CNN
 — 

Now that the Fall-Winter 2023 catwalks have been disassembled, it’s clear one trend was more pervasive than any collective penchant for ruffles, pleated skirts or tailored coats.

Across runways in New York, London, Milan and Paris, there was a notable scarcity of plus-size models. This comes at a time when there are five injectable medications which can be used as appetite suppressants currently available by prescription in the US, stirring much conversation; a sixth medication, Rybelsus, is taken as an oral pill. Two are officially approved in the UK — the largest influx of weight loss medication seen in the country in almost a decade.

In recent months, injectables such as Wegovy and Ozempic — which share the same active ingredient, semaglutide — have been widely reported as Hollywood’s worst-kept weight loss secret. (Ozempic is intended for use primarily to treat Type 2 diabetes.) Comedian Chelsea Handler claimed her “anti-aging doctor just hands (Ozempic) out to anybody” while appearing on a podcast in January. Even Elon Musk tweeted last year about being on Wegovy.

For many fashion commentators and diversity advocates, the Fall-Winter 2023 runways were in sharp contrast to the (albeit limited) progress and heady promise of recent seasons. This rollback has been widely criticized in the style media as such. And its potential impact is being assessed more broadly: With the rise of these weight loss panaceas, the pursuit of size zero is now just a prescription away.

In 2020, Jill Kortleve and Paloma Elsesser became the first models outside of a sample size to walk for the Italian fashion house Fendi. (Traditionally, a sample size falls between a US 0-4.) British label Erdem entered the plus-size market in 2021, extending its offering to a UK size 22 (or US size 18). And in January 2022, Valentino made headlines after its haute couture show featured a broad spectrum of body types. But this season, there was a visible lack of curve bodies on their runways — or many others.

Fendi and Valentino did not respond when contacted by CNN, while Erdem declined to comment.

According to fashion search engine Tagwalk, the number of mid and plus-size models dropped by 24% in comparison to Spring-Summer 2023. Similarly, a size inclusivity report conducted by Vogue Business found that 95.6% of all looks presented for Fall-Winter 2023 were in a size US 0-4. For context, industry market firm Plunkett Research estimated in 2015 that 68% of American women wear a size US 14 or above.

“It was a definitive backslide,” said IMG model agent Mina White, who represents plus-size and curve supermodels including Elsesser and Ashley Graham. “It was frustrating to see some of these designers not using curved bodies where they had in the past.” Fendi and Valentino did not respond when contacted by CNN, while Erdem declined to comment.

“Watching somebody like Ashley Graham attend the front row for so many of these major houses in full looks (provided by the designer), it was frustrating,” White continued. “They wanted to utilize her image and her social following to command a certain space in the market, but they didn’t want to be reflective on their runways.”

For others, even the term “backslide” was too generous. “Slipping back from… what? A glorious time when the average American woman (size 16) was as present on the runways as she is in everyday life? A time when fashion ads cast as many ‘plus-size’ and ‘mid-size’ women as ‘straight-size’ women?” fashion journalist Amy Odell wrote in her Substack newsletter of this past season’s runways. “No one needed any data to understand that representing a wide array of body shapes and sizes in runway shows or in fashion imagery is not a priority for the industry.”

That said, a handful of — mostly smaller — brands pushed ahead this season. In London, emerging labels Di Petsa, Karoline Vitto and Sinead O’Dwyer showcased lineups of size-diverse models. Inclusivity at Christian Siriano, Coach, Kim Shui, Collina Strada and Bach Mai stood out in New York; while in Paris, Belgian brand Esther Manas — a consistent flag-bearer for size diversity — staged one of the city’s most refreshing runways with an assortment of fun, sensual, feminine looks that complimented a range of bodies.

There was also a smattering of mid- and plus-size castings to be seen elsewhere: Off-White and Michael Kors, for example, featured a few such models. At Harris Reed’s debut for Nina Ricci, Precious Lee opened the show — which also featured three more plus- and mid-size models.

Fashion samples and sample size pieces are one-off garments made before an item is mass-produced, typically to be worn during runway shows. Prioritizing the same body type in sample sizes means runway models are more easily interchangeable, saving fashion houses time and money if someone were to drop out or get sick during or after the casting process for a show.

It’s also partly why, according to White, casting curve models is still an uphill battle. She says she introduces brands to new faces months in advance of runway season, with their specific measurements up-top and easy to read in all correspondence. “I want to be ahead of that,” White said. “So I’m never told ‘Oh, we wanted to make it work, but we didn’t have her size’ or whatever that conversation might look like.”

But despite her efforts, she says she’s frequently told it’s too much of a “financial lift” to make larger samples — even by legacy brands. “I get very upset when brands say that,” White said. “I don’t believe that it is, I believe that it’s people not being properly educated on how to do this right.”

Beyond the lack of representation, White notes it’s painful for plus-size consumers to watch brands leverage resources to create custom, made-to-fit pieces for celebrities — all the while claiming the pot is empty for more inclusive runway samples.

London-based stylist and editor Francesca Burns agrees sample sizes are part of the problem. In 2020, Burns went viral after she posted on Instagram about a fashion job gone wrong. She says she was sent five looks to style from Celine, none of which fit the size UK 8 (US 4) model booked for the shoot— an 18-year-old on her first job in the business. The experience left her “horrified,” Burns told CNN, recalling what she saw as the model’s shame and embarrassment. “Looking into this girl’s eyes,” Burns said, “she shouldn’t have felt like that.”

Burns’ post, which called the current system “unacceptable,” was picked up widely in the fashion media. (When reached by CNN, Celine declined to comment on the incident.) “Ultimately, the desire to see change has to be there,” Burns said. “And I wonder whether luxury has that desire?”

Progress has been slow, but not entirely inexistent. Across fashion campaigns, magazine covers and editorial shoots, there is a growing enthusiasm for inclusivity. “I see the options rolling in for the plus-sized talent, and they’re great offerings,” said White. “Great, strong editorials and covers and campaigns. But I do feel like without the clothes, we are going to go back to see more naked curve stories, or lingerie curve stories or a curve girl in a trench coat. That’s what I don’t want.”

For British Vogue’s April issue, unveiled March 16, Elsesser, Lee and Jill Kortleve were dubbed “The New Supers.” Preceding the cover story is a letter written by editor-in-chief, Edward Enninful commending the models for “leading the way” and holding “powerful space” in the industry.

“Catwalks are once again under scrutiny for a stark lack of body diversity,” read the magazine’s Instagram caption, unveiling the cover. “But this cover was not conceived as a statement. It is a crowning of an all-powerful trio, the supermodels for a new generation.”

But many online were quick to point out the disconnect: Two of the Saint Laurent Spring-Summer 2023 dresses were modeled by plus-size women, though they are not available to buy in most plus sizes.

In his own social media post, Enninful wrote about his disappointment at the Fall-Winter 2023 runways. “I thought I had gotten into a time machine. Show after show dominated by one body type, so many limited visions of womanhood… one prescribed notion of beauty prevailed again, and it felt like the reality of so many women around the world were being ignored.”

But for White, the power rests within the entire industry — not just at the feet of brands. “I really do believe there should be an industry standard between the (Council of Fashion Designers of America), the British Fashion Council and key editors at some of these major mass market magazines,” she continued. “If there was a call-to-action from these figureheads saying, moving forward samples need to be readily available for a few different body types, we would see significant and impactful change.”

