A strong manufacturing base is essential for a balanced economy, where exports and investment drive growth, not debt and unsustainable government spending. The Government is committed to supporting this important industry which contributes £150 billion per year to our economy.

I could not agree more on the importance of developing strong supply chains. This is essential if we want major manufacturers to invest in this country. The Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative is helping build manufacturing capacity and ensure more components can be sourced in the UK. This initiative supports research and development, skills training and capital investment.

Some £213 million government and industry investment was announced earlier this year to strengthen supply chains, creating and safeguarding over 16,000 jobs. The modernised manufacturing advisory service also provides specialist and technical advice to help manufacturing enterprises grow. One sign of progress is that, for the first time since the 1970s the UK is again a net exporter of cars.

Manufacturers also need the right people, with the right skills, in the right places within their business. There has been a record number of young people taking up apprenticeships, including advanced higher apprenticeships.

Innovation is crucial, which is why the Government is spending £4.6 billion each year supporting outstanding science research. This will bring new ideas and manufacturing opportunities for the future.

I firmly believe manufacturers should open their doors to show young people what Britain makes and the diversity and opportunity that exists in modern high-tech manufacturing and I am pleased the Government has made this a priority.

In addition, for two years there will be a tenfold increase in Annual Investment Allowance in plant and machinery. This means that instead of £25,000 worth of investment being eligible for 100 per cent relief, £250,000 worth of investment will now qualify. This will cover the total annual investment undertaken by 99% of all the business in Britain and, coupled with a further 1p cut in corporation tax this is a huge boost to those running a business and who wish to expand and create jobs.

It is absolutely vital that, as a Government, we continue to support manufacturing industry in our country

Last week marked the 70th anniversary of a very Lincolnshire legend – the Dambusters raid of May 1943. The anniversary provided the opportunity to commemorate the extraordinary bravery and courage of the men who took part in the raid, and to take pride in our county’s contribution to bringing the World War II closer to its end.

I was born on an RAF base and have lived on many since so I was brought up with the story of how on May 16, 1943 Lancasters from 617 Squadron flew from RAF Scampton, on a daring and dangerous mission to knock through dams in Germany’s industrial Ruhr Valley using the ‘bouncing bombs’ designed by Sir Barnes Wallis.

The raid, led by Guy Gibson, was the Lancaster’s most famous mission. Its aim was to disrupt production at Germany’s armaments factories and the mission – named Operation Chastise – was a success, breaching the Mohne and Eder dams, and damaging the Sorpe dam. Operation Chastise has become a legend, aided of course by the 1955 film.

Despite the success of raid, 8 of the 19 Lancasters that set off that night did not come back. In order to deploy their bouncing bombs effectively the bombers had to fly at just 60ft, so low that one aircraft hit the sea, and another hit electricity cables and caught fire. Tragically, 56 out of 133 crewmen did not come home and some have no known graves.

The courage of those men, the average age of whom was just 22, was incredible. Not only was the mission clearly very dangerous but the conditions in which they operated were dire; the crews spent hour upon hour cramped, exhausted and in the freezing cold.

There are of course those who highlight, with some justification, the civilian casualties of the raid and question the morality of Bomber Command operations. But whatever your view, to my mind these questions should never detract from the heroism of the crews themselves, and in particular those who sacrificed their lives.

Last week’s anniversary involved a number of excellent events, notably Thursday’s flypast over Derwent reservoir (where 617 Squadron rehearsed for the raid proper) and Friday’s commemorations at Lincoln Cathedral.

There were, for me, two moments which I thought inspired particular local pride. The first was simply the sight of the only remaining airworthy Lancaster in the UK, PA474 ‘City of Lincoln’, with our city’s coat of arms painted on its nose.

The second is something which I will think about each time I look at our cathedral: this was the last landmark of home which some of those men saw and – more happily – for those who returned to Lincolnshire, confirmation that they had made it home.

Recently, I received an e-mail from a Lincolnite reader who asked if I could explore the origins of the term “yellowbelly”, which as we know is used to denote someone born and bred in Lincolnshire.

Having heard the usual stories and looked deeper into its meaning, I have come across countless claims to its origins. While impossible to truly pin down the term’s starting point, I will share a few of my favourite stories for why us Lincolnites are called yellowbellies.

Perhaps the most popular story for the origins of the term yellowbelly is one concerning the apparel worn by local regiments. According to the story, officers in the Royal Lincolnshire Militia, who were stationed at what is now the Museum of Lincolnshire Life, wore waistcoats which were bright yellow in colour. According to the story, this made the officers much more visible to their troops in the field.

In another version of the tale, soldiers in the Lincolnshire Regiment (which was formed in 1685 and saw action throughout the world, including the American Revolution, the battle of Blenheim, the Napoleonic Wars and the two World Wars) wore a uniform of green, which featured yellow facings and yellow buttons on their coats.

Several other tales revolve around the people of the county as the reason for the term. One such tale states that farmers often worked their fields shirtless during the summer. Due to the large amounts of bending during their work their backs would become bronzed with the sun, but their stomachs would remain pale and have a yellow appearance to them.

Another story derogatorily stated that dwellers of the Fens would often crawl around on their stomachs, with their clothes gaining a yellow belly as a result. Yet another origin myth, again tied to the Fens, states that the opium used to combat malaria that was prevalent in the area in earlier times often gave the skin a strange yellow tinge, hence yellowbelly.

A popular tale for the creation of the term relates to the old stagecoaches, which connected the city to the wider country (particularly London and York). According to the story, the carriages featured a distinctive yellow paint scheme and upon their arrival in another city locals were reputed to say, “here comes the Lincolnshire yellowbelly”.

Besides the inhabitants and vehicles of the county, there are also several tales relating to the wildlife of Lincolnshire being the cause for the name. The traditional sheep of the county, the Lincoln Longwool, supposedly provided the inspiration for the term, as its grazing through mustard plants resulted in its thick wool being stained yellow. There are also tales that the term derives from the frogs and newts of the Fens, who feature bright yellow abdomens.

It seems that there are as many origins for the wonderful phrase ‘yellowbelly’ as there are days in the month. While I would have liked to have provided every single story, it simply couldn’t be done; partially because of the sheer number of them and because I simply do not know them all.

I would therefore love to hear from you all. Do you have a favourite story of the origin of yellowbelly, or do you know any other tales? Please join in the discussion in the comments, the Lincolnite Facebook page, or on Twitter (use the hashtag #yellowbelly).

Many of us are guilty of allowing our fears around adult learning to overshadow the rewards we’d get from it inside and outside of work. But every day I meet people who share their success stories of embracing learning as an adult.

