An RAF Typhoon declared an emergency while flying over the North Sea this afternoon, Wednesday September 7, before landing safely at RAF Coningsby.

The pilot declared the emergency following a hydraulic failure.

This is routine procedure in the event of such a failure and the multi-million pound aircraft was carefully brought back into land safely at its Lincolnshire base by the pilot without further incident.

People have seen a Victorian lady at the top of the stairs at the Old King’s Head in Kirton.

That in itself is spooky, but it becomes chilling when linked to tales of people being pushed down those stairs by “unseen forces”.

Former resident Luke Gill did see the lady, but says he never felt there was anything sinister going on, despite once being thrown into darkness in the cellar.

Luke, who lived in the old pub as a boy with his family in the late 1990s, had gone down there to switch on the pump as the cellar tended to flood after rain. When the lights went off he assumed a bulb had gone – until he climbed the cellar steps and discovered not only that the door had been shut, but the light switch had been turned off. Luke was alone in the house at the time.

He said: “These things did happen, just silly things and bumps in the night. If you were downstairs you could always hear floorboards creaking upstairs, but it was nothing malicious.”

During the 17th century it was relatively common practice for people to protect themselves and their homes from evil spirits and witches by scratching marks such as crosses or a double ‘v’ into door and window frames or fireplace beams to ward off evil, and occasionally shoes and cats were placed in walls and voids.

As the King’s Head was standing at this time, Kelly Appleton, Project Conservation Officer for Heritage Lincolnshire, believes it is quite possible that something of this kind will be uncovered when work begins to renovate the old pub.

The old King’s Head – located opposite the church in the centre of the village conservation area – has been bought by Heritage Lincolnshire. Once restored, the building will be used as an artisan cafe with bed and breakfast accommodation.

Luke was able to point the conservation team to something he and his brothers discovered when exploring their large family home.

It wasn’t an old shoe or markings,but three old bottles hanging by string in the loft space: the boys looked, but didn’t move the bottles.

Luke says: “They were put there for a reason so we left them there.”

A medium was invited by Heritage Lincolnshire to visit the old pub – and Luke was astonished when she could identify his bedroom from the six possibilities.

Luke says: “I can’t wait for it to be done up. It was a brilliant place to live as it has so much character.”

Tours of the Old King’s Head (now full) are included in this year’s Heritage Open Days festival this weekend. Visit heritagelincolnshire.org for a full list of open sites, but Holbeach Cemetery Chapels Trust is open on Saturday (10am-4pm) – see page 30 for more.

The King’s Head dates from the Tudor period and is believed to be the oldest secular building in Kirton.

The reason Lincolnshire Heritage bought the building is because it was classified as ‘heritage at risk’ when surveyed in 2011.

Project Conservation Officer Kelly Appleton said: “The building is in the Fen Artisan Mannerist style which was the work of master craftsmen rather than architects. It first appeared in Britain in the early 17th century and the Old King’s Head is a particularly rare and fine building in this style.

“Heritage Lincolnshire, as a Buildings Preservation Trust, has been interested in the Old King’s Head since 2013 and has been carrying out investigations and raising funds to purchase the property. We felt this building could not be lost and as it was falling into a bad state of repair action needed to be taken as soon as possible.”

A grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund will pay for the building to be fully investigated and recorded before renovation and refurbishment work begins next year. In time, people will have the chance to get involved in the project.

South Holland District Council is gathering evidence to see if there are grounds to restrict numbers of new off-licences in Spalding.

The review could result in a Cumulative Impact Policy being adopted for one or more areas in town.

A council spokesman said the review is due to be completed this month.

He continued: “Once this has been finalised a report listing findings and recommendations will go before a meeting of the Licensing Committee on October 18.

“A decision will then be made based on the evidence provided by the responsible authorities and interested parties with a requirement to resolve a specific set of issues.

“Where evidence supports restricting the growth of businesses licensed to sell alcohol, it will be referred to legal scrutiny that the evidence is robust, rebuttable and proportionate to deal with the identified objectives.”

As the law stands, licensing authorities can only turn down applications for off-licences where there are objections from authorities like Lincolnshire Police or Trading Standards. Objections are usually raised on grounds where licensing objectives are likely to be undermined, for example by criminal behaviour.

