by admin | 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
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’
by admin | Apr 12, 2020 | Children, Chocolate, Food, Lincolnshire, lincolnshire Business, Lincs Connect, Lincs Police, LincsConnect, LincsPolice
Easter – A Celebration Of Hope
Some words of hope from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
“…Easter isn’t cancelled…”
We may not be able to go to church, see our friends or share our table with family for an Easter feast but…
This Easter is bright and sunny but our holiday destinations remain closed. Beaches and countrysides are deserted and church doors locked; It’s easy to focus on the negatives that come with these unprecedented times isn’t it? However, NOW is the time to start planning for the future!
Easter 2021
I can’t say it any better that the words sung by Heather Small so I won’t try. Here is are an excerpt of the lyrics from her famous song ‘ Search for A Hero’. Have a read and if you have a mind, click on the lyrics to follow the link to her recording on YouTube. Pure inspiration
M People – ‘Search for a hero’ Click or tap on the lyrics to go to the video on YouTube
Taking inspiration from our Monarch and reading these lyrics perhaps it’s easier to see a brighter future. Easter 2021 will be upon us before we know it! It will surely feel strange when we reflect on 2020 and what we missed and the loved ones we may have lost but 2021 ‘is’ our future so lets get planning.
Plan Now
What will your priorities be for next Easter? Perhaps we shall reflect and realise that we don’t need all the trappings of an affluent society. Will it be a simpler and more joyous occasion as we celebrate with our family around the dining table? It’ll be a time to celebrate what we have and what is good about life. A time to remember all the heroes who kept us going and gave us hope. From all the outstanding members of the NHS who ‘stepped up to the mark’ and did what they had to do to save lives, to the police who kept our society safe and ‘all’ of the key workers, volunteers and small businesses who, without their selflessness we would have been in a much worse position.
What Will You Look Forward To?
If we are planning now for all the nice things in life will our priorities have changed? Having realised that we can survive very well without spending so much money will we be happier with a family walk in the countryside or a family outing to the coast, City or towns? Whatever we do to celebrate, I hope it is with family and friends and whatever your faith may be, I hope it is a happy time for you.
Take Care and Stay Safe
“…Easter isn’t cancelled…”
by admin | Mar 27, 2020 | Charity, COVID19, Food, Lincolnshire, lincolnshire Business, Lincs Connect, LincsConnect, Louth
Food And Support…
I had the pleasure of talking to Paul Hugill the other day about the fantastic work he is doing with his team to feed the vulnerable people in the Louth area. I have to say, he really does ooze enthusiasm! If you ever need to speak to someone with some ‘get up and go’ Paul is your man!
Taking on the mammoth task of feeding the homeless and vulnerable, Paul put out a plea for assistance. Obviously in need of food, food and more food if this task is going to be achieved but he also needs more volunteers too. If you are able to help out in the kitchen or from home, packing or delivery please get in touch. I’ll mention it here but I’ll also post a reminder further down too; Paul is desperately in need of fridges and freezers. Thanks to the very generous donations he has received he is able to get meals cooked and sent out but storage will always be in short supply. If you know of any industrial size fridges and freezers that can be donated on loan I’m sure Paul will be happy to hear from you. In addition, he is short of protein based produce so if there are any butchers out there who can make a donation you know what to do… I’ll post some contact details at the bottom of the blog but I’ll also post links in the pictures too so if you are able to offer any help at all you will hopefully be able to get in touch one way or another.
What’s It All About?
For the link to the Just Giving page just click on this picture
Two nutritious meals a day for those in isolation or are vulnerable during the Coronavirus pandemic. If you think you can help with a cash donation please visit the just giving page and give whatever you can. Money is always welcome of course but Paul is also open do donations of fresh food and even cooked food which will help to take some of the pressure away from his own kitchen.
As well as feeding the vulnerable during this crisis Paul is also committed to helping to feed the homeless in the area by supporting and preparing meals for the East Coast Homeless Outreach. Outstanding! I’m not sure when he gets time to sleep but I do hope he manages to get some rest in between all the good work that he’s doing. Perhaps a quote from The Priory website might be a good idea here:
“…People are at the heart of what we do – you, our valued guests and or staff, most of whom may not have had the best start in life or have learning difficulties and whose potential has been overlooked.”
