< Previous30 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYPHOTO: ANGIE COOPER, CAISTORThe simple things in life are thebest, hot chocolate in an iglooIt’s been a cold January and we’ve been sent plenty of snowy, icyscenes that are inspiring as well as beautiful. As the light creeps backinto the county slowly but surely, a move away from the frozen, whitescenes you see across these pages occurs. The green shoots of Springwill soon be upon us, with all the new life that brings too. Daffodils,snowdrops and other brief, seasonal flowers will be out in force by nextmonth so we’re due to see small explosions of colour before thedominating multi-coloured hues of a Lincolnshire summer take over. We love to show off the county, so it’s good our job is made easy byscenes like this! We’ll be keeping an eye out for unique scenes to inspireand wow through the year and promise to bring you the best scenes wemanage to capture. From the swaying, abundant fields of the south ofthe county, to the wide, rolling vistas of the wolds and out towards thecoast, there’s plenty to see.We absolutelywelcome your photographs from any timeof the year. Have you snappeda scene you want to show off?If so, send a hi-res jpeg to lincs-today@blmgroup.co.ukand we’ll consider it forpublication withinthese pages.LincolnshireLincolnshire030-031:Layout 1 21/1/13 09:44 Page 1Dead Wood at Belton ParkPHOTO: CHRIS ASHWINPHOTO: GARY JORGENSENPlaying in the snow,Bully Hill, TealbyA snowy scene captured inGrimblethorpePHOTO: MIKE SHIELDS030-031:Layout 1 21/1/13 09:44 Page 2DISCOVERthe differenceDISCOVERthe differenceCaistor is a town quite rightly proud of its historyand unique market town offering. Discover what itis that brings people back again and again.032-035:Layout 1 21/1/13 12:41 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY33CAISTORAll too often we dash from one largeurban centre to another ignoring the gemsthat we fly by en-route.And that’s a great pity, because if youtake time to explore the towns and villagesyou’ll discover some very special places.The phrase ‘hidden gem’ is in realdanger of being devalued throughoveruse, but we believe Caistor stilldeserves to be thought of as such.At the heart of the Wolds, there’s nodoubting that this is a special townsteeped in history, but the here and now iswell worth a look too.This is the place that earned ‘walkers arewelcome’ status at its first attempt. Acampaign aimed at strengthening a town’sreputation as a place for visitors to enjoythe outdoors. It helps to ensure thatfootpaths and facilities for walkers aremaintained in good condition, benefitingthose who live there as well as visitors.This is also the place that wonrecognition in the Small Market Townscompetition, not once, but three times –making it the only place to have won inthree successive years.When that award was announced, thejudges said it was a pleasure to visit such aprogressive town where things happen toenhance community life.But if you’re not up for a strenuous walk– or even a gentle one - it’s still worth ameander around the quaint streets withtheir unusual names and attractive oldbuildings, and after that there is theopportunity to browse small independentshops, and to stop for a drink or satisfyingbite to eat at the restaurants and cafes.If you find yourself wanting to stay alittle longer and explore the Wolds stillfurther, there’s even accommodationavailable.A flock of Lincolnshire Longwool sheephas even helped to push forward a newhistory project in the town.They were featured in a film used topromote discussion of life in the Woldstown at the first event in an oral historyproject recently, called ‘Caistories’, aimedat capturing and recording as much of thetown’s past as possible that still existswithin living memory.The work is bringing new skills into thetown and making new use of existingones, as volunteers learn about technologyand techniques involved in capturingstories for future generations.The Caistories project focuses on ruraltrades and lost industries. The work,funded by a Heritage Lottery Grant ofnearly £10,000, is being developed at thetown’s not-for-profit Arts and HeritageCentre, which has grown into the hub ofmuch of the town’s social life.Here, alongside a cosy café, the town’slibrary and younger residents are makingthe most of free internet access, theresulting work will be shown on TVmonitors, with the stories listened to usinghandsets. “We don’t want to disturb thelibrary atmosphere,” says Centre ManagerStephanie Dale.Stories are being sought from aroundthe town by word of mouth and byleaflets, and then filmed for posterity. “Weleave those wherever we can to encouragepeople to take part,” she adds.And thoughts of the town’s past lead tothoughts of the history of families, andthere is help with that too, in the shape ofvolunteer Denise Storr, who guides peoplethrough the maze of sources to find thingsout about their own ancestors – a serviceoffered in all Lincolnshire libraries, whichhave free access to the Ancestry web site.35 This is also theplace that won recognition in theSmall Market Towns competition, notonce, but three times – making it theonly place to have