Trip to the highlands 2013 - 1: Coventry to South Laggan

Trip with my sis-in-law's family to the Scottish Highlands during the Easter break.

We really did not have an itinerary but our plan was to stay for a night at Preston. Have lunch at Glasgow and buy supplies


Glasgow

Had lunch at the Nandos there.

The journey was really long with some of the most amazing scenery I have seen in my life. It was still very cold and there was snow everywhere even though this was "Easter" - supposed to be in the middle of Spring.

And finally, Great Glen Water Park at South Laggan.



The trip: Almost 440 Miles.

UK Protests : What's the point?

Since the Liberal Democrats formed a coalition government with the Conservatives, there have been so many protests in the UK. Discussing them with some of my friends, we wondered whether there was any point in these protests since they didn't change anything and in several cases, actually resulted in violence, disorder and looting.

Among the major ones were:

2010 UK student protests - 10, 24 and 30 November and 9 December. Peaceful protest that turned violent.

Pension reform protests. Violence breaks out again.

2011 Student tuition fees protests – 9 November. Relatively peaceful this time as compared to last year.

And of course we can't forget the recent riots between 6 and 10 August 2011, which started off as a peaceful march on 6 August 2011 related to the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan by the Metropolitan Police on 4 August 2011 and ended in widespread looting and the death of Five people.

The Occupy London protests are still going on: with tents set up one outside St Paul's Cathedral in Central London and the other in Finsbury Square just to the north.

And it looks like more protests and strikes are on the way - Public sector workers have also decided to go on strike on 30 November over the government’s public sector pension changes.

The question is whether any of these protests had any positive impact.

Whatever sympathy that people had for the students mostly dried up after seeing the images of violence on TV and in the newspapers. The student fees still went up. Mark Duggan is all but forgotten and most people were not even aware that people were protesting outside St Paul's Cathedral until the chancellor followed by the dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London resigned.

My friend tells me that these incidents show that democracy is well and alive in the UK but what's the point if these protests didn't actually achieve anything.

Trip to Ayr

Last week we drove up to Ayr, in Scotland. We went along with another family. We started off around 11 from our house in Coventry and then went to Derby to pick up our friends. The whole journey took us about 7 hours from Derby to reach Travelodge Ayr - our accommodation at Ayr.

We didn't exactly go there for a holiday - we were there to get our son's eyes examined by Ian Jordan who has an optical practice. However, still get the chance to go down to the beautiful beach and the kids really enjoyed themselves. Wish we had more time to roam around this ancient town.









Would love to come back here again someday.

New proposed UK immigration changes

The UK Government is proposing a number of changes in the immigration rules which will have a huge impact on all non-EU foreign students.

Under the main changes which are likely to impact Malaysian and other non-EU foreign students and their dependent include the following:

1. Students will only be allowed to work on campus during the week in term time.

2. Dependants of students will not be allowed to work in the UK unless they get a Tier 2 visa from the employer. Means no more cleaning jobs.

3. Closing down the Post Study Work (PSW) Scheme. means we have to go back as soon as we graduate.

4. Remove right of dependants to come to UK unless the student is on a course of 12 months or more. This may not be relevant to the PhD students, but it will definitely have an impact on those students with family taking a Masters course.

The Government is no carrying out a consultation with various Universities.

Why do Malaysians like to study in the UK?

In 2007 / 2008, there were 12,430 Malaysian students in the UK with 35% enrolled in postgraduate programmes, mainly PhDs (4,375 students) (source: British Council). Most of them are funded by the Malaysian Government. Considering that the average annual fees for a non-EU student in the UK is approximately, £11,00, not counting the cost of living, this is a huge investment on the part of the Malaysian Government.

I was curious as to what is it that makes UK universities so popular with Malaysian students as compared to the US or other countries.

Of course the reason may be that some of the World's best Universities including Oxford, Cambridge and Warwick are located here. However, this does not explain the high number of Malaysian students in other Universities which are not that high ranked as well. A lot of people in Malaysia still consider British education to be the best in the World even though a number of high ranking Universities are in other countries as well. 

It may have something to do with the fact that English is the language spoken here so unlike France, Spain or Germany, you don't have to learn a new language as English is compulsory in Malaysian schools.

However, that's not the only reason and I found out several other facts which contribute to the UK as a popular destination for education., some of which are quite surprising.

An important factor is that foreign students are allowed to work in the UK, limited hours during term time and full time during holidays. Student dependants are allowed to work full time, an important factor considering that the scholarships provided by the Malaysian Government are not really enough to live comfortably. On the other hand, as fas as I know, students are not allowed to work outside the campus and dependent are not allowed at all in the US. Rules in Australia are quite similar to the UK.

