Lincoln celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Dambusters 617 Squadron with a spectacular flypast and a series of events around the Cathedral on Friday, May 17.

The event remembered the great efforts the local squadron, led by Wing Commander guy Gibson and formed at Scampton in secrecy during World War II. The squadron conducted one of the most memorable operations of the War, using the famous bouncing bomb to attack the industrial heart of Germany. 133 men took part in the raid, but 53 lost their lives.

The events started with a private ceremony at RAF Scampton on May 16, with a broadcasted live public memorial service was held at Lincoln Cathedral on May 17 from 2.30pm. The memorial sold out, but entertainment and aviation stalls lined Castle Square to set the mood. Officials and VIPs from Canada, New Zealand, USA, Australia and the Netherlands attended, and their flags lined the streets. The culmination of the event was the special RAF flyover by a Lancaster from RAF Scampton at 4.15pm.

Children at a Lincoln nursery are learning all about caring for animals with the arrival of 15 newly-hatched chicks.

Of the 15 eggs at Old Station Nursery at Lincoln Marina, 12 chicks hatched on May 16, with the other three expected to come out of their shells any day.

The chicks come from the Happy Chick Company, which aims to teach others about the ethical treatment of its chicks, dropped off incubators at the nursery and left details on how to care for the eggs and chicks.

When the chicks hatch, they move into a brooder box to keep them warm and dry.

The children are allowed to hold and stroke them for small periods of time, and take turns feeding and watering them.

Senior nursery worker Rebecca Craigen, said: “The children have been so excited about having the chicks here.

“We are always trying to think of new and interesting ways to help the children learn, and this seemed like an ideal way to teach them about nature, being responsible and being kind to animals.

“Now they are hatched and dry and fluffy, the children have enjoyed watching their antics as they move about the box.”

Owner Madeline McRanor, said: “This is a wonderful way for children to experience how much joy new chicks can bring.

“I’m just so glad that we are able to bring such happiness to children. We give our chicks away to a variety of smallholders we know are looking to take on more chickens, so they go on to a happy life once they’ve brought joy to the nursery.

“Hopefully we enlighten people as to how much fun they can have bringing up chickens, and raise awareness of the better welfare standards for keeping chickens.”

The chicks will remain with the nursery until May 24, then be taken to the Wragby Road nursery for a further week.

After that, the Happy Chick Company will take them back and look for homes for the chicks.

Lincolnshire County Council will be using Waddington to test local emergency services and other public sector organisations in a serious incident.

The exercise, as part of Exercise Georgiana, will take place on May 21 and 22 just off the A15 to test the council’s large scale emergency plans.

It aims to test personnel and systems of contingencies in coping, containing and resolving a major incident.

The exercise will involve services such as Lincolnshire Police, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, East Midlands Ambulance Service, local authorities, the Environment Agency and health agencies, plus voluntary and private agencies.

The council said the exercise will not disrupt the public, but motorists may see more emergency vehicles in the area.

The exercise runs between 8am and 9pm.

Lincolnshire Police are urging residents to lock their front and back doors after a spate of burglaries.

The warning comes after three offences over the last few nights where offenders have got into homes through doors that are left unlocked all night.

The thieves then went on to steal handbags and purses. The offences took place on Lisburn Close, Hungate and Larne Road.

Anyone with any information on burglaries or someone handling stolen goods can call Lincolnshire Police on 101 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The Usher Gallery in Lincoln has received a special watercolour painting by artist Peter DeWint, after it was left to the gallery in a will.

The 1830s painting was bequeathed to the gallery by the estate of the late Joyce Skinner, and depicts a landscape of Pottergate, Lincoln.

Peter DeWint lived and worked in Lincolnshire for a period of his life, and the Usher Gallery has one of the most extensive public collections of his artwork.

The watercolour is thought to have been Joyce Skinner’s great grandfather, George Panton, who was a Lincoln furniture maker. He received the painting as a from of payment.

The painting was accepted by the Usher Gallery Trust Chairman, Richard Wood, from Joyce Skinner’s niece, Faith Renger.

He said: “It was encouraging that Joyce Skinner decided to bequeath the watercolour to the Usher Gallery Trust by this important Lincolnshire associated artist.”

