Street traders across South Holland will now have to apply for permission to operate in town centres within the area.

A change in licensing regulations approved by South Holland District Council members takes effect from August 12 when any business wishing to trade on streets in the district streets must apply for consent at a cost of £450 for a new licence or £425 to renew one.

Successful applicants will be provided with a Street Trading Plate and a letter of consent, both of which must be displayed in a prominent place.

For more details, email foodhs@sholland.gov.uk or visit www.sholland.gov.uk/services

The clock is ticking for local residents to tell the independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England where they think new county council division boundaries should be drawn across Lincolnshire.

The commission is carrying out an electoral review of Lincolnshire which means re-drawing electoral division boundaries across the county. The Commission is asking local people for their views on new division arrangements before it draws up its recommendations.

All views put forward during the consultation will be considered, with the aim to publish draft recommendations for new division boundaries for Lincolnshire County Council in November.

In May, the commission agreed that the council should have 71 county councillors in the future: six fewer than the current arrangements. It now aims to draw up division boundaries that mean each of those councillors represents a similar number of voters and that the new divisions reflect the interest and identities of local communities.

Commission chairman Max Caller said: “We will consider every submission we receive from local people before we draw up draft recommendations. We will then open another phase of consultation on those proposals in November. Don’t miss this chance to have your say on how your council is run.”

This phase of public consultation closes on Tuesday, July 21.

Consultation responses should be sent to:

The Review Officer (Lincolnshire)

Local Government Boundary Commission for England

14th floor, Millbank Tower

London SW1P 4QP

Email: reviews@lgbce.org.uk

For more information visit: www.lgbce.org.uk/current-reviews/east-midlands/lincolnshire/lincolnshire-county-council

The jury in trial of six teenagers accused of the murder of Spalding man Warren Free are to continue their deliberations in the case in the morning (Friday).

The jury of six men and six women retired earlier today (Thursday) at Lincoln Crown Court but after deliberating for an hour without reaching any verdicts were sent home at lunchtime by the trial judge Mr Justice Goss and will continue tomorrow.

The prosecution alleges that 43 year old Mr Free suffered fatal injuries after he confronted a group of teenagers in the early hours of the morning about noise they were making in a park at the rear of his home in Coronation Close, Spalding.

It is alleged that Mr Free was kicked, punched and stamped on by the teenagers before a 15 year old girl struck him over the head several times with a metal pole.

He went home to bed but friends were later unable to rouse him. An ambulance was called and he was airlifted to hospital but passed away within 24 hours from a head injury.

Six teenagers all deny the murder of Warren Free on August 29, 2014. Three of the defendants, including a girl, were 14 at the time while the others were a girl of 15 and a 16 year old together with Jake Edwards, now 18.

A boy, who was 14 at the time, denies a charge of perverting the course of justice relating to the disposal of the metal pole in the Coronation Channel in Spalding. A second boy, aged 16 at the time, has admitted perverting the course of justice.

None of the defendants gave evidence to the jury. Barristers representing the defendants have argued that the accused whom the prosecution claim were involved in violence towards Mr Free acted lawfully either in their own self defence or in the defence of others in the group. Others are said not to have been involved at all and claim to have been innocent bystanders.

Previously...

Judge tells jurors to put aside emotions

Cannot be proved that Edwards landed killer blow, says his solicitor

Homes in Bourne and the Deepings will be getting letters from tomorrow asking them to check whether their personal and address details are correct.

The letters are in connection with an annual voter registration effort by South Kesteven District Council to ensure people are registered to take part in polls for the new Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire next May.

Coun Kelham Cooke, cabinet member for governance and communications at the district council, said: “The aim is to ensure that our electoral register is up to date and to identify any residents who are not registered so they can be encouraged to do so.

“With the Police and Crime Commissioner elections taking place in our area in May 2016, this is an opportunity for residents to make sure that when the elections take place, they will easily be able to take part because anyone that wants to vote must be registered.”

For more information, call the district council elections team on 01476 406080.

Lincolnshire Trading Standards is warning residents to be on their guard for bogus calls after a number of people have reported being called by the county council.

Over the past few days, members of the public have contacted Trading Standards to say they have been targeted by someone claiming to be calling from various councils, including Lincolnshire County Council.

Whilst some of the calls have come from a private number, others are coming from the legitimate telephone number of a council in the UK.

In each case the caller claims that they are calling from the council about an accident that happened last year, sometimes suggesting that it may be possible to claim compensation.

Some of those targeted have taken to social media to warn others about the scam: “They said they were calling from the town council but called from a private number. They were asking for lots of information about an accident which never happened. Luckily I clicked on to this and as soon as I started asking questions they hung up. Be careful!”

