UNITED OM IN

OUR DAYS

:
 General aspects
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland (kommonly known as the United Kingdom, the
UK, or Britain) is a sovereing state located off the
northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an
island country, spanning an archipelago including
Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and
many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of
the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic
of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is
surrounded by the Atlantic Oncean, the North Sea, the
English Channel and the Irish Sea. The largest island,
Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel
Tunnel.
 General aspects
The United Kingdom is a constitutional
monarchi and unitary state consisting of
four countries: England, Northern Ireland,
Scotland and Wales. It is governed by a
parliamentary system with its seat of
government in London, the capital, but
with three devolved national
administrations in Belfast, Cardiff and
Edinburgh, the capitals of Northern Ireland,
Wales and Scotland respectively . British
influence can continue to be observed in
the language, culture and legal systems of
many of its former colonies.
 London

London is the capital of England and the

United Kingdom (UK). It is the UK's largest
and most populous metropolitan area and
the largest urban zone in the European
Union by most measures. London
contains four World Heritage Sites: the
Tower of London; the historic settlement of
Greenwich; the Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew; and the site comprising the Palace of
Westminster, Westminster Abbey and St.
Margaret's Church
 London
London is a leading global city and one of the
world's largest financial centres with the largest
city GDP in Europe. Central London is home to
the headquarters of most of the UK's top 100
listed companies and more than 100 of Europe's
500 largest. London's influence in politics,
finance, education, entertainment, media,
fashion, the arts and culture in general
contributes to its global position.
Brighton and Canterbury
Marked with a stamp of individuality
(from the quirky Royal Pavilion to the
meandering Lanes), Brighton is one
of the most vivid and memorable
destinations in the South East.

Theres history at every turn in

Canterbury, Kent with St Martins
Church, the oldest church in
continuous use in England, the
ruins of the Norman Canterbury
Castle and the all-imposing
Canterbury Cathedral.
 Chichester and Eastbourne
Theres a feeling of elegance in the
air in Chichester, West Sussex.
Chichester Cathedral with its
graceful spire, streets of tall
Georgian buildings and the
remarkable remains of Fishbourne
Roman Palace.

A stay in Eastbourne, East

Sussex will always be about
the sea and history.
Eastbourne Beach is ever
popular and Pevensey Castle
was built by William the
Conqueror.
 Oxford and Winchester
The world-famous City of Dreaming
Spires, Oxford is a picture-perfect
historic site set in the heart of the
Oxfordshire countryside.

The statue of King Arthur in Winchester,

Hampshire is perhaps the citys best
known icon and his famous Round
Table of course that hangs in
Winchester Castle. For something a bit
different, head outside the city to the
popular Marwell Zoo.
Windsor and The Isle of Wight

The wonderful Windsor Castle

dominates the town - but theres
much more see and do in Windsor,
Berkshire including the Theatre
Royal Windsor and Savill Gardens.

The perfect break on the Isle of

Wight consists of many
elements; strolls along the
beaches, fun at Blackgang
Chine, animal magic at the Isle
of Wight Zoo and reminders of
this Dinosaur Isles prehistoric
past.
 Symbols

The flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Flag. It

was created by the superimposition of the Flag of
England, the Flag of Scotland and Saint Patrick's Flag
in 1801. Wales is not represented in the Union Flag as
Wales had been conquered and annexed to England
prior to the formation of the United Kingdom.
However, the possibility of redesigning the Union Flag
to include representation of Wales has not been
completely ruled out. The national anthem of the
United Kingdom is "God Save the King", with "King"
replaced with "Queen" in the lyrics whenever the
monarch is a woman.
 Language
The UK does not de jure have an official
language but the predominant spoken language is
English, a West Germanic language descended
from Old English which features a large number of
borrowings from Old Norse, Norman French and
Latin. Largely because of the British Empire, the
English language has spread across the world,
and become the international language of
business as well as the most widely taught second
language.
 Education
The majority of children are educated in state-sector
schools, only a small proportion of which select on the
grounds of academic ability. Despite a fall in actual numbers,
the proportion of children in England attending private
schools has risen to over 7%.Just over half of students at the
leading universities of Cambridge and Oxford had attended
state schools.
State schools which are allowed to select pupils according
to intelligence and academic ability can achieve comparable
results to the most selective private schools: out of the top
ten performing schools in terms of GCSE results in 2006 two
were state-run grammar schools. England has some of the
top universities in the world; University of Cambridge,
University of Oxford, Imperial College London and University
College London are ranked in the global top 10 in the 2008
 Culture
The culture of the United KingdomBritish
culture may be described as informed by its
history as a developed island country, major
power, and also as a political union of four
countries, with each preserving elements of
distinctive traditions, customs and symbolism. As
a result of the British Empire, British influence
can be observed in the language, culture and
legal systems of many of its former colonies such
as Canada, Australia, India, and the United
States.
 Cinema
The United Kingdom has been influential in the
development of cinema, with the Ealing Studios claiming to
be the oldest studios in the world. Despite a history of
important and successful productions, the industry is
characterised by an ongoing debate about its identity, and
the influences of American and European cinema.
Particularly between British and American film, many films
are often co-produced or share actors with many British
actors now featuring regularly in Hollywood films. The BFI
Top 100 British films is a poll conducted by the British Film
Institute which ranks what they consider to be the 100
greatest British films of all time.
 Literature
The English playwright and poet William
Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest
dramatist of all time. Among the earliest English
writers are Geoffrey Chaucer (14th century), Thomas
Malory (15th century), Sir Thomas More (16th
century), and John Milton (17th century). In the 18th
century, Samuel Richardson is often credited with
inventing the modern novel. In the 19th century, there
followed further innovation by Jane Austen, the gothic
novelist Mary Shelley, children's writer Lewis Carroll,
the Bront sisters, the social campaigner Charles
Dickens, the naturalist Thomas Hardy, the visionary
poet William Blake and romantic poet William
Wordsworth.
 Literature
The Chandos portrait,
believed to depict William
Shakespeare

