SUPPORTERS at Trent Bridge have been asked to dig deep to help find a cure for motor neurone disease in memory of the step-mother of England and Nottinghamshire star Stuart Broad.

A stall, pictured, was set up at the ground yesterday for the second Broad Appeal Day.

Fans could buy polo shirts and small cricket bats with the Broad Appeal logo on. They could also enter a draw to win a shirt signed by Broad himself.

The charity was set up in memory of Miche Broad, who took her life after being struck down with motor neurone disease, which left her a prisoner in her own body.

Last year's Ashes Test at Trent Bridge saw the first Broad Appeal Day. Chris Broad, Stuart's dad and Miche's husband, thanked Trent Bridge for its support. "We are very pleased with how it has gone," said the former Nottinghamshire and England batsman.

BARELY a couple of miles from Trent Bridge, fans have been cheering India and England on in the Old Market Square.

The Nottingham Riviera bar has opened two weeks early – and is showing the Test match action on a large TV screen.

It has given those not lucky enough to have tickets the opportunity to see the game while sitting out in the open air.

And hundreds have already taken that chance, with Nick Chambers among them.

The 42-year-old, of Hucknall, said the outdoor bar was an ideal way to watch cricket.

"I think it is a great idea," he said. "It is not like actually being at the ground, you can't replace that, but it is good to be able to watch it, even if it is just to have one pint while you are waiting for a friend."

The bar will remain open until the beach and other attractions are added to it in the coming days, ahead of the school summer holidays.

Jim Dowling, 33, will not be here when that happens but he has been making the most of the bar.

He is over from Ireland for the game and has been spending the days he does not have tickets for watching the match in the square.

He said: "I had heard that they were doing this, so I came down to see what it is like. It is good to be able to come to an outdoor area and watch the cricket with other people."

It is not just the cricket that people have been watching at the bar, with the World Cup semi-final between Argentina and Holland also attracting a crowd on Wednesday night.

Bar manager Lee Harmston said: "This is a new idea and we are seeing how it goes but the response has been promising so far.

"Some people have watched the live cricket, some have been watching the highlights which are shown later in the day."

BUSINESSES are set to be offered advice to help their employees travel to work by bike.

Nottingham City Council has been given £1.18 million from the Government's local sustainable transport fund, to boost rates of bike-riding in the city.

The cash could also be used to create new cycle lanes and promote environmentally-friendly transport. Money from the fund in previous years has been used to introduce the city's Cycle Hire scheme and install 20mph speed limits.

City councillor Jane Urquhart said: "We already have an excellent reputation for providing sustainable travel solutions in Nottingham and this new funding will help us to provide further improvements and promote cycle, pedestrian and bus facilities across the city, making it easier for local people to travel to access employment and training."

NOTTINGHAM Prison is "at breaking point" due to staff cuts, it is claimed, after a damning report.

The report released yesterday by the Independent Monitoring Board says changes in operations, due to a lack of funding, are "unsustainable" and will lead to "more prisoner disruption and a further reduction in already low staff morale".

According to the report, over the past year the prison has:

Stopped prisoners having showers.

Cancelled work experience and education due to wing "lock-downs".

Contaminated Muslim inmates' food with non-Halal and pork meat.

Put prisoners with serious mental health problems in unsuitable cells

Housed prisoners on remand with category B offenders

Seen two-thirds of staff in one wing taking sick leave due to pressure.

It blames the mistakes on recent cuts in funding for the prison in Perry Road, in Sherwood, which was reduced by £5m – or 25% – in 2013, leading to the loss of 140 prison officers. Yet, in the same period, the capacity of the prison rose by 40 to 1,100.

The report says: "Staff have been clearly challenged by what is expected of them and prison management have directed a great deal of time to addressing day-by-day difficulties."

Other problems included prisoners with religious beliefs being stopped from observing prayer times and those with medical problems being unable to get their medication because they could not leave their cells to see a doctor during lock-downs..

The cut in the budget has also led to increasing problems with food.

The money per head for meals stands at £1.93, and even with a proposed rise to £2.03, the figure remains lower than it was in 2010 – leading to poor quality, along with simple, healthy foods like fruit being deemed "luxury items".

The report coincided with a statement from the Howard League for Penal Reform, which showed job cuts at HMP Nottingham amounted to a 31 per cent reduction since 2010, during a time where there was a "deepening prison overcrowding crisis" and "an alarming rise" in suicides of people in custody.

The charity warns that suicides, assaults and riots will become increasingly common unless action is taken to increase officer numbers and reduce prisoners.

Director of campaigns Andrew Neilson said: "This terrible report supports our research into the disastrous impact of overcrowding and under-staffing in prisons.

"Nottingham is now a prison where the people it holds cannot shower, take medication, work, learn, visit the gym, attend a library or eat any fruit.

"Squeezing ever more people into under-resourced and overcrowded prisons is a grave misuse of public money which will only lead to more crime and more victims."

The Post contacted both the Ministry of Justice, and Rushcliffe MP and former Justice Secretary Ken Clarke for comment but received no response.

FOPP will leave its store in Queen Street, Nottingham, a week on Monday, it has been confirmed.

A barbecue restaurant is set to move into the shop's premises and Fopp's owner, HMV, has confirmed that it is looking for a new city centre site.

Customers have launched an online campaign in support of the chain.

The teenager behind the initiative is New College Nottingham student Hector Lester-George, 17. He said: "When Fopp close up their Queen Street shop for the last time on July 21, it will be a very sad day. But we've known this was coming for a while now, and the push to find them a new shop is where the focus must remain.

