Ralph Lending

Lincolnshire Co-op has raised £144,000 for hospices across the region, which will help support the services caring for those with life-limiting conditions.

The Co-op has raised the funds in the three-month period between March and June, with staff and shoppers taking part in a range of activities, volunteering exercises, and helped to raise awareness of the work that hospices do.

(L-R):Sophie Leaning from Holton le Clay Food Store, Tiffany Sarjeant and Danielle Budworth from Lincolnshire Co-op’s Head Office, Debbie Jolliff from Head Office, Simone Peterson from Holton le Clay Food Store, Kelly Slow from Bracebridge Heath Food Store and Stephanie May from Holton le Clay Food Store.

Hundreds of colleagues took part in a sponsored pedometer challenge, as well as a 12k trek along the Cleethorpes coastline by food store colleagues.

Local shoppers also contributed to the fundraising campaign, by donating £1 every time they booked a trip with the Co-op’s 13 travel branches around the county – it added thousands to the total raised.

Lincolnshire Co-op community engagement manager Sam Turner said: “We’re over the moon that communities have come together to raise such a fantastic amount of money for these great causes.”

The hospices, which were presented with the donations at a ceremony in Olsen, Lincoln, are from all over the county:

• St Barnabas Hospice, Lincoln
• Beaumond House Hospice, Newark
• Butterfly Hospice, Boston
• Bassetlaw Hospice, Retford
• Lindsey Lodge Hospice, Scunthorpe
• Saint Catherine’s Hospice, Scarborough
• St Andrew’s Hospice and Andy’s, Grimsby
• The Norfolk Hospice, Kings Lynn
• Dove House Hospice, Hull

St Barnabas Hospice received a donation of over £104,000 that will be shared between their Lincoln, Louth, Gainsborough, Grantham and Spalding services.

Head of fundraising and marketing for St Barnabas Veronica McBain said: “It’s breathtaking to have received something of that magnitude.

“It equates to roughly over 850 hospice-at-home visits, which means our nurses can go into patient’s homes and deliver the hands-on care that’s important at the end of life, which is a wish many patients want these days.

“It’s because of the community shopping at their local stores and other fundraising efforts that Lincolnshire Co-op has been able to deliver this. It is absolutely out of this world.”

(L-R): Kelly Slow from Bracebridge Heath Food Store, Sophie Leaning from Holton le Clay Food Store, Head of Fundraising and Marketing for St Barnabas Veronica McBain, the St Barnabas mascot, Corporate Fundraiser for St Barnabas Caroline Swindon, and Simone Peterson and Stephanie May from Holton le Clay Food Store.

Corporate fundraiser Caroline Swindon added: “This donation will make a massive difference in what we’re able to do to care for people across the county.”

Roman secrets could be unveiled when students come together at the University of Lincoln for a fresh examination of ancient inscriptions.

Twenty hand-picked students from across the UK will take part in the 10th annual Practical Epigraphy Workshop, which will take place at the University of Lincoln between June 20 and 22.

By holding a fresh study and re-examining the inscriptions, new insights will hopefully be revealed, giving a glimpse into what Roman life was really like.

The students involved will gain direct experience of the practical elements of recording and studying a range of stone and lead Roman objects featuring inscriptions at the event in collaboration with The Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents, University of Oxford, and Lincoln’s The Collection Museum.

The Jellicoe Inscription (Credit – The Collection)

The students taking part will have expert guidance from experts in the field, including that of Dr Roger Tomlin, a classicist and cursive Latin specialist, who will be giving a public lecture at 6pm, 20 June, on his involvement with the ‘Bloomberg Tablets’, Britain’s largest, earliest and most significant collection of Roman waxed writing tablets.

Attendance to the lecture is free, but prior booking is essential.

The St Paul Inscription (Credit – The Collection)

The Head of the School of History and Heritage at the University of Lincoln, Professor Paul Stephenson, said “It is… a great opportunity to showcase some of the heritage science techniques we have available here in Lincoln.”

Professor Stephenson also expressed his pride for the university by explaining that three University of Lincoln second-year students have been selected for the event, giving them new skills and insights for their final year of study.

Antony Lee, the Collections Access Officer at the Collection museum, expressed the importance of Lincoln’s Roman heritage and welcomed the opportunity to bring the county’s archaeological collections into the national limelight.

He also said, “The ability to converse with experts in this field about the significance and interpretation of the inscriptions will enable us to better interpret them to the public.”

For more information and to book a place at the lecture, go online here.