LINCOLN AtoZ

So here it is - the last ever episode of Lincoln AtoZ.  After 2 years and 51 grids, we set out on our trusty bikes one final time and bring the show to a climactic frenzy with a grid containing... nothing.  Yet, in spite of the lack of any notable features, the sight of an empty field leads Jonny and Paul to muse on what the point of AtoZ actually was.  Back in the studio there's an orgy of misty-eyed reminiscence as we each pick our top 3 grids, and Jo and Tref also tell us what AtoZ has meant to them.  We also look forward to the AtoZ exhibition at The Collection, and do battle one final time over A Question of Lincoln...

Having previously found themselves figuratively "shut out" in previous grids, this week Jonny and Paul are ACTUALLY shut out, and, with only one more week to go till the end of the series, question whether they'll be able to fulfill their promise to visit each and every grid. Instead, they find themselves stumbling around adjoining grids trying to find a way in whilst moaning about dog poo signs and almost falling off their bikes.  Meanwhile, back in the studio, Jo can at least give us the history of the grid, and Tref chips in too.  All this, plus the penultimate round of A Question of Lincoln.

This week we head into "The Maze", otherwise known as Sincil Bank.  The area is of course synonymous with Lincoln City Football Club, and we begin our visit outside the ground as a Tuesday night match kicks off, and reminisce about our times on the terraces.  Later, we venture further into The Maze where Jonny talks about how he was hit by a car, then finds himself inexplicably being hit by Paul.  Back in the studio we get the history of the area from Jo and have a double-dose of Tref.  All this, plus another round of A Question of Lincoln...

This week we head out the Eastern side of the city where, after bravely leaping across a ravine, we find ourselves in what is currently a peaceful field, soon to be dug up to make way for the tarmac and petrol fumes of the Proposed Eastern Bypass.  We muse over this development, with Paul coming perilously close to falling off his usual perch on the fence and proposing that he and Jonny become Swampy-style anti-road protestors ("I'll fetch me bongos..."), while tree-hugger Jonny needs no convincing.  Back in the studio, we hear from you about your favourite places in Lincoln (other than the Cathedral, obviously), plus we get some historical facts from Jo and Tref gives us his take on the grid.  All this, plus another round of A Question of Lincoln...

This week's show takes on a more sombre tone as we head out to a place most Lincolnites will visit at some point, one way or another - the Crematorium.  Here we meet Nick Barton, Bereavement Services Officer, the man who runs the show, so to speak, at the Crem.  Nick takes us through the process, which we thought might be quite a macabre experience, but turns out to be both reassuring and uplifting.  Later, we head out to Washingborough Road and have to choose between talking about the golf course, or continuing our musings on death in the cemetery - obviously, the cemetery wins.  Back in the studio, we get some historical context from Jo and some essential stats from Tref.  All this, plus another round of A Question Of Lincoln.

This week we head back to Washy where we pin our hopes on finding the pits, after we singularly failed to do so over in Canwick.  Here, Jonny reveals he's riding a girl's bike and wearing his wife's tights, while Paul relives a childhood encounter with nettles and in doing so gives up the chance of winning £100 from Harry Hill.  Back in the studio, we hear some memories of the area courtesy of the Spires & Steeples project, and we also ponder the future of Lincoln with some of your Facebook comments.  All this, plus Tref in fine voice and another round of A Question of Lincoln.

This week we take a radical departure from our usual format and present the entire show LIVE from our city centre grid.  Listen to us in real time as we wander around the streets trying to look inconspicuous whilst holding a microphone and transmitter!  Sadly, the hi-tech piece of kit we were promised singularly failed to work, so we were forced to use the ancient Siren FM "white box" transmitter and as a result it sounds like we're commentating on a 1970s overseas football match.  But if you can ignore the audio quality, you'll hear tales of Jonny's impending midlife crisis and Paul's embarrassing misunderstanding of the nature of the "Big Wok".  All this, plus our usual contributors Jo and Tref.

This week we venture down to the bottom of our map to the village of Waddington.  Several times in the past we've found ourselves excluded by high fences in our village grids - but never before by a man with a machine gun! That's exactly what we found at the Mere Road entrance to RAF Waddo where, in typically contrary fashion, we decide to completely ignore the massive Waddington Air Show and instead talk about car boot sales and being spied on.  Back in the studio we read some of your comments on which UK city is the best (obviously excluding Lincoln) and Jo and Tref put in their customary appearances.  All this, plus another round of A Question of Lincoln.

This week, in a very special episode, Paul spends a full 24 hours on the streets of the city centre observing the changes that happen across an average day.  From the early morning street cleaners, to the coffee-drinking commuters, to the night time revellers, each tribe take their turn to dominate before handing the city over to the next.  This special episode creates an audio portrait of 24 hours in the city.

This week we make our second visit to the village of Branston, and on the journey there we indulge in one of our favourite pass times: a pointless competition.  Paul wheezes his way up Canwick Hill on his bike while Jonny peers into people's gardens from the top deck as he races him on the bus.  Once there, it's all about Sex and the Suburbs as we discuss the love life of the couple on the "Elderly Crossing" road sign and speculate on the secret meaning of melons hung over garden fences, before calming ourselves down with talk of 1980s computer games.  Meanwhile back in the studio Tref is making demands and Jo "Turnip Husbandry" Hughes talks Monkeys.  All this, plus another round of A Question of Lincoln...