the phoenix newspaper

NOVEMBER 2011

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Great success at IAB’s Eid EventMEMEMBERS OF

THE Institute of Asian Businesses (IAB) celebrated Eid, one of the main Asian faith festivals, with a ma-jor event held at Pearl Palace, part of Imrans Restaurant, in Birming-ham’s Balti Triangle, an IAB Premier Plus partner. The event was spon-sored by the Birmingham

Hospital Saturday Fund, which offers complete healthcare solutions such as health plans and risk assessments. Over 200 people lis-tened to keynote speak-ers, Jim Winter, head of field sales at BHSF; Lee Kilgour, principal desig-nate at Aston University Engineering Academy and Corrie Harris, Head of Employer Services, at

City College Birming-ham. There was also lively entertainment with song, dance and drumming from the Fursan Group, a member of leading arts organisation, Sampad.IAB President, Nasir Awan said: “There was a great at-mosphere at the event, which had informative presentations, as well as

wonderful Asian enter-tainment and hospital-ity. Our festival events provided a very useful opportunity for guests to understand better the significance of the faith in question, business information on topical subjects, and great net-working with the grow-ing Asian business com-munity.”

The ciTy celebraTes Von’s 60Th iT Was a night when the

great and the wonderful came out to celebrate the birthday of one of birming-ham’s best loved forward-thinking and benevolent businessman and entrepre-neur.(continued on pages 16-17)

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hundreds die and millions lefT homeless in neW PakisTan floodsThis year is

proving tragically trying, for Pakistan, as new floods are bringing a high number of re-lated diseases, like ma-laria, dysentery and, in many cases, death. After new monsoon rains flooded the coun-try’s Sindh region, hun-dreds of thousands have fled the effected areas, pouring into the neigh-bouring cities of Kara-chi and Hyderabad. Heavy rainfall caused severe damage to more than 1million homes, with up to 5million acres of land left under water. Three hundred people were registered dead, with those who sur-vived left homeless and

with no form of cloth-ing, food, or protection from the elements. Chil-dren are left roaming the streets, begging, in a desperate bid for food, drink and shelter. Many of the local peo-ple, who have survived the devastation, com-plained about the lack of support from outside of the region, which is making them feel iso-lated and overlooked by their own government, as well as the rest of the world’s leaders There’s a call for re-lief efforts, to deliver hygiene kits, tents and food, to give people in the Sindh province some hope before the numbers of dead rises even great-er.

The Phoenix newspaper; continuing to strive forward for you

AS WE CONTINUE striving to deliver the

only truly positive, informa-tive and objective newspa-per in Birmingham and the West Midlands, we’re always looking to bring a fresh dimension to the news and views of people like you, in your area. As Managing Director of The Phoenix Newspaper, I will continue make sure that your No.1 newspaper serves as a beacon to all our com-munities, in Birmingham, the West Midlands and well beyond, for years to come. In the main, as you, our loy-al readers, pick up your copy of The Phoenix, whether you’re reading Fashion, Ed-ucation/Training & Careers, Business, Community, or Role Model, we, as always, will make sure that you are inspired and fulfilled. That, of course, is the vision. With my extensive expe-rience of sitting on boards, such as the British Associa-tion of Social Workers, plus

working as a Probation Of-ficer and a practicing teacher of Social Workers, the work-ing relationships I devel-oped, at all relevant levels, has only made my vision of The Phoenix Newspaper clearer and undaunting. In highlighting the rich cultural diversity as we do, whether it be Eid, Black History Month, Vasaki, or Christmas, I’m very privi-

leged to be able to guide The Phoenix Newspaper into its present position, holding its own in the marketplace, lo-cally, soon nationally and, eventually, internationally. I’m only as strong as the team I manage, so, I’m mak-ing sure that we remain orig-inal, entertaining, enlighten-ing and a force for good, for each and every one of you, each month of every year.

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PuT birmingham inTo edgbasTon,says Chamber’s new presidentTHE BIRMINGHAM

CHAMBER of Com-merce is looking to two of the city's major sports clubs to add the name of Britain's second largest city to their own well branded names. The new president of BCC, Michael Ward, is launching a campaign to add the city’s name to its world-famous cricket ground, Edgbaston. Mr. Ward, who has suc-ceeded Christine Braddock, is also asking Birchfield Harriers to consider doing the same. Speaking at the Chamber’s annual meeting, the senior partner at law firm Gateley, said: “I cannot understand why some of our worldwide in-stitutions hide the fact that they are in Birmingham. Edgbaston is a prime exam-ple. At the height of the riots in the city, attracting adverse global publicity, we had about 25,000 people of di-verse backgrounds gathering for four days at the cricket ground for the Test match between England and India.

There was hardly a police officer in sight and the match went ahead without trouble and in a spirit of great friend-ly rivalry. And yet those TV images that were sent round the world from the ground did not shout that the venue was in Birmingham while the riots did. The same will apply to the Alexander Stadium when the Jamaican track and field team arrive to start their Ol-ympic build-up next year along with the US team. I would like to use my year of office to try to change that – to ensure that Birming-ham’s name is at the heart of everything that is great about the city.” Mr Ward is holding talks with Edgbaston in an attempt to move his proposal forward. The Chamber Council con-firmed the appointment of Steve Brittan, Managing Di-rector of Birmingham-based machine tool manufacturers, BSA Tools, as vice-presi-dent. Simon Warr was due to

assume the presidency this year, but work commitments abroad mean he will remain a vice-president. Mr Brittan said: “I am passionate about UK plc and Birmingham in par-ticular. There is going to be a real challenge to encourage vocational skills so that we can get talented technicians planning the future and turn those ideas into reality. The issue of red tape must be tackled to help the smaller business. A lot of companies in this category do not really know if they are breaking the law or not because they can-not afford to get the advice that cuts through legislation. We have got to consider this impact on smaller business-es.” The meeting, held at the Sutton Coldfield campus of Birmingham Metropolitan College, was also addressed by Andrew Mitchell, MP for Sutton Coldfield and Secre-tary of state for International Development. New Chamber president Michael Ward (centre) receives his badge of office from outgoing

president Christine Braddock. New vice-president Steve Brittan is pictured left.

Landlords warned to upgrade or lose outOFFICE LANDLORD, IN Birmingham, should up-grade their property now, or risk losing out as tenants look for high quality sec-ond-hand accommodation, according to experts at na-tional commercial property firm Lambert Smith Hamp-ton (LSH). LSH’s latest Midlands of-

fice market report says that prime Grade A space in the city centre will almost completely disappear as take-up outstrips supply. This will mean poten-tial tenants, lured by the city’s Enterprise Zone status, will be looking for high quality, well-maintained second-hand space. But the winners in the race

will be landlords who have invested in upgrades for their offices, while those who have held back will be left with falling occupation rates and a struggle to find tenants. The LSH report confirms fears that the city will face a shortage of Grade An office space in the coming years as demand outstrips supply.

birmingham airport must be a priority for the future, says chamberbirmingham busi-

ness leaders are hopeful that the city’s air-port will be one of the major winners when a new draft policy on aviation policy is published next march. birmingham chamber of commerce group (bccg), together with its independ-ent transport policy body, the West midlands busi-ness Transport group, have demanded that bir-mingham airport is made a priority when the policy is announced. The Chamber is pushing the airport’s case as it meets all the criteria demanded by the aviation policy, which is meant to provide the frame-work for a sustainable strat-egy which will last the UK for decades to come. It is expected that the framework will be adopted by 2013. If the Chamber’s recommendations are adopt-ed, future aviation policy will support the growth of Birmingham Airport, which will put it in a position to take some of the pressure from London’s crowded air-ports, particularly Heathrow.

