The land of Great Britain

The land and people of Great Britain

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) is the official name which is situated in the British Isles. It consists of four countries which are England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

The UK is an island state. The two main islands are Great Britain (where England, Scotland, Wales are situated) and Ireland. The two islands are separated by the Irish Sea.

The UK is separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. Once the British Isles used to be a part of the continent. The nearest point to Europe is the Strait of Dover.

The UK is also washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the North and the North Sea in the east.

Everyone who was born in Britain is British. People from England are English. People from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not English. They are Scottish (the Scotts), Welsh, Irish.

Everyone in Britain speaks English. But in some parts of Scotland and Wales people speak different languages as well.

The flag of the United Kingdom is known as the Union Jack. It is made up of three crosses: the cross of St. George (England), the cross of St. Andrew (Scotland) and the cross of St. Patrick (Ireland).

The Queen and the parliament

In Britain the Queen is the Head of State, but in fact she doesn't rule the country as she has no power. The Queen is the symbol of the country history and its traditions.

At the beginning of the century many countries were ruled by Britain. All of them were included into the British Empire and were its colonies. In 1949 Britain and the former colonies founded the Commonwealth. The Queen of Great Britain is also the Head of Commonwealth and the queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand.

The real power in the country belongs to the British Parliament and to the British Government. The British Parliament has two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The members of the House of Lords are not elected. These members are permanent.

The members of the House of Commons are elected. The Brinish people elect 650 members of the House of Commons every five years.

The British ways of life

In England many things are the other way round. On the continent people seldom speak about weather. If they do, it means they have topics to discuss. In England, if you don't repeat the phrase “It's a nice day today, isn't it?” two hundred times a day people are surprised and think that you are very dull. On the continent Sunday papers appear on Monday; in England they appear on Sunday. On the continent some people like cats, others don't, but in England cats are very special animals. Everyone loves them and takes care of them.

On the continent people are proud of the think they know. They try to show off their knowledge and often quote Greek and Latin writes. In England only who don't know them or who don't haven't read them do it.

You can offend people on the continent in many ways, for example, if you laugh at them or make jokes about their life and jobs.

But the English take everything with a sense of humor. You can easily offend them only if tell them they have no sense of humor.

People on the continent either tell you truth or lie, in England they hardly ever lie, but they don't tell you the truth either.

On Sunday on the continent even the poorest person puts on his best suit and tries to look nice and respectable. In England even richest man dresses in some old clothes and doesn't shave.

Many continentals think life is a game; the English think cricket is a game. On the continent people have good food. In England people have good table manners.