Burns agrees there must be a trickle-down effect. “I think a lot of responsibility is put on young designers to solve all these issues around sustainability or issues around body inclusivity,” she said. “It’s important that the big powerhouses, which have the capacity to action change, really take some responsibility.”

On March 8, Wegovy — developed primarily as a treatment for those living with obesity and weight-related conditions — was approved in the UK. It’s the second injectable weight management medication to be made available with a prescription via the country’s National Health Service (NHS) in about 3 years, after almost a decade of quiet. Before 2020, the last weight loss medication was approved in the UK was in 2010.

Similarly, the US has now approved three weight management injections: Wegovy, Saxenda and IMCIVREE. Medications for type-2 diabetes like Mounjaro and Ozempic are not FDA-approved for weight loss, though some doctors are issuing them at their own discretion.

While these medicines are a revolutionary tool for those who struggle to lose weight for genetic or medical reasons, they are at risk of being abused.

Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, was originally developed for treating type-2 diabetes. It quells hunger signals to the brain by mimicking the hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). “It can slow how quickly your stomach empties out and may give you a little more feeling of feeling full,” said Dr. Robert Lash, an endocrinologist and Chief Medical Officer of the Endocrine Society in Washington, D.C. In clinical trials, over a period of 68 weeks, participants who used the medication in conjunction with eating fewer calories and increasing their physical activity on average lost around 15% of their body weight compared to 2.4% of those using a placebo, according to the manufacturer Novo Nordisk.

On March 13, the European Medicines Agency issued a statement warning of an Ozempic shortage that could continue through the year, urging doctors to prioritize prescriptions to diabetics. “Any other use, including for weight management, represents off-label use and currently places the availability of Ozempic for the indicated population at risk,” read the release.

Patients typically need a BMI of 27 or higher (along with another weight-related condition like high blood pressure or diabetes) or have a genetic predisposition towards obesity to be prescribed such appetite suppressant medication by their doctor. But talk of these injectables has been sweeping the West. In January, the New York Times reported on the term “Ozempic Face,” coined by a New York-based dermatologist who reported treating several patients with a hollowed-out appearance that can come with rapid weight loss. By the end of February, the medication had made it to the cover of New York Magazine in a feature titled “Life After Food?” Adverts for GLP-1 injections are even blanketing New York City subway stations.

And across social media, online forums and private group chats, some people looking to lose weight for primarily aesthetic purposes are searching for a way to skirt the requirements.

“I was just looking for a way to lose a few pounds, like 10 to 15 at most,” said one 30-year-old American woman, who wished to remain anonymous, in a phone interview. She scoured social media and forums for guidance on securing a weight loss drug. “I’m certainly a normal BMI, I just have a trip to Mexico coming up and I want to look really good,” she said.

Although she says she found a way to access Wegovy, she decided against the medication after considering the cost (which can reach more than $1,000 a month without insurance). “I’ve always very much fit the societal standard but lately I was just like f*ck it, I want to be skinny,” she told CNN.

Dr. Lash emphasized the importance of taking weight loss drugs only with medical supervision and a valid prescription. “If somebody was a normal weight and they took this drug because they thought they could be even thinner than they are now, that could lead to complications,” he told CNN, warning of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and even gallbladder problems. “These drugs are not benign, they do have side effects involving the GI tract. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

Every body is invited

Fashion has long promoted size 0 as the ultimate virtue — regardless of its viability for many people, or any health risks. And now with the accessibility of accelerated weight loss medication, the stakes are even higher. For Burns and White, the industry is responsible for amplifying a new, more inclusive vision of beauty.

“There’s a very archaic way of looking at women over a size 16 and just assuming that they’re unhealthy or uneducated or unstylish. Or don’t have the resources to buy into luxury,” said White. “The reality is the same women these brands are alienating in their fashion space are the same women running out to buy their handbags, shoes, perfumes, cosmetics and skincare.”

Not only do designers need to create clothes with this consumer in mind, according to White, but they need to be seen on the runway, too.

“It shouldn’t be a conversation. It should just be normalized that we’re not just looking at a single view of beauty,” echoed Burns.

Ester Manas and Balthazar Delepierre, whose bridal-inspired Fall-Winter 2023 collection was one of this season’s most size-diverse runways, summarized it best in their accompanying show notes: “The body is not the subject. Because, obviously, at a wedding, everybody is invited. And all to the party. That is where the designer duo Ester and Balthazar take their stand.”

CNN
 — 

The escalating climate crisis is shifting many people’s purchasing patterns and this extends to the $500 billion dollar global beauty industry which is grappling with a range of sustainability challenges across product manufacturing, packaging and disposal.

Strategy and consulting firm Simon Kucher’s Global Sustainability Study 2021 found 60% of consumers around the world rated sustainability as an important purchase criterion, and 35% were willing to pay more for sustainable products or services.

This shift in consumer preferences has propelled many beauty brands to set environmental goals: to move away from single-use and virgin plastics, provide recyclable, reusable and refillable packaging and offer more transparency around products’ ingredients so customers can ascertain how “green” their purchase is.

However, consumers still struggle to understand the sustainability credentials of many products, according to the British Beauty Council. This is because the industry’s clean-up efforts have been inconsistent, and fall short of making a recognizable impact in the absence of collective goal-setting, global strategy and standardized regulations.

Ingredient and branding transparency

There is no international standard for the beauty industry on how much product ingredient information to share with customers — or how to do so. Brands can set their own rules and goals, giving rise to confusion and “greenwashing,” where sustainability claims are often touted but not substantiated.

Companies often use marketing language like “clean beauty” to make it seem like their products are natural, for example, when they may not actually be organic, sustainable or ethically made.

“The term ‘clean beauty’ has become quite dangerous. It’s used to sell more products,” according to British Beauty Council CEO Millie Kendall, who added that such buzzwords are losing traction in the UK as British customers wise up to their shortcomings. “Customers need better marketing information and certification information.”

In a 2021 report calling on the industry to have “the courage to change” their business practices, the British Beauty Council wrote that, all too often, even natural ingredients involved in manufacturing products give way to “over-consumption, non-regenerative farming practices, pollution, waste and neglect.”

“The only way out of this is transparency,” Kendall told CNN.

Jen Lee, chief impact officer at US-based brand Beautycounter, said she continues to see confusion over ingredients among consumers. (In 2013, the company launched and published “The Never List,” which currently cites more than 2,800 chemicals — including heavy metals, parabens and formaldehyde — it claims to never use in its products.)

“Natural vs. synthetic ingredients has been a conversation. People think natural is safer, but it’s not always the case,” Lee explained. “Natural ingredients formulated in the industry can have toxic load. Heavy metals can occur in natural components of the earth.”

“We used to be more natural and organic,” added Sasha Plavsic, founder of makeup brand ILIA Beauty. “What was challenging is (that) raw materials were difficult to source or would come in inconsistently or products wouldn’t perform.”

Most makeup is created and molded at high temperatures, Plavsic explained. Purely organic materials often fall apart in this heat, leading to inconsistent results and subpar product performance. “Not every synthetic is bad,” Plavsic said. “Sometimes, it helps create the best in class formula.”

The industry’s plastic packaging is a particular sustainability challenge — 95% is thrown away and the vast majority is not recycled, according to the British Beauty Council.