There are specific reasons as well. A PhD in the US apparently takes at an average of about 4-5 years to complete whereas in the UK, it's about 3.5 years. If you are in the Business and Managements stream, you also need to get really high GMAT scores in order to get in. This is not true for PhD in business and management studies here in most UK universities.

Some other factors listed by friends:

1. Easier to get Halal food.
2. Cheaper to fly to the UK than to the US.
3. Great shopping specially on boxing day.
4. I also discovered that another reason is the fact that every Malaysian student is entitled to an approved permit (AP) to import a car back into Malaysia with nominal tax rates.Normally foreign built cars are subject to a tax as high as 300%. The UK also drives on the correct side of the road (the left side and cars are right hand drive) as compared to several other countries.

So it is not only the reputation of British universities or because it is cheaper (they are not) but a combination of several factors. I am wondering whether the recent proposal to reduce the number of permitted working hours and that student dependants won't be allowed to work, would have an impact on the numbers coming here to study.

If you are a Malaysian student here in the UK, are there any more reasons you selected the UK?

Classic Motorbikes

The Academy of Marketing conference 2010 had it's final dinner at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull. This was my first trip to this museum.

They have an amazing collection of classic motorbikes from different eras.

There were Triumphs, Nortons, Zeniths...

Wonder where all these British companies have gone.

St George was Palestinian

23 April was St. George's day and my daughter came home with loads of pictures of crosses and questions about St. George. I only told her what I knew - the legend of him killing a dragon and rescuing a princess. I also know that he is the patron Saint of England and that his emblem, a red cross on a white background, is the flag of England but nothing more than that. Being curious, I went over to the best source of information on the web - Wikipedia.

The racist BNP extensively uses the St George's Cross in it's campaigns and I actually thought that it was their symbol. It's not.

Boris Johnson, the mayor of London recently called for Londoners to reclaim the "St George flag from the BNP". I do realise that a lot of BNP supporters display the flag in their cars and windows.

Anyway, I was quite surprised to learn that according to historians, the real St. George was actually born in Lydda, Palestine (now Lod in Israel) and he never actually came to the British Isles. Wonder how many people know about the actual origins of St. George?

The demographic segment that politicians in the UK forgot

Had a few reactions to my previous post "Blame the foreigners" but mostly offline. Some agreed with me while others felt that as foreigners, it was not our concern. I have to disagree because as long as we stay here, whatever decisions the Government makes, does affect us.

Some new regulations introduced since we first arrived has already had an impact. Among the new regulations that affect us directly, includes the stricter requirements for visa renewals along with the required minimum amount of money in our bank accounts for each family member when we renew our visas even though we are in our final stages of our study, the introductions of identity cards and the new points system.

As I pay tax on what little I earn, I feel that I have the right to decide how that money will be put to use. More so considering the fact that we are not eligible to receive any benefits from the council.

Also a lot of people (including some politicians I think) are not aware that since 1949, citizens of Commonwealth countries are eligible to vote in the UK .  We are the demographic segment that everyone forgot about but with the potential to make a huge difference.

In Coventry alone there are a few hundred potential voters but have been largely ignored by all political parties. And as we know elections can be won or lost by a single vote.

Blame the foreigners

If you examine recent history, you will notice that whenever there's some crisis in any country, the foreigners are inevitably used as the boogeyman most often than not. I guess they are easiest and most convinient target to place the blame on. This has happened in India, in Malaysia and now in the UK as well.

It has probably been shimmering below the surface for some time but it has just come out into the open now. Or should I say forced into the open after the BNP made immigration THE issue (they always have) and suddenly they got an audience. Now the Conservatives and Labour both acknowledges that it is an issue of concern in the UK as well. Now foreigners are blamed for almost every problem ranging from unemployment, crowded school places, housing issues, NHS problems, crime and maybe the banking and financial crisis as well. It sounds ridiculous until you realise that a large number of people do really believe that foreigners are the cause of all these problems in the UK.

Who are the foreigners?

I am not really sure what people mean by "foreigners". I assume they mean everyone from outside the UK but talking to people and reading comments on articles, realise that there is a wide range of views. Officially, the term refers to people from outside the EU. They also lump those who are here legally and illegally along with the asylum seekers.

Moreover, reading comments on any article on immigration, you can see that a lot of people actually mean "South Asian and African". Though a lot of people don't admit it but clearly colour of skin and country of origin, is an issue. Hardly anyone talks about Americans, Eastern Europeans, Australians, etc. And if you read all the comments you will find at least one or two comments talking about the rise of Muslim population in the UK.

From time to time, the authorities do try to correct the picture but they are not really doing a good job.There is a need to clear some of the misconceptions.

