In giving this annual reflection post as the clock turns on another year of my life and which sees me today turn 28, I feel that these last 12 months have been much beneficial both personally and professionally. Without the vigour and demanding nature of electioneering in my home city; which always takes us a significant period of personal time, it has allowed me to some of the more enjoyable things, and which make me feel hugely lucky to know who I do and cherish those relationships and friendships even more. Making my first visit to mainland Europe since 2019, attending two wonderful weddings, as well as ticking off my first two Half Marathons, be at two Formula One races, having three excellent visits to Silverstone, see 32 football games, run over 550KM (according to Strava), be among 80K+ at Wembley to see Coldplay and be part of 160K+ in witnessing Lando Norris’s majestic British Grand Prix victory, alongside ever evolving work responsibilities in the heart of regional Government here in the West Midlands, has certainly made it a big adventure. From as far north as Newcastle for that big run as done last week, to as far south as North Eastern Spain to soak up the sun and really enjoy my love of motorsport, and from as far east as Ipswich to see my football team claim a rare away win to as far west as Bristol in seeing and expanding my knowledge and passion for culture and heritage, this latest cycle around the earth has given me experiences to look fondly on and which have been more varied and mixed more than ever. No doubt it has at points made me feel a bit tired and that has interlinked with some forms of disappointment; not least politically, but every year of living has those down points and they have been outweighed by the above positives and folks I know. The next 12 months in my 29th year, I will look to become an even greater and authentic version of myself, who isn’t afraid to call out injustice, who becomes personally more ethical in a number of areas and who seeks to get out a shell, which I feel has continued to somewhat grip me: loneliness. The globe being such a big and uncertain place, lets be honest has scared the life out of me in recent months and I will look to oversee that. On that, I do greatly appreciate the support, guidance and backing from the organisations I am involved with and many exemplary individuals who are counted as close friends and folks I can turn to. And in saying thanks for the wishes for today’s upping of the age, I embrace the coming 12 months even more than the last. It’s Happy Birthday, little old me!

My thoughts following completing the most popular Half Marathon on the planet!

This coming Sunday marks the 2025 AJBell Great North Run – and what will be just 9 days prior to my 28th Birthday, I will be ticking off one of the bucket list items for surely any runner on the planet. This 13.1 miles to come from Newcastle to South Shields will be more than just my second half marathon of the year, being among around 60,000 people, as I’m partaking for The Stroke Association, whose work really is lifechanging for anyone whose had a stroke and their families. I am doing it for my wonderful Mother Daljit, who suffered a stroke aged just 23 in November 1989. A stroke in someone’s mid-twenties is devastating enough and no doubt made even worse that as a result of the effects of it, she lost sight in her right eye in June 1993 aged just 26 and her left eye be left with limited vision, being over 4 years before I was welcomed into the world. Blackouts related to this were frequent during the 2000’s and meant several hospital stays for her whilst I was a primary school pupil, which naturally made me feel very scared and worried when growing up. Thankfully, her prescriptions have meant she hasn’t had an extended hospital stay for over a decade. Knowing she marked her 59th birthday on Saturday just gone and that I can help to plan a celebration for her hitting 60 next August, makes me beyond proud of all she has navigated through during her existence, not least a single Mum to 4 boys. It really shows just how important it is for folks to get as much support as possible and as quickly as possible after a stroke and this is what The Stroke Association provide through there wide range of services and practical assistance across the country. By the time I finish on Sunday within two and a half hours many more lives will have been changed, as an individual on average has a stroke every 5 minutes in the UK. This makes the run even more important for all 430 us donning a Team Stroke vest, in contributing to such a big national effort to help with treatment and whatever support an individual so needs. As of writing, I’ve raised £366 which I am hugely grateful for and would love to push that to the £500 mark for the day itself. If you are able, please do donate at https://events.stroke.org.uk/fundraisers/kashmirehawker and if it’s a few quid or above £50 (as three very kind donations have been), I and all at The Stroke Association will appreciate it with all our hearts. Huge thanks for all given so far and if you want to follow me on run day, my bib number is Pink Wave 43784 . Together, lets help to support many millions of people’s lives!

