It’s the month where we seem to find our balance again. The summer holidays come to an end, children go back to school, and our routines return. As we head towards the autumn equinox, taking place in the very early hours of the 23rd, the hours of daylight and darkness are in equilibrium. From that moment, we’re officially into autumn: cooler mornings, darker evenings and the first signs of colour appearing in the trees, although the lack of rain this summer has meant plenty of leaves have already turned brown!

Autumn brings those cosy days of sitting at home by the fire with a nice warm drink, which is the perfect time to get out the pen and paper and write a letter. This month, we’re looking at World Letter Writing Day and have a fancy letter-writing kit to give away in one of our competitions.

Our other competition gives you the chance to win vouchers for the Sleaford Festival. Taking place on Saturday 19th, there’ll also be a funfair on the Thursday and Friday leading up to the festival. Entry to this year’s festival is free, but our competition offers you the chance to win vouchers for fairground rides, and food & drink. There’s lots of music planned, with local singers and choirs, along with dance and gymnastics displays.

Before that, Boston Road Recreation Ground is the venue for another favourite event in the local calendar, the Classic Car and Motorcycle Show. Taking place on the 5th, the grounds will once again be filled with classic vehicles. Oh and don't forget to pick up a programme as we put it together this year! So, although the summer holidays may be over, there’s still plenty to look forward to! We’ve got lots of listings in our What’s On guide this month, and don’t forget that Sleaford Little Theatre are performing their next production, Blue Stockings, early in September.

It was only last year that SLT were celebrating their 75th anniversary. It seems the 1950s was quite a monumental decade for Sleaford groups, as another organisation formed in those post-war years was Sleaford Art Group, who are celebrating their 70th anniversary this month with an exhibition at the Carre Gallery.

With the return to school, we hope these transitions go as smoothly as they can. Many will be changing school or moving on to higher education, and recently we’ve said farewell to some of our distributors who are moving on to the next chapter of their lives. You might find a new face delivering your September magazine, so just bear in mind that they may need a little time to get to grips with their new role as they find their way around your letterboxes!

For over 21 years, we’ve been delivering magazines through your doors, with countless distributors coming and going from the team over that time. It’s all part of the community nature of our magazine, giving opportunities to youngsters beginning their working life, and we’re proud to have played a small part in so many people’s stories along the way.

That same sense of community is at the heart of what we do for local businesses, groups and event organisers too. Whether you’re launching something new, have an event coming up, or simply want more people to know about what you do, we’re here to help you get the word out. So, if you’ve been thinking about advertising with us, why not make this the month you take the plunge? With thousands of copies delivered locally every month, there’s a good chance your next customer, visitor, member or supporter is waiting just around the corner.

Have a great month and we'll see you next time.

YOUR LOCAL LINCS TEAM

Did you know that May takes its name from Maia, the Roman goddess of growth and flourishing? It certainly feels fitting at this time of year. Across Sleaford and the surrounding villages, the landscape is coming into its own: gardens are in bloom, the swans are back on the Slea (in a new nesting spot this year) and waiting for their eggs to hatch, and those brighter, longer days are inviting us all to get out and enjoy ourselves. There’s plenty happening locally to help you do just that.

Talking of the Slea, you can feel a little more like a swan with the Slea Paddlers, who are holding a Come & Try Day on the 30^th, a great opportunity to give canoeing or kayaking a go. Meanwhile, down at The Playhouse, Sleaford Little Theatre are hosting their 1 Act Play Festival, featuring a trio of dramas penned by local writers, a real celebration of the area’s creative talent. The Sleaford Model Railway Exhibition also returns on the 30th, with impressive layouts on display at St George’s Academy.

With the sunny weather we’ve been enjoying recently, is anyone getting in the mood for a picnic? In one of this month’s competitions, we could help you do just that as you have the chance to win a delicious buffet and cake from Kate Badley Catering. We’ve also got a stationery set up for grabs, along with a new children’s book by a local author.

Elsewhere in this issue, we’re celebrating 140 years of the Salvation Army in Sleaford, as well as their exciting move to a new community church on Grantham Road. They’re marking the occasion with a coffee morning on the 9th. Don’t forget, you can find more details on all these events in our What’s On diary.

We’re also shining a light on hedgehogs for Hedgehog Awareness Week, looking at how we can all help protect this much-loved creature. And if you’re an early riser, Dawn Chorus Day takes place on the 3^rd, well worth setting the alarm for!

Let’s Talk Local returns this month as we chat to local author and fellow magazine publisher Clive Simpson, who has just released his debut novel Flood Waters Down, a thriller set on the Lincolnshire fens where the sea levels are rising. Clive also joined us in the studio for this month’s Strong Lincs Podcast, where he talks not only about his book but also his expertise in space and the cosmos. Keep an ear out for that when it lands.

If you’re hoping for some blossoming in your business, or have an event you’d like to share with Sleaford and the surrounding villages, make May your month of growth and get in touch. We’re always pleased to welcome new advertisers and community groups who want to see what a spot in the magazine can do for them. And, by the way, we’ve recently welcomed a new member to the team who’ll be working closely with local businesses on their promotion and marketing, another step in helping our community thrive.

Have a great month, and we’ll see you next time.

YOUR LOCAL LINCS TEAM

With spring here and the clock change bringing longer, lighter evenings, there’s a real sense of the year getting started as nature begins to open up. Fun fact: the name April comes from a Latin word meaning “to open,” a nod to the spring flowers blossoming all around us.

There’s plenty coming into bloom this month in our What’s On section, from ideas for Easter days out over the school holidays to local concerts to the return of the Artisan Markets in Fulbeck. And don’t miss our competitions. You could win tickets to Ark Wildlife Park in Stickney or enjoy an evening with the Miller Magic Big Band. Head over to our Competitions page and get your entries in!

Our April edition also pokes its head into May as it looks ahead to the South Kyme WI Spring Fayre and Fun Dog Show on the 2^nd, and the return of the Beltane Fayre in North Kyme on the 3^rd. Make sure to pick up this month’s magazine to read all about those.

Back to April: the 21st marks World Creativity and Innovation Day, and we’ve taken that inspiration into our Easter celebrations by crafting our own Easter bonnets to keep that seasonal tradition alive, and we’re also whipping up delicious Easter egg cheesecakes, with the recipe featured in this month’s edition. We also chatted to various local creative groups to find out from them what their creative pursuits mean to them and what creativity brings to their lives. And remember, all our community listings are now available right here on the website. Why not have a look and see what opportunities are out there!

If you scroll down the homepage you’ll see that, on the advertising front, we welcome two new premium advertisers to our pages: Downtown stores in Grantham and Boston being one of them. Closer to home, our neighbours J and L Stone Ornaments are also joining us this month. How far away are they? Why, they’re right next door to us! As their neighbours, we see their fantastic stone creations all the time, so we’re definitely in a position to recommend visiting their showroom on Pride Court. And hey, if you do, you can always pop in next door to say hello to us!

Even if all our premium spots are currently filled, there’s always room for more local businesses to be part of Your Local Lincs. Advertising with us means reaching over 21,000 homes and businesses, while also supporting everything we do, from promoting local groups and charities to giving readers a little monthly pocket of sunshine.

Wishing you a wonderful Easter and we’ll see you next month!

YOUR LOCAL LINCS TEAM

Well, we’ve made it through another winter and with March now here, there’s much to look forward to. Along with the arrival of Spring, there’s plenty more going on this month. You only have to check out our What’s On section to see all the spring fayres and music concerts and other things going on. Don’t forget that you can also find details on these events in the new What’s On section of our website, plus many more that don’t make it inside the magazine.

Easter is on the horizon, so we’re also starting to look ahead to April with details of local church services. But what about March? It brings Mother’s Day, and in this month’s magazine we’re exploring the role of foster parents, highlighting the national shortage of foster carers and the incredible difference they make.

World Theatre Day takes place on the 27th, and locally we’re spoiled for choice with the variety of theatre groups we have. We’ve been chatting to some of them to find out what being a member means to them and what theatre brings to their lives.

It’s certainly been a wet start to the year, with the claim doing the rounds that it has rained every day so far in 2026! While we’re hoping the arrival of spring and longer days will bring some brighter weather, in the coming months we may be getting soaked for a different reason; we’ve been speaking to Billinghay Swimming Pool about the fantastic work that’s gone into relaunching this brilliant community facility. Make sure to pick up the March magazine to find out more.

This month’s competition sees us teaming up with RX Holistics, who have an amazing pamper prize up for grabs. We also chat to a local business coach in the return of our popular Let’s Talk Local interviews, and you can hear Dan and Rich talking to Paul Starbuck in March’s Strong Lincs Podcast. Keep an ear out for that when it drops soon.

As a community magazine, we meet so many inspiring groups and individuals who bring so much to our area. This month we checked in with the Border Force group helping to care for Sleaford Cemetery, who are currently looking for support with their research into the Commonwealth War Graves located there. If you might know anything, they'd love to hear from you. You can email them on BorderForceGardeningGroup@outlook.com

And if you know someone who’s making a difference in our community and you’d like to see us feature them in an interview or article, please let us know. Whether it’s highlighting inspiring people or showcasing the fantastic businesses in our area, we’re here to help share these stories.

