FOUR illegal workers have been found at a Derby beauty salon after tip-offs from the public.

Three of the four women, who are all Indian, had outstayed their working visas while a fourth had breached the working conditions of her visa, the Home Office said.

Home Office Immigration Enforcement officers visited Beauty Box, in Stenson Road, Derby, at about 5pm yesterday.

Staff at the business were questioned to establish whether or not they had the right to live and work in the UK.

One of the four women, aged 29, was detained pending removal from the UK and two, aged 30 and 35, were ordered to report regularly to the Home Office while their cases are progressed.

A fourth woman, aged 27, was arrested for working in breach of her visa conditions. She has been detained while steps are taken to remove her from the UK. Sim Atwal, owner of Beauty Box, said: "We had four workers arrested following the Home Office visit on Thursday. "Two of the workers had come on student visas and were actually paying us to work at the salon to learn the trade and to improve their English. "The other two presented us with identification which we checked and which looked legitimate and allowed them to work in the UK but, it seems, was false. "We are co-operating fully with the Home Office on their investigations."

A Home Office spokesman said the business was served a notice warning that a civil penalty of up to £20,000 per illegal worker found could be imposed.

The business will be liable to pay this penalty unless they can demonstrate that the correct pre-employment checks were carried out. If proof is not provided, this is a potential total of up to £80,000.

Alison Spowage, assistant director of East Midlands Home Office immigration enforcement, said: "Our dedicated teams respond quickly to reports of illegal working and we will continue to make life tough for those who seek to abuse the rules.

"Illegal working is not victimless. It cheats the treasury of vital funds, undercuts honest employers and often exploits some of society's most vulnerable people. It also means legitimate job seekers are denied employment opportunities.

"Employers who flout the rules could face a heavy penalty. I would urge members of the public to report suspected illegal working to us."

According to its Facebook page Beauty Box says it is " the latest must see ladies only salon based in Derby, with plenty of free parking."

It says: ""No appointments necessary, just walk in and be assured that our well experienced staff will provide you the ultimate beauty treatment."

The Home Office said the two women who have been asked to report were effectively "on the equivalent of police bail" whereby they must report regularly to Home Office officials.

The other two are currently being held at an immigration removal centre while the necessary paperwork was being done to send them back to their own country.

A spokesman said: "All of the women we have arrested were working in the salon doing a variety of beauty treatments.

"

Anyone with information about suspected immigration abuse can visit https://www.gov.uk/report-immigration-crime or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Information to help employers carry out checks to prevent illegal working can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employers-illegal-working-penalties.

THERE was to be no further success yesterday for Adam Peaty at the World Short Course Championships in Doha, Qatar.

The Uttoxeter-based City of Derby swimmer has already scored two silver medals at the championships but, in his weaker event, the 200m, he finished comfortably short of making the final in the heats.

Peaty finished 14th fastest in 2:07.56, almost four seconds slower than the fastest qualifier, Hungarian Daniel Gyurta.

Peaty competes at his more favoured 50m over the weekend.

DERBY martial arts instructor Mohammed Afzal has been named Top Instructor 2014 by Martial Arts Illustrated magazine.

Known as Master Afzal, he runs the city's Kombat Kinetics (Derby) academy and was presented with his award at the magazine's annual "Hall of Fame" event at the National Brewery Centre in Birmingham.

Afzal began in martial arts in 1988, starting in karate and moving on to kick boxing.

Seeking a further challenge, he moved on to tae kwondo and went on to win at several English, British and European championships, also competing at world level.

He has spent much of the last 26 years teaching the discipline he loves and had martial arts schools in Yorkshire and the Midlands before deciding to open a full-time academy in his home town of Derby.

Kombat Kinetics offers classes throughout the week for all ages, providing fitness programmes and a character development programme for young children, which sets out to teach them respect, discipline, life skills and give them confidence.

More information about Kombat Kinetics can be found on the website at www.kombatkinetics.com.

DERBY Trailblazers must aim to knock over the last remaining unbeaten record in EBL Division One tonight when Essex Leopards visit Noel-Baker School (7.15pm).

Leopards, coached by a legend in the domestic game, Robert Youngblood, have played only four matches but won them all and are now up to second behind Derby in the table.

