Mystery of Andy's death...

More on the tragic death of popular local photographer Andy Dennis in today's Stamford Mercury.

As I posted at the weekend, Andy was a great guy, known throughout our community for his trade-mark smile.

He was a larger-than-life character who was much more than the photographer who took pictures at local events for the Mercury and the Bourne Local. He made a huge contribution as a scouter and also as a member of the Deeping First Responders - the local volunteer team who often arrive before the ambulance in emergencies to save lives.

And of course he was a loving husband and step-dad to four young people. The family lived at Sheepskin Hall and were planning to buy their own home when Andy died suddenly.

Here's the full moving story from today's Mercury:

Popular Mercury photographer Andy Dennis has died suddenly at the age of 43. Andy was found dead by his wife Lindy early Friday morning at their home in Outgang Road, Deeping St James.

Tests are being carried out to establish the exact cause of his death.
Mercury editor Eileen Green said everyone at the newspaper was shocked and deeply saddened by the news.

"Andy had been with the Mercury for five years and was a popular member of our editorial team, who always had a smile on his face," she said. "His duties took him all over the area on our behalf and he was a wonderful ambassador for us.

"He was a fine photographer, a true professional with a passionate love of local newspapers. The place will certainly not be the same without him. He will be sorely missed."

The night before his death, Andy had spent the evening talking over plans with Lindy to buy the couple's first house before falling asleep. He never woke up.

Lindy, 51, said: "He had nodded off on the settee and so I left him asleep and went upstairs to bed. Four hours later at about 4am I noticed he had not joined me so I went downstairs where I discovered that he had passed away. It was the most appalling shock.

"Andy was a lovely, warm man who took on my four children and made us all a family.

"None of us can believe he has gone. It was so sudden and cruel. I found out on the day of his death that we had been accepted for the house we wanted to buy. Unfortunately, he never got the news."

Andy is also survived by his four step-children Chris, 22, Nick, 21, Will, 18, Abigail, 13 and his father John, who now lives in Spalding where Andy had a studio before joining the Stamford Mercury as a photographer in 2002.

He said: "I am devastated at the loss of my son, but am trying to remember all the wonderful things about him that made him such a one-off. He was certainly accident prone.

"I remember when he was a little lad at school in Stamford and kept having accidents on his beloved pushbike.

"His mum, Josephine, and I got quite used to our son being delivered to us in the back of an ambulance covered in cuts and bruises after taking another tumble. There was also the time when he was nearly arrested at RAF Luffenham for impersonating the commanding officer, Station Commander A Dennis.

"But he managed to explain himself to avoid a trip to the glasshouse and, like everything, he did it with a smile on his face and with his wonderful sense of humour.

"That is why he made friends so easily.

"He grew up into a kind and caring man who had the common touch and an ability to talk to anyone, which is why he will be so badly missed by so many people."

Born in Verberg RAF base in Germany on February 28 1963, Andy moved to Edith Weston when his father, a corporal in the RAF, was re-deployed at nearby North Luffenham.

The family then moved to Oakham where Andy attended Southfields Primary School before a move to Stamford saw him join the ranks of the Bluecoats Primary School in 1971.

It was here that a growing determination to attend Stamford Boys' School began to harden and after studying like a demon, Andy passed the 11+ exam to win the place he so prized three years later.

He discovered a life-long love for photography through teacher John Slater which he later pursued at Harrogate Art and Design College before returning in 1984 to live with his parents at Rippingale and lecturing on photography at Peterborough Regional College.

Andy's mother died in 1993 and five years later he moved to a studio in Spalding 18 months after meeting the love of his life and future wife, Lindy at camp.

She said: "Andy had always been involved in scouting as a leader, as had I, and he proposed to me in a rain soaked tent at Lincolnshire Showground Scout Jamboree. It was so romantic.

"We got married on July 14, 2001, in Bourne Register Office and I just remember how happy and in love we were and that is how we stayed.

"He was so loving, his death has left a hole that everyone who knew him will struggle to fill."

