Birstall's Stuart Marriott has won a highly-prestigious amateur trophy at one of the most famous courses in world golf.

The former County captain saw off an international field to lift the Craw's Nest Tassie Championship title at Carnoustie, Scotland.

It was Marriott's first time competing in the event and he was one of 64 qualifiers from the two days of stroke-play when one round was played over the Open Championship course, the other over the Burnside.

He had rounds of 73-68 respectively to be in sixth spot.

Carnoustie has hosted seven Open Championships, with the world's top golfers due to head back there in 2018.

There was a field of 350 golfers last week, not only from this country, but from Europe and the USA. The tournament dates back to 1927 and has continued to grow in popularity.

Several other county golfers took part, including Steve Sansome, Chris Webb and Graham Marshall, also from Birstall.

Marshall won this coveted title and the historic trophy in the 2002 season.

Marshall went out by one-hole in round one on this occasion, with Sansome reaching round three and Webb going into the quarter-finals.

Marriott had to dig deep to lift the crown. One of two local pre-event favourites was Scott Mann, a plus-two Carnoustie member who led the qualifiers.

They clashed in the final but eventually Marriott won at the fourth extra hole.

In round one, Marriott put out Robert Parkinson (Ferndown) by 5&4, then beat Jim Cox (Greenmount) by two-holes, before a one-hole success in round three over Russell Ward (Ullesthorpe Court).

Marriott won by 4&3 against Jim Hazel (Romford) in the quarter-finals, then by 3&1 in the semis-against Tom Winters (Crewe) to set up his clash with Mann.

Marriott said: "We halved 16, 17 and 18 to go into extra holes.

"We halved the first and the second, where I lipped out for birdie, then he slotted from 10 feet to halve the third, but it was all over at the par-four fourth hole.

"I just missed my birdie chance from 15 feet but Scott had chipped up to eight feet and missed that, which left me champion in front of an excited crowd.

"It was an awesome week, playing two fantastic golf courses, with a great atmosphere.

"It was my best-ever golf experience, and I have cut my handicap too.

"I am looking forward already to going back to defend my title next season."

Lynda O'Shea held her County President's Day at her home club of Cosby.

Tracy Bourne (Willesley Park) and Helen Lowe (Scraptoft), both former county captains and past county champions, won the President's Cup for the top handicap award with their 40 Stableford points.

Cosby pair Cathy Russell and Janice Sterland were runners-up in the handicap awards with 39 points, with their club-mates Jo Pepper and Joanna Groom third on local rule from clubmates Gemma and Carole Parkes, both pairs on 37.

Anne MacGregor and Barbara Suffolk (both Lingdale) were around in 79 to win the scratch award.

County girls' captain Imogen Huxley (Rutland County) hit the longest drive, while Anne Jervis (Kibworth) was nearest the pin at the eighth in the Silver Division.

Penny McCrorie (Rothley Park) was nearest at the 10th in the Bronze Division.

The Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust is teaming up with the Leicester band Refuge who are spearheading a series of music gigs for staff and patients on its mental health wards.

The band is being mentored by Mark Morriss of The Bluetones plus a host of specialist "arts in health practitioners."

Refuge lead singer Pete Hirst will also be working with Mark and Gaz Birtles of The South - formerly The Beautiful South to write and produce a single and EP from the project over the next 12 months.

Arts Council England has awarded a £15,000 grant to Peter Hirst for the project - which has been named Moving InWards and there is a further £1,200 from the Carlton Hayes Charity.

He said: "I was an inpatient on the wards in my early 20s and this opportunity to go back and aid recovery programmes through music is wonderful.

"Music is my passion and I believe it definitely enhanced my recovery."

Staff and patients on 10 adult mental health units across the Leicestershire Partnership sites are being invited to take part in the two-hour workshop and performance sessions.

The sessions, instruments and choice of music are all agreed with patients' needs in mind, and the audience members are free to drop in and out of the sessions.

Two wards at the Bradgate unit have already signed up for their first gigs.

The band is also working with the trust's arts in mental health co-ordinators Lydia Towsey and Tim Sayers.