Other users said: “I received a call from them two days ago claiming to be from Lincolnshire County Council. The gentleman on the other end of the phone had very broken English. I just hung up.”

“I thought something was amiss when I was called by the council asking for my details following an accident. I’ve never had an accident, so I quickly put the phone down. I called 1471. The number I got was 0126853333 – Basildon Council. I called the number back and Basildon Council said they were subject to this scam.”

Kirsty Toyne, principal trading standards officer at Lincolnshire Trading Standards warns people not to fall for the scam:“If you receive a phone call like this one please just hang up. Lincolnshire County Council will never contact you in this way so you know it’s a bogus call.

“It’s not clear what the fraudsters will do with any information gained so please do not give out any of your personal information to them. Just put the phone down”

If you have been affected by the scam, please contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit www.actionfraud.police.uk

You can find out the latest scam warnings by following @Lincsts or like Lincolnshire Trading Standards on Facebook.

David Cameron faces a furious backlash after the 10% pay hike for MPs was confirmed today Thursday July 16 - despite the rest of the public sector being capped at 1% for another four years.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) said the issue of politicians’ salaries could no longer be “ducked” and it is pushing ahead with the increase from £67,060 to £74,000.

However, the watchdog has climbed down on plans to link their pay to UK-wide average earnings in future - a move that could have left MPs £23,000 better off by 2020.

Instead they will be restricted to average rises in the public sector.

The Prime Minister previously branded the substantial boost, backdated to May 8 and tied to cuts in pensions and expenses, “unacceptable” at a time of austerity.

But last month Downing Street indicated that Mr Cameron will not seek to block the move - and he will personally accept the money. Politicians elected before 2015 - including Mr Cameron - will also see a major boost to their pensions as they are based on final salary.

MPs divided

The proposals have caused bitter divisions among MPs, with some decrying the award and others arguing they have been underpaid for decades.

It has also split ministers, with Education Secretary Nicky Morgan breaking ranks to declare she will give the money to charity and International Development Secretary Justine Greening warning that Ipsa is “not working in its current form”.

Labour leadership contenders Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall have all declared they will forego the rise.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond is likely to be reminded of comments from 2013 when he indicated he would not accept a pay rise while the rest of the public sector was being restrained.

Michael Gove, now Justice Secretary, memorably declared around the same time that Ipsa could “stick” their pay rise.

Under pressure, the Government formally expressed its opposition to an increase in a letter to the watchdog’s final consultation on the plans last month.

Mr Cameron has also imposed a freeze on the ministerial element of pay - meaning he and Cabinet ministers will only get an effective 5% bump in their total remuneration.

However, blocking a rise finalised by Ipsa would require a change in the law, and with a slim majority it is far from clear that Mr Cameron could carry a vote in the Commons.

The hike was originally unveiled in 2013 to address complaints that MPs’ pay has dropped behind that for other jobs.

Ipsa said last month that the mooted rise would go ahead unless “new and compelling evidence” was submitted.

In its report today, the watchdog said the additional four years of 1% public sector pay restrictions unveiled by Chancellor George Osborne in the Summer Budget represented “compelling evidence”.

It said MPs’ salaries would now go up every April in line with average weekly public sector earnings, rather than those for the whole workforce.

UK wage earnings on the rise

OBR forecasts show UK-wide average earnings going up 3.6% in 2016, 3.9% in 2017, 3.9% in 2018, and 4.1% in 2019, and 4.4% in 2020.

On top of the £7,000 bump this year, that would have left MPs receiving nearly £90,000 in 2020 - a rise of £23,000 or 34% over five years.

By contrast public sector earnings are only expected to go up by around 5% over the period.

The measure being used by Ipsa has also fallen into negative territory in the past as a result of job cuts - and the watchdog’s report stated: “If these data show that public sector earnings have in fact fallen, then MPs’ pay will be cut too.”

Ipsa comment

The watchdog’s chairman Sir Ian Kennedy defended the salary increase, pointing to other curbs such as introducing a career average pension and scrapping expenses for evening meals. “Pay has been an issue which has been ducked for decades, with independent reports and recommendations from experts ignored, and MPs’ salaries supplemented by an opaque and discredited system of allowances,” he said.

“We have made the necessary break with the past. We have created a new and transparent scheme of business costs and expenses, introduced a less generous pension scheme, where taxpayers contribute less and MPs make a higher contribution, and scrapped large resettlement payments.

“We have consulted extensively on MPs’ pay, and with today’s decision we have put in place the final element of the package for the new Parliament.

“In making this decision we are very aware of the strongly held views of many members of the public and by some MPs themselves.

“We have listened to those views. We have made an important change to the way in which pay will be adjusted annually.

“Instead of linking MPs’ pay to wages in the whole economy, it will be linked to public sector pay.

