Queen's baton bearer Julie has no intention of running in the big event

Mrs Julie Kaur Duhra, 50, has run Jule's Convenience Store in Haybridge Road, Hadley, for the last 32 years and was nominated by one of her customers.

"I was overwhelmed to learn that I will be a baton carrier," said Mrs Duhra who is married to Joey, 56, and has three adult children and two young grandchildren. "It is my 50th birthday this year and I couldn't ask for anything better. I am honoured to be taking part."

Mrs Duhra will be carrying the baton from 10am outside the Costa shop by Cineworld in Telford on July 19. She is hoping to organise a bus full of family and friends for the big event.

A fan of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, she has also been accepted to be a volunteer at the opening and closing ceremonies.

Her part in the baton relay will see her taking it over a distance of 200m but she doesn't intend to do any running.

"I have no intention of running it," she said. "It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to carry something that the Queen has held. I will take as long as I can with it."

She added that she will be prepared if they have to prod her to go faster!

Mrs Duhra's one stop convenience store has won many prizes over the years, including the Asian Trader magazine's Spirit of the Community Award last year.

She also won £20,000 from Boost Energy Drinks which she is drip feeding into giving something back to her local community.

One recent donation has been for £2,000 to help a customer pay for a funeral, and she attended the event. "They were Ghanaians and came into the store to say thank you after the service," she said.

"It is important to put back into the community," she said.

The posters in the store have also proven to be a great morale boosting talking point in the shop, said Mrs Duhra. With all the doom and gloom about rising costs she said "it is nice to have lots of positivity," she said.