Almost 100 High Street Lincoln businesses have signed up to an initiative to open until 8pm every Thursday, all year round, from July 7.
The new licensing is part of Lincoln BIG’s efforts to increase sales on the High Street.
The organisers believe longer opening hours for at least one day of the week will help Lincoln overcome the ghost town syndrome, as most shops close at 5.30pm.
Businesses, such as Stokes Cafe on High Bridge, jeweller John Greed and outlets in the Waterside Shopping Centre, are on the increasing list of late-night opening shops.
To help attract numbers, Stagecoach Lincolnshire have confirmed that they will be supporting the initiative with the reinstatement of services to the Ermine on Thursday evenings and a special flat-rate £1 fare.
Michael Armstrong, Lincoln BIG events and promotions manager, said “We are excited because this move will bring Lincoln in line with other major cities.
“If we can get it firmly established in the High Street, we are hoping that other areas such as Bailgate can come on board in phase two of the scheme.”
Although the scheme is good for larger businesses, not all retailers are completely confident the extra hours would be beneficial for them.
Ann Turner, Manager of Ann Harvey, said “We are still not sure if we are onboard or not. When it comes to 4-o-clock on weekdays we tend to die down, so opening later may not be prosperous for us.
“Like a number of retailers we participated in the late night Christmas shopping, but this may not prove a good move for us,” Turner explained.
Denise Turner, Assistant Manager at Thornton’s, said “We were open late during the Christmas period and that was successful, but were not sure what to expect this time. Both of our stores will be open and we are hoping to attract customers.
“The only trouble is that, with one of our stores being off the High Street, it may be missed by people. Hopefully it will be a success and we won’t have to stop opening later.”
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As well as the testing kits themselves, you will also receive instructions on how to take the test and how to report each result to the NHS.
A series of short videos explaining how the kits work have been put together by the Department of Health and Social Care.
The rapid tests should provide results within 30 minutes, and are for people without symptoms of COVID-19.
Anyone who has symptoms of the virus is still being asked to self-isolate and book a regular PCR test.
The home testing kits have been made available as part of an extension of the government’s coronavirus testing programme.
Since rapid testing was introduced, over 120,000 positive cases have been identified that would not have been found otherwise.
It comes as businesses and non-essential retail prepare to reopen on April 12 in line with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown.
The PM said: “Massive efforts have been made by the British public to stop the spread of the virus.
“As we continue to make good progress on our vaccine programme and with our roadmap to cautiously easing restrictions underway, regular rapid testing is even more important to make sure those efforts are not wasted.
“That’s why we’re now rolling out free rapid tests to everyone across England – helping us to stop outbreaks in their tracks, so we can get back to seeing the people we love and doing the things we enjoy.”
A group of food-loving Grimsby men have started a unique business in the town, offering rainbow-coloured bagel burgers with locally sourced ingredients — and The Lincolnite went to check it out.
The Bad Boy Bagel Company began just six weeks ago in late February, and is the brainchild of directors Max Barnet and brothers Max and Charlie Leonard.
Their rainbow coloured bagels have been a huge hit with the people of Northern Lincolnshire, and chef Max Leonard said it’s all about standing out.
Max Leonard is a chef at Bad Boy Bagel Co, a brand new food delivery company in Grimsby. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
He told The Lincolnite: “Everything in modern day life is about pictures, we used the colourful buns as a way to stand out from the crowd.
“We have other unique selling points too: we are the only local place that uses wagyu beef, and all of our produce is locally sourced.”
The impressive Bad Boy Hash Bagel. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Of course we had to try it out, so we trialled the bestseller, the Bad Boy Hash Bagel, as well as some loaded dirty fries.
Taste wise it was genuinely sensational, the 4oz wagyu beef patty was tender, and was complimented brilliantly with the hash browns, bacon and crispy onions.
The hash browns really are a key part of this brilliant bagel. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Naturally you expect the bun to taste peculiar, but it tastes just as good as a regular bun, so add onto that the bright colours and it’s a win-win.
The loaded fries came in an large portion, served with pulled pork, mozzarella, smoked cheddar, crispy onions and a top secret Bad Boy sauce.
Enough to make your tummy rumble, the loaded fries are a sight to behold. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The bagels vary from £8-13 in price, while the loaded fries are either £4.95 or £5.95 depending on toppings.
As well as this, we tried out the intriguing Cake Shakes, which consist of a slice of homemade cake blended with local ice cream and milk.
A meal fit for a king. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
They set you back anywhere between £4 and £6, but if you have a sweet tooth they are an absolute must.
Max has had a lifelong passion for food, and developed his skills from a young age when he would watch his mother make roast dinners.
Demand for sales have been beyond the Bad Boy Bagels’ wildest expectations since opening.
