to Lincoln and just get on with life. We received word that the court had reached a conclusion and we were given a date to appear back at London’s High Court.” “It was in a couple of weeks, early in April, and the announcement was due to take place at about two in the afternoon. But by the time we arrived at court, the announcement had already taken place.” “It was quite a matter-of-fact statement, no longer than 30 seconds or so. The announcement stated that ‘the claimant succeeds in his application for summary judgement.’” It was made considerably more explicit than that, by my barrister. He phoned me up to say ‘Andy, you’re a 44

“It was made explicit by my barrister. He phoned me up to say ‘Andy, you’re a millionaire!’ I was on my way to the court and when I turned on to Fleet Street, I couldn’t believe it...!” millionaire!’ I was on my way to the court and when I turned on to Fleet Street, I couldn’t believe it. All of a sudden 50 – maybe more – journalists were suddenly surrounding me. Press, camera crews… it was like I was a rock star.” It was still a further two weeks until Justice Foster determined the amount of interest that Andy would receive on top of his initial win. “I do feel that it was a proper moral victory,” he says. “Peter actually said to me that faced with the offer the company made and the non-disclosure agreement, most would have accepted it – he even said that his wife would have made him accept the offer – and that he can’t believe how strong I was. There were times I didn’t feel it. Peter definitely saw me at my best and my worst, there were times I’d phone him up in tears. But I was determined not to give in.”

Three years on from his initial win and Andy is very upfront, talking openly about the experience, but he maintains that his interest was not the money but rather the sense of justice he feels. It’s telling that though his bank balance has swollen considerably and yet Andy has no plans to move home, travel abroad or spend money on status symbols. “I’ve been a single parent since 2010 and there have been times I’ve gone without for my two daughters. I’ve always been careful with money and so I’ve ordered new double glazing but honestly that’s the only thing I really wanted, even when I saw the balance on my bank statement.” “It’s security, for myself and for my daughters. If they need something, from now only, they’ll have it, and to be able to make that promise to them – just to be able to make sure they’re OK – is what the last three years have been all about.” n

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Carefully selected artists from the Royal Academy, Royal Institutes, Federations and Societies

Peter Wileman FROI RSMA FRSA | Estuary Anchorage | 100cm x 100cm | Oil on Canvas

New Fine Art Gallery Now Open in Stamford 5-8 The Mews • The George Hotel • Stamford • PE9 2LB Tuesday - Sunday from 11am to 5pm | 01780 480800

Also at Lees Yard • Holt • Norfolk | Monday - Saturday 10am - 4pm | 01263 713883 Please visit the website to view and purchase our artworks

w w w. a d r i a n h i l l f i n e a r t . c o m 45

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MARGARET DICKINSON

UNCOVERING THE

CODE

Skegness author Margaret Dickinson has just published book 29 and is already working on her 30th novel in her series of sagas. Secrets of Bletchley Park is set within the wartime codebreaking station, where there are more secrets than just the station’s work... IN THE STUDY at her Skegness home, Margaret Dickinson is working on an important book. It’ll be her 30th. And with her most recently published novel, Secrets at Bletchley Park, now in bookshops it’s fitting that the author has acknowledged the life and work of the codebreakers based at Bletchley Park, because those same machine and cipher devices led not only to a shortening of the war but also the development of the computer, indeed, to the creation of computers just like the one responsible for Margaret’s prolific output of around 70,000 word a year. The hallmarks of Margaret’s work are wellresearched historical contexts, and strong female characters, making her a standout author in the saga genre. “From the beginning, my agent was looking for three things from my books. First of all, they must have a strong woman as the central character, second of all it must be firmly set in a certain recognisable location, and finally it must have a very satisfactory ending.”

“The reader must turn the last page and say ‘yes, that’s a good ending to that story.’ When ending a book in a trilogy it becomes a little trickier, because you must give a hint that there is going to be more to follow, but you’ve got to end that book on a satisfactory note.” “I was born in Gainsborough, but soon moved to Chapel St Leonards near Skegness when I was seven,” says Margaret. “I was educated at Skegness Grammar School and Lincoln Technical College, worked in Skegness in various office-based jobs, and I’ve been there ever since. That’s why it was a very natural decision to make Lincolnshire the basis for my books.” “I always wanted to be a writer when I was younger from the age of around 14 with the hope of one day being published. I managed to get my first book published in 1968 and it just went from there.” “My first nine hardback books published by London publisher Robert Hale didn’t have many connections to Lincolnshire. It wasn’t until the early 90s when I started writing the

Words: Rob Davis.

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LINCOLNSHIRE’S MARGARET DICKINSON

“For nearly every book I’ve written, I hit a brick wall. Usually halfway. However, after nearly 50 years of writing, I’ve learnt to just keep calm and carry on and break through that wall. Once you have a draft down, you know you’ve got a book there and it’s easier...” paperbacks that I started to deliberately focus on basing the stories in Lincolnshire and that was primarily due to my agent Darley Anderson’s advice. Darley is also the agent for the likes of Lee Child and John Connelly, and he’s been my agent for 25 years now.”

“But both have secrets of their own to hide. Mattie Price, born and raised in the back streets of Sheffield, is tough. She has a petty thief for a father and a mother who turns to the bottle to cope with her husband’s brutish ways.”

In terms of the advice she offers to aspiring authors, Margaret says: “It takes a lot of hard work. I was a part time author while working in an office to start with, although it was always something I wanted to do full time. You have to really study the type of fiction you want to concentrate on and get a feel of that particular genre.”

“Meanwhile, our other heroine, Victoria Hamilton, lives in the opulence of London’s Kensington and has all the material possessions that a young girl could want.”

“Never be afraid of constructive criticism and try to accept that some people have different opinions and tastes. And just... write. If you’re following a dream to become an author, never give up, and try not the be too disappointed with rejection. Most writers will get rejected by publishers; there are very few books that are actually picked up and published straight away. It is rare and it’s challenging, but never give up.” “For nearly every book I’ve written, I hit a brick wall. Usually halfway, I do struggle to carry on. I publish a book a year so I’m writing it for around five or six months before. When you think about reading a book for that length of time, you can understand that you do get a bit bogged down.”

“But her mother, Grace, a widow from the Great War, is cold and distant, making no secret of the fact that she never wanted a child. Grace lives her life in the social whirl of upper-class society, leaving Victoria in the care of her governess and the servants.” “Mattie and Victoria are both set on a path that will bring them together at Bletchley Park in May 1940. An unlikely friendship between the two young women is born and together they will face the rest of the war keeping the nation’s secrets and helping to win the fight.” “They can tell no one, not even their families, about their work or even where they are. But keeping secrets is second nature to both of them.”

“However, after nearly 50 years of writing, I’ve learnt to just keep calm and carry on and break through that wall. Once you have a draft down, you know you’ve got a book there and it’s easier.”

“It’s a fantastic feeling when you’ve finished a book. It still has to be seen by numerous editors and proofreaders, but after you’ve put so much hard work into it and you put the last word down, you can finally appreciate your efforts. It’s a success in itself to finish it.”

“In Secrets at Bletchley Park, two young women from very different backgrounds meet in the Second World War and are plunged into a life where security and discretion are paramount,” says Margaret.

“Obviously, it’s also a great feeling when the book becomes a success though, and it’s lovely to meet my fans and the people who enjoy reading the books that you’ve put so much hard work into.” n

Find Out More: Margaret Dickinson’s new book, Secrets at Bletchley Park, is now available from all good bookshops, published by Pan Macmillan.

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BLETCHLEY PARK: HOW WE WON THE WAR... Bletchley Park, once the topsecret home of the World War Two Codebreakers is now a vibrant heritage attraction. Back in September 1938, though, it was one of the most important country estates in the fight against the Nazis. On 18 September 1938, a small group of people moved into the mansion under the cover story that they were a shooting party. They had an air of friends enjoying a relaxed weekend together at a country house. They even brought with them one of the best chefs from the Savoy Hotel to cook their food. Behind the cover were members of MI6 and the Government Code and Cypher School (GC & CS), a secret team including a number of scholars and academics turned Codebreakers. The group’s job was to set up and run intelligence activity from Bletchley Park. The first operational break into Enigma came around the 23 January 1940, when the team working under Dilly Knox, with the mathematicians John Jeffreys, Peter Twinn and Alan Turing, unravelled the German Army administrative key that became known at Bletchley Park as ‘The Green.’ Encouraged by this success, the Codebreakers managed to crack the ‘Red’ key used by the Luftwaffe (German air force). In addition to German codes, Italian and later Japanese systems were also broken. Bletchley Park was vital to Allied victory in World War Two; deciphering the military codes and ciphers that secured German, Japanese, and other Axis nation communications, producing vital intelligence in support of Allied military operations on land, at sea and in the air. Bletchley Park also facilitated the creation of the world’s first electronic computer, Colossus. n

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THE GREAT BRITISH MENU

BEST of BRITISH As Pride goes to press, the BBC’s Great British Menu chefs will be presenting their season ﬁnalé banquet, the culmination of a tireless search to ﬁnd the greatest chef in the UK for 2021. Representing Lincolnshire in the North East heat of the competition was Gareth Bartram, whose day job sees him heading up the kitchen of Winteringham Fields in North Lincolnshire... IF YOU CAN’T STAND THE HEAT, as the saying goes, stay out of the kitchen. If, on the other hand, you thrive on the buzz and the creative potential that producing cuttingedge dishes provides, the ideal kitchen to be in is that of the Great British Menu... just ask Gareth Bartram. Millions of people recently tuned in to the Great British Menu to see the North Lincolnshire chef compete in the North East regional heats of the BBC show, which is in its 16th series and has screened over 540 episodes. It’s not the first time that the Rag Doll studios in Stratford-upon-Avon had seen a Lincolnshire chef walk through the doors either. Indeed, Gareth’s employer Colin McGurran of Winteringham Fields has appeared on the show in 2012, 2013 and 2014, whilst Boston-born Jason Atherton has appeared as a judge in the series, too. “I grew up in Cleethorpes and worked in a number of restaurants around the area before leaving to work in Gordon Ramsay’s Boxwood Café in 2004. I returned to the area for a bit before working in the South

West in Bath and Bristol, returning to see family and meeting my future wife Lucy in the gym.”

“There are usually six of us in the kitchen but of course Covid has caused disruption across the industry.”

“Family brought me back to the area, and back in Lincolnshire there was only really one place I wanted to work; Winteringham Fields. I realised that if I wanted to work in a fine dining kitchen, that was the time and this was the place.”

