Young people from all walks of life are united according to their interests by the established youth organizations in Britain. These organizations develop because of the contribution of both full-time and part-time youth workers and a great number of volunteers.
Outdoor pursuits involve anything from pony trekking to rock-climbing or canoeing and help young people go out from the confines of their home or their environment. Such pursuits nourish a spirit of self-reliance and help realize the importance of team-work under a good leadership. All the major youth organizations hold outdoor pursuits either by organizing special residential courses or by sending their members to take part in established courses or seminars in other cities and countries.
Local authorities and a number of multipurpose youth organizations provide the place for such activities as canoeing, sailing, rock-climbing, map reading, orienteering and cooking for survival; all of them encourage initiative and self-discipline...
Though England has a lively cultural life, its characteristic pursuits are of a more popular kind.
The exploitation of leisure is increasingly the concern of commerce: holiday camps, foreign holiday package tours, gambling of many kinds from bingo to horse-race betting, and the transformation of the traditional English pub by trendy interior decoration.
The English weekend is the occasion for countryside trips and for outdoor activities from fishing to mountaineering...
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...
