Asian entrepreneurs praised and rewarded

Scottish Asian men and women were recognised for their business achievements at the Scottish Asian Business Awards on Wednesday 23 November at the Thistle Hotel.

Irfan Younis, Director for the event organisers, Oceanic Consulting, said: ‘This year the competition was exceptionally strong. We had some truly inspiring winners and finalists and they should all be incredibly proud of themselves.’

John Rendall, CEO of HSBC in Scotland, said: “HSBC is proud to be supporting these awards and it was fantastic to see the achievements of Scotland’s thriving Asian business community being recognised. At HSBC we continue to see innovative Scottish businesses making strides and we’re well placed to help them realise their potential. I was impressed by the high calibre of nominees. The winners should all be very proud of their personal achievements and the spirit of entrepreneurship they are fuelling in Scotland.’

The keynote speaker was the Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon who said: ‘This is a great opportunity to recognise the major contribution the Scottish Asian business community makes to Scotland.’

The event also raised money for The British Asian Trust. Set up by the Prince of Wales, the charity serves as a ‘social fund’ to support high impact charities in education, enterprise and health. Since it was formed in 2009 the charity has helped over 350,000 people in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UK.

AWARD winners were:

Young Achiever of the Year – Ricky Singh, owner of Team Singh, a personal fitness training company based in Ayrshire. A talented boxer, he is aiming for a gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. His website is http://www.teamsingh.com

Franchisee of the Year – Kumon Educational, Glasgow (Saima Afzal). The company offers English and maths tutoring to children of all ages and abilities; instilling lifelong study skills and boosting children’s confidence. The Glasgow franchise is located at 15 Kenmure Street, Pollokshields. Its website is: http://www.kumon.co.uk/

Small Business of the Year – Khan Autos – is a family run business which has been going for 32 years. It is located at 23-25 Garturk Street, Govanhill. The website is: http://www.khanautos.co.uk/

The Community Award – E Waste Solutions – This not for profit organisation aims to help disadvantaged people learn computer skills. The company recycles used equipment and has a zero landfill policy to ensure they are as environmentally friendly as possible. They have donated several computers to the village of Samundri in Pakistan, where company director Zahid Rafiq’s late mother came from. The website is http://www.ewastesolutions.co.uk/index.php

Businesswoman of the Year – Preet Sandhu – founded a Glasgow based residential letting and property management company, Happy Lets. Preet works alongside her husband Bobby in running the company. A graduate in business management, Preet is also the daughter of curry king (and winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award) Charan Gill. Happy Lets website is: http://www.happylets.co.uk/

Businessman of the Year – Asim Sarwar – managing director of United Wholesale (Scotland) Ltd, a wholesale cash & carry operation in Glasgow, trading in tobacco, alcohol and grocery products predominantly to the traditional independent retail market in Scotland’s central belt. A family business, Asim has worked for Wholesale (Scotland) Ltd for 11 years.

Business of the Year – Perfect Glazing (Glasgow) Limited – it manufactures Rehau units on-site in their own Scottish factory. It is the only double glazing installer in Scotland that has a toughened glass plant on-site producing toughened glass to certified British Standards. Clients include the Royal Navy and Strathclyde Fire Brigade. Website is http://www.perfectglazingscotland.com/

Entrepreneur of the Year – Samrat Sarkar – owner of Sarkar Defence Solutions Ltd, a company specialising in the manufacture of ballistic and tactical body armour for police and military. An ex-Royal Navy Officer, Samrat founded the company four years ago. His clients now include the US Army, Italian Special Forces, the Peruvian Army, the Spanish Navy, the UN and many others. Samrat sources as many of his materials as possible, locally and transferred manufacturing to Scotland. Sarkar Defence Solutions website is: http://www.sarkardefence.com/

Lifetime Achievement – Charan Gill MBE – The man is credited by many in making the curry a staple of the Scottish diet. Arriving in Scotland from India at 9 and leaving school at 16 he worked his way up from cleaning toilets and peeling onions to being the owner of a chain of 17 restaurants. He now concentrates on building links between Scottish and Indian businesses. Last month he raised £1 million for the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice.

 

Caribbean take on St Andrew

ST ANDREW’S NIGHT

AFRICAN CARIBBEAN CENTRE

66 Osborne Street (behind Tron Theatre)

African and Scottish food, drinks and culture

Wednesday 30th November

7pm to 11pm

FREE ENTRY

Families welcome

CONFIRMED ACTS:

Celtic Songstress Carla McLean

Scots Zimbabwean Comedian Sean MacTavish

Jamaican Poet Graham Cee Campbell

Govan care home wins Eat Safe award

The Govan based care home, Florence House has been awarded an ‘Eat Safe’ Certificate. It shows that the establishment not only meets standards of food hygiene as legally required, but it offers even higher standards. The award is administered by Local Authority Environmental Health Services in conjunction with the Food Standards Agency. Florence House was assessed for the award as part of its scheduled food hygiene inspections.