“During lockdown I was able to watch the series just as a viewer would, instead of having to binge-watch it on a Sunday afternoon. I messaged the programme and received a call from the producer who set up a sort of screen test, via Skype.”

“Before working at ‘the Fields,’ I went for a meal there and I was really impressed. I passed my CV to the owner, Colin, and went for a trial in the kitchen to meet the team.”

There are four contestants in each episode, competing in seven different regions including the North East. Participants are asked to design a menu and filming for each region begins on a Monday morning with the task of creating an amuse bouche.

“He said that he’d keep my details on file and true to form, as soon as a vacancy arose he called me. He’s a really good employer and recognises the need to ensure that his staff are happy and that they aren’t worked into the ground, which is a progressive approach for the hospitality industry.” “I usually have a Sunday off to spend time with Lucy and my two children Ivy and Frances. Colin recognises enthusiasm and talent, too, and nurtures that, so it’s an environment which suits a chef who’s keen to develop and to progress their skills.”

Words: Rob Davis.

“The day serves as a sort of introduction to filming too, and it’s when many of the in-between sequences are filmed so you’re not disturbed during the rest of the week when you’re trying to concentrate on the cooking.” “Tuesday is dedicated to preparing a starter course and a fish course; Wednesday is for preparing a main course, and a pre-dessert – which serves as a tie-breaker – then on Thursday you get to prepare a dessert.” >>

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GREAT BRITISH MENU CHEF GARETH BARTRAM

>> “On each day, one of the chefs has to leave the competition, which is really sad because you build a really strong bond with the other people from your region.” “Even though you’re competitors, the respect and the camaraderie is really strong, and the level at which you’re cooking and presenting your dishes is so high, the slightest problem with timing or seasoning or with one element of a dish can upset that precision.” “It’s something you wouldn’t wish on any of the people you’re sharing the kitchen with, and all of the plates emerging from the pass are so strong that there’s only ever the slimmest margin for being named ‘best.’”

“I received lots of messages of warmth and support when the show aired. I’m really glad to have kept up Winteringham Fields’ reputation on the show, as established by Colin!” Above: Gareth’s dishes were presented with flair but were also technically flawless and delicious.

“A winning dish is one that hits the brief, takes risks and one in which tonnes of development work has been invested. It’s also one that can be replicated 100 times because that’s how many people will attend the banquet at the end of the series.” “I was very fortunate to be able to get through to Thursday which means I could cook my entire menu. That meant a lot to me. Filming took place in October and you’re subject to a strict non-disclosure agreement, which means that none of the chefs in my kitchen knew how far I’d gone on the competition.” “So my work colleagues had to wait to find out what had happened, and even my participation in the programme wasn’t released until a week before the programme aired so I couldn’t even say publicly that I was a competitor!”

“I received lots of messages of warmth and support when the show aired, and I’m really glad to have taken part. Hopefully I’ve kept up Winteringham Fields’ reputation on the show, as established by Colin!” “I haven’t had anyone asking for autographs yet, but I’ve had a few double takes whilst I’ve been out shopping!” “2021 has been a difficult time for the hospitality industry, and I’m not used to having so much time on my hands, but it’s meant that we’ve had plenty of time to prepare for the reopening of the restaurant and that’s enabled us to push our menus really hard. We’ve some exciting dishes on the menu and though I’ve only put one of the

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dishes from the TV on the menus, our diners will recognise some of the techniques that they’ve seen on the series.”

to create fertiliser for our kitchen garden and we’re removing as much plastic from the restaurant and from our rooms as possible.”

“We’re reopening the restaurant with just two tasting menus, nice and simple. There are six courses during lunchtime service and eight courses during evening service. Like the rest of the menus at the restaurant they’re also governed by the availability of seasonal ingredients, so the menus change all the time.”

Gareth’s magnum opus was his traditional meat and vegetable dish entitled ‘The Linc to Yorkshire,’ which comprised lamb loin, and belly skewers – depicting the Humber Bridge – with braised cabbage.

“Having more time during Covid has also meant that we can continue our efforts to make Winteringham Fields greener. We’re using all of our green waste from the kitchen

His follow-up dessert was Zeer, and was a combination of chocolate with buckthorn and rum chocolate mousse. The technical challenge of the dish though proved too demanding and though only a few minutes late to the pass, it was enough to cause judges to send Gareth home.

At the level each of the chefs were working, there’s no shame in that. And if Gareth’s Winteringham Fields dishes are even a fraction as inventive, delicious and successfully implemented at the ones we’ve seen him prepare on the Great British Menu, his diners are in for a real treat when the restaurant reopens at the time of writing. “It was a really great experience,” he says. “The whole team there were amazing. They made you feel so welcome and relaxed you really enjoyed your time there, so you could just concentrate on doing what you were there to do, and take pride in it.” n See www.winteringhamfields.co.uk. 55

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In the KITCHEN Whether you’re seeking a speedy midweek dish for two or something to cook for friends at a dinner party this Summer, the pink grapefruit, samphire and capers here combine to add freshness and piquancy to your dish!

ROAST HADDOCK with pink grapefruit and samphire salsa... Preparation time: 20 minutes.Cooking time: 30 minutes 1 medium potato (about 200g) cut into 2cm dice • 2 turnips (about 200g) cut into 2cm dice 1 tbsp olive oil • 1 clove of garlic (crushed) • 1 rosemary sprig • 1 pink grapefruit • 240g pack skinless boneless haddock fillets, 20g unsalted butter • 1 shallot (finely diced), 90g pack samphire • 1 tbsp nonpareille capers in brine (rinsed) Preheat the oven to 220°c. Toss the diced potato and turnip with ½ tbsp oil, the garlic and rosemary. Roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway. Slice the top and bottom off the grapefruit. Using a sharp knife, slice downwards around the grapefruit, following the curve, to remove the skin and pith. Finally, holding the grapefruit over a bowl to catch any juices, slice between the connective membrane to release the segments. Chop the segments and mix with 3-4 tbsp of the juice.

Heat the remaining ½ tbsp oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Season the haddock fillets and fry for 2½ minutes on each side. Set aside on a plate. Add the butter to the pan, then stir in the shallot. Add the samphire and a tablespoon water and fry, stirring over a medium heat for three minutes. Stir in the capers, remove from the heat and carefully stir through the grapefruit and juice. Divide the roasted vegetables between two plates, top with the haddock fillets, then spoon over the grapefruit salsa. n

Recipes & Dishes: Thousands of recipes can be found at www.waitrose.com/recipes

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In the KITCHEN

There’s nothing better than enjoying a couple of liberal scoops of ice cream on a hot summer day... and if you eschew the supermarket in favour of making your own, you can really reap the rewards in terms of flavour...

HOME-MADE ICE CREAM Preparation Time: Two hours including chilling time. Serves Six. Four free range egg yolks • 100g (3 1/2 oz) golden caster sugar • 300ml (1/2 oz pint) double cream 300ml (1/2 oz pint) full fat milk • 1 vanilla pod or good quality essence • Flavour to suit (optional) MAKING YOUR OWN ice cream at home is so easy it beggars belief that we just put up with watery mass-market ice cream. There are a tremendous number of variations on making your own ice cream at home, from non-churn to more labourintensive methods, and from methods involving anything from ice cubes to condensed milk. This custard-based method is a little more involved, but uses fewer shop-brought ingredients, and because it all comes together in the saucepan, it’s really easy to flavour it to your taste. Start by separating the eggs and retaining the yolks. The whites can be used to make meringues. Add the caster sugar to the egg yolks and whisk until they’re pale, frothy and thick. Put the cream and milk into a medium saucepan, then cut open the vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds and add these to the cream and milk, along with the pod, then heat gently. Don’t let it boil, or it will curdle! It’s a good idea to remove from the heat after and allow the cream mixture to cool and to infuse for five minutes. You can use vanilla essence or extract, but a vanilla pod will offer a better flavour and give your ice cream those lovely dark speckles. Once it’s cooled a little, take out the vanilla pod and stir the milk and cream into the eggs and sugar, whisking as you go. Sieve the mixture back into the saucepan and heat slowly and gently until the custard mixture you’ve created thickens. 58

It’s ready when it coats the back of a wooden spoon – usually this takes around 10 minutes. Tip the mixture into a large freezer-proof container and cool to room temperature before putting in the fridge overnight. Next day, transfer the custard to the freezer and remove it every hour for three hours to whisk with a handheld electric whisk. This disperses the ice crystals and helps to make your ice cream smooth. Return it to the freezer after three whisks until it’s solid. It’s worth mentioning at this point that this is the only fiddly bit of making ice cream, however, you can purchase ice cream makers – brands include Magimix and Tefal – whose chilled vessels sit in the freezer ready to chill and churn your ice cream. Simply allow your custard to reach room temperature or chill it for an hour, then set your ice cream maker’s churning paddle to rotate over the frozen vessel before pouring in your custard. It’ll chill, churn and set in 20 minutes... much easier! Early on when you’re heating the milk and cream in the saucepan, you can add dulce de leche for caramel ice cream, stir in good quality espresso coffee, or you can melt in dark or white chocolate. If you’re adding fruit like strawberry, raspberry (as we’ve done here), or mango, it’s best to purée it and stir it through the mixture prior to chilling in the fridge overnight. n

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Wine of the Month

World Gin Awards accolade for Ormsby based distillery...

Derringstone Pinot Meunier 2019, Kent, UK

Massingberd-Mundy Distillery, in the Wolds, has won double at the Gin Guide Awards 2021 Tristan Jørgensen, head distiller at Lincolnshire’s Massingberd-Mundy Distillery will be raising a glass to two awards in the Gin Guide Awards including winner of the Flavoured Gin category for Marie Jeanne’s Pink Gin is named after Marie Jeanne Rapigeon of Versailles, who fled the French revolution before becoming the owner of Lincolnshire’s South Ormsby Estate where the gin is made. It’s vibrant and fruity with strawberries, raspberries and hibiscus. n Marie Jeanne’s Pink Gin and Burrell’s Dry Gin are available from the South Ormsby Estate website www.southormsby estate.co.uk £39/70cl bottle.

£117, 6 x 75cl / 13% ABV

The market for English wine has established itself beautifully in recent years, not least because climate change has caused the unique weather of the Champagne region to move north, into England. As a result the rosbifs now produce wines of comparable quality – albeit without the provenance – of France’s most famous wine region. Produced in the chalk terroir of Kent, Simpsons’ Derringtonstone is made from Pinot Noir grapes and has a sweet, poached fruit aroma and delicious red fruit finish.

