12 days with no COVID deaths in Greater Lincolnshire

British Cycling has announced its calendar of events for the 2022 National Road Series, including the popular Lincoln Grand Prix.

The Lincoln Grand Prix will be opening the season on Sunday, May 8 for both the women’s and men’s National Road Race categories, after being the last leg of the 2021 season this October.

It is a welcome relief to see the Lincoln Grand Prix taking place once again, after the event was sent into disarray by the coronavirus pandemic, prompting the 2020 race to be cancelled.

In the 2021 Lincoln race, Ben Swift retained his national title in the mens event and Pfeiffer Georgi won the elite women’s race. See the weekend in pictures here.

Ben Swift (centre) won the men’s elite race with Fred Wright (left) and Ethan Hayter (right) finishing second and third respectively. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The 2022 season will be contested over eight rounds for the women and seven for the men, including a first national series event for women at the Isle of Man.

Equal prize money will be on offer in both the men’s and women’s series, as has been the case since 2017. More details on the 2022 championships will be published in due course.

| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

British Cycling Head of Sport and Major Events, Jonathan Day, said: “I’m really pleased to publish the 2022 road and circuit calendars today, and want to express our deepest thanks to the event organisers for their ongoing support through what has been a really challenging period for the sport.

“It’s brilliant news that we’re able to welcome back a number of races which haven’t been able to take place in the past two seasons, including some mainstays of the calendar, and we’re determined to give our teams and riders the best possible platform to develop and grow from.”

The coronavirus pandemic has made people more appreciative of Christmas traditions, but also more weary of leaving the house for festivities, a study has found.

Research by Save the Children found that of 2,000 adults that took part, 53% believe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has made them value Christmas traditions more than they realised.

Among the top traditions were, of course, watching festive films, giving and receiving presents and putting decorations up, but the standout leader was, naturally, eating Christmas dinner.

However, traditions such as going to a pantomime, shopping in-store and going out for drinks on Christmas Eve made Brits feel more uncomfortable than pre-pandemic times, according to this study.

It was also discovered that 41% of people believe the traditions they follow each year have changed over time, while 35% have adapted to be less materialistic, and 32% have altered for the sake of their children.

The study was commissioned to celebrate the tenth annual Christmas Jumper Day, taking place on Friday, December 10, which encourages everyone to wear a festive jumper and donate money to Save the Children and help disadvantaged kids across the globe.

To sign up for Christmas Jumper Day and register for an online fundraising pack, visit the Save the Children website.

Francesca Savage, Head of Christmas at Save The Children, said: “For many of us, the traditions we take part in at Christmas are what make the festive period something we look forward to.  

“However, COVID-19 has meant that we’ve had to adapt and in doing so, people have swapped materialistic traditions for ones that bring joy to their children. 

“Whatever happens this year, we hope that the nation will join us in one of their top twenty beloved traditions of wearing a Christmas Jumper Day this Friday.  

“The  bolder and  brighter,  the better, to raise vital funds to help support Save the Children’s work in the UK and across the world.”

The British public’s favourite Christmas traditions, according to the Save the Children study, are:

1. Christmas dinner
2. Giving and receiving presents
3. Putting the Christmas tree up
4. Eating with the family on Christmas Day
5. Putting up decorations
6. Watching traditional festive films
7. Eating turkey
8. Listening to Christmas songs on the radio
9. Sending Christmas cards
10. Getting an advent calendar

Hospitals in Lincoln, Grantham and Boston will be lit up with festive stars to raise money for the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity this month.

The charity is launching its first ever Christmas campaign – Upon a Star – and stars have already started appearing at Lincoln County Hospital and Grantham and District Hospital. More stars will appear at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital next week.

The stars will be sponsored by businesses and individuals who want to support their local NHS, and reach 9,000 staff members who worked on United Lincolnshire Hospital NHS Trust sites.

There will be a total of 50 stars across the hospitals. Sponsor a star by contacting Charity Fundraiser Gary Burr via email at [email protected].

All sponsors will be featured on the ULHT website and promoted via social media. So far, Visual Systems Ltd, JMT Service and Intersystems have all sponsored a star.

People can also donate to the Upon a Star campaign online here.

All donations and money raised will allow the charity to continue to provide additional equipment, services and facilities for patients, visitors and staff across Lincolnshire.

Stars have already started appearing at hospitals in Lincoln and Grantham, and more will be added in Grantham next week.

The stars will be beacons of hope on the outside of the hospital buildings, shining bright for all to see and spreading joy to those working and visiting over the festive period.

Ben Petts, Charity Manager at the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity said: “It is great to have these additions to our hospital sites, as with COVID restrictions still in place Christmas cannot be celebrated the way our staff would like.

“It is our hope that these stars will give our workforce and visitors that added bit of Christmas cheer when they arrive or leave.”

The stars will be sponsored by businesses and individuals who want to support their local NHS.

The public can also get involved, get festive and raise funds for the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity through a variety of fundraising ideas.

This includes holding a Christmas jumper day, a wrapping party or donating unwanted gifts – find more ideas in the fundraising pack here.

The United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity was established in 1996 and has been supporting ULHT’s staff to deliver care to patients, their families and carers at Lincolnshire hospitals.

This helps to fund the extras which can’t be provided by the NHS alone, including developing new treatments, building state-of-the-art facilities and enhancing the environment for patients and staff – read more about the charity here.