Ms Towsey said: "The process of supporting Pete to design, develop and secure the grant has been extremely satisfying.

"As a trust, we are really looking forward to collaborating with Refuge which has that powerful combination of great musical talent and a genuine desire to create positive attitudes towards mental health issues.

"We look forward to engaging patients with this groundbreaking project's workshops and performances and helping the initiative grow."

The project will launch with a high-profile fundraiser at The Donkey Pub, Welford Road, Leicester, on Saturday September 20) at 8pm. Mark Morriss is headlining and Refuge supporting along with the locally based young talent Olivia Rose Deane. All proceeds are going towards the Moving InWards project.

Mark Morriss said: "Having been invited to mentor the band and help develop its songwriting and performance skills, I was immediately struck by members collective enthusiasm and dedication to their craft.

"The launch gig on Saturday should prove an ideal opportunity for them to demonstrate this, before taking the project to its next level; working on the wards and sharing their music and ideas there.

"It feels like something very special is just around the corner for Refuge."

Moving InWards will be a series of work shops and then a tour across 10 mental health wards.

A key aim will be to see how it can be continued and potentially introduced in other trusts across the country.

Tickets for the launch event are available on the door for the special price of £5 concessions and £8 full price or to buy tickets in advance go to www.wegottickets.com/event/286255

Drivers are being warned that New Street, in Leicester city centre, will be temporarily closed to traffic next week.

This is so that contractors can reconstruct footpaths at the junction of New Street and Peacock Lane. This is part of ongoing improvements in the area.

New Street will be closed to traffic from Monday, September 22, for up to four days and diversions will be in place.

The one-way order on New Street will be temporarily suspended during the work, to allow marshalled access to properties. New Street car park will remain open as normal.

Contractors will be able to arrange access for vehicles to St Martins House, and other properties on Peacock Lane. 

A man got shirty with a night clubber who ripped his £270 designer top during a tussle, a court heard.

Daniel Ashton (24) ended up scuffling outside in the street with the culprit.

He pleaded guilty to using threatening behaviour in Welford Place, in Leicester's city centre, on August 3.

On being told Ashton's expensive garment was damaged, Judge Simon Hammond said: "Good heavens, where does he buy his shirts?"

Defence counsel, Paul Tubb, replied: "Somewhere I wouldn't go to, Your Honour."

"Me neither," said the judge.

Ashton, of Salisbury Road, Burbage, Hinckley, also admitted the offence put him in breach of a nine month suspended sentence for an assault in 2011.

Mr Tubb told Leicester Crown Court: "Someone had ripped his £270 shirt in a club.

"He made a spur of the moment error by confronting the person who'd ripped his shirt, when he saw him outside."

He said that Ashton, who works in the building trade, was the worse for drink and now regretted his actions.

CCTV footage of the incident was shown in court, where a number of men were involved in several separate brawls.

Alan Murphy, prosecuting, said the incident happened at 4.10am and a police officer arrived to see the defendant pushing someone to the ground.

Mr Murphy said: "The officer saw the defendant aiming punches towards the man but, in fairness, he doesn't know if they connected."

Four other people were arrested for brawling.

Three of them were released without charge and one received a fixed penalty notice.

Mr Tubb said that the offence was committed with just five weeks left of Ashton's suspended sentence and urged the judge not to activate it.

No-one officially made any complaint about anything that happened that night.

Ashton was fined £250 and ordered to pay £85 costs.

Judge Hammond said: "The offence arose when he was out with friends and in a nightclub.

"His expensive shirt got ripped and when he saw the person outside he initially went over to ask for some sort of compensation.

"This sort of thing happening in the street can put people off going into town and city centres."

Judge Hammond told Ashton: "You'd be better spending the evenings with your girlfriend and not boozing with your friends, okay?"

Adventurer Sarah Outen has made it to Canada on her round-the-world trip.

The 28-year-old from Oakham is cycling from across the American continent from west to east on the penultimate leg of the journey she began in 2011.

After rowing and kayaking across the Pacific Ocean she set off cycling across Alaska on August 30 and had now reached Canada.