The Wine Cellar JUST IN TIME FOR BASTILLE DAY ON 14TH JULY, WE’VE THREE FRENCH FANCIES, PLUS AN ENGLISH SUPERSTAR AND TWO LOCAL SPIRITS... ENJOY A TIPPLE IN THE GARDEN THIS MONTH! BASTILLE STORMERS: Celebrate Bastille Day with these glorious Gallic gods... 1. Produced with Pride in Provence, this super-dry Syrah has Cinsault and Grenache, for a dry, white, peppery acidity over red berries and citrus, £13.49 / 75cl / 13% ABV.

2. Born in Bordeaux, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, this medium bodied cassis and raspberry wine is a delight. Tannins are well integrated and lush with a bite of pepper to finish. £24 / 75cl / 13.5% ABV. 3. Heroically hewn from Pinot Noir grapes in Burgundy, there’s a strawberry-scented medium bodied drinkability to this Vosne-Romanée. £55 / 75cl / 13% ABV.

Available from Simpsons Wine, 01227 832200 or www.simpsons wine.com.

Banking on Berries in the Nene Valley Straight from Nene Valley Spirits, it’s a tale from the riverbank with a happy ending, namely the sweetness of strawberries over the gentle botanicals of small batch gin. Based at Sacrewell Farm, the Nene Valley Spirits distillery is the first to be based in Peterborough and the Nene Valley region. Enjoy as a G&T, with Prosecco or a sparkling wine, or with soda water. The taste of summer suffused into a quality local spirit. £22 / 70cl / 25% ABV, www.nenevalley spirits.co.uk

n Our featured wines are available from

the best local independent wine merchants, supermarkets and online, prices are RRP and may vary from those stated. 61

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KITCHENS • BEDROOMS • BOOT ROOMS • STUDIES INDIVIDUALLY MADE FREE STANDING FURNITURE

Call 07534 808903 richwood-cabinetmakers@hotmail.com BRING RICHWOOD INTO THE HEART OF YOUR HOME

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HOMES & INTERIORS

FORTUNE FAVOURS

THE BOLD Happily, the owners of this month’s featured property have avoided the convention of using light grey and white shades in their home, instead opting for bold dark colours and real drama... it’s a stunning look, and proves conclusively that fortune does indeed favour the bold! Words: Rob Davis. Images: Dean Fisher.

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GRAND, SQUARE & SYMMETRICAL. On prima facie evidence this month’s featured property is every bit the quintessential Georgian home. But inside, however, its owners have avoided the usual cranberry and mustard shades, or austere white tones that you’d traditionally associate with the era, in favour of creating style and drama. “We believe the property dates back to 1780 and it fell into dereliction until 1979 when it was restored,” say owners David Cross and James Dobbs. “When we purchased the house in 2018 it was structurally sound, just waiting for us to put our own mark on it.” “Having renovated older properties before, we’ve always opted for darker bolder shades, and that’s worked especially well here.” Main/Right: Whaplode House is arranged over three floors and has four reception rooms and four or five bedrooms depending on use.

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“When we were going back and forth to purchase the paint, a couple of people expressed a bit of surprise how much we were purchasing, but it was definitely the right decision to use a darker shade.” “The house is really large and all of the rooms are generous in size, so it can take bolder shades. But also when we considered rooms like the drawing room, a darker shade we reasoned would recede its dimensions, making an otherwise really large room quite a bit cosier... in conjunction with comfy oversized sofas and the log burner.” The property is located in Whaplode, and carries a Grade II listing. Arranged over three floors, there are four large reception rooms currently arranged as a drawing room, dining room, living kitchen and a garden room.

“The rooms are all generous in size, so they can take bolder shades, and recede large spaces to create a cosier feel...” The first floor has a rather interesting layout and comprises a nursery bedroom or study, and a generous double bedroom. Adjacent is a family bathroom with stairs in the corner which lead up to the master bedroom. As a result the bathroom is a bit of a whopper in size and benefits from more space and natural light than in most properties. The second floor of the house also features a large landing and two additional bedrooms, plus a range of cupboards... there’s plenty of

useful storage space which is one of the hallmarks of an older property against newer houses. David works from home, employed in the insurance industry, whilst James has his own hair salon. The latter he operates from the property’s enormous outbuilding. Not only does this provide a great rural location for clients to enjoy a bit of pampering, it’s also a highly adaptable space for running and growing any type of business from home. “One of the nice things about the location is that it’s so rural, but still within easy reach of civilisation,” says David. “Shops and other amenities aren’t too far away, but still you can look out of any window and see these awesome fenland panoramas. James is from Peterborough so he’s more used to it than me, but I come from Kent and London, so it’s a huge treat.” >> 67

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>> “When we first viewed the property, there were fields of wheat surrounding it, and that was pretty enough, but in recent years we’ve seen more flowers being planted.” “The sight of daffodil flowers in the field isn’t good for farmers as it means they’ve not been able to harvest them pre-flowering. But for us, the sight of an expanse of beautiful yellow flowers is an absolutely amazing one. We think we have one of the prettiest views we’ve seen from our windows.” “One of our favourite things about the house is the fact that it’s good for modern life, with a huge kitchen, room for appliances and plenty of space. But then, you still have the style and the architecture to work with when you’re decorating.” Above: The kitchen was sprayed in Cavern Grey whilst castors on the old refectory table raised it to the height of a worktop, providing practical food preparation space.

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“There are lovely touches throughout the property too, like the bread oven that’s built into the range in the dining room, and the cellar, which is a novelty these days reserved only for older properties. We love the hallway too and that was the next project on our mind.” “We’ve installed LVT flooring downstairs in the hall but were planning to introduce some William Morris style wallpaper and follow through into the dining room with wood panelling.” “However we’ve a move elsewhere planned, which is necessary but a bit frustrating... we’re absolutely in love with the house and we wish we could pick it up and take it with us wholesale. The rural location is great and the house itself is graceful but also really practical. We hope its next custodians will love living here as much as we have. We also hope they’ll come with ideas of their own as to how to make it look and feel really special!” n

WHAPLODE HOUSE, NEAR SPALDING Location: Holbeach 2.3 miles; Spalding 6.1 miles. Style: Classically proportioned Georgian home with four/five beds and four receptions. Guide Price: £450,000. Find Out More: Fine & Country Seaton Grange Barn Offices, Uppingham, LE15 9HT. Call 01780 750 200 or see www.fineandcountry.com.

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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@peterjacksoncabinets.co.uk

PJCabinetMakers

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HOME FURNISHINGS

Blue is the

COLOUR Bold patterns blended with ticking stripes and solid linen fabrics in shades from indigo to China blue can bring a strong look to period properties... This Spread: William Yeoward fabrics from the Palenque, Florian and Delcia collection.

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Each of our featured fabrics are stocked by the area’s leading independent interior designers...

Top: Manuel Canovas’ new summer 2021 collection; wallpaper Nara in celeste colourway £79/roll, curtains in Nara Celeste £72/m. Furniture and lamp Nicholas Haslem. Above/Right: Kensington Walk from Zoffany £99/m. Right: Wallpaper from Harlequin’s Renew collection £75/roll.

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Angus fabrics in Fairmont colourway, ticking stripes and chinoiserie, by Clarke & Clarke, £45/m.

75 75

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Kensington Walk from Zoffany £75/roll.

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Local Suppliers... Aitch Interiors: 01522 810961, www.aitchinteriors.co.uk. Anelise Home: 01522 530400, www.anelisehome.co.uk. Delcor: 01780 762579, www.delcor.co.uk. Richard Sutton Interiors: 01472 268377, richardsutton designinteriors.com. Sack Store: 01205 310101, www.sackstore.co.uk. Stevensons: 01472 233111, www.stevensonsgroup.co.uk. n Top: Clarke & Clarke Edgewood fabrics, new collection for summer 2021; sofa in Knightsbridge Denim, foot stool in Portland navy. Above: William Yeoward fabric, headboard in Cuzco, throw in Ceiba, Cushions in Mitla and Balsas. Right: Clarke & Clarke Avalon in denim. Kensington Walk from Zoffany £99/m.

Please note prices are RRP and should be considered a guide only, availability of brands and ranges at the above design studios subject to variation.

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Home Interiors Studio

Interior design for reception rooms, bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms Plus: Finishing touches from lighting to mirrors to bedding & home decor

Anelise Home, 140 Burton Road, Lincoln, LN1 3LW

01522 530400 • www.anelisehome.co.uk

Peterborough’s Premier Kitchen Design & Installation Specialists...

Papyrus Road, Peterborough PE4 5BH JUST ALONG FROM THE BMW & AUDI MOTOR DEALERSHIPS

01733 894422 | www.pdakitchens.co.uk 78

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ANELISE HOME

Ideas, inspiration and accessories to help

CREATE YOUR HOME From creative advice on how to achieve the look you’re seeking, to interior design expertise, right down to the ﬁnishing touches and accessories to complete your work, Lincoln’s Liz Millns can help turn your house into a home and your dream into a design... 80

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BAKING A CAKE relies on combining the right ingredients in the right way. Designing your home is the same.

who is overbearing or takes over, and all of my clients love their homes so they want to be a part of their interior design project.”

Combining ingredients, from the larger items in your room to the smaller details and finishing touches, considering textures as well as tones, choosing the perfect colour and working with the architecture of your home.

“So without doubt the secret of being a good interior designer is to facilitate, not impart; to work with the client and bring their personality and their preferences out in the project, not to graft on the designer’s own preferences.”

It’s a joy, of course, but also something you want to get right first time, with an end result you’ll enjoy living with for years. That’s why it’s always wise to seek a little help, and why Liz Millns is so well-regarded, not just as a skilled designer, but also a trusted counsel for those who want to get the best from their own efforts.

“We can offer as much or as little input in a project as the client wants. Our design projects begin with an initial consultation with me in your home, someone who will listen to your thoughts and ideas to gain an insight into the style you would like to achieve,” says Liz.

“It’s not about the room, it’s about the person,” says Liz. “Nobody wants to work with someone

Above: Lincoln’s Anelise Home provides interior design and accessories too.

“We can provide an initial design consultation with written advice on lighting, colour schemes, wall finishes, accessories and furniture for just 81

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“Above all, our service is as unique and as individual as our clients themselves, so our work is collaborative...”

