The Derby 9 Go To Billesdon village

This is the tenth book in the popular Derby 9 series and now the year is 1984. This time the Derby County loving newspaper printers are putting on their 'Sunday best' to take-part

in the Trader Group's latest fashion show....in Billesdon, a sleepy hamlet of just 800 people in East Leicestershire.

The Derby 9's last adventure took part in sunny Spain, the year before, on the Costa del Sol. Now the Print Lads are swopping sun, sea, sangria and their sombrero's .....for real ale, green fields, beautiful countryside and pub meals, with more fun and mayhem closer to home, as the lads from Heanor, Derbyshire, go to Billesdon.

Big John, Gary, Mick, Mace, Brian, Bob, Chris, Larry and Trev are the Derby 9.

The show is to be staged in a giant marquee on the village football pitch and the Derby 9 are joined by their pals- ALL the Trader Group 'Ad Girls' .....al 330 of them..... from the 15 Trader offices in the East

and West Midlands, including Pam, Helen, Bev, Liz, Sandy, Debs, Maggie, Tina and Millie!! All the world's top fashion designers are coming from Paris, Rome, Milan, Madrid and New York- many by private jet and then onwards by helicopter. But unknown to most, the site itself was the location for an Italian POW camp in WW2 - and there are some in the village, who fear staging such a big event will 'upset the spirits' that still exist.

Before the show, the Derby 9 attend a friendly football match in midweek, down at the Baseball Ground, where Derby County play a German, non-league side who are on their summer tour of the UK. With the usual banter flying around amongst the Derby 9, and the home crowd, it proves to be an eventful evening. Meanwhile Trader Group owner and millionairess, Mrs Hanley, continues to expand the company with

further new editions to to be opened by the end of the year. With the world's Press attending the fashion show in Billesdon, the Derby 9 and the 'Ad' Girls continue

their path to stardom and feature in the new, weekly, free fashion magazine which is now inserted into every Trader edition. Controller Dave Wilde is again the hero- this time in Billesdon as more than a

thousand fans of the world's fashion designers suddenly descend on the village to try and catch a glimpse of the 'A' list celebrities. The fans threaten to storm the marquee unless they are allowed in. But Dave

'saves the day' with some quick thinking and a compromise, his actions instilled in him from his days in the Army. With the sight of the local farmer 'chasing helicopters away' from his livestock, in a nearby field, to

Big John, the leader of the Derby 9, having a canape eating contest amongst the rest of his mates, while talk of ghosts and a haunted football pitch continues to shroud the show in mystery- the latest fashion- bonanza,

again, proves very different from any normal event. And there's a twist at the end, with Dave Wilde now contemplating whether to quit his high- powered job after a huge row with Mrs Hanley. So, fasten your seatbelts for a cracking, page- turning read, full of strong characters, humour, pathos, far reaching social observations, heroism and romance.