Anjna Khurana: Mayor of Islington 2024-25

Everyone has a story. In this on-stage interview at Islington Faces’ 365 celebration Islington Mayor, Anjna Khurana, talks about being a role model. She also revealed to a roomful of Islington fans that she loves cake, raspberry is her favourite fruit and she adores fried ravioli. Interview by Nicola Baird. Photos by Claudia Janke

This year’s Mayor of Islington is Anjna Khurana who is a councillor for Tollington Ward, elected in 2018. She’s lived in Islington since 1994 first at Clerkenwell then Hillrise (Archway). I’d never met Anjna before the interview started (same for her re me), but I knew from her councillor bio that she has volunteered at Friends of Grenville Gardens, the Stuart Low Trust and Beanstalk. She was also diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2006 “which inspired her to become an active campaigner for the MS Society, even jumping out of a plane to raise funds.” There was only 10 minutes but the Mayor shared some fantastic stories about her Mayoral life.

FOLLOW Islington Faces, a new interview is published approx once a fortnight.  Also many thanks to all our guests at the 365 Celebration on 15 July 2024.

Q: How do you get to be Mayor?
I expressed an interest. In council chambers all the names of past mayors written in gold and. I thought who are all these people, maybe I can be a mayor? All the councillors vote on this, and they supported me. I thought about how when I was a child (or even a 20-year-old) how much would I have loved seeing an Asian mayor – a small petite, Asian woman mayor? I didn’t think it was the sort of thing I’d ever want to do as you have so many photos taken and you have to talk so much, but actually when I put on the robes it’s like a superpower and I can talk and tell you all sorts of things.  Here I am: Brown. Disabled. Woman. Quite Short. Petite. And I am your Mayor.

Q: Are the superpower robes comfortable?
Red is my colour but no – I will take my hat off because it is so hot under there – comfortable probably in the depths of winter, but I feel it’s like seatbelts were generally designed with the male in mind and think probably the same for the robes, and definitely not menopausal woman. So, temperature can be an issue – but the outfit is the superpower, and everyone loves a picture with the Mayor.

 

Q: What do you most enjoy doing locally?
I like talking to people and hearing their stories and having interaction with random strangers. You listening to them and them listening to you. It’s a real dopamine hit and just get that connection. It’s so nice to actually learn about each other

Q: Any favourite places in Islington?
1) I really like all of the coffee shops. I like going for coffee and cake at Aladdins [which also sells furniture and antiques] up on Hazelville Road, N19 up by Archway. I really enjoy sitting down with friends and just relaxing. Coffee and cake is always a big favourite.

2) Gillespie Park – all of our parks are fantastic.

3) Not that this is all food based but Itto’s ha gau (dim sum) on 61 Stroud Green Road, N4 are so good. I’m a big fan.

4) 500 Restaurant – it’s an Italian restaurant – on top of Holloway Road (at 782 Holloway Road, N19) do the most amazing deep fried ravioli.  I can’t go there without having this.

5) Occasionally I have to leave Islington and visit family and driving back from the A1 or M1 and coming over the hill and then you see the Hornsey Lane bridge and you see Islington out in front of you and London. I love that view, it’s fantastic – and that feeling, ‘oh look I’m home’.

Q: You were diagnosed with MS in 2006. What do we need to know make life easier for you, or is it just about jumping out of aeroplanes?
With MS it’s just different for everybody. We all have different stories. I’ve just met someone a couple of days ago at an event. She said ‘I was doing this and this, but I’m not now, I’ve got MS’. I said, ‘I’ve got MS too and I say yes we can’. There are challenges and variable for us all. I have problems with temperature (not helped by the menopause), with my cognition, fatigue levels, and balance, so, yes, jumping out of a plane was quite difficult!  You learn what you can do. If you focus on what you can’t do it’s a long hole to go down, and you don’t want to go there.

So, focus on what you can do and make the most of everything. It’s made me so much more compassionate and it helps that everybody has a story – everybody has their challenges and their positives too.

Is there anything I haven’t asked you that you want to tell me?
Come on everybody, Yes You Can, 100 percent You Can. If I can you can. Whatever you want to do, let’s just do it and let’s have some fun while we’re doing it.

Summing up
Thank you so much to the Mayor for agreeing to do this interview in front of a big audience at the Islington Faces 365 celebration held at Islington Ecology Centre. We also had former mayor Dave Poyser in the audience. Over the years Islington Faces has interviewed a handful of mayors who are all big fans of the borough. You might enjoy reading these, see:

• • Teresa de Bono 2012-13
  • Barry Edwards 2013-14
  • Richard Greening 2015-16
  • Youth mayor Abu Mensah 2015-16
  • Dave Poyser 2018-19

Over to you
If you’d like to nominate someone to be interviewed who grew up, lives or works in Islington, or suggest yourself, please let me know, via nicolabaird dot green at gmail dot com. If you enjoyed this post you might like to look at the A-Z  index, or search by interviewee’s roles or Meet Islingtonians to find friends, neighbours and inspiration. Thanks for stopping by. Nicola