TEESLIFE QUIZ
Raj’s answers are in bold
Transporter Bridge or Newport Bridge?
North Yorkshire coast or North York
Moors?
Saltburn or Redcar?
The past or the future?
Live to work or work to live?
Teesside or Tees Valley?
Beer or wine?
Working early or working late?
Buying or selling?
Parmo or a lemon top?
Captain Cook or Steve Gibson?
Twitter or Facebook? Neither.
Brains or beauty?
Talking or listening?
PEOPLE IN LIFE
The people I most like to spend time with are…my family. I’ve got
two boys and two girls. I love having meals out with them.
The biggest influence on my career was…well, the late ex-Boro
chairman Colin Henderson was certainly one of them. He used to
drink in Redcar Cricket Club when I was an up-and-coming young
buck. He’d done well in life, through his time at ICI where he was
chief executive and at the time he was running four or five petrol
stations. I got to know him really well, learning from him over a
drink. He was always helpful and I used to love to pick his brains.
The person no longer with us who I’d most like to spend another
hour with is…my grandfather. He was a headmaster back in India.
He was an educated guy who people looked up to and took advice
from. He came over here from Punjab in the early 1950s before my
father. He died in 1975 when I was still young. Unlike him, I’m not
educated but people who knew him sometimes compare me to him.
He never got to see anything of my own success so it would be nice
to have an hour with him.
The person who makes me laugh…is Stuart Stamp, the father of
WORKING
LIFE
former Middlesbrough footballer Phil Stamp. He is hilarious – a
Chubby Brown-type character. He lived close to my first shop in
Redcar and later had the Market Tavern pub in North Ormesby.
You could go in there depressed and come out laughing your
head off. He was so, so funny.
The people who inspire me…are those who work their way up
from the bottom to the top, rather than being born with a silver
spoon in their mouth - people like Colin Henderson and Sir John
Hall. One of my proudest moments was when I was in charge at
Darlington Football Club and Sir John came along to Wembley
as my guest for the FA Trophy final. As we shared a hug when we
scored, and won the trophy I remember thinking how I couldn’t
have imagined sharing a moment like that with such a successful
man.
The people who make me angry are…those who are always
blaming other people or their circumstances for the fact they
haven’t been successful in life.
My greatest achievement has been…hopefully my
overall business life but the first care home I invested in
on Longlands Road in Middlesbrough back in 1994 was
a big step up at the time. It could have gone one way or
the other, but fortunately it went the right way. I got out
of the shop I had and sold all the houses I had to put
everything into that care home. If it hadn’t worked out,
who knows where I would be now. Thankfully, it was
a success and I’ve now got care homes across Teesside,
with more in the pipeline.
My biggest disappointment…has got to be my time as
chairman of Darlington Football Club. We set off with
a vision and a dream but, for one reason or another,
it didn’t happen. I had cut my losses and get out, so it
ended in tears. Given the right circumstances, I’d be
prepared to go back again because I do have a sense of
unfinished business.
My greatest regret…I don’t really have regrets. I’ve
always just gone for it. It hasn’t always worked out but
I’ve not regretted trying.
My business mantra is…look after the pennies and
the pounds look after themselves. Also that you have to
lead from the front. If you’re willing to do anything and
everything yourself then your team will follow.
The alternative career I might have had was…football
if I’d been good enough. I was only 20 when I damaged
my cruciate playing football. The truth is that I’d have
made it before then if I’d been good enough, of course,
but – like we all do – I like to think I had it! I played
Sunday league football, mainly as a forward or in
midfield, for the likes of Red Barns. I also remember
playing kick-abouts for Whinney Banks Under-18s with
(the late Middlesbrough FC radio commentator) Ali
Brownlee.
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