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UNIVERSITY OF DALAT

Department of Foreign Languages

IINNTTRROODDUUCCTTIIOONN TTOO BBRRIITTIISSHH SSTTUUDDIIEESS

Core Course Material

Compiled by

Traàn Thanh Höng & Nguyeãn Taát Thaéng

Dalat - 2009

DEPARTMENT

OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES BRITISH STUDIES FOR TEACHERS & STUDENTS 2009

Introduction to British Studies

1.Teân hoïc phaàn: British Studies

2. Maõ hoïc phaàn: NN217

3. Soá tín chæ: 03=45 tieát

4. Trình ñoä: Sinh vieân naêm cuoái

5. Phaân boá thôøi gian: Leân lôùp 3 tieát/buoåi X 15 buoåi = 45 tieát

6. Ñieàu kieän tieân quyeát: Khoâng

7. Muïc tieâu hoïc phaàn: Moân hoïc cung caáp cho sinh vieân nhöõng kieán thöùc veà ñaát nöôùc

vaø con ngöôøi Vöông quoác Anh; thí duï nhö veà ñòa lyù, lòch söû,

heä thoáng chính trò, heä thoáng giaùo duïc, theå thao, aâm nhaïc, leã

hoäi, v.v.

Nhöõng kieán thöùc naøy giuùp ích cho sinh vieân hieåu bieát theâm veà

neàn vaên hoùa Vöông quoác Anh, vaø chaâu AÂu ôû moät khía caïnh

xa hôn, nhaèm giuùp ích cho sinh vieân trong caùc coâng taùc dòch

thuaät, trong caùc vieäc giao dòch vaø giao tieáp, v.v.

8. Toùm taét noäi dung hoïc phaàn:

British Studies daønh cho sinh vieân naêm thöù tö ñöôïc trình baøy

trong thôøi löôïng 45 tieát. Khoùa hoïc ñöôïc chia laøm 7 chöông

chính.

Sinh vieân seõ ñöôïc cung caáp caùc noäi dung chính cuûa töøng

chöông vaø sau ñoù sinh vieân löïa choïn moät chuû ñeà öa thích

trong caùc chöông ñaõ hoïc ñeå nghieân cöùu theâm baèng vieäc thöïc

hieän baøi vieát tieåu luaän nghieân cöùu hoaëc thuyeát trình tröôùc taäp

theå. Muïc ñích cuûa phöông phaùp naøy laø nhaèm giuùp sinh vieân

böôùc ñaàu thöïc taäp caùc phöông phaùp nghieân cöùu khoa hoïc vaø

caùc phöông phaùp trình baøy quan ñieåm khoa hoïc cuûa mình.

9. Nhieäm vuï cuûa sinh vieân:

-Tham gia caùc buoåi hoïc. Ñöôïc vaéng maët theo tæ leä cho pheùp

cuûa Khoa.

- Chuaån bò baøi ñeå coù theå laøm caùc baøi taäp feedbacks, quizzes

vaø caùc hoïat ñoäng do giaùo vieân boä moân toå chöùc.

- Laøm vieäc theo nhoùm, laøm baøi thuyeát trình nhoùm.

- Laøm tieåu luaän caù nhaân vaø baøi taäp caù nhaân.

- Caùc baøi taäp hoaëc hình thöùc luyeän taäp khaùc theo yeâu caàu cuûa

giaùo vieân boä moân.

DEPARTMENT



10. Taøi lieäu tham khaûo:

McDowwall, D. (2000) Britain in Close-up. An In-depth Study of Contemporary Britain.

London: Longman

O’Driscoll, J. (2000) Britain. The Country and Its People: An Introduction for Learners of

English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Falk, R. (2001) Spotlight on Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Room, A. (1990) A-Z of British Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Crystal, D. (1997) English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Foreign & Commonwealth Office (2003) Local Government in Britain. London

Foreign & Commonwealth Office (2003) Parliamentary Elections in Britain. London

Locke, T. et.al. (2002) Fodor’s Exploring Britain. Fodor’s Travel Publications.

Foreign & Commonwealth Office (2005) Wales. London

Foreign & Commonwealth Office (2003) London. Portrait of a City. London

Foreign & Commonwealth Office (2006) Young People in Britain. London

Foreign & Commonwealth Office (2007) Focus on Britain. London

Foreign & Commonwealth Office (2003) Education and Training in Britain. London

Foreign & Commonwealth Office (2003) People in Britain. London

Foreign & Commonwealth Office (2003) Britain’s System of Government. London

Cunningham, A. (1993) Essential British History. London: Usborne Publishing Ltd.

11.Tieâu chuaån ñaùnh giaù sinh vieân:

-Döï lôùp, phaùt bieåu yù kieán, thuyeát trình, tham gia thöïc haønh nhoùm, vieát baùo caùo, laøm

tieåu luaän, v.v.

-Thi cuoái kyø.

12. Thang ñieåm: 100 quy thaønh 10

- Döï lôùp, laøm baøi thöïc haønh nhoùm, laøm baøi tieåu luaän, thuyeát trình: 40%

- Thi cuoái kyø: 60%

13. Hình thöùc kieåm tra:

Giaùo vieân coù theå choïn nhöõng hình thöùc sau ñeå laáy ñieåm 40 %.

13.1. Traéc nghieäm khaùch quan:

-True/False questions.

- Multiple choices.

- Cloze text.

- Completing charts or diagrams.

13.2. Definitions.

13.3 Open-ended questions.

13.4 Paraphrasing.

13.5 Short presentation.

DEPARTMENT



13.6 Individual/Group work

13.7 Written assignments.

*Hình thöùc thi cuoái kyø: töø 13.1 ñeán 13.4

14. Caáu truùc ñeà thi:

University of Dalat Student’s name: Class:

Faculty of Foreign Languages Student’s ID No.

FINAL WRITTEN EXAMINATION – BRITISH STUDIES

Time allowed: 75 (or 90 minutes)

Examinees are allowed to use reference materials

PART ONE: True – False questions: approximately 10 to 15 items. 15 points

PART TWO: Multiple choices: approximately 10 to 15 items 15 points

PART THREE: Cloze text or Completing

charts or diagrams. approximately 10 to 15 items 15 points

PART FOUR: Open ended questions: approximately 10 items 15 points

DEPARTMENT



Contents

Chapter One: General Introduction….………………………………………………Page 1

Geographically speaking

Politically speaking

The four nations

The dominance of England

The names Briton & Britannia

Scotland

England

Wales

Northern Ireland

The history of English language – brief introduction

Chapter Two: History…………………………………………………………………Page 18

Prehistoric

The Roman period

The Germanic invasions

The Medieval period

The Sixteenth century

The Seventeenth century

The Eighteenth century

The Nineteenth century

The Twentieth century

Chapter Three: Political System & Her Majesty’s Government..............………..Page 28

The Constitution

The Monarchy

The Parliament

Political Parties

Elections

The Government

Chapter Four: Education…………………………………………………………….Page 36

School

Exams and qualifications

Education after 16

DEPARTMENT



Chapter Five: The Economy and Everyday Life………………………………...…Page 43

Earning money

Work organizations

Currency and cash

Spending money: shopping

Chapter Six: People in Britain Today……………………...………………………Page 48

Demographic trends

Elderly people

Young people

Women

Employment

Living standards

Housing

Leisure trends

Eating & drinking habits

Interests in sports

Language variation

Chapter Seven: Holidays and Special Occasions…………………………………..Page 55

Traditional seaside holidays

Modern holidays

Christmas and New Year

Other notable annual occasions

FACULTY OF

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LANGUAGES BRITISH STUDIES

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CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION – COUNTRY AND PEOPLE

Geographically speaking

Lying off the north-west coast of Europe, there are two large islands and several much

smaller ones. Collectively, they are known as The British Isles. The largest island is called

Great Britain. The other large one is called Ireland ( The British Isles).

Politically speaking

In the British Isles there are two states. One of these governs most of the island of Ireland.

This state is usually called The Republic of Ireland. It is also called 'Eire' (its Irish

language name). Informally it is referred to as just 'Ireland' or 'the Republic'.

The other state has authority over the rest of the British Isles (the whole of Great

Britain, the northeastern area of Ireland and most of the smaller islands). This is the

country that is the main subject of this book. Its official name is The United Kingdom of

Great Britain and Northern Ireland although it is usually known by a shorter name. At the

Eurovision Song Contest, at the United Nations and in the European Parliament, for

instance, it is referred to as 'the United Kingdom'. In everyday speech this is often

shortened to 'the UK'. In other contexts it is referred to as 'Great Britain'. This, for example,

is the name you hear when a gold medal winner steps onto the rostrum at the Olympic

Games. The stickers on cars (‗GB') are another example of the use of this name. In writing

and speaking that is not especially formal or informal, the name 'Britain' is used. The

normal adjective, when talking about something to do with the UK, is 'British'.

The four nations

People often refer to Britain by another name. They call it 'England'. But this is not strictly

correct, and it can make some people angry. England is only one of the four nations of the

British Isles (England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland). Their political unification was a

gradual process that took several hundred years. It was completed in 1800 when the Irish

Parliament was joined with the Parliament for England, Scotland and Wales in

Westminster, so that the whole of the British Isles became a single state - the United

Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. However, in 1922, most of Ireland became a

separate state.

At one time the four nations were distinct from each other in almost every aspect of

life. In the first place, they were different racially. The people in Ireland, Wales and

highland Scotland belonged to the Celtic race; those in England and lowland Scotland were

mainly of Germanic origin. This difference was reflected in the languages they spoke.

People in the Celtic areas spoke Celtic languages: Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh.

People in the Germanic areas spoke Germanic dialects (including the one which has

developed into modern English). The nations also tended to have different economic,

social and legal systems.

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Today these differences have become blurred. But they have not completely

disappeared. Although there is only one government for the whole of Britain , and people

have the same passport regardless of where in Britain they live, some aspects of

government are organized separately (and sometimes differently) in the four parts of the

United Kingdom. Moreover, Welsh, Scottish and Irish people feel their identity very

strongly.

The dominance of England

There is, perhaps, an excuse for people who use the word 'England' when they mean

'Britain', It cannot be denied that the dominant culture of Britain today is specifically

English. The system of politics that is used in all four nations today is of English origin,

and English is the main language of all four nations. Many aspects of everyday life are

organized according to English custom and practice. But the political unification of Britain

was not achieved by mutual agreement. On the contrary. It happened because England was

able to exert her economic and military power over the other three nations.

.

Today English domination can be detected in the way in which various aspects of

British public life are described. For example, the supply of money in Britain is controlled

by the Bank of England (there is no such thing as a 'Bank of Britain'). The present queen of

Flags of the four nations

The United Kingdom

The Union Jack

England

St George’s Cross

Wales

Dragon of Cadwallader

Scotland

St Andrew’s Cross

Northern Ireland

St Patrick’s Cross

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the country is universally known as 'Elizabeth the Second', even though Scotland and

Northern Ireland have never had an 'Elizabeth the First'! (Elizabeth I of England and Wales

ruled from 1553 to 1603.) The term 'Anglo' is also commonly used. (The Angles were a

Germanic tribe who settled in England in the fifth century. The word 'England' is derived

from their name.) For example, newspapers and the television news talk about' Anglo

American relations' to refer to relations between the governments of Britain and the USA

(and not just those between England and the USA).

The names Briton and Britannia

Briton is a word used in official contexts and in formal writing to describe a citizen of the

United Kingdom. 'Ancient Britons' is the name given to the race of people who lived in

England before and during the Roman occupation (AD 43-4 10). These are the ancestors of

the present-day Welsh people.

Britannia is the name that the Romans gave to their southern British province (which

covered, approximately, the area of present-day England). It is also the name given to the

female embodiment of Britain, always shown wearing a helmet and holding a trident (the

symbol of power over the sea), hence the patriotic song which begins 'Rule Britannia,

Britannia rule the waves'. The figure of Britannia has been on the reverse side of many

British coins for more than 300 years ( Britannia).

SCOTLAND

General introduction

Scotland and its offshore islands comprise the northernmost part of the United Kingdom.

The Scottish mainland, which occupies roughly the northern third of the island of Great

Britain, is bordered on three sides by seas. To the north and west is the Atlantic Ocean; to

Quick facts of The United Kingdom

Official name:

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern

Ireland

Capital: London

Area: 244,110 sq km

Population: 60,776,238 (2007 estimate)

Population density:

252 persons per sq km (2007 estimate)

652 persons per sq mi (2007 estimate)

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the east is the North Sea. Rugged uplands separate Scotland from England to the south.

The territory of Scotland includes 186 nearby islands, a majority of which are contained in

three groups. These are the Hebrides, also known as the Western Isles, located off the

western coast; the Orkney Islands, located off the northeastern coast; and the Shetland

Islands, located northeast of the Orkney Islands. The largest of the other islands is the

Island of Arran. The total land area of Scotland, including the islands, is 78,790 sq km

(30,420 sq mi).