Almost all of them have busy lives full of family and work commitments – but still they find the time to up-skill, learn and gain new qualification.

Just this month I’ve been helping a single mother take her first steps back into the work place. After the birth of her baby girl she was forced to quit her job, but since her daughter started primary school she begun volunteering as a classroom assistant.

A few weeks later she was offered paid employment from her volunteering work, and I’ve helped her enrol onto a training programme to become a teaching assistant. Now she has the best of both – spending time with her daughter whilst also working towards a recognised qualification to a future career.

The rewards of adult learning can be truly life changing. Psychologically you get a huge sense of personal and professional achievement, but there is also the social reward of meeting new people through the course.

Room for improvement

Lincoln has a population of about 100,000 people, but only 10% of adults are engaged in learning that is not through a university or a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme at work. This means there is a huge amount of potential out there for more people to build their confidence, up-skill, pursue a job promotion or even that career change they have been thinking about for years.

Nationally the statistics are not much better. The Higher Education Funding Council confirms there has been a 40% reduction in part-time learners since 2010 in the higher education sector.

This national statistic is worrying. Could it be because some universities and colleges are not delivering what part-time adult learners need? Or does the hike in tuition fees now mean that for many adult learners education is simply out of reach?

The bottom line

Adult learning can also boost the bottom line of a business. It is proven to improve a person’s productivity and engagement; and as a rule of thumb it’s more cost-effective to train someone internally, than it is to recruit a new member of staff with the right skills, but no experience of your company or sector.

Fear factor

The most common fear when someone starts a new learning programme is the fear of failure, closely followed by the fear that it will take hours out of their personal time. Neither of which are true. A typical adult learning programme will take just over an hour a week of your own time, and the rest is done in work. This balance, inside and outside of the office, can sometimes be less of a commitment then signing up to completing a qualification through night school.

How much does it cost?

Another worry can be the cost, and having to pay for tuition fees that are associated with your course. In these tough economic times I’ve seen training budgets being cut, which has left talented employees with no opportunity for further study.

But new funding loans are available to help with this. The government’s current loan is called 24+ Advanced Learning Loans. It helps you pay your tuition fees, and you only start making the repayments once you have completed the course, and when your income is over £21,000 a year.  

Take up for this loan across the UK has been slow. Either people aren’t aware of it or they are fearful of taking on debt when times are tough. But either way, the terms are very favourable, and whilst you earn under £21,000 a year you’ll never have to pay it back. 

Picking the right course

Adult learning, for people over 24 years old, generally takes three different forms. The first is full-time through a Masters or Post Graduate course. The second is around work based learning programmes such as NVQs, and the third is through advanced apprenticeships. The most popular ones in Lincoln are work based learning programmes and advanced apprenticeships, because they allow learning to be focused within an occupation or career.

In many cases, people know a lot more about their work place than they give themselves credit for, and a recognised training course can help people convert this knowledge into a qualification.

Thinking about Adult Learning?

I work with people who worry that they are not academic enough to return to learning. But that stigma soon goes away when they start to reap the rewards of enjoying their job more, and the financial benefits of learning new things.

Lincolnshire needs to be a county of highly skilled professionals, and we need a workforce that is evolving to meet the demands of employers.

Adult Learners’ Week (May 18-24) celebrates and rewards those learners who have taken the plunge back into education at a later stage in their life.

In recent years the media has changed dramatically. We no longer rely on our morning newspaper, or breakfast television to tell us what is going on in the world. Never before have we had so many ways in which to hear about the news and information.

Instead, more people than ever are “logging on” to get a live feed of news and views. Social media, news websites and even videocasting are quickly becoming the UK’s most popular way to learn about top headlines and breaking news.

With the surge in social media activity, it is no wonder that we have also seen a global explosion in bloggers. From Perez Hilton to Guido Fawkes, mummy bloggers to food writers, there is something for everyone. it is understandable though that one might be suspicious of the worth of blogs in terms of marketing. What benefit do the opinions of Joe Bloggs give to your campaigns? Surely recognised media outlets are far more influential?

However, times have changed and the role of bloggers has grown in significance. Blogger outreach campaigns are becoming increasingly common, with clients placing more and more emphasis on their engagement.

Here are some tips for how PRs can maximise their relations with key bloggers:

Research your target market

There is no point wasting your time and energy focusing on a blog which attracts only a handful of visitors or that does not communicate with your target audience.

Get to know key bloggers

Familiarising yourself with the people behind the blogs is vital for ensuring you get the best out of them. Maybe they work during the day and a phone call during working hours may be counterproductive, or perhaps they are located in another country and inviting them to a press launch is pointless.

Social media

Engage social networks in your communications. It is highly likely that bloggers will be using Twitter to help promote themselves, so make sure you follow and engage with these key players.

Treat them as you would a journalist

It’s important to remember that they may have a greater readership than the traditional media that you target and will receive a huge number of requests from PRs.

Beware blaggers

There are plenty of people out there who think that setting up a blog will entitle them to free products from willing PRs. Make sure to consider any request carefully and research their blog and social media presence before committing to anything.

Pitch

Just as you would with a journalist, you must tailor your pitch accordingly. Make sure to pitch in something that is relevant to their blog rather than sending a generic email.

With an increasing number of people heading online for their media fix, it is likely that the blogging community will continue to expand. Ignoring bloggers is not an option for the PR industry, and doing so may well cause you to miss on out exciting opportunities for your clients. However, it is vital that PRs examine each blog carefully – just as you would a trade magazine or newspaper – to ensure that you can maximise efforts and target the right audience.

Beginning any hobby or project is often the hardest part. Full of good intentions, we crumble when faced with the magnitude of completing the task, be it DIY or learning a language.

Growing food is no different. This is demonstrated by the amount of books and websites dedicated to helping you germinate a seed and it can quickly become overwhelming. Needlessly, you will be pleased to hear. Getting started growing food is easy, cheap and good fun.

At events around the county I am often told by people that they would love to start growing food but don’t have the time, or the space, or the knowledge. My answer is keep it simple, and I have 10 key points to help you keep it that way.

Start small

Consider how much time you have — do you work full time? Do you have other activities that use your time? Also, consider how much space you have. Any size of space you have can be grown on, be it a windowsill, a flat roof, a balcony or your third of an acre. The trick here is to consider both time and space together, and keep them balanced.

Don’t read too much…

There are so many gardening books that if I was to suggest books to help you, it would get too confusing. The thing about gardening books is that they only truly make sense after you’ve been gardening a few years, and by then, you don’t really need a book, except for specialist topics. Gardening is an art honed by doing and seeing what does or doesn’t work.

