I was born and bred in Southampton. I went to school here and I went on to the Universities of Sheffield, Central Lancashire, Brunel University and Middlesex for my further studies. I spend my spare time with family. My recreational interests include swimming, squash and long distance driving. I once drove from Southampton – with friends – to Dover then through Europe to Istanbul and back in 15 days!
I have good ground knowledge of the needs of the local BAME community and my aim is to pursue continuous improvement and excellence in local health and social care services. Southampton is special to me for several reasons: it’s where my family first arrived in the 1940s, and my parents in the 1950s, so it has sentimental value. It's where I grew up, and I've seen many changes, so it has emotional value. And it's where I chose to start Awaaz FM Community Radio. Today we are officially the biggest ethnic and multi-language, multi-cultural community radio station in Hampshire. The city where I get sentimental, emotional and financial value all in one place – well… you have to call that city home, don’t you?
Community to me means everyone in the city. It’s as much about the history of our city as it is about the people who live here. Our outlook, attitudes, values, morals, goals, and customs are shared. Southampton has world excellence in the fine arts and humanities and our culture inspires and stimulates creativity, innovation and ideas. Communities is as much about the appetite of dynamic and contemporary people as it is about our history, with a space to look towards the future. We are lucky to have such a diverse and welcoming population.
As an author, I have written a book titled 'Mists of Time'. My college lecturer encouraged me to get it printed because she saw me writing poetry on scraps of paper that I would hide in my coursework book. Ten thousand copies of the book were printed and almost immediately people started to know the 'romantic' side of me. I was also featured in the local newspaper
