ASIAN SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ISSUE 78

GHAP SHAP WITH ASGHAR ALI CEO MY LAHORE

CLLR RALPH BERRY DISCUSSES CHILD POVERTY

MAR 2015 EDITION 78

For the indiv idual who wants to know more about S outh Asian BUSINESS,C OMMUNIT Y & LIFEST YLE

Your FREE pull out Asian Style Magazine inside PUBLIC OPINION: LABOUR PPC FOR BRADFORD WEST NAZ SHAH

POLITICS IN PLANNING?

Read the full story on pages 6 and 7 MEET THE FINALISTS INSIDE!!!

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C re d i t s MANAGING EDITOR Fatima Patel PUBLISHER I & E Media Ltd. DESIGN & ARTWORK David Jones reporteRS Aalia Khan Ninder Kaur Ayyaz Malik Swati Chauhan Sunny Malik COLUMNISTS Ralph Berry PHOTOGRAPHY Ali Khan Riaz Ahmed ACCOUNTS Barry Smith - Adam & Co

Bradford Police to Show off Soccer Skills in Feast of Futsal Police officers from Bradford will join West Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) tomorrow (Wednesday) to celebrate the success of a football scheme for deaf people in the city.

teamed up with Sam Allen from the deaf community to improve engagement between themselves and the police. A similar scheme has also been running at Hanson School Academy.

The officers and the PCC will be donning their football kit and showing their silky soccer skills in a game of futsal at the Prism Deaf Youth Club in Girlington.

Players from FA Cup giant-killers Bradford City are expected to be in attendance, as are representatives from the Football Association.

Futsal is a version of five-a-side football which is played with a smaller, brighter and softer ball than the traditional game.

It was secured by the West Yorkshire for Innovation (WYFi) team of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire, which is seeking new ways to raise income to support community safety and well being.

The scheme was launched by PC Jo Armstrong from the Bradford City Area Neighbourhood Team, who

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WYFi lead, Inspector Andrew Staniforth, said: "It is great to see the work of the WYFi team resulting in the creation of valuable youth engagement opportunities for local policing, encouraging members of our communities to participate in sport."

Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: "I am looking forward to taking part

in the game, which should be a fitting end to this very successful scheme.

"Sports such as futsal are a great way to promote community cohesion and increase self-esteem, confidence and motivation.

"Futsal is an inclusive sport which builds on a lot of the skills behind football, with several ex-players moving on to careers as professional footballers, and I am pleased that the deaf community embraced this opportunity to try it out."

Four Arrested In Bradford Drugs Operation

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PC Armstrong, said: "It's been absolutely amazing. The youngsters have really enjoyed it and also taken the opportunity to engage with the police through the language of the beautiful game."

Funding for the eight-week project was obtained from lottery-funded scheme West Yorkshire Sportivate, which gives people aged 11 to 25 who are interested in sport the chance to experience it through a short programme of coaching.

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Certificates will be handed out afterwards to all those who have taken part.

Police arrested four men on suspicion of drugs supply offences on a pre-planned operation in Bradford last week.

was believed to have been involved in the supply of drugs in the Manningham and Girlington areas.

all from the Bradford area, were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

Its driver, a 25-year-old man from Bradford, was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and possession of criminal property after he was found to be in possession of a quantity of heroin and crack cocaine and £200 in cash.

Subsequent address searches found more heroin, drugs paraphernalia and £300 in cash

He was later released on bail pending further enquiries.

Officers also seized a quantity of Class A drugs and cash from vehicle stops and subsequent house searches.

The following day (Thursday, 5 March) officers stopped a black Volkswagen Bora in Heidelberg Road, Girlington, after receiving information that the vehicle was believed to have been involved in drugs transactions in the area.

On Wednesday, 4 March, officers stopped a silver Volkswagen Golf in North Park Road, Manningham, after receiving information that the vehicle

Officers seized a quantity of heroin and crack cocaine from the vehicle and around £400 in cash.

The male occupants, aged 22, 27 and 17,

All three were later released on bail pending further enquiries.

Detective Inspector Ian Bryar, who leads the Bradford District Quartz Team, said: "This is an excellent example of how we can work with the public to gather information and take action against those involved in the supply of illegal drugs.

"Police in Bradford are committed to removing these substances and those who supply them from our streets, and I would urge anyone with information on those involved in the supply of illegal drugs to contact police on 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555111."

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Spring Clean in BD3 Residents are being invited to help spring clean the BD3 area on Saturday, 21 March.

Staff from Bradford Council's East Area Co-ordinator's Office are organising the clean-up.

Residents are being invited to join with Council Wardens and staff between 12 noon and 4pm on Saturday to help litter pick streets and clean-up untidy

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Health professionals look at improving provisions in Bradford

sites.

Volunteers from the Thank You Project will also be taking part.

Gloves, litter pickers and other tools will be provided.

Clean-ups will also be taking place at Seymour Park and Attock Park.

A street briefing will take place at 12pm on Saturday at Gilpin Street and residents who would like to take part can come along to this.

Deputy Council Leader Coun Imran Hussain said: "This is a great opportunity for the local community to come together with Council staff and help create a neighbourhood that everyone can be even more proud."

Leaflets will also be delivered to houses in BD5 next week detailing how they can make a difference in the local area, report problems and keep the local area safe and clean.

Bingley Music Live on the hunt for the next big thing!

Bingley Music Live, billed as the ‘North’s Last Party of the Summer’, has gained a reputation of supporting upand-coming artists and this year will be no exception.

The Bradford Council-run festival has once again joined forces with The Musician Centre to launch a competition to find the best artists and bands in the region to play at this year’s event.

The winning artists will have the chance to take to the stage and play one of two slots on the main stage and one of two slots on the second stage.

The organisers are looking for outstanding unsigned and under the radar acts to open the festival which takes place in Bingley’s Myrtle Park on the weekend of the 4, 5 and 6 September.

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By Aalia Khan T: @AaliaAsNews E: aalia@asiansunday.co.uk Local charity, Womenzone hosted a Big Health Event in Bradford for health professionals and community groups on Wednesday 18th March.

The event focused on bringing health professionals together to make people aware of the services that are available to them and how they can be used effectively. It was a mixed event and involved speakers from CCG, Better Start, Bradford University and City of Sanctuary who presented their work on what is going on to better the health provisions in Bradford.

CCG project coordinator at Womenzone Nadia Naim said “We’ve been funded

by CCG to look at self care particularly with BME women – so that’s Pakistani, Bengali, India and Eastern European because we are a diverse community.

What we’ve found is that a lot of BME women who are isolated, they don’t have that ability to get into mainstream health services; so if they are suffering

with depression or they are physically unfit they don’t know what to do. Our focus is self-care; we are getting women to think about their health through self-care by being innovative. One of the activities we’ve had at the health event is getting people to post messages on mugs. We have a range of organisations here and we are bringing them together because we want to be more coordinated in Bradford.

We want people to think about their health and how we can improve health in Bradford.”

Diana Bird from Shipley College has been working on a project called Mother’s Tongue which is about supporting women in accessing maternity services, helping women who don’t speak English to develop their communication skills so they can interact meaningfully with their midwife and also so that they can learn about what the medical services can offer in the UK. Bird said “I think it is amazing that so many people have turned out, it’s great to know that there are so many people who are working towards a common goal and recognise what the issues are, not just recognising them but also having solutions who have come together to share

together to share experiences in terms of the work that they do, and for us to network which has been good.

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Kings Science Academy Staff To Appear Before Magistrates For Fraud

By Dan Moorhouse t: @AsiansundayNews e: dan@asiansunday.co.uk

Upon opening, The Kings Science Academy, Northside, was lauded as being a near perfect example of how a Free School could be established.

Gaining praise from no less than David Cameron, the school was seen to be almost a mirror image of what the Government had in mind for it's concept of Free Schools.

As has previously been reported, flaws in the management of the school soon emerged. A Department for Education investigation into the running of the school highlighted serious concerns in 2010 and a police investigation was conducted into the financial management of the schools funds.

this case. “Having carefully considered all of the evidence presented to us, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to charge Daud Khan (former Director of Finance) and Shabana Hussain (former Head of Department) with a range of offences relating to their involvement with the Kings Science Academy, Bradford, and that it is in the public interest to do so.”

Khan and Hussain will attend a hearing at Leeds Magistrate on a date that has yet to be fixed.

Last week the Crown Prosecution Service reached a decision to press charges against two further members of staff from Kings Science Academy.

In a statement, the reviewing lawyer, Julian Briggs, states:

These latest charges follow an earlier decision to press charges against the founder of the Academy, Sajid Hussain Raja. Following a lengthy and complex investigation he has been charged with 3 counts of fraud by abuse of position; 3 of false accounting; 2 of obtaining a money transfer through means of deception and one offence of fraud through misrepresentation.

“The Crown Prosecution Service has been working closely with West Yorkshire Police in connection with

Following the initial investigations into financial affairs at the school, Raja was dismissed by the governing body. Raja

maintains his innocence and is determined to clear his name. A statement released by his solicitors states: “The investigation process has been a difficult period of time for Mr Raza. Now he has been charged, Mr Raza will be working with Rahman Ravelli to try and establish his innocence.”

What now then for Kings Science Academy?

The school has been criticised by Ofsted and HMI inspection reports since it first opened. Issues relating to management in general and the design of the curriculum were raised as being of concern, and a lack of progress was noted by follow up inspections.

However it must be noted that the school have now become part of the Dixons Academy Group. This group have a wealth of experience in management of schools in and around Bradford and the shared leadership experience on offer from the Dixons group ought to be of benefit to the school.

David Green, Leader of Bradford Council also hopes for a quick resolution to the issues surrounding the Kings Science Academy, saying: “For the good of the children attending the school and for the good of the education system in the district, we would hope this can be resolved as quickly as possible to allow the spotlight to fall on education rather than this unfortunate story.”

About Free Schools: Free schools are public-private educational institutions.

They report directly to the Minister of State for Education, rather than to Local Education Authorities.

A Free School can design it's own curriculum rather than following the National Curriculum.

Free schools are a key element of the Conservative party manifesto.

Some teaching unions have vehemently opposed the concept of Free Schools.

Spring into Action www.asiansunday.co.uk

With the clocks going forward on 29 March and the balmier days already with us, most keen gardeners’ thoughts are already turning to their acreage. Here at Poundstretcher, we’re ready for spring with some great deals on everything garden related from 99p Butterfly Water Sprayers to miniature greenhouses, flower bulbs, seeds, hanging baskets, wooden trellises, and much more.

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proud at 2.4m tall, this sturdy metal frame creates a really striking focal point for any garden when placed over gateways and covered with flowering climbing plants. The

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price? Just £6.99. For practical everyday items such as gardening gloves, hose pipes, trowels and twine, we’re here to help too: and our Garden Trowel with Wooden Handle costs an unbelievable 89p.

Growing Time When it comes to propagation, we’ve got some cracking offers here at Poundstretcher. Collect and reuse rainwater with our handy and compact Slimline Water Butt, retailing at just £24.99: perfect for watering the flowers if we have another hosepipe ban this year. If pesky pets and insects are more of a concern, we can help you there, too: with brand name pest control and fertiliser products from Resolva, Miracle Gro, and Bayer Garden, we stock everything from slug pellets to animal repellent and incredibly effective 24 Hour Weedkiller. If you need somewhere safe for your young seedlings until the danger of frosts has entirely passed, what about a 3 Tier Greenhouse? Ideal for urban gardeners working in small outdoor spaces, this greenhouse has enough room for lots of different plants in a limited area, and comes complete with a removable PVC cover for extra protection and warmth. Best of all, this fantastic miniature greenhouse costs just £8.99.

Garden Planters, Seeds, and Bulbs Where else can you buy a pack of 20 Terracotta Plant Pots for just 99p? Potted gardens are incredibly easy to grow and maintain, and can easily be rearranged when you feel like creating a new look- even if you just have a balcony or windowsill to do it. Our multi-coloured Dahlia Bulbs in a many different hued varieties will add a splash of colour, and you can get the kids involved in the growing fun with our Seed Starter Kits: they cost just 99p and come with everything you need to get growing, including compost, seeds, and a little windowsill propagator. Tend large plants such as romantic rose bushes (also sold at Poundstretcher) in our pretty 60cm Vineyard Planters, or even grow your own organic food: our stores stock King Edward Seed Potatoes, which can be grown either straight out of the ground, or in one of our ingenious Potato Planter Bags.

Garden Accessories Once you’ve got your plants chosen and your pest control sorted, you’ll want to get started right away.

When you come to Poundstretcher, you can: as a one-stop gardening shop, we’ve also got a massive selection of useful (and beautiful) gardening accessories at fantastic discount prices. One of our star buys of the season is our Rose Arch: standing

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Politics in Planning?

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By Dan Moorhouse t: @AsianSundayNews Allegations of the council planning permission process being abused have been made. Apparent contradictions in the application and decision making process have come to light amid accusations of abuse of position.

In December 2013 Mr Ayaaz made an application to change the designation of his Legrams Lane premises. Ayaaz's application was to create a taxi booking office at his premises, with off road parking for the three taxi's that he intends to operate from the site.

subject to a condition restricting the number of taxis.” Highway Consultation response to Planning Application 13/05153/FUL However, the application was refused on the grounds that the application: “would lead to an increased demand for on street parking leading to indiscriminate parking, and vehicles manoeuvring in the highway obstructing the freeflow of traffic and resulting in conditions prejudicial to highway safety.”

Despite their being no objection from the council's Highways department, the application and subsequent appeal have been refused by the planning committee.

The refusal also stated that:

During his application process the Highways department were consulted.

The response from the department was:

There is very clear guidance made available to the planning committee to refer to when making decisions about the suitability of a proposal. Indeed, the planning committee refer to this in both the refusal and the following appeal letters. At first glance then, all appeared to be above board but unfortunate for Mr Ayaaz.

“The applicant states that there will be three taxis and these will not be parking at the premises but elsewhere. On this basis I would raise no objections to the proposals from a highways point of view

“This proposed private hire booking office is located close to residential properties...”

All is not as simple as that though. Mr Ayaaz was contacted by members of the panel who make the planning decisions as he made his way to the initial hearing. These messages implied that a decision had been made before he presented his case. If true, this would be very unusual and would show disregard for the process. Mr Ayyaz said “It felt as though I was in a Pakistani court room” In addition, Mr Ayaaz was told by one District Councillor that they couldn't help him because of the May 2014 Local Election. They feared that supporting an application could lose votes.