…Just a little

I warned of the volumes of gardening books and it would be rash to say that you don’t have to read anything, unless you know a Lincolnshire Master Gardener! Start with the seed packet, it often tells you all you need to know – when to sow, when to pick and how much space they need. Have a read on the internet about time and space saving methods such as square foot gardening, the ‘no-dig’ and organic approaches.

Know your soil

If you are growing in containers or raised beds, use a mix of quality top soil and compost (about 60/40). If you are lucky enough to have land to dig, then there are simple home tests that you can do to find out what type of soil you have. A Lincolnshire Master Gardener will be happy to advise you how to test the type and acidity of your soil. Sandy soil is great for growing root vegetables like carrots, but terrible at maintaining nutrients so needs feeding. Clay soil is great for brassicas, but difficult for root crops.

Know your space

As well as knowing what sort of soil you are growing in, it helps to know where the sun is at certain parts of the day. It’s safe to say the more sun the better, but certain crops, particularly leaf crops (salad, lettuce) can grow in partially shaded spots quite happily. South facing is the ideal.

Choose carefully

It sounds obvious, but grow what you eat; it is surprising how many people grow things they don’t even like. Maximise your space efficiency by growing more of what you eat as well as what is expensive to buy. I have containers full of salad leaves, which can cost a fair bit once they’ve been washed in chlorine and wrapped in a plastic bag.

Reach for the sky

If your growing “floor space” isn’t enough for you, then look up! Vertical growing is becoming more and more popular in flats and back yards. Planting tomatoes and strawberries in hanging baskets on the wall can free up vital lawn space. Potatoes are just as happy growing out of compost bags as they are taking up (a lot!) of space in the soil. The only limit is your imagination and DIY skills. I have seen inventive uses of spare guttering, pallets and wellington boots in peoples back yards.

Think wildlife

Bees have been in the news a lot recently and for good reason, we need them to grow our food! Grow beneficial plants for wildlife such as borage and comfrey, but also any flowers. If possible, surrender part of your garden to nettles and weeds, giving a safe haven for beneficial insects like ladybirds, and nasty things such as slugs somewhere else to go and eat.

Grow your own soil

Start composting, before you even begin gardening! Good compost is expensive, and you are more than capable of making perfectly good organic and peat-free compost in your own back garden. The better your soil, the better your food will grow and taste. The more you compost, the less waste goes to the tip. Everyone’s a winner!

Get free advice

Sign up for 12 months free support and advice through Lincolnshire Master Gardeners. Someone who is able to show you how to do something, who knows the areas soil and climate is better equipped than any book to help guide you through your first growing year, making you more likely to succeed in growing more in your second year! Contact raron@gardenorganic.org.uk.

Grow food already?

Further volunteers are needed around the county for this successful Garden Organic programme, including for the first time, Lincoln. Helping individuals, families, schools and community groups, Master Gardeners advise and support people learning to grow their own food.

An induction weekend is taking place on June 1 and 2. Garden Organic are looking for more volunteers from across Lincolnshire. Contact Rick for more information at raron@gardenorganic.org.uk or on 07584 474774.

Reaching the right people at the right time with a targeted message is key, and I believe a media campaign can be the perfect way to increase brand awareness, engage audiences and build great relationships.

Whether it’s announcing the latest company news, launching a brand new product or revealing an innovative programme, keeping front of mind and reaching out to customers is all down to great media coverage.

People often ask me the secret to publicity and PR – how to take a press release and encourage top news outlets to feature the content.

The answer is simple – the perfect PR phone pitch.

Long gone are the days of emailing a press release to hundreds of reporters in a vague effort to achieve a few small news stories. Instead, you need a surefire way to get your news noticed and your company remembered.

To give you a helping hand, I’ve put together my top tips to making the perfect PR pitch:

Cut the small talk

It’s no surprise that the typical reporter receives hundreds of PR phone calls every day. Unfortunately there’s a limit on how many times they can discuss the weather without collapsing into boredom – so keep your call concise and clear.

If you can, be sure to get the key facts across in the first 15 seconds – most importantly the who, what, where, when, why and how.

If a journalist is interested in your story, they’ll have made a decision almost straightaway. Follow this up with a well-written press release and you’re on the right track to great media coverage.

Keep it simple

Although you may be an expert on your company, product or service, don’t expect a journalist to share the same specialist knowledge.

Just as you would write a press release, keep your pitch simple. A long speech about the latest technology or technical specifications is more likely to confuse and deter, rather than engage and entice.

Stick to the basics and focus on the benefits so that you engage with reporters, increasing the chance of seeing your news printed.

Believe in your story

There’s nothing worse than talking to a salesperson who doesn’t have any passion for their product, and it’s the same with PR – if you don’t believe in your story, neither will an editor.

However, if you show interest, enthusiasm and can demonstrate how relevant your story or idea is for readers, you’re more likely to find yourself featured in the press.

Timing

With more and more publications moving to a weekly, quarterly or annual print basis, it’s becoming ever more important to pick the perfect time to pitch.

Research the publications you want to target and know their deadlines. If the outlet goes to print on a Thursday, pitching a front-page splash on Wednesday afternoon is unlikely to be worth your while.

Planning is key, so don’t leave it to the last minute.

Don’t fall at the last hurdle

Even if you have the perfect pitch, a sloppy email or press release can be the difference between a lead story and missing out on being featured.

Grammar, spelling and syntax are essential. Proof your release, take time to send a follow-up email and make sure the publication has everything needed for a story to go to print.

Why not let me know if these tips have been helpful – drop me a line, find me on Facebook or tweet me at @edwillmott.

When one thinks about the great stories of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, they instantly associate them with Sherwood Forest and Nottinghamshire. There is, however, a direct link with the characters in the tales and Lincoln, that being the very clothes which he and his men wore.

Lincoln in the Middle Ages was a prosperous and thriving city, not just because of its farming links and minting of money, but also through its various merchants. Perhaps the most famous of the city’s wares were its beautifully coloured and highly prized textiles, with two shades in particular most coveted: Lincoln green and Lincoln scarlet.

While there were many other notable centres for the dying of wool (particularly famous was Kendal for its green), Lincoln was renowned throughout the kingdom not just for the high quality of the dyes used, but also for the consistency of their colour (Kendal green, for example, was notoriously inconsistent in its colour).

Green, or grene/greene as it was known during the period, was the more inexpensive of the two coloured fabrics from Lincoln. The shade was created by first dying the wool with woad, which gave the fabric a deep, strong blue colour and then redying it with a yellow plant, known as ‘dyers broom’ or ‘waxen wood’ which, combined with the blue, gave it a consistent and attractive light olive green colour.

