Lincolnshire this week.

I saw some people in hi-viz jackets on the way in to work in Boston and wondered if it was some sort of clean up and sure enough the Echo reports that prisoners towards the end of their sentences at the North Sea Camp have been helping out in the never ending battle to keep the fly tippers at bay. They cleared eight tons of rubbish!

Items recovered include builder’s rubble, tyres, mattresses, fridges, freezers, pallets televisions and household waste.

There is an annual spruce up called the Big Boston clean up and this initiative is a spin off from that. It’s a pity resources have to be put into picking up stuff that shouldn’t be there in the first place but it does show that offenders are atoning for their wrong doing in a practical way and most people would agree with that.

Personally I find a visit to the tip a bit of a trial, gone are the days when you just slung your stuff in the skip and I think the blokes there quite enjoy ordering the punters about but mostly they’re very helpful and if you get up early on a Sunday they’ll pretty much get it out the car for you. Certainly I wouldn’t just chuck it at the side of the road one dark night.

I had intended this weekly review to be an opportunity to highlight some funny or good news stories but could not let the awful news pass that another Red Arrows pilot has lost his life. Following on from the death of Flt Lt Jon Egging just three months ago, and his memorial service at Lincoln Cathedral just days ago there has been announced another death in tragic circumstances, an ejector seat malfunction whilst the plane was parked on the ground. The Reds are such a part of Lincolnshire life there’s no doubt the whole county will be subdued, as it seems to be as I write.

Here’s something to cheer us up. St Deny’s church in Sleaford installed 54 solar panels on it’s roof in 2008 having been inspired by an article in the Church Times. Three years later they now produce enough electricity to cover their annual bill. Canon John Patrick said:-

“Our annual electricity bill is about £1,400 - and we reckon that the panels are bringing in an income of more than £2,500 a year.

"So that is paying for the electricity and making a sizeable contribution towards the gas bill, which is about £5,000 per year,"

"The panels obviously make a good statement about the environment and the fact that we need to be good stewards of God's earth."

Obviously someone up there is looking out for them.

Local Olympian Kate Haywood is hoping to take part in next years London Olympics and then retire, she’s 24 which just goes to show how tough that sport is. She told BBC Lincolnshire that it still hurts that she does not have a medal having competed in Beijing in 2008. Kate started out at Louth but moved to Lincoln Vulcans, a club I used to be involved with when the children were young and which had established a reputation which belied their size, she is currently training in Australia.

And finally, talking of the Olympics, the Olympic Flame is to visit the county on the way to London, visiting many communities and major towns and making an overnight stop in Lincoln on 27 June where a massive celebration is planned at Yarborough School to which the whole community is invited. The event will be free of charge.

As always, have a good week wherever you are reading this.