“Over the last Parliament, MPs’ pay increased by 2%, compared to 5% in the public sector and 10% in the whole economy.

“It is right that we make this one-off increase and then formally link MPs’ pay to public sector pay.”

More reaction

Mr Cameron’s official spokeswoman declined to say what the PM would do with any pay rise awarded by Ipsa, but said that the body was setting MPs’ pay and “the Prime Minister is an MP”.

The spokeswoman told a Westminster media briefing: “As you know, the PM has consistently throughout this consultation process opposed the pay increase that Ipsa had been considering.”

Asked whether a big rise for MPs could be justified at a time when ministers are imposing pay restraint on the public sector, the spokeswoman said: “It is the Government that makes the decision on public sector pay. It is Ipsa that makes the decision on MPs’ pay.”

Ipsa has made clear the extra money will be paid to MPs automatically, but they are free to give sums to charity.

The watchdog operates a payroll giving scheme that allows them to donate to charity from gross salary.

According to the Ipsa report, a number of MPs wrote in to support the pay rise.

They included Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood, who said: “I know I speak for the silent majority (who are not millionaires) to say this increase is well overdue... I hope common sense will prevail and this pay rise will be honoured.”

Labour MP and Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz said: “ I am supporting Ipsa’s recommendations as they have been done independently of members.”

Tory Mark Field insisted: “Ipsa ... must work totally free from government influence.”

Rory Stewart, Conservative chair of the defence select committee, wrote: “In my view Ipsa was established precisely to take away the responsibility of this sort of decision from the hands of MPs...

“MPs were traditionally unpaid. And parliament predicted when salaries were introduced that it would be a source of continual public disappointment and anger, as it has been...

“My fundamental conclusion is that an independent body such as Ipsa is now and should be in the future the appropriate body to make recommendations - not MPs themselves.

“I believe Ipsa has conducted serious research and comparisons. I believe they are in a better position than MPs to be objective. I would accept their recommendation.”

However, Labour leadership contender Ms Cooper called for the Prime Minister to intervene to stop the increase, pointing out that the Chancellor had just slashed benefits and capped the public sector at 1%.

“This is crazy. How on earth has David Cameron allowed this to happen? He needs to step in urgently and stop this MPs pay rise going ahead,” she said.

“The idea of increasing MPs pay by 10% at a time when nurses, care workers, police officers and our armed forces face another five years pay freeze is completely unfair.

“The Tories are cutting tax credits for ordinary families yet allowing this Ipsa increase to go ahead.

“I made it clear from the outset that this pay rise should not go ahead, and that MPs pay needs to reflect the wider conditions in the public finances and the economy.

“If it does now go ahead, I won’t take it. If that is impossible then I will put the money towards something like funding an apprenticeship or similar cause in my constituency.

“But I hope the Prime Minister does the right thing and intervenes to stop Ipsa pressing ahead with this.”

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will give the British Medical Association (BMA) six weeks to negotiate on changes for hospital consultants and junior doctors, or face a new seven-day contract.

The challenge is at the heart of a speech called The Conservatives, the true party of the NHS, which Mr Hunt will give to the King’s Fund in London. In it he also suggests that the BMA’s position may be contributing to 6,000 deaths a year.

Mr Hunt will say: “There will now be six weeks to work with BMA union negotiators before a September decision point. But be in no doubt: if we can’t negotiate, we are ready to impose a new contract.”

The Government expects the majority of hospital doctors to be on seven-day contracts by the end of the Parliament. It believes this will help deliver a better service to patients.

The Government wants to remove the ability to opt out from weekend and evening working from consultants’ contracts by April 2017.

In the speech, which sets out the direction of NHS reform for the next 25 years, Mr Hunt is expected to say: “Around 6,000 people lose their lives every year because we do not have a proper seven-day service in hospitals.

“No one could possibly say that this was a system built around the needs of patients - and yet when I pointed this out to the BMA they told me to ‘get real’. I simply say to the doctors’ union that I can give them 6,000 reasons why they, not I, need to ‘get real’.

“They are not remotely in touch with what their members actually believe. I have yet to meet a consultant who would be happy for their own family to be admitted at weekends or would not prefer to get test results back more quickly for their own patients.

“Timely consultant review when a patient is first admitted, access to key diagnostics, consultant-directed interventions, ongoing consultant review in high dependency areas, and proper assessment of mental health needs: I will not allow the BMA to be a road block to reforms that will save lives.”

He will argue that the lack of a consistent seven-day hospital service means patients are 15% more likely to die if they are admitted on a Sunday, compared with a Wednesday.

He claims that patient care and staff morale have increased in hospitals such as the Salford Royal and Northumbria which already work a seven-day system.

He claims this is not about increasing the total number of hours worked every week by any individual doctor, which should always be within safe limits.

