There’s always a bit of poetry for every occasion, and according to the Irish writer Fintan O’Toole it is often from his fellow countryman, WB Yeats. Now with coronavirus, Yeats’ most famous lines written after Ireland’s 1916 Easter Rising have a peculiar resonance: “all is changed, changed utterly.”
Our way of life this Easter has indeed changed utterly here in keep-your-distance Britain. The big and unanswerable question is: what will change in the long term? Medical care? Preparedness for another pandemic? The way we work? As I walk down the normally very busy local roads and notice how empty they are, it is quite possible that it will be the way in which we connect that is “changed utterly".
The British government is preparing to devote billions - perhaps £100 billion - to the HS2 project, the new railway line that will connect London with the north of England. It also wants a £27 billion road-building programme and is (somewhat reluctantly) in favour of another runway for Heathrow Airport.
But one of the key voices in what is sometimes called the “road lobby,” the Automobile Association, has suggested something quite different. The head of the AA, Edmund King, wondered whether all this expansion, particularly the money for roads, could be better spent on a different part of our infrastructure - broadband. He said, “arguably in future, we should invest more in broadband because what this current crisis has shown is that the majority of companies can continue working from home, and it can be more efficient.”
Our way of life has changed utterly here in keep-your-distance Britain
For those lucky enough to be able to work from home, that may be true. Although, millions of us have jobs in which we will still need to go to the factory, office, warehouse, supermarket or other place of work. Even so, a friend just mentioned to me that one of the big players in the publishing industry has found that tele-conferencing apps worked so well that they may not need to continue renting their very expensive central London offices.
An investment company has recently sent a notice to clients warning that a property fund had “suspended trading until further notice…. We’ve been informed that the UK valuer community has invoked the ‘Uncertain Market Valuation Clause’, which means that at present they don’t believe they can provide accurate valuations on UK commercial properties in current market conditions.”
Some of those enormous new office blocks that have been erected in the centre of London are already empty because people are working from home. When the coronavirus pandemic finally draws to a close, those same buildings may never recover the occupancy rates their investors initially expected. A few years ago, I made a radio programme on the world’s tallest buildings, and one of the property experts I spoke to made a surprising point. He said that, from the Empire State Building to the Twin Towers or the Burj Khalifa, these beautiful landmarks tend to be commissioned in good times, but building them takes so long that they very often open during a downturn in the economic cycle.
The Burj Khalifa opened in 2010 during the recession following the 2008 global financial crisis; the Empire State Building opened in 1931 as the world entered the Great Depression. Of course, those building projects will exist long enough to survive many ups and downs of the economic cycle, but undoubtedly the property market is taking a negative turn. Perhaps Edmund King is right. Governments worldwide will recognise that investing in better connectivity through broadband is likely to have greater economic impact in the future than digging a lot of new roads, or building more airports, and environmental benefits will be far greater, too.
The changes we face may go from the biggest construction projects to how we look after ourselves - washing our hands often, being careful with our health. I bumped into a neighbour, a man who has always been very careful of his appearance, and his hair was extremely short.
“I can’t go to the hairdresser,” he said, explaining that he bought an electric shaver and did the job himself. “I may never go to the hairdresser ever again.”
Another local shop serves customers at the doorway, and when I went to collect an order I noticed a large box of matches where I picked up my shopping bag. The shop owner explained she put them there “so people can tap in their credit card number without touching the machine.”
These are obviously difficult times for anyone whose work depends upon personal contact, and I doubt we are seeing the end of working in offices. The property market, like the stock, market will recover. But maybe nothing truly will ever be the same, except human ingenuity and the need to stay connected to one another. Broadband is now like electricity - not a luxury, but a necessity - and for many of us it may indeed be more important that new roads, railways or runways. All is changed, changed utterly. Let’s make sure the changes are for the better.
Gavin Esler is a journalist, author and presenter
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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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
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Scorebox
Sharjah Wanderers 20-25 Dubai Tigers (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries Gormley, Penalty
Cons Flaherty
Pens Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons Caldwell 2
Pens Caldwell, Cross
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
RACE CARD
4.30pm: Maiden Dh80,000 1,400m
5pm: Conditions Dh80,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Liwa Oasis Group 3 Dh300,000 1,400m
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed Dh380,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Group 2 Dh300,000 2,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (30-60) Dh80,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (40-70) Dh80,000 1,600m.
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
The%20specs
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Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
Dubai Creek Open in numbers
- The Dubai Creek Open is the 10th tournament on this year's Mena Tour
- It is the first of five events before the season-concluding Mena Tour Championship
- This week's field comprises 120 players, 21 of which are amateurs
- 15 previous Mena Tour winners are competing at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16 second leg
Paris Saint-Germain (1) v Borussia Dortmund (2)
Kick-off: Midnight, Thursday, March 12
Stadium: Parc des Princes
Live: On beIN Sports HD
Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The five pillars of Islam
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group C
Liverpool v Napoli, midnight
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