Ross Gurdin, policy advi-sor at BCCG, said that since Heathrow had been refused permission to build a third runway, Birmingham Air-port had emerged as a strong contender to fill any gap in demand. The Midland airport’s case had been strengthened by plans for the HS2 high-speed train line, which, when built, would make it quicker to get to Birmingham from some parts of London than it would to get to busy Heathrow. “Birmingham Airport is continually expanding its di-rect range of flights to more and more countries making it a better option for business-es,” said Mr Gurdin. “Centred in the heart of the UK and with lots of spare capacity, businesses will find it easier to access markets in the Far East and West Coast of America. Currently busi-ness travellers have to fly from Heathrow or have to change flights. When it is built, high speed rail will mean it is as easy to travel from London to Bir-mingham Airport as it is to travel from parts of London

to Heathrow. We urge the Department of Transport to prioritise Birmingham and recognise the huge impact that aviation plays in the West Midlands economy. The airport currently only serves 40 per cent of travel-lers but there is a huge po-tential for it to grow and we must ensure it does if we are to reap the benefits of having such an excellent asset on our doorstep.” Birmingham Airport is al-ready committed to expand-ing its facilities, including lengthening the runway. The extension is due to open in 2014.

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Eurozone: West Midlands must now press on with export drive, says Chamberbusiness leaders Warned that exports to europe, from the West mid-lands, must be maintained in response to the rescue deal for the euro. In welcoming the deal, Bir-mingham Chamber of Com-merce Group (BCCG) said exports from the region to Eu-rope were on course for a 20 per cent increase this year over last. BCCG president, Michael Ward, said: “With 7,000 companies exporting from the West Mid-lands we have a big stake in Europe working. We exported £4.8 billion to Europe in the first two quarters of this year and it’s crucial that we main-tain that drive following the recent deal in Brussels.” Nationally, Europe represents 49 per cent of current exports and with the US at 17 per cent total exports are on course for £20 billion this year. Mr Ward added:

“This means that if we main-tain this thrust, we are likely to record national and regional figures comparable with the pre-banking crisis, after which exports dropped by 27 per cent. Europe has recovered since and is now half our ex-ports with the first six months of this year worth nearly £5 billion. We are now 20 per cent up on last year with the value of the pound and the success of exports to the US contribu-tory factors. It is encouraging that euro-zone problems have not yet hit trade but clearly the re-gion would be hit extremely hard if we did see exports to Europe dip. We are a £100 bil-lion economy according to last AWM figures. So exports ac-count for say £20 billion, or 20 per cent of our economy.” All figures largely represent the manufacturing sector, in-cluding machine tools and goods like chemicals.

DELCAM SEES RECORD S A L E S I N C H I N Aone of The world's

leading suppliers of advanced cadcam software product devel-opment solutions for the manufacturing industry based in birmingham is setting new records for its business in china. Delcam now has 2,000 customers in the country and sales of the company’s software have increased by more than 50 per cent in the first half of this year, compared to the first six months of 2010. Delcam held its annual Asian Technical Summit earlier this month to cel-ebrate 15 years since the founding of Delcam Chi-na. David You Bo, is the Vice General Manager at Delcam China who makes a presentation to Liang Zhenghua, General Man-ager of Zhejiang KaiHua Moulds Co., Ltd.

aPPrenTice sTar backs social enTerPrise schemeaPrenTice sTar, melody hossaini is backing an initiative by one of the midlands largest housing as-sociations to encourage young people to become social entrepreneurs. Aimed at budding entrepreneurs who have a business idea which will benefit their community, Addventures, runs in partnership with Unltd and supports people who want to set up and sustain social enterprises. It also helps people to ap-ply for grants from Unltd, an organisation which supports social enterprises, of £500 to £5,000 to get their business ideas off the ground. With youth unemployment nationally standing at around 973,000, Accord hopes Addventures will provide oppor-tunities for young people to develop their own businesses and enterprises. for more information call William lilley on 0300 111 7000 extension 3883 or 07717 000 607 or email [email protected].



neW Jlr PlanT a boosT for local economyWesT midlans business leaders have welcomed the news that Jaguar land rover is to open a new engine plant as a triumph for jobs and the re-gional economy. Jerry Blackett, chief executive of Birmingham Cham-ber of Commerce Group, said: “It is a huge boost for the region’s economy. As well as 750 jobs being created, the factory on the border of Wolverhampton and South Stafford-shire near the M54 will attract business for many suppliers from the West Mid-

lands and beyond. “This is tremen-dous news on top of the growing success of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands, securing jobs in the heart of the region.” The new engine plant will source fu-ture models which the company is building, including the C-X16 concept launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Mr. Blackett add-ed: “It is exactly this sort of business growth from the pri-vate sector which will help boost the economy.” : Jerry Blackett, C.E.O. Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group

chamber bid to boost exports to europebirmingahm cham-ber of commerce group (bccg) is hoping to build on the region’s growing ex-port figures by encourag-ing more businesses to look at overseas markets . Earlier this month, the or-ganisation reported that the number of export documents it was dealing with had soared this year.In the past six months, the Chamber has processed 14 per cent more documents than it did in the correspond-ing period last year. Much of this has involved companies exporting to the Far East and Middle East, but Jonathan Webber, head of the Cham-ber’s international team, was keen to stress that Europe remained a key market place for Midlands businesses. “Birmingham’s largest export market is Europe, by some considerable distance – 85 per cent of all of our ex-ports go there,” he said. Now, the Chamber has launched an initiative to boost European export fig-

ures even further, and as part of this will be holding an event at Villa Park, ‘Export Today’, on 1 December. The event will be aimed at firms keen to launch or expand the export side of their businesses. It will give businesses the op-portunity to meet commercial officers from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI). The commercial officers are based at British embassies overseas, and have an unpar-alleled knowledge of the local markets in countries includ-

ing Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Holland, Czech Republic, Italy and Switzerland. Attendees will also be able to meet with international trade advisers, who will be able to explain about the support available for firms exporting to Europe. For further information about the event, contact Jessica Taylor on 0121 607 1845 or email [email protected]



Why do people get Vehicle hire?