An independent nation for much of its history, Scotland was joined to England by a

series of dynastic and political unions in the 17th and 18th centuries. Scotland retains a

separate national identity, however, supported by separate legal and educational systems, a

national church, a parliament with wide-ranging powers, and other national symbols and

institutions.

Land

Scotland has an irregular and deeply indented coastline. The rugged western coast, in

particular, is pierced by numerous inlets from the sea. Most of these inlets are narrow

submerged valleys with steep sides, known as sea lochs (Loch Ness). The larger and

broader inlets are called firths. The principal firths are the Firth of Lorne, the Firth of

Clyde, and Solway Firth. The major indentations on the eastern coast are Dornoch Firth,

Moray Firth, the Firth of Tay, and the Firth of Forth. Measured around the various firths

and lochs, the coastline of Scotland is about 3,700 km (about 2,300 mi) long.

The people of Scotland

The people of Scotland, like those of the United Kingdom in general, are descendants of

various ethnic stocks, including the Picts, Celts, Scandinavians, Anglo-Saxons, and newer

immigrant groups. Scotland is mainly an urban-industrial society with a small, sparsely

scattered rural population. Large-scale internal migration during the 19th and 20th

centuries weakened the historic regional distinctions between Highlander (primarily Celtic,

Loch Ness

Loch Ness is the largest of

a series of interlinked

lochs, or lakes, located in

northern Scotland‘s Great

Glen. Loch Ness is one of

Scotland‘s top tourist

attractions.

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Catholic, and Gaelic-speaking) and Lowlander (Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, and Scots-

speaking). In the 20th century the arrival of immigrants from former British colonial

territories, as well as from other parts of the United Kingdom, has created a culturally

diverse population, especially in the two main urban areas of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Principal cities

Glasgow (population, 2001, 578,700) is Scotland‘s largest city. It forms part of the

metropolis of Clydeside, which is composed of a large number of urban areas, including

Clydebank, Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Hamilton. This region is the main industrial and

commercial center in Scotland. Edinburgh (449,000) is the capital of Scotland and also the

country‘s major administrative and financial center. The city is Scotland‘s main tourist

destination and hosts the Edinburgh International Festival, the largest annual arts festival in

the United Kingdom. Other major cities are Aberdeen (211,300), a center for oil

production and distribution, and Dundee (150,250).

Religion and language

The Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian denomination, is the official state church.

Approximately 70 percent of the population is Protestant. Most of the rest of the

population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. Other important denominations are the

Episcopal Church in Scotland, Congregationalist, Baptist, Methodist, and Unitarian.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and its second largest city. The view here is

of the city with the hills south of the Firth of Forth.

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Immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries contributed new religious groups, including

Jews, Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists.

English is the main language spoken in Scotland, although 30 percent of the

population claims to use the Scottish language, a dialect of the English language. Fewer

than 100,000 Scots (mainly inhabitants of the Highlands and island groups) also speak the

Scottish form of Gaelic, part of the family of Celtic languages. However, Gaelic has

enjoyed a revival in Scotland in recent years. Today, there are more than 2,000 children in

Gaelic immersion schools, primarily in the Hebrides and Glasgow. There is also a Gaelic

language college, Sabhal Ostaig Mor, located on the Isle of Skye.

Culture

Historic cultural differences long divided Celtic Scots of the Highlands and Anglo-Saxons

of the Lowlands. Traditionally, the clan, a grouping of an entire family with one patriarchal

chief, or laird, was central to Highland culture. Clans were also important as fighting units,

and they played an important role in rebellions against the British government. However,

depopulation of the Highlands, which has occurred since the 18th century, fatally

weakened the clan structure. Today, the clan in Scotland exists mainly as a cultural ideal

rather than as a practical form of social organization. Lowland culture was more heavily

influenced by the Industrial Revolution, as well as by Protestantism, which spread

throughout much of Scotland during the Reformation. The extension of Highland cultural

traditions to the Lowlands—including the use of clan names, kilts, and bagpipes—and the

creation of a Scottish mythology and literary culture can be traced to the late 18th and early

19th centuries. At that time writers such as Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott worked to

create a unified sense of Scottish identity.

Scots have made many outstanding contributions to the arts and sciences over the

centuries. Well-known Scottish painters include the portraitists George Jameson, Allan

Ramsey, Sir Henry Raeburn, and Sir David Wilkie, and the impressionist William

McTaggart. Leading Scottish writers include the poets Robert Burns, Hugh MacDiarmid,

and Edwin Muir, the biographer James Boswell, the novelists Sir Walter Scott and Robert

Louis Stevenson, and the dramatist Sir James Barrie.

World Pipe Band Championships,

Glasgow

Every August, the city of Glasgow,

Scotland, hosts the World Pipe Band

Championships. The prestigious

competition, sponsored by the Royal

Scottish Pipe Band Association,

draws thousands of pipers and

drummers from bagpipe bands

around the world.

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In the field of philosophy, Scotland has produced numerous influential thinkers,

including the medieval theologian John Duns Scotus, the moral philosopher and historian

David Hume, and the renowned economist Adam Smith. Among the great Scottish

scientists are James Watt, who greatly improved the steam engine, Sir William Ramsay, a

Nobel Prize-winning chemist, and Sir Alexander Fleming, who received a Nobel Prize for

his discovery of the drug penicillin.

Scotland has a rich musical heritage. The traditional instruments of Scotland

include the fiddle, clarsach (the Celtic harp), and bagpipes, an ancient instrument that was

probably brought to Scotland by Romans. Scottish music is noted for the wide use of a

five-tone, or pentatonic, scale. Traditional folk tunes are not standardized, and a single

song may have hundreds of variations in lyrics and music. A revival of traditional Scottish

music began in the 1960s, and it continues to influence contemporary musical forms,

including Scottish folk rock and Gaelic-language music.

Sports have an important place in Scottish life. The most popular sports in Scotland

are soccer and rugby. Professional clubs draw a wide following, and many Scots play on

amateur teams. Sports of Scottish origin, including curling and golf, also remain popular.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of Saint Andrews, located in Saint Andrews on

Scotland‘s eastern coast, maintains the world‘s oldest surviving golf course and is a

recognized authority on the rules of golf. Shinty, a stick-and-ball game similar to hurling,

is a Highland sport. The traditional Highland dress of tartans and kilts adds color to the

Highland Games, a series of athletic events held annually in Scotland. A beautiful and

varied natural environment supports many forms of outdoor recreation, including hiking,

rock climbing, canoeing, sailing, and skiing. Indoor sports, such as billiards, darts, and

bowling, also attract many enthusiasts.

ENGLAND


England (Latin Anglia), political division of the island of Great Britain, is the principal

division of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. England occupies

all of the island east of Wales and south of Scotland, other divisions of the island of Great

Britain. Established as an independent monarchy many centuries ago, England in time

achieved political control over the rest of the island, all the British Isles, and vast sections

of the world, becoming the nucleus of one of the greatest empires in history. The capital,

largest city, and chief port of England is London, with a population in 2001 of 7,172,000.

It is also the capital of the United Kingdom and the site of the headquarters of the

Commonwealth of Nations.

Land

England is somewhat triangular in shape, with its apex at the mouth of the Tweed River.

The base of the triangle fronts the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. The total area

of England is 130,410 sq km (50,352 sq mi), 57 percent of the area of the island. This total

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includes the region of the Isles of Scilly, southwest of Land‘s End in the Atlantic Ocean;

the Isle of Wight, located off the southern coast; and the Isle of Man, located in the Irish

Sea.

The terrain of England is diversified. The northern and western portions are

generally mountainous. The principal highland region, the Pennine Chain (or Pennines),

forms the backbone of northern England.

Principal cities

After London, Birmingham, population 976,400 (2001), is the second largest city and is

the center of an extensive industrial area that contains major concentrations of the

automotive and other industries. Liverpool (439,500) is the second largest port and a major

cargo export outlet for Britain; it is also a great commercial and industrial center.

Manchester (392,900) is the chief commercial hub of the cotton and synthetic-fiber textile

industries, as well as an important financial and commercial center and a major port.

Among other important cities are Sheffield (513,100), the heavy engineering center famous

for its high-quality steels, cutlery, and tools, and Bristol (380,600), a leading port and

commercial center.

London

London is situated in southeastern England along the Thames River. With a population of

about 7 million, this vast metropolis is by far the largest city in Europe, a distinction it has

maintained since the 17th century. In the 19th century it was the largest and most

influential city in the world, the center of a large and prosperous overseas empire.

Although it no longer ranks among the world‘s most populous cities, London is still one of

the world‘s major financial and cultural capitals.

Liverpool

During the 19th century Liverpool

was a major British port, second only

to London. The broad estuary of the

Mersey River was the main scene of

activity. Today this stretch of the

river is used mostly by ferries and

recreational craft.

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Some wonders in London

Big Ben

Big Ben is the great bell in the Clock Tower on the eastern end of the Houses of

Parliament. It was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, London‘s chief commissioner of works

in 1858 when the bell was hung. The clocks in the 98-m (320-ft) Clock Tower have been

keeping time since 1859 (Big Ben, Westminster Palace, London).

Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square is one of the most popular meeting spots in London. It is surrounded by

museums, theaters and restaurants. The square was built as a monument to British navy

hero Viscount Horatio Nelson and his victory at Battle of Trafalgar in1805 (Trafalgar

Square, London).

Thames River

The Thames River is the most important river in England and the main source of London‘s

water supply. In this picture, the Palace of Westminster is on the left, in front of

Westminster Bridge (thought to be the site of the Romans‘ first crossing point). On the

south bank of the river (on the right of the picture) are Lambeth Palace (the London

residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury), the South Bank Centre arts complex and the

London Eye. (Thames River in London).

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace, official town residence of the British monarch since 1837, located

near Saint James's Park, London. Built by John Sheffield, 1st duke of Buckingham and

Normandy, in 1703, the palace was purchased for the royal family in 1761 by George III,

although St. James's Palace continued to be the official residence until the accession of

Big Ben, Westminster Palace, London Trafalgar Square, London

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Queen Victoria. The neoclassical structure was remodeled by John Nash in 1825. In 1856 a

ballroom was added, and in 1913 a new east front was built. Buckingham Palace has about

600 rooms and 20 hectares (50 acres) of gardens. It is noted for its fine collection of

paintings (Buckingham Palace).

British Museums

British Museum, the national museum of antiquities and, until 1973, the national library of

the United Kingdom, located in London. The British Museum was founded in 1753,

incorporating the collection of the British physician and naturalist Sir Hans Sloane; the

Harleian Collection, formed by the statesman Robert Harley, 1st earl of Oxford; and the

Cottonian Library, organized by the antiquarian Sir Robert Cotton. In 1847 the building on

Great Russell Street, in the Bloomsbury section of London, was completed. It now houses

ten departments and part of the British Library (British Museums).

Thames River in London Buckingham Palace

British Museum

The British Museum is located in the Bloomsbury section of London. It was founded

in 1753 by Sir Hans Sloane, a British physician. The museum‘s extensive collections

are housed in a building that was begun in the 1820s.

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Swiss Re Tower, London

Located in central London, the Swiss Re

Tower (officially called 30 St. Mary

Axe) was designed by architect Norman

Foster and completed in 2004.

Tower of London, England

The Tower of London, located on the

northern bank of the Thames River, was

built in the 11th century.

London Eye

The London Eye is a gigantic ferris wheel

on the banks of the Thames River in

London, England. A ride in one of its 32

enclosed passenger capsules offers a

spectacular view of the city.

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WALES


Wales, part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, united

politically, legally, and administratively with England and occupying a broad peninsula on

the western side of the island of Great Britain. Wales also includes the island of Anglesey,

which is separated from the mainland by the narrow Menai Strait.

Wales is bounded on the north by the Irish Sea; on the east by the English counties

of Cheshire, Shropshire, Hereford and Worcester, and Gloucester; on the south by Bristol

Channel; and on the west by Saint George‘s Channel and Cardigan Bay. The maximum

north-south extent of the Welsh mainland is 220 km (137 mi); in an east-west direction the

distance varies between 60 and 155 km (36 and 96 mi). The total area of Wales is 20,760

sq km (8,015 sq mi). Cardiff is the capital, principal seaport, and shipbuilding center.

Land and People

Wales has an irregular coastline with many bays, the largest of which is Cardigan Bay.

Except for narrow, low-lying coastal regions, mainly in the south and west, Wales is

almost entirely mountainous. The principal range is the Cambrian Mountains, which

extend north and south through central Wales. Other major highland areas are the Brecon

Beacons in the southeast and the Snowdon massif, in the northwest, which reaches an

elevation of 1,085 m (3,560 ft), the greatest in England and Wales.

The people of Wales, like those of Britain in general, are descendants of various

stocks, including Celts, Scandinavians, and Romans. The population of Wales is 2,952,000

(2004 estimate). The population density was 142 persons per sq km (368 persons per sq

mi). About three-quarters of the population is concentrated in the mining centers in the

south.