This is quite worrying. If it is the case that a District Councillor is choosing not to fulfil duties on a committee to attempt to gain extra votes, or ensure they are not lost, this is a failure to undertake the role for which they have been elected. Party politics and electioneering simply should not interfere with their work on these vital committees.

In an attempt to successfully

appeal the original decision, Mr Ayaaz then undertook research into similar planning applications.

The results were startling. Similar applications had been accepted in the months immediately before he had his application refused. These were in residential areas located at various sites around the district and on roads with limited off street parking. Details of all such applications, both successful and refused ones can be found on the Bradford Planning website.

This at first looks like an inconsistent approach to similar applications. This can be the case as different locations in the district are subject to different needs and development plan requirements.

There was one striking similarity between many of the successful applications though: the applicants are often related to Councillors who are involved in the decision making process.

In discussions about the decision with other local businesses, Mr has been given the impression that the

www.asiansunday.co.uk approval can be 'bought'. Whilst this cannot be proven it is very worrying that members of the local business community believe this to be the case.

The fact that other similar applications were approved adds weight to that suggestion.

As well as the change of designation to a private hire office, there have been other applications that caught the eye.

One such example was made by the proprietor of a Shisha bar. Smoke Free legislation is very clear about the requirements for any smoking environment and specific guidance is also widely available online. A minimum of 50% of wall spaces have to be 'open' in order to comply with the law. (Source: Ivy Legal) In the case of of one application this clearly is not the case, yet the application was approved following a minor amendment.

It is quite clear that all of these examples could be perfectly legitimate applications and approvals. However the relationship between some of the successful applicants and those i

ISSUE 78 nvolved in the decision making process raises doubts in the mind of Mr Ayaaz and others in the local community. A conflict of interest of this nature should be declared and the persons involved removed from the process for any such application.

Anything else can, and in this case has, result in question marks being raised over the fairness of the process. Is it a case of one rule for friends and family and another for other businesses?

Another similar application to Mr Ayaaz's was lodged on 3 February 2015 and passed on 03 March 2015.

In Mr Ayaaz's case there was designated parking for the three private hire vehicles he wanted to use. For the application that has recently been made, there is no off street parking. The application is for a site close to Mr Ayaaz's premises and was lodged by Uber Private Hire. As this applicant has received plaudits in some local publications, there is a fear that favouritism may influence the panel. Clearly this would be very unfair on Mr Ayaaz

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“It felt as though I was in a Pakistani court room�

Mr Ayyaz and would suggest that the process is not as transparent as it should be.

Moreso, companies like Mr Ayyaz’s are embedded in the community. He is a Bradford born and raised man.

He lives here, he wants to employ

people here and he supports charities here. Mr Ayyaz has been in the private hire business for over seven years and has an excellent track record. Whereas American owned Uber

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Child Poverty...

We Need To Talk About This!

By Ralph Berry t: @AsianSundayNews

As we head to the election, it is worth looking at how the much vaunted welfare reforms have affected the significant issue of Child Poverty. In a society that has become more unequal, the impact of the changes being talked up, like limiting welfare (which we should call Social Security) to two children and reducing further the benefits ‘cap’, talk of reducing child benefit further, builds upon the damage already done to children’s welfare from programmes that have promoted insecurity and fear. Schools tell us that many children are left short of food on school days and without proper uniform.

So 1500 Bradford children live in families hit by the benefits cap. The average weekly loss is around £50.00.

This is due to the impact of ’ sanctioning ‘ of benefits. In Bradford the sanctioning rate is extremely high, driven by targets set on DWP staff.

Half the families sanctioned have children, the impact is severe, and exposes children to emotional upset, loss of security food and heat, a .

growth in Foodbank is one chilling reminder .This is now an issue in all communities.

Schools are increasingly dealing with cases of severe poverty especially where parents are sanctioned. Its worrying that there is little debate about this, have we fallen for the idea these people many of whom move in and out of benefits due to events like ill health, losing a job etc are seen as in some way responsible for their own distress?

The Curry Circle in Bradford and other projects are increasingly seeing families with children, yet we are one of the wealthiest nations on earth…

One Bradford children’s centre described issuing 93 Trussel Foodbank vouchers and 32 Bradford Met Foodbank parcels last year…

The bedroom tax has still hit hard as there are no smaller properties to move down to as families told they have a bedroom to many try to absorb the cost.

It is leading to kids having to move schools, and more families in insecure housing. It is also breaking up the support for children who cannot now see their Dads or spend time with grandparents many now hit by the bedroom tax, and is dislocating families whose relatives are the key source of

support. 2800 Bradford families are still hit by the bedroom tax that involves 2000 children Let’s be clear ,over half of the 30 000 children in poverty live in families where there is work; despite more people in work, it’s not shifting the lives of children in a low wage, zero hours culture.

That has to be changed.

So moves to promote the living wage, led by Bradford Council are hugely important as this takes families out of that in work poverty .Other employers need to follow and public contracts should insist on the living wage etc.

Businesses in all sectors need to start looking at the impact of in work poverty and people still not even paying the minimum wage.

The impact of child poverty is very uneven Over 60 per cent of pupils from some large BME communities live in areas that are in the 10 per cent most deprived in the country, rising to over 90% for some BME communities.

The Churches and faith groups in Bradford have been working to minimise the impact and challenge the culture of scapegoating and blame.

In a City with a growing young population, in a wealthy nation, but one more and more unequal, we are risking some children growing up in entrenched poverty. That will cost us in the longer run, far more than the steps we could take to invest in family support and nurturing our children.

However, why is this not a big issue?

Is it seriously the case we think subjecting 1000’s of children to severe impoverishment and insecurity makes sense?

There is serious talk of capping the income of families who have more than three children; this must be one of the most malicious policies ever. Punishing families most of whom move in and out social security, which is what it is there for, to protect. I am reminded of a media howl when Bradford housed a large family, with nine children; it was a family that had taken in several children to avoid them going into care, which would be cost far greater but that never made the news. Never mind deciding from above what a family should look like.

But most of all a child does not choose the manner of its birth…Are we really about creating generation of dispossessed children?

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PUBLIC OPINION

Labour Prospective Parliamentary candidate for Bradford West Naz Shah

By Dan Moorhouse With the General Election now less than 60 days away it is no surprise that the turbulent nature of the selection of Bradford West's Labour party prospective candidate has aroused much national attention.

Having selected Amina Patel, the Party was rocked by her decision to step down as the prospective candidate and this week announced that local woman, Naz Shah, would be her replacement.

Naz Shah is well known. She has worked as an activist and in some well publicised roles in the NHS. She has been outspoken on issues that are incredibly close to her own heart: abuse, inequality, poverty and injustices. In the week following her selection, the National Media have pounced on the story. Here is a woman who has had, by any standards, a horrendous set of circumstances to live through as a child. She's battled back, she's made something of herself, she is a credit to herself and to her family.

And it is quite right that the national media should applaud the work that Naz has done in relation to women's rights. She, along with others, has campaigned vigorously for years to right wrongs and to exact change. All highly laudable but not really what an election campaign is about. A seat at Westminster is about more than the life experiences that have shaped a candidates ideals. It is, or ought to be, about political vision, the ability to make change for the good of the constituency and the ability to persuade the electorate as a whole that they are best suited to represent the views of not themselves but of the electors.

Which begs the question, how good a candidate is Naz Shah?

Let's leave the life story to one side.

It's heartbreaking reading but

has little real relevance to being a good MP. It has been so widely publicised in the press that a simple internet search of Shah's name will provide a multitude of write ups about her background. What though, of the substance. Is she actually any good as a politician?

Naz Shah certainly fits the bill in many respects. Firstly, she is local and has first hand knowledge of what it is like to live in the constituency. She has been brought up and lived in the area and, as she says herself,“I know the struggles being faced by families across Bradford West because they are struggles I have had to experience myself too.�

Naz is highly determined. In a local context, she fought a case relating to the 'Get Connected' programme in the NHS. This programme was designed to get more Muslim women into leadership positions. As a commissioning manager she became concerned over funding arrangements and became a whistle-blower. Single-handedly and without the support even of her own union representatives she fought a case and won a case against the local government association.

Nationally she has worked closely with Southall Black Sisters on issues relating to domestic violence.

Shah also excels at mobilising younger people and women.

This is evident in her involvement in arranging a convoy of people to a protest against perceived bias by the BBC in relation to Palestine. A cursory glance at her Facebook public profile demonstrates that she has clearly got the potential

to excite and engage a large number of people who may not otherwise have voted. There are numerous followers for her new Public Figure page and the comments from younger and female voters are almost universally supportive and enthusiastic.

However there are issues that Shah will clearly have to overcome. First and foremost she has been imposed from above. The Labour Party chose to determine the new candidate at National Executive level: she is not, and was not at the first vote, the choice of the local Labour party membership.

Indeed when the local party first polled their membership on the issue of Prospective candidate, Shah won just 13 votes of 238 cast.

She may also fall victim to biarderi politics. The very people who voted Amina Ali in originally may well now decide that they would rather not support her.

And support is an issue. Shah has had to launch a fundraising campaign just seven weeks prior to the campaign. As Bradford West is hardly a 'marginal' seat (Galloway has a majority of over ten thousand) it is not a beneficiary of significant funds from Labour HQ. Of course the usual literature that is distributed by candidates would cover some nationally determined statements along with the candidates views on local issues. This is very much where the jury is out and Naz Shah's inexperience as a politician may be exploited.

Three weeks from being selected to date there have been no statements from Shah about how she would address

the issues that she has noted. There are also some early indications that there may be political naivety on her part. As an activist it matters little who you praise, or criticise. As a prospective member of parliament, it does.

It was therefore rather surprising to hear Shah responding to a question at a BME women's hustings about Education by citing the work of Alyas Karmani over that, for example of Ralph Berry. Karmani is not only a local Councillor but is not a Labour party councillor, he is an Independent who has previously sat on behalf of Shah's main electoral opponents, The Respect Party. Berry, on the other hand is an example of good work being done by a colleague within the Party. Hardly a politically astute reference.

Similarly there were contradictions in other responses at the hustings. Understandably, she praises the work of the previous Labour Government and cites her own experiences, however if her statements are to be believed, one has to wonder why she supported Mr Galloway, rather than the Labour candidate in the run in to the last parliamentary vote.

The same is true of her stance on Islamaphobia.

On the one hand she rightly condemns it, on the other she is disappointed that more funding isn't in place for the 'Prevent Strategy' which local Muslim groups have branded, 'toxic'.

Shah is clearly determined to do her best for the people of Bradford West and is a rather different kind of candidate to ones that have been put forward in the past. Time and a sizeable Respect party majority are against her, as, perhaps is her own inexperience. Can she overcome the stigma of being second choice, the possible displeasure of those who sought not to have her as candidate and a huge funding issue? Only time will tell.

Here's what locals in Bradford West think...

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WORD ON THE STREET

What do you think of Naz Shah standing as an MP for Bradford West and what do you think her chances are of winning against George Galloway?

however I don’t think she has much chances of winning against Galloway as I think he’s got more support from the males in Bradford and politics is very much male dominated in Bradford, it’s about who you know, especially in the Pakistani community.” Sairah Bhatti, 35, full time mother.

“I think it is very good because she’s a female which is good, I think any female who stands as an MP is wonderful and because she’s Asian and knows what the people want. Well I would like to think that she would want because I don’t like Galloway and I think there are a lot of people who would think the same so I think she stands a good chance and I would like to think that she could beat him.”

Anne Marie Whitaker, 43, secretary.

“It’s ok because we can’t do any worse with the current politicians; she hasn’t got much chance against Galloway though as he is well spoken and he is well known, he’s a bit like a celebrity.” Imran Hussain, 29, Sky worker.

image: Ali Khan Goodadvice.com

“I know that she is doing that ‘Woman To Woman’ tour and to be honest I do find that a bit sexist that she has jumped on the bandwagon for such a sexist campaign. Do they not want any men to vote for her? I will be voting for her however, because I’d like to see anyone but George Galloway in power. I can’t stand the guy“ Richard Stevens, Pensioner.

“I think Naz is an inspiration to the people of Bradford. She represents a strong independent woman and that is someone that Bradford needs. A lot of people can relate to her struggle and it gives the people of Bradford a role model to look up and show them that things are possible.With George Galloway doing absolutely nothing for this city, I think she has a good chance of winning. I wish her all the best.”

Abdul Latif, 45, Solicitor.

“I think she is an absolute joke. She is using this sob story of hers that has conveniently surfaced to reign in all the votes. Anyone who brings out a sob story isn’t worthy of a vote. Everyone has a sob story in life but we don’t all go advertising it to get what we want. “Adam Powell, 40, Van Driver.

“I think Naz Shah is one of the most inspirational figures in politics right now. I can’t think of anyone more qualified to be a Member of Parliament as this woman. If she

wins, Naz will be the first woman Labour MP to represent Bradford West. We need more politicians with passion and drive like hers.

George Galloway needs to take note. I really hope she wins because she actually deserves it and she knows more about what Bradford needs.” Claudia Pickles, 38, Admin Officer.

“She isn’t your average politician. It looks like she has been through it all- poverty, abuse, broken family and an arranged marriage. Having heard her story more people will be leaning towards voting for her. She is the definition of an independent woman and Bradford needs someone like her to represent the community. It will be interesting to see what a woman politician from Bradford can do for us. We need more girl power.” Samira Amin, 27, Recruitment Consultant.

“Naz Shah seems like a lady that knows what she’s on about. I think George Galloway should feel threatened by her because she is a woman and if she wins she will be first woman Labour MP in Bradford West. Can she really defeat Galloway who has such a strong following here in Bradford? That is the question. I would like to think she has what it takes. She has a number of strong policies and I really hope that she can deliver them. Bradford have put all their trust in George Galloway and not

got much out of it. Hopefully, they will put their trust in someone who is from Bradford, who knows about Bradford and who can change Bradford.”