won in threesuccessive years.There is the opportunity to browse smallindependent shops, and to stop for a drink andsatisfying bite to eat at the restaurants and cafes032-035:Layout 1 21/1/13 12:42 Page 234 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYCaistor Balloonsat Caistor Post OfficeHelium Balloons for alloccasionsFoil or Latex – ArrangementsTo order call:01472 851201www.caistorpostoffice.co.ukCaistor Post Office25 Market PlaceCaistor LN7 6TUThe Paper Shop- Newspapers - Tobacco - Confectionery - Greeting Cards We run a Rural & Local Newspaper delivery serviceavailable to Caistor and all surrounding villages10 Market Place, Caistor, LN7 6TW T: 01472 851333Mrs Hyams, Headteacher, Caistor Church of England and Methodist Primary School Southdale, Caistor, LN7 6LY Tel 01472 851396email enquiries@caistor-joint.lincs.sch.ukwww.caistorprimary.co.uk We Care, We Share, We Learn Together““ Judged as a Good School by Ofsted Church School Inspection graded as Outstanding Our school is a wonderful place to be, it is warm, friendly and we have high expectations of our pupils We celebrate talents and are proud of our pupils achievements Sport and music are strengths at our school Visits are warmly welcomedWhy not contact us today...Our children enjoy school & are eager tolearn!032-035:Layout 1 21/1/13 12:42 Page 3LINCOLNSHIRETODAY35CAISTORThe centre also helps with family history queries from around theworld, which has yielded contributions to the heritage dimension ofthe centre from former Caistor residents.As well as the Longwool sheep, old photographs are used to sparkdiscussions, often of the ‘Do your remember…’ variety, whichdevelop an enthusiastic following. Even in the snow earlier thismonth – and Caistor suffers from it more than most – residents wereprepared to trek to the Centre to recall days gone by. Caistor crackles with commitment and enthusiasm, personified bythe commitment to enhancing the offering at the centre, withevents as diverse as a monthly Pudding Club meeting, first aid foryoungsters, musical evenings, reading groups and writing classes.The centre is also a base for guided walks exploring Roman andAnglo-Saxon inhabitants.“Most months we have so many events there is usually at leastone every day,” says Stephanie, who has been working at the centrefor about a year. And that’s on top of the exhibitions regularlystaged as a backdrop to everything else that’s going on.“We have a very good team,” says Stephanie. Key among them isCaistor’s ‘historian in residence’ Alan Dennis, now a Director of theCentre, who has been involved since its inception, when it featuredon the BBC’s Village SOS programme.Stephanie says, “We need to get more young people involved.We’re creating education packs for use in schools in and aroundCaistor.” This includes the town’s Montessori primary school, theonly one of its kind in the county, which has recently wonaccreditation for the quality of its education. The packs will becurriculum specific, and about specific periods in the town’s past.Says Stephanie, “There are lots of grants available. Our vision is toembrace other organisations, because together we can aim higher.We can work together to get funding and to get what we want.”Further information is available at www.28ploughhill.co.uk.Of course, Spring is coming, the clocks will soon be changing andthe daffodils will be brightening the roadside borders. There couldhardly be a better time to see more of Lincolnshire. Caistor would bea wonderful place to start.Centre Manager Stephanie Dalebusy with a reading group session.“The weather meant somemembers couldn’t get to us; I shallhave to drop the books off withthem later,” she says.The team atCaistor arecelebrating afterthe nursery andschool wereaccredited by theMontessoriAccreditation andEvaluation Board032-035:Layout 1 21/1/13 12:42 Page 436 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYFASHION036-047:Layout 1 21/1/13 09:52 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY37FASHIONREDCARPET MOMENTSNo sooner have we recovered, and hopefully detoxed, fromushering in 2013 there’s the usual array of glamorous partiesand romantic balls to think about, not to mention those all-important proms. So, cast your eye over the next few pages andyou can be sure you’ll really knock it out of the park in 2013.PHOTO COURTESY OF SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/SOFIA ANDREEVNA036-047:Layout 1 21/1/13 09:52 Page 2036-047:Layout 1 21/1/13 09:52 Page 3LINCOLNSHIRETODAY39FASHIONOpposite: AlexiaRock the party in this fabdress! Pure elegance instunning beaded black-silverprint over a flowy full skirt.Right: Alfred Angelo The ruched, Satin sweetheartneckline adds fullness to thisAlfred Angelo dress thenslenderizes it with a thinbelted band. Far right: BaslerBasler’s collectionsemphasise femininity and apreference for colour anddetails, providing the highestquality as well as optimalcombinability.Below: TiffanysA well designed prom dresscan make your goodfeatures shine and your lessdesirable features dim incomparison. The Tiffanysrange comes in a host ofstyles to suit every size andshape036-047:Layout 1 21/1/13 09:52 Page 4Next >