The cosmetics business is the fourth biggest plastic packaging user globally — after food and beverage, industrial packaging and pharmaceuticals — and plastic is about 67% of the industry’s packaging volume, according to Vantage Market Research. Beauty giant L’Oreal used 144,430 metric tons of plastic in its packaging material in 2021, for example, according to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation (EMF). Estee Lauder Companies reported its brands produced 71,600 metric tons of plastic in product packaging that same year.

And only 9% of the global plastic waste is recycled, according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The United States only recycles 4% of its plastic waste.

Many brands are trying to phase out harmful plastics from their operations and adopt post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic. (L’Oreal has set a target of 50% PCR plastic usage by 2025, while Estee Lauder is targeting 25% “or more” PCR plastic — but both are far from achieving their targets.)

“Between 60-70 major global brands have made unprecedented progress” in PCR plastic usage across industries, EMF’s Plastic Initiative Lead Sander DeFruyt told CNN. But DeFruyt stressed that PCR plastic must be adopted in conjunction with brands removing single and virgin plastics from their usage cycles to truly make a difference.

However, PCR plastic is not easy to find — low recycling rates around the world mean there is limited supply. Meanwhile, demand for it is growing demand across industries, DeFruyt said. This competition hikes up its price, which is already higher than virgin plastic.

Hair care brand FEKKAI claims that it used up to 95% PCR content in its packaging, but pricing and supply issues posed a challenge, forcing it to currently aim for containers and packaging that feature at least 50% PCR in its packaging.

“PCR plastic is more expensive than stock plastic. The cost is hard and then sourcing it is too,” founder Frédéric Fekkai told CNN. “PCR is close to our heart, but there is a massive demand, so finding recycled plastic is difficult.”

Beauty retailers plays a pivotal — and under-utilized — role, with control over stocking decisions and supply chains. But many vary when it comes to the standards they set for brands they sell.

“Smaller businesses do more, full stop,” said Jessi Baker, founder of the technology platform Provenance, which helps brands display their sustainability credentials for customers. “They move more nimbly. Some of them are born-good brands — climate friendliness was part of their setup. They don’t need to restructure their entire supply chain. Their culture already has it compared to the larger brands who need to work hard to change.”

Sephora launched its “Clean + Planet Positive” initiative in 2021, which labeled products that met its set criteria. (This is separate from the French retailer’s “Clean at Sephora” program, which is currently facing a consumer lawsuit alleging it carries a significant percentage of products understood by customers to be harmful.) Target launched a similar program in 2022, featuring a “Target Zero” icon for both online and in-store offerings that either have reusable, recyclable, compostable or reduced plastic packaging, or feature waterless or concentrated products.

Still, many steps taken by brands and retailers do not even begin to touch on the waste and pollution generated throughout supply chains, manufacturing and shipping, all huge problems for the industry to grapple with.

The gaps in standardization in the beauty ecosystem can, to some extent, be filled by certifications such as the US-born B Corporation, or B Corp. This accreditation, one of the most well-known in the beauty space, is issued by the non-profit B Lab, which scores a company on a variety of criteria around ethics and sustainability. However beneficial it may be among eco-conscious consumers, though, it is currently completely voluntary for brands to apply for.

Governments and multinationals enforcing regulations and setting a base line for brands to operate from when making sustainability claims would go a long way to making change, many experts and business leaders believe.

Susanne Kaufmann, founder of her namesake beauty brand, says her efforts in Austria would reap better results if more countries around the world had stricter, more uniform garbage disposal laws.

“I package our product in a recyclable material,” Kaufmann said. (Her products’ packaging, which is refillable and reusable, is made from 75% recycled plastic — and is 100% recyclable.) If I send this to the US, the garbage is not separated… and it’s not recyclable,” she explained, referring to inconsistencies in recycling laws across the United States.

And when it comes to ingredients, the European Chemicals Agency lists 2,495 substances banned from use in cosmetic products marketed for sale or use in the bloc. But the US Food and Drug administration only lists 11, making it more challenging for American consumers to find safer, greener options. The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit watchdog, studied lab tests of 51 sunscreen products in 2021 and found that only 35% of products met the EU standard, compared with 94% that passed the US standard.

However, while government can set minimum requirements, Mia Davis, vice president of sustainability and impact at beauty retailer Credo Beauty, says the needle will move in the private sector.

“Regulation can raise the floor a bit. A person who doesn’t know about any (sustainability issues) should still be able to walk into a bodega and get clean products… But that’s never going to be what the market can do,” she said. “Market leadership is key.”

In the absence of bold regulations or global standards on sustainability practices, this “leadership” — undertaken both by brands and customers in the beauty marketplace — is likely to be the most immediately impactful vector for addressing the industry’s climate shortcomings. It will take continued collective advocacy and initiative to see meaningful climate-conscious change.

London
CNN
 — 

The British pound crashed to a record low last fall as investors rebelled against budget plans by former Prime Minister Liz Truss. Now, it’s enjoying a comeback.

Sterling hit its highest level against the US dollar in 10 months on Tuesday, topping $1.25 for the first time since June 2022. The pound, which has advanced about 3.3% versus the greenback since the start of 2023, is the best-performing currency among developed economies this year.

The UK currency has been boosted by indications the country’s economy is holding up better than expected. Activity is now thought to have expanded 0.1% in the final three months of last year, up from a previous estimate of no growth at all. Gross domestic product growth in January has been estimated at 0.3% after dropping 0.5% in December.

This resilience is bolstering expectations the Bank of England will maintain aggressive interest rate hikes despite concerns about the health of the global banking sector. Rising rates can boost the domestic currency because they help attract foreign investors searching for higher returns.

Inflation in the United Kingdom also jumped to an annual rate of 10.4% in February, underscoring the need for the Bank of England to maintain its tough approach.

The pound plunged close to $1.03 in September 2022 after the Truss government unveiled plans to boost borrowing while slashing taxes, unleashing panic in financial markets that fueled fears of a recession in the United Kingdom.

The International Monetary Fund predicted in January that the UK economy would contract by 0.6% this year, while all other advanced economies would grow, if only slightly.

“There was a lot of pessimism being priced into the pound,” said Francesco Pesole, a currency strategist at ING.

But the sharp pullback in energy prices and China’s reopening have provided some relief about the economic outlook since the start of the year.

“There was a big re-rating of growth expectations around Europe, and that impacted the UK,” Pesole said.

The euro has also been lifted by these dynamics, rising 2.3% against the US dollar in 2023. The pound’s rally has been sharper in large part because its 2022 declines were more severe, according to Pesole.

Both currencies have been aided by the greenback’s sharp drop from highs reached last September as recession fears have percolated in the United States.

A lack of clarity around the Federal Reserve’s next steps has also restrained the dollar in recent weeks. Investor speculation has increased that the Fed could pause or stop rate hikes due to concerns about the economy following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank last month.

Jordan Rochester, a currency strategist at Nomura, said he thinks the pound could rise to $1.30 this year and “potentially higher.” But he still sees risks given the uncertainty surrounding the Bank of England’s plans and how rate rises will feed back through the country’s economy. And Pesole cautioned that currency fluctuations are often overdone when markets are choppy, as they are now.

“In a volatile market environment, moves are exacerbated,” he said.

CNN
 — 

Anthony Bourdain loved haggis. But even the late, great American chef, writer and television host recognized that Scotland’s national dish, with its “sinister sheep parts” wrapped in a shroud of mystery and half-invented history, could be a hard sell.

