Some of Lincolnshire’s most influential public figures have been sharing their New Year’s resolutions for 2018 with us.
Our columnists have been busy reflecting on a hectic and memorable 2017, while looking forward to what will take place this year.
Take a look at their New Year’s resolutions below.
Martin Hill
Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill with his dog Boris
On a local level, as I have already mentioned, I am really hopeful that our Fairer Funding campaign will reap benefits for Lincolnshire.
On a national and international level, we all recognise that the Brexit negotiations have been tricky. But this makes it all the more important that our government sticks to its principles and continues to work hard to deliver the best outcome for all of us.
With that optimistic note, I would like to wish Happy New Year to all Lincolnshire Reporter readers!
Nick Boles
Nick Boles, Conservative MP for Grantham and Stamford. Photo: Policy Exchange
Personal: To get fitter than I was before I became ill.
Professional: To do everything in my power to get more new homes built so that young people have the same chance previous generations had to get a home of their own.
Sir Edward Leigh
Gainsborough MP Sir Edward Leigh
In 2018 I will continue to do my best for local residents, campaigning on local issues and fighting for our corner of Lincolnshire in Westminster.
I know that keeping up pressure to make sure that we get broadband properly rolled out to rural areas will continue next year, as to will my efforts to fight the closure of local facilities like bank branches.
John Brewin
Chief Executive of LPFT John Brewin. Photo: Steve Smailes for Lincolnshire Reporter
Personal: I’d also like to find time to be mindful and help me look after my own mental health.
Professional: I’d like to ensure patients and public have a greater voice in improving services.
Andrew Morgan
Andrew Morgan, chief executive of Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust
Personal: To continue exploring the county of Lincolnshire, having moved here in 2015.
Professional: To continue to support staff in ensuring their feedback directly shapes the future development of excellent community services.
Matthew Lee
South Kesteven District Council leader Matthew Lee
A key resolution for 2018 is to get out and about more – both professionally and personally. There are still corners of our lovely district that I have yet to explore and lots that are always worth another visit.
Similarly, as the leader of the council, I really value seeing the excellent work going on in our communities, whether it’s meeting volunteers, start-ups or established companies.
My final resolution is one I know I share with many, many people – to stop smoking. I’ve tried before, but I’m determined that this is the year. Wish me luck!
Richard Wright
North Kesteven District Council leader Richard Wright. Photo: Steve Smailes/Lincolnshire Reporter
Personal: Never look back, only forwards. The future is there for us to shape and I want to work with anybody and everybody to shape a better future.
Professional: To pursue central government to deliver policies that help local government to deliver results for the betterment of all out residents. Alongside, ever increasingly-influential senior NKDC officers, I will work to deliver any and every improvement in services and provision for North Kesteven residents.
Jeff Summers
West Lindsey District Council leader Jeff Summers
Personal: I will eat less, exercise more, become fitter and leaner in an attempt to keep up with my wife! Spend more time revelling in our beautiful countryside bird watching, walking, cycling and visiting new places. Whilst enjoying all above I will pursue a dynamic agenda of business for the council.
Professional: We will continue to provide the best services across the council that our budgeted resources are capable of delivering while ensuring we fully address the physical and social needs of all residents. We will continue to enhance the physical, financial and social benefits for all constantly pushing for improvements in health, education and work opportunities.
Nikki Silver
Nikki Silver, CEO of LIVES
Personal: To run the Lincoln 10k with my amazing LIVES team without stopping and to survive the installation of a new kitchen at home with a smile on my face and sense of humour intact.
Professional: To continue to bang the drum loudly for LIVES and its amazing 700 volunteers who look after the people of Lincolnshire in their hour of need, and for Lincolnshire.
George Smid
Chair of the European Movement East Midlands, George Smid
In 2018 we must stop treating the EU as our worst adversary. We made it clear we were not happy and it is now time to forge a new partnership. Bombardier and the recent US attack on our PM prove that Europe is still our closest kin. (For a very good approximation Europe means EU.)