WANT TO HIRE a vehicle? Get Vehicle

Hire is the answer you’re looking for. Specialising in the supply of quality vans, people carriers and mini buses, they cater for both businesses and in-dividuals, from Monday, through to Saturday. And with their fully compre-hensive insurance and 24/7 breakdown cover, all their prices are highly competitive. Situated on Nechells Place, Nechells, in Bir-mingham, Get Vehicle Hire provides Lutons, tail-

lifts, MWBs, 12 and 15 seat-ers, small vans and they also hire cars too. It’s ideal for anything from ebay collec-tions, house removals, busi-ness relocations, or that day out to the seaside, or trip to the West End. The successful business, started by fellow-entrepre-neurs Waqar Ashraf, Abid Hussain and Fiaz Rashid, has been in operation for 18months now and already their books are overflowing with bookings, whether they be for a month, week, week-end, or just fir the day. They’re getting calls from

as far afield as the Republic of Ireland and London, more often through their website, on: www.get-vehicle-hire.com and regular bookings from Channel 4, as well as BBC. From Ash (Waqar Ashraf), it’s a ‘dream’ business, as having been into the work ethic since the age of 16, the idea of setting-up Get Vehicle Hire wasn’t as difficult a de-cision, as some might think: “We first thought of setting-up a car hire business, but, we thought, with the likelihood of people too often wrecking the vehicle, perhaps, in the

long run, it’ll be too expen-sive a business. With van hire, however, people will always hire one for a specific reason, so with that, they’d take far more car when they are driving one. And, people always want a van, at some point.” Schools, colleges, church-es, nurseries and some ma-jor warehouses are ongoing users of Get Vehicle Hire vehicles, so, for Ash, Abid, Fiaz and 18-year-old Luke Meggesson, who also works there, this is only the begin-ning of a greater things, na-tionwide.



back on track at nEc

FOLLOWING SUCCESS OF the Top Gear Live global tour, the UK is to debut an exciting new format to be showcased at Birmingham's NEC in November. The bigger, bolder event will be on from 11-13 and will be billed as ‘The ultimate Top Gear experience.’ Visitors can expect all the on-screen, supercharged excitement of the TV show rolled into one event, with the famous pre-senting trio of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, previously seen in the Top Gear Live action arena, now spilling out into the rest of the event. At the centre of the new format is the new Top Gear indoor track featuring highlights from the TV show including Stig power laps and 'Star in a reasonably priced Car,' as well as the Top Gear Stunt Team, head-to-heads and supercar parades. Other highlights will include a re-creation of the famous Top Gear studio, special tributes to Top Gear’s greatest challenges and some of the more creative and famous machinery featured in the programme over the years. Commercial Director of Top Gear Live, James Cooke-Priest, said: “The idea is simple - to create the ultimate motoring event in the spirit of Top Gear”.



Kay is a 'Complete' genius with her mind and hands

The comPleTe book of cooking in Punjabi

style is already proving to be one of the best and origi-nal books of its genre, in the world. Giving you the opportunity to recreate the rich, flavour-some aroma of the best Indian restaurant, it’s a step-by-step guide to cooking everything from curries, to bhajis, baltis to sabjies, in your own kitchen. Written by Coventry-born Kay Purtoy, whether it be the richest of meats, to exciting twists on vegetarian cuisine, it’s already proving to be the ‘must-have’ in all our collec-tions of cooking books. For Kay, it was a labour of love, in compiling the book, but, with it selling so remark-ably well, in all the major book stores, her forward-thinking mindset is such, that, she couldn’t possibly ‘rest on her laurels’ and bask in the hugely satisfying success. Mrs. Purtoy is a business-woman, who is always look-ing to develop something that would benefit the masses, with her family behind her: “I’ve been very successful in business and the only way I was able to manage that was due to the support of my fam-ily,” she says. Now resident in West Brom-wich, she has grand designs on a new venture that would see her profile go sky high before too long. With her family be-hind her, she’s looking to open a new, plush function suite, catering for a community that will have the perfect place for the perfect occasion. She’s not too far from reach-ing that goal, which, when it happens, it will also be the ide-al base for another of her ongo-

ing successes. Also running The Cake Bak-ery, Kay specialises in a vari-ety of the most delicious cakes you’re ever likely to taste, ever. As specialists in egg and egg-less (vegetarian) cakes, in fresh cream, fruit, icing, gluten-free and all flavours, she will bake you the perfect cake, for wed-dings, birthdays, anniversaries, or, for that warm evening in front of the television. Coming in what ever size you like, you can phone-in for an order and it will be delivered to you, wherever you are, within the shortest possible time. She’s already appeared on BBC’s ‘Children in Need’ marathon showcase, in 2009, where her cakes raised thou-sands of pounds for the annual charity. She’s also been on var-ious TV channels, discussing her book and well-renowned culinary skills. Not finished there, Kay Pur-toy is also a renowned for Menhdi, the Asian celebration of applying henna as a tempo-rary form of skin decoration. Together with daughter, Sonia, here again, she’s very success-ful indeed. Husband, Sukhdiv, together with their sons, Johnny and Pe-ter, Sonia and other daughter, Surena are all integral parts of Kay’s success story to date and are equally integral parts of the future of Kay and the upcom-ing function suite. There’s a second book out soon and Kay is supremely confident it will follow the suc-cess of her first.‘The Complete Book of Cook-ing in Punjabi Style’ is pub-lished by AuthorHouse and is in a book store near you. It’s a ‘must have.’

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roses the butchers still serving the best meat and poultry after 100 years

SINCE HE FIRST set up shop, on Hamstead Road, Master Butcher, Arthur Rose made it his duty to provide his customers with the very best quality meats, with the

very best quality service, anywhere in the West Midlands. Now, from those beginnings, in Handsworth, back in 1889, Roses Meat Market & Freezer Centre, just off the busy Soho Road, is still providing the top of its range meats and frozen goods to generations of cus-tomers who, wherever they may be, will make a b-line to what many would say is the No.1 butchers, not only in the West Midlands, but, probably throughout the whole of the UK. Generations of dedicated service has seen the much loved and respected business stand supreme, on Barrington Road, with generations of customers using here, in the knowledge that whatever type of meat they need, Roses will provide the freshest leanest ever. Likewise, generations of the Rose family have kept the business working, like clockwork, with Great, Great Grandson, Stephen, happily taking up the mantle, as we settle into the third century of the family name on top of the pile in master butchery. For 50-year-old Stephen, keeping the ‘Rose’ name going, at the top, was always in his blood, as he explains: “I’ve been working in the family business since I was a kid, sweeping the floors after school and on weekends. This is something that I’ve always wanted to do.” Such is his knowledge of the business, from chicken and pheasant, to beef, venison, lamb, goat, ostrich, kangaroo, in fact, any kind of meat, you require, or fish, you require, he would provide, with a smile and the kind of friendly banter, many feel is missing today. There’s no denying that if it’s top quality meats and frozen goods you want, with top qual-ity service, you’d have to go a long way to beat Roses Meat Market & Freezer Centre.

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a Teacher, communicaTor and ‘rock,’ mykel is The ulTimaTe insPiraTion

he Would Vehe-menTly deny it

himself, but, without any question of doubt, mykal brown the ultimate role-model, to all. The Assistant Director at the city’s South Birmingham College, Media Studies de-partment, is seen as probably the most influential figure at the college’s Digbeth cam-pus, moulding the very future of young men and women, many of whom might enter the centre with no idea where their short-term, or broader long—term future lies. Constantly dealing with the everyday problems our young people go through, at college, or, in their home lives, Mykel is always the person both staff and pupils call on. He’s the man with the overwhelming ability to liaise with the relevant par-ties, on almost any of the issues concerning life in a place of learning, or, equally so, in any particular persons’

home and community. For 14-years, Brown has made it his sole purpose, to make sure that the students in his care, as well as his fellow staff members, are all safe-guarded, during work, rest and play, at SBC Digbeth. In his role as a lecturer, he works with pre16 year-old students, right the way up to HND level studies, in TV and radio production, from directing, presenting, editing and filming/recording films and other programmes: “I’m very proud of what South Birmingham College is doing and the way it’s de-veloped, especially the way I’ve managed to develop the Media Studies department, so that we can engage, ful-ly, with those students who don’t feel ‘engaged’ at all. Here, I’m a ‘Social Work-er,’ teacher, and ‘parent’ to the student. We have a strong connection with the pre16’s, right the way through to de-gree level and will always

encourage former pupils to come back, with their de-grees and invite them to do talks, to the present batch of students.” He’s in a good situation, at SBC, in that he also takes students to other parts of the world, like South Africa, France, Gambia and Egypt, in order for them to learn as many different cultures as possible and for them to see the ‘bigger picture,’ as it were. “It works, in that they will become socially aware,” he enthuses. Mykel Brown’s role, at col-lege, is expanding now. He’s looking to broaden his role, over the coming 12-months, in an Accessing to Further Education capacity; which means he would be taking up a cross-college role, which, in turn, means a bigger case-load to deal with. But, that, you would be sure, is well within his capa-bilities.