“Don’t let them tell you otherwise, that’s really one of life’s great pleasures,” Bourdain said on one of his gastro-curious pilgrimages to Glasgow. “There is no more unfairly reviled food on Earth than the haggis.”

A mash-up of diced lung, liver and heart mixed with oatmeal, beef suet, onion and assorted spices, haggis was traditionally made by stuffing these raw ingredients into the stomach of a recently slain sheep and boiling the lot to a state of palatability.

Instagrammable is not the word that immediately comes to mind. In our 21st-century world, where “clean” eating and processed pap overlap, haggis can seem like an “Outlander”-style outlier from another age.

Yet, by some alchemy, once cooked to its required “warm-reekin’ (steaming)” state, it adds up to much more than the sum of its modest parts. It’s offaly charm has kept nose-to-tail eating alive among a younger generation of Scots that has largely turned its back on the tripe, liver and kidneys their predecessors enjoyed (or endured).

Carefully prepared, haggis tastes both oaty and meaty; it is dark and crumbly, a little crispy at the edges but still moist; earthy but also savory and spicy; deep-tasting and profoundly warming, the perfect foil for its traditional garnish of floury mashed potatoes and orange bashed turnip.

“It’s like a cuddle for the stomach,” says Nicola Turner, a 35-year-old office administrator from Helensburgh, a town on western Scotland’s Firth of Clyde.

Spice and texture

For children of the 1960s and ’70s, like crime novelist Ian Rankin, haggis meals were a choice between the classic meat-and-two-veg plate and the battered and deep-fried, chip-shop iteration loved by both his friend Bourdain and his quintessentially Scottish detective character, Inspector John Rebus.

Now myriad other treatments have blossomed.

“I’m pretty sure the first time I dined with AB in Edinburgh we had haggis in filo pastry with a jam-style – maybe blackcurrant – sauce,” Rankin recalled. “He was a big fan of haggis and of chip shops. Rebus will have enjoyed the occasional haggis supper from his local chip shop. He was definitely a fan, as am I.”

“It is all about the spicing and the texture,” says the Scottish food writer, novelist and cook Sue Lawrence, a champion of haggis’ adaptability for use in other dishes. “If you didn’t know what was in it, you wouldn’t think ‘oh that tastes of liver or whatever.’ It is all nicely chopped up and the oatmeal gives it a lovely texture. It could easily be a nice, big mince dish.”

Lawrence uses haggis as an alternative to beef and pork ragù in lasagna and in her pastilla, a version of the North African dish in which a hand-made haggis from the Isle of Mull substitutes for the traditional poultry or seafood filling. The filo pastry savory is flavored with the spice blend ras el hanout, apricots, chile, orange zest and almonds before being sprinkled with cinnamon and icing sugar.

Such cultural crossovers serve as a reminder that haggis could easily be a dish with nothing specifically Scottish about it at all. Records of similar quick and portable preparations of the fast-perishing innards of sheep and other animals date back to ancient Rome and Greece.

Haggis-like combinations of offal and grains are part of the culinary history of several countries. Spain has chireta, Romania drob and Sweden polsa, while chaudin, or ponce, is a rice and meat-stuffed pig stomach that is a staple of Cajun cooking.

In neighboring England, recipes for “hagese,” “hagws of a schepe,” “haggas” or “haggus” pop up in recipe books published between the 15th and 17th centuries, probably preceding written records north of the border.

Etymological evidence points to the term “haggis” having its roots in Old Norse, suggesting an early version of an oat-and-offal sausage might have arrived in Britain and Ireland on a Viking longboat.

But ever since it was first optioned by the poet Robert Burns in the late 1700s, the haggis backstory has been monopolized by Scotland and the Scots, sometimes mischievously.

It is, according to the kind of lore that Burns engendered, the dish a doughty Highlander would carry with him as he drove cattle through the glens to the markets of the central belt or the perfect picnic for a whisky smuggler plying his illicit trade by moonlight.

From such romantic notions it was a short step to turning the haggis into a wee wild beastie, one with longer legs on one side that was thus condemned to run round and round whichever hill it lived on. In 2003, a poll of American tourists in Scotland found that one in three of them believed they might encounter such a confused creature on a Caledonian vacation.

Bourdain, a native New Yorker, may have qualified as haggis’ biggest admirer since Burns, but his compatriots at the US Department of Agriculture remain unconverted to offal-filled paunch. Haggis imports into the United States were prohibited in 1971 as part of a ban on the consumption of all livestock lungs. Authentic versions of old school haggis remain culinary contraband in the US, as hard to lay your hands on as Cuban cigars.

Across the rest of the world, it’s a different story. According to leading producer Simon Howie, haggis is more widely appreciated and consumed now than it has been since Burns improvised his “Address to a Haggis” for the entertainment of well-to-do Edinburgh acquaintances.

Firmly tongue-in-cheek, the poem lauds the “Great chieftain o’ the pudding race,” as exactly the kind of unpretentious, hearty fare required to nourish a nation of braveheart warriors.

In comparison to the enfeebling foreign muck enjoyed by the capital’s claret-quaffing elites of the time – the olio, fricassée or ragoût that would “sicken a sow” – Burns urges his readers to wonder at the magical impact of haggis on his fellow sons of Scotland’s soil.

As the English translation of the original Scots language version puts it:

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed/

The trembling earth resounds his tread/

Clap in his ample fist a blade/

He’ll make it whistle/

And legs and arms and heads will cut/

Off like the heads of thistles

These days synthetic casings have largely replaced stomach but ovine and porcine innards remain at the core of most of the haggis produced in its homeland, said Howie, who estimates that his company Simon Howie Butchers, accounts for around 60% of the roughly two million haggises produced every year.

For Howie, versatility, value for money and convenience explain why this staple of the Scottish larder is thriving. Typically haggis retails in Scotland, which accounts for half of global consumption by volume, for around £6, or $7.70 per kilogram ($3.36/pound). That’s around half the price of less expensive cuts of beef or a third of the price of Scotch lamb while enjoying a fairly similar nutritional and calorific profile.

“You can give your kids a meal that is not full of things you don’t want to feed them – for a few pounds you can feed three strapping lads,” Howie said.

“From a kitchen perspective, it is very simple because when it leaves our factory it is already cooked. So when you or a restaurant owner gets it into the kitchen all you have to do is heat it up to be piping hot. It couldn’t be more basic: a student with no cooking skills or a Michelin-starred chef do exactly the same thing to put it out on the plate.”

Its texture means haggis can also be usefully deployed in fine dining alongside leaner meat like venison or as a stuffing for poultry and game birds. Its spicy intensity means it is also finding uses in canapés and as a crouton-borne garnish for soups.

Buoyant sales are also underpinned by the increasing consumption of haggis in forms inspired by Scotland’s ethnic minorities.

Glasgow’s Sikh community pioneered haggis pakora in the 1990s and samosas, spring rolls and quesadillas have followed in its wake, often using a vegetarian version of the protein in which the offal is replaced by a mix of vegetables, pulses and mushrooms.

Such dishes are more than culinary twists. They are badges of belonging, and an indication that, two centuries after Burns grabbed it for the nation, haggis is as intimately entwined with Scots identity as ever.

Just ask Ross O’Cinneide, a promising 14-year-old fly-half in the junior section of Stirling County rugby club.

