Almost every nation has a reputation of some kind. The French are supposed to be amorous, gay, fond of champagne; the Germans dull, formal, fond of military uniforms and parades; the Americans energetic, dynamic and flexible.
The British are reputed to be cold, reserved, rather haughty people, who change their governments, or have revolutions, as often as they change their underclothes. They are steady, easy-going, and fond of sports. The English have many traditions, manners and customs, of which they are very proud.
“The Englishman’s Home Is His Castle”
Every Englishman is a countryman at heart. About three-quarters of all the dwelling-places in Britain are houses of four to six rooms. A typical house is built on two floors, and has neither cellars nor attics. The front door opens into a hall. Off the hall there are two medium-sized rooms: one is the dining-room; the other may be called the lounge, the drawing-room, the sitting-room or the living-room, according to the choice of the people who live in the house. Upstairs, there are three bedrooms, a bathroom and a lavatory. As for the kitchen it is not a great room. Most of the houses have tiny kitchens in which women find it difficult to do all their work. But the kitchen has probably one advantage - it is the warmest place in the house.
But no matter where the family lives- in a modern flat or in a small cottage - there must be a fireplace in an English home. The fireplace has always been the natural centre of activity in any house.
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. Some of them have been caused by new laws and others are the result of changes in society. For example, since the law made it easier to get a divorce, the number of divorces has increased. In fact one marriage in every three now ends in divorce. This means that there are a lot of one-parent families.
Members of the family - grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins - keep in touch, but they see less of each other than they used to. Christmas is the traditional season for reunions.
Relationships within the family are different now. Parents treat their children more as equals than they used to, and children have more freedom to make their own decisions.
British meals mean different things at different times to different people.
| Early morning | Breakfast (an Englishman’s idea of a good breakfast is the following: porridge with milk and sugar, bacon and eggs or fish, hot buttered toast with jam, and a cup of coffee or strong tea with milk. However, many people do not eat anything at breakfast). |
| Midday (12.00-2.00 p.m.) | Lunch(hotels, restaurants, middle-class homes). Dinner (working class). |
| Mid-afternoon (4.00-5.00 p.m.) | Afternoon tea (hotels, teashops, middle-class homes). |
| Evening (5.30-6.30 p.m.) | Tea – main evening meal of working classes, and of some middle-class people. |
| (7.00-9.00 p.m.) | Dinner- the ordinary evening meal for some middle-class people. Others call it supper. |
| (9.00-10.00 p.m.) | Supper –light snack (many workingand middle class people). |
Britons drink a quarter of all the tea in the world each year. They are the world’s greatest tea drinkers. Many of them drink it on at least eight different occasions during the day. They drink it between meals and at meals. Some early-morning tea drinkers have automatic tea-making machines connected to their alarm-clocks. You must not refuse tea under the following circumstances: if it is hot; if it is cold; if you are tired; if you are nervous; if
you are happy; before you go out; if you are out; if you have just returned home; if you have had no tea for some time; if you have just had a cup. The English always drink tea out of cups, never out of glasses.
Hobbies and Pastimes
The most popular hobbies in the home are:
· gardening;
· “Do-it-Yourself” (repairs and remodeling);
· taking care of pets;
· watching television.
For centuries gardening has been the best-loved hobby of the English, rich and poor, old and young. This is probably one reason why so many people prefer to live in houses rather than flats.
“Do-It-Yourself” is for some people a hobby, for others a necessity.
At least three quarters of the population, elderly women included, do all their own decorations; and a large number of men have learnt to make adequate furniture. The chief reason for this is the high cost of labour for individual services.
The English have always loved animals. Now the number of pets is rising fast. Once, a foreigner said that his idea of heaven was to be a dog in an English home; if he were to re-visit England today, he would probably say “ his idea of the seventh heaven”. There are about four million spoiled dogs in Britain, more than six million cats, and eight or nine million caged birds.
About a third of the people in the country watch television for four or five hours every evening of the week. The BBC calls these people “heavy viewers”. Another third watches TV for between ten and eighteen hours a week, and still another third for less than ten hours. This last third includes the “choosey” people, who select their programmes carefully, and watch only what interests them.
The Fish and Chip Shop
A special British institution is the fish and chips shop, where it is possible to buy a piece of fried fish and potatoes. You can eat fish and chips in the street as you walk along, or take it home and eat it on the plate. Snack bars and espresso coffee bars have are very popular among people who are too young to go to pubs.
What is a Pub?
The words pub or “public house” are rarely included in the title of the place. So, how do you know whether a building is a pub and what a pub offers the visitor?
The first thing to look for is a large sign. This sign may have a name like “The Kings Arms”, “The Black Rabbit” and a related picture on it. Many pubs have names linked to royalty, popular heroes, sports events or great occasions.
On the doors of a pub you may see the words Saloon Bar or Public Bar.
Most pubs sell all kinds of alcohol, from whisky to wine, but the main drink served in pubs is beer, light or dark. Pubs can also offer food and accommodation.
No alcoholic drinks may be served to young people under eighteen, and no children under fourteen are allowed inside the bar.
Cards, Hundreds of Cards!
Sending cards is a widespread custom in Britain today. The British have been sending cards since Victorian times when wealthy families started to send Christmas greetings.
There are cards for every occasion from buying a house to having a baby and, more recently, cards for getting a new job, getting a divorce or just saying “Sorry”. More than 100 million Christmas cards are sold in Britain every year.
Sports and Games
Many kinds of sport originated in England.
Association football, or soccer is one of the most popular games in the British Isles played from late August until the beginning of May. In summer the English national sport is cricket. When the English say “that’s not cricket” it means “that’s not fair”. Golf is Scotland’s chief contribution to British sport. Other popular kinds of sports are tennis, boxing, wrestling, snooker (billiards), darts, walking, swimming, aerobics, yoga and cycling. There are several places in Britain associated with a particular kind of sport. One of them is Wimbledon - a suburb to the south of London where
the All-England Lawn Tennis Championships are held in July. The other one is Wembley - a stadium in north London where international football matches have taken place since 1923. The third one is Derby, the most famous flat race in the English racing calendar.
Holidays
Official holidays are called “Bank Holidays” because they are the days the banks are closed for business. These holidays are:
· New Year’s Day (January 1st);
· Good Friday;
· Easter Monday;
· May Day (first Monday in May);
· Spring Bank Holiday ( last Monday in May );
· Summer Bank Holiday (last Monday in August);
· Christmas Day (December 25th);
· Boxing Day (December 26th).
Scotland and Northern Ireland have several additional festivals of their own. The patron saints days are not celebrated with a holiday. They are:
· St.David’s Day (March 1st), in Wales;
· St.George’s Day (April 23rd), in England;
· St.Andrew’s Day (November 30th), in Scotland.
Only Ireland has a holiday on St.Patrick’s Day (March 17th). The important festivals are Hallowe’en (October 31st), Guy Fawkes’ Night (November 5th), Pancake Day (February), and Remembrance Day (Poppy Day).