She said Alaskan people had been her favourite so far.

"There is something about the spirit of people up here that has made me feel more connected to them then any other place on the planet during my journey," she said on her blog.

"Mostly, there is a love of the wild and a can-do attitude, an appreciation that plans can and will change and a nod to pioneering enterprises like kayaking thousands of miles."

Follow Sarah's progress at: www.sarahouten.com

Watch out McBusted fans because the band is coming to Leicester.

Ok, maybe not in person - but a film telling the story of the band will be shown at Vue, in Meridian Leisure Park.

The six-piece boy band - four Mcfly boys and two Busted lads - have announced that their first concert film, called 'Tourplay' will be shown across the country.

The film follows the band's antics during their 35-date tour earlier this year and will be shown on October 28, so you all have a month to get mega excited about it.

A DVD of the film will be released shortly afterwards.

To by tickets visit: www.myvue.com

Shoppers in the city centre on Saturday will be offered free food and get the chance to try on a turban.

Sikh community groups will be holding the Urban Turban event at the Clocktower from midday until 2.30pm to promote racial and religious harmony and tell people all about the tradition of wearing a turban.

The event is being held by charitable groups Chardi Kala Turban Academy, Basics of Sikhi and Midlands Langar Sewa Society.

Amandeep Rai, spokesman for the Leicestershire Sikh Alliance said: "The turban is our Guru's gift to us. It is the most visible way in which we crown and identify ourselves.

"While most people in Leicester may know that Sikhs wear Turbans, very few actually know why."

In the second of two articles marking the 70th anniversary of the doomed Arnhem raid this week - the single largest airborne operation in history, Alan Thompson talks to a glider pilot about his role.

A fog-laden morning delayed the take-off of Bert Harget's Horsa wooden glider on September 18, 1944 - day two of Operation Market Garden - carrying a jeep, trailer and six soldiers to Arnhem.

"As we heard that the previous day's landings had been successful, we were in confident mood, " he said.

He added: "We landed without a single shot being fired at my glider.The quick release bolts to open the tail were anything but - as soon as they were out the soldiers were off in their jeep - we were supposed to go with them, but they were so keen to get away.

"They wouldn't let us land near the bridge because it wasn't a good surface for landing."

Bert, 96, of Oadby, and the many other glider pilots who had landed, were left to walk the eight miles to get to where the main fighting was taking place.

"A German fighter plane fired on us in a wood and a couple of our chaps were killed, one a particular friend of mine, it was just bad luck.

"We were supposed to get to Oosterbeek to divisional headquarters. We were continually digging in, then moving to a new position and then digging in again."

He added: "I was asked to take a patrol to a forward area to try to locate the German mortar positions. We found a suitable house and were able to send back messages indicating where the mortars were.

"The next morning we were all standing outside when a mortar bomb came over the roof of the house and exploded right among us.

"Of the eight men who were there I was the only one not hit by shrapnel. The others were hit in various degrees and my friend, Archie Harris, was the worst, with nine wounds in his legs.

"At the aid station Archie was laid, by chance, next to another glider pilot I knew who had been hit in the eye.Both died of their wounds."

On what turned out to be the last day of the battle the order was given to retreat across the river at night.

He added: "I was asked to take the walking wounded to the river. It was a terrible night, pouring with rain and pitch black when we set off in a line, holding the smock of the man in front.

"At one point, we passed within a few metres of a German position - we could hear them talking - but the heavy rain deadened any noise we made and we were not seen.

"After about 15 minutes I slipped on a muddy bank, lost my grip on the man in front and by the time I had regained my feet the column had disappeared.

"I was completely alone so I walked in the general direction of the river and finally made contact with others."

Once across the river he walked to an aid post where he was given half a loaf and a large tot of rum.

"Later, at Nijmegen, we were given a meal and I slept for almost 24 hours," he added.

On March 3, 1945, Bert was congratulated for his distinguished service by Field Marshall Montgomery.

The veteran of the Normandy landings also too part in the crossing of the Rhine, at Wesel, in 1945.

