A circus ringmaster model, a painting of Abraham Lincoln and a large pair of buffalo horns are among the array of weird and wonderful items on sale at a new antique shop in Lincoln.
Local man Benjamin Jackson, 41, has been operating his business My Secret Antiques online for two and a half years from a small storage unit in Washingborough.
Benjamin has since expanded the business by opening a shop at Unit 5, Great Northern Way on Great Northern Terrace in Lincoln on Saturday, November 2.
My Secret Antiques opened on Great Northern Way in Lincoln in November 2019. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Benjamin told The Lincolnite: “It has been amazing and really busy with lots of people visiting us – a mixture of other traders and the general public.”
The Lincolnite photographer Steve Smailes went to check out the new shop and, along with Benjamin, they picked out the following selection of highlights:
Circus ringmaster model
Old model of a circus ringmaster from around the 1950s. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
This old model of a circus ringmaster is Benjamin’s favourite item in the shop. It is from around the 1950s and is made of a resin fibre glass type material. It came from a private collection in Market Rasen.
Ben said: “It’s really unusual, I’ve never seen anything like it and it’s a pure one off.”
Price band £145.
Fairground swing boat
Fairground swing boat. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Fairground swing boat from the supplier of the Helter Skelter on The Great British Bake Off. Circa 1950.
Price band £175-500.
Large pair of buffalo horns
Large Pair of buffalo horns. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
This large pair of buffalo horns is from RAOB Lincoln, circa 1960s.
Price band £100-150.
Abraham Lincoln painting
Abraham Lincoln painting. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
A painting of Abraham Lincoln. The exact date the painting is from and artist is currently unknown.
Price band £90.
Solid oak filing unit
Solid oak filing unit. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Solid oak filing unit by Stolzenberg from a closed down factory on Grimsby Dockyard. Circa 1890-1920.
Price band £500+.
Chocolate moulds
Chocolate moulds from Holland. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Chocolate moulds from a new closed factory in Haarlem, Holland from circa 1960.
Price band £10-20.
Changing baskets
Changing baskets from Jubilee Park. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Changing baskets from Jubilee Park swimming pool from circa 1960s.
Price band £20.
Anatomical skeleton
Anatomical skeleton. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
An anatomical skeleton dating from around the late 1960s to early 1970s. It came from Cambridge University.
Price band £150.
Stamps sign
Stamps sign. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
A Stamps sign from Convent School issued to children to call home from circa 1940s.
Price band £85.
Snowman
Snowman. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Snowman from circa 1940s. It originally came from a shop in Cambridge and it was previously used as a Christmas prop.
Price band £145.
Hot Dog sign
Hot Dogs sign. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
A Hot Dogs sign from the yard of the supplier of the Helter Skelter on The Great British Bake Off.
Price band £30.
Fire buckets
Fire buckets. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Fire buckets from an old garage forecourt, which are likely to have been used to store sand. Circa 1930s.
Price band £30.
Advertising poster
An old advertising poster from the 1970s. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
An old advertising poster from the 1970s.
Price band £25.
Metal filing drawers
Metal filing drawers from the 1970s. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Metal filing drawers, which came out of an office from a closed down factory on Grimsby Dockyard. Circa 1970s.
Price brand £50.
My Secret Antiques owner Benjamin Jackson outside the shop. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Inside the shop. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The shop is open from 9am-2pm on a Saturday and 10am-2pm on Sundays. It can also open during the week by appointment only, which can be booked via Instagram or Facebook and by calling Benjamin on 07939 503064.
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A 20-year-old man has been locked up for three years after starting a fire in care accommodation with a discarded cigarette.
Callum Lilliot, 20, dropped a cigarette on his coat which he then threw onto his bed at his care accommodation in Awdry Drive, Wisbech, at about 10pm on Boxing Day 2021.
Officers initially were called to the property when Lilliot threatened to jump out of a second-floor window, but arrived to find smoke coming from an open window.
An officer began to kick the door down through fears that people were inside, before a carer opened it with a key and police tried to tackle the fire themselves.
The officers were beaten back by smoke and heat, causing two of them to be hospitalised with smoke inhalation. Four residents and carers were evacuated as Lilliot was arrested a short time later.
He claimed the fire had been an accident as temporary accommodation had to be arranged for other residents, but that was not to be the last time that Christmastime he got himself in trouble with the police.
In a further incident on December 29, just three days later, Lilliot rang 999 to say he wanted to hurt staff at Peterborough’s Edith Cavell Centre by burning it down.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of arson with intent to endanger life, arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered, and threatening to damage or destroy property, during a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday, June 29.
Lilliot was sentenced to three years detention in a young offenders institution.
Detective Sergeant Lee Womak, who investigated, said: “Lilliot showed little regard for the safety of others when he decided to deliberately drop his cigarette on his coat and start a fire.
“I don’t need to explain why starting fires is so dangerous and I hope Lilliot will reflect on his actions and consider how tragic the consequences could have been.”
A judge has issued an apology to a Boston man who admitted drug dealing after his sentence hearing was postponed for a second time because of strike action by crown court barristers.
Stacey Housham, 42, has been warned to expect jail after he pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine and heroin to other users.
Housham was due to be sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on June 9, but the hearing could not go-ahead because of protest action by defence barristers.
His case was postponed until July 5, however Judge John Pini QC was again forced to adjourn the sentence hearing after being told Housham’s barrister was unavailable because of strike action.
Housham, who attended the hearing by video-link, will now be sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on July 27.
Judge Pini told Housham: “These are serious matters. I have read the papers and the pre-sentence report in detail.
“Quite plainly your barrister needs to be here before you can be sentenced.
“I am sorry about this. It is something completely out of my control.”
Housham pleaded guilty to four charges concerning Class A drugs when he appeared at Lincoln Crown Court in April.
He was due to be sentenced after the preparation of a report by the Probation Service.
A number of other cases at Lincoln Crown Court have been impacted by the nationwide strike action by the Criminal Bar Association. (CBA)
Eight out of 10 barristers voted for the walkouts amid concerns the Government will not improve a proposed increase in criminal Legal Aid.
Housham, who was of no fixed address at the time of his offences, and is formerly of Collingwood Crescent, Boston, admitted possessing both cocaine and heroin with intent to supply others on February 10, 2020.
He also pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin to others between December 6, 2019, and February 11, 2020.
At a previous hearing the court heard Housham is now clean of drugs and has turned his life around.