< Previous10 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYSOCIAL SCENEPutting charity firstMarket Rasen Golf Club recently held its Captains’ Forces Charity Golf Competition,sponsored by Westgate Motors Grimsby and Admiral Asset Management. Members of theclub and players from across the county managed to raise over £4,000 for SSAFA and theRoyal British Legion with a silent auction also adding to the grand total. Air Commodore Portlock from the RAF presented the winners’ prizes and Vic Rice fromSSAFA gave a short speech on the work that the charity does in the community as well as forcurrent and former members of the armed forces.Market Rasen Golf Club Gents Captain, Graham Dolan says: “Ladies Captain Ann Todd and Iwould like to thank all the players, staff and our sponsors Westgate Honda and Admiral AssetManagement for all their hard work, generosity and dedication in helping to raise thisamazing total. Ronni Sullivan ofMarket Rasen, winnerof the straightestladies driveThe next best mixed team, J Bradwell, P Bradwell andM Moor of Woodhall Spa and Z Moor of South KymeThe next best gents team, Danny Mellor of MarketRasen, A Ecelson and M Cheetham of Elsham andA Robinson of Grange ParkOverall runners up, G Hardcastle, S Brown, S Forbesof Market Rasen and T Woolfsen of RAF WaddingtonKen Routledge of Market Rasen (centre),part of the overall winning team with atotal winning score of 100ptsAir CommodorePortlock introducesthe winnersVic Rice of armedforces charity SSAFAexplains how themoney raised willbe spent010_Layout 1 17/11/2014 09:05 Page 1LITERARY LINCOLNSHIREBut 25 years of dedicated detectivework by author Peter Firstbrook havebrought into the sharpest focus yet thelife of the humbly-named John Smith,son of a farmer in Willoughby, to thesouth of Alford.Smith is perhaps most famous as acharacter in the Pocahontas story but, inachieving fame in a story so often retoldthat it’s even a Disney cartoon, it’s easyto imagine that he never existed at all.But he undoubtedly did. AlthoughSmith’s own writings were distrusted byhistorians because of their bold claims,Firstbrook’s detective work unpicks factfrom the fiction to draw a line in thesand about the life of a man whosecharts and sailing directions guided thePilgrim Fathers to Plymouth, and who‘invented’ the American Dream.Firstbrook says, perhaps unnecessarily,that Smith was ‘not your usual hero ofthe period’. “He claimed he was saved fromexecution by Pocahontas, the daughterof a Native American chief, claimed hewas shipwrecked, claimed he was thrownoverboard from a ship by angry pilgrims;claimed he was sold as a slave, andclaimed he was twice saved from beinghung. No wonder his autobiography– The True Travels – has been treatedwith a pinch of salt in the past. “His life story was so incredible it wasdifficult to believe it could really be true.Yet if only half of what he wrote wasaccurate, then surely John Smith had tobe one of the great Englishadventurers.”And that’s where the research began.Peter has challenged Smith’s writings byfollowing in his footsteps and testingwhat he wrote against local histories andgeographies. “I wanted to challenge theveracity of his writings, every step of theway,” he says.“While some arts of his memoirscannot be independently checked, thereare other sections which can be testedagainst established history of the period.Here Smith shows himself to beremarkably well-informed and accuratein his accounts. Therefore, without anyevidence to the contrary, it isreasonable that all his writings aboutthe period should be viewed the same– as honest and accurate accounts– including those sections where hetalked about his personal exploits,and which cannot becorroborated.”The result is a work ofeyebrow-raising narrative of abook entitled A Man MostDriven, in which Peterconcludes that in NewEngland Smith saw theopportunity for an individualto create a new life throughdetermination and hardwork. It was a place inwhich a man could befree from the socialshackles that hadconstrained him from birth. If John Smith has one enduring legacy,believes Firstbrook, it is that he was thefirst Englishman to understand the greatAmerican Dream.It’s certainly a riveting read about aman whose life story is worthy ofeclipsing the place in the nationalconsciousness of the likes of Sir FrancisDrake and Sir Walter Raleigh. He deservesto be better known. Hopefully, throughthis book, he will be.