Sunday's Spotlight - Farewell

BY GUEST BLOGGER PETE.

Slowly but surely Lincoln is recovering from the unusually harsh spell of weather that it has been experiencing,  The prophets of DOOM - namely the weather forecasters - tell us that the snow is due to return this coming week and we're also informed that if this happens then this December looks like being the worse one for 120 years.  Not the sort of record you really want to be part of!

 

The City Council are in the process of paying back to the stallholders of the cancelled Christmas Market the deposits they paid for their stall pitches.  However the real problem is that the stall holders and shop keepers in the city have bought in stock specifically for the Market - much of it with a Christmas theme as well - and their chances of selling that stock in the foreseeable future are now very small.  In all the city suffered the loss of 100,000 visitors.  Pam and I know two ladies who run a cake and icing shop in the city.  A few years ago they bought  in 1,000 Christmas cakes to sell from their stall and, basically, decorated each one of them.  If they had had a stall this year and it had been cancelled then that could have meant a considerable financial loss and might even have resulted in the end of their small business.

Last Saturday some 30+ "would-be" stall holders hired a hall in the city and for six or seven hours were able to sell some of their stock, even though it was nothing compared to what they would have sold over the four days of the real Christmas Market.  A few stallholders are trying the same thing as I write this blog on Saturday afternoon.

For the past few years Lincoln has had an ice rink in the city centre for the Christmas and New Year period.  I have seen it this year about three times and the most skaters I have seen using it at any one of those times has been only 3!  It's more slippery outside the rink that it is on the rink!

 

The photos this week are non wintery!  They show two of my favourite photographic techniques - kaleidoscopes and Topaz.

 

I have been writing this blog for each Sunday for just over two years now and I feel that the time has come for me to retire my highly temperamental computer and myself from the blog scene of www.insidetheartisan.com .  I have enjoyed this weekly spot recording, mainly, the comings and goings of Lincoln and Lincolnshire.

 

I thank all those who have read this blog and also those readers who have made comments from time to time.  So, I take this opportunity of wishing you all a very happy Christmas and a bright new 2011.  Finally, my thanks go to Ruth for putting up with her dad's ramblings.

Sunday's Spotlight - Lincoln's disaster

BY GUEST BLOGGER PETE

As I write this blog on Thursday morning the snow is falling heavily,  This has been the pattern since Monday morning, although a smattering of the white stuff did put in an initial appearance over the weekend.

 

Lincolnshire and Yorkshire (excluding Scotland) have been the worse affected in the UK.  We in England, despite having jokes made pretty continuously about our weather, are not experienced in handling such a downfall of snow.  Roads become blocked - even Lincoln experienced a gridlock one evening during the rush hour - schools close, workers struggle to get to work, owners of four wheel drive vehicles are asked to take nurses into the hospital or on their rounds, the bus company closes down, emergency admissions to hospital is the order of the day and shops begin to run out of everyday essentials.  I estimate that we have had 18 inches of snow - which probably means about 14 inches! - although I haven't taken a ruler outside to measure it.

 

The big disaster to hit Lincoln, though, has been the cancellation of our Christmas market - the first time in its 27 year history.  Well over 100,000 visitors were expected to visit the event; that number being based on the attendance for previous years.  For many of the stall holders and shop keepers in the city centre this will entail real financial hardship, especially hard in the present economical climate.  It is estimated that about £10,000,000 is usually put into the local economy by this Christmastide event.

Stall holders have not yet been informed whether or not they will be reimbursed for payments already made in advance to the City Council.  This morning on Radio Lincolnshire it was suggested that the insurance taken out by the City fathers did not cover the cancellation of the Market.  This has still to be either denied or confirmed.  The official reason being given for the cancellation of the market is concern for the safety of visitors.

 

Lincoln's roads have been and still are badly affected by the snowfall.  In the hope of keeping the market open many resources were devoted to uphill Lincoln for clearing away snow and maintaining access.

