Miss Leicestershire winner and Miss England runner-up Holly Desai has donated toys to disadvantaged youngsters at a children's home in Mauritius.
The 23-year-old, of Swannington, north west Leicestershire, won a trip to the island as part of her Miss England pageant prize.
During the seven-day adventure, which took place at the end of August, she visited local communities, played golf, went quad biking and visited a rum factory.
"The highlight for me was going to the children's home," she said.
"I had taken a selection of toys for them from England, which I carried over on my suitcase."
The 60 people at the George Charles Foundation on the island, who are aged between six and 30, are all either physically or mentally disabled.
"It was such a great experience when we gave our gifts to them," added Holly.
"We also danced with them to traditional music. It was all so overwhelming."
Holly also visited a nature park, had a go at zip-wiring, visited a Hindu temple and ate lots of Indian food.
She added: "My grandparents are Hindu, so going to the temple was great. It was brilliant to learn about their culture."
Holly was joined by Miss England winner Carina Tyrrell and Miss Lancashire Mary-Kate McKay.
Miss Universe 2013 winner, Amy Willerton, who also appeared on ITV's I'm a celebrity get me out of here, attended parts of the trip too.
"I had such an amazing time," said Holly.
"To be honest, I wish I'd had longer there to explore the island.
More traffic hold-ups are on the way for people travelling into and out of the city centre later this month when Narborough Road bridge gets a facelift.
Network Rail engineers are cleaning and painting the bridge, which crosses the A5460 Narborough Road in Leicester between its junctions with Ivy Road and Winchester Avenue.
The £340,000 revamp will feature a mural designed by De Montfort University student Kieran Stott-Everett.
Work starts on Monday, September 22, and will last until the end of November.
There will be lane closures and traffic management, including full road closures over two weekends in October and November.
A Network Rail spokesman said the works were essential to protect and improve Narborough Road bridge.
"We are aware that there are significant sporting events during the times that we have road closures and have worked with the highways team to defer the start of our work in order to minimise the effect on fans travelling around the city," the spokesman said.
"We will complete this work as quickly and efficiently as possible and leave Leicester with a visually improved bridge which will not require any further painting work for 25 years."
The £340,000 works are being funded by Network Rail with a £78,000 contribution from the city council.
To prepare for the works, Network Rail and Leicester City Council ran a competition in conjunction with De Montfort University.
Kieran Stott-Everett, a second-year student at De Montfort University, beat more than 40 entries to be named the winner of the Going Off Track competition.
Kieran developed a design for a mural which will be painted on the bridge.
It features legs and shoes, and was inspired by Leicester's historic links with hosiery and shoemaking.
Councillor Andy Connelly, one of the ward councillors for Westcotes, said: "I'm pleased we've been able to work with Network Rail and DMU on this project.
"The mural will be painted while these essential works are undertaken, which will minimise disruption for road users while allowing us to create a unique piece of artwork that will give a real sense of identity to the West End area."
The road closures will be from 1am on Saturday, October 4, to 5am on Monday, October 6, and 1am on Saturday, November 11, to 6am on Sunday, November 12.
The footpath will be closed and pedestrians diverted from September 27 to November 30.
For the duration of the work, parking bays under the bridge will be suspended and the two lanes of traffic inbound towards the city centre will be reduced to one.
Motorists are advised to allow extra time for their journeys and use alternative routes where possible.
There will be overnight lane closures and two-way temporary traffic lights at weekends between October 11 and November 30.
These will be in place from 10pm on Saturdays to 6am on Sundays.
More shops along Leicester's Golden Mile are to get a colourful lick of paint over the coming weeks.
Several properties along the busy shopping thoroughfare have already had their upper floors painted by Leicester City Council and nearly 20 more are due to be done in time for the beginning of the Diwali celebrations on October 12.
Baresh Raja, co-owner of the Hot Potato Shop, has already had his shop front painted in bright, bold colours.
He said: "We're very pleased with it.
"Hopefully, it's going to help attract more visitors to the area in the future."
His neighbour Dipen Popat, at A to Z gifts, was another of the businesses which took up the offer last time around.
He said: "We were in the first block which got painted last year and it's made quite a big difference.
"It looks much cleaner and brighter when people are driving in from the city.
"Almost everybody who has come to the shop has commented on it."
In total, 18 shops in Belgrave Road and Melton Road have been painted already. Another 19 will be done over the next few weeks.
The project will cost about £46,000, with the city council paying for most of it and the businesses contributing.
Dharmesh Lakhani, chairman of Belgrave Business Association, said he was pleased with the results so far.
He said: "It's a low-cost option that brightens up the upper floors of the shops along here and gives the street more of an ethnic feel.
