Elly's surprise visit from Paralympic star Whitehead
Elly, who has a rare form of bone cancer, was given tickets for a dream trip to Florida to swim with dolphins.
Midlands street has 'most embarrassing name' in England
A Worcestershire street has come out top in a vote of the most embarrassing road names in England.
The history behind Britain's obsession with tea
Students from Leicester University have unveiled a formula for the 'perfect' cup of builder's tea. So, what is all the fuss about...?
Live updates
Saucy spud crops up on a Leicestershire farm
Farndon Fields Farm in Market Harborough has tweeted an image of an unusual shaped potato which was found on the farm this morning.
Truck speed to hold back bicycle speed world record
Truck racer, Dave Jenkins, says the world record for the speed of a truck must be broken, in order for his team to break the world record for the speed of a bicycle.
His team have this year broken the British record for a push bike, clocking 112mph, and are now aiming at a world record attempt. To beat that, they will have to reach more than 167mph.
But Jenkins says the problem there will be that the world record for the speed of a truck sits 12mph less, at 155mph. The truck is needed to get the bike up to a pedalling speed, near to the record, before it is released.
Read more: Midlands-based team breaks British record for bicycle speed
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Nottingham students win award for ice sculpture
Students from Nottingham Trent University have won an award in the world’s largest snow sculpture competition.
The team won the ‘Best Performance Award’ at the Harbin International Snow Sculpture Competition in China for their giant mask with Nottingham lace carved into its cheeks.
Professor Daizhong Su who led the project said: “To win this award is a real achievement for us as most of the opposition were professional snow sculptors.
“We had to endure sub-zero temperatures and team members worked late in the night to complete our entry for the universities competition.
“We’ve all worked immensely hard and feel very proud of what we’ve accomplished.
“It’s also fitting that our entry reflects the university’s creative history in the year that we are celebrating the School of Art & Design’s 170 year heritage.”
Rare parrots found at Sherwood Forest Nature Reserve
The Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve has welcomed new arrivals this winter in the form of parrot crossbill birds.
An infrequent migrant, the species has not been seen for a few years in Sherwood, and not for a long time in such numbers.
Parrot crossbills from northern European pine forests and Russia have also been spotted at Holt in Norfolk and Tunstall Forest in Suffolk.
Nottinghamshire County Council ranger Graeme Turner said: “We have counted 14 parrot beak crossbills in Sherwood Forest in recent weeks."
Record breaking engineers aim to break new record
by Stacey FosterEngineers from Staffordshire who made a bike travel at 112mph, breaking the British record, say they think they can make it do more than 160mph.
The team now want to try and break the world record after featuring on the Channel 4 show Speed with racer Guy Martin who is from Lincolnshire.
The record was actually broken at Bruntinghthorpe in Leicestershire in May 2013 during a practice run.
Officially it was broken on August 3rd at another location.Guy and the rest of the team hope now to work towards making this bike break the world record.
Bicycle inventor sets new world record for speed
A bike shop owner has set a new world record after inventing a bicycle that can travel at more than 110mph.
Jason Rourke from Stoke-on-Trent spent about 10 days building the super-strong mountain bike which cost several thousand pounds - and pedalled into the record books at 112.94 miles an hour.
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Gary Lineker teased on Twitter for life-size waxwork
Stars have been teasing former England and Leicester City striker Gary Lineker, for a not so life-like waxwork of the former footballer on display in Great Yarmouth.
It's after news reports a foreign buyer had bought up the waxworks from the Louis Tussard’s House of Wax at the seaside holiday resort, whose models have gained a cult reputation for bearing little resemblance to their subjects.
Former Manchester United and Denmark goalkeeper tweeted a picture yesterday, of his disbelief at the barely-recognisable life-size version of the now BBC Sport presenter.
Comedian Lee Hurst also got in on the banter with the following tweet.
@garylineker @pschmeichel1 Everyone knows you wax Gary, but you've gone too far this time.
To which Gary responded - "use my own earwax!".
“@2010leehurst: @garylineker @pschmeichel1 Everyone knows you wax Gary, but you've gone too far this time.” < Use my own ear wax.
William Shakespeare's will goes online
The last wishes of Britain's most famous playwright, William Shakespeare, are to be published online.
Ancestry.co.uk will publish a collection of last wishes dating from 1384 to 1858, revealing assets, occupations and the standard of living of the dead.
The Bard's will shows that he left £150 to both of his daughters in 1616.
Also going online will be novelist Jane Austen's last wishes - that £800 of assets be left to her sister, Cassandra.
Sir Francis Drake, who was second-in-command of the fleet which destroyed the Spanish Armada in 1588, benevolently left £40 to the "poor people" of Plymouth.
Read more: Shakespeare's signature to go on show at exhibition
WWI soldier's satirical doodles up for auction
A notepad filled with the tongue-in-cheek sketches of a World War I soldier is to be sold at auction as Britain prepares to mark the centenary of the Great War.
Discovered in a Derby house, the black ink satirical drawings are dated 1916-18 and are believed to have been created by an unknown Royal Engineer who was stationed in France.
Read: Blackadder star attacks Gove over WWI criticism
Commenting on the find, Charles Hanson, manager of Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire, said: "A hundred years on we can only imagine what was going through the mind of the unknown Royal Engineer."
He added: "It is one man's unique memory, taken at a time when those around him never came home.
The jotter pad will be central to a specialist auction in April, which will celebrate artefacts such as medals, military collectables, and ephemera from the First and Second World War.
The small note pad has a guide price of £50 to £100 and is expected to generate a great deal of interest.
Special blessing for police dog handler newlyweds
Newlywed dog handlers from West Midlands Police have taken part in a special blessing with their German shepherds as witnesses.
Damian Smart and Lindsay Whitehouse tied the knot last month, but their police dogs Shadow and Nina were not able to attend.
The couple arranged a special service at West Midlands Police’s dog training centre in Balsall Common with their German shepherd witnesses.
Damian, who met Lindsay in January 2010 on a police dog training refresher course, said:
“We’re both dog lovers – we have five between us, including our police dogs – but as the wedding venue didn’t have kennelling facilities it wasn’t possible for them to be involved on our big day. Plus paw prints wouldn’t have looked good on Lindsay’s white dress!"