Among a long list of truly unforgettable and life affirming dates I’ve had in my near 28 years alive, I can officially add Sunday August 31st, 2025, to the collection. Just over 11 months after a near 3 hour wait on Ticketmaster’s very tricky to navigate website and despite its bots stating “there’s no tickets left” about 1 hour and 15 minutes in, I was lucky enough to head back to Wembley just over a year after Taylor Swift’s incredible tour date and see Coldplay’s continued marathon of the Music of the Spheres World Tour Delivered by DHL (other delivery organisations are of course available😉) to round off another fairly fun Summer. When these latest dates were announced last September and thus saw Chris Martin and co add them themselves to the national stadium’s history books by doing the greatest number of gigs of the same tour there, I knew instantly that I wished to try and get to one of this run of 10 taking place. People have long said “if there is one concert you should go to, then it has to be Coldplay” and that automatically made me think it would be worth putting this theory to the test. Arrival was the easiest and swiftest passage through security in my now many number of Wembley visits and saw all given 2 flashy wristbands and a pair of “Moongoggles” to use at one point. Proceedings began at 5pm with there being three support acts on the bill being Gustavo Dudamel and The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela – whose few pieces including the Star Wars theme raised the hairs on my necks and was a quite majestic way to kick off proceedings, Elyanna, who has a good voice and great South American flair, but which struggled to resonate with the crowd during much of her time on stage and the Asian band beabadoobee, who brought passion and a sense of fun ahead the main event. Impressively, the gap between beabadoobee who finished at 7:17pm and Coldplay who made entry at 7:53pm was just 36 minutes, making it I think the shortest crossover periods in a gig which I’ve attended between the final warm-up and the chief artist and which showed just how meaningful that support acts on the bill at major concerts can be, when given the time and space to do their thing. Coldplay’s entrance came through the playing of the theme of ET and them casually walking on to the stage without too much grandeur, before Higher Power and Adventure of a Lifetime got things moving with staggering energy. Paradise, my personal favourite of there’s was next and done in a more electric rock style than the song was made of. It thus brought something really different to the set and yet still had the same pulling power thanks to it’s meaning. To me, Paradise means achievement, it means emotive happiness and it means the enjoyment of life despite some of the pitfalls which come along the way and thus hearing it live (plus singing it) will be a moment that lives very long in the memory. There were plenty of other classics to cherish, with Viva La Vida going down a storm, Clocks turning Wembley like an Incredible Hulk kind of Green which flashed right round, Hymn for the Weekend which was belted out in unison and Yellow which filled emotion among all and made one of the world’s greatest arena’s more like the Old Gold of my club Wolverhampton Wanderers. We Pray brought a request of unity knowing of the uncertainties within humanity right now, as shown within an earlier playing of Magic that featured two audience members from Israel appear on stage and thus Chris give his appreciation to anyone from Palestine in attendance, of which was greeted with huge applause. People of the Pride featuring the waving of the LGBTQIA+ flag and rainbows everywhere captured everyone’s thoughts, as well as Chris’s comedic admission earlier in proceedings that “I’m more of a Grindr man” when it came to dating apps! My Universe featuring BTS also brought real vibrancy and power, as well as a stunning edition of A Sky Full of Stars which all was told to keep the phones away and jump around like you’ve forgotten about those frustrations in your life. Fireworks, confetti and colours lit up Brent’s finest asset, to the joy of us all and let 80K+ feel genuinely happy at what they were doing at that exact moment. Not long after was Fix You, which upon fully understanding the lyrics put me on the verge of tears. Knowing of my family, and that I have an estranged Twin whose behaviour has been least pleasing to folks in my immediate surroundings over the last several years, certainly makes me wonder if he will ever be fixable to us, let alone society. That makes my heart feel very heavy and somewhat regretful, but it’s for our betterment that his actions give us no choice but to have cut him out and that unless he cuts them out, such a stance is our default position. I hope one day that this can and will be altered. Fix You formed part of a mighty conclusion, which prior included what was joked an all-new segment of showing a camera to audience members, which