Local people have been getting more adventurous about the floors they walk on since the 20th century, when wall to wall carpeting throughout (except for kitchens, utility and bathrooms) had become the norm.

But exploring a more minimal look with polished bare boards or ceramic tiles in reception rooms, hallways, stairs and even bedrooms has its pitfalls, not least at this time of year when uncarpeted floors can feel literally too cool for comfort.

According to Nicola Clarey who runs Long Sutton Flooring with her husband Nick, householders unhappy with draughts whistling through floorboards or chilly tiles underfoot are going back to the comfort of carpet in sitting, dining and bedrooms.

But the search for a more interesting and personalised floor has brought one new product powering through to take a commanding lead over all the other non-carpet options - Karndean.

Nicola said: “Carpet remains the most popular option, certainly for rooms where people sit and sleep, but with Karndean you can achieve the look of wood or tiles and personalise the pattern, making your own unique floor.It’s also warm underfoot and very practicaland easy to clean.”

Emergency services have dealt with a spate of accidents on the district’s icy roads this morning.

As already reported, the fire service freed a man trapped in his milk van after it plunged into a ditch at Beach Road, Gosberton Risegate.

The accident happened at about 5.20am and fire crews had to remove the vehicle’s windscreen to free him.

Police say the 41-year-old Peterborough man was taken to Peterborough City Hospital as a precaution.

A woman driver had a lucky escape on the A151 between Holbeach and Whaplode when her car ran off the road and overturned in a field.

The 22-year-old, from St Albans, did not require hospital treatment.

• There were big tailbacks on the A16 and A17 this morning following a crash between a lorry and a van on the King’s Lynn side of Fosdyke. The accident happened at 7.40am. No one went to hospital.

One driver said it took her 40 minutes to travel from Kirton to Sutterton roundabout with stop-start traffic all of the way.

Police say the damaged vehicles were cleared by 9.15am, but the roads remained choked with traffic queues.

No one went to hospital.

Police were also called to the A16 Springfields roundabout this morning when a lorry broke down, sparking further tailbacks on surrounding roads.

Volunteers keen to do unpaid police work can find out about life as a special constable at a recruitment evening in Spalding next week.

Special constables work alongside officers in the regular force and often with other experienced ‘Specials.’

Specials chief officer Steve Woodcock said: “As a special constable, there is a chance to meet people from a variety of backgrounds in an even wider range of situations.

“Officers learn much about human nature, teamwork and increase their ability to cope with the unexpected.”

To find out if you are eligible to join, visit www.lincs.police.uk/Join-Us/Special-Constables.

Recruitment evenings start at 7pm on Thursday, January 24 at Spalding Police Station and January 31 at Boston Police Station.

Students from Donington’s Thomas Cowley High School Cowley have been learning the ins and out of journalism at a newspaper day.

The school’s Chronicle Club visited Lincoln University School of Journalism taking along articles they have written for their school newspaper.

The club meets every Tuesday and is suitable for budding reporters or those who just like to write.

The members of the Cowley Chronicle Club are Esther Howard, Daniel Dicker, Nathan Posey, Deanna Masterman, Leah Hall, Katie Hudson, Hollie Silk and Austin Russell.

Teaching assistant Faye Houltby, who helps run the club, said: “ I enjoy working with the students as they are keen to write, and it is great to see their enthusiasm.”

McDonald’s in Spalding is set to open a new “side by side” drive-thru to give a speedier service to its customers.

Work begins next week and the three-week project includes installation of a second drive-thru order point.

The fast food restaurant on Holbeach Road will remain open while building works are carried out over the next three weeks, but the drive-thru itself will be closed until at least Friday, February 8.

The side by side service is expected to be up and running by Monday, February 11, but one lane could be open the Friday before.

Spalding McDonald’s business manager Russell Simpson said the major changes are a new lane across the back of the restaurant, which will run parallel to the existing drive-thru, and the new order post.

Mr Simpson said: “There will be limited parking on site but we will be open in the restaurant fully.