Flying a Hamilcar glider, carrying a 17-pounder gun and Royal Artillery crew, he landed in the wrong place because of dense smoke on the ground and was captured on March 25 - his fifth wedding anniversary.

Seven weeks later, after marching through what was left of Germany to Rostock on the baltic Sea coast, he was free.

Bert added: "I felt that right through the war luck had been with me."

The Webb Ellis Trophy is going to Leicester's King Power stadium tomorrow to celebrate the fact that it's just one year to go until the Rugby World Cup 2015 kicks off.

The famous old trophy will be brought into the stadium, which will be reamed the 'Leicester Stadium' for the duration of the world cup, by former England international Will Greenwood.

The former England and Leicester Tigers star, who played in the final when England won the world cup in Sydney in 2003, will be joined at the event by Leicester's rugby world cup ambassador George Chuter and City Mayor Peter Soulsby.

There is to be a coaching session which will involve students from three local schools.

Members of the public will have the chance to have their picture taken with the Webb Ellis Trophy at Highcross Leicester.

The trophy will be on display at the shopping centre from 12.30pm until 2pm when people can pose with the trophy.

Don't look now if you cherish the memories of your childhood animations.

Artist Steve Cutts has taken a look at what happened to Roger and Jessica Rabbit 25 years after they hit the big screen.

In his five minute short animation the couple have fallen on hard times with Jessica sporting a KFC tattoo and living on takeaways.

As the animation unfolds other cartoon characters appear.

Popeye is seen using a walking aid with his legendary muscles sagging while Dennis the Menace looks like an alcoholic.

Top Cat, Garfield, Inspector Gadget and Beavis and Butthead also feature in the strangely melancholic video:

The boss of a multi-million pound company which ferries patients to and from hospital has publicly apologised for leaving too many waiting for too long.

Jonathan May, managing director of Arriva Transport Solutions, said services were improving after months of problems and promised to listen more to patients.

Mr May apologised for poor performance at a public meeting in Belgrave today held to highlight the problems and actions being taken to improve things.

It emerged that the Arriva subsidiary has been given an extra £348,000 from clinical commissioning groups across Leicestershire to provide more vehicles dedicated to taking patients home when they are discharged from hospital.

Mr May told the meeting: "I understand from people in this room we have let you down. I sincerely apologise for that."

He said more vehicles and more staff have been taken but added: "We are still not where we want to be."

Claudette Francis, a senior sister in the discharge lounge at Leicester's Glenfield Hospital, told the meeting at the Peepul Centre in Belgrave, that many of her patients were waiting longer than the two hour target to be taken home.

She said: "This has not improved over the last two years and a lot of the time we have to re-bed patients.

"We were also promised a designated manager in the discharge lounge at Glenfield but that hasn't happened."

Another member of staff from the children's hospital at Leicester Royal Infirmary said there was a "major issue" in getting transport for children well enough to be nearer their homes after specialist treatment in Leicester.

He said: "By the time the transport is sorted out the child is nearly well enough to be discharged home."

Robin Wintle, associate director for contract and provider performance at the East Leicestershire and Rutland clinical commissioning group which oversees the contract, said Arriva's performance was monitored daily and performance targets should all be met by next month (Oct).

He said that the CCGs had put in an extra £348,000 to help achieve that.

Mr Wintle said: "It has been suggested we should terminate the contract but we don't believe it is the right course of action.

"The best way to achieve performance is to work with Arriva.

"Any other provider would suffer similar issues.

"We want patients to receive the best possible service they can."

Health campaigner Zuffar Haq, a member of the Leicester Mercury Patients' Panel had lobbied for the meeting.

He said many patients did not know who to complain to when things went wrong.

Arriva Transport Solutions, which was awarded the five year, £26 million contract in July 2012, has also promised to improve communication.

Councillor Vijay Riyait, deputy chairman of Leicester City Council's adult social care scrutiny commission, said he was concerned that additional money was being spent on the service.

This concern was echoed by deputy mayor Coun Rory Palmer after the meeting.

He said: "I will be asking Arriva Patient Transport and the East Leicestershire CCG to attend a meeting of the city's health and wellbeing board to set out their improvement plan."