Harpreet Kaur, 23, Unemployed HR Graduate “I think she is ok and may be able to give Bradford what they want, being from the community. She seems like a strong woman who is able to fight for what she wants and she can do this for Bradford West. And anyone who goes against Galloway has a chance of winning to be fair as I think he has made a lot of false promises which he hasn’t fulfilled and I think he’s all out for himself.” Adam Khan, 30, Youth worker “I think she’s got passion and she’s an incredibly strong person, and that’s who we need to fight George Galloway. I’m not sure if she has much chance of winning against him as it all depends on the voters. The people who normally vote Labour, they need to get out and vote Labour.

Others may vote for Galloway as they have links with him, I hope she gets in.” Mrs. Arnold, 50, ESOL teacher “I don’t really know much about her but she seems like a strong woman and being a Labour member she has more chances of winning because many people in this area are Labour supporters.” Gul Arif, 60, retired.

“Good for her, I’ve met her a few times and she’s a pleasant lady so I

“I don’t really like Naz Shah as the story that has been presented in the papers is different to the story I’ve heard from before. So if we can’t believe the story that she’s putting out now how can we believe anything she will claim to do for the community, so I won’t be voting for her, even though I don’t particularly like Galloway I would probably vote for him against her. Her chances are very slim to none as he is so popular and her reputation is not great with the community so I doubt she’ll be getting the votes.” Natasha Khan, 19, student “I think Naz Shah is an inspiration to the women of Bradford, she’s gone through so much and she is a good role model to the people of Bradford. However with her chances against Galloway I think they aren’t very much, he is very popular and has a strong following so she has a lot to live up to.

Because she’s a second choice not many people know about her and what she may stand for. I will be voting Labour but let’s see if she wins.” Charlotte Pembroke, 32, Sales executive.

“I don’t think she is a great candidate as she has never worked in politics before and I don’t think she will be getting the votes because Bradford West is very much male orientated and I personally don’t think people will vote for her.” James Brenan, 75, retired.

“Having read about her background I think it is absolutely wonderful that she is standing because I thought wow when I read what she went through and what her mother went through. I’m not too sure that she’ll win as Galloway has a huge following but I do wish her good luck and hope she wins.” Haleema Sait, 26, housewife “She’s got stiff competition going against Galloway but I think good luck to her and let’s see if she is able to beat him.” Mr Andrew Wright, 70, retired

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ISSUE 78

WITH ASGHAR ALI CEO OF MY LAHORE

By Aalia Khan

Twitter: @AaliaAsNews E: Aalia@asiansunday.co.uk

F

ood is a major factor in everybody's life and the food places in Bradford have become well renowned.

Many people have now become health conscious, and as well as ordering a delicious meal they will consider how healthy it is. As such MyLahore restaurant, founded in 2002 by CEO Asghar Ali and his cousin Shakoor Ahmed, Managing Director, has become one of the most popular go to places not just in Bradford but also in Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham with their latest expansion.

MyLahore is a family run business and CEO Ali explains that having a family business has its pros and cons “The pros are the loyalty aspect and the fact that family will put in much more effort and time.

And the cons are that sometimes things can be taken personally due to the family emotions.”

Becoming a successful business person takes a lot of hard work and dedication which Ali acknowledges; he says that the key factors in becoming a successful business person and running a successful business are “Passion, drive, hard work, a clear vision and motivation.” He also

advises that if one wants to run a successful business they need to always remain passionate and enthusiastic about it, just as he has been about MyLahore, he says “We are still as passionate today about the business as we were when we first started.”

The success story of MyLahore has been evident with their expansion into Leeds, Manchester and more recently

“We always kept innovating and improving, we never stood still with the successes and we are as passionate today about the business as we were when we first started.”

Asghar Ali Birmingham. Ali says expansion was important for them as “The more we expand the more exposure we get to our concept and it all adds to the brand value.” The ideas for expansion arose when they realised that the successful concepts they had in the cities they were operating in could also work in other cities. For some businesses expansion is not always a viable option and does not always become a hit, Ali advises those whose expansions have failed in other areas to “Go back and focus on your offer and refine what you do and make it so successful that people demand it to be in their cities.”

With the amount of restaurants, cafes and deli bars around Bradford MyLahore has managed to stay on the

top since opening in 2002, Ali reveals MyLahore’s secrets to being the best, “We always kept innovating and improving, we never stood still with the successes and we are as passionate today about the business as we were when we first started.” The emphasis on health and fitness has become stronger today than it ever was and it has become vital for restaurants, cafes and food outlets to think about how

healthy their dishes are as well as the taste and appearance. Ali says this is something that MyLahore are currently focusing on as initially they had developed food simply for good taste.

The dishes on offer at MyLahore vary from Indian curries to pastas and salads, Chinese stir fry’s, burgers, steaks, seafood, panini’s and wraps,

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My Lahore Manchester branch

According to Ali their “Continental range is very popular with the young Asians as they are so used to eating Asian food at home, The curries and grills are popular with the mainstream British population as they love their curries and the desserts are popular with everyone.”

Things you didn’t know about Asghar Ali

Starting a business in Bradford can be tough, especially a food business.

Ali agrees that there is “Extremely tough competition” in Bradford but if people have a dream and desire to achieve something then they should go ahead and do it. He says “If you can succeed in Bradford with a restaurant you will more than likely succeed in other towns and cities.”

When asked if he felt that businesses in Bradford were taking off he responded “Yes they are starting to evolve into better and more sophisticated businesses as the younger generations are applying academic learning to traditional businesses.”

Asghar with friends at My Lahore

Favourite food: Daal Favourite hobby: Football Favourite place in Bradford: MyLahore Favourite film: 12 Angry Men Favourite holiday destination: Pakistan What profession you wanted to go into as a child?

Professional Football

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ISSUE 04 Exclusive interview with UK’s favourite

Rough Copy

Easter recipes for those with a sweet tooth

Anushka Sharma “As adults, we know what to say and what not to say.”

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ASIAN STYLE MAG I ISSUE 04

Fashion talk with

Sania Maskatiya

Ever since she launched her eponymous line in 2010, Sania Maskatiya has become one of the most talked about names in the fashion industry. The Pakistani based designer sees fashion as a means of bridging cultures, as proved in her bold, ethnicinspired designs that fly off the shelves as soon as they arrive in stores.

Sania’s route into fashion design started when she was young. From an early age, she had always loved arts and crafts and was always orientated towards designing and playing with colours. This led her to pursue a Textile Design course at college.

Now, she has gained a worldwide following having participated in exhibits and shows across the globe.

In the lead up to her highly anticipated Fashion Pakistan Week show, Sania has been busy preparing for her new Pret line along with her Lawn collaboration with Alkaram Textile Mills. These are the collections that she describes as her most popular. “This collection features bold statement colours and contrasting colours which remain on trend and are favourites amongst the young and old,“ she added.

Saniya Maskatiya is a brand that specialises in unique and modern pieces, with eye-catching prints and styles that carry the brand’s identity. They reflect a balance between elegance, comfort and practicality.

Sania Maskatiya is one of the main designers who have gone about modernising and updating Pakistani fashion. She has done this by incorporating several modern cuts and styles such as jackets and capes into her designs, as well as changing the way prints are used. Effectively she has succeeded.

While inspired by traditional styles, her collections are innovatively designed to be worn in any part of the world. Her more westernised garments like the gowns, skinny capri pants, jacket-saris, crop tops and skirts are really changing the face of Pakistani fashion and defying the stereotypes.

Sania Maskatiya has become an influential personality in the fashion industry and what I can only describe as a catalyst for changing a contemporary Pakistan.

Not only do her designs evoke effortlessly cool

sensibility but they also scream out diversity, which are the main reasons her designs have attracted celebrities for red carpet events, dramas, and performances to their own weddings. Rani Mukherjee, Sonam Kapoor, Maira Khan, Saira Sheroz, Zahra Sandberg, Sanam Saeed, and Sharmaine Obaid are just a few of the people she has worked with and created signature styles for.

Sania admits how her styles have been influenced by globalisation and the shift and exchange in cultural influences.

She said: “There is an observable growing trend in the West to incorporate hints of Eastern elements in specific collections especially in couture – LV is designing peshawari chappals and Chanel put out a collection of tunics last years that are markedly similar to what we wear. High street brands in the west are also doing tunics and embodying ethnic embroideries. Similarly, in the East there has been a movement to incorporate Western cuts and silhouettes in designs to create more refined and versatile collections.”

It seems like Sania is not the only purveyor of creating the East meets West fusion of apparel.

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The Verdict There are common themes that run through the Sania Maskatiya brand, with paying attention to detail being one of them. Sania is right in branding herself on her use of luxe fabrics and cuts that have been draped in a range of directional but elegant silhouettes, creating versatile looks across all her fashion lines. She knows how to effectively use trendy prints that are comfortable but chic in creating everyday wear for women.

Not only that, but she knows how to get creative with classic silhouettes, by adding intricate detailing and contrasting colours in order to create a fusion of tradition and modernity. It’s clear to say her designs do display imaginative inspiration from a unique interplay of colours and affirms that Sania’s inspiration does in fact come from what she says, “my surroundings and nature are my inspiration.”

If you are looking for a brand that has a combination of the distinctive nature of its designs, quality, finishing and price points then Sania Maskatiya should be your go-to designer.

Sania Maskatiya retails across a number of collections includingHaute Couture, Formal wear, Prêt a Porter and Luxury Pret and is available in the UK at Stitch Three Studio (www.stitchthree. com) The brand is working in a collaboration that will focus on creating a design for an exclusive bottle for Sunsilk shampoos. They will also be providing scarves and hats for the new Pakistan International Airlines uniforms. The Spring/ Summer Collection 2015 will be hitting the runway at Fashion Pakistan Week on 31st March.

2014 Brand Highlights: • One of the very few Pakistani designers to stage a solo showcase at LAKME Fashion Week 2014.

• Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor wore a piece from Sania Maskatiya, which was photographed on the cover of Cosmopolitan India.

• Won a Lux Style Award in 2014 for ‘Achievement in the fashion designluxury prêt’ category.

• Nominated and shortlisted for the international Woolmark Prize-one of the world’s most influential design awards.

• Their bridal Ara-Ornament’ collection was shown at PFDC L’Oreal Paris Bridal Week. The brand also debuted menswear in their Kuamka collection at PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week.

• Internationally, Sania Maskatiya showcased in London at the Faisana Fashion Week, the DIL Charity Couture Gala in LA and in India at LAKME Fashion Week.

• Officially launched a permanent line of accessories at their flagship studio and stores.

• Launched an online store.

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A Salon Made In Italy But Hoping To Grow In Bradford designed to regenerate and revitalise your scalp’s skin, to ensure better hair growth and give immediate and long lasting hydration. And that’s exactly what it did.

It took my desert-dry hair and completely transformed it into the model head of hairglossy, healthy and voluminous.

Whilst this whole process was on its way, I couldn’t help just observing the vibe – everywhere I looked there were stylish clientele with stunning hair and all of the

By Ninder Kaur t: @NinderAsNews e: ninder@asiansunday.co.uk

Philip Martin’s is what I can only describe as one of the coolest concepts that has been brought to the city of Bradford. It is an experience like no other. The tranquil atmosphere, impressive décor and state of the art furnishings and equipment takes you back from the moment you walk through the salon doors- leaving you to question ‘Am I really in Bradford?’

Located on Cheapside (a perfect location with the new Westfield well on its way to opening), the new salon which specialises in hair care and skincare shuns bright lights and the usual bustle of a high street salon with an oasis of calm, beautifully decorated in a contemporary style complete with glistening spotlights and neutral tones. The lights are slightly soft, creating a warm glow that makes the atmosphere that much more relaxing. A lounge area with ample seating sets the scene at the front of the salon while the back takes shape in the form of treatment rooms and a largely spacious hairdressing area.

The salon also boasts a further second floor with a balcony that overlooks the reception area from the salon’s very exclusive bridal suite and a women’s only area – a complete first for a salon in Bradford.

The brand offers a number of products that have been created through the use of natural and organics derived ingredients. They have been integrated with chemical non-toxic substances to help restore and rejuvenate your skin/hair giving it that additional nutrition and protection it needs. All the products serve a dual purpose.

For example, the candles were not only lit all around the salon for tranquil purposes but could also be used as a moisturiser. The same could be said about the shampoos that could be used as a facewash. All the products can be mix and matched. For any customers that may suffer from any skin problems like damaged skin, then there are specially designed treatments to help.

With my salon tour complete, I was ushered to a rather impressive massage chair and was told that every customer should experience.

Whilst having my head massage and what felt like a full body massage given to me by the chair, I was in a state of complete relaxation...almost forgetting that I was here to do a review. I was then offered a hair styling treatment. Before opting for a blow dry, my long tresses were introduced to Philip Martin’s very own unique natural organic products. The shampoo and conditioner have been

The salon opened on 5th March 2015 and is located on Cheapside Bradford, BD1 4HR. Call 01274739092 for bookings.

stylists were clearly so passionate about interpreting their clients brief and personal style. The hospitable staff was a further factor to making the Philip Martin’s brand an enjoyable experience.

The new Philip Martin’s salon is the first in the UK representing an international Italianbased brand.

Although Philip Martin may be made in Italy, I do hope it flourishes in Bradford.

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ASIAN STYLE MAG I ISSUE 04

SHOWBIZ NEWS Akshay Kumar stars in Gabbar is Back

SRK resting due to injury

After enthralling audiences with the blockbuster action film Rowdy Rathore, international megastar Akshay Kumar returns to screens in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Gabbar Is Back’.

Recently on twitter, Akshay Kumar shared an exclusive teaser promo shot, where he sports a rugged and ‘I mean business’ persona, in sync with his depiction of a vigilante.

The new avatar of India’s most loved villain Gabbar has taken the entire nation by storm; the new poster, which was unveiled by Akshay Kumar, shows a tombstone bearing

the name ‘Corruption’, with the film’s release date being mentioned as the day corruption ceased and India’s Independence Day being mentioned as the birth date.

It is said, there’s no one as dangerous as a man on a death wish. Gabbar is a story of a common man, Ajay (Akshay Kumar) wronged by the establishment, who starts the Anti-Corruption Force (ACF) that aims to track down and cease the corrupt strata of society.

Katrina Kaif expresses the struggles of being in Bollywood Hong Kong born actress Katrina Kaif has faced many struggles whilst building her career in Bollywood. Her first drawback came immediately when she could not speak Hindi and had to learn it to appear in films. Since then she has had many highs and lows in her career and has recently expressed that the Hindi film industry is a hard industry to work in.