"The shops themselves chose the colours and it's working well.
"Business owners can already apply for a grant to improve shop fronts but this also improves the upper floors."
Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "The Golden Mile is a unique part of Leicester's identity and I'm very pleased we've been able to work with businesses to invest in the area and improve the appearance of their premises.
"The first phase of works has been extremely well received and I look forward to the next stage of these improvements.
"Taken together, they will result in a total of nearly 40 shop fronts being painted, making a stunning visual impact in this unique part of the city."
He said the Golden Mile was a busy gateway into the city centre as well as a destination for many shoppers and the city council is looking at ways to reduce the effect of traffic along the street.
Consultation will begin in the autumn about options for improving the road.
Dharmesh said: "We realise this is an A road and an important link between the city and Rushey Mead, Thurmaston and Syston.
"But we would like to see more oftraffic going to Loughborough and Nottingham using different
routes.
"We could do without the volumes of through traffic we have at the moment."
A developer has resubmitted plans to build hundreds of homes on land considered a beauty spot, years after withdrawing an appeal.
Persimmon Homes is seeking planning permission from North West Leicestershire District Council for 250 houses in countryside at Broom Leys Farm, off Broom Leys Road, in Coalville.
Opponents of the site's development fought similar plans for 300 homes, on that occasion by Persimmon and the Davidsons Group, in 2011.
They had hoped the threat had gone away when the developers withdrew an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, lodged after the district council failed to consider the plans within the statutory 13-week period.
Ahead of the appeal, councillors had said the plans were unacceptable as the land was designated "green wedge", which protected it from development.
Resident Tim Sporne said: "We cannot allow this application to happen. It's an important area of open countryside that future generations should be allowed to enjoy."
People living in the area also have concerns about congestion caused by traffic from the proposed development.
Mr Sporne said: "Allowing Persimmons to build 250 houses on this countryside will add a staggering 500 extra vehicles on our roads, which are already struggling to cope.
"I urge as many people as possible to send their objections to the planning department as soon as possible."
Councillor Michael Wyatt, district and county councillor for the area, helped organise the campaign against the 2011 planning application.
He said: "It is incredible that once again we are faced with another planning application on the green wedge.
"This application will have a major impact on the community."
Persimmon Homes North Midlands would not give an explanation in 2011 as to why the appeal had been withdrawn.
However, it is understood the planning authority's opposition was a factor.
Three years on, however, the council is having to formulate a new development framework to identify land for 10,000 new homes by 2031.
It follows a decision to withdraw its original blueprint, last October, after a planning inspector said it was "unsound".
No-one from Persimmon, which held a public exhibition of its latest proposal in July, was available to comment.
However, in a planning statement submitted to the district council as part of its application, the developer said: "While Persimmon Homes understand the proposed development falls within an area designated as green wedge, we would argue the adverse impacts do not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the merits of the site.
"The development site represents a small, well-contained and compartmentalised section of the green wedge."
Residents affected by the application are invited to a public meeting, organised at Broom Leys School, in Broom Leys Road, on September 25, at 7.30pm.
Specialist rope teams from Leicestershire Police and the Fire and Rescue Service put in some vital abseil training at Loughborough University after borrowing the tallest building on campus.
Seven police officers and three from the fire service spent several hours honing their skills on the 56 metre high Towers Hall, a student accommodation block.
Police officers from the East Midlands Operational Support Service Tactical Support Group, joined members of the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service Rope Rescue Unit.
PC Stephen Palmer, rope access supervisor, said: "The venue is fantastic. You would struggle to find anywhere this high in Leicestershire, and places willing to give us access are few and far between.
"While industrial sites are the places that are likely to need us they can't shut down, but Loughborough University more or less shuts down during the summer."
PC Palmer said the training session was vital for the rope access team, which does search and body recovery and even has a counter terrorist role.
He added: "This is really important for the rope access team.
"We have seven officers and are deployable nationally, so we could find ourselves going to any rope access job at any time anywhere in the country.
"One of the problems we have is finding venues with a good amount of height.
"These are all skilled rope access operatives and they practice once a month. Getting exposure to this sort of height so they feel comfortable is crucial.
"The next job could be a power station, an oil refinery, anywhere.
"Having this sort of exposure gives them the confidence to do the job when they are required to do it operationally."
James Stapleton, health, safety and risk manager at Loughborough, said: "Stephen approached us at the beginning of the summer to ask if we would be prepared to let Leicestershire Police use one of our buildings and we were delighted to allow the team to exercise their specialist skills."
A former Leicester Tigers and England player visited Twycross Zoo today to spread the word that next year's Rugby World Cup is "too big to miss".