Principal cities

The major cities of Wales are Cardiff (Cardiff’s City Center) , the capital, principal

seaport, and shipbuilding center (2001 population, 305,200); Swansea, a seaport and center

of the tin-plate industry (2001 population, 223,200); and Newport (1996 population,

136,789).

Cardiff’s City Center

Cardiff, the capital of Wales, is located at the mouth

of the Taff and Ely rivers on the Bristol Channel. At

one time among the world‘s biggest coal-exporting

ports, Cardiff remains an important industrial,

commercial, and administrative center.

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Language

Both English and Welsh are official languages. English is spoken by most of the

population. A small percentage of the people speak Welsh only; more than one-quarter of

the population speaks both Welsh and English. As part of an effort to preserve Welsh

culture, the government supports Welsh language books, plays, and other artworks, and

Welsh has been included in the school curriculum since 1970. The British Broadcasting

Corporation operates two radio stations in Wales—one that broadcasts in English and one

that broadcasts in Welsh—and contributes programming to a Welsh-language television

station. There are a number of bilingual publications, and most road signs are in English

and Welsh. In 1993 the Welsh Language Act gave equality to English and Welsh in

government business and the courts.

Culture

The Welsh are well known for their love of singing, and their hymns and folk songs are

widely known throughout the world. Music plays a large part in the annual festival, the

Royal National Eisteddfod, at which Welsh poetry and Welsh folk arts are also featured.

The Royal National Eisteddfod is held each year in a different locality, and Welsh natives

and those of Welsh descent from all over the world attend. The International Musical

Eisteddfod is also held annually in Llangollen. The international opera star Bryn Terfel got

his start at eisteddfods. Other popular singers from Wales include Shirley Bassey, Tom

Jones, and Charlotte Church.

The Welsh literary tradition is one of the oldest and richest in Europe, dating back

more than 1,000 years to the bards—Celtic poets who composed, recited, and sang long

epics. The most notable of the early Welsh bardic poets were Taliesin and Aneirin. The

Mabinogion, composed between the mid-11th and late 13th centuries, is a collection of 11

prose stories and one of the most important works of early medieval European literature.

The best known of the 20th-century Welsh-born poets are Dylan Thomas, R. S. Thomas,

and Roald Dahl, though they wrote in English.

NORTHERN IRELAND


Northern Ireland, administrative division of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Northern Ireland, situated in the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland. The

remaining portion of the island is part of the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland

constitutes about 17 percent of the land area of Ireland and has 31 percent of the island‘s

population. The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast. Northern Ireland‘s population is

deeply divided along religious and political lines. The schism between the Protestant

majority and the Roman Catholic minority extends deep into Northern Ireland‘s past and

has strongly influenced the region‘s culture, settlement patterns, and politics.

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Land

The total area of Northern Ireland is 14,160 sq km (5,467 sq mi), of which 628 sq km (242

sq mi) is inland water. The maximum distance from north to south is 137 km (85 mi); from

east to west it is 177 km (110 mi). Northern Ireland is bounded on the north and northeast

by the North Channel, on the southeast by the Irish Sea, and on the south and west by

Ireland. The border with Ireland is 360 km (220 mi) long. The region‘s coastline consists

of wide, sandy beaches, broken by steep cliffs in the north, northeast, and southeast. Near

the northernmost point of Northern Ireland is Giant‘s Causeway, an unusual formation of

basalt columns created by the cooling of an ancient lava flow. Rathlin Island and several

smaller islands lie off the northern coast.

Population

The total population of Northern Ireland is 1,710,000 (2004). The overall population

density is 121 persons per sq km (313 persons per sq mi). The area that is now Northern

Ireland was thinly populated before 1700, but the population grew rapidly from about

1750, doubling in the period from 1750 to 1790. During the 20th century the population

increased slowly but steadily as a result of lower death rates, continuing high birth rates,

and a decline in the rate of emigration.

Principal cities

Belfast (City Hall, Belfast) is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. Almost half

of the province‘s population lives in the greater Belfast area. Founded on the sandy mouth

of the Lagan River in 1613 by settlers from Britain, Belfast took its name from Beal

Feirsde (Irish for ―the mouth of the sandbank‖). Belfast remained a small trading port until

about 1800. It subsequently became a major industrial city, growing from about 20,000

people at the beginning of the 1800s to a peak of 443,671 in 1951.

Northern Ireland‘s second largest city, Londonderry (Derry), is much smaller.

Derry (Irish Doire, for ―place of the oaks‖), a small community centered around a 6th-

century abbey, was rebuilt by British settlers in 1613. Soon thereafter the town granted

charters to several London merchant companies to develop the area, and the official name

of the city became Londonderry. This name was never fully accepted or used by Catholics,

who in general still refer to the city as Derry. The city is therefore often referred to in

books and other text sources as Londonderry/Derry or Derry/Londonderry.

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City Hall, Belfast

Belfast is the capital

and largest city of

Northern Ireland. The

majestic City Hall

building, shown here,

is a landmark located

in Donegall Square in

central Belfast.

Language

Almost all residents of Northern Ireland speak English. Only a tiny percentage speak Irish,

a Gaelic language, except in remote upland areas in the Glens of Antrim, the Mourne

Mountains, and the Sperrin Mountains, where Irish is more widely spoken. The Catholic

and nationalist community has tended to become more enthusiastic about learning Irish as

a second language during periods of heightened political activity—for example, from 1900

to 1920 and from 1970 to the present day. Recent government policies and the expansion

of university education have encouraged mutual respect for the two cultural traditions in

the province. This has boosted the Irish language movement, as well as the rise in

popularity of Ulster-Scots, or Ullans, among the Protestant community.

The history of English language – Brief introduction

The history of the English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes

who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and

the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At

that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers

were pushed west and north by the invaders—mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland

and Ireland. The Angles came from Englaland and their language was called Englisc—

from which the words England and English are derived. English is therefore a member of

the Indo-European family of languages which includes most of the European languages

spoken today.

Old English (450 -1100 AD)

West Germanic invaders from Jutland and southern Denmark: the Angles (whose name is

the source of the words England and English), Saxons, and Jutes, began to settle in the

British Isles in the fifth and sixth centuries AD. They spoke a mutually intelligible

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Part of the original

manuscript of

Beowulf

language, similar to modern Frisian - the language of the northeastern region of the

Netherlands - that is called Old English. Four major dialects of Old English emerged,

Northumbrian in the north of England, Mercian in the Midlands, West Saxon in the south

and west, and Kentish in the Southeast.

These invaders pushed the original, Celtic-speaking inhabitants out of what is now

England into Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, and Ireland, leaving behind a few Celtic words.

These Celtic languages survive today in the Gaelic languages of Scotland and Ireland and

in Welsh. Cornish, unfortunately, is, in linguistic terms, now a dead language. (The last

native Cornish speaker died in 1777) Also influencing English at this time were the

Vikings. Norse invasions and settlement, beginning around

850, brought many North Germanic words into the

language, particularly in the north of England. Some

examples are dream, which had meant 'joy' until the Vikings

imparted its current meaning on it from the Scandinavian

cognate draumr, and skirt, which continues to live alongside

its native English cognate shirt.

The majority of words in modern English come from

foreign, not Old English roots. In fact, only about one sixth

of the known Old English words have descendants surviving

today. But this is deceptive; Old English is much more

important than these statistics would indicate. About half of

the most commonly used words in modern English have Old

English roots. Words like be, water, and strong, for example,

derive from Old English roots.

Old English, whose best known surviving example is

the poem Beowulf, lasted until about 1100. Shortly after the

most important event in the development and history of the

English language, the Norman Conquest.

Middle English (1100-1500)

In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy (part of modern France), invaded

and conquered England. The new conquerors (called the Normans) brought with them a

kind of French, which became the language of the Royal Court, and the ruling and business

classes. For a period there was a kind of linguistic class division, where the lower classes

spoke English and the upper classes spoke French. In the 14th century English became

dominant in Britain again, but with many French words added. This language is called

Middle English. It was the language of the great poet Chaucer (c1340-1400), but it would

still be difficult for native English speakers to understand today.

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Modern English

Early Modern English (1500-1800)

Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation (the

Great Vowel Shift) started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the

16th century the British had contact with many peoples from around the world. This, and

the Renaissance of Classical learning, meant that many new words and phrases entered the

language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in

print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Printing also brought

standardization to English. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London,

where most publishing houses were, became the standard. In 1604 the first English

dictionary was published.

Late Modern English (1800-Present)

The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is

vocabulary. Late Modern English has many more words, arising from two principal

factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution and technology created a need for new words;

secondly, the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the

English language adopted foreign words from many countries.

Varieties of English

From around 1600, the English colonization of North America resulted in the creation of a

distinct American variety of English. Some English pronunciations and words "froze"

when they reached America. In some ways, American English is more like the English of

Shakespeare than modern British English is. Some expressions that the British call

"Americanisms" are in fact original British expressions that were preserved in the colonies

while lost for a time in Britain (for example trash for rubbish, loan as a verb instead of

lend, and fall for autumn; another example, frame-up, was re-imported into Britain through

Hollywood gangster movies). Spanish also had an influence on American English (and

subsequently British English), with words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante being

examples of Spanish words that entered English through the settlement of the American

West. French words (through Louisiana) and West African words (through the slave trade)

also influenced American English (and so, to an extent, British English).

Today, American English is particularly influential, due to the USA's dominance of

cinema, television, popular music, trade and technology (including the Internet). But there

are many other varieties of English around the world, including for example Australian

English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English, Indian English

and Caribbean English.

THIS IS THE END OF CHAPTER ONE

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CHAPTER TWO: HISTORY

Prehistory

Two thousand years ago there was an Iron Age Celtic culture throughout the British Isles.

It seems that the Celts ( The Celts), who had been arriving from Europe from the eighth

century BC onwards, intermingled with the peoples who were already there. We know that

religious sites that had been built long before the arrival of the Celts continued to be used

in the Celtic period.

For people in Britain today, the chief significance of the prehistoric period (for

which no written records exist) is its sense of mystery. This sense finds its focus most

easily in the astonishing monumental architecture of this period, the remains of which exist

throughout the country. Wiltshire, in south-western England, has two spectacular

examples: Silbury Hill, the largest burial mound in Europe, and Stonehenge (

Stonehenge). Such places have a special importance for anyone interested in the cultural

and religious practices of prehistoric Britain.

The Celts

The various Celtic tribes were

bound together by common

speech, customs, and religion,

rather than by any well-defined

central governments. The

absence of political unity

contributed substantially to the

extinction of their way of life,

making them vulnerable to their

enemies. Their economy was

pastoral and agricultural, and

they had no real urban life. Each

tribe was headed by a king and

was divided by class into Druids

(priests), warrior nobles, and

commoners. The nobles fought

on foot with swords and spears

and were fond of feasting and

drinking.

Celtic Round Houses

Objects of Celtic life

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The Roman period (43-410)

The Roman province of Britannia covered most of present-day England and Wales. The

Romans imposed their own way of life and culture, making use of the existing Celtic

aristocracy to govern and encouraging this ruling class to adopt Roman dress and the

Roman language (Latin). They exerted an influence, without actually governing there, over

only the southern part of Scotland.

The remarkable thing about the Romans is that, despite their long occupation of

Britain, they left very little behind. To many other parts of Europe they bequeathed a

system of law and administration which forms the basis of the modern system and a

language which developed into the modern Romance family of languages. In Britain, they

left neither. Moreover, most of their villas, baths and temples, their impressive network of

roads, and the cities they founded, including Londinium (London), were soon destroyed or

fell into disrepair.

Stonehenge

Stonehenge was built on Salisbury Plain

some time between 3050 and 2300 BC. It

is one of the most famous and mysterious

archaeological sites in the world. One of

its mysteries is how it was ever built at all

with the technology of the time (the stones

come from over 200 miles away in

Wales). Another is its purpose. It appears

to function as a kind of astronomical

clock and we know it was used by the

Druids for ceremonies marking the

passing of the seasons. These days

Stonehenge is not only of interest to

tourists, but is also a gathering point for

certain minority groups. It is now fenced

off to protect it from damage.

Hadrian's Wall

Hadrian's Wall was built by the Romans in the

second century across the northern border of

their province of Britannia (along nearly the

same line as the present English- Scottish

border) in order to protect their territory from

attacks by the Scots and the Picts.

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The Germanic invasions (410-1066)

One reason why Roman Britannia disappeared so quickly is probably that its influence was

largely confined to the towns. In the countryside, where most people lived, farming

methods had remained unchanged and Celtic speech continued to be dominant. The Roman

occupation had been a matter of colonial control rather than large-scale settlement. But,

during the fifth century, a number of tribes from the north-western European mainland

invaded and settled in large numbers. Two of these tribes were the Angles and the Saxons.