Having played more league games than anyone else so far, the Blazers now have only one more match after tonight's scheduled before Christmas.

Assistant coach Steve Baxter says Leopards already look like they will continue to challenge at the top.

"Each of their matches has been close, with their largest margin of victory being only four points, which perhaps says something about their ability to close out tight games," said Baxter.

"In addition, three of their wins have come against teams who have run us close this season, so we know they have plenty of quality.

"Robert Youngblood has had to assemble a new-look team this year, as he only had three or four players returning from the team which finished second last season."

Among the guards are Slovenian Matic Zupanc and veteran Ronnie Baker – twin brother of former Derby player Stedroy.

Forwards include the splendidly-named – although London-born – Courtney Van Beest and American import Byron Richards.

They have a seven-foot centre in Lawrence Brown, along with 6'9" Swede Lukas Winegarner to provide options at the centre position for the Leopards, so they certainly have size to bring to the court.

Derby, however, should be full of confidence after recent results and Baxter says he is glad their schedule is calming down.

"From our perspective, it's nice to know we're finally rid of our lengthy run of double-headers," he said.

"Other than when we also have a trophy game, we only have one other league double-header to come and that's much later in the season.

"Some of our guys, especially those who are University players are playing lots of games and lots of minutes, so it will be nice for them to get back to single fixture weekends for a few weeks.

"Every game is a big fixture for us this year and we must maintain our focus in each and every game.

"Leopards are just another test for us and we are not looking too much at league positions at this stage.

"Bradford proved last week that league records don't mean much at this stage and we could easily have lost what some may have billed as a top versus bottom clash.

"The competitiveness of Division One this year means every game is important.

"From all accounts, Leopards have been having some success by going small and quick in a lot of their games this year.

"They have some decent outside shooters, so it should prove to be an exciting encounter.

"However, for the most part, I think we are doing a decent job of adapting to deal with different teams' game plans.

"Our morale at the moment is very high and we are playing well but there is still much room for improvement.

"We're a reasonably young team and a lot of our guys are still learning. Not too many of the team this year have had major experience of playing Division One over here but they have adapted well against some much more accustomed opponents," he said. 

SPONDON strengthened their grip on Division One of the Derbyshire Indoor Cricket League with a comfortable win over Lullington Park.

Meanwhile, their closest rivals, Elvaston, slipped up badly, as they were thrashed by West Hallam.

Captain Joe Ashdown was to the fore again, with 42, while Adam Finlay added 40 not out as they set Lullington a target of 126-5.

Lullington never got close, slipping to 86 all out. Kashif Hussain taking two wickets.

Elvaston have been going well but they had no answer to West Hallam's Tom Lockhart, who took 4-17 as they were bowled out for only 60, Luke Lindsay making 32 of those.

Martin Brandrick was 28 not out as his side cruised home by five wickets.

Aston bounced back from two successive defeats to beat Nutbrook by 20 runs, Trevor Archibald contributing another unbeaten knock to their 115-2.

RESULTS: Division One: Rolls-Royce 139-3 (S Venkatappa 29, R Ali 48*, R Ahmed 25*, B Holmes 2-42) beat Stainsby 101-3 (B Holmes 25*) by 38 runs. Aston 115-2 (T Archibald 25*, R Ali 27*, A Matloob 30*) beat Nutbrook 95 (V Hartshorn 34, Fraz Shabbir 3-44, M Tassadaq 2-26) by 20 runs. Spondon 126-5 (A Finlay 40*, J Ashdown 42, L Bingham 2-8) beat Lullington 86 (L Bingham 33, K Hussain 2-27) by 40 runs. West Hallam 61-1 (M Brandrick 28) beat Elvaston 60 (Lindsay 32, T Lockhart 4-17) by 5 wickets.

Division Two: Rolls-Royce B 94-3 (M Ali 25*, B Hussain 25*) beat Ilkeston 93-3 (R Green 28*, R Slater 27*) by 3 wickets. Marehay 118-3 (J Kyte 36*, L Palmer 29*, C Wilkins 2-50) beat Brailsford 89-3 (M Dowling 29*, D Bould 26*, L Palmer 2-25) by 29 runs. Quarndon 136-2 (H Clamp 25*, Richardson 37*, Butterfield 28*) beat Spondon B 94 (K Ellard 46, Z Ahmed 2-21, O Hughes 2-38) by 42 runs.