In 2018 I wish the EU will acknowledge why the UK voted to leave. Then parallel negotiations should start exploring the UK staying after March 2019. As Brexit of 2017 differs from Brexit of 2016, the EU of 2018 will differ from the EU of 2016 too. We must see that as a legitimate option to honour the vote to Leave.
For the UK I wish Remainers and Leavers talk to each other. Only then we can reach a Brexit solution acceptable to both. Otherwise, this country will stay dangerously divided.
In June 2016 we did not vote for being poorer, Derbyshire did not vote for less money for the Peak District National Park, Grimsby did not vote to lose their fishing industry, Lincolnshire farmers did not vote for losing farm subsidies.
In 2016 we did not vote for the Brexit of 2017.
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Weapon-enabled crime in our county is low in comparison to other parts of the country – but we are not complacent, and one knife is one too many.
Now, our communities can feel even more reassured about the safety of our streets following a successful week of action to reduce knife crime which saw more than 240 blades handed in to stations across the county.
As part of the Op Sceptre week of action, eight surrender bins were set up at stations in Boston, Skegness, Louth, Horncastle, Spalding, Grantham, Stamford, South Park, and resulted in 246 weapons being anonymously handed in, including swords, flick knives and other bladed banned under the Offensive Weapons Act. This type of opportunity enables weapons to be safely removed from the streets and out of the hands of potential offenders.
Officers across the Force also carried out 35 stop and searches, resulting in five knife-related arrests, and four weapons being recovered from someone carrying it on the street. They also made six further weapons-related arrests, recovering a further three knives.
Officers and PCSOs from our Neighbourhood Policing Teams also carried out five engagement events at secondary schools which engaged just over 500 young people and provided an opportunity to educate them around the law and the risks of carrying a weapon.
A sculptor living in Lincoln has two new wood carving creations that have given a new lease of life to old tree trunks in the city.
Christian Andreolli, 56, carved his latest creation using an oak tree that is a quarter of a century old, and hopes it can be used as a sculpture in Lincolnshire.
The design is called Farmlife and depicts a goat, pig and horses intertwined into one wooden sculpture that stands 3.2 metres high, after being carved out of a 4.1 tonne English oak tree trunk.
A look at the gigantic tree trunk Christian carved to create Farmlife. | Photo: Christian Andreolli
Christian said it took him 16 days to make the sculpture, using at least 20 chains to remove ingrown metal nails from the wood, dating back over 100 years.
He said of Farmlife: “This oak was slow grown with no fungus or other diseases, it had to go because it was too close to a house in Legsby.
“The buyer of the sculpture can now enjoy the view of the artwork for another hundred years, and I would be very happy to see it stay in the county as a landmark or eye-catcher.”
He hopes that this sculpture will end up staying in Lincolnshire when it is bought. | Photo: Christian Andreolli
He has previously made garden benches for pubs, carved monuments for Woodside Wildlife Park, and animal designs for private clients.
Christian’s hand sculpture was made for Lincoln business Signs Express, and it sits proudly outside its offices. | Photo: Christian Andreolli
This latest creation is also announced alongside another design of his, which is a three-metre high carving of a hand, for signage experts Signs Express in Lincoln.
The design sits proudly outside the firm’s offices on Wrightsway, and was carved using a three tonne ash tree trunk.
Christian pictured here with the finished product. | Photo: Christian Andreolli
To see more of Christian’s portfolio or to book him for commission of a sculpture, visit his website.
An ex-Royal Marine from Lincolnshire who has been a bodyguard for Russell Crowe, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie is hoping to break the stigma around self-defence and protect society from unprovoked attacks.
Dene Josham, 50, from Louth, set up Streetwise Defence around 15 years ago after years of being trained to deal with combat and aggressive situations, both as a doorman and a bodyguard for some of the Hollywood elite.
