Lincolnshire this week.

Despite the fact that Lincolnshire has been deluged since it was announced, the hosepipe ban is still needed say Anglian Water. Seven water companies across southern and eastern England imposed bans and now the largest; Thames Water has said that their ban could be lifted sooner rather than later. Anglian however point out that our area is the driest in the country (hard to see how that works at the moment) and the exceptional rainfall is not sufficient to replenish stocks particularly in aquifers, water retaining rocks, from which Lincolns water is drawn. Peter Simpson, managing director of Anglian Water, said: "The possibility of a warm summer and a third dry winter is still a concern for our region. The very wet few weeks we experienced in April followed two exceptionally dry years, and most importantly, two dry winters.


"That long, dry spell left water levels in reservoirs, rivers and underground aquifers significantly below normal - and in some cases historically low.

"Almost half of the water we put into supply comes from groundwater sources, particularly in the east of our region. The full impact of the recent rain on these sources remains to be seen, largely because our aquifers refill naturally and more slowly.

"We don't want to keep the hosepipe ban in place for a day longer than we have to, and we're keeping the situation under constant review. However, restrictions remain in place for now.”

Lincoln’s Emily Taylor has secured her place in the Great Britain 2012 rowing team. She now has an anxious wait to see if she is in the eight who will row or a reserve but nevertheless is delighted to have made the squad. Taylor told BBC Radio Lincolnshire:-

"It's a massive relief and exciting as it's my first Olympics.

"If I am a reserve it will still be a really important job but obviously I would rather be in the eight."

The Olympic Torch is edging ever closer to the county and it has been announced that the torch will visit Lincoln Cathedral when the extravaganza hits the city on 27 June having already visited Louth, Mablethorpe and Skegness. A massive knees up is planned at Yarborough School where 10000 tickets were snapped up in days by Lincolnians keen to get a piece of the historic action (myself included). The evening celebration includes music, dance and all sorts of other fun. A no doubt bleary eyed torch, having spent the night in the city will then leave for Nottingham and Newark before re-entering the county for a visit to Grantham but not before visiting Lincoln Castle and Saxilby.

Lincoln’s re-introduced open top bus is proving a hit and not just with tourists taking it easy whilst the sights come to them. Locals, including the Girl Guides, Rotary Clubs and teenagers are all interested in hiring the bus for an outing with a difference. Michelle Sims, visitor information manager at the visitor centre explained:-

"We've been getting requests from all kinds of clubs and societies.

"We've had rotary clubs from across the county interested, girl guide groups and the Lincoln Minster Round Table.

"We even had one enquiry to see if it could be hired out to take some students to their school prom.

"We'll consider any booking for the bus as long as it's outside of operational hours and that there's a driver available.

"We can tailor a booking to whatever the group needs."

In our Olympic year comes news that Lincoln may get an Olympic sized swimming pool courtesy of the city's ever more impressive university. The city punches well above its weight in producing or attracting from elsewhere, swimmers, many of whom go on to grace the sport at the highest level. The trouble is when they get to that sort of standard they then have to move elsewhere to progress because of the lack of facilities. Now ambitious plans are afoot to give the city a £30 million fifty metre pool and that could even lead to some swimmers returning. Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said:-

"A new pool would be a positive move for Lincoln and yet another sign that this is a city on the up."

Sophie Allen is a former Lincoln Vulcans Swimming Club member and has just booked her spot at the London Olympics.

The 20-year-old, who will compete in the 200m medley in London later this summer, had to leave Lincoln two years ago to realise her dream.

Allen said: "I know there has been a lot of talk about this in the past but it has never come off. I had to leave Lincoln in the end to progress my career. A 50m pool would certainly help the up-and-coming talent."

Don’t know about swimming its certainly nice weather for ducks. Have a good weekend wherever in the world you are. You never know, the way things are going, when you tell people you are from Lincolnshire, they might just know where you mean.