thankfully for Gig 220 of Music of the Spheres didn’t have anyone showing signs of any affair of any type appear on screen! Earlier I mentioned some Moongoggles, given at the doors after heading through security. It was the last big track that the usage came for feelslikefallinginlove, which was full of planets used on the floors, full of lots of spectacle through almost every colour possible and upon putting on those plastic specs that I just about did over my actual glasses, meant lots of jazzy lighting. This track has become one of my big loves thanks to its melody and how the piece of music comes together as something joyful and impactful. Right at the end of it, post more fireworks saw the word LOVE in big bold letters on both sides of the stadium, in an explicit and powerful message that the globe needs people, places and in this case groups to come together and deliver some positivity in what is quite the scary world. I departed with 2 songs remaining, to ensure I beat the madness of what has become quite a lengthy line on Olympic Way up to Wembley Park which post Taylor Swift I was within for over an hour. That mission was successful, and I’d returned back to my comfy hostel near The Shard just about 60 minutes after departing. I deem that tactic one to use for future major events I attend in the future. Other bits to reflect on from the gig was its fantastic social value, with the Music Venues Trust getting 10% of receipts from each night and its green credentials, with it solar powered and 6 dedicated dance circles and a fair few exercise bikes helping to generate significant energy for future shows. 10 Million trees are also being planted in the Amazon, representing one tree for every ticket sold, thus doing there bit in the fight against our changing planet. All put together, the emotion, the power, the colour, the timeless classic after timeless classic and the pure humility in humanity on display last night made it one utterly extraordinary and surreal experience, of which was worth all £111 of the ticket, alongside the accommodation and travel costs. Days and moments like it feel absolutely priceless and certainly helped to fulfil the theory as mentioned at the top. Coldplay are forever worth seeing and I simply say: thank you, for doing it in such formidable and beautiful style. I’d do it again every day of the year in a heartbeat.

In my time of giving voluntary service of the years, I have no doubt what being at Silverstone for the 2025 Formula 1 Qatar Airways British Grand Prix will be extraordinarily hard to beat. Ticking off my 6th British GP aged 27, having been a ticket steward in 2018 and 2019 whilst a Uni student and as a Volunteer Race Maker for GP weekend since 2022 felt an even bigger privilege this year, knowing it celebrated one man and electrified one small part of the birthplace of the sport. Stowe Corner has been my base for the BGP in 2023 and 2024 and am pleased to say it remained the case for 2025. Being Autistic means I much approve familiarity and Silverstone understood that message in the best possible way, which instantly made me satisfied before arrival. After arriving on a warm Wednesday evening and ensuring my tent’s top had an undercover post last year’s Saturday morning 3:30am thunderstorm for the ages, Thursday saw what has also become a familiar part of the GP weekend routine in supporting the Pit Walks. In my case this year, I was on the edge of the track between the 100M and 150M boards, shouting at folks to get across nicely and to stay off the grass. Safe to say my F1 puns including “You’ll get a 10 second penalty” got a mixed response… The track was semi-live when it shouldn’t, meaning delays between the groups heading across but the perks of seeing some stars around, including impressive rookie Isack Hadjar and fellow Frenchman Pierre Gasly on there bikes doing plenty of miles. Once I got into the pits to walk through with Group 3 of the 4, I also Sir Lewis Hamilton from about 15 yards away, prior to him heading on to his named straight for Sky Sports F1’s The F1 Show. That alone made me extremely chuffed to be that close to the all-time legend he is. For Race Weekend, my specific position was towards the end of Stowe (or Landostand) B, forming part of one of motorsport’s most awesome highspeed and daring corners – a place which nailing it makes you a hero and place you get it wrong, can make you find out to a big cost as Michael Schumacher did with his broken leg in 1999. All three days on the stand brought the usual questions and signposting of where things were by fans, as well as Sunday’s several spectacular storms including one during the race, many photo taking requests and more, all decked out in the most beautiful sea of Neon Green and Black which forms part of Lando’s and Quadrant’s striking brand. This was via flags at the top of each stand, tarpaulin at the bottom of each of them and at the back which made for a stunning visual approach when walking, as