British Culture

Mon 9 Jun

Northern Ireland 7:49 am

Great Britain and Ireland were reunited in 1801 and in 1921 Ireland was partitioned. Southern Ireland known as Eire a separate country and Northern Ireland remained with Britain. Another name for Northern Ireland is “the Six Counties” because there are six administrative areas there Belfast is the capital. The landscape of Northern Ireland is always green because it rains a lot. Northern Ireland is a place for outdoor activities and tourism with a lot of rivers, lakes, and coast. Besides English as the main language, Irish Gaelic, an ancient language derived from Celtic is also spoken. Northern Ireland hosts the Belfast Festival, which is a large international festival. The Giant’s Causeway is a place worth seeing. It is on the north coast of Northern Ireland consisting of 40,000 pillars of rocks. Northern Ireland is also famous for its excellent whiskey, which is spelt with an “e”. However, Northern Ireland is still facing political troubles. 0 comments EnglishGoes Team | British Culture | Mon 2 Jun

Wales 8:06 am

As with Scotland, Henry Tudor, a Welsh prince, became king of England and his son. Henry III, united England and Wales (between 1536 and 1542). The Welsh name for Wales is Cymru. Wales is the smallest land of the UK but it has varied landscapes, picturesque mountains (20,768 sq km), breath-taking scenery and marvellous castles. It is mainly an upland country with Snowdonia, famous for its beautiful mountain scenery and the highest peak in

Wales, Snowdon (1,085 meters high). The important rivers are the Dee, the Severn and the Wye. A large part of population lives in the industrial areas in the south of Wales. The capital is Cardiff, an important industrial center and port Rugby is the Welsh national game. Read the rest of this entry » 0 comments EnglishGoes Team | British Culture | Mon 2 Jun

Scotland 12:06 am

Scotland was an independent kingdom until King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne and became King James I of England. Later the Scottish parliament was merged with the English parliament by the act of Union in 1707. Scotland has been part of Great Britain since then. Scotland shares many things in common with England, Wales and Northern Ireland but because the Scots are said to be independent by nature, they do not want to be quite the same. This partly explains why Scotland has different education and legal systems. The currency is also distinct and the banknote has a different design. Scotland now has its own elected parliament responsible for internal affairs. Scotland is a beautiful mountainous area and is devided into three geographical regions: the Highlands (in the north and the west), the Lowlands (in the south and the east) and the Islands. Read the rest of this entry » 0 comments EnglishGoes Team | British Culture | Fri 30 May

England

8:44 am

England is predominantly a lowland with a population about 60,776,238 ( July 2007, est). The capital is London, which is the largest city in Europe. England is divided into three parts: the South, the Midlands and the North. Full size of England map The South Read the rest of this entry » 0 comments EnglishGoes Team | British Culture | Fri 30 May

The Union Jack 8:23 am

Although the formal and traditional name of the British national flag is the Union Flag, it is more commonly known as the Union Jack. The flag is a combination of crosses. The red upright cross represents St. George, the patron saint of England; St. Andrew’s cross of Scotland is the white diagonal one, and the red diagonal cross is of St. Patrick of Ireland (now representing North Ireland). 0 comments EnglishGoes Team | British Culture | Fri 30 May

Britain: Not One, but Four in One 7:25 am An Overview

Off the northwest coast of mainland Europe between latitude 50 degree North and 61 degree North is a group of about 5,000 big and small islands collectively called British Isles. Among them are two large islands. The larger is Great Britain, which is made up of Scotland, England, and Wales. The other is Ireland, consisting of North Ireland (Ulster) and Irish Republic (Eire). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and North Ireland (The United Kingdom or The U.K for short) is the name given to Great Britain and North Ireland. Such islands as the Scilly Isles, the Isle of Wight, the Orkney Islands, the Outer Hebrides and the Shetlands, belong to the U.K. However, the Isle of Man and the Channel Island are self-governing with their own parliaments, although they do recognize the Queen. Britain is a unitary state but the four constituent countries have distinctive national identities, some minor different physical characteristrics and variations in culture and tradition. Read the rest of this entry » 0 comments EnglishGoes Team | British Culture |