The Rugby World Cup, which starts in September 2015, is being held in the UK and three of the games will be played here in Leicester. They are: Argentina v Tonga on October 4, 2015, Canada v Romania on October 6, 2015 and Argentina v Namibia on October 11, 2015.
The application window to buy tickets for the international event is open until September 29, 2014 and an event at Twycross Zoo today, which the former England and Leicester Tigers player George Chute attended, aimed to raise awareness of the games that will be played in the city.
Some of the animals got into the spirit and the lowland gorillas were seen to be trying out the rugby balls which had been given to them by the tournament organisers.
George said he met gorillas, meerkats and Indian elephants.
He said: "The gorillas were playing a bit of rugby. There was one male, three females and a baby. The baby was rolling the rugby ball around."
The meerkats also made their match predictions for one of the games taking place in Leicester. They did this by choosing between two paper mache rugby balls, one with Tonga written on it and Argentina written on the other. The match prediction was decided by how many of the meerkats went to each.
George said: "The majority, about three quarters, went to Tonga.
"It was like a rugby scrum," he added.
"However, one of them got inside one of the balls and got stuck."
He added that he is really looking forward to the world cup.
"It is starting to get that buzz now. It is a huge deal for the city. It is the biggest global tournament after the Olympics and the football world cup."
Leicester City Council teamed up with Twycross Zoo to organise today's event.
Sharon Redrobe, CEO at Twycross Zoo said: "We are in great support of the Rugby World Cup coming to Leicester next year and it's a good opportunity to showcase what this area has to offer.
"Our animals have enjoyed their new rugby themed enrichment activities, and we look forward to welcoming any new visitors who travel to Leicestershire next year for the games."
This week marks the 70th anniversary of Operation Market Garden, one of the most heroic failures of the Second World War.
Launched on September 17, 1944, it saw the British 1st Airborne Division – many based in and around Melton – tasked with capturing a bridge in the Dutch city of Arnhem against German forces that proved far stronger than expected.
The fighting was exceptionally fierce; the division went into battle more than 10,000 strong, but only 2,100 men avoided death or capture.
Two Leicestershire veterans of the bloody conflict, spoke to Alan Thompson about their memories. We start today with former Private Jim Duplock, of the 11th battalion the Parachute Regiment.
When Jim Duplock climbed aboard the Dakota bound for Arnhem on the second day of the operation, it was his only his second combat jump.
Jim, now 94, who joined the 5th Leicesters at the start of the war, said: "You were young, you weren't frightened. An American pilot took us and he said 'I'll take you as far as I can – many aircraft were shot down."
The paras jumped from just a few hundred feet, laden with heavy kitbags, and had only a few seconds to prepare for landing.
"You used to drop from as low as you could, I think it was 350 feet at Arnhem – you couldn't get down quick enough with all the bullets flying around.
"There were about 20 men in the Dakota and the mood was all right on the plane. I had a good jump and the first thing I remember seeing were two dead Germans on the ground.
"There were a lot of trees and we landed in a field near Oosterbeek, and we could hear shots as we landed."
Jim, a resident of St Mary's House residential care home, in Lutterworth, said: "They told us when we landed we should look up to see which way our planes were flying and walk in the opposite direction.
"Two men near me were shot. I looked at them and Major Gilchrist, who I was with, said 'you'll be seeing plenty more of them in a bit."
Jim recalled being "dug in" by the side of the road when two Allied sections came past.
"They said there was a tank coming and they had got nothing to stop it," he said.
"Our major told us to stand fast. That tank came right up to us as we lay there, but they never saw us.
"One of its soldiers opened the turret and looked around – we could have shot him, but we daren't in case it turned on us."
Memories from 70 years ago are still fresh in Jim's mind.
"I still wake up at two in the morning sometimes thinking about what I saw and it's the first thing on my mind again when I wake up in the morning.
"One of the things I think about is when Major Gilchrist told me to go into a building, but then decided he would go in himself.
"He got wounded and had to shoot some Germans. That would have been me."
Two days after he landed, Jim and several of his comrades were captured as they made their way through back gardens in the war-torn city.
He said: "We were heading for the John Frost bridge when they confronted us – they'd got machine guns, we'd got .303 rifles.
"We knew Jerry was close and we'd gone through the gardens because the houses were getting fired on, so we thought we'd be safer there."
After his capture, a letter was sent to his mother in November, 1944, which read: "His comrades in A company join me in extending their sympathy over the posting of your son as missing.
"He was a good soldier and a good comrade. We can only hope that he turns up soon in the hands of the Dutch Underground or, at worst, as a prisoner."
It was only after Christmas, 1944 that Jim was able to send his family a postcard letting them know he was alive.