She explained that being on set for 14 15 hours is not easy and sometimes actors will go a day without having their lunch or dinner.

Kaif believes that one can only survive in the cinematic world if they have a strong passion for making movies. She always says age is never a limitation as the likes of Madhuri and Sridevi have proved this.

Kaif is next due to appear in Phantom alongside Saif Ali Khan.

Shahrukh Khan is being forced to take some time out due to a shaken hamstring. The actor tweeted “Serious Ouch time! Hamstring shaken fortunately not stirred. Injections galore,running like a duck.Not that I don’t like ducks but it sucks!”

SRK was last seen in Happy New Year and is always working on new projects so no doubt he will be up and running as soon as he recovers.

Arjun Kapoor gets the chop 2 States actor Arjun Kapoor has decided to go for a change by cutting his hair and supporting a Mohawk look.

Following in the footsteps of Shahid Kapoor Arjun has cut his hair but says for him it is an experiment. “Change is the only constant… #extreme #experiment…

The long and short of it,” Arjun captioned his Instagram picture showing off his new look. The hair may have changed but Arjun’s beard is still well and truly intact. The new hair-do cut be preparations for an upcoming film, only time will tell.

ASIAN STYLE MAG I ISSUE 04

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SHOWBIZ NEWS Kylie Minogue

no longer wants to work with Jay Z It has been reported that singer Kylie Minogue has decided that she no longer wants to work with Jay Z’s company Roc Nation management.

It is believed that Minogue was not understood as an artists and her last album was not as successful as she had hoped.

Minogue’s contract with the rapper’s firm, which is home to stars such as

Rihanna, Calvin Harris and Shakira will end after she completes the current Australian leg of her ‘Kiss Me Once’ tour.

The singer is looking to reclaim her crown as queen of dance pop and wants to build on the success of the single “Right here, right now” which she recorded with Italian producer Giorgio Moroder.

Pharrell Williams to receive the Fashion Icon Award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America

Sam Smith lost 14pounds in two weeks with the help of Amelia Freer`s book

The new household name Sam Smith has taken to Instagram to show his transformation body weight. He posted a picture on Instagram highlighting how he had shed 14 pounds in just two weeks.

He gave credit to nutritional therapist Amelia Freer and her book Eat. Nourish. Glow.

Smith’s picture shows him holding her book and he captioned the pic writing “Three weeks ago I met a woman who has completely changed my life. Amelia Freer has helped me lose over a stone in two weeks and has completely transformed my relationship with food. Everyone go check out her incredible book, and start to live healthy. It’s not even about weight loss it’s about feeling happy in yourself. Love you Amelia & thank you for making me feel so happy inside and out @ameliafreer #eatnourishglow.”

Pharrell Williams is well known for adorning high hats and great shoes and his impeccable dress sense has not gone unnoticed.

Williams with be honoured with the Fashion Icon Award for his individual style and how it has made a significant impact on popular culture worldwide Diane von Furstenberg, president of the CFDA, said

“If cool was a person, it would be Pharrell, not just for his looks and sense of style but for his kindness and openness. I cannot imagine anyone not seduced by him.”

Pharrell also co-founded the clothing brands Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Footwear, owns a New York City boutique and has even co-designed jewellery and eyeglasses for Louis Vuitton.

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ASIAN STYLE MAG I ISSUE 04

SHOWBIZ NEWS Vidya Balan wants Bradford`s Zayn Malik cancels One to popularise Direction Tour handloom

Zayn Malik has dropped out of the One Direction world tour due to stress allegedly caused by the recent allegations he cheated on his fiancee, Perrie Edwards.

Actress Vidya Balan, who often flaunts traditional Indian weaves, says she feels strongly for the dying art of handloom in the country and would like to spread awareness about weavers’ work.

At the Indian Textiles Day at the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week summer-resort 2015 last week, the “Parineeta” actress sported a creation by designer Gaurang Shah, who is known for his work in khadi and textiles.

Shah used khadi in his collection Kalpavriksha, and Vidya flaunted one of the creations on the ramp.

Known for her love for kanjeevaram and handloom saris, Vidya was thrilled to be a showstopper in an ‘Organza Kanjeevaram’.

“I’m thrilled that Gaurang (Shah) brought a kanjeevaram to me and said ‘It’s an organza kanjeevaram’, something that I hadn’t heard before. It falls beautifully,” Vidya said here post

the designer’s show.

“I am someone who wears lot of handlooms. I strongly feel for it. Slowly I am gaining more knowledge about it so that I can do whatever I can for the weavers and the cause of the handloom,” she added.

Shah, who has been awarded many times for his work in textiles and khadi, went for a twist in using khadi in his collection this time and mixed it with Bangladeshi khadi, Phulkari, Chikankari and Kalamkari.

“It is a jugalbandi of khadi of Andhra Pradesh, Bangladeshi khadi, Phulkari, Chikankari and Kalamkari. The Kalamkari has a little bit twist in it,” the designer said.

“Generally, when the Kalamkari is painted, they do the black outline and then fill the colour. But this time I have not used black and I have done the painting directly with the colours,” he added.

Zayn Malik, 22, has broken the hearts of millions after it was confirmed that he has dropped out of One Direction‘s current tour. Apparently, it’s “stress” that caused Zayn to leave the tour, which many are assuming was caused by the claims he cheated on his fiancee, Perrie Edwards, with a mystery blonde girl HollywoodLife.com previously identified as Lauren Rich.

Priyanka Chopra undertakes `dialect training´ for US show Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, who has bagged a role in the American show “Quantico”, is taking dialect training for it.

“Looooong dialect training today! Phew!

Need some fooooood!,” Priyanka tweeted Friday.

She will be seen as a FBI trainee in the ABC drama pilot, for which she has already begun shooting.

ASIAN STYLE MAG I ISSUE 04

ON THE BEAT

mus ic ne ws WITH

is

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Apache Indian sings about the Election Crisis Reggae artist Apache Indian is preparing to release his latest track Election Crisis. The song is creating ripples across the country as it raises issues regarding the upcoming General Election in May and the importance of making the right choices when voting!

The Birmingham born singer who is famously known for his huge hit song 'Boom Shack-A-Lak' (which featured in the Dumber & Dumber movies), is also known for writing songs tackling the social issues of Arranged Marriages, Aids, Alcohol & Drug misuse, the Caste System and more.

Apache says: "The song wasn't easy to write but I felt it was important to write a song about the elections to raise the issues that need to be raised! People either are confused about who to vote for or just not bothered about politics in general". The singer has

NINDER KAUR @NinderAsNews

Gary Barlow to write Yorkshire musical based on Calendar Girls

definitely caught the mood of the nation by highlighting that the elections are in a crisis.

The song itself is very hard hitting.

The dancehall reggae style is infectious and definitely catches your attention. The lyrics get straight to the point and cleverly address issues that we hear everyday regarding immigration, unemployment and cuts to public services.” Apache himself has worked very closely with his community in Handsworth, Birmingham. Two years ago he set up his own music academy called the 'Apache Indian Music

Academy ‘(A.I.M) that helps young people with music and life skills. It is completely run on a voluntary basis by Apache himself. AIM has become very popular and successful in the community and is now supported by various local sponsors that provide food, water, clothing and various other things that benefit the young people on a weekly basis. The Academy features in the forthcoming music video for 'Election Crisis' and will give

an insight into Apache's vision and movement that's making a difference to the lives of people and to the community.

The song which has already been featured on Sky News was written and recorded by Apache Indian and has been produced by Charlie Hype for the Sunset Entertainment Group.

Election Crisis releases on Monday 30th March. By downloading the track partial proceeds will help benefit AIM.

Multi-talented Manjit Sahota releases new music

Calendar Girls has already been the basis of film and a West End show. The 2003 movie starred Helen Mirren and Julie Walters.

Classical trained vocalist, Comedian, Actor and Writer Manjit Sahota is set to release his new single 'Chete Kareya'.

The Indian born artist started singing at the young age of 12 and in 2008 he started his career on Doordarshan, as an actor. He then went on to work in daily soaps such as 'Kaalu Sekchili' (as a main actor), 'Nit Vaisakhi Aave' and 'Koka Sajna Da' (as a singer), King Kaun Hasean Da (as a comedian).

Gary Verity, chief executive of the tourism organisation, said: "To have someone of Gary Barlow's calibre working on a Yorkshire musical is amazing and I am sure, like the Calendar Girls film and the stage play, this musical will be a huge success."

Manjit also took part in the comedy show of 'Laughter Da Master Season One' on PTC, in which he stood as finalist. He went on to reaching top spot on season 2 and receiving best performer in season three.

Take That singer Gary Barlow is set to create a musical based on 'Calendar Girls'.

Barlow has teamed up with tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire for the project.

The musical will tell the story of 11 Women's Institute members in Rylstone, who posed nude for a charity calendar in 1999.

Barlow has also written songs for the upcoming Broadway production of Finding Neverland.

Aside from that, he has also written all the songs for the Punjabi movie 'Sikander'. He has also sang two of the songs in the film, the title song and Yaari Sardaari.

In 2014, Manjit collaborated with Rupinder Handa to release a special romantic song called 'Pyar' released on Valentines Day. Then in November, 'Jaane Meriye’ was released and the song received a

great response with his fans. The single that MP4 Records and Khaas Banda Productions are releasing "Chete Kareya ' has been written by Bunty Bains.

Manjit Sahota said: " I look forward to the release of 'Chete Kareya' and hope that all my fans continue to support me and MP4 records, so that we can bring more songs for you in the future.”

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ASIAN STYLE MAG I ISSUE 04

Rough Copy The RnB Avengers

They are the boys that describe themselves as the ‘RnB Avengers’.

Rough Copy first released their debut single “Street Love” on 29 June 2014 and now they are back with an RnB classic in the making ‘Same Formula’.

The boys finished fourth on the tenth series of The X Factor in 2013 and are continuing their journey for RnB domination. That’s not all. The multi-faceted artists described as the ‘UK Jodeci’ have also been asked to support US mega star Omarion and Damage on their spring tour.

I spoke to the three-piece boy band from Croydon that is made up of Kazeem “Kaz” Ajobe, Sterling Ramsey and Joseph “Joey” James Thomas.

Tell us about the new single ‘Same Formula’?

It’s a club song. It’s about having a good time and partying. It represents the same formula used in a night club- you have fun with your friends and then hopefully you find someone attractive and take it further. It’s a track that everyone can relate to. This kind of sound is the formula that is out at the moment. It’s something that makes you want to sing and dance to.

ASIAN STYLE MAG I ISSUE 04

What’s the response been like by your fans/ ‘Roughians’?

Although the single is not set to release until May, the response has been amazing from our ‘Roughians’.

The campaign for the single hasn’t started yet and already it is getting played everywhere. It’s been played in the background on BBC 1 Extra and on Coronation Street and EastEnders. We have not even started the radio tour so it’s massive.

How would you describe your sound?

The Rough Copy sound is an eclectic sound of street music. We are all about bringing back that Old School and RnB sound. What we like to call that ‘last generation sound.’ We want people to feel good and want to party when they hear our music.

Why did you choose RnB music?

We love anything from Motown music to old school. When Rough Copy was born in 2008 this was the kind of music we wanted to make. We just want RnB to be popular and introduce it to the younger generation who might not know who Jodeci or Boys II Men are.

New school artists like Pharrell and Bruno Mars are trying to bring back that real music sound because that is where the energy is.

Who is your dream collaboration and why?

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that we are headlining his tour is amazing. Kaz actually influenced the call. He saw a flyer on Instagram and thought that its only right that Rough Copy support him because there is no one else in the UK that can do what Rough Copy are able to do. The management/PR team took it from there and here we are.

How has life been like after the X-Factor?

The journey has been fantastic. We have performed everywhere and anywhere.

We have brought out singles and been on tour. We’ve been signed to a major label.

We have done so many things as a boy band and as an RnB band in particular.

Aside from music what else have you been doing?

Before X Factor, performing wasn’t our 9-5 job. We have been doing music for 8/9 years but we all had jobs. Kaz was a carpenter and worked with youths, Joe was an electrician and Sterling was a 1 to 1 mentor. We did a lot of youth work back then because didn’t come from privileged backgrounds we know how the struggle is. We do everything we can to help encourage and motivate the youth of today. We also work closely with the Princes Trust in mentoring young people and are committed to giving back to our local community in South London.

We have also been involved in London Fashion Week, which was crazy. We worked alongside a clothing brand called Hemsley and they are one look out for. We all love fashion so we try get involved in that as much as possible. When we were on X Factor we were remembered for our crazy fashion, the skirts the leggings. Leather was our theme. Anything to do we with fashion we try and get involved in it. We like to try different avenues aside from music.

Iconic people like Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and The Temptations have inspired us. That is where music started, so they would have be the greatest people to have worked with.

What are you currently working on at the moment and what have you got planned for the future?

Nowadays for what we do and how we do it, a sick collaboration would be Omarion, Trey Songz and Chris Brown. That would create the ultimate RnB vibe.

We will soon be supporting Pretty Ricky, J Holiday and Day 26 in Manchester and London after we have finished the Omarion and Damage tour, so that’s exciting.

Who are you currently digging in the music industry right now?

Anyone from Stylo G, Fuse ODG, Neon Jungle, Ivy Rock who are a new group that are coming up. Mainstream artists will always get the recognition but we are all about praising the talent that is up and coming.

How does it feel to be the headlining supporting act for Omarion’s tour?

Its like a dream come true. We are such huge fans of Omarion’s music and the fact

‘Same Formula’ is available on iTunes 3rd May.

We have also worked on an independent film called AWOL (Absent Without Love).

Not only do we have acting roles in the film but we also got to write the soundtrack.

That will be out in the film festivals. The film has been pitched to film companies and already they are interested in doing a sequel to it.

We are looking to bring out some EPs (Extended Plays) by the summer. There are so many sounds we want to put out there like the RnB 90s slow jams that we all miss but we also want to include Motown and rock influences. In terms of an album, it will probably be late this year/early next year.

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ASIAN STYLE MAG I ISSUE 04

Anush Bollywood beauty Anushka Sharma made her much celebrated Bollywood debut opposite superstar Shah Rukh Khan, also known as King Of Bollywood, with Aditya Chopra’s directorial Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2009).