So are foreigners really taking away the jobs of locals (read EU)?

I seriously doubt it. I know personally how tough it is to get a job here in the UK. You won't get a job unless you are really good and there's no local to fill the job. Of course there are those unscrupulous employers who employ foreigners because they can get away with paying minimum wages (sometimes less) and a lot more. Citizens from other EU countries can travel and work freely here in the UK without the need for any visa and vise-versa of course.  

Many foreigners are students
A large proportion of the non-EU foreigners entering the UK legally are actually students. They pay almost three times as much as the students from the EU countries and I do believe that the education Industry is one of the largest foreign exchange earners for the country regardless of economic climate. Like the US, British universities have been able to attract the brightest brains from all around the World (some countries like India and Malaysia is trying to reverse this brain drain to varying levels of success).

Students are allowed to work part time for a few hours every week (one of the attractions of working in the UK) but the jobs include waiting staff, translators, cleaners and the like if you get what I mean. I was fortunate to get a job as a web developer and later as a part time teacher in the University of Warwick but as I mentioned earlier, depends on your capability and if there's no local around to fill the post. Some students do eventually settle down here and contribute to the intellectual capital and economy of the country (I mean most end up paying taxes and not on the dole). But it getting much tougher after the Government introduced the points system (copied from the Australians?)

Foreigners protecting local jobs
Actually foreigners have created jobs by rescuing or taking over failing British businesses. Talking about failing British companies, they are the main cause of unemployment not foreigners but many don't see it that way. I guess they need to blame someone and the global economy is too vague to blame. Thank God for the welfare state here or there would have been serious problems. The economy is improving but the country is not really fully out of it yet. Hopefully people would be less negative once businesses start thriving and unemployment starts falling.

Anyway, I recall that a number of people here were unhappy when Malaysian car company Proton took over Lotus but I hope they now realise that Proton actually rescued Lotus and saved British jobs in Norfolk. They have recently brought back the British marque back into the Formula 1 with a little help from the Malaysian Govt. There were a lot of snide remarks as well when Tata of India took over Jaguar and Land Rover. With minimum job cuts, they actually made a profit - something Ford had been unable to do in the past. Jaguar Land Rover announced a net profit of £55m (US$140.7 million) end of last year. There are more examples.

Some unsolved issues
I am not saying that there is no immigration issue because there is. The hundreds of illegal immigrants waiting in France to cross over across the channel is an indicator of the problem. For every one caught I am sure a few get through and they are here somewhere. Another issue is that of the asylum seekers. I recently read an article about how many of them (several with families) were left in limbo for several years, unable to work and no certainty about the future. The Govt. definitely needs to look at these issues.

What I hope is that people here would realise that foreigners are not really the source of the problems.

Visit to the Falkirk Wheel

More pictures from our trip to Edinburgh some time back.

One of our friends recommended that we visit the Falkirk wheel near Edinburgh. Driving, it took us nearly 50 minutes to get there from Edinburgh. It is a great engineering feat connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal and is named after the nearby town.


View of the wheel





We got into the boat which was then moved to the docking-pit. We were then slowly lifted to the union canal on the top.



Celtic inspired design




Inside the boat


The wheel was built by Butterly engineering which have now sadly gone out of business like so many companies in the UK.





It was a short ride on the canal and back down again to the basin and my daughter thought it was boring. She was more excited playing at the small playground near the wheel.

Edinburgh Trip 1

Of all the cities that we have visited here in the UK, I think that Edinburgh is the most beautiful. It is also the one with the most character.

We recently spent 4 days there and stayed in our favourite hotel chain - Travelodge. Our decision to stay at the Edinburgh Central at St. Mary's Street turned out to be right choice. It was right in the middle of the Royal Mile - between Edinburgh castle and Holyrood Palace. The hotel staff were really friendly and helpful and we didn't have any problems during our stay apart from the fact that the lift was out of order a couple of days. I got some exercise walking up and down the stairs.

You can see that we enjoyed the trip or otherwise I would have been ranting on about the broken down lift. I was great to get away from it all - from the stress of our research work and I didn't access the Internet even once for the whole four days. Though it did drizzle a bit now and then, over the weather was great all the while we were there.

Here are some pictures from the trip:


Trying to make sense of the map


Tattoos anyone






The Scottish Parliament




Gates to the palace


Arthur's seat


Balmoral Hotel


The Royal Mile


St. Giles and Statue of Adam Smith in the distance




St. Giles' Cathedral or the High Kirk of Edinburgh

New UK immigration rules update

There is one industry that is recession proof and some research actually shows that it does better when the economy is bad. I am referring to the billion pound education industry. British universities have been highly successful in attracting thousands of bright foreign students to the British Isles.

