Let’s get one thing straight, I never thought I’d end up as Vice President of Round Table Britain and Ireland. I thought I’d max out as the guy who annoys people at meetings. But here I am, first-generation Pakistani migrant, proper working-class lad, four kids, a very patient wife (who deserves a medal), and somehow, VP. No one’s more surprised than me. Honestly, I still half-expect someone to tap me on the shoulder and ask me to move my car.

I didn’t go to the right schools, I didn’t grow up with the right connections, and I definitely didn’t have the right accent. But what I did have was graft, grit, and a sense of humour and luckily, that’s enough to open doors.

Round Table was never built for someone like me. But that’s the point, isn’t it? Change happens when you show up, speak up, and stay put. I want every young man who feels like they’re not from the “right background” to know: you belong here. You’re not an outsider, you’re the future of this amazing club.

So if you’re ever doubting yourself, remember this face, four kids deep, permanently tired, usually found eating leftover fish fingers off someone’s plate and know that if I can do it, you can absolutely smash it.

Let’s not just make history. Let’s rewrite the rules, raise each other up, and laugh along the way. Because if you can’t laugh while herding kids, dodging WhatsApp pings, and learning what ‘Rocco Cerullo,’ My PLC’s Chairman, Rules of Order’ actually mean, are you even in Round Table?