English banknotes and coins

The official currency of the United Kingdom is the pound sterling, which is equal to 100 pence.

English banknotes are issued by the Bank of England. As to coins, they are minted also by this state bank.

There are banknotes of the following denominations: £1, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100.

The following coins are in circulation: halfpenny, 1 penny, 2 pence, 5 pence, 10 pence, 50 pence.

On the face of English banknotes, one can read the denomination given both in figures and in words.

Then the inscription on the face of the banknote reads: I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of... And then, there are two signatures. The first signature is that of the person authorized by the Government and the Bank of England. The second signature is that of the Chief Cashier.

The backs of English banknotes feature portraits of different famous people.

▪The one-pound banknote, for example, features Isaac Newton, a well-known English scientist who made a few very important discoveries including gravitation law.

▪The back of the five-pound note portrays the Duke of Wellington, a famous Irish general who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815.

▪On the back of the ten-pound note one can see Florence Nightingale, founder of the nursing profession. She volunteered as a nurse to Turkey to take care of the wounded soldiers from Crimean War, war of England and France versus Russia.

▪The back of the twenty-pound banknote features William Shakespeare, the greatest dramatist of all time.

Private business in cuba

Enrique Nunez is a private entrepreneur, which is a rare case in Cuba. Nunez, restaurant manager, began his business with a half-century-old oven in a small flat in the centre of Havana. Now, he runs the most popular palador. (Palador is a small restaurant working in the private house).

Being famous as the place for Oscar-nominated film "Strawberry and Chocolate", the restaurant is full every night, by reservation only. Nunez can only dream of the time when he played dominoes with friends for hours. Now, he works seven days a week, serving customers. Among his clients were such famous people as the Queen of Spain and a film star Jack Nicholson.

Nunez's case is rare for two reasons. Firstly, he is doing business in a communist country where the state controls more than 90% of the economy and constantly opposes capitalism. Secondly, his business is booming while many others have gone out of business. Foreign specialists believe that such small businesses as Nunez's have survived in part because they have foreign clients and have become tourists' attractions.

Owners of small businesses often complain of numerous restrictions and heavy taxes – up to $1,000 a month for a palador. Successful entrepreneurs like Nunez find themselves in a strange position, isolated because of their high earnings, and need to keep low profile. Private business is something new for Cuba; it's still an experiment. Society is not yet ready to accept the fact that private businessmen exist, and the businessmen are not ready to take on the role.