Half-a-dozen Spalding off-licences have lost their licences to sell alcohol, some through being found by the council licensing panel to have been involved in the sale of illegal cigarettes. Mini Poli, the former China City restaurant, has withdrawn its recent application to sell alcohol.

A Spalding electricity worker has been talking about the day live fish were swimming in the hole where he was working on a cable joint.

Fred Goodyear, who works as a cable jointer with Western Power Distribution (WPD), has just been honoured for 50 years’ service in the industry. Fred joined the company as a 16-year-old in 1966.

He started at the depot in Flax Mills in Pinchbeck and has worked in the region ever since.

Over the years Fred has also spent a short stint working as a meter reader and has trained as a multi-skilled craftsman to work on overhead power lines and in substations.

Although always based in Spalding, Fred and his colleagues often help restore supplies in other areas of the country if they are worse affected when there are storms.

Fred said: “On one occasion when we helped out in South Warwickshire, the River Avon had flooded and there were live fish swimming in the hole where we were working on a cable joint. I’ve never seen 
anything like that in all my time.”

Fred was presented with a certificate to mark his half century by the company’s South Lincolnshire distribution manager Ian Brooks and network services manager Simon Pett.

Fred’s team-mates were there to congratulate him.

He said the industry has changed, particularly as far as health and safety is concerned.

“When I started, we didn’t have all of the personal protective clothing that we have now that’s part of our live jointing work,” he said. “In those days, if you made a mistake you learned the hard way and you wouldn’t do it again. Thankfully, health and safety has come on a lot over the years.”

Although he’s notched up 50 years, Fred still has a little while to go before he bows out.

He is planning to retire next February, to spend more time with his wife Angie, and to focus on his garden and on DIY.

The couple are also planning to buy a static caravan at their favourite campsite near the coast.

Fred said: “I’ve had a good innings and I’m really pleased that I’ve achieved my ultimate goal of reaching fifty years’ service, but I’m looking forward to my retirement now.”

A digital marketing agency created just seven years ago near Peterborough has been acquired by one of the industry’s world leaders.

Zazzle Media, of Sunderland Road, Market Deeping, was founded by Simon Penson in 2009 and employed just a handful of staff,

Now it has been acquired by IPG Mediabrands, part of the New York Stock Exchange-listed Interpublic Group, which is the world’s fourth largest advertising company in a deal worth £20 million.

Zazzle Media has been acquired alongside its Leeds-based sister agency brand Stickeyes.

Under the deal, Zazzle will become IPG’s European hub for digital content and search engine optimisation.

It will mean new jobs at Zazzle Media, which currently has 48 staff and expects that number to double in four years.

Mr Penson said: “Together with Stickyeyes we have created one of Europe’s very best independent agencies and we are pleased to say that didn’t go unnoticed.

“Joining such an exciting network as IPG gives us all the opportunity to work with some of the biggest brands in the world while still maintaining the ability to help successful local businesses expand fast.”

“Recruitment is high on the agenda.

“We want to ensure we have the very best talent to help us deliver amazing work for our clients as we grow. That hunt starts now.”

Craig Lister, managing director search and social for IPG Mediabrands, said, “Digital leadership is strategically imperative for us. This acquisition is evidence of that and adds further momentum.”

“This move enhances opportunities for both existing and new clients.” 

IPG is valued at more than $9 billon and employs more than 50,000 people across 100 plus countries.

Speeding motorists have crashed into parked cars in two accidents near a primary school’s gates in the space of a few weeks.

Mum Carol Beeton, of Queens Road, Spalding, spoke out as county road safety chiefs revealed a rising number of drivers flout the law by failing to “stop for the lollipop”.

Carol lives almost opposite St Paul’s Community Primary School, which has an advisory 20mph limit, and says: “Speeding on this road is terrible.”

Towards the end of June, a newly-qualified driver came speeding along the road and hit her neighbour’s car.

“Her car shunted into the back of ours,” said Carol. “Both our cars were write-offs.”

As Carol spoke to the Guardian on Tuesday, there were two parked cars nearby that were damaged in a similar shunt accident caused by a speeding driver on Saturday.

While Spalding Guardian staff were there, at school leaving time, one vehicle was travelling around 40mph through both the 30mph limit and the advisory 20mph.

St Paul’s head teacher Kira Nicholls and parents say speeding is an issue but, so far, drivers have stopped for the lollipop lady.

