Lincolnshire Christmas Social Heroes

Lincolnshire Christmas Social Heroes

by | Dec 3, 2020 | Charity, Christmas, Covid-19, Domestic Abuse, Domestic Violence, Donate, Facebook, Foodbank, Hashtags, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincs Connect, LincsConnect, Mandarin, Mandarin Therapies, Massage, Mobile, Social

Click on the picture to hear the new single and have the opportunity to buy your own copy. Every purchase will help someone local so that will make you a Lincolnshire Christmas Social Hero too!

 Christmas Angel by Jake Newby

Lincolnshire Christmas Social Heroes are all around us and this charity fund raising single is a perfect example.  It’s been a pretty bad year for most of us and it’s fair to assume that the local (and national) charities have been hit very hard as we tighten our belts and reign in our spending.  It’s important to remember though that if we don’t have the cash to spend we might be able to use our talents and skills to help others.  Jake Newby from Louth has done just that!  You can click on the picture above to go straight to his website to listen to the new song ‘Christmas Angel’. If you buy a copy you’ll instantly become one of the Lincolnshire Christmas Social Heroes too!

Why? Because all proceeds will be going to help local food banks!  Not only is it a lovely song by a very talented singer but it’s helping those who may be experiencing hardship right now. In addition to his website you’ll also be able to find him on Facebook Jake Newby.

You can also download a copy from iTunes.  Just follow the link by clicking on the picture below:

Click on the picture to download your copy from iTunes

You Can Donate To Become One Of The Lincolnshire Christmas Social Heroes

Find out more by clicking on this picture. Gemma will be really pleased to hear from you and you can become a Lincolnshire Christmas Social Hero too.

On the subject of Lincolnshire Christmas Social Heroes, meet Gemma from @vegoutlincoln on Twitter who is collecting cash donations through her Just Giving page. You can help by donating a little bit of cash of course. Just click on the picture above to donate if you can.  Here’s a quote from Gemma to explain: “This Christmas we would REALLY love to be able to support our local community by building plant based food packages for the Lincoln Food Bank… As a business we will be compiling food packages ready for delivery to the food bank on 18th December.”  It goes without saying of course that your donations will be funding plant based meals for those with special dietary requirements.

Local Lincolnshire Food Banks

I know the subject is Lincolnshire Christmas Social Heroes but The Lincolnshire Food Partnership is very active in our region all year.  They work tirelessly to make sure as many people as possible have access to food. It’s a partnership of several different organisations who come together to coordinate and distribute food to those who need it.  You can find them on twitter @food_lincoln or click on the link above/picture below to go to their website.  Being in food poverty is a real problem and has been heightened during the current pandemic.  If you can help them in any way please do contact them. If you’re in need of help in any way please don’t be afraid to ask.  The food banks are here to help.

Click on this picture to go straight to the interactive map and locate a food bank near you.  They’re there to help but will also be grateful for donations

Getting Around Lincolnshire At Christmas With The Lincoln DialaRide Social Heroes

Food is vital of course but it’s important to remember other aspects of what it takes to be a Lincolnshire social hero.  I’ve been watching the ‘comings and goings’ of the Lincoln DialaRide team over the past few months and it’s fair to say they’re doing a fantastic job. “Lincoln Area DialaRide Ltd is a Registered Charity. It’s managed by a Board of Trustees that includes users of the DialaRide (DAR), Voluntary Car Scheme (VCS) & Shopmobility services.” That pretty much sums up the description don’t you think? There is still more and more, and more…. to add but the list of good deeds they do is far too big to mention it all here.

Staffed mainly by volunteers the Lincoln DialaRide has been serving the community for 30 years.  Not only does it provide local transport to hospitals and shops but the service also takes people to funerals.  Delivering food for the Food Bank to those unable to collect as well as being a drop off point for collections. This really is just scraping the surface of the huge amount they do for the community.  Other services include providing mobility for shopping for those who are less able.  If you would like to volunteer for your community you might like to contact Lincoln DialaRide.  Here are the links for Twitter, Facebook and their website:   Twitter @lincolndar Facebook Lincoln.dar website www.lincolndialaride.co.uk

