by Nigel Wass | Dec 10, 2024 | Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire Blogger, Lincolnshire Heritage, Lincolnshire Wolds, Lincs Connect, LincsBlogger, LincsConnect, Rambling, Restaurant
WassOnCoffee Ramblings – A Railway Ramble from Lincoln
Wassoncoffee Ramblings – A Railway Ramble.
Rambling or drinking coffee was the choice recently on Monday? Why not do both was the decision.
Myself and friend Ian left Metheringham station at 07:30 on the train to Lincoln. We met up with a fellow rambler convert James to head out via the Witham to Washingborough route on a dry morning. It certainly was an early start for James, who had been there since 06:00 as he couldn’t sleep! I don’t know if it was excitement or nerves lol.
A spirited pace took us via the river Witham and Stamp End lock via the old Titanic Building, so called as when built it was to the same dimensions as the ill fated liner. As we followed the old railway line out of Lincoln, in the footsteps of the original main line from Scotland to London until the 1890s we passed quite a few commuters heading in to Lincoln on their cycles. None looked happy to be heading to work!
On reaching the old station at Washingborough we left the level route and climbed up through the village past the hotel. The climb was our first test of the day, and it finished very near the railway tunnel near Heighington. It is a very small tunnel, and most people will not know it is there!
We then followed the Spire and Steeples route to Branston, via Branston beck which is one of the few Chalk Streams in the area. On reaching Branston we enjoyed a good coffee and bacon butty at the old Library cafe and can certainly recommend a visit.
Our route then followed the villages via Potterhanworth where we encountered our first Sqad (Lincolnshire for mud). The farm estate village of Nocton then followed, formally Smith Crisps and now Dysons (yes, the vacuum cleaner man). Most of the Strawberries you consume this time of year are grown here in massive glasshouses.
The lane to Dunston followed via paths I had not walked before so a nice bonus. We could finally see Meg (Metheringham) which was our journeys end. We felt proud of our achievement. Twelve miles walked in under four hours was a good ramble and we arrived back in Meg before the rain.
The next instalment will follow soon.
by Martin Thomas | Nov 24, 2024 | Burton Road, Christmas, Covid 19, Covid-19, Doddington Hall, Domestic Abuse, Domestic Vio;ence, Immingham, Lincoln, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln Cathedral, Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire Blogger, Lincolnshire Heritage, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, Lincs Connect, LincsBlogger, LincsConnect, LincsConnectChristmas, Museum, Restaurant, Rutland, ShopLincs, Stress, WhatsOnLincs
Lincoln Christmas Market
If anything is going to epitomise the Lincoln Christmas Market it has to be Lincoln Cathedral and Lincoln Castle. Castle Square was the original home of the market and over the years the market expanded to the Lincoln Cathedral, The Lawn and surrounding areas.
The Lincoln Christmas Market saw a huge expansion over the years that it operated. In my opinion, the expansion wasn’t particularly well managed with many stalls duplicated and triplicated. The expansion saw a significant rise in visitor numbers. This resulted in the Lincoln council ‘pulling the plug’ on health and safety grounds. In my opinion this was a big mistake as it dealt a huge blow to the local economy and the kudos of Lincoln City internationally.
The market was a huge asset to the city and the wider county. Local employment, small business income and tourism have all been affected by its closure. Its Christmas atmosphere, local financial income and kudos are missed in equal measures. However, with your comments added to this blog and lots of shares around your friends we may be able to encourage a rethink. It would be fantastic to see the market return to Lincoln.
Vienna
As a result of the closure of the market we (my wife and I) decided to seek an alternative to get us into the Christmas mood. That meant taking our custom elsewhere. ‘Another trail’ around the city looking at ice sculptures, knights, imps or monsters didn’t appeal. The first trail was fun but having the same idea rolled out several times a year didn’t inspire us. As a result, our research took us to Vienna.
Vienna has much to offer. Its history, fantastic architecture and many Christmas markets caught our attention. Following some research we planned a short break (4 nights) centred around visiting as many Christmas markets as possible. We managed 7 of the 9 Christmas markets and enjoyed them all.
Lincoln Christmas Market Inspired By Vienna
The Viennese Christmas markets took us to several different areas of the city. All but one was in walking distance (30-40 minutes) from our hotel. It struck me that Lincoln could certainly learn something from the Austrian idea. One of the markets was a local art market where artists and crafters had stalls to sell their gifts. Mixed in with the craft stalls were quality food vendors selling local hot foods and drinks.
The most important point to remember is ‘no duplication’ of stalls. There may have been several stalls selling Christmas tree decorations but they each had their own hand made unique products.
The atmosphere was relaxed and unhurried with enough stalls to keep shoppers interested for several hours. With food stalls and gluvine available visitors were able to spend several hours at the market to enjoy the atmosphere. Local cafes and restaurants also benefited from the increased tourist trade too of course.
Could Lincoln have a series of markets inspired by Vienna?
Market Locations
Just to be clear, the markets in Vienna were all on every day from lunch time until 9.00pm. That’s all 9 markets trading every day from mid November until Christmas! Each market has its own location with a theme. There was some duplication of stalls over the 9 markets but generally each one was unique.
Perhaps some good locations for Lincoln markets would be around the outside of Lincoln Cathedral to encourage shopping around The Bailgate as well as the market stalls. Another at The Lawn to encourage shopping on Burton Road. The Strait, Brayford, the arboretum and South Park would be a fantastic locations to encourage more local shopping. In addition there is Hartsholme Country Park, Whisby Nature Reserve, Doddington Hall, Newark Air Museum and Boultham Park. Perhaps a ‘music themed’ market at The Cornhill? The possibilities are many and varied.
Just A Thought
I wonder how feasible it would be to take inspiration from the Austrian idea? Personally I think it would be a great tourist attraction which would have the advantage of spreading tourists out around the city. Obviously local traders would benefit in their shops just as much as the market stall holders. The knock on effect for restaurants, cafes and hoteliers would be a welcome bonus too. Perhaps ‘flat rate’ taxi fares from market to market would also help another industry.
I would love to know your thoughts. If you have any ideas perhaps you could leave a comment below.
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Merry Christmas
Whatever you do from now until Christmas, I hope you have a very jolly time.
by Martin Thomas | Oct 19, 2024 | Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire Blogger, Lincs Connect, LincsBlogger, LincsConnect, Mandarin Therapies, WhatsOnLincs
Social Media Trends
Social Media Trends – Does the ever changing face of our society leads us to reassess our social media habits?
It’s been a while since I put pen to paper (or rather, fingers to keyboard) so I thought I ought to post another blog. Despite what many might think, I’m really not a social media guru. In fact, my background is in health and fitness.
Like many others I’ve found social media to be an incredibly useful tool for connecting, advertising and marketing. As a result I’ve become reliant on the platforms to aid my business.
Social Media Trends – Our Favourite Platforms
Until recently my preferred platform was Twitter. However, since it has been under the control of its new owner there has been a marked change in the platform. Gone is the ‘fun’. It seems to have been replaced by toxicity and selfishness. It wasn’t too long ago that people (small and large businesses, charities and organisations as well as the general public) used to share experiences and support each other. That has changed now! Many larger companies employ other companies to look after their social media. As a result, the ‘personality’ has been removed from those companies and friendships have been cast aside in favour of ‘posting content’ to get views.
Smaller businesses and charities have followed suite and much of the camaraderie has been lost. Where ‘share and share alike’ used to be the norm, it’s now ‘post, post, post and me, me, me’. It’s sad to see. The question in my mind is ‘why’? Why have so many forgotten the benefits of working closer together and looking after each other that we learned during Covid?
Social Media Trends – Which Platform?
X (Formerly Twitter)
My experience has largely been shaped by Twitter. Facebook works for many people but I personally find the platform very confusing. I have a personal page (mandatory) and three business pages. Linked to those pages is Messenger, Instagram and Threads. When I get a notification telling me that there is a post for me I spend far too long trying to find it! Some of you may have noticed that companies are now using the tag ‘@followers’ on Facebook posts which sends a notification to all followers that there is a message for them. In reality, it’s just a way of pushing an advert to you. Again, the personal touch has been removed.
X – AI capturing
For those of you who didn’t know, X is now using AI to capture and analyse your posts. The information gained is being used to sell on to third party organisations for advertising and goodness knows what else! Huge thanks to Steve (one of my X followers and friends) who highlighted this for me. If you are an X user, here is how you can help to protect yourself against this intrusion:
- Go to your ‘Settings & Privacy’
- Select ‘Privacy & Safety
- Scroll down to and select ‘Grok’
- Turn off the switch and delete previous conversations
- Go to ‘Data Sharing With Business Partners and turn the switch ‘Off’
Threads by Meta
Threads
In my quest to find a replacement for the toxicity of X I’ve been looking at Threads. Yes, it is a social media platform that is based on ‘chat’ much the same as X. However, it lacks the facilities which are provided on X. There is no facility (at the time of typing this blog) to have group chats based around hashtags. That means there can be no special ‘Hour’ for hobby or group chats. That rules out its usefulness for the #LincsConnect Hour that I run on Monday evenings.
Unfortunately there are no facilities for creating lists either. As a result, it’s not possible to organise followers into trade or location lists. That’s the backbone of #LincsConnect so Threads is a non starter for me.
The Threads App is linked to Instagram. On a positive note, anything posted on Threads can be shared on Instagram. That’s handy but…
Threads, Instagram and Facebook are all owned by Meta. I feel very uncomfortable with the idea of one company controlling all of my social media and having access to all of my information. As we know, ‘information’ is money. I have absolutely no doubt that Meta will be harvesting my information to sell on the open market!
Bluesky
Bluesky
For those of us who have been using social media for some time, we’ll recognise the platform instantly. The reason for its familiarity is because it is run by Jack, the former owner of Twitter.
I signed up to Bluesky as soon as I heard about it. Unfortunately, in its infancy, it didn’t provide the facilities that I need. However, following some undesirable changes to the X platform I decided to give it another try. I was really pleasantly surprised. The platform is now instantly recognisable as the Twitter of old. All of the facilities that I need for #LincsConnect are in place so I’m now in the process of moving all of my accounts across from X.
Bluesky Security And Privacy
Unlike X, Bluesky prefers to keep its users secure and free from misleading accounts. This used to be the best feature in the old style Twitter. All X users will know that the current ‘freedom of speech’ has been taken to the extreme so pretty much ‘anything’ is allowed on the platform.
It’s refreshing to see that Bluesky has a more robust reporting system.
Bluesky Feeds
I think I may have become a Bluesky fan!
On the left side of your bio page you’ll see some tabs to help you navigate the site. Click/tap on the ‘# Feeds‘ tab then select the subjects that interest you the most. These feeds will be shown at the top of your page so that you can quickly skip around your chosen subjects at will. It’s a brilliant idea and is certainly worth exploring. Here is an example of the feeds that I’ve selected at the moment. I’ll be adding more as I use the platform more regularly. You’ll notice that there is a search bar towards the bottom of the picture so that you can search for additional subjects that interest you.
My favourite # Feed so far is ‘Only Posts’
Conclusion
Based entirely on my own experiences and requirements my preferred platform is now Bluesky. From what I’ve experienced so far it is very much a ‘personal’ platform. So far I haven’t experienced any professional social media companies trying to turn it into a corporate platform of ‘me, me, me’ posts. I really hope that it stays that way.
If you would like to join me, just follow these links: @MandarinLeisure and @LincsConnect
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Until Next Time…
Further Reading
by Dawn Thomas | Jun 30, 2024 | Blogging, Health And Fitness, Lincolnshire Blogger, WhatsOnLincs
Park Run Tourism By Dawn – Normanby Hall Park Run 26 October 2024
Park Run Tourism by Dawn – Normanby Hall Park Run 26 October 2024.
First Impressions
Normanby Hall was easy to find, it has plenty of car parking space with an overflow car park if required. I displayed a spare bar code in my windscreen which enables you to park for free until 11.00am. It’s a short walk from the car park to the front of Normanby Hall and the start of the park run.
To prepare myself for the run in advance I looked up the course description. The Course is described as being on a mixture of tarmac paths and trails. A little further research advised that there were only two very short trail sections and by using google maps I could see that most of the run was likely to be through the woodland. I was unclear at this stage if it was a one lap course but Jason explained at the first timers brief that it was three loops. It sounded quite complicated, but describing it as a park run conga, where everyone just followed the person in front simplified it.