Jim said: "That postcard was the first my parents knew I was alive. They didn't know what had happened to me and they were very pleased when I was back home."
On Thursday, Jim sets off for his first visit to Arnhem in 70 years, thanks to Alison Anderton of Age Concern, Lutterworth and District.
Alison, with husband Jerome, will drive Jim – in his motorised wheelchair – in a specially-adapted vehicle.
She said: "We started looking into it 12 months ago and the only way to do it was for us to take him.
"It will be the first time in 70 years that Jim makes this emotional journey to pay his respects to his fallen comrades and to the people of Arnhem who lost their lives."
A motorcyclist was seriously injured when he collided with a car on a country road yesterday.
The 48-year-old man was injured shortly after 8am on the A6006 Paddy's Lane, at its junction with Six Hills Lane in Old Dalby, near Melton.
The rider's black Honda Shadow motorbike collided with a silver BMW 325i car.
He was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham where he is undergoing treatment and remains in a stable condition, Leicestershire Police said.
Pc Adam Sparrow said: "The motorcycle was travelling on the A6006 towards the crossroads with Six Hills Lane when the collision occurred.
"We would like to speak to anyone who witnessed the collision or saw either vehicle beforehand to please call 101."
Contact Pc Sparrow on 101 or Crimestoppers, which is anonymous, on 0800 555 111.
Leicester East MP Keith Vaz is leading calls for urgent reform of the Passport Agency.
The Home Affairs Committee chairman would like to see the service brought back under ministerial control.
It follows a report by the committee into much-publicised delays in processing passport applications.
Mr Vaz said: "This has been a summer of chaos at the passport office.
"At its peak, the backlog of passport applications reached half a million, with British citizens unable to go on holiday and sick children unable to return to Britain."
He said that applicants who paid more than £30 extra for a fast-track service were being "exploited" and should get a refund.
"The state should not be exploiting its own citizens by making a profit on what is a basic right," said Mr Vaz.
"There has been a complete management failure at the highest levels of the organisation.
"They have delivered a shamefully poor service."
The Leicester MP also attacked bonuses of £674,000 being offered to senior officials as "scandalous".
The government has blamed a surge in demand and said the situation had improved.
A former school dinner lady who turned her home into a £150,000-a-year cannabis factory has been jailed for three years and four months.
When the police raided 59-year-old Karen McCann's house in Chettle Road, New Parks, Leicester, they found 66 illegal plants growing in a bedroom and the loft.
The plants could yield 3.3 kgs per crop with a street value in excess £37,680 - with four harvests annually.
Officers discovered £18,448 in cash in her bedroom and her bank accounts revealed deposits of about £129,000 since 2008.
Jonathan Cox, prosecuting, told the city's crown court she had paid off the mortgage on the home she acquired in 2004 by the time she was arrested in March this year.
He said: "There was evidence of a lavish lifestyle and documents at the premises related to a £6,000 holiday in Spain."
McCann admitted producing cannabis, abstracting electricity, possessing £18,448 of criminal property and money laundering.
Mr Cox said when the police raided her home on March 13 this year, they discovered a sophisticated hydroponics system in place, with fans and lights.
"She accepts it was going on since early 2012.
"The annual yield would have been 13 kgs fetching just over £150,000.
"She wasn't paying for any electricity, and saved thousands, because the meter was by-passed.
It was done in a "particularly dangerous manner," creating a fire risk.
"Cannabis separated into individual deals was also found in the airing cupboard" said Mr Cox.
Between March 2008 and April this year McCann had not received any form of benefits and only declared £443 legitimate income to the taxman during that that six year period.
The court heard she claimed the person behind the drugs operation was her absent former partner, who lived elsewhere and had "emotionally manipulated" her.
McCann was convicted in 2007 for permitting her premises to be used for the production of cannabis involving 19 plants – involving the same former partner - and she was given a conditional discharge on that occasion.
Judge Simon Hammond said: "I believe this defendant went into this with her eyes open.
"Cannabis farms and factories are very prevalent and provide huge profits.
"In one year alone 47 cannabis factories were discovered in Leicester and these systems produce cannabis with very high THC, known as skunk.
"Skunk can cause serious mental health problems and is much stronger than cannabis that used to be imported from Morocco and other countries."
Sian Cutter, mitigating, said McCann's previous partner had used her home and bank accounts to run the operation – although when she was arrested she refused to say who else was involved.
McCann was formerly a dinner lady at Merrydale Junior, Claydon Road, near Uppingham Road, Leicester, for 18 years.
After her 2007 conviction she returned to previously law-abiding life and went back to work at the same school as a cleaner.