Lincoln scarlet (known then as Lincoln graine/greyne) was a much more sought after and expensive cloth than green, aimed at the more affluent members of society. While the green was moderately affordable (3/-, or 15p, for an ‘ell,’ or 1.14 square metres of fabric), scarlet cost considerably more (6/8d, or 37p today, for an ‘ell’). The reason for this staggering cost increase was the quality of the dyes used and the difficulty in sourcing them. In order to create the deep scarlet hew, a dye from Turkey called ‘Kermes’ (from which the English word ‘crimson’ developed) was imported. This dye was made from the crushing of a particular insect, giving a more richer colour than could be created with the dyes native to Britain.

The resulting scarlet fabric was highly prized and symbolic of ones perceived social standing and affluence. It is interesting to note, that in one particular ballad of Robin Hood, popular in the 18th century, it stated that while in the forest with his men, he wore the same Lincoln green outfit that they did, but when he was present at court or in a similar social event, he would wear Lincoln scarlet, while they would wear green, thus symbolically showcasing his higher rank.

While the prestige and popularity of Lincoln green and scarlet were short-lived (by the end of the Middle Ages the dying of the colours are referred to as ‘ancient’), the textile business in Lincoln continued to soldier on. While not as thriving as it had been in the medieval period, attempts were made, particularly by the aristocratic in the city, to provide support to the ancient trade.

Most notable amongst these attempts was the “Stuff Ball”, which began in 1789 and lasted through the 19th century. Begun by Lady Banks, the wife of Sir Joseph Banks, the famous naturalist, a yearly ball was held in which all attendees were required to wear “Lincolnshire stuff”, or items made from locally produced wool. Unfortunately, after 1820 the changing tides of ladies fashion shifted away from wool and from that time the ball became less associated with the wool trade.

While it may seem a long time since the city was at the centre of the fashion industry, it was an important time in Lincoln’s history and one that still lives on in the ever popular Robin Hood tales. So next time you find yourself complaining that in order to purchase this season’s must-have style you have to travel all the way to Nottingham, take a quick second to savour the irony that 800 years ago, it was the other way round!

There have been numerous causes for real concern about the Tories’ attitude to our NHS since 2010, but the recent news that A&E departments across the country are at crisis point is extremely worrying. Hundreds of thousands more patients in England are now waiting longer than the benchmark four hours in A&E, with waiting times reaching 12 hours in some parts of the country.

Despite their election pledges about safeguarding what many believe is our most cherished national institution, in 2010 the Tories weakened the NHS’s existing target of treating 98% of A&E patients within 4 hours. Now, nearly three years on, due to a toxic mixture of staff cuts and a hugely wasteful ‘reorganisation’, England’s A&Es are being overwhelmed. They’re struggling in a way not seen since the bad old days of the mid-1990s.

As The Lincolnite reported, earlier this month United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust urged people to use A&E only “if absolutely necessary” and asked GPs not to refer patients to hospitals. At the time, the North Lincolnshire Branch of the Royal College of Nursing rightly expressed concern.

In fact, over the last 27 weeks, ULHT have missed the four hour A&E standard in well over half of those weeks and 4,646 people were waiting longer than four hours for A&E treatment.

Across the whole of England in the last six months, 161,890 more people waited for more than four hours in A&E compared with the same period in the previous year, bringing the total to 582,811 people. Shockingly, at Norwich & Norfolk University Hospital, an emergency tent was set up outside to treat patients because the A&E was under such pressure.

To say this situation isn’t good enough would be a gross understatement. It’s absolutely appalling. It should serve as an urgent alarm call to us all that the NHS is under severe strain.

This strain has been caused by cuts to staff and social care budgets, as well as by the time and money wasted on an unpopular reorganisation. Since the 2010 election, almost 5,000 nursing posts have been lost from the NHS. Hospitals are continuing to make severe cuts to front-line staffing levels, with many operating below recommended levels – the Care Quality Commission have warned that 1 in 10 hospitals are failing to meet the standard on adequate staffing. Despite the Francis Report’s recommendation, following the Mid Staffs scandal, that there should be a minimum staffing level (and pressure from Labour’s Andy Burnham), the Conservative Party refused to implement this.

Deep cuts to council social care budgets mean patients can’t be discharged from hospital beds, which has a knock-on effect right through the hospital. With no free beds on the wards, A&E staff can’t admit patients and, with A&E full, paramedics can’t hand over patients. The result is long queues of ambulances outside hospitals as the pressure backs up right through the system.

For months, the NHS has been distracted by its biggest-ever top-down reorganisation. On top of this, the short-sighted slashing of NHS Direct has contributed to even greater pressure on A&Es.

All in all, a deeply unhealthy combination of pressures has meant standards of care are deteriorating across the country, including here in Lincoln, and patients are suffering as a result.

Our NHS has suffered greatly under previous Tory governments and, though depressing to say it, it’s no surprise to me that it is now suffering again. It’s absolutely vital that the Tories get a grip of this A&E crisis and bring all A&Es back up to national standards as quickly as possible. At a minimum, they should stop the job cuts and ensure there are enough staff on the ground to provide safe care.

Over the last five years, the number of businesses using social media has risen enormously, with companies keen to showcase their brand and increase traffic to corporate websites.

This rise has seen the development of a number of new social sites, including Pinterest – an online pin board allowing users to share their likes and inspirations. The site has become a shopping sensation with millions of active users driving traffic and sharing purchases with friends.

But it’s not just retailers that can benefit from Pinterest, businesses offering services can use it as an effective marketing tool to engage and persuade customers.

So what can you do to maximise the benefits of Pinterest for your brand?

Showcase your products

Displaying products through interesting and engaging mood boards gives customers a shopping experience that can influence purchase behaviour. For example, a clothing brand may create different boards for occasions such as weddings or holidays, or be accompanied by accessories or locations to inspire customers into a purchase.

Build your brand identity

The images pinned on your board should represent the personality and values of your company. It should portray a lifestyle that customers can relate to. The images should be thought provoking and inspire customers to question how they can have this item and transform it into their reality – a Pinterest image should “sell the dream”.

Interact with customers

Pinterest is about creating conversations. It can be a powerful word of mouth tool – it generates interest in your company and gets people talking about all things relevant to the brand, with the opportunity for content to be shared virally amongst members.

However it is important to evaluate Pinterest’s target audience with your companies own market. Currently the primary audience is female, with the most popular topics relating to interior design, arts and crafts, fashion, food and gardening.

But what do you think? Does your company use Pinterest? Have you seen the business benefits, or are you loyal to the more traditional social sites?

Why not let me know your thoughts – drop me a line at Lisa@lavacomms.co.uk or tweet me at @lava_lisa.