Jan Jachimowicz, from Thurnby whose mother Dorren, 89, has suffered several problems with transport, including one 11 hour delay said: "We will wait and see if things change."

Eighteen staff employed by collapsed mobile phone chain Phones 4u in Leicestershire have been offered jobs by a rival business.

Dixons Carphone made the offer to workers at Phones 4u outlets based in three PC World-Curry's stores in the county.

There are eight workers at the PC World-Curry's outlet in Fosse Park, four at St George's Retail Park, Leicester and six at Regent Place Retail Park, Loughborough. The offer has been made to more than 800 staff in total. PC World-Curry's is owned by Dixons Carphone.

Phones 4u went into administration on Monday after major phone operator EE ended its contract with the group months after Vodafone did the same. The collapse put 5,596 jobs across the UK in jeopardy. The 720 stores have been closed since Monday, although no redundancies have yet been made. Administrators PwC have said job losses are inevitable. More than 80 people are still employed at 11 stores in the county.

Leicester's Somali community has fitted into city life thanks to things such as in schooling, a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a strong community.

A report comparing seven cities has shown that Somali people have integrated better in Leicester than many other places.

The Somalis in Leicester report, drawn up by the Open Society Foundations, was launched this afternoon at Leicester Town Hall.

It provides a detailed analysis of the city's 15,000-strong Somali community – one of the largest in the UK.

It looks into daily experiences of Somalis in Leicester, as well as six other European cities - Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Malmo and Oslo.

Jawaahir Daahir, 51, of Evington, who worked as a researcher on the project, and is also the director of Somali Development Services, moved to Leicester 14 years ago.

She left Somalia in 1990 because of the civil war and moved to Holland, before heading to Leicester a decade later.

She said: "I moved in 2000 to Leicester because of the multicultural aspect and freedom of religion here.

"The first thing that struck me was the diversity and how people respect each other."

She added that she felt like she was at home here, and there was a strong sense of inclusion – confirmed by the research in the report.

She said: "Everyone we spoke to loves the city and the multicultural aspect. We have interaction and a good relationship with our neighbours."

Abdish Tarah, 45, of St Matthew's, has lived in Leicester for 12 years, and said it had always been a positive experience for him.

He said: "I am delighted to live in Leicester because of the level of acceptance and diversity in terms of education.

"I moved here because I was visiting my family and I really liked the atmosphere – it was very diverse. There are also opportunities to make contributions to our society."

Nazia Hussain, director of Open Society Foundations' At Home in Europe project, said a lot could be learned from Leicester.

She said: "What is interesting about Leicester is a lot of Somalis have moved from other EU cities.

"It is a positive story in Leicester, not without its challenges, but they are ones Leicester can overcome.

"The women have been the forefront in moving forward with the integration process."

She said the report showed Somalis learned from the experience of other minority groups who previously settled in the city from places such as south Asia and the West Indies.

Councillor Manjula Sood, Leicester's assistant city mayor for community involvement, partnerships and equalities, said: "I am very pleased to be supporting the launch of this research here in Leicester.

"The council and its partners work hard to try to ensure the successful integration of all new communities in our city, and we welcome new information that will help us to do this.

"These findings will help us to learn more about the local Somali community, and we will consider them carefully in our future decision and policy making."

The report also found that despite the community's strong sense of belonging and high marks on improved education attainment, there were still a some of problems, for example in health and housing.

It found that Somalis lived in some of the most disadvantaged wards, feel discriminated when seeking health care and feel exploited by landlords.

The report made a few recommendations about ways to move forward.

These include a more effective consultation with Somali communities in service delivery and employment, as well as exploring the establishment of a small loans and grants system to facilitate enterprises in the city to aid economic development.

Another recommendation was to raise awareness among tenants about their rights and the regulations that govern private tenancy.

Rugby legend Will Greenwood has offered to sponsor a cup if Leicester City beat Manchester United this weekend.

The former Leicester Tigers, England and Lions hero, who lifted the world cup with England in 2003, jokingly made the offer at the King Power stadium today.

