by Ollie Heppenstall

An award-winning bereavement photography charity is on the lookout for more volunteers after celebrating its second year in operation.

Formed in August 2015 by eight like-minded photographers, some with past experience of stillbirth or miscarriages, Remember My Baby has more than quadrupled in the two years and two months since then.

It has had glowing reviews from families who have had to use the service it provides – “each and every day the photographs become more special” and “can’t thank Remember My Baby enough” being just two of them.

The charity now has a pool of 230 volunteers up and down the United Kingdom and in Northern Ireland and has provided 1,500 photography sessions free-of-charge in 130 hospitals around the UK, making it the UK’s premier bereavement photography organisation.

Aga Tetera, 31, and a Leicester-based volunteer with the charity for the last year and a half, said: “Remember My Baby provides a free photography service for parents with stillborn children or children who are not likely to live for very long after birth, and provides this service up and down the UK.

“I wanted to get involved early on, even if I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle situations where the parents are grieving and there is a lot of emotion, as I believe I have something to give back to the community in my photography and to be able to provide a service like this is an excellent way to do that.”

She added: “I spent six months thinking about it, and I’m very glad that I joined in the end.

“I’m mainly active in the Leicester and Loughborough area, although I haven’t had to do so many sessions in Leicester because Leicester Royal Infirmary has midwives that are able to provide a similar service.

“It’s more a case of working alongside them and covering whenever they are unable to provide, as opposed to Loughborough, where we’re more able to provide a service.”

The charity can be reached on Facebook at Remember My Baby, on Twitter @remembermybaby and at www.remembermybaby.org.uk.

by Tyler Arthur

Thousands of bargain hunters flocked to Highcross Shopping Centre Leicester for an annual discounted late-night student shopping event  – especially for the city’s two universities.

The ‘Student Sessions’ event provided discounts for people who showed their ID upon purchase, in selected shops, between 8PM and midnight last Tuesday (Oct 10).

Matt Thomas, 20, who works at Footasylum, was on hand in the stockroom receiving constant requests for the discounted footwear and clothing that they had to offer.

“It was better than a normal shift because it was busier, and there was always something to do to keep me busy and pass time,” Matt said.

The event attracted a sizeable crowd, as it does every year, and the store was even required to call upon extra people to cater to the extreme demand over the four-hour flash sale, calling upon assistance from employees from stores as far away as Birmingham.

The event ended at midnight, with hundreds of happy customers served throughout the night, but many employees had to stick around after they closed to prepare for the next day, when trade would return to normal.

However, as many of the employees of the stores are also students, and with shifts ending even more than an hour after the sale ended at 12, some complained of having to work a late night ahead of the next morning’s university lectures.

Queuing students waiting to be let into Highcross for the event.