User:AishaSophia

Aisha Kay McElya - born 17th December 1966 Birmingham, UK.

Early life

Aisha Kay McElya (born Julie Wilson) is the first daughter of Christopher Wilson and Maureen Wilson (Neild) who was born while her parents were in the first year at Birmingham Art College studying sculpture. They met at Manchester Art College where they were contemporaries of Kevin Godley and Lol Cream of the bands 10cc and Godley and Cream.

In 1969 her father was invited to work for and live with the sculptor Lynn Chadwick, at Lypiatt Park, Gloucestershire. Here she became, at the age of 3, life long friends with John Marjoram, the Green Party campaigner who was the gardener.

In her late teens, Aisha became a member of the Green Party, standing in local elections and protests including in 1988 the campaign to prevent 12 mature beech trees being felled to widen a road for Tesco supermarket in Stroud. It was here she met and was interviewed by a young Jeremy Vine for the Radio 4 Today programme.￼

Aisha is the cousin of Valerie Shawcross CBE deputy mayor of London to both Ken Livingstone and Sadiq Khan.