Will, a Manchester City fan, was at the stadium with the rugby world cup to launch the one-year countdown to the 2015 rugby world cup competition.

He said: "Leicester are doing well so far in the Premier League and I would love it if they beat Manchester United on Saturday.

"In fact I would sponsor a trophy myself for them if they beat United. They could play for it every year and beat them every year."

Leicester City ambassador Alan Birchenall was also at the launch.

He said: "You don't get a trophy for beating Man United but we would love the three points."

A church will be hosting an exhibition about Christian Aid's ongoing work in Haiti.

The country, which is the poorest in the western hemisphere, was hit by an earthquake in 2010 and a hurricane two years later.

The five-day I Witness exhibition features photos and artwork from Haiti and it is free and open from September 30 until October 4 at the Bishop Street Methodist Church in Leicester.

It will open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday and from 10.30am to 2.30pm on the Saturday.

Christian Aid supports several agencies working to help people rebuild their lives.

The charity's East Midlands co-ordinator Martin Gage said: "It's a beautiful country but so incredibly poor, with many barriers to development that we're working hard to challenge."

Martin is also running two free legacy planning workshops to help people who want to leave money to good causes in their wills.

They will be held at the All Nations Centre, 10 Frog Island, Leicester, 10am to 12 noon on Saturday, September 27, and Saturday,October 25.

Martin said: "Every legacy and gift in memory that we receive brings us closer to a world where poverty is finally over."

A Leicester man has been charged with a number of offences including possession of drugs after a routine stop check by officers in Leicester.

The man, aged 23, has been charged with possession with intent to supply Class B drugs, possession of a bladed article and two driving offences.

He is due to appear at Leicester Crown Court on Friday September 19.

The charges relate to a routine stop check by officers in Mowmacre Hill, Leicester on Thursday September 4 when drugs believed to be MCAT and a lock knife was recovered.

Leicester Riders face their biggest challenge for many years in their inaugural European Pre-season Tournament starting tomorrow night at Loughborough University.

With just one week to go to the start of the BBL season, Riders go up against Spanish and Belgian opposition in a three-day club competition.

Riders will open the tournament tomorrow against Obradoiro CAB, of the top Spanish league, the ACB, at 7.30pm.

In the second game of the tournament, Obradoiro will face Euro Challenge side Okapi Aalstar, of Basketball League Belgium, on Saturday at 5pm.

Riders will then be back in action on Sunday at 5pm to take on Okapi Aalstar in the final game of the tournament. 

Rider's head coach Rob Paternostro is relishing the challenge.

"The Riders fans are going to see something different this weekend," he said. "Last weekend we dominated against an athletic but young USA touring side, but these games are going to be a whole different kettle of fish.

"Jorge Calvo knows the Spanish team pretty well and has sent me a scouting report, which has been handy.

"They will be as talented and well-organised as anyone we are going to see this season.

"They play full-court pressure defence and have a good mix of Spanish and American players.

"They can shoot the ball extremely well and have one guy we need to keep a close eye on – Alberto Corbocho.

"He is very experienced, and led the ACB in three-point shooting last season, a heck of a feat.

"And they are going to have size, like we don't normally see. They will push us very hard, and I think after this weekend we will have a very good idea of where we are at, and what we need to do to be a better team.

"Training has gone well this week, and we are really benefiting from having all the guys together – getting to know each other, getting up to speed on what we are trying to do and building some camaraderie.

"We have had players with a few niggles but our focus has been less about preparing for this weekend and more about getting ready for the new season."

Paternostro has yet to decide if Anthony Rowe will play this weekend.

"Rowe has had another good week of practice and continues to progress," said the Riders coach.

"We won't decide until late tomorrow whether he plays this weekend, because we don't want to rush things.

"He is definitely getting stronger every day, and getting better movement, but we have to be very careful how we manage it.

"He remains ahead of schedule and we want to keep it that way."

It was with great sadness this week that we found out Josh Cobb is leaving for Northamptonshire. Cobby was a big reason in me joining Leicestershire, and I know he tried and tried to turn things around as best he could.