These Anglo-Saxons soon had the south-east of the country in their grasp. In the

west of the country their advance was temporarily halted by an army of (Celtic) Britons

under the command of the legendary King Arthur ( King Arthur).

The Anglo-Saxons had little use for towns and cities. But they had a great effect on

the countryside, where they introduced new farming methods and founded the thousands of

self-sufficient villages which formed the basis of English society for the next thousand

or so years.

Britain experienced another wave of Germanic invasions in the eighth century.

These invaders, known as Vikings, Norsemen or Danes, came from Scandinavia.

However, the cultural differences between Anglo-Saxons and Danes were

comparatively small. They led roughly the same way of life and spoke two varieties of the

same Germanic tongue (which combined to form the basis of modern English). Moreover,

the Danes soon converted to Christianity. These similarities made political unification

easier, and by the end of the tenth century England was one kingdom with a Germanic

culture throughout. Most of modern-day Scotland was also united by this time, at least

in name, in a (Celtic) Gaelic kingdom.

King Arthur

King Arthur provides a wonderful example of the

distortions of popular history. In folklore and

myth he is a great English hero, and he and his

knights of the round table are regarded as the

perfect example of medieval nobility and chivalry.

In fact, he lived long before medieval times and

was a Romanized Celt trying to hold back the

advances of the Anglo-Saxons - the very people

who became 'the English'!

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The medieval period (1066-1485)

The successful Norman invasion of England in 1066 ( 1066) brought Britain into the

mainstream of western European culture. Previously most links had been with

Scandinavia.

Unlike the Germanic invasions, the Norman invasion was small scale. There was

no such thing as a Norman village or a Norman area of settlement. Instead, the Norman

soldiers who had been part of the invading army were given the ownership of land - and of

the people living on it. A strict feudal system was imposed. Great nobles, or barons, were

responsible directly to the king; lesser lords, each owing a village, were directly

responsible to a baron. Under them were the peasants, tied by a strict system of mutual

duties and obligations to the local lord, and forbidden to travel without his permission.

The peasants were the English-speaking Saxons. The lords and the barons were the

French-speaking Normans. This was the beginning of the English class system. The strong

system of government which the Normans introduced meant that the Anglo-Norman

kingdom was easily the most powerful political force in the British Isles.

1066

This is the most famous date in English history. On 14 October 1066 an invading army

from Normandy defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings. The battle was close and

extremely bloody. At the end of it, most of the best warriors in England were dead,

including their leader, King Harold. On Christmas day that year the Norman leader, Duke

William of Normandy, was crowned king of England. He is known in popular history as

'William the Conqueror'. The date is remembered for being the last time that England was

successfully invaded.

Language and class

The existence of two words for the larger farm animals in modern English is a result of the

class divisions established by the Norman conquest. There are the words for the living

animals (e.g. cow, pig, sheep).which have their origins in Anglo-Saxon. and the words for

the meat from the animals (e.g. beef, pork, mutton).which have their origins in the French

language that the Normans brought to England. Only the Normans normally ate meat; the

poor Anglo-Saxon peasants did not!

Robin Hood

Robin Hood ( Robin Hood) is a legendary folk hero. King Richard I (1189-99) spent

most of his reign fighting in the crusades (the wars between Christians and Muslims in the

Middle East). While Richard was away. England was governed by his brother John. who

was unpopular because of all the taxes he imposed. According to legend. Robin Hood

Jived with his band of 'merry men' in Sherwood Forest outside Nottingham, stealing from

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the rich and giving to the poor. He was constantly hunted by the local sheriff (the royal

representative) but was never captured.

Magna Carta

Magna Carta (Latin, ―Great Charter‖), document sealed by King John of England on June

15, 1215, in which he made a series of promises to his subjects that he would govern

England and deal with his vassals according to the customs of feudal law. Over the course

of centuries, these promises have required governments in England (and in countries

influenced by English tradition) to follow the law in dealing with their citizens.

The sixteenth century

The power of the English monarch increased in this period. The strength of the great

barons had been greatly weakened by the Wars of the Roses. Bubonic plague (known in

England as the Black Death) contributed to the reduction of their power. It killed about a

third of the population in its first outbreak in England in the middle of the fourteenth

century and continued to reappear periodically for another 300 years.

The Tudor dynasty (1485- 1603) established a system of government departments,

staffed by professionals who depended for their position on the monarch. As a result, the

feudal barons were no longer needed for implementing government policy. They were also

needed less for making government policy. Parliament was traditionally split into two

'Houses'. The House of Lords consisted of the feudal aristocracy and the leaders of the

Church; the House of Commons consisted of representatives from the towns and the less

important landowners in rural areas. It was now more important for monarchs to get the

agreement of the Commons for policy-making because that was where the newly powerful

merchants and landowners (the people with the money) were represented.

Robin Hood

William I, known as

William the Conqueror, was

king of England from 1066

to 1087.

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Unlike in much of the rest of Europe, the direct cause of the rise of Protestantism in

England was political and personal rather than doctrinal. Henry VIII (Henry VIII)

wanted a divorce which the Pope would not give him. Also, by making himself head of the

'Church of England', independent of Rome, all church lands came under his control and

gave him a large new source of income.

Henry VIII

Henry VIII is one of the most well-known monarchs in English history, chiefly

because he took six wives during his life. It was during his reign that the Reformation took

place. In the 1630s, Henry used Parliament to pass laws which swept away the power of

the Roman Church in England. His quarrel with Rome was nothing to do with doctrine (it

was because he wanted to be free to marry again and to appoint who he wished as leaders

of the Church in England). In the same decade, he had a law passed which demanded

complete adherence to Catholic belief and practice.

Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I (Elizabeth I), daughter of Henry VIII, was the first of three long-reigning

queens in British history (the other two are Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II). During her

long reign she established, by skilful diplomacy, a reasonable degree of internal stability in

a firmly Protestant England, allowing the growth of a spirit of patriotism and general

confidence. She never married, but used its possibility as a diplomatic tool. She became

known as 'the virgin queen'.

Renaissance

Renaissance, series of literary and cultural movements in the 14th, 15th, and 16th

centuries. These movements began in Italy and eventually expanded into Germany, France,

England, and other parts of Europe. Participants studied the great civilizations of ancient

Greece and Rome and came to the conclusion that their own cultural achievements rivaled

those of antiquity. Their thinking was also influenced by the concept of humanism, which

emphasizes the worth of the individual.

Henry VIII Elizabeth I

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The seventeenth century

The conflict

During the century, Parliament established its supremacy over the monarchy in Britain,

Anger grew in the country at the way that the Stuart monarchs raised money, especially

because they did not get the agreement of the House of Commons to do so first. This was

against ancient tradition. In addition, ideological Protestantism, especially Puritanism, had

grown in England. Puritans regarded many of the practices of the Anglican Church, and

also its hierarchical structure, as immoral. Some of them thought the luxurious lifestyle of

the king and his followers was immoral too. This conflict finally led to the Civil War.

The Civil War

The Civil War ended with complete victory for the parliamentary forces. The king (Charles

I) was captured and became the first monarch in Europe to be executed after a formal trial

for crimes against his people. The leader of the parliamentary army, Oliver Cromwell,

became 'Lord Protector' of a republic with a military government which effectively

encompassed the whole of the British Isles.

But when Cromwell died, he, his system of government, and the puritan ethics that

went with it (theatres and other forms of amusement had been banned) had become so

unpopular that the son of the executed king was asked to return and take the throne.

However, the conflict between monarch and Parliament soon re-emerged. The monarch,

James II, tried to give full rights to Catholics, and to promote them in his government. The

'Glorious Revolution' ('glorious' because it was bloodless) followed, in which Prince

William of Orange, ruler of the Netherlands, and his Stuart wife Mary, accepted

Parliament's invitation to become king and queen. In this way it was established that a

monarch could rule only with the support of Parliament.

The eighteenth century

At the beginning of the century, by agreement, the Scottish Parliament joined with the

English and Welsh Parliament at Westminster in London. However, Scotland retained its

own system of law, more similar to continental European systems than to that of England.

It does so to this day.

Britain gradually expanded its empire in the Americas, along the west African coast

and in India. The increased trade which resulted from the links with these new markets was

one factor which led to the Industrial Revolution. The many technical innovations in the

areas of manufacturing and transport during this period were also important contributing

factors.

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Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution is the widespread replacement of manual labor by machines that

began in Britain in the 18th century and is still continuing in some parts of the world. The

Industrial Revolution was the result of many fundamental, interrelated changes that

transformed agricultural economies into industrial ones. The most immediate changes were

in the nature of production: what was produced, as well as where and how. Goods that had

traditionally been made in the home or in small workshops began to be manufactured in

the factory.

In England, the growth of the industrial mode of production, together with

advances in agriculture, caused the greatest upheaval in the pattern of everyday life. Areas

of common land, which had been available for use by everybody in a village for the

grazing of animals since Anglo-Saxon times, disappeared as landowners incorporated them

into their increasingly large and more efficient farms. Hundreds of thousands of people

moved from rural areas into new towns and cities. Most of these new towns and cities were

in the north of England, where the raw materials for industry were available. In this way,

the north, which had previously been economically backward compared to the south,

became the industrial heartland of the country. In the south of England, London came to

dominate, not as an industrial centre but as a business and trading centre. By the end of

the century, it had a population close to a million.

This industrialization, however, did not benefit everyone. If the standard of living

rose for some, the quality of life declined for others. Agricultural labor was performed to

seasonal rhythms by the light of the sun, but the clock governed factory production, 12

hours a day, 6 days a week. Factory work was dangerous, dirty, and unhealthful, but those

who could get it were considered lucky compared to those who begged or starved in the

streets. In the first phase of industrialization, workers were unprotected by social

legislation—even efforts to eliminate child labor (Child Labor in Britain) met serious

opposition. Few safety regulations existed.

Ironbridge, Telford, England

Ironbridge, which crosses the River

Severn in Telford, Shropshire, in

northwest England, was completed in

1779. The first large-scale structure made

of cast iron, the bridge was considered a

remarkable feat of engineering at the time

of its construction.

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The nineteenth century

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria ( Queen Victoria) ruled Britain from 1837 to 1901. Her reign was the

longest of any monarch in British history and came to be known as the Victorian era. As

embodied by the monarchy, this era was represented by such 19th-century ideals as

devotion to family life, public and private responsibility, and obedience to the law. Under

Victoria, the British Empire expanded, and Britain became an increasingly powerful

nation. As the country grew into an industrialized nation, the length and stability of

Victoria‘s reign gave an impression of continuity to what was actually a period of dynamic

change.

Trade Unions

In 1868 leaders of individual unions formed a Trades Union Congress to coordinate action

among the unions, even though the formation of unions was illegal at the time. Up to that

time, only highly skilled workers such as engineers had formed successful unions and

Child Labor in Britain

Child labor was prevalent in

Britain during the Industrial

Revolution, when children

sometimes worked up to 16

hours a day. Conditions were

often dangerous—especially for

those who worked in mines—

and the children usually received

little formal education.

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria reigned from I 837 to 190 I.

During her reign. Although the modern

powerlessness of the monarch was confirmed

(she was often forced to accept as Prime

Ministers people she personally disliked), she

herself became an increasingly popular symbol

of Britain's success in the world.

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bargained collectively. In 1871 the government formally recognized the existence of

unions and their right to strike, although picketing remained illegal. At the beginning of the

20th century, representatives from unions and other labor organizations formed the Labour

Party to secure the election of politicians sympathetic to labor issues. During the 20th

century Labour emerged as one of the two major political parties in Britain.

The twentieth century

By the beginning of this century, Britain was no longer the world's richest country. Perhaps

this caused Victorian confidence in gradual reform to weaken. Whatever the reason, the

first twenty years of the century were a period of extremism in Britain. The Suffragettes,

women demanding the right to vote, were prepared both to damage property and to die for

their beliefs; the problem of Ulster in the north of Ireland led to a situation in which some

sections of the army appeared ready to disobey the government; and the government's

introduction of new types and levels of taxation was opposed so absolutely by the House of

Lords that even Parliament, the foundation of the political system, seemed to have an

uncertain future in its traditional form. But by the end of the First World War, two of these

issues had been resolved to most people's satisfaction (the Irish problem remained) and the

rather un-British climate of extremism died out.

It was from the beginning of this century that the urban working class (the majority

of the population) finally began to make its voice heard. In Parliament, the Labour party

gradually replaced the Liberals (the 'descendants' of the Whigs) as the main opposition to

the Conservatives (the' descendants' of the Tories).

THIS IS THE END OF CHAPTER TWO

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CHAPTER THREE: POLITICAL SYSTEM & HER MAJESTY GOVERNMENT

Britain is a constitutional monarchy. That means it is a country governed by a king or

queen who accepts the advice of a parliament. It is also a parliamentary democracy. That

is, it is a country whose government is controlled by a parliament which has been elected

by the people. The highest positions in the government are filled with members of the

directly elected parliament.