We hope this month puts a spring in your step, and we’ll see you next time!

YOUR LOCAL LINCS TEAM

February is our birthday month, and this year we’re celebrating a very special milestone as the magazine turns 21!

From those humble beginnings back in 2005, when our company director (still at the helm today!) personally delivered the magazine while looking after her newborn daughter, to where we are now, a trusted fixture in the community. It’s been quite a journey!

Twenty-one years later, as we proudly “get the key to the door,” we’re still the magazine that comes through your door each month. And, just like all those years ago, it continues to be run by people of this community. We live here, we grew up here, and we work right here in Sleaford. We know this place pretty well. But more importantly, we genuinely care about it. Connecting you with local events, businesses, charities, and everything in between remains at the heart of what we do.

One feature our readers always get excited about is our monthly competitions. You may have seen us mention this on Facebook recently. We’re currently building our slate of competitions for the year and still have room for a few more. If you’re a local business with a suitable prize and fancy a bit of extra exposure, we’d love to hear from you. You don’t need to be an advertiser to take part. It’s simply a great chance to collaborate.

So what’s this month’s prize? We’re teaming up with the Sleaford Playhouse to give away tickets for their brilliant new cinema. Have you been yet? Set up by the Sleaford Little Theatre charity, they’ve installed cinema-grade equipment and brought the magic of the silver screen back to the town for the first time in 25 years. They’ve got a great line-up and audiences are growing fast.
February is also the month of love; fittingly, on the 21st we see the next community event at the Market Place, all about giving your heart the love it deserves. Expect pop-up activities such as rock climbing and a football shoot-out, all focusing on healthier lifestyles and wellbeing. Running up to that, the Market Place will also see the return of the heart seat as part of the Love Sleaford campaign. Write on a tag what you love about our town and attach it to this heart.

Don’t forget, Valentine’s Day falls on the 14th, and Pancake Day is just a few days later on the 17th. That same day is also the start of the Chinese New Year. Check out February’s YLL to find out what animal is celebrated this year!

For 21 years we’ve been proud to champion local businesses, big and small, and to help shine a light on the incredible things happening across our community. If you’d like to find out what an advert with us could do for you, just get in touch. Whether you’ve just launched a business or you’ve been around as long as we have, we’d love to help you get in front of our readers.

Heartfelt wishes for a great month, and we’ll see you next time!

YOUR LOCAL LINCS TEAM

Happy New Year from all of us at YLL, your essential community magazine for Sleaford and the surrounding villages! We’re sending our very best wishes for a healthy, happy and prosperous 2026.

As ever, we’re hitting the ground running. The first magazine of the year is already on its way to you, if it hasn’t landed through your letterbox already, and there’s another full year of monthly magazines to look forward to. Expect plenty of great reads, competitions, local events, recipes and puzzles, alongside our much-loved directory of local tradespeople and businesses.

Have you had a go at our Quiz of the Year yet? Think you can match each of our 12 magazine covers from 2025 to the correct month? Give it a tap and put your memory to the test. Some are obvious… others have even made the people who work here think!

Last year was a busy one inside the magazine too. Throughout 2025 we spoke to wildlife groups and street artists, highlighted community organisations such as Rainbow Stars and Heckington Swimming Pool, explored the history of Cogglesford Mill, donated books to a local school, joined in with the Sleaford 1940s Day, and even tried our hand at bowls at Sleaford Indoor Bowls Club.

Our competitions were just as exciting, with prizes including concert tickets for acts such as Scouting for Girls and Peter Hook. There were food hampers given out, along with pizza, waffles, tickets to local shows, and even a cuddly toy! This month you have the chance to win tickets to Heckington Players' upcoming panto by the way!

Beyond the pages of the magazine, we also had plenty going on. We redeveloped our website to include a growing directory of local businesses, alongside an exciting What’s On calendar packed with events from across the area. September also saw the launch of the Strong Lincs Podcast, hosted by our own Rich and Dan. Keep an ear out for their January episode as they continue releasing monthly episodes throughout 2026.

So, where will 2026 take us? You’ll just have to keep picking us up each month to find out!

If you have a business or event of your own to promote, and you’ve wondered whether YLL could work some magic for you, perhaps 2026 is the year to give us a try. At Your Local Lincs, we’re genuinely passionate about helping local businesses grow, just as we’ve done for countless companies over the past two decades. Our current January magazine actually completes 21 years of YLL dropping through letterboxes across the Sleaford area.

If you’d like to explore advertising with us, don’t hesitate to get in touch via your preferred channel. Many of our advertisers tell us just what a difference their adverts make.

Here’s to a great start to the year, and we’ll see you next time!