LoveLincoln.co.uk is giving away four tickets to see the one-off Lincoln performance of The Scarecrow at the Lincoln Drill Hall.

The lucky winner will win tickets to see the play, written by award-winning children’s playwright Mike Kenny and performed by the renowned ajtc Theatre Company, on Saturday 26th February at 1.30pm.

The close-knit cast of three performers, including actors and co-producers Iain Armstrong and Mick Jasper and musician Sharon Lindo, create a theatrical and musical collaboration played on a magical set with music, movement, puppetry and fun.

Scarecrow follows the story of a lonely and confused scarecrow and a bunch of noisy inquisitive crows and explores ideas of friendship and community, moods and happiness.

“The Scarecrow is an absolute delight. It’s gentle and it’s got humour, good music and puppets. The story is told simply and the puppets and the set are wonderful,” said Iain Armstrong.

“Children make not only a more enthusiastic audience but a more honest one.

“There are different silences too: you can tell when they’re silent with rapt attention and when they’re just not interested. Shuffling is always a bad sign! If they’re shuffling and fidgeting you know you’ve lost them!”

For your chance to win send your answer to the following question to hello@lovelincoln.co.uk before midnight on Wednesday 23rd February.

What is the name of the famous TV scarecrow?
A) Worzel Gummidge
B) Walter Rummage
C) Wilfred Gubbins

The winner will be announced on Thursday 24th February and the tickets can be collected from the Drill Hall box office on the day.

This story of music, movement, puppetry and fun is perfect for over 5s and their families. Tickets for Scarecrow are only £6.00. To book your tickets call 01522 873894 or book online at www.lincolndrillhall.co.uk

Our favourite chatty man is coming to Lincoln to perform at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre in an exclusive gig!

Comedian Alan Carr will appear at the venue to perform an intimate warm up gig prior to his national tour.

The star of Channel 4’s ‘Alan Carr Chatty Man’ will perform his ‘Work-in-Progress’ at the LPAC on Monday 21st March at 8pm.

The New Artistic Director at the LPAC, Craig Morrow, says: “I’m particularly excited about Alan’s visit because it offers the people of Lincoln a chance to be amongst the first to enjoy new material and confirms that the LPAC is one of the best places to see great comedy in the region.”

Grab your tickets now to see Alan try out new material for his forthcoming 33-date UK and Ireland arena tour – his first in over four years!

Don’t miss out!

Children and young people in Lincoln have buckets full of summertime fun and entertainment to look forward to this year!

Back for its third year, plans are already under way for the beam! International 2011 festival which kicks off on 1st July and lasts until the 9th and promises to bring the city to life in a colourful mix of music, dance and drama.

Jam-packed with events and activities for the whole family, beam! International 2011 aims to give county families the chance to experience some of Europe’s finest street theatre companies and performers alongside up-and-coming UK live bands and grime artists.

Organised by Lincoln BIG in conjunction with Lincolnshire-based arts organisation cultural solutions , the festival will encourage kids to get involved by trying their hand at event management and by performing in the streets in the run-up to the launch.

Joint Artistic Director David Lambert said the programme involved working with many different organisations across the East Midlands, with the aim of producing an event that offered a special experience for children and young people.
“Taking this partnership approach, we will co-commission at least two international theatre or dance pieces and we will work to bring high-quality international performances to the city,” said Mr Lambert.

Lincoln BIG Events and Promotions Manager Michael Armstrong said: “We really are pulling out all the stops this year. Despite the economic climate, we plan to make beam! a bigger success than ever. If you are a local business and wish to target the family market do contact us as I’m sure we can work with you.”

Keep checking back with us at LoveLincoln.co.uk for more information on beam! – there’ll be plenty going on to keep the youngsters busy during the summer holidays that’s for sure!

Since we issued our newsletter The Lincoln Hotel has confirmed that the opening of Bar 67 has been delayed.

Unfortunately that means that we’ll have to wait just a little while longer for a glass of vino in Lincoln’s new retro wine bar. When the revised opening date had been confimed we’ll let you know! Watch this space!

LoveLincoln.co.uk Team

Everyone appreciates a good local and some tasty pub grub and that’s exactly what’s on offer at the Bottle and Glass in Scothern.

The village pub has been given a make-over by the Kent family who took over in July 2010 and invested a whopping £10,000 of their own money to improve the tired-looking local.

Fiona Kent, landlady at the Bottle and Glass, said: “We’ve had an absolutely fantastic response from the locals and have started to see new faces coming in as well as people coming back after years of not visiting the pub because they were unhappy with it.

“We really encourage customer feedback – good or bad. We want to give people what they want so we’ll try out suggestions and if they don’t work we’ll move on to the next one.

“At the end of the day this is a business but your business is your customers, they’re the ones coming in and spending the money. If you give them what they want you’ll benefit from it as well.”

Work on the pub has included new carpeting, re-decorating throughout, new and re-upholstered furniture, improvements made to the restaurant and new signage, lighting and a paint-job outside. Lastly, improvements will be made to the children’s play area.

All of the food at the Bottle and Glass is freshly made by landlord/husband/father Paul Kent who uses his mum’s recipe for the mushy peas!

“At the minute Paul’s fish and chips and his steak and Guinness pie seem to be the favourites with the customers,” said Fiona.

“We’ve got a large beer garden and barbecue area so it will be nice to get out there and use them in the summer.”

With the help of their eldest son Andrew and daughter Laura, Fiona and Paul have completely transformed the stagnant pub.

Fiona continued: “We’ve always been a close family and working together as a team is nice and we’ve settled into it well. Our other son is at Cherry Willingham School and he’s really settled there too. The village feels like home.”

If you like family-run pubs and home-made mushy peas (who doesn’t?!) why not pop in to the Bottle and Glass and tell LoveLincoln.co.uk what you think of it?

Here at LoveLincoln.co.uk we’re excited to tell you about the fantastic events taking place in the city on Valentine’s weekend! With so much on offer 2011 is set to be your most special V-day yet!

For those who like to party with their other half (or those singletons looking for love), Sakura’s inviting you to be their Valentine and putting on The Ultimate Valentine’s Weekender from Friday 11th Feb to V-Day itself on Monday 14th.

Ramped up regulars Buddha Beats and Mustard will feature on Friday and Monday with Buddha Beats ‘When Love Takes Over’ and a Mustard Traffic Light Special.

(Listen up students – those out and about for the Carnage event on Valentine’s Day will get complimentary entry into Sakura if you’re wearing a carnage t-shirt – something to remember!)

‘A Valentine’s Affair’ will take centre stage on Saturday 12th February with DJ Neil Kemp playing all the club and house classics.

A Little Bit of Heaven, starring Kate Hudson and Gael Garcia Bernal, is showing at the Lincoln ODEON for film fans looking for a love story.

Those looking to wine and dine their partners can enjoy a delicious three-course meal and dance the night away at the romantic setting of Branston Hall Hotel for just £40.00 per person!

…And these are just a few! Lincoln has a huge selection of restaurants and bars to choose from to keep you entertained and the l’amour alive on Valentine’s Day.

To see more of the brilliant events coming up or our comprehensive list of venues in the city, check out our extensive listings at lovelincoln.co.uk.