Derby Evening Telegraph

How Can Contactpoint Help a Young Person?

LEAH is 14. Her mum is ill, so Leah looks after her two younger sisters. Leah speaks with a stutter, and is receiving speech therapy.

Sushi Bar Offers a Sizzling Service Delivered with Style ; Secret Service We Go Under Cover to Check Out the Moon Sha Restaurant

SECRET Service slipped into Moon Sha, the new sushi bar and teppanyaki restaurant in Derby, getting early seats on a quiet weekday evening for a tailor-made meal. The layout of the restaurant is spacious and it feels almost too large to fill, with its vast shiny black surfaces and big windows which look onto the ring road.

Successful Brew-Pub Is Toast of the Town ; the Beer Hunter

REPUTEDLY now the largest brew-pub in Europe, the historic Green Man and Black's Head in Ashbourne was a real hive of activity when I spent a sunny summer hour there last weekend. It is just over a year since Edward Allingham reopened the Leatherbritches Brewery there with - what is for a microbrewery - a whopping 24-barrel plant.

It's Ready, Teddy, Go... For Picnic at Safari Park

TEDDY bears will be dressed in their finest for a special event at West Midland Safari and Leisure Park tomorrow. The park's first Teddy Bears' Picnic will be held to mark the start of Summer Nights, latenight opening evenings. Visitors who take along their favourite teddy can enter competitions for the best- dressed teddy and mostloved teddy and join a grand parade for all cherished bears. There will be teddy-related games, too.

Children Invited to Wild Weekend

POND dipping and hunting for bugs will be among the many activities taking place at Hardwick Park Centre, this weekend. The National Trust is holding its annual Wildlife Weekend at Hardwick as part of a series of Wild Child events over the school holidays, designed to get young people and their families excited about nature and exploring the great outdoors.

Enjoy Castle Life at the Sharp End

THE imposing medieval fortress of Ashby de la Zouch Castle will ring to the sound of clashing swords and shields, as fighting knights battle it out for their honour this weekend. Tomorrow and Sunday, visitors will find themselves part of an early 14th century encampment of fighting knights, squires and maidens.

Sound the Alarm for a Great Day

FLASHING blue lights, bells and sirens will greet visitors to Crich Tramway Village on Sunday as the museum hosts its annual Emergency Vehicles Day. The period street will once again echo to the sounds of an emergency as fire engines, ambulances and police cars make haste to various "incidents". At set times throughout the day convoys of emergency vehicles will provide photo opportunities with the historic trams.

Country Man John Shows Off His Talent for Poetry

JOHN Keeling, best known for his work with the BBC's wildlife programmes, Springwatch and Autumnwatch and other BBC short documentary films, has now demonstrated another of his many talents - writing poetry. The Derbyshire wildlife enthusiast recently fulfilled a boyhood ambition with the publication of his book of poetry, A Countryman's Journey, which was inspired by his life-long love of the countryside.

Readers' Poems

COWS IN THE NEWS, BY PAT PATERSON, OF LITTLE EATON There's another case in the news today I heard with increasing alarm, Yet one more person killed walking their dog, by cows on a neighbouring farm. Now I was brought up in the country, to walk where the footpath allows, Taught not to abuse the countryside rules, and not to be scared of the cows. I regarded the cows with affection and safety was not a concern But lately we hear that cows should be feared - what's causing the tables to turn? Co...

Enjoy Superb Views and Surroundings of Matlock Bath ; Walking with Dennis Eardley

NESTLING beneath limestone cliffs with the River Derwent flowing below, in a beautiful wooded valley, is the popular tourist centre of Matlock Bath. The town has been a tourist attraction since visitors came to bathe in the thermal waters and the name dates from the establishment of the first bath in the late 1690s. It was little more than a stone structure filled by a thermal spring, with a constant temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

Forget Disney - Invest in Adrenalin and Experience the Thrilling Side of Orlando ; There's More to Florida Than Mickey Mouse and Theme Parks, As Chris Jones Discovered On an Action-Packed, Thrillseeking Trip.

I AM in a sleeping bag, 2,000ft in the air. Beneath me, the thick green swamplands of Orlando, Florida, roll away in every direction. Our hang-glider is being dragged through the sky by what looks like a crop-duster and the man wedged next to me has just suggested we cut the cord between the two aircraft.

Open Garden Pair Hope for Fine Day

KEEN gardeners Anne and Stephen Liverman are hoping for calm weather on Sunday when they open their cottage garden to the public. They certainly don't want a repeat of earlier this month, when a silver birch tree was struck by lightning, which hurled a strip of bark 10 metres across the garden.

News Students Clinch Top Apprenticeships ; Chamber Working with Local Firms to Start Students On Path to Careers

TWO Derby College construction students are celebrating after clinching apprenticeships with local employers. According to Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, apprenticeships have become increasingly difficult to secure in the recession.

Skeletons Flesh Out Gig

SKELETONS are headlining at The Rockhouse on Thursday. Formed from the ashes of a Sheffield band with a fierce reputation, Skeletons have spent a year preparing for their return to the live stage.

Forget Flu, These Swiines Rock!

IN a month when many entertainment venues are winding down for the summer, The Rockhouse is gearing up for a lively August with a wide variety of bands and musical events. Tomorrow night there will be a free evening featuring four local bands.

Festival Will Show G& S Is Not Past Its Sell-by Date

AMID tumultuous recession, swine flu hysteria and political scandals, the world is crying out for old-fashioned common sense and values. The enduring magic of Gilbert and Sullivan's light opera offers a touch of that - traditional family entertainment to wash away recession blues and take us back to a better place.

On Track for Thomas Treat

FANS of Thomas the Tank Engine can see the original working model sets used to film the TV series in a new attraction at Drayton Manor Theme Park, near Tamworth. The Discover Thomas & Friends exhibition has been carefully crafted to reflect scenes from the popular books and TV show and is based at Farmer McColl's barn at the theme park's popular Thomas Land attraction.

Artists Can Brush Up Skills

LANDSCAPE artist Lewis Noble is running a Summer Painting School at his Derbyshire studio to help would-be painters improve their skills. The course is suitable for all abilities and the aim will be to create a maximum of four finished pieces of work.

Pick Colours with Care or the Writing Is On the Wall

CHOOSING a paint colour may seem straightforward, but printed colour charts can't be relied on to be accurate. It's vital to buy tester pots, even though they may seem like an unnecessary expense. There are two main types of testers: small plastic pots, some of which have an applicator brush inside, and miniature metal tins. The problem with the applicator brush is that it's saturated in paint, which causes you to apply it too thickly and make a mess on the wall that requires lots of work to ...

Lily Loveliness Abounds

STUNNING fragrant summer-flowering lilies (above) produce large, flared trumpet flowers in an array of colours, just when the garden may be running out of steam in midsummer. Grow them in pots on the patio or in a border. If you can never remember where you planted your bulbs, place pots of lilies where space is available in the border, then you can move the pot when they have finished flowering.