APPARENTLY you’re not supposed to ask a lady her age.

That’s good advice in Sabina Ahmed’s case as no one – herself included – knows when she was even born.

Her birth in the Indian city of Hyderabad, where her Cambridge-educated father served as an army officer, was never recorded and a date was later invented so she could obtain a passport to come to live in England.

She had decided on a career in nursing after the treatment she received in hospital for chickenpox as a girl left a lasting impression.

She nursed for two years in India before completing her training in Kingston, Surrey, where she met and married her husband, Dr G. M. Ahmed, who was also from Hyderabad.

The couple moved to Taunton in 1972 after he was appointed a consultant psychiatrist at the former Tone Vale Hospital based in what has since become the village of Cotford St Luke.

Sabina worked in the operating theatre at Musgrove Park Hospital until having her two children, Arif, nowadays the director for freedom of speech and academic freedom in the Office for Students, and Samina, who, like her father, is a psychiatrist.

Sabina, who was widowed a few years ago, then returned to Musgrove to work as a bank nurse until 1991.

She has given much to the community through extensive volunteering roles, including with the former Community Health Council; Taunton Primary Care Trust; the Quality Assessment Forum, overseeing the implementation of new GP contracts; the Women’s Refuge steering committee; YWCA; the BBC advisory committee for radio in Somerset; Avon and Somerset Police independent advisory group; as a governor at Musgrove; Taunton Welcomes Refugees; the Friends of Taunton Library; and Somerset Council’s appeals panel.

She does not for one moment regret moving to Taunton.

Sabina, who was brought up speaking Urdu, said: “Taunton has been my home for more than 50 years and I consider myself British.

“When we first came to Taunton, we were probably the only brown people here. Other people were very curious, but I have never encountered any racism.

“India has changed so much since I lived there. It’s such a big industrial place and the temperatures are so hot.”

Sabina, who has six grandchildren, added: “I can’t relate to anything there any more since I came to this green and pleasant land.

“Because I volunteer so much, I’ve met people from all walks of life.

“The first year we were here, we had a barbecue for all the neighbours, which we still do every year.”