#NoExcuseForAbuse

Domestic abuse affects women and men regardless of age, education, religion, race or sexual orientation.  It’s not something we should tolerate in our society but it’s possible that some ‘victims’ may not even know that they are victims! If you would like to reach out for help End Domestic Abuse Now (EDAN) @EDANlincs is here for you.  You can follow them on Twitter or check out their website : www.edanlincs.org.uk where you’ll find a handy ‘Escape From The Website’ button on the top right of the page.  Take a look at this video on Facebook or YouTube:

Domestic abuse is never OK. If you’re in danger of harm call 999. EDAN Lincs is here to support you. Click on the pictures to view the video on Facebook or YouTube

                                                                         

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Christmas Presents Needed In Lincolnshire

Well, maybe not too cold if you’re indoors with the central heating on but spare a thought for the homeless. Circumstances can change quite quickly if bad luck hits; It could mean you don’t have a roof over your head!  Thankfully there are several fantastic charities in our area who regularly ‘step up to the mark’ to help those in need.  I don’t want to try to list them all because I’m bound to miss out someone important.  The Lincoln YMCA is one of several organisations that help to get people off the streets and into housing.  Would it surprise you to know that they have 175 residents currently in shelter at the moment?

The Lincoln YMCA Shoebox Campaign 2020 need our support. Be a Lincolnshire Christmas Social Hero. Just Click on the picture to go to the website for more information or find them on Twitter @YMCAlincs

If you have any spare shoe boxes please donate them to the YMCA.  Better still, if you can provide any of the items listed in the picture above please feel free to include them too. Don’t forget to mark the box ‘Male’ or ‘Female’ though for certain items. Moving up to the North of our County you’ll find more projects underway with the YMCA Humber team.  You can support them by organising your own fundraising events.  Take a look at the picture below for more information:

Support @YMCAHumber with their project ‘Give As You Live’ by setting up your own fundraiser challenges. You too can be a ‘Lincolnshire Christmas Social Hero’ Click on the picture to find out more

 

A Lincolnshire Christmas Together

We may not be able to physically spend a Lincolnshire Christmas together but I’m sure we’ll do our best to to make it festive and fun.

If the Covid-19 virus restrictions allow I hope there’ll be some form of limited travel allowed. On a personal note I think I prefer to spend my time with my family at home.  Yes, it’s going to be different and difficult but ‘hopefully’ it’ll be a restriction for just this year.  I’ve no doubt it’s going to be lonely for many people but with a little lateral thinking and our community spirit I’m sure we’ll find a way to reach out….. Read More…

Click on the picture to read more about ‘A Lincolnshire Christmas Together’

For A Lincolnshire Christmas Use #LincsConnectChristmas

If you’re wondering who is posting on the hashtag I suggest you have a look today. For a Lincolnshire Christmas use #LincsConnectChristmas on your tweets to reach more local people. Don’t forget to search the hashtag too because you’ll find lots of lovely gift ideas there.  The hashtag isn’t just for Twitter though;  There are posts on Facebook and Instagram too so go to your search bar and type in #LincsConnectChristmas to see what comes up…. Read More…

Click on the picture to read more about ‘For A Lincolnshire Christmas Use #LincsConnect’

That’s All For Now…

That’s it for the blog at the moment but I do intend to update this one and post several more blogs too.  Get in touch with any requests by emailing me at martin@lincsconnect.co.uk

Stay Safe

 

 

Local Honey – What’s Not To Like?

Local Honey – What’s Not To Like?

by | Apr 16, 2020 | Afternoon Tea, Beeswax, Candles, Chocolate, Donate, Food, Foodbank, honey, Lincolnshire, lincolnshire Business, Lincs Connect, LincsConnect

Local Lincolnshire Honey

Buy Local

When it comes to shopping do you buy locally produced food wherever possible or do you search for the cheapest available?  It’s a tough call but I would much rather support a local producer than a foreign import.

A recent acquisition of mine is honey.  Yes, I plead guilty to buying supermarket honey sometimes but that is usually led by convenience and not taste.  We all know that there is no such thing as ‘superfoods’ or ‘wonder cures’ but honey seems to consistently crop up when it comes to choosing the nearest thing to a superfood that you can get.  Naturally produced local honey from the Artisan Honey Co is really delicious and, containing its own natural preservatives, you’ll be pleased to hear that it doesn’t need any additional ingredients to make it taste nice.