In Britain, as in many European countries, the official head of state, whether a

monarch or a president, has little real power.

The Constitution

The British Constitution is an unwritten constitution, not being contained in a single legal

document. It is based on statues and important documents (such as the Magna Carta), case

law (decisions taken by courts of law (such as matters), customs and conventions, and can

be modified by a simple Act of Parliament like any other law.

The British Constitution contains two main principles – the rule of law (i.e. that

everyone, whatever his or her station, is subject to the law) and the supremacy of

Parliament, which implies that there is nobody that can declare the activities of Parliament

unconstitutional and that Parliament can, in theory, do whatever it wishes.

There are three bodies that have the power to carry out the constitutional laws,

namely 1) the Legislature (the two Houses of Parliament), which makes laws, 2) the

Executive (the Government), which puts laws into effect and plans policy, and 3) the

Judiciary, which decides on cases arising out of the laws.

The Monarchy

The British monarchy stands for the continuity of British history going back to Anglo-

Saxon times, and today it serves as a figurehead for the state. In theory, the British

monarch has enormous powers, but in reality those powers are limited and the Crown

follows the dictates and advice of the ministers in Parliament. The British monarchy has

been a hereditary position since the 9th century.

As the official head of state, the monarch formally summons and dismisses

Parliament and the ministers of the Cabinet. The monarch also serves as head of the

judiciary, commander in chief of the armed forces, and Supreme Governor of the Church

of England and the Church of Scotland. In reality, the government carries out the duties

associated with these functions.

Theoretically, the monarch appoints all judges, military officers, diplomats, and

archbishops, as well as other church officers. The monarch also bestows honors and

awards, such as knighthoods and peerages. In reality, all of these appointments are made

upon the advice of the prime minister.

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The Queen takes part in

important acts of government.

These include:

___________________________

summoning

______________

proroguing

______________

dissolving Parliament

______________

giving Royal Assent to

Bills passed by Parliament

______________

formally appoint many

important office holders

______________

pardoning people

convicted of crimes

______________

conferring peerages,

knighthoods and other

honors

______________

Buckingham Palace in Westminster is the official London residence of the British

sovereign. Its interior, open to the public during August and September while the queen is

on vacation, contains many elegantly furnished apartments and noted collections of

paintings.

The real work of the monarchy consists

largely of signing papers. The monarch has the

right, however, to be consulted on all aspects of

national life and review all important government

documents.

The Parliament

The main functions of Parliament are: to examine proposals for new laws; to provide, by

voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government; to examine the

government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure; and to debate

the major issues of the day.

Parliament comprises three parts: the Crown, the House of Lords, and the House of

Commons. Over the course of centuries, the seat of power has passed from the Crown to

the Lords to its final resting place in the House of Commons. Parliament originated in the

great councils called by the Crown during the Middle Ages. Through these meetings,

medieval monarchs sought the advice of their subjects, exchanged information about the

realm, and gathered petitions. In other words, Parliament originated with the royal wish to

gain the approval and sanction of the realm for acts of state. Later, Parliament served to

supplement royal revenues by making grants of taxation—that is, by granting the

Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II became queen of the United

Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern

Ireland upon the death of her father, King

George VI, in 1952.

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monarch‘s request for extra subsidies to pay for wars. The Crown invited all great nobles

and church leaders to attend these councils. By the end of the 13th century representatives

from the counties, called knights of the shire, and representatives of the towns, called

burgesses, were also being summoned to attend regularly. The knights and the burgesses

eventually came to sit separately from the nobles and church leaders, in what eventually

became the House of Commons. The nobles and church leaders sat in what came to be

called the House of Lords.

Parliament is known as Westminster (Houses of Parliament) because it is housed

in the Palace of Westminster. Parliament‘s functions today are to pass laws, to raise

enough money through taxation to enable the government to function, to examine the

government policy and administration, particularly its financial programs and to debate or

discuss important political issues. The life of a Parliament is not fixed, and the government

of the day may call for a general election at any time during its five-year term.

The House of Commons

The House of Commons is the source of real political power in the United Kingdom. The

main function of the House of Commons is to legislate. There are 659 Members of

Parliament in the House of Commons. The House of Commons is presided over by the

Speaker who is chosen by a vote of the entire House, although in practice the party leaders

consult with their supporters in order to achieve informal agreement beforehand. The

Speaker is responsible for the orderly conduct of business, and is required to act with

impartiality between Members in the House. Its members are democratically elected by

universal suffrage of citizens over the age of 18.

Members of the House of Commons are elected from geographical constituencies

determined by population, and each MP generally represents a constituency of 60,000 to

70,000 people. Four permanent boundary commissions exist, one each for England, Wales,

Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Their purpose is to keep the constituencies equal and the

boundaries fair.

The House of Lords

The House of Lords today is more a place of discussion and debate than one of power, and

it normally passes legislation already approved by the House of Commons. Its members

are not elected. The House of Lords comprises the lords temporal, the lords spiritual, and

the law lords. The lords temporal are either hereditary peers or life peers. Life peers are

appointed by the monarch for the duration of the person‘s lifetime. These appointments are

usually made in recognition of outstanding careers or contributions to society. Famous

people who have been made peers are former British prime ministers Winston Churchill

and Harold Wilson. The lords spiritual include the archbishops of Canterbury and York;

the bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester; and the 21 next most senior bishops. The

law lords assist in the judicial functions of the House of Lords. The House of Lords is

presided over by the Lord Chancellor.

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How a bill becomes a law

Before a proposal for a new law starts its progress

through Parliament, there will have been much

discussion. If it is a government proposal, Green and

White Papers will probably have been published,

explaining the ideas behind the proposal. After this,

lawyers draft the proposal into a bill. Most bills begin

life in the House of Commons, where they go through

a number of stages.

Houses of Parliament

Houses of Parliament, also New Palace of

Westminster, seat of the British Parliament

(legislature), a great mass of buildings on

the east bank of the Thames River in

London.

Tony Blair, Prime Minister from 1997 to

2007, answering questions in the House of

Commons.

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Political parties

As a result of the electoral system, two parties have usually been dominant in Britain, at

different times. Tories and Whigs, Conservatives and Liberals, and since the 1930s,

Conservatives and Labour, with one party normally obtaining a majority of seats in the

House of Commons and the other having its role limited to criticizing Government policy.

The Conservative Party was formed in the 1830s and was originally the party of

church, aristocracy and land owners. It has increasingly been supported by large business

interests. The Labour Party was formed in 1892 to represent the workers and was more or

less the parliamentary wing of the Trades Unions.

Elections

For electoral purposes the United Kingdom is divided into constituencies, each one

of which elects a Member of Parliament to sit in the House of Commons.

Today there are 659 seats in the Commons, one seat on average for 69,500 electors.

All British citizens (including citizens of the Irish resident in the UK) may voted, provided:

- They are aged eighteen or over.

- are registered.

- are not disqualified by insanity.

- are not members of the House of Lords.

- are not sentenced prisoners.

General elections must be held at least every five years, but the Prime Minister has

the right to call elections before the five year term has expired.

The Government

Her Majesty's Government is the body of ministers responsible for the conduct of national

affairs. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen, and all other ministers are

appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Most ministers are

members of the Commons, although the Government is also fully represented by ministers

in the Lords. The Lord Chancellor is always a member of the House of Lords.

The composition of governments can vary both in the number of ministers and in

the titles of some offices. New ministerial offices may be created, others may be abolished,

and functions may be transferred from one minister to another.

The Prime Minister

The chief executive of the government is the prime minister. He or she is the leader

of the party that holds the most seats in the House of Commons. The monarch goes

through the ceremony of selecting as prime minister the person from the House of

Commons who is head of the majority party. The prime minister presides over the Cabinet

and selects the other Cabinet members, who join him or her to form the government that is

part of the functioning executive. Acting through the Cabinet and in the name of the

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monarch, the prime minister exercises all of the theoretical powers of the Crown, including

making appointments. In the past, prime ministers also came from the House of Lords.

Today, in the unlikely circumstance that a peer (a member of the House of Lords) is sought

as a prime minister by one of the parties, he or she must first resign from the House of

Lords and gain election to the House of Commons. By modern convention, the Prime

Minister always sits in the House of Commons.

The Cabinet

The Cabinet has about 20 members, or ministers, all of whom must be members of

Parliament (MPs). Members of the Cabinet are leaders of the majority party in the House

of Commons or, more rarely, members of the House of Lords. Cabinet ministers who head

a particular government department, such as the Ministry of Defense, are known as

secretaries of state.

The prime minister serves as the first lord of the treasury and as minister for the

civil service. In addition to the various secretaries of state, the Cabinet includes

non-departmental ministers who hold traditional offices—such as the lord president of the

council, the paymaster general, and the lord privy seal—and ministers without portfolio,

who do not have specific responsibilities but are assigned to specific tasks as needed. The

lord chancellor holds a unique position. The lord chancellor‘s executive duties as a Cabinet

member include being responsible for legal affairs in the United Kingdom, but he or she is

also head of the judiciary, which is a separate part of the British government. The prime

minister has the power to move members of the Cabinet from post to post, or to drop

individuals from the Cabinet entirely. Former Cabinet ministers may retain their positions

as members of Parliament.

Whitehall

This is the name of the street in London which runs from Trafalgar Square to the Houses of

Parliament. The term 'Whitehall' is sometimes used to refer to the government as a whole

(although other departments are in other streets nearby). This is done when the writer or

speaker wishes to emphasize the administrative aspects of government.

Local government

There are five different types of local authority: county and district councils, London

boroughs, metropolitan districts and unitary authorities. There are 387 local authorities in

England. London boroughs, metropolitan boroughs, and unitary authorities are single-tier

councils with full responsibility for all local authority services in their area.

Counties, boroughs, parishes

- Counties are the oldest divisions of the country in England and Wales. Many

counties have 'shire' in their name (e.g. Hertfordshire, Hampshire, Leicestershire). 'Shires'

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is what the counties were originally called.

- Boroughs were originally towns that had grown large and important enough to be

given their own government, free of control by the county. These days, the name is used

for local government purposes only in London, but many towns still proudly describe

themselves as Royal Boroughs.

- Parishes were originally villages centered on a local church. They became a unit of

local government in the nineteenth century. Today they are the smallest unit of local

government in England. The name 'parish' is still used in the organization of the main

Christian churches in England.

Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations is the worldwide association of nations and their dependencies,

whose members share a common commitment to promoting human rights, democracy, and

economic development. All members accept the British monarch as the symbolic head of

the Commonwealth. The association was formerly known as the British Commonwealth of

Nations, but today is referred to simply as the Commonwealth.

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About 1.7 billion people live in the 54 independent nations and the more than 20

dependencies that make up the Commonwealth. Commonwealth members share many

customs and traditions as a result of their association with Britain. Many have

parliamentary systems of government on the British model, and their judicial and

educational institutions are often similar to those in Britain. English is an official language

of many members of the Commonwealth. Since 1977 the second Monday in March has

been celebrated as Commonwealth Day; on that day the British monarch, as the head of the

Commonwealth, presents an annual message to all member countries.

THIS IS THE END OF CHAPTER THREE

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CHAPTER FOUR: EDUCATION

The Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) is the Government Department

responsible for policy on education and training in England.

The Government helps set the framework for the education and training system and

works in partnership with other central and local bodies to implement those policies. It

also provides funds for many of the public bodies involved in education and training.

The Government's overall aim within education and training is:

- to support economic growth and improve the nation's competitiveness and quality

of life by raising standards of educational achievement and skills;

- to promote an efficient and flexible labor market by enhancing choice, diversity

and excellence in education and training, and by encouraging lifelong learning.

School

All children and young people between the ages of 5 and 16 in England, Scotland and

Wales, and 4 and 16 in Northern Ireland, must, by law, receive fulltime education. Over

9.8 million children attend 33,400 state and private schools in Britain. About 93 percent

receive free education financed from public funds, and 7 per cent attend independent

schools financed by fees paid by parents. Boys and girls are taught together in most

schools. Most pupils in state secondary schools in England, Scotland and Wales attend

mixed ability comprehensive schools. Secondary schools in Northern Ireland are largely

selective.

Most state school education in England, Scotland and Wales is provided by local

government education authorities and the rest by centrally funded grant-maintained

schools, where parents have voted for self-governing status.

Parents have a statutory right to express a preference for a school. National tables

are published on the performance of all secondary schools throughout Britain. All state

schools have to give parent~ a written annual report on their child's achievements. Parents

are represented on school governing bodies, which appoint staff and manage school

budget.

Each school must be regularly inspected by a team of independent inspectors,

working according to agreed national standards. A new framework for schools

organization is to be set up, based on a clear distinction between functions that local

education authorities must carry out and fund centrally and those for which schools arc

responsible, using their delegated budget.

Public means private!