DERBYSHIRE'S women won all three of their ties as they clinched promotion from Division 4A at this year's AEGON Winter County Cup.

The seven-strong squad thrashed Staffordshire 7-2 in the opening encounter at the three-day event before beating West of Scotland 6-3.

That still left Derbyshire needing a win against final opponents Wiltshire to secure promotion and, in a close tie, they managed to get a 5-4 win.

County skipper Gemma Praditngam said she was delighted by her side's performance in Tipton, in the West Midlands.

She said: "I'm really pleased – I knew we had a strong side and I was comfortable about us staying in the division but I didn't expect us to get promotion.

"But we stuck with the same team throughout and, even though a couple of the teams were stronger than us on paper, we just gave a solid performance.

"It was all up in the air until the last day, because we had two wins and Wiltshire had one, so we still needed to beat them.

"They were a strong side and it came right down to the last two rubbers.

"To have the chance to play for promotion was exciting and I'm happy we managed to achieve it."

Praditngam's team comprised herself, Kathryn Cook, Katie Higson, Louise Holtum, Danielle Pym, Rebecca Williams and Katy Wilson.

The captain said: "Everyone played really well throughout the weekend but Louise was outstanding. She was our number one player and I don't think she lost a match."

Meanwhile, Derbyshire's men consolidated their place in Group 3B, having been promoted to the division last year.

Playing in Sunderland, they suffered a 5-4 loss against North of Scotland on the opening day, followed by another 5-4 defeat to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

But they escaped relegation on day three by reaching 6-0 against East of Scotland before play was stopped.

Captain Dennis Archer – whose team comprised Chris Archer, Sam Ferguson, Christian Mills, Ben Rushby, James Rushby, Tom Rushby and Simon Thornewill – said: "It was a very good weekend, although slightly disappointing because we were close to winning all three ties.

"We had match points to go 5-4 up instead of the other way around on the first day, so they are ties we could have won another day.

"But the lads played really well. Christian, who is only 15, was making his debut and he did a good job, while Chris Archer was superb and won all his matches – so it was just a good team effort.

"We've got a really good core of players and, even when some are unavailable, we still manage to pull together a good team and we've even got one or two more juniors in the pipeline.

"Overall, I'm really pleased with how we did and I just think we'll keep getting better and better."

DERBY Muay Thai club Studio 2000 held their big annual Thai boxing show at the iPro Stadium – and saw Adam Townsend bring a new championship belt back to the gym.

Townsend was crowned the new World Ring Sports Association Midland Area champion after a brilliant display in which he stopped his opponent, Blake Moore from Sor Chang Kow, in the fourth round.

Casey Braddock also retained his unbeaten record, beating Chrystian Korzienoski from Wicker Camp in a five-round thriller.

Will Stringer showed great poise in his first fight, listening to his corner and winning against Liam Griffin from Stoke Thai.

Junior Studio 2000 fighters Jacob Mordecai and Kye Souden both lost in split decision results but showed skill and composure in the ring.

However, Patrick Kelly was left disappointed after training hard for his fight and looking in great shape.

His opponent failed his medical, so the fight had to be cancelled.

Studio 2000 has been run in Derby since 1992 by Sai Varley, who was inducted into the Martial Arts Illustrated Hall of Fame in 2012.

DERBY BMX Club will send 21 riders to the World Championships in Zolder, Belgium, in July next year.

Only Preston Pirates, with 24, have qualified more riders for the prestigious event.

Riders qualify by earning ranking points through the previous season in regional and international races. They much reach the top 12 in their category.

Derby's most experienced rider will be 14-year-old Lewis Hipkins, remarkably already a veteran of seven World Championships.

Hipkins will be eager to make up for this year, when he broke his ankle on practice day at the event in Rotterdam.

He had already secured enough points to qualify for 2015 and, back riding, has a comeback race in St Etienne, France, in a fortnight.

Head coach Lauren Smith said: "Hopefully, this good news will help inspire our riders to continue to train through the winter."