"Their old shop will be missed, but a day where we face having no Fopp at all would be far worse.

"Our Twitter campaign continues, and we plan to keep making noise until the day of closing day and beyond if we have to.

"We're hoping with everyone's continued support we can bring about some good news very soon."

An application has been submitted to Nottingham City Council to give the premises an alcohol licence.

The application suggests the store will become a restaurant called Red's True Barbecue.

The company already runs three other restaurants across the UK – one in Manchester and two in Leeds.

MATERNITY units at two Nottingham hospitals closed 97 times in the past year, figures revealed.

On eight of those occasions, the maternity units at Nottingham City Hospital, pictured, and the Queen's Medical Centre were closed at the same time, leaving women to travel to another hospital or have a home birth.

Reasons for closure include lack of staff and beds and the closures ranged from 20 minutes to 26 hours.

Helen Jones, who gave birth three weeks ago at Nottingham City Hospital, said the figures were "quite shocking".

The 34-year-old, of Lowdham, said: "It would be scary because you need to know what is going to happen. It can add to anxiety."

The closures by Nottingham University Hospitals Trust were revealed after a Freedom of Information request by the BBC. Figures show that QMC closed 48 times and the City Hospital 49.

Mother-of-two Kymm Stroud, whose youngest is two years old, said she could imagine getting turned away would be "distressful". The 36-year-old, of Calverton, said: "I have been lucky because both times I have been able to get into City Hospital straight away.

''If they don't have the staff, then it's tricky and almost becomes dangerous. But on the other side, if you are in that situation, it is the last thing you want to do, fret about where you are going to have your baby."

Around 10,000 babies are born every year at the two hospitals. At the City there are 54 inpatient beds, and 17 beds on the labour suite. The QMC has 46 inpatient beds, plus 18 on the labour suite.

Jenny Leggott, director of nursing and midwifery, said patients would never be turned away on the door. When the units were closed, patients who lived closer to Derby, Leicester or King's Mill Hospital, in Sutton-in-Ashfield, would be given the option of going there. Some women who did not want to travel to another hospital chose to have a home birth.

She said: "The decision to close one or both of our services is never taken lightly and is always done with the safety of women and babies at the forefront of our minds."

NOTTS County fan Paul Smith fondly remembers the day he met his boyhood hero Charlie Palmer – but he never imaged he would be reunited with the former Magpies star on his wedding day.

The ex-player surprised the 27-year-old from Clifton when he attended his ceremony on June 21.

"Sir" Charlie – given an honorary knighthood by Magpies fans for a great winning goal against Nottingham Forest – helped recreate the moment he first met the then three-year-old by holding him in his arms at the reception in Tring, Hertfordshire.

Luckily, the groom weighs 9st 9lb – compared to the 30lb he was when he last met his hero – at a club open day – so he was not too much of a load for Charlie to lift.

"I couldn't believe it and I had no clue that it was going to happen," said Paul. "It was unforgettable and there is no question it was the best day of my life. He is a hero of my family and we all enjoyed it. When I turned around and saw him with a massive stadium cake, I couldn't believe it.

"Seeing him rounded off the perfect day. He stayed for several hours chatting to people. We had a table named after him and I think he was very humbled by it."

Paul's bride Pippa organised the surprise as part of his present for his birthday, the day after the wedding.

The 27-year-old said: "I thought, 'wouldn't it be great to get him to come on our wedding day?' and it was. Charlie and his wife were absolutely amazing. None of Paul's family, who are massive Notts fans, knew about it. It was a present for them as well as Paul.

"I found it very hard not telling anyone, but I managed it. Just. There was not a dry eye in the house. My family and guests loved it, despite not being Notts fans. Even our band and DJ were choked up."

Tables were named after Notts County legends from Don Masson and Tommy Johnson to Lee Hughes, current manager Shaun Derry and, for the top table, Jimmy Sirrel. The groomsmen wore Notts socks, pin badges and cufflinks and there was a Magpies cake topper. The programme of the day was in the form of a match-day programme.

Paul first met Charlie in 1990 at club open day before the season started.

Charlie, who scored an iconic winning goal against Forest in 1994, travelled from his home in Derby and signed a shirt from his playing days, presented the family with a picture of him playing at Wembley for Notts and told stories about his career.

Notts County's multimedia editor Dane Vincent helped arrange the surprise. He said: "Paul's wife got in touch about the surprise and it was a pleasure to help out. Pippa and his best man did most of the work and I supplied the contacts."

BRAVE schoolboy Harvey Woodward is preparing to take to the stage as a ballet dancer after beating two life-threatening illnesses.

The real-life Billy Elliott was diagnosed with both cancer and kidney disease before his fifth birthday – and asked for his first pair of tap shoes just before he went into surgery.

During his gruelling chemotherapy treatment, Harvey watched shows like Strictly Come Dancing on TV.

Then as soon as he was well enough, parents Trevor Woodward, 54, and Lisa Loy, 45, enrolled him for lessons.

Now aged nine, Harvey is in remission and will be starring in the upcoming English Youth Ballet's production of The Nutcracker at Nottingham's Theatre Royal.

He said: "I am hoping to be a dancer forever. I am really enjoying the rehearsals at the moment but ballet teachers are tough."

Scans had shown that Harvey was unwell in the womb and, just days after he was born, he was diagnosed with multi-cystic dysplastic disease, which meant that soon after his first birthday, he had a large part of one kidney removed to prevent renal failure.