Ms Nicholls said: “Thankfully our lollipop lady is treated well and I do not know of any major incidents. None have been brought to my attention. “I have, however, sent out the letter to our parents that was written by the Road Safety Partnership as a reminder.

“Maggie Holden, our patrol lady, has been doing the job for quite a number of years and I know the school community keep an eye out for her, too.”

She accepts speeding is an issue during the school day and in the evenings.

Ms Nicholls said: “Sadly, some of our children cross the roads independently at these times and are indeed at risk.

“I would like to see the area around school set at a 20mph zone or at least have the sensor displays that show the speed of the drivers to raise awareness. This would be a start at least.”

A Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership spokesman said: “Sadly, in recent months, there has been an increasing number of incidents where drivers have failed to stop for school crossing patrols compromising the safety of everyone crossing the road, including young children and their parents.

“Help us stop those who fail to respect the law and all those using the crossing by reporting this despicable and dangerous behaviour and making a drive-through taboo.”

• Please call reporter Lynne Harrison in our newsroom on 01775 765413 if you have seen a driver ignoring a school crossing patrol’s instruction to stop.

Two national winners competing for the world title in the Miss Earth Pageant 2016 are shopping in Spalding for their “frox” for the international showdown.

Karen Povey, who runs Fancy Frox in Pied Calf Yard, is awaiting a visit from Miss Earth Wales, Charlotte Hitchman, next Thursday to collect the dress she will wear for the international final.

“We are also providing the dress for Luissa Burton, who is Miss Earth England,” said Karen. “Luissa is actually tipped to be this year’s international winner and take the Miss Earth title. I am waiting to see if she will be able to make it to the shop at some point.”

Karen has helped previous contestants in Miss Earth look their best.

She said: “As well as being one of the top three pageants, I really feel that Miss Earth has something extra to offer.

“The girls do a huge amount for charity and in spreading the Miss Earth message. Every day they do a #EarthWarrior post where they use their own time to highlight another way we can help our planet.”

A mother has moved her son out of a Bourne primary school after he was injured with a pencil by another pupil.

Kerry Lilliman, 38, says her eight-year-old son Kieron McKie is “terrified” to return to Bourne Abbey Primary Academy after the incident, in which he was stabbed in his left hand.

The incident happened on July 5 and Kerry discovered it when she arrived to pick up Kieron.

His hand swelled overnight so the following day, he was taken to Peterborough City Hospital where he was given an X-ray. Doctors confirmed there was lead in his hand but decided to bandage it up and Kerry and her husband Adam were advised to keep it dry.

Kieron was kept off school in the meantime and four weeks later, Kerry said that when the swelling hadn’t improved he had to have an operation under general anasthetic to have the lead removed, after the wound became infected.

Kerry says her son has been left “shaken up” by the incident. She said: “He’s been so good and even in the hospital, he was very brave going down to theatre.

“But he’s terrified to go back to Bourne Abbey and I refuse to send him back.”

Kerry and Adam returned to school the day after the incident to verbally complain to staff and ask for action to be taken against the pupil.

But they say they are not satisfied that enough has been done to ensure it won’t happen again and decided not to send Kieron back this term.

Kerry and Adam say they were asked to e-mail the governors to complain in writing, which Adam said they did on July 14, but they claim that they have had no response.

Kerry said: “This was an assault on my son during school hours and we are not happy.

“We were told the pupil has been dealt with but we feel they should have been excluded or other action taken. We also want an apology which we have not had.”

On Tuesday, they visited Thurlby Primary School, which had space available, and Kieron started there the following day.

Although he is disappointed to no longer be at school with his friends, Kerry said Kieron enjoyed a great first day in Year 4.

Executive headteacher at Bourne Abbey Sarah Moore said: “Although we have not received any form of complaint in writing and I have not been contacted at all, we have dealt with this issue appropriately and in line with our behaviour policy. We are satisfied that this was a one-off incident involving a young child and that the child in question doesn’t need to be excluded – being genuinely remorseful and knowing the actions were unacceptable.

“The school has communicated with the parents of the child who was injured on a number of occasions but despite offering to speak to them further and indicating that they could otherwise complain in writing via our school email address, we have heard nothing back.

“This is an outstanding, safe and successful school and parents can be assured we’ll continue to look after all pupils and provide the very best education.”

