DMU STUDENTS UNION COMMUNITY FAIR

Rahat Ahmad (left) and Minou Cortazzi at the Counil of Faiths stall

Today we're participating in the Community Fair at De Montfort University Students Union - a marketplace event for Freshers Week. We're up on the second floor, where it's light, bright and airy - a welcome contrast to the darker, sweatier environement in the O2 Academy at the University of Leicester, where we were yesterday.

One of the first people I see here today is Zubair Sidat (Vice President, Welfare), whom I first met during Discover Islam Week at DMU back in February. I interviewed him then and posted the video on YouTube. He's obviously been a busy man and we don't have much time to talk, but Zubair does mention that he'd like to have at least one activity in DMU during Inter Faith Week. I'm not sure whether he means the Students Union per se or the student Islamic Society - but we can get together and work that out another time.

Going around the displays, I spend some time chatting with the good people promoting Islamic Relief and have the welcome opportunity to reacquaint myself with Salim Yusuf Lorgat, their East Midlands Area Manager.

I also do the rounds with flyers for Leicester Speaks, drumming up interest and support for the launch event on Wednesday 12 October as well as for the week-long programme.

I have to say that I'm not in favour of packing up early at these events. If we're booked to be here till a certain time, I would rather be here till that certain time. I feel sorry for those visitors who turn up in good time to go round an event like this, only to find out that half the exhibitors have gone.

Oh, and that Nightline bear is here too - someone different inside (male this time, apparently yesterday at the O2 Academy in the University of Leicester it was a woman).