He recovered well but then, three years later, his parents found a walnut-sized lump on the toddler's neck.

Mr Woodward, of Newark, said: "It was like lightning had struck twice – it was a huge blow."

Harvey was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma – a rare form of cancer – which meant a round of chemotherapy that saw him lose all his hair and left him too weak to walk.

His dad said: "We often look back and think about the times Harvey was in a wheelchair or in hospital, and we see him now and think about how far he has come."

CUSTOMERS can't get enough of the fresh fruit and vegetables at the first greengrocers' shop in Cotgrave for 20 years.

Since opening, Healthy Living, in The Precinct, has been doing a roaring trade.

The two men behind the business have more than 60 years' experience between them in markets and fresh produce.

John Branson was market events organiser in Melton for 20 years before retiring at Christmas while business partner Ivan Koral has been a greengrocer for 40 years.

"Our slogan is quality, price and service," says John.

"It's going exceptionally well as there has been nothing like this in Cotgrave for years.

"It's all fresh produce, top class service and prices are on a par with supermarkets and even better."

It means an early start for Ivan, who used to run the Fruit Basket in West Bridgford and Andre's in Beeston.

He's down at Nottingham wholesale market, Monday to Saturday, at 4am most mornings.

"We've not looked back since opening. We are being supported by the village and people in Bottesford, Radcliffe-on-Trent and Bingham. We've a good customer base.

"These kind of shops are gradually creeping back," says Ivan, whose Beeston business has since been demolished to make way for the tram.

The traders put their success down to the freshness of the competitively-priced produce.

Ivan says: "It's probably only been in the ground a day or two before."

Healthy Living, a self-service shop, stocks around 80 different lines.

There's new season peas in the pod. The several varieties of potatoes include Lincolnshire potatoes and Maris Bard new potatoes grown by a farmer in Woodborough.

The broccoli, carrots, leeks, cauliflower and courgettes are all from English soil. And 99 per cent of the salad vegetables are too.

"We've English strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and cherries," says Ivan.

Inevitably some of the produce has to come from abroad. Apples, pears, bananas, melons and peaches arrive by plane but soon crops of English-grown Discovery apples will be abundant.

The new arrival of a chiller cabinet will allow them to sell Colwick cheese from the Vale of Belvoir, corn on the cob, fresh herbs and bags of salad.

In a return to old-fashioned values, there's always time for a natter about football and the weather.

"Because it's a village you know the people who come in. It's not like you're on a high street and they're just passing by. We see our customers daily so we get a good rapport with them," says Ivan.

"I don't believe in a person that's gone around the shop, come to the till and you don't talk to them. If they're prepared to spend their money, you should be prepared to spend the time of day."

The business also offers a free delivery service for Cotgrave customers who can't make it into the shop and residents in surrounding areas if they spend a minimum of £10.

The men, who met at the races four years ago and became friends, set up shop in a former video store that had stood empty for six years and at Christmas was transformed into a Santa's grotto.

Nick Berry, a property estates surveyor at Rushcliffe Borough Council, helped throughout the negotiations.

"We were helped tremendously and were offered a decent rent to kick-off with," says Ivan, whose brother Andre is a greengrocer in Long Eaton and his nephew Aaron runs Aaron's Orchard in Carlton.

With 400 new homes being built at the former pit site and a planned redevelopment of The Precinct, there's even greater potential for trade in the future.

The borough council bought The Precinct two years ago as part of its wider plans to improve Cotgrave town centre

Councillor John Cranswick, deputy leader and board member for Cotgrave, says: " Whilst we are working on these plans, and getting finances and agreements from partners in place, we were very keen to ensure that the town centre shops remain vibrant. We were able to offer flexible lease terms and this suited the greengrocers. We are delighted the greengrocers has become so successful and they add to the great range of shops in Cotgrave.

"Throughout the borough, we are keen to work with all sizes of businesses, whether that be with funding advice, licensing and planning, through our portfolio of commercial lettings, or the wide range of networking opportunities available for small businesses. If businesses need help, we suggest they get in touch and we'll do our best to assist."

CAITLIN Moran can talk for Britain. No sooner has the first question been posed, she's off – expletives at every turn, striding out in the upbeat, confident, self-assured manner of a writer who has won a clutch of awards and been a hugely successful columnist since the age of 18.

There's still a twang of Wolverhampton in the voice – she grew up on a council estate there – but the emphasis, intonation and the clever use of words are the Moran she is today, bestselling author, broadcaster, Times columnist, wife and mother-of-two, feminist and social commentator.

Three years ago, she wrote her humorous memoir and feminist polemic How To Be A Woman, of which she expected to sell a reasonable 60,000 copies and be reviewed in the Guardian. It actually sold 400,000, has been translated into 25 languages and won Galaxy Book of the Year in 2011. It's also being turned into a film.

"We are still writing the script at the moment. I'd cast Dustin Hoffman as me," says Moran wryly. "Most of the problems with being a modern woman are that we are drag queens, with the make-up, the hair, the fretting.

"In Tootsie, Dustin goes through the process of basically becoming a drag queen so brilliantly. He's an amazing actor. Even when he turns 80, he could play the 16-year-old me."

She's currently on her How To Build A Girl stand-up UK tour - her Nottingham Playhouse date has sold out - talking about men, women, Sherlock, David Bowie, big hair, feminism and welfare, reading excerpts from her books, which she hopes will make people laugh.

Some of the material is taken from her debut novel of the same title, the first of a trilogy, a coming-of-age tale set in the Nineties about fat, loud-mouthed 14-year-old Johanna Morrigan, who lives on a Wolverhampton council estate with her four siblings, permanently exhausted mother and rock musician father, who is still chasing stardom.

