I’m visiting a small and lovely Scottish town most people in Britain could not find on a map, or even spell or pronounce its name. It is Kirkcudbright (Kirk – oo – bree). I’m here for a festival of arts, books, talks and fun.
The sun is sparkling on the River Dee flowing through the town into the Irish Sea. The 725-kilometre drive from my home on the south coast of England took nine hours and ran across half the UK. But two things struck me as I listened to the car radio on the journey.
First, that I am lucky to live in such a beautiful, diverse, extraordinary country. I drove from the coast towards our greatest city, London, north past Birmingham and Manchester to the green hills and sheep pastures of the Lake District then over the Scottish border to a town that is full of history.
Kirkcudbright has an old baronial castle, three churches, a harbour and pretty streets with gardens full of flowers. The events at the festival are cheerful and positive, attended by people who want to take part in discussions, lectures, music and other events. Yet in all this glorious sunshine there is another side to the story.
So much of Britain just isn’t working. The news on the car radio on my long drive northwards was depressing. It was full of reports about the failure of the British air traffic control system, which ruined tens of thousands of holidays and travel plans in late August, including mine and those of my family. Our flights were cancelled from France at short notice. We were forced to take a difficult journey by road, rail and then a cross-Channel ferry to get home.
Despite our problems, the UK remains a brainy, problem-solving country of 68 million diverse people
Once back in England, the unrelenting bad news continued. There were rail strikes by train drivers and other staff. The rail pay disputes have gone on for months without any significant progress. It meant that no trains were running reliably to Scotland from the south of England.
Then there was shocking news of problems with potentially failing concrete structures in some of England’s school buildings. As schools prepared to return from their summer holidays, headteachers in more than 100 were forced to consider closing classrooms which potentially could collapse. They had only a few days to make alternative plans.
The next news item was that for the first time in British history, both senior and junior National Health Service doctors were all going on co-ordinated strikes to protest against their pay not being raised to keep pace with inflation.
Listening to the news, what struck me most was the collision between these two Britains. One is the beautiful country that I admire and love and which is full of talented people. The other is a country that simply doesn’t work very well. And there is an irony for me at least: the reason I have come to Kirkcudbright is to discuss my new book that is published this month, Britain Is Better Than This. The book is itself an attempt to get to the bottom of why such a wonderful country is failing us all.
The good news is that despite our problems, the UK remains a brainy, problem-solving country of 68 million diverse people. To borrow the name of a popular TV show, Britain has clearly got talent. And yet day after day, we are confronted by the problems I’ve listed and more – failing institutions, a government that has lost its way, and an underperforming economy with an overwhelming sense of national malaise.
I listened to the thoughts of audiences here in Kirkcudbright. Some were in favour of Scottish independence. Others – probably most – simply want Britain to work better. One man wondered if the reason we often have so many useless politicians is that we pay them too little. Others felt the political system was so unattractive that many of us do not vote, or that the governments in London and Edinburgh were in different ways too remote from ordinary people.
As always with a British audience, I ended cheered up and optimistic. Most of us, whatever our views or our politics, want to solve problems – not create them.
Everyone in our discussions behaved respectfully towards everyone else. I doubt if this is quite the model of ancient Athenian democracy, but there were plenty of open debates in a public square. What it showed was that we are all concerned about the future for ourselves and our children at a time of economic uncertainty and a war in Europe.
As I walked out into the early evening sunshine from one event, I was hit by a sense of optimism. There is nothing wrong with Britain that cannot be fixed by what is right with Britain. Britain is truly better than this, better than the failures we see so often in our public life. The next step is not just to talk amicably about our problems, it is to start solving them.
We can hope.
The five pillars of Islam
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
Company%20profile
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The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S
Price, base / as tested: Dh409,000 / Dh467,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 430hp @ 5,750rpm
Torque: 580Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.9L / 100km
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 (PA) | US$95,000 | (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Meydan Classic Listed (TB) ) | $175,000) | (Turf) 1,600m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) ) | $135,000 ) | (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy Group 3 (TB) ) | $300,000) | (T) 2,810m
8.50pm: Curlin Handicap Listed (TB)) | $160,000) | (D) 2,000m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB)) | $175,000) | (T) 1,400m
10pm: Handicap (TB) ) | $135,000 ) | (T) 2,000m
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS
Mumbai Indians 181-4 (20 ovs)
Kolkata Knight Riders 168-6 (20ovs)
Mumbai won by 13 runs
Rajasthan Royals 152-9 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 155-4 (18.4 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets
Company%20Profile
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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
More on Quran memorisation:
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
THE%20SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
EXPATS
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DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Result
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,950m; Winner: Majestic Thunder, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,600m; Winner: Native Appeal, Adam McLean, Doug Watson.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,950m; Winner: Conclusion, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh100,000 1,400m; Winner: Pilgrim’s Treasure, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m; Winner: Sanad Libya, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,000m; Winner: Midlander, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Notable groups (UAE time)
Jordan Spieth, Si Woo Kim, Henrik Stenson (12.47pm)
Justin Thomas, Justin Rose, Louis Oosthuizen (12.58pm)
Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood (1.09pm)
Sergio Garcia, Jason Day, Zach Johnson (4.04pm)
Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey, Adam Scott (4.26pm)
Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy (5.48pm)
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
