< PreviousEat, drink and be merryDear Lincolnshire Today,I read your article onLincolnshire food withinterest, not only do I live ona staple of those foodsfeatured such as chine,Lincolnshire sausages andthe like, but I always havethem ready for visitingguests from further afield.It’s amazing how fewpeople have heard of, letalone tried stuffed chine! Italways gets curious looksdue to its green stripes ofparsley, but people always liken it tosalt beef. I suppose it’s our take on that popular dish, butobviously being a yellow belly I am biased and prefer ourversion.I’d love to know if there are any other curiosities inLincolnshire food circles, are there any long forgotten dishesout there?R DrealesbyReaders’lettersWe’d love to hear from you. If you have any news, views or issuesyou would like us to cover, do get in touch.My new houseDear Lincolnshire Today,I do so much enjoy your tours round people’shomes. If I wasn’t already happy and settledwhere I am, I’d love to see how other peoplelive. There’s been a few in the south of thecounty recently, which I’ve also enjoyed seeing.Sometimes you forget just how huge our countyreally is and you can get used to your corner ofthe world!Keep up the ‘through the keyhole’-stylearticles please, they give me and my familygreat pleasure and sometimes a bit of inspiration. The nextstep I suppose is putting these ideas into practice!G WellingCleethorpesPICK OF THE MONTHThe winner of our letter of the month wins a case of wine.We’d love to hear from you: Lincolnshire Today, Armstrong House, ArmstrongStreet, Grimsby, N E Lincs DN31 2QE. Email: lincs-today@blmgroup.co.uk We reserve the right to edit published lettersWell done Jade!Dear Lincolnshire Today,I’ve been following the progress ofJade Etherington from Lincolnshire in theParalympics in Sochi and I’m so proud she’smanaged to win four medals so far! What anachievement and what a coup for Lincolnshire.Perhaps she will serve as inspiration for others whomight have dreams of Olympic success, I’ll certainlybe encouraging my two children to get out thereand try something new!F RobedorCherry WillinghamShowtime?Dear Lincolnshire Today,I’ve been thinking, now that the sun has finally come out, that it willsoon be time for the Lincolnshire Show. Doesn’t time fly? It seems like fiveminutes since we were last there, sipping Pimms in the sunshine by themain ring and of course enjoying some tunes and a rocking atmosphere inyour hospitality tent. We’ll be heading down as a matter of course, Iwonder which hits we will hear your band perform this year?I’ll be counting down the days, see you there!B GroatsSkegnessPICKOF THEMONTH10 LINCOLNSHIRETODAY010:Layout 1 14/3/14 12:10 Page 1Collect your free ticket on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th Aprilfrom the promotions team opposite Costa on Jubilee Way. *£30 can be spent in one transaction or across multiple purchases in one day.Spend £30 or morein one day at any store inThe Parishes* and receive aThe Parishes* and receivsFREE VUECINEMATICKETMonday 7th – Saturday 12th Aprilwww.theparishes.com@shop_parishes/TheParishesEver wanted to learn about the ins and outs of a luxury magazine?A very exciting opportunity has arisen to join the advertising sales team at Lincolnshire Todaymagazine to join our dynamic and highly successful team.We are looking for a first-class individual with excellent people skills - someone that is bright, confident, dedicated, adaptable, energetic and ultimately passionate about building acareer at Lincolnshire Today magazine.This role is varied and will involve selling across every touch point of the LincolnshireToday brand, including magazine print, tablet and on-line. The ideal applicant candidate will be fashion and image conscious with previous sales/marketing experience, and possess the ability to create, deliver and run new projects to drive the business forward.You will need to be confident, a good communicator, numerate and highly organised.An appetite for hard work and a tenacious approach to winning business are essential,as is a keen sense of humour and a passion and knowledge of the County. In returnwe offer an excellent salary plus open ended bonus, a personal development pro-gramme and great career prospects.All applications will be treated in the strictest of confidence – in the first instanceplease call Angela Cooper on 01472 310302 or email at: a.cooper@blmgroup.co.uk 011:Layout 1 14/3/14 12:12 Page 1PROPERTYThe property sector seemed to beparticularly badly hit with the recessionbut for the past year or so, it’s been backon the up and delightful Lincolnshireproperties have become much soughtafter.The revival has been assigned tomortgage lenders returning to themarket, the launch of the Help to Buyscheme and generally, something of animprovement in confidence. What thatdoes mean, however, is that some estateagents are actually reporting a shortageof new properties – from first time buyerhomes right through to those costing amillion pounds plus. That could lead toprices increasing across the board,although the market is obviously skewedby the South East and here inLincolnshire the growth is a little moremuted. Regardless, if you’re looking tosell then it should prove substantiallyeasier than at any time in the past fewyears.The same is also true in the rentalmarket. Patrick McCutcheon, Head ofResidential at estate agency Dacre, Son &Hartley says, “The rental marketthroughout the region is stillexperiencing a huge amount of demandfrom tenants looking for high qualityhomes in good locations and a shortageof supply is continuing to push rentalvalues upwards.