The boss of Long Sutton’s SEArch Architects, Jerry Harrall, pleaded not guilty to assault when he appeared at Boston Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
Harrall (52), of The Maples, Fleet, is accused of assaulting Glenn Eldridge by beating at South Holland District Council’s offices, in Priory Road, Spalding, on October 23 last year.
Magistrates adjourned the case for a two-day trial at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on July 3 and 4. Harrall is on summons.
We’re a nation of hoarders and almost one in four of us has a spare bedroom stuffed full of unused goods.
According to The British Heart Foundation (BHF), more than 80 per cent of us stash away as many as 30 unwanted household items worth an average £446.
The charity is urging us all to de-clutter and donate our unused goods to them to benefit heart patients.
Research shows it help us too because 12 per cent of us feel stressed by having too much stuff – and almost one in ten people avoids having friends round because they’re embarrassed to let them see the clutter.
Wendy Hook (48), from Little London, says: “I collect jugs and vases from the 20s and 30s, and I have got over 1,000 of them.
“I have got lots of general clutter and I also have a massive collection of shower gels and soaps because I go and buy some and can’t find it when I need it!”
Young mum Lucy Woodthorpe, from Spalding, said: “I have just moved house and we have de-cluttered.”
She said the family’s previous clutter mountain was mostly made up of clothes and toys.
Roz Smith, from Weston Hills, said: “I have a lot of electrical items – you tend to use it once and put it away – things like toasters and George Foreman grills.”
Roz says giving the goods to charity sounds like a good move.
Shelly Andrew (38), from Spalding, said her particular clutter collection is made up of just one thing – clothing.
She said: “I hate throwing clothes out because I may wear them again for fancy dress or they may come back into fashion – but I do think it is a good idea to take them to a charity shop to recycle them.”
Crowland man John Clow (70) told us: “No, I don’t have any clutter in the house because I don’t see any sense in it.”
John has won his fair share of dominoes trophies but sells them on to a collectables dealer on Spalding Market.
He said: “If someone breaks into my house I haven’t got anything for them to pinch.”
BHF volunteer Lisa Cato (46) admits she’s a hoarder, but that’s because she keeps on buying bargains from the charity’s Spalding shop.
Lisa said: “I love fabrics, ribbons and buttons – I don’t do anything with them but I can’t part with them. I do display a lot of it, like silk scarves.”
• The top three items on our hoarding list are Now CDs, bread makers and lava lamps. You can call BHF on 0800 915 3000 to arrange collections for items from bags of clothes to sofas.
I read with interest MP John Hayes’ comments about multiculturalism.
Britain has a proud tradition of taking the best of all cultures of the people that make their homes here and moving with the times.
From the invading Vikings and Normans to the influence of the Empire and beyond.
Mr Hayes himself, I know, enjoys a good curry. Perhaps the fact this staple takeaway comes second only to the good old fish and chips in the nation’s hearts should serve as a simple motif to show him how tolerance has worked, especially when such constructs are taken out of the hands of politicians.
As for GK Chesterton, one wonders if his comment: “The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of Conservatives is to prevent mistakes from being corrected.” applies, in Mr Hayes’ eyes ,to the recent politics of New Labour followed by his coalition government.
Eric Lewis
Spalding
Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership spokesman John Siddle says police have stepped up patrols along the A16 Crowland bypass following an “alarming rise” in the number of casualties.
As well as seven deaths, there have been 12 serious and 28 slight injuries – compared to one death, 12 serious and 59 slight injuries in the previous five years to August 2010 when the A1073 was the main road.
Mr Siddle said A1073 had carried 5,000 vehicles a day while the new road carries more than 13,000.
He said: “There has been an alarming rise in the number of casualties on the A16 bypass and we are concerned that drivers are assuming it is safe to drive at high speed.”
He said roads are made dangerous by drivers “not driving to the conditions, driving at high speed or driving without due care and attention”.
Mr Siddle revealed the Roads Policing Unit has already issued a number of tickets and warnings to drivers.
When the A16 Spalding to Peterborough bypass was opened, I was one of the first to raise my concerns on the layout of the road, the old Radar Corner etc and how many lives would be lost.
I was told by The Highways Department in reply to one of my letters in your papers, that they had carried out a survey on the road.
If my memory serves me correctly this was carried out before the road was even opened. I’m willing to be corrected.
