Few things about Britain

7/28/2019 Few things about Britain

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Few things about british people

Population

England is the largest political and geographic division of the United Kingdom, whichalso includes Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. About four-fifths of the UnitedKingdoms population lives in England. Since the end of World War II, there has beenlarge-scale immigration, with people arriving from the United Kingdoms formerterritories in Africa, India, Pakistan, and other parts of Asia. England has been fairlysuccessful in assimilating its ethnic communities, but racial tensions remain a problem insome areas, particularly in inner-city districts with a relatively high proportion ofimmigrants.

Language

English is the official language of the United Kingdom. There are considerable variationsin regional accents throughout England. The influx of immigrants has also meant thatmany other languages are spoken among these communities.

Religion

In 1533, during the reign of Henry VIII, England split from the Roman Catholic Church to

form the Anglican Church, which became the established church of the country. Themonarch is at its head. The Church of England no longer has any political power, althoughits archbishops and some bishops still sit in the House of Lords. The majority of thepopulation of the United Kingdom is Anglican, although relatively few attend church.Roman Catholics represent the largest minority. Presbyterians, Methodists, and Jews areother minorities. Numerous other religions are practiced in England, and in many citiesthere are significant Muslim and Hindu communities. English society is secular, andreligious education in schools now embraces the beliefs of a wide range of religions, notonly Christianity.

Marriage and Family

Marriage is legal at age 16 but usually takes place when people are in their mid- to late20s. Fewer people are getting married than in the past and those who do are marryinglater. It has become increasingly popular in recent years for couples to live together beforeor instead of marriage.

English families are small (one or two children are the norm). Women are having fewerchildren and are waiting longer to have them. In the past three decades, a substantial

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number of women have begun working outside the home. The divorce rate has risen, ashas the number of single-parent families.

Since the early 1980s, the division between rich and poor has grown, but the middle classremains the largest section of society. Home ownership is highabout two-thirds of thepeople own their own houses or flats (apartments).

Eating

Since the 1960s, the English diet has become more diverse; the English now eat a widevariety of European and Asian foods. Many traditional foods such as beef and potatoeshave given way to poultry and pasta dishes. Fast food has also become more available, and

hamburger restaurants now rival the traditional fish-and-chip shops in popularity.Numerous Chinese and Indian restaurants and pizza houses provide take-away service,and many pubs (public houses) serve anything from snacks to full meals as well asalcoholic beverages. Traditional English dishes include roast beef and yorkshire pudding (abaked batter usually served in muffin-sized portions) and steak and kidney pie.

The English generally eat three meals a day. A traditional English breakfast consists of anyor all of the following: bacon, sausages, grilled or fried tomatoes, mushrooms, eggs, ortoast. Kippers (smoked herring) or black pudding (blood pudding) may also appear on themenu. However, fewer people now eat a cooked breakfast on a regular basis, preferringvarious combinations of cereal, toast, juice or fruit, and tea or coffee. The midday meal is

usually referred to as lunch and the evening meal as dinner or, when it is less formal, assupper. Working-class people tend to call the midday meal dinner and the meal they havein the early evening tea. The tradition of afternoon tea, when tea, biscuits, and cakes areenjoyed at about 4 PM, has declined. Similarly, many people no longer have more than alight lunch or snack in the middle of the day.

Socializing

The English often say How do you do? or Pleased to meet you when meeting for thefirst time. People usually shake hands when first introduced or when greeting and partingin business and other formal situations. Otherwise many English people will simply sayHello when they see each other. Among friends, women are often kissed (by men andwomen) lightly on one cheek. The use of first names is widespread; titles such as Mr.and Mrs. are being used less frequently, even when children address adults.



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It is customary to respect peoples privacy by telephoning before visiting. When invited toa meal by friends, guests often bring a bottle of wine or another small gift.

Recreation

Wintertime national sports are football (soccer) and Rugby Union. Rugby League, whichis played mainly in the north, switched from a winter to a summer season in 1996. One ofthe most popular spectator sports is horseracing (over jumps in the winter and on a flattrack in the summer). The traditional summer sport is cricket. Modern lawn tennis wasfirst played in England, and the rules of modern boxing came from the country as well.The English are avid walkers and also enjoy golf and fishing. Gardening is a favorite wayto relax and represents a huge industry (gardening books can become best-sellers). Othersports with enthusiastic participants are sailing, rowing, squash, snooker, and darts.

The pub remains a popular place to socialize with friends. Relaxing in the home, however,is still more popular. With the exception of U.S. citizens, the British watch more televisionthan anyone else in the world and claim that one reason for this is the high quality ofBritish programming. Videos are also popular, but many people equally enjoy seeing filmsat the cinema. All types of music and theater are well supported. The country is also richin art galleries and museums.

Holidays and Celebrations

Shrove Tuesday is known as Pancake Day in England. It was traditionally a day to makepancakes and use up all the butter and eggs that would not be allowed during Lent, whichstarts the following day, Ash Wednesday. Some families still make pancakes at home onPancake Day. In an annual race held in Olney since 1945, women run carrying a pan and apancake that must be flipped three times.