Just those few words seem to sum up what Paul is all about. Caring for and helping people seems to drive him forward and keep him motivated. With his team of willing staff he has set up a project under The Serendipity Initiative to help feed those in isolation during the Coronavirus pandemic. It’s a huge task and your help, however big or small that might be, will be welcomed with open arms. Would you believe that Paul has set a challenge to supply the two nutritious meals a day for the vulnerable ‘free of charge’? Obviously any donations to help the project to succeed will be gratefully received.
If you use Facebook you might like to take a look at this video as I think it explains more in just a few minutes than I could do in a thousand words.
Take a look at what Paul and his team for the community
Please also take a look at The Serendipity Initiative to see if you can help. Remember, if you don’t have cash, you don’t have food to donate, you aren’t able to help with food preparation, you CAN help by simply spreading the word. Talk you your friends, copy the links from this blog and post them on your social media pages or copy the link to this blog and post the whole thing. Every little helps so please try to do whatever you can.
What’s Needed?
Right now Paul is looking for any help that you can donate, storage space, fridges, freezers and protein rich foods. All other food and cash donations are obviously always welcome of course.
Contact:
Here are a few useful contact numbers and addresses:
Tel Louth 01597 602930
eMail paul@sevendipityinitiative.co.uk
Website www.serendipityinitiative.co.uk
Facebook Serendipity Louth
Twitter @PrioryLouth
Paul has had a mention in a previous blog with his Serendipity Initiative and the work that is going on to support people during the Coronavirus Pandemic. If you would like to read more about that follow this link: ‘Coronavirus – We can Help Each Other’
Thank you all for taking the time to read this post. Please feel free to copy it and send it on to your friends by email or on social media. The more people we can get to see it, the better.
Stay healthy, stay happy and STAY IN.
Best wishes
by admin | Mar 22, 2020 | Afternoon Tea, Bawtry, Beauty, beauty Therapy, Bracebridge Heath, Coronavirus, COVID19, Doddington Hall, Food, Gainsborough, Garden Centres, Gardening, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, lincolnshire Business, Lincs Connect, LincsConnect, Pennell's Garden Centre, Petwood Hotel, Scunthorpe, Take Away, Takeaway, The Small Beer Ltd, two Hotel, Waxing
Lincolnshire Businesses Fight Back
It can’t have escaped your attention that since the Corona Virus outbreak businesses and communities have adapted at an amazing rate. Closures of our friendly and much loved businesses have meant local (and national) bosses have had to seriously ‘up their game’ in order to carry on trading. We have enjoyed the comforts and luxuries of fine dining, takeaway dining, drinking at home, drinking in the local pubs, visiting and socialising with friends and family, theatre, cinema….. I could take up the whole blog just listing the things we have been enjoying that have come to an abrupt halt over the last few days. Finances are obviously a big concern so making swift decisions to recoup potential future losses has been a priority for many.
Takeaway Or Takeaway…?
Being used to having so much choice it’s inevitable that the sudden closure of our local businesses has come as quite a shock. Finances aside, it’s been heartening to see local hotels step up to the mark to carry on providing a service for us. In Woodhall Spa the beautiful Petwood Hotel (the home of so much Lincolnshire and National history) has turned it’s hand to providing take away (or order and collect) ‘Petwood Afternoon Tea’ as well as their special ‘Petwood Basics Box’ – I haven’t had chance to sample the latter yet but I’m sure it’ll be a very special treat. It’s certainly not going to be your traditional idea of a fast food takeaway that’s for sure. Perhaps that’ll be the subject of a separate blog all of its own.