“The majority of the company owned stores will be having these installed and it’s just a new service platform that the company are rolling out.”

He said the side by side drive-thru is the biggest investment at the restaurant since a major refurbishment was carried out in 2010.

McDonald’s employs 100 people at Spalding and it’s one of the town’s busiest food outlets.

The Spalding branch currently opens from 5am-midnight seven days a week, but has in the past traded 24 hours a day.

Mr Russell said the company is looking at returning to 24-hour trading.

He said McDonald’s never had a permanent licence to trade round the clock.

“I believe it was always temporary,” he said. “I think it just wasn’t renewed.”

Jennifer Cottis has designed everything from a surface grinder to a parcel sorting machine in her time as an industrial designer.

These days, she doesn’t feel the need to make things that function and isn’t even concerned if they don’t look quite right.

“They are as they grow,” says Jennifer, whose career in industrial design was followed by a spell in teaching.

Jennifer, who lives in Donington, eventually gave that up so that she could pursue the areas that had always been of interest: painting and drawing.

She says: “You are still looking at the form of things, for balance and symmetry and for a pleasing shape to the composition.”

Her work falls into three main categories: landscapes, seascapes and the human form – and this last might be work produced from life classes or it might be based on old Bones, the skeleton kept behind the door in Jennifer’s studio.

Her work is frequently on show in open exhibitions in Lincolnshire as well as London and other cities and Jennifer held a solo exhibition in Skegness last year. An exhibition at the Carre Gallery in Sleaford resulted in her winning an award for her sketch of a Boston fishing scene.

However, more recently her work has moved into other projects that almost hark back to her design origins. Jennifer is working in both 2D and 3D, producing series of drawings on one subject which might be turned into oil paintings and ceramic shapes.

For instance, Jennifer joined a series of sketches of Whitby to create a panorama and then produced paintings from various angles. About a year ago, Jennifer began working in 3D in ceramics and used the Whitby sketches for inspiration to create shapes inspired by two elements associated with the town.

“The steps are the fundamental essence of Whitby, that and its higgledy-piggledy houses that aren’t square or rectangular,” says Jennifer. “The painting has got an almost vertiginous drop; you feel that you are going to fall into the sea.

“I also started working on a series of sea pots and I like to think of them as 3D paintings rather than functional pots. I don’t work in function any more.”

Having said that, Jennifer is analytical when it comes to studying the form and movement of things such as waves, producing dozens of drawings before work is translated to paintings and pots.

See more examples of her work at www.jacottis.com

The arctic blast that brought snow to the area this week has raised fears freezing conditions will bring an increase in accidents.

After exceptionally mild conditions over Christmas, temperatures are expected to plunge to -5C this evening (Tuesday) with heavy snow predicted oon Friday, according to the Met Office.

Snow fell across the district during Sunday night becoming heavier Monday afternoon. It is expected to remain around freezing or below until at least Sunday.

Six new gritters based at Pode Hole kept the areas’s roads accident free on Monday, but police have issued warnings after a spate of incidents in similar conditions a year ago when motorists ignored conditions and left the road. There was also a number of accidents during a cold spell before Christmas.

Last week there was additional concern when South Holland was shrouded in fog on Thursday and a collision took place on Crowland bypass, blocking the road at rush hour.

Sgt Stuart Hurst, of Spalding police, is urging motorists heading for work to take extra care in freezing conditions.

He said: “Leaving the engines running to defrost the windscreens makes easy pickings for thieves.

“Give yourself plenty of time to get to work and always drive taking into account the road conditions.

“It’s advisable to make sure your mobile is charged in case you run into trouble and have extra warm clothes in the car and a flask with a hot drink.

”It’s also advisable to have spare headlight bulbs with you so if it is dark you will be seen. In other parts of Europe drivers have to do this by law.”

John Siddle, of Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, said if conditions are bad motorists should always ask themselves if the journey was really necessary.