Derby's qualifying riders and their age categories: Boys: Myles Wildbore (7), Zak Greene (8), Riley Hampson (9), Matthew Ryan (10), Jay Bovill (11), Bradley Vickery (11), Jayden Cooper-Nelson (12), Alex Reade (13), Tyrell Cooper-Nelson (14), Jake Greene (14), Lewis Hipkins (15), Niall Monks (15). Girls: Lauren Ward (8), Jaya Bradshaw (8), Isabel Hallam (11), Serenity Ralph (12), Kirsty Allsop (16), Ellie Dewdney (17+), Max Wildbore (Cruiser 9-12), Carl Morgan (Cruiser 30-34), Will Hart (Cruiser 35-39).

BUOYANT Mickleover Royals will aim to take yet another "biggest game in their history" in their stride tomorrow when they target the last 32 of the FA Vase.

The Royals are at home to Northern Counties East League Division One side AFC Mansfield in the third round at the Raygar Stadium, the Station Road ground they share with Mickleover Sports.

They have already seen off North West Counties League side Eccleshall and Midland League leaders Basford United in the Vase.

Chairman Robin Pritchard says there is a lot of excitement around the club, who are the unbeaten leaders of the Black Dragon South Division of the Central Midlands League, having dropped only one point so far this season.

"We've been to see Mansfield and, while they're a decent side, we do think they are beatable," said Pritchard.

"We've looked at teams before, thought that they look very tough and then beaten them.

"We are dreaming of Wembley. Why not? If we win this, we're in the last 32 and that just feels weird – but it's very exciting too."

Royals, managed by former Sheffield United and Leeds United midfielder Gary Hamson, will be missing only centre-back Ashleigh Lynch, whose calf injury will keep him out until after Christmas.

"The manager's biggest problem is that he has 21 in the first-team squad, they're all fit and, of course, they all want to play in this one," added Pritchard.

KWAME Thomas became the latest player to graduate from the Academy to Derby County's first team.

The 19-year-old striker made his debut as a substitute in the defeat at Leeds a week ago.

Derby's team also included Will Hughes, Jeff Hendrick and Lee Grant, who all came through the club's youth system.

Other names to make the step up in recent years include Chris Riggott, Tom Huddlestone, Giles Barnes and Steve Elliott.

Lee Holmes became the club's youngest-ever player when he appeared against Grimsby Town on Boxing Day 2002 as a 15-year-old.

His record was broken by striker Mason Bennett in October 2011.

Marcus Tudgay, Lee Camp and Adam Murray have also come through the system, along with Mark O'Brien, Miles Addison, Lewin Nyatanga and Izale McLeod.

Turn the clock back further and the names of Ron Webster, Steve Powell and Peter Daniel spring to mind.

Webster, Belper-born, was in the League Championship-winning sides of 1971-72 and 1974-75 and helped the Rams win the Division Two title in 1968-69.

Powell, Derby-born, was the club's youngest-ever player when he made his debut at 16 in a Texaco Cup tie against Stoke City at the Baseball Ground in October 1971. He helped Rams to their two League Championship successes.

Daniel, born in Ripley, helped Derby out of the Second Division in the late Sixties and won a League Championship medal in 1974-75, when he was voted player of the year.

We asked fans to name their favourite home-grown players. Here's what they said:

Group Shelts: I don't think there has been or will be many better than Will Hughes.

Ashley Wilkinson: Chris Riggott was always a brilliant centre-half, when on the pitch, but hard to look past Will Hughes for pure, natural talent.

Rob: Ron Webster – legend and from Belper. He won things, too.

Ian Pemberton: Steve Powell. I think the word for him is "tenacious". Tom Huddlestone was a terrific player but was at the club at the wrong time and "given away".

Martin Dempster: Steve Powell – always played with 100% commitment.

Keir McEvoy-Robinson: Jeff Hendrick, in recent years. He rarely puts a foot wrong and scores a fair few goals, too.

Rob A Eyre: Tommy Huddlestone, mountain of a man and pings passes for fun. Wish we had him now.

Punjabi Rams: Steve Elliott. A passionate Derby lad. Remember one of his early games at Anfield when we won 2-1, he was superb at the back.