Since then her career has been managed by YRF Talent, a division of Yash Raj Films, one of India’s premier Bollywood studios, run by Aditya Chopra. The 26-year-old actress has acted in many of YRF’S home productions such as Band Baaja Barat, Badmaash Company, Ladies VS Ricky Bahl and Jab Tak Hai Jaan.

However, to everyone’s surprise Sharma turned producer with her latest offering, NH10. Directed by Navdeep Singh, the film also star Neil Bhoopalam.

for quality cinema as well as NYSE listed Bollywood studio and distributor Eros International along with Anushka’s banner Clean Slate Films.

NH10 is a film about a couple whose road trip goes terribly wrong after an encounter with brutal criminals.

In a chat with Bollywood reporter Sunny Malik, Anushka Sharma talks about her maiden production and her excitement for filming in the English capital for Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil…

NH10 is an unusual name for a Bollywood movie…

It stands for National Highway 10 where film really kicks off.

You became the youngest actor-turned-producer

The thriller is co-produced by Phantom Films, known

with this film. Why is it important right now as you are getting some of the best movie offers anyways?

Yes but people don’t produce films because they don’t get offers anymore. I don’t know where that comes from. You produce films because you want to make something and that is why I did. People think that some go into production because it’s a trend and they always analyse and try to find reasons but it’s actually very simple. It was easier to make this film happen if I produced it and so I did.

How involved were you in casting, marketing and distribution of the film?

The casting was done by director Navdeep. It’s his vision ultimately and should be his decision. Of course, I was involved right from the beginning till now in everything that is related otherwise to the film.

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hka Sharma The film was due to come out last year. What happened?

We weren’t ready to release the film at that time. We needed more time to cut the film to what we wanted it to be. We were ready by December but my film PK was releasing and we didn’t want both released in the same month. That’s why we decided to push the release further ahead.

Phantom Films are said to give actors a lot of creative freedom. Is that something you experienced and is it different from other production houses like YRF? That is why I chose to produce the film with Phantom Films. They have similar sensibilities and that is why we collaborated well together.

The film shows violence against women. Do you think the film will become a talking point considering the current climate in India?

The film isn’t really about violence against women.

The film is actually about how people can be badly pushed into a corner by different people in our society and when they decide to fight back. As far as the social issues are concerned, I do think that there will be some talk about the film.

it will really show them what is happening in India which is important for people to see if you don’t live in India. We have an urban India and a rural India and the film shows a very objective view of the people from all kind of societies. It’s an edge of the seat gritty film.

The swear words in the film have unfortunately become a huge deal…

How excited are you about Bombay Velvet?

The film is a representation of society. It’s not about just using abusive language in the film but hoe people actually talk. We aren’t trying to glorify it. Everyone knows what is right and wrong as it is something taught to children by their parents. I don’t really understand the controversy around it. As adults, we know what to say and what not to say.

I am happy that it has shaped up the way it has. It is a different role for me and I am happy to have worked with Anurag Kashyap.

How do you feel this film will connect with audiences abroad?

I am not sure how it will appeal to UK audiences but

You will be filming for Karan Johar’s next directorial Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in London this year….

Yes, I am very excited as I love the energy of the UK. I feel like I am at home when I am in the UK for some reason. I have been promoting my film non-stop and I will be promoting Bombay Velvet next. I can’t wait to get back to my real job and that is acting.

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EASTER Recipes: Easter recipes for those with a sweet tooth Easter is full of family time and lushes of sweetness. If you love your sweets, you will really enjoy making these recipes. Enjoy the easter break with the kids and make your own easter eggs, or for those of you who have a sweet tooth, the cheesecake recipe can’t go wrong and is perfect to comfort all your friends and family.

Make your own Easter eggs Ingredients 300g/10½oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) or milk chocolate icing for piping Easter eggs

Preparation method Polish the inside of each mould with a piece of paper kitchen towel. Then dampen a piece of kitchen towel with a little flavourless oil, sunflower will do, and polish the inside of each mould with the oil. This ensures a highly polished finish to the chocolate and also helps to release the set chocolate from the mould.

It is essential to temper the chocolate - this is a method of heating and cooling chocolate for coating or moulding. The heating and cooling separates the cocoa solids and ensures the set chocolate will have a high gloss and smooth finish. To temper the chocolate you will need a cooking thermometer, a heat-proof bowl and saucepan of hot water. Break the chocolate into small, even pieces and melt gently in a bowl over a saucepan of hot, not boiling, water. Place the thermometer into the chocolate and heat until it reaches 43C/110F. Take off the heat and cool to 35C/95F. Now it is ready to use.

Pour spoonfuls of the chocolate into each mould.

Swirl around until coated, use the pastry brush if necessary and then remove excess chocolate.

Leave to set, flat side down on a surface, like a large tray, covered in greaseproof paper. Fill each mould in the same way. You will have to repeat the process another two or three times to build up a good layer of chocolate in each mould. Wait for about 20 minutes for the chocolate to set in between layers. Draw a clean ruler or the flat edge of a knife across the chocolate to ensure a clean edge every time you add a layer. This is important so that the two sides of the egg stick together evenly. Leave to chill in a larder or cool place until set.

Carefully un-mould the egg halves and place on a clean surface taking care not to handle the chocolate too much as it will start to melt from the heat of your hands.

To stick the two edges of an egg together, heat a baking sheet and then place the edges of two halves

Raspberry & rose trifles Ingredients

2 cubes Turkish delight, optional 500g pot good-quality vanilla custard ½ a 350g/12oz bought Madeira loaf 300g pack raspberries juice 1 orange 200ml tub crème fraîche (use reducedfat if you like) handful pistachios, roughly chopped

Method

If you don’t want to add the Turkish delight, move on to step 2. Snip the Turkish delight into pieces with kitchen scissors into a large bowl and add a few tablespoons of water. Microwave on High for 1 min, stirring after 30 secs, or until dissolved and smooth. Tip in the

custard and stir together.

Break the cake into rough chunks and divide between 6 sundae dishes or serving glasses. Mix half of the raspberries with the orange juice in a bowl and crush gently with a fork to break the fruit up slightly. Spoon over the cake layer. Cover with the custard, then leave to cool in the fridge for at least 30 mins. Can be made up to 1 day ahead. To serve, top the trifles with a dollop of crème fraîche, the remaining raspberries and a sprinkling of pistachios.

on it for a few seconds, then gently push the edges together.

To decorate the eggs, sit an egg in a glass or small cup and use as a stand while you pipe your desired message on the egg. You can wrap your eggs in cellophane wrap and label them to give away or place them in a basket and offer them to guests.

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Toasted Coconut Carrot Sheet Cake Perfectly moist, this carrot cake is fit to serve a crowd.

Serves: 24 servings

Ingredients Cake 2 cups sugar ½ cup vegetable oil ½ cup unsweetened applesauce 3 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup buttermilk 1½ cups grated carrots ½ cup sweetened coconut Icing 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, at room temperature ½ cup butter, at room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups powdered sugar 1 cup toasted coconut

Instructions Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 15x10x1inch sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, vegetable oil and applesauce. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. Add in the vanilla.

In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Stir into the wet mixture. Add in the buttermilk and stir just to combine. Fold in the carrots and coconut.

Pour the mixture into the prepared sheet pan and bake in the oven until a toothpick comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

To make the icing, beat together the cream cheese and butter. Beat in the vanilla. Add in the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time and beat until smooth and creamy. Pour over the cooled cake and spread evenly.

Top cake with the toasted coconut.

Banofee Cheesecake Ingredients FOR THE BASE 150gDigestive biscuits 75gButter (unsalted) 150mlDouble cream 300gCream cheese full fat 250gMascarpone cheese 3tbspUnrefined golden icing sugar 75gFudge pieces 4Gelatine leaves FOR THE TOPPING 150mlDouble cream 1Banana(s) 25gFudge pieces 50gDark chocolate chips

Method 1.Place the biscuits in a food processor and blitz together until they form fine crumbs. Alternatively, place the biscuits in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin.

2.Melt the butter in a small pan and stir into the biscuit crumbs. Line a 8″ round, loose bottom cake tin with baking parchment. Grease the sides

of the tin lightly. Press the biscuits into the base, packing them down tightly with the back of a spoon. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

3.Warm the cream in a small pan for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, place the gelatine in a bowl with 4 tbsp cold water. Soak for 5 minutes until softened, then remove the gelatine from the water and add to the cream, stirring until dissolved.

4.Whisk the mascarpone and cream cheese together with the icing sugar until smooth. Whisk in the double cream and gelatine mixture, then stir in the fudge pieces. Pour the mixture onto the cheesecake base and leave to set for at least 4 hours.

5.To decorate , remove the sides of the tin, running a knife around the edge of the cheesecake if necessary. Whip the cream lightly then spoon on top of the cheesecake and decorate with slices of banana and fudge pieces. Melt the chocolate for 30 seconds in the microwave or until smooth then drizzle over the cheesecake.

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ASIAN STYLE MAG I ISSUE 04

East is East favourite

Om Puri

relishes on his hundred-foot journey

ASIAN STYLE MAG I ISSUE 04 As perhaps one of India’s most recognisable acting exports, Om Puri has amassed more than 250 feature film critics in his four decades in front of the camera. Born in Patiala, in the north of India, Puri is beloved at home and abroad, having played roles in mainstream and independent cinema in India, the United States and the UK. His film debut came in 1976, in the Marathi film GHASHIRAM KOTWAL, and Puri rode the Indian New Wave of the 70s and early 80s, starring in some of the country’s most memorable art-house classics and taking roles in some of Bollywood’s biggest successes.

He had a cameo role in Richard Attenborough’s GHANDI, in 1982, but he credits a turn opposite Patrick Swayze and Pauline Collins ten years later, in Roland Joffe’s CITY OF JOY, as kick-starting his English-language career. Hollywood roles include the likes of WOLF, THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS and CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR. Equally at home in British cinema, few can forget Puri’s turn in 1999 hit EAST IS EAST, in which Puri played the patriarch of a mixed-ethnicity family settling into Salford, Greater Manchester in the 1970s. A sequel, WEST IS WEST, followed in 2010.

In THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY, Puri again plays a proud Indian patriarch, this time leading his family to a sleepy French village in which he intends to open an Indian restaurant and bring a taste of home to a people whose cuisine has been unchanged for hundreds of years. And there’s a catch: he’s opening opposite a Michelin-starred legend Puri will soon reteam with Roland Joffe for THE LOVERS, alongside Josh Hartnett and Tamsin Egerton, but in London to launch THE HUNDREDFOOT JOURNEY, he discusses his passion for cooking, the stellar ensemble, and his extraordinary cinematic history.

This is a hard film to watch on an empty stomach. The obvious first question is: can you cook as well as the film suggests?

I think I’m the senior of the group when it comes to cooking. I have been cooking from the age of 14.

In school I was a Boy Scout, and one of the was cooking. There used to be competitions. I used to watch my mother, and if we went to anybody’s house I would be curious to ask them, “How did you prepare it? What did you put in it?” etc. etc. I find it relaxing. It’s like doing yoga for me.

Do you have a signature dish?

My preference is still vegetarian. I can’t have a full non-veggie meal. I have to have vegetables. I love lentils and I love yoghurt. I can cook chicken and prawns, but it’s mainly vegetarian.

Also, I don’t indulge in cooking where you have to spend a lot of time. There are a lot of Indian dishes where you have to spend bloody half a day cooking one dish. I don’t much use ground spices, which have a mixture of various things. I prefer to use the

www.asianstylemagazine.com whole spice. I improvise a lot with food, too, and try to match things. Most of the time I have been successful in making a mixture.

There is one dish, which becomes like a whole meal. In the north we have a state called Uttar Pradesh, and there’s a dish there called Tahri, which is a mix of vegetables and rice cooked together. It’s like a pilau, actually. When the family goes for an outing, they come back home, the children are very hungry, and they don’t want to cook three dishes.

They cook this Tahri, which takes about 20 minutes, and you have a perfect meal. You have vegetables, rice and yoghurt.

Most actors are lucky to have one role of a lifetime in their careers. You’ve had many. Did this immediately leap out to you as something like that?

I was excited and absolutely thrilled. Look at the names associated with it, starting with Steven Spielberg who is a master of cinema. He is so diverse and so prolific and versatile in his filmmaking. When I met him for the first time in America, for the premiere, I looked at him and said, “God, such a tiny body and has so much talent inside.” He’s very gentle and very sweet, and he met me very warmly. Oprah Winfrey is another great human being. She visited the set also and it was a great pleasure meeting her. In fact, I gifted her a book I was reading, which was about spiritualism and meditation. She enjoyed reading it; she sent me an email that she loved it. Lasse Hallstrom is a great director. And then finally you had Dame Helen Mirren. To work opposite her is a dream for any actor. I was absolutely thrilled by this project.

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that a common trait amongst Indian cooks, do you think?

Most Indians are very enterprising. Way back in the 40s and 60s, the people who came from India were essentially the labour class. Then, gradually, they had families here and became part of this society.

But they came here with nothing. You can’t imagine that they come almost penniless, and in 10 years time you see that they’re millionaires. They don’t spend very much – they’re not indulgent. They save and they keep growing their business.

You’ve done more than 250 films. Looking back, what has allowed such longevity?

The fact is that in Indian mainstream cinema a face like mine didn’t fit in. If Anthony Quinn had been born in India, he’d still be struggling; he wouldn’t find a main role to play. Fortunately, during the period I came in the mid-70s, the New Wave cinema was coming up. The films had natural faces and ordinary faces. Pretty, chiselled faces weren’t required to play main parts. I was part of that cinema, and gradually, because of the wonderful performances, the mainstream cinema noticed. They started offering substantial parts – although never the main lead. But there was very little money in art cinema.

Art cinema gave me prestige and dignity and credibility as an actor, and commercial cinema gave me bread and butter. I created a balance – the right kind of balance – between the two.

How did you break out internationally?

You don’t know where it’s heading, and where it’s going to lead. Things keep on happening, and the least you expected was a relationship between Helen Mirren and my character. The younger love story was going on right from the beginning, but ours was a surprise. It’s a very dignified relationship, with a lot of warmth and compassion.

