Lincolnshire in Focus: May 2011

Summer is just about here which means county show season is about to start, and Lincolnshire in Focus will once again be attending the Lincolnshire Show with their annual Lincolnshire Show issue! 

Front cover of the May 2011 issue
featuring the Red Arrows

I have been very busy these past few weeks, and one of the reasons was this issue. I wrote a lot of features for this particular edition, some of which you can see below - there is everything from education to royal wedding inspiration, what to do in Lincolnshire during the school breaks and even part one of my review of the new 'Red Lion Quarter' in Spalding. I was able to attend the grand opening last month, and what an impressive place it is!

The whole magazine can be found at
www.lincolnshireinfocus.co.uk

What's on in and around Lincolnshire

'Getting Your Summer Started'
pages 16 and 17

'On With the Show'
pages 26 and 27

'Retro Inspiration' pages 32 and 33
Feature kindly provided by Hannah Coleman  

'A Roaring Success' - all about the new 'Red Lion Quarter'
in Spalding, page 35

To enter our reader giveaways just click here

'Experiencing Your Future'
Pages 54 and 55

'Enhancing Your Child's Education'
page 59

My features (which I would be grateful if you could please have a gander at!) are What's On (page 7), 'Getting Your Summer Started' (pages 16-17), 'Cream of the Crop' (page 25), 'On with the Show' (pages 26-28), 'A Roaring Success: Red Lion Quarter Part 1' (page 35), 'A Ceremony Fit For Royalty; (pages 38-41), 'Planning and Preparations' (page 51), 'Experiencing Your Future' (pages 54-55) and 'Enhancing Your Child's Education' (page 59).

This issue also marks the launch of the brand new 'Lincolnshire in Focus' website, designed by the very talented Daniel Codd - click here to see the fab new site, view the whole magazine online and enter the fantastic reader giveaways! Also, if anybody would like the actual magazine posted, or has anything they would like covering, please send me your address to lindsay.cowie@waltonspublications.com - all press releases welcome!

Sshhhh... it's a flashmob!

Yesterday was an exciting day for me; after keeping quiet for the past week or so, I took part in a flashmob - yes, a real flashmob!

According to the Urban Dictionary:

"A flashmob is when a large group of people suddenly come together and perform some sort of action, which draws an audience very quickly. After they perform the stunt, the group of people quickly disperse."


Our flashmob was based on zumba, and what an experience it was! Private messages were passed around and there were brief talks in classes. The idea was for us to all hang around a certain area of the town, a samba band began to play then our teacher, Rachel Blood (who is a fab teacher) began to dance. The rest of us, all dressed in pink (under our coats and jumpers), joined in, surprising all the passers-by - and it worked! People watched and there were beeps from cars as they drove by; some people even took pictures! I love dancing, but doing it in a busy public place when no-one is expecting it = nerve-wracking but yet exciting! It really was a great afternoon, and what was meant to be a quick, two-song event turned into a full half-an-hour; absolutely brilliant!

The aim of this event was to raise awareness for the charity event which is taking place on 17th June at the Grimsby Auditorium. It is a two hour 'zumbathon' with performances from 'Sambalada', a local samba band who also took part in the flashmob. This will be in aid of Help for Heroes and Wish Upon A Star and is going to be a fantastic night!

If anybody would like to know any more information about the event, visit www.zumbawithrachel.co.uk; tickets cost £5 - it is all for a great cause!

What a difference a year makes

The three 'journos' and our tutor Emma Lingard at our leaving meal
BA (Hons) Journalism - East Coast Media 2010

Any students or graduates who are out there reading will be fully aware of what time of year it is - assignment deadlines - and for the first time in years and years, I do not have to worry!

Last April/May I was about to finish the third year of my journalism degree at East Coast Media, full of stress (there is ALWAYS a printer breakdown when you least need it!), nervousness (about what will happen once you have finished the course) and excitement (about what will happen once you have finished the course!) This time last year I would have been flapping over getting my dissertation styled correctly, in the right order and bound, with plenty of time left to hand it in. Then there was the other assignments and writing those critical analysis'... and now I can't believe it has been over for a whole year!

This really is a nerve-wracking time for any graduate, particularly in the current economic climate, so my thoughts really do go out to those of you who are in this situation right now! I was lucky enough to have found a job in what I wanted to do (I'm a Features Writer at Walton's Publications) within a month of handing in my last piece of coursework, and I really do realise how lucky I am, even if it is just a small, local publishing house.

Us four at our graduation ceremony in October 2010

I am still in that 'first step' of my career but during this past year I have learnt SO much about real working environments, the processes involved, the people you come across and different situations - good and bad - and I really wouldn't change it! And I have found myself surprised to have used some techniques learnt during my degree education, such as keeping records and notes (production files, anyone?), remembering various researching tools and even remembering those small pieces of advice. It may seem like a BIG task at the minute, but it really will be worth the work in the end.


So good luck to any of you out there who are currently finishing assignments and taking exams - it will all be over soon enough and then you can really start to enjoy the summer!

x