Johanna soon reinvents herself to become Dolly Wilde, an edgy music journalist hanging out at cool gigs, falling in love with a rock star – and coming a bit unstuck along the way.

There's a lot of swearing and a lot of sex in this novel, as the teenager's first sexual awakenings are explored in graphic detail in a painfully honest but hilarious way. Moran's take on it was partly in response to the EL James blockbuster Fifty Shades Of Grey.

"When Fifty Shades Of Grey came out, it sparked a global debate about female sexuality. Reading about it, I thought, 'Hey, this book's going to be great. It's going to be a dirty book about what ladies like to do in bed'.

"Then I started reading it and realised [it's about] if this rich and powerful man repeatedly [gets to] spank his virgin's genitals with a hairbrush, then he'll give her an iPad.

"That's not what female sexuality is about. What a weird dynamic this is, that this guy is rich and powerful and she's a virgin and she's not interested in this kind of sex but he basically bribes her into it.

"I wanted to write about teenage sexuality, you know, the idea of being a bit 'slaggy' and going off and being a lady sex pirate and having some fun, not waiting for a millionaire to knock on your door and say, 'Come in my helicopter and I'll make you do rude things'."

Moran, 39, wasn't a total lady sex pirate in her younger days. She had met her husband, Times rock critic Peter Paphides, by the age of 19 (they married when she was 24).

Brought up in a family who relied on benefits, Moran, the eldest of eight children, was home-schooled from the age of 11, although she has said that she didn't learn much there. But she always had dreams of better things.

"I thought everybody I knew would end up being famous and that we'd all be on TV. I was watching Victoria Wood on television and I'd think, 'I can do that, I can write funny songs and tell funny stories', and I genuinely thought the BBC would come and find me."

At 13, she applied for the job of managing director of Comic Relief. Lenny Henry, who is from Dudley, sent her a letter back saying, "You wouldn't want to be MD of Comic Relief, it's really boring, but I'm sure you will fly like a comet through British society" – and that blew my mind.

"I became a massive pest for the next few years, sending letters to famous people trying to be funny and make them be my friend. In the end, I realised that writing letters to Clive Anderson wasn't going to get me a career and that I needed to write a book instead. So I started writing properly."

At 15, she was named the Observer's Young Reporter of the Year and at 16 was working for Melody Maker and had written her first book, The Chronicles Of Narmo.

"Now I don't worry about my own kids and their education at all, because I know that I didn't do anything apart from sit around watching musicals and eating huge amounts of cheese – and it's worked out all right. Some of my brothers and sisters couldn't read and write at the age of 12, but a few years later they'd done their A-levels early and were going off to Cambridge.

"It's very reassuring for me as a parent to know that your kids can do nothing for years, apart from climb trees and watch telly, and suddenly, when they get the urge to become curious about the world and educate themselves, they'll go off and do it."

Moran's two daughters, Dora, 13, and Eavie, 11, don't go to state school – she says she couldn't get them into one where they live in North London – but instead attend a school which she describes as a "hippy parents' collective, where they spend all their time climbing trees".

"The reason most people send their children to a private school is to get them an advantage, to hang out with a clique and become the elite. That idea wholly repulses me."

At 18, Moran became a columnist for the Times.

"I was scared, I thought, 'How can I do this?', but then I just pretended to be Courtney Love, pretended to be someone confident. That's the advice I'd give to any unconfident person out there. If you're standing there going, 'I can't do this', just pretend to be someone who can. Fake it till you make it."

She met her husband when they both worked at Melody Maker. She missed her train home and he asked if she wanted to sleep at his house.

"As he's a very blinky, bespectacled boy who wears cardigans, he wanted to make it very clear that he was not going to try to sexually assault me, and that he was literally being a friend.

"I don't think anyone would have put their money on this gobby red-haired goth from Wolvo getting it on with the boy who was just wearing lovely colourful cardigans and writing about reggae, but we really liked each other straight away. I still get excited when he walks in the room."

She'll soon start work on the second novel in the trilogy, How To Be Famous, and the third, How To Change The World, following the same characters over two decades, dealing with fame and politics respectively.

So, what does she think she's brought to the table as a feminist? "An endearing and cheerful simplicity to the whole thing," she asserts. "All feminism means is women being equal to men. The rest of it is down to you to make it up.

"Feminism shouldn't be a set of rules, it should be a set of tools."

How To Build A Girl by Caitlin Moran is published by Ebury, priced £14.99. Available now.

Tickets for Caitlin's date at Nottingham Playhouse on Monday are sold out. Returns only on 0115 941 9419.

IT was the breakdown of their parents' marriage that was the catalyst for the three Grant sisters to go into showbusiness.

So says Rebecca, 32, the youngest of the three.

"They split up when I was one. My mum had a choice of either being really upset about it or investing that energy into the arts.

"She'd take us to the Morrison School of Dance in Hyson Green and I think that was very fulfilling for her. She also became involved with costume making for the school, which she still does now."

Model and actress Rachel, who starred alongside Pierce Brosnan as a Bond Girl in Die Another Day, now lives in New York, while eldest sister Angela runs a dance school in London.

Rebecca now lives in North London with husband Ivan Pierson, who works in publishing. Their wedding in 2009 was covered by OK! Magazine.

"We got married in a place called Ham, which is near Sandwich, would you believe," she laughs.

