England

 

Chapter 4

What do the English like doing?

The popular hobbies are gardening and DIY( Do It Yourself). Fishing in rivers is a common men activity. For the teenagers the main hobby is clubbing, go to night clubs with friends.
In the past, people went for seaside holidays in places like Brighton or Scarborough. Now, they prefer foreign holidays because is often cheaper. And of course, shopping is always a popular activity.

What is there to eat in England?

Most of people eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In addition, there are elevenses, tea, and supper. English food does not have a good reputation in other countries but there are in fact some delicious dishes:
-Fish and chips: is made using fish which is fried in batter. Traditionally, it is eaten with a purée made from green peas.
-Roast dinner: is the traditional English Sunday lunch of roast meat together with roast potatoes and lots of vegetables. On Christmas Day, most families eat Roast Turkey.
-Stilton cheese: is a blue cheese with a very strong taste and many people call it the ‘King of Cheeses’.

English cakes and biscuits are very popular with English people and tourists. A cream tea is usually eaten in afternoon and may include scones, butter, jam and cream.
A full English breakfast: includes sausages, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, fried eggs, fried bread, and a cup of strong tea.
Curry is not originally English but the English love curries. Curry came to England from South Asia in the 18^th century, but it became popular after World War II.

Sport
The main sporting events in an English year are: The FA Cup (football), the Oxford-Cambridge boat race(rowing), The Grand National and the Derby(horse-racing), Wimbledon(tennis), the Open Golf, the Six Nations (rugby) and international Test Matches(cricket).
The English say that they invented football but so do other countries. The first international football match was between England and Scotland in1870.
Teams at the top of the English Premier Football league are very rich and have some of the best players in the world. They are: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Cricket is played by many English-speaking nations. In 1882 Australians beat the English for the first time. The English were so upset. Since then, the matches between Australia and England have been called ‘The Ashes’. Cricket matches can last for five days, four days, or one day.

Celebrations
Christmas and East are the most important festivals for the English but htere are many others. Most English children look forward to the Fireworks’ Night or Guy Fawkes Night on 5^th November. There are fires, fireworks and lots of hot food. In the town of Sussex it is a big event and the local people burn huge figures of unpopular politicians and celebrities.
Another date is the 1^st April or April Fool’s Day. On this day people are allowed to play jokes on other people.

Music

English pop and rock music is popular all over the world. From the Rolling Stones and the Beatles in the 1960s to Elton John to punk bands to Coldplay and Radiohead in the 2000s, it has developed over the years and is still developing now.

Iconic Places

There are many of these, so we will choose only a few. Stonehenge and Hadrian Wall (chap. 2) form the early history of Britain. When the Normans came, they built The Tower of London. The white Tower, which you can see from the river Thames, was the original main building. Many people were executed there, including 3 queens of England. The crown jewels are kept in the Jewel House at the tower. Large black birds called ravens have lived there since the 18^th century. Legend says that if they leave the Tower, something terrible will happen to England.
As well as castles, England also has many famous cathedrals Canterbury Cathedral, York Minster, Salisbury and Lincoln Cathedrals. Members of the royal family get married in the Westminster Abbey and St.Paul’s in London. There are also many great houses in England such as Chatsworth House and Blenheim Palace.
British cities which are famous for their beauty include Canterbury, Bath, York, Stratford-on-Avon, Oxford and Cambridge. Liverpool is a sport city which also world-famous. It is a UNESCO world Heritage site and was a European Capital of Culture in2008. You can visit the Cavern club, where the Beatles started their career or Anfield. Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester and Bristol are other big cities.
The Lake District is one of the most attractive landscapes in the UK and was loved by the Romantic poets. It is in the north-west and includes 12 of the largest lakes in England.
England is not famous for his beaches. But if you go to Newquay in Cornwall, you can enjoy surfing on the Atlantic Coast. The white cliffs of Dover are well-known as they are the first thing that you see if you come to England by ship from France.

Iconic people

England like all nations had many famous people, such as Queen Elisabeth I, Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, Dickens, Darwin and Winston Churchill.
Princess Diana was the wife of Prince Charles but became unhappy in her marriage. Many people all over the worlds loved her for her beauty and her kindness to people with problems. She died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
John Lennon wrote most of the songs of the Beatles with Paul McCartney. Later, he married Yoko Ono, a Japanese artist, and protested against war. He was murdered in NY in 1980.
Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to become Prime Minister of the UK. She was called the Iron Lady because of her strong ideas on government.
David Beckham is probably the most famous British footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. He played in 3 World Cups and was England captain. He married on of the Spice Girls.
England is a country with castles, cathedrals and strong traditions; but it is also a place of surprises and new ideas. What is the future? By the end of the 21th century, will there be royal family? Will Scotland and Wales be independent with the rest of Europe? What will be the effect of the global warming in the English country side? Nobody knows the answers.