I do understand whatever safety measures that are put in place, careless drivers will still find ways of abusing it and putting other innocent lives at risk.
What is the main problem, apart from the drivers, a procession of lorries, cars, white vans etc. This continues on all the routes from Spalding to Peterborough or visa versa. That’s when the idiots, sorry drivers, start weaving in and out of the traffic. Guess what? You catch them up at the next junction. Today’s drivers don’t know what the words patience, indicators etc mean.
Money should not have come into question when lives are put at risk. It should have been a dual carriageway or at the least, passing places after each junction.
Can the person who designed this race track stand up and now be counted.
I was a regular user of the road, but I’m glad to say, I use it less frequently now, but I still arrive home shaking at some of the stunts the drivers pull on this road.
Again I’m asking, is something going to soon be done about this road, before it claims even more lives?
David Barfoot
via email
A granny almost three times the drink-drive limit called police in “blind panic” when her car broke down and she couldn’t contact the breakdown service.
Sharron Goldie (46) was on her way home from a visit to her daughter and grandson at Bicker when her Suzuki WagonR broke down at Sutterton.
Marie Stace, prosecuting, said a police officer and special constable were asked to go to Goldie shortly after 7.30pm on January 26 after she called the police control room.
She said Goldie sounded “very distressed” and police believed she may have had an alcoholic drink.
Officers found Goldie on Station Road, which wasn’t where she thought she was.
Miss Stace said Goldie failed a roadside breath test and officers found a part-filled bottle of wine in her beige handbag.
She admitted having a drink “earlier on today”.
A reading showed 103 microgrammes of alcohol in breath – the legal limit is 35mcgs.
Goldie, of Sandygate Crescent, Old Leake, was banned from driving for two years, fined £220 with £85 costs and a £22 victim surcharge when she pleaded guilty at Boston Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
She can cut six months off the ban if she completes a rehabilitation course.
Her solicitor Roger Lowther said Goldie had intended staying the night with her daughter, but got a call to pick up her husband from the pub where he worked.
He said: “It is obviously somewhat unusual for someone who has had a drink to contact the police, but such was Mrs Goldie’s blind panic that she didn’t feel she had any option.”
Mr Lowther told the court Goldie had been terrified of the court proceedings.
He said: “When I first met her in custody at Boston she was extremely upset – she thought she would be going to prison.”
As usual, on Sunday March 2 I went to church and parked in Broad Street by the side of the road opposite, where I have done for many years.
When I left church and returned to my car, to my horror I found daubed on my front screen, a parking ticket.
Sunday is NOT a day of business, it is the day of rest! And as such, the weekday parking restrictions do not apply.
In addition, I was not causing an obstruction or preventing others from parking as there were many more places available along the street.
This is more or less a copy of the letter I have written appealing against this unreasonable fee, which was not issued on a working day, by someone who should have been at home with his family.
Brian Pearson
via email
Visiting times have been relaxed at the Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, meaning patients can welcome their guests for longer.
Since Monday visitors have been able to stay with patients in the hospital from 12.30pm through to 8pm.
The new schedule is being run across most wards and departments.
It’s an improvement on the previous visiting rota which varied on each ward making it difficult for guests to know when they could visit.
The old visiting schedule was also limited, often to only two hours at a time between 2pm to 4pm and 6pm to 8pm.
Tina White, deputy director of operations, said: “We believe that the benefits are huge.”
She said the new open visiting slot also makes seeing a loved one in hospital easier for those using public transport and cuts the volume of vehicles trying to park on the site at one time.
She said: “Our visitors who rely on local transport to get to the hospital are no longer confined to set times to visit, and therefore able to make better use of local transportation timetables. We also hope that the prospect of open visiting may ease parking difficulties on site.”
The changes could improve the relationship between staff and a patient’s family because they will have more time to meet visitors.
Spending more time with family and friends will also improve their involvement in the patient’s care.
Tina hopes staff communication will improve under the new charter and that could mean better access to the Pilgrim Hospital’s facilities.
The NHS Trust has a ‘Protected Mealtimes’ policy which remains in place under the new visiting times.
It ensures patients are able to eat meals without being interrupted and so staff can assist them. Research has shown patients who are not interrupted are happier, more relaxed and eat more, improving recovery.