Criticism is often heard that other countries always cope with heavy snowfall, such as this, a lot better than we do in the U.K..  Also on Radio Lincolnshire this morning was a report that the Council's snow blower had been used for the first time in 12 years.  Such snow storms as we are experiencing are not the norm for us and even when we get a winter like this one - nothing similar since sometime in the 1980s - the expense of purchasing expensive equipment that will be only be used every other decade or so just can't be justified.

 

The photos for this week's blog are taken on Tuesday afternoon and really do nothing approaching justice to the true situation and depth of snow.  They do, however, show a picture of our car.  That car is a constant deterant to out two grandsons - "Misbehave and I'll give you a lift to school in my car!"

Sunday's spotlight - Goings on in Lincoln

BY GUEST BLOGGER PETE.

There are some quite strange things gong on in Lincoln  at the present moment.  I'm not claiming that Lincoln is unique with strange "goings on"; doubtless other urban - and even rural - communities encroach upon the strange and unusual from time to time.

My morning ablutions are invariably accompanied by Radio Lincolnshire.  On weekdays the early morning programmes are, until 9 a.m., devoid of music and instead the listeners are kept up to date with such important things as the cricket test scores from Australia and one or two less important matters!

Photo by Foto43

This week it was announced that the city fathers are introducing a special Christmas Guide to the city. "In what way "special"?" you may ask.  If you didn't ask this then perhaps you'd prefer to ignore the rest of the paragraph and go on to the next one.  Well, in keeping with the Christmas festive season this guide (paper variety rather than human) is being imbibed with the scent of mulled wine!!!!!!!  If you come across any bleary eyed citizens wandering aimlessly around the city then it will probably be a safe bet to assume that they've been reading that new guide and haven't been frequenting any place of adult potential intoxication.

Photo by MiqsPix

Readers of last week's blog (thanks for being there!) will recall that when writing about the Christmas Market and how early the shops begin to sell Christmas goods that I remarked that I wouldn't be surprised to find Easter eggs on sale already somewhere in the city.

Well, on  Tuesday I was sitting on a seat in Lincoln's High Street (pedestrianized so no danger from traffic!) waiting for Pam to finish a spot of shopping (surprise!!!!!) when my eyes were attracted by an unusual poster advertisement.  It was advertising the services of "Western Union" and their ability to transfer funds on behalf of their customers.  All straight forward until your eyes take in some of the detail and then you read "make some one's Easter egg complete"!!!!  There you are.  I told you that there were some strange Easter goings on in the city.

I hesitate to say that Lincoln's Cathedral is the best in the country but I do agree with John Betjman when he remarked. "Lincoln may not be the best Cathedral in the land but its definitely worth any two of the others!".

Photo by chapmankj75

Recently the Dean and Chapter decided that the old - nay, "the very old" -Victorian paving stones that lead visitors to the Cathedral entrance should be raised and reset in a more stable and level fashion.  No need for the expense of new slabs.  The Victorians certainly knew not only how to make them but also how to make them last.

The authorities weren't over surprised to find that there were stone coffins, dating back many centuries, under these slabs.  For some time it has been believed that there was a Christian Church on the site long before the actual Cathedral was built and that much of the present Cathedral Close was part of this Church's graveyard.

Stone coffins unearthed at Cathedral Entrance

Now one of the graves exposed had been cut in half by one of the outside walls of the 10th century Lincoln Cathedral.  That could only point to one thing.  That particular grave was in situ BEFORE the Cathedral was built, thus giving more credence to the possibility of a pre 10th Century Church somewhere under the Cathedral itself.


Makes you think, doesn't it?  Well, it certainly makes me think.  Not that I suppose we'll ever know for sure unless someone demolishes the Cathedral and finds the foundations of that earlier church.


Next week sees the beginning of the annual Lincoln Christmas Market.  Don't know if we'll be going on Thursday evening or not yet.

Sunday's Spotlight - Christmas comes a little early in Lincoln

BY GUEST BLOGGER PETE

As I sit down to write this blog -- Thursday afternoon -- I've been down to town this morning and, not for the first time, have seen how the shops anticipate Christmas by so large a margin. I reckon that if you looked around carefully enough you would even be able to find Easter eggs on sale somewhere!