A BBC report in 2008 showed that fees from International students amounted to £1.7bn. The Universities are interested in attracting foreign non-EU students because they can charge them higher. In my case I paid approximately £10300 this year and the fees are increasing. Local and EU students only pay one third that amount. In other words I am paying for the cost of two local/ EU students. I don't mind because a degree from a reputed British University is looked on favourably by employers all around the World (at least I hope so).

The Malaysian Government itself spends millions of dollars every year sponsoring the education of thousands of students in institutes of higher learning all over the UK.

However, recent changes in immigration regulations may change all that. First were the requirement to carry biometric identity cards. I didn't mind that even though there were a lot of protests because I am used to carrying an ID card all the time in Malaysia.

Yesterday we received an email from the University informing us of Pending changes to the immigration rules for student visa renewals. Based on the new rules which will be implemented from the 31st of March 2009, students would need to provide evidence of any remaining course fees to be paid plus £600pm (up to a maximum of £1200) living costs for visa extensions of nine months or less. If more than nine months you will need to provide evidence of your first year’s fees plus £1200 living costs.

The most worrying part of the new rule is the part of dependants. Namely the fact that you will need to show evidence of funds to support them. The amount has not been fixed yet but is tentatively £533 (per month) for each dependant (including children).

I guess this is part of their policy to toughen immigration rules and it has got worse since the economic recession started. All of us can feel a deepening anti-foreigner sentiment - from politicians, newspaper articles and even bloggers.

Now we are blamed for all short of problems ranging from health care to employment. This is plain ridiculous. Instead of creating more employment and reducing the number of people on the dole, foreigners are the perfect bogeyman to take the blame for past planning, economic and financial mistakes on the part of the Government.

I do agree that there is a problem of illegal immigrants but the new policies will affect the students legally staying and contributing to the British economy. I guess they are frustrated because they can't do anything about the rest of the Europeans (since the UK is part of the EU) or the illegal immigrants or the asylum seekers.

The ones worst affected will be the PhD research students with families. Officially most PhD courses are supposed to be of 3 years duration and the visa are given accordingly but apart from rare cases, most will extend to the fourth or fifth year. For example, in the Warwick Business School, I don't know of any single student (foreign and local) who has completed their PhD degree in the stipulated 3 years duration. The only guy I know who completed in 3 years in the whole University of Warwick was a Malaysian in the Engineering faculty and he was lucky because all his experiments went as planned. Sometimes it is not even the fault of the students as some supervisors can take their own sweet time in passing the students.

My friend has 4 kids and he has to have approximately £24588 £29385 + (based on the details given to us) in his account in order to extend his study for another 9 months. Failure to do so might mean going back to Malaysia without completing the degree (after 3 long years of research). It's scary.

First Commentator
Hapi

What the BBC and Sky don't want you to see

This is the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) ad that the BBC and Sky are refusing to air.

According to the BBC, "..broadcasting an appeal for Gaza at this time is incompatible with our role in providing balanced and objective reporting of this continuing situation to our audiences in the UK and around the world."

Visit to Kenilworth Castle

I don't know why but I have always been fascinated by forts and castles. Finally had the chance to visit the historic Kenilworth Castle near here when my in-laws visited.


Panorama shot of countryside from top of Kenilworth castle. Most of what you see in this picture was once under water - the mere.

It is an ancient castle which was first established by Geoffrey de Clinton (Lord Chamberlain of Henry I) around 1120. However, it became famous only after the novel Kenilworth, by Sir Walter Scott came out. This story was based on the romance between Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester. You might have seen the 1998 movie Elizabethstarring Cate Blanchett as the Queen, which earned her an Oscar nomination. Joseph Fiennes played the part of Robert Dudley.

Elizabeth I paid a visit to Kenilworth in July 1575 and the extravagant festivities in her honor, lasted 19 days. According to what we learnt at the castle, this was seen as a marriage proposal from Robert to her Queen. It never happened, probably because the Earl was her subject and mainly because he was already married (though his wife died suspiciously of an accident later). The Queen died a spinster and is called the 'Virgin Queen' for this reason.


Ruins of the Keep and the Great hall

The castle is now looked after by English Heritage since 1984. It's open from 10am to 5pm. So the four of us - me, my father-in-law, brother-in-law and my daughter set off on a very wet day to visit the castle. We had about 2 hours to roam around the castle grounds. Both my father-in-law and brother were able to get Concessions (£3.70 each), while my ticket was £4.95. It was free for Rahil.

Though we were wet and cold, it was an exciting visit. The castle is in ruins now. I can only imagine how grand it must have been in ancient times.