Andy joined the Mercury in 2002 at about the same time as he and Lindy signed up as unpaid paramedics through the Lives first responder team.

Deepings Lives co-ordinator, Helen Bembridge said: "Just talking to Andy it was clear he had a huge desire to help other people and that is why he became such a huge part of the Lives service in this area.

"He and Lindy worked as a team and the pair of them would always cover for others and go the extra mile to help out.

"He was a wonderful man and a wonderful asset to Lives who will be hugely missed by us all."

A service at the Priory church in Deeping St James will take place on Friday, january 19 at 1pm, followed by interment in the churchyard.

In the afternoon there will be a celebration of Andy's life at the Rose pub in Frognall.

Everyone who knew Andy is invited to attend both the service and the celebration but Lindy has asked for donations to Deepings First Responders in lieu of flowers.

Cheques should be made out to Deepings First Responders, and sent to Helen Bembridge at 132 Eastgate, Deeping St James, PE6 8RD.

Lincoln has to be top Cathedral City...

The secret is out: Lincoln has been named as one of the country's most attractive cathedral cities by top travel guide Holiday Which.

The reputable magazine's team of writers praise the city as 'a great place to visit' in their latest issue, published today.

Their verdict provides the Lincolnshire Echo with a splash covering half their front page tonight - ironically below a promo tempting readers the chance to spend a penny to get away from Lincoln).


Lincoln is profiled alongside Chester, Derry, St Andrews, St Davids and Salisbury in a Holiday Which six-page special.

The Which? team highlighted Lincoln's historic links to the church, the Magna Carta and the English Civil War.

They lavished praise on the 'charming' uphill Bailgate area near and said Lincoln boasted one of the finest cathedrals in Europe.

All of which will hopefully boost tourism to Lincoln, which is all too often by-passed by visitors to Britain.

First death of New Year on Lincs roads...

Lincolnshire Police have confirmed that a woman died when a car left Moor Lane, Thurlby and hit a tree at mid-day last Wednesday.

She was passenger in a Fiat Punto driven by her 40-year-old brother. She was taken to Lincoln County by road ambulance where she later died.

The driver was airlifted to Lincoln County Hospital with serious facial injuries.

Both are believed to be from the Newark area.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the collision or anyone who was on Moor Lane just before noon on Wednesday and may have seen a silver/grey Punto prior to it leaving the road.

Anyone with information can call the witness hotline on 01522 558855.

This is the first fatality on Lincolnshire's roads in 2007. Last year, 66 people died on Lincolnshire roads, compared with 69 in 2005 and 1-4 in 2003.

Tragic death of Andy Dennis, popular Mercury snapper ...

Just arrived home after a long weekend visiting friends in Norwich and West Wales to the terrible news that Stamford Mercury photographer Andy Dennis died suddenly on Thursday night.

Andy was a popular and active member of the Deepings community as a volunteer in local scouting and with the life-saving First Responders organisation. I’ve known Andy for years: it was always a joy when he turned up to record local events and campaigns on his camera for the Mercury.

A couple of years ago he contacted me to ask if he could take a photo for a story the Mercury were preparing about Lincolnshire County Council spending £2 million a year to send a few Stamford children to public school.

I was trying to highlight the unfairness of the scheme which reduces the budget of every other school in Lincolnshire. I was campaigning to scrap the scheme and put the money saved towards a brand new comprehensive school for Stamford.

I agreed to meet Andy at a local school: He had a classroom ready as a background to his photo and had chalked up in large figures on the blackboard the costs of the scheme against the price of a new school.

Andy lined me up in front of the blackboard. Then, with a cheeky twinkle in his eye, he suddenly produces a teacher’s mortar board, suggesting it would be a perfect fit for me and would make a great picture for the front page.

After a few seconds thought, I asked him to imagine the ribbing I'd get if he snapped me wearing the mortar-board.

I politely but firmly declined, insisting the mortar-board would devalue, rather than enhance the serious point I was trying to make about the scholarship scheme.

Despite me steadfastly refusing to wear the novel headgear, and his tongue-in-cheek grumblings of me being a spoil-sport, Andy still managed to produce an excellent picture that both maintained what was left of my dignity but was still good enough to be splashed across the front page of that week's Mercury.

I later asked Andy if he really thought I might have been daft enough to pose wearing the mortar-board. He said not really, but thought it was always worth a try to get a better picture. A true professional!

We both shared a real belly laugh at his idea which I agreed would have given him a great photo, but not one I wanted to see on the front of the Mercury, thanks!

The news of Andy's sudden death was posted by Vicar of Deeping St James, the Rev Mark Warrick who says at The Deepings Exchange:

...Andy has been a great friend to me since I first met him when he brought his step-daughter-to-be to Sunday School at the Priory Church some years ago.

He has made huge contributions to the life of this community, notably as a LIVES First Responder, and will be greatly missed by many. No matter how joyful a community event might be, there was always scope for the heart to be lifted by the arrival of Andy to photograph it for the press. He was wonderful with children and young people and helped me with our Pathfinders group for a while.

Please pray for Lindy, his wife, and all the household at this time of devastating loss and sudden change in their complex lives, and for the Responders who have lost a dedicated colleague in circumstances which must be tragic even by their standards.

The photo here of Andy is from the Stamford Mercury website where editor Eileen Green also pays warm tribute to him.

Andy was one of life's genuine good guys. It’s a huge shock to learn that he’s no longer with us. He will be sadly missed by many people here in the Deepings and right across “Mercury” country.

Bottoms up to Bateman's: Lincolnshire's finest

Cheers to Batemans, brewers of my favourite Lincolnshire tipple...

Batemans has become the first East Midlands brewery to win a VisitBritain accreditation.

According to the Lincolnshire Echo, the family-run brewery at Wainfleet, near Skegness, has been awarded a Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Service accreditation for its visitor centre.

The award aims to promote quality in the tourism industry and has been presented to just six British breweries.

I've never actually visited Bateman's Brewery, though have spent many hours in many of their houses across the East Midlands, sampling their good honest ales!

Captions: The logo is from the official Batemans site, and the other photo is one I took of a window during a pleasant evening spent touring Bateman houses in Boston in the autumn.

Botched executions in the US lead to rethink...

Asked about the debacle of Saddam Hussain's execution, a senior US officer proudly stated that the Americans sure would have done it differently.

Of course they would.

The Americans are world experts, with experience of more than 1,000 executions by different methods since restoring the death penalty in 1976 (888 by lethal injection, 153 by electocution, 11 by gassing, three by hanging and two by firing squad).

Of those executed, 22 were juveniles when they committed their crimes.

An exclusive club of the USA, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia between them account for 94 per cent of the world's state executions.

Despite their expertise, the American state still manages to spectacularly botch executions. Lethal injections were sold as the most humane method some years ago after horrific stories of flesh frying when the electric chair was the favoured method. (Several states still have hanging or even firing squad on the statute).

Just before Christmas in Florida, where the Governor is no less than Jeb Bush, brother of President Dubya, a man took more than half an hour to die in apparent agony after his lethal injection was terribly botched.

Florida is now one of eight states across the US, where executions are now on hold as lawyers debate whether lethal injections can be "humane" or even constititional.

There's an update on capital punishment around the world in today's Independent after what it calls the "Utube execution" of Saddam :

If you want more, Campaigning British Attorney Clive Stafford Smith writes on the subject here

Those with an iron stomach may be interested in this history of botched executions in the USA

Osama, Obama, Obuggar: bloggers praised after CNN's gigantic gaffe...

A huge gaffe by American TV channel CNN was quickly jumped on by bloggers.

CNN managed to mix up a contender to be the next President of the USA with terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.

In a story on the whereabouts of Osama, CNN mistakenly ran the caption: "Where's Obama?" over a picture of the terrorist leader.

Barak Obama happens to be an Illinois Senator, a rising Democrat star who is tipped the most likely challenger to Hillary Clinton for the Party's nomination for the 2008 US-Presidential race.

If he runs and wins against Hillary, Obama could become elected as the first black US President.

CNN promptly apologized personally to Obama for what they called a "bad typographical error" .
The New York Daily Post points out that in his latest book, Obama describes being told by a a media consultant in 2001 that his last name would cause a problem because it would remind people of the al Qaeda leader.

A spokesman for Senator Obama said,

Though I'd note that the 's' and the 'b' keys aren't all that close to each other, I assume it was just an unfortunate mistake, and don't think there was any truly malicious intent.

We greatly appreciate the bloggers and activists who brought this error to our attention and helped make sure it was corrected so quickly.

CNN's gaffe came as Obama (that's definitely the Senator not the terrorist leader) was apparently frolicking on a Hawaii beach, where he spent the holidays visiting family - and making his mind up about whether to make a 2008 run for president.

Trouble over Senator Obama's name may not be over: his middle name is...Hussein.

Back to the day-job for Kilroy...?

Despite the endless tabloid hype and speculation, (OK, I admit it, some of it was right here), not one of the bookie's favourites - including Robert Kilroy-Silk made it into the Celebrity Big Brother house when it opened for business tonight.

Earlier, William Hill's had slashed the odds of Kilroy winning the three week show from 16/1 to 10/1.

It seems punters believed the hype and put the 'smart' money on Kilroy (despite being hardly heard of since his election as East Midlands Member of the European Parliament).

Before the house-guests were revealed, Celebrity Big Brother odds were: 11/2 Whitney Houston, 7/1 Adam Ant, 10/1 Sue Pollard, 10/1 Kilroy Silk.

Not one of the favourites was among the chosen ones who entered the BB house tonight.

(I watched the spectacle purely in the interests of research and I can report that there was no sign of 'Lord' Jeffrey Archer, 'Prince' Naseem Hamed, or 'Honest' Jim Speechley among those hoping to rehabilitate themselves on the TV show).

Maybe Kilroy and Co will be among BB's later surprise guests.

Meantime, for now anyway, Kilroy can get back to the mundane day-job...

No mention of Archer or Speechley in honours list of shame...

What have these people in common...Francis Bacon, Sir Roger Casement, Kim Philby, Lester Piggott...

They're all in The Guardian's list of people who have had honours removed...

The list was published today as part of The Guardian's coverage of the removal of boxing chump Prince Naseem's Hamed's MBE following his jailing for driving offences.

There's no mention in the Guardian list of former Tory Leader of Lincolnshire County Council Jim Speechley who, as I mentioned yesterday, had his CBE removed after he served a jail sentence for abuse of public office.

And there's no place either in the Guardian "Hall of Shame" of former Tory Party deputy chairman Jeffrey Archer who was also jailed for wrong-doing - and who served most of his sentence here in Lincolnshire, where he'd also once also served as one of the youngest ever MPs.

But Archer still has the honour of a life peerage. He still manages to bring the system into disrepute by officially remaining Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare: technically there's nothing to stop jailbird Archer sitting in Parliament as a law-maker, rather than a law-breaker.

Following the withdrawal of Prince Naseem's honour yesterday, a spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office told the Guardian that withdrawal of an honour was "extremely rare".

She said:

Forfeiture will be considered if evidence comes to light that someone has done something which shows they shouldn't have received an honour.

Er, such as perjury and perverting the course of justice, perhaps, the crime that Archer was convicted of, resulting in his four-year-jail sentence.

Hamed was convicted after the McLaren Mercedes sports car he was driving at 90mph on the wrong side of the road smashed into another vehicle.

Witnesses said Hamed had been driving "like a maniac".

The other driver's vehicle was stopped and pushed backwards in the collision which left Anthony Burgin with every major bone in his body broken and injuries to his brain. Rescuers said his physical state was "like soup".

His "fantastic life" was destroyed.

For the record, here's the Guardian's list of shame of those whose honours have been removed:

*** In 1621 the philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon was charged with taking bribes, stripped of his title and fined.