well as on all of the catering outlets behind the corner and many thousands of gorgeous, if not slightly pricey t-shirts being worn by the mass ranks. What made the weekend however was the wonderful sincerity, decency and utter kindness of the fans who we had the pleasure of sharing the experience with. Lando’s fanbase have kind-heartedness woven into their passion of Formula 1 and this was evident from the moment the first supporters came on Friday, of which as a volunteer who was there to do a role as required by the circuit certainly helped to make it be done much easier a result. Next to the track fence was a DJ who at first on the Friday was not playing the correct tracks at all for very much a female majority and family heavy range of spectators, but that was put right and enabled us to show our enjoyment, particularly in the build-up to Qualifying and the Race. Dance moves and inspiring the audience were plenty, not least by one of our Zone Leaders in Gary Thrope, who is now TikTok, and social media adored a thousand times over and helped to contribute to the most impressive and terrific atmosphere I’ve perhaps ever experienced at a major sports event. This was backed up by his Mr Norris claiming a well driven victory come the main event, of which made the majority of eyes around me (including my own) somewhat damp for the last lap, in-lap and for the podium. Seeing what Lando means to so many right-throughout the weekend so potentially symbolises the exceptional power which individuals in sport can have on others and seeing this on full display made his win even more special to comprehend. One other highlight to feel gleeful about, was being able to post the Saturday shift to meet many from the F1 community on Meta’s Threads. Brought together by two brilliant humans in Helz and Casper, saying hello to folks from across the globe, who’d you got to know a little about via social media was a true joy and has for many given them a safe space to Threads, which has by far the best set of Formula 1 fans online. My heart felt full and almost bursting to see such an awesome set of folks and I already look forward to 2026’s meet! Huge credit goes to all my fellow Race Makers for the immense job that was done at another record breaking, history making gathering which saw over 500,000 attend between Thursday and Sunday. It’s no wonder the race gets 95%+ satisfaction rating year on year thanks to all of hard work and graft, during what can sometimes be a tiring few days and all-around Stowe were simply top class. It helps to make Silverstone and this international institution of an event one unbelievable annual occasion and being one of many giving a helping hand every year, is a very proud personal achievement. Cheers to the Landostand and its wonderful fans, hopefully forever, as well as him winning the 2025 Drivers World Championship! P.S: Find more about opportunities of volunteering at Silverstone by seeing https://www.silverstone.co.uk/about/volunteering

23:00,Tuesday July 29th 2025, Wolverhampton It’s with huge pleasure and personal delight that I announce my Re-Selection as The Labour Party’s Candidate for the 2026 Local Elections in Penn ward, Wolverhampton. As I came to discover in my campaigns for 2023 and 2024, Penn is a quite superb place, peppered with tremendous pubs including The Hollybush, brilliant independent local businesses including A Cup of Joy, home of exceptional voluntary sector organisations including Friends of Di’s Kitchen and outstanding recreational spaces such as Penn Bowling Club. All of these places and Penn’s incredible residents, who I am truly honoured to have received 3,206 votes from in the last two elections, deserve a Councillor who can get the best for them, working hand in hand with a Labour ran City of Wolverhampton Council, a Labour MP in Wolverhampton West’s Warinder Juss, a Labour West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner in Simon Foster, a Labour and Co-operative Party Mayor in Richard Parker and a UK Labour Government and ultimately someone able to tackle the issues affecting residents the most. From the need to Keep Penn Green and Clean, tackling the state of the roads (not least potholes and speeding), making its housing more energy efficient, getting better public health services and working local businesses to keep the economy thriving, I will be an open and visible candidate and if elected on May 7th 2026, be an open, visible, honest and transparent Councillor who works hard every day in championing the interests of all who live, work and study in a part of the city rooted by its phenomenal communities. I hugely look forward to getting back on the campaign trail in the coming nine months, in sharing such a message, meeting residents and getting more engrossed and engaged throughout activity in Penn. Together, Let’s Deliver For PENN and For YOU! The campaign can be followed via Kashmire Hawker for Penn on Facebook and @hawkerforpenn on Instagram.