“Most of my friends and I like haggis,” he says. “Mum makes it for us sometimes after rugby and it’s got a very nice warming feeling. And it’s nice because it’s purely Scottish.”

Hong Kong
CNN
 — 

HSBC’s top brass defended their strategy Monday to frustrated shareholders in the lender’s largest market, as Europe’s biggest bank continued to face calls to be split up.

At an informal shareholder meeting in Hong Kong, Chairman Mark Tucker and CEO Noel Quinn took questions from investors on issues ranging from how the bank was approaching demands for an overhaul of its business to its purchase of Silicon Valley Bank’s UK arm.

In prepared remarks, Tucker and Quinn each reiterated the board’s recommendation that shareholders vote against a resolution on the docket for its annual general meeting in May that would force the bank to come up with a plan to spin off or reorganize its Asian business — the lender’s main source of profits.

Tucker said the board was unanimous in its opposition to the resolution, stating plainly: “It would not be in your interest to split the bank.”

He said the board had previously reviewed a range of options for restructuring the bank, and concluded that such alternatives would “materially destroy value for shareholders,” including dividends.

“Our strategy is working,” Tucker told the room of more than 1,000 shareholders. “Our current strategy is moving dividends up.”

HSBC has been facing calls to separate its Asian business from the rest of the bank over the past year.

Shareholders in Hong Kong — where HSBC is a mainstay of many retail investors’ portfolios — contend that the London-based lender’s performance has been dragged down by its businesses in other regions.

Quinn addressed those complaints head-on Monday, saying “our profits in Hong Kong and the UK are no longer being dragged down by underperformance elsewhere. The group is performing well as a whole.”

Pressed later by a shareholder on the issue, Quinn said a breakup of the bank would result in “significant revenue loss” because much of its business relied on cross-border transactions.

Investors have also been unhappy with HSBC scrapping its dividend in 2020, at the request of British regulators. They argue that if the lender cordoned off its activities in Asia, it would no longer have to expose Hong Kong shareholders to requests in other jurisdictions.

Christine Fong, a district council member in Hong Kong, said she represented about 500 small shareholders who had been affected by the dividend cancellation.

“Street hawkers, taxi drivers or teachers — they all relied on the dividend to pay for their regular expenses, like mortgage, insurance payments, school fees,” Fong told CNN.

“That’s why, three years ago, what HSBC did upset those small minority shareholders.”

Fong has now joined calls for shareholders to vote in favor of the proposal for the bank to spin off its Asian business, despite the lender bringing back its dividend in 2021, albeit at a lower level.

Ken Lui, an activist shareholder in Hong Kong who put the resolution together, doubled down on his call for support ahead of the meeting Monday.

The resolution will require 75% of votes to be passed in May, but “nothing is impossible,” he told reporters outside the meeting venue.

Lui, who said he personally held a stake worth 100 million Hong Kong dollars ($12.7 million), laid out plans for his team to focus on “targeted outreach to institutional shareholders to present our case and gain their support.”

His group will also canvass 18 districts of Hong Kong “to tell HSBC shareholders that they finally have a chance to speak for themselves and protect their rights through voting,” he added.

HSBC is also facing pressure from its largest shareholder.

Ping An

(PNGAY), China’s biggest insurer, holds an 8% stake in HSBC and has backed calls for the bank to rethink its structure.

In a series of remarks made public by the Chinese firm last November, Huang Yong, chairman of Ping An’s asset management arm, said “we will support any initiatives including a spinoff that are conducive to improve HSBC’s performance and value.”

Since then, the insurance giant’s views haven’t changed, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The source told CNN that Ping An has been calling for HSBC to explore a reorganization, with an eye on boosting its valuation and simplifying its regulatory obligations around the globe.

The insurer has not recommended a specific path forward but will support any initiatives, including a spinoff of its Asian business, that could boost its stock performance or value, the person added. Ping An did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how it planned to vote at the upcoming general meeting.

HSBC’s leaders were also asked Monfday why the bank had scooped up the British unit of SVB following the stunning collapse of its parent in the United States. The purchase was made for £1 ($1.20) last month, just days after SVB had folded.

Critics have questioned HSBC’s ability to perform adequate due diligence on SVB UK’s customers because of how quickly the deal came together.

“Did HSBC look into the clients of SVB in detail? Say, the financial statement — whether they can pay back the loan?” said Fong.

Quinn and Tucker defended the acquisition, calling it a good business opportunity that allowed the bank to gain hundreds of innovative startups as customers. They pushed back on the notion that management hadn’t had time to carry out proper due diligence.

Tucker also weighed in on recent tumult in the banking industry, saying he did not expect an “immediate impact” on HSBC.

“After the collapse of a number of smaller regional banks and the takeover of Credit Suisse, the share prices of all banks have been suppressed,” he noted.

But he said he did not believe such developments represented “a systemic risk” to the sector. “I do expect a period of uncertainty” before nerves settle, he added.

CNN
 — 

Three years after fleeing Iran, chess referee Shohreh Bayat fears being further ostracized after challenging the game’s governing body and its president, Russia’s former deputy prime minister, over her choice of clothing at a tournament in October.

Back in 2020, Bayat was criticized in Iran for not wearing the appropriate headscarf at the Women’s World Chess Championship in China and Russia. She refused to bow to the regime’s pressure but, as a result, has not returned home out of fear of punishment.

Now, three years on, Bayat has raised the hackles of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and its president for wearing clothes in support of the Iranian protests and the people of Ukraine.

The 35-year-old Bayat, who now lives in London with her husband, recently officiated at the 2022 Fischer Random World Chess Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland, in October.

The tournament was another opportunity for Bayat to officiate some of the sport’s biggest stars, though it came at a difficult time as protests spread across her home country of Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini.

The 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman died in mid-September after being detained by the country’s morality police, allegedly for not abiding by the country’s conservative dress code, sparking outrage around a range of grievances with the regime.

“It reminded me of my own story,” Bayat told CNN. “So I decided to stand up for women’s rights in Iran. During the tournament I wore a t-shirt with the motto of Iranian people ‘WomanLifeFreedom’ and I wanted to stand with them.”

Bayat said that after the first day of wearing the t-shirt, a FIDE official asked her, unofficially, to not wear it.

In a statement sent to CNN, FIDE said that “arbiters at top events are required to dress in due decor and discretion” and that Bayat “disregarded direct instructions given to her to stop wearing slogans or mottos.”

According to Bayat, such regulations are not found in FIDE’s arbiter handbook and she says no dress code was given for the event in Iceland.

The arbiter’s handbook does say officials must “follow the dress code” and that they must be “dressed properly, helping to improve the image of chess as a sport.” CNN has reached out to FIDE to clarify the dress code that was expected for the October event.

Frustrated by the request to stop wearing the slogan, Bayat said she decided she was not breaking any rules so she wore it again the next day.

Bayat says she was once again asked by an official to take it off, only this time she was told the request came from FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, who previously served as Russia’s deputy prime minister and who attended the tournament in Iceland.

Bayat said Dvorkovich never spoke to her in person about the t-shirt, despite being in the same room as her when she wore it.

Dvorkovich, however, messaged her on WhatsApp – messages seen by CNN – to request Bayat not use official FIDE events for “political purposes.”

Angered by Dvorkovich’s request, Bayat says she quickly responded but then deleted her “emotional” reply.