Terminology to do with the school system in Britain can be confusing. Schools funded by

the government, either directly or via local education authorities, are called 'state schools'

and education provided in this way is known as 'state education'. This distinguishes it from

'private education', which comprises 'independent schools'. Some independent schools (a

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varying number, because the term is not exact) are known as 'public schools'. In Britain

today, about 8% of children are educated outside the state system.

The school year

The school year Schools usually divide their year into three 'terms', starting at the

beginning of September.

In addition, all schools have a 'half-term' (= half-term holiday), lasting a few days or a

week in the middle of each term.

School life

There is no countrywide system of nursery (i.e. pre-primary) schools. In some areas

primary schools have nursery schools attached to them, but in others there is no provision

of this kind. Many children do not begin full-time attendance at school until they are about

five and start primary school. Almost all schools are either primary or secondary only, the

latter being generally larger.

Nearly all schools work a five-day week, with no half-day, and are closed on

Saturdays. The day starts at or just before nine o'clock and finishes between three and four,

or a bit later for older children. The lunch break usually lasts about an hour-and-a-quarter.

Nearly two thirds of pupils have lunch provided by the school. Parents pay for this, except

for the 15% who are rated poor enough for it to be free. Other children either go home for

lunch or take sandwiches.

Methods of teaching vary, but there is most commonly a balance between formal

lessons with the teacher at the front of the classroom, and activities in which children work

in small groups round a table with the teacher supervising. In primary schools, the children

are mostly taught by a class teacher who teaches all subjects. At the ages of seven and

eleven, children have to take national tests in English, mathematics and science. In

secondary schools, pupils have different teachers for different subjects and are given

regular homework.

The school curriculum

All state schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland must conform to the National

Curricula. These set out what subjects pupils should study, what they should be taught and

what standards they should achieve. They ensure that pupils cover a broad and balanced

range of subjects that helps them to develop the qualities and skills needed in adult and

working life.

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The period of compulsory education is divided into four key stages, depending on

pupil age:

• Key Stage I - Pupils aged 5 to 7

• Key Stage 2 - Pupils aged 7 to II

• Key Stage 3 - Pupils aged II to 14

• Key Stage 4 - Pupils aged 14 to 16

Pupils at Key Stages I and 2 study English, mathematics, science, design and

technology, history, geography, art, music and physical education; at Key Stage 3 they

study all these subjects plus a modern foreign language. Pupils at Key Stage 4 must study

English, mathematics, science, physical education, technology and a modern foreign

language; this gives pupils more choice and the opportunity to pursue further vocational

courses if they wish.

Exams and qualifications

The main school examination, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), is

taken in England, Wales and Northern Ireland at around the age of 16. A separate, but

broadly similar, exam system exists in Scotland.

All GCSE and other qualifications offered to pupils in state schools in England and

Wales must be approved by the Government. Associated syllabuses and assessment

procedures must comply with national guidelines.

CGSE, General Certificate of Secondary Education.

The exams taken by most fifteen- to sixteen year- olds in England, Wales and Northern

Ireland. Marks are given for each subject separately. The syllabuses and methods of

examination of the various examining boards differ. However, there is a uniform system of

marks, all being graded from A to G. Grades A, B and C are regarded as 'good' grades.

SCE, Scottish Certificate of Education.

The Scottish equivalent of GCSE. These exams are set by the Scottish Examinations

Board. Grades are awarded in numbers (I = the best).

A Levels, Advanced Levels.

Higher-level academic exams set by the same examining boards that set GCSE exams.

They are taken mostly by people around the age of eighteen who wish to go on to higher

education.

SCE 'Highers', The Scottish equivalent of A-levels .

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GNVQ, General National Vocational Qualification.

Courses and exams in job-related subjects. They are divided into five levels, the lowest

level being equivalent to GCSEs/SCEs and the third level to A-levels/'Highers'. Most

commonly, GNVQ courses are studied at Colleges of Further Education, but more and

more schools are also offering them.

Degree:

A qualification from a university. (Other qualifications obtained after secondary education

are usually called' certificate' or 'diploma'). Students studying for a first degree are called

undergraduates. When they have been awarded a degree, they are known as graduates.

Most people get honours degrees, awarded in different classes.

Bachelor's Degree:

The general name for a first degree, most commonly BA (= Bachelor of Arts) or BSc (=

Bachelor of Science).

Master's Degree:

The general name for a second (postgraduate) degree, most commonly an MA or MSc. At

Scottish universities, however, these titles are used for first degrees.

Doctorate:

The highest academic qualification. This usually (but not everywhere) carries the title PhD

(= Doctor of Philosophy). The time taken to complete a doctorate varies, but it is generally

expected to involve three years of more-or-less full-time study.

Education after 16

At the age of 16, prior to leaving school, students are tested in various subjects to earn a

General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). If they wish to go on to higher

education at a university, they take Advanced Level examinations, commonly known as

―A‖ Levels. Scotland has comparable qualifications.

About 70 per cent of l6-year-old pupils choose to continue in full-time education in

school sixth forms, sixth-form colleges, further education colleges, universities and other

higher education institutions. They study for examinations which lead to higher education,

professional training or vocational qualifications. These include the General National

Vocational Qualification (GNVQ), mainly taken between the ages of 16 and 18, which is

designed to provide a broad-based preparation for a range of occupations and higher

education; the academic General Certificate of Education Advanced (A) level examination

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taken at the age of 18 or 19 after two

years' study, and the Advanced

Supplementary (AS) examination.

The sixth form

The word 'form' was the usual word

to describe a class of pupils in public

schools. It was taken over by some

state schools. With the introduction

of the national curriculum it has

become common to refer to 'years'.

However, 'form' has been

universally retained in the phrase

'sixth form', which refers to those

pupils who are studying beyond the

age of sixteen.

Further education & training

About 3.6 million student~ are enrolled in further education. Much of this is work-related

and vocational. Students often attend part-time, either by day release or block release from

employment or during the evenings. Courses are run by some 550 institutions of further

education, many of which also offer higher education courses.

A wide range of national vocational qualifications, designed mainly for people in

work, are based on national standards that define the competence, knowledge and

understanding that employers need.

Higher education

Higher education, consisting of degree and equivalent courses, has experienced a dramatic

expansion. One in three young people now enters higher education compared with one in

six in 1989. The number of postgraduates has increased by over a half in the last decade.

There are some 90 universities, which enjoy academic freedom. First degree courses are

mainly full time and usually last three years, with longer courses in subjects such as

medicine. Universities offer courses in a wide range of subjects, including traditional art

subjects and science and technology.

Over 95 per cent of students on first degree and other comparable higher education

courses receive government awards covering tuition fees and a maintenance grant. Parents

also contribute, the amount depending on their income. In addition, students can take out

loans to help pay their maintenance costs. The system of student finance is to be reformed

from October 1998 in order to share the costs of higher education with those who benefit

from it.

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All Souls College, Oxford University

Large numbers of people come to Britain from other countries to study. Over

500,000 overseas students attend publicly funded higher and further education institutions

in Britain, an increase of around three-quarters in the last ten years.

The Open University

This is one development in education in which Britain can claim to have led the world. It

was started in 1969. It allows people who do not have the opportunity to be ordinary

'students' to study for a degree. Its courses are taught through television, radio and

specially written course-books. Its students work with tutors, to whom they send their

written work and with whom they then discuss it, either at meetings or through

correspondence. In the summer, they have to attend short residential courses of about a

week

Types of university

There are no important official or legal distinctions between the various types of university

in the country. But it is possible to discern a few broad categories.

• Oxbridge: This name denotes the

universities of Oxford and Cambridge,

both founded in the medieval period.

They are federations of semi-

independent colleges, each college

having its own staff, known as

'Fellows'. Most colleges have their own

dining hall, library and chapel and

contain enough accommodation for at

least half of their students.

• The old Scottish universities: By 1600

Scotland boasted four universities. They

were Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and St Andrews. The last of these resembles

Oxbridge in many ways, while the other three are more like civic universities (see below)

in that most of the students live at home or find their own rooms in town.

• The early nineteenth-century English universities: Durham University was founded in

1832. Its collegiate living arrangements are similar to Oxbridge, but academic matters are

organized at university level. The University of London started in I836 with just two

colleges. Many more have joined since, scattered widely around the city, so that each

college (most are non-residential) is almost a separate university.

• The older civic (‗redbrick') universities: During the nineteenth century various institutes

of higher education, usually with a technical bias, sprang up in the new industrial towns

and cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. Their buildings were of local

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material, often brick, in contrast to the stone of older universities (hence the name,

'redbrick'). They catered only for local people.

• The campus universities: These are purpose- built institutions located in the countryside

but close to towns. Examples are East Anglia, Lancaster, Sussex and Warwick. They have

accommodation for most of their students on site and from their beginning, mostly in the

early 1960s, attracted students from all over the country.

• The newer civic universities: These were originally technical colleges set up by local

authorities in the first half of the twentieth century. Their upgrading to university status

took place in two waves. The first wave occurred in the mid 1960s, when ten of them (e.g.

Aston in Birmingham, Salford near Manchester and Strathclyde in Glasgow) were

promoted in this way. Then, in the early I970s, another thirty became 'polytechnics', which

meant that as well as continuing with their former courses, they were allowed to teach

degree courses (the degrees being awarded by a national body). In the early I990S most of

these (and also some other colleges) became universities. Their most notable feature is

flexibility with regard to studying arrangements, including 'sandwich' courses (i.e. studies

interrupted by periods of time outside education).

THIS IS THE END OF CHAPTER FOUR

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CHAPTER FIVE: THE ECONOMY AND EVERDAY LIFE

The one thing the English will never forgive the Germans for is working too hard.

GEORGE MIKES

This statement was written by a Hungarian humourist who emigrated to Britain in 1938.

He wrote it in the [960s, when the German economy was rapidly overtaking Britain's.

Living standards in Britain have risen steadily since then, but not as fast, perhaps, as they

have in other EU countries. Britain used to be one of the wealthiest countries in Europe.

These days it is often, by most standards of measurement, poorer than the EU average.

Earning money

Traditionally a major sign of being middle class (as opposed to working class) has been

that you do non-manual work. The fact that skilled manual (or 'blue-collar') workers have

been paid more highly than the lower grades of 'white-collar' (i.e. non-manual) worker for

several decades has only slightly changed this social perception. This 'anti-work' outlook

among the working class has led to a relative lack of ambition or enthusiasm and a belief

that high earnings are more important than job satisfaction.

Perhaps the traditional lack of enthusiasm for work is the reason why the working

day, in comparison with most European countries, starts rather late (usually at eight o'clock

for manual workers and around nine for non-manual workers). However, measured by the

number of hours worked in a week, the British reputation for not working hard enough

appears to be false. The normal lunch break is an hour or less, and most people (unless

they work part-time) continue working until five or later. Many people often work several

hours overtime a week. In addition, a comparatively large proportion of British people stay

in the workforce for a comparatively large part of their lives. The normal retiring age for

most people is sixty-five (sixty for some, including a greater proportion of women).

There are three main ways in which people look for work in Britain: through

newspapers (national ones for the highest-qualified, otherwise local ones), through the

local job centre (which is run as a government service) and through privately-run

employment agencies (which take a commission from employers). The overall trend in

employment over the last quarter of the twentieth century has been basically the same as

elsewhere in western Europe. The level of unemployment has gradually risen and most

new job opportunities are in the service sector (in communications, health care and social

care, for example).

The industrious British

The British may not like work very much. But they seem to spend a lot of time doing it.

Look at the European comparisons below. The figures show that in Britain, fulltime

employees work the longest hours in Europe, self-employed people work longer than in

most other European countries and more people between the ages of twenty five and sixty,

especially women, stay in 'the job market' than they do in most other European countries.

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Moreover, holiday periods in Britain are comparatively short and the country has a

comparatively small number of public holidays.

Work organizations

The organization which represents employers in private industry is called the

Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Most employers belong to it and so the advice

which it gives to trade unions and the government is quite influential. The Trades Union

Congress (TUC) is a voluntary association of the country's trade unions. There are more

than a hundred of these, representing employees in all types of business.

Most British unions are connected with particular occupations. Many belong to the

Labour party to which their members pay a ·political levy'. That is, a small part of their

union membership subscription is passed on to the party, although they have the right to

'contract out' of this arrangement if they want to.

Labour relations: a glossary

When there is a dispute between employees and management, the matter sometimes goes

to arbitration; that is, both

sides agree to let an

independent investigator settle

the dispute for them.

Refusing to work in the

normal way is generally

referred to as industrial

action (even when the work

has nothing to do with

industry). This can take

various forms. One of these is

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British pound notes

a work-to-rule, in which employees follow the regulations concerning their jobs exactly

and refuse to be flexible or co-operative in the normal way. Another is a go slow.

Finally, the employees might go on strike. Strikes can be official, if all the

procedures required to make them legal have taken place, or unofficial (when they are

sometimes referred to as wildcat strikes). When there is a strike, some strikers act as

pickets. They stand at the entrance to the worksite and try to dissuade any fellow workers

who might not want to strike (whom they call blacklegs) from going into work.