Home of so much local and national history, a beautiful building and delightful gardens it’s hardly surprising that Managing Director Emma Brealey and her fabulous team would ‘step up to the mark’ and produce something special to keep their loyal customers and friends happy. If you haven’t visited yet I highly recommend you make it a special treat sometime later this year when the Corona Virus ordeal has relented. Here’s a little reminder of what you might experience:
Possibly one of the countries most photographed hotels. the Petwood Hotel is certainly outstanding. Give them a call on 01526 352 411 to book your next stay
Beautiful Borders
Lincs Connect doesn’t ‘just’ cover Lincolnshire. We have lots of local businesses on our borders serving people from our county and one such business is Bare Waxing on Bawtry Road in Hatfield Woodhouse. Just down the road from Scunthorpe and not too far from Gainsborough this beauty salon is run by Nichola. Initially starting as a small beauty therapy business I have seen Nichola build it up with increasing members of staff and now a second salon in Doncaster too. Obviously offering a waxing service but also including fake tans, nails, massages and all the usual beauty services. Having known Nichola for some time I can personally recommend her and her team.
Bare Waxing in Hatfield Woodhouse is certainly worth a visit if you’re in the Scunthorpe area. You can contact Nichola on tel:01302846873
Fancy A Tipple?
Drinking in the bars, restaurants and hotels of the County aren’t an option at the moment but if you fancy a drink you could visit one of our many breweries for a takeaway beer or perhaps pay a visit to Small Beer Ltd in Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln, Don’t be fooled by their name, ‘Small’ Beer isn’t actually a small shop, it’s more of a very successful going concern that has been around for over 40 years. selling bottled beers and ciders through to cask ales as well as soft drinks and spirits. In fact, they’ve got quite a range and I’m looking forward to paying a visit very soon. Just to make life easier, you can order online or even through their own App. Life doesn’t get much easier!
Small Beer Ltd are open to the public and can be found on Churchill Business Park, Sleaford Road, Bracebridge Heath or why not give them a ring on 01522 540 431
How Does Your Garden Grow…With Free Delivery
As many of us will be spending more time at home it makes perfect sense that Pennell’s Garden Centres in Lincoln, Cleethorpes and Sleaford should be offering free delivery of plants, shrubs and equipment. As I write this I can see that the sun is shining outside and I can hear the sounds of lawn mowers and scarifiers. Spring is here and while we have an enforced period at home what better way to responding your time than catching up with the gardening and preparing it for (hopefully) a glorious Summer. Why not give the team a call to discuss your early Spring purchases
Pennell’s Garden Centres are located in Lincoln, Cleethorpes and Sleaford. If you would like to contact them for your Spring purchases just click pn this picture to see their website
On The subject of Free Delivery…
Did you know that the Doddington Hall Farm Shop is now offering free delivery and they use an electric car to do it too! I’m sure everyone in Lincoln must be aware of Doddington Hall with its lovely walks, fantastic building and fabulous cafe and shops. Sadly the cafe is closed at the moment but the Farm shop is still in full swing offering free local delivery for up to 10 miles and a very small charge for journeys up to 25 miles. Perhaps, as a farm shop where they produce much of their own produce I should schedule another dedicated blog to cover it and some of the other wonderful farm shops that we have in the County. For those of us who are regular frequenters of Doddington Hall, we’ll know exactly how good it is. If you haven’t tried their produce, you’ll just have to take my word for it. You can visit the Doddington Hall website simply by clicking on the picture below:
Just A Sample
Obviously there is much more going on in our lovely County so this is just a very small snapshot. If you would like me to do a full blog on your business why not get in touch? You can tweet me of course @LincsConnect or drop me an email at martin@lincsconnect.co.uk I’ll be more than happy to help promote your local business or charity. Talking of which, have you seen my ever expanding blog which highlights the good things people are doing during the CoronaVirus pandemic? If you know of any good deeds happening around the county that need a mention please do get in touch.
Contact me if you would like your business or charity adding to this blog
That’s all I have time for at the moment but there will be more blogs and updates coming very soon.
Stay safe everyone. Keep your distance and keep your hands clean
by admin | Mar 20, 2020 | books, Caistor, Charity, Children, Coronavirus, COVID19, Food, Grantham, Grimsby, Hashtags, Lincolnshire, lincolnshire Business, Lincs Connect, Lincs Police, LincsConnect, LincsPolice, Networking, police, Schools, Scunthorpe, Stamford, Take Away, Takeaway
Support And Help From Around The County
The aim of this blog is to highlight some of the fantastic support that is being offered by local businesses, charities and individuals. To access more information including contact information please click/tap on the logo/pictures below:
Lincoln Area
Washingborough Academy are providing hot meals for the elderly in isolation in the Washingborough area during the coronavirus pandemic. Please let your elderly neighbours know about this project. Click on the picture for contact details.
Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln. Your community needs volunteers NOW. Can you help your local community? Contact Andy by clicking on the picture to find the contact form
Lincoln. Browns Pie Shop are delivering to your home or work 7 days a week from 12.00pm-8.30pm within 10 miles of the shop
Lincoln. The Salted Orange are offering a ‘not for profit’ meal delivery service for the over 65s. £20.00 weekly for three meals a day delivered to your door twice weekly
Lincoln Veg Out Lincoln provide a delivery service for their frozen vegan meals. Click the picture to go to their website or follow them on twitter @vegoutlincoln
Lincolnshire Grow Your Own Veg – skip the supermarket queue by growing your own veg from seed. Not sure how? Click on the picture to go to the website for more info or follow @strawbaleukman on Twitter. There is even a book to download too. No Soil Needed….
ONLINE. Dance classes for all age groups online. Why not join your children and have some fun? It’ll keep you fit too!
Lincoln, Norton Hub are providing a volunteer led local help scheme to those in isolation
Lincoln Small Beer is open to the public for beer, cider, wine, soft drinks, spirits, cask ale & kegs. Call them on 01522 540431 or click the picture to visit the website.
Lincoln The Golden Eagle is providing home deliveries too
Lincoln. School closure interim provision. To book call 01522 283027
Lincoln – BetterWeb Space is offering FREE basic websites during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Lincoln & Lincolnshire – Octagon Technology has produced a blog for remote workers. A useful blog about VoIP and how you can use it while working from home. Click on the picture to visit the blog post
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire. “Self-isolation can be difficult for even the most resilient of us. If you’re experiencing loneliness or feeling low, call the emotional support helpline 0800 001 4331. Open 24/7 for confidential support”
Lincolnshire & Beyond. Call Connect Bus are still working to help our community stay mobile and now providing FREE transport too. Call 03452343344 for info
Lincolnshire. Lincs Libraries may have the answer to self-isolation boredom with their ‘download and listen’ service. It’s FREE with your library card
Lincolnshire Co-Op have announced at 12.00pm 22 Mar that they have reviewed their opening times and are advertising jobs for Customer Service Assistants and Delivery Drivers. The new store opening times will be 7.00am – 8.00pm with restrictions of two units on all products. Click the logo to go to their web page.
East Lindsey Lincs Digital partnered with TED East Lindsey are here to help with digital connections. If you know someone who needs help connecting with Skype or FaceTime visit their website for more info. Simply click the image to go to the website.
Lincolnshire This is a useful blog by @CCDigitalUK which explains how to market your Hand Made Products for sale on Etsy. An ideal opportunity to use some time at home to brush up on some marketing skills. Click on the picture to go to the blog post
Lincolnshire Live are promoting Lincolnshire businesses for free on 2 April 20. Click on the picture to follow the link
Gelston FREE delivery on packs of lamb meat. For more info click on the picture to follow @GelstonLamb on twitter
Gelston Lamb – Free delivery (for orders over £35.00) within 10 miles or 15 miles for orders over £70.00. Fresh lamb delivered to the Grantham, Sleaford, Ruskington, Heckington and surrounding villages. Order yours no by calling 01400 251501
Charity/Community Help
Lincoln – Bracebridge Heath, Can YOU volunteer to help your local community in Bracebridge Heath? Please contact Andy ASAP by clicking the picture to go to the website. THE COMMUNITY NEEDS YOU
West Lindsey Business Rate Application Form. West Lindsey still have money available and believe there are still businesses that have not claimed
South Holland, Spalding. South Holland are providing additional support for those in the area who are struggling financially as a result of the Coronavirus. Click on the picture to find the Linc. Also contactable on Twitter @SHollandDC
Lincolnshire Rural Support Network (LRSN) @lincsruralhelp provides help and support to Lincolnshire farmers and their families. Cal 0800 138 1710 or click on the picture to open the link
Lincoln Washingborough Academy are providing hot meals for the elderly in isolation in the Washingborough area during the coronavirus pandemic. Please let your elderly neighbours know about this project. Click on the picture for contact details.