• A Man Most Driven, by PeterFirstbrook, published by OneworldPublications. To say that the American Dream began on a small farm inLincolnshire at about the time Drake was seeing off the SpanishArmada might seem sufficiently far-fetched to be a work of fiction.LINCOLNSHIRETODAY11From humblebeginnings011_Layout 1 17/11/2014 09:06 Page 112 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYHOMESChapel charmA converted former Methodist chapel in Gainsborough is a labour of love forLincolnshire Today reader Matthew Blake. We meet him to get the grand tour.012-017_Layout 1 17/11/2014 11:07 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY13HOMEStanding on a corner of a residential street inGainsborough, this chapel was once used by a busycongregation, but as Matthew explains, “Everyone inGainsborough at some point has been here, whether it’s gettingmarried, going to dances or even to vote. Last time we had anelection, I even came home on the day to find someoneknocking and wanting to cast their ballot!”The chapel closed at the end of the 1990s, and although ashame, the fact that it wasn’t demolished and has been14 ÁS012-017_Layout 1 17/11/2014 11:07 Page 214 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYHOMESconverted into a wonderful, three-bed home isimpressive. Matthew bought the somewhat emptychapel at auction in early 2000 and graduallyworked his way through the entire building,which stands set back from the road. Originallyfrom Swansea and having spent decades workingin London, Matthew’s time in Gainsborough hasbeen one he has enjoyed, particularly theconversion process, “I love sitting down at a tableand working out designs and how things mightwork.”This resulted in the large, open space beingmade into two levels, with a huge RSJ cutting thevoluminous main hall into two, meaning agenerous upstairs mezzanine level now housing amain bedroom, hallway and snooker room. Themain bedroom also features large walk-inwardrobes which Matthew put in himself,teaching himself how to fashion doorframes. Inhis snooker room, adequate space to cue up thebest shots on the table means this is where heoften finds himself in the evening.Downstairs, the area which once housed thealtar and lecterns from which sermons andreadings were made is now a generous doublegarage, offering a large storeroom off this, whichonce served as the vestry.Elsewhere, the kitchen and dining area isseparated from the living room and lounge area16 Á012-017_Layout 1 17/11/2014 11:07 Page 3Lincolnshires Largest Stove Showroom12-18 Dunstall Street, Scunthorpe, DN15 6LF01724 844872info@countywoodburningcentre.co.ukwww.countywoodburningcentre.co.ukCLEARVIEWSTOVESVISIT OUR SHOWROOMS FOR SPECIAL OFFERScharnwood®85 Norwood, Beverley HU17 9HN01482 866537www.oldflamesofbeverley.co.ukThroughout December wewill be serving MincePies and Mulled Wine,all cooked on ourEsse Range cookersOver 200 display models and working stovesAccredited dealers for all major stove and range cooker suppliersHETAS approved retailer with HETAS approved installersSpecialist fireplace design andconstructionExtensive range of cookware, accessoriesand fuels available to buy instore012-017_Layout 1 17/11/2014 11:08 Page 416 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYHOMESby a dividing wall, but one that lets lightplay through, meaning the original senseof glorious light has never left. Behindwhat was once the chapel’s stage,Matthew has created another mezzaninelevel and the area has been convertedinto an office, books standing in thenatural recesses of the chapel’sunorthodox shape. Below the stage is afantastic amount of room, currentlyhousing a workshop of sorts.Off the side of the main hall are twobedrooms, both with superb amounts ofintegrated storage and with their ownbathroom down a corridor.Outside, gorgeous decking and a pondlead round to low maintenance gardens,in which you can imagine yourselfsunbathing away the day.What strikes you most about theproperty is the level of care that has beentaken to not only use the chapel’s originalarchitecture to its greatest strengths, butalso the intricacy of some of the workMatthew has carried out. Not only is it afitting tribute to a building so beloved tothe people of the town, but a greathome too.However, Matthew is now selling theproperty and no doubt looking for his nextproject. Any readers interested in buyingthis delightful conversion can contactEweMove Estate Agents, Gainsborough. 