Back in the roaring 1920s, a British army officer stationed in Alexandria decided he needed a change from military life.
Setting up operations in the suburbs of the Egyptian city, he first supplied provisions for railways in what was then the League of Nations mandate for Palestine.
Soon he had moved his headquarters to Haifa, then part of Palestine and one of the stops along the Palestine Railways that ran between 1920 and 1948. There he sold imported British goods ― considered a luxury at the time ― to customers as far away as Syria.
This included motor cars, with an advert in the Palestine Bulletin for October 13 , 1931 offering a “bargain” Austin 7 Saloon for sale.
Prospective buyers were invited to visit the shop on the Jaffa Road, named after this budding entrepreneur: Arthur Rawdon Spinney.
Spinneys supermarkets is just one of a number of instantly familiar retail names in the UAE. Jashanmal is another staple to the UAE. But the story of those two household names, the people behind them, and how they are woven into the history of the country, is perhaps not as well known.
Spinneys survived a bomb attack on its Jerusalem branch in 1936, and continued to expand across the Middle East, arriving in Baghdad, during the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt, and Beirut in 1948.
After the July 14 Revolution in Iraq in 1958, and the execution of King Faisal II, a decision was made to relocate the Baghdad outlet to Dubai.
The branch opened in 1962, in Al Nasr Square, with Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, Ruler of Dubai, as the first customer. He bought a bottle of grenadine syrup.
Locally, it became known as “The Frozen Chicken” because it was the only retailer to sell frozen poultry, using a chiller van.
Today, there are Spinneys supermarkets in Egypt, Jordan and Oman. In Lebanon, the brand is owned by Grey Mackenzie Retail, another trading name with deep roots in the region, and originally a shipping company founded in the 19th century. In Abu Dhabi, Grey Mackenzie still sells licensed beverages as part of Abu Dhabi Maritime and Mercantile International.
In the UAE, there are now more than 50 Spinneys supermarkets and convenience shops, with the brand name now owned by Albwardy Investments, which was founded by an Emirati businessman, Ali Albwardy.
As for Arthur Spinney, he retired in the 1960s, living in the English seaside town of Littlehampton until his death at the age of 83 in 1973.
Another familiar UAE brand very much retains its family connection. In 1919, a 24-year-old from Karachi, Rao Sahib Jashanmal, travelled to Basra in Iraq.
Like Pakistan and India, Basra was under British rule at the time, and seeing an opportunity to trade in the British Empire, he opened a store carrying the family name of Jashanmal, serving workers in the oil industry.
Oil was a major part of the Iraqi economy, and as discoveries were made in other countries in the Arabian Gulf, the Jashanmal family followed, taking advantage of this growing prosperity.
Led by Rao Sahib’s sons, Naraindas, Atma, Hiro and Mohan, Jashanmal stores could eventually be found Kuwait, Bahrain and Dubai, selling high quality products from books and watches to Clarks desert boots.Tony Jashanmal, Rao Sahib’s grandson, now heads the company.
When oil was discovered in Abu Dhabi in 1958, Jashanmal set up shop at the exploration base on Das Island supplying workers, and then, later, in Abu Dhabi.
Today the fourth generation of the family is entering the business, which employs more than 5,000 people at more than 100 shops.
A version of this article was first published on September 1, 2022
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
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Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
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The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Zayed Sustainability Prize
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Queen
Nicki Minaj
(Young Money/Cash Money)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
RACE CARD
4pm Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
4.35pm Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $228,000 (Turf) 2,410m
5.10pm Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,200m
5.45pm Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m
6.20pm Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $260,000 (T) 1,800m
6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (TB) $390,000 (D) 2,000m
7.30pm Nad Al Sheba – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (T) 1,200m
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