Louth. Are you struggling to feed yourself or your family? Two hearty meals delivered to your door each day could help you. Call 01507 602930
Spalding Covid Kindness Team. Contact the team for help with delivery of food, essentials & medications
North East Lincolnshire Single Point of Access (open 24/7) for your health, wellbeing, social care and mental health needs. Call 01472 256256 or click on the image to visit the website.
Lincoln. If you’re looking for volunteers please contact VCS Lincoln who will help promote your opportunities. Click on the picture to visit their website
Lincoln Community Larder (food bank) are in constant need of food and supplies. Can you donate something please? Click on the picture to visit their website and locate a drop off point near you
Lincolnshire Age UK East are continuing to provide telephone advice and support to older people in the East and West Lindsey areas as well as in North Lincolnshire. Click on the picture to visit the website
Lincoln/south Lincolnshire Can YOU help please? Age UK need extra volunteers NOW. You can find them on Twitter @ageuklsl or alternatively click on this picture to go to their website
Lincolnshire Community Health Services NEED YOUR HELP. @LincsNHS are offering paid work and flexible hours in return for your help NOW. email grace.gourley@nhs.net or call 07824 550 846
Boston, Grantham & Lincoln are looking for temporary staff to support catering and domestic work. Go to Twitter @ULHT_News or click on this picture to go to the website for more info
Lincolnshire County Council have regular video updates so please click this link for service updates and click on the picture for the regular live updates.
Lincoln If you need help with food, food deliveries or can lend a hand visit Lincoln Food Partnership
Rutland To find out what help is available in the Rutland and South Lincolnshire area visit the Rutland council website by clicking on the picture
Uffington For assistance in Uffington and the local area please contact Rev’d Fr Aran P Beesley by phone 07590 055905 or email aran.beesley@gmail.com
UK. If you haven’t visited this .Gov website yet, DO IT NOW. Click on the picture to go to the website
UK. If you haven’t visited this .NHS website yet, DO IT NOW. You can go to the website by clicking on the picture
Lincolnshire. Can you volunteer? Click on the picture to go to the website
Lincolnshire Police request that you click on this picture to take you to the link for help and advice both nationally and locally for Coronavirus issues
Lincolnshire Police request that you do NOT contact them for Coronavirus related advice. There are other, more well equipped agencies available with information for you. Only call 101 for police related matters. Click on the picture to go to the website for info
East Lindsey Fortnightly activity packs for the over 50s. If you know anyone over 50 in the area who is isolated or alone please let them know about the services on offer. Click on the picture to reach the link
#NHS From 1 Aril @NHSLincsWest @NHSLincsEast @NHS_SouthLincs @SWLincs_NHS will all come under the umbrella account of @NHSLincsCCG
Lincolnshire FionaDuncan @OrigArtPrints is offering 20 (first come, first served) FREE cards for those of you who would like to send a message to friends/family/colleagues in the NHS. Just quote #Free2NHS to take advantage of these printed cards. All you will be asked to pay is the postage. You can also find Fiona on facebook
Click on the picture to find the link to Fiona on Facebook
Ease Lindsey DC now have £62m to support small business grants. Click on the picture to open the link
NHS Coronavirus checker. Please complete this short survey for the NHS by clicking on this picture.