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. V/S means victim surcharge.

Boston Magistrates’ Court

August 17

James Steel (58), of St Matthews Close, Holbeach. Stole meat of value unknown belonging to Co-op (Holbeach). 12 months conditional discharge, £20 v/s, £85 costs.

Raimonds Skutans (23), of Little London, Spalding. Failed to stop after an accident (Spalding). £250 fine, £30 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 6 months. No separate penalty for failing to report an accident. Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence. £50 fine.

Lincoln Magistrates’ Court

August 9

Lisa Foulston (23), of Harvest Court, Bourne. Failed to stop after an accident (Bourne). £660 fine, £66 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 12 months. No separate penalty for driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and no insurance.

Gail Murphy (46), of Horseshoe Lane, Kirton. No insurance (Boston). £660 fine, £66 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 18 months. No separate penalty for no MOT.

Edward Fletcher (46), of Newton Le Willows, St Helens Council. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £184 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

David Kitching (47), of Crowle Moors, Crowle, Scunthorpe. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £183 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Stephen Ogbonmwan (59), of Rushway Avenue, Manchester. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £66 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Laima Pileckiene (40), of Crocus Walk, Spalding. Speeding (Spalding). £65 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Lewis Cottey (26), of Ramsey Tyrrells Stock, Ingatestone, Essex. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £100 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Jorge Fernandes (54), of Hardwick Estate, Kirton. Failed to give driver ID (Lincoln). £660 fine, £66 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

Ingrida Dubickaite (30), of Southwell Road, Wisbech. Speeding (Whaplode). £220 fine, £22 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Valentin Galca (27), of St Thomas’s Road, Spalding. Speeding (Spalding). £220 fine, £22 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Sabrina Hawkings (39), of Great Northern Gardens, Bourne. Speeding (Bourne). £440 fine, £44 v/s, 4pts.

Asja Kaposta (63), of Love Lane, Spalding. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £220 fine, £22 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Adrian Kelk (43), of Princes Street, Sutton Bridge. No insurance (Little Sutton). £660 fine, £66 v/s, £85 costs, 8pts. Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence. £220 fine.

Michael Loughton (31), of High Street, Billinghay. Speeding (Whaplode). £220 fine, £22 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Jack Powell (27), of The Portway, King’s Lynn. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £220 fine, £22 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Colin Smith (31), of Oldfield Avenue, Elm. Speeding (Whaplode). £220 fine, £22 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

August 10

Rhiannon Lear (30), of Beccelm Drive, Crowland. Assault and criminal damage (Crowland). Community order with rehabilitation activity requirement, £120 fine, £85 v/s, £85 costs.

Samuel Tooke (25), of North Road, Gedney Hill. Sent to prison for a total of 35 weeks for various offences, including driving while disqualified and theft, commission of offences while on a suspended sentence order.

August 11

Darren Booth (46), of Tower Avenue, Lincoln. Speeding (Whaplode). £146 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

Mark Firby (42), of High Street, Eston, Redcar and Cleveland. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £220 fine, £22 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

David Gibson (34), of Fir Drive, Newtownards, Down. Speeding (Whaplode). £440 fine, £44 v/s, £85 costs, 5pts.

Paul Woods (29), of Railway Lane South, Sutton Bridge. Failed to give driver ID (Lincoln). £660 fine, £66 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

Chiu Tsang (44), of Shelsley Walsh Rise, Bourne. Two counts of sexually touching a woman. 8 weeks prison sentence suspended for 12 months, rehabilitation activity requirement, £100 compensation, £115 v/s.

August 15

Carman Litton (76), of Matmore Close, Spalding. Speeding (Whaplode). £100 fine, £20 v/s, 3pts.

Simon White (43), of Magnolia Close, Branston. Speeding (Swineshead Bridge). £265 fine, £27 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts.

August 16

Mark Booth (40), c/o Osier Court, Eaton Ford, St Neots. Drink driving (Bourne). £625 fine, £63 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Dennis Bailey (52), of Withington Street, Sutton Bridge. Driving while using a hand-held mobile phone (Holbeach). £40 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 3pts.

August 18

Perez Kalisa (26), of Pinchbeck Road, Spalding. Carried in a public place an article which had a blade or was sharply pointed, namely a knife. One year’s conditional discharge, £20 v/s, £85 costs.

