By Emily Barker

A body positivity fashion show organised by De Montfort University (DMU) student Jessica Shire will be held at St Peter’s by the Waterfront in Ipswich, Suffolk, on Wednesday, April 24.

Miss Shire, 22, is a Cyber Security and Telecommunications student at DMU, and decided to start the event through her Girlguiding Action for Change Project.

Miss Shire said: “I have always looked different to other people, and I believe all people, regardless of what they look like, should be represented in the mainstream media.

Jessica Shire, the organiser of the fashion show event (Copyright: Jessica Shire)

“I get sent to DMU through my company and I recently got selected to attend the ‘Action for Change’ weekend with Girlguiding Anglia.

“As part of this, we have to create our own nine-month social action project in our local area.

“I decided that I would go about putting on a fashion show with real people from all types of backgrounds to show that everyone is beautiful in their own way.”

The aim of the event is to promote body confidence and to show that everyone is beautiful in their own way.

Jessica has also created a Facebook page and an Instagram page, where the event has been shared, as well as across the Girlguiding network and local radio stations.

These pages talk about the issue of body confidence and follows real people on their own body confidence journeys.

Miss Shire continued: “I believe as it is us, the consumer, who are buying the clothes, it is us who should be seen on a catwalk.

“It shouldn’t be limited to a certain body type who don’t look like most of the general population we see today.

“In an age of social media, with constant filters and editing tools like Photoshop, we can often feel like we need to change in order to fit into society’s narrow perception of beauty and this often has a negative impact on our self-esteem.

“I would like to challenge this perception and show that no matter who you are or what you look like, you should still be represented.

“I’ve never done something like this before, but know I have a lot of support from the people around me, as well as from friends and family.

“I’m excited to be able to create a change on a topic that I’m passionate about.”

Tickets are completely free and can be purchased on https://www.facebook.com/events/381816455980349/

By Jacob Moseley

A fresh take on Indian cuisine is set to take Leicester by storm this summer as the Mowgli Street Food chain expands into the city and into Sheffield and Cardiff.

Founder of the company and former child protection barrister, Nisha Katona, opened the first Mowgli restaurant in Bold Street in Liverpool back in 2014 – before going on to open seven more restaurants nationwide.

Nisha said: “I’m evangelical about ancestral offerings and wanted to lift the veil on what Indians would conjure up in the depths of their family kitchen.”

Mowgli Street Food aims to offer fast food but using quality traditional recipes and has a selection of 20 dishes, each with bright and intense flavours; and with only eight of these being meat dishes, it’s the perfect option for a vegan or vegetarian.

Nisha said: “As an Indian, Leicester was the bright lights, big city in terms of Indian food. It was the place to which we travelled on family days out to buy spices and Indian vegetables, we go where people want us, and Leicester has so many fond memories for me.”

Among the best sellers on the Mowgli menu are Yoghurt Chat Bombs which Nisha said “are a must”, chip butties and the traditional Indian cuisine of Bunny Chow.

“We’re excited to open in Leicester,” she said. “It’s great to have diversity and what we offer is a far cry from what is peddled in traditional curry houses.”

On its website, Mowgli said its business “is about the smash and grab zing of healthy, light, virtuosic herbs and spices.”

By Perry Johnson

The National Space Centre is calling for all LEGO© fans this weekend, as the UK’s largest planetarium hosts its fun-packed ‘Brickish Weekend’ for the tenth consecutive year.

Leicester’s National Space Centre: The largest planetarium in the UK

This weekend the centre will be filled with rare LEGO kits, planes, trains and automobiles; featured alongside some of the largest lego brick displays ever created in the UK.

The event is organised by the Brickish Association, a community of British LEGO fans who work with the iconic toy brand to build giant, impressive structures – such as the ones on display this weekend.

Malika Andress, Head of Marketing at the National Space Centre, said: “Come and get creative at the National Space Centre and show off your LEGO building skills.

“Whether you’re a novice or a master builder, you’re welcome. At Brickish Weekend everything is awesome.”

The weekend-long event offers fun for the whole family – with the chance for visitors of all ages to lend a hand in creating a giant mosaic out of the multi-coloured bricks.

Those hoping to still witness the wonders of space will not be disappointed either, as the event will see the return of the centre’s out-of-this-world LEGO gallery filled with large scale spacecraft builds.

Tickets for the event are £15 per person, with under-5s being able to enter the event for free and children’s and concessions tickets being priced at the lower sum of £12.

The event is not premium however, and annual passes are valid for entry in place of a ticket.

To purchase tickets or to upgrade to a free annual pass visit https://spacecentre.co.uk/event/brickish-weekend-2019/.