Sources: Mrs Kevers notes

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1.

BRITISH ATTITUDES

A) Key words around Britain:

Darjeeling, Ceylon, Jasmine tea

Liberty material
Cheddar cheese
Bloody Sunday
the Protestants against the Catholics
Whigs used to be a political party
Ale beer
Bobbies policemen
Sinn Fein Nationalist Irish Movement

Woodbridge china
toll tax, charge
Sussex, Surrey rich parts of London
gambling games to earn money
Union Jack the flag of Britain
The Globe Shakespeares theatre
Falklands islands
Orwell British writer
The Barbican Centre Concert Hall

B) Eccentric Britain:
British people: different mentality
no constitution
the Euro = not accepted
no identity card in the wallet
drive on the left
different metric measurement
policemen = no guns
need privacy
very superstitious

C) Weight and measures:

1 mile (ml) = 1,61 km
1 stone (st) = 6,35 kg
1 yard (yd) = 91,44 cm
1 gallon (gal) = 4,54 l
1 ounce (fl oz) = 28,35 g
50 mph (mile per hour) 80 km/h

1 pound (lb) = 453,6 g

1 foot (ft) = 30,48 cm
1 pint (pt) = 0,57 l
1 inch (in) = 2,54 cm
32 F (Fahrenheit) = 0 C
68 F (Fahrenheit) = 20 C

D) Multi-coloured Britain:
Britain: more than 300 ethnic groups (30 % belong to ethnic minority)
= tolerant to different cultures (Islamic schools, the Muslim scarf )
always been a multicultural state! (3 historically separate countries + colonies)
!! Ethnic minority population soon > local population!!

2.

ENGLISH FOOD

Sources: Mrs Kevers notes

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Apple crumble = cookie made of apples, flour, sugar and butter

Christmas pudding = cake made of apples, flour, butter, eggs, stout, rum, grapes, almonds,
Custard = sweet cream
Cornish pasty = pastry with eggs, rump steak, onions, turnip, potato
Crumpet = pastry with meat, cheese and vegetables
Ploughmans lunch = bread, salad, cheese
Gravy = liquid of the meat cooked
Trifle = fruit cake
Scone = bun
Shepherds pie = mashed potatoes with minced meat and tomato sauce (cooked in the oven)
Worcester sauce = spicy sauce made of soya and vinegar
Apple pie always served with custard
Bed and Breakfast: (B&B)
smaller and cheaper than a hotel
friendly atmosphere
English breakfast = cereals and milk, orange juice
scrambled eggs and bacon with tomatoes, mushrooms, pork sausages
toast with marmalade, tea, coffee
They begin to care about what they eat:
more organic food
less fat
quality is preferred than quantity
no time! (commuting).
I could eat a horse! = I am very hungry.
To be alike as two peas in a pod = To be similar.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating You have to try in order to justify.
Have your cake and eat it You want too much.
A piece of cake = Very easy.
To sell like hot cakes Quickly sold because of the quality.
To spill the beans = To reveal.
Its not my cup of tea Its not what I like.
For all the tea of china Not at all!
A traffic jam = A holdup (a mess in the street).
As cool as a cucumber = To be calm.
A hot potato = An interesting subject.
To be the apple of someones eye Very very important.
Food for thought A subject to think about.
Its no use crying over spilt milk Its done and we cant do anything else.

3.

FACTS AND FIGURES

Sources: Mrs Kevers notes

-3-

A) Geography:

The British Isles:

Great Britain
Ireland
Shetland Islands
Orkney Islands
Hebrides
Isle of man

Anglesey
Isles of Scilly
Isles of Wight
Channel Islands: (Jersey, Guernsey,
Alderney and Sark).

Great Britain:
England (capital: London)
Wales (capital: Cardiff)
Scotland (capital: Edinburgh)
The United Kingdom (Political country):
Great Britain
Northern Ireland
Ulster: Northern Ireland (part of the UK), capital: Belfast.
Eire: Southern Ireland (independent), capital: Dublin.

- Bath: town famous for its Roman baths

Sources: Mrs Kevers notes

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- Brighton: seaside resort on the Channel

- Canterbury: town famous for its cathedral, its Archbishop head of the Anglican Church
- Dover: town famous for its white cliffs
- Glasgow: Scotlands largest city
- Isle of Man: Island between Ireland and Great Britain
- Isle of Wight: Island described as Englands garden
- Liverpool: home of the Beatles
- Oxford and Cambridge (Oxbridge): homes of Britains most famous universities
- Manchester: home of the Red Devils football team
- Nottingham: home of Robin Hood
- Stratford-upon-Avon: home of Shakespeare
- York: medieval city with a Viking museum

B) Population:
England: 49.5 Million
Wales: 2.9 Million
Scotland: 5.1 million
Northern Ireland: 1.7 million

59.2 Million

England highest population density

Scotland lowest population density
London: 8 million.