Most of us are familiar with the Lincoln Imp, the mischievous, sinister but somehow likeable mascot of the city. Its figure adorns t-shirts, coffee mugs and even little figurines which can be hung up around the house (including one prominently displayed in my kitchen). It may be surprising, however, that the imp — to many the most identifiable representation of Lincoln — is not only found just in our city but was quite prevalent around the country. One such example is in Grimsby, the story of which I will now share.

There are many tales regarding the mysterious origins of the Lincoln Imp, so for the sake of simplicity I will stick to the one which I find most entertaining. According to the legend (some time in the 13th or 14th century), the devil spawned a pair of mischievous imps to wreak havoc upon the north of England. According to the tale, the imps first attacked Chesterfield, where they wreaked havoc upon the parish church of St. Mary’s, where they twisted the church’s famous spire to its present shape.

They then continued their path of mayhem in Lincoln, entering the cathedral where they began to make a mess of it, turning over furniture, tripping up the Bishop and throwing things about. It was during this time that the angel of The Lord, removing itself from the Bible upon the altar, commanded the imps to halt their wicked ways. One of the creatures, fearful of the angel, duly hid under the altar. The other, however, mocked the angel and began throwing stones at it. The angel, in a fit of anger, cast a spell upon the imp instantly turning it to stone.

According to some tales, this second imp was later frozen in stone by the angel and can be seen on the southern side of Lincoln Cathedral. According to others, however, this second imp was said to have travelled to Grimsby where it entered St James’ Church and began repeating its destructive behaviour. The angel then reappeared and gave the mischievous creature’s backside “a good thrashing” before turning it too into stone.

This story is an enjoyable and fanciful explanation for these two carvings of demonic imps, but the real reason for their existence is much more mysterious and possibly intertwined with paganism. While they may now be best identified with Lincoln (the figures are widely known as ‘Lincoln Imps’ and replicas adorn Lincoln College, Oxford in honour), the figure of the imp is much more common than one may initially think.

Besides the figures in the Cathedral and St James’s Church in Grimsby, similar Imps can be seen in the masonry of buildings across northern England and Scotland. Other prominent examples include St Mary’s church in Beverley, East Yorkshire, St. Vigean’s church in Arbroath, Scotland and wooden carvings of the creatures in Stirling Castle. Imps were, in fact, an extremely popular door knocker amongst Britons well into the 19th century and well before the creature became to be identified with our city.

What is notable about all these examples is their depiction of the imp, with hooves, sharp, pointed teeth, ears from a cow and a hairy body. Also, they all seem to pre-date the modern period, with most carved during the Middle Ages.
The most likely explanation for their existence is as a pagan deity which survived and thrived in the Christian world, much like the famous ‘Green Man‘ (a mysterious face surrounded by and sometimes spewing vegetation, thought to represent rebirth and springtime and argued to be the inspiration for a number of tales including Peter Pan, though that is another story for another day). The imp, therefore is likely similar in nature, perhaps representing a deity associated with agriculture or the keeping of livestock.

Regardless of its obscure origins and prevalence throughout the country, the imp has come to represent Lincoln as its mischievous mascot. So next time you see our little friend perched up in the cathedral, take a moment to ponder its mysterious past. He may not originally be from here, but he has certainly become Lincoln’s favourite little fiend.

It is a real shame that the first person appointed Youth Police & Crime Commissioner turned out to be such a controversial figure, but it would be a tragedy if we let that discredit the value of young people contributing to society more widely as some have tried to do.

The saga surrounding former Kent Youth PCC Paris Brown’s tweets is well aired by others and I do not intend to repeat the arguments either way but the debate has now broadened to question the contribution of young people in our democratic and civil structures.

The Independent columnist Mary Dejevsky writes of “the misguided fetish that so many well-meaning adults have with getting down with the kids,” a sentiment which is offensive both to those leaders in society working hard to engage the voice of young people in their work, including the Speaker of the House Commons and indeed Kent PCC Ann Barnes, and to the thousands of young people actively contributing to society on behalf of their peers.

Over half a million young people voted for their representatives in democratic youth structures this year, such as the UK Youth Parliament. They are represented by a mass of passionate young activists who seek to work with councillors, MPs, ministers, civil servants, community leaders and many others to ensure policies take account of young people’s views. In fact the average turnout in these elections is higher than that for PCCs themselves.

They do not set out to represent the views of older people and equally they do not expect older people to assume their views. Dejevsky’s contention that those wanting full-time help on youth issues should just look to those over 18 does nothing to help encourage young people to play their part in society and it works on the presumption that if you spend 18 years telling somebody they are not old enough to contribute they will suddenly flick a switch and be interested on their 18th birthday. Now that is misguided.

Fortunately Lincolnshire’s PCC Alan Hardwick is talking about young people too, but perhaps misses an opportunity to set out more concrete, transparent plans rather than a few carefully prepared statements in the media.

As Vice-Chair of the British Youth Council, I see the grit and determination of young people from all corners of the UK in their early teens through to their early twenties. These are young people who refuse to be passive and uninterested, they are not just the leaders of tomorrow but they are also the leaders of today.

PCC Hardwick may be wise to avoid copying the Kent role for now until the dust settles, but I would argue the young people of Lincolnshire and their representatives need reassurance on how he is seeking to include the views of young people in shaping the force he leads, rather than taking the outdated and out of touch approach suggested by Mary Dejevsky.

On becoming Conservative leader, David Cameron deliberately sought to distance the party from its Thatcherite legacy by stressing a commitment to a more compassionate Conservatism which recognised the social costs of poverty and social breakdown.

In perhaps his most public disavowal of Thatcher’s legacy he responded to her famous epithet that ‘there is no such thing as society’ by declaring that ‘there is such a thing as society, it’s just not the same thing as the state.’

However, Margaret Thatcher remains a talismanic influence on the current Conservative Party, and there are strong grounds for arguing that Thatcher’s ideas and policies hold more sway in the party today than in the 1980s. This is perhaps not surprising.

Few members of Thatcher’s Cabinets would have described themselves as Thatcherite. As contemporaries of Thatcher they were influenced by earlier ideas such as One Nation Conservatism and as several former Cabinet Ministers have observed this week, Thatcher was forced to accommodate a diverse range of Conservative thinking, much of which did not chime with her own, with prominent positions particularly in her early Cabinets, for so-called ‘Wets’.

In contrast, many members of the current Conservative Parliamentary Party were profoundly influenced by the Thatcher years. It is worth bearing in mind that the average age of the current Cabinet is 52, which means that most Cabinet Ministers came to political maturity during the Thatcher years.

