The new owner of the Sizzling Griddle cafe in uphill Lincoln wants to give customers traditional and good quality, hearty breakfasts, and The Lincolnite went to check it out.
Ian Ray, who has run sister business Plough Boy pub on Upper Long Leys Road, off Burton Road, for three-and-a-half years, became the new owner of Sizzling Griddle, which is located next door, earlier this month.
The business opened with Ian at the helm on Friday, June 11, 2021.
Sizzling Griddle specialises in breakfasts, but also serves sandwiches, toasties, burgers and chips, prepared by head chef Jules, who “makes the griddle sing”.
Breakfasts are available as big (£6.80), small (£5.75), child’s (£3.50) and vegetarian.
Traditional English breakfasts, burger and chips, and poached egg on toasts are among the items on the menu at Sizzling Griddle. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The big breakfast comes with two sausages, two rashers of bacon, two eggs, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, hash browns, fried bread, toast or bread and tea or coffee. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Ian, who is originally from Widnes and has lived in Lincoln for eight years, told The Lincolnite that his aim is to serve a traditional style breakfast with no corners cut.
The cafe is believed to have been around for 50 years with different owners, and now Ian wants to put his stamp on it. He saw taking ownership of the Sizzling Griddle as a chance to blend two businesses together, although the cafe and Plough Boy pub will operate separately.
Ian said: “It’s gone well and we are already building up a good core of regular trade. We want to build on this opportunity further now and in the future.”
Burger and chips at the Sizzling Griddle. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Poached egg on toast – a simple yet tasty item on the menu. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
For the duration of England games in Euro 2020, there is currently an offer of a beer and a burger for £7. There will be a 10% discount for Lincoln City season ticket holders on match days when the season resumes, as well as same reduction for blue light badge holders and military personnel.
Later this month, a light bite menu will be introduced as food is served for the first time at the Plough Boy pub next door.
Sizzling Griddle is located off Burton Road in Lincoln. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Inside Sizzling Griddle. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Sizzling Griddle is open Monday and Tuesday 8am-1pm, 8am-2pm Thursday to Saturday, and 9am-1pm on Sunday.
After these times people can order breakfasts or other items on the menu to eat at the Plough Boy pub between 6pm and 9pm.
Sizzling Griddle is located next door to the Plough Boy pub off Burton Road. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Inside the Plough Boy pub off Burton Road. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Meanwhile, at the Plough Boy pub’s open mic and comedy nights take place from 7pm on Thursdays and the Sunday quiz will resume in mid-July.
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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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