The converted school building has 55 en suite rooms and three self-contained flats which are highly sought after. It is run by Lambhill Court Ltd which has several care homes in the group. Said Managing Director Sunita Poddar: ‘We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this sign of excellence in standards of food hygiene. It’s wonderful to have such a great team across the company’s care homes and to receive recognition for their hard work. We are thrilled and thank everyone involved for all their hard work.’

Said Florence House’s home manager Joan Sands: ‘We believe that great people drive our success and I would like to thank all our staff who take great pride in delivering a quality service to all of the people we look after.’

Mrs Poddar added: ‘This award has made what was already a good year into a great year. We have retained our Investors In People (IIP) status for another year and our Head Chef, George Gray won Scottish Care’s Nutrition & Eating Well award on November 18.’

Russian choir honours Arctic convoys

The Glasgow based choir that sings in Russian style – Russkaya Cappella – enjoyed a recent trip to Russia. The benefit of that visit will be heard at their St Andrew’s Day concert on Wednesday 30 November in St Aloysius Church, Rose Street in Garnethill G3 6RE.

Said Svetlana Zvereva who with Stuart Campbell, runs the choir: ‘St Andrew is honoured by all the Christian churches and is patron saint of Scotland and Russia. There he is the protector, in particular, of the Russian navy. The concert programme will provide sacred music as well as some of Russia’s classic composers – Tchaikovsky and Taneyev – and Russian folk songs.’
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the start of the Arctic convoys which delivered vital supplies to the USSR and allied countries during the Second World War. Between 1941 and 1945 sailors of the British, Canadian, Soviet and United States navies ran the gauntlet of extreme weather, dangerous seas and enemy action on journeys between Iceland, Scotland and Murmansk and Archangel. Thousands of sailors perished on these most dangerous voyages. British veterans wear a white beret and tell tales of cups of cocoa freezing as they walk across the deck.
In tribute to them, the choir will sing ‘Eternal Memory’ during the concert.
Tickets are £5 at the door. Further information from the website: www.russkayacappella.yolasite.com

Many more for tennis!

By David Lamont

The West End now has new, all-weather tennis courts which are floodlit.  Broomhill Tennis and Squash Club President, Claire McKelvie said at the official opening: ‘It is fantastic to see such a huge project come to fruition. It provides excellent tennis playing opportunities all year round. This will enhance the Club’s ability to offer excellent facilities with low fees and no waiting list.’

Located in Crow road close to the Clyde Tunnel, the Club is easily accessible to all parts of the city.

Recently, the long-established club received the Lawn Tennis Association’s Clubmark award. This shows that a club’s coaches have appropriate qualifications and that child protection, equality and health and safety issues are properly addressed.

The new squash season has started with two gents and ladies teams playing in the West of Scotland leagues. There is a range of squash activities for all standards.

A junior tennis coaching programme is available to members and non-members throughout the winter. The Club has special discounts and promotions for new members and it has a bar and social events.

See their website for further details: www.broomhill-tennis-squash.co.uk

Just another Monday

It was a different start to the week on Monday 21 November.
Despite three people chaining themselves to the entrance gate and one man sitting 20ft up on a tripod at the UK Border Agency premises in Brand Street, Govan, The Home Office said: ‘business is still carrying on.’
All the protesters were highlighting the fact that the UK BA has re-started dawn raids to forcibly remove failed asylum seekers. The demonstration was to ensure that the gates of UK BA remained closed until the end of the working day preventing the vans used to transport people, from coming in or out.
On Monday when this all happened, asylum seekers due to report at the Brand Street office, were escorted into the grounds by a police officer – once they’d negotiated a way through the cordon of 30+ police who sealed off surrounding streets with ‘accident’ signs, incident tape and police vehicles. An ever evolving crowd of around 60 protesters at any one time watched and waited to see how long it would take the police to get the man down from his perch.
Police Inspector Cowley was in charge at the location and said: ‘We’re handling the incident as normal and will monitor till removal.’

It took several attempts for the police support team to build a tubular platform from which they would have the tricky task of extracting the man. His dawn to dust vigil ended voluntarily when he descended by himself after 5pm when the UKBA offices were due to close. He was arrested, taken to Govan Police Office at Helen Street and detained for three hours and given a medical examination. Strathclyde Police also stated that a man aged 23 and one aged 18 and a woman aged 32 were arrested after they had voluntarily freed themselves from where they’d chained themselves to the fence.
During the day, the supportive crowd spasmodically broke into songs and chants to keep the spirits of the man on the tripod as high as his elevated position.
Asylum seeker Amadou Diallo from Guinea, took time off from a college course to stand in protest at dawn raids. With his poster reading in English and Gaelic: Justice, Freedom, Unity, he said: ‘People have to understand, where there is no democracy in a country, a person’s life is in danger if they are returned.’
Shelly Davidson is a failed asylum seeker who has been in Scotland so many years she says she is Scottish. She sang some powerful songs praying for God to come and help. ‘Don’t turn away,’ said the words in her first language. ‘We don’t want kids and mothers to be put in detention and deported because we fear it could be us next,’ she said.
Claire Mulholland was one of a group of banner carrying women from the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission. She said: ‘It is an outrage they are carrying out dawn roads. These women and children are not criminals. They will be traumatised for the rest of their lives after being hauled out their beds by strangers who have burst into their homes. And this is supposed to be a civilised country!’
A Home Office spokesperson later said: ‘We consider all cases thoroughly. When both we and the courts agree that families are not in need of our protection, they are given every chance to leave the UK voluntarily. This includes engagement with the family over a period of time, family conferences to offer tailored voluntary return packages to assist them upon their return and self-check-in opportunities to fly home. Unfortunately, when they refuse to take up these opportunities, our last resort is an enforced return. This is overseen by the Family Returns Panel to ensure that the welfare of children is taken properly into account.’
A statement from the Unity Centre, which is near Brand Street and is a volunteer run solidarity centre for asylum seekers and destitute asylum seekers, said: ‘The blockade at Brand Street is a response to the return of the bad old days of dawn raids in Glasgow and the continued practice of detaining children.’ Unity went on to say that the practice of visiting people’s homes in the early morning to surprise them – dawn raids – was a particularly ‘barbaric and inhumane way to enforce Home Office policy.’ They added: ‘This has been the source of anger from communities in Glasgow in the past. We have given the Home Office every chance to end this abhorrent treatment of families, voluntarily. Unfortunately, they have refused these opportunities and our last resort is direct action.’
Last year, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg described the detaining of children as ‘shameful’ and pledged to end the practice by May 2011. However, the Government’s new family returns programme permits children to be lock up at the UKBA’s Cedars pre-departure accommodation near Gatwick Airport. That is where Funke Olubiyi and her five year old son Joseph were taken after a dawn raid on their home in Govan on Thursday 10 November before being removed to Nigeria which Joseph has no memory of. UKBA officials entered the family’s home at 7am. Funke was handcuffed and both were taken to Brand Street where Joseph was allowed to have breakfast before being taken by van to Cedars in England. There they remained for several days before being put on a plane to Nigeria.
The protest at the UKBA’s Brand street building was organised by Unity and No Borders Network which champions freedom of movement for all and an end to all migration controls.

CEILIDH to welcome newcomers

A ceilidh to welcome new comers to Glasgow will be held by Wellington Church congregation and their INTERNATIONAL WELCOME CLUB on Friday 25 November at 7.30pm.  A family affair, anyone who wants to have a bit of a dance, see others entertain and enjoy a modest supper without alcohol, for a modest donation of £3 per adult or £5 per family, is invited.

Just turn up for 7.30pm at the church halls at 77 Southpark Avenue, Glasgow G12 8LE .  Since this is near St Andrew’s Day (30 November) the event will have a St Andrew’s theme and a lot of fun.

 

Tibetan monks to visit Glasgow

On Wednesday, 23^rd November 5.30 for 6.00 pm until 8.00 pm in Strathclyde University Chaplaincy Centre, St. Paul’s Building, John Street. Strathclyde Music offers a rare opportunity to experience the musical and culinary tradition of the Tibetan Monastery.

Tibetan Monks from Tashi Lhunpo Monastery will present a demonstration of their unique chants and the instruments of the monastic orchestra, preceded by a Monastery Supper.

Tickets, including supper: £10 (£5 concession/£2 student).

Advance booking recommended and tickets are available from the University of Strathclyde’s online shop: http://onlineshop.strath.ac.uk/browse/product.asp?catid=30&modid=1&compid=1

Australia supports Scottish human rights campaign

A campaign started in Glasgow to highlight Human Rights issues in The Gambia, is taking off internationally. In communication with the Australian Government, the campaigners were encouraged by the strength of support from that country. They were told that Australia has already called on The Gambia to amend legislation which infringes freedom of expression in accordance with its international human rights obligations. Australia has also called for The Gambia to make sure that all detainees are properly charged and brought to trial without delay or released. In addition Australia is pressing for an independent body to investigate allegations of ill-treatment, torture and extra-judicial executions within The Gambia. This corresponds with what the Campaigners believe is happening in the West African country which is best known in Scotland for its attractive sunshine holiday spots.

Said Campaign Chairman Arthur West: ‘We very much welcome the interest of the Australian Government in the situation in The Gambia and in particular the case of disappeared journalist Ebrima Manneh. This is an example of the level of international concern. We are proud that people in Scotland are raising awareness of what is happening in The Gambia.’ From the time it was founded about two years ago, the Campaign has called for an independent investigation into human rights abuses and has continued to ask the whereabouts of journalist Ebrima Manneh who disappeared after being taken into official custody and the shooting of journalist Deyda Hydara whose assailants have never been brought to book.

Sweet words

Authors Zoe Strachan and Louise Welsh will read extracts from their recent novels: ‘Ever Fallen in Love’ and ‘Naming the Bones’ at the cozy Biblocafe on Woodlands Road on Friday 2 December. They will also be signing and selling their books after the reading with the option of a personalised message. So it makes food for thought for Christmas gifts. More food for thought comes when you know the Biblocafe will have cake and coffee on discounted offer at £5 for this event. Best to call them to book as numbers are limited. Tel:0141 339 7645.

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