Miss Cutter said the former partner later reconciled with her and persuaded her to give up work, promising to look after her financially.
He put money into her bank account from legitimate profits from a café he owned, said Miss Cutter.
But later he allegedly persuaded her to let him install another growing operation in her home, the court was told.
A head teacher at a Church of England school has stepped down following poor GCSE results.
The chair of governors at The Samworth Enterprise Academy announced that Pat Dubas, who has been head of the academy for eight and a half years, has stepped down from her post.
A statement issued by Diocese of Leicester said Tony Evans, an experienced head teacher, has been appointed interim principal at the school which has pupils aged three to 16 years.
The statement said that the trustees and governors thanked Mrs Dubas for her many achievements, in particular, for playing the key role in the establishment of the academy, which covers the Saffron Lane and Eyres Monsell areas.
The statement said: "This school is now playing a significant role in the regeneration of the whole community.
"However, there is a recognition that the recent GCSE results were disappointingly low, and while there are many successes which have been achieved in other key stages, there is an urgent need to secure the required improvements at key stage four.
"Accordingly in partnership with the principal, Pat Dubas, it has been agreed that a change in leadership, with greater experience in Key Stage Four, is now required."
This year's results dropped in comparison to last year.
The percentage of pupils getting five A*-C grades including English and maths in 2014 was 25 per cent – down from 41 per cent in 2013.
The percentage getting five or more A*-C grades in any subject in 2014 was 31 per cent, compared to 77 per cent in 2013.
Peter Flack, assistant association secretary at Leicester National Union of Teachers, said: "I can understand why they are concerned.
"It has had support in various places, but it has not managed."
He said a collaborative approach where schools work with the local authority is successful, but believed setting up an academy was not a recipe for school improvements.
He said: "Samworth is a problem. It is really sad for the students and their families – that is the only area of the city where this kind of under-achievement is taking place."
Last week we invited Leicester Tigers No.8 Jordan Crane to go up against Mercury sports writer James Sharpe in predicting the results of the weekend's Premier League games.
It's 3pts for a correct score, and 1pt for just getting the right result.
Both pundits managed to predict the result of five games apiece but, crucially, it was our man who managed to turn two of them into correct scores – Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Man City and Everton's 2-0 victory at West Brom.
That means it is Sharpe who takes the victory over the Tigers back-rower, with a final score of 9-5.
Premier League
Score
Sharpe
Crane
SATURDAY
Arsenal v Man City
2-2
2-2
2-1
Chelsea v Swansea
4-2
3-1
2-1
C Palace v Burnley
0-0
2-0
1-1
S'ton v Newcastle
4-0
2-1
3-1
Stoke v Leicester
0-1
1-1
1-0
Sunderland v Spurs
2-2
1-2
1-2
West Brom v Everton
0-2
0-2
2-1
Liverpool v Villa
0-1
3-0
4-0
SUNDAY
Man Utd v QPR
4-0
3-0
3-1
MONDAY
Hull v West Ham
2-2
2-1
1-1
So, after three weeks, Sharpe still has his 100 per cent record intact.
Sharpe
vs
Guests
3
4
P 3
W 3
D 0
L 0
F 22
A 9
The only pundit to correctly predict Leicester City's 1-0 win at Stoke was Mercury reader AlexMay14 but it was LCFCMike who came closest to pipping Sharpe to the win. He also correctly predicted the 2-2 draw between Arsenal and Man City as well as five other results.Results:
Fire crews have been called to a car fire on the hard shoulder of the M1 between junction 24a and junction 24 southbound.
Crews received the call at 8.07pm this evening.
One fire engine has been sent from Castle Donington and another from Long Eaton fire station.
A fire service spokesman said the blaze started in the engine compartment of the car.
He added: "No-one is trapped - everyone is out and safe."
The Highways Agency tweeted: "Two lanes closed on the M1 southbound, J24a - J24, while the Fire and Rescue service tackle a car that's on fire. Expect delays."
It would be fair to say that Leicester City have surprised a few people with their performances in the Premier League so far.
Although manager Nigel Pearson stated several times how confident he was that he had players in his squad capable of making the step up in quality, there weren't too many outside of Leicestershire who truly believed him.
Of course there is always the element of doubt when you have so many younger players getting their first taste of top flight football, but so far Pearson's charges have been true to his word.
Despite the fact that only Kasper Schmeichel, Paul Konchesky, Gary Taylor-Fletcher and David Nugent had really had a good taste of the Premier League, City have not been found wanting so far.
This City side have demonstrated significant improvement over the past few seasons and their development is continuing, which begs the question how much more is to come from them?