He said: “If the journey is necessary always be prepared. Additional ways of staying safe include making sure you have plenty of fuel so you can keep the engine running and be warm – and let people know before you set off what time you are expected to arrive.

“Should you lose control in the ice, take your foot off the accelerator and don’t brake until you regain control.

”When there is an accident most drivers will never put it down to bad handling, but when the roads are icy it doesn’t matter how skilled you are.”

More tips and advice on winter driving are available by visiting www.roadlincs.com

Villagers in Rippingale have lost a three-year battle to save its surgery – but have been involved in groundbreaking negotiations to provide transport for patients to a neighbouring practice.

Discussions were taking place on Thursday to establish how the first transport scheme of its kind in the country would be organised to take patients to the New Springwells surgery in Billingborough – five miles away.

According to campaigners, formal notice of the surgery’s closure on March 31 was given in November – not allowing six months as originally thought.

This has been an additional blow for villagers, who also lost their school and only have limited access to a post office run from the local pub.

Many patients are elderly or disabled, with young families left stranded because they are single car owners and there is very limited public transport.

Mike Hallas, chairman of the Rippingale Parish Council ,said: “We have had a local surgery for 150 years and to be given four-and-a-half months notice of its closure is simply appalling. We have not had a single incident quoted to back up the contention that patient safety is at risk.

“Those grounds are tenuous in the extreme, as is the Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust’s refusal to let us see any documentation of their discussions.

“We believe it’s no coincidence the closure date matches that when PCTs cease to exist, rather than showing real care for patients and their democratic rights.

“We have not given up – we will continue to take the whole issue to higher levels and to investigate other options.”

The surgery at Rippingale is a satellite for the New Springwells practice and has more than 1,000 patients registered there.

Announcement of its closure comes in spite of two public consultations and two practices withdrawing interest in taking it over – one citing the long delay in the process as a reason.

But it wasn’t until October 2012 that the PCT wrote to say they had accepted New Springwells’ “clinical concerns” and that the surgery would close.

Mr Hallas said in the village’s January newsletter: “We are somewhat reconciled by the fact the surgery will have kept open for 3.5 years and at least we will have provided some safeguards for those patients unable to transport themselves to Billingborough.”

A spokesman for NHS Lincolnshire said: “The parish council was informed on September 26 last year of the board’s decision to close Rippingale branch surgery; giving six months’ notice to the planned closure on March 31.

“NHS Lincolnshire continues to work closely with the Parish Council and the GP practice to identify a solution around transport arrangements from Rippingale to The New Springwells Practice in Billingborough.”

Police are seeking eyewitnesses to help in the hunt for two men who are getting into elderly people’s homes with the intention of stealing.

Residents as old as 95 were victims in three incidents on Friday, but it’s not yet clear if anything was stolen.

Police say homes in Godsey Lane, Market Deeping, Northorpe Lane, Thurlby, and Bourne Road, Colsterworth were targeted during the afternoon and early evening and the men fled as soon as they were found.

A spokesman said: “They had either broken in through windows or got in through unlocked doors.”

The only description police have is that the men are white and aged between 30 and 40 years.

Police are asking witnesses who may have seen the men or their vehicles in the named streets to get in touch urgently with Det Sgt Simon Todd at Grantham CID on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

• Police are also urging families to discuss the issue of intruders with elderly relatives and help them step-up their home security, such as keeping their windows and doors locked whenever possible.

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) is warning motorists not to leave their vehicles unattended with the engine running whilst defrosting the windscreen, as many insurers will not pay the claim should the car be stolen.

Most motor insurance policies now have a specific “keys in car” or “vehicle left unattended” clause and exclude claims in these circumstances.

In addition, there will be a “reasonable care” clause, whereby the insurer may reject a claim on the grounds of the policyholder being “reckless” in not safeguarding the vehicle.

BIBA urges consumers to be aware that there are a number of situations that could leave them at risk:Leaving the keys in/on the vehicle or in the ignition.

lLeaving an unlocked vehicle unattended.

