British born Tony Kelly was raised in Jamaica and returned to England in 1979 where he lives in Birmingham with his family.  As a Mico Teachers’ College graduate, he taught English Language/Literature and Religious Education in high schools in Kingston.  Tony worked in local & central government for 30 years before early retirement as a middle manager specialising in equality, equity and diversity. Among his qualifications is a Masters degree in Socio-Legal Studies from The University of Birmingham.  

For 7 years Tony has been a Diabetes UK Community Champion Volunteer devoting his time educating all communities in the West Midlands and further afield about health and well-being in relation to diabetes, a medical condition which runs in his family. He is proud to have controlled his type 2 diabetes with physical activity and diet since being diagnosed 15 years ago and has never taken medication. Thus proving it can be done with the right mindset, discipline, motivation and determination.

Hi, my name is Tony Meade. I'm the Author of four children’s books:

My Meddling Uncle

Magic Clock one

Magic Clock two

Tales from Figglesbury Farm  

and also one adult book called Crossing Paths.

I'm in the process of getting ready to release my 2nd adult book called

A Vicar's Revenge.

I've been singing and entertaining for 30 years.

I have ten children, all grown up and now I'm concentrating on my books including talking books, maybe even children animations and I may possibly make a few films too.

Life has been very hard due to lack of education and the misfortune to suffer many mishaps, but I'm still alive and blessed.

Colin Rankine is a Community Activist from Wednesbury, Sandwell in the West Midlands. He has led an exciting, multi-skilled and varied career with its roots within the food industry.  Starting out as a caterer, Colin later excelled himself when working as an advisor on a number of Public Health reports including E. coli and BSE when the outbreaks were rife.

Colin also excelled within his educational career where he was awarded the Governors Prize for Bolton University. He achieved a Bachelor’s Degree in the area of Business Administration which is complemented with a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and he later became a qualified examiner for English and Welsh boards.  During this role, he converted several international papers to the English and Welsh language.

Colin has worked up and down the country as a Meat Inspector, a Technician, a Teacher and within his current roles as a Head Teacher, Pastor, Activist and Speaker.

Colin speaks several foreign languages that have aided his work to date.  Concerned with the state of the education system, in 2010 Colin embarked on the journey of starting his own Christian Primary School – Homeschool Social Enterprise - which he now successfully leads in Wednesbury.

He is also recognised as one of the prominent voices for the homeless within Birmingham through Active Christians, a Christian ministry that he established in 2015.  

Sunrise Bakery was established in 1966 to service the growing Caribbean community in the West Midlands, mainly Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

Our route to market was through the independent shops which were themselves fulfilling the demand for food of a Caribbean nature.  

We later expanded into the East Midlands, supplying into Leicester, Derby and Nottingham.

On leaving school I worked for the Midlands Electricity Board (MEB), but in 1982 I was drawn back to the family business, where some of my friends and I spent many very happy school holidays working.

By the summer of 1982, the company began a programme of expansion which took its geographical reach into London and the South East, Bristol and the South West, Manchester and Yorkshire and by the end of the eighties we gained a listing with Asda and later Tesco, followed by Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.

As a company we have a strong Community Ethos and the desire to raise the profile of Caribbean Food in the UK and beyond and we are extremely proud of the fact that we are now feeding the 4^th generation since the original Windrush pioneers and are now seeing a greater appreciation of Caribbean culture of which food is playing a significant part.

I am going to give you an insight into my life experiences and why I believe I will be a great asset in supporting young people in today’s society.

I was a young man who had problems in school and found it very difficult to behave, that is the reason why I got expelled from school and I never really looked back. I thought I was ready for the ‘road’ lifestyle and what comes with it.

In further discussion upon my release after 13 years 'inside,' I witnessed first-hand just how much society had changed and the youth of today had no morals or respect for one another. This gave me a vision to try to bring something to society.  I wanted to give youths the support that I wished I had whilst I was younger. My vision was to do something with the youth to help them achieve their full potential and to not throw their lives away by criminal activities to which could lead them to prison.