The painting will be passed over to The Collection museum’s Jonathan Platt, for its future care and display.

Joyce Skinner was born in Lincolnshire, but moved on to Oxford to study history and become a teacher.

She did move back to Lincoln to become Principal of Bishop Grosseteste College (now University) in 1964, before moving on become the only woman to be elected Academic Secretary of the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers.

Lincoln will get its first official Monopoly board and people can vote for the 22 landmarks needed to finish the board.

Once the votes are counted up, the city board will get released in October, in time for Christmas.

A customised area on the board will replace the traditional London streets like Mayfair, while the London train stations will have a Lincoln travel theme instead.

Even Community Chest and Chance cards will get a bit of customisation, with suggestions such as “You will be fined for visiting Grimsby”.

Playing pieces, rules and the four corner squares of the board will remain the same.

The Lincoln board was designed by Winning Moves UK, with permission from Monopoly creators Hasbro, due to its historic landmarks and attractions.

Other UK editions of Monopoly include Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Oxford and Sheffield.

Development Director at Winning Moves UK Peter Griffin said: “It won’t be so much a case of what to put on as what to leave off. We are absolutely sure we will be spoilt for choice.”

To cast your vote on a city landmark email Winning Moves.

Which Lincoln landmarks should be on the board? Tell us in the comments:

Archaeologists working at Lincoln Castle have discovered the remains of an unknown church, believed to be around 1,000-years-old.

The team first found a cemetery with skeletons alongside the remains of two stone walls. Further digging found more graves, plus one stone coffin.

The archaeologists believe the burials belong to a stone church built after the Romans left, but before the Normans came.

The burials were found just three metres down from ground level, in an area just three by three metres, while excavating in order to build a lift shaft.

Historic environment manager at Lincolnshire County Council Beryl Lott said: “This is a very exciting discovery. Our knowledge of the site between the end of Roman period and when the castle was built is very scant.

“While the discovery was totally unexpected, it is well known that other Roman walled towns often contained some form of high-status use during the Anglo-Saxon period.

“This will greatly increase our knowledge not just of the castle, but of uphill Lincoln as well. It’s a major find and we look forward to future developments.”

The stone coffin is made from limestone, with the lid mortared in place.

Another interesting find was the bones of a person laid inside the wall foundation. The bones would have been wrapped in textile originally, as impressions of the cloth were spotted on the wall.

It’s thought that the remains are a deposit, most likely of a holy person, placed in the wall to dedicate the building.

The archaeologists will use radiocarbon dating to exactly age the discoveries, believed to be from the 10th century.

Visitors are welcome to take a look at the archaeologists excavation works around the Castle, some of which will eventually form part of an exhibition.

The Silver Street and High Street pedestrian crossing in Lincoln will be closed for a week while resurfacing work takes place.

The crossing will be closed between 7pm on May 23 and 6am on May 28, closing the road for traffic between Newland Street and Bank Street.

The current surface is not to standard and it will be replaced with a specialist material to improve the road surface and complement the area.

Local diversions will be in place during the works, and the one-way system on Mint Street will be reversed to let traffic exit Mint Lane via Mint Street.

Alan Aistrup, Head of Highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “The road surface on Silver Street has deteriorated and needs replacing.

“It was first put down in 2008 as part of the general improvements made to the High Street, but a problem was soon identified and unfortunately we have had to revisit the site a number of times to make minor repairs.

“We have taken the decision to resurface this section of Silver Street, but we will use a very high quality, durable material that will last for many years to come.

“The cost of these works has been recovered through the original contract at no cost to the authority.

“I apologise for any inconvenience the works may cause. We’ve planned to carry the work out over the bank holiday weekend to keep disruption to a minimum, and we’ve also chosen to use a specialist material which has a quick curing process, which considerably reduces the amount of time the road has to be closed.”

Bishop Grosseteste University has been put up for two national awards, thanks to its new prospectus design.

The prospectus, made in-house by BGU’s marketing team, is up for Best Undergraduate Prospectus and Best Prospectus from a Specialist Institution at the HEIST Awards.

The HEIST Awards celebrate innovation and excellence in education marketing.

The design is based of student feedback to give the book a more personal feel, and was completely re-written, researched and designed.

