The Gossiper .sx News , views and memories of Lincolnshire .sx Sky's the limit for tourism .sx By PETER BROWN .sx AT first glance , you might be forgiven for thinking that North Kesteven doesn't have a lot to offer the potential holidaymaker or tourist .sx You would look in vain for a sun-drenched beach .sx There aren't a lot of snow-capped mountains to climb , and you would be hard-pressed to discover an abundance of opera houses or concert halls .sx But what it does have is a special charm all of its own ; a host of interesting and historic villages ; sporting facilities that make it the envy of many ; some fascinating buildings .sx .. and the RAF .sx With Cranwell College and the Elementary Flying Training Squadron based at Swinderby , the chances are that most people who serve in the service will visit North Kesteven at some time or other in their career .sx There are also active and abandoned airfields in the area , and North Kesteven District Council has been quick to realise that they are all potential tourist destinations .sx Sometime ago the authority produced a booklet called Airfield Trail which tourism officer Lorraine McGrath tells me has proved so popular it is about to be updated and improved .sx But what the authority needs is for someone to help sponsor the publication , says Lorraine .sx She can be contacted on 0529 414155 ext 480 .sx Unfortunate coincidence .sx IT'S not very often that a full meeting of Lincoln City Council falls on Guy Fawkes Night .sx But that's what's going to happen next week for only the third time for almost two decades .sx And I gather that just before he opens the meeting , the Mayor , Coun Ralph Toofany , is going to remind members of a very unfortunate coincidence which has followed the two previous November 5 meetings .sx Back in 1973 , the Bonfire Night meeting was chaired by Fred Allen .sx The 1985 meeting was under the chairmanship of Ida Campbell .sx Both well-remembered former mayors have since died .sx But Ralph says he is not superstitious about things like that and will be chairing the meeting as usual .sx Whether or not the subjects for debate produce any fireworks inside the Guildhall , remains to be seen .sx On the box again .sx TELEVISION viewers throughout Britain will be getting an insight into one of Lincolnshire's best-known country houses tomorrow when BBC-2 screens , once again , the Heirs and Graces programme about the Elizabethan house .sx The 30-minute programme , which starts at 1.45pm , is presented by Lady Victoria Leatham , who knows all about county stately homes - she lives at Burghley House near Stamford .sx MEMBERS of the County Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society are turning back the clock to those roaring 20s for their next production .sx They are reviving Sandy Wilson's musical The Boyfriend at Lincoln Theatre Royal for two weeks from November 18 .sx If you haven't seen the show before , the society tells me the chances are that at least some of the music will be very familiar to you .sx Lincolnshire 10 years ago .sx MANY Lincolnshire people spent more money on dog food than they gave to the Church , Lincoln Diocesan Synod was told .sx The Rev Patrick Lacy , Rural Dean of Horncastle and Christian Stewardship adviser , said :sx " The giving in this diocese is miserably low .sx " .sx The County Council was continuing to reduce its staff and at a faster rate than most other authorities , according to the Manpower Watch returns prepared for the Government .sx Plans for a pounds900,000 entertainment centre went on view at Skegness .sx The octagonal hall would be capable of holding theatre shows , conferences , cabaret , exhibitions , dances , wrestling and other sport .sx Lincolnshire 25 years ago .sx A motor cyclist , who skidded on a patch of ice and hit a lamp standard , became the first person to have an accident on the new road constructed between Market Street and the Southholme , Gainsborough .sx The funeral took place of Mr Trevor Mays , maths master at Lincoln School since 1957 .sx Mr Mays ( 37 ) died after a long illness , and headmaster Mr J.C. Faull said " The school has lost a loyal servant .sx " .sx A pounds5,850 traffic survey , designed to give all the background knowledge necessary in planning Boston's road network for the future , was all set to get under way .sx The Gossiper .sx News , views and memories of Lincolnshire .sx The Lights o' Lincoln shine brightly again .sx FOR the first time for more than 40 years , the Lights o' Lincoln shone brightly once again , as the wartime concert party got back together again for what they expect to be one final curtain-call .sx It was the idea of George Haywood , one of the few survivors of the Lights o' Lincoln , who had long had an ambition to reunite his old colleagues .sx And he tells me the event was a tremendous success - every bit as good as he had hoped it would be .sx Joining George , who now lives just outside Nottingham , were Vic Roberts and Marguerite Brindley-Auger from Lincoln ; Hettie Fooks-Paulson from Bicester and Eulalie O'Brian Power from Twickenham .sx The day started at European Gas Turbines - the successor company to the one which employed quite a number of the concert party during the war years .sx After a tour of the factory , there was a civic reception at the Guildhall by the Mayor , Coun Ralph Toofany , who was handed a copy of a letter George had received from a private secretary to the Queen Mother , explaining it was not possible for the Queen Mother to send a message for the event but adding " She was interested to hear of the event for Her Majesty knows of the wonderful contribution made by the Lights o' Lincoln concert party during the war .sx " .sx Then there was a celebration dinner at the Marconi Sports Centre in Newark Road , Lincoln , where the entertainers trod the boards for one more time for a final chorus of songs .sx Delighted with the success of it all , George tells me he has just one more ambition and that is to see a plaque at Ye Olde Crowne in Clasketgate - the public house where members of the concert party used to gather before going off on their hundreds of performances during the Second World War .sx And now there's only one left .sx