Need your home kept? From creaseless shirts, to gleaming a interior, Iron Zone is the answerliVing life in the

21st century isn’t getting any slower and be-cause of that, too many of us don’t seem to be able to find the time, or place, to attend to the everyday necessities that’s vital to keep us going. Fear no more, though, because with one phone call, Iron Zone will be at your beck-and-call, day and night, giving you the ultimate level of service to meet your every need. The ironing and house-keeping service, based in Stirchley, Birmingham, cov-ers the city, offering help to busy, elderly and incapable families and individuals, whose homes are in need of some level of husbandry , by way of household goods, or dirty, unkempt clothing. For owner, Patricia Tuck-ett, starting Iron Zone isn’t so much a business venture, as it’s more a spiritual ‘call-ing’ for her.

As a devout Christian, she was always mindful of the desperate need for cash of the churches she was fa-miliar with, thus felt it her duty to help in any way pos-sible. In starting Iron Zone, she would be in a position to give the churches the much-needed funds to keep going: “I’ve always had the yearn-ing to help. I love helping in the church, but when I see the pastors and parishion-ers looking to do something positive and fulfilling, it’s always sad to know that nothing could be done be-cause of lack of funds,” she says. The business is a fledg-ling one-8months open-but already calls are coming in from near and far, from peo-ple who not only want their pride and joy to be cleaned, but pretty much many other household chores in order for exactly that; order in their homes, in particular,

their lives in general. She has regular, top-class help, in her headquarters, from friend Nii, whose dedicated presence, on a daily basis, she sees as truly Heaven-sent: “For me, Nii is a God-send. He’s a true friend who really takes a load off. He too is a Christian and is massively aware of my ‘calling,’ that’s why I’m so indebted to him.” Iron Zone can also provide a hot and cold fresh food service, for those who can’t, for whatever reason, prepare their own meals. Whether it be morning, noon, or night. It’s ‘giving’ that Patricia is passionate about and she’s now sponsoring her church and feels more businesses should do likewise. She would love to see the rapidly growing Iron Zone franchised, throughout the UK, to answer the needs of living life in the 21st Cen-tury.



a Vision of insPiraTion

considered To be a ‘rarity,’ in the uk,

Peter Waite b. sc. m.c. optum is extremely proud that he is one of a very small number, of black people, whose choice of ca-reer is in the thriving opti-cal profession. For 49-year-old Peter, it was always his chosen path and today, with two practis-es running in Birmingham, looking back to the time when the idea of him being an optician first entered his mind, he knew his decision was always the right one. As an optician for the past 20-years, he running the K.G. Miles, on Soho Road and P.E. Waite, in Highgate, both of which have an ex-tremely and ever growing patient portfolio that would be the pride of any optician, anywhere in Great Britain: “Especially with regards to the Soho Road practise, K.G. Miles is considered to be one of the busiest of privately run, independent opticians in Britain,” he proudly says. His years of quality and qualified service have afford-ed him a fantastic reputation, offering him the chance to

enjoy his job and insanely so too: “I’ve always worked very hard, in my practices, and when I see the fruits of my labour, that in itself is reward enough. Having gaining his de-gree in Ophthalmic Optics, at City University, London, Waite further gained his pro-fessional qualifications at Manchester University, after which, he became a full time optician and he hasn’t look back since: “To reach the position I’m in now was a long haul,” he says, “but, however, in show-ing great patients and cutting the period down into mini steps enabled the time to fly by very quickly indeed,” he explained. An old and established practice-K.G. Miles has been in operation, on Soho Road, since before 1932-and thought to be one of approxi-mately only 20 Black prac-tising opticians in Great Brit-ain, Peter Waite stands out as a beacon to youngsters, of all communities, who has a huge passion for the sciences and a career developing from it.

14 OctOBER 2011 sENd iN yOuR stORiEs tO [email protected] tO adVERtisE tElEphONE: 0843 2891 207 / 0121 629 7728 NOVEMBER 2011 15




The firm securiTy serVices limiTedPROVIDING FUL-

LY TRAINED and SIA approved static security guards The Firm have full work-ing experience on a variety of sites. Vary-ing from educational premises, construc-tion sites and retail premises throughout England and Wales, they will provide se-curity door supervi-sors for Public Hous-es and Clubs. Their mobile patrols are designed to protect properties day or night and with the cost of a static guard may not be an affordable op-tion, mobile patrols are an option worth considering. Whether one or six visits to your premises during a 24 hour pe-riod are required, the choice is entirely your own. The Firm also pro-vides a cleaning serv-ice, where all the cus-tomers on their books receives a cleaning schedule customized for their facility. The cleaning schedule can be designed to fit the needs of your work-place, no matter how unique it may be. Here, their goals are to make sure your goals for cleaning are met in your working environ-ment. Decades of experi-ence in the cleaning industry has prepared the management at Firm Cleaning Serv-ices to customize a program of cleaning that will effectively manage and perform the cleaning tasks re-quired in your work-place.



The ciTy celebraTes Von’s 60Th

(continued from cover...) Former boxing cham-pion, Von Read, was the centre of attention when a mass crowd of family friends and business as-sociates turned out in their best attire, in celebration of one of the city’s great-est. Von, Managing Director of Firm Security Services Limited, one of Britain’s leading quality security services, was the deserved recipient of a quite lavish affair, marking his 60th birthday, in full praise of what he has done-and still is doing-for this, his great city and its people. They came from near and far in order to be part of an illustrious event which also proved to be a fantas-tic opportunity for him to introduce his many spe-cially invited guests to this, his latest venture. The Nuvo Cocktail Bar

& Piano Lounge, in the award-winning Brindley-place business and leisure districts, proved the ideal setting for the nights pro-ceedings and even for a man of great experience and stature, he was taken aback by how great, in numbers, people turned out in his honor. Reid, a former light-weight fighter, was hugely honored, in return, by how beautiful the night turned out. The night attracted a widely cosmopolitan cli-entele to the elegant and stylish two-floor cocktail bar, the venue gave off this air of exclusivity, appeal-ing to the most discerning of socialites. On the night, with only the very best champagne flowing throughout, guests including sporting and musical legends, world-re-nown artists, singer/song-



The ciTy celebraTes Von’s 60Th

writers and fellow business owners, you then realized just how great a man peo-ple see in Von Reid. Guests included, for one, Birmingham’s most noted and successful ‘son’ and discerning socialite, Mr. Samuda, of once revered ‘Uncle Sam’s Travel & Shipping,’ who made sure he’d made the long trip, from his home in Jamaica, as well as his mothering law…(name)……... to be part of the historic night. Other prominent busi-nessmen, including Basil Clark, world renowned micro-sculptor, Willard Wiggan, Vince Farquasan of Turbo Windscreens and singer/songwriter, Mark Dwayne, also the Found-er/Editor of Street Cred Magazine were also very proud to there, at the Nuvo Cocktail Bar to celebrate with their dearest friend Many would say that Von

was in his element that night, especially being amongst the people he most loves and respects. But, in truth, he was humbled by the overwhelming number of people who turned out to show their love and re-spect of him especially on a Sunday evening, the astute businessperson and ever-loving family man. We must not forget the lavish professional hos-pitality that was involved in making this landmark occasion a success. Head of hospitality and V.I.P. at Nuvo, Mr. Colin Stanley, I think we can all safely say, showed, in no doubt, how to throw a party for a man that takes a lot to please. Von Reid fought many a professional bout, in his boxing career, but fighting back the emotions of what his 60th birthday party meant to him, was proba-bly one of his biggest yet.