£200, which is designed to help clients who want to create their own home but need a little objective inspiration.” “We can also provide a comprehensive room design consultation which is costed and detailed – right down to lighting, flooring, finishes and presentation – for £450/room.” “A third option is full house design with project management from start to finish, which is designed as a turnkey solution for those who are too busy to oversee a total renovation. Each of our three services have been designed with a view to providing just the right level of involvement for the client.” “We can source and help in the design of fitted kitchens and bathrooms and all of the

fixtures, flooring, tiling and appliances within, and we work in collaboration with local floral designers to also provide exterior design and landscaping schemes too.” “Above all, our service is as unique and as individual as our clients themselves, so our work is always truly collaborative.” “With good communication and strong budget and time management, we can ensure your project is well thought-out and successful.” “Whether it’s perfecting a single room or transforming an entire home, we have a full comprehensive portfolio of home renovations in and around Lincolnshire, and are incredibly proud of the projects we’ve completed over the past decade.” n

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Achieving the

Anelise Look As well as its design services, Anelise Home also has a showroom of fabrics, upholstery, accessories and gifts for your home. You can also visit anelisehome.co.uk to shop online.

Find Out More: All of the products featured here are available from Anelise Home on Burton Road, Lincoln LN1 3LW. As well as offering stylish accessories for your home, the company, led by Liz Millns also provides interior design consultations and kitchen & bathroom design. For a no obligation chat about your project, call 01522 530400 or see www.anelisehome.co.uk.

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LINCOLNSHIRE GARDENS

20 YEARS of

HARD WORK Few pursuits over the past 20 years have been as noble as Ursula Cholmeley and her team’s cause to restore the gardens of the former Easton Hall. Once in a ruinous state, the team at Easton Walled Gardens has worked really hard to bring back to life the stunning 12-acre site, now admired by over 20,000 visitors a year... Images: Fred Cholmeley.

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LINCOLNSHIRE GARDENS

DETERMINATION & SURVIVAL. That’s what it’s taken to restore Easton Walled Gardens to its former glory. This month, you can be one of the 20,000 annual visitors to the garden, and when you visit, you can admire the sweet peas for which the gardens are justifiably famous in the area. It’s taken two decades and enormous amounts of hard work on the part of Ursula & Fred Cholmeley, and their team of 25. The gardens are 450 years old, but when the adjacent Easton Hall was requisitioned during both world wars, firstly as a convalescent home, then as a barracks, the place fell into disrepair. The final straw was the theft of lead from the roof, which compelled Sir Hugh Cholmeley to make the decision to pull the whole place down. The site’s adjacent garden also fell into neglect until the early 1990s when Fred Cholmeley (Sir Hugh’s grandson) moved back to Easton with his new wife, dismayed by the thought that without restoration, the venerable 12-acre gardens would have no future. “We thought that the stables could provide a way in and out of the gardens for visitors,” says Ursula. “In 2001 we began work, and by the end of the decade there were two gardeners on the site for the first time in more than three generations.” By 2015 the garden was already well-renowned for its snowdrop displays in winter. >>

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IN THE GARDEN IN JULY...

Jobs to complete and a guide to planting in the summer months n Keep in the water: Water borders and lawns throughout the summer. It’s best to water at dusk to prevent evaporation and scorching as water droplets will act as a magnifying glass for the sun’s rays. Good quality mulch will help to retain moisture too. n Taking Cuttings: Start taking cuttings of tender perennials such as salvias, pelargoniums and penstemons. Plant the last of the half-hardy annuals in their place – cosmos, nicotianas, zinnias and cleomes – for flowers into the middle of autumn. n The Flower Garden: In your floral borders, deadhead roses, sweet peas and bedding plants. Cut back perennial plants, geraniums, delphiniums etc., and prune wisteria and lupins. Keep an eye out for pests like aphids and treat early. n Planting and Sowing: Sow biennials, such as foxgloves, honesty, forget-me-nots and wallflowers, for blooms next year. Sow autumn-flowering bulbs like gladiolus, nerines, cyclamen and begonias. Also at this time sowings of biennials such as foxglove, sweet william, canterbury bells and forget-me-nots can be made for planting out in autumn. n The Kitchen Garden: Water fruit trees, bushes and tomatoes, sow the last crop of peas and beans for an autumn crop. n The Lawn: Look after the lawn with fertiliser, cut regularly and often. Keep grass well watered and if your lawn is looking ‘stressed’ raise the mower to avoid dragging the blades. Investing in a new set of blades or having your existing one sharpened will help. n Other jobs: Cut lavender for drying. Damp down the greenhouse floor each morning on hot days to increase humidity. Take large-leaved houseplants into the garden and hose them down to clean off dust. Top up bird baths, ponds and water features during hot weather.

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LINCOLNSHIRE GARDENS

“The 12-acre gardens are open again, and the team are all looking forward to a very successful summer. All they need now is a bit of summer sunshine...!”

In the summer meanwhile, its sweet peas were a big attraction. By 2018, too, the roofs and walls of the stables had been repaired, the hedges and borders had matured... generally the gardens were looking great. Flooding in February 2020 and then the pandemic have given the team a ‘reality check,’ but open again, and looking forward to a very successful summer, all the team needs now is a bit of sunshine. The garden’s two acres of meadows are full of scent and the Rose Meadows especially come alive in the summer. The Velvet border takes continental gardens as its influence and features red tulips and purple comfrey in spring which give way to phlomis and coronaria in the summer. In 2018 new steps were added to guide visitors down to the White Garden, inspired by Charles Jencks, and with new borders and primrose. The Pickery and Alpine Troughs are where you’ll find the garden’s sweet peas – no fewer than 50 varieties – and later in summer, the very same area will features dahlias, cosmos, zinnias, salvias and more. There’s also a Cottage Garden area, designed in a smaller space to provide inspiration for gardens of a more typical scale, with lilac, buddleia, and pots of agapanthus. There’s also a vegetable garden and the long borders adjacent to the River Witham which attracts the occasional native crayfish or trout and entices the odd kingfisher. 450 years is an incredibly long time, but it’s the last 20 years which history will record as being the most significant in the gardens’ history. Ursula and her team have done a stunning job of restoring the site, and deserve huge credit for preventing what would have been considered a huge loss by anyone with an appreciation for gardens or for history. n Easton Walled Gardens is based near Grantham, adjacent to the A1, NG33 5AP. Open Wednesday-Sunday until September. Call 01476 530063 or see www.visiteaston.co.uk. 89

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FLAT ROOFS?

WE’VE GOT THEM COVERED

Specialising in all flat roofing work, from garage roofs to conservatory conversions. We can replace old conservatory roofing – too hot in the summer, to cold in the winter – with a fully insulated roof and skylight system for comfort and an improved appearance Commercial & Domestic Roof Repairs Guttering, Fascias & Soffits Conservatories and Balconies

Call 07825 381878

or see www.firstrateflatroofing.co.uk No Pressure Selling • Free, No Obligation Quotes • 25 Year Guarantee

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FULL DESIGN SERVICE, ALL MANAGED UNDER ONE ROOF

• Contemporary, modern, traditional & handmade bespoke kitchens • Affordable, quality kitchens and the latest designs on display • Over 60 appliances on show • Review our recent jobs on our website www.qksstamford.co.uk or visit our Facebook page • 25 large room settings in our extensive showroom The best quality, best value and best service from a company fitting kitchens since 1981

THE AREA’S LARGEST INDEPENDENT KITCHEN SHOWROOM The Maltings, Barnack Road, Stamford PE9 2NA T: 01780 756514 or 755855

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Open Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm. Sat, 9am-3pm, closed all day Sunday

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CAPABILITY BROWN’S LANDSCAPES

Capability Brown’s

GREAT LANDSCAPES His name is synonymous with the most well-established country estates in England. His legacy is rolling parkland and rivers that meander towards expansive lakes. Capability Brown, in the 18th century, forever changed the way that our stately homes look… IF YOU’D GATHERED TOGETHER a few guineas in the 18th century, you’d probably treat yourself to whatever enormous country pile came on the market, or commission a grand country home yourself. And once you’d created a place with suitably grand Georgian proportions and lavish interiors, you’d probably want to entrust the design of its surrounding parkland to the equally instantly recognisable style of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. Brown was born in Northumberland around 1715 and died in 1783. During that time, he designed a remarkable 250 country estates of which 150 survive today. Schooled in the area he was apprenticed to the head gardener of Sir William Loraine, at Kirkharle Hall, once a vast farming estate and today a more modest country property converted into a series of galleries, craft shops and restaurants. Kirkharle’s estate was one over which Brown effected a great transformation. But it was only after he’d ventured down here to Boston and met his future wife Bridget Wayet – Biddy – in 1744 that he spread his wings. Brown ventured inland and joined Lord Cobham’s staff at Stowe, Buckinghamshire, where he was appointed head gardener at 26, in 1742, remaining there until 1750. Cobham allowed Capability Brown to undertake commissions from his aristocratic friends, and soon he had designed parkland at Belvoir Castle, Burghley House and at Grimsthorpe Castle near Bourne as well as the great

English country estates of Blenheim Palace, Highclere Castle and Hampton Court. The English religious writer Hannah More worked alongside Capability Brown at Hampton, and described how Capability Brown used grammatical metaphors to describe the features of his landscapes – commas, a colon, parenthesis or a full stop – depending on where he wanted the eye to rest. His vernacular was smooth undulating areas of grass, belts and scatterings of trees and serpentine lakes. Favouring parkland instead of areas of formal gardens was a vast contrast to his forebears like Alexander Pope. In addition to his eye for landscapes Brown was also a skilled water engineer and could create complex land drainage schemes for his lakes and rivers. Capability Brown would introduce ha-has, long curved drives, boat houses and ice houses, and would alternate clumps of native trees like oak, beech and chestnut with newly imported exotics such as cedar of Lebanon, which would become his signature tree. Capability Brown’s success would have netted him over £20m in today’s money, but though he was driven and very much in demand, he’s reported to have maintained his easy-going nature throughout his career, and he dearly loved his wife and seven children. He did, however, suffer badly from bouts of illness, not least among which was asthma, and died aged 67.

Words: Rob Davis.