Mothering Sunday, traditionally the fourth Sunday in Lent, is a day to visit and bring giftsto ones mother. On 1 April, April Fools tricks are played.

May Day is celebrated on the first Monday of May. On Guy Fawkes or Bonfire Night (5November), fireworks and bonfires on which effigies of Guy Fawkes are burned celebrateFawkes's failure in his attempt to blow up the houses of Parliament on 4 November 1605.

On the second Sunday in November, Remembrance Day honors veterans. Red paperpoppies are sold by the British Legion to raise money for veterans.

During Christmas dinner (25 December), the traditional cracker is supposed to be laid



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beside each plate. Those seated next to each other pull the ends of each others crackers,which make a loud bang! Inside there is a crepe-paper hat and a trinket. Boxing Day (26December), so called for small earthenware boxes that tradespeople and civil servantstraditionally carried around to collect tips, is now simply a leisure day and a very busy dayin the sporting calendar. Many offices, but not shops, close for all of the Christmas-to-New Year period.

New Years Day (1 January), Good Friday (the Friday preceding Easter), and EasterMonday (the Monday following Easter) are three of Englands traditional bank holidays,on which banks and other businesses close. The other bank holidays include May Day, thespring and summer bank holidays (the last Monday in May and the last Monday in August,respectively), Christmas Day, and Boxing Day.

Most employees get four to five weeks annual vacation. Most people take their maintwo- or three-week vacation in July or August. A sizable minority also take a wintervacation, usually to go skiing or to somewhere warm and sunny. Short trips of two to fivedays to other parts of the country or to continental Europe have become increasingly

popular.

Arts

There was a strong tradition of madrigals and chamber music by the 16th century and adistinctive tradition of Anglican church music developed later. Well-known madrigalcomposers include Thomas Morley, Thomas Weelkes, and John Wilbye. Henry Purcelland George Frideric Handel were leading composers of the baroque era of the late 17thand 18th centuries, but English orchestral music lacked repute after that until the turn ofthe 20th century. Prominent modern composers include Sir Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan

Williams, Benjamin Britten, and Frederick Delius.

Folk music in England is often dance music, traditionally accompanied by pipe and tabor,or fiddle and bagpipe. Modern accompanying instruments are the melodeon, fiddle, andconcertina. Common dances include the quadrille and country dance, antecedents to theAmerican square dance; and the reel, jig, hornpipe, and rant. Morris dancing is a form ofritual dance with pre-Christian origins. It is danced on Whitsuntide in the spring by mendressed in white clothing with bells, ribbons, and flowers, and holding handkerchiefs andstaves. A modern revival of English folk music, known as English roots music, was begunin the 1980s by popular musicians and has attracted broader interest in traditional music.

Beginning with the Beatles in the 1960s, England has had an internationally influentialpopular music industry. In addition to Western pop music, it is the home to world-musicfusion genres such as bhangra, a mix of English and Punjabi dance music.

Libraries and Museums



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More than 500 public library authorities administer some 40,000 branch librariesthroughout the United Kingdom. Among the libraries in London are the British Library,the various divisions of which constitute the largest library in the United Kingdom; theUniversity of London Central Library; the Science Museum Library; and the PublicRecord Office Library, which contains the National Archives. Universities also maintainextensive libraries. The Bodleian library at Oxford University is a copyright library and istherefore entitled to a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom.

Many cities and towns have museums of art, natural history, and archaeology. The best-known and largest museum is the British Museum in London, which contains collectionsof art and archaeological specimens from all over the world. Other outstanding museumsin London are the Tate Gallery, the National Gallery, and the Victoria and AlbertMuseum.

Government

England is the largest division of the United Kingdom, which has no written constitution.The constitutional arrangements are the result of acts of Parliament, common law, andprecedent. Parliaments first bid for supremacy came in the 16421649 civil war and thesubsequent execution of King Charles I. Oliver Cromwell then ruled as a dictator, but themonarchy was reestablished upon his death. Uncontested parliamentary sovereignty datesfrom the Glorious Revolution of 1688, when the Catholic James II was ousted and theProtestant William and Mary were invited by Parliament to become joint monarchs. Themonarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is head of state, but elected officials govern through

Parliament.

The House of Commons is the main legislative body, with 659 members. The party withthe most members of Parliament forms the government, and that partys leader becomesthe prime minister. The prime minister and Cabinet (senior ministers) govern as theexecutive body. The voting age is 18, and elections are held at least every five years. Inpractice, they are held more often, because they can be called by the prime minister at anytime.

Parliaments upper chamber is the House of Lords, which has more than 1,200 members.About two-thirds are hereditary members, and the remaining third are members appointedfor life, including those who sit on the United Kingdoms highest court of appeal. Thechamber can vote against legislation, which in practice simply delays it. Because theHouse of Lords is not an elected body, it cannot completely block legislation.