The Morrison School of Dance was the beginning of Rebecca's life on stage and screen, that over the past 30 years has included Andrew Lloyd Webber's West End show Bollywood Dreams, a play with Christian Slater, a role alongside Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman in the film The Other Boleyn Girl, plus TV roles in Emmerdale, Prisoners' Wives and Holby City.

"I think my dancing lessons at the Morrison School of Dancing were so magical, it was like stepping into a fairytale book. That's where I started.

"And I don't think I've ever properly left; I always pop in to see Miss Morrison and her pupils. She was such an inspirational teacher and she brought out a feeling and passion for dance."

Mum is Isabel Grant, who still lives in Mapperley where the sisters grew up. She moved from the Philippines in her early 20s.

"Mum was in labour for 24 hours with me," grimaces Rebecca, who plans to have children in the next few years.

"She says that whenever I heard music I used to dance in my cot. Well, not dance, more like wriggle."

Dad, who she has remained close to despite the separation, is a GP. And it is through his family that Rebecca has a connection to the future king.

"It's true – we are the fourth cousins of William and Harry. We always knew about it growing up because my dad used to talk about it.

"My grandfather's mother was Ernestine Bowes Lyon, the first cousin of the Queen Mother. I was very intrigued with the story of how she met my great-grandfather.

"She was already married and had two sons in Scotland until she fell in love with my grandfather [Ronald Grant, Baron de Longueuil] and eloped with him. She shot herself in the heart and recovered and lived until she was 96."

The Grant sisters went to Hollygirt, the independent girls' school, where she picked up ten GCSEs, including four A*s.

Rebecca then studied performing arts at Clarendon College.

"I'd heard that Samantha Morton had gone there and I really admired her. I loved the two years I was there.

"At the same time I was in shows at the Co-op Arts Theatre, which I'd been doing for years as a dancer and actor.

"And I was in a play at the Playhouse with Helena Bonham-Carter when I was 11.

"I thought she was very beautiful. She had this bed backstage which she used to lay on and look at the ceiling. I found that intriguing. She's beautifully eccentric and is one of my idols.

"After Clarendon College I wanted to go to Rada but couldn't really afford it.

"I was doing a lot of dancing jobs, and eventually got a role as a flamenco dancer in Carmen at the Royal Albert Hall.

"I did a few short films, including one in the Philippines which I won an award for. It was English-speaking but I had to do a Filipino accent," she says, adding that it is something she can do quite easily as her mum's partner is Filipino, so it's the language she hears when she's visiting them in Nottingham.

Her break came after numerous auditions for West End shows, when she landed a role in the musical Bombay Dreams as one of the principal dancers.

"I had the ambition to appear in the West End before I was 20. I was 19.

"We did a lot of TV shows, including the Royal Variety Show, The Generation Game and Michael Barrymore's My Kind Of People."

In her second year with the Lloyd Webber musical, Rebecca got a bigger part, found herself an agent, then ended up starring alongside Christian Slater in the play One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

"He was really lovely. I seriously can't fault him. I played a nurse; a Filipino nurse."

The theme continued for the role she is most recognised for – Filipino nurse Daisha Anderson in Holby City.

"On the first day I snogged a patient," she laughs. "I got pregnant, was going to have an abortion, then I didn't, I gave birth in a lift, was going to give the baby up for adoption, then I didn't... then I got shot.

"It was lots of fun. Robert Powell is still a friend, Patsy Kensit was so sweet and funny and Adrian Edmondson really made me laugh."

She was in Holby City for two years, after which, and in between stage shows, Rebecca reappeared on TV in Emmerdale and Prisoners' Wives. Her biggest film role was in The Other Boleyn Girl with Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and Eric Bana.

"I was playing a dancer, and you see me quite a bit," she says.

Rebecca is currently appearing in Around The World In 80 Days, which has just transferred from the New Vic in Stoke-on-Trent to Manchester's Royal Exchange.

"I play an Indian princess who gets rescued by Phileas Fogg. And we've been getting some great reviews so hopefully it will continue around the country."

For more about Rebecca visit her website rebeccagrant.co.uk.

SIMON Cox and Ben Osborn both netted twice as Nottingham Forest got Stuart Pearce's tenure off to a winning start at Ilkeston.

The new manager was given a warm reception at the New Manor Ground from a crowd of 3,020 people that included a large number of Reds fans.

And he will have been encouraged by what he saw on the pitch, with Forest eventually overcoming an Ilkeston side who had given them more than a few moments of concern, with a 4-0 win.

The goals all came in the final 15 minutes, as Ilkeston's resolve was finally broken by Forest, who had fielded two almost entirely different sides in either half.

The day did not start well for Forest, with trialist Mikele Leigertwood, who is a free agent after leaving Reading, injured in the pre-match warm up.

The midfielder was one of a handful of players who were set to play the full game – but appeared to tweak something while warming up, leading to him being replaced in the side by the more familiar figure of Jack Blake.

The intent for Forest was clearly just to get some minutes under the belts of their players, as they fielded a number of players out of their regular position, although that was also motivated by a large number of defensive injuries.

Danny Collins and Louis Laing were partnered in the centre of defence, with Stephen McLaughlin and Jamie Mackie at full back.

Youngster Jorge Grant was on the left side of midfield, with Jamie Paterson patrolling down the right, either side of Henri Lansbury and Blake.

Up front, there was a chance for the large number of Forest fans at the game to get a look at the son of Stuart Pearce's former team mate Des Walker, in the form of striker Tyler Walker.

It was Matty Fryatt, playing for the first time in a Forest shirt following his summer move from Hull, who looked the most lively figure, however.