Burghley House Capability Brown’s association with Burghley House was the longest in the landscaper’s history. His transformation of the country estate’s landscape began when Brownlow Cecil, the 9th Earl of Exeter, inherited the estate in 1754. Unusually, Brown was hired not only to update the grounds of the country estate but to create the stableblocks and the estate’s orangery, indulging the Cecil family’s passion for exotic horticulture with the use of floor-to-ceiling windows, providing excellent views of the formal gardens but also exposing to space to lots of natural light. The restoration of the five-acre sculpture gardens in 1994 reclaimed Capability Brown’s domed ice house, limestone cliff and Swallow’s Rill, a gulley which serves as an overflow for the estate’s lake. Brown’s lake covered 11 acres; it was expanded by the end of the 18th century by the 10th Earl. The estate’s deer park was also the vision of Capability Brown, as were the estate’s balustrade bridge and its Coade stone lions. Pilsgate Lodges, Bottle Lodges and the Queen Elizabeth Gate were all post-Capability Brown additions, though created by landscapers like Stamford’s W Legg from around 1801. Grimsthorpe Castle The landscape architect’s contribution to Bourne’s Grimsthorpe Castle was thought to be one of his earliest commissions, for Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster. In 1741 the estate was remodelled with the

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CAPABILITY BROWN’S LANDSCAPES

creation of Mill Dam Pond and later in 1771, extensions to the parkland and the creation of a sham bridge over newly extended lakes. It’s thought that the water for Grimsthorpe’s lake was redirected from springs at the ruins of Vaudey Abbey, a Cistercian monastery destroyed in 1536. The architect’s original plans for the sham bridge was one with 11 arches of graduated heights but this seemed too ambitious for the Duke’s pockets. Nonetheless, Capability Brown’s fee was settled by the estate’s executors in 1745 with £105 (over £170,000 today) billed. Not bad for work amounting to three weeks of surveys by Brown and his surveyor Samuel Lapidge and a total of four drawings. Two of these original drawings remain.

“The remodelling of the parkland surrounding Belvoir Castle, in 1780, was to be one of the last projects that Capability Brown undertook...”

Above: Belvoir Castle, Grimsthorpe and the Grimsthorpe Estate’s deer park.

Brown’s other legacy for the estate, though, was the deer enclosure which remains today. His planting scheme included Scots Pine trees which would frame a view looking east towards the area of ‘God’s Valley’ to the castle. Belvoir Castle

The remodelling of the parkland surrounding Belvoir Castle, ancestral home to the Duke of Rutland, was to be one of the last projects that Capability Brown undertook. Alas, the 4th Duke of Rutland had extensive debts and so work stalled along with his finances. Commissioned in 1780, just three years before Capability Brown’s death, the landscape architect’s vision was never realised in time, and the Duke himself also died in 1787.

Capability Brown’s plans were lost, only to be rediscovered in 2015 by the Emma, Duchess of Rutland just a couple of years after she embarked on her own project to restore 500 acres of woodland. Searching through the castle’s archives, the Duchess was astonished to discover the original documents and after verification by garden historian Steffie Shields, the Duchess finished the landscape that Capability Brown never got to complete, also writing a book about the project, Capability Brown & Belvoir, and partnering with Alan Titchmarsh who filmed the project for his Titchmarsh on Capability Brown series. Brown had the estate surveyed, and advised on improvements to the house and estate, charging just over £500 in total (around £750,000).

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His original plan for the landscape included creating lakes, huge new woods, planting clumps and belts of trees and major earth works, such as smoothing out the castle mound and building an embankment to link it to a nearby hill. Rather than moving the nearby village of Woolsthorpe to improve the view, he incorporated it into his plan, partly screened by trees. He proposed new pleasure gardens, but kept the existing formal Tudor gardens, canal and wilderness. Brown also planned to create a ‘chase;’ open land for hunting, and reinstated Belvoir’s free warren, for hunting with hawks, which would reflect Belvoir’s medieval past.

At the time that the work was undertaken, the estate covered 3,928 acres, and Brown was to charge the duke £196 (around £320,000) to oversee the implementation of his plans as well as a further £300 (£440,000) for proposed improvements to the Castle itself and for his journeys to Belvoir Castle. By the time the 5th Duke came of age, his forebear’s debts were repaid and the family fortunes improved. Most of the perimeter belts of trees and some woodland had been planted by the turn of the century. In 1788 three clumps of trees were planted, including Holywell Wood. The planting there is in Brown’s style, with clump of oaks in the centre of a ring of beech and horse chestnut

trees, but there is no evidence that the design was Brown’s. The embankment that Capability Brown proposed was probably the last element of his plans to be implemented prior to the Duchess’s 21st century work, but the current Belvoir Castle dates from 1801 and was mostly completed by James Wyatt, and by Sir John Thoroton in 1816 to repair damage by rioting Luddites. Wyatt’s own plans for Belvoir are probably the reasons that Capability Brown’s designs were put on the shelf where they remained in the archives until The Duchess rediscovered them, in a timely fashion, just a year before celebrations for the 300th anniversary of Capability Brown’s birth! n 95

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MAKING HONEY

THE BEES’

PLEAS

Lincolnshire’s bees – and our beekeepers – need our support. These plucky pollinators and their custodians are rallying against a drop in bee populations and the use of neonicotinoids. Lose our bee population, and the pollination of our crops will suffer, to say nothing of the fact that we’ll lose out on the chance to enjoy delicious honey such as that produced by Ian and Blaga Peters of Stickford-based CosyBees... Words: Rob Davis.

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‘ISN’T IT FUNNY, HOW A BEE LOVES HONEY,’ to quote A A Milne’s teddy bear, Winnie the Pooh. ‘Buzz, buzz, buzz, I wonder why he does.’ An easy one to postulate upon in our opinion; it’s sweet, delicious and of course, natural. But what of the bees themselves, why do they cause such a buzz among beekeepers like Stickford-based Cosy Bees – Ian and Blaga Peters – tending to their eight hives with such diligence? “It’s a subject that you can never quite say with any confidence that you’ve mastered in its entirety,” says Ian. “Just when you think you’ve seen it all, just when you think you know most of what you need to know, they can still surprise you. And every hive, every colony is different.” Beekeeping is a ridiculously complex subject, about which entire libraries and periodicals have been written. So, please excuse this article being rudely brief. The societal structure of a bee colony; the politics in and between hives; the way they make honey; the intricate dance they perform to communicate to one another the location of pollen, and even their housekeeping – perhaps that should be hive-keeping – habits, and the way bees raise their children… they’re all topics in their own right. Happily, there could be no better guides on the subject than Ian and Blaga, and no better day to visit their 1.6 acre garden with its eight hives, than when we turned up to see for ourselves why keeping bees is such a buzz.

He created his own 9ft revolving observatory and became a part of the local community of likeminded stargazers. Ian also worked for a very good retailer of telescopes and associated equipment, but describes the job as almost wage-neutral, since being surrounded by potential purchases often proved too tempting. Latterly in Hertfordshire, their bees were kept on land owned by a big player in the pharma-sector, Smith, Kline & French, which afforded them the opportunity to join the local beekeeping community and develop their interest further by adding more hives. The couple relocated to Lincolnshire in 2017, drawn to the area by the prospect of a better lifestyle, a larger garden and also, a lack of light pollution. Lincolnshire of course enjoys big, dark skies, particularly when you’re situated just eight miles from the coast.

The Bee Year…

Over winter, it’s important to leave about a third of the honey the bees produce for them to consume. During the winter, the population of a hive will reduce from around 60,000-80,000 to just 2,000-6,000 bees; a sort of skeleton staff. During this time, the queen will be less active, having laid most of her eggs in the summer months in cells which are then sealed up by worker bees. In spring, the bees begin their epic six-month production cycle. Beekeepers derive two crops of honey; one in May/June – which tends to be more suited to producing set honey, the bees having harvested crops like oilseed rape, resulting in

I am possessed of proper property envy by the couple’s plot, in a lovely peaceful location near Stickford, with its lake that not only affords a chance to enjoy wildlife and great views, but also provides the ideal backdrop for their colonies… not that there will be much time to enjoy the view this month, because we’re just coming up to the busiest (buzziest?) time in a beekeeper’s calendar.

If you remember, just before Easter when temperatures plummeted, there were a few days with respectable temperatures and a bit of sunshine. The girls, Ian reassured me, were in a good mood, and so was I. The Background…

Ian and Blaga are from Hertfordshire and Macedonia respectively. Ian is the son of a farmer and so grew up with a limitless respect for, and an enduring love of, the countryside. Blaga’s home country, meanwhile, has what she describes as four proper seasons, enabling her to enjoy each and every month of the year in the natural world. Both worked in administration in the public sector, and settled in the unquestionably pretty Welwyn Garden City, pursuing not just their careers but also their interests, beekeeping – which they discovered in 2015 after embarking on an introductory course – and for Ian, astronomy.

Above: Ian and Blaga Peters are based in Stickford where they enjoy the company of about half a million of their closest friends... their honey bee colonies.

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BEE KEEPING IN LINCOLNSHIRE

“It’s rare to encounter a tense beekeeper, since the craft is naturally quite peaceful once you’re used the presence of the bees and visa versa...” a slightly different sugar content. There’s also a main crop in mid-summer. The latter harvest is usually runnier and typically yields a more floral honey thanks to the greater diversity of flowers, shrubs and trees available to the bees to forage on. That means Ian and Blaga have two particularly busy periods when they extract the frames on which the bees deposit their honey by scraping off the wax cappings they secrete to seal it in, and use an electric centrifuge to spin out their crop. Once their honey is harvested, though, there’s still plenty of work for Ian and Blaga to do, cleaning and then freezing the extracted frames, to kill off any wax moths which are the nemesis of the beekeeper. Hive Minded…

A bee hive’s structure is brilliantly designed for the benefit of both beekeeper and the colony itself. The main body of the hive is called a ‘brood box’ where the bees live most of the time. The top part where most of the honey is stored is called a ‘super’ from which the bee keeper extracts the honey. Around their hives, Ian and Blaga have installed roofing insulation panels, helping the bees to keep their hives at a cosy 35°c, and keep the East Coast breeze off… hence the name of their operation; Cosy Bees. The brood box in which the queen lives, contains up to eleven frames of wax comb in which she lays her eggs – about 2,000 a day – in the cells in this area. Female worker bees seal in the larvae, known as brood, and cap them with wax – secreted from a gland on their abdomen – to keep them safe and sound and tend to them until they hatch out. The male bees or drones, meanwhile, mate with the queen bee, then pretty much just sit around doing nothing aside from getting under their females’ feet. Good job human males aren’t like that(!). Above the brood box is a horizontal panel known as a queen excluder, which does rather what its name suggests. The queen 98

can’t get above this excluder and thus cannot lay eggs in the super where the worker bees store most of the honey crop. As the brood box is mainly full of bee larvae the worker bees instinctively fill up the cells on the super frames with honey and seal them up. These are intended as the food stores for the hive over the winter. When extracting the honey the beekeeper ensures that enough stores remain for the hive for the winter. Winter stores...

