Part II Supplementary I

Culture clip

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Do you know?

• The flag of the UK is known as the Union Jack. It has its history. It all began in 1603 when Scotland was joined to England and Wales. The flag is made up of 3 crosses. The upright cross is the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England. The white diagonal cross is the cross of St. Andrew, the patron of Scotland. The red diagonal cross is the cross St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. All of them are on the blue background.

• The Queen of Great Britain is also the Head of the Commonwealth, and so the Queen of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

It’s interesting

• Poppy is the symbol of peace, the red rose is the national emblem of England; the thistle is the national emblem of Scotland and the Edinburgh International Festival. The daffodils and the leek are the emblems of Wales; the shamrock (a kind of clover) is the emblem of Ireland.

• Many kinds of sport originated from England. The English have a proverb, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Association football or soccer is one of the most popular games in the British Isles played from late August until the beginning of May. In summer the English national sport is cricket. When the English say: “that’s not cricket” it means “that’s not fair, “to play the game” means “to be fair”. And, of course, golf, which is Scotland’s chief contribution to British sport.

• The British Museum is the biggest museum in London. It contains a priceless collection of different things (ancient manuscripts, coins, sculptures). The British Museum is famous for its library – one of the richest in the world.

• Christmas is a great English national holiday and in Scotland it is not observed at all. Officially Christmas and New Year celebrations run from the 24^th of December to the 2^nd of January. Lunch is the most important point of Christmas Day. The traditional lunch consists of roast turkey with vegetables, followed by Christmas pudding, which is made with dried fruit and brandy. Sometimes a coin is put in the pudding as a surprise.

In Britain,

• People who know each other stand about 1.22 metres apart when talking.

• Friends say Hi when they meet, but they don’t normally shake hands or kiss.

• It is rude to stare at someone.

Fact File

• Winston Churchill, who was the Prime Minister of Britain during the World War II, loved to paint. He created over 500 works during his life and was made an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Art. One of his famous quotes was “A joke is a serious thing.”

• St. Paul’s Cathedral, the greatest of English churches, was built by a famous English architect, Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723).

• Trafalgar Square was so named in the memory of the victory in the battle of Trafalgar, where on October 21^st, 1805 the English fleet under Admiral Nelson’s command defeated the combined fleet of France and Spain.

Believe it or not

• Of all Britain’s famous customs and traditions, cheese rolling is probably the strangest – and certainly the most spectacular. Every year, large crowds of people gather at Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire to watch the Cheese Rolling Championship. A group of brave (and crazy) people roll a large cheese down the hill, and then run down after it. In theory, competitors must catch the cheese, but as it can reach speeds up to 70 miles an hour, this rarely happens. Four races are held on the day: three for men and one for women. There are also uphill races for children.

• Every August England celebrates the biggest hot air balloon festival in Europe. The festival takes place in Bristol, a world centre for ballooning and is called the Bristol Balloon Fiesta. In 1979 a small group of balloonists got together to celebrate the first Bristol Balloon Fiesta when 27 balloons from England, Germany, Luxembourg and Ireland shot into the sky and were cheered by a large group of spectators.