The Rams Collection: Go back a bit further and you have David Langan, Peter Daniel and Ron Webster.

El D: Tom Huddlestone in midfield. That passing range! Currently, Will Hughes of course. I see him being most successful when we look back at his whole career.

Neil Hunt: For the sheer excitement whenever he got the ball Giles Barnes, while Adam Murray had so much potential but never realised it.

David Martins: Will Hughes for me but look out for Farrend Rawson and Tom Koblenz to break into the first team soon.

Nick Calvert: Giles Barnes. Exciting player with lots of skill.

Brazilram: Will Hughes, for me. He is getting better every season and maturing into a top-class player.

Mick Buxton: Ron Webster, Derbyshire-born, 18 years at the club, two League Championship medals, 455 appearances. Loyal. Great right-back.

KieranD92: From our first team now, Will Hughes. From previous Rams players, it has to be Tom Huddlestone.

Saul Fulda: Has to be Will Hughes for me! What he has achieved already at 19. He can go very, very far in his career.

Andy Buckley-Taylor: Will Hughes – 100-plus games, 19 years old, says it all.

Derby Ram: Tom Huddlestone. Would love to see him back here some day.

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IT is always disappointing when a player of legendary status leaves your team to play for another club.

It is even more distressing when, years later, they return for another spell and they are a shadow of their former selves.

You have in your mind all of their past glories. Then that legacy is in danger of being tarnished when they turn out for you a couple of stone heavier, a few paces slower and so ravaged by injury that they are unrecognisable as the player you remember.

That said, I can't think of any Derby players who I've seen in my lifetime who have gone away and then been a flop when they have come back.

But I can think of players who have left the Rams and come back as better players.

The most recent example that comes to mind is goalkeeper Lee Grant. To be honest, I never really understood why we let him go in the first place.

I always thought that he was worth holding on to – but in 2007 we let him go to Sheffield Wednesday.

Last year, we re-signed him and he has been simply outstanding during his second stint.

Another player who had a couple of stints with the Rams is Seth Johnson.

There's more than one reason why we should be eternally grateful for the contribution of the hard-working former midfielder.

In 1999, we signed him for an eye-watering £2.5m but, two years later, Leeds United paid us a massive £7m for his services – giving the Rams a tidy net profit of £4.5m.

After being plagued by injury at Leeds, he then returned to the Rams in 2005 and resurrected his career.

He played his final game for the club on May 28, 2007 at Wembley Stadium, where he helped us win the Championship play-off final against West Brom. However, during that match he suffered a knee injury which finished his career.

A striker who also made a successful return to the Rams – this time in the early 1990s – was Bobby Davison.

During the 1991-92 season, my all-time favourite player, who had been a prolific goalscorer for Derby in the 1980s, was loaned to us by Leeds United.

Striking up a successful partnership with the lanky Ian Ormondroyd, Davison scored eight goals in 10 League games.

I remember how great it was to be chanting Bobby's name again but, for some reason, a permanent return to Derby never happened – and I was gutted.

A situation that constantly arises – and not just at Derby County – is when a former player comes back as manager and, down the years, a number of players have tried to replicate their glory days on the pitch from the touchline.

Of course, you have Dave Mackay, who masterminded the Rams to their second Division One championship in 1974-75 but that was before my time.

During the years I've supported the Rams, the manager's hot seat has been filled by four ex-players – and it hasn't always worked.

First of all there was Roy McFarland, who took the job after Arthur Cox stepped down in 1993.

Roy Mac took us agonisingly close to the Premier League in the 1993-94 season, when we lost out in the play-off final to Leicester City.

Colin Todd, the man with whom Roy had formed such a brilliant central defensive partnership in the 1970s, was the next former player to take the reins at the Rams.

He took over managerial duties in October 2001 from Jim Smith but his reign was short-lived. He was shown the door after three months.

The man who took over from Todd was another former Ram, John Gregory, who as a player had achieved successive promotions with Derby County to the old Division One back in the 1980s.

When he became manager in January 2002, the Rams were rock bottom of the Premier League.

Two wins from his opening two games raised hopes that we would escape the drop but a wretched run-in saw us eventually drop out of the top flight.