Andrew Greengrass (27), of East End, Langtoft. Assault (Deeping St James). £200 fine, £100 compensation, £30 v/s, £85 costs. Used threatening or abusive words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour. £135 fine.

Andrew Warnes (28), of Waterside Court, Double Street, Spalding. Stole £2000 cash belonging to Lidl (Spalding). Community order with 40 hours unpaid work and rehabilitation activity requirement, £2000 compensation, £85 v/s, £85 costs.

Matthew George (37), of Russet Way, Melton Mowbray. Drink driving (Bourne). £440 fine, £44 v/s, £85 costs, disqualified from driving for 17 months.

Andrew Bullivant (26), of Spalding Common, Spalding. No insurance (Spalding). £120 fine, £20 v/s, £85 costs, 6pts. No separate penalty for driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

Supermarket chain chain Morrisons has today made a “checkout promise” that it will open extra checkouts for customers if there is more than one person ahead of them in a queue.

A Morrisons spokesman said: “The pledge comes after Morrisons listened carefully to customers who said that queuing was their top frustration in supermarkets (70 per cent) ahead of unhelpful service (67 per cent) and poor quality products (66 per cent).”

Research conducted for Morrisons found the average person can only last a maximum of six minutes and 48 seconds in a queue before losing their patience.

So Morrisons’ checkout managers will now be directing customers to newly-opened checkouts when they see queues building.

Thousands of Morrisons staff have been trained so that they can quickly turn to operating a checkout when stores become busy.

Gary Mills, Morrisons Retail Director, said: “While we are proud to have one of the shortest queue times in the industry, we want to serve our customers better.

Our new checkout promise will ensure our eleven million customers get the best shopping trip possible even as our stores become busier.”

Morrisons research reveals that the average British shopper spends three months of their life waiting in line – the equivalent of one day a year.

It also found that more than half of UK adults (56 per cent) avoid shopping at places known for queues and that two thirds (64 per cent) would leave shops rather than join queues at tills.

TRISH TAKES FIVE: By Trish Burgess

After traipsing around Snowdonia in either jeans or shorts, my man decided he needed a proper pair of walking trousers; something more practical and waterproof. A scout round the outdoor shops at Springfields in Spalding and he was drawn to a half-price Bear Grylls pair in Craghoppers.

With the survival expert’s stamp of approval, Dougie was smitten with his new trews. Grey and black, with pockets for his usual doctor kit of rubber gloves, steri-strips and antihistamines, he was all set for last week’s trip to Scotland.

The endurance breeks were given their first outing on the beautiful cliffs of the Solway coast. Setting off from the Balcary Bay Hotel, where we were staying for two nights, a two hour hike around the bay would surely test their resilience.

Setting off, we had superb views across to Hestan Island, once the hiding place for smugglers and their contraband. Our map indicated a rocky outcrop, Daft Ann’s Steps, named after a young lass who took a short cut to the island and perished on the submerged rocks.

Daft Dougie and I, meanwhile, strode on round the bay where we spotted the stack, Lot’s Wife, a formidable rock formation a little way out from the cliffs. Thankfully the path became a little easier after that and led down to the beach where Dougie imagined we could, if stuck, have fashioned a shelter behind large boulders.

Discovering that Dougie had only brought water and no other provisions, I rooted around in my own bag and couldn’t even find a fluff-covered cough sweet to nourish us. Mr Grylls would not have been pleased.

Dougie reassured me that we had only just had breakfast and this was only a short walk, but nonetheless we wondered what we would do if we began to starve. Thankfully we found some bramble bushes further on and gratefully scoffed a handful of berries.

The final stretch of the walk took us through a field with a bull. We could see the beast, lying down in the distance. It looked more like a lion to me, resting in the Serengeti. I started to hum ‘Hakuna Matata’ in an effort to stay cheerful but when Mufasa hoisted himself up and started to lumber towards us, we quickened our step and reached the kissing gate before he did.

Later in the day, invigorated by our hike, we spent the afternoon in the nearby town of Kirkcudbright. In a quiet street we saw an elderly woman peering into the boot of her car. She spied Dougie in his performance trousers and called out for assistance. Could he help lift her Irish Setter, Grace, out of the boot as she was refusing to budge. Not being a dog person, Dougie was initially wary. But he pulled up his pants, wrapped his arms round the dog’s back end, and together they lifted Grace from the car.

