Please click on the link below…, you can listen to the Royal National Anthem; God Save the Queen

Queen

History of the United Kingdom (under construction)

The United Kingdom consists of England, Wales, Scotland (Great Britain) and Northern Ireland. Thousands of years ago Great Britain was attached to the continent of Europe (that is the north west of France and the south east of England) and the first immigrants (homo sapiens), travelling from the east to the west to hunt mammoths, horses and reindeer, came to be the first inhabitants of what is now called Great Britain. So, at that time (Ice Age) Dover (in England) and Calais (in France) were still united and the Thames (a river flowing through London) flowed into the lower Rhine. In the course of years people from different parts of Europe invaded Great Britain, often chasing away people already living there to other parts (such as the north of England, Wales and Scotland). One of the tribes that invaded Britain at an early stage (about 7000 years ago) were the Iberians, dark-haired people from what is now called Spain. During the long Stone and Bronze Ages they developed from savages to more civilized people. The Iberians were skilled in weaving and in crafts of many kinds, including agriculture. They designed gigantic earthworks to defend themselves against the enemy, like Maiden Castle

Maiden Castle                                             

and places of worship, like Stonehenge.

Stonehenge

The Celts

Another tribe that settled in England (and later in Wales, Scotland and Cornwall) was the Celts.They came from what is now called Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain and Hungary amongst others. Depending on where they came from, the Celts were tall, small, fair-haired, dark-haired or red-haired people speaking different Celtic languages. In some parts of Great Britain (Wales, Scotland and Cornwall) people still speak a language (Gaelic) which has its roots in the Celtic languages. They were very creative and today excavations in places where Celts used to live still reveal beautifully made ornaments and jewellery decorated with a variety of knotted and spiral designs of bronze, silver and gold.               

necklace made of silver with a knotted design

In Great Britain and Ireland you can still see stone crosses with these knotted designs

It is said that the Celts came to Britian around 600 BC (that is a few hundred years before the Romans invaded Britain), but there is evidence of Celtic culture in Britain from about 2000 BC. Unfortunately, the Celts did not leave written documents (except some inscriptions on stones). Their stories were handed down from father to son. So we depend on the written accounts of peoples who knew them. One of these were the Romans. Julius Caesar wrote that there was a unifying bond (something which held them together) between all the Celtic tribes: their priesthood, the Druids. All the tribal chiefs listened to the advice of the Druids. The Druids were their teachers, judges, counsellors etc. The Celts believed in more than one god or godess. There was Taranis, the god of thunder  and lightning, and Deae Matres, the three fertility godesses.

The Celtic god of thunder and lightning

Sculptures of these godesses often show them holding baskets of fruit, bread or fish. The Druids also deified (made gods of) elements of nature, such as the sun, the moon and the stars. These elements of nature could give them information about the seasons. They also worshipped natural elements such as the oak tree, certain groves, tops of hills, streams, lakes and even plants (most of all the mistletoe). The celebration of their festivals depended on the position of the Sun or on the lunar (= the moon) and vegetative (the fertility of the soil) cycles. For instance, Samain celebrated the end of the old year and the beginning of a new year (1st November). It was seen as a dangerous period because the spirits of the dead could roam (wander about) free. The god Dagda and godess Morrigan came together and through their intercourse the well-being and luck of the tribe, and the fertility of the soil was guaranteed (today Halloween is a remnant of Samain). To please the gods or godesses the Druids made sacrifices, usually animals, but according to the Romans also human sacrifices.

The Romans

After several attempts to conquer Britain by Julius Caesar it was a century later (AD 43) under the Emperor Claudius that the Romans settled in Britain. At that time Britain consisted of tribes, each with their chief. Most of these chiefs had already made peace with the Romans who had settled in Britain before AD 43 under Julius Caesar, but some chiefs resisted the Roman occupation. Among these were the Inceni with their chief (or queen) Boudicca. She lost the battle against the Romans and finally committed suicide by taking poison. The Roman way to keep the tribes under control was by building roads, so that they could easily move from one place to another, with forts. These forts were manned by soldiers, often with their families. Rich Romans lived in stone-built houses or villas (Celts and Iberians made their houses of wood) with beautifully made mosaic floors.

A Roman villa

Mosaic floor

Celts and Iberians who did not want to be ruled by the Romans usually fled to the north of England and to Scotland. These two parts of what is now Great Britain were difficult to conquer because of the mountains there. Other tribes living there, like the Picts, often attacked the Romans and it was the Emperor Hadrian who in 122 AD decided to build a stone wall (Hadrian’s wall) in the north of England from east to west with milecastles and garrison forts in which Roman soldiers kept watch.