It started with CITY OF JOY in 1992. I had a big part against Patrick Swayze, and I got very good reviews in America. My producers and director, and the casting director, they said, “You must have an agent in London.” I didn’t know anyone, so they put me onto Jeremy Conway and he’s still my agent today. With that film, gradually roles started coming and I did a lot of work in Britain. I did three or four Canadian films, and six or seven American films.

Cameos, but good cameos, you know. I worked only with stars, whether it was Jack Nicholson or Tom Hanks or Patrick Swayze or Val Kilmer or Michael Douglas.

The cast is from many different backgrounds.

Was it easy to bond?

How did you find Lasse Hallstrom’s approach on this film?

Well, I have to say that for me it’s something that comes naturally. It all started with EAST IS EAST. I have a big family in EAST IS EAST and I got this idea before we started filming. I was staying in an apartment in Holland Park, so I said my exercise is that tomorrow we all meet at my place and we go out shopping to cook. Someone went to buy vegetables, and someone went to buy fruit, somebody went to buy wine. Everybody went shopping separately and we all got together and cooked the meal. We spent the entire day, until 12 o’clock at night and it was wonderful. Similarly I did that on this film. Every Saturday and Sunday my screen family would come to my apartment and I had to cook for them.

I spoke to him about his background and how he got his start. He’s a self-trained man. He didn’t go to school to learn direction. I think perhaps, it explains his behaviour on set, because he discovered things himself, so he expects the actors to discover things for themselves. The most important line which stuck in my head – and I’ve worked with hundreds of directors – was when he said, “Om, the take was nice, but I want you to mess it up.” I got confused, I said, “Why would I mess up a scene?” What he meant was, like in real life, you’re awkward, you’re hesitant, and you’re not always perfect. He meant that. Sometimes he said, “Throw the script away.

Don’t speak lines from the script. Think of the situation and make your own lines.” That’s quite difficult, instantly. We’re not writers. But he’ll get something out of that.

You and Helen share a wonderful romance in the film. What did you like about the way that played out?

Your character is passionate but stubborn. Is

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY IS AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY AND DVD ON 9TH MARCH, COURTESY OF ENTERTAINMENT ONE

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WOMEN IN THE SPOTLIGHT

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SARAH RAWNSLEY

ASIAN STYLE MAG I ISSUE 78

Bilkis Mahmood Winner New refurbished Princeville Primary Schoolof

By Aalia Khan Twitter: @AaliaAsNews E:Aalia@asiansunday.co.uk Sara Rawnsley, Headteacher at Princeville Primary School, a school that our editor also attended, and newly recruited Recruitment and Retention Strategy Manager at Bradford Council has had a vast amount of experience in spotting fresh talent and helping the developing of individuals.

Rawnsley’s ten years of experience as a Headteacher at Princeville Primary will help her in the new role she has recently taken on at Bradford Council.

Rawnsley says the reason why she took on the new role as Recruitment and Retention Strategy Manager was because “It is something I am very passionate about. I am very passionate about spotting talent and bringing careers on. When you are a teacher in a classroom you want every child in your classroom to do really well and as a headteacher I’ve had the same mantra about my staff. I

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The British Muslim Award

Princeville Primary School

have been a headteacher for ten years and when this post was advertised I thought it is something I am really keen to do; to bring together lots of things that are going on in a cohesive package for Bradford, attract people to Bradford, get the best people in and get the best schools.” Her new role will involve identifying exceptional talent and those who will help in the betterment of education and placing these individuals in the right roles. She will also be looking at staff right from education and teaching up to executive headship.

officially be leaving Princeville Primary School as a headteacher and focusing solely on her new role at Bradford Council. She says everyone at the school has been very supportive of this new chapter in her life and she believes that it’s good not to stay at a place for too long, “Always leave on a high.”

Up until summer Rawnsley will be juggling both the roles and she says her time is managed well thanks to her deputy headteacher “I have got a really great deputy headteacher at my school who is leading the school when I’m not here, so I manage it by being quite flexible with my time so that I can work both alongside each other until I leave the school in summer.”

her new role “I’m passionately developed and very good at the succession, planning and process of my school where we spot talent early, such as support staff, developing people and encouraging people to go as far as they can. I have done this very successfully at Princeville and we have really great staff with clear pathways. I want to extend that across the district and develop talent management and have real clear pathways for progression for everybody.”

The two roles vary “As a headteacher you are in charge of your own school, the grass roots from children to education and staffing. This role is very different because it is totally strategic, so it is about bringing together adults who can bring the best outcome for the children. It’s working with many different people and dashing about a lot” explains Rawnsley. As of summer 2015 Rawnsley will

In her new role she says the skills and requirements she will be focusing on are; “With school leaders we are looking for people who have got clear vision, are very strategic and very tenacious and passionate about the outcomes for children and getting the very best for them. Those are the key elements which are crucial.”

Rawnsley has always been passionate about her role as a headteacher and says spotting talent has been a key skill of hers which will be extremely useful in

Fave film: American Beauty Fave food: Chicken Pasanda curry or Chicken Tikka Masala Fave place in Bradford: Picture Ville Cinema Fave hobby: Reading Fav holiday destination: Kenya on Safari

A few interesting facts about Sara Rawnsley:

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ISSUE 78

Bradford's Annual Women Awards set to be Biggest yet!!

Bradford’s unsung female heroes will once again be honoured for their contributions and achievements across public and home life at the fourth, annual Bradford Inspirational Women Awards (BIWA), taking place on Saturday 28 March at Life Centre, Wapping Road, Bradford, BD3 0EQ. The Inspirational Women Foundation hosts the Bradford Inspirational Women Awards each year, with a view to inspire and aspire future generations. This year’s award ceremony will once again be presented by broadcasters sunny and Shay Grewal.

Chief Guests will include athlete and

Paralympic head coach Paula Dunn; Shadow Equalities Minister in the House of Lords, Baroness Glenys Thornton; and former leader and former vice chair of the Respect party, Salma Yaqoob; among other high pro ile attendees. Paula Dunn says, “I’m very honoured and humbled to be the Chief Guest at this great event especially celebrating women’s achievement and, as Bradford born woman, it makes it so much more special to be in attendance.”

All funds raised from the night via ticket sales will be used to support female causes such as court fees for women who have been

subjected to sexual harassment in the work place; supporting victims of domestic violence, women struggling to ind work, women in business and other worthy causes.

The coveted award ceremony, which highlights the stories of the district’s inspirational women, continues to go from strength to strength with a new category added each year. This year’s new category is Inspirational Woman Teacher. Once again, the response for nominations across all categories has been exceptional. In addition, two Special Awards for Woman of the Year and Mum of the Year (selected by public vote) will be presented on the night

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MEET THE FINALISTS......

by the founders of the Inspirational Woman Foundation – a not for profit organisation established to work with and to support women at home, in the workplace, in the community or in business, of which the Inspirational Women Awards are now a part. The event is supported by British Airways, who will be donating a return flight to New York for the Woman of the Year award recipient.

The shortlist represent the diverse communities of Bradford, with finalists comprising British-born, Bradford locals alongside those with heritage roots in Eastern Europe, India and Pakistan, with one nominee from a military background. The panel of judges will convene shortly to select the final winners who will be announced at the red carpet award ceremony. Finalists for the Bradford Inspirational Women Awards 2015:

Employee Category

Yorkshire and England Rugby team

Youth

Lynne Cunningham – YMCA

Ambreen Sadiq – Boxer

Melissa Steele

Shazia Mehrban – Manager Pre School Dr Kulpana Patel – Bradford City CCG

Ashleigh Mae Bowers Amy Barker

Community Star Janet Dunn

Public/Voluntary Sector

Beverley Barton

Teacher

Yasmin Khan – Staying Put

Katie Lloyd

Eleanor Bryant – Bradford University

Business Woman

Sally Layas – Holy Family Catholic School Jessica McMillan - Copthorne School

Asfa Sajjad – Aurat Project Dr Kulpana Patel – Bradford City CCG

Kavita Oberoi – Oberoi Consulting Sports

Liva Alberta – Concierge Estates

Saima Hussain – Rugby player for

Kate Hardcastle – Insight with Passion

BIWA 2015 FInAlIstS Teacher of the Year Sally Layas – Holy Family Catholic School Sally Layas is the Assistant Head Teacher at the Holy Family Catholic School. She has been working at the school for five years and believes in bringing the community and students together. During the Peshawar attacks, she created ‘hugs on offer’ at the school for anyone who needed a hug or support. Sally’s response to the horrific attacks was that love is more powerful than hate and that theme dominated the week at school. She says it was a simple thing to get the kids to spread love and raise awareness of the attacks. Sally believes that, as a teacher, you can’t stop being horrified by such attacks.

Most recently, the Gaza/Israel situation really affected her and she and the school are trying to counteract that by advocating unity instead of division.

Jessica McMillan – Copthorne Primary School Jessica McMillan has been working at Copthorne Primary School since September 2014. She is a qualified Year

4 teacher and teaches all subjects to students. She got into teaching because she felt inspired by her teachers when she was younger; she wanted to make a difference in children and parents’ lives, which is why she decided to work in a Bradford school that was more deprived. Jessica hopes to help every student that comes through her door to ensure that they are happy and well-rounded academic and socially.

Eleanor Bryant – Lecturer at Bradford University teaching Psychology Eleanor has been teaching Statistics and Health and Eating modules at Bradford University for eight years now. When she started her teaching she was a little worried about the modules she was given, as although health and eating was ok, often statistics is a complex and difficult module to learn let alone teach.

However, Eleanor has applied fun and practical teaching methods to the module that has made statistics fun to learn. In fact the students enjoy her classes so much that they wear I love Statistics T-shirts to class. Eleanor is also seen as an approachable teacher as many students (mainly female) have come to her with their personal problems. Often she has found female students to have low self-esteem and self-belief and she has gone over and

beyond to help them and empower them.

Public/ Voluntary Sector Yasmin Khan – Staying Put Yasmin Khan is the Director of Staying Put, an organisation that enables women and children experiencing domestic abuse to remain safe in their own homes.

Yasmin is an activist and she lobbies and campaigns for equality and making sure that anybody that is disadvantaged has fair access and opportunities in life; these causes are what drive her. She is also a lead on gender equalities and human rights issues for the past 20 years. When Yasmin joined Staying Put, the organisation was under threat of redundancies. However, today the organization is stronger than ever with increased funding and investment thanks to Yasmin’s dedication the organization will also be launching a DV support group for men too.

Asfa Sajjad – Aurat Project Asfa Sajjad, a mother of four and a mature student studying Health and Social Welfare, has

been working within the community for almost five years. She started off as a breastfeeding peer/ supporter and from there her true potential was recognised and it was suggested that she further enhance her knowledge by studying a degree, which she has almost completed. Asfa faced her own personal challenges when her father was kidnapped in Pakistan and she became a negotiator for his release.

This further determined Asfa to support and help other women and she went on to do a placement at the Aurat Project at which she set up a small sub project. She had realised that there weren’t any South Asian service users.

At the same time, she was looking at gender inequalities within health and education. Asfa claims to have helped over a thousand women through her project work.

Dr Kulpana Patel – Bradford City CCG Dr Kulpana Patel was born and bred in Bradford and has lived there all her life. She is now a GP at Little Horton Lane Medical Centre and is serving her local population, which she finds incredibly rewarding. Kulpana has been working on a project called Bradford Beating Diabetes, which is helping to tackle undiagnosed patients. The aim of the project is to educate diabetics to lead a healthy lifestyle. Not only has Kulpana lead on the project but has seen

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BIWA 2015 FInAlIst positive outcomes in improving health in the community She has also maintained her work at the medical centre she works for and to make her patients feel at ease learnt the local languages, Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi, when she herself is a gujarati speaker.

Kulpana is currently learning polish to serve her eastern European patients.

Mum of the Year Shama Amin Shama Amin, mother of four, married 12 years ago and moved to Bradford. After a high flying career in banking, Shama gave it all up seven years ago, when she had her twin boys. Shama had two children before the twins, but continued working part time as it didn’t deter her juggling work and home life.

Shama remained at home for four years which she thoroughly enjoyed, but also thought about what to do next as for her being a mum was not just running a household but to be able to do something where she can leave a legacy for her children, but also create aspirations for her children. So she decided to open a private day nursery, which she wanted to be a benchmark for other settings out there. With no experience in childcare, Shama began researching and doing courses in safeguarding, childcare and child protection. After completing her courses and research, she finally opened her own nursery, The Little Academy Day Nursery, in January 2014.

Tazeem Akhtar Mother of six, Tazeem Akhtar, is a role model mother. The stay at home mum goes out of her way to help anyone who requires it. When her neighbour was taken ill with a terminal illness, Tazeem cared for her during the day as the family had to go to work. She bathed, fed and kept her company.

When her sister was diagnosed with schizophrenia she was put into Lynnfield Mount Hospital, but Tazeem took her out and has been caring for her since. Even the doctors have commended Tazeem on her commitment and love. Furthermore, her grandchild has learning disabilities so Tazeem is hands on in taking care of him and helping her daughter with

HRH Princess Benedikte of Denmark.

his care.

Liva Alberta

Teresa Maria Gornall

Liva moved from Latvia to the UK in 2004 and made Bradford her home. After growing up in poverty and being accustomed to a rationed lifestyle where money was not visible, Liva was ever more determined to improve her lifestyle and get her family out of poverty. So she decided to seek work abroad and ended up moving to the UK with very little spoken English. Liva found a job at Bradford Council working in social services, helping to find housing for the Eastern European communities. It was here Liva found a gap in the market. She realised that most Eastern Europeans who were coming to the UK didn’t just want standard accommodation but wanted to make this their home and therefore wanted a better lifestyle, so she helped set up Concierge Estates, a company which not only took care of the housing needs of the Eastern European community but treated them like first class citizens and helped them develop their lifestyle in the UK by helping them become homeowners.

The success of Liva’s business and entrepreneur skills was further evident when she appeared on the front cover of Forbes magazine.

Lynne Cunningham is an 8-13 Yrs Project Development Manager at YMCA and has been working with the organisation for over nine years.

She has helped develop the Stepping Stones Provision which is a bought in service by schools to support and help schools with young people who may need that extra little help with certain areas identified around behaviours and self esteem. Her job isn’t just the nine to five. Lynne goes the extra mile for any task given and gives more than 100 per cent to her job. Whilst at the YMCA, Lynne has changed her role a few times moving up the ladder and gaining more responsibility and different challenges. She was involved in the Centenary of WW1 and was chosen to represent the City of Bradford YMCA in the first ever march in London for the Remembrance Parade. It was the first time ever the YMCA had been represented at this parade for the work they did in the First World War and Lynn did a great job in representing her company, giving up her own time.