Mr Hunt will also pledge a cut back in the lucrative high-earning overtime payments that consultants can get.

Fire crews were called to a house in Whaplode where a strip light overheated on Thursday.

Crews from Holbeach and Spalding were called out just after 11.10pm to a house in High Road.

Some heat damage was caused but no injuries when an element in the strip light overheated.

Also on Thursday, firefighters from Holbeach used a water hose to put out rubbish alight outside a house in Battlefields Lane South, Holbeach, just before 8.10pm.

A human rights activist from Spalding could find himself in custody if a court decides to indict him over a criminal defamation and computer case.

The final preliminary hearing against Andy Hall will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday.

This is just one of four cases that a Thai pineapple processing company, Natural Fruit, has brought against him.

Natural Fruit filed all the charges following the publication of a Finnwatch report Cheap Has a High Price, which exposed serious human rights violations including forced labour, at the Natural Fruit factory in Pranburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan province.

If the court, following Monday’s hearing, decides to indict him, Mr Hall will be arrested and detained pending bail. He then faces a trial and, if found guilty and convicted, up to seven years in prison.

‘Save my brother from Thailand jail’

New court hearing starts today for human rights defender

‘Police nearly tricked me into a confession’

Human rights defender Andy won’t run away

The following decisions have been made by magistrates at court hearings. In all drink-drive cases the legal limit is 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood or 107 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine. Addresses of defendants published here are taken from the legal records held by the magistrates’ courts.

Grantham 
Magistrates’ Court

June 8

Lee Gray (31), of NFA. Possession of cannabis (Bourne). £65 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, drugs to be forfeited and destroyed.

Christopher Mills (56), of Glen Avenue, Pinchbeck. Driving while disqualified (Spalding). 12 weeks prison sentence concurrent suspended for 12 months, £150 c/c/c, disqualified from driving for 12 months. No separate penalty for no insurance and no MOT.

Christopher Mills (56), of Glen Avenue, Pinchbeck. Criminal damage (Sutterton). 8 weeks prison sentence concurrent suspended for 12 months, restraining order, £720 compensation, £80 v/s,£85 costs. Breach of a non-molestation order. 12 weeks prison sentence suspended for 12 months. No separate penalty for no insurance. Driving while disqualified (Sutterton). 12 weeks prison sentence concurrent suspended for 12 months. Disqualified from driving for 12 months.

June 9

Zoltan Balogh (36), of Horseshoe Road, Spalding. Vehicle insurance offence (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £110 costs.

Roman Bonka (25), of The Crescent, Spalding. Vehicle insurance offence (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £110 costs.

Ben Creamer (35), of Hardwick Estate, Kirton. Speeding (Langtoft). £50 fine, £0 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Elisabette Da Silva (23), of Claudette Avenue, Spalding. Vehicle insurance offence (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £110 costs.

David Hodds (66), of Earlsfield, Moulton Seas End. Vehicle insurance offence (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £110 costs.

Jamie McIntosh (21), of East Cobgate, Moulton. Vehicle insurance offence (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £110 costs.

Dean Montana, of Meadow Walk, Cowbit. Vehicle insurance offence (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £110 costs.

Lee Pick, of Thyme Avenue, Bourne. Vehicle insurance offence (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £110 costs.

Georgina McFarlane (24), of Hill View Gardens, Bourne. No insurance (Morton). £110 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts. No separate penalty for driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

Skirmantas Mockus (30), of Trinity Road, Wisbech. Speeding (Whaplode). £60 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Robert Fisher (61), of Holland Way, Holbeach. Speeding (Whaplode). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Ali Haideri (27), of Ruscombe Place, Nottingham. Speeding (Spalding). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Emma Hall (28), of Chopdike Drove, Spalding. Driving without due care and attention (Surfleet). £110 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 5pts. No separate penalty for speeding and failing to stop for a police officer.

John Shaw (37), of Wirksworth Road, Ilkeston. Speeding (Horbling). £85 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Lincoln Magistrates’ Court

June 5

Alekseys Alistratous (25), of Herring Lane, Spalding. Theft of a laptop worth £359 belonging to Lincs Computers (Spalding). £150 fine, £359 compensation, £20 v/s, £85 costs, £180 c/c/c. Failing to surrender to custody. £160 fine.

June 8

Sean Burt (33), of Rowan Avenue, Spalding. Failing to give driver ID (Nettleham). £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

Martin Doherty (59), of Jermyn Street, Sleaford. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £200 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Ian Fountain (43), of Siltside, Gosberton Risegate. Failing to give driver ID (Nettleham). £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

Mandy Frogley (47), of Cranesgate North, Spalding. Speeding (Spalding). £135 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Eamonn Wooding-Evans (59), Willesley Road, Spalding. Failing to give driver ID (Nettleham). £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

David Mason (37), of Dovecote Estate, Bourne. Failing to give driver ID (Nettleham). £600 fine, £60 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

Alexander Collins (34), of Leicester Road, Market Harborough. Dishonestly making off without paying for a meal value £119 (Bicker Bar). £60 compensation, detention deemed served by reason of time spent in custody.

