BASICS

• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on British Isles
• Climate: mild and rainy with average temperature around 12 degrees
• Population: around 60 million people
• The biggest cities: London, Birmingham, Glassgow, Liverpool, Manchester,
Edinburgh
• Major industries include: iron and steel engineering, textiles, plastics, cotton,
shipbuilding and food processing
• The chief agricultural products are: wheat, oats, potatoes, sugar beet, meat, milk
• The United Kingdom comprises England ( London), Wales ( Cardiff), Scotland
( Glassgow) and Northern Ireland ( Belfast)
• The national anthem is God save the king (queen)
• The flag is called The Union Jack and it consists of flags of England- blue, Scotland-
white and Ireland- red.
• Each part of UK has its own emblem:
• England- red rose
• Scotland- thistle
• Wales- leek and daffodil
• Ireland- shamrock
POLITICAL SYSTEM

• Britain is a constitutional monarchy with queen or king, now it is Queen Elizabeth II.
• There are two heads of state: The official head of state is Queen Elizabeth II. from the
House of Windsor (from 1952)
• The real head of the state is Prime Minister, today it is David Cameron
• The seat of PM and Cabinet is 10 Downing Street in London
• The seat of English Queen is Buckingham Palace in London – she lives there as well
• Government runs the country and is also elected by the people
• The law-making body of a state is British Parliament divided into: House of
Commons and House of Lords
• The House of Lords has about 900 members, which have hereditary right to become
a lord
• House of Lords is also the final court of appeal for civil and criminal cases in UK
• House of Commons has about 650 members
• Its powers: make laws; makes decisions about taxes, financial policy, foreign
policy
• The seat of British parliament is The Palace of Westminister = Houses of
Parliament (there are over 1,000 rooms and two miles of corridors in it)
FOOD AND DRINKS

• Typical English breakfast consists of: bacon, baked beans, eggs, sausages and
tomatoes = Sunday breakfast
• Toast with marmelade, bowl of cornflakes with milk = breakfast during week
• Tea with milk is drunk at any time and at any place
• Typical afternoon drink is gin&tonic
• The main meal during the day is supper, with meal of meat and vegetables and
potatoes cooked in hot water

LEISURE TIME

Much of the leisure time is spent at home listening to music or watching television. About
half of the households in Bratain have a pet, usually dog or a cat. Many people give up their
free time to work for voluntary organizations. British are also very interested in hobbies
such as painting, pottery, woodwork, music model building. But one of the most popular
leisure activity is “do it yourself” home improvements. Sports are popular too, mainly
cricket, football rugby, golf, rowing and greyhound racing. At weekends, many people
devote their free time to gardening and also driving to the nearest country spot or beach.
Public houses usually called pubs are popular too, because of good beer and fun with friends.

PEOPLE AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

• British are said to be reserved in manners, dress and speech

• Other nations often point out their conservatism and sticking to traditions
• They are famous for their politeness, self-discipline, reliability and for their specific
sense of humour
• They celebrate: Christmas, Easter, Guy Fawkes Night ( see YES book –
Multicultural society), St. Patrick´s day ( Ireland), St. Andrew´s day ( Scotland), St.
David´s day ( Wales), St. George´s day ( England) = people are wearing symbols of
each country on clothes

!!!!! Pozor vedieť porozprávať o sviatku Guy Fawkes Night!!!!!!! – povinné vedieť na
test ale aj na maturitu!!!!!

SIGHTSEEING TRIP IN UK

There are many place that worth to see in England:

Stonhenge
Stradford upon Avon
Lake District
Cambridge
Brighton
Bath
a prehistoric monument located near Salisbury; added to UNESCO´s World heritage
Sites; served as ceremonial, burial place or sun clock ( Stonhenge)

This place is a popular tourist destination owing to its status as birthplace of the
playwright and poet William Shakespeare, receiving about three million visitors a year
from all over the world ( Stratford – upon – Avon)

This place is also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland - is a mountainous region
in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes
and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and
writings of William Wordsworth and the other Lake Poets. ( Lake District)
This place is a university town with one of the world´s best universities which was
founded in 13th century ( Cambridge)

This town is very old town – seaside resort which is now one of the most popular holiday
destination for British ( Brighton)

This town is also prehistoric town which was established during Roman period in
Britain. The city was first established as the spa. Now it is in the list of UNESCO´s
World Heritage Site ( Bath)