Troy is one of the staff at Bad Boy Bagel Co, and he was described as “the king of Cake Shakes!” | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
“In the first weekend we ordered an adequate amount of stock and it sold out straight away. Then the next weekend we doubled our orders and sold out again.
“I’m a vegetarian but I know that our meat tastes great, the feedback we have received so far has been overwhelming.”
They are so good that even Wind the community Imp was eyeing them up! | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The lads from Grimsby have also been running ZBR Performance over the last year, a meal prep business for fitness and nutrition.
Max Leonard does not work for ZBR, but said: “I come in and cook the things that people really want to eat!”
They are available for collection or delivery, and you can browse the menu for yourself here, or visit the Bad Boy Bagel Co Facebook page for more.
The menu is centred around Gyros including chicken, pork and grilled halloumi, which are all served with Tzatziki sauce, onion, tomato and chips. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
A luxury four-bedroom barn conversion in a Lincolnshire village is on the market for £1 million and even has its own self-contained annexe and bar.
Bramble Barn is located at East End in Langtoft and also includes four bathrooms, three large reception rooms, sitting room with wood-burning stove, open-plan dining kitchen and entertaining area.
The self-contained one-bedroom annexe and home office with bar is one of the standout property’s features. Let’s take a look inside.
The contemporary kitchen. | Photo: Pelham James
Open-plan dining kitchen. | Photo: Pelham James
The sitting room. | Photo: Pelham James
Family room. | Photo: Pelham James
Guests, friends and family can relax in front of the wood-burning stove and the open plan living area extends into a contemporary fitted kitchen.
The fully fitted bar is described as having an authentic pub-vibe. A door from the bar leads onto a decked and enclosed garden for enjoying a drink or two in the sun.
The private fully fitted bar. | Photo: Pelham James
The principal bedroom. | Photo: Pelham James
The principal suite. | Photo: Pelham James
One of the four bedrooms at Bramble Barn. | Photo: Pelham James
Upstairs is the mezzanine level, a home office, studio or cinema room.
The south-west facing terrace and gardens provides a great space for hosting summer parties and barbecues.
The garden. | Photo: Pelham James
The Annexe Kitchen. | Photo: Pelham James
The Annexe private garden. | Photo: Pelham James
Bramble Barn in Langtoft. | Photo: Pelham James
The property is being marketed by Pelham James – see the full listing here.
There have been 308 coronavirus cases in Greater Lincolnshire and nine COVID-related deaths so far this week – a 46% drop in cases and 25% reduction in deaths from the previous week.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard on Friday recorded nine new cases in North Lincolnshire but -69 cases in Lincolnshire and -4 in North East Lincolnshire. This is due to the dashboard changing the way it reports cases.
On April 9, four deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, two in North East Lincolnshire and one in North Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
The way cases are reported has changed.
NHS England reported no hospitals this week so far, down from four recorded this time last week.
On Friday, national cases increased by 3,150 to 4,365,461, while deaths rose by 60 to 127,040.
In local news, COVID-19 mutations of concern have been detected by health officials in Lincolnshire, but they said they’ve been contained, and there is “no longer transmission, no issues.”
The Brazil and South Africa variants have worried scientists because they are thought to be much more contagious than the original strain, and can therefore spread faster in the population, and potentially be vaccine-resistant.
Health bosses have also said there have been no hospitalisations or deaths from a care home coronavirus outbreak in West Lindsey at the end of March.
Everyone in Lincolnshire can now get two free rapid asymptomatic coronavirus tests a week, and this is how you can access them.
Great Lincolnshire has seen a fall in all of its districts’ infection rates since Wednesday, however South Holland and North Lincolnshire are still in the UK’s top 20 highest rates.
The England average infection rate has fallen too but is still below Greater Lincolnshire’s average by around 20 per 100,000 of the population.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates up to April 9:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Apr 2 to Apr 9. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
Nationally, Europe’s drugs regulator is reviewing possible links between blood clots and Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine.
The move comes after four serious cases of rare clots with low platelets were reported after the COVID-19 jab, one of which was fatal, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
People in England can start thinking about booking foreign holidays again this summer, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said.
But he said the £100 cost of the COVID tests required needed to be driven down, amid criticism from the travel industry.
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Friday, April 9
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
58,544 cases (up nine)
40,813 in Lincolnshire (down 69)
9,176 in North Lincolnshire (up nine)
8,555 in North East Lincolnshire (down four)
2,180 deaths (up seven)
1,608 from Lincolnshire (up four)
304 from North Lincolnshire (up one)
268 from North East Lincolnshire (up two)
of which 1,300 hospital deaths (no change)
808 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)
41 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
450 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)
4,365,461 UK cases, 127,040 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.
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