Von Reid the boxerfROM HIS FIRST fight, in 1975, to his profes-

sional venture into the ring, in 1980, the affable Vonreid was always going to be a winner and that ‘winning’ mentality is what has brought him to this, his biggest of business ventures. he fought in 20 professional bouts, in some of the big-gest arenas, up and down the country, with a record that will stand up with some of the more illustrious fighters who were around during his time.Winning nearly half the amount of fights he’s been in, with some notable knock-outs, he was able to make a very respected career, in the ring and a name outside of it.After retiring from the ring, Von opened the success-ful Porsche Club, in Small Heath, which would create a ‘storm’ throughout the city and beyond. After that, he then set-up prominent ‘The Firm Security Service Lim-ited,’ looking after the interests of companies, groups and individuals, of varied sizes, with the minimum of fuss.Not content with the huge ongoing success of that, be-ing an integral part of Birmingham's most premium boutique club is reward for one of our own sons.



Forresters gives you the funkiest cuts in the funkiest atmosphereforresTers bar-

ber shoP is known, by many, to be one of bir-mingham’s freshest male grooming salons and that’s not exclusively down to the high quality trims and smooth shaves that you’d get, on a regular basis. For seven days a week, the doors of this particular barbers, on Handsworth’s Soho Road, is opened for men, of every one of the city’s varied communities, to get the best hair and fa-cial treatment around. But, above that qualified boast, one other particular feature which stands here out of any other barber shop is the all embracing ‘giving’ atmos-phere you get that minute you enter the place. You see, Forresters isn’t like any other barbers, be-cause here, whilst getting that vital trim, you get, food, drink, music and a head bar-ber who provides the kind of moves that would make the late, great Michael Jack-son and James Brown very proud indeed. Bigga, or Big Head to his close friends and associ-ates, has already established himself as a cult figure, due to his outstandingly high standard of cutting, but, it’s his equally high standard of

dance moves, whilst cut-ting, which makes him so unique. From his upbringing, in Kingston’s Olympic Gar-dens, in Jamaica, Bigga has always had two dynamic skills with which he could flourish and fulfil his life dream of success, to cut hair and dance. Always the entertainer, fusing the two, he knew, will make him unique. Whilst he developed his skill, as a barber, he ‘caught the Michael Jackson fever,’ in the early 1980s, fast be-coming the beat dancer around. In winning dance competitions, on the streets and in arenas, he soon adopt-ed Breakdancing in his rep-ertoire, forming Popforce, with close friend, Alcan. In forming a massive fol-lowing, they’d be called to perform through the Suzi Q Show, in Oche Rios and the big Jerry D Roadshow, do-ing promotions up and down the country. There after, he’d cut some 50 plus tunes which were recorded at the well renowned King Jammy and Jack Scorpio studios. The world was his oyster. Big things were happening for Bigga. Still cutting hair, he would promote shows himself,

near his barber shop, in and around Mall Road, in Ja-maican capital, this back in 19991. But, it was his love for cutting hair which took priority and when he first came to Britain, in 1999, af-ter taking a month’s break, he was straight at it; gaining an NVQ in Hairdressing, at the City of London College, as well as relevant qualifi-cations in Business Studies and Business Law. He was ready to break-out here, in the UK. Since opening Forresters 10 years ago, he’s brought a different style to male grooming. He’d play music to your request, have food and drink always on the go and, whilst cutting your here, he’s not afraid to do so giving you the best Break-dance moves you’d only see at the hottest clubs. And, if it’s your birthday, getting your hair cut at Forresters would be the best party you ever had, they’d see to that. For Big Head, it’s a com-bination of all his dreams rolled into one, as he says: “People come here be-cause we’ve been here for years. They respect the busi-ness and respect the kind of trade we’ve always attract-ed. With all who come here, we share what we have and what we’re all about. We’re here to serve everyone” He’s working flat-out, Monday-Sunday, to make sure he succeeds here. And, not forgetting his family back home in Jamaica, he’s making sure his father, who has had a leg amputated and, above all, is getting the best of care. Bigga’s sup-plying him with a motorised scooter, so that he can still get about His inspiration comes from his son. Francino, his broth-er, Doza and sister, Grace. But, above all, he feels the biggest thanks should go to Miss Mention, his main sponsor and Sister Marcia. Big Head’s not into com-petition, he just wants all his customers to be happy in his shop. And that they always certainly are.



PERFECT TASTEA Totally Caribbean Experience from The hearT

of the caribbean, to stechford, in birming-ham, the Perfect Taste Take-away/eat-in food bar has taken meals and snacks from the tropical islands to a new level, in a new area of the city. Serving the very best in full meals, snacks, drinks and fruits, it’s proving to be an exciting change, from the norm, that people in east Birmingham have been used to. From curry goat to steam fish and jerk chicken, saltfish fritters, patties and fried dumplings, fruit punch, ginger beer and ‘sexy juice,’ it’s a totally new, Caribbean experience for a totally, new and excit-ing area. Perfect Taste has been open, in Stechford’s Grebe Farm shopping precinct for 2-years and already it’s established itself as the ‘must go to’ take-away, from Monday, through to Sunday, from morning to night. It’s proved to be a brave and, so far, success-ful move by owners, Chris and Opal Smith. Opal, who’s fully training in the catering trade, is very hap-py with the move she and her husband made and glad that the people of Stechford love them and their food, in

equal measures, as she ex-plains: “People here have told us that they’ve always loved Caribbean food, but didn’t always want to go too far to get any. For Chris and I, it was a venture into the unknown, to come here, but in doing so, we knew it had to work. The standard of food wasn’t an issue, after all both Chris and I come from a ‘food’ background; both our mothers, individually, have food wagons back home in Jamaica, so for us to do this was inevitable. We did some intensive re-search, to find out whether opening here would be a good idea, which we reck-oned was. It was important for the local residents to love us as much as our food and it seems, so far, that we’re ‘winning’ on both counts.” The one outstanding rea-son for them ‘winning’ is because their standard and care in cooking is of the highest order. They don’t believe in mass cooking, in too much oil. Conscious of healthy eating, they’d use the minimum amount of oil, to cook the food individu-ally, in order for you to get the maximum flavour, all the time.