“This positivity is also mirrored in thesales market where demand is steadilyincreasing. Although vendors have tobe realistic about pricing, which isoften key to achieving a sale, there aregrowing numbers of buyers out therewaiting for the right property to comeonto the market. We now have morehomes under offer than at any time inthe last four years and this increase inmarket activity looks set to continueas mortgage finance becomes morereadily available.” Thejourney homeEvery month in Lincolnshire Today we spotlight someof the county’s most attractive properties, and across theregion there’s probably the widest range of homes anywherein the UK – from sophisticated city living in Lincoln to beautifulcountryside properties with acres of land, and everything in between.14 012-015:Layout 1 17/3/14 10:05 Page 1012-015:Layout 1 17/3/14 10:05 Page 2The Help to Buy scheme could wellprove valuable if you’re looking tomove on and up. With a Help to Buyequity loan, the Government lendsyou up to 20% of the cost of a new-build home priced up to £600,000,so you’ll only need a 5% cashdeposit and a 75% mortgage tomake up the rest. You won’t becharged loan fees on the 20% loanfor the first five years of owning yourhome. Meanwhile, a mortgagesupported by the Help to Buymortgage guarantee scheme worksas any other mortgage, but it offerslenders the option to purchase aguarantee on mortgage loans. Thisshould make it easier for potentialhome owners to make their firststeps on the property ladder –and your money is likely to gofurther in Lincolnshire too!Throughout Lincolnshire work14 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYPROPERTYHouse buying solutions from award-winning Cyden HomesCyden Homes takeshuge pride in creatinghomes in Lincolnshirethat local people canbe proud to live in.The Cyden Homessales team are led byPeter Bond who lendshis expertise tocustomers looking tofind the home of theirdreams. He says,“Essentially, brand newhomes offer so manytangible advantages, whether it’s because of higher building standards creating lower runningcosts or purchase schemes only available to new build homes”.Every Cyden home is built to exacting standards been recognised over the last four years in acollection of regional quality awards from the LABC for design, site supervision and planning.Currently, Cyden Homes have a collection of two, three, four and five bedroom homes availablefor occupation across Scartho, Waltham, New Waltham and Stallingborough. New landacquisitions in Humberston, Alford and Boston will see more new exclusive homes becomingavailable later in 2014. Call 01472 278002 or visit www.cydenhomes for more details.is also being carried out to ensure thereare enough homes to meet demand, andthat the various towns aren’t full ofempty properties that have been left todecline over the years. Indeed, thenumber of empty homes in Lincolnreduced by more than a quarter during2013.Officers at City of Lincoln Council havehelped owners of 157 vacant homesbring them back into use through arange of measures, including access tofunding and advice on repairs andrenovation, which means that at the lastcount in October, there were 445 emptyhomes in the city. A year before therewere more than six hundred.In an effort to encourage more ownersto bring empty properties back into use,the council this year introduced a 150%council tax rate for homes left vacant formore than two years – making itsubstantially more attractive for them torevamp and let it out rather than justhold on to it. The council also offers acouple of incentives, such as acontribution toward renovation orconversion costs, and a grant for first-time buyers purchasing a home that hasbeen empty for at least twelve months.Council leader Ric Metcalfe says,“Increasing the supply of affordablehousing is one of our three mainpriorities, and helping to bring emptyhomes back into use is one way to dothat. Apart from improving theappearance of an area, restoring anempty property can bring benefits to theowner, such as a rental income andreduction in council tax.”We all know that Lincolnshire is one ofthe loveliest places to live in the UK – andthe new schemes to encourage newmore people