County council awards £217m highways contract to Basingstoke firm

An incredibly rare 22 carat gold ‘Cadbury’s Conundrum’ egg from the 1980s will go on auction in Lincolnshire next month, three years after first being sold for over £20,000.

The egg was created in 1983 by the Queen’s official jeweller, Royal Goldsmiths Garrard & Co, as part of a nationwide Creme Egg treasure hunt contest.

It was the secretive prize at the end of the hunt, where 12 caskets containing a scroll were hidden across the country, but this one was an extra special 13th egg.

A closer look at the magnificent Conundrum egg. | Photo: Batemans of Stamford

It weighs 323.6g and was based on the front cover of the Don Shaw book in which the clues to the hunt were kept, depicting the book’s title, Conundrum.

The conundrum egg was first sold by Batemans of Stamford on July 1, 2017 for a then house record auction price of £17,200.

The total price paid was £20,640 when including the 20% buyer’s premium, way clear of the £10,000-£15,000 pre-estimates.

The owner had taken part in the egg hunt in the 1980s and couldn’t believe he was now the proud owner of this famous piece of history.

Sadly, he died in 2020 and the egg was inherited by his family, who have decided to part ways with it and allow Batemans to auction it off once more.

It will go under the hammer in an online only auction on Friday, February 19 in the late afternoon, as part of Bateman’s jewellery and watches, silver and gold sale.

The egg will come in its original box as part of the auction. | Photo: Batemans of Stamford

New pre-sale estimates judge the egg to be worth between £15,000-£20,000 and the lot comes with the egg’s original presentation box, as well as a copy of Conundrum, The Cadbury’s Creme Egg Mystery by Don Shaw.

Managing director at Batemans of Stamford, Greg Bateman, said: “It gives us enormous pleasure to offer this unique and spectacular golden egg once again at Batemans.

“We were greatly saddened to hear the original buyer had passed away, being as he was part of the rich history of our own auction house, and hope that we can do him proud in finding another lucky buyer who loved this spectacular egg as much as he did.”

A woman in her 40s was allegedly pushed over and kicked before dangerous medication was stolen in a callous attack near Boston.

The woman was walking her dog behind some flats when she was attacked by two young men and two young girls on the Bladon Estate in Fishtoft at around 8.10pm on Wednesday, January 20.

Her black rucksack was pulled from her and stolen. It contained her purse and a hairbrush, as well as prescribed drugs codeine and pregabalin.

Lincolnshire Police are concerned and want anyone who finds the medication to contact them straight away as it could be dangerous if swallowed by anyone it is not prescribed to.

The force are appealing for information about what they have described as a callous attack, which can be reported via 101 or by emailing [email protected]nn.police.uk and quoting incident 97 of January 21.

Alternatively, it can also be reported through the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online here.

Danny and Nicky Cowley are back working in Lincoln, but they’ve swapped football coaching for inspiring university students.

The brothers, idolised across the city for their influential spell in charge of Lincoln City Football Club, will be working with the University of Lincoln to inspire and motivate students with live-streamed Q&A sessions.

They will be streamed on the University of Lincoln’s Facebook and YouTube pages, as well as their website, starting weekly from 3pm on Wednesday, January 27.

Within the three scheduled sessions will be different topics, ranging from management and leadership, to maximising performance and sport psychology.

During their time as manager and assistant at the Imps, Danny and Nicky guided Lincoln to two promotions, a Wembley win in the Checkatrade Trophy final, and a miraculous run to the FA Cup quarter finals.

Now, the tactics boards and training sessions have been replaced with motivational speaking and words of wisdom for aspiring young people in the area.

They will be joined by education experts and academics, using A-Level curriculums for each of the topics discussed to bring the world of football to life.

Danny Cowley, the legendary former Imps manager. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Danny Cowley said: “We wake up every single day with a desire to improve and help people be the very best version of themselves.

“If you are open minded, willing to learn and keep growing, anything is possible in this world.

“For Nicky and I, working with the University of Lincoln is a great opportunity to help young people, who are currently stuck at home to think beyond their current walls and aim high.

“Lincoln is an amazing place and the University is at the forefront of innovation and new ways of learning.

“Both Nicky and I are really excited to be part of these sessions and we’d love as many young people as possible to get involved.”

The three talks will be:

• Wednesday, January 27, 3pm-4pm: Management, leadership and decision making
• Wednesday, February 3, 3pm-4pm: Factors affecting optimal performance in physical activity and sport
• Wednesday, February 10, 3pm-4pm: Sport psychology