Survivors of sepsis and their families are invited to a sepsis support group, the first of its kind in Lincolnshire.

Sepsis, also referred to as septicaemia or blood poisoning is the body’s response to an infection and can lead to shock, multiple organ failure and death, especially if not recognised early and treated promptly.

Some sepsis survivors experience a variety of physical, psychological and emotional problems while recovering, known as post-sepsis syndrome.

Laura Strong, Sepsis Practitioner at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT), said: “Sepsis can have a huge effect on patients and their families. This support group is for anyone whose life has been touched by sepsis and will give people a chance to speak with others who’ve been through a similar experience. There will also be professionals on hand to offer support and advice.

“Whether you’ve had sepsis yourself, are a family member or friend of someone who has, or would just like to know more – everyone is welcome to come along.”

The first Lincolnshire sepsis support group will meet on Thursday 24 January at 6.30pm at the Lincoln Drill Hall in Lincoln.

Phil Crow is a sepsis survivor from Lincoln who has been working with the UK Sepsis Trust to set up the group.

Phil said: “When I came out of intensive care, it wasn’t clear how sepsis may affect me psychologically and I would’ve found it really useful to have a safe space like this to talk to people who’ve been through the same thing.

“We also welcome bereaved families who may want to ask further questions or would like to share their experiences.”

Dr Ron Daniels BEM, Chief Executive of the UK Sepsis Trust, said: “Post-sepsis syndrome is common and can affect people of any age, manifesting as both physical and mental after effects, so ongoing support for those who need it is vital. One of our four main aims is to support those affected by this devastating condition and each group helps us to achieve this.”

MLincolnshire Police have been made aware by a concerned resident that an Alarm company are “cold calling” Lincolnshire residents, trying to sell them intruder alarm systems.

If you do get a sales call please be mindful of the information that you pass to them.

When considering security systems for your home or business, don’t deal with cold callers or telesales enquiries, you should avoid doing doorstep or telephone business.

Many traders who call at your door are honest and genuine; however, some are not and can be extremely persuasive. If you have serious doubts about the legality or sales techniques being employed by this type of Security Company, or if they are using hard selling tactics which include unduly raising the fear of crime, pressure selling, unclear contracts and overpriced security systems, contact Citizens Advice about your consumer rights on tel 03454 04 05 06. They can also refer your complaint to Trading Standards officers who may then investigate on your behalf

Be aware that not all costs may be shown and ask yourself, How much is:Installation costs, what am I getting?Servicing – how much, how often?Have monitored – upfront or monthly payments?How long will I pay for it, minimum 3-5years?Please be aware that all alarm companies that install systems in our county which promise a Police response to alarm activations must be registered with one of the two national inspectorate bodies which are the NSI and the SSAIB.

You can check if an alarm company is inspectorate approved by contacting the NSI on telephone number 01628 637 512 (website: www.nsi.org.uk) and the SSAIB on telephone number 0191 296 3242 (website: www.ssaib.org

For further information on intruder alarm advice for domestic properties please visit the following website: www.securedbydesign.com
For consumer rights please visit the following website: www.gov.uk/consumer-protection-rights

Community Safety & Crime Reduction advice can be found on Lincolnshire Police force website: www.lincs.police.uk or by clicking on the following link: https://www.lincs.police.uk/reporting-advice/home-security/

Keep an eye out for our feathered friends

Nature lovers with a keen eye for our feathered friends are being invited to take part in the world’s biggest garden wildlife survey.

South Kesteven District Council is hosting an event in Wyndham Park, Grantham, as part of the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, which runs from January 26 to 29.

Visitors can call in to the Visitor Centre from 10am to 2pm on January 26 to collect a record sheet and then head out to find out which bird species make the park their home.

Youngsters can join in with fun crafts and activities while learning. All activities are free.

“Wyndham Park is home to an abundance of wildlife and birds are a big part of that,” said SKDC’s Cabinet member for Retail and Visitor Economy Cllr Nick Robins.

“By noting the birds that visit the park, and that come to our gardens, people are making a valuable contribution towards efforts to maintain their populations.”

More information is available at www.wyndhamparkgrantham.co.uk

More than half a million people take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, now in its 40^th year. The results help the RSPB understand how bird populations are doing.

Although its population is declining, the 2018 survey showed the house sparrow was still the most abundant species. The rest of the top ten was: starling, blue tit, blackbird, woodpigeon, goldfinch, great tit, robin, long-tailed tit, chaffinch.

As well as counting birds, the RSPB is once again asking participants to log other wildlife in their gardens such as badgers, foxes, squirrels, deer, frogs and toads.

For more information go to www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/everything-you-need-to-know-about-big-garden-birdwatch/

FIREFIGHTERS attended a small fire in the open at Stonemasons Court, off St Catherine’s Road, yesterday afternoon.  The crew used a  hose reel jet to extinguish it.

At 7pm the were also called to a report of a fire on Princess Drive, Grantham.

On arrival, crew found this to be a controlled burn of garden refuse. Incident left with the owner.

InvestSK the area’s economic growth and regeneration company, has launched a new programme to support growing businesses and bring fresh life into local town centres, with funding from South Kesteven District Council.

The Town Centre Investment Fund is designed to facilitate growth on South Kesteven’s ‘high streets’ by supporting companies looking to grow their businesses into vacant town centre units within any of the District’s four market towns; Grantham, Stamford, Market Deeping and Bourne.

Up to £10,000 is available to help applicants with the capital costs associated with their move. To be eligible, businesses must create new jobs locally and have an offer that adds value to South Kesteven’s town centres.

Chief Executive of InvestSK, Steve Bowyer, said: “InvestSK was established to help businesses grow, and support local job creation. Because of the work that InvestSK has been doing, in particular our Head of Business Growth and Inward Investment, Jon Hinde, we understand that to maximise their business prospects, companies need the right facilities in the right place.

“This scheme helps with capital costs to enable vacant units to come back into life and supports businesses to realise their aspirations. I’d urge anyone interested to speak to Jon and the team, and make use of this easy-to-access support.”

Councillor Helen Goral (pictured), Cabinet Member for Growth and Communications at South Kesteven District Council, said: “We are all aware of the challenges facing high street businesses, but we also know the strength of entrepreneurial spirit among businesses in Grantham, and across South Kesteven companies as a whole.

“The funding that the Council has made available, through InvestSK, is our way of supporting businesses to meet those challenges head-on: boosting business growth as well as breathing life back into our high streets and town centres.”

The deadline for submissions for InvestSK’s 2018/19 Town Centre Investment Fund is 15^th March 2019 but applications will be reviewed on a regular basis with decisions awarded as soon as possible. We would urge applications to come forward at the earliest opportunity.

More details, guidance notes and the application form is available on the InvestSK website: www.investsk.co.uk/towncentreinvestmentfund

Grantham Canal Society were presented with a cheque for £50 this week, by Grantham Community Books.

The shop, in Welby Street, sells secondhand books, giving the proceeds to local charites.

Alan Asher, of Community Books said: “They have been regular visitors to the shop over the year, donating books so we donated back to thank them and to support their work in the local community.”

Tony Jackson, Events Coordinator, Grantham Canal Society, said: “I’d like to thank Community Books for including the Grantham Canal Society in their donations to good causes.

“The support of the business community is paramount in the restoration of the Grantham Canal, with the ultimate aim in connecting the town once again to the inland waterways network.”

2018 saw Christmas butterflies and Boxing Day bumblebees, according to conservation charity

The Grantham-based Woodland Trust’s Nature’s Calendar project has received over 64 records of early spring activity that started in November 2018 – including insects that have been spotted active up to 5 months earlier than normal.

Mild weather seems to have temporarily disturbed insects from hibernation.

A small tortoiseshell butterfly appeared flying outdoors on Christmas day in Merthyr Tydfil, and a red tailed bumblebee on Boxing Day in Somerset. The average date for small tortoiseshells is 14^th April, and bumblebees 26^th March – making both over three months early. Even earlier still, a red admiral was seen on the 17^th December in Cambridgeshire; the average emergence date is 7^th May, making it nearly five months ahead of schedule.¹

Members of the public have sent in many other signs that spring has sprung:

• Flowering snowdrops were spotted in Southampton on 30^th November – over a month earlier than expected – and there have been 24 records of this in total
• There have been 23 Hazel flowering records, beginning 1^st December. This usually happens in early March
• A flowering oxeye daisy was seen in Gloucestershire on the 28^th December, despite normally blooming from mid-April to early June.

Even birds have made an early appearance. The song thrush has been heard in eleven locations since the 5^th December and is increasingly reported singing all winter, though expected mid-late March.  Blue tits were also seen exploring a nesting box on 26^th December, though the UK average date for nesting is 4^th April.

Met office records for the UK report both November and December as mild, with average temperatures more than 1 °C above the 1981-2010 long-term average².  However, with a potential cold snap on the way, more delicate species could suffer.

Dr Kate Lewthwaite, citizen science manager for the Woodland Trust said: “Once again – despite being in the throes of January – flora and fauna are reacting to milder climates, and spring seems to have sprung early. We were far from a white Christmas, with hazel flowers and snowdrops being spotted by our citizen scientists across the country.

“Data like this has continuously brought into question the way we think about the seasons, and to see spring in December no longer seems unusual. The more data we have, the better we will understand the effects of warm winters, cold snaps and heatwaves. In short, we need more Nature’s Calendar recorders.”

Nature’s Calendar is a continuation of seasonal recordings which date back to the 18th century. By recording the timings of natural phenomenon, thousands of people have enabled Nature’s Calendar to become the leading survey into how climate change is affecting UK plants and wildlife.

In 2018 an early spring was paused by the beast from the east, only for a summer heatwave to make berries ripen early and conkers shrink. Temperature research by the Met Office suggests that the growing season is extending by up to a month², and this is corroborated by Nature’s Calendar data; budburst is happening earlier and leaf fall later.

To become a Nature’s Calendar recorder, visit naturescalendar.woodlandtrust.org.uk. Or, to watch time lapse footage of trees throughout the seasons go here.

SKDC is encouraging anyone not yet registered to vote to go online and register if they want to have their say in the local elections in May.

Thursday 2 May is polling day for all 56 seats on South Kesteven District Council and 65 parish councils across the district.

Aidan Rave, Electoral Registration Officer for SKDC, said: “The good news is that the majority of our residents are registered but there are still those who have not yet done so.

“With the elections now just months away, we are encouraging residents to go online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote and register, particularly those who have recently moved or will be 18 by 2 May.

“Some people wrongly assume that paying council tax means you are registered to vote.  I am urging all those eligible to vote in South Kesteven to check that they are registered. Unless your name and address are correctly entered you could lose the right to have your say.”

It is really simply to do. You will be asked to provide your date of birth and National Insurance number in addition to the usual details of name, address, previous address and nationality.

Remember:

If you don’t think you’re registered, register your details online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

The registration deadline for the elections on 2 May is 12 April.

Registering online is quick and easy

Go to www.gov.uk/register-to-vote to register online.

or

Call our elections team on 01476 40 60 80 if you need more information or want to check if you are registered or email elections@southkesteven.gov.uk

Following an appeal for a sponsor for an advertising board earlier this month, Grantham Town have been contacted by an interested party, but with a difference.

A Gingerbreads supporter (who wishes to remain anonymous) has pledged to pay for the advertising board – on an annual, rolling basis – with one proviso, that a local charity is given the opportunity to advertise completely free for a year. 

Once the 12 months is completed, another local charity will be selected, with a brand new advertising board installed.

With this is mind, we are appealing to local charities to put themselves forward for a chance of winning free advertising for a year at a highly prominent place within the ground, in front of the East Stand terrace. 

To mark the installation and unveiling of the new advertising board, it is proposed to invite representatives of the chosen charity to a home game before the end of the season, where the club will designate the match as the chosen charity’s day for fundraising purposes and provide the opportunity for the charity to engage with supporters to share and promote the valuable work their do within our local community.

If you run, or know someone that runs, a local charity, please email commercial@granthamtownfc.com by 5pm on Friday 1st February, and all nominated charities will be put into a draw to select the chosen charity.