Danny Drinkwater, for example, struggled when he first arrived at the club to find a level of consistency. I remember one rainy night at Vicarage Road, listening to the City bench instructing him to screen the back four at set pieces and growing increasingly frustrated as he failed to do so effectively.
His improvement as an all-round player has been remarkable. When City needed to turn the tide at the Britannia Stadium last Saturday it wasn't just the introduction of Esteban Cambiasso that achieved that.
Like the Argentinian, Drinkwater also stamped his mark on the game and playing with Cambiasso will only help Drinkwater become even better.
At the back, Wes Morgan has been immense, despite the fact he has never played at this level before, but alongside him Liam Moore looks as though he has played in the Premier League all his young career.
The pair have faced a variety of different attacking threats, from the pace and power of Romelu Lukaku, the movement and guile of Diego Costa, the fluid attacking midfield of Arsenal to the awkwardness and directness of Peter Crouch. They have done tremendously well so far with arguably their biggest test coming this Sunday when Manchester United visit the King Power Stadium.
But alongside them there is a player who looked like he might take some time to adjust to the demands of the Premier League, Ritchie De Laet.
By his own admission, he found the first few games difficult, but since the second half against Arsenal the Belgian right-back has been excellent.
At Stoke I thought he produced an outstanding display which demonstrated his own personal development.
From the moment he joined City it was obvious his lightning pace and attacking instincts would be an asset, but there were question marks over his defending at times.
He has worked on that and last season he demonstrated an ability to identify when to burst forward to add an extra attacking option and when to stay secure in position.
On Saturday he very rarely was able to break forward but his positioning and overall defending was excellent. I lost count of the number of headers he won inside his own penalty area as Stoke piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser.
If he maintains this standard then Danny Simpson is going to have to be very patient to get his chance.
Others will develop and adapt at their own rate and I am personally looking forward to seeing how Jamie Vardy does now he has shaken off his injury. Likewise Matty James. It also fair to say we haven't seen the best of Riyad Mahrez or Anthony Knockaert yet, so there is much more to come from them too.
It has been an encouraging start by City, one that has answered a few questions and provided hope that this season could be another memorable one for City fans.
One a less positive note, it was saddening to hear that Zoumana Bakayogo has suffered what is believed to be a recurrence of his ACL injury, which kept him out for eight months.
Bakayogo may not feature in the first team too often but he is a lively, friendly character and when he sees us interviewing one of his team-mates behind the scenes he quite often likes to join in as one of the interviewers.
Let's hope his injury isn't as serious this time and he can have a speedy recovery.
Footnote: When Cambiasso came on against Stoke it wasn't just his game awareness, his fantastic touch and passing vision, or his leadership which stood out. He was the only player to have his shirt tucked into his shorts. How refreshing!
A nun and her dog have been given an award for their visits to hospital patients.
For the past six years Susan Perks and her "hospital hound" Holly have been going around the city's hospitals and mental health units, helping patients rehabilitate or just offering company.
She is a volunteer for the Pets as Therapy charity and every week spends two days visiting an average of 36 patients around Leicestershire.
Susan and cavalier King Charles spaniel Holly have also helped soothe the nerves of students at the University of Leicester facing major exams.
The pair have now been named recipients of the new Point of Light award, given out each day of the year by the Prime Minister and inspired by a similar award in the United States.
Susan said: "Pets as Therapy is a wonderful charity that enables Holly and me to meet many vulnerable people and bring good news to them.
"We find patients with low esteem, loneliness and other anxieties and try to bring happiness back into their lives.
"It is a marvellous experience just to see someone smile when they meet Holly."
Susan and Holly make regular visits to Leicester General Hospital and the Leicester Brain Injury Unit based there, as well as Glenfield Hospital, Leicester Royal Infirmary, and Evington Mental Health Unit.
Holly allows patients to stroke and pat her and is a welcome face for patients missing their own pets and those who wouldn't otherwise receive any visitors.
Susan is the 111th winner of a Point of Light award, which recognises outstanding individual.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Dealing with serious illness can be stressful and isolating.
"Susan and her dog Holly bring a little light into the lives of those facing these challenges, providing much needed comfort and companionship.
"I'm delighted to recognise Susan as a Point of Light."
Pets as Therapy, a national charity founded in 1983, is based in the community providing therapeutic visits to hospitals, hospices and care homes as well as special needs schools from volunteers with their pet dogs and cats.
There are more than 5,000 pets working with their volunteers across the country.
The charity's chief executive, Lisa Coles, said: "We are absolutely delighted that Susan and Holly have been awarded this honour.
"They are both such a credit to Pets As Therapy, working tirelessly to bring comfort to so many people and to raise much needed funds.