He had three shots charged down by the Ilkeston defence, as he demonstrated an early enthusiasm to pull the trigger, before finally forcing a strong save from Jordan Smith with a powerful effort fired across the face of goal.

Lansbury then almost scored in an unorthodox fashion, with a curling corner that bounced away off the bar. A few minutes later, the former Arsenal man came close again, this time with a powerful drive that rose narrowly over the bar.

Blake then made good progress towards the edge of the box after exchanging a series of passes, but could not find a finish of the same quality, as he bent a shot high over the bar.

Paterson, having switched over to the left side, showed quick feet to carve out a half chance for Fryatt, but the striker again saw his effort blocked solidly.

Walker showed impressive composure to fake a shot before cutting a cross back for Fryatt, but defender Joe Maguire made a vital clearance for the home side, just when it seemed Forest might make the breakthrough before half time.

It was Ilkeston who almost took the lead when Eli Bako broke quickly down the right, his pace allowed him to get half a yard on Collins a drive a shot to the near post, where Karl Darlow got down well to save – before then punching the resulting corner powerfully clear.

Courey Graham then also found a gap in the Forest defence, darting down the centre of the pitch, only to be denied as Darlow made himself impressively big, after racing off his line swiftly to block just inside the box.

Fryatt responded at the other end as his first touch, following a ball from Paterson, saw him find the room to shoot, only for Jack Lane to make a fine sliding challenge and take the pace out of his strike entirely.

The second half saw Forest make ten changes, with Laing the only player to run out again after the interval, he was partnered in central defence by a trialist, 20-year-old Amadou Haidara, who played for FC Nantes in France last season.

Greg Halford slotted in at right back and Danny Fox on the left side of defence. Radi Majewski and David Vaughan were in the centre of midfield, with Andy Reid in a roaming role and Ben Osborn pushed out to the left side.

Simon Cox and new signing Lars Veldwijk were partnered in attack – but it was Ilkeston who again demonstrated their threat.

Laurie Wilson forced an alert save from Dorus de Vries, who palmed his rasping drive over the top of goal, while, from the resulting corner, Joe Maguire planted a looping header against the bar.

David Morgan then hit a fierce free kick which de Vries made look an easier save than it was, plucking the ball out the air under his bar as it threatened to bend into the corner.

Forest were finding chances hard to come by in the second half, with the new look side not quite as fluid as the first half line up. Reid had half an opening following good work from Majewski, but failed to make proper contact with an effort that flew well wide.

McLaughlin was brought back on, for Laing, giving Halford chance to play in his preferred position in the centre of defence.

But it was Veldwijk who saw his influence growing, as he twice came close to scoring. He hit a shot on the turn that, following a deflection, dropped just wide of the post.

While the Dutch striker came even closer with a forceful header that looked bound for the net, before Smith made a truly outstanding save, to somehow claw the ball away when it had seemed to be beyond his reach.

Haidara made an important challenge to deny Ilkeston a chance as they threatened on the break again.

But, when Cox suddenly escaped the attentions of the Ilkeston defence with a well timed run, he came close to breaking the deadlock with an instant low shot that the keeper blocked well.

It proved to be a warning to the Ilkeston defence, who finally had their resolve broken in the 76^th minute, when a precise cross from Fox picked out Cox for a second time, with the striker this time forcing home a header at the near post.

It was not long before the Reds finished the game off, with a flurry of two further goals in quick succession.

Forest made it 2-0 in the 80^th minute when Osborn providing a composed finish, slotting home with a side-footed shot, following a low pass from Majewski.

The third came just two minutes later, when Cox applied a cheeky, clever finish, lifting a chip over the advancing keeper and into the back of the net.

And Osborn finished off the scoring in the final minute, forcing the ball home from six yards, this time applying a header to Veldwijk's cross.

Ilkeston: Smith, Shaw, Reid, Wright, Maguire, Lane, Morgan, Wilson, Grantham, Adams, Bako. Subs: Burrows, Baker, Storey, Gordon, Chettle, Atkins, Richards, Collingham, Hopkinson, Seymour, Cahill, Hodgett-Young, Graham.

Forest (first half): Darlow, Collins, Blake, Fryatt, Paterson, Lansbury, Mackie, McLaughlin, Grant, Walker, Laing. Subs: Haidara, Blake.

Forest (second half): De Vries, Fox, Vaughan, Haidara, Majewski, Reid, Veldwijk, Halford, Cox, Osborn, Laing (McLaughlin 65).

WHILE the Bridge Sandwich Bar caters for passers-by at the western end of Victoria Embankment, Riverbank's pitch at the eastern end makes it a natural destination for a quick lunch during the 1st Test at Trent Bridge, or perhaps a scoop of ale at the end of play.

Known to oldies as the Town Arms, Riverbank is just the length of Trent Bridge away from the cricket ground and lies adjacent to the Embankment lawns.

Quite how the premises struggled for so long on a prime money-making site remains one of the great mysteries in the history of Nottingham catering.

However, the Perkins brothers have put that right, bringing the experience of running Trentside restaurants Tom Brown's at Gunthorpe and the Farndon Boathouse, near Newark.

It helps to have head chef Mark Osborne (pictured) on the team. He has kept menus imaginative and in my experience a meal at Riverbank has always been value for money.

On my last visit I parked a Colston Bassett Stilton parfait, then a pork chop with creamed spuds and baby vegetables, and finally a fig and almond tart. The service was acceptable.