Locally Sourced

Lincolnshire not only provides the country with a very large proportion of its food but it is also a huge producer of nectar for the bees.  Looking at the global eco system and the concern about the decline in the number of bees it’s really heartening to know that Lincolnshire is playing its part when it comes to feeding nature and helping to look after our planet.  Managing the hives to ensure future honey production obviously has the benefits of ensuring the safety of our bees too.

 

Eco Bees

This isn’t an ‘eco blog’ by any means but I must admit that I’m very conscious about what we’re doing to our planet and how we could better protect it.  With that said, I wonder if you are aware that the UK imports 90-95% of the honey we consume?  I’m sure you’ll agree that’s quite a shocking figure.  The carbon footprint of our honey must be enormous and the fossil fuels burned to transport it must surely be huge.  Until I looked it up I was completely unaware of how much of our honey came from abroad.  As I’m typing this I’m beginning to realise even more how important it is to ‘buy local’.  I know Si of @ArtisanHoneyCo sources his honey locally.  After all, it is his business and he has a duty of care for the bees that provide his income.  Without them there would be no Artisan Honey Co and we would be deprived of another source of top quality UK (Lincolnshire to be specific) produce.

 

Taste Test

Mmmmm!

 

Flavours

With the ever increasing demand for different flavours it makes sense to transport some of the hives out of Caythorpe for the bees to explore new locations.  The large expanses of oil seed rape will obviously provide a good source of pollen but we may have relatively small quantities of heather or Lavender so a short ‘hop’ across a County makes sense.  Unblended (flavours from a single floral source) allows us to appreciate the subtle differences in flavours rather than having a generic honey taste that the blended varieties produce.  let’s face it, that short hop is a much better scenario than a large hop across countries or continents!

 

How Do You Take Yours?

 

Producing honey since 2011 – although mine will be lucky to last a few days!

Honey on a plain cracker is going to allow us to pick up the subtle flavours more easily than on a strong tasting bread but I have to admit that I’m rather partial to honey on toast.  I asked a question on Twitter at breakfast time “Runny or set honey on my toast”?  Needless to say, the results were not conclusive so I had one slice of toast with runny honey and the other with set honey.  It seemed like a very good idea.  Someone suggested runny honey in the coffee but I like my coffee strong and bitter so I gave that one a miss.  However, I can confirm that they are both very nice neat – but don’t tell anyone that I did that!

I opened this as soon as I got it home and I can assure you that it isn’t going to be long before these jars are empty.

 

Spray It

The Coronavirus is the reason for this honey journey by the way.  If you’ve ever had a bad throat where it felt as though you’re trying to swallow razor blades you’ll know how I felt.  Si recommended a honey spray (which I used neat) to sooth the symptoms.  The spray contains alcohol and the combination certainly helped to anaesthetise the area.  I combined the spray with a small amount of neat runny honey (not both at the same time) which acted as a coating for my throat and certainly made it feel much better.  Thankfully I’ve recovered from the virus now so I’m back to relative normality.

Contact

Beeswax candles, polish and much more. Click on the picture to find The Artisan Honey Co on Facebook

 

From honey on your toast to beeswax candles and more. You can click on the picture to chat to Si on Twitter at @ArtisanHoneyCo

 

Or why not visit the website www.theartisanhoneycompany.co.uk to send an email? Simply click on the picture to find the link

 

DONATE

With all this talk about honey and my mind wandering around the subject of food it’s only right that I should include this message from the University of Lincoln Chaplaincy.  It’s a reminder that there are still people in desperate need of assistance in our County.  While many rushed out to panic buy food at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic it has become evident that there was no need to panic as food is still plentiful.  It’s a great shame that the refuse services reported a significant rise in food being thrown away by the public after the big rush with much of the food being untouched or even unopened!  With most buying restrictions being lifted now perhaps you can afford to buy a few extra tins or packets of food to donate? A little goes a long way when we all work together

If you would like contact the University of Lincoln Chaplaincy click on the picture to find them on twitter

Any donations, no matter how big or small will be gratefully received at any of the sites below.  If you’re new to donating be sure to let them know that you saw the post on #LincsConnect

Stay Safe

Stay safe everyone and remember, if a journey isn’t essential, ‘don’t do it’