David Cameron was thirteen when Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979, and the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, famously shared a platform with Thatcher at the 1977 Conservative Party conference, aged just sixteen.

Moreover, whilst many observers have this week stressed the divisive nature of the Thatcher governments, one might argue that the policies of the current government and the attitudes within today’s Parliamentary Conservative Party go some way beyond those of the Thatcher years.

While Thatcher undoubtedly sought to roll back the state with significant cuts to public expenditure and provision, the current government is cutting far more quickly and more deeply than the first Thatcher government.

Radical and sweeping structural changes to public services in Britain, particularly the NHS, did not come about until Thatcher’s third term. Moreover, while the real term value of benefits fell under Thatcher, cornerstones of the benefits system such as universal child benefit remained intact.

The current government’s movement away from universalism is arguably a more significant break from the post-war consensus than changes introduced under Thatcher. The current government has also introduced significant changes to disability benefits which were introduced in the Thatcher years, and which the Chancellor George Osborne criticised for “parking” too many people on benefits.

Even on the issue of Europe which has been a running sore for the Conservative Party for decades, while Thatcher’s Euroscepticism undoubtedly contributed to her downfall as Party leader, she was responsible for signing the Single European Act in 1987, and provided a strong voice against federalism and for, what she perceived to be, Britain’s interests within Europe.

Motivated in part by domestic concerns, David Cameron’s promise to seek a referendum on EU membership, in which he may very well end up campaigning to leave, arguably represents a more significant change in Britain’s posture on Europe than anything witnessed under Thatcher or Major.

Researchers at the University of Lincoln have undertaken extensive research on MPs’ attitudes in the 1980s, in the Blair years, and in the current Parliament, which indicates significant similarities between the current intake of Conservative MPs and those interviewed in the 1980s, which may represent a hardening of attitudes since Cameron became leader.

While many Conservative MPs believed the Party has moved on since the 1980s, particularly in its attitudes towards poverty and social exclusion, there has been a strong resurgence in perceptions about the ‘deserving and undeserving poor’ which was less evident amongst Conservative MPs interviewed when Cameron first became leader in 2004.

In addition, a number of Conservative MPs now make a distinction between the ‘deserving and undeserving disabled’ which was not the case in the 1980s. Many Conservative MPs interviewed in the 1980s were aware of the danger that the Party’s attitudes to welfare would be unpopular and tempered their criticism of those in receipt of benefits accordingly.

In contrast, Conservative MPs interviewed in the current parliament were unabashed in their criticism of some of those in receipt of benefits. Indeed, many Conservative MPs today, including those on the front bench, publicly use the kind of language to describe benefits recipients which previous cohorts of Conservative MPs were reluctant to use even in private.

Along with the genuine affection for their former leader, there is widespread belief within the current Conservative Party that in many areas the Thatcher governments got it right. This is in part based upon a rather narrow view of Conservative policies and thinking in the Thatcher years.

However, if the Conservative Party is swept along by a wave of nostalgia in the wake of Baroness Thatcher’s death, there is a real danger than Cameron will find it increasingly difficult to persuade the public that the party has moved on.

Now that I have tackled why you should blog for your business, I want to address the “how?”. Lack of ideas on what to write about is a challenge that businesses may face.

Last year at the Lincolnshire Marketing Expo, I did a joint presentation about the effectiveness of combining your online and offline marketing methods. I talked about blogging as a means of building credibility, trust and recognition, then suggested to write at least one informative article a week. One response from the audience was “Who has time to do one a week?”

I strongly believe that if you know what you’re going to talk about, then you can write 500 words in 35 minutes, which is only 1.25% of a 40hr week.

Here are five of the techniques I use to gather ideas. Just one of them will keep you busy, but all of them will give you a great action plan for you or your team.

Take note of other blogs

What topics are other blogs in your industry talking about? Which ones are getting the most comments and social engagement? This will highlight the trends and hot topics. Also, read the comments. You’re looking for additional questions to see what else people want to read or learn about.

Recent client questions

Write down the common questions you get asked during consultations, telephone enquiries or from current clients. Can you create a simple step by step guide or explanation that can be printed and used away from your website?

Your opinion of recent affairs

Has something quite complicated happened within your industry that you want to put across in simple words for your customers? Or has a new technology or product just been launched that you want to review?

Use the table of content in eBooks

Look for the best-selling eBook around a specific topic and use the table of contents for ideas. Don’t copy any of the eBook content (that’s lazy!), you’re simply looking for things to write about to put your opinion across. You could even buy and review the book!

Look in forums and discussion groups

Places like the UK Business Forum or LinkedIn discussion groups are a great way to get ideas of the latest questions people are asking or wanting help with.

Hopefully, the above has given you enough to get going and be consistent with. Please make sure you do not copy anyone’s content — not even a sentence. Make everything you write your own, and inject your own personality and wit into it. Search engines don’t like duplicate content and it will hurt your overall search performance.

In a civilized society it is unacceptable that some of the most vulnerable people should be living on the street, making do with doorways and cardboard boxes for beds.

That is why I have taken part in Sleep Easy events to raise money for Lincoln’s YMCA projects that help tackle homelessness, and provide family support, health and fitness, and education and skills to vulnerable and disadvantaged young people. I know thousands of people in towns and cities up and down our country have also taken part in similar events over the past few years in their local communities.

On coming into office, this Government established a Ministerial Working Group on homelessness to tackle the problems behind rough sleepers and those at risk of homelessness. Their report, Making Every Contact Count provided the blueprint for councils, charities, health services and the police to work together to tackle homelessness. This support, which includes repossession, tenancy or debt advice and re-housing services, can help put people back on track before they lose their home.

The Government has made clear its commitment to early intervention in tackling homelessness. It is investing £470 million between 2011 and 2015 to help local authorities prevent and tackle homelessness, rough sleeping and repossessions and has increased the discretionary housing payments pot to around £400 million over the spending period in order to help families and those in vulnerable situations with the transition of welfare reform changes.

The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has backed the ‘No Second Night Out’ pilot in London which provides a 24-hour phone line that members of the public can use to report people that are sleeping rough, allowing them to be referred to an assessment hub for help. The DCLG is using a new £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund to roll out the principles of this scheme across the country.

The Government has also supported the voluntary sector to develop a new service, Streetlink, which offers a hand-up, rather than a handout. Streetlink provides a central point of contact that anyone who wants to get help for rough sleepers across England can call.

It is not right that families can be stuck in bed and breakfast accommodation for prolonged periods, and the law is clear that families should only be placed in this temporary accommodation in an emergency and for no more than six weeks. This is because since November 2012, local authorities have had new powers under the Localism Act to use good-quality private rented sector accommodation so that families will no longer need to be placed in temporary accommodation, such as B&Bs, while they wait for social housing to become available.