Patients who need assistance at meal times can receive it from loved one but visitors should check with ward staff first.
A Gedney Hill dog had its day when it walked away with a top prize at Crufts.
Nicola Smith (41) and her Greenland fought off competition from a host of other dogs to scoop the the Best of Breed award at the weekend.
Puck was one of more than 21,500 entries at the NEC in Birmingham for the world’s biggest dog show, presented by the Kennel Club.
Miss Smith said: “It’s fantastic – it’s our eighth Best of Breed but that does not make it any less special whatsoever.
“We make sure that they have the best conditions. We feed them very well, with this breed it’s very important they stay fit, they are a very extroverted breed.
“It’s amazing to get Best of Breed at Crufts again.
“This is easily the best show of the year and the one you target as the pizzazz and the drama always make it exciting.”
This year’s Crufts attracted dog lovers from all walks of life, with 45 overseas countries represented throughout the four-day show.
Puck was not the only successful sorry as two other Spalding pooches put their best paws forward to pick up a Best of Breed certificate.
Peter Clifton and Cardigan Welsh Corgi Mr Blobby also ran out winners, as did Gill Pollard with Pyrenean Mountain Dog, Zak.
Mrs Pollard (55), said: “Competing at Crufts is absolutely amazing and to win with Zak is that extra bit special.
“It means everything to win Best of Breed with Zak.”
Students from Sir John Gleed School and Radomsko, Poland, and the logos they designed to represent their joint Bilateral Comenius project, Young Citizens of Europe.
The Polish students stayed with English host families for ten days and next year Sir John Gleed students will visit Radomsko. Coordinator Mandy North said the exchange of language skills formed an important part of the project, as well as looking at different issues in both communities.
The project in Spalding focused on the problems of litter and discarding of waste within the community, and looked at local recycling programmes and ways of reducing and recycling commercial packaging.
Seven people have been killed on the A16 between Cowbit and Crowland since it replaced the notorious A1073 as the main road fewer than four years ago.
The death toll includes the 37-year-old motoryclist, Marcel Banom, from Peak Hill, Cowbit, who was killed on Wednesday in a 6am accident in thick fog.
Mr Banom was pronounced dead at the scene of an accident with a car and a lorry, which happened half-a-mile along the road from the Cowbit roundabout.
Campaigners spent years highlighting the high accident rate on the A1073, but now the A16 is claiming even more lives than the road it replaced.
Just one life was lost on the A1073 in the five years to August 2010, when the Cowbit to Crowland section of the A16 opened.
Spalding man Rodney Sadd, who uses the A16 Crowland bypass to travel to work in Peterborough, came across Wednesday’s fatal crash – and one of his colleagues lost his life on the road a year ago.
Mr Sadd said the new carriageway should have been dualled, but blames the accident rate on the standard of driving.
He’s calling for police to step up patrols to put the brakes on drivers who risk everything to overtake.
Mr Sadd said: “To be honest and clear, it’s not always the road, it’s the driving standards. We see it every morning. People are hell bent on overtaking, I don’t know why. You end up seeing their cars a few cars in front of you in Peterborough.
“It’s a real concern with the number of lives we have lost in such a short time. If we had the police with us at this time in the morning they would really see it as it is.”
The Perkins Engines worker was back on his 6am run to Peterborough on Friday morning – when the road was again shrouded in thick fog – and was surprised by how few street lights were switched on.
The driver of a Volkwagen Passat, a 24-year-old Spalding man, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving following Wednesday’s tragedy and is on police bail until June 19 while inquiries continue.
Four South Holland students have returned from a Holocaust Educational Trust trip to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps in Poland as ambassadors to spread the important message of what can happen when communities fear cultures they do not understand.
While there, Rabbi Barry Marcus said this message is as relevant today in Spalding as it was for the world after the Second World War and the students now hold the key to unite our own community...
* Full story in Tuesday’s Lincolnshire Free Press.
A galvanised trailer with sheet metal sides has been stolen from a driveway in Spalding during the weekend.
Thieves cut loose a ground bolt which the trailer was secured with before stealing it from outside a house in overnight between Saturday and Sunday.
Anyone who has seen the trailer should call police on 101.
Horticulture and animal care lessons became a lighter load for pupils at the The Priory School, Spalding, last week.
The Inner Wheel, a branch of the Rotary Society for female members, donated school with a wheelbarrow.