Bear Grylls would have been very proud.

You can follow Trish on Twitter @mumsgoneto and read her blog at www.mumsgoneto.co.uk

CABINET CALL: By South Holland District Councillor Gary Taylor

Early September is a period which demonstrates just how strong our communities are in South Holland.

We can reflect back on successful events held over the summer and look forward to preparations for the winter and Christmas season.

Looking back at recent events, the 1940’s weekend at Ayscoughfee proved to be very popular, as did the Beer and Music festivals in Holbeach and Long Sutton.

It’s also a time when we should be aware of those who are isolated and vulnerable in our community and as a council it’s our duty to ensure that we provide services for all.

The issue of working with our partners to make communities safer came under the spotlight at a recent council performance meeting that I attended.

I was able to report that the new CCTV system is now fully operational, with cameras from Spalding, Holbeach and Crowland transmitting live images to the control room for monitoring.

Operators have been able to assist the police and authorities with successful outcomes to a wide range of issues, such as identifying missing people, tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.

The need to report crime and anti-social behaviour was emphasised by police at the meeting.

Reporting crime enables the police to effectively deal with it and allows them to produce accurate data on incidents.

Another very exciting community initiative is the SHARE Timebank scheme.

Time banking gives families and individuals a chance to earn time credits by taking part in community activities and then spending time as a family on help at home, in a garden or a day trip.

Businesses and organisations can also get involved by offering activities or places on training schemes for example.

Time banking is a great way for people to help others in their community and be rewarded for doing it in time.

It’s a simple concept which can have a lasting impact on communities and people’s lives.

Spalding and Holbeach have already joined the growing number of Timebanks in this country.

I personally believe this is an excellent scheme and I hope we can see it extended to other areas in the future.

THOUGHTS OF A FRUITCAKE: By Carolyn Aldis

So, I went looking for a little car for my eldest daughter to drive as she has been learning for a few months. I didn’t like the idea of her passing her driving test and then not driving for years – although she could drive ours, it’s a 7-seater, much bigger than she has been used to and also it’s an automatic. Having driven a manual for 24 years, I found the adjustment to driving an automatic fairly easy; it’s like driving a dodgem…apart from not hitting other cars constantly…and it’s not connected to the ceiling…and there’s not some random bloke hanging on to the back of it…well, not that I’ve noticed, anyway.

Ok, maybe it’s not that similar, but the workings of it are – 2 pedals, 1 to make it go and 1 to stop. There’s not even a central gearbox on ours, so everything is controlled by hand on the steering wheel – not helpful for a newly-qualified driver.

We had seen an advert for a little car that looked like it would be ideal, so I arranged with the guy selling it for us both to go and have a look.

Now, I was a little bit nervous, I have to admit…I’m normally ok with people I don’t know…but the fact he was trying to sell a car took me back to past experiences with pushy salesmen, plus my knowledge of cars is pretty limited. My first car was a W reg Mini and although I spent hours poring over the Haynes manual, trying to tell my solenoid from my alternator and feeling proud of myself when I changed a bulb, this information and experience is no longer relevant.

I needn’t have worried. The guy was incredibly nice and laidback, lifting the bonnet and pointing out a couple of things that would need doing in the future, saying that it drove well and was sound. I checked the few things that I had Googled, to look for when buying a car and then he offered me the key to test drive it.

I remembered to check mirrors, adjusted the seat and indicated to pull out. We drove down the road and my daughter said: “The engine is quite noisy.”

At which point I changed up to 2nd gear…

Driving a manual again really is not like riding a bike…it doesn’t come back instantly and after my final attempt to stop without the clutch, causing us to judder, my daughter turned to me and said: “Mum, I’m a better driver than you!” – which made us both laugh as we bunny hopped our way back.

I then realised I needed to parallel park the car back into the small space…sweat beading my forehead, I tried to remember how to do it; adjust mirrors, keep checking and then go for it. It seemed ok and so I got out, realising how far the back end was from the kerb by my daughter’s groan.

On the way home, having agreed to buy the car, she turned to me and said: “How did you pass your test?”