Kavita Oberoi

Shazia Mehrban

Kavita grew up above her father’s plumbing and bathroom shop in Bradford.

She left university with a First Class BSc (Hons) Degree in Applied Chemistry from the University of Huddersfield and embarked on a career as a medical representative with Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Deciding to set up her own business, she spotted a business opportunity, providing clinical audit and IT training and business consulting for GP practices, and she quickly won a contract with international blue chip pharmaceutical company, Pfizer. By August 2001, demand for her services had become so great that she established Oberoi Consulting. Since then, Oberoi has won many accolades and awards and even appeared on Channel 4’s hit show The Secret Millionaire. Kavita is also known for her motivational speaking, fundraising for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts as the Chair of the Global Girls’ Fund Board, under the patronage of

Shazia has been working in childcare since 2005, starting out as a volunteer for a couple of weeks at Keighley Kiddy Care.

She had no experience or qualifications but managed to get a job at Highfield Pre School, which is where she works now, by devoting her time to the children. During her time at work she was also studying for her level 2 and 3 in Early Year’s Education. After a couple of years she was offered a job as a manager and has managed Highfield Community Pre-school Playgroup since 2008. During that time, Shazia was going through a divorce but didn’t let that stop her from achieving something for herself and her son. While working full time as a manager for both an after school club and a pre-school manager at Highfield, Shazia was still progressing with her education achieving a BA Honours degree in Early Year’s Education.

During the holidays, when Shazia was meant to have time out, she worked with children with SEN - special needs

Teresa Maria Gornall is a mother who has undergone many struggles. Eight years ago in her mid 50s, she was diagnosed with oesophagus cancer. She had an operation and suffered a bi lateral stroke as a complication. She was left unable to walk and was told by doctors that she would never walk again. A year later, she was diagnosed with womb cancer.

Throughout this time, she underwent physio sessions, yoga and tried many things to improve her chances of walking. Since then, she has walked the Race for Life. Eight years later, she walks with the aid of two sticks and has just returned from an independent trip to Australia to visit her eldest daughter. She continues to support her family and be an active, hands on wife, mum, grandmother and great grandmother.

Business Woman and Woman of the Year Kate Hardcastle Kate has become a multi award-winning business woman, saving the fortunes of many businesses and creating multimillion pound value brands, before establishing her own business – Insight with Passion. She set up her own award-winning business in 2009 during the recession.

The company has grown year-on-year.

There are offices in Leeds and Manchester with a satellite base in London, and the company employs ten full-time staff as well as 30 consultants.

She also runs two charity campaigns – Charity Dreamgirls and Positive Image.

Kate has also been appointed as a non-executive director to the Board of Rugby League club Bradford Bulls – she was the first woman on the board. She is a Business Leader of the Marketing Society and also a Spark Ambassador. She has been awarded over 17 National Awards including the accolade of best Young Marketer (under 30) within the entire UK. Kate is also a TV and Media Commentator and Specialist for the BBC, ITN, ITV, Sky, Guardian, The Sun and international media.

Employee Category Lynne Cunningham

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with autism. She is totally committed to her work and the children she works with.

Dr Kulpana Patel – Bradford City CCG Dr Kulpana Patel is a GP at Little Horton Lane Medical Centre and is serving her local population, which she finds incredibly rewarding.

Kulpana has been working on a project called Bradford Beating Diabetes, which is helping to tackle undiagnosed patients.

The aim of the project is to educate diabetics to lead a healthy lifestyle. Not only has Kulpana led the project but has also seen positive outcomes in improving health in the community.

She has also continued at the medical centre she works for and, to make her patients feel at ease learnt the local languages, Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi, when she herself is a Gujarati speaker.

Kulpana is currently learning Polish to serve her Eastern European patients.

The duties of a GP are hectic and challenging but Kulpana will work all hours to ensure she is delivering the best in healthcare, not just within the practice but taking on extra projects to improve healthcare in the community.

Youth Category Amy Barker Amy is a 20-year-old businesswoman.

At the age of 18, instead of going to university, with the support of her mum she launched a dress shop business called The Pageant Boutique. Despite being a model A* student, opening a dress boutique had always been a dream of Amy’s. A couple of years down the line she would have opened up her own boutique but has managed to save the expenses of going to university to do so. Amy encountered a few challenges in relation to her age. Not many people took her seriously when she said was opening up a boutique. Amy has proven them wrong. The success of the business has resulted in celebrities and beauty queens buying from her boutique. She has become a confident role model to other young business people by telling them that you don’t have to go to university to be successful.

Ashleigh Mae Bowers Ashleigh is a 16-year-old student at Bradford Academy. She has been struggling with an eating disorder and depression for two years. Her eating disorder caused her to stop competing as a dancer. It has been very controlling and has impacted her life massively – everything from getting out of bed to going to school and doing basic tasks. Her health problems have

also impacted her family. Ashleigh started a campaign during Eating Disorder Awareness Week to get people involved to help them learn more. She also wrote a number of posts to raise awareness as to what goes on. She organised fundraising activities like getting her friends to wear silly socks to help raise money for BE, an eating disorder charity.

Ashleigh still gets help from CAMHS, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and they are still supporting her through it.

Melissa Steele Melissa is a 21-year-old recording artist from Bradford. She signed a deal with Atlantic Records last year and the day after that she went out to Jamaica to shoot her first music video for her first single ‘Kisses for Breakfast’. That went to the Top 10 in the UK. She also has another Top 10 that is in the charts at the moment called ‘I Loved You’. At the age of 9/10 Melissa had always wanted to become a singer and a performer. Music has always been a way of expressing herself through song writing and singing. Melissa has faced a number of personal challenges including taking the risk of giving up her job in order to pursue her dream.

After quitting her job she got financial help from her mum to go to London and get recognised as an artist. She was away from home and living in hotels for a year. While living away she overcame the pressures of a lifestyle change and got to know the ins and outs of the music business. Within a few months of being in London and working hard she was noticed.

Melissa faced some personal struggles. When she was 6 years old her dad passed away. Her perfect family dynamic disintegrated and it was a really hard time for her.

Music has been a way of helping her cope and express her feelings.

Through song writing she got to express her emotions.

www.asiansunday.co.uk Action where she has worked for six and half years. Monday to Friday she is employed to teach children and adults with dyslexia that are struggling with reading, spelling and writing.

Through her work with Dyslexia Action, she also runs the Literacy Catch Up Club at St. Augustine’s Library.

Beverley goes out of her way for the community especially where children are concerned. She has a professional background in special educational needs.

Janet Dunn – Carlton Bolling College Janet Dunn is a PA to the Head Teacher at Carlton Bolling College. She is originally from Halifax and has worked in education for about 12 years.

When she heard of a family whose mum was in hospital and they needed money and support, she instantly thought of helping them. The mum had had a car crash in Bangladesh and was severely injured, while the children were studying at Carlton Bolling College. Janet found out what was happening with the family and, through genuine care, gave them some of her own money. She also managed to raise £10,000 in two months. She made sure the family had enough food while the mum was in hospital. The school and Janet are continuing to work with the family to help and support them in any way that they can. When Janet was ten years old, her family was in a car crash and her dad and sister were killed; this is the reason why this family’s problems really affected her and what made her want to help them even more so.

Katie Lloyd – Cat Rescue services

Community Star Category Beverly Barton Beverley moved to Bradford from Blackburn a few years ago and helps out on a number of communitybased projects.

She is a governor at Westminster Primary School and also helps to lead the Sunday School at St. Clement’s Church on Barkerend Road, helping run the church with her husband. They have a number of families, including refugees, for whom life is a daily struggle and she tries to support them.

Professionally, Beverley is a teacher for a national charity called Dyslexia

Throughout all her health problems, Katie has continued to run a cat rescue project where she re-homes over 400 cats and kittens each year. As a volunteer, Katie has managed the project for eight years and she has worked tirelessly to fundraise, rescue, re-home and look after the kittens. She does all of this while suffering from breast cancer and a brain tumour. It is with Katie’s help that many of the cats they have rescued would otherwise be put to sleep or left to suffer.

Woman in Sports Category

Saima Hussain Saima is the only Asian female rugby league player in the country.

She was the first Muslim female to play Rugby League for Yorkshire.

The 35-yearold, who is now retired, comes from a Pakistani family who live in Keighley.

Saima was first introduced to rugby when she was nine years old. She started playing for her local club, Keighley Cats rugby league team, and was spotted as a potential for regional playoffs. Since starting her journey, she became the first ever Muslim female rugby player to play for both Yorkshire (aged 18) and England Rugby League (aged 20). As a Muslim, she is aware of the problems that girls face. Saima encountered some personal struggles when she began playing rugby. The media published images of her in shorts and this caused concern for her parents about how the sport didn’t allow her to cover her legs. However, their support got her through the negative backlash she faced from the community. The now Sports Development Officer helps raise the profile of women’s rugby league and encourages more women, including Asian women, to become involved.

Ambreen Sadiq Ambreen Sadiq is the first Muslim female boxer to compete at a professional level.

She became a UK national champion at the age of 16. She is still competing but has had to take a few months out because of an injury. She is 20 years old and is training to compete in the Olympics and represent Team GB. Ambreen has her own business teaching students how to box and she coaches in her spare time. She first became involved with the sport when she accompanied her brother to a local boxing club.

She started boxing when she was suffering from racist bullying as a teenager and used it as a way of releasing her aggression. Although boxing helped her feel calmer, Ambreen’s new love for the sport attracted a lot of negative attention and encouraged yet more bullying.

She paid no attention to those who disapproved of her boxing for cultural reasons and has since continued to compete at national championships and is working towards competing internationally.

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Labour’s Pink bus hits Bradford

Naz Shah and Gloria De Piero outside the 'Woman to Woman' pink bus

By Ninder Kaur t: @ninderAsNews e: ninder@asiansunday.co.uk

Labour’s infamous pink bus arrived in Bradford this week to reach out to the women in the area.

The party's Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, Gloria De Piero arrived on the ‘Woman to Woman’ bus in Manningham to support Labour’s Bradford West election candidate Naz Shah.

Both Labour representatives met with local businesswomen, councillors and employees to find out what they would like to see from a Labour Government after May’s General Election.

The women of Bradford discussed a number of problems that have soared across the country under the Coalition government. The problems ranged from education and childcare to low pay and unemployment.

As a result, the bus has been used as a national effort to reach out to women after it was revealed that 9.1 million women did not vote in 2010 because they were switched off by politics.

Woman to Woman aims to win over female voters by highlighting Labour’s women-friendly policies, including boosting the minimum wage to £8 and increasing support for childcare for working parents.

Image

Talking about the pink bus, Gloria said: “We have got to change the way we are doing politics. With the pink bus we get to go to where women aretheir work places, women groups and wherever women are, we are going to go speak to them. Lots and lots of women are turned off by politics. We are trying to do something a bit different to encourage women to vote.“ She added: “The pink bus is not just a vehicle but also it’s a vehicle to say something about women’s lives.”

Naz explains how the pink bus will help with unemployment issues amongst women in Bradford. “In 2010, we had no over 25 year olds in long

term unemployment. Today we have 290 in Bradford West and that is a figure that we need to change. We need to go back to 0 in long-term employment. The message that we are carrying is important and that message is about engaging women.”

The bus is due to visit 70 constituencies before the general election.

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A Vote for Education?

By Dan Moorhouse t: @AsiansundayNews e: newsdesk@asiansunday.co.uk

Why is Education likely to play a large part in the forthcoming general Election campaigns?

Both Nationally and locally Education has been big news, for all the wrong reasons, over the past few years.

There have been scandals relating to governance, financial issues and concerns over standards. There's ongoing pressure from Teaching Unions about standards and working conditions; and parents and pupils left confused and bewildered by the vast array of different options and systems in place in schools. Locally we have seen scandals in relation to two schools and results in Bradford at GCSE level last year were the second lowest in the country.

The Teaching Union, NUT, has launched it's own Manifesto for Education. In it, they call for a number

of key changes to the current system.

Namely stopping state run schools being run for profit, ensuring that all teachers employed in the state sector are qualified, restoring the authority of Local Councils over local schools, changes to the curriculum to ensure a balance between vocational and academic routes and reducing the bureaucracy within the education system to allow teachers to concentrate on planning exciting lessons, rather than completing bureaucratic tasks.

This is fairly standard from a teaching union. Raise standards and reduce bureaucracy are common themes.

However they are quite at odds with some leading parties in relation to how this should be achieved What the parties say: The Conservative policy for Education is essentially more of the same. Plans to launch additional Free Schools were announced just last week; further adaptations to the National Curriculum have been identified: namely around the issuer of Sex Education and child

safety. Examinations would continue to be single, terminal examinations: something heavily criticised by many within the Education system.

Labour, on the other hand want to place control of schools back into the care of Local Authorities. They describe the Free Schools programme as flawed and are critical of a system that they say now only serves 50% of pupils. The Labour manifesto says that they are committed to additional apprenticeships, power being devolved from Whiehall to local authorities and improvements to standards of teaching and learning.

The Liberal Democrats cite their record as a coalition partner. The expansion of free school meals for the youngest children; increased number of apprenticeships and the Pupil Premium budget – which is aimed at areas of deprivation, are all cited as being the result of their work in Government. Locally, David Ward MP has spoken out in Parliament about

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local Education issues. George Galloway MP, of the Respect Party, has been highly critical of the state of Education in Bradford. He has called for the introduction of a Bradford Challenge to tackle what he calls the 'deplorable' GCSE results. He also raised a series of questions in Parliament about the issues at Kings Science Academy.

UKIP are supportive of the Free School concept and have stated that they would like a grammar school in every town. They also want to introduce the option of an apprenticeship to be available as an alternative to the non core GCSE's. UKIP policy is also to remove tuition fees for Science, Technology, Engineering and mathematics courses at University.

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Discover unique, chic, contemporary and culture at Artz-i

The funky, chic atmosphere and products on offer at the new gift and interior store Artz-i in Bradford town centre grabs your attention from the moment you step in.