David Nugent has warned Manchester United to beware of "on fire" strike partner Leonardo Ulloa.
Leicester City's club-record signing has scored three goals in four Premier League games, firing home the winner in his side's victory against Stoke last Saturday.
It has been an emphatic entrance into England's top flight for the 28-year-old – only Chelsea's Diego Costa has scored more goals in the Premier League this season.
Even manager Nigel Pearson admitted that Ulloa has already gone a long way to repaying the £8million fee City paid for him in the summer.
City now welcome Louis van Gaal's Galacticos to the King Power Stadium on Sunday, and Nugent is confident Ulloa can continue his impressive hot streak.
"The big man is on fire," he said. "He has come in as the big-money signing but he is producing the goals up there on his own. I am trying to get up there to support him but he is getting the goals and he deserves it."
City were relentless in their pursuit of the Argentinian, having four bids rejected by Brighton before finally getting their man.
Wes Morgan and Marcin Wasilewski were asked at the end of last season who had been the hardest forward they had to mark in the Championship. Both said Ulloa.
Ulloa scored twice for Brighton in the 4-1 victory over City last season and it seems Premier League defences are also having a similar problem.
"The gaffer has done well to bring him in," said Nugent. "We played against him in the Championship last season and he scored against us.
"He holds the ball up well and gets good flick-ons, and he always seems to be in the right place at the right time, as you have seen in the last four games."
Ulloa has scored three of City's four goals so far this season, Chris Wood's late equaliser against Everton being the other.
Nugent had a great chance to get up and running against Chelsea only for his effort to be saved by Thibaut Courtois.
The striker hopes it will not be long before he gets off the mark.
"Hopefully, we can all start chipping in and it might get a little easier for us," said Nugent.
"But we are happy with the way it is going. It is a great start for us."
The victory over Stoke momentarily took City into the top half of the Premier League with five points from their first four games. Not many pundits predicted that when the fixtures came out.
"The start we were given was very difficult with Everton, Chelsea away and then Arsenal," added Nugent.
"No-one expected us to get any points from them. But to pick up three points on the road is important because it is our home form that will probably keep us up.
"We can't wait until the weekend now to face Man Utd."
Nigel Pearson has always been a manager to place huge emphasis on the squad ethic.
The Leicester City boss has a plethora of talented individuals at his disposal but it is always the total which is more important than the sum of its parts.
Whenever asked about a single player's performance, Pearson's praise will often revert back to the impact on the team as a whole.
That applies to new signings, too. City's recent arrivals have already made a resounding impression on their impressive start to the Premier League.
Leonardo Ulloa has unquestionably had the biggest influence since his move from Brighton in the summer, scoring three goals in his first four Premier League.
The marquee signing Esteban Cambiasso has also taken no time in showing what he can bring to the side.
The Champions League winner changed the game when he went on at half-time at Stoke, bringing a level of calmness, composure and class.
Ben Hamer, too, rose to the challenge of filling in for Kasper Schmeichel to keep a clean sheet on his Premier League debut.
For Pearson, though, the main focus is still on the squad.
"I am more interested in the way they have settled into a successful team and how their introduction has been influential as a team," said Pearson.
"For me, it is more important how they fit into what we already are. It is important that the players we add are right for us.
"We won't be successful if we have individuals out there. You need a good team ethic and work ethic to allow the talent to come through. It doesn't work the other way around."
It is quite fitting, then, that City's next opponents are a side made up of some of the best, and most expensive, individuals in the world. Manchester United have spent more than £150million this summer, including nearly £60m, a British record, on Angel Di Maria.
Add to that Radamel Falcao and Daley Blind to the established United stars Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata.
It has taken this amount of spending, though, to rebuild the waning squad that former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson left behind. Since then, of course, David Moyes ill-fated reign at the helm has been and gone.
"When there has been a successful dynasty, which the Sir Alex Ferguson era was, it goes without saying it is not going to be an easy void to fill," said Pearson.
"Change is not always necessarily a good thing. But everything comes to an end at some point."
Louis van Gaal is the next in line, tasked with returning United to the peak of English football. After a pretty ordinary start to the season, as those individuals take time to gel, his side finally showed what they are capable of as they stuck four past an, albeit dismal, QPR.
Pearson, who has strong links with United, having signed a host of players from their ranks including Ritchie de Laet, Danny Drinkwater and Matty James, and most recently Tom Lawrence and Nick Powell, believes van Gaal will be "a good fit" in the long run.
"The guy they have there now has a very good track record and a thick skin," said Pearson.
"He will be very driven to stamp his own authority on the football club. They are going to take probably a bit longer than people would have expected to become the force they were."