Daren said it’s early days but the wheelbarrow has already been put to good use. He said: “In the spring and summer months the pupils will use it a lot more.”
Class 7R is pictured with Dorothy Duckworth, Pauline Start, Linda Walters from the Inner Wheel and headteacher Daran Bland.
An election has been requested to fill the vacancy on Sutton Bridge Parish Council following the resignation of Coun Gary Croxford.
Nomination papers can be submitted by candidates who are interested and they must be sent to the returning officer between tomorrow (Wednesday) and 4pm on Wednesday, March 26.
If more than one candidate is nominated then a parish election will take place on Thursday, April 24.
Forms of nomination can be obtained from the clerk to parish council or from the district council at Priory Road, Spalding.
Helping Pinchbeck residents get their day-to-day essentials and more, without the need to go into town, is one of the busiest shops in the village.
The family-run Spar Shop in Knight Street has been providing villagers with a range of services on their doorstep for many years, and continues to expand to ensure the growing needs of the community are met.
Darrel Cross, who has run the store with parents Keith and Anita Cross for 35 years, said: “We like to think of ourselves as always pushing forward to give the customers what they want.”
The shop stocks one of Spar’s largest ranges of foods, including groceries, wines, fresh produce, dairy products, hot food and snacks, as well as fresh bread and cakes baked in store throughout the day.
Customers can also buy lottery tickets, pay their utility bills, buy mobile phone and electricity card top-ups, and get cash using the new cash machine or cash-back service when using a debit card at the tills.
The shop has also recently launched a new Collect+ parcel service, allowing people to send, collect and return parcels at their convenience.
“We have one of the biggest ranges that Spar do to give people the extra choice,” said Darrel. “We are classed as a convenience store but we really bridge the gap between them and the big supermarkets.”
He said the shop, along with one of Lincolnshire’s finest butchers, the post office, florist and hairdressers on the same street, means villagers don’t have to go into town their everyday essentials.
“There are some people who can’t easily go out of the village at all and together we have a bit of responsibility to help them as much as we can,” said Darrel. “We’re all really friendly along here and get on really well, which is great for us and the customers too.”
Health Matters by Simon Temple
Some readers may have heard of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), who provide national guidance to improve health and social care.
However, some may not know that NICE recognises the importance for heart patients to have access to a cardiac rehabilitation service. This recommendation is based on improvements in a cardiac patient’s quality of life, reduced mortality and hospital admissions.
In Lincolnshire, cardiac rehabilitation services run in our communities through Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust.
The service gives specialist advice and support for patients (registered with a GP within the Lincolnshire boundary) who have recently had a heart attack, those who have undergone some types of heart surgery, including some device implantation, angioplasty patients and newly-diagnosed angina patients who have had two hospital admissions in the last six months.
Patients are usually referred into the programme by their discharging hospital or GP.
The cardiac rehabilitation team supports both patients and their families following an acute cardiac event to help them understand their condition and recovery. All patients seen have a cardiac risk assessment, are given information regarding their cardiac condition, advised on how to manage it and receive important psychological support. This process is undertaken by a cardiac nurse specialist and happens in various ways, such as telephone, clinics or home visits.
Patients are then able to choose from a ‘menu’ of choice, which may include individualised plan, self-directed ‘manuals’, home-based exercise DVDs, ‘telehealth’ system or exercise programme, which are all designed to suit the individual’s choice and needs.
In Boston and South Holland, the team includes cardiac rehabilitation nurses Andy Hall and Dessiree Fletcher, and administrator Kate Kneller. This team delivers an exercise programme in the Holbeach area through a weekly session of education and exercise which can help cardiac patients reach their potential.
If you would like to know more about cardiac rehabilitation and how it could help you, speak to your GP or visit www.lincolnshirecommuni tyhealthservices.nhs.uk
If you have a question about services provided by LCHS in South Holland, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch via spaldingeditor@jpress.co.uk
Thanks to Andy Hall for contributing to this month’s column.
Cases from Lincolnshire magistrates courts
Grantham
Magistrates’ Court
February 12
Dmitrijs Bolzans (29), of Donington Road, Bicker. Speeding (Whaplode). £200 fine, £20 victim surcharge, £85 costs, 3pts.
James Bowler (21), of Stanley Street, Bourne. No insurance (Bourne). £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.