I’m beginning to wonder myself…

WARD’S WORLD: By John Ward

I was reading an article recently about the Jupiter mission landing, yet another project that money and resources can be found to be thrown or squandered upon from supposed space researchers on this planet, while seemingly unimportant things like finding a cure for assorted life-threatening diseases in the real world down here get pushed out the way and have to rely on people rattling collecting tins on street corners for donations to keep them going. The article pointed out it takes 48 minutes, 19 seconds for radio signals to reach mission control in California (where else?) from the planet Jupiter, and to be honest my first thoughts were that they must be with the same broadband provider as us.

In the realms of communications, we have come a long way since the waxed string held taut between two empty cocoa tins – those of a certain age will know what I am talking about here: it predates “hand-held devices” as in the electrical-powered ones of today – and as a trailblazer, a brilliant starter – early reports suggest it was 100 per cent English-made string that was used.

As I wander about this green (subject to season) and pleasant land – and do mind those potholes – I cannot but be amazed at the sheer number of folk seen jabbing or sliding away on their hand-held devices, from mobile phones to tablets that seemingly need to be taken all day long as opposed to the pharmaceutical type, usually once or twice a day in water.

With heads bowed, some with earphones clamped over the ears or in some cases to keep the head together maybe, wandering about and narrowly missing traffic and we, or rather they, should be grateful that there are kerbs so that these act as a sort of reminder to those so engrossed in their finger jabbing, prodding and sliding that this is where pavement ends and the road begins, but it’s not always the case of course.

Rumour has it some have wage-earning jobs, but how they find the time to do any work with this constant screen polishing is anybody’s guess. One of the key constant “fingerin’ ’n’ thumbing” areas is what is referred to as “social media”; membership seems to include such mundane things as, uploading a photo of your dog, or the stray from next door will suffice; the state of your armpits, as you couldn’t manage without them, there being no connection other than between upper body and arms in order to operate the almighty mobile device, plus the time when you got out of bed, then once that hurdle has been cleared, why you got out of bed and for a further five points, whose bed you got out of and that is always a gem to behold, more so for those in hospital and that’s just those visiting.

The age range of those engrossed screen polishing is roughly the following: from 12 months old to 16 years, everything is greeted with “Oh My God!!” or OMG if in a boardroom meeting, playground or crèche with the now-standard response being – quote: “I’m, like, well, you know, OMG, like!”but has to be shouted at full volume but best among a crowd of at least three other finger and screen-twitchers within close range, it’s unheard of (pun intended) that they do it on their own as an audience is an essential requirement, and from 17 years of age upwards to late 40s, it’s: “Yeah, okay then..” and after that, it’s “Ummm... Will check app to see if I am still alive, breathing and stuff. Get back to you on that one.”

It seems this is the way to acquire “friends”, as it’s not unheard of to get hundreds, nay thousands or millions even, if there is a sale on, as there is bound to be somebody out there, in cyber space, waiting to hear you suffer from ingrowing toenails when wearing open-toed wellington boots, as suddenly you will find there are others, too, in this predicament, who want to “share” in your suffering and these, too, will also generate much more interest in the same aliment, with at least some wanting to sell numerous pairs of wellington boots in the process.

One interesting point was raised a few years ago as friend Peter, who was employed as an undertaker, attended to one funeral and it came about that this person had over 4,000 “friends”, followers and perhaps disciples, possibly, according to their “profile”, but on asking how many attended the funeral service, the grand total of – wait for it – nine, including his sister, who travelled from Weymouth who only just made it as the car she was in had a puncture and the driver couldn’t change the wheel, as there was no spare in the boot and they had to wait for somebody to arrive and do the business.

One chap sat through part of the service before realising it was the wrong deceased person, same name but different person, plus gender, and left on tip-toe when he realised he didn’t recognize anybody else there – perhaps had he have waited, some of the still-to-arrive just under 4,000 “friends”, etc, may have turned up, but then again, as with all these supposed cyber friends and hangers-on, not a chance.

Peter summed it up by saying in his experience, friends are the ones who you can put your hand out to and see, who are there through everything from the happy times to those less mentioned, and pop round to ask if they can borrow your lawnmower, but only if you have had it sharpened recently, the mower not the friend, and are there to offer advice and comforting words when things go untoward – not waiting to see if there is a good signal before you get a response.