Now established, with all sorts of costumers, coming to the shop, Perfect Taste also provide extra services, to make sure everybody in the area knows about their food. They also cater for private functions, birthdays, christenings, weddings, fu-nerals and office functions. Opal and Chris have worked tirelessly since moving into the busy Glebe Farm, but they are already looking to build on their ever increasing success and, before too long, establish a ‘Jamaican Village,’ in order for locals to have a taste of the Caribbean, on the door-step of the people of this part of east Birmingham; a totally Caribbean experi-ence, if you would.



tO adVERtisE tElEphONE: 0843 2891 207 / 0121 629 7728 OctOBER 2011 21



AFRICAN AWARENESS WEEKTo helP creaTe a

healthy awareness of the african community in birmingham, the birming-ham ungano african club is making waves, in all the right places, in order cre-ate a healthy awareness of african culture and to make sure that the african community, in the city, can integrate, easily, into the culture of the indigenous community. Based at the St. John’s Cen-tre of New Heights Commu-nity Project in Kingstand-ing, the club, came to being in 2008 targets natives from Botswana, Burundi, Cam-eron, Cote d’Ivoire, Congo, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Malawi, Niger, Niger-ia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanza-nia, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Their aims and objectives are to share experiences and celebrate and promote the in-terests of people of African origin living in Birmingham and the West Midlands. They also set out to offer mutual support to members, access advice and assistance, where appropriate, from statutory and voluntary sector agen-cies, in order to ensure the health and well-being of in-dividuals and their families. To this end, in order for them to raise as much of the necessary funds to carry out as much o the operations they set out to do, they held their second African Cul-tural Awareness Week, in Kingstanding, in September. During the week, members carried out voluntary work



AFRICAN AWARENESS WEEKaround their locality, includ-ing Conker Island, walk-in centre, church and the sur-rounding. They also edu-cated the community about the African culture. They also helped members inte-grate into the British system and understand, fully, Brit-ish culture. In turn, it helped them settle down, properly, in the city and understand, fully, their role in the com-munity. Birmingham Ungano Af-rican Club advocates work-ing closely with other com-munity groups, in order to promote diversity and inte-gration within the local area. Apart from helping members here, BUAC also looks back into major crisis, in the Di-aspora and send aid there to reduce people’s suffering. With regular support from local churches, which freely provide rooms and refresh-ment, they are able to access a number of specialist speak-ers who provide information, advice and guidance on a range of issues including in-tegration, debt, immigration, health, education.

Olusegun Dosumu “We hope as many organisa-tions as possible will be able to give financial assistance towards the activities, as we plan to do better next year. We look forward for a posi-tive response.”

The group itself provides a regular support system for all families migrating and settling in Birmingham.



ricardo ready to take the ‘mic’ by stormformer young,

gifTed, brum stu-dent, ricardo morgan, will be performing live at the nec, later this month, as part of the national tour of the ‘open mic uk 2011’ showcase. The 14-year-old, from Billesley, Birmingham, won through to the regional finals of the nationwide competition and is now pre-paring himself for the next step, of him winning his dream recording contract and a blooming career in the music industry. Ricardo, who honed his hugely talented singing and dancing skills in the YGB programme, at The Drum Art Centre, will take part in the showcase on October

29th, in front of a live audi-ence and a panel of profes-sional judges. The winner of which will go through to the national finals at the O2 Arena in London and the chance of grabbing the breakthrough recording contract. ‘Open Mic UK 2011’ is the exciting national talent competition which searches for the UKs best singers, singer/songwriters, rappers and vocalists of all genres who perform either covers or original material. The competition is di-vided into age categories; 16 and under, 17-22 and 23 and over, with over £50, 000 in prizes up for grabs this year. The overall win-ner will be offered a record-

ing contract, with up to £30, 000 to invest in them and a UK wide tour. Young Morgan has been working with ACS Vocal Academy, creating higher heights during the summer, winning two major compe-titions, for dance and sing-ing. Chris Grayston, head of Future Music, commented: “We are searching for an act whose live performance will impress an audience, industry judges and A&R associates. They have show the potential to become a professional recording art-ist. The standard was high last year and this year looks set to be even bigger and better.”

shame on you, louisWe don’t vote on backstage activitiesIF YOU REMEMBERED

that particularly contro-versial episode of the X Fac-tor, not long ago, you would have been totally disgusted by the fuel-filled comment made by judge, Tulisa Con-tostavlos. The scathing comment made by Group mentor, Tuli-sa, about young solo contest-ant, Misha B,was way off the mark, but what made it worse was the shameful reaction by Louis Walsh. Louis, as the senior member of the judging panel, was a big disappointment, consider-ing the wealth of experience he has in artist management. To think that he supported this kind of shameful behav-iour on national TV was sad to say the least. The personal attack, by the N-Dubz front-girl, on 19-year-old Misha, showed an immense lack of experience in dealing with the celebrity status she was ‘whirl winded’ into. Anyone can become an overnight celebrity, with no grooming, or understanding of what it takes to be an icon. Gone are the days of the true

celebrities, like Martin Luther King, Michael Jackson, Joan Collins, Phil Collins, Des-tiny’s Child, John Lennon, people who celebrate years of achievement. A trophy of suc-cess, over decades. Today, many might say that there’s no longer any respect for celebrity culture, on the X Factor, the show is designed to launch talent in front of a mass audience. Can you im-age the kind of message this is sending out? This type of outburst is not exactly exclusive to Tulisa, though, as Cheryl ‘Nation’s Sweetheart’ Cole not too long ago also had her own person-al ‘pop’ at an unsuspecting contestant. Judging is not just about looking good on television, you’ve got to know what you’re talking about. Perhaps the X Factor can take a leaf out of the recently started Ameri-can version, of the show, and use judges who have estab-lished themselves as true art-ists, known throughout the world. Then again, perhaps the ratings surprised the qual-ity of service.



Introduce ‘Plan A+’ now says Chamber

business leaders are calling on the

government to intro-duce Plan a+ to over-come the challenging market conditions de-spite the latest figures which reveal that the gross domestic prod-uct (gdP) rose by 0.1 per cent in the third

quarter of 2011. Michael Ward, president of Birming-ham Chamber of Com-merce Group said we must back the govern-ment’s deficit reduc-tion programme which is critical to stabilis-ing public finances and boosting confidence

across the markets and the private sector as a whole. He said: “We must stay on course and meet the government’s timetable for reduc-ing the public deficit. However, it is impera-tive that the Govern-ment acts now to create

the best possible busi-ness environment for jobs and growth and we strongly urge them to adopt ‘Plan A+’. “This includes doing much more to boost confidence such as immediate action on re-ducing regulations. The Government is making the right noises about deregulation and better regulation but these ac-tions must be brought forward and must hap-pen now. “ Q u a n t i t a t i v e easing is important as is doing all we can to stabilise the Eurozone at this critical juncture. It’s also imperative that the Government does all it can to help SMEs. A

lot rides on the Chan-cellor’s forthcoming announcement on credit easing. Businesses in Birmingham are doubt-ful that the Govern-ment’s proposals will assist them in accessing finance. We need much greater clarity on the proposals and as ever they must be simple and easy for small business-es to access quickly. “It is important that the UKTI budget is restored to its pre-Spending Review state to help and support companies to export. “We need to step up investment in infra-structure such as HS2, Birmingham airport runway extension and

moving the A45. “BCCG’s quar-ter three economic survey of its members rams home the chal-lenges we face in Bir-mingham. Only 37 per cent of manufacturers say they had increased orders and home market sales dropped to 41 per cent compared with 47 per cent in the previous quarter. “Orders also fell and the picture is much the same in the service sector with home and export sales and orders in decline. “The Govern-ment must take rapid action to implement an economic boost.”



early clarificaTion on crediT easing is needed says chamberC REDIT EASING

IS one answer to encouraging growth and creating jobs say business leaders as the latest unemploy-ment figures show that the West Mid-lands sti l l has the second lowest level of employment in the UK, currently stand-ing at 67.9 per cent. In a recent survey by Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group two thirds of busi-nesses are st i l l saying they have difficul-ty accessing credit . Christ ine Braddock, president of Bir-mingham Chamber of Commerce said early clarification on how credit easing is go-ing to work would be beneficial .