Currency and cash

The currency of Britain is the

pound sterling ( British pound

notes), whose symbol is '£',

always written before the

amount. Informally, a pound is

sometimes called a 'quid', so £20

might be expressed as 'twenty

quid'. There are 100 pence

(written 'p', pronounced 'pea') in

a pound.

The one-pound coin has

four different designs: an English

one, a Scottish one, a Northern Irish

one and a Welsh one (on which the inscription on the side is in Welsh; on all the others it is

in Latin).

In Scotland, banknotes with a Scottish design are issued. These notes are perfectly

legal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but banks and shops are not obliged to

accept them if they don't want to and nobody has the right to demand change in Scottish

notes.

Spending money: shopping

The British are not very adventurous shoppers. They like reliability and buy brand-name

goods wherever possible, preferably with the price clearly marked (they are not very keen

on haggling over prices). It is therefore not surprising that a very high proportion of the

country's shops are branches of chain stores.

Visitors from northern European countries are sometimes surprised by the

shabbiness of shop-window displays, even in prosperous areas. This is not necessarily a

sign of economic depression. It is just that the British do not demand art in their shop

windows.

In the last quarter of the twentieth century supermarkets began moving out of town,

where there was lots of free parking space. As they did so, they became bigger, turning

into 'hypermarkets' stocking a wider variety of items. For example, most of them now sell

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alcoholic drinks, which are conventionally bought at shops called 'off-licences'. They also

sell petrol and some items traditionally found in chemists and newsagents.

The area in town where the local shops are concentrated is known as the high street.

British high streets have suffered from the move towards out-of-town shopping. In larger

towns, shops have tended to become either more specialized or to sell especially cheap

goods (for people who are too poor to own a car and drive out of town). Many have

become charity shops (selling second-hand items and staffed by volunteers) and discount

stores.

The corner shop

A shop by itself in a

residential area is often

referred to as 'the corner shop'

( A ‘corner shop’). These

sometimes sell various kinds

of food, but they are not

always general grocers.

Usually their main business is

in newspapers, magazines,

sweets and tobacco products.

Only in corner shops do

shopkeepers know their

customers personally. Only in

them is the interaction across

the counter often social as well as transactional.

In the last few decades, many corner shops have been taken over by people from

southern Asia who have delighted the neighbourhood by staying open very long hours.

Shop opening hours

The normal time for shops to open is nine in the morning. Large out-of- town supermarkets

stay open all day until about eight o'clock. Most small shops stay open all day (some take a

break for lunch, usually between one and two) and then close at half-past five or a bit later.

the most significant change in recent years has been with regard to Sundays. By the

early 1990s many shops, including chain stores, were opening on some Sundays, especially

in the period before Christmas. In doing this they were taking a risk with the law.

Sometimes they were taken to court, sometimes not. The rules were so old and confused

that nobody really knew what was and what wasn't legal. It was agreed that something had

to be done. On one side were the 'Keep Sunday Special' lobby, a group of people from

various Christian churches and trade unions. They argued that Sunday should be special, a

day of rest, a day for all the family to be together. They also feared that Sunday-opening

would mean that shop workers would be forced to work too many hours. On the other side

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were a number of lobbies, especially people from women's and consumer groups. They

argued that working women needed more than one day (Saturday) in which to rush around

doing the shopping. In any case, they argued, shopping was also something that the whole

family could do together. In 1993 Parliament voted on the matter. By a small majority, the

idea of a complete 'free-for-all' was defeated. Small shops are allowed to open on Sundays

for as long as they like, but large shops and supermarkets can only open for a maximum of

six hours .

THIS IS THE END OF CHAPTER FIVE

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A British wedding

CHAPTER SIX: PEOPLE IN BRITAIN TODAY

Demographic trends

Britain has a population of about 60 million people, the 17th largest in the world. The great

majority, 49.3 million, live in England; Scotland has just over 5 million people, Wales 2.9

million and Northern Ireland about 1.7 million.

The population density is well above the European Union average. England is the

most densely populated, with 373 people per sq km, and Scotland the least, with 67 people

per sq km. The great majority of people are concentrated in towns and cities, although

there has been a trend, especially in the capital London, for people to move away from

congested urban centres into the suburbs.

In 1997 there were 726,000 live births in Britain, compared with 633,000 deaths.

The birth rate is relatively low at 12.3 live births per 1,000 population. This is in part due

to a trend towards later marriage and towards postponing births.

The average age of women having children has risen to over 28 years in England

and Wales. There is also a greater preference for smaller families than in the past, which

has led to a significant decline in the proportion of families with four or more children. In

addition, more widespread and effective contraception has made it easier to plan families.

Life expectancy for men in Britain is about 74 years and for women 79 years

(compared with 49 years for men and 52 years for women at the start of the century). The

general death rate is 10.4 per 1,000 of the population. There has been a decline in mortality

at most ages, particularly among children, reflecting better nutrition, rising living

standards, medical advances and improved health measures, wider education and the

smaller size of families.

Britain has one of the highest

marriage ( A British wedding) and

divorce rates in the European Union.

There are 309,000 marriages each year

in Britain, of which about 40 per cent

are remarriages of one or both parties.

Of the population aged 16 or over in

England and Wales 55 per cent are

married, 28 per cent are single, 9 per

cent are widowed and 8 per cent are

divorced. The average age for first

marriages in England and Wales is now

29 for men and 27 for women.

In England and Wales there are about 14 divorces for every 1,000 married couples.

The average age of spouses at the time of divorce is now about 38 for men and just

over 35 for women. Divorce rates are lower in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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A single parent

In the past,

people married

before they had

children, but

now about 40%

of children are

born to

unmarried

(cohabiting)

parents

In common with many other Western European countries, there has been an

increase in cohabitation

(unmarried couples living

together) in Britain ( A

single parent). About 14 per

cent of non-married men and

women aged 16 and over in

Great Britain are cohabiting.

There is some evidence of a

growing number of stable

non-married relationships.

Over half of all births outside

marriage (which account for

over one third of live births in

Britain) are registered by both

parents giving a single

address as their place of residence.

Elderly people

One of the most significant changes in the age structure of Britain's population over the last

30 years has been the increasing proportion of people over retirement age (65 for men and

60 for women) - some 11 million today, and their numbers continue to grow. This has

important implications for social services provision into the next century.

Most elderly people in Britain live healthy and independent lives. Nearly all want

to be a part of the community, living in their own homes. Many view their later years as an

opportunity to do the things they never previously had the time for, or to take on new

interests or challenges. For instance, adult educational and recreational courses run by local

authorities throughout Britain are well attended by older people, and some sports, such as

bowls, attract many elderly participants.

There are concessionary fares for resident pensioners on most bus services, and

special discounts are available on coach and rail travel. Special housing needs for the

elderly are met by local authorities, housing associations, voluntary bodies and the private

sector. Sheltered housing schemes may consist of groups of flats or small houses where

older people can live independently but still have the support of a resident warden. For

those people who are too infirm to continue to live independently there are residential

homes providing full board, or nursing homes offering 24-hour personal care.

Young people

The home is the central focus of most young people's lives in Britain, particularly for those

who are still attending school. The majority rely upon their home environment as a place of

security and upon their parents as the main providers of food, money and other necessary

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amenities for life - as well as general advice. Young people spend a large proportion of

their leisure time in the home with other members of their family or with friends.

After the home, school is the main social environment where children not only

receive their formal education but also develop their identities within peer groups. All

school children in Britain are encouraged to take up activities which complement their

academic and vocational education and help to identity their individual talents, such as

sports, drama, music and creative pursuits. Many of these form part of school curricula.

The personal development and informal social education of young people aged 11-

25 is also promoted by the Youth Service in Britain. The Service is a partnership between

statutory authorities and a large number of voluntary organizations. A recent survey

estimated that nearly 6 million young people in this age group are either current or past

participants in the Service.

Women

There is a ratio of about 104 females to every 100 males in Britain. There are about 3.5

per cent more male than female births every year.

Because of the higher mortality of men at all ages, there is a turning point, at about 50

years of age, beyond which the number of women exceeds the number of men. This

imbalance increases with age so that there are many more women among the elderly. The

economic and domestic lives of women have been transformed in Britain during the 20th

century. These changes are partly due to the removal of discrimination in political and

legal rights which has promoted sex equality. Another major feature has been the increase

in the number of women, especially married women, at work. The growth of part-time and

flexible working patterns, and training and retraining schemes, has allowed more women to

take advantage of employment opportunities. Childcare provision, such as day nurseries

and child-minders, has also increased significantly, extending choice and opportunity for

women beyond the scope of home and family.

Women now make up over one-third of the workforce in Britain, and about

800,000 run their own businesses.

Employment

Britain has a higher proportion of the adult population in work - 74 per cent - than any

other large European country. The labour market has changed considerably in recent years,

with a growing proportion of people working in service industries (such as financial

services, education, medical services, retailing, catering transport and communication).

Nearly three-quarters of employees now work in the service sector, compared with less

than one-fifth in manufacturing. Other major changes have been the rising proportion of

women in the workforce .and the increase in part-time employment.

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Patterns of employment

The workforce in employment in Britain totals 26.2 million. Of these, 22.9 million

(12.2 million men and 10.7 million women) are

classed as employees in employment, and about 3.1 million are self-employed. The

remainder are on work-related government training schemes or unpaid family workers.

Recent trends show that par~-time employment has increased over the last 12 years by 30

per cent to 5.5 million while the number of full-time jobs have increased by less than 5 per

cent. About 40 percent of women in employment work part-time, compared with 6 per cent

of men.

The number of employees engaged in service industries in Great Britain is over 17

million. There has been a gradual move away from manual to non-manual occupations,

which now account for nearly three-fifths of jobs.

Living standards

Marked improvements in the standard of living for people in Britain have taken place

during the 20th century. According to the United Nations, in 1997 Britain ranked fifteenth

out of 175 countries on a human development index that combines life expectancy,

education levels and basic purchasing power. Earnings from employment remain the main

source of household income for most people, although other sources such as private

pensions and annuities have become more important. Disposable income - the amount of

money people have available to spend after income tax, National Insurance and

contributions to pension schemes have been deducted - is now at its highest-ever level.

Since the 1970s there has been little change in the distribution of marketable wealth, half

of which is owned by the richest 10 per cent of people. A large proportion of personal

wealth in Britain is in residential property. There has also been growth in share ownership

in recent years.

Average weekly household spending in Britain is about £311. Food and housing

costs constitute 18 and 16 per cent of this. Transport and leisure pursuits account for about

16 percent each.

Housing

Largely depending on their means, people in Britain live in a diverse range of

accommodation ranging from country mansions to single rooms or hostels in the

inner cities. The majority, however, live in houses and (to a lesser extent) flats, either as

owner-occupiers or as tenants paying rent. About 19 per cent of houses are detached, 31

percent are semi-detached and 29 percent are terraced. Purpose-built flats or maisonettes

make up 15 per cent of the housing stock and converted flats or rooms account for 5

percent.

Owner-occupation more than doubled between 1961 and 1997. The number of

owner-occupied homes amounts to over 14 million in England. Most people buy their

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homes with a mortgage loan, with the property as security. Mortgages are available from

building societies, banks and other financial institutions.

There are some 3.6 million houses and flats in the public housing sector. Most of

the public housing in Great Britain is provided by local housing authorities. Over one-third

of local authority tenants live in purpose-built flats or maisonettes, one-third in terraced

houses and about one-quarter in semi-detached houses. Most have the right to buy the

homes they occupy if they wish.

Housing associations, which are non-profit making, are now the main providers of

additional low-cost housing for rent and for sale to those on low incomes and in the

greatest housing need. The housing association sector is expanding rapidly; associations

now own, manage and maintain over 950,000 homes and about 65,000 hostel and special

needs bed spaces in Great Britain, providing homes for well over a million people. Almost

10 percent of households are rented from private landlords.

Leisure trends

The most common leisure activities among people in Britain are home-based, or social,

such as visiting relatives or friends. Watching television is by far the most popular leisure

pastime. Nearly every household has a television set, and average viewing time is over 25

hours a week. The majority of households also have a video recorder.

Other regular pastimes include listening to the radio and to recorded music. About

70 per cent of the population listen to local and national radio on an average day. There has

been a dramatic rise in the sale of compact discs in recent years. The number of

households with a home computer has increased to over one quarter.

Many people in their spare time enjoy reading (over 50 per cent belong to a

library), gardening, do-it-yourself home improvements, undertaking voluntary work ,

going out for a meal or drink or to the cinema. More daily newspapers, national and

regional, are sold for every person in Britain than in most other developed countries. On an

average .day 56 per cent of people over the age of 15 read a national morning paper; 70 per

cent read a Sunday newspaper. The British are renowned as animal lovers, and about half

of all households have a pet, most commonly dogs and cats.