C) Formation of the UK:

15th Cy:

Henry Tudor (Welsh prince) King Henry VII

1536:

Henry VIII England & Wales = 1 parliament

1603:

James VI of Scotland James I of England

1707:

England & Wales & Scotland = 1 parliament

19011922: Ireland (Northern & Southern) Britain

1922:

Independent Republic of Ireland (Eire).

Northern Ireland Britain

James I

D) The Union Jack: (political union)

Sources: Mrs Kevers notes

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Made up of three crosses. (not Wales already Britain when made).

The cross of St George (Saint Patron of England).

The cross of St Andrew (Saint Patron of Scotland).

The cross of St Patrick (Saint Patron of Ireland).

E) Differences between the Scottish, the Welsh, the English and the
Northern Irish:

2000 years ago: Celts (from Europe) British Isles

43 AD:
Romans British Isles (gave their names: Britannia, Hadrians Wall)

5th Cy:

9th Cy:

1066:

Romans pushed Celts Ireland, Scotland and Wales

Celtic language (Gaelic Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic).
Angles & Saxons Britain
Angle-land (England)
Angles (from: Germany & Denmark)
Saxons (from: Germany & The Netherlands).
Vikings (from: Denmark, Sweden & Norway) North of England
Dane-land / Dane-law
York (Viking name)
William the Conqueror (from: Normandy) Hastings

F) Historical charts:
1154 1399

Plantagenets

Henry II, Edward I,

Sources: Mrs Kevers notes

-6-

From France

1399 1485

Houses of
York and Lancaster

1485 1603

Tudors

1603 1649
1649 1660
1660 1714

The Stuarts
REPUBLIC OF CROMWELL
The Stuarts

1714 1901

The Hanovrians

1901 1910

House of Saxe Cobourg

1910

4.

House of Windsors

War of the two Roses

Henry VII, Henry VIII,
Mary I (Bloody Mary),
Elisabeth I,
James I, Charles I

From Wales
From Scotland
Civil War

Charles II, James II

George I, II, III, IV
GEORGIAN PERIOD
(18th Cy)
Victoria (1837-1901)
VICTORIAN PERIOD
(19th Cy)
EDWARDIAN PERIOD

From Germany

Elisabeth II

Changed their
name (German name)
Victoria
Grandmother of
Elisabeth II

THE BRITISH EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

In England and Wales (little different in Scotland and Northern Ireland).

Sources: Mrs Kevers notes

-7-

- Universities
- Colleges
- Institutes of Higher Education

1822

(get money from the Government to

pay for food, accommodation,)!
have to pay back when work

GCE A-LEVEL

2 or 3 subjects

- Sixth form colleges

- School sixth Forms
- Colleges of further Education

1618

GCSE
End of Compulsory
Education (16)
1116

Secondary School

511
Start of Compulsory
Education (5)

- Comprehensives schools
(general education)
- Grammar schools (more
academic)
- City Technology colleges
(secondary technical schools)

eleven plus examination

(determinate which school to go).
Infant school (5 7 years)
Junior school (7 11 years)

Primary School

05

State school

(State school)

Nursery school

State schools: free (lots of children)

Independent schools (public schools): you have to pay (tuition fees).
uniforms
Preparatory school (513): {infant school (58) + junior school (813)}
Public school Boarding schools

19th Cy: Compulsory education, not everybody (rich)!

20th Cy: everybody = obligatory between the ages of 5 and 15.

National curriculum: group of subjects taught in schools.

care subjects:
English, Mathematics, Sciences
foundation subjects: Technology, Geography, History, Art, Music, Phys. Education

Exams:
7, 11, 14 years: - Standard Assessment Tests (SATs)
16 years:
- GCSE
18 years:

- General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs)

work-related subjects
- GCE A-level {advanced}(5 subjects chosen) succeed to go to university

Universities: - Not many go

- 3 or 4 years
- 2 types: undergraduate: Bachelors Degree (21 years)
postgraduate: Masters Degree (23 years)
- London, Oxford, Cambridge

Sources: Mrs Kevers notes

-8-

5.

THE BRITISH POLITICAL SYSTEM

Head of state = Elisabeth II (WINDSOR)

no real power. Must obey a constitution (Magna Carta 1215)

CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY
no written constitution

people = power through their representatives:

657 MPs elected

not enough
seats!
House of Commons
Parliament
MAKES LAWS
Legislative power
(Houses of Parliament)
WESTMINSTER
(London)

House of Lords

(Royal family
not allowed
inside)

speaker
table

- member of gvt
- opposition members
( shadow cabinet )
- front benchers
(important)
- back benchers

- Hereditary peers
(Aristocrats, bishops, queen, )
- Exceptional people (not Lords)

Executive power executes the law

Government ministers policy led by the country
Prime Minister = HEAD
Foreign affairs minister, Home affairs minister, Chancellor of Exchequer
Judiciary Branch judges
solicitors
lawyers
barristers
Local government: counties (local town, cities, villages)
Choice of the MPs: elections
Country counties
candidates, parties:
Liberal Democratic Party
Labour Party: trade unions, working-class people, intellectual (upper
classes)
Conservative Party: upper classes, middle classes (money)!
must be 25 to elect / to be elected
ballot: 1st win pass the post (highest number of votes wins the county)
each county = 1 MP / + 1 MP of Great London

Sources: Mrs Kevers notes

-9-

Prime Minister = head of party highest number of MPs in Parliament

6.