Sarah Hall (40), of NFA. Assault (Spalding). 12 months conditional discharge, £15 v/s, £85 costs, £150 c/c/c.

Jimmy Lee (26), of Kenneth Road, Basildon. Dishonestly making off without paying for a meal value £119 (Bicker Bar). £60 compensation, detention deemed served by reason of time spent in custody.

June 9

James Caraccio (44), of Balmoral Avenue, Spalding. Attempted theft of a jersey worth £35 belonging to Profile (Spalding). 38 days prison sentence.

Taking without the consent of the owner a pedal cycle (Spalding). 28 days prison sentence consecutive, £200 compensation, £80 costs.

June 12

Tristan Boon (18), of Eastgate, Sleaford. Possession of an offensive weapon, namely taped up coins (Crowland). £110 fine, £20 v/s, £45 costs, order made to deprive defendant of his rights to the taped up coins. No separate penalty for possession of cannabis, methylenedioxymethylamphetamine and for failing to surrender to custody. Drugs to be forfeited and destroyed.

Skegness Magistrates’ Court

June 9

Anthony Smith-Brewster (46), of Cygnet Court, Spalding. Used threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour (Spalding). 6 months conditional discharge, £15 v/s, £85 costs, £150 c/c/c.

Wayne Boyton (41), of High Road, Spalding. Driving while disqualified (Sibsey). Community order with 50 hours unpaid work, £60 v/s, £85 costs, £150 c/c/c. No separate penalty for no insurance.

Stephen Warrington (37), of Gleed Avenue, Donington. Drink driving (Croft). £100 fine, £20 v/s, disqualified from driving for 14 months.

DOCTOR CALLING: By Dr Kevin Hill

If you are planning to travel outside the UK during the summer holiday period, it’s recommended that you seek advice regarding any vaccinations you or your family may need well ahead of the trip.

You can find out which vaccinations are necessary or recommended for the areas you will be visiting using the NHS Fit for Travel website.

Some countries require you to have a vaccination certificate as proof of vaccinations, so make sure your GP is clear if this is needed for your trip.

If you are visiting an area that requires a vaccination, make an appointment with your GP surgery, or in some cases they may advise you to book in with a local private clinic.

It is important to remember that, in some cases, the vaccine must be administered a number of weeks in advance of the trip (sometimes up to eight weeks), so plan ahead to make sure you are not at risk.

Some common travel vaccinations include: diphtheria, polio and tetanus, typhoid, hepatitis A (including when combined with hepatitis B) and cholera, rabies, tuberculosis (TB) and yellow fever.

Yellow fever vaccines are only available from designated centres. The NaTHNaC website can help you find where to get a yellow fever vaccination.

It is also important to establish if you are you travelling during a rainy season.

If so, you may find that some diseases are more prevalent due to the increased humidity. What type of accommodation are you staying in? Generally speaking, you may find you are more at risk backpacking around rural areas than within urban areas or a hotel complex.

Those with a weak immune system will be more vulnerable to infection than others.

Additionally, some vaccinations cannot be given to people with certain medical conditions.

In many cases, it is unlikely that a vaccine given while pregnant or breastfeeding will cause problems for the baby. Your GP will be able to give you further advice.

If you are travelling to countries in northern and central Europe, North America or Australia, it is unlikely that you will need to have any vaccinations.

Almost one-in-four UK holidaymakers don’t get travel vaccinations despite travelling to areas that have life-threatening infectious diseases – don’t risk your or your family’s health, do some research and find out what you will need to stay safe while travelling abroad this summer.

Previously...

No end of activities to keep little ones busy

WARD’S WORLD: By John Ward

Years ago, when my mum heard on the radio that a trip to visit Pluto was planned, her rapid to-the-point response was one of:‘Why don’t they leave that poor dog alone?’

Had the news been about a trip to visit Daffy Duck, it may well have been more to her liking, but there you go, as the man may have said as he pressed the ignition sequence button in the control centre.

Fast-forward to 2015, and the latest news to come out of the universe is that something has taken more than nine years to get to the little planet on the outer edge of our solar system.

Perhaps this revelation means nothing to certain train travellers on their regular commute, but what gets me is the sheer cost of this mind-numbing news – and for what?

Pluto is so far away that no fast food outlet has – so far – shown any interest in having a branch there, so you know it’s a no-no for starters.

Plus life as we know it is supposedly unsustainable due to the lack of atmosphere there, although I have been in various public houses over the years that might qualify for that as well.

