< PreviousUpcoming Lincoln Sportsman Dinners...* 25th February 2016 – Details and Speakers to be confirmed.* 21st April 2016 – Details and Speakers to be confirmed.To contact the club you can email at info@lincolnsportsmans.com, telephone on 01522 508355 or visit the comprehensive website at www.lincolnsportsmans.comDinners are heldat The BentleyHotel, SouthHykeham, LincolnPHOTOS BY RICHARD PICKSLEYPETER FERN, MERVYN WILLIAMSTHE BLOOM PARTYPHIL SCRAFTON, ED POWELL, DEAN BOWERGEORGE GILBERT, ROD TAYLOR, HARRY GILBERTDAVE & MATT CLARKJOCK GORDAN, JEREMY PATTERSON, IAN SACKREE, DAVID BEYNONROY FROGGATT, PETER CARR, BERNARD ROSS, PATRICK SULLIVANLincoln Sportsman’s dinnerTaking place at the Bentley Hotel, the Lincoln Sportsman’s club offers business owners the opportunity to not alsoforge contacts, but also meet famous celebrities. With Steve Daley, ex-England, Man City and Wolves footballer inattendance – the night was a roaring success. SIMON JUDGE, JOHN RICHARDSPHOTOS: RICHARD PICKSLEY10 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYSOCIAL SCENE10_Layout 1 11/12/2015 09:20 Page 111_Layout 1 11/12/2015 09:20 Page 112-15_Layout 1 11/12/2015 10:58 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY13HOMESCountryCHICThis month Lincolnshire Today visits areader’s home that offers the perfect blend ofold and new.The home of John and Sarah Raby in South Lincolnshire hastaken shape in a little over a year and what they have created isa stunning five-bedroom, family home. As the property was being constructed almost from scratch,the couple had a virtual blank canvas from which to work butthat meant that every detail had to be planned. As the couple14 Á12-15_Layout 1 11/12/2015 10:58 Page 214 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYHOMESadmit, “At the outset we thoughtthat would be great and startedoff really organised but as thingsprogressed we found we’doverlooked small things like doorhandles and had to rush out tobuy armfuls at a time - the projectat times was still a case of trial anderror but things worked out reallywell.”“Stephen is very fastidiousthough and the staircase had to bejust as it was planned,” says Sarah.“In the end it took over four weeksto complete by a team oftradesmen.” After a few trials andtribulations, the property wasfinally finished and what afantastic result. From the outside, the propertyis smart but unassuming, as youstep inside, the property is quitestunning. Soft furnishings and12-15_Layout 1 11/12/2015 10:58 Page 3neutral colours havebeen used throughoutto keep the flow of themodern theme. There’sa tastefully appointedgames room, completewith large screen TV andtheatre style, surroundsound, and the property has been given the utmost attentionto detail with features such as under-floor heating and LCDscreens in each bathroom.“While we had the chance, we fitted the entire home withsmart technology,” says John, who also happens to be anelectrician. “so things like lighting, heating and sound can allbe controlled at the touch of a button. There are even speakersin the ceiling and LCD screens in the bathroom so you canwatch a DVD in the bath.”Smart technology is certainly gaining in popularity for newhomes but it doesn’t come cheap with systems ranging from£2,500 to £10,000. Every inch of the couple’s home has been planned andcarefully designed from the contemporary outside lighting tothe granite worktops in the kitchen which carry a tinge of blue. “We’re really happy with the home and plan to stay here forsome time,” says Sarah.LINCOLNSHIRETODAY15HOMESHarworth Heating LtdBlyth Road, Harworth, Doncaster DN11 8NETel: 01302 742 520 • Email: sales@oilstoves.co.ukwww.oilstoves.co.ukYou need the Bosky wood burning cookerIt’s back, The Bosky wood burning/solid fuel cooker boiler.Warms your house, cooks your food and fills your bath withpiping hot water.BIGhouse, BIGbills,BIGheadache!We’re reallyhappy with thehome and plan to stayhere forsome time“”12-15_Layout 1 11/12/2015 10:58 Page 4ubbed the heart of any home, the kitchen is the central node aroundwhich all else gravitates. Guests and family members congregate wherethe magic happens, so making sure there’s ample seating is a must. Sticking a sofa inthe kitchen has long been touted as a means of encouraging familial closeness. It’strue for the cook that ambling over the oven with a sherry in one hand and a spatulain the other can mean being isolated from the rest of the household. Giving guests areason to come into the kitchen is one thing, but making them want to stay is key.Using an island is a subtle way to divide up the floor space, keeping the cookingon one side and entertaining on the other. A few furniture pieces can add asophistication to an otherwise functional room. Try mixing vintage displays withmore modern accessories, such as a trendy wine rack beside an antique cabinet orvice versa. To really mix things up, putting in a couple sofas might just be the trick tohospitable New Year. 16 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYKeeping it in thekitchen11) Cooke & Lewis Raffello HighGloss White Slab & AubergineSlab Kitchen2) Invite guests in with thecharming design of theseunderstated stools from LimeLace, which come in a range ofvibrant colours. 3) With its quirky design andvintage French labels, this wallmounted wine rack from MelodyMaison is a handsome additionto any kitchen. 4) The distressed look of thisdisplay cabinet from Guru-ShopGmbH will draw the eye andspark no end of conversations. DDKeeping it in thekitchenThe Christmas feast and New Year lunch might have moved onfor another year, but the kitchen is no less a hub for gatheringfriends and families, so make it as congenial a space as possible. 16-17_Layout 1 11/12/2015 09:21 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY17HOMES23416-17_Layout 1 11/12/2015 09:21 Page 218 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYGARDENSOur never ending quest to find reader’s gardens with a little wow factor takes us,this month, to the Lincolnshire Wolds.A LABOUR OF LOVEA LABOUR OF LOVE18-21_Layout 1 11/12/2015 09:24 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY19GARDENSIt’s hard to believe, looking at such an establishedgarden, that Cliff and Jill Rust started this project a littleover two years ago - at which time they tell us it lookedmore like a mud soaked, weed infested, hillside than thestepped paradise they now walk out to each morning. Over the past two years, Jill and Cliff, have created averitable paradise from what was a wilderness, almostentirely covered in bracken. As Cliff explains, “we startedon the ‘jungle’ in the autumn of 2013, clearing thebracken to see what we’d got and discovered a plot thatwasn’t merely overgrown but had serious drainageproblem. Water seemed to come in where we didn’twant it and seemed to avoid the places where we did –there was no way plants would grow with that going onand we decided to redirect the flow and incorporate landdrainage from top to bottom.” 20 Á18-21_Layout 1 11/12/2015 09:25 Page 2Next >