A prison chess teacher, a young boxing coach working to tackle knife crime and a chef who creates recipes for those experiencing loss of taste are among those recognised across the country in the New Year Honours list.Carl Portman, 61, from Banbury in Oxfordshire, is being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to prisoners for his voluntary work bringing chess into prisons.Meanwhile, Serena Wiebe, 21, from Bristol, is receiving a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to young people having been a knife crime campaigner and a boxing coach at Empire Fighting Chance.Ryan Riley, 32, receives a BEM having founded Life Kitchen in 2018, a not-for-profit cookery school for those experiencing changes to taste and smell after the death of his mother from cancer.
00:00But if we think about the game, it's about preparation.
00:12It's about thinking before we make a move, which is just as apt for life as a chessboard.
00:18It's about being responsible for the moves that we make.
00:22After all, we can't take them back once we've made decisions.
00:25And it's also a very social game, and it's a very inclusive game.
00:29So regardless of gender, background, ability, everybody can play it.
00:34So for me, it's a win-win in trying to help people to think differently, develop their thought processes, and try to find something better out in society.
00:44I think it's just a lack of opportunities for young people, because at the end of the day, it's always the root cause.
00:50It's not about young people being in gangs.
00:52It's about not having opportunities, not having a role model, not having someone to be there for you,
00:58not feeling like it's just little things.
01:01And it doesn't even just come from the home.
01:02It's what you're exposed to.
01:04It's one, surprising, but choose something I don't think anyone in the list today kind of sets out expecting.
01:11What I've really learned from this group of people is that what the biggest thing here is commitment.
01:16People have given time, many years of their life, and really a lot of passion and energy.
01:21And being awarded is a wonderful thing, and something that I did not think would happen.
01:26When I'm a boy from a council estate in Sunderland, these things kind of don't happen to people like me,
01:30but I'm really proud and totally honoured to be an honours list.
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