At the time, the club's financial problems meant that Gregory could not sign any players the following season and he left in March, 2003.

These episodes add fuel to the theory that great former players do not necessarily make great managers.

However, we currently have a manager who is proving the exception to the rule – a man who worked under Jim Smith when he was in charge of the club.

Steve McClaren was not necessarily a great player for Derby, though he was an important squad member for the Rams as they climbed up the leagues in the 1980s.

However, as a manager of Derby County, he is proving to be exceptional, as are his backroom team of former Rams players Eric Steele and Paul Simpson.

The style of football the Rams are playing under their stewardship is, at times, simply breathtaking.

Admittedly, we have not won anything yet but if we keep putting in the performances that we have and eradicate the occasional lapses in concentration in our defence, then I'm confident it will not be long until success comes knocking.

So, rather than sullying his Derby County legacy, McClaren is very much enhancing his stock among the Rams faithful, not to mention the football world as a whole, who seem to mention his stint as England manager less these days.

Long may it continue.

So, Rams fans, my question to you this week is this. Which Rams players have made triumphant returns – and which ones should never have come back?

BY and large, it's been a good week for Derby County Ladies.

Arsenal and their star-studded side of international household names have agreed to help the club celebrate their forthcoming 25th anniversary by playing in a second prestige friendly within in a year.

Also, three of the club's youth sides notched large wins last weekend, though the first team's miserable run of form continued with a

3-1 defeat at home to Bradford City.

Jenny Sugarman's side are at home again tomorrow when they take on Sporting Albion at Borrowash Victoria's Anderson Electrical Stadium and, despite recent poor form, she feels this is the game that could re-ignite the season.

"Slowly but surely, we are getting players back on to the pitch and it was great to see Hannah Ward return to the fold against Bradford last weekend," said Sugarman.

"Earlier this season we came from two goals down to draw away to Albion, so there is absolutely no reason why we can't go one step better and turn that into a much-needed three points.

"We're mindful that it's Forest away the week after and the squad are well aware of the boost that a win will give us going into that."

There were significant wins for the junior sides, with Jack White's table-topping Under-16s winning 6-1 away to Sedgeley, while Paul Wigley's Under-14s maintained their unbeaten start with a 7-0 victory at Marston Green.

The limelight was stolen by the Under-15s who, under stand-in manager Dave Cholerton, were 14-0 winners over West Bridgford.

Off the field, the club are already planning for the 25-year anniversary in 2015 and Arsenal, who came to Derby as part of their Women's Super League preparation last season, will return on February 25.

LEE Grant says his spell on the sidelines has given him a renewed appreciation of his place in the Derby County side.

The Rams goalkeeper has just come back from a rare injury lay-off.

He missed seven games due to a sprained ankle he picked up in the win at Reading in mid-October.

Jack Butland was drafted in on loan from Stoke City as cover, while a frustrated Grant watched on.

He returned to action in last Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Leeds United and admitted: "It's been incredibly frustrating.

"I didn't enjoying watching the games from the sidelines, even though it was good to see the boys doing well.

"It's really nice to be back and it makes you realise how important it is to be out there every week and be part of it. That's what we live for, at the end of the day.

"We work hard during the week and it's always nice to have something to focus on at the end of it.

"Your mind plays tricks on you when that is not the case and it's a very difficult situation to be in.

"I certainly now have empathy for those guys who have missed long periods through injury and it makes me really appreciate the run I've had.

"I'll be looking to just enjoy being out there now I'm back."

Grant says it had been eight years since he last missed a game due to injury – and is hoping to embark on a similar stretch now he is fit again.

"I don't think I've missed a game through injury since my first spell at Derby," said the 31-year-old former Burnley and Sheffield Wednesday stopper.

"Back then, it was a shoulder operation when I was about 23 or 24.

"It's been a long time, so it was a bit strange for me to sit on the sidelines and have to watch.

"That's part and parcel of the game, though.

"I've had a really good run and, hopefully, it will be another eight years before I take a knock again and have to miss another game."

Grant was injured when Reading striker Pavel Pogrebnyak landed on him in the closing stages of Derby's 3-0 victory at the Madejski Stadium.