I am pleased that this Government will continue to work with the Ministerial Working Group and voluntary sector partners to prevent homelessness.

In this era of social media marketing, some people would have you believe that the press release is dead – well it’s not, says Matt Hammerton, managing director of Lava, an award-winning marketing communications agency in Lincoln.

As marketing communications specialists, we’re tasked with raising awareness of our clients’ products and services. Public relations activity features heavily in the majority of our campaigns.

Now, PR is not all about media coverage but generating exposure in newspapers and on TV, radio and online is a common part of most of public relations campaigns. And what do journalists ask for when we tell them we have an interesting story for them? That’s right – a press release.

We write press releases for a living. We write them quickly, effectively and accurately. We know what the media want and don’t want to see in a press release. We also have the contacts to send them to but you don’t have to employ a PR consultancy, you can write your own release.

If you do decide to write and send out your own press release, then here are eight things to keep in mind:

1. Is it news?

Your story has to be newsworthy. If it’s not going to be interesting to the readers, listeners and viewers of the media you plan to target then there’s no point in spending time developing your story. If it’s not newsworthy you need to think about how to make it interesting.

2. The first paragraph is key

Make sure you include all the key details in your first paragraph – who, what, where, when, why and how. Journalists are busy, they will read the first paragraph and decide whether it’s newsworthy in a few seconds.

Think of your release as a triangle, get all of the important details at the top in as few words as possible. The further down the release you go the more detail you go into, with the least important information at the bottom.

3. Headlines

Don’t worry too much about making your headline funny or clever – this what (sub)editors will do. Concentrate on capturing the story in an interesting way so that people want to read on.

4. Write for the media you’re targeting

The style of your press release should be similar to the media you are sending it to. Technical details are fine for an industry magazine but not good for a site like The Lincolnite.

5. Stick succinctly to the facts

Press releases should be written in short sentences and paragraphs. Stick to the facts too. Opinions, anything that you think or cannot substantiate, should be included in quotes. Press releases should also be 250 to 300 words, certainly no more.

6. Contact details

Make sure you provide your contact details – telephone and email address – so that journalists can get in touch and make sure you’re available. Don’t send a release out and then go on holiday for a fortnight – there might be interviews to do.

7. Photography

If possible send engaging and interesting (professionally taken) photographs with your release. The perfect picture will tell the story without words and will brighten up the page. Also make sure you have access to high-resolution versions of your photos, so you can send along when required.

8. Cheat!

If you want coverage on a particular website or in a certain newspaper or magazine, the read them and find a story that’s similar to yours. Then all you have to do is copy the style and structure of the story in your release.

Hopefully, this short introduction will help you on your way but if you’re still unsure about how to generate awareness and media coverage about your organisation, then you know where to come.

I realise that as a Labour candidate for Parliament, this might not be what some would expect me to write, but the truth is that Lady Thatcher was not only the first female British Prime Minister, but she also transformed British politics more than any Prime Minister since Clem Attlee (more on him in a moment).

I disagreed with many of Mrs Thatcher’s policies but, as one Labour Shadow Minister said yesterday, she is a reminder in this more cynical age of the ‘power of politics’. She was an icon and her significance to the British political scene was enormous.

As a female candidate for Parliament, Mrs Thatcher’s conquering of what was then a very male-dominated world to become Britain’s first female party leader, and then Prime Minister, is – whether or not you agree with what she did when she got there – both fascinating and inspiring.

I suspect it goes without saying that there are other female political figures who I admire for different reasons, such as Labour’s Barbara Castle, about whom I’ve just finished reading a fantastic biography.

However, at a time when women are still woefully under-represented in British politics (they make up just 22% of current MPs), whether you think she changed Britain for the better or not, it is inescapable that Lady Thatcher shattered through the top-most glass ceiling of all. And, what’s more, she won three general elections. For that, she deserves respect.

Reflecting on her death, I was reminded of a film I saw over Easter: The Spirit of ’45 about the impact of Clem Attlee’s post-war government. Like Thatcher, Attlee wrought huge social, economic and political change on the nation, with reforms such as the introduction of the National Health Service, the decolonisation of India and the nationalisation of key industries such as the railways.

Like Thatcher, Attlee had detractors as well as admirers (although I’d argue the former was considerably more divisive), and like Thatcher in 1979, Attlee was able to achieve many of his reforms because of a sense in 1945 that Britain needed and was ready for something very different.

Though the reformist zeal and attitudes of leaders such as Attlee and Thatcher may not be as effective or translate as well in today’s age of soundbites and instant reaction, both Prime Ministers are reminders that we elect politicians not only to represent us, but also to really lead.

In many ways the scale of the problems that will face Britain in 2015 are as great as they were in 1979 or 1945 – to confront them, and to seize the opportunity to change Britain for the better, our political leaders ought to be bold.

Margaret Thatcher died on Monday from a stroke. When he was a BBC trainee, the Lincoln School of Journalism’s Barnie Choudhury, spent a whole day chasing her. Here he recounts his experience and the effect she had on him.

It was 1987 and I was a BBC trainee. The station was BBC Radio Cleveland on Teesside. The location for Margaret Thatcher’s visit was a run down industrial estate in a deprived part of Middlesbrough. Along with the pack of hacks was Nicholas Ridley, the Environment Secretary. And then the moment every journalist dreams of:

BC: Prime Minister… Barnie Choudhury BBC. You’ve really messed up with the Poll Tax, haven’t you?

Those piercing eyes; that look of a disappointed school ma’am; her trademark handbag on one arm while the other placed gently but firmly on mine:

MT: My dear boy, you just don’t get it do you? It’s the economy and economics.

And with that she turned away. The next day a local newspaper described the encounter and how I looked visibly shaken, which is probably true. I knew then what the former French Prime Minister Francois Mitterand meant when he said:

“She has the eyes of Caligula but the mouth of Marilyn Monroe.”

Unless you met her you cannot understand the charisma that oozed from every pore of her. But my relationship with Margaret Thatcher started years before. I am a Thatcher child. She stopped my free school milk when she was the Education Secretary. She spoke about Francis of Assisi and about peace when she became Britain’s first, and so far only, female Prime Minister. She was devastating when I saw her crushing my then political hero the Labour Leader, Michael Foot, during a school visit to Prime Minister’s Question Time.

But Margaret Thatcher was the woman who went to war against Argentina to protect British citizens on an island thousands of miles away. Then she did something no other British leader dared to do: she took on the coal miners, destroyed them and then finished off the union movement of which I was so proud. She survived the IRA bombing at Brighton’s Grand Hotel. I lived a few streets away while studying in the seaside resort.