We will, no doubt, be told – in assorted nuggets of information over the next few months and years – that we now know how the planet was formed, what the local bumps or hills mean to somebody we have bred over the years at assorted universities and, if all else fails, with the candid views of the man in the local pub, who will bore us to eternity with his or her assessment of the situation as they see it.

Reports of there being no water there has prompted one utility company to dispatch a crew of eight to pack the van and go there, then dig a hole and sit round it, while a man with a clipboard plus a hi vis coat, plastic safety hat and goggles will follow on afterwards, mumbling assorted words while waving a finger in a controlled and well thought out direction.

What I find indecent about all these ‘space research missions’ is the fact they use up valuable resources in the process and what of the rocket or propulsion units that they use to get the craft up there and its effect on the almighty ozone layer?

Meanwhile, back in the real world, we are still looking for cures for thousands of medical conditions that lack funding and have spawned assorted charities to help in their research.

It seems anything that goes in an upward direction with flames bursting from its rear end and stamped in the name of research is okay as money is available for that.

Only a few thousand miles away, there in not even clean running water and that is on this planet.

Perhaps mum was right after all as ... they should have left Pluto alone.

Previously...

The weekly shop – a perilous task

THOUGHTS OF A FRUITCAKE: By Carolyn Aldis

So, like a lot of people, I enjoy carrying out acts of random kindness (or ARK as I like to call them).

It’s been a bit of a hobby of mine to help people, but it started in earnest at the beginning of Lent this year.

Ever since I was young, I have given something up for Lent and this year decided to give up sugar, plus I only went on Facebook once a week (both of these prove to me the existence of God, because there is no way I could do either on my own).

On Twitter, there’s a group called “40acts”, that encouraged the public to do an “ARK” to strangers and then to tweet it with the 40acts hashtag.

I enjoyed finding new ways to give and to help people ... obviously, it was a bit weird at first– it can be awkward to make the first move and speak to someone you don’t know, but over time, it got easier.

Generally, most people accept help and, in my opinion, everyone could do with a little kindness in their lives.

I’ve tried to continue beyond Lent. Last week, I was able to help a family carry their shopping into their house ... I was rewarded by their little girl who picked me a flower to say thank you.

I was outside a local supermarket and saw a blind man having trouble negotiating the entrance ... I asked if he needed help and he gratefully took my arm as we went in.

I let someone behind me in a queue go in front of me ... he only had a couple of things and my trolley was overflowing with a week’s shopping, so it seemed only fair to let him go first.

In all these instances, there were others around that could have helped, but who didn’t – the blind man had a number of people watching him as he repeatedly hit his stick against the wall.

Having thought about it, I came up with some reasons why we don’t come to other people’s aid.

1. Shyness – we don’t want to embarrass ourselves speaking to people we don’t know.

2. Stubbornness – why should we help anyone else? Nobody helps us.

3. Selfishness – it’s hassle and impacts on our time.

My answer to these words is a fourth S:

4. Step up – We need to step up to the situation and play our part. We can feel all of the above feelings, but when we stop and offer a helping hand, it benefits us almost as much as the recipient.

It’s an amazing feeling to know that something you did helped another person, even if it’s a small action.

I know the times I have been helped have made me feel grateful… the woman who offered the use of her bathroom after my daughter was sick in our car; the couple that bought us a new trampoline when ours was burnt by garden invaders; my new neighbours who, when my four-year-old locked us out of the house, were kind enough to take us in, even though we hadn’t yet met.

The practice of ARK makes for a better world.

Previously...

No shame in mental health problems

L Rowley (Linconshire Free Press, July 7) is quite welcome to disagree with my views – I just wish that he didn’t try to put words into my mouth.

Where, exactly, in my letter did I say I wasn’t happy for our police to be seen on the streets of Spalding?

Bobbies on the beat are what we all want – it’s the weapons I object to.

Oh, it was only a taser, you might say. Tasers can hurt, maim and even kill people – so are weapons. A policeman with a taser is, therefore, armed.

Did I go up and speak to him? Of course I didn’t. Approaching any armed person without being invited isn’t wise.

It might be taken as provocation, and accidents can and do happen when police carry arms.

Witness the blind man who was tasered to the ground because his guide cane ‘looked a bit like a samurai sword’.

The local police have done a great job in reducing street drinking without bearing arms and I’d be very surprised if Spalding has suddenly become the violent crime capital of the Fens.

I thought I’d just mention that I grew up in that sort of place.

The Krays had their manor butting up to our local ‘baron’s’ patch.

Knives and guns were rife and the ‘razor boys’, wearing flat caps with razor blades attached to the peaks, were regulars up the high street.

The police then walked their beats armed with nothing but a truncheon and a smile – and still managed to keep law and order.

