While the actual VE Day 80th anniversary is Thursday 8 May, the Bank Holiday on Monday 5 May could be a great time for a street party or other community get-together.

Or maybe choose another date around the time of the anniversary? Here are some useful resources that may help with your planning and funding.

• This interactive website has lots of information and resources, including ways to get involved in the commemorations and how to get events listed. 
• See what others are planning on Facebook by searching the hashtag #veday80thanniversary.
• The National Lottery Community Fund is giving some funding for VE events.
• If you're planning a street party you may need to apply to your local district or borough council for a road closure.

As a result, a Derbyshire business has been fined £9,000 and ordered to pay nearly £7,000 costs after admitting selling vapes to an underage person and possession for supply of non-compliant illicit vapes.

Andrew Molloy, 56, company director of Mates Mobiles Ashbourne Ltd, Horse and Jockey Yard, St John Street, Ashbourne, appeared before Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court on Monday 7 April. He pleaded guilty to 18 charges relating to the sale of nicotine inhaling products (vapes) to underage persons, the supply of non-compliant vapes and possessing for supply non-compliant vapes from two shops run by the company in St Johns Street, Ashbourne and Bridge Street, Belper.

As well as the fine and the £6,936 costs, Molloy was also ordered to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge.

If you want to report any suspicions of the sale of vapes to underage people or supply of illicit vapes, call Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 2231133 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

📸Pictured are some of the vapes that were seized.

Derbyshire Makes Festival kicked off in sunny Chesterfield last month and had an equally sunny and successful weekend in Heanor in early April with crafts, creativity and conversation. The festival continued at Cromford Mills last weekend for celebratory events for all ages inspired by water and local folklore. And there will also be a variety of making and crafting workshops at Cromford every day of the Easter holidays.

Next stop is Glossop on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 April as part of the school Easter holidays, then Bolsover – Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 April, and finally Swadlincote – Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 April.

For all the details of what’s happening and to book onto workshops visit Derbyshire Makes on Facebook or Insta or check out the website.

You can take both aluminium and plastic pods to eight of our nine household waste recycling centres – but not Waterswallows (Buxton) as this is operated by a different contractor.

We have special containers at the recycling centres to collect the pods, which will then be recycled to help create new things, including packaging, car components and building products.

We're offering this service in partnership with Podback a not-for-profit recycling service, created and funded by the UK’s leading coffee pod systems. You'll be helping tackle waste, as billions of coffee, tea and hot chocolate pods are used globally with 800 million being sold in the UK alone last year.

In Derbyshire, between 1857 and 1967, there were separate borough and county police forces operating at the same time. They were:

• Derbyshire Constabulary, which covered the whole county.
• Chesterfield Borough Police, which amalgamated with the Derbyshire Constabulary in 1947.
• Derby Borough Police, which amalgamated with the Derbyshire Constabulary in 1967.
• Glossop Borough Police, which amalgamated with the Derbyshire Constabulary in 1947.

It's helpful if you know which police force your ancestor worked for, making it easier to find the right records.

The main record of their officers kept by the police forces were 'descriptive registers'. These often include a lot of detail, such as a physical description, previous trade or occupation, whether they were married and had children, promotions and demotions.

Our record office holds descriptive registers for Derbyshire, Chesterfield and Glossop forces, as well as lots of other archives and local studies materials for the county.