It also includes stories and quotes from students about the different courses plus the elements of living, studying and socialising in Lincoln

The BGU team has included quotes and stories from current students about the courses, activities and social aspects of studying and living in Lincoln.

Ben Rook, Marketing Manager at BGU, said: “BGU is a unique university and has such a strong community spirit.

“We worked very hard to make sure that the prospectus captured as much of this spirit as possible to show potential students what a great place it really is.”

“We’re aware that prospective students want to see a university’s credentials not only from the perspective of the institution itself, but also from the students who attend it.

“I’m delighted with the outcome and the national recognition we’ve received.”

The university will be up against the University of Nottingham, the University of Cambridge and the University of Leicester.

Instead of planes gracing RAF Waddington’s tarmac, over 180 motorbikes took part in circuit racing over the weekend.

The 2503 Royal Auxiliary Air Force Squadron hosted their third annual bike circuit day on May 11, headed by the Squadron Adjutant Flight LieutenantJim Coupland. The bikes soared around 4.3 miles of the airfield’s taxiways, and the event allowed bike enthusiasts of all levels to test out the base’s circuit and learn to ride bikes better in a safe place.

The day also raised money for charity, including local causes like the Lincolnshire Air Ambulance. Corporal Tony Cook was a marshal on his Yamaha Super 10 bike: “I’ve been biking for 26 years and this event is a way of giving back to the local community by raising money for charity. It was a long day, we started setting up on Friday afternoon, setting out the track cones and we’re here until 9 clearing everything up so that the airfield can be used by aircraft again.”

Lincoln’s 807th Mayor was sworn in at the Guildhall on May 14, taking over from Councillor Karen Lee.

Councillor Pat Vaughan, previously the Deputy Mayor, took up the 2012/13 role after taking an oath in the historic building.

He chaired his first Full Council meeting, then was also married to the city, by being presented with a 16th century gold ring.

The Mayoress will be Lorna Stow, while Patricia Carter becomes Sheriff, Yvonne Bodger as Deputy Mayor, and Gerald Gladwell as Deputy Mayor’s Consort.

Councillor Ric Metcalfe said: “He loves this city with a passion, takes huge pride in the place and has a strong sense of history and tradition so will be really well suited to taking on this historic role.

“Patrick wants to be a genuine ‘People’s Mayor’ and is full of ideas about how he can use his time in mayoral office, not for his own good but for the well being of the city.

“Most of all, he is a thoroughly nice man – kind, generous spirited and always looking out for the needs of other people.”

Each mayor always chooses a charity to support during their term in office, and Vaughan has chosen the Lincolnshire branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Councillor Vaughan also hopes to help the Civic party propose more employment opportunities and support local businesses.

Pat Vaughan said: “I will do my best to uphold the dignity and importance of this office. It’s an honour and a privilege to be the 807th mayor of this city.

“I’m intending this year for the civic party to propose a lot of opportunities to attract employment to Lincoln and demonstrate support for the many excellent businesses we have here.

“I love this city, home for most of my life. I intend to serve it well over the next year.”

Lincoln has one of the longest histories of mayorships in the country, and the outgoing mayor Lee was only the 12th female in the role since its beginnings in 1206.

A Lincoln mayor chairs meetings of the Full Council, welcomes visitors to the city and attends a variety of civic and charity events.

A group of nine staff from different Lincoln-based businesses have raised more than £25,000 for charity cycling from London to Paris.

The group of nine, from Lindum Construction, C&S Partnership, Health Farm Day Nursery, Lockwood Farms, two local farmers, Lighthouse Property Services and British Sugar started the 300 mile ride on May 8, finishing at the Eiffel Tower on May 11.

They were nine out of 133 other riders from across the country taking part in the massive challenge.

One rider, Lindum Construction MD Simon Gregory, managed to raise £8,000 for LIVES First Responders and the Lincolnshire MS Therapy Centre.

He said: “The whole experience was unforgettable but the final four miles, where all the 133 cyclists who took part were escorted in convoy to the Arc de Triomphe, with its traffic mayhem roundabout, before arriving at the Eiffel Tower at 3.30pm, was possible the most memorable.