"Pogrebnyak fell on my leg and the weight of his body twisted my ankle and put a bit too much pressure on my lower leg," he recalled.

"It was just one of those things.

"I'm fine now, though. I tried to rush back for the Watford game but that came a bit too soon as it turned out."

Derby take on Brighton & Hove Albion at the iPro Stadium today.

"It will be nice to get back out there at the iPro," said Grant. "It's been a while."

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IT was another triumph for the Derby County Former Players' Association.

Wednesday evening's dinner at the iPro Stadium, when more than 220 people – ex-players, their guests and sponsors – sat down to a wonderful evening of chat and entertainment, brilliantly organised and hosted, as usual, by former Rams outside-left Nigel Cleevely.

I have to declare an interest here. Nigel has been a close mate for almost 50 years and I'm godfather to one of his sons.

But even if I'd never met him I'd still declare that he runs a superb show, even allowing for him causing some concern by promising us, via the souvenir menu card, that pudding was going to be chocolate and sable mouse. I've offered to proof read it for him next year.

Back in 1991, I was pleased to organise the first dinner for the former Rams and to help Tim Ward start the ex-players' association. I had a hand in the next two before stepping aside with the organisation now well established.

In those days, Ian Hall was the key figure before handing over to Barry Butlin. Now Nigel runs the show and, as Steve Nicholson reported in this newspaper, this year's event had all the usual ingredients with the association's merit award going, most deservedly, to Bobby Davison – a lovely man as well as being a striker who became a Baseball Ground favourite.

Looking back almost a quarter of a century, I suppose that reuniting the seven survivors of the 1946 FA Cup winning team was an obvious triumph. Alas, now there is only one: Reg Harrison.

But perhaps the highlight for me came in 1992, when I gathered together several members of the 1956-57 Third Division North championship team.

Terry Webster, Geoff Barrowcliffe, Frank Upton, Tommy Powell, Ray Straw, Dennis Woodhead, Ray Young and Reg Ryan, who skippered that side, came together for the first time in 35 years.

As Reg walked in, he stopped, looked at the others, beamed and exclaimed: "Ah! The North team."

On another occasion I persuaded Johnny Morris, a British record signing when he joined the Rams from Manchester United in 1949, to make the journey from Bury.

When I met him in the car park he told me he had a problem – he'd left his suit jacket on the back of a chair at home.

A quick call to the hotel manager soon saw him kitted out. It didn't quite match but genial Johnny felt more comfortable properly attired.

He was quite a character was Johnny Morris.

In March 1945, serving with the Royal Armoured Corps, he was one of the first Allied soldiers to cross the Rhine into Germany.

He was in Manchester United's team who won the FA Cup in 1948 and played for the Football League but Matt Busby admitted later that he could never work Morris out, so he let him go to the Rams.

Stuart McMillan, the Mickleover pub landlord who became the only man to manage a Rams FA Cup-winning side, obviously could because, shortly after arriving at the Baseball Ground, Morris was playing for England.

Alas, the player couldn't work out the manager and after yet another altercation, Morris said: "Tell you what – give me a transfer."

It was 1952. Morris went to Leicester City and the Rams went down into the Second Division. He died in April 2011 in a Manchester nursing home at the age of 87.

Of course, we've lost so many famous Rams names since that first dinner. Reg Harrison and Bert Mozley, both in their 90s, are probably the oldest survivors, both still full of sparkle, though.

The last time Bert was over from Canada we went out for a Chinese meal, at the end of which the restaurant manager said that our table had been the noisiest and that the drinks were on the house.

Great names, great times … roll on next time. 

WHEN was the last time you made a stress-free trip into Derby city centre? Can you remember the last time you wandered around the Market Place and had time to actually enjoy the hustle and bustle of city life? No, I couldn't either, writes Kerry Ganly.

But last weekend, I took a break from Christmas shopping and enjoyed a girly day out with my three-year-old daughter Grace, cousin Lydia, mum and auntie.

We had booked tickets for the ice rink, which is in the Market Place until January 5, and planned on having afternoon tea at Bennetts as a treat... providing our day wasn't cut short with an unplanned trip to the Royal DerbyHospital's x-ray department!

