Josh Francis

Nineteen-year-old University of Lincoln student Jamie Freshwater decided to learn stand up comedy in seven days in the aid of Comic Relief and perform at the LPAC in front of a live audience.

Freshwater said the idea was the product of a university radio assignment: “My friends challenged me to learn stand up comedy and perform within seven days, all to help support Red Nose Day by raising money.

“So over those seven days I put together an act ready to perform.” He performed his stand up on Thursday at the LPAC theatre’s cafe.

“It was really scary since it was my first proper gig and it wasn’t just my friends, since I performed in the café area a lot people watched and had lunch.

“I did a dry run for the university’s comedy society on Monday and it did go really well too.” Freshwater manged to raise £20 for Comic Relief.

He looked for inspiration for material by watching the news and current affair programmes, “though especially a lot of it came from the stories off This Morning.”

But the life of a comedian won’t be a career Freshwater will pursue any time soon.

“I’ll definitely not do it for a while since it was just a rush learning it in a week. Being a good comedian takes time.

“What I’ll do is probably practice my act and also improve and expand on my material then try again.”

To donate to Comic Relief, follow this link.

A creative form of busking can be found in Lincoln. Street painter Mark* creates artwork on the street maintaining what he believes to be a dying art.

Mark goes on the High Street and replicates popular works on the pavement for everyone to see: “I do it for an income and it’s not for a hobby, but I’m a painter and decorator by trade.

“I travel from town to town. I usually come out two or three days a week and try make most weekends, I use public transport so I’m not really mobile.”

Talking about how he creates his work, Mark said: “They’re copies of old masters from the Renaissance and I use pastel chalks.

“It’s always been a passion for me. I’ll usually take them to different cities and place a completed one next to one I’ll do from scratch.”

To produce a painting, it can take Mark several hours of hard work: “Usually one on the street takes me about four hours, the ones I bring with me tend to take between a day and day and half.”

Mark’s work is not very popular with the authorities, as this week he received a fine.

“For the first time in my life this week I was fined by a community police officer for £75, not for drawing on the streets but for writing the titles on the pavement.”

But Mark says street painting is not as popular as it used to be: “About 20 or 30 years ago they were quite a few street painters, but now most of them are 3D artists.”

3D art is where a street painter will create a piece of art but it will be drawn to have a three-dimensional effect as if the work is coming off the canvas.

*Name has been changed at request in order to protect his identity