From the modern and unique mugs and frames to the exquisite wall of art from across the world, spending 10-15 minutes just to take in everything available should be expected. Artz-i, which has only been open for the last three months on Sunbridge Road, has done very well for itself in drawing in people’s attention, selling many of the high end products and taking repeat orders.

Mohammed Ali Rasul, Managing Director of the store says “Having opened for only three months we have had sell-throughs and I never would’ve expected it. People love quality. And Bradford has lots of trendy people who appreciate quality and art.” Rasul has been in the fashion industry for the last 15 years when he owned a designer menswear outlet called Zom in Huddersfield and Oldham, having sold the stores but kept the brand, Rasul wanted to open up a new store and brand of his own selling high quality products for a reasonable price for the people of Bradford. Rasul has travelled the world and lived in Yemen with his

family for 13 years, he recently . returned to Bradford to discover that there wasn’t much quality Islamic art and products on offer in Bradford. Along with his partner he decided to open up Artz-i to offer Islamic art as well as other unique products from around the world and the UK that the people of Bradford may not have discovered.

The first floor which customers step into houses gifts, ornaments, greeting cards, flowers, candles, mugs and a wall of art from artists across the world including Syria, Istanbul and Cairo. Having divulged in all the small treasures on offer you can walk down the stairs to the ground floor which presents interior and home furnishings such as lamps, arm chairs, chic clocks, cushions and cabinets.

As much as looking at nice products is great for a customer, the price is always the main factor, Rasul has kept this in mind and ensured that all his products are sold at a reasonable price.

Greeting cards start from £1.75.

The average price on the first floor is £10-£15, and downstairs the interior and furnishing floor houses items at £2000, but the average price of

products on that floor is £200£300; this involves quirky furniture. The art work starts from £10 and goes up to £100, which includes large, good quality frames. Rasul says “I wanted to ensure it wasn’t expensive but still good quality. It is about gifts and that is one way to connect with people. I wanted a gift store in which people can afford to come in and spend at.”

Rasul says customers and passersby have loved the store and products on offer and people have said that this type of store should be in Leeds or London, but Rasul argues “No why can’t Bradford have it, we just need to get people’s confidence to spend in Bradford rather than going out, and give them the confidence that we know what we are doing.”

An Artz-i online store is currently being developed which will offer more of the Islamic art and they are also in the process of creating an art gallery which will display art from around Bradford as well as worldwide.

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Thinking of Using Pension Liberation For Buy to Let Purchase

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Business & Finance with our very own Mr Banks

For many of you out there reaching 55, from April onwards you can cash in your pension for whatever reason you wish. This the government has allowed to give individuals the power to do with their pensions what they please. One option many retired people are considering is a buy to let property purchase to ensure a good income in retirement, and a property to give to their loved ones on their death.

Lets take a look at the advantages: •Good rental yields if you buy the right property for the right price i.e. £80, 000 property with £500 per month rental is equal to an annual income of £6, 000; •A property to give to your loved ones on your death, capital gains tax dies on death; therefore clever planning may ensure no tax payable on death;

•Consistent income without eroding the value of the asset; therefore the property should not fall in value, due to you taking rental income out of the property; •Use the pension monies to buy yourself a property and end paying rent to a landlord.

defects; •Regular maintenance maybe required; •Compliance with regulation per annum such as gas safety checks etc.

•Tax is payable on property rental income, and this means a self employed tax return per annum;

The disadvantages of a property purchase are: •Rental voids when tenants move out, as well as tenants refusing to pay rent therefore having to take legal actionetc.

•Bad tenants trashing your property; therefore costs to get the property back into a state, when you can rent it; •Buying at auction, and purchasing a property with significant material

If BTL rental properties are the way forward for you remember its not as easy as it sounds. You could be very lucky with brilliant tenants, but on the other side you may suffer due to late rental payments etc.

My advice is ensure you credit check and reference check all tenants beforehand. Ensure that you

undertake a full itinerary of all items and state of property, including a tenancy agreement is correctly completed, and ensure these documents are signed by your tenant also.

Ensure the property is free of any issues; therefore you will not need to undertake any work whilst the tenants are in the property.

Whatever you choose to do with your pension monies, if you do decide to draw out the cash in full, please be aware of the tax implications and seek advice from a reputable source to ensure you are doing the right thing for you.

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eXCiTinG JOB OPPORTUNITIES LET'S GET WORKING

WANT TO ADVERTISE YOUR JOBS SEND THEM TO JOBS@ASIANSUNDAY.CO.UK

POLITICS reporTer Bradford’s only sunday newspaper, Asian sunday has a rare vacancy for a specialist reporter on politics We have a cracking news patch here and we want an enthusiastic reporter who will get out and about bringing in exclusive stories and getting into the heart of our communities.

You will have all your preliminary qualifications, including 100 wpm shorthand. The ideal candidate will have knowledge of Bradford politics.

Flexible working hours Pay scale according to NUJ guidelines To apply send your CV with a covering letter to editor@ asiansunday.co.uk

A dmini stra tor Hours of work: 10am to 530pm salary: Based on experience We are looking for an administrator, who would report directly to the editor of Asian sunday newspaper. They would be required to work in a fast paced and busy environment answering incoming calls and dealing with internal administration duties, such as typing, researching and providing support for the news team.

The ideal candidate will receive full training and support, along with an opportunity to grow within the organisation. Candidate must possess a minimum of 5 GCsE’s. Must have good communication skills and be able to work on own initiative.

To apply send your CV with a covering letter to jobs@asiansunday.co.uk or write to us at Asian sunday, Bradford Chamber Business Park, New Lane, BD4 8BX Previous applicants need not apply

If you want to be part of an innovative and dynamic organisation with career progression then apply now.

SOCIAL MEDIA & ONLINE APPRENTICE Asian Sunday newspaper, Britain's only FREE sunday paper & Bradford's only Asian paper, is looking to grow it's online presence. Therefore a position has become available for a social media apprentice.

Reporting in to the Head of Digital, your role as Social Media Specialist will include:- Day to day running of social media channels - Creation of content alongside the creative team - Writing design briefs - Generation of new and creative social content ideas - Monitoring content performance and suggest optimisation improvements The successful candidate will have a passion for all things digital and will be engaged with social media and its potential. You will show a keen interest in how social media works, and will have the ability to run reports and analyse data. It must be stressed that applicants must have social media experience.

Hours of work: Part time and Full time vancancies available Pay: Based on experience To apply send your CV with covering letter to jobs@asiansunday.co.uk

SALES EXECUTIVES Hours of Work: Flexible Salary: £40k OTE (inc basic, plus car and expenses) Are you a self starter, ambitious, self motivator, have the hunger to achieve and increase earning potential?

Then we want to hear from you.

A position has become available for a Sales Executive to help sell our services to Business clients.

You must have a minimum of 1 years experience selling to B2B customers. You must possess excellent communication skills and be educated to a minimum of 5 GCSE's at grade C or above and have a can do attitude.

For the right candidate full training will be given To apply or for more information email your details to jobs@asiansunday.co.uk with Sales Executive in the subject field or write to Asian Sunday Newspaper Bradford Chamber Business Park, New lane, Bradford, BD4 8BX When applying please supply full name, contact details and a covering letter expressing interest

GOT A PROPERTY TO SELL! PROPERTY TO LET! Be it commercial or residential, we have a fantastic new property section coming soon.....

Want to promote your property business to thousands...

get in touch now:

Property@asiansunday.co.uk

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Brave Bradford Come Unstuck Against Reading

By Ayyaz Malik t. @ayyazAsNews Bradford’s magical FA Cup, which was their best FA Cup run in some 37 years came to an end against Championship side Reading who book their place in the last four for the first time in 80 years with a 3-0 replay win.

The visitors who were unable to take advantage of being home first, were potentially seen as favourites by many after impressively dispatching of Premier League sides Chelsea and Sunderland.

Any optimism that was there at the start of the game, sadly evaporated very quickly. Reading who have had a less spectacular route to the quarter finals, with all due respect to the teams they beat - seemed pumped up for this one from the

get go. Two goals with in the first 10 minutes from Hal Robson Kanu and Gareth McCleary, just simply blew the Bantams away. Bradford who had been two goals down in that memorable match against Chelsea, just seemed too tired after an impressive league campaign as well as cup run.

Despite making six changes from the weekend draw against Notts County, Bradford struggled to get in to the game and matters were made worse when Filipe Morais was harshly sent . The hardworking Jamie Mackie (who received the man of the match award) added a third to kill of any hopes of a come back.

So 3-0 it stayed and Bradford’s hopes were sadly ended at the quarter final

stage. Manager Phil Parkinson wasn’t able to come back to the ground where he served 11 years as a player - but what his Bradford team can say is that they have been a great spectacle for the FA Cup, especially with the win over Chelsea. Sadly after the game it emerged that one of the Reading players Gareth McCleary has said he was racially abused by a Bradford fan.

For Reading a semi-final Wembley date awaits against Arsenal - but the Royals do need to be weary of the league form as they aren’t out of the relegation fight just yet. On the other hand Bradford who have had a brilliant season will need to put this set back behind them. The Bantams still have the realistic chance of a Wembley date, through the play offs.

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Lewis Hamilton got his F1 world title defence off to the perfect start with an impressive win in Australia.

Lewis Hamilton Picks Up From Where He Left Off Defending champion Lewis Hamilton got his defence off to the perfect start with a dominant victory in the season opening Australian Grand Prix. Hamilton who appeared to be disillusioned with things at Mercedes during the winter season, over came last years rival and team mate Nico Rosberg- to get his F1 title defence off to the perfect start.

The new season which has seen some high profile seat changes if you will, such as Sebastien Vettel ending his association with Red Bull to drive for Ferrari and Fernando Alonso going back to McLaren after a fractious relationship with the Italian team, in this race made little difference has the two time world champion came out on top here.

At least in the form of Lewis Hamilton England can say they have beaten the German’s in sport as Vettel and Hamilton’s team and maybe direct championship rival Nico Rosberg finished in the podium places respectively.

It’s to hard to say just yet who will win the championship, especially after one race - and the fact that drivers like Fernando Alonso (still recovering from his crash) and Sebastien Vettel a three time champion who needs to settle into his new team’s surroundings- but if Hamilton carries on this form, the signs could be ominous already.

The next raise will be in Malaysia, where qualifying, testing and the race itself will be over the 27-29th March.

Atif Anwar proudly shows off his winning medal after coming out on top in the Arnold Classic in Australia.

Former Mr Pakistan Is The Man Australia at this moment in time would be more in the public eye because of the fact they’re hosting a cricket world cup- but former Mr Pakistan Atif Anwar who has won the Arnold Classic in Au sstralia, can at least give Pakistani’s some success in Australia after Pakistan’s cricketers were defeated by Australia.

The Arnold Classic is a body

building event which is named after Hollywood acting legend Arnold Schwarzenegger who has been Mr Olympia seven times.

Anwar’s success came in the 100 kg class title, the win for the former Mr Pakistan winner, means Atif Anwar is the first first Pakistan to compete in the event - and in turn win it.

Anwar has also won the national body building title as well as Mr

Sindh and Mr Karachi. The man who this event was named after was in attendance - and was seen a few times being rather animated as the Austrian acting legend was clapping excitedly when the competitors were taking part.

Asif Anwar after winning this prestigious prize, will no doubt be looking for more honours in the body building division.

www.asiansunday.co.uk

ISSUE 78

Britain’s FIRST Asian Sunday Newspaper

BARCLEYS PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES Sunday 14th September Man Utd v QPR

Saturday 27th September 16:00

Monday 15th September Hull v West Ham

20:00

Saturday 20th September QPR v Stoke Aston Villa v Arsenal Burnley v Sunderland Newcastle v Hull Swansea v Southampton West Ham v Liverpool

12:45 15:00 15:00 15:00 15:00 17:30

Liverpool v Everton Chelsea v Aston Villa Crystal Palace v Leicester Hull v Man City Swansea v Sunderland Arsenal v Tottenham

12:45 15:00 15:00 15:00 15:00 17:30

Sunday 28th September West Brom v Burnley

16:00

Sunday 21st September Leicester v Man Utd Tottenham v West Brom Everton v Crystal Palace Man City v Chelsea

13:30 13:30 16:00 16:00

Michael White Wins Indian OpenNOMINATIONS In Mumbai OPEN 26

Young Welshmen Michael White The tournament itself which was as home favourite Metha was in a hurry.

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HELP US FIND format of the tournament is in the will. Players such as former world the experienced players such as In a country that is cricket mad, shorter seven frame format, which snooker finalist Matthew Stevens, Peter Ebdon, Joe Perry and Judd BRADFORD'S the arrival of the Indian Snooker has been seen by the decision two time world champion Mark Trump - the semi final four was a open just might, just might change UNSUNG makers of the sport as a way to Williams and Judd Trump. bit of a surprise - bar two time world Indian’s thinking of Snooker. capture the imagination of a wider Despite the appearances of players champion Mark Williams (with all INSPIRATIONS!!!!

As long as the top snooker stars audience. of the calibre, the appearance due respect to other players) . come to this event - and there is Sadly for some players such of Indian Aditya Metha who beat There have been many sceptics some home contingent meaning as Ali Carter and Marco Fu, this experienced player Mark King in of this tournament and people there is an Indian player on the WWW.INSPIRATIONAL tournament will be one they might round one, can be a welcome boost who aren’t happy in regards to this circuit, the Indian Open has a real one to forget as both players in the years to come for an Indian tournament such as Ali Carter- butWOMENAWARDS.ORG. chance to become a tournament on couldn’t travel to India due to visa audience watching the snooker. for Thailand’s Thephchaiya Un- UKthe snooker scene for the longer issues, which later lead to an If the Indian public were hoping for Nooh who was beaten by runner up haul. On 20 Mar 2015, at 11:09, angry Ali Carter demanding he be a fairy tale title win from one of their Ricky Walden, I am sure Un-Nooh Editor editor@asiansunday.co.uk> Published by I and E Media Ltd, Bradford Chamber Business Park, New Lane, sadly Bradford BD4 8BXhope and is distributed subject to the following condition, namely thatto it shall not, without thetournament written consent of the publishers first given, be lent, resold or hired out or otherwise compensated for the error. ‘own’ that was ended won’t want forget this wrote: disposed of in a mutilated condition or in any other unauthorised cover by way of trade or affixed to or as part of any publication or advertising literary