Today is life of the UK
Everyday life in England is no different from other countries. People are also born, go to kindergartens, study at schools, institutes, meet and visit, marry and give birth to children, go to work, and then return home. The only difference is in the level of this life.
The Population of the British Isles
The British Isles are the home of four nations - English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish. Even though foreigners often call all British people "English", and sometimes have difficulty in appreciating the distinctions, the component nations of the United Kingdom are well aware of their own individual characteristics.
The Scots, Welsh and Irish regard themselves as largely Celtic peoples, while the English are mainly AngloSaxon in origin.
British society as a whole does not have a uniform cultural identity.
In 2011 the population of the United Kingdom was about 68 million inhabitants. This figure gives a population density of 559 persons per square mile (216 per square km).
England has an average density of 980 persons per square mile (364 per square km).
This average does not reveal the even higher densities in some areas of the country, such as south-east parts. Within Europe only the Netherlands has a higher population that England.
Features of life in England
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.
Tourists visiting London are usually eager to see Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the Queen and the King. The house was bought by George III from the Duke of Buckingham, from whom it takes the name.
Queen Victoria was the first to make the Palace the official residence of the Sovereign. The colourful ceremony of the Changing of the Guard before the Palace is of great interest for visitors. The Guardsmen in their red coats and bearskin caps march behind the Drum Major and the Band.
A number of other ceremonies also take place, such as the Kings or Queen's receptions and the State Opening of Parliament.
There is an other custom, such as the searching of the cellars underneath the Houses of Parliament by half a dozen "Beefeaters" before the opening of Parliament, in memory of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot in 1605.
English people tend to be rather conservative. The conservative attitude consists of an acceptance of things which are familiar. The metric system came into general use in 1975.
The twenty-four-hour clock was at last adopted for railway timetables in the 1960s — though not for most other timetables, such as radio programmes. The decimal money was introduced, but the pound sterling as the basic unit was kept, one-hundredth part of it being a new penny. Temperatures have been measured in Centigrade as well as Fahrenheit for a number of years, though most people tend to use Fahrenheit for general purposes.
Family Life in Britain
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.
But many adults stay with their parents during their college years or return home after graduation. Today's parents cannot even be sure that their married children have moved out forever. After a divorce they may return to the parental home temporarily or even on a long-term basis.
Older people take pride in their independence, enjoy their freedom and don't want to be a burden to their children. The telephone, the car and the airplane keep them in close contact even when they live in different parts of the country.
Members of family - grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins -keep in touch, but they see less of each other than they used to. This is because people often move away from home town to work and so the family becomes scattered. Christmas is the traditional season for reunions.
Although the family group is smaller nowadays than it used to be, relatives often travel many miles in order to spend the holiday together. Family parties may be all the more joyous when they bring together relatives who haven't seen each other for a while.
Health and Welfare in England
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.
Several religious organizations provide help and advice as well.
The National Insurance Scheme insures individuals against loss of income due to unemployment, maternity, and long-term illnesses.
It provides retirement pensions, widows' and maternity benefits, child and guardian allowances, and benefits for job-related injuries or death.
British Homes
There are 22 million homes in Britain — big homes and small homes, old cottages and new buildings, houses and flats. (Americans say "apartment" but British people say "flat"). Many British people love old houses and these are often more expensive than modern ones. They also love gardening and you will see gardens everywhere you go: in towns, villages and out in the country.
Some are very small with just one tree and a few flowers. Others are enormous with plenty of flowers and enough vegetables and fruit trees. Two third of the families in Britain own their houses.
Millions of these houses are the same with two or three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, dining-room and kitchen downstairs. To pay for their house, home owners borrow money from a "building society" and pay back a little every month.
There are a great many different kinds of homes in Britain, but there are not enough! It is often very difficult for young people to find a home when they want to start a family. British homes are usually smaller than American homes. But like Americans old people, young families and unmarried people do not usually live together.