Eating & drinking habits

Although some traditional meals in Britain, like roast beef and Yorkshire pudding or fish

and chips, remain popular, there has been a significant shift in eating habits among the

population over the last decade or so. This is in part due to a greater emphasis on health

and convenience considerations.

Consumption of several items, such as packet sugar, eggs, potatoes and fresh green

vegetables, has declined substantially. An increase in the consumption of rice and pasta

may be partly responsible for the decline in that of potatoes. Consumption of meat - with

the exception of that of poultry which is now at a record level - has also fallen. Skimmed

milk now constitutes more than half of the total household consumption of liquid milk.

There has been a decline in the total consumption of cooking and spreading fats, with large

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falls in butter and lard usage being offset by rapid rises in the consumption of vegetable

and salad oils and reduced fat spreads. A switch in fish consumption away from fresh

white fish towards canned fish and shellfish has been evident. There has been a small

increase in the intake of fibres.

Britain has a wide range of restaurants, offering cuisine from virtually every

country. Chinese, Indian, Italian and Greek restaurants are among the most popular.

There has been an increase in recent years in the amount of alcohol that people

drink, particularly among women. Beer, including lager, is the most popular drink among

male drinkers. The largest consumers of alcohol are in the 18 to 24 age range. Table wine

has become more popular, although there has been little change in the consumption of

stronger wines such as sherry and port.

Interests in sports

There is widespread participation in sport among people in Britain. An estimated 64.5 per

cent of people over the age of 16 regularly take part in sports or exercise. The most popular

are walking (including rambling and hiking), swimming, snooker/pool, keep fit/yoga and

cycling.

Women's participation has grown significantly over the last few years, even into

traditionally male-dominated activities like football and rugby. Many sports, such as

athletics, boxing and football, have also been successful in attracting considerable numbers

of participants from the ethnic minorities.

The integration in sport of people with disabilities is increasingly encouraged and

organizations throughout Britain promote and develop such opportunities. All schools

(except those solely for infants) are expected to have a playing field or the use of one, and

most secondary schools have a gymnasium. Some have other amenities such as swimming

pools and sports halls.

Language variation

English is the main language spoken in Britain, although with many regional variations in

terms of accent and phraseology. It is also one of the most widely used in the world; recent

estimates suggest that over 337 million people speak it as their first language, with a

similar number speaking it as a second language. Modern English derives primarily from

one of the dialects of Anglo-Saxon, but has been very greatly influenced by other

languages over time.

About one-fifth of the population of Wales speak the Welsh language, which is of

Celtic origin. They are concentrated in the rural north and west, where Welsh remains the

first language of most of the population. Both the Government and voluntary groups have

taken steps to revive the use of Welsh. Bilingual education in schools is encouraged and

there has been an extended use of Welsh for official purposes and in broadcasting. In the

context of dealing with public authorities and the administration of justice in Wales, Welsh

and English are treated on an equal basis. Gaelic, also a language of Celtic origin, is still

spoken by some 70,000 people in Scotland; the greatest concentration of Gaelic speakers is

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in the islands of the Hebrides. People in the central lowlands of Scotland have for centuries

spoken Scots, a dialect derived from the Northumbrian branch of Old English. This has its

own recognized literary tradition and has seen a revival in poetry in the 20th century. Many

words and phrases from the Scots tongue are retained in the everyday English which is

spoken throughout Scotland. Many other languages are spoken by the minority ethnic

communities living in Britain.

THIS IS THE END OF CHAPTER SIX

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CHAPTER SEVEN: HOLIDAYS AND SPECIAL OCCASIONS

Britain is a country governed by routine. It has fewer public holidays than any other

country in Europe and fewer than North America. Even New Year's Day was not an official

public holiday in England and Wales until quite recently (but so many people gave

themselves a holiday anyway that it was thought it might as well become official!). There

are almost no semi-official holidays either. Moreover, there are no traditional extra local

holidays in particular places. Although the origin of the word 'holiday' is 'holy day', not all

public holidays (usually known as 'bank holidays') are connected with religious

celebrations. The British also seem to do comparatively badly with regard to annual

holidays. These are not as long as they are in many other countries. Although the average

employee gets four weeks' paid holiday a year, in no town or city in the country would a

visitor ever get the impression that the place had 'shut down' for the summer break. (In

fact, about 40% of the population do not go away anywhere for their holidays.)

Traditional seaside holidays

The British upper class started the fashion for seaside holidays in the late eighteenth

century. The middle classes soon followed them and when they were given the opportunity

(around the beginning of the twentieth century), so did the working classes. It soon became

normal for families to spend a week or two every year at one of the seaside resort towns

which sprang up to cater for this new mass market. The most well-known of these are close

to the larger towns and cities. Another traditional holiday destination, which was very

popular in Britain in the I950S and I 960s, is the holiday camp, where visitors stay in

chalets in self-contained villages with all food and entertainment organized for them.

Rock

There is one kind of sweet associated

with holiday resorts. This is 'rock' (

A shop selling rock), a hard thick stick

of sugar. Each resort has the letters of

its name appearing throughout the

stick, so that one hears of 'Brighton

Rock', 'Blackpool Rock' and so on.

Modern holidays

These days, millions of British people take their cars across the channel every year and

nearly half of all the nights spent on holidays away from home are spent abroad. Most

foreign holidays are package holidays, in which transport and accommodation are booked

and paid for through a travel agent. Spain is by far the most popular package-holiday

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destination. Half of all the holidays taken within Britain are now for three days or less.

There are also a wide range of 'activity' holidays available, giving full expression to British

individualism. You can, for example, take part in a 'murder weekend', and find yourself

living out the plot of detective story. An increasing number of people now go on 'working'

holidays, during which they might help to repair an ancient stone wall or take part in an

archaeological dig. This is an echo of another traditional type of 'holiday' - fruit picking. It

used to be the habit of poor people from the east end of London , for example, to go to

Kent at the end of the summer to help with the hop harvest (hops are used for making

beer).

Christmas and New Year

Christmas is the one occasion in modern Britain when a large number of customs are

enthusiastically observed by most ordinary people within the family. Most people buy

presents for the other members of their household and also for other relatives, especially

children. Some people also buy presents for their close friends. And to a wider circle of

friends and relatives, and sometimes also to working associates and neighbours, they send

Christmas cards. Some people even send such greetings to people whom they have not

seen for many years, often using the excuse of this tradition to include a letter passing on

the year's news.

People also buy Christmas trees. Almost every household has a tree decorated in a

different way (in many cases, with coloured lights). Most people also put up other

decorations around the house. Exactly what these are varies a great deal, but certain

symbols of Christmas, such as bits of the holly and mistletoe plants, are very common, and

the Christmas cards which the household has received are usually displayed.

The role of Father Christmas (or Santa Claus) and the customs associated with the

giving of gifts vary from family to family. Most households with children tell them that

Father Christmas comes down the chimney on the night of Christmas Eve (even though

most houses no longer have a working chimney!). Many children layout a Christmas

stocking at the foot of their beds, which they expect to see filled when they wake up on

Christmas morning. Most families put wrapped presents around or on the Christmas tree

and these are opened at some time on Christmas Day.

Other activities on Christmas Day may include the eating of Christmas dinner and

listening to the Queen's Christmas message. This ten-minute television broadcast is

normally the only time in the year when the monarch speaks directly to 'her' people on

television.

Parties on New Year's Eve, on the other hand, are usually for friends. Most people

attend a gathering at this time and 'see in' the new year with a group of other people, often

drinking a large amount of alcohol as they do so.

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Other notable annual occasions

Easter is far less important than Christmas to most people in Britain. Although it involves a

four-day 'weekend', there are very few customs and habits associated generally with it,

other than the consumption of mountains of chocolate Easter eggs by children. Some

people preserve the tradition of eating hot cross buns on Good Friday. Quite a lot of

people go away on holiday at this time.

None of the other days of the year to which traditional customs are attached is a

holiday, and not everybody takes part in these customs. In fact, many people in Britain live

through occasions such as Shrove Tuesday, April Fools' Day or Hallowe'en without even

knowing that they have happened.

There is one other day which, although many people do not mark in any special

way, is very difficult to ignore. This is 5 November, the day which celebrates a famous

event in British history – the gunpowder plot. It is called Guy Fawkes' Day - or, more

commonly, Bonfire Night. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, a group of

Catholics planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament while King James I was in there.

Before they could achieve this, one of them, Guy Fawkes, was caught in the cellars under

Parliament with the gunpowder. He and his fellow-conspirators were all killed. At the time,

the failure of the gunpowder plot was celebrated as a victory for British Protestantism over

rebel Catholicism. However, it has now lost its religious and patriotic connotations. In

most parts of Britain, Catholic children celebrate it just as enthusiastically as Protestant

children - or, for that matter, children brought up in any other religious faith. Some

children make a .guy' out of old clothes stuffed with newspaper several weeks beforehand.

They then place this somewhere on the street and ask passers-by for 'a penny for the guy'.

What they are actually asking for is money to buy fireworks with.

St Valentine’s Day and Gretna Green

Despite the unromantic reputation of the British, on this day every year about £7 million

worth of flowers are delivered, an extra 40 million chocolates are sold and greetings-card

manufacturers collect £25 million. Every St Valentine's Day, thousands of people travel to

a tiny village on Scotland's border with England. Many of them go to get married, and

many more couples go through mock wedding ceremonies. The village is Gretna Green. Its

romantic reputation began in 1754. Weddings for St Valentine's Day in this small village

have to be booked three months in advance.

Shrove Tuesday

This day is also known as Pancake Day. In past centuries, Lent was a time of fasting. Both

meat and eggs were forbidden throughout the six weeks. The tradition was to eat up all

your meat on the Monday before Lent, and all your eggs on the Tuesday - in pancakes.

Now, the fasting has gone and only the eating remains. Two events are associated with

Shrove Tuesday. One of them is the pancake tossing contest (how many pancakes can you

throw into the air and catch within a certain time?). The other is the pancake race.

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Contestants have to run while continuously tossing a pancake. Anyone who drops his or

her pancake is disqualified.

Calendar of special occasions

New Year's Day* (I

January) 2 January is also a

public holiday in Scotland.

St Valentine's Day (14

February)

Shrove Tuesday (Forty-

seven days before Easter)

St Patrick's Day (17

March)

This is a public holiday in

Northern Ireland.

Mother's Day (The fourth

Sunday in Lent) £50 million

worth of flowers are bought

for this day. Cards are also

sent.

April Fools' Day (I April)

It is traditional for people to

play tricks or practical jokes

on each other on this day.

Children are the most

enthusiastic about this

custom, but even the BBC

and serious newspapers

sometimes have 'joke' (i.e.

not genuine) features on this

day.

Good Friday*

The strange name in English

for the day commemorating

Christ's crucifixion.

Easter Monday* (The day

after Easter Sunday)

May Day* (The first

Monday in May) In Britain

this day is associated more

with ancient folklore than

Father's Day (The third

Sunday in June) This is

probably just a commercial

invention - and not a very

successful one either.

Millions of British fathers

don't even know they have a

special day.

Queen's Official Birthday (The second or third

Saturday in June) It is

'official' because it is not her

real one. Certain public

ceremonies are performed

on this day.

Orangemen's Day (12 July)

This is a public holiday in

Northern Ireland only. In

this way, the holiday

associated with the Catholic

part of the community (St

Patrick's Day) is balanced

by one associated with the

other part, the Protestants

Summer Bank Holiday*

(The last Monday in

August)

Hallowe'en (31 October)

This is the day before All

Saints' Day in the Christian

calendar, and is associated

with the supernatural. Some

people hold Hallowe'en

parties, which are fancy-

dress parties (people dress

up as witches, ghosts etc.).

However, this day is

observed much more

energetically in the USA

than it is in Britain.

The people who donate

money are given paper

poppies to pin to their

clothes. No politician would

be seen on this day without

a poppy!

Christmas Eve (24

December)

Christmas Day* (25

December)

Boxing Day* (26

December) Explanations for

the origin of this name vary.

One is that it was the day on

which landowners and

householders would present

their tenants and servants

with gifts (in boxes), another

is that it was the day on

which the collecting boxes

in churches were opened and

the contents distributed to

the poor.

New Year's Eve (31

December)

FACULTY OF

FOREIGN


Page | 59

with the workers. In some

villages the custom of

dancing round the maypole

is acted out.

Spring Bank Holiday*

(The last Monday in May)

There used to be a holiday

on 'Whit Monday'

celebrating the Christian

feast of Pentecost. Because

this is seven weeks after

Easter, the date varied. This

fixed holiday has replaced it.

Guy Fawkes' Day (5

November)

Remembrance Sunday (Second Sunday in

November) This day

commemorates the dead of

both World Wars and of

more recent conflicts. On

and before this day, money

is collected in the street on

behalf of charities for ex-

servicemen and women.

THIS IS THE END OF CHAPTER SEVEN

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