to be able to afford housesand revive existing properties shouldmean that even more get theopportunity to appreciate that!Officers at City of Lincoln Council have helped owners of 157 vacant homes bringthem back into use through arange of measures012-015:Layout 1 17/3/14 10:05 Page 3Part exchange your property for one, less the worry, at The Croft.The Croft, North Road, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9AS Telephone: 01778 426995www.thecroftbourne.co.ukSales office open daily from 10am to 5pmz Part exchange with no price differential needed between the values of the properties.z Move into a brand new home.z The exterior of every property is maintained by the estate management team.z 1, 2 and 3 bedroom properties for the over 55s with prices from £134,995.z Shared equity available.Enjoy a life, less the worry, at this exclusive award-winning development built around the site of a now fully refurbished, manor house with its new communal leisure facilities and on-site manager.Come and talk to us about how we can help with your move.012-015:Layout 1 17/3/14 10:05 Page 416 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYIn theframeReader’s homes never cease to amaze. But it’snot just a few frames of snooker on offer atHolly Oak House, this unique home alsoboasts an oak frame that really exudesopulence.016-019:Layout 1 14/3/14 14:04 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY17READERS’ HOMESHolly Oak House is in the tranquil villageof Pilham, tucked away just outsideGainsborough. Set at the end of a smallcluster of similar-sized homes, the houseoverlooks rolling countryside. It was thisscenery that inspired the owners of thehome, Nigel and Dawn Thornhill to buildtheir dream home.Built in a ‘barn’ style, Holly Oak House isa unique proposition. It is constructed in apost and beam manner, with the wholestructure on an oak frame. This gives it anestablished look, despite only being built afew years ago. To add to the sense of history, the homeis actually built on the former Pilham Hall’skitchen garden with one of the originalwalls actually still standing in the couple’sgarden. Pilham Hall was built in 1908 bylocal businessman Henry Marshall and hassince become a care home, but thegrounds remain splendid. To reflect thisheritage perhaps, the couple chose toincorporate an ingle nook fireplace frombricks reclaimed from outside, where theywere buried under a huge pile of compost!The really great thing about Holly OakHouse though, is the sense of being closeto nature. On two sides, nothing can beseen but countryside stretching out to thehorizon and the panoramic windows onthe ground floor make the most of thegreat views on offer. Underfloor heatingmakes walking round a pleasure too andNigel’s keen to point out the advantages ofself-building from the off. We wander to his truly huge gamesroom which houses a full-size snookertable, which was snapped up for a snipwhen Gainsborough Conservative Clubclosed its doors a few years back. Nigel18 At Holly Oak House there is a real sense of being close tonature - perhaps it’s because on two sides, nothing can beseen but rolling countryside016-019:Layout 1 14/3/14 14:04 Page 218 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYREADERS’ HOMESexplains that he learned somethingabout the table when he installed it thatsurprised him. Being an antique, he wastold it was in the ‘Zulu’ style, meaningthat during past conflicts, the BritishArmy used to get snooker tablesdelivered for soldiers’ leisure time. Thismeant that each war’s tables had aslightly different design, hence a ‘Zulu’table. There are apparently Crimeantables out there too as well as fromother conflicts abroad. The table is lovingly housed in aglass-dominated room with highceilings and you can imagine whilingaway the evenings here with beer andgood friends. The oak frame continues todominate, but not in an intrusive way,as you make your way upstairs.Looking up you get a fantastic view ofthe arched roofspace where the beamsall meet, but also of the impressive oakdoor, framed by panels of thick glass,giving another added panorama toproceedings. Upstairs the masterbedroom is undeniably the highlight.Taking up half the total size of thehouse’s floorplan, it is a beautiful,inviting room. With a small, privatebalcony looking out directly onto fieldstoo, you can imagine waking up withthe dawn and a strong cup of coffee.What a start to the day!As well as all the wonders inside, thishome also has an annexe building,meaning that office space for thosewho work from home would be ideally016-019:Layout 1 14/3/14 14:04 Page 3LINCOLNSHIRETODAY19READERS’ HOMESlocated here. With so much potential for development on anenviable and tasteful design, the couple have made Holly Oaktheir vision come to life.Holly Oak House is on the market with Lawrence James EstateAgents for £625,000.016-019:Layout 1 14/3/14 14:04 Page 4Next >