RELIGION IN BRITAIN

Official churches in UK:

The ANGLICAN CHURCH

(church of England = 1.7 million members)

The PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Protestant Churches
Luther against abuses of
Catholic church

(church of Scotland = 1.1 million members)

Church of England independent of Roman Catholic church - 16th Cy (Henry VIII)

King: Pope = head of Church
chooses members of Clergy
supreme governor of the Church of England
!! Archbishops and Bishops = Prime Minister
Church led by Archbishop of CANTERBURY

Presbyterian Church based on strict form of Protestantism taught by Calvin

brought by Knox
+ Other independent protestant churches: Methodist church
Baptist church: Wales (baptism = adult)
Salvation Army
Quakers
BIBLE = centre (important)!
+ Other groups: Catholic Church
Muslims
Sikhs
Hindus
Buddhists
Jews
Islam = 2sd religion in Britain.

Sources: Mrs Kevers notes

- 10 -

7.

THE IRISH ISSUE

Northern Ireland = British ruled area

= Protestants

North = rejoin South (freedom)

(for 30 years)

Southern Ireland = own government

= Catholics

Catholics + Protestants = fight! (North = Ireland? Britain?) 3,600 dead + 30,000 injured.
1169: Arrival Anglo-Normans, British = colonise the island (rebellions)
1558: British expansion (Elizabeth I)
1649: Cromwell (massacre of Catholics)
1691: William III (Protestant) won against James II (Catholic) = Protestant supremacy
Catholics = suffer (no right to education)
1800: Act of Union (England and Ireland = 1)
abolition of Dublin parliament
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
1870s: the Home Rule movement founded establishment of a separate Irish Parliament
20th Cy: political debate, opposition from islands Protestants
1916: Irish nationalists = Irish republic (failed)
1918: Sinn Fein (Nationalist Irish movement) won parliament in Dublin!
1920: Irish Republican Army (IRA) fought Britain (for independence) = 2 parts
(North&South).
2 parliaments: Belfast {in favour of Britain} (6 counties) & Dublin (26 counties)
1968: demonstration against discrimination (rights of votes), unemployment,
(violence for months) beginning of troubles
1972: British paratroopers fought Catholic demonstrators (14 dead) = Bloody Sunday
Britain imposed rule on North ( in favour of rejoining the rest of Ireland)
1974: power-sharing between British and Irish (no success Protestants strike)
1985: Anglo-Irish Agreement (Irish = role on Catholics)
1990s: Protestants killings + Britain new assembly for North + new relations
(North/South)
1992: broke down ( )
1993: the Downing Street Declaration
(Sinn Fein and democratic loyalist parties = no violence)
1998: Good Friday Agreement (new rule)
Protestant and Catholic representatives = power (North) but! Still violence

Sources: Mrs Kevers notes

- 11 -

2001: IRA = destroy the weapons/British government = reduce the number of troops in
North.

8.

THE MEDIA

A) The Press:
80 % = newspaper every day
Sunday papers exist
- Tabloids: The
The
The
The
The

Sunday newspapers:

Daily Mirror (left-centre)

Sun (right-centre)
Daily Mail (centre-right)
Daily Express (centre-right)
Star (centre-right)

News of the World

Sunday Mirror
People
Sunday Express
Sunday Sports

- Broadsheets: The Guardian (left)

quality
The Independent (centre)
newspapers The Daily telegraph (right)
The Times (centre-right)
The Financial Times (centre right)

Sunday Times
Sunday Telegraph
Observer
Independent on Sunday

Tabloids

Broadsheets

+ magazines (weeklies): The Economist

The New Statesman
Private Eyes
Radio Times
B)

The Radio:
BBC (British Broadcasting Cooperation) quality programmes
Radio 1: Pop music
Radio 2: Live music and chat shows
Radio 3: Classical music
Radio 4: Comedy shows, plays, consumer advice programmes (News coverage)
Radio 5: Sports, coverage, news.

C) The Television:

BBC
ITN (Independent Television News)
4 channels:
BBC 1
magazines, news summaries, quiz shows, soap operas, regional news,
ITV
entertainment, variety shows, sports.
BBC 2: no advertising, open university programmes, educational programmes,
Documentaries.
Channel 4: advertising every 15 min., no Open University programmes.

Sources: Mrs Kevers notes

- 12 -