#LincsConnectJobs
Lincolnshire Food industry Jobs. Many jobs are available within the food industry sector NOW. Click on the picture to follow the link or follow @GreaterLincsLEP on twitter
Martin Lewis Money Matters
Martin Lewis the Money Saving Expert explains what’s available
Martin Lewis – Update for the Self Employed 24/3/20
Martin Lewis update for the Self Employed 27 Mar 20
Alford
Aby (Near Alford) Saturday evening wood fired oven pizza to take away (5.00pm-7.30pm). Call 01507 451366 before 4.00pm. ZERO CONTACT collection system of course. Days/times may change according to government regulations
Boston
Boston Market will continue as planned but will sell food only. Please respect Social Distancing when you visit and give a friendly smile to the stall holders
Cleethorpes & Grimsby
Cleethorpes. Toven’s Cafe offering food deliveries. Call 01472 488590 or click on the picture to visit the website.
Cleethorpes. Spill The Beans are offering a FREE delivery service to Cleethorpes & Grimsby areas. Call 01472 601392 or click the picture to go to their website
Cleethorpes. Veronica’s Larder is offering a takeaway service. Call 01472 823875 or click on the picture to visit the website
Grimsby Age UK North East Lincs are offering a meal delivery service. Call 01472 344976 or click on the picture to go to the website
Gainsborough
Gainsborough The Gainsborough market will continue until further notice supplying food items. Please obey the social distancing rules.
Grantham
Grantham. The Lunchbox delivers food around Grantham to keep your hunger at bay. Give them a call today
Grantham Gelston Lamb provide mail order fresh lamb direct from the farm. To place your order visit them on Twitter @GelstonLamb or on Facebook Gelston Lamb. You can order by phone too on 01400 251 501
Grantham The Grantham market will continue until further notice supplying food items. Please obey the social distancing rules.
Louth
Louth Award winning Meridian Meats don’t just supply top quality meat! Currently baking extra bread too in order to help feed the town. Pop in but keep a social distance for the safety of everyone
Louth. Are you struggling to feed yourself or your family? Two hearty meals delivered to your door each day could help you. Call 01507 602930
Louth Market is still open for food sales during the Coronavirus crisis. Please respect the Safe Distance rule
Market Rasen
Market Rasen Cote Hill Cheese are now providing a MAIL ORDER service for their cheese so now is the time to replenish your stock. You can give them a call on 01673 828 481, find them on Twitter @CoteHillCheese and on Facebook Cote Hill Cheese. Click on the picture to go straight to their website
Spalding
Spalding. Is your computer in need of repair? TCS are offering FREE pickup while we go through the process of self-isolation
Spalding Covid Kindness Team. Contact the team for help with delivery of food, essentials & medications
Spilsby
Hundleby (Spilsby) The Elm Tree are now providing take away afternoon tea for just £10.00. Call them to book your treat on 01790 753534 or click on this image to go to their website
Sleaford
Gelston Lamb – Free delivery (for orders over £35.00) within 10 miles or 15 miles for orders over £70.00. Fresh lamb delivered to the Grantham, Sleaford, Ruskington, Heckington and surrounding villages. Order yours no by calling 01400 251501
Stamford & Rutland
Stamford. Central Cafe Stamford are providing a delivery service for those who can’t get out due to self isolation. Minimum spend £10.00
Stamford. Contact the growing network of coordinated volunteers who are ready to help wherever possible. Find them on Twitter @OurStamford or click on the picture to go straight to their website.
Stamford The Stamford Cheese and Wine Cellar is open for business and is also providing mail order deliveries. Click on the picture to go to their website.
Stamford The Copper Room is providing a home delivery service for your bar until 11.00pm. Click on the picture to go their website and follow them on twitter @CopperStamford
Rutland For updates on what’s available in the Rutland area please click on the picture to go to the Rutland council website
There’s More…
This list is by no means complete so rather than producing more and more blogs with contacts lists this one will be updated regularly. Please save this URL to your favourites on whatever device you are using. More headings will be added to make searching the blog easier. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell your friends about this blog. It’s here for us all and it’s not for profit. Spread the word and stay safe
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by admin | Mar 9, 2020 | Chocolate, Food, Lincolnshire, lincolnshire Business, Lincs Connect, LincsConnect, Networking
Chocolate
Chocolate tasting in Lincolnshire with Katherine Laverack. Do I have your attention now? I suspect there aren’t many people who don’t like chocolate but apologies to those of you who don’t like it or can’t eat it. However, when we’re out shopping it seems very difficult to avoid it. So much so that we hardly even register in our mind that it’s there!