Deividas Kaupas (27), of Spalding Road, Holbeach. Speeding (Whaplode). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.
Janet Twells (56), of Clay Bank, South Kyme, Lincoln. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.
Ian Constable (49), of Airey Houses, West End, Swaton. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £37 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.
Robert Burns, Burton Road, Heckington. Speeding (Langtoft). £37 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.
Kieran Dokuyucu (29), of Marshland Drive, Holbeach. Failing to provide driver ID (Nettleham). £240 fine, £24 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.
Jonathan Coates (39), of Northumberland Avenue, Stamford. Speeding (Whaplode). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.
Ben Harris (28), of King Johns Road, Swineshead. Speeding (Horncastle). £60 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.
Kevin Rate (44), of Finn Close, Bourne. Failing to keep firearms in secure cabinet (Bourne). £665 fine, £66 v/s, £85 costs.
Derek Rutherford (40), of Lismore Drive, Coatbridge, Lanarkshire. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £125 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.
February 14
Paul Denmead (28), of Windcatch Caravan Park, Kellett Gate, Low Fulney, Spalding. No insurance (Spalding). £210 fine, £21 victim surcharge, £85 costs, 6pts. No separate penalty for driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.
Jordan Meakins (19), of Spalding Common, Spalding. Speeding (Hop Pole). £135 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 21 days.
February 17
Jennifer Collins (47), Drayton Road, Swineshead. No TV licence. £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.
Elzbieta Pasiewicz (28), of Fossitt Place, London Road, Kirton. No TV licence. £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.
Tina Taylor (42), of Hardwick Estate, Kirton. No TV licence. £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.
Kevin Wells (48), of Alexandra Road, Spalding. No TV licence. £200 fine, £20 v/s, £90 costs.
Ben Wright (21), of London Road, Spalding. Production of 6 cannabis plants (Long Sutton). £240 fine, £24 v/s, 385 costs, cannabis to be destroyed.
Gareth Thomas (30), of Delgate Avenue, Weston. Drink driving (Spalding). £110 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 12 months.
February 19
Leanne Gaskin (40), of Rose View Drive, Holbeach. No insurance (Holbeach). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.
Leszek Nosal (44), of Rathkerr Court, Norton Street, Grantham. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £65 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.
Lloyd Chapman (28), of Coronation Avenue, Throckenholt. No insurance (Sutton Bridge). £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 6 months. No separate penalty for driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.
Stuart Epton (34), of Tytton Lane East, Wyberton. Speeding (Cowbit). £335 fine, £34 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.
Andrius Lukosius (33), of Maple Road, Boston. Speeding (Wyberton). £65 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 14 days.
Ineta Nejiene (28), of Fydell Court, Boston. Speeding (Spalding). £40 fine, £20 v/s, 3pts.
Colin Rose (47), of Coggles Causeway, Bourne. Failing to give driver ID. £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.
David Henderson (53), of The Close, Morwick Road, Warkworth, Northumberland. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £35 fine, £20 v/s, £45 costs, 3pts.
Josett Johnson (31), of Clay Flat Lane, New Rossington, Doncaster. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £140 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.
Christopher White (30), of College Drive, Heacham. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £115 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.
Boston Magistrates’ Court
February 21
Kevin Holmes (34), Stone Lane, Sutterton. Assault (Sutterton). Community order with 60 hours work, £60 v/s, £40 costs. The community order also covers two counts of resisting a police officer.
Luke Arons (33), of Winsover Road, Spalding. Assault (Spalding). 12 month conditional discharge, £15 v/s, £170 costs.
Michael Nowak (31), of Oakfield Road, Nottingham. Stole a junior hacksaw worth £1.99 from Wilkinson (Spalding). 6 month conditional discharge, £15 v/s, £85 costs. Failed to surrender to custody. Detention deemed served by reason of time already spent in custody.
Lincoln Magistrates’ Court
March 10
Kevin Bullas (55), of Onslow Road, Sheffield. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £50 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.
Sandra Clayton (57), of Stockwell Gate, Holbeach. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.
Shaun Denholm (57), of Streeton Road, Greetham. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.
Rosenne Couzens (22), of High Street, Horbling. Speeding (Wildmore). £75 fine, £20 v/s, £30 costs, 6pts.