Bayat then informed Dvorkovich she would not wear the t-shirt the next day, though she wanted to do the “right thing.”

Given that FIDE’s charter states that it is “committed to respecting all internationally recognized human rights and shall strive to promote the protection of these rights,” Bayat said she decided she had not violated any rule.

“I thought carefully, and I realized that it is not me that was making chess political but Arkady,” Bayat said.

“I was following FIDE rules, but Arkady was breaking them by forbidding me to stand up for women’s rights in Iran.”

FIDE refuted any notion that politics played a part in Dvorkovich’s request to Bayat.

“We were not judging her views or her activism, but the platform and moment she chose for it,” FIDE told CNN.

The following day, Bayat, who has not seen her parents since leaving Iran over three years ago, said she bought a blue and yellow outfit and wore it in support of the Ukrainian people fighting against the Russian invasion, and also in memory of the 176 people that were killed when Iran said it unintentionally shot down a Ukrainian plane that crashed near Tehran in 2020.

She says nothing was said to her about the blue and yellow outfit but, since leaving the tournament in Iceland, Bayat told CNN that she hasn’t been invited to another FIDE event, despite the organization recognizing her as the best female arbiter in Europe in 2022.

Bayat said she was initially removed from the arbiter commission – a registry of all qualified arbiters – and, in a message seen by CNN, a top FIDE official told her it was because of her outfits in Iceland.

Her name is currently listed on the database and FIDE told CNN that Bayat was still very much in contention to officiate future events but that it has “more International Arbiters than world events, so we need to establish some rotation.”

FIDE President Dvorkovich was first elected in 2018 and was re-elected for a second term in August. Previously, the 50-year-old served as Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister between 2012-2018 following a stint as the Kremlin’s top economic adviser.

The Kremlin welcomed Dvorkovich being reelected as FIDE president last year, but he has always maintained his proximity to the Kremlin would not impact his work for FIDE and noted that he was one of the most senior establishment figures in Russia to question the war in Ukraine.

However, Bayat told CNN she believes Dvorkovich is not accepting criticism of Iran due to Russia’s links with the country – Iran continues to support Russia with military aid for the war in Ukraine.

She notes FIDE’s handling of the Iranian Chess Federation as further evidence of this.

Dvorkovich wrote a letter urging Iran to comply with FIDE’s regulations in 2020 after it allegedly told its players to not play against Israeli opponents.

The acting president of Iran’s Chess Federation responded, saying that Iran has constantly been in compliance with FIDE’s rules and statutes, and that the athletes themselves decide in which events to participate.

Despite being given a warning, Iranian players are still forfeiting games and FIDE has not yet taken concrete action.

“I find it extremely ironic that FIDE finds my human rights t-shirt political, but when the Iran Chess Federation repeatedly forces its players not to play against Israel, FIDE is silent and turns a blind eye to that,” Bayat said.

Asked by CNN whether it was confident Dvorkovich was working without pressure from Russian authorities in regards to Bayat’s support of the Iranian protests, FIDE said it had total and absolute faith in him.

“While we respect Ms. Bayat’s political stance and activities, any FIDE officials need to follow political neutrality while on duty, and of all the official positions one can hold, that of an arbiter is the one that demands higher standards of integrity, neutrality, and discretion,” FIDE said in a statement to CNN.

“No matter how noble or uncontroversial the cause is, doing activism from that role is inappropriate and unprofessional. She was indeed asked not to wear any slogans while acting as an arbiter and explained the reasons why.”

Bayat’s activism has attracted the attention of the biggest names in the sport after the Iranian chess referee tweeted about the incident again on Sunday.

US grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura recently tweeted “#WomenLifeFreedom #IStandWithUkraine” in response to a message about Bayat’s tweet.

Meanwhile, chess superstar Magnus Carlsen’s coach Peter Heine Nielsen tweeted: “The chess world needs to make up its mind. On which side do we actually stand?”

Bayat, who now also works in primary schools teaching chess, said the support she’s received has been “heartwarming,” as it was when she first sought asylum in England back in 2020.

“I was initially trying to support Iranian women. I think that’s important and it’s very nice to see other people are supporting me for doing the right thing,” she said.

CNN
 — 

Amir Malik is a man in love with golf. Yet golf has not always loved him back.

A devoted sports fan since his childhood in Kingston upon Thames, London, he was fascinated with golf long before he took his first swing. But knowing nobody else who played, Malik settled for a sideline view.

That all changed in 2012, when his former boss invited him to try his hand at a driving range.

“From the first ball I thought, ‘This is it. This game is incredible,’” Malik, now aged 38, told CNN.

“I’ve played a lot of sports, but there aren’t too many when you go to bed thinking about it and you can’t wait to get up to go back and play again.”

Eventually, Malik was ready to take his game to the next level. Joining a municipal club in 2017, he began competing in Sunday morning tournaments.

It was at these events that the “ugly side” of the game was swiftly revealed to Malik, who felt isolated by the jarring clash of club culture and his Muslim faith.

The discomfort would begin before a ball was struck, as Malik says he drew questioning looks at his refusal to partake in wagers over in-house competitions, as gambling is forbidden in Islam. Out on the course, stepping aside to observe salat – ritual Islamic prayers performed five times a day – further heightened his anxieties.

“You would feel scared, intimidated. How are people going to react?” he recalled.

“We always made sure we were out of the way, but you were made to feel very, very uncomfortable.”

His unease was exacerbated by the commonplace tradition of clubhouse drinking after competitions. As Malik doesn’t drink alcohol, he was left to hand in his scorecard and make an early exit.

As he improved and played more prestigious courses, discomfort often escalated into outright hostility. Malik, who is of Pakistani descent, said he has experienced racism on the golf course.

“You turn up and immediately you can feel the vibe and the atmosphere, the way you’re spoken to, the way you’re treated,” he said.

“And you’re just like ‘Wow, just because I’ve got a beard, I’m brown, and I don’t look like you, you probably think I can’t play or you don’t think I know the etiquette.

“It used to really frustrate me because you sense it, you feel it, you grow up in it, you know what it feels like. And it’s not until you hit one straight down the middle of the fairway – when you’ve smoked a drive – that people then think, ‘Oh, he can play,’ and it’s too late by then.”

Malik’s passion for golf was not soured by his experiences. On the contrary, they spurred him to scout out other British Muslims who shared his love of the game.

Encouraged by “pockets” of interest he had seen on his travels, in December 2019 Malik put a name to his new venture – the Muslim Golf Association (MGA) – and sent out invitations to a charity golf day at The Grove, a prestigious venue just outside London.

The MGA’s maiden event would be open to all religions; prayer facilities would be provided and there would be no alcohol or gambling. Malik was stunned by the response. Within 24 hours, all 72 places had been booked, with over 100 people on the waiting list by the week’s end.

The event, held in August 2020, raised £18,000 for charity, and the sight of over 60 players praying together in the Grove’s courtyard marked a watershed moment for Malik.

“That for me was just amazing,” he said. “That we could get guys together, feeling safe and comfortable and just be on our own platform.”

Since then, the MGA has partnered with the Marriott hotel chain to stage a tri-series tournament beginning in 2021, with the winners of this year’s edition securing an all-expenses paid trip to the Turkish golfing paradise of Belek.

“I looked at golf and thought, it’s a sport played by White, old, rich men, period,” Malik said. “We’ve now got an opportunity to actually show the world that non-Whites can play this game and we’re pretty damn good at it.”