All photos by jig o'dance

Lincoln is preparing itself for its annual Christmas market. This is no small "hole in the wall" affair. It is the largest open-air Christmas market in the country. It begins on a Thursday  evening and ends on the Sunday evening covering the first weekend of December. Special train and bus excursions are run to it from all over the country and Darnstadt, with whom the city is twinned, always exports a goodly number of stalls as well.

The authorities this year have stated that all the stores must have a definite Christmas theme with stall holders dressing in costumes from that period.  In previous years this maxim has been relaxed a little too much but it has now been reintroduced and will add greatly to the atmosphere of the Market.



On Thursday, December 2nd the Dean of the cathedral and the Mayor of Lincoln will formally open the market.  Entertainment throughout the four days of the event is abundant. This year we even have a theatre company presenting various Christmas tales to entertain our visitors. Local choirs will also be in attendance singing various carols and festive songs to add to the atmosphere. If you have a secret longing to appear on BBC television then Lincoln's Christmas market is the place to come to.

 

The first night of the market, Thursday, 2 December, is the time when most of the Lincoln residents who want to attend go. This is done not in the belief that they can snaffle all the bargains on offer but stems from the realisation, through experience, that the first evening is the only time when numbers will be reasonable and you won't have "to go with the flow". The market opens at 10 am on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - closing at 10 pm - and the crowds flock to uphill Lincoln to take part in this event. The locals who live in the vicinity or who are helping with one of the stalls make up the main local attendance for these three days.

 

Father Christmas ( the real one) will be there and he takes up residence in the Judges' Lodgings, which is in Castle Square with the castle at one end and the Cathedral at the other. Father Christmas is really spoilt because he meets his young visitors, and also the not so young visitors, by the fireside in that building.   Everyone else has to freeze in the cold outside. We seem to get dry weather for our Christmas market every year but we never know when that spell will end.

If you live locally and would like to come then do so because I'm sure you will enjoy the experience. If you want more information then log on to www.christmasmarket.lincoln.gov.uk.

Sunday's spotlight - An autumnal day out

BY GUEST BLOGGER PETE

Last week I went down to Cheltenham for a couple of days to meet up with Ruth and John. It was great seeing them both again and we had fun that first evening deciding where we would go on the following day.

In the end we decided that our first visit would be to Malmesbury and then, in the afternoon, the Arboretum, whose name is, possibly Westonbirt or something similar. In the end we restricted our visit to Malmesbury.

For over seven years we lived in the county of Wiltshire but I can't remember, during that time, ever making a trip to Malmesbury. That was our loss because, once there, we decided to spend the day rather than go on to Westonbirt, which we had visited a couple of times before any way.

If you've never been to Malmesbury then it is a place I can definitely recommend. It is rich in architecture covering a number of centuries. It has a few steep hills but if I can manage them then I'm pretty sure most of the readers of this blog could as well.

In some ways Malmesbury reminded me of Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, -- although the hill wasn't as steep in Malmesbury as it is in Shaftesbury. The whole town was a blaze of colour -- natural colour.

We have had an extremely good autumn this year and only moderate rain and reasonable winds has resulted in the trees producing a wonderful array of colour. At one time Ruth and John lived in New Hampshire and, on couple of occasions, we visited them during the American fall season and became "LEAF PEEPERS". England, this year, had most of the variety of colour that New Hampshire displayed but the big difference is that we don't have the density of trees that are found there.

Each autumn Pam attempts, not always successfully, to catch a falling leaf. This year, in Cheltenham whilst walking home one evening, proved to be a success in the leaf catching challenge. The next challenge will be to eat 12 mince pies between December 1 and Christmas Eve. If you want to join her in this challenge then you've got to remember that each mince pie has come from a different source. Try it!

The colour of the leaves set off the architectural beauty of the old houses in Malmesbury. One house that really caught my attention was a comparatively ordinary building but rising from its roof was a three-storey stone tower. There was nothing on the outside of the building to tell what the significance of this was. Guess I'll have to go on the Internet to find out -- unless, that is, one of you, dear readers, knows the answer.