Leisure in England
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.
England gave to the world the sports of cricket, association football and rugby football, but team and spectator sports tend to be giving way to more individualistic activities.
Despite persistent commercial tempting to do something else, the English remain a stay-at-home people.
Domestic comforts, epitomized in the cosy charm of cottages and gardens and the pervasive ritual of afternoon tea, continue to figure prominently in the character of English life.
The British Media
The British Media consists of the press and radio and TV broadcasting.
Now a couple of words about papers. First of all there is no subscription. You may buy any on sale. There are two main types of newspapers: the «popular» papers and the «quality» papers.
The popular papers are less in size, with many pictures, big headlines and short articles. They are easy to read. They are such papers as «Daily Express», «Daily mail», «Daily Mirror», «Daily Star», «The Sun» and others.
The «quality» papers are for more serious readership. These papers are bigger in size, with larger articles and more detailed information. The «quality» papers are - «The Times», «Daily Telegraph», «The Guardian», «Financial Times», «The Independent».
In addition to daily papers we have just mentioned above there are Sunday papers. They have a higher circulation than the dailies. Sunday papers in Great Britain are such «quality» papers as «Observer», «Sunday Times», «Sunday Telegraph» and such «popular» papers as: «News of the World», «Sunday Express», «Sunday Mirror», «Mail on Sunday».
As far as broadcasting and telecasting are concerned there are two radio and TV stations. The first one - well-known BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation, and the second - IBA - Independent Broadcasting Authorities.
The newspapers in Britain are proud of the fact that they are different from each other - each tries to have a definite profile.
Transportation of England
England is well served by roads, railways, ports, and airports. Highways radiate from London in all directions, and the increase in traffic is visible in the congested highways. London, other large cities, and towns are linked by an intercity network of trains.
High-speed freight trains serve the major industrial centres.
London's underground train system, the "tube," covers some 250 route miles.
Inland waterways were developed during the 17th and 18th centuries, mainly to carry bulky raw materials such as coal, iron ore, and limestone between the industrial centres of Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Kingston upon Hull, Birmingham, and London.
By the end of the 18th century, a "cross" system of canals connected the Thames, Humber, Mersey, and Severn estuaries.
Most canals are now in disuse.
During the 1980s, Britain's trade with Europe has increased sharply, and the ports in southern and southeastern Englandnow handle significantly higher traffic than the major ports of London, Liverpool, and Manchester.
Leading ports that handle container traffic are Felixstowe, London, and Southampton.
Major airports around London are Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted, which together handle more than 40 mln passengers annually.
"Unwritten Rules" of Great Britain
Good and bad manners make up the social rules of a country. They are not always easy to learn because they are often not written down in books. For example, British women didn't go into pubs at the beginning of this century because it was not considered respectable behaviour for a woman. Now both women and men drink freely is pubs and women are fully integrated into public life. Visitors to Britain are often surprised by the strange behaviour of the inhabitants. One of the worst mistakes is to get on a bus without waiting your turn in the queue. The other people in the queue will probably complain loudly! Queuing is a national habit and it is considered polite or good manners to wait for your turn.
In some countries it is considered bad manners to eat in the street, whereas in Britain it is common to see people having a snack whilst walking down the road, especially at lunchtime. Britons may be surprised to see young children in restaurants in the evening because children are not usually taken out to restaurants late at night. And if they make a noise in public or in a restaurant it is considered very rude. In recent years children are playing a more active role and they are now accepted in many pubs and restaurants.
In recent years smoking has received a lot of bad publicity, and fewer British people now smoke. Many companies have banned smoking from their offices and canteens. Smoking is now banned on the London Underground, in cinemas and theaters and most buses. It's becoming less and less acceptable to smoke in a public place. It is considered rude or bad manners to smoke in someone's house without permission. Social rules are an important part of our culture as they passed down through history. The British have an expression for following these "unwritten rules": "When in Rome, do as the Romans do".