012-017_Layout 1 17/11/2014 11:08 Page 5Worth a Closer Look !See, touch, smell and feel the comfortIf you have not yet experienced the best quality, handcrafted furniture in the UK, you should now visit the only niche showroom in the East Midlands dedicated to displaying only finest quality Chesterfield furniturePlease request our essential information packShowroom open7 days a week10.00-5.00pmButSun - Tuesby priorarrangementPlease log on towww.chesterfieldsinlincoln.co.ukOur philosophy is simple…By providing an established, in demand product, of unsurpassed qualityand unequalled value for money, we know that today’s discerningcustomer responds positively to genuine offers. We therefore invite you toa genuine ‘no obligation’ viewing of our beautiful leather furniture. 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Having been designtrained, his art veers between stylisedgraphics and realism with ease and tolook across his work is to see a realappreciation of aesthetics as well as aknowing nod to the uncanny.“I originally set up business years ago asa silk screen designer, I used to producehand-printed clothes and fabrics and it wasquite a commercial enterprise,” explainsJohn, “I eventually realised I wanted to gointo art education and I ended up teachingand lecturing in Lincoln.”After around twelve years, Johnrelocated with his wife to the Scottishcoast to run a tourism business, butreturned to his native County Durhamfollowing this and painted full time foraround a decade. A relatively recentreturn to Lincoln has seen his work beingexhibited locally on a regular basis, withJohn and his wife Pam, also an artist,often exhibiting together.John’s work shows signs of his technicaland design-dominated past, as heexplains: “Because I was a designer, itmakes you look for natural patterns andrhythm and colour is a really importantaspect. I’ve painted popular styles beforebecause it sold, but recently I’ve beenpainting for myself, the design rules andideas never leave you and I’ve been ableto let that flow and come out in recentwork.”John’s influences also take in the artistsactive between the wars, as well as artdeco styles and the kind of posters you’dencounter at train stations at the time.That somewhat vintage, but timeless wayof presenting images is evident across hispaintings. “I’m a great admirer of artists likeEdward Bawden, Eric Ravilious and JohnPiper who were all teachers, designersand illustrators. There’s a sense of thewhimsical and humourous I’ve takenfrom them, as well as a hint of thesurreal,” he says.Absorbing John’s paintings, you cansee particularly with the bright, boldstyles of those artists how it has informedparts of his work. His series of animalillustrations recall those art-deco railwayadvertisements, with clear black outlinesand eye-catching flat colour. Looking athis other work, which includes a series onanimals’ eyes, realism makes its mark onmatters with stylised design elementscolliding with realistic visions of nature. This is all given a high-quality finishthanks to the paper John uses too.Sourcing it from specialist manufacturers,the ultra-smooth hot-pressed paper Johnworks with is primarily used by illustratorsand designers. He says, “It’s a naturalsurface to work on for me, you need toprepare it by stretching it on a board soit is tight like a snare drum, but it looksfantastic as a result.”Another influence John has absorbed ishis art teacher from school back in thedesignCanwick-based artist John Pickering produces a wide rangeof work that is striking and informed by his past interest indesign. We pay his home studio a visit to see his art up close.All in the018-019_Layout 1 17/11/2014 09:19 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY19north east town of Barnard Castle. John talksof Douglas Pittuck being an inspiration, whowas a trained draughtsman but also anaccomplished painter he kept in touch withthroughout his life. He’s also a keenmusician, preferring jazz to work to andperforming in a jazz quintet in his spare timeon guitar.Investigating John’s art is advisable if youare interested in seeing a fresh take onfamiliar subjects. Looking deeper into eachpiece of work might reveal more than youfirst see. Like all great art, isn’t that whatwe’re all looking for?You can see examples of John’s work atwww.johnpickeringart.com or at his latestexhibition, a joint show with textile artist wifePam Pickering at the prestigious Sam ScorerGallery near Castle Square in Lincoln. The“Power of 2” exhibition runs from 9th to21st December, and will feature a wide rangeof John’s paintings, prints and illustrations, aswell as Pam’s signature soft sculpture figures,textile panels and jewellery. Admission is freeand all are welcome.PHOTO: WWW.HOLLYPICKERING.COMPHOTO: WWW.HOLLYPICKERING.COM018-019_Layout 1 17/11/2014 09:20 Page 2Next >