*** Sir Roger Casement, the Irish nationalist hero, lost his title before being hanged for treason in 1916.

*** Kim Philby lost his OBE and Sir Anthony Blunt was stripped of his title of Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order when it was revealed they had been spies for the Soviet Union.

*** Former champion jockey Lester Piggott was stripped of his OBE in 1988 after being jailed for a £3m tax fraud.

*** Jack Lyons lost his knighthood after his conviction for fraud in the Guinness trial.

*** World darts champion Phil Taylor was relieved of his MBE last year after being convicted of assaulting two female fans.

*** Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was stripped of his honorary Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath the day before his execution on Christmas day 1989.

A motley crew indeed...

Thought: Wonder if Jeffrey's comeback could be speeded up if he took a leaf out of the boxer's book and called himself "Prince Jeffrey Archer"...

County Councillor Barry Fippard awarded MBE...

Just heard that my colleague on Lincolnshire County Council Barry Fippard has been made an MBE in the New Year's Honours List.

Barry has been Labour member for Birchwood, Lincoln for donkeys years and he is a founder member of the Lincolnshire Police Authority - where I serve with him as the "other" Labour member.

I heard the news of his MBE when I was emailed a copy of a letter of congratulations from the Police Authority.

I'm rather disappointed that the County Council has not yet bothered to inform the rest of the Council about a major honour to one of its longest serving elected members.

Barry was also in the news in November when he suffered a massive heart attack while he was working out on a rowing machine at a Lincoln gym.

Fortunately, staff saw what happened and put their resusitation training on the 'jump leads' to immediate effect.

Staff at Lincoln County Hospital weren't sure he'd make it through the night at one time, but never one to shirk a fight, determined Barry had other ideas. He was soon warmly back to the council chamber - and to police authority meetings.

Barry's award "for services to local government in Lincolnshire" is well deserved and I'm sure it will be properly recognised by the County Council in due course.

Well done Barry.

Crime down again across Lincs

Good news on falling crime rates across Lincolnshire - including a decline in serious violence and house burglaries.

Since April 2006 there have been 581 fewer victims of violence compared to the same period in 2005 - a 12% reduction.

Assistant Chief Constable Peter Davies says it has been a very successful year in terms of crime reduction and detection in 2005/06.

Here's the statement he has released to the press today:

We reported at the end of 2005/06 a reduction in Burglary Dwelling offences of 8.3%, meaning that 228 fewer houses were broken into.

Since April 2006 we have managed to reduce the level even further, with a 7.5% reduction in such offences, equating to 140 less houses broken into (when compared with the same period in 2005).
Having achieved a reduction of 8% in Serious Violent Crime in 2005/06 we have further reduced these offences by 12% since April (compared to the same period in 2005), which means 581 fewer victims of violence.

We are particularly pleased to have achieved significant reductions in offences resulting in physical injury - Homicide and Serious Wounding has reduced by 20.8% and Other Wounding by 14.3%.

As well as reducing Overall Crime (by 1.9% or 819 offences) we have also increased the number of Sanction Detections. Since April we have detected 10803 offences, which equates to 26% of all crime.

We are receiving positive feedback from crime and accident victims in terms of satisfaction with our service, with 79% of all respondents between April and September reporting satisfaction with the overall service provided.

In the latest quarter’s survey, respondents were particularly satisfied with how easy it was to contact us (90.5% satisfied) and the treatment they received from our staff (89.8% satisfied).

Since April we have continued to expand our Neighbourhood Policing program, and the county now has 55 teams working with partners to improve their local neighbourhood.

We recently commissioned a public survey in Lincolnshire and found that 88.7% of people think their local police do a good job. Almost three quarters of respondent said they would feel safer with more Police Community Support Officers patrolling their streets and we are responding to this by increasing the number of officers to 149 by early 2007.

Finally, the excellent work of the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership was recognised nationally earlier this year when they were awarded beacon status, and this good work has continued since April with a 22.1% reduction on the number of persons killed or seriously injured as a result of road traffic collisions (compared with the same period in 2005), this equates to 66 less victims on Lincolnshire’s roads.

A good day for democracy...?

