If you’ve seen the Disney movie Encanto, set in the magical mountains of Colombia, you’ll know there is one song that sticks in your mind. Part of the film’s storyline concerns a missing character, Bruno. For reasons not immediately known to the viewer, his family sing “We don’t talk about Bruno”, and you get the feeling it’s because Bruno has done something very bad.
When you say you are not talking about something, you are – paradoxically – already talking about it. It is an example of being “in denial”, defined by psychologists as choosing to deny reality as a way to avoid uncomfortable truths. Britain has been in denial for years about the uncomfortable truths of Brexit. Like the family in Encanto, the shadow of the thing which we deny leaves us singing that we don’t talk about Brexit, while all the time Brexit and its seriously negative consequences are everywhere.
Last Saturday, I drove to a festival in southern England. My route took me along the beautiful coastal road between Dover and Folkestone. The sea was blue, the cliffs gloriously white in the sunshine, the French coastline clear in the distance.
On this glorious English coast you can often see re-conditioned Spitfire planes from the Second World War, practising manoeuvres for aviation shows. But there is also a less lovely sight, the enormous queues of lorries trying to get to Dover. As I passed, they blocked the inside lane of the opposite carriageway, directed by police in small groups to the port. Folkestone is eight miles from Dover, and the queue of trucks took up most of the length of that road.
Meanwhile, according to the Daily Express newspaper, Bristol airport was “like a zoo” from early morning as passengers struggled to get on their planes. Manchester, Heathrow, Gatwick and other airports endure similar problems. Passengers have been advised to take only hand luggage as a result of staff shortages.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, says that the travel chaos was “self-inflicted from the government” and down to “Brexit plus Covid”, and so post-Brexit immigration rules should be relaxed to allow EU workers to come back to the UK.
Britain has been in denial for years about the uncomfortable truths of Brexit
It is true that some other European airports have also had problems re-hiring key workers too, notably Schiphol in the Netherlands. But suddenly the British taboo that “we don’t talk about Brexit” as the source of our many problems has been broken again and again. In the past week, the British National Farmers’ Union, along with environmentalists and health campaigners, has also become involved. They have publicly, and in separate ways, told the government that their new post-Brexit food policy is disappointing and vacuous. In its 2022 annual report the House of Commons Committee on Food and Rural Affairs (chaired by a Conservative MP) noted that post-Brexit problems are causing “crops to go unharvested and left to rot in the field, healthy pigs to be culled and disruption to the food supply chain” as a result of“acute labour shortages”.
There are half a million vacancies for farm workers in the UK, mainly as a result of Brexit and also the coronavirus epidemic. And then there’s Northern Ireland and the British government’s attempts to break the Brexit agreement Boris Johnson signed just a couple of years ago –although that’s a complex subject for another day.
The key point is that Britain’s years of not talking about Brexit have ended. And it’s not the big things – all that hollow posturing about “sovereignty” or Northern Ireland. It is the little things of daily life that cut through. The queues of lorries and passengers at airports; the crops rotting in the fields; increases in the price of European wines and other goods; extra costs and bureaucracy for importers and exporters; the falling pound; GDP facing a cut of 4 per cent; and a loss of respect for the UK abroad. And all the while “Brexit benefits” are as common as rainbow coloured unicorns.
The Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood now suggests Britain should rejoin the EU single market. That was once heresy. The Conservative Brexit campaigner Daniel Hannan – to the astonishment of some – suggests that since the government has missed the “opportunities” of Brexit (whatever they are supposed to be), then clearly “we should have stayed in the single market”. Bizarrely, he adds, however, that “rejoining it now would be madness”.
With even prominent Brexit advocates now at least implicitly admitting Brexit is a disaster, two things are clear. First, Brexit is not the cause of all of Britain’s woes, but it has made the country poorer, weaker and more divided, and has produced no noticeable benefits for any ordinary British citizen. Second, “not talking about Brexit” is pointless, self-defeating and illogical. Brexit reality is – and always was – a badly thought-out exercise in British self-harm conducted by an ambitious prime minister who had no real idea what Brexit might mean in reality. But, to rewrite the song, we “don’t talk about Boris”, do we? Although, just like Bruno, and just like Brexit, we will be talking about him again before long.
The Laughing Apple
Yusuf/Cat Stevens
(Verve Decca Crossover)
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20101hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20135Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Six-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh79%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Qualifier A, Muscat
(All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv)
Fixtures
Friday, February 18: 10am Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm Semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm Final
UAE squad:Ahmed Raza(captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Kill%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nikhil%20Nagesh%20Bhat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Lakshya%2C%20Tanya%20Maniktala%2C%20Ashish%20Vidyarthi%2C%20Harsh%20Chhaya%2C%20Raghav%20Juyal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.5%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
Results
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStage%206%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Tim%20Merlier%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%20%E2%80%93%203hrs%2041min%2012sec.%3Cbr%3E2.%20Sam%20Bennett%20(GBR)%20Bora%20%E2%80%93%20Hansgrohe%20%E2%80%93%20ST%3Cbr%3E3.%20Dylan%20Groenewegen%20(NED)%20Team%20Jayco%20Alula%20%E2%80%93%20ST%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EGeneral%20classification%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Remco%20Evenepoel%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%3Cbr%3E2.%20Lucas%20Plapp%20(AUS)%20Ineos%20Grenaders%20%E2%80%93%209sec%3Cbr%3E3.%20Pello%20Bilbao%20(ESP)%20Bahrain%20Victorious%20%E2%80%93%2013sec%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Super heroes
Iron Man
Reduced risk of dementia
Alcohol consumption could be an issue
Hulk
Cardiac disease, stroke and dementia from high heart rate
Spider-Man
Agility reduces risk of falls
Increased risk of obesity and mental health issues
Black Panther
Vegetarian diet reduces obesity
Unknown risks of potion drinking
Black Widow
Childhood traumas increase risk of mental illnesses
Thor
He's a god
RESULTS
Time; race; prize; distance
4pm: Maiden; (D) Dh150,000; 1,200m
Winner: General Line, Xavier Ziani (jockey), Omar Daraj (trainer)
4.35pm: Maiden (T); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Travis County, Adrie de Vries, Ismail Mohammed
5.10pm: Handicap (D); Dh175,000; 1,200m
Winner: Scrutineer, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
5.45pm: Maiden (D); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Yulong Warrior, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
6.20pm: Maiden (D); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Ejaaby, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson
6.55pm: Handicap (D); Dh160,000; 1,600m
Winner: Storyboard, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Handicap (D); Dh150,000; 2,200m
Winner: Grand Dauphin, Gerald Mosse, Ahmed Al Shemaili
8.05pm: Handicap (T); Dh190,000; 1,800m
Winner: Good Trip, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
Scores:
Day 4
England 290 & 346
Sri Lanka 336 & 226-7 (target 301)
Sri Lanka require another 75 runs with three wickets remaining
MATCH INFO
Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)
Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no
Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)
Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22
Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets
