Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Skipping Sikh to run his first marathon at 74 for charity

RAJINDER SINGH aka the ‘Skipping Sikh’ is all set to run his first marathon next month at the age of 74 to raise money for charity.

The Sikh pensioner, who moved to England alone in 1971, to join his uncle, will run the 26.2-mile London Marathon on 3 October to raise money for Mencap, which support those with learning disabilities. He will turn 75 on 23 October, just after the event.


He was recognised with an MBE for services to health and fitness in the Queen’s birthday honours list in June. He has already raised £2,255 against the target £5,000 from 88 supporters.

“It’s the first time I’m running the London marathon and I’ll be turning 75. My daughter nominated me as I’ve always wanted to do it but have never been successful in getting a place. I can’t wait to run with so many others and I hope to skip over the finishing line," he told Eastern Eye.

"I am turning 75 this year 23 October 2021 and have always wanted to take part in the London Marathon and this is a dream come true for me. This year I am going to attempt skipping and if I don't do it, my daughter will. Please join me on my journey as I train for the next six months and get ready for the biggest milestone ever," his page on Justgiving says.

Singh, from Hillingdon, west London, has always been active and interested in fitness. He learned from his father, a soldier, and was taught how to skip from an early age. Now, he tries to exercise four or five times a day.

Currently, he is preparing for his first marathon. And at weekends he pays forward his father’s encouragement at the junior parkrun near his home. He runs with his daughter, Minreet, and his wife, Pritpal Kaur, who is herself mastering hula hooping.

Singh starred in exercise videos that went viral during lockdown, after he became concerned that some members of the Sikh community were feeling isolated as gurdwaras were closed in the initial lockdown.

His exercise videos proved a hit on social media and helped raise more than £14,000 for NHS charities.

Click here to support.

More For You

Sheikh Hasina

Hasina left for India at the end of the student-led protests and has not returned to Dhaka, where her trial for alleged crimes against humanity began on June 1. (Photo: Getty Images)

Leaked audio suggests Hasina ordered use of force during 2024 protests

SOME leaked audio recordings suggest Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently on trial in absentia, ordered a deadly crackdown on protests last year.

According to the United Nations, up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 when Hasina's government cracked down on demonstrators during an attempt to stay in power.

Keep ReadingShow less
Doctors' strike

The doctors had previously accepted a 22 per cent pay rise covering 2023 to 2025, which brought an end to earlier rounds of strikes.

Getty Images

England's resident doctors announce five-day strike over pay dispute

JUNIOR doctors in England will go on strike from 25 to 30 July, their union said on Wednesday, after the British government said it could not meet their demand for an improved pay offer this year.

The doctors, also known as resident doctors, make up a large part of the medical workforce. They were offered an average 5.4 per cent pay rise but are seeking 29 per cent, saying this is needed to reverse years of real-terms pay erosion.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

FILE PHOTO: Keir Starmer (L) with Narendra Modi. (Photo: Getty Images)

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

INDIA's prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the UK by the end of this month for a visit that could see both sides formally sign the landmark India-UK free trade agreement and explore ways to expand bilateral ties in the defence and security sphere, diplomatic sources said.

Both sides are in the process of finalising the dates for Modi's visit to the country by the end of July or the first part of August, they said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

Rishi Sunak. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

FORMER prime minister Rishi Sunak has returned to the banking world as senior adviser at Goldman Sachs group, with plans to donate his salary to the education charity he recently established with his wife Akshata Murty.

The US-headquartered multinational investment bank, where Sunak worked before entering politics, made the announcement on Tuesday (8) after the requisite 12-month period elapsed since the British Indian leader's ministerial term concluded following defeat in the general election on July 4 last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London.

Getty Images

Post Office scandal linked to 13 suicides, says inquiry

Highlights:

 
     
  • Public inquiry finds up to 13 suicides linked to wrongful Post Office prosecutions.
  •  
  • Horizon IT system faults led to false accusations, financial ruin, and imprisonment.
  •  
  • Sir Wyn Williams says Post Office maintained a “fiction” of accurate data despite known faults.

A PUBLIC inquiry has found that up to 13 people may have taken their own lives after being wrongly accused of financial misconduct by the Post Office, in what is now described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Keep ReadingShow less