Maybe she thought that if she could survive the IRA then she was untouchable. But that wasn’t the case. Thatcher brought in the unfair Poll Tax which led to the Battle of Trafalgar Square in March 1990. History would show this was the point at which the public won and that the once untouchable Iron Lady had feet of clay.

With power comes enemies and she made the fatal mistake of being so divisive. Thatcher did not have enough friends and stopped listening to her MPs, peers and close aides. As a conviction politician, she thought she was always right. It’s ironic then that Europe would be her Waterloo. She opposed joining the European Monetary Union.

Her Deputy Prime Minister was Sir Geoffrey Howe, once her Chancellor. Another former Chancellor described being attacked by Howe as “like being savaged by a dead sheep.” But his resignation speech on the 13th of November 1990 was the start of the end for Thatcher. He called her out on her leadership style when negotiating for Britain in Europe:

“It is rather like sending your opening batsmen to the crease only for them to find, the moment the first balls are bowled, that their bats have been broken before the game by the team captain.”

On the day she resigned I was at BBC Coventry and Warwickshire. As we scrambled for reaction, I realised that she was the Marmite Prime Minister. You either loved or loathed her. But the facts speak for themselves: three terms a Prime Minister and the longest serving in the twentieth century; a woman who took on the men in grey suits and won most of the time; a leader on the World stage telling President George HW Bush: “Don’t go wobbly on me, George.”; and someone whose opponents today have, quite rightly, heaped huge praise.

The grocer’s daughter from Grantham to the first among equals. Not a bad way to be remembered.

We all know the basic history of our city: first came the Romans, then when they left came the Anglo-Saxons, then Vikings from beyond the seas, and finally, when they were expelled, Normans. Though how did these various groups really affect Lincoln, and how can we see these influences in our daily lives?

While not a complete listing of the history of every street or area of Lincoln, I looked at how the names of streets and neighbourhoods betrays the complex and interesting past of our great city.

Lincoln was founded as a Roman fort (and later colony) in the middle of the 1st century A.D. As a rule, Roman settlements tended to conform to a regular pattern, with rectangular walls and straight roads that intersected at right angles.

As the reconstructed view of Roman Lincoln shows, the city certainly conformed to these rules. Why then, does modern Lincoln bear such little resemblance to the ancient look of the city? Apart from the remnants of walls, gates and High Street, little else from that time remains. This is largely due to the period following Roman rule, when the shaping of modern Lincoln really began.

As the Romans left Britain in 410 A.D., Lincoln experienced a gradual shift of the main focus of the city, from the administrative centre near the present castle and cathedral and towards the river. Uphill Lincoln, where the main civic buildings of the Roman city were, gradually fell into disrepair as the buildings became redundant for anything other than building materials.

In fact, archaeological examination of the area has shown that by the end of the 6th century, much of the upper city had been re-purposed for agriculture, with heavy layers of soil over the old Roman street level. This perhaps, best explains the disappearance of much of the Roman street plan of Lincoln. Even the High Street (the Roman Ermine Street) shows the effects of this, as after travelling a straight line for most of its journey through the city, it makes a strange hook at The Strait and Steep Hill before rejoining its original course at the top, where it meets Michaelgate.

The shift towards the river also corresponds to a shrinking of the population. This decline, however, was eventually reversed when the Vikings arrived towards the end of the 9th century. From this point, Lincoln once again grew and regained much of its former importance as a strategically-placed trading centre, both to the Vikings and the Saxons who came later.

The effects of Norse rule on the city are easily seen in the place and street names which surround us. This is most apparent in the presence of the term ‘gate’ in a street’s name. ‘Gate’ derives from the Old Norse word ‘gata’, meaning street. Names such as Michaelgate, Hungate and Broadgate, therefore, refer not to actual gates of the city’s walls but rather to ‘Michael Street’, ‘Hound (or Dog) Street’, and ‘Broad Street’ respectively.

During this period, the main settlements of Lincoln were focused upon the districts of Wigford (literally ‘settlement by the river crossing’ in Old English), south of the river on the High Street and the area around Flaxengate (‘Flax Street’) and Thorngate (‘Thorn Street’, though this was a larger district at the time, near where the Green Dragon pub is today).

Following the return of English and later Norman rule, greater emphasis of settlement, particularly by the wealthy, began in the uphill section of the city. Names of the streets also began to take on a more English consistency as well, such as Silver Street and Mint Street, along which precious metals were worked, especially for minting into coins, and Monk’s Road, where a monastery formerly existed near the present hospital. The influence of Norse culture in the city was, however, still strongly felt, as can be seen in Bailgate, which combined the Norman ‘bailey’ or the fortified courtyard next to a defensive position, with ‘gate’, meaning street.

Much of the layout of central Lincoln was settled by the end of the Middle Ages, giving us the layout within the old walls which we are familiar with today. The city, however, has continued to expand outward, first with Newport (‘port’ in this instance means ‘town’) north of the walls in the 17th century, south with the creation of new streets off High Street such as Portland Street and Sibthorp Street in the Victorian period, and in all other directions since.

The story of Lincoln is long and complex and each moment in its history has had an effect on how we see it today. The names of our streets portray not only their past, but that of Lincoln.

Lincolnshire people deserve, but are not receiving, the best response times from their ambulance service.

Over the last four years, we have continually heard how EMAS are not reaching their regional targets, and their performance for Lincolnshire, with its unique rural issues, is even worse.

EMAS have not met their response time targets for the last 21 months in Lincolnshire, and this isn’t good enough. Staff work very hard, but something needs to be done to improve the service.

Voluntary organisations in Lincolnshire, such as LIVES and other emergency services, make a valuable contribution to response times but it is not acceptable for them to prop up the ambulance service.

Without these organisations, the performance of EMAS would be even worse – not only do taxpayers end up paying twice, but every area in the East Midlands should receive the same level of service.

The public response to the initial changes put forward raised serious concerns, and the Health Scrutiny Committee expressed our own worries, including that they did not show how performance would be improved.

In fact, we were not convinced they would improve.

EMAS have now approved new proposals that are significantly different and, despite the goalposts changing and new options being introduced at the eleventh hour, EMAS plans still fail to explain how they will start meeting response time targets for our county.

The Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire has now written to the Secretary of State to review the EMAS consultation. We believe the consultation is flawed: key parties were not invited to comment; new options not consulted on; and both public and stakeholder events were poorly attended.

The Committee has no confidence that the EMAS pledge of ‘Being the Best’ will happen in Lincolnshire without considerable extra financing, and our ultimate goal is to return a dedicated ambulance service to the county.