Hadrian’s wall

a milecastle

The milecastles and garrison forts were not only manned by Roman soldiers, but also by mercenaries (people who were paid for military service) from countries on the continent (Germany, France, the Netherlands). In the second half of the fifth century AD the Roman soldiers were called back to their home country (Italy) because they were needed to fight against enemies. The withdrawal of the Roman army weakened the position of the remaining Romans and the Romanized Celts. It was an opportunity for the Picts (a tribe living north of Hadrian’s Wall) and the Celtic tribes that had not mixed with the Romans to try and beat the Romans and Romanized Celts. The British sub-Roman government, which still ruled England, then invited mercenary troops from the north of Germany and Denmark to help fight against the Celts. However, after some time the government failed to supply (give weapons, food etc.)  these Germanic troops who then began to revolt. They invited their relatives in Germany to come to England and help them. These people from Germany were called the Angels and Saxons (or: the Anglo Saxons) and Jutes.

The Angles, Saxons and Jutes

The invasion of the Germanic tribes (the Angles, Saxons and Jutes) in the 5th century AD caused the Celtic tribes to move to the west (Wales), south west (Cornwall) and the north (Scotland) of what is now called Great Britain, at least those Celtic tribes that did not wish to live together with the Germanic tribes. The Angles settled north of the Thames (a river flowing through London), the Saxons in the south-west and the Jutes in the south-east of England. It is from the Angles that England owes its name. Place names often tell us where in England the Anglo-Saxons lived. The Romans had brought civilization to England. They had built roads and had stone-built houses (the Celts, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes made their houses of wood) and they had a central government. However, the Germanic tribes did not make use of these Roman buildings and roads so that these all fell into disuse. As was the case with the Celts and the Romans, there was a mixture of the people who at that time inhabited England with the Germanic tribes. Those who did not want to mix with these tribes moved to other parts of Britain. the Angles, Saxons and Jutes had several kingdoms, each with their king or queen. By 850 AD England had three kingdoms: Northumbria (in the north), Mercia (in the middle) and Wessex (in the south), later followed by East Anglia and Kent. The Celts lived in Cornwall, Wales and Scotland. 

From time to time one of these kings was an overlord, meaning that he had the greatest power in England. By the end of the 6th century this was king Ethelbert of Kent. In the year 580 he married Bertha, daughter of the king of the Franks of Paris. This king was a Christian and his daughter brought her chaplain (a priest) with her to Kent. The Germanic tribes in England were pagans, but through his marriage with Bertha the king of Kent became a Christian. He invited Christian missionaries (people who spread the gospel of Christ) to convert other pagan people to Christianity. A church was built in Canterbury which later became a cathedral.

Canterbury Cathedral

English is a difficult language, look at these common errors in English: To be able to; People are able to do things, but things are not able to be done: you should not say, "the budget shortfall was able to be solved by selling brownies." By/Bye/Buy; These are probably confused with each other more often through haste than through actual ignorance, but "by" is the common preposition in phrases like "you should know by now." It can also serve a number of other functions, but the main point here is not to confuse "by" with the other two spellings: "’bye" is an abbreviated form of "goodbye" (preferably with an apostrophe before it to indicate the missing syllable), and "buy" is the verb meaning "purchase." "Buy" can also be a noun, as in "that was a great buy." The term for the position of a competitor who advances to the next level of a tournament without playing is a "bye." All others are "by." Theirselves?; There is no such word as "theirselves" (and you certainly can’t spell it "theirselfs" or "thierselves"); it’s "themselves." And there is no correct singular form of this non-word; instead of "theirself" use "himself" or "herself." Government; Be careful to pronounce the first "N" in "government." Ain’t it?; "Ain’t" has a long and vital history as a substitute for "isn’t," "aren’t" and so on. It was originally formed from a contraction of "am not" and is still commonly used in that sense. Even though it has been universally condemned as the classic "mistake" in English, everyone uses it occasionally as part of a joking phrase or to convey a down-to-earth quality. But if you always use it instead of the more "proper" contractions you’re sure to be branded as uneducated. We’re and were; "We’re" is a contraction of the phrase "we are": the apostrophe stands for the omitted letter A. "Were" is simply a plural past-tense form of the verb "are." To talk about something happening now or in the future, use "we’re"; but to talk about something in the past, use "were." If you can’t substitute "we are" for the word you’ve written, omit the apostrophe. "We were going to go to the party as a prince and princess, but Derek cut himself shaving, so we’re going instead as a female werewolf and her victim." Source: www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html

Have you ever heard of Engrish? Engrish can be simply defined as the humorous English mistakes that appear in Japanese advertising and product design. Of course, Engrish can be found all over the world, but the vast majority of the really funny and creative Engrish is from Japan.