By the way, as the Town Arms the premises has an interesting history as a no-nonsense boozer.

In the restricted-hours era, if you were lucky enough to find a pub in West Bridgford when that town was in the grip of Methodism, it would have closed at 10.30pm. If you wanted another drink you had to dash into the city of Nottingham, where the towels went up at 11pm.

For those sprinting north over Trent Bridge at 10.35pm, the Town Arms, as the first pub in Nottingham, offered immediate satisfaction and time for a couple of nightcaps.

Streets filled with balloons and echoing with music - the mood of this year's Beeston Carnival shone from every corner of the town at the weekend.

The carnival, which is in its 9th year, saw crowds lining up from 10am to soak up the atmosphere.

Across the day, hundreds of families and local people arrived to join in the celebrations in the Town Square, High Street, and Broadgate Park.

Cheers rang out too for its midday annual parade, with the carnival prince and princess waving to their adoring fans. Beeston mum Rachel Emmett came down in the morning to see her daughter Laura, 13, play with the Nottingham Youth Band in the square.

Mrs Emmet, 46, said the carnival was an event that reflected the spirit of people in Beeston.

She said: "The weather has been amazing, the music is really great, it's been such a great way to start our morning.

"The whole thing has got such a nice community feel - despite the fact Beeston still looks a bit like a construction everyone has still got together to join in." Businesses in the town got in full swing as well, like at Treetops Hospice shop in Villa Street where staff dressed up in flapper dressers and vintage suits to kick-start the party. Manager Debbie Flinders said: "The carnival just shows what a wonderful place Beeston is to be.

"Everyone gets together and they all do their own little part."

Lynda Lally, who has organised the carnival alongside husband Pat, said the turn-out was a testament to Beeston's unrivalled community spirit.

She said: "I think it's been extremely important that we carried on this year through the stress and strains of the tram works.

"It has been terrific over the last few years - because we're a university town there's a lot of people who come and go but the people who have lived here all their lives are very proud of their town.

"When we come to the end of the tram works it will be ten years of us going so hopefully we'll get to do something a bit different."

CHILDREN in West Bridgford were encouraged to get their noses into a good book over the holidays at the launch of this year's Summer Reading Challenge.

Now in its 15th year, the nation-wide event is organised by The Reading Agency and is designed to ignite children's enthusiasm for reading - especially during the long summer holidays when reading levels can 'dip' outside of the classroom.

Celebrated children's author Guy Bass visited the West Bridgford Library on Saturday to kick start the campaign and set children a challenge of reading six books over their summer break.

Mr Bass said: "When I was a kid, I only remember one trip to the library with school and I was told I couldn't read the books that I wanted as they were too old for me. There was no encouragement, bar from my mum at home.

"This event is just such a celebration of reading, with zero pressure on kids; just rewarding them for picking up a book. I think it is a great idea and I'm really happy to be involved."

Children were lining up to hear Mr Bass read from the next book in his The Legend of Frog series and excited about taking on the challenge.

Sam Small, 7, of West Bridgford, said: "I really love reading. I like books like the first Harry Potter and Roald Dahl, and I am reading one my mum read when she was a little girl, the Famous Five.

"I like fact books too and I am going to read lots over the summer."

Other events took place across Nottingham's libraries to mark the start of summer challenge, including at Nottingham Castle where Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham took the rare chance of being on the same side, encouraging children to take part.

Councillor Dave Trimble, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture at Nottingham City Council, said: "Some parents and carers find it difficult to keep children entertained over the long summer holidays, especially when the British weather is so unpredictable.

"The partnership between the Reading Agency and local libraries is an opportunity to inspire and stimulate children's love of books, whilst keeping them occupied all summer long without impacting on the family purse."

And Local MP Graham Allen also supported the campaign, hoping to up the participants from last year's impressive number.

"Last year 4,160 children in Nottingham took part in the Challenge," he said.

"I hope we can increase that number this year and show local libraries what a valuable asset they are to us and our community."

To sign up for free to the Summer Reading Challenge, children just need to visit their local library. When they complete the challenge, children are given a medal and certificate to celebrate their achievements.

For a full list of libraries in Nottingham visit http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/learning/libraries/find-a-library/.  

THE porky aroma of bangers on the griddle has commuters and factory workers scurrying to the curious red-brick building on the city end of Wilford Bridge.

It was here that Victorian coachmen once slipped the attendant six old pennies for the privilege of taking a horse-drawn barouche over the new toll bridge spanning the Trent.

After crossing the river, the carriage might have been cantered through Wilford and up Clifton Grove to Clifton Hall, the mansion of the magnate who commissioned the bridge.

He was Sir Robert Juckes Clifton, 9th Baronet, Etonian and MP for Nottingham.

Times change. Majestic Clifton Hall is now a pair of semis. The bridge overlooked by the statue of Sir Robert is being adapted for the barouche of the 21st Century – the tram.

And the tollhouse is now the Bridge Sandwich Bar where tenants Mick and Angela Roebuck feed leisure-seekers, office and factory workers, tram builders and the walking or cycling commuters from Clifton and Wilford who cross the bridge on their way to work in the city.

It's one of the catering industry bookends of the lawns between the toll bridge and Trent Bridge, the other being The Riverbank Restaurant and Bar on London Road.

"I took over the place in 1999 as a newsagent's," says Mick of his quirky little building which still bears a sign listing the various bridge tolls for 19th-century travellers.

"I was the first in town with papers every morning. When the Boots 6am shift was going to work, they couldn't get papers anywhere else.