In saying Hola from the beautiful and spectacular Pineda De Mar in the Costa Brava, where today one had done a gorgeous 8K run and had been in the pool by 1pm, I cannot help feeling for the first time both simultaneously very excited and incredibly relaxed, being on my first visit to Mainland Europe since February 2019. This week’s visit came from a call by fellow Volunteer Race Makers at Silverstone, who in March 2024 asked about interest for a group trip to a Grand Prix. Knowing that I’d always want to experience one overseas and that I haven’t had a continental visit since pre-pandemic, this was something I simply could not refuse. It has also naturally given me a lot of time to reflect and be pretty pleased with how 2025 has turned out thus far, not least this month alone. Alongside this week's holiday, running my first Half Marathon at the Great Birmingham Run which I organised a team for at work and thus contributed to over £2,000 being raised for St Basils, alongside seeing a gorgeous wedding of an amazing work colleague (congrats again Lucy!), plus judge at Solutions for the Planet’s Big Ideas Central England Regional Final for a sixth year running, joining the Board of Coventry Biennial and marching at Birmingham Pride with fellow Wolverhampton Wanderers fans last Saturday for a fourth year in succession, has made this personally a Magnificent May and really shows the power of communities and it’s people at its brilliant best. Back to here; and with lots of lounging beside the pool and my first dips into a swimming pool done since a family visit to Haven Marton Mere in July 2013 (true story!) and some utterly exquisite food being consumed, attention turns to the main event, in witnessing the Formula 1 armaco Gran Premio de Espana 2025, in what is set to be the Circuit de Catalunya’s final bow on the calendar. Even if they have a deal until 2026, Madrid taking away the race for a somewhat annoying looking circuit around a convention centre near an airport, it seems will make Sunday a curtain call after 35 years of noble service. With the track having fairly limited overtaking opportunities (thankfully a lot more than Monaco, which should be made an exhibition event in my view) but a knack for causing drama, it is anyone’s guess who will claim the glory on Race Day itself. Even despite Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton winning every race here since the former’s extraordinary maiden victory in 2016, between 2007-2016 saw 10 different winners on the bounce, illustrating the need for a fast car, being in position to strike when the iron is hot and simply having some belief that it could be anyone’s day. No doubt two key factors for Round 9 of this season, will be the stifling heat that is expected of 29/30 Celsius all weekend and thus the impact this will have on the tires, alongside runaway contenders in McLaren suggesting a performance drop-off is expected with the long-awaited rule changes to the Flexi-Wing (excellently sum-upped by The Race ), which Zak Brown and his boys have utilised to perfection until this moment. A 172-point Constructors World Championship lead after 8 rounds symbolises that to a T. This really goes open up the possibility of a fascinating contest, one of which I cannot and thus I will not specifically predict one name. I do however have a thought that this could turn out to be 2025’s big surprise and that a wildly unexpected victor has their moment, just like Gasly at Monza in 2020 and Ocon at Hungry 2021. Of course, Alonso or Sainz winning on home soil would be majestic beyond measure! With a blisteringly quick Start/Finish Straight, gradient changes and undulation which makes the place almost like a Rollercoaster (as once impeccably illustrated in song by Ronan Keating) and all types of corners around the track, this is sure to be another dramatic and unpredictable 190 Miles come Sunday afternoon. On top of the F1, there will be some extremely entertaining racing in Formula 2, Formula 3 and the Porsche Supercup; all of whom have some exceptional and generational talents within (as Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and George Russell have sublimely illustrated), of which make some early alarm calls when watching at home and the annual pilgrimage of volunteering at Silverstone more than worth it. F2 and the Porsches I suspect however will try to be on their best behaviour, after there Wacky Races style pileups at Turn 1 at Monte Carlo last weekend, which at least again show the immense safety which competitive racing of the kind really has at its core. There will be huge talking points and a lot for me to saviour and see over the coming three days and all of which, makes me very lucky to experience it in real life and I feel massively grateful. No doubt, Little Old Me (cheers Taylor for the inspo in using those three words) would not have believed it just 10 years ago. With that, here’s to a fine few days of motorsport and as I did on Tuesday night sinking another 0% Pina Colada or two, or three!

I'm honoured to have joined the Board and become a Trustee of a force in Contemporary Arts in the West Midlands!

I am thrilled to being part of an exciting step, in Solutions' next stage of development!