Mohammed selling Big Issue in the North outside Crosspool Spar
Crosspool’s friendly Big Issue in the North seller Mohammed Iqbal is to be reunited with his family this week after six years away.
He’s making the long-awaited trip back to Pakistan for eight weeks where he’ll see his wife and 11-year-old son for the first time since he arrived in the UK.
He hopes his family will be able to join him in the UK at some point in the future.
Mohammed is a regular in Crosspool, selling Big Issue in the North from his pitch outside Spar. In 2013 he won a special award for being the magazine’s most dedicated vendor.
A festive thank you to Father Christmas for stopping off at the Crosspool Children’s Christmas party during the busiest period of his year.
While handing out presents he was given sweets by excited youngsters who had been entertained earlier in the afternoon by Fablo’s Childrens’ Disco.
It did not take long for the one or two children to overcome their shyness and join in with the traditional party games. Most of them won spot prizes for taking part in the various activities.
Spar kindly donated the refreshments and nibbles for the party and an enjoyable afternoon was had by everyone.
Thanks to everyone who attended the party and all the helpers that made this year’s festive afternoon a success.
Crosspool Big Issue in the North seller Mohammad Iqbal picks up his award
The dedicated approach of Mohammed Iqbal, Crosspool’s vendor for The Big Issue in the North, has been recognised with a special award.
Mohammed sells the magazine outside Spar in the precinct. He was recently presented with the award by the magazine’s Sheffield office.
In the article below Mohammed explains a bit more about his background, why 2012 was a difficult year for him and his experiences of selling in Crosspool. The piece originally appeared in the Big Issue in the North and is reproduced here with permission.
Well done to Mohammed and thanks to Heather for spotting the article and letting us know about the news.
Smiley vendor earns award
One of Sheffield’s vendors, Mohammad Iqbal, has been rewarded for his tireless work over the past year, being given the Sheffield office’s Most Dedicated Vendor of 2012 award as part of its end of year celebrations.
Iqbal, 45, has been selling The Big Issue in the North for nine years in Yorkshire, between Scunthorpe, Barnsley and Sheffield, and is now reaping the rewards with an impressive sales record on his new pitch.
Iqbal said: “I have been selling at Crosspool since June, which has been really good as I now have a lot of regular customers there who have started calling me ‘Smiley’. The manager and staff are very friendly. They let me stand under their shelter and so I return the favour by helping the shop’s customers with their trolleys. I’ve even stopped a thief running away from the shop twice, which they thanked me for.”
Having a good relationship with his customers and the public means a lot to Iqbal. “I enjoy talking to people, and working each day helps keep me in good spirits and motivated to improve my situation. My family live in Pakistan, and being so far away makes it difficult, but selling the magazine helps keep me busy whilst making the money I need.
“2012 was a very difficult year for me, as I lost three very close members of my family; my son Akhtar, my daughter Sophia and my mother. But I have worked very hard every day selling the magazine so that I can support them as much as I can, to pay my own way for things, and to put some money in savings, which will help me in the future.
“My main aim is to try and get my family to move over to England this year, which would make me a very happy man. I’m very thankful to anyone who buys my magazines and helps me do this.”
Police officers will be dispensing safety and crime prevention advice to members of the Crosspool community on Wednesday 20 June at a Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) stall.
Broomhill SNT will set up outside Spar in Crosspool from 10am-12pm, so pop along if you have any questions about staying safe and reducing crime in our community.
Out of order: the cash machine in Crosspool precinct
On Saturday afternoon police attended the ATM machine located outside Spar in Crosspool precinct.
Once again someone had reported that they had had a problem with the machine and that money had been removed from their account. The police rang the owners, Bank Machines, to report the problem. Bank Machines told the police that they are not able to send an engineer until midweek.
An ‘out of order’ sign has been placed on the machine.
Crosspool residents are being urged to check their bank statements following further reports of unauthorised withdrawals from bank accounts after using the cash machine in Crosspool.
One person on Twitter said: “Just to let you know, the cash machine outside the spar in Crosspool has been tampered with again. (information from spar staff) please check your bank accounts!”.
If you have used the ATM outside Spar recently then we recommend that you double-check the transactions on your account and contact your bank if you see anything unusual.
If you’ve been a victim of this you can report your incident to the police by calling 0114 220 2020. If you want to speak to Bank Machines, the company that runs the machine, they can be contacted on 0800 028 6923.
The Children’s Christmas Disco on Sunday 4 December has received a boost from generous local Crosspool businesses.
In addition to Spar’s donation of children’s refreshments, the Crosspool Pharmacy has offered to provide a sizable number gifts for each child attending the Crosspool Forum’s community Children’s Christmas Disco.
The event for children between 3-11 years will run from 1.30-3.30pm in St Columba’s church hall. Father Christmas will bring a present for every child! Refreshments and nibbles will be served.
You can get your ticket from Crosspool Pet Shop – tickets are £5 per child and the accompanying parent or guardian is free. You can also contact the Forum on crosspoolforum@fsmail.netor 0114 335 1674 for tickets and more information.
Children’s Christmas Disco, Sunday 4 December 2011