I remember when his divorce was finalised and he said if nothing else, he would miss his - now - ex mother-in-law and I offered advice when this came about in my own situation but suggested that, like me, he could get round this setback as I found by cutting up a raw onion, you could get the same overall effect and it didn’t rely on any particular breed or make of onion either, although the pickled ones were not so good, of course.

Now back to the Jupiter landing malarkey as it’s how we started off. The excuse seems to be to find if there is a life form there, butI think I am in a position to save them a shedload of money, as there is no human form there otherwise it would be communicating on social media with a few thousand down here, as in wishing to know do they have a photo of their scars from their appendix operation they can download, or perhaps their long-lost cousin that have not heard from since yesterday. Nothing like getting your priorities right, I say.

A Spalding man has praised crews of two land ambulances and the air ambulance who battled to revive his wife after she collapsed.

Sadly Dorothea Sharp (77), of Cradge Bank, could not be saved after she collapsed on Monday morning.

But her husband Keith (78) still wants the dedicated medics to know how much he values their care, help and support.

He said: “I just want to say ‘thank you’ for how quick their response was.

“The whole team was brilliant, the air ambulance and the land ambulances.

“We can’t praise them enough.”

The former head gardener says his wife had just boarded a minibus at home to go to the kidney dialysis unit at Boston, but she collapsed in the vehicle.

Keith said: “Within seconds the driver had contacted the emergency services. The first responder arrived within three minutes and an ambulance crew within five minutes – they came from Crowland as they were on the way back from Peterborough.”

A second ambulance arrived and then the air ambulance as Dorothea’s condition was so critical.

Keith and Dorothea were married for 56 years. They lived at Spalding and Weston, moved to St Albans in 1971 and then returned to Spalding in 1998. As well as her husband, Dorothea leaves family including four children, seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

I am writing concerning the speeding on the race track that is Halmer Gate.

This road is an accident waiting to happen, yet nobody in authority seems to want to address it.

In West Marsh Road, there are speed restrictions and occasionally a police camera is deployed, why? There are no pedestrians, no schoolchildren or the amount of traffic that Halmer Gate gets.

The other day, a car overtook me and, when I hooted, the driver stuck two fingers up at me out of his window.

What, if anything, is planned for this increasingly dangerous road?

Police are urgently seeking William Morris Gray in connection with an assault on a 70-year-old man.

The incident happened on Sunday.

If you have any information that could help police find him, call 101. In an emergency always call 999.

Without meaning to make the summer a distant memory so soon, winter is coming, writes Andrew Morgan.

While Game of Thrones fans may smile in anticipation of the famous warning, winter in the NHS is a time traditionally associated with the most pressure on services.

I must stress these ‘pressures’ are no longer only seasonal and challenge our teams all year round, but the winter months do give us additional difficulties to think about.

The responsibility for these challenges not only falls on us as leaders and providers of your health services, but to you and the way you choose to look after yourselves and access care.

Have you done all you can to keep yourselves healthy? Have you been a good neighbour to support the more vulnerable members of our communities? Most importantly, have you chosen the right service for your needs?

In the age of the world wide web, smart phones, tablets and apps, advice is available at our finger tips 24/7. Combined with the fantastic support available from voluntary and third sector organisations, a healthcare professional is not always the first or most appropriate person to see. I urge you to choose wisely and think about what you can do at home first.

September also brings us to our annual Health at Home event. The celebration combines our annual public meeting and Celebrating Success Awards, for which you, our patients and service users, have helped to 
nominate staff for the first time.

It really is one of my favourite events of the year and I would love for as many of you as possible to come and meet our teams, find out more about who we are, what we do and share the occasion with us.

It takes place at the Princess Royal Sports Arena, Boston, on Wednesday, September 21. Doors will open at 12pm and the main events start from 2pm.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Andrew Morgan is chief executive of Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust

Mrs Henrietta Buff was doing her bit for the war effort in 1916.

Mrs Buff, of Roman Bank, Sutton Crosses, Long Sutton, was, as the paper of the time put it “rendering good service to the country at 64 years of age”.

Mrs Buff was looking after 13 infants while their mothers in their turn were doing their bit by working on the land to replace male labour lost to the war.

Nurseries were a novelty at that time and when Spalding Day Nursery was set up a baby show was held to mark the new era. The show was held at a garden fete at Ayscoughfee – and there were more than 60 entries. The daughter of Mrs Ashton, of Clay Lake, Spalding, was champion all round baby and best girl.