The park itself is stunning, especially as the trees are now displaying every coloured leaf possible. I love my local park run, Boultham Park and every tourist park run I attend gets assessed based on it. It’s a hard act to follow. However, Normanby Hall Country park is a completely different sort of park run; more on the lines of Belton House park run, so it would be fairer to compare the two.
Just Run Community
Today I was joined by Adam and Lucy, two of the crew for Just Run Community Lincoln. We are a new running group and more than happy if you would like to join us on a run.
Just Run Community Lincoln
Park Run Tourism – Normanby Hall Park Run
The Start
The park run itself starts in front of Normanby Hall. Patricia, our run director for the morning delivered the safety briefing before everyone assembled at the start. It’s a very wide area with everyone spread out across it. For me it felt like a slow start, in hindsight I probably started too far back so it took me some time to find my pace. Lesson learned! Having found my pace we turned on to a narrow path which took us through the first wooded area. It was hard to overtake on this section as the path is really narrow which I found a little frustrating.
Normanby Hall
A right turn brings you back onto the wide path. Back past the front of the Normanby Hall and the cheering volunteers. The course continues down the side of the deer park where I was really hoping to catch a glimpse of the Red Deer. It’s the middle of the rutting season so the Stags are expected to have some majestic antlers (see photo below). One of the other runners suggested we look out for the white deer. Unfortunately during the run I didn’t get to see any deer, but a short walk before I headed home paid dividends with one of the stags standing still long enough for me to get a photo.
The Woodland
One of my favourite places to run is a small woodland near to where I live so I was really looking forward to running through the woodland at Normanby Country Park. It didn’t disappoint! The leaves are changing colour, so many shades of yellow and orange but with the odd pop of red from the Acer tree. The paths were covered in a colourful carpet of leaves. I didn’t find it slippery but it’s worth taking care especially on the corners. There were two little bridges, a stream and a pond hidden in the woodland as well as some wood carvings to hold your interest. Don’t forget to look up too. There is a Go Ape course running through the woodland, so if you’re feeling brave and adventurous maybe head back another day.
Treasures Of Normanby Hall
The Finish
I was so busy looking around I can’t really remember how we ended up in front of the Hall again. Running up towards the Wedding Gates to do a final lap through the little woodland and back to the finish. The park was much quieter than my local park in Lincoln but so much bigger. There was a peacefulness about both the park and the run. When you next pay a visit I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s a great place to run mindfully.
There were 35 first timers to Normanby Hall Park run today and a total of 12 personal bests.
Post Run Coffee And Walk
There is a fabulous little coffee shop where the three of us enjoyed a coffee whilst debriefing. Everyone we met was really friendly and I overheard some ‘doggy’ owners discussing how their dogs had been treated to a sausage. It’s not your usual coffee shop that’s for sure! I managed a quick walk round in front of the hall to take some photos and then popped into the gift shop before heading home.
The Verdict
Belton House V Normanby Hall Park Run I scored the parks on 10 different categories so I could be objective. Both runs are set in a Country Park settings, with ample car parking. There is more of a Woodland feel to Normanby and both have deer parks. The start and finish are very similar. Normanby has less runners, just 150 today which made for a very friendly atmosphere. The cafe at Belton has a slight edge on Normanby but I wouldn’t let that put me off from returning. I personally love to run through wooded areas so on that basis alone I would rate Normanby slightly higher that Belton. I will definitely be back as I would love to see the park in the spring.
Happy Running
Park Run Tourism By Dawn – Market Harborough Park Run 17 August 2024
Park Run Tourism by Dawn – Market Harborough Park Run 17 August 2024. Having arranged to visit my sister in Ullesworth and stay for a a couple of days I obviously looked up the nearest park run. To be honest I was hoping there would be one a little nearer than Market Harorough. However, I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to run at a different park run despite the earlier start and extra traveling distance.
Boultham Park V Welland Park
To prepare myself for the run I looked up the course description. What struck me first was how similar it sounded to my local Park Run in Boultham Park, Lincoln.
Both involve three laps of the park and are obviously in a park. I love my local park run and every tourist park run I attend gets assessed based on it. It’s a hard act to follow. Or is it?
On arrival I pulled into the ‘Farndon Road’ car park only to find it full. I asked a local about parking who advised trying the ‘Welland Park Road’ car park or failing that ‘The Commons’ car park. Luck was on my side and I slipped into a space at the ‘Welland Park Road’ Car park. The car parks are really small as it states on the course web site. If you are from out of area you need to have a back up plan for parking and don’t rely on the ones on site. For more information on your chosen park run visit
www.parkrun.org.uk. (
@parkrunUK)
Sisters
Safely parked, I jogged into the Park and followed the signs to what I thought was the first time brief area. I arrived at the volunteers meeting point and got chatting to regular volunteers & sisters Ann, Dot & Lynette. I was made to feel very welcome, so thank you ladies. They kindly informed me where the first time brief was and the toilets so another jog back toward the carpark. I arrived at the first timers brief just as it was finishing (Sorry Pete!). Emma, another park run tourist and first timer at Market Harborough quickly filled me in. There were no surprises to be had, all seemed fairly standard.
Welland Park, Market Harborough Park Run #132
Park Run Tourism – Market Harborough – The Start
I headed to the start line with Emma to discover there were pacers ready to support the runners looking for new PBs. The run director, Mike, delivered a safety talk, giving a shout out to the volunteers, pacers and to those with milestones. As soon as he was finished he counted down 3,2,1 and we were off.
The start was a little congested, especially as we ran from the wider start path to the narrower path round the first turn. However, it didn’t take long for the runners to spread out and I soon found my pace. I could see the 29 minute pacer in front so decided that was my aim for the run.
Anyone For Tennis?
As I was running I looked around. The park was much busier than my local park in Lincoln. Both the tennis courts and the children play area were busy. It was obvious that there were families of runners in the play area looking out for their mum or dad. I had hoped that my Nephew was going to bring his children down from Lubenham to do the same. Unfortunately they had chosen this week to go to Devon. Maybe next time?
The River Wellend
The river Welland runs down the left side of the course and can be seen through the trees. At the end of this path you loop around to run back on yourself ready to repeat the lap again. Ann and Dot were stood here, shouting encouragement to everyone as they ran past. This is the only section where you have runners heading in the opposite direction so it’s important that you keep left. On the second lap this section resembles a dual carriage way, with the faster runner overtaking. However, it was not a problem as its a lovely wide path.
The Finish
On my last lap I chatted to one or two other runners and offered encouragement to them to get them across the finish line. One young lady came up and thanked me at the end which I thought was really kind. I caught up with Emma, who said how much she enjoyed her first run at Welland Park and she commented that the park made for the best warm up she had ever done. The park truly is beautiful and well kept, so take time to look around after your run.
Guided Runners
There were two runners with guides on the course today. Amanda was guiding Vanessa and Andy was guiding Simon. I managed to catch up with Andy and Simon as they finished their final lap. It was Andy’s 80th guided run which had not all been with Simon who was on his 80th Park run. What fantastic achievements.
Guided running. Andy and Simon
Post Run Coffee
There is a fabulous little coffee shop and a kiosk selling coffee, cakes, pastries and ice creams. I grabbed an ice lolly and sat in the shade chatting to a runner who was local to the area. Everyone was really friendly just like my local park run.
The Verdict.
Boultham Park V Welland Park. I scored the parks on 10 different categories so I could be objective. Both parks had similar courses, finish set ups and a friendly atmoshere. Boultham scored better on car parking facilities but the cafe and outside seating at Welland outshone Boultham. Overall they came out equal and I would definitely come back.
Park Run Tourism – Belton House 29 June 2024
Park Run Tourism by Dawn –
Belton House on 29 June 2024. There are some serious park run tourists out there, visiting A-Z of park runs around the Globe. I don’t consider myself to be one of them. However, I do confess that if invited to a Wedding, on a weekend away or holiday, the first thing I do is look up the nearest park run. Surely I’m not the only one?
Today I’m with some of the ‘Just Run Lincoln’ crew who are on our monthly tourist tour, visiting different park runs. I already have experience of the course, having been twice before. It’s a two lap course taking you down the long drive, around parkland and past the front of the magnificent Belton House. I would say the course is 80% trail. That’s very different from what our crew is use to.
Park Run Tourism at Belton House
Park Run Tourism By Dawn – Belton House The Start
After a short first timer/ tourist brief we took our places at the start. The start covers an exceptionally wide area with runners on both the grass and the drive. This made for an easier start with no bottle necks. The number of dogs was particularly noticeable and audible. However, both owners and dogs were all very well behaved during the run.
By the time we had reached the turning point (about midway down the drive) the pack had thinned out making it easy to move onto the trail section. A family of swans could be seen sat at the corner watching everyone with interest. With eyes back on the trail it was time to focus on the rabbit holes. I needn’t have worried though as they were marked with little white flags.
Sheep On The Run!
A glance to the right and I could see the park deer in the far field then I noticed the sheep. OMG the sheep were running on mass directly towards the next corner. Watching the runners and sheep ahead I could see that all were being very courteous. Both the runners and sheep seemed to dodge each other without effecting pace. What a relief!
The course isn’t entirely flat as you will find as you run up towards the house to the start of the second lap and eventually the finish funnel. The good news is that final section is flat, wide and on a path. There was plenty of scope to pick up the pace for a fast finish.
Post Run Coffee
Having cheered each other in we piled into the stables cafe to refuel and dissect our run. The others hadn’t run Belton before and were all surprised it was a trail run. The takeaway point here is read the write up
www.parkrun.org.uk to avoid surprises. (
@parkrunUK)
We will be voting on our next park run tour in the coming weeks but in the meantime it’s back to the training. If you fancy a bit of tourism yourselves head to the friendliest park run I know (of course I am biased !) in Boutham Park, Lincoln Happy running everyone.
More Blogs By Dawn
Happy Running
by Martin Thomas | Apr 4, 2024 | Blogging, Lincolnshire Blogger, Lincs Connect, LincsBlogger, LincsConnect
The Original Lincolnshire Blogger
The original Lincolnshire Blogger (AKA Martin Thomas, ‘Simply Fit’) came to prominence in January 2011 (with the Lincolnshire Blogger concept being born in 2009) and quickly grew in popularity. The dedicated website followed in November 2015.
Initially writing as a columnist in the Lincolnshire Echo, The Target, Retford Times, Horncastle News, Louth Leader, Market Rasen Mail, Weddings Today and a few other newspapers and magazines the theme has always remained the same. Helping and informing people has, and is still at the top of the agenda for the newspaper and web based blogs and columns.
The Original Lincolnshire Blogger – The Beginnings
Initially the published works began as health and fitness columns with links to local charities, organisations and clubs to help give them a voice in the media.
The first regular column was instigated on 7 September 2011 in The Lincolnshire Echo but prior to that the published writing goes back to November 2009 in my capacity as the sponsor for The Midwife Of The Year (MOTY). The domain names were established at the same time while waiting for the website to be built.
Here are a couple of my early columns dating back to 2011 and early 2012:
Early Columns
The Lincolnshire Blogger – Moving On
The popularity of my columns soon grew and demand increased as more invitations for writing and radio interviews began to arrive. I wrote articles both as ‘Simply Fit’ and ‘Lincolnshire Blogger’ but the latter didn’t take off properly until 2015.
Fast forward to Covid in 2020. The blogs took on a new focus. The supportive blogs to help and inform people were gratefully received.
The Last Blogs Before Covid
The last Blogs before the pandemic included ‘New Website’ and ‘The New Logo’ with one of the last blogs being an advertising blog for the ‘Comedy Hotspot’ events. Little did I know what was going to happen in just a matter of days after its publication!
Little did we know what was to come in just a few days time! If you would like to read one of the last blogs before the Pandemic lockdown just click on this link: Comedy Hotspot
The Lincolnshire Blogger With Covid
It’s ironic that it took a major pandemic to shake me out of my fear of writing blogs. Everything up until then felt like ‘practice’ for the real thing!