Vehicles are most vulnerable when people are paying for petrol or are outside the family home.

Waking up on a freezing cold morning, it can be tempting to save a few extra minutes by starting the engine and warming the vehicle up while you nip back inside to finish getting ready.

But, from experience, BIBA knows that many motorists who do this may be at risk from “frosting,” which is when opportunist thieves steal the vehicle with the keys in the ignition, while the windscreen is being defrosted.

There are a number of exclusions that can lead to the policyholder not being able to claim for the stolen vehicle and BIBA’s top tips for ensuring drivers don’t face this problem are:

lLeave enough time to defrost the car properly;

lStay with the vehicle at all times when defrosting;

lNever leave the vehicle unattended (however briefly) with the keys in/on the vehicle;

lNever leave the vehicle unlocked, or with an open window, whilst unattended.

Motorists are advised to contact their broker if they need more information on the clauses that are in their policy.

Four Chinese nationals who were illegally working at a Bourne restaurant have been arrested and are in custody awaiting deportation.

Police and UK Border Agency officials swooped on the China Palace restaurant, in South Street, on January 10 and spoke to four Chinese people who do not have permission to work in the UK.

The three men and a woman are in detention along with two Bangladeshi men similarly arrested at a restaurant in Stamford and the UK Border Agency says they will all be removed from the UK “as soon as possible”.

Both businesses have been served with fines of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker, which the UK Border Agency says will have to be paid unless they can prove they took the legally required steps to confirm their right to work, such as checking passports.

Paul Tranter, from the UK Border Agency in Lincolnshire, said: “Any foreign national who is in the UK illegally should be in no doubt that they will be found, arrested and removed from the country.

“Businesses that take on illegal workers face heavy fines and possible prosecution.

“We urge members of the public to please report any suspicions about people who may be here illegally.”

The UK Border Agency says anyone with information about suspected immigration abuse can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 anonymously or visit www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/contact/report crime

• The UK Border Agency is part of the Home Office and responsible for controlling migration in the UK.

Its work includes immigration casework, visa applications, in-country enforcement actions, running immigration detention centres like the one at Morton Hall, Swinderby, near Lincoln, and overseas immigration operations.

In March last year, a separate Border Force command was created within the Home Office to take charge of entry controls and customs functions at the border.

Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Hardwick visits Weston Hills Village Hall at 7pm on Monday for the Spalding East Rural Community Panel, where police issues are discussed. 
South Holland Community police inspector Jim Tyner, who is based at Spalding, will also attend.

The meeting is open to the public.

Learn to relax and take life’s ups and downs in your stride at Sophrology classes, starting in Spalding with free introductory sessions next week after a hugely successful launch at Whaplode.

Anyone regardless of age, sex and physical condition can benefit from this discipline of relaxation, gentle movement and breathing techniques which helps you overcome difficulties from insomnia and depression to panic attacks and improves general wellbeing.

Very popular in France, Sophrology is relatively new to the English-speaking world, and we’re lucky to have Lynn Exley, one of the first graduates of the new UK Sophrology Academy, setting up practice in Spalding.

New six-week courses will start in the town in February, but Lynn is keen to give as many people as possible a taster next week.

Telephone her now on 07553 354845 to book in for one of the free introductory sessions on the following days:

l Monday, January 21 at 5pm, Welland Workspace, 10 Pinchbeck Road, Spalding;

l Wednesday, January 23 at 1pm at Aspire, The Crescent, Spalding;

l Friday, January 25 at noon at Welland Workspace, as above.

Lynn, who lives in Whaplode St Catherine, used to work in the high-stress environment of banking and finance and changed direction a few years ago, training as a Yoga teacher and then a Sophrologist.

She said: “Neuro-scientists are now able to test how the brain responds to different therapies and have found the mindfulness techniques used in Sophrology to be particularly effective in fighting the harmful impact of stress.

