May 2026
April fools day in Irnham 
I can only say thank goodness I was on holiday when this photo was sent out on the Irnham group chat.
I was a little panicked thinking of all my bedding shrubs and plants in the front of my house.
It took a while for me to realise they are the wrong cows for Irnham and the sheep are too small. Hubby said where are the dropping lol .
AI is amazing very good to the April fool person who posted this.
Lincoln Hits Radio article on Irnham published 7th April 2026
Article written by Lincoln hits radio
Sir Jamie Benton Jones says rural pubs must be run by those at the heart of the community – not handed off to others.
A Lincolnshire estate owner is urging fellow landowners to take matters into their own hands and run struggling rural pubs themselves – warning communities risk losing far more than just a place to drink.
Sir Jamie Benton Jones, who runs the Irnham Estate near Grantham, took over the Griffin Inn in 2019 after years of mixed success and periods standing empty.
Now, as the pub approaches its first year breaking even with the help of manageress Louise Hall, he says the real value isn’t financial but social.
“If people don’t use things …they go,” he says. “The post office was the first one to go. Our little village shop …and the pub is the next thing to go”
He believes the only way to keep them alive is for landowners to step up directly.
“You the landowner, you need to run it,” he says. “”You can't get some clever advisor…you’ve just got to run it yourself because your community want to see you.”
Sir Jamie says being present- and part of daily life – is what keeps people coming back.
They don’t want to see your advisor… they want to talk to you. You’re the main guy. You live on the estate. You run the estate.
“Everyday someone comes through the door and they go, ‘Oh Jamie, my father can remember your mother…’ I treasure those stories,” he says.
And he warns the consequences of losing these spaces go far beyond business.
“If the pub goes, the next thing is the church,” he says.
“Then your just a beautiful village with no shop, no pub and no church.”
Instead, he says rural communities need places that bring people together, and landowners have a key role to play in making that happen.
“It’s trying to find the link… what we really need to be doing is bringing people together.”
Church Wall repairs completed 
Following on from my report on the repair works in the Churchyard in Irnham (April Edition)
I am pleased to report that the wall has been completed and a lovely bench has been positioned as a resting place if on your travels or just to pass the time of day.
We have had snow drops in the graveyard I should imagine the bluebells will be next.