Full marks to John Prescott for saying what most decent people are thinking about the circumstances of Saddam Hussein's execution.

Mobile phone footage widely available on the internet apparently shows Saddam being told to "go to hell" by people attending the hanging, while the ex-leader mocks their "bravery".

Mr Prescott described the scenes were "deplorable" and says those responsible for the scenes should be "ashamed".

Whatever your views on capital punishment and specifically whether Saddam should have been hanged, Prescott is right to speak out.

Personally, I have no wish to see the footage. I thought the newspaper photos were awful enough.

I appreciate the need for the Iraqi people to be convinced that Saddam was actually dead.

But to me, the execution by the Iraqi Government - complete with men in leather jackets and balaclavas - appeared no different to murders of hostages filmed by terrorists.

'Prince Naseem' joins 'Honest Jim' in honours hall of shame...

Former world boxing champion Naseem Hamed and former Leader of Lincolnshire County Council Jim Speechley were both disgraced when their behaviour landed them in court.

Both also served time in Doncaster Prison.

Today, they have something else in common:

Naseem Hamed was today stripped of his MBE.

The BBC are reporting that an official notice said the Queen had directed that Hamed's name be erased from the Order of the British Empire.

Hamed served 16 weeks of a 15-month term for causing serious injury to Anthony Burgin in a high-speed crash in May 2005.

Jim Speechley, former Conservative County Council Leader was stripped of his CBE after he was jailed for 18 months in April 2004 after being found guilty of misconduct in public office. (see BBC report)

He was found guilty of trying to change the route of a bypass to inflate the value of land he owned near Crowland.

In case there's any confusion, that's 'Prince Naseem' as he liked to be known on the left, and 'Honest Jim' as he liked to be known, on the right.

It's unlikely that they shared a cell.

Kilroy-Silk to follow Georgeous George Galloway...?

If you thought the bizarre spectacle of Georgeous George Galloway on Big Brother was cringing, it seems you ain't seen nothin' yet!

Robert Kilroy Silk is bring heavily tipped to make his TV comeback on Celebrity Big Brother. The makers of the programme are trying to keep the line-up for their new show secret until it airs in a few days.

But the name Kilroy Silk - known as Tangerine Man for his love of sunbeds - is being widely touted to bring some colour to the show.

As the Independent newspaper says today, Kilroy-Silk disappeared from British television screens when he was sacked by the BBC for describing Arabs as "suicide-bombers, limb-amputators [and] women-repressors".

Following his celebrated sacking by the BBC, he managed to get elected as an East Midlands member of the European Parliament (despite not getting my vote).

On election as MEP for the Eurosceptic right wing UKIP, Kilroy-Silk said he would make it his mission to destroy the European Union. He's been barely heard of since -apart from his acrimonious split with UKIP when they wouldn't let him be leader.

A few months later he created his own party - Veritas - and took on Labour's Liz Blackman in the General Election. For me, the sweetest result of election night was seeing Kilroy Silk totally humiliated. Not only did the able, hard-working Liz Blackman increase her majority in her Erewash (Derbyshire) seat, but Kilroy-Silk barely held on to his deposit!

MP Galloway was said to have made a million from his time in the Big Brother house when he pretended to be a pussy cat lapping milk at Rula Lenska's feet.

No doubt Celebrity Big Brother is right up Kilroy-Silk's street.

But isn't he getting paid handsomely by the public purse to represent us in the European Parliament, not stroking his ego on Big Brother...?

Still think Global warming's a myth...?

Last year was by far the warmest across England since records began nearly 350 years ago.

Meteorologist Gareth Harvey of Meteogroup said today that average daily temperatures in 2006 set a new record "by a long way."

The average daily temperature, based on readings from a number of meteorological stations, was 10.9 Centigrade (for luddites like me: that's 51.62 in real money).

So 2006 was significantly warmer than the previous hotspot year on record - 1990, when an average daily temperature of 10.67C (51.2F) was recorded.

Mr Harvey predicts there could be more warm years on the way with most forecasts agreed on a rising temperature trend over the next 10-15 years.