“It was great to hear the shouts and cheers from pedestrians and some hoots from the motorists, hard to tell whether it was encouragement or impatience.

“Anyway, we all finally made it to the finish line, with aching legs and sore other bits, but this didn’t detract from the huge sense of achievement.

“What started out as a daft idea last November which then lead to many hours of training, this then turning to apprehension as the departure time got closer, has resulted in us raising over £25k for charity thanks to our many generous sponsors.”

Plans to transform the Waterside Shopping Centre on Lincoln High Street have been approved by the City Council, with work expected to begin in July.

As previously reported, the inside of the shopping centre will be refurbished to allow popular chains H&M and Next to move in.

The revamp work will create 1,308 sqm of retail floorspace, and a better line of sight to those shopping on the High Street to see what is at the back of the complex from outside.

Work also includes a new circulation core with repositioned escalators, the relocation of the restaurant use to the lower ground floor, some additional glazing to the southern façade, and improvements to the service area to the east.

H&M and Next will be situated in the east of the building, while New Look will remain in its current location with a slightly expanded unit.

Only two units will be removed with the works on the ground floor, due to the ‘straightening’ of the existing footway.

Capital and Regional, the company which recently acquired the Waterside, managed to sign up the H&M and New Look before submitting the proposal, and believes the changes will create 100 city jobs.

Work will begin on the alterations from July, and will be changed in a phased manner before being fully complete in December 2014.

Businesses in the LN6 area of Lincoln could benefit from a £5,000 grant aimed at getting their employees to travel in an environmentally friendly way.

The Sustainable Travel Grant can be used by businesses to add things like cycle parking, lockers, showers, changing facilities, signage, pool bikes, electric charging points or teleconferencing equipment to encourage staff to use green transport, such as cycling.

The grant is part of the £6.5 million Access LN6 programme, which looks at improving sustainable travel in the area.

Chantelle Grundy, Access LN6 Project Manager, said: “Our Sustainable Travel Grant aims to reduce the costs associated with business travel and lost productivity due to traffic congestion.

“We’re confident that travelling sustainably not only supports businesses in meeting their environmental and corporate social responsibility goals, but also benefits staff who are happier, healthier and more productive as a result.”

Businesses can apply for the grant by obtaining a form from the Access LN6 website from May 20. The deadline for applications is June 28.

The Lincoln Film Society will mark its 60th anniversary with a month-long film festival throughout several venues in the city.

Events between May 31 to June 30 include 15 film screenings at Bishop Grosseteste University, four film lectures at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre (LPAC) and a special outdoor film screening in the city centre,

The festival was officially announced at Lincoln Drill Hall on Monday, where Hollywood actor and Lincoln celebrity Colin McFarlane joined the festival organisers and sponsors.

Colin McFarlane is known for playing Commissioner Loeb in the Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Hollywood hits. He is also the voice of ITV’s The Cube.

Lincoln-born actor Jim Broadbent will also revisit the city he grew up to in June for the Lincoln Film Festival 2013.

The Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA award-winning actor will host an exclusive “Evening with Jim Broadbent” at Bishop Grosseteste’s The Venue on June 1.

Lincoln Film Society Chairman Richard Hall said: “As 2013 is Lincoln Film Society’s 60th anniversary year, we wanted to bring together as many people as possible to celebrate.

“A film festival seems the perfect idea, and we are delighted that Jim Broadbent is joining us to launch our programme of events.”

Bev Bamber, Head of Conferencing and Events at BGU, said: “We’re very pleased to be able to help Lincoln Film Society to celebrate its 60th birthday.

“The society has screened films on our campus since 1987 and last year we invested more than £75,000 to turn The Venue into a state-of-the-art digital cinema.”

The festival is supported by the Lincolnshire Co-operative, Bishop Grosseteste University, the University of Lincoln, Lincoln Drill Hall, Blueprint Film, Lincoln College and Lincoln BIG.

For information on the Lincoln Film Festival, visit the Lincoln Film Society website.

Lincoln councillors approved a £25 yearly charge for green waste collections in the city.

The scheme is opt-in, so residents wanting to keep their bin will need to register with the City of Lincoln Council.

They will be charged £25 per year for collection — around 50-pence per week — with an extra £10 per bin owned for up to four bins.

