Lawrence Edmonds had a taste of Lincoln Cathedral on a damp day this summer
A licking enthusiast who recently visited Lincoln Cathedral to get a taste of it has admitted it’s not all about the taste sensation.
Lawrence Edmonds, a 27-year-old English Heritage worker, says he does have an interest in the buildings too.
He was challenged by a friend to put his tongue on all 64 cathedrals in the country, with each quest documented on his cathedral licking diary.
“I am actually interested in these cathedrals and do take the time to explore them. It’s not all about the licking!” he told The Lincolnite.
Lawrence visited Lincoln Cathedral back in July but unfortunately the weather impeded the flavour.
“It was a wet day when I visited Lincoln so all I can really remember is that it tasted very damp. Cathedrals don’t usually taste great!”
The heritage worker said Lichfield Cathedral tasted best, while Wakefield tasted “revolting”, and Perth was “a little gritty”.
When it comes to planning, Lawrence explained that there are a lot of factors to consider, from where he has his photo taken, to actually getting there.
“There isn’t always a specific lick-spot, it depends on the cathedral. For the bet I need photographic proof obviously, so I’ll get a spot near an official sign or recognizable feature of the building.”
However Lawrence does get help along the way: “There is a huge amount of planning involved.
“Last month I was in Northern Ireland with my girlfriend’s brother, who drove me to all 8 Anglican cathedrals there. We had been planning the trip for months!”
Sometimes though Lawerence has to rely on less conventional travel methods: “Afterwards I went to Scotland and made my own way around on trains, buses and by hitchhiking.
“I did the same for many of the English and Welsh ones, but got a few lifts from friends and family too. It’s a lot of planning but it’s been well worth it.”
Lawerence mentioned where he plans to go next: “My next destination will be North Wales, where I will complete the challenge with licks at Bangor and St. Asaph.”
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A 38-year-old man from a North Lincolnshire village charged with murder will face an eight-day trial later this year.
Emergency services were called at 4.23am on Saturday, July 2 to reports that a man was seriously injured on South Parade in central Doncaster.
The 28-year-old victim was taken to hospital but was sadly pronounced dead a short time later.
A post-mortem examination found that he died of injuries to his head, chest and abdomen.
Formal identification of the victim is yet to take place, South Yorkshire Police said earlier this week.
Steven Ling, 38, of Park Drain, Westwoodside in North Lincolnshire, has been charged with murder and was remanded in custody to appear at Doncaster Magistrates Court on Monday, July 4.
Ling later appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday, July 5 for a plea and trial preparation hearing.
No pleas were entered during the hearing, but an eight-day trial was set for November 28, 2022. Ling has now been remanded into custody until the next hearing.
The Lincolnite went on a ride-along with a Lincolnshire Police officer from the force’s Roads Policing Unit (RPU), which aims to disrupt criminals’ use of the roads and reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents.
The team will support the county response including local policing, neighbourhood policing and criminal investigation too.
Operations first began in Grantham in January this year and started in Louth earlier this week with a sergeant and nine PCs based in both locations.
The Lincolnite went out on a ride-along with PC Rich Precious from Lincolnshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
PC Rich Precious has been a police officer for 22 years after joining the force in 2000 and he recently rejoined the Roads Policing Unit, working out of Louth.
PC Precious, who also previously worked as a family liaison officer for road deaths for 16 years, took The Lincolnite out in his police car to the A1 up to Colsteworth and then back to Grantham. He described that particular area as “one of the main arterial routes that goes through Lincolnshire”.
PC Rich Precious driving down the A1 up to Colsterworth. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Speaking about the new Roads Policing Unit, he said: “It’s intelligence led policing, it’s targeted policing in areas that have been underrepresented in terms of police presence, on the roads certainly, over a number of years.
“We’re hoping that the development of this unit will help address that balance, and look towards using the ANPR system to prevent criminals’ use of the road, and to identify key areas or routes where there’s a high percentage of people killed or seriously injured on the road, what we commonly refer to as KSI.
PC Precious is helping to keep the roads safer in Lincolnshire. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
When asked if he thinks the new team will help reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents in the county, he added: “That’s what the the unit designed for. Sadly, in Lincolnshire our road network does seem to incur a number of those KSI accidents year on year, and we need to reduce that.
“I’ve worked additionally in my roles as a family liaison officer on road death for 16 years, so I’ve seen first hand the impact that road death has on families and victims families.
“I know it’s important that we try and reduce those because, it’s very sad to see how a fatal road traffic collision can affect a family and the victims of that family.”
Marc Gee, Inspector for Lincolnshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Marc Gee, Inspector for the Roads Policing Unit, told The Lincolnite: “Every day there will be officers on duty from both teams and they’ll cover the whole county or the county’s roads.
“Eventually, we’ll have nine police cars and we’ve got six motorbikes. We’ll be utilising them with as many officers as we can every day basically to make our roads safer and enforce against the criminals who feel like it’s okay to come into the county and use our road for criminal purposes.”
Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones at the launch of the force’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite