Life in Lincolnshire.

Numbers of readers to my blog, whilst hardly a flood are now at quite decent levels and I thank you for either clicking on the links on twitter or generally keeping track. Mostly the contents are my articles on Vitals but just looking at the details of where readers are logging on from it does occur that, whilst most are Imps fans the readership is from far and wide across the world and maybe you are looking for a little taste of the home you left some time ago.

I remember when I first started writing for the Professional Footballers Association website “Give me Football” I received a charming comment from a reader in New Zealand I think it was saying how much my words had sparked nostalgic remembrances of life in Lincoln in the 50’s and 60’s so maybe you would like to hear about how things are in the old country? Don’t forget you can leave a comment on the blog and it would be lovely to hear what you are interested in and whether I can tug those heartstrings a bit and give you a flavour of what it is like to live in Lincoln now.

Obviously you can get all or most of the information on the Imps that I relay from the net but of course you will only get into the mind of an Imp and what it is to be a supporter in this day and age by reading a blog such as this. Similarly the impression you get of life in Great Britain from the British press can be far from the way people live their lives in this country and life in Lincolnshire is vastly different from life in London or Manchester (thankfully)

Financial crises, particularly the Euro continue to grip the British (or perhaps I should say the English) papers but I think it’s fair to say that the majority of us here in Lincolnshire rather let these matters pass us by unless holidays are imminent in which case the currency markets are studied in rather more detail. Those about to retire are also very concerned at the state of the stock market and pensions in particular but, aside from the fact that a pay rise is something of a distant memory for a lot of us life in Lincolnshire is probably better than you may have gathered, provided of course you have a job and the rise in unemployment is a huge worry for those affected.

Locally, you will not be surprised to learn, traffic is once again a problem as the authorities give their attention to Lindum Hill and Lincoln, once again grinds to a halt. The bypass (yes we have one, of sorts) is also affected by road improvements as part of the single carriageway section is dualled. This is at the expense of the developers of Teal Park where it expected that Siemens, a large employer in Lincoln will partially relocate. Those of you who left in the 60’s would now see a vastly changed landscape with the factories mostly gone, in their place out of town shopping centres. Lincoln still boasts a level crossing right in the centre although the great and the good continue to wrangle over what to do with it. In all likelihood the High Street at that point will simply be closed and traffic routed around the problem. We locals will believe that when we see it. Old boys of Sincil Boys School, of which I’m one, will be incredulous that the ready made solution to these woes, the rail bypass or avoiding line as it was called, was ripped up when the second crossing on the High Street was removed. To come back to Lincoln City the result of this was a nice new stand in place of the old triangular shaped one behind the goal. This as far as I could see it was the only advantage gained.

Just finally on the subject of road works the lower High Street is also affected by road works as Lincoln attempts to get up to date by installing bus lanes. There are lots of voices for and against.

Some things never change