There are eight public, or bank holidays in Great Britain, that is, days when banks and offices are closed. They are: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Mayday, Spring Bank Holiday and Late Summer Bank Holiday. The observance of these days is no longer limited to banks. All the public holidays, except Christmas Day and Boxing Day observed on the 25 and 26 of December respectively, do not fall on the same day each year. Most of these holidays are of religious origin, though for the greater part of the population they have long lost they religious significance and are simply days on which people relax and make merry. Certain customs and traditions are associated with most bank holidays. The reason is that many of them are part of holiday seasons, like Easter and Christmas seasons. Besides public holidays, there are celebrations, festivals, and simply days, on which certain traditions are observed, but unless they fall on a Sunday, there are ordinary working days...
Improvements in health care are reflected by the increase in longevity for people in England. Life expectancy increased from 68 years to 71.8 years for males, and from 73.9 years to 77.7 years for females.
Heart disease and cancer are the major causes of death among men aged 50 and over and, in recent years, among women aged 40 and over. Although infectious diseases such as poliomyelitis and tuberculosis have virtually disappeared.
The National Health Service provides comprehensive medical services for every resident of England.
Doctors, dentists, opticians, and pharmacists work within the service as independent contractors.
Social services are provided through local authority social service departments.
The services are directed toward children and young people, low-income families, the unemployed, the disabled, the mentally ill, and the elderly...
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) occupies most of the territory of the British Isles. It consists of four main parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. London is the capital of England, Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, Cardiff— of Wales and Belfast — of Northern Ireland. The UK is a small country with an area of some 244,100 square kilometres. It occupies only 0.2 per cent of the world's land surface. It is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the north-west, north and south-west and separated from Europe by the North Sea in the east and by the English Channel in the south. The Strait of Dover or Pas de Calais is the narrowest part of the Channel. The North Sea and the English Channel are often called "the narrow seas"; they are not deep but are frequently rough.
In the west the Irish Sea and the North Channel separate the UK from Ireland. The seas around Britain provide exceptionally good fishing grounds. The country has many bays favourable for shipping. In their shelter are Britain's main ports such as London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Hull and others...
The United Kingdom (or Great Britain) is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and about five thousand small islands. Their total area is over 244,000 square kilometres.
The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland (on the island of Great Britain), and Northern Ireland (on the island of Ireland). Their capitals are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Belfast respectively. The capital of the UK is London.
The British Isles are separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea...
The official name of the country, we usually call England and occasionally Great Britain, is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The U. K. is situated on the group of islands, lying just off the mainland of northwestern Europe. The British Isles include Great Britain proper, Ireland and a number of smaller islands. Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales. The southern part of Ireland is occupied by Great Britain and is called by native citizens the Republic of Eire.
Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel, the narrower part of which is called the Strait of Dover. The British Isles are surrounded by the shallow waters of the Irish Sea, on the west, the North Sea on the north and northeast, the Norwegian Sea on the east. Britain is comparatively small, but there is hardly a country, in the world where such a variety of scenery can be found....
The full name of the country the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and a great number of small islands. Their total area is over 314 000 sq. km. The British Isles are separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea. Northern Ireland occupies one third of the island of Ireland. It borders on the Irish Republic in the south. The island of Great Britain consists of three main parts: England (the southern and middle part of the island), Wales (a mountainous peninsula in the West) and Scotland (the northern part of the island)...
A "typical" British family used to consist of mother, father and two children. But in recent years there have been many changes in family life. For example, since the law made it easier to get a divorce, the number of divorces has increased. That's why 24% of British children live with only one parent, usually their mother.
The contemporary British child doesn't have a lot of companionship from brothers and sisters, because the average family has only one or two children. Most British children live with their parents at least until they finish school at the age of 17 or 18. Then many go away to college, leaving some parents sad and lonely in their empty nest and others enjoying their release from parental responsibilities...
One of the most peculiar features of life in England which immediately strikes any visitor to this country is the cherishing and preserving of many traditions, sometimes very archaic as they may seem. Uniforms are not particularly characteristic of this fact. However, when one sees the warders at the Tower of London with their funny flat hats, their trousers bound at the knee, and the royal monogram on their breast, one feels carried back to the age of Queen Elisabeth I.
And you should chance to see the Lord Mayor of London riding through the streets of the city with his black robe and gold chain, his medieval carriage, and all sheriffs, councillors and other members of his suite, you have a picture of living history...
Every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions. In Britain traditions play a more important part in the life of the people than in other countries.
Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. It has been the law for about three hundred years that all the theatres are closed on Sundays. No letters are delivered, only a few Sunday papers are published.
To this day an English family prefers a house with a garden to a flat in a modern house with central heating. English people like gardens....
The English usually have 4 meals a day: breakfast, lunch, tea (5 o'clock), and dinner. Breakfast can be a full "English breakfast" of corn flakes with milk and sugar, or bacon and eggs, toast and marmalade, tea or coffee. Some people, however, have just a cup of tea or coffee with a toast. This is usually called a "continental breakfast".
At midday everything is stopped for lunch. Most offices and small shops are closed for an hour and the city pavements are full of people on their way to cafes, coffee bars, restaurants. Factory and plant workers usually eat in their canteens...