Noel Rafferty (28), of Millbank Cottages, Moneymore, Magherafelt, County Londonderry. Speeding (Pinchbeck). £35 fine, £20 v/s, £45 costs, 3pts.
A wartime letter from a soldier to his wife back in Gedney Dyke is up for sale on the internet auction site eBay.
The Second Word War Army form active service envelope is annotated with the date 27/8/41 and was sent by Gnr Cozens A, 1570599, who was stationed at Kirkwall, in Orkney, during the conflict, back to his wife Elsie in South Holland.
The handwritten correspondence is being sold by a Leicestershire collector who hopes it might be reunited with its rightful owner, or a relation of the couple in question.
The letter has been listed with a Buy it Now price of £6, plus £1 postage, while the auction is due to end on March 26.
Peter Harvey, who served with the RAF for 22 years, originally bought the letter as part of a large lot of 700 wartime items at an auction held in Essex.
“With all these items it is always interesting to know the history and I am sure these parts of Lincolnshire had quite small populations at the time of Second Word War,” said Mr Harvey who has been collecting and dealing in postal history for around 30 years.
“The person who wrote the letter appears to have written home throughout the war, both when with the Royal Garrison Artillery in Orkney and also while based with anti-aircraft units on the Isle of Wight, serving in Essex, and then with the British Liberation Army,” he added.
The five-page letter, which starts ‘My Darling Elsie’, was sent from the garrison artillery unit stationed in Orkney throughout the conflict.
“Postal history collecting has always been popular with collectors but more and more these days people are interested in the social history aspects of letters and correspondence too,” said Mr Harvey.
“And the internet also means that collectors throughout the world are more engaged.”
News of the letter’s sale was also discussed on a Facebook page dedicated to Old Holbeach.
It can be viewed on eBay at www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WW2-Garrison-Artillery-Kirkwall-Orkney-Letter-1941-Active-Service-to-Holbeach- /351009367409
Blogger Trish burgess writes for the Free Press
Friends of mine have recently returned from a short break to Ireland, They were hoping for a glimpse of the northern lights and, despite being in the ideal location and getting up each night at an ungodly hour for a recce, they were disappointed.
If only they’d gone to Whitley Bay, the little town on the north-east coast where I was born.
On the night of February 27th, the skies turned green and ghostly. A number of beautiful photographs were taken, with St Mary’s Lighthouse in the foreground.
There was apparently activity as far south as Essex that night, so I suppose people may have seen them in Lincolnshire.
I did think before going to bed that I would set my alarm for 2am so I could look out of the window. However, I soon forgot that idea once I’d dived underneath the duvet, but now I wish I’d stayed awake.
Seeing the aurora borealis is probably on many people’s bucket list and now is the ideal time to see them, as the solar activity which governs them is at a peak.
I would love to see them but realistically the chance of them putting on a show for me in Holbeach is minimal. I could go home to Whitley Bay but I think that was probably a oneoff.
I wonder if a trip to Iceland is worth doing, while there is still a window of opportunity. I’m very tempted as Iceland is probably one of my favourite places in the world.
It was our trip there in 2007 which proved to be the springboard for my travel blog.
I wrote a series of posts about our holiday, entitled ‘Mum’s Gone to Iceland’ and, from then on, the idea of writing about our travel experiences took off.
What a trip it was! Normally I don’t do cold holidays and I’m not too keen on activities either.
So what possessed me to book a fortnight’s ‘family adventure’, requiring thermal underwear and cagoules?
To this day I’m still not sure how we survived the trip. We rode the traditional Icelandic ‘volcano’ horses in the pouring rain, negotiated glaciers whilst wearing crampons and drove snowmobiles over the self same glaciers, being careful not to disappear down crevasses which, according to our guide, would be fatal.
That was a cheery thought.
I remember vividly the sheer terror when we were shunted onto a Grade 3 whitewater rafting course having discovered the gentle Grade 1 session, suitable for families, was already full.
My son Rory, then aged 11, was allowed to sit in the front of the boat and happily paddled his heart out as we plummeted down through the rapids.
I thought we were all going to die. Fortunately we didn’t and I had to grudgingly admit to the boys that it was quite exhilarating.
We didn’t see the northern lights during our trip as it was summer and we had no darkness. Maybe I should stick to Mum’s Gone to Whitley Bay.