— Lincoln has seen its fair share of triumphs this year, with a number of the city’s businesses, individuals and services gaining recognition and scooping awards. As if you needed an excuse to be proud of our city, we take a look back at some of the year’s biggest successes.
No. 5 in world for Lincoln coffee shop
Coffee Aroma on Guildhall Street was ranked fifth best coffee shop in the world by an esteemed coffee industry website, Cosy Coffee Shops. The site, which reviews independent coffee houses worldwide, pays particular mind to those serving ethical coffee in welcoming environments. In the past, Coffee Aroma has also been recognised by The Guardian and The Independent, amongst others.
Lincoln College takes the gold
Lincoln College was granted the Gold Award by Investors in People in January, after passing 165 of 169 standards as well as the basic 39 needed to be recognised by the organisation. It was the first college in the county and the third in the region to receive the award.
Top 10 spot for Lincoln guest house
Creston Villa Guest House on St. Catherines was awarded eighth place in the Travellers’ Choice awards at the start of the year. Travellers on the TripAdvisor site, who run the awards, said they “couldn’t fault it”, and “it’s as good as it gets”. The winners are determined based on a combination of TripAdvisor’s Popularity Index and traveller ratings of specific popularity attributes. A TripAdvisor spokesperson said that Creson Villa Guest house was “a worthy winner” of the accolade.
County’s roads some of best nationwide
Lincolnshire’s roads were named as some of the best in the country, according to data released by the Department of Transport. Although the overall condition of England’s roads had deteriorated slightly at the end of 2010, Lincolnshire’s condition “score” was up at this time for the county’s A roads. The Lincolnshire County Council had an extra £2.7 million to spend on roads this year – have you noticed an improvement?
Top toilets for Lincoln public
The City of Lincoln Council’s Public Conveniences Team were number one In-House Cleaning Team of the Year at the Loo of the Year awards this year, following an unannounced visit by an inspector who judged the loos on signage, decorations and cleanliness, as well as other criteria. Three of the council-run public toilets were also given five star status, placing them amongst the finest in the country.
Two medals for Lincoln swimmer
A Lincoln swimmer, Hayley Williams, made a splash at an international competition in March, taking home two silver medals. She represented England at the WISE School Swimming International Competition in Dublin, Ireland, taking second place in the 100m and 200m Breaststroke.
Lincoln rated five stars for cleanliness
There was further recognition for Lincoln’s public spaces in March, after the city was named the third cleanest city in the UK at the Clean Britain Awards, only beaten by Truro and Nottingham, and being awarded the top rating of five stars for cleanliness for the second time. Inspectors from the British Cleaning Council rated everything from the amount of litter and chewing gum on the streets to the provision of litter bins and the condition of street furniture. The city was described as having “excellent standards”, achieving a 100% standard rating in several areas.
Lincolnshire food finest in Britain
A poll carried out by Love British Food found that Lincolnshire was Britain’s Favourite Food Spot in September. The county took 39.6% of the vote, closely followed by Cornwall with 35.4%. Mary Powell, from Tastes of Lincolnshire, said: “We have the freshest and tastiest local food – premium sausages, delectable pork pies and the famous Lincolnshire plumbread, best enjoyed with Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese. Add to that fields full of the finest vegetables, and what more could a food lover ask for?”
Best regional design for Lincoln museum
The Collection has been crowned the East Midlands’ favourite contemporary building, mainly due to an exhibition that took place in the museum by the Royal Institute of British Architects called fifty50. The exhibition was held in venues across the region, and showed visitors’ images and information on fifty contemporary buildings. Kathleen Watt, author of Fifty buildings, 50 years. Modern Architecture in the East Midlands, said: “The landmark building not only compliments the archaeological objects it contains, but it also harmonises well with the scale and character of the medieval city.”
Steep Hill is best street in Britain
Steep Hill won the title of 2012 Great Street at November’s Urbanism Awards, which recognises the best, most enduring or most improved urban environments in Britain. The street, which hosts a number of events, entertainment and independent and entrepreneurial retail outlets, dates back to Roman times as a connection between the Castle and the town. Many Lincolnites treasure it, saying, “It’s nice to see a city keeping its character” and it’s “absolutely lovely”.
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Lincoln City has issued its retained list for the 2022/23 season, with just two permanent players guaranteed to leave the club and two key midfielders being offered new deals.
A retained list is clarification of the players that will be kept at the club for another season, as well as those who will be leaving upon their contract expiry.
The club are in discussions with two important first team players, Conor McGrandles and captain Liam Bridcutt, with both of their contracts expiring at the end of June.
The Imps hold out hope for persuading the pair, who were influential in Lincoln City’s charge to the play-off final in 2021, to stay on at the club – especially with the fresh anticipation that has come with the appointment of Mark Kennedy as head coach.
No decision has been made by either player yet, and the announcement that they were in discussions with the club came as somewhat of a surprise to the fanbase – with many expecting Bridcutt’s injury problems to put the Imps off extending his deal, and McGrandles to go back to Scotland.
In terms of the players kept on for next season, there are 26 contracted for 2022/23, including the returning Theo Archibald, who impressed on loan at Leyton Orient last campaign.
Youth prospects include Jovon Makama, Freddie Draper, Hayden Cann, Morgan Worsfold-Gregg and Elicha Ahui, with most of them expected to head out on loan next season. Sean Roughan will remain at the club after an option was taken to extend his contract.
As well as this, January signing John Marquis and defender Max Melbourne will both leave the club when their current deals expire, again at the end of June.
Lincoln’s five loanees from last season, Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Josh Griffiths, Lewis Fiorini, Liam Cullen and Morgan Whittaker, all return to their parent clubs.
There is talk of Norton-Cuffy, Griffiths and Fiorini going out on loan to a Championship club for next season, which is testament to their development while playing for Lincoln City.
Lincoln will go into next season with the following players contracted:
An 11-year-old schoolgirl who ‘smiled all the way through’ her brave battle with cancer has become the first in the UK to beat a rare form of the illness.
Jeanie-May Cooke from Cleethorpes was just seven years old when she was diagnosed with leukaemia. In April 2018 she went into remission for the leukaemia but around a week later her mother Katie Hannaford got a phone call to say her daughter had an extremely rare form of cancer called Histiocytic Sarcoma.
Katie was told the best option was to amputate through the knee when later that year the cancer had spread. At the time the doctor said there was nothing else they could do for Jeanie and the best option was for her to go into a hospice.
Katie told BBC Look North: “I came out of that room and I thought she’s fought through all of this, we are not giving up on her, we can’t give up on her.”
A friend of Jeanie’s step dad lives in America and knew someone at a children’s oncology hospital, who asked for the consultant’s name in Sheffield. They came up with a plan to start Jeanie on a drug called Trametinib and she is now cancer free.
Jeanie in hospital during her battle with cancer (left) before being cancer free and playing basketball with her mum Katie. | Screenshot: BBC Look North/BBC News Hub
Katie added: “Things started to slowly improved. She had a bone marrow transplant and here we are now, she is now cancer free, she’s the first to ever overcome that cancer.”
Jeanie, who is a pupil at Havelock Academy, said: “I just feel relieved and proud of myself that I did it. I smiled all the way through it.”
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