He has always taken a keen interest in boxing and martial arts, having fought at Lincoln Drill Hall in his earlier years, before pursuing a career as a Royal Marine.
Dene has been running Streetwise for around 15 years. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
His time in the marines was cut short after he was hit by a car, which prompted a rethink for Dene, who then went on to do body guarding courses, before being trusted to protect local authorities, and eventually movie stars.
Dene’s most notable clients were Russell Crowe, who he chaperoned during the run for 2006 film A Good Year, and then Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
Dene has looked after some very famous people as a bodyguard, including Brad Pitt. | Photo: Streetwise Defence
“When Angelina was pregnant with the twins I was called over to work for the family,” Dene told The Lincolnite. “There was an $8 million reward for the first pictures of the twins to be captured, and it was my job to stop that from happening, which was a lot of responsibility.”
Dene on the red carpet with Russell Crowe. | Photo: Streetwise Defence
After a few years away in Libya and Iraq during his body guarding days, Dene had a rethink about Streetwise Defence and how he could better hone in on his craft, and that started with breaking a pretty important stigma surrounding self-defence.
He has huge plans for Streetwise, and hopes it can help people feel safer in everyday life. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
He said: “Various incidents over the last couple of years in local and national media prompted me to develop the brand differently, but it’s important to show people the reality of what we are dealing with.
“99% of social violence can be de-escalated, so long as the psychology of someone is understood, so we focus more on addressing and noticing the red flags. A physical response is often the last resort.”
Dene showed us a few techniques, including palm striking and something called shredding, which can distract attackers for long enough to plan an escape. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The Lincolnite met up with Dene to try out some of his techniques and learn a bit about what his classes can show you about the potential risks of an attack and how you can be better prepared against them.
Dene’s self-defence classes don’t focus heavily on martial arts techniques, but are instead centred around the emotion behind incidents like unprovoked attacks, or how the target can respond in the face of danger.
Dene ran through some really handy tips for reporter Ellis Karran. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
As well as detailing criminal law and ensuring people who come to his classes understand their rights, Dene also looks at using everyday household items that could come in handy at an urgent time of crisis.
Part of the session looks at prevention methods from items that can be carried in a bag, such as spray, alarms, lights and pens. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Dene told us during this session: “If we can understand human nature and behaviour, we can understand the reasons behind why things happen.
“It is also about being aware of your surroundings. Red flags to look out for include gestures, body language and how close someone gets to you, as the threat level naturally rises the closer someone gets to you.
“It’s sad that I have to be here doing these sessions, ideally people wouldn’t need my knowledge, but the fact of the matter is these things happen and they can happen to us all, so we need to be prepared for that eventuality.”
Dene explained to us that 90% of attacks come from people we know. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The sessions are for both men and women, but Dene recommends booking sessions for the same gender due to the sensitive nature of the topics that can be covered.
They last around three and a half hours with comfort breaks, and look into the mindset of an attacker, adrenaline switches, improvised weapons, how to stay safe and role playing scenarios, all to increase your self-defence skills.
A series of very handy tips and tricks to help prevent attacks, whether they are provoked or not. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
When asked about the ultimate goal and mission of Streetwise Defence, Dene said: “Ideally we want to go into more schools and educate children on how they can keep safe in these situations.
“It’s all about dispelling the notion that people have, a preconceived idea on self-defence. Despite what others may teach, it’s more about human psychology than physicality. Everyone is driven by emotion, so it is important to understand that and take it into consideration when facing a scenario.
“Ultimately it can happen to anyone, so we want to teach you to investigate risks, and focus on awareness and avoidance, because these are survival skills that mean you don’t need to walk around feeling intimidated all the time.”
Streetwise Defence is available for all people, young and old, to better educate society on the dangers that criminal attacks can possess. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Streetwise Defence has teamed up with Rob Fulton and Andy Parr at Lincoln Grappling Coalition on Wavell Drive, offering their facilities as a space for lessons. They can also travel to companies, universities and schools for group classes.
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