A photograph of
Victorian era novelist
Charles Dickens

Robert Burns
regarded as the
national poet of
Scotland
 Arts
The Royal Academy is located in
London. Other major schools of art
include the Slade School of Fine Art;
the six-school University of the Arts
London, which includes the Central
Saint Martins College of Art and Design
and Chelsea College of Art and Design;
the Glasgow School of Art, and
Goldsmiths, University of London. This
commercial venture is one of Britain's
foremost visual arts organisations.
 Arts
Major British artists include Sir
Joshua Reynolds, Thomas
Gainsborough,John Constable,
William Blake, J.M.W.Turner,
William Moris, L.S. Lowry, Francis
Bacon,Lucian Freud, David
Hockney, Gilbert and George, Peter
Blake, Howard Hodgkin,Antony
Gormley and Anish Kapoor.
Cupid, Sir Joshua
Park,Thomas Gainsborough
Picture,John Constable
Ocean,William Blake
The Chancel and Acrossing of Tintern Abbey ,J.M.W. Turner
Good Friday,L.S. Lowry
Caravaggio, Francis Bacon
Large interior,Lucian Freud
American Pearlblossom,David Hockney
Gink, Gilbert and George
On the balcony, Peter Blanke
Interior, Howard Hodgkin
Building, Antony Gromley
Sky Mirror(New York), Anish Kapoor
 Music
The Beatles are one of the most
commercially successful and critically
acclaimed bands in the history of music,
selling over a billion records
internationally
Various styles of music are popular in the
UK, from the indigenous folk music of
England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and
Wales, to heavy metal.
Beatles
 Music

Prominent British contributors to have

influenced popular music over the last 50
years include The Beatles, Queen, Cliff
Richard, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd
and The Rolling Stones, all of whom have
world wide record sales of 200 million or more.
The Beatles have international record sales of
more than one billion.
Queen
Elton John
Beatles
 The transports
The Highways Agency is the executive
agency responsible for trunk roads and
motorways in England apart from the
privately owned and operated M6 Toll.
The Department for Transport states that
traffic congestion is one of the most
serious transport problems and that it
could cost England an extra 22 billion in
wasted time by 2025 if left unchecked.
According to the government-sponsored
Eddington report of 2006, congestion is in
danger of harming the economy, unless
tackled by road pricing and expansion of
the transport network.
Eddington Report
 Fun Facts!
- The country used to have many wolves and wild boars.
- It is home to many kinds of hedgehogs, baggers and red
foxes.
- It is only 35 kilometers away from France and is linked with
France through a tunnel under the English tunnel.
- The most popular pop music band from England is The
Beatles. Which changed the music scene throughout the
world.
- Unlike the rest of the world, the electricity is 240 volts.
- It was said that the Sun never sets on the British Empire, and
now the world says, the sun never rises on Britain ( as it is
cloudy all the time).
- The traffic system is right handed.
- Policemen are called Bobbies.
- The most unique thing on roads is the Double Decker Bus.
- Union Jack is the official name for UK Flag.
Scotney Castle
Bodiam Castle
Leeds Castle
Durham Castle
Tower Bridge, England
Oxford
Scotland
South Wales
 Fun Facts About Big Ben
Big Ben is the biggest four-faced, chiming clock in the
world.
The real name of the tower, housing the clock, is 'Clock
Tower'. Big Ben is the nickname of the main bell, formally
known as the Great Bell, housed within the tower.
However, the nickname is more popular than the official
one.
The bell of Clock Tower did not stop working even
during World War 2
The tower is sited on a 15-metre square raft, made of
3-metre thick concrete, at 4 meters below ground
level.
The four faces of the clock are 55 meters above
ground. The interior volume of the tower is 4,650
cubic meters
Clock Tower is the focus of New Year celebrations in
the United Kingdom, with radio and TV stations tuning
to its chimes to welcome the start of the year.