One of the great English novels of the 19th century is North and South. It was written by a Christian minister’s wife, Elizabeth Gaskell, and published in 1854 in a magazine run by Charles Dickens. Mrs Gaskell wanted to call the novel by the name of its key character, Margaret Hale. Dickens (rightly) insisted on calling it North and South.
Its focus is the great differences between the prosperous rural south of England and the very different lives of people in the fast-industrialising towns of northern England. The story is of a woman who moves from the south to a fictionalised version of industrial Manchester in the harsh times of the Industrial Revolution. She meets northerners from her own country, England, who speak her own language, English, but who lead completely different lives to those Englishmen and women in the south. The northerners work endless hours in dangerous and filthy factories, their lives on the edge of poverty and despair.
I’m re-thinking this novel now because in 2022 England is yet again a tale of divisions North and South and other divisions too. My life in the south of England revolves around the economic, financial and political centre of London. But because I’m travelling to literary and other summer festivals I happen to be writing this in York, in the north of England. It’s a city of stunning beauty in the heart of Yorkshire, a place so glorious Yorkshire folk call it "God’s own country."
It does seem blessed. The street markets are bustling. The shops, crowded. The university is holding a "Festival of Ideas" with contributors discussing, arguing, debating from around the world. But I’m also listening to the news and reading newspapers describing another England.
There’s a shocking report of the increase in food banks. There are economists and pollsters agreeing that so many more of our citizens are finding price rises that bust their budgets. Inflation is forecast at 11 per cent or more. Basic foods from pasta to cooking oil are already much more expensive. So are electricity and gas.
One woman helper at a food bank confessed that she is finding times so hard she herself needs to take home food from the food bank. Local councils fear massive funding cuts to school building projects, libraries and swimming pools. Carers and other lower paid workers speak of petrol at £2 a litre being too expensive to fill their tanks to drive to work. But this is not Mrs Gaskell’s North-South divide. This is all of us. Yet politically there is a different divide.
I’m struck by how worried people are about the months ahead
Near York, in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, northern voters go to the polls on Thursday in a seat vacated by a scandal-hit Conservative MP of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He resigned after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a young man.
In the south, Tiverton in Devon, voters also go to the polls after the resignation of their own scandal-hit Conservative MP. This man was caught watching pornography on his mobile phone in the House of Commons. These two vastly different parts of North and South in England are united in the sense that after 12 years of Conservative governments the scandals involving Mr Johnson and his colleagues seem endless. Polls predict Labour will win the Wakefield seat, here in the north. In the south the Liberal Democrats have a mountain to climb to overturn a 23,000 Conservative majority but no one is ruling out a massive upset.
In the last month I’ve been in Sussex, Kent, Yorkshire, London and Scotland and am off to Belfast and the Midlands later. Everywhere I have been I think I am lucky to live in such a beautiful country. But in many conversations at public meetings and elsewhere I’m struck by how worried people are about the months ahead. Trust in political leaders is hard to find. Mr Johnson may have still have some support, but beyond those directly on the government payroll, such support is often unenthusiastic, grudging or silently embarrassed.
When I ask people about energy prices, household budgets, and the behaviour of the most powerful people at Westminster, it’s as if great clouds appear over the English summer sun. Politicians and political experts speak of the difficulties any political party has in appealing to voters in both Mrs Gaskell’s two regions, North and South.
Conventional wisdom talks of a "Red Wall" of old Labour working class socialist England in the north and a “Blue Wall" of richer, middle class mostly Conservative England in the south. These descriptions make for entertaining newspaper articles but I see something different – a distressed and disappointed England from north to south full of hard working, decent people who think their country should be better than it is now. Mrs Gaskell’s book is superb, but Charles Dickens was right to change its title in 1854. Dickens also produced in that same year my favourite of his novels. It’s called Hard Times. I’m about to re-read it. I also believe we are all about to re-live Hard Times too.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
Company%20Profile
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Day 2, stumps
Pakistan 482
Australia 30/0 (13 ov)
Australia trail by 452 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the innings
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The years Ramadan fell in May
The years Ramadan fell in May
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Wednesday's results
Finland 3-0 Armenia
Faroes Islands 1-0 Malta
Sweden 1-1 Spain
Gibraltar 2-3 Georgia
Romania 1-1 Norway
Greece 2-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Liechtenstein 0-5 Italy
Switzerland 2-0 Rep of Ireland
Israel 3-1 Latvia
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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Canada
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