Tickets were booked online at www.derbylive.co.uk and collected from the ice rink's box office, which is opposite Ask Italian. They're reasonably priced. An adult ticket starts from just £6 with concessions from £4. Family tickets are also available at a discounted rate, while the rink is also available for hire for special occasions.

Lessons can be booked, too, but although it had been a while since I last skated, I used to skate regularly and was sure that I'd be like Jayne Torvill once I got out there.

Of course, I was nothing like the Olympic medallist when I finally did get on the ice – but then I did have the safety of a penguin-shaped aid to steady me (although this was supposed to be for Grace).

The aids are an extra charge. It's £4 for a penguin and an extra £1 for a banana – a plastic yellow, curved aid with enough room for two small bottoms to sit on and a useful handle to hold on to.

We collected our skates from the hire centre and booked a penguin aid for Grace, who was given skates which were attached to her normal boots, although junior boots do start from a size 8, so she could have had her own skates.

Thankfully, the hire centre is under cover with lots of seats so you don't have to change shoes in the middle of the Market Place.

The overhead loudspeaker told us it was time to hit the ice… although, in all the rush to get outside, the man next to me literally did hit the ice! Thankfully, St John's Ambulance are on hand to help soothe bumps and bruises.

The rink is small, which is why each session has to be pre-booked, to avoid over-crowding. But, you know what they say, all good things come in small packages and we found the rink just the right size, especially for little Grace and novice Lydia.

Also, if you're pushing one of the banana aids round the rink, you will be grateful that it isn't any bigger.

Each session lasts 50 minutes, which we found was ample time.

For complete novices, there are experts on the ice to help you stay on your feet. And don't forget to smile for the camera as you're whizzing round.

We swapped our penguin for a banana aid midway through the session and were glad that we did, as it meant that Grace and Lydia could be pushed round with relative ease. It also gave us adults a great work-out – a fab way to work off a few calories before tucking into a hot turkey cob in the café afterwards.

Our session was at lunch-time but the rink is open late, so you can enjoy skating under the twinkly Christmas lights.

There are also special events planned over the next few weeks; every Thursday there is a theme. On Thursday, December 11 from 5pm, the theme is Film Hits; come dressed as your favourite Disney character, superhero or Hollywood heart-throb.

The following Thursday promises to be a Christmas cracker, with all the cheesiest pop hits being played and skaters are invited to don their festive jumpers.

There is also family fun at the weekend with a live band and ice sculptures visiting next weekend, a giant snowman the following weekend and, on Saturday, December 20, real reindeer will pay the rink a visit before heading back to the North Pole in preparation for the big day.

After working up a sweat on the ice rink, we walked up Iron Gate to Bennetts for a bite to eat.

It has become something of a tradition in my family to pay Derby's oldest department store a visit over Christmas, if only to look at its magnificent tree.

However, it was lunchtime and we were hungry so, after browsing the various departments, we headed off towards the café for coffee and cake.

Tea at Bennetts really does have a grand feeling to it; you can treat yourselves to traditional afternoon tea with all the trimmings or choose from the extensive dessert menu. Light bites are served, too.

I went for a warming soup – tomato and basil according to the menu – but was disappointed when it arrived; it was potato and leek as the tomato had all gone. Still, this was only a minor gripe as the cake was delicious.

With full tums, we decided to do what we girls do best and hit the shops. The Cathedral Quarter was buzzing and the busker on St Peter's Street was doing a roaring trade – perhaps because he was playing hits from the Disney smash, Frozen. He impressed Grace enough to earn her £1 pocket money.

The Intu shopping centre was packed, too, with shoppers keen to snap up a bargain.

Intu staff are also hosting a number of festive events to keep little ones entertained over Christmas – and some of these events are free.

Santa will be in his grotto, which is outside Build-a-Bear, until Christmas Eve and you can even have breakfast with the big man. There is a charge for both these events but Grace was given an "elf yourself" make-over and it didn't cost a penny. One happy little girl = one happy mummy!

Stores are also open longer over the festive period for those last minute bargains. Visit www.intu.co.uk/derby for details.

It may have been the busiest shopping weekend before Christmas but our trip into Derby made me feel festive and not frazzled.