There is more to scrum-half Sam Harrison than meets the eye. Behind the image of a 24-year-old tough-as-old-boots Hinckley lad is a rather surprising set of facts.
Did you know that his baby daughter is called Shiloh – it is the Hebrew word for 'peace'?
Did you also know that he is an avid surfer and loves getting away from it all in the waves off Cornwall and Devon?
He is also a DJ and record producer in his spare time, going by the name of 'Everyman', and has had one of his tracks played on Radio One.
It is not the normal CV of an off-field professional rugby player – many of whom have to simply make the choice between PlayStation or X-Box when they have finished smashing lumps out of each other in training.
Harrison loves his profession and is as determined as ever to make a mark on the first team.
But he will keep himself busy off the pitch, too. His love of music came from a very young age when he could hardly avoid it in his parents' house.
"My mum liked the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac and dad was into the Drifters and the Four Tops," said Harrison.
"I started playing drums when I was about six and then started playing the guitar.
"I learned music at school and was in a few bands growing up.
"I started getting into DJing with friends and one of them had an internet-based radio station at his house. He started showing me how to use the decks.
"Then I got asked to warm-up for a few mates in Leicester and I have been doing it now for about six years.
"It's good fun and nobody knows I play rugby when I DJ. It's a different social dynamic with the people who are out."
The very nature of DJing does not really go hand in hand with being a rugby professional, for whom early mornings and discipline are de rigueur.
"I have only really been able to do it the night after a game because they are normally associated with very late nights," added Harrison.
"That's why I spend more time producing nowadays. I have a studio in my bedroom at my mum's house. It's rewarding – but not financially.
"I was lucky enough to have a track played on Radio One. It's nice to know that people enjoy what I am making."
Harrison's spare time reduced further when his girlfriend, Brodie, gave birth to their first child.
But he still manages to earn that crucial break away from the family that most parents look forward to every so often.
"When I was a kid, I used to go to Cornwall twice a year with my dad and I convinced him that he needed to buy me a banged-up old surfing board," he said. "He did and I loved it.
"There's not much chance to practice surfing in Leicester so I get down to Devon or Cornwall as often as I can.
"I use it as a way to relax. You are on your own out there and it makes me feel happy, even if I am falling off my board or getting beaten up by the waves."
Harrison has also boxed in his time. One of his latest sparring sessions was with a Muay Thai world champion.
But most of the time, off the pitch, Harrison admits he is "chilled out" and "laid back" and a man who holds his family – and his roots – close to his heart.
"I am from Hinckley and it's a good thing that I still live around there and have my mates there," he said.
"Lots of pro rugby players are not playing for the club they grew up near – but I am lucky enough to be in Hinckley.
"I enjoy the company of the lads here at Tigers and have a different group of mates at home. It suits me just fine."
The progress of our team for the new season continues, and we are a little wiser after a couple of solid games at the weekend against a touring group of American players.
We are still in the early days of our preparation for the new season and, for some of the guys, there has been limited time on the court with team-mates.
It was important to me that we played hard at the weekend and looked like a team that was getting used to each other.
I think we achieved both those objectives. At times, we moved the ball very well and there was good activity on defence.
But also, as would be expected at this stage, we did not look after the ball as well as we will need to and, at times, were guilty of some sloppy play.
But better conditioning will cut some of that out, as well as more familiarity with each other, and the plans we are trying to implement.
But the new guys all showed up pretty well. Neil Watson looked good running the point – a very important position in my book.
Not only did he move the ball well, find some great passes and show his authority, he also was calm at all times.
Watson plays the game very intelligently and, considering the fact his visa delays meant he had spent very little training time with the team, it was an excellent overall performance.
Tyler Bernadini was another player who showed up well. He settled in very quickly, played with maturity at all times, but also was tough when he needed to be. I think he is going to be a very good player in the BBL.
Derrick Roland had only a few days of preparation after a 16-hour flight, but I was happy enough with his work.
He was super-energetic and showed real toughness on defence. He is going to get better.
It was great to see Pavol Losonsky back and working in tandem with Rashad Hassan. They create space for each other and are going to get better as the season progresses.
The other returning players also showed up well, with Jamell Anderson really looking in great shape and finishing with greater authority.
Conner Washington showed the hard work he has put in this summer. Although we were without Anthony Rowe, I was not disappointed – after all, his overall recovery is ahead of schedule and there is absolutely no point in rushing things. We have got to let him have all the time that is necessary to fully rehabilitate, particularly as I think Anthony will be an important player for us.
Now we get the chance to step up a gear this weekend against a couple of top European clubs from Spain and Belgium at Loughborough. It promises to be a heck of a challenge.
