I’d been so looking forward to meeting the team in West Yorkshire and joining them for this event, for some time. Last year’s inaugural Eid gathering was a tremendous success, so I was keen to catch up again with old and meet new friends.
After a long drive from High Wycombe to Bradford, I didn’t have much time to change out of my travel gear and into my traditional Asian outfit, staying true to the theme of the occasion.
The name of the venue this year was ‘My Lahore’ which played host to The Prince and Princess Wales in 2020. If it was good enough for royalty, it was good enough for CSSC. I met with the CSSC West Yorkshire Area organisers Hanif and Usman for a good catch up. Having just returned from a family trip to Dubai (See next blog) I was eager to share a selection of fruit dates which are always popular with those not lucky enough to have tried them before.
As I walked into the restaurant the smell immediately captivated me and gave a wonderful hint of the delicious treats in store for all of us. It took me back to the tantalising aromas you get from the street vendors in Pakistan.
To my wonderful surprise the floor was packed full of CSSC members and volunteers. We were quite a diverse group of about 60 people, some friends, some strangers, but by the end of the evening, we were all acquaintances, which was lovely to see.
I was particularly delighted to see and meet with loads of new members attending for the first time, proving the growing popularity of these types of events and the wonderful opportunity they present for increasing community spirit.
Hanif introduced CSSC CEO Matt Bazeley, who spoke about the importance of attending these multicultural events of CSSC.
As the evening went on, I got chatting to a lovely group of people who were extremely keen to tell me all about the history of Bradford and all the different things a visitor could do for entertainment and the plans for the European City of Culture in 2026.
Our host couldn’t have been nicer or more accommodating. A huge shout out for all the superb food and desserts, snacks and teas provided by the owner Asghar Ali to the 50 or so guests.
Such was the warmth of the group, that they invited me to a post dinner tour of Bradford, taking in all the great places to eat and explore.
The ladies, Nosheen and Saima, who work for HMRC, really went above and beyond, looking after me, making sure I had a great evening. At the end of the evening, we said our goodbyes and left good friends. I’m looking forward to the next year’s event and my fondest hope is that more areas decide to host such an evening of fun and community spirit. For more info or help on organising this type of even, please get in touch with me at Bushra.ali@cssc.co.uk
See you next time.
