Emma Jacobs, A Businessman Reborn; Entreneurship; Wing Yip came to Britain with nothing and built a thriving food supplier catering to the Chinese diaspora. Financial Times (FT), Mar 9, 2011.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/20f21e5a-49b7-11e0-acf0-00144feab49a.html#axzz1G7SBr3v9
("In fact, the bespectacled 73-year-old likes to say he was born twice: once in Hong Kong and again in England. 'If I could change my date of birth on my birth certificate, I would change it to [the date of] my arrival here,' he says. Mr Yip identifies strongly with the eastern European Jewish immigrants who fled to Britain in the late 19th and 20th century and established businesses")
My comment:
(a) I have not heard of this person or enterprise until today.
(b) A registration with FT is imperative to read the article.
(c) Wing Yip 榮業行
http://www.wingyip.com
(關於榮業行: "時至今日，榮業行已是英國本土市場、中式餐館和外賣店的主要中國食品、醬料及產品的供應商領導者，而且亦是最主要的東方特別食品、醬料及產品的入口商。 榮業行為葉氏家族創立的生意 * * * 榮業行總部設於伯明翰")
* The name he was born under: 葉煥榮 Woon Wing YIP (Cantonese pronunciation)
(d) Jack Cohen (Tesco)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Cohen_(Tesco)
(Sir John Edward Cohen (1898-1979), born Jacob Edward Kohen and commonly known as Jack Cohen, was a British businessman who founded the Tesco supermarket chain; born in Chatham, Kent; Upon his demobilisation in 1919 he established himself as a market stall holder in Hackney, in London's East End by purchasing surplus NAAFI stock with his demob money; In 1948, he witnessed the American trend for self-service supermarkets, and opened one of the first such shops in Britain)
* Tesco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesco
(The Tesco brand first appeared in 1924. The name came about after Jack Cohen bought a shipment of tea from T.E. Stockwell. He made new labels using the first three letters of the supplier's name (TES), and the first two letters of his surname (CO), forming the word TESCO.[12] The first Tesco store was opened in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Edgware, Middlesex)
(e) Michael Marks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Marks
(1859, 1863 or 1864-1907; born in Slonim, at that time part of the Russian Empire and now in Belarus, as Michał Marks of Jewish ancestry, and emigrated to England; His date of birth is unknown; his naturalisation papers say 1859, but his marriage certificate suggests 1863 or 1864)
Quote:
"In 1894, Marks decided that if he was to expand the business further he would need a business partner. He initially approached Isaac Dewhirst, who decided against the offer but suggested that his cashier, Thomas Spencer, might be interested. Spencer decided that the £300 required for a half-share in the business would be a good investment.
(f) cackle (n, vi; of imitative origin):
"1: to make the sharp broken noise or cry characteristic of a hen especially after laying
2: to laugh especially in a harsh or sharp manner"
All definitions are from www.m-w.com.
(g) The article says after arriving in England in 1959, "he washed up in a Chinese restaurant."
wash up (vi):
"1: to be deposited by or as if by a swell of waves <seaweed washed up on the shore>
2: to wash one's face and hands
3: British: to wash the dishes after a meal"
In my view definition 3 fits the bill.
(h) High Street
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Street
(a metonym for the generic name (and frequently the official name) of the primary business street of towns or cities, especially in the United Kingdom. It is usually a focal point for shops and retailers in city centres, and is most often used in reference to retailing)
(i) devolve (vt): "to pass on (as responsibility, rights, or powers) from one person or entity to another <devolving to western Europe full responsibility for its own defense — Christopher Lane>"
--