Why I am positive about Peterborough

I usually write about the lighter side of life; what I have been up to; what I am cooking and usually a recipe., writes Parveen Ashraf.
Parveen The Spice QueenParveen The Spice Queen
Parveen The Spice Queen

I don’t usually involve myself in politics, religion or international affairs, I am sure that there are people far more qualified and better informed than myself who have opinions on such matters. I prefer to stick to a non-threatening subject such as food.

However, I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t mention the collapse of Thomas Cook this week. As long as I can remember, when I think of holidays, I think of Thomas Cook...I fondly remember one of their most popular ads, “Don’t just book it - Thomas Cook it”. Many of my friends worked at Thomas Cook and my heart goes out to all those who have lost their jobs - both here and abroad. We are already living in uncertain times with lots of parliamentary issues and Brexit seems to be going on forever! I am definitely BOB (Bored of Brexit). Ooops! Did I just go to the dark side and mention politics?

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My apologies, allow me to go back to my normal MO i.e. looking at the positive side of life. I find that in times of adversity and trouble, the human spirit shines through and people will come together to help and support one another. That is exactly what local businesses have done for former Thomas Cook employees.

These random acts of kindness will not restore the company or their jobs but it will restore their faith in human nature and hopefully demonstrate in some small way that Peterborough cares about its own.

I for one am proud to be a Peterborian, I think Peterborough has lots to offer. In fact in the last few weeks I have been doing loads of local work and helping to promote Peterborough in a positive way.

I took part in the #weLOVEpeterborough photoshoot; I was a guest of Gillian Beasley, promoting diversity at the SHINE ball at the Holiday Inn to support Spinah Bifida and as well as doing 4 live cooking shows on Ideal World, I was asked to open a new wellbeing clinic. The Cambridgeshire Wellness clinic is owned by one of my best friends and a fellow Peterborian, Kerry. The clinic offers so many holistic treatments including yoga, reflexology, chakra balancing, angel card reading, massage and so much more... For me personally, it was lovely to see the community coming together to celebrate something positive - and goodness knows we need that right now.

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Oh, did I mention that I did the official cutting of the ribbon with a gigantic pair of pink scissors. Well, come on, did you expect anything less from The Spice Queen?

If you want to cheer someone up this week, email [email protected] to receive a free mini spice kit (the first 20 people to email me).

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