Caring side of Lesley's city
LESLEY ELAND, chief executive for the charity Neurocare, moved to the steel city at the age of 11, and now lives in Dore with her partner, Chris.
She has two children, the eldest, Nicola, aged 19, studies at Liverpool University. Her youngest, Chris, aged 18 is studying for his A-levels at Hillsborough College.
Neurocare is a charity which supports the neurosciences department at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.
Over the past four years, it has raised more than 1m to buy equipment to save and improve the lives of patients with a range of debilitating neurological conditions, including brain tumours, strokes, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease and Epilepsy. Lesley was headhunted from another local charity more than four years ago.
Her role at Neurocare is varied. Alongside the trustees she is responsible for the daily management and long term strategy.
She is very hands on, from generating trust funds and organising charity events, to speaking publicly about the charity.
West 10 wine bar
The West 10 Wine Bar on Fulwood Road is great. I absolutely love the place. The bar is always good for pre-dinner drinks – I often nip in on my way home from work, especially for early bar meetings.
The bar owner, Jonny, is such a darling and is really supportive of Neurocare. There is usually someone in there I know too. It's a bit like the bar 'Cheers' where everybody knows your name!
S10 gym
S10 is a five-star facility, but the thing that I like the most is that it's not a place most business people go to. I can't think of anything more embarrassing than running into a big Sheffield bod with my hair up, no make-up on and sweating!
I do love working out, and feel bad if I don't make time - I'm really quite sad as I like running on a tread mill at the end of a long day.
Sometimes at Neurocare we have really serious patient stories to deal with, such as head injuries, which is the biggest killer of young people in this country. Plus we deal with MND, brain tumours, stroke and much more.
I try really hard not to take it home so just doing something repetitive while I listen to music is a great tension release and gives me time to think about it and lay it to rest in my mind.
Otto's restaurant
I usually like to eat in different places and don't normally keep going back to the same restaurant. However I have fallen in love with Otto's restaurant on Sharrow Vale Road in Hunters Bar. I love the Moroccan food and the warm welcome and ambiance of the place.
My Sheffield friends
Don't you just love warm friendly Sheffield people – there's nothing quite like them. I have mates here that go back years, and have even kept in touch with people from school.
Plus, through Neurocare I get to meet some fantastic new people with the most amazing life stories, who have developed into close friends. I can't name many cities where you walk along and people say 'hello'. It's one of the reasons why I love Sheffield so much.
The Peak District
I never tire of driving into work everyday, because I get to see the breathtaking Peak District scenery. When I set off in the morning, the beautiful and peaceful countryside really inspires me for the day, and when I arrive home in the evening, I start to relax as soon as I see the rolling green hills. It is impossible to pick out just one place, walk, pub or restaurant within the Peaks which I call my favourite – I just love being so close to such stunning landscapes. It feels like you are away from it all – even through it is only ten minutes to the hustle and bustle of Sheffield city centre.
Sheffield hosting big music concerts!
My life would end without music. I love to crank it up and have a good sing, especially in the car. I love old stuff and new, my favourite CD just now is the new Nickelback album 'Dark Horse'. I'm loving it.
I also love U2 and can't wait to see them again at Don Valley Stadium in September – it's such a good venue for big bands, like Stereophonics, who I saw there last year.
I'm not a big TV fan, but I do like the music channels. My kids and partner regularly complain about how loud I listen to it!
Neurocare
Anyone who knows me knows that I have a real passion for the work this charity does. I live, eat and breathe it.
Four years ago it was a mountain of 'thank you' letters and a pile of legal documents with a small trading arm. Now it is a growing well-respected charity with big aims for the future.
I am a Sheffield girl and I love the fact that we are the only charity doing what we are doing in the country and because of that we can effect massive changes here in Sheffield.
Our last four years are so impressive in terms of the items we have funded and our future is blue sky stuff! Bring it on!
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Weather for Sheffield
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
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