Fresh fruit went down a storm at the Lincolnshire Show this month – with lots of people taking up Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust’s offer of some free melon, strawberries or apples.As well as the free fruit, Trust staff and volunteers were on hand to let members of the public know about the move to Foundation Trust status and find out about how it is possible to reduce stress.

Visitors to the tent received hand, neck and back massages from Red Cross volunteers. Trust staff offered practical demonstrations of relaxation techniques and provided information about complimentary therapies.

Trust Graduate Mental Health Workers were on hand to speak about ways in which people can help to reduce their stress levels. They also had some fun ‘stress test’ cards and bendy pencils for people to take away.

The Trust was also joined at the show by members of the service user and carer group Linking Voices and the Patient and Public Involvement Forum.

By signing up as a member of the Foundation Trust, visitors to the tent were entered into a prize draw to win a shopping spree at Springfields Outlet Shopping in Spalding.

Claire Taylor, the Trust’s Governor and Membership Support Officer, organised the Trust’s attendance at the show. She said: “We are very pleased with the number of people who signed up as members of the Trust – we now have nearly 2,400 members. There was a lot of interest in us and our move to Foundation Trust status with many people asking us how they could be involved further.

“It was a really fun event and we enjoyed getting out there and letting members of the public know our plans for the future. Thank you to everyone who donated their time to help out at the show, and thanks to Lincolnshire Co-op who very kindly donated the fruit."