Lalubhai Patel

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A 61-year-old, retired food development technician, Lalubhai Patel has lived in Gloucester for more than twenty years. After a degree in chemistry,

Lalubhai worked as a junior chemist in a Rayon factory in India for three years before arriving in the UK in 1966 where he married Sushila. It was a traditional, arranged marriage and the couple now has three grown-up children, all living in Gloucester.

Finding a job, particularly in the right field, was not that easy and as many as 70 employers turned him down. After working for Unilever over a period of twenty seven years he got a job in a retail trade and declared his retirement at the age of fifty seven.

Being a cricket fan, he played at a club level and has, over the years, made many friends through this sport.

His rapid social attachment eared him a place as a chairman of the local Hindu Community, where he worked for harmony and integrity between eastern and western communities.

'There is plenty of fun, such as DIY, gardening and watching sports and listening to music, all in my spare time when I am not involved or engaged in a voluntary services,' he says.

Today, his voluntarily work includes BBC Radio Gloucestershire, The Law Centre, Gloucestershire constabulary services and many local, as well as national, community groups. 'I dearly love the long days of English Summer and socialising as long as I am fit and I hope it will keep me going for certainly a number of years.'