Digital media event is first for Lincoln

Removal of the steel support frames on Lincoln Cathedral’s West Front is under way, and once complete it will see the area scaffolding-free for the first time in 36 years.

Due to ongoing conservation works of the Romanesque Frieze and the subsequent copy carvings that will be going inside the new visitor centre at the Old Deanery, the West Front has seen plenty of scaffolding in recent years.

However, that is about to change as those works gradually come to an end. The project to clean and protect the Romanesque Frieze carvings started in 2016 after £1.5 million of national lottery heritage funding, and scaffolding has been up there from previous conservation works long before that.

Lincoln Cathedral’s Romanesque Frieze has been the subject of a large conservation project, and that is now almost complete. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The Lincolnite was told the works were set for completion in mid-January, to allow for the West Front to be scaffolding-free for the first time since 1986.

Lincoln Cathedral has now announced that from Monday, January 24 to Friday, February 4, Minster Yard will close to vehicles to allow for the safe removal of steel frames from the building.

The scaffolding is being taken down, and Minster Yard will close to vehicles in the meantime. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Visitors can still access the cathedral via the visitor centre, and if you are attending services you should enter through the judgement porch.

The removal of the scaffolding comes at a perfect time for Lincoln Cathedral, as it prepares to play host to Luke Jerram’s magnificent ‘Museum of the Moon’ exhibition between Monday, February 7 and Sunday, February 27.

Meet the stone carvers hard at work to bring the Romanesque Frieze exhibition to life at Lincoln Cathedral. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

It will also allow visitors to the cathedral to see all of the wonderful carvings on the Romanesque Frieze, both on the walls themselves, and with the copy carvings at the visitor centre.

Read: ‘World class’ Romanesque Frieze exhibition set for unveiling at Lincoln Cathedral visitor centre

A 17-year-old from Scunthorpe has qualified in the top 50 of a worldwide competition that seeks to find the next female star motorsport driver.

Alicia Barrett, 17, has reached the final 50 of Formula Woman, a competition introduced in 2021 to encourage more female participation in motorsport, and to hopefully provide a platform for potential future world champions.

Formula Woman has had more than 800 women from 28 countries apply, including Alicia from Scunthorpe, who is currently head girl and studying for her A-Levels at Worksop College.

The top four ranked drivers will earn a prize of a fully sponsored McLaren GT4 seat in the UK GT Cup Championship 2022, a seven-round motorsport series starting at Donington Park National Circuit on April 9 and 10.

Alicia has no previous car racing experience and only passed her driving test in September 2021, but has been a keen go-kart racer from the age of eight, winning the 2017 X30 Ladies Championship at the iconic Le Mans circuit.

Forumula Woman has been launched to offer a female platform in a male-dominated industry. | Photo: Racing Talent

She will now take part in Formula Woman on March 2 and 3, where she will be given practical and written tests covering mind coaching, reactions, social media, driving, racing and technical skills.

Just 10 out of the 50 women will progress from this stage, moving on to a ‘shootout’ in Europe which will decide the final four winning drivers.

Alicia said: “Being selected as one of 50 females to reach the final stages of the Formula Woman competition brings me one step closer to my goal of being a professional racing driver – something I have aspired to since I was young.

“During the pandemic I was unable to continue funding my kart racing. For
me, Formula Woman has come around at the perfect time and if I was successful in winning a championship drive in the McLaren GT4, I would finally be able to make the transition from karts to cars.”

If Alicia is one of the lucky winners, she will undergo full training and coaching ahead of the April start of the televised GT Cup, which will see her get behind the wheel of a 3.8 litre twin turbo V8 race car.

To track her progress, you can follow Alicia’s Instagram and Facebook pages, and for details on sponsorship you can email [email protected].

A wallaby called Ant who has been missing from a Lincolnshire farm for almost three weeks is now back home and reunited with his brother Dec.

Ant escaped from Tracey and Dave Hall’s Tiny Steps Petting Farm in Thurlby on January 5.

There were early sightings of him in Edenham, Toft, Swallow Hill, Manthorpe and Lound, and various other locations. He buckled one kind trap around a week ago before he was eventually caught close to a local resident’s home on January 23, thanks to the help of RSPCA inspector Justin Stubbs.

Other than a small cut on his face which he has been given antibiotics for Ant is otherwise fine. Now that he is back at the farm safely it turns out that he’s had quite the adventure.

Tracey told The Lincolnite it is still unclear how he got out, but they have added in extra security cameras and more robust fencing.

She said: “He’s been visiting a golf course, a physiotherapist’s garden, and a tennis court where he has been sitting and watching a gardener do bits in the garden.

“Heat seeking drones and wallaby watchers have been trying to spot him and, after sightings at Swallow Hill, we knew he was more local.

“It has been hard work and we’ve been worried about him getting caught in the traffic as he crossed the road occasionally and was hopping down the verges.

“It is a big relief to have him back. He’s there for people to come and see, and he is fun, so it is nice to have him back as he is part of the family.”

She added: “Hundreds of people have been trying to help keep him safe, and we’ve had lots of well wishes. He definitely made a home at Swallow Hill and residents will miss him.

“We wouldn’t have caught Ant if we hadn’t had the help from Justin from the RSPCA, with his support and help, even on his days off, so a big thank you to him. He was the main person that kept us going.”

Ant’s brother Dec is also glad to have him back again, but Tracey said the two of them are very different.

She added: “Ant is more energetic and constantly jumping about, whereas Dec has always stood and watched and is a quiet wallaby.

“I can’t believe a little animal like Ant has been out for three weeks avoiding being runover, and also having his own routine. It’s shown he’s quite a clever little thing.”

Tracey added that they are busy getting ready for when the farm reopens to the public on April 4.