During a hard winter and if it is particularly wet and cold the bees can starve if there is not enough stores. Just under the hive’s lid, Ian and Blaga can place containers of fondant or ambrosia – sugar syrup – to ensure the bees are well-fed during the lean winter months. Early in spring, each hive’s frames are placed back into their supers for the spring crop of honey. Frames will last a few years but Ian and Blaga reckon they replace a third of their frames each year with fresh new ones. These have single sheets of wax on them, with a slight honeycomb pattern, which the workers will use as a base on which to build up a quarter-inch thick series of cells, ready to be filled with honey and youngsters. Bee Politically Aware...

To get started in beekeeping, a beginner will purchase a nucleus of bees with a queen bee. If they are lucky they may acquire a swarm of bees during the spring or summer instead. Whilst your average worker bee will live for about six weeks, the queen bee usually lives around three years but becomes less productive after about two years. When the hive sense that the queen is less productive or if the hive becomes over populated they will produce queen cells, raising a new queen as quickly as possible by feeding larvae in the dedicated queen cells with royal jelly. One occurrence Ian and Blaga are always keeping an eye on is the emergence of two queens. If a hive is becoming a little crowded, or if there are multiple queens, there’s a danger of swarming.

Essentially this is a division of the colony into two, with the emerging colony leaving the hive with its queen to set up afresh. Pre-emptive action can manage a swarming, to ensure they can be relocated in a hive rather than flying off to make their own way in the world. A canny – or at least proficient – beekeeper can therefore create multiple hives or colonies from their original swarm. That’s how Ian and Blaga turned one hive into two, then four, and finally their current eight hives. Bee Realistic...

Hopefully few people would read the above and think that keeping bees is a cinch. Nor is it a license to jar-up cash. As Ian and Blaga point out, it’s about half a day’s work each week just to inspect and check on their colonies, plus a great deal of work in the summer when harvesting each of the two honey crops. There’s also a steep learning curve when it comes to beekeeping and indeed there are entire degree courses dedicated to the subject. Financially there’s the matter of the cost of each hive; about £300 plus the ongoing cost of replacing frames and repairing damage, plus if you need to purchase new bees – about £300, which is soul-destroying if you’re unfortunate to lose your colony and need to replace it. Then there are bee suits (about £100 £150); honey centrifuges (about £1,000 for a decent electric one) and the ongoing cost of jars and labels etc. It’s not all bad news; there is a DIY option for those who fancy building their own from a kit, plus your local bee association may help out new beekeepers undertaking their training courses. So those with the time and patience to invest won’t find themselves alone. It’s a proper community, with Ian and Blaga active members of the Horncastle division of the Lincolnshire Beekeepers’ Association, a group which in turn belongs to the British Beekeepers’ Association. >>

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DECODING A HONEY BEE’S DANCE MOVES...

Female worker bees perform a series of movements, often referred to as the ‘waggle dance,’ to teach other workers the location of food sources which can be located anything from three to six miles from the hive. Returning to the hive, the honey bee first walks straight ahead, vigorously shaking its abdomen and producing a buzzing sound with the beat of its wings. The distance and speed of this movement communicates the distance of the foraging site to the others. Communicating direction becomes more complex, as the dancing bee aligns her body in the direction of the food, relative to the sun. The entire dance pattern is a figure-eight, with the bee repeating the straight portion of the movement each time it circles to the center again. Honey bees also use two variations of the waggle dance to direct others to food sources closer to home; the round dance, and the crescentshaped ‘sickle dance.’

Lincolnshire Pride’s Executive Editor Rob Davis discovers what’s buzzing in the world of beekeeping.

The honey bee dance was observed and noted by Aristotle as early as 330 BC. Karl von Frisch, a professor of zoology in Munich, Germany, earned the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his work to decode this dance language. n Words: Debbie Hadley, Thoughtco.

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BEE KEEPING IN LINCOLNSHIRE

Bee Cautious...

One of the most common questions a beekeeper is asked is whether they still get stung. Yes, occasionally; it’s a sort of occupational hazard – it’s not an inevitability as long as you are gentle with them, although bees do sometimes have a (hive) mind of their own. It’s rare to encounter a tense beekeeper, since the craft is naturally quite peaceful, once you’re used the presence of the bees and visa versa. Being slow, deliberate and calm will minimise the risk. Bees like routine, methodical beekeepers and those they’re familiar with. Conversely, they dislike vibrations, thunderstorms and sudden movements. It’s testimony to Ian and Blaga’s temperament, though, that they don’t even use smokers to lull their bees into drowsiness; their calm personalities are sufficient to keep on their bees’ good side. The worst thing people can do is spot a bee and being tensing up or flailing about. Bees only sting as a last resort as doing so ruptures the poor creatures’ abdomens. If you are unfortunate enough to be stung, resist the temptation to brush at the site, or try to pinch out the sting, instead, carefully scrape the sting off the skin with something like a credit card, parallel to the skin. It’s actually the pumping of bee venom from the gland sack sticking out of the skin, rather than the prick itself, which causes the pain, so leaving the venom sac as intact as possible will minimise its effect.

Bee Thankful...

Ultimately, the reward of the beekeeper is that glossy, amber-coloured nectar, which makes the whole venture worthwhile. Honey really is remarkable stuff, used in savoury dishes like

honey and wholegrain mustard chicken and pork chops, or to create honey cake, to slather on toast or over porridge in the morning… or simply as a substitute for refined sugar. With around 100lbs from each hive per harvest, Ian and Blaga produce around 1,000 jars a year, and with only a finite capacity for personal consumption, have begin to offer their honey for sale via Yummy, which provides fresh local food delivered to your door. Another reward for the couple’s hard work is the knowledge that bees are exceptional pollinators and keep the natural world ticking over. The beekeeping community isn’t keen on farmers’ use of neonicotinoids, as these kill bees along with other pollinators and the chemicals can remain in the soil for around five years, meaning that just one year’s treatment can harm bee populations for years. Since 1930, over 97% of the UK’s flower-rich grassland has been eradicated and today, 35 of the UK’s 250 bee species are under threat of extinction. Bees pollinate a third of our food crops like apples, tomatoes, cucumbers and 90% of our wild plants. Greenpeace reports that yields of our crops will suffer serious damage if a further decline in bees and other pollinators is allowed to continue. Mercifully at least, Lincolnshire is currently devoid of the nefarious Asian hornet, an aggressive species seen to have decimated bee populations in places like Jersey and the Isle of Wight. Unfortunately, that makes the biggest threat to bee populations… us. Bee Optimistic…

Happily though, Lincolnshire in particular has an affinity and a respect for the plucky pollinators propping up our plant life. Thanks to beekeepers like Ian and Blaga – and about half a million of their close friends – the countryside has a very good ally in Apis mellifera. More of us should support these remarkable creatures and if, as an additional consequence, we can also enjoy the great taste of honey too… well, that’s certainly something that should leave us positively buzzing. n

Find Out More: Ian and Blaga Peters are the founders of Lincolnshire based Cosy Bees. The couple’s runny and set honey is available now on Yummy (www.yummy.co.uk), which delivers fresh local food right to your door! £6.00/454g jar.

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BEE FACTS & FIGURES There are around 260,268 honey bee hives in the UK, with 44,000 amateur beekeepers. Each hive or colony has an average of 60,000 bees which puts the UK bee population at around 15,616,080,000 at the height of summer – the bee population drops significantly during the winter months. It takes the nectar from two million flowers for honey bees to make just 450g of honey. To be properly classified as honey, the stuff must reach a composition of 80% sugars and 20% water. A single hive can produce anywhere from 27-45kg of honey every year. The queen bee is the only bee that lays worker eggs and can live up to five years. The summer months, when the hive needs to be at its maximum strength, are her ‘buzziest’ period, where she can lay up to 2,500 eggs per day. Bees have existed for around 130,000,000 years and have four life stages: egg, larvae, pupae, and adult. Honey bees have 170 odorant receptors, which gives them a sense of smell 50x more powerful than a dog’s. They can even be trained to locate buried land mines... and bees hate the smell of human breath! Hives produce five distinct substances: honey, beeswax, propolis (bee glue, used in the hive), pollen, and royal jelly.

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WEDDINGS

A Country Wedding It’s unusual to hear a farmer expressing satisfaction with the weather, but when John and Laura tied the knot in Southrey not even the Great British climate could prevent the day from being absolutely perfect! Wedding Photographer: Gary Anderson, 01507 351639, www.gjaphotography.com.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU SAY “I Do!” Hopefully once in a lifetime, which by sheer coincidence is the same number of times I’ve heard a farmer say ‘the weather was perfect.’ Nonetheless, the Great British climate was just one of many aspects of John and Laura’s wedding that the couple declared were spot on.

WEDDING SUPPLIERS JOHN & LAURA TOMLINSON

“I’m from Market Rasen and I work on the Dyson farming estate as a property coordinator,” says Laura. John, meanwhile, is a farmer, mostly arable, but he keeps a few suckler cattle to look after, as well.

“That being said we have decided that for our first anniversary we will host a garden party that will serve as a sort of belated wedding reception.”

“We were introduced by a friend and soon started chatting, online at first, but then in person,” says Laura. “We absolutely love living here, and throughout the year we see the place evolving with the seasons.”

“For the same reason we wanted to marry in Southrey Church, a building that we would walk past and see all the time. St John the Divine is a New England-looking building, really distinctive and small, which we thought would suit a lockdown wedding

“The plan for our reception was to have a marquee on the lawn, but with a reduced number of guests we needed to rethink our plans. We were really lucky as Woodhall Spa’s Dower House had availability for a private dining function that would serve as a wedding reception, and we could also use the background of the hotel for some of our wedding photos too.” “Having a smaller wedding than we were originally planning wasn’t a bad thing. It meant that our time wasn’t diluted among too many people and we had a simpler, less stressful reception to plan as a result.”

The couple have lived in Southrey near Wragby since 2014, and notwithstanding John’s career, adore spending time living as well as working in the countryside.

“I was half-expecting a proposal at some point but in spring 2020 John and I went for a walk around our favourite area of local woodland. To my absolutely surprise he dropped down on one knee and proposed right there. It was so romantic and with all of the spring flowers out, there was a real sense of new beginnings. On our wedding day we returned to the very same place he proposed to have some of our photos taken there too.”

because as restrictions continued we soon realised that our guest list of 120 people would be cut down to just 15.”