Painapple, want some?…

Yum!

Me Tarzan, you Jane?

Nice ‘n crispy

For more examples of Engrish, check www.engrish.com, a fantastic website where I’ve found these examples.

]

ehh, oops…. Guess I’ll try another dish

Source: www.innocentenglish.com

This is a great exercise.
Listen to this amazing story about Mary King’s Close and fill in the missing words!

Mary King’s Close

Black history month is a celebration of the history and culture of ethnic communities across the UK. The idea, which has been recognised in the UK over ten years, began in the 1920′s in the United States. Dr Carter Godwin Woodson, the son of slaves, was a historian who was not happy at the way in which African Americans were represented in history books. Education, he felt, determined the way people feel about themselves. When you control the way someone thinks you do not have to worry about their actions.
We’ve interviewed a successful writer who was born in Jamaica. Sonia Icilyn talks to us about her origins, her books – and the language she uses. You’ll also find links to other sites.

Click on the link below to read and listen to the whole story.

Black History Month 2003

Play ‘Where to Next?’, an interactive game that takes its users on a tour of six locations in the British Isles.

The rules are simple. Each location contains a group of English language questions and audio reports. Your ‘tour’ will involve listening to these audio reports and answering as many questions correctly as possible. Once you have finished a location you can progress to the next one on your tour.

But beware! You only have a limited amount of cash. With every wrong answer, you lose some cash, and if you lose it all you must start again!

Would you like to play this game? Click on the link below. Good luck!

Where to next?

Bron: www.bbc.co.uk

Would you like to improve your vocabulary?
Read this story, and try to remember the words.
You can also listen to the story and/or the words.

Words in the News

5 March 2006
NESSIE THE ELEPHANT
Dinosaur hunter discovers monster was jumbo
By George Mair
SCOTLAND’S top dinosaur expert has stunned the science world by claiming the Loch Ness Monster is an ELEPHANT.

Palaeontologist Dr Neil Clark thinks the Nessie myth is “a magnificent piece of marketing” thought up by a 1930s circus boss.

Dr Clark says unexplained photos of Nessie could be of the trunk, head and back of a swimming elephant.

He claims the phenomenon may have been started by circus impresario Bertram Mills in 1933 after he saw one of his elephants bathing in Loch Ness.

Mills, who died in 1938, offered xa320,000 to anyone who could capture the Loch Ness Monster for his circus, sparking international interest.

Clark – who spent two years investigating the unexplained sightings – said: “Nessie as we know it today is largely a product of the 20th century.
“Most Nessie sightings occurred after 1933, when the A82 trunk road was completed along the west of Loch Ness. All we have are eye-witness accounts, fuzzy photographs, distant video footage and proven hoaxes.

“Most can be explained by floating logs or waves but there are a number of unexplained sightings of a creature – elephant grey, with a long neck and humped back – particularly from 1933.

“My research suggests these were elephants belonging to circuses. Circus fairs visiting Inverness stopped on the banks of Loch Ness to allow their animals to rest.

“When their elephants were allowed to swim in the loch, only the trunk and two humps could be seen: the first hump being the top of the head and the second being the back of the animal.

“The resulting impression would be of an animal with a long neck and two humps – perhaps more if there were more than one elephant in the water. It is not surprising Bertram Mills offered a xa320,000 reward to anyone who could capture the monster for his circus.

“He already had the Loch Ness Monster in his circus.

“Bertram Mills’ Loch Ness Monster scheme was a magificent piece of marketing. I don’t know if Mills intended to create a world-famous phenomenon but he must have died laughing.”

Adrian Shine, project leader for Loch Ness 2000, based at Drumnadrochit, has spent 30 years investigating the loch.

He said: “It is an interesting theory. If an elephant was seen swimming, it would certainly give rise to the image people have of the Loch Ness monster.

“The greatest concentration of sightings did happen in 1933 and 1934, when Bertram Mills’ reward was on offer.

“However, swimming elephants do not explain subsequent sightings.”

Dr Clark added: “I don’t think my discoveries will have any effect on those who believe Nessie is a real monster.”