People / My Bristol Favourites
My Bristol Favourites: Kalsoom Bashir
Kalsoom Bashir is the community co-chair of Building the Bridge, a partnership approach to increasing community cohesion and resilience, and reducing the risk of radicalisation; and director of Inspire, a non-governmental advocacy organisation working to counter extremism and gender inequality.
On Sunday, October 16, Kalsoom will be taking part in the Bristol Big Sisters event at The Park Community Centre, aimed at bringing Muslim women and their friends and allies together to discuss issues and topics important to them, to network, to inspire and be inspired. Follow @bristolbigsis16 on Twitter for more information.
Here are Kalsoom’s top-five Bristol favourites:
is needed now More than ever
The Downs
“I live close to the Downs and being able to head out for a walk towards the Sea Walls and marvelling at the view every time I see it makes me feel like the luckiest person ever. I love seeing the joggers, children playing and learning to ride their bikes, dog walkers and kite flyers. It’s fantastic. The trees look amazing in the autumn.”
The parks
“Having had four children, the parks were a lifesaver no matter what the weather. St Andrew’s Park with the paddling pool, Redland Green with the sandpit, Eastville Park and the ducks, Cotham Park’s play area, the sliding rocks in Clifton, Leigh Woods, Ashton Court and of course Bristol Zoo.”
The harbourside
“On a nice day – and even on not such a nice day – there is nothing like walking down to the harbourside enjoying the view and marvelling at the ss Great Britain. The Watershed is a great place to sit and meet friends and I will always have lunch at Falafel King.”
St Mark’s Road
“Food is important and this is the best place to go when I need to stock up on herbs, spices and ingredients for home cooking. As well as Pakistani food, I love Turkish, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine so this is the place to shop, and I am always guaranteed a warm welcome in Sweet Mart.”
Redland Library
“I love reading and am not able to walk past my local library without just a quick browse to see if anything on the shelves catches my eye. I love the fact that it’s well used by people of all ages and is always full. Long may it remain so.”