“In line with the simpler wedding reception I was looking for an elegant wedding dress and I came across a Signature Collection column dress on Wed2Be which had thin straps and a large jacket to wear over.” Wedding Ceremony: St John the Divine, Southrey; 01526 399803. Wedding Reception: The Dower House, Woodhall Spa, 01526 352588, www.dowerhousehotel.co.uk. Wedding Hair: David at Cabello Hair, Lincoln, 01522 692641. Makeup: Thea Elizabeth, Tattershall. Photographer: GJA Photography, Louth, 01507 351639 or see www.gjaphotography.com. n

“We didn’t want to create a colour scheme that was too restrictive so we kept to neutral off-white tones and added a few blue highlights like the bridesmaids’ dresses in a soft blue-grey and a few soft pinks in the hand-tied posey.” “Our family all helped to grow the flowers we used for our wedding flowers, and we arranged them ourselves. Our wedding cake, too, was baked by John’s mum. There was very much a sense of us all working together to create a really enjoyable day, which made everything seem extra special.” >> 105

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WEDDINGS

“Marriage registers are now going digital, and we were the final couple to sign as a physical document...” >> “Even with fewer people permitted at the wedding we were able to have four bridesmaids; my two friends from school, my sister and John’s sister. John meanwhile had two groomsmen.” “One of the happiest parts of the day is that even though the number of guests we wanted wasn’t permitted in the church, we had a few of our friends and family joining us outside, socially distanced, for a glass of Champagne to toast the day. It was lovely to see them and to have them as part of our day!” “Marriage registers are now going digital, and we were the final couple to sign the parish register as a physical document. Perhaps in years to come a historian will look back and research the last couples to sign, and reflect on the brides and grooms hosting a wedding during the pandemic!” “As for us, the day was perfect, and even with restrictions in place, we really couldn’t have planned a more perfect day!” n

Wedding Photographer: Gary Anderson, 01507 351639, www.gjaphotography.com.

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All Things Light and

DUTIFUL Cool, calm and comfortable outﬁts in light fabrics and linens that’ll see you through high summer in style... This Page: Crepe tank top £35, and shorts £65, from French Connection.

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Ema linen playsuit in stone, £145 from Reiss.

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Mylee V-neck dress £104, from Phase Eight.

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Raya white wide legged trousers £150, from Reiss.

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Halter-neck linen jumpsuit £110 from Boden.

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FASHION

Top/Left: Claudette linen tunic from Joules £49.50. Top/Right: White Company linen dress £98. Bottom/Left: Ted Baker Greycie embroidered full midi skirt £119. Bottom/Right: White Company linen tunic in flax £98.

Stockists: Boden, www.boden.co.uk; French Connection, www.frenchconnection.com; Joules, www.joules.com; Phase Eight, www.phase-eight.com; Reiss, www.reiss.com; Ted Baker, www.tedbaker.com; White Company, www.thewhitecompany.com.

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SUMMER COSMETICS

The Lavender Mob LOOK LOVELY IN A PALETTE OF LILAC AND LAVENDER THIS MONTH WE AS BRING FLORAL INFLUENCES TO BEAR WITH THIS SELECTION OF SUMMER COSMETICS

1. Sensory escapes with Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria... A fresh new fragrance with floral influences from Guerlain. Aqua Allegoria is a range of five fresh fragrances including Flora Salvaggia, which is the newest fragrance in the range and comprises bergamot, wild flowers, jasmine and violet. Guerlain also says you can combine each Allegoria scent and layer them over one another too. £69/75ml.

2. Luxury lip tinting... Lightweight, sheer and moisturising. Bobbi Brown’s Glowing Pink collection of lip colour includes this Extra Lip Tint range shown here in bare pink. Blends beautifully with your own lips and contains olive, avocado and jojoba to soften and moisturise, £27/2.3g.

3. A luxury mask...

5. Reflect on your look with designer Kate Spade... Available in both lilac and blush shades, here’s a very chic mirror compact from Spade Street’s new collection. It’s beautiful, classic and comes in the prettiest colours. The designer has crafted it from smooth metal so it feels durable and cool to the touch. Ideal when touching up your lipstick, our favourite details of it remain the angular gold-tone edges and the faceted spade logo on top. £32/lilac.

6. Designer frames from O’Briens of Brigg... O’Briens of Brigg presents these Götti frames. O’Brien’s is the oldest independent opticians in Brigg, North Lincolnshire, established in 1979 01652 653 595, obriensopticians.co.uk

Clarins has created this relaxing face mask with its anti-ageing benefits. It offers a host of benefits like younger, smoother-looking skin, plus a radiant complexion. It takes just 10 minutes, but that’s 10 minutes well spent... a luxurious and relaxing experience! £47/75ml.

4. Gentle removal... Removing makeup is essential for allowing the skin to breathe, heal and replenish itself. Clinique’s Take the Day Off is gentle for lids, lips and lashes, ophthalmologist tested and ideal for gentle cleansing, £47/75ml.

n All our beauty products are available from local independent stockists unless otherwise stated, please note that prices stated are RRP and may vary. 115

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HOLISTIC HEALTH

Positive Changes A good diet can redress the myth that weight gain, mood swings and other symptoms of menopause are an inevitability. Ali Hutchinson offer advice on how to effect positive changes... Words: Ali Hutchinson. Image: Dorte Kjaerulff Photography.

INSPIRED BY A CONVERSATION I had with my friend Laura recently, about how she was feeling as she approached menopause, I thought I’d talk about the health issues that this time in a woman’s life can bring up and how they can be handled. I work with a lot of peri-menopause and menopausal women to help them navigate their way around this important stage in life with ease and an inner knowing. I don’t believe there is anything wrong with HRT, but being informed about your choices and knowing what to look for when making those choices is important. Virtually every woman on the planet, who gets to a certain age, will experience menopause in one way or another. For some the symptoms of peri-menopause (before a woman’s menstrual periods actually stop) will be less intrusive than for others but I’ve noticed there are a few significant things we can do to support ourselves at this crucial time in our lives. Some of the classic symptoms associated with menopause, e.g.: night sweats, hot flushes, mood swings, headaches and difficulty sleeping, can all be managed through diet and lifestyle, an area I love to focus on first as you can soon gain some quick wins. This means bigger changes are more manageable as you have the head space to cope with them. So, what’s your drug of choice? For many of us it’s sugar! Yes, research by neuroscientists

has shown that sugar can be as addictive as cocaine! And the sneaky thing about sugar is that it makes its way into so much of what we eat. If your diet is fuelled by sugar you’re more likely to experience menopause in a very different way to someone whose diet is more whole foods or plant-based. Whether it’s chocolate, sweets, biscuits, cake or white carbs in general, the body comes to rely on this fuel and crave more and more and more! When we give into emotional eating, it’s often empty calories from sugar that we reach for. This not only dampens down our emotions but can mean we put on weight, which can lead to us feeling disappointed in ourselves and a cycle of binge eating and feelings of guilt ensue. This is especially true during menopause when we so often buy into the lie that it’s hard to lose weight over 40 or that middle age spread is ‘inevitable.’ Eating a more whole foods, plant-based diet with plenty of vegetables and also reducing caffeine and alcohol can help your menopause symptoms improve. As we chatted Laura, shared how her hot flushes and night sweats were now completely minimised and that she knew what her triggers were, and could take action to avoid them. She was managing her headaches and anxiety better too and over the last three months had seen the brain fog and forget-

fulness she had started to think would dog her for the rest of her life begin to ease. Another approach is to increase your protein which can come from either animal or plant sources. Plus it’s good to eat foods that contain phytoestrogens, also known as dietary estrogen which are naturally occurring plant compounds that may act in a way similar to that of estrogen produced by the human body, can help too. So what foods are rich in phytoestrogens? Linseeds, sweet potatoes, oats, walnuts, sesame seeds and soy products e.g.: soy beans and edamame, are all good. Dried apricots, dates, and prunes – especially when combined with nuts to reduce the quick up-take of sugar – as well as cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and cabbage are all rich in phytoestrogens too. I also think it’s really important that we start a dialogue about menopause not just with other women who are experiencing it. As the old adage goes, a problem shared is a problem halved, especially when shared with husbands, partners, work colleagues and our teens – both male and female. We need to start to change the stigma about menopause and that has to start with us. Why not join one of my menopause and cacao ‘sister circles’ and share your experiences with other women in a safe and supportive environment? Message me for future dates and locations across the county. n

Find Out More: If you’re struggling with menopause, experiencing gut issues, or need support with energy levels, weight loss or weight management or would just like a body MOT I’d love to help you. Through the blog www.ali-hutchinson.co.uk you can book a free discovery call to find out how I could help you on the path to a brighter future or ring: 07973 843020 or email: hello@ali-hutchinson.co.uk to book a consultation.

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MOTORS

THE ECO-FRIENDLY

CAYENNE The latest Porsche Cayenne is brimming with tech, great looks and has a peerless driving dynamic. But now, it’s also more eco-friendly, too, thanks to a hybrid model, which is our pick of the range... Words: Rob Davis.

WHEN THE PORSCHE CAYENNE launched in 2002 there were a cynical few who guffawed at the idea of an off-roader from a company more firmly established in the sports car market. They’re not laughing now. Over 700,000 motorists worldwide have a Cayenne on their driveway and the model has also given way to a junior model, the Macan. But times are changing, and now, large SUVs more than any other class of car need to prove their eco-friendly credentials to potential customers. And so, the third generation Cayenne includes within its lineup an E-Hybrid version which combines a 3.0V6 engine with a

17.9kWh battery to provide the best of both worlds; an electric-only range of nearly 30 miles, plus a combined output of 462ps to provide a visceral driving experience. In performance terms, 60mph is reached and breached in five seconds flat for safer overtaking, whilst top speed is 157mph. Despite its performance credentials, the plug-in Cayenne rewards drivers with up to 91mpg combined and drops its CO2 emissions from the conventional diesel’s 259 to just 71g/km. That means the Cayenne is cleaner and better for the planet, but also ideal for those who want to run the Cayenne through as a company vehicle. >>

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>> And of course, not only is the E-Hybrid a superb powertrain, the Cayenne itself is a wonderfully versatile vehicle with plenty of room in the cabin for five adults and a whopper of a boot; larger even than a Range Rover PHEV at 645 litres compared to 577 litres. The Cayenne is also well-equipped with a power tailgate, climate control, power adjustable heated leather seats, navigation, reversing camera, cruise control and keyless entry all standard. Save some budget for options though... there are no fewer than 16 different wheels, 11 different leathers, plus a wealth of wood, and carbon fibre interior finishers available. Few cars if any in the Cayenne’s class have 122

Cayenne pricing begins at a whisper under £61,000, with Hybrid-E models about £10,000 more. The likely higher residuals for the plug-in version and fuel savings go along way to justifying the initial outlay, and with punchy acceleration from the electric motor the thumping performance is likely to feel not too far off the six-figure Turbo version of the Cayenne. a comparable ability to customise the look of your vehicle, and that’s before you specify driver assistance goodies like adaptive cruise, smartphone-powered remote controlled parking, and night vision. Porsche also provides customisation via its Exclusive Manufaktur programme.