Having contracted Covid the day before lockdown I was quarantined in the house. Luckily my bedroom was next door to my office so as a result I made use of my time by brushing up on my blogging skills. The writing has always been easy for me. The fear of the technology (along with my dyslexia) had been holding me back. I find the computer quite easy to use but WordPress (the website & blogging platform) somehow felt extremely difficult.
My first lockdown blog doesn’t look the slickest in the world but it was the start of my ever improving blogging journey. Thank goodness for YouTube tutorials and the help from the local Twitter community.
“Have We Become Numb” was the first lockdown blog of many. Thankfully they improved over time! Click on the blue link above if you would like to have a look.
Moving Up-To-Date
We faced many challenges during the pandemic and the LincsConnect blogs certainly went a long way towards helping people to navigate their way through it. Post pandemic blogging helped us through new challenges as many of us were nervous about reverting back to our pre-pandemic lifestyle. Once again, I did my bit with my blogs to help as many people as possible.
Blogs For Advertising
Rather than becoming ‘old fashioned’, blogging has become even more relevant recently as many people turn away from familiar social media platforms and embrace new ones. Readership has become very fragmented across the many platforms with ever more confusing sites launching on a regular basis. Twitter has certainly changed (not for the better) and Facebook experiences ever increasing updates which makes it more and more difficult to navigate. The blog has remained constant and as a result continues to be the perfect advertising medium.
Gala Fireworks used a LincsConnect blog to advertise their event at the Lincolnshire Showground. The blog is extremely useful as it’s much bigger than a standard advert. It contains more information than a standard newspaper editorial yet has a small link that can be easily copied and posted on any social media platform. The link comes with its own advertising picture (of your choice) which can be embedded onto a website as a permanent advert. All in all, it ‘is’ the perfect advertising tool. Click on the blue link above to see how effective a blog can be for advertising.
Take Your Advertising Forward
Get in touch if you would like to have a blog written for your business, organisation or charity. It’s ideal for advertising on any platform so contact me if you would like more information.
Alternatively, if you already write your own blogs you can get in touch to chat about sharing links.
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by Martin Thomas | Feb 26, 2024 | Advertise, Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire Blogger, Lincs Connect, LincsBlogger, LincsConnect, Networking, What's on Lincs
The LincsConnect Hour
The LincsConnect Hour is on Twitter (X) every Monday evening from 8.00pm.
The #LincsConnect Hour is on Twitter (X) on Monday evenings from 8.00pm
How To Join The LincsConnect Hour
Hop across to Twitter (X) on Monday evenings from 8.00pm. It’s simple to join in, all you need to do is go to the Twitter search bar, type in #LincsConnect then tap on the ‘search’ button if you’re using the App or hit ‘return’ if you’re logged in from a computer search engine. Then tap or click ‘Latest’.
That’s it! Once you’re there, simply follow the instructions from whoever is hosting the Hour. The #LincsConnect Hour often starts off with introductions and adverts along with an invitation for embers to post any adverts they may have. General chat between members follows as part of the introductions then sometime around 8.10pm the host will post a question. There are often 3 or 4 questions during the Hour but the format is flexible and dependant on the host on the night.
This Monday 20 January 2025
It could be you hosting…
Please do join us on Twitter at 8.00pm on Monday evenings
Who Can Host?
Hosting is open to all local followers so if you would like to have a go just get in touch to organise a date.
Why Host?
Hosting is a great way to get yourself known and is ideal for promoting what you do. It’s FREE networking across the whole County and more often than not, the #LincsConnect hashtag can be found ‘trending’ across the world. That’s great free advertising for you!
Use this template for your advertising when you host the #LincsConnect Hour
Simple
That’s it! I told you it was simple!!
Trending
The #LincsConnect Hour trends almost every week so that makes it the ideal place for you to be networking and advertising.
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Contact Mandarin Therapies for your mobile complementary therapies, injury prevention and rehabilitation sessions. Tel 07966 174878
LincsConnect Hour Host Advertising
Hosts can now have their details and advert added to this blog so let me know if you would like to host and advertise. You can use this blog to advertise the fact that you are hosting and encourage more people to join you. The more people who join, the more exposure your advert gets!
We look forward to seeing you (virtually) on Monday evening.