But he felt he had done all he could and needed a change for his own personal game, and to rediscover his love of the game, which is something I can understand.

The club is in a strange place, with players unsure of where their futures lie.

We need to lock down players like Greg Smith and Ned Eckersley, as well as bringing in five players of quality, in my opinion, if we are to be successful from 2015.

I am committed to the club and hope to agree an extension to my current contract which ends next season, so hopefully the nitty gritty will be sorted soon and I can get on with helping move Leicester into a better fitter position on the cricketing map.

I have been saddened by the messages from loyal fans that they are disgusted with our performances.

I am willing to go to any lengths to put those results right and win back our supporters, as we have a great number of people who give up their time and money to watch us play day in, day out.

Only one week of the season remains and Derbyshire away is our final game.

Derby have been on a good run of form of late, winning many games, and they are a team which we should be looking to learn from.

They are a small county with a small playing staff, but who seem to constantly punch above their weight.

Teams like Derby and Worcestershire have done well in recent years and their squads are no better man-for-man than we have had during the last few seasons, but there seems to be something missing which is stopping us from delivering on our potential.

I am looking forward to watching Leicester City play Manchester United on Sunday.

There is no reason why it cannot result in a home win after the fabulous victory at Stoke last weekend.

Thankfully, Everton got a win at West Brom so all is happy in our household.

I set off on tour with Ireland at the end of the month to Australia and New Zealand.

I am really looking forward to catching up with the Ireland boys and getting our World Cup preparations under way.

At this stage, I would like to thank Shahid Sheikh and Clifton Packaging for their wonderful support and friendship during the course of the season.

Niall O'Brien's column is sponsored by Clifton Packaging.

It must run in the family - Sally Barker has asked her son to open the show at her birthday gig in Leicester tomorrow night.

The singer-songwriter, of Lutterworth, will be performing at the Y Theatre, in the city centre, as part of her UK tour.

And to warm up the crowd, will be 18-year-old Dillon Wakeford, who plans on following in his mother's footsteps one day.

Sally was a finalist in BBC's The Voice and was mentored by music legend Sir Tom Jones.

"I always like to include Dillon in the things I do," said mother-of-two Sally.

"I asked him if he fancied a gig and he said, 'yeah, cool' - that's what he always says."

Dillon who will be playing the guitar, will be performing alongside his friend, James Summers.

The duo call themselves 'Summers Wakeford', with Dillon playing the guitar and James taking the role as lead vocalist.

"I've tried to steer him off the idea of being a singer," said Sally. "Because it can't always be that financially rewarding.

"But if he loves it, then it's the perfect industry for him to be in.

"And his passion is music, just like me."

Dillon, who is currently half way through a two-year course at Music Leicester College, hopes to go to university to study Popular Music.

"He's a crowd pleaser," Sally added.

"His music is super groovy.

"It's nice to be able to help him along the way and encourage him.

"I'm looking forward to it."

And not only will Sally be singing with her son but making tomorrow's gig even more special, is the fact that it is her birthday.

The soon-to-be 55-year-old, kicked off her UK tour last Saturday and Leicester will be her sixth gig.

"I'm excited to see if anybody has planned any surprises for me - I know one of my fans has sent a present to the venue for me."

Also joining her will be special guest and USA highly acclaimed guitar virtuoso, Vicki Genfan.

"I'm always a bit more nervous when I'm singing in my hometown, I feel like so much more is expected of you.

"But I'm going to have lots of family and friends there, which will be great."

Dillon, who has played with his mother twice before, said that he was feeling good about the gig.

"I'm pretty confident," he added.

"Mum is good inspiration for me."

The gig comes three days before Sally's next album is released.

The CD, which is called Maid In England, includes 13 folk tracks - 11 of which had been written before her appearance on The Voice and two that she sung on the BBC show - 'Dear Darlin' and 'To Love Somebody'

Her album is available to pre-order now from Amazon and iTunes and will be available to buy on September 22.

For more information on all of Sally's gigs, or to buy tickets to tomorrow night's show, visit: www.sallybarker.co.uk