The overwhelming response to MGA events among Muslim women has been equally exciting for Malik. After launching a trio of pilot sessions in Birmingham last year, 1,000 players have already signed up to the string of women-only taster events scheduled across the country over the next two months.

Malik believes Muslim women in the UK are being held back from participating in more sports because of a lack of all-female facilities and sessions.

The MGA has no dress code, which means women can play in a niqab (face veil) and an abaya (long robe) if they wish, and it hires sections of courses for its exclusive use for taster events, to ensure a comfortable experience for new players.

“The response has been absolutely incredible, mindblowing,” Malik said. “I say to women, ‘I don’t care what you wear, what you look like, just come with a smile and with a pair of trainers and we’ll take care of everything else.’ We’ve not done anything revolutionary, we’ve just made it accessible, and the demand is incredible.”

To date, MGA events have attracted over 1,300 participants. Looking forward, the organization aims to take its efforts global to reach as many new players as possible.

Growing up, Malik had to look to other sports for Muslim role models, such as England cricketer Moeen Ali. From Muhammad Ali, to Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, to Mohamed Salah, countless Muslim athletes have carved out glittering careers across a range of sports, yet professional golf offers a comparative scarcity of examples.

According to a survey cited by England Golf, the country’s governing body for amateur golf, just 5% of golfers in England are from ethnically diverse groups.

By establishing relationships with groups such as the MGA, England Golf’s chief operating officer Richard Flint believes the barriers that have contributed to a lack of diversity in the game can be understood and broken down.

“No-one should feel uncomfortable walking through the doors of a golf club or facility simply because of their age, race, ethnicity or gender,” Flint told CNN.

“As a modern, forward-thinking organization, we want golf to be open to everyone and change negative perceptions around the game that belong in the past.”

While Malik hopes to soon see Muslim players competing on professional tours, he says he did not form the MGA to produce a Muslim Tiger Woods.

“If that happens as a byproduct, then great,” he said. “But if we can get the golf industry to take a long, hard look at itself and make itself accessible, make itself open and diverse, then that’s a huge achievement.

“The golf course doesn’t discriminate. The ball doesn’t ask what color, race or gender you are … yet it’s been a very closed club that’s been open to very few people.

Malik believes it’s time for change. “Golf has a lot of exceptional values and traditions, which I still think it needs to keep firm, but it has to evolve … if it were to open itself up and let other cultures and traditions bring all that great stuff to this game, it could be absolutely wonderful.”

CNN
 — 

As Linn Grant left the course at Halmstad Golf Club in Tylösand, Sweden, she found herself swarmed by a group of young fans.

Clamoring for anything and everything in the Swede’s golf bag, they excitedly waved pens in the hopes of securing an autograph. Grant duly obliged, signing everything from hats to golf balls.

It was a buzz worthy of a landmark achievement: Grant had just become the first-ever female winner on the DP World Tour with her victory at the Scandinavian Mixed event on June 12.

And as if making history wasn’t enough, she did so in dominant fashion, cruising the 156-player field. A weekend-best eight-under 64 on the final day confirmed an emphatic win, with Grant’s 24-under par seeing her finish nine shots clear of runners up Marc Warren and fellow Swede Henrik Stenson, and 14 shots clear of the next female player, Gabriella Cowley.

The win was made all the sweeter by the fact that it was a victory at home – in all senses of the word. Boyfriend Pontus Samuelsson caddied, with friends and family supporting among an ecstatic Swedish crowd.

“The atmosphere there, I could feel that,” Grant told CNN Sport. “I felt that it was just because I was from there, but after sitting in the car on my way home, I saw social media calls, journalists reaching out – everything just grew … it’s a bit insane.”

Minjee Lee’s win at the US Women’s Open a week prior had seen the Australian scoop $1.8 million, the largest payout in women’s golf history. Yet Lee’s unprecedented earnings were dwarfed by the major-record $3.15 million taken home by England’s Matt Fitzpatrick for winning the men’s event just one week later.

With her historic win making worldwide headlines, Grant is optimistic her success will help the women’s game take another step forward.

“I think a lot of people can relate to women’s golf,” perhaps even more so than the men’s game, she said, because “they [men] hit so far and the courses are not long enough.”

“I hope it will have some sort of effect that people might look at it and see we are a bunch of players who are this good, hit the ball far enough, hit it close enough, hold the putts and score well.

“I just hope more people realize that. And then we look better and we’re nicer too!” Grant added with a laugh.

Having only turned 23 a week after the win, victory in Halmstad marked the latest peak in what has been a meteoric rise for Grant since turning professional in 2021.

Three wins in four months on the Ladies European Tour (LET) have helped rocket Grant to second in the rankings in The Race to Costa del Sol, a 28-tournament LET season set to crown a winner at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España in November. Incredibly, she leads the chasing pack despite playing the fewest events of any of the top-nine scoring players on the Tour.

While some players struggle with the jump from amateur to professional, Grant has thrived.

“My last year as an amateur, whenever I dropped out of the zone of being able to win, it was almost like it wasn’t motivating anymore,” Grant said.

“The feeling that I’m playing for money now – that it’s my living – all of a sudden, I feel like it doesn’t matter [dropping out of the zone]. If I can just make it birdie on the last I can still earn more than if I didn’t.”

The only player besting Grant in The Race to Costa del Sol is childhood friend Maja Stark. Teammates on the Swedish national team from a young age and students at the same high school, the duo share a close bond.

“I always cheer her on and I hope she does the same for me, which I know she does,” Grant said.

“It’s nice to have someone there that knows the situation you’re in and to be able to talk to about things that other people either can’t get their head around or simply don’t understand.”

Not that their friendship has stopped Grant from declaring the desire to chase down and beat Stark to Spain as one of her key season goals.

With Johanna Gustavsson trailing Grant, an all-Swedish trio at the summit of The Race to Costa del Sol reflects the Nordic country’s dominance on the LET and the rising stock of golf in Sweden, which has already produced a legend in the sport.

In Annika Sorenstam, Grant has a towering role model. Sorenstam, co-founder of the Scandinavian Mixed event, forged one of the greatest careers in women’s golf history with 10 major triumphs and 72 LPGA tournament wins before her professional retirement in 2008.

Grant cites two reasons for the recent surge of top women’s players in the country: the investment and effort of the Swedish Golf Federation to grow the game and, paradoxically, the harsh Nordic climate.

As snowy conditions cut short the golfing season in the country, Swedish players must work extra hard to maximize training, with Grant putting “lost” practice time into other activities that will aid her game, such as the gym.

“We cannot play 12 months a year, which gives you a bit of thick skin,” she explained. “It’s zero degrees, you just have to go out there and hit wedges or whatever you need to practice on.”

With her historic victory in the Scandinavian Mixed event, it appears that attitude is paying off – and helping Grant in her mission to grow the sport and act as a role model, not just for women but for all who play the game.

“If that win can help anyone or just give someone a bit of extra motivation, I’m happy,” she said.

CNN
 — 

There hasn’t been much to shout about at Manchester United over the last few years.

The success enjoyed under legendary manager Alex Ferguson feels like a distant memory for a global fan base that has watched its once great club lurch from one bad decision to another.

An FA Cup win in 2016 under Louis van Gaal and Europa League glory under Jose Mourinho in 2017 were two of the highlights in what’s been an uninspiring period since Ferguson retired in 2013 – and a far cry from the 38 trophies won by Scot in his 26 years at the club.