Real Ale campaigners CAMRA, who have branches across the east, has launched an initiative to protect 3,000 pubs from demolition or conversion to other uses - as new statistics released show 29 pubs a week are being lost across the UK.

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) will be mobilising its members in England to nominate their local pub as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) and offer advice and guidance to other community groups looking to do the same.

Currently pubs can be demolished or converted to other uses without planning permission, whereas pubs with ACV status are given planning protection under laws introduced in April.

With 800 pubs currently nominated, the initiative aims to raise the profile of ACVs to the pub-going public and increase the number with the status to 3,000 by the end of 2016 – an ambitious target, but one which CAMRA say is essential if England’s pubs are to be properly protected.

“Holes in the current planning system allow pubs to be sold off, demolished or converted to many other uses without planning permission or the involvement of the local community. However when a pub is nominated as an Asset of Community Value it automatically receives planning protection meaning it is no longer a soft target to would-be developers looking to quickly purchase and convert or demolish the pub – which in some instances has literally happened overnight,” said Tom Stainer, CAMRA’s Head of Communications.

CAMRA is inviting other local community groups to work with it in gaining this vital protection and urges community groups, or individuals, to get in touch with their local CAMRA branch to highlight valued pubs.

“Nominating a pub as an ACV is a surprisingly simple process. You can either nominate as an unincorporated group of 21 local people, as a Parish Council, or in connection with another local group including a CAMRA Branch.

“Some towns, such as Ilkley in West Yorkshire, have gone as far as nominating every pub in their area for ACV status to ensure all are protected in coming years,” Tom added.

Despite the protection afforded to pubs through the ACV system CAMRA say this doesn’t go far enough to curb the closure of pubs in the UK and that the next logical step is to extend the same protection to all pubs across England.

Find out more about {http://www.camra.org.uk/kc2-pub-protection|the CAMRA campaign at camra.org.uk|go to camra.org.uk}.

CAMRA top tips for protecting your local pub:

Establish the facts – who owns the pub, why has it ‘failed’, what is the likely purchase price, what is the trading history?

Assess levels of support within the community through community meetings, questionnaires or knocking on doors.

Form a committee to drive the campaign – ideally people with a strong mix of commitment, skills and experience.

Set up a communication list and hub, such as a website, e-mail list, facebook or twitter.

Establish a vision for the pub – what does the community want it to be?

Apply to list your pub as an Asset of Community Value to help give you time to raise funds to buy the pub.

Utilise local people and skills to give practical help with refurbishment, marketing, communications etc.

Find and speak to other community owned pubs to help with the plans. Your local CAMRA branch will know if there are others in the area.

Research into available sources of funding and what you will need to move forward with the business, e.g. business plan, prospectus for investors.

Gather as much information and advice from sources such as the Plunkett Foundation, Locality, Pub is the Hub, etc.

Trish Takes Five: By blogger Trish Burgess

One of the most rewarding aspects of being a school governor is attending productions performed by the children.

I have been a governor at Ayscoughfee Hall School for 10 years now and even though my own son, Rory, left the school several years ago, it is not something I have thought of giving up just yet.

Last week, I sat in the audience to watch the end-of-year play, the thoroughly entertaining Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies, a relatively new show for children from the excellent Musicline company.

All of the junior children were involved but it was the outgoing Year 6 pupils who took the starring roles. And, wow, did they shine.

Having watched these children grow over the years, it was a real pleasure to see how confident they had become and how much they enjoyed making an audience laugh and cheer.

As I sat in the hall watching the performance, it seemed like only yesterday that Rory’s class took to the stage to perform Hagbane’s Doom at the end of their time at primary school.

Rory played the part of Aldred, commander-in-chief of the forest folk and, incidentally, a stoat, although a stoat wearing camouflage trousers and wielding a sword. He had come a long way from being a fidgety shepherd in his first nativity play.

A lot of the parents in the hall last week were probably a bit teary-eyed, realising that this was the end of an era.

The move from primary to secondary school is such a huge leap and, whereas the children often seem to take it all in their stride, mothers and fathers are anxious about the change.

Having been through it, it is true that your involvement in your child’s education will shift. No longer are you standing at the school gates, chatting with other mums and dads.

Rory took the bus to school from the beginning of Year 7 and, straight away, I felt cut off.

When your child is in primary school, you know all the teachers and other parents: in secondary education, you may feel like you are on the sidelines, unless you pitch in straight away with PTFA involvement.

In some ways, taking a step back can be a good thing. I was probably a constant presence during my son’s primary school days, but allowed him the freedom to make his own way, without my interference, once he reached Spalding Grammar School.

To all those parents watching their Year 6 children in their final weeks at school, whether they are involved in plays or sporting events, I would say take lots of photographs and make memories of this special time.

Once they start ‘big school’, the years will go so quickly that time will slip through your fingers and soon they will be gone, off to pastures new, leaving you with the photographs and the memories of a time when you were at the heart of their world.

Previously...

Spalding firepower spikes Cannon’s guns

What a load of piffle.

Come on Mr Hayes, the only good thing that would come from plans to build a new food hub alongside the University of Lincoln’s National Centre for Food Manufacturing (Spalding Guardian, July 9) would be a 10 or 15 per cent pay rise for you and all those others in parliament. No wonder you have a great big smile over your face.

And what of the people of Holbeach, who now face having 900 new homes built in their town that are not really wanted?

As for 700 new jobs that the food hub might bring – sorry, you and the others are just encouraging more migrants into the country.

Meanwhile, farmers and factories that want to create more food are routinely taking their work abroad.

With the Prime Minister beginning his negotiations on an improved deal for the UK’s membership of the European Union ahead of a referendum, possibly in 2017, what impact would an exit mean for jobs in the UK?

Business groups are happy to see the relationship reformed, but most are concerned about the possible divorce which would mean leaving such a huge trading market, with a population of hundreds of millions.

There are a lot of European companies that are based in the UK and the prospect of an exit would raise serious concerns about investment and jobs in the long term.

There is no doubt that jobs would be lost – we already have difficulties because of exchange rates, tariffs and treaties. It’s difficult to see how a European company would see the UK as an attractive option standing alone.

Just look at Airbus as an example. The plane maker works in partnership to benefit manufacturing and jobs, with the UK, France, Germany and Spain all involved in building the final product.

Some estimates have put the number of British jobs dependent on membership of the EU at over three million.

The basic argument is that membership creates and safeguards jobs because it provides access to a market of around 500 million consumers, which in itself attracts more foreign investment.

Also, around two-thirds of manufacturing jobs in the UK have some links with the EU, so the economic importance here is key.

Workers have benefited from employment legislation thanks to the EU.

Just look at the protection of employment rights when firms are taken over or merge, the entitlement to four weeks holiday, protection for agency workers and part-time workers, as well as maternity and paternity rights.

It is well worth remembering these have all been brought in thanks to the EU.

While unions will be looking at reforms to improve the lives of working people and their members, they will also be on the side of protecting workers’ rights.

This is something that many fear the Tories will want to pull away from.

HAYES IN THE HOUSE: By MP John Hayes

One of Charles Dickens’ most memorable and vividly drawn characters, the eternally optimistic Mr Micawber, offered his formula for contentment ...

Annual income 20 pounds; annual expenditure 19 pounds, nineteen and six; result happiness. Annual income 20 pounds; annual expenditure 20 pounds ought and six; result misery.

In 2010, Britain faced a miserable future as a consequence of Gordon Brown’s reckless spending.

The principal task confronting the incoming chancellor was to bring the deficit under control. The fact that he achieved this – in a way that also encouraged effort and enterprise – now accounts for our nation’s enviable economic performance.

The British economy is growing faster than any other country in the G7, with unemployment at a record low and our standard of living going up.

Yet, Labour’s legacy of debt was so great that the new Conservative government still faces an enormous challenge to balance the books.

Last week, George Osborne unveiled the most significant budget for a generation.

The new compulsory national living wage of £9 an hour by 2020 will give 2.5 million people a pay rise.

It is only fair that all those who work hard should see a direct benefit in their pay packets. By making work pay, the chancellor has been able to reduce welfare spending and cap benefits at £20,000.

The budget was framed by the just intention that people who work hard deserve the state’s backing; the Government is making sure you keep more of your own money by raising the income tax threshold to £11,000.

The first budget of the new Parliament also embodies strategic thinking, with long-term decisions taken for the security of our economy; supporting savers by taking family homes out of inheritance tax, increasing the Government’s resources to pursue tax evaders and reducing our national debt.

Previously...

We must win fight against extremism

History teaches us that most of the great engineering ideas have come from unqualified or late developers.

The politicians’ idea of ‘get some qualifications and get an apprenticeship’ completely misses the point of engaging the youngster with skill in his/her hands; which is what the engineering workshop needs and wants.

The need for qualifications becomes obvious when an apprentice finds what is needed to enhance the journey now on.

Because parents do not read the right Sunday newspaper or have influential friends should not negate a youngster with potential from getting an apprenticeship.

Any grade of pass is okay for a white collar job. However, try getting away with that sort of percentage on the workshop floor and it will be thrown back until it is right. It’s called the real world.

Wonderfully satisfying, wickedly competitive and an incredible leveller; a place politicians – born into ivory towers and easy-to-come-by mortgages – have never lived in.

With the farming community being more and more mechanised, this is surely a suitable band wagon for Mr Hayes to climb on.