“As part of my Sophrology teacher training I held a series of sessions in Whaplode and the people who came found them highly beneficial, particularly because you can use the techniques in your everyday life whenever you feel anxious or stressed.”

l www.wellbeingforliving.co.uk

Nights out in Spalding could become a lot safer if enough volunteers join a Street Pastors scheme to be launched in the town later this year.

A series of information events are taking place in Spalding over the next two months to gauge the level of interest in the scheme from people in South Holland after talks between the area’s church leaders last Thursday.

The events will be held at The Lighthouse Church, Haverfield Road, on February 16, 19 and March 5, at 7.30pm, when people can find out more about Street Pastors and its role in keeping booze-fuelled and rowdy behaviour out of town centres.

Teams of four volunteers would patrol Spalding’s busiest streets at night, in partnership with the police, giving practical help and support to the vulnerable, homeless and people having a night out.

The Street Pastors initiative is being led by Churches Together in Spalding District (CTSD) and Pastor Chas Sandhu, a member of its management team, confirmed that at least 20 people from churches in the area were needed for the scheme to go ahead.

Pastor Sandhu, minister of The Lighthouse Church, said: “CTSD has the commitment to run Street Pastors in Spalding but it all depends on the information nights.

“Until we know how many volunteers are interested in participating, we can’t move forward with the scheme.

“Hopefully, we’ll get a good response from people in churches across South Holland and then we can go ahead with giving them application forms to fill in.”

Street Pastors was pioneered in London ten years ago and since then it has spread to about 250 towns and cities in the UK, with more than 10,000 volunteers.

Reverend Ian Walters, minister at St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Gosberton, and another CTSD management team member, said: “We’re at a stage where we’re learning all we can to get the scheme under way and liaising with both Lincolnshire Police and the district council to take the project forward.

“Over the next few months, we’re getting the information out there for people to decide whether Street Pastors is for them and to learn more about how the scheme has gone in other towns.

“We’re hoping to launch the scheme in December and we believe it will make a real difference on the streets of Spalding at night time when people are coming out of pubs and clubs.”

Plans for a Street Pastors scheme in Spalding were first reported in the Lincolnshire Free Press last November as part of a blueprint from Spalding and District Area Chamber of Commerce to revitalise the town centre.

It has been backed by Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Hardwick who said: “I think Street Pastors is essential and I’m delighted that Spalding is setting up a scheme.”

Wednesday, 4pm: Nearly 2,000 litres of heating oil have been stolen in two raids on people’s garden storage tanks at homes near Bourne.

Police are warning homeowners to step up security following the raids at Edenham and Lound.

Some 1,300 litres were stolen from a single tank while the other householder lost 500 litres.

The raids happened between Thursday and yesterday (Tuesday).

• Witnesses are asked to contact Lincolnshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

While Valentine’s legends are all about surprises like the mystery card with a question-mark for a signature, in reality most couples plan together what they’ll do to celebrate.

The big question is: do you eat out or in?

This time of year whennight-time temperatures are dropping below zero, it’s tempting to stay in and cook that romantic meal for yourselves.

But that may not be quite as easy as it sounds.

The BBC Food website suggests a range of Valentine’s menus to prepare at home using foods which are acknowledged popular favourites for a romantic meal for two.

Seafood like mussels, scallops and prawns figures in every one, steering clear of oysters which though well-known as an aphrodysiac are not for anyone who may have the least qualm about eating live food.

Chocolate - the deeper and richer the better - is also a fixture in different forms for pudding.

And tender grilled or griddled steak is at the centre of the main course in two out of four.

The other two mains are Delia Smith’s oven-baked risotto carbonara as an easy work-lite treat for couples who want to focus on a romantic DVD on the TV, and Sophie Dahl’s lighter crab and salmon fishcakes for the health-conscious.

All declare themselves to be easy, quick and simple and the cooking times are no more than 30 minutes for anything.

But have you tried sizzling a steak of any description to perfect tenderness/grilling a scallop and getting it just right/ getting a chocolate souffle to rise and stay risen?