On 11 May 1999, the House of Lords accepted radical reform of its own compositionwhen it gave its backing to the Labour government's plans for constitutional change. TheLords voted by 352 votes to 32 to accept a compromise proposal allowing 92 of the 752hereditary peers to continue to sit in the House until a full reform program is completed.



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The first stage of the House of Lords reform, agreed upon by the vote, represents only alimited change to the powers and composition of the upper house of Parliamentmoremembers will be appointed by the government, but their powers will remain the same.However, a second stage of reform, with altered structure and possibly increasedconstitutional powers for the Lords, is under consideration.eyed the very public divorces of the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, and his brother

Economy

Following rapid industrialization in the 19th century, the United Kingdom developed intothe worlds leading industrial power, but the effects of two world wars greatly diminishedits economic strength. After World War II ended in 1945, many parts of the economywere nationalized. The country fell significantly behind the other large Europeaneconomies over the next few decades.

After Margaret Thatcher became prime minister in 1979, there was a major shift inemphasis toward industry deregulation and market forces. Many industries wereprivatized, and the power of the trade unions was greatly reduced. As a result, themanufacturing sector became more competitive but smaller, and unemployment and socialdiscontent increased. From 1983, after it emerged from recession, until the late 1980s, theUnited Kingdoms economy was one of the fastest growing in Europe. The UnitedKingdom was among the first European countries to show signs of recovery after therecession of the early 1990s. Inflation and unemployment have fallen, althoughunemployment rates are still higher than they were in the three decades following WorldWar II.

The United Kingdom does the bulk of its trading within the EU. Natural resources includeoil, coal, natural gas, and iron ore. Important exports include crude oil from the NorthSea, manufactured goods, and consumer items. The service sector is increasingly moreimportant than manufacturing, and London is one of the worlds most important financialcenters. Pounds sterling are used as the national currency.

In 1992 England accounted for 80 percent of the United Kingdoms economy. The grossdomestic product (GDP) per capita is higher in England on average than in the rest of theUnited Kingdom. In general, the most prosperous parts of England tend to be in the south.The heavy manufacturing industries of the Midlands and the northern region have gonethrough a massive decline, reflecting the substantial shift toward the service sector.

Transportation and Communication

Travel by road has become the favored method of transportation for both people andfreight since the great railway system, created in the 19th century, began to cut back



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service in the 1960s. Rail links between major cities are good, but rural services aresparse, and many local commuter services are heavily criticized by those who rely onthem. In the early 1990s the Conservative government introduced a controversial plan toprivatize the rail system. In the cities, buses and taxis are plentiful. London has anextensive subway system known as the Tube, or Underground. The domestic air networkis good, and international air links are extremely good. Londons Heathrow is the busiestinternational airport in the world.

Because it is an island nation, shipping has always been important to the United Kingdom.There are ferry services to Scandinavia, Ireland, and across the English Channel. In 1994the United Kingdom opened a direct rail link with France via the newly built ChannelTunnel. The Chunnel carries private cars and freight underneath the English Channel.Travel between the two countries has become significantly easier.

Telecommunications are well advanced, with fiber-optic cable links and satellite systems.Most British homes have telephones and televisions. Numerous daily newspapers areavailable throughout the nation.

Education

Schooling is free and compulsory for 11 years, between the ages of 5 and 16, althoughmany students continue until age 18. Children go to primary school until the age of 11,when they go to secondary school. A school grade is called a year or a form. State-fundedschools are called state schools and privately-funded schools are called public schools. The

private equivalent of the primary school is the preparatory (or prep) school; many prepschools enroll children until age 13.

The official national examinations are the General Certificate of Secondary Education(GCSE) examinations, which are usually taken at age 16, and the Advanced (A) Levelexaminations, which are taken two years later. Most people who go on to university willhave passed in at least seven subjects at GCSE level and three at A level. Students whodo not attend university may attend one of a variety of technical schools, or polytechnics.Post-16 schooling is known as further education, while post-18 is known as highereducation.

England has many universities, which attract students from around the world. The twomost famous old universities are Oxford and Cambridge, whose alumni have traditionallyplayed a very important part in government and business.

The United Kingdoms school system is a subject of considerable debate. Many critics saythat the split between public (privately-funded) schools and state schools is sociallydivisive and perpetuates the class system. Those in business bemoan the basic lack of skillsdisplayed by many secondary school graduates. Others believe the system of A levels, in



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particular, forces young people to specialize too early; they support a move to a broader-based educational system like that in most other European countries.

Health and Welfare

The United Kingdoms National Health Service (NHS) provides largely free medicalattention. There are charges for prescription drugs and dental treatment, except forchildren and senior citizens and certain other categories of patients, such as pregnantwomen. The quality of medical care and facilities is high, but the country struggles underthe increasing cost of financing the NHS. Private health care is also available, and manypeople now pay for private insurance plans to avoid long waits for surgical treatmentcovered by the NHS.


Few things about Britain

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