If you’re like me you’ll enjoy sitting down to watch something on TV and will quite possibly end up eating more of it than you really should. That is of course until you’re educated in the art of real chocolate eating…
Louth Chocolate Tasters
They say ‘ignorance is bliss’ and that may be true but once you’ve been educated there is no going back. I’m a chocolate lover so imagine my excitement when I was invited to join Kathryn @KathrynLincs for a chocolate tasting evening. The group meets in Louth for a chocolate tasting evening but other venues are available as well as online courses.
Let’s get to the important bit – ‘chocolate’. The meeting was held in The Brown Cow Louth at 7.30pm. It all sounds very formal doesn’t it? in reality it’s just a group of very friendly people with a common love of chocolate.
I had no idea what to expect but I took my seat and waited in quiet anticipation. Well, that’s not quite true. We were all getting into conversations with people around us and there was a very friendly buzz in the room.
Meet the members
If any of you have been to a wine tasting event I suspect you’ve a good idea how my chocolate tasting evening was going to go. We each had a couple of information sheets with details of the evenings chocolatiers as well as a separate page for making notes. You’ll see my note page below with my scribbled reminders on. It doesn’t look very pretty but then my hand writing never is!
Note taking for future reference and comparisons
As you can see from the heading on my note paper, the focus for the evening was Canadian chocolate. Perhaps I should elaborate; This was some of the finest Canadian chocolate and the selection certainly surpassed my expectations.
From Canada To Lincolnshire
Let the tasting begin
If you hadn’t already noticed from my notes above, would you have known that you’re actually meant to suck the chocolate in order to experience the full flavours? Being used to the standard Cadburys or ‘posh’ Belgian chocolates my instinct was to put the chocolate in my mouth, chew it and swallow. It’s a good job Kathryn was on hand to educate me in the finer art of chocolate tasting!
One Square Or Two?
Actually, a platter was handed around the table and we each took ‘half’ a square of chocolate to smell and taste. This may sound a little odd but the idea here is to taste the chocolate not gorge on it. We each made our own notes (in my case, ‘scribbles’) and discussed what we had found.
I’m sure my notes are very sparse compared to the regular club members. Following the discussion around the table I soon realised that I had not noticed some of the key flavours of each of the samples. Other members were detecting berries and other subtle flavours that I had missed but immediately recognised as soon as they were pointed out to me.
All of the samples on offer were dark chocolate and of varying percentages but it soon became apparent to me that not all dark chocolate is bitter. The Soma Arcana is 100% and not to my taste. I did get the flavours but it wasn’t a chocolate that I would buy. Well, we can’t please everyone all of the time can we?
I did have a favourite though and that was the Sirene Dark Milk Guatemala at 65%. It’s almost identical (to my amateur pallet) to the Sirene Chabil but smother and without the Cardamom. I did say ‘almost’ identical didn’t I? I’m sure the seasoned chocolate tasters will allow me my novice opinion.
The Debris
After nine samples of half a square each and one hour forty minutes later the evening came to an end. Needless to say, there were a few empty wrappers left over but very little chocolate. A thoroughly enjoyable evening in good company and held in a private room in The Brown Cow pub, Newmarket in Louth. Our hosts were Kathryn www.cocoaencounters.co.uk and Lindsay www.spirechocolates.co.uk and I’m truly grateful for my invitation and education.
Trust me, once you’ve experienced one of these evenings you’ll view your chocolate consumption in a completely different light.
Do It Yourself
If you would like to set up a group in your area please get in touch with Kathryn who will be more than happy to help you. You can book a course of your own by contacting Katherine on twitter @kathrynLincs or by email at cocoaencounters@gmail.com. You don’t need to be an expert but it’ll help if you like chocolate.
Visits
Would you like me to visit your place of work or group? I’m sure you’ll have something very interesting to share with the County and I would really be pleased to help you spread your message. You can contact me through the website www.lincsconnect.co.uk via Twitter @LincsConnect or through Facebook Lincs Connect. I’ll be waiting to hear from you.