The plug-in, therefore, is definitely our pick of the range. With huge practicality, exceptional driving dynamics, plenty of scope for customisation, plus a really strong combination of its V6 and electric motor, it’s the version of an already exceptionally good car that’ll prove easiest to live with. n

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Plug-In Performance: All wheel drive performance cars

Range Rover Sport P400e HSE Silver £75,425: Land Rover has done a great job integrating a 2.0V4 petrol and plug-in hybrid powertrain into its Range Rover Sport. The cabin, too, has been facelifted recently integrating a much-improved infotainment system. The Range Rover Sport can also be specified with seven seats too. It’ll only manage 25 miles of all-electric range but it’ll prove peerless off road and it’s well-equipped. Look out though, as the Sport is set to be replaced with an all new model in 2022. n

Mercedes Benz GLE350de AMG-Line Premium Plus £69,835: The monster Merc provides a decent boot, roomy cabin with five seats and a plug-in hybrid powertrain generating 194hp + 136hp. The GLE’s drivetrain provides a potential 256.8mpg and an electric-only range of 61.5 miles which is really impressive to say the least. Driving dynamics can’t match the Cayenne, but it’s well equipped in Premium Plus trim with panoramic roof, Driving Assistance package, 360° camera and augmented reality navigation as well as active parking assistance and one of the smartest cabins on the market. n

PORSCHE CAYENNE Price: £71,040 (available now). Engine: 3.0V6 petrol with 136ps electric motor, total 462ps, 8-speed PDK auto, all wheel drive. Performance: 0-62 mph: 5.0 seconds. Top Speed: 157mph. Combined economy of 91.1mpg. Electric range of 30 miles. Equipment: Heated leather seats, navigation, cruise, climate.

Tesla Model X 100kWh Dual Motor £137,650: A refreshing approach to the performance SUV, Tesla’s Model X utilises dual motors to ensure full-electric driving with a range of over 300 miles, CO2 free. That’s not to say it’s a slouch, though. In fact, with 60mph reached and breached in 2.9 seconds, it’s even quicker than the others. The interior is very minimal, with just a larger iPad-style central screen and hardly a physical button to be found. Gullwing doors add to the gratuitous uniqueness of the car too, making the Tesla the ideal car for the responsible extrovert. n

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MOTORS

THE BEST of

THE ZEST Is there any better shade for this summer’s most cheerful open top car than acid yellow? But the new Mini Convertible’s appeal isn’t just its retro looks; it’s packed with technology and represents great value... Words: Rob Davis.

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WHAT COULD BE CHEERIER than the sight of a luminous blue summer heavy with bright blue cotton-wool clouds? How about that same scene viewed from behind the wheel of a soft-top Mini? The latest iteration was upgraded with more tech and fresh options this spring, and this is the result. This Zesty Yellow paint job is a reasonable £525 extra, and you’re able to specify diﬀerent body decals, contrasting mirror colours and other stylish touches. Two particularly funky touches are the Union Flag design printed across the fabric roof, and the same Union Flag design for the rear light clusters. And yet for all its scope for customisation the Mini is by no means a case of style over substance. It’s priced from £21,000, and there’s a choice of 1.5-litre three cylinder Cooper, 2.0V4 Cooper S and ﬁrebreathing John Cooper Works engines, and either Classic, Sport and Exclusive trim levels.

Our recommendation is the 1.5 litre engine in Exclusive trim, with its leather seats, and depending on how outgoing you are, either that bright yellow paint job or a more restrained Island Blue shade.

2021 MINI CONVERTIBLE

Opt for Satellite Grey leather, and add the Comfort Plus and Driving Assistant packs, plus the heated screen and steering wheel options and you’ll enjoy big car tech in a package that’s small but perfectly formed. Whilst the boot’s a bit pokey, there are four seats, albeit best suited to children, so the Mini is the sports car that you’ll be able to use, park in tight spots and live with all year round. For under £30,000 you’ll end up with a car that has plenty of kit, great driving dynamics and a wealth of character. Small it might well be, but in any derivative the Mini has suﬃcient charm. And the convertible? Well, it just makes that summer sun shine a little bit brighter. n

Price: £26,005 (Exclusive). Engine: 1,499cc, three-cylinder. Performance: mph in 8.8 seconds, 127mph. Equipment: Leather, power roof, electric windows, cruise, ambient lighting. n

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MOTORS

Bourne to drive... GRIMSTHORPE CELEBRATION FOR THE UNEXCEPTIONAL CARS WE ALL LOVE!

Sporty new version of Land Rover’s Evoque... The appeal of the Range Rover Evoque has been broadened even further with the launch of a new powerful Range Rover Evoque P300 HST. The Evoque P300 HST takes inspiration from the larger Range Rover Sport HST and is exclusively available with Land Rover’s potent P300 Ingenium petrol engine. Reaching 60mph in 6.5 seconds, and with gloss black exterior trim, the new Range Rover Evoque P300 HST is available now, priced from £50,440. n LAND ROVER

BOURNE Grimsthorpe Castle this month hosts the... dah dah dah dah dah dah daaaaaa: completely mundane. The Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional returns in 2021, and takes place on Saturday, July 31st at Grimsthorpe Castle near Bourne, celebrating the ordinary, maligned and unloved cars of the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s... like my first car, an

orange and beige Volvo 340, registration A380NAG. There will of course be judging and award ceremonies, so if your Alfa Arna keeps getting turned away from Villa d’Este then there’s always the chance of some silverware in the Concours de l’Ordinaire instead. 2019’s victor was a 1977 Morris Marina, so the bar to entry is high. Or is it low? n See www.grimsthorpe.co.uk.

Brrr-illiant new ‘Defender’

RESURRECTION OF LAND ROVER’S ORIGINAL DEFENDER BY CHEMICALS BILLIONAIRE JIM RATCLIFFE DELAYED UNTIL 2022

INEOS Is Land Rover’s new Defender is a little too rich for your palate, we’re afraid you’ll have to wait a little longer for the back-to-basics off-roader from chemical-industry billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Jim’s Ineos Grenadier – named after his favourite pub in Belgravia, incidentally – has been pushed back to July 2022. It’ll be worth waiting for, though; the Grenadier has just completed its cold weather testing in the notorious trails of the Schöckl mountain near Magna Steyr’s in Austria, part of over 1.8 million kilometres of testing in extreme environments around the world. n

MOTORING

NEWS In Brief

COVID RECOVERY

MOTOR INDUSTRY CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT RECOVERY AFTER PROMISING SPRING

Spring saw an artificial 30-fold increase of new car registrations compared to the same month last year, but volumes still remained 12.9% lower than the 10-year average at just 141,583 new units, according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). April 2020 saw just 4,321 cars sold, whilst April 2021 saw 141,583 driving off forecourts... an increase of 3,176%. Overall registrations for 2021 now stand at 567,108 units, some 32.5% down on the average recorded over the past decade and one in eight vehicles are now plug-in hybrid or electric cars. The automotive industry is a vital part of the UK economy accounting for £78.9 billion turnover and £15.3 billion value added. With 180,000 people employed directly in manufacturing and 864,000 across the wider automotive industry, it accounts for 13% of total UK export of goods and invests more than £3 billion each year in automotive research and development. n 127

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PICTURE THIS

A Reds’ Eye View of Lincoln...

THE RED ARROWS HAVE CONFIRMED THEIR DISPLAY DATES FOR THE 2021 SEASON; THEIR LAST ONE BASED AT SCAMPTON LINCOLN Well that’s one way to see the Cathedral... Hannah Smoker, the official photographer of the Red Arrows, took this photo of XX278 flying over the city.

The Red Arrows were created as an amalgamation of previous display squadrons in 1964, and have now performed 4,800 displays in 57 countries. The squadron comprises 11 fast jet pilots and 100 engineering/support staff. Pilots have to have acquired 1,500 hours flying time in fast jets (e.g.: Typhoon or Tornado) and fly Hawk T1 jets.

The Red Arrows have confirmed the following display dates for 2021: 9th-11th July: Goodwood Festival of Speed. 18th July: Silverstone – British Grand Prix. 24th/25th July: Duxford Summer Airshow. 27th August: Sidmouth Air Display. 2nd-5th September: Bournemouth Air Festival. 9th September: Guernsey Air Display. 9th September: Jersey Intl., Air Display. 10th September: Sanicole Air Show. 11th/12th September: Cosford Airshow. n See www.raf.mod.uk/display-teams/red-arrows.

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Image taken by: SAC Hannah Smoker, The Red Arrows’ official photographer.

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The Directory To advertise here call our friendly team on 01529 469977

Andrzej Kuhn Paintings Selection of original Andrzej Kuhn paintings, offered for sale by private collector... 130

Call 07483 233817

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Lincs Pride JULY 228.qxp 10/06/2021 09:49 Page 132

Lincolnshire Pride July 2021

Articles inside

MOTORS Porsche’s brilliant hybrid

THE BEES’ PLEAS Beekeeping in

FASHION & BEAUTY All things light

WEDDINGS Summer nuptials with John and Laura in Southrey.

GARDENING Enjoying the result of 20 years of hard work at Grantham’s Easton Walled Gardens.

WELCOME HOME A bold, beautiful Georgian property near Spalding.

LUXURY GETAWAYS Enjoy a luxury

HEAVY HORSES Stuart and Bridie Fawcett are ensuring heavy horses will endure at Grimsthorpe Castle.

MARGARET’S NEW NOVEL

ANDY GREEN A high stakes battle

NEWS The best ‘good news’ stories from across the county. Find out why the Pilgrims are being celebrated at Boston’s Guildhall this month.

GOING WILD IN LINCOLNSHIRE

GREAT BRITISH DINING

WHAT’S ON Live events in July