The future didn’t look much brighter back in January. The club, now managed by former player Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, found itself fifth in the league table by New Year.

The football was poor, the atmosphere was toxic and star man Paul Pogba, once seen as the saving grace, looked set to leave as soon as he could.

But, fast forward seven months, and there are now signs of new life under Solskjaer, most notably since the arrival of one Bruno Fernandes.

The Portuguese playmaker turned up at Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon in January and was thrown into a team lacking creativity, quality and leadership.

Fortunately for his new employees, it seems Fernandes has all three of those attributes in abundance.

Since his debut at the start of the year, United had not lost a game in the league, rising up the table to finish third and qualify for next season’s UEFA Champion League for the first time since the 2018-19 season. It was a remarkable feat considering the club started the campaign by making its worst start to a league season in 33 years.

What’s more, Fernandes brought excitement back to the red half of Manchester after years of uninspiring, and often woeful, performances.

His eight league goals and seven assists demonstrate the sort of player United now has on its hands.

“He [Fernandes] told me about the league, how intense it is to play in that league,” Porto star Danilo Pereira told CNN Sport.

“It’s not a surprise for me to see the impact he’s had in Manchester. I think United can return to their golden years with him and Pogba and other players.”

READ: Rashford to be awarded honorary doctorate for forcing government U-turn

If such a thing as a typical Manchester United player exists, Fernandes would surely be it.

A risk-taker, exciting to watch and able to cope with the extreme pressures of playing at one of the biggest clubs in the world, the attacking midfielder has become an instant hit.

He’s been a leader from day one; stepping up to take (and score) six penalties during his short spell at the club – including the pivotal spot-kick against Leicester City which helped United on its way to Champions League football next season.

Ex-players and pundits alike have fawned over his performances since he moved to England, where he’s won the Man of the Match award in almost every game he’s played.

“You can see that he’s got the talent and he’s not scared. He wants the ball, which I would expect from a very good player,” former Premier League star and current Monaco player Cesc Fabregas told CNN Sport.

“But what I like is that he’s intelligent in terms of moving around the pitch. He knows when to get between the lines. He knows when to go in the space when he sees that someone is available to make a chip. He arrives at the second line fantastically.

“He supports the midfield when they are building up and struggle a little bit, and when teams are putting a lot of pressure on them.

“He can play long, he can play short, little passes. He has the personality to take free-kicks and penalties. He’s not scared. He doesn’t hide. I think Man United made a really good choice. A really good signing.”

READ: Meet the Manchester United fanatic opening a 33,000-piece museum in Finland

Adapting to the Premier League is no simple feat. It usually takes players time to get used to the physicality and fast paced nature of the league, but it hasn’t been a stumbling block for Fernandes.

Although his performances in Portugal gave an indication of what was to come, such an instant impact took many by surprise.

“You looked at the player at Sporting Lisbon and clearly he was someone who scored a lot of goals and someone who created a lot of goals, but there’s always a challenge as to whether they can translate that to a better league and into a new club,” British journalist Richard Jolly told CNN Sport, adding that he saw no realistic way of United finishing in the top four without Fernandes.

“But he’s been a transformative player and a revelation in terms of how quickly he’s done it, I mean it really was from day one.

“You look at both the goal tallies and the assist tallies, and they’re fantastic. If you could maintain that form over the entire season, that’s an incredible player there.”

Whilst his individual brilliance is evident, Fernandes’ arrival has seen the uptick in the form of players around him.

The attacking trio of Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford scored at will after football returned from lockdown (the team has scored 22 goals in its last nine league games), and the likes of Pogba and Nemanja Matic have looked more settled in the midfield.

Pogba, in particular, is a different player to one who was seemingly weighed down by the pressure of being the biggest star in the starting lineup.

The Frenchman’s relationship with the club appeared to reach rock bottom earlier this season, with constant rumors linking the midfielder with a move away from the club.

Fans also grew frustrated with Pogba for spending much of the season on the treatment table after suffering two ankle injuries. When they did catch a glimpse of him on the field, he often underwhelmed.

But now, since he returned from his latest injury after lockdown, there have been early signs that a partnership with Fernandes could flourish and the World Cup winner suddenly looks more comfortable.

“I think Pogba likes to be surrounded by big players and big characters in their own right, I don’t think he wants to be the only big name there, and thus have all the pressure lumped on him,” Jolly said.

“I think he probably doesn’t want to be in a midfield where he’s surrounded by mediocrities. I think you’ve seen signs already of a bit of chemistry between Pogba and Fernandes which helps, but I think he also just appreciates the element that he’s playing with other quality players around him.”

Fernandes had been linked to a move to Old Trafford throughout 2019 and there had been disappointment when the deal wasn’t completed in time for the new season.

So, when the transfer got over the line in January for an initial $61 million (£47m), fans were ready to see what all the fuss was about. It’s safe to say they haven’t been disappointed.

Mark Goldbridge, a United supporter and presenter of fan channel The United Stand, cannot wait to see how the team develops.

“I sort of liken it to what Eric Cantona did when he came to Manchester United from Leeds [in 1992] and we won our first Premier League title,” he said. “It was sort of the kick-start for some real success.

“Now, I’m not saying Bruno Fernandes is going to lead Manchester United to the same level of success that Cantona did but he’s not just one player coming in and making us great.

“It’s one player that’s come in and made everybody else around him better.”

It’s easy to forget that Fernandes has only been at the club for a matter of months but he’s already established himself as a firm fan favorite – with one particular moment, in a game against local rivals Manchester City, a defining one of his short time at the club.

Fernandes got involved with a sideline feud with Pep Guardiola, resulting in the Portuguese player putting his finger to his lips and shushing the City manager.

“I think Bruno, in a very short period of time, has certainly come in and really grasped what Manchester United is all about,” said Goldbridge.

“Ultimately, there’s a thin line between grasping what Manchester United is all about and actually just being somebody who loves the game, wants to play the game in the right way, and is passionate to win.

“I remember his little argument with Pep when we played Man City, and the fans loved that because I think Fernandes just wants to win.”

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Whilst United’s form dropped for the final two games of the season, fans will be holding on to those encouraging signs of life and hoping this isn’t yet another false dawn at the club.

The third-place finish, although not befitting of the club’s true ambition, must be seen as progress and attention can now turn to winning the Europa League, which is set to resume on August 5.

United face a simple task in their second-leg tie against LASK on Wednesday, leading 5-0 from the first leg and all but guaranteed a place in the quarterfinals.

Although winning European football’s secondary club cup competition is nothing to be smirked at, the real prize is still the Premier League.

Despite all the improvements seen at the club in recent weeks, the gulf between it and the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City remains wide – it finished 33 points behind eventual champion Liverpool this season.

A productive summer in the transfer market could be just what United needs, and Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho is just one of the names being linked with a switch to Old Trafford.

There had been signs of success during both Van Gaal and Mourinho’s time at the club but something does feel different about United under Solskjaer.

Maybe a return to its glory days aren’t too far away.

“It does look more sustainable and one of the things that they’re doing is they’re not just beating teams but, if you look at that winning run, they’ve won quite a lot of those games comfortably and quite emphatically, and, quite entertainingly,” said Jolly.

“I think what you might see next year is not necessarily United winning the league but them getting in the top four a lot more comfortably.”