THE death of Harold , Fourth Baron Tennyson , the other day - at the age of 72 - means that now , for the first time for years , there is only one surviving Freeman of the city .sx Former Mayor , Alderman and once the longest-serving member of Lincoln City Council , Jock Campbell , is now the only living honorary individual-Freeman of the city .sx The corporate honour was conferred on the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment and RAF Wadington some years ago .sx Lord Tennyson was made a Freeman in 1964 , and Jock in 1981 .sx Another Jason .sx JASONS seem to figure prominently in the showbusiness career of former Neighbours star Kate Gorman .sx She first attracted the attention of television viewers in her attempts to snare Jason Donovan in the days when he used to play Scott in the top Australian soap .sx Now , halfway across the world and in a straight play , she is opposite another Jason , this time Britain's Jason Pethers in the Edgar Wallace thriller The Case of the Frightened Lady .sx The play can be seen at Lincoln Theatre Royal next week .sx Lincolnshire 10 years ago .sx NEARLY 300 public houses in Lincolnshire and South Humberside were closing because of a week-long pay dispute at Bass ( North ) Limited .sx All staff at the brewery's managed houses , except the managers and their wives , were being laid off as signs went up outside pubs saying " Sorry - no beer .sx " .sx Sqdn Ldr Joc L'Estrange ( 55 ) of Leasingham , completed his 10,000th flying hour while captaining a Vulcan of No 44 ( R ) Squadron .sx Jacksons , the Lincoln dry cleaners , were taking over shops at Newport , Lincoln , and at North Hykeham , from Clarks of Retford .sx Skegness from Funworld Limited put in a bid to take over the council-owned pier pavilion at Cleethorpes .sx Lincolnshire 25 years ago .sx LINCOLN UNITED best Ashby Institute 5-0 away to go fourth from top of the Lincolnshire League , with 14 points from 10 matches .sx A 79-acre mixed farm at Mareham-on-the-Hill was sold for pounds22,200 at an auction in Horncastle .sx The price represented a figure of more than pounds280 an acre .sx Ald William Edward Young , a long-serving member of Kesteven County Council and former chairman of North Kesteven Rural District Council , died at the age of 82 .sx He had represented Branston and Mere on the district authority for more than 40 years .sx Just a Thought .sx TO know how to grow old is the masterwork of wisdom .sx If you have Just a Thought write to the Gossiper , Peter Brown .sx The Gossiper .sx News , views and memories of Lincolnshire .sx Marching joy for disbanded ROC .sx DISBANDED or not disbanded , the Royal Observer Corps' Fiskerton-based 15 Group goes marching on .sx And not only marching on , but marching to victory .sx Eight men and two women from the corps - a victim of the latest Ministry of Defence cuts - proved you just can't keep a good squad down when they set off for South Wales to defend the title Best Military Team at the eighth international Black Mountain March .sx The march is a 25 kilometre gruelling slog through the Black Mountain country in the Brecon Beacons .sx And they came back with the title Best Overall Team in the competition .sx Chief Observer Dave Langlands , of Cherry Willingham , told me :sx " The purpose is to march around the 25km route keeping together , in step and maintaining a smart appearance all the time , irrespective of the conditions and obstacles .sx " You never know where the marshals and observers are on the route - some of them are mobile and some hidden .sx " Each team leader carries a check card which has to be handed in and signed at each check point .sx " .sx More than 540 took part in the march , including teams and individuals .sx Undeterred by a sudden ground-frost - a shock to the system when they awoke from their slumbers while camping the previous night - the ROC team started their walk from Ammanford in Dyfed at 10.05am and completed it at 3.25pm despite a break for lunch .sx Fascinating THE history of Hainton Hall is the fascinating topic chosen by Lucy Bainbridge , a 17-year-old pupil at King Edward VI School , Louth , for her A-level coursework .sx And Lucy's mum , Sally Bray , tells me that although her daughter has collected much of the formal history of the hall , she's anxious to contact people who worked there .sx Anyone able to help is asked to telephone 0507 313755 .sx A wartime reminder that was too painful .sx CAN you remember any warlike mementoes deposited around the county following the First World War ?sx That's the question posed by Terence Leach , who edits a notes and queries page in the Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology's quarterly Past and Present magazine .sx A recent edition carried an account of a German tank presented to Grantham in 1919 , and the latest tells of a large and very heavy piece of German artillery deposited in the centre of Lumley Square , Skegness .sx The story , related by Winston Kime , reveals that the object caused protests from soldiers trying to forget the dreadful days in Flanders and from the relatives of those who died in battle .sx In due course , the roads foreman mustered his men and horses and the great German gun was hauled off .sx Lincolnshire 10 years ago .sx MORE than 300 residents of Stanley Street , off Newark Road , Lincoln , signed a petition opposing plans for travelling showmen to set up winter quarters near their homes .sx Schools would be dirtier and less healthy to work in after the County Council cut cleaners down to a four-day week , unions claimed .sx County councillors ruled that the police must cut their budget by pounds119,000 despite claims by Chief Constable , James Kerr , that the standards of policing would fall .sx Lincolnshire 25 years ago .sx LINCOLN City FC appointed Ron Grey ( 45 ) as manager .sx He was considered a " strict disciplinarian " .sx Mayor of Lincoln , Coun Frank Eccleshare , launched a disaster appeal following the Aberfan tragedy .sx Meanwhile , uproar broke out at the inquest on 34 of the victims at Chapel Pentry when a man whose wife and two sons had been killed demanded that the cause of death should be recorded as " buried alive by the National Coal Board " .sx