"But then the supermarkets took over, opening early and selling papers and it wasn't so easy."

Mick and Angela decided on a new use for the building, with its storeroom attic lit by three extravagant dormer windows.

"I started off by going on a food hygiene course and a friend's wife helped get things going," he added. "Angela's parents ran pubs and food was always being served, so between us we knew a bit about it and had a good start."

You'd also need a qualification in logistics and ergonomics to cram so much into such a tiny space.

While Mick turns the bacon rashers in the griddle behind the counter at 7.30am, Angela arrives with the daily bread – enough to fill sandwiches, baguettes and cobs through the breakfast and lunch peaks – the Bridge Sandwich Bar closes at 2pm.

Alongside the refrigerators and stacks of Walker's crisps boxes there is even room, under the 6ft menu board, for a little bench table with two stools.

It's a straightforward catering operation with hot and cold menus.

One of the stars of the hot menu is the breakfast box – two bangers, two rashers, two eggs plus beans, mushrooms and tomatoes, all for a reasonable £4. You can have any combination of these things in a bap or a baguette and burgers start at £2.50.

Jacket potatoes start at £2.20 when served just with butter, rising to £2.60 for a tuna, mayonnaise and sweetcorn topping and £2.90 for chilli con carne.

The hot menu also includes pies, pasties and sausage rolls, toasties and pork and stuffing sandwiches.

Cold food? Sandwiches range from an uncomplicated cheese job to more exotic fare – Mexican chicken, for instance, or chicken tikka.

As the school holidays approach and people spend more time relaxing on the Embankment, the Bridge Sandwich Bar will keep families fed.

The tolls may have gone, the newspapers too, but a special little building is being put to very good use.

MANSFIELD Town made a winning start to their pre-season, beating near neighbours Notts County 3-1.

The Stags were forced to come from behind at the One Call Stadium after Brad McGowan put the visitors in front, but goals from Alex Fisher, Martin Riley and Ollie Palmer completed the comeback.

The Magpies made changes from the starting XI which beat Arnold Town 4-0 in their first friendly, most notably, with Fabian Spiess starting between the posts in place of Bartosz Bialkowski and including three trialists in their squad.

Mansfield selected three of their summer signings, though Luke Jones and Liam Hearn missed out – the former picking up a knock and his team-mate still building up his fitness following a serious knee injury.

Boss Paul Cox included four trialists in his squad, with one believed to be Nottingham Forest keeper Dimitar Evtimov, in position between the posts in the first half.

Out-of-contract midfielder Anthony Howell, who has yet to agree a new deal with the club, started on the bench.

It was Notts who got off to the better start, taking the lead before the ten minute mark.

A corner from the lively Jeremy Balmy was flicked home by Brad McGowan, with Stags' Jamie McGuire unable to hook it clear from off the line.

The visitors continued to press but were unable to make the most of their possession, with a header from Colby Bishop from Blair Adams' free-kick, which went wide, as close as they came.

Mansfield though, began to grow into the game and went close to levelling when Fisher latched on to a flick-on from Matt Rhead. The summer signing was clean through but just couldn't quite control the ball and his shot looped over the bar.

Minutes later, it was a different story.

Fisher once again found himself through one-on-one and tried to round Spiess. The Notts stopper caught the striker in an attempt to stop his run and referee Andy Haines pointed to the spot.

Fisher stepped up, and with Spiess diving the wrong way, made it 1-1.

The goal marked the start of a purple patch for Stags and they took the lead four minutes later.

An effort from Amari'i Bell's was deflected wide to earn a corner. Adam Murray whipped it in, Rhead was positioned at the far post to knock it back across goal and Riley was on hand to head it into the net.

The hosts could have gone further ahead before the break, with Fisher, in particular, proving the biggest threat and a long-range strike from Sam Clucas sailing wide.

Both sides rung the changes at the break, with Spiess the only one to keep his place for Notts.

A scrappy start saw neither team able to fashion a breakthrough.

Nicky Wroe twice tried to charge down the Mansfield keeper, with little success, while, at the other end, a couple of corners caused problems for Notts stopper Spiess.

With just over an hour gone, Fergus Bell drew Spiess into action with a fierce long-range shot, which the keeper managed to push away.

An uneventful second half passed with barely a chance of note – only Liam Noble going even relatively close with an effort which the Magpies man dragged wide.

With minutes to go however, Mansfield made it 3-1 when Palmer headed in a throw-in from Liam Marsden.

MANSFIELD: Trialist; Riley, Dempster (Sutton 45), Tafazolli (Dempster 65), A Bell (Marsden 45), McGuire (Clements 45), Murray (Howell 45), Clucas (Trialist 45), F Bell (Trialist 65), Rhead (Trialist 45), Fisher (Palmer 45).

NOTTS (first half): Spiess, McGowan, Mullins, Tempest, Dixon, Smith, Adams, Trialist, Balmy, Bishop, Murray.

(second half): Spiess; Thompson, McKenzie, Hollis, Keane, Trialist 1, Noble, Wroe, Trialist 2, Trialist 3, Waite.

ATTENDANCE: 3,331 (779 away).

Police are searching for a teenager from St Ann's after he didn't return home from his school prom.

Jide Badmus, 15, of Warton Avenue, went to The Nottingham Academy high school prom on Thursday night(10) but didn't return home.

He was last seen leaving his house at 6pm that day wearing a black suit with a white shirt and a black tie.

Nottinghamshire Police are asking other teenagers who went to the prom to get in touch if they know his whereabouts.

If you have seen Jide or have any information, contact the police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.