Why Glasgow's West End?
The West End is divided from the city centre not just physically – there’s a honking great motorway cutting the two into halves – but in mindset as well. The West End has long been wealthier, greener and more fashionable. It has clusters of magnificent Georgian and Victorian buildings, swaths of parkland and a considerable student influence, courtesy of the university.
But the traditional, trendy West End has expanded in recent years, due to the boom in neighbouring Finnieston. Once rather sad and empty, Finnieston has mushroomed with cafés and restaurants and is now the go-to place for Glaswegians heading for a night out. Going west is no longer done with nose slightly in the air.
A comfortable bed
By far the most characterful hotel choice in the West End is the Hotel du Vin, which spreads maze-like across a series of heavily wood-panelled townhouses. Open fires, stained-glass windows and book-filled nooks and crannies give it an eccentric country house feel. Doubles cost from £119 (Dh551).
A few buildings further east along the Western Terrace, the Belhaven Hotel goes for the same converted townhouses shtick, although without the opulence. It’s more a three-star guest house than luxury hotel – but there are high, stucco-lined ceilings and big drape curtains to add a touch of gloss to the slightly cheap-feeling furniture. Ensuite rooms cost from £82 (Dh380), including breakfast.
At the top of Byres Road, the Hilton Glasgow Grosvenor has the best location albeit with calculatingly bland rooms that it’s hard to pick fault or character in. Doubles start at £89 (Dh413).
Find your feet
Most of the West End’s goodies are found around the Glasgow University campus, where grand 19th-century buildings tuck away a host of little museums. These include the Hunterian Art Gallery, which hosts a strong collection of Charles Rennie Mackintosh watercolours.
For Mackintosh lovers, though, the highlight is Mackintosh House, a reconstruction of the house where he once lived. Inside, the fixtures have been retained and it has been filled with Mackintosh-designed furniture. Visits are by guided tour only.
The star of the campus, however, is the Hunterian Museum which hosts the collection of polymath William Hunter inside an awe-inspiring wooden-roofed hall. Hunter was quite the collector, and the displays flit from mastodon teeth to fantastical 17th-century maps via Polynesian fish hooks and body parts in jars.
From there, head into the leafy, hilly and dreamy Kelvingrove Park to decompress.
Meet the locals
It’s not often you can play at an international sporting venue for free, but the Kelvingrove Lawn Bowls Centre inside Kelvingrove Park allows amateurs to rock up, have a go and play barefoot if they so desire. It hosted the bowls competition in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Most participants, it’s fair to say, are not up to that standard. But there are also six artificial grass tennis courts the public can play on.
Book a table
Newly opened in a converted pharmacy, the Drugstore Social plays to its roots by listing the health benefits of the key ingredients it uses. It also does a nice line in foraged herbs, plants and mushrooms, while using distinctively Scottish ingredients where possible. The £7.95 (Dh37) shredded pheasant gamekeeper’s pie is excellent.
The Porter and Rye is one of a series of small, highly individual joints on Argyle Street in Finnieston, and it is unashamedly beef-heavy. There are several massive cuts designed to be shared between two, but there’s a 10oz rump steak for £19.95 (Dh93) if you want to go it alone.
Shoppers’ paradise
Byres Road has traditionally been the West End’s most energetic street, and there’s plenty of shopping along it. Among the more interesting options is Papyrus which straddles stationery and giftware. That means everything from beard maintenance kits to board games.
Just off Byres Road, and tucked down an unpromising laneway, is the Ruthven Mews Arcade. Here, a collection of ramshackle, unpolished antique shops and galleries gather. There’s a borderline flea market feel, but there are some treasures to be found in there.
What to avoid
Going for a walk along the River Clyde might seem like a nice idea, but sadly the big constructions there – the Riverside Museum, conference centre and Hydro entertainment centre have not been threaded together with pedestrian pathways.
Don’t miss
The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is arguably the finest in Scotland, largely because it is presented so engagingly. It’s evenly divided into art and museum sides, with the highlights of the former being the dangling heads with varying facial expressions hanging from the ceiling and the section delving into Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s architectural influence on the city. The other side has dinosaurs and big stuffed elephants, but it’s most interesting when looking at the people of Glasgow and their stories (including an unexpected passion for country music).
Getting there
Emirates flies direct to Glasgow from Dubai, with return fares starting at Dh2,810 including taxes.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Company%20profile
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Martin Sabbagh profile
Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The biog
Name: Atheja Ali Busaibah
Date of birth: 15 November, 1951
Favourite books: Ihsan Abdel Quddous books, such as “The Sun will Never Set”
Hobbies: Reading and writing poetry
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