I have enclosed a photo of this house, complete with its tower, plus some other shots I took during our visit to Malmesbury.

Sunday's spotlight - This time of the year

BY GUEST BLOGGER PETE


It's about this time of the year that the garden has to be made ready for its winter sleep. It's been rather a mixed year from my garden -- some good features and some not so good.

Our lawns had become very weed and moss ridden over the past few years; so much so that I began to despair of ever being able to rescue them. Earlier in the year a friend of Pam's mentioned a firm who had rescued her garden and we decided to give them a try.

This rescue firm work under the name of "Green Thumb".  They don't cut the grass or dig up the weeds but four times a year they pay a visit and spray the lawn with various mixtures of food and, I suppose, weed killer. The result for us has been the most healthy lawn that we have had here for some years. The weeds and moss have gone and in their place we now have thick rich green grass. Mind you, the grass does grow rather quickly, which means more cutting but then you can't have everything can you!

 A friend of mine, who kindly mowed my lawns whilst Pam and I were in the US this year, mentioned that my garden looked a picture soon after we'd gone away. This was due mainly to the many bedding plants that we had planted in it. Unfortunately for us, but not for our fellow countrymen, we had two or three weeks of hot sun and no rain whilst we were away and so by the time we returned the garden looked a bit parched to say the least. We've just about got it back again now with the annual bedding plants having recovered and doing really well. Pity it has taken so long into the autumn to get it there - frost due pretty soon!!!!!!!!

Just lately there has been a city council, somewhere in the UK, who knocked down all the conkers from horse chestnut trees in case someone injured themselves whilst collecting them. When I was a boy knocking conkers off a tree was regarded as great seasonal fun with the prospect in the future of countless games of conkers with school friends.  Now children aren't allowed to play conkers at school -- another health and safety dictate or just a headteacher feeling it best to play safe?

 

We'll all be required to wear suits of armour soon!
This week's photos are of the beautiful wall tiles in All Saints Church, Lincoln.

Sunday's spotlight - We plough the fields and scatter; well, some do!

BY GUEST BLOGGER PETE

It's at this time of the year that harvest festivals take place in the U.K.

The local primary school, of which I am one of the governors, held their harvest festival last Thursday. All the children attended and a good number of parents joined in as well. Each year-group in the school play their individual parts in the service. It is great fun to see the smallest ones looking for their parents and then waving to them. Mind you, I did notice a year six pupil having a discreet wave to her mother and the mother having a discreet wave back!

 

Every child at the school is encouraged to bring some Harvest item as a gift. All the harvest produce collected by the school is given to a local charity known as "The Lincoln Pantry"  This charity, run entirely by volunteers, tries to maintain a stock of food throughout the year so that if an emergency arises for some family or individual then the "Pantry" are able to step in immediately and give some help. "The Lincoln Pantry", for obvious reasons, welcomes tinned goods even more than fresh produce. Quite often it is easier for parents to give their child a tin or something rather than fresh food.

 

For many of the children this is their first experience of harvest festival. At the last governors meeting the head teacher told us that there are 17 foreign languages spoken by pupils as their primary language in the school and only about 60% of the children have English as their main language. With about 240 children in the school the staff have a lot of extra work to undertake trying to bring the children's knowledge of English to a working level. It doesn't help that many of the parents have only a token knowledge of English anyway.

 

Pam and I will have to be up at some ungodly hour this coming Sunday.  I'm preaching at a friend's harvest festival at 9:30 AM on that day.  He is vicar of Burgh le Marsh, which is about 1 1/2 hours from Lincoln. It doesn't look that far on the map but the road is so atrocious that the chances of overtaking even a cyclist are limited for most of the trip!

 

I had been "mucking about" with photos again just lately, trying out something new. I'll be interested to know what you think of the samples I've included with this blog. Be honest!  Pam doesn't think a great deal of them. I like them though.