She said: “Lending to SMEs will lead to investment and growth which in turn will create jobs which in l ight of the lat-est employment fig-ures is what the West Midlands desperately needs.”Mike Ashton, spokes-man for the West Midlands Chambers of Commerce, said: “Businesses across the West Midlands have demonstrated their ambition to ex-pand and create the jobs that the region needs. We welcome the Government an-nouncement on credit easing and wait with anticipation on how the init iative will work in practice.”

WAS RECENT LOOTING A DESPERATE CRY FOR HELP?

a bus inessperson’s v i ewALTHOUGH IT

HASN’T been said out loud, there were some concerned voices, from certain powers that be, who were actually prepared to look beyond the surface and find out the true reasons behindthe extensive, expensive and volatile disturbanc-es. Whilst politicians, law enforcers and certain others will only ‘skirt’ around the truth with excuses and well-worn thoughtless rhetoric, equally learned individ-uals, with a lesser voice, are more than prepared to seek and tell the truth-for the benefit of the so-ciety, community, they live in. Andrew Thompson is a highly respected ac-countant, from Birming-ham, whose views are objective, upfront and

frighteningly too close to the bone, for some, prob-ably, in high places. As to why it happened, Thomp-son said: “First and foremost, we have to look at the cata-lyst for the disturbances. We have to remember the death of Mark Duggan, for starters. The massive er-ror of judgement, by the police and there being no report issued on his death seemed to have been ‘con-veniently’ covered by the mass looting of shops and other businesses through-out the region. I looked at comparisons and differences between this case-and the coverage of it-and the case concern-ing the known murderer, Raul Moat, who shot a policeman at point-blank range. He was visibly in possession of a gun, yet the heavily-armed police were patient in that situa-

tion.” Mr. Thompson is clear about the Government’s steep austerity measures being a major reason be-hind the disturbances and not engaging with the communities who suffer the biggest cuts. He con-tinues: “The growing loss of hope, together with ris-ing levels of despair and poverty that these com-munities are facing, have developed an atmosphere of self-loathing and disen-gagement. The Mark Dug-an shooting was a catalyst for the recent looting on the West Midlands’ High Streets, so, we have to re-member that and make sure the whole truth as to why it happened is made public, for everybody’s sake.” any report on the case which triggered off the an-gry reaction from his fam-ily and friends.



childcare costs preventing parents from looking for work

figures ouT r e c e n T l y

show that parents from low income households could be spending up to a third of their income on child-care, which is why many are turning down the chance to work. Research done by Save The Children and Daycare Trust charities have re-vealed that the high childcare costs are forcing families to turn down jobs. The costs of childcare, for many households, is said to be almost equal to paying a mort-gage, or rent and is the highest average figure in the world. For families in se-vere poverty, 50% of them have cut back on food to pay for it. Over 50% say they are better off not working, with half

of that figure get-ting into deep debt because of the costs of childcare. Sally Copely, of Save The Children, said: “Many fami-lies are remaining trapped in pover-ty, due recent cuts to the working tax credit, making par-ents no better off in work.” Fiona Weir, a spokesperson for the Gingerbread charity, added: “Government

plans for childcare are a ‘ticking time-bomb’ for welfare reform. Unless more investment is found, working single par-ents will find it in-creasingly hard to make work pay.” A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pen-sion said: “Ministers will invest the same amount of money, at least, as in the cur-rent system.”



Women smokers, a higher risk for heart diseasesTudies haVe shoWn that women who smoke are more likely, than men, to

develop heart disease. This, as it’s been said, is caused by the physiological differ-ences between the sexes. With cigarette toxins being the possible reason behind this, the study shows that in comparison to non-smokers, the women-to-men-ratio of smokers suffering from coronary heart disease is higher by 25%. Women who’ve been smoking for a long period, have a higher risk, in comparison to men, who have been smoking for the same length of time. It’s said that they (women) stand the chance of taking in a greater number of the toxic agents from the same number of cigarettes smoked as men. Doctors are showing great concern for women smokers, after the studies, especially in that they see many of the major tobacco companies targeting women, as they are seen as a growing market.



after beating cancer, Tyler strikes out to beat povertyTyler PoWell

has spent the last five years showing im-mense gratitude for the life she’s living, af-ter beating life-threat-ening leukaemia and now, she’s spending every given spare time to giving less fortunate people, in africa, the chance for the better life they crave for, each and every day of there own lives. 18-year-old Tyler, from Birmingham, was diag-nosed with the cancer, in 2006 and back then, when told it was so se-vere, she was even given a specific time when she was going to die, you started to see the begin-nings of a steely deter-

mination that would see her through the darkest of times, for her and her family. “I went from planning a ‘pink’ remission party, to planning a ‘pink’ fu-neral,” she says. “At thir-teen, I went from 71/2 st. to a wapping 12st. and it took me 21/2 years to lose the excess weight.” Through an intense se-ries of chemotherapy, she came through the har-rowing experience and was given the all-clear, in 2007. Now, she’s an Admin-istrate Assistant at Wragg & Co, in the city and, above all, a very strong and determined individ-ual with a heart of gold and a willingness to see

people have the kind of opportunity she feels that we here take for granted. With her mother, Yvette, she went to the Gambia, on holiday, in 2010, but, in seeing what life was really like, beyond the classy hotels and white, sandy beaches, proved quite overwhelming, to the extent that she couldn’t stand by and see people, who have so much to offer, have so little, if anything at all. She recalls: “I remember being in-vited to a hospital and what I saw was too much to take in. I also wit-nessed a very young girl giving birth on the beach. It was beyond belief for me. It truly was an expe-

rience that really made me cry. Even considering what I went through, this was just too much for me to take in. I felt I had to do something.” They made a collec-tion of some of their spare clothes, toiletries and other miscellaneous items and, in addition, would be offered money, as Tyler continued: “I remember an old man who saw us carry-ing the stuff in a bag and he just took out £10 and gave it to us. Then, there was a young boy who we gave a bag of toiletries, t-shirts and bags to. He was so overwhelmed that before long, you could smell the fresh toiletries in the air, long before we

saw him.” Now working as an Ad-ministrative Assistant at Wragg & Co. in the city, she regularly sends bar-rels over to the Gambia and she’s planning to fol-low very soon. The last five years has been trying; both physi-cally and emotionally, for her, her family, in-cluding sisters Dionne and Sian. She’s working tire-lessly to raising the pro-file of the African Car-ibbean Leukaemia Trust and also looking to raise much needed funds to keep supplies going, to the Diaspora. With her ‘black book’ of A-List friends who’ve supported her during

her own personal trau-ma, friends like Alicia Dixon, The Bill’s Omar Ameel, Rudolf Walker and his fellow Eastend-ers friends, So Solid Crew’s Harvey and Ash-ley Walters, Tyler’s not going to stop giving any-time soon. She’s looking to organ-ise a major fund-raising event, here in Birming-ham, before she goes out to Africa in the next few months. After the Gambia, she then plans to concentrate her charity work in Ken-ya. It’s her own way of showing appreciation for the valued support she received during her near-tragic experience.