To have a bin replaced would cost £10 for the delivery. Each year will run from July 1 to June 30, and the price reviewed yearly.

People who register for the service will be sent introductory information and a sticker to be placed on their bin to ensure collections continue.

The City of Lincoln Council Executive approved the plans on May 14. The plans will go to the full council on May 20 for the final decision to be made.

The idea is already in place at South Kesteven and North Kesteven district councils, while other councils in Lincolnshire are also considering the move.

There are currently 33,000 green waste bins in the city collected on a two week collection cycle throughout the year, and the council hopes to raise some £200,000 per year if 25% of current users take up the service.

Currently the council collects an average of 252kg of green waste for each bin per year.

Steve Bird, Assistant Director of Communities and Street Scene at the council said: “As an authority we have to provide certain services such as black bin and recycling collections as part of the council tax we collect.

“However, the green bin service is a discretionary one, and by introducing an opt-in charge we feel it will make it fairer for those who have no need for green waste collections.

“People do not need to take any action currently, but should the charge be approved by councillors next week, we will be in contact to explain how the new scheme will work.”

Lincoln MP Karl McCartney has learnt about what life is like for young people in military families as part of an event he sponsored.

Karl McCartney met with young people from RAF families, including some from RAF Waddington, at the RAF Benevolent Fund’s annual Parliamentary Reception in the House of Commons.

The young people spoke about what is was like having a parent in at armed forces, and a report detailing the good impact that the Airplay programme has on their lives.

The Airplay programme launched in 2010, and works as a means of support and activities for young people aged 8-18 with RAF families.

Karl McCartney said: “It is an honour to sponsor the RAF Benevolent Fund’s annual Parliamentary Reception in the House of Commons.

“While society recognises the sacrifices made by serving personnel, it is easy to forget the sacrifices made by their families.

“The RAF Benevolent Fund’s Airplay project is unique in that it is the first of its kind in the Service community and provides a safe and supported environment for children and young people to meet, as well as vital continuity for children re-locating between stations.

“I will remain on hand to help the RAF Benevolent Fund in any way I can in the future.”

A toddler from Lincoln was seriously injured after she became trapped underneath a car at a campsite whilst on family holiday in Cumbria.

The incident happened Lanefoot Farm campsite, near Keswick, at around 9.55am on May 12.

The 20-month-old toddler became trapped underneath a Volkswagen Touran people carrier.

She was air-lifted to Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle with serious injuries to her head, pelvis and leg.

Doctors say she is in a serious but stable condition, and the injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Cumbria Constabulary say there are presently no suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident.

Lincolnshire Police are trying to locate the owners of more than 40 mobile phones after they recovered a number of stolen phones in Lincoln.

In the last month police recovered 52 stolen phones. This led to the prosecution of two people, while another is on bail for the theft of phones.

This was after a sudden spike in thefts of smartphones from pubs and clubs around the city centre.

However, only 10 of these phones have been picked up by their owners. Police still have 16 Samsungs, seven iPhones, six LGs, four Nokias, four BlackBerry, four HTCs and one Sony handset.

PC Steve Parker said: “We are asking for people to register their property on immobilise.com, which is a free website linked to a national database of property.

“It allows police anywhere in the country to identify property when it’s located and return it to the owners. Anything with a serial number can be registered.”

To use services like this, it is recommended that a copy of the phone’s IMEI is stored safely. On any handset, the unique IMEI number can be found by dialling *#06#.

If anyone has lost or had their phone stolen in recent months, email stephen.parker@lincs.pnn.police.uk, or text 07939 896147 if it has not been reported, as one of the phones with Lincolnshire Police could be theirs.

Lincolnshire Police have charged two men in relation to a Lincoln burglary, resulting in the theft of a car.

Colin Patrick Marriott (33) of Lindum Avenue and Mark Anthony Paterson (35) of no fixed abode were charged in relation to a burglary in Colgrave Street in Lincoln, between May 6 and 9.

During the burglary, a Peugeot 206 worth £3,500 was stolen.

Patterson was additionally charged with dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified and driving with no insurance.

Meanwhile Marriott was charged with two counts of shop lifting.

Both were remanded in custody to appear at Lincoln Magistrates Court.