Sunday's spotlight - Burghley House

By guest blogger Pete

Far down in the southernmost part of Lincolnshire can be found the large Elizabethan stately home of Burghley House. I didn't ever think I will be writing about Burghley House even as a passing comment in this blog but nevertheless here I am mentioning it as the main feature of this Sunday's writings.

Photo by Acradenia

I'll begin with a confession. Burghley House is a place that I have never visited. Having said that, or rather written it, it might well be a place worth visiting when Pam's sister, Ann, and her husband, Alan, visit us next year. Burghley House can be found about a mile from the major A1 road and close to the market town of Stamford.  It is a "Nirvana" of three days for horse lovers: For them it is a place that must be visited at least once a year.

I write "for horse lovers " because Burghley House and estate is a location for  the famous horse trials well-known throughout not only the U.K. but also the rest of Europe. The local Radio Lincolnshire provided some interesting bits of information about the event which recently took place.

Photo by ~Duncan~

 There are only four four-star horse trial event centres in the country and Burghley is one of them.

 Over the three days it attracts something in the region of 140,000 visitors.



A tented shopping mall of considerable size is a major part of the event. Many visitors use it for their Christmas shopping. It really is that large. I suppose they could argue that doing your shopping there isn't really avoiding the Christmas rush because many of things you'll find at Burghley will not be easily found elsewhere.

This year a local rider qualified to take part in the horse trials. Her stable borders the Burghley boundaries and she can see the House quite clearly from her home. She is one of the few who didn't have to struggle to find accommodation. However she did have to stable her horses within the Burghley estate even though their home stables are so close.  This is a requirement put in place to protect against drug abuse.

There is one jump on the course where the rider takes off in Lincolnshire and lands in Cambridgeshire.

Although the house was built for Queen Elizabeth the first it was never used by her because its completion came after her death.

Have you ever been there?

Sunday's spotlight - staying home for the Bank Holiday

BY GUEST BLOGGER PETE

Here in the UK we have just had the last bank holiday until Boxing Day. When you are working, bank holidays are an extra bonus that are very welcome but when you're retired you are apt to become rather indifferent to them. I must confess that Pam and I are both wrinklies and as a result bank holidays don't do a great deal for either of us.

About 75% of bank holidays (winter ones excepted) we visit the local car boot sale. This is an open air market where people sell the rubbish they don't want, to people who think it might be useful but then, probably, pass it on to a charity shop.  This year we even gave the car boot sale a miss.

Instead I climbed out onto the roof of the extension to pick up the moss that had fallen from the main house roof and to clean the top of the conservatory. It surprises me how much you can see from that roof. Reminded me of a song by George Formby -- "When I'm cleaning windows". There; that's given you a clue to my age but don't say you've never heard of George Formby.....here he is, just in case!!



It's best not to go on Lincolnshire roads on a bank holiday. At Cadwell Park, just outside of Lincolnshire town of Louth, there is a motorcycle nirvana called Superbike Cadwell Park. It is on the motor bike circuit for the national championship and this year it attracted a crowd of 40,000 -- yes 40,000 and I checked that three times.Can you imagine what the roads would have been like at turnout time? Probably not 40,000 motorbikes but at least 25,000 would-be champions all speeding along Lincolnshire's narrow roads making their ways home.

The other place we wrinklies are apt to avoid on bank holidays is the Lincolnshire seaside resort of Skegness. Our elder daughter, Mary, was with us a few years ago for an August bank holiday. By the way, if Mary ever invites you to a picnic then take your raincoat with you! To be true to her, though, the picnic she arranged for one of Pam's birthdays was the only hot and sunny day we had in the whole of that August. That visit to Skegness was an extremely fortunate one. We went in the afternoon and managed to find a roadside parking space quite quickly. The bonus here was that we actually found parking space on a bank holiday and it didn't cost us anything. Then whilst walking on the beach Mary found a £5 note. It must have been quite a few years ago because that £5 note bought tea for all of us !!!!!!

Skegness beach by EDD07

By EDD07

Hope you had a good bank holiday. Skegness on Boxing Day is very bracing. If you live nearby why not try it?

Skegness Clock Tower by mush2274