Do you know that …

• More than 300,000,000 people speak English as their first language. That means that it is the world’s number two language after Chinese (with about one billion speakers). But English is also the ‘second language’ for perhaps 300 million more people in countries such as Nigeria and Pakistan. More than 60 countries have English as one of their official languages. In total, almost 1,500,000,000 people have some knowledge of English!

• Britain is just under 1,000 km long, from the south coast to the extreme north of Scotland, and just under 500 km across at the widest point. No place in Great Britain is more than 117 km. from the sea.

• The flag of the United Kingdom, know as the Union Jack, is made up of three crosses. The upright red cross is the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England. The white diagonal cross (with the arms going into the corners) is the cross of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The red diagonal cross is the cross of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

• Of the four parts which make up Great Britain England is the largest, the industrial and the most densely populated part of the United Kingdom. Over 46 million people live in England. Each country on the British Isles has a national symbol. The symbol of England is a rose.

• The sea has been important in the history of England. It was a good protection against the attacks of outside peoples. Fishing has always been an important industry, especially in the east. The sea also has a great effect on England’s climate.

• In Southern England are found some of the oldest British settlements and traces of ancient monuments such as Stonehenge. Stonehenge is the best known and probably is the most remarkable of prehistoric remains in the UK. It has stood on Salisbury Plain for about 4,000 years. There have been many different theories about its original use. One of them is that it was a place from where stars and planets could be observed.

At one time people thought that Stonehenge was a Druid temple. Druids were a Celtic religious group who were suppressed in Great Britain soon after the Roman Conquest. Some people believe that they were a group of priests, while other regard them as medicine men who practiced human sacrifice and cannibalism.

Another interesting theory is that the great stone circle was used to store terrestrial energy, which has been generated across the country, possibly through “ley lines”. “Ley lines” is the name given to invisible lines which link up ancient sites throughout Britain.