Masterchefs and their partners can stay in with confidence - me, I’m for booking a table at one of the great restaurants advertised on these pages for guaranteed success.

Elderly passengers travelling to Long Sutton to do a weekly shop have been promised a temporary bus stop will be in place next week at an agreed shortcut through to the Co-op.

Passengers were upset at the delay after reading in the Lincolnshire Free Press in October that Norfolk Green’s King’s Lynn to Spalding 505 service was to get a temporary bus stop outside St Mary’s Church cemetery gates on a six months’ trial.

Norfolk Green boss Ben Colson and one of his drivers had made a plea to the parish council for the new stop to help elderly and infirm passengers who cut through the churchyard to the supermarket.

Lincolnshire County Council agreed to provide a pole on London Road to show where the bus stop was, but no shelter.

Jean Hall (78), of Sutton Bridge, said: “It’s January now and still no bus stop. I have arthritis and it takes me three-quarters of an hour to walk from where the bus stops to the Co-op – and then I’m done in afterwards.

“There are a lot of elderly people using this service and wondering what has happened.”

A spokesman for Norfolk Green said they were sorry to hear the bus had not stopped for Mrs Hall.

The spokesman said: “Our regular drivers know to stop there, but a problem could have arisen if there was someone new on the route.”

Tanya Vaughan, principal projects officer at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “A temporary high-visibility bus stop sign will be in place by the end of next week. After six months it will be reviewed.”

The latest New Holland farm machinery was due to be displayed outside St Paul’s Cathedral one day last week to remind London commuters where the ingredients in their luchboxes comes from.

The showcase by The Addington Fund, which provides homes for farming families forced to leave the industry, was also meant to highlight the vital role of UK farmers who work hard to produce food.

Ian Bell, director of the Addington Fund, said: “In the UK as a whole, 1bn meals are now eaten outside of the home every year. Yet we have a significant percentage of people who have no understanding of where their food originates from.

“From a farming perspective, we already know that we will have a poor yield from harvest 2013, and with the best will in the world we will not get back on track before harvest 2014 at the earliest. This will have a direct effect on food costs, but we must engage with the public so they understand.”

Every effort must be made to ensure a vaccine is available later this year to help combat the spread of deadly Schmallenberg virus (SBV), the NFU has said.

The call comes as many farms with early lambing flocks across the country have experienced higher than normal losses with still births and deformities.

The disease has been confirmed on more than 1,000 UK farms and comes at the same time as lamb prices have hit their lowest level for three years and livestock producers are facing rising production costs due to the extreme weather in 2012.

Plans for improvement work costing almost £31,000 at council waste depots in Spalding and Holbeach have been unveiled after safety concerns from Government health inspectors.

South Holland District Council is to decide on Wednesday whether improvements should be made to its waste depot in West Marsh Road, Spalding, after Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors said it posed an “unacceptable risk” to staff and the public.

An automatic barrier entry gate, pedestrian barriers and new signage will be introduced as soon as possible at the site following the HSE inspection last November.

Improvements could also be made to the waste depot in Fleet Street, Holbeach, ahead of possibly transferring some dustcarts and workers there from Spalding to ease the cramped conditions at the West Marsh Road site.

The plans were discussed by cabinet members on Tuesday when a report detailing the proposed work was presented by Coun Roger Gambba-Jones, portfolio holder for waste management.

An extract from the report said: “The waste industry has a comparatively poor health and safety injury and fatality rate and, as such, is regarded by the HSE as a priority industry sector.

“As a result, refuse and recycling services provided by councils including South Holland are currently under close scrutiny by the HSE.

“Over the years, the West Marsh Road depot has had to accommodate the growth of the refuse and recycling fleet with approximately 75 members of staff and 77 vehicles using the depot at any one time.

“As a consequence, the number of vehicle movements has substantially increased in an already cramped depot and the HSE considers that it currently provides an unacceptable risk to the health and safety of pedestrians using it.”