WarWickshire CCC scooPs double W A R W I C K -

SHIRE COUNTY CRICKET Club's com-mercial team were the s tar p layers a t the re-cent England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Business of Cricket Awards , af ter taking the honours for the bes t in tegrated inter-nat ional market ing campaign and bes t use of d ig i ta l media . The c lub received the award for i t s market ing communicat ions s t ra t -egy which helped a t -t rac t more than 93,000 specta tors to the newly redeveloped Edgbaston Stadium for the th i rd npower tes t match be-

tween England and In-dia in August . The bes t use of d ig i ta l media award came af ter Warwickshire became the f i rs t c r icket venue to launch an iPhone app ahead of the Test Match, where cr icket fans could buy t ickets and get easy access to c lub and match news. Warwickshire a lso launched a new digi ta l magazine , ca l led 'The e Mag, ' which was issued to more than 27,000 t icket buyers . Each one was de-s igned to provide rea l -t ime informat ion and enhance the cus tomer match day exper ience .

From cradle to grave, Continental Stars truly representsfrom iTs com-

P a r a T i V e l y humble beginnings as a small club, in 1975, made up of a handful of players from the lo-cal area, continental stars has grown to be a unique community 'brand.' In addition to running 15 successful football teams, from under-7s, to a highly sought-after Ladies team and habitu-ally winning Over-35s, the now registered char-ity has become the 'kite mark' for all the positive things multicultural, mul-ti-talented Birmingham and the West Midlands strive for. Also noted for deliv-ering a successful after-school Homework Club which targets disadvan-taged young people; Stars also has a women’s

help group providing valu-able support and advice to the unemployed and lone parents. In addition, the club also acts as Grassroots B.A.M.E (Black & Asian Minority Ethnic) advisors to the FA and the Kick It Out cam-paign. “Continental Stars FC is not just a football club – it’s a social enterprise within the community, with the FC standing for 'Family Club' catering for everybody from cradle to the grave,” says General Manager, Lincoln Moses. With proud support from well-established past and present professional players which includes Shrewsbury Town's Re-uben Hazell, Walsall's Dar-ren Byfield, former Aston Villa, Rangers and Liver-pool star, Mark Walters and former Wolves centre half

Bob Hazell, it's become a centre of excellence on the field. And, with them be-ing an Asdan registration centre, working in partner-ship with Connexions, to deliver accredited course, with support from the As-ton Ascend project, based at Aston Connexions, ex-cellence in the class room is also of paramount im-portance. The Asdan project sup-ported young NEET clients in the Aston ward area, the project engage and sup-porting young people with social, personal develop-ment back into education, training and employment opportunities. As the first and longest running Black-led football club, Continental Stars is the template for future rep-resenting with all commu-nities.



Former World Champion to ‘kick it’ on the big screen

f rom World, e u r o P e a n

and brit ish cruis-erweight kick-box-ing champion to championing the big screen, Wayne “homeboy” Turn-er’s l i fe is taking the ult imate 180degree turn into a direction that’s come as the biggest surprise to even he, himself . The 43-year-old, f rom Birmingham, has already appeared in the BBC’s ‘Hus-t le , ’ which stars fel-low-Brummie, Adrian Lester, in an episode that saw him play alongside legendary singer and actor, Mar-t in Kemp, as well as taking on prominent roles in other high-profi le TV produc-t ions l ike ‘Doomsday’ with Gary George, ‘Survivors ,’ with Max Beasley, ‘Merl in’ and ‘Doctors .’ In fact , such is his impressive, ever-growing portfol io of roles , that , despi te his dis t inct ive f ight ing career, when asked, Wayne would tel l you, without threat , or favour, that he is ‘an actor.’ Turner, who held the I .S.K.A. World bel t , as well as the WKA Bri t ish and European t i t les in a 20-year career, has a growing band of ad-mirers , in relevant places and, as such, wil l be seen in the upcoming f i lm; ‘Mad Blood,’ which is due for release later this year and another big-budget Bri t ish pro-duct ion; ‘Sacri lege,’ by Daniel Alexander. Not content to just

appearing in front of a camera, where your faul ts can always be corrected, he’s de-termined to test his act ing mett le , to the ful l , by establ ishing himself as a thea-tre performer. With that , he’s had major roles in theatre pro-duct ions of award-winning plays; ‘One Flew Over The Cuck-oo’s Nest , ’ ‘See How They Run’ and ‘Blood Brothers .’ Although, l ike many others , he’d l ike to eventual ly es-tabl ish himself , as an actor, in Holly-wood, Wayne’s more immediate plans are directed towards an-other massive movie centre: “I want to get into Bollywood. That’s where I see myself going. I’ve already been interviewed on Sangat TV, where many of their viewers see me as a ‘people’s person.’ I t ’s very f lat ter ing and I want to real ly develop that personal i ty in my act-ing.” He’s not forget t ing his f ight ing ‘roots ,’ though. Turner ’s cur-rent ly in Japan, look-ing for sponsorship for him to also take up a career in the lu-crat ive IGF Wrest l ing world: “I s t i l l t rain l ike a f ighter and I’m mind-ful that a massive part of wrest l ing is ‘act ing,’ so i t ’s some-thing to look into.” Wayne Turner is already a s tar in Eu-rope. You can see him in Madame Tusauds, in Germany. Now, that’s recognit ion.

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surely, ‘rooney’ has to be given a chancefrom WalTer

Tull, at the turn of the last century, to daniel sturridge today, black footballers have made a major impact in football, both on the field of play, to the steep, hal-lowed terraces. However, the call for stringent measures to be taken beyond the pitch seems desperately needed

to address the disparate number of Black managers represented in professional football, in Britain today. Out of the 92 clubs that make up both the Barclays Premier and Coca Cola Football League, only two of them have Black man-agers at the helm and for 2011, that’s a damming in-dictment to the status quo. With Chris Hughton tak-

ing charge at Birmingham City and Chris Powell at London club, Charlton Athletic, to redress the balance, the Professional Football Association is in preliminary consultation to implement the ‘Rooney Rule’ into operation in the game. The Rooney Rule was brought into the NFL, in the US, requiring teams

to interview minority can-didates for head-coach roles. The Detroit Lions were fined $200,000 for not interviewing an African-American for their vacant head coach's position in 2003. Last season the two Super Bowl teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers, had Black coaches. PFA chief executive, Gordon Taylor, said: "We’re the most cosmo-politan footballing coun-try in the world. However, we spend a lot of money training players for the fu-

ture and, understandably, one of the most obvious areas of interest is coach-ing and management. For some reason, though, the number of Black people who actually get a chance in this area is extremely small." Blues boss, Hughton, is an advocate of the ‘Rule’ and thinks any positive moves it takes to get more Black and ethnic minori-ties into the top end of the game has got to be a good thing. He says: "I have always tried as hard as I can over the years to encourage more black

and ethnic coaches to get involved in the game and look at it as a career path, especially at the highest level. I’d like to see an environ-ment and a system that has pathways and is inclusive for all to make progress in the game.”There’s growing pressure for the game to embrace the 'Rooney Rule'. with Cyrus Mehri, the civil rights lawyer who in 2003 implemented the ‘Rooney Rule,’ saying: “Give them a chance, maybe you don't know what you're missing.”

the phoenix newspaper

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