UK Business Blog

Geography

The UK is only a small nation, but it has a lot to offer. From beautiful mountain ranges, national parks and quaint countryside, to glorious beaches in the summertime, which rival anything that California has to offer (well, maybe?) Some things you may not know about the towns and landscape:

• Great Britain is a political term referring to the three nations on the island – England, Scotland and Wales; the phrase is often incorrectly used instead of United Kingdom (UK) which refers to Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Be careful not to blur the boundaries of UK/Britain/England. Some people can be quite sensitive to being presumed ‘English’ when they are in fact British.

• The Lake District in the North of England has many scenic views and pockets of water. However, it is not widely known that there is only one official lake, Bassenthwaite, the other ‘lakes’ are officially classified waters, tarns, reservoirs or meres.  Either way, bring a boat if you want to explore them.

• If you want an escape on this small isle, the deepest cave in the UK is Ogof Ffynnon Ddu in Powys, Wales, which is 308 m (1,010 ft) deep. It may be difficult to pronounce but it’s probably much easier to fall down it than climb the highest mountain, Ben Nevis, in Scotland at 1,343m (4,406 ft).

• Even more difficult to roll off the tongue is a town in Wales, which is called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (we’re working on a nickname). Britain is known for having long place names, the city with the shortest name is Ely.
  

  Oh, well now they've broken it down for me, it is much easier to say...

• Size-wise, Great Britain has an area that is 243,820 km². That is smaller than the US state Oregon (255,026 km²) and could fit into Australia (7,617,930 km²) more than 30 times. Think how many times over we’d fit into Russia (17,098,242 km²)!

 Katie Jamieson

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London

The UK isn’t all just green rolling hills y’know! The capital of England, London, is arguably the world’s largest financial centre and a cultural hotspot brimming with arts and entertainment. It is a must-see for your bucket list (or more appropriately, a must-do). Don’t take our word for it…take our useless trivia instead:

Big Ben, the most notorious disguise in London....

• A vast majority of the museums in London are free. If you prepared a packed lunch and chose to walk rather than use the London Underground, known as the Tube, you could enjoy a great free day out.

• What do umbrellas, mobile phones and false teeth have in common? They are frequently lost every year on the Tube – thousands of them! Some of the weirdest items lost on London transport include a stuffed puffer fish, breast implants, a lawn mower and a coffin!

• If all those lost items weren’t enough to make you feel crowded on the tube, maybe the fact that more people live in London than Scotland and Northern Ireland added together might do?

• The big secret that every Londoner knows: contrary to popular belief that Big Ben refers to the world famous clock, it is actually the name of the bell within the clock tower.

 Katie Jamieson

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Sport

Olympic mascot Wenlock, ready for victory.

From world-leading competitive professionals to strange regional community activities, the UK sport industry is extremely diverse. We may not be world champions in every sport, but sport is certainly a heritage which really unites the Kingdom.

• Football (soccer), rugby, cricket and tennis are amongst the nation’s favourite sports to participate in and watch.

• The UK is hosting the 2012 Olympic Games. The mascot Wenlock, is named after a Shropshire town, which hosted an early version of the modern Olympic games on 1850. To check whether you can go along to the 2012 Games held in Stratford, London, check the Ticket Eligibility website.

•  Toe wrestling, caber tossing and welly wanging are a few of the quirky but quintessentially British sports taking place across the United Kingdom. You can probably guess what the toe-wrestling championship is (it’s gross is what it is!), held annually in Derbyshire. ‘Tossing’ and ‘wanging’ are essentially just ways of saying ‘throwing’; competitors in Scotland have to competitively throw a roughly trimmed 19ft tree trunk (caber) or in Yorkshire, a Wellington boot (welly). I know which one I’d rather participate in!

• Perhaps the most famous unusual sport combines athletic prowess with a love of dairy – cheese-rolling! This involves rolling large blocks of Double Gloucester cheese down a hill – and chasing after them. It’s quite a dangerous sport though, as the blocks of cheese can reach speeds up to 70mph!

Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'cheese and crackers'

 Katie Jamieson

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Food & Drink

My last post mentioned cheese rolling, which brings us nicely onto a tasty little topic. British food used to have a negative reputation but that has changed in recent years. We are not known for the healthiest national dishes, but we like to think our culinary offerings are comforting and delicious. Britain also has a reputation for consuming mass amounts of tea, also known as having a ‘brew’ or ‘cuppa’. And when we’re not drinking tea, we may be socialising in our bars, referred to as ‘pubs’. Here are some facts to keep you wised up to our gastronomy:

• In Wales you may eat laverbread, which is quite a misleading name for seaweed!

  

  Strangest looking bread I’ve ever seen!

• However, the folks in Northern Ireland make a type of bread, but call it soda farl (which sounds more like seaweed than laverbread does).

  

  Doesn't look fizzy?

• The North of England is proud of its black pudding, made from congealed pigs’ blood.
  

  And this isn't even a pudding!

• Scotland is known for filling sheep’s stomach lining with offal and calling it ‘haggis’.
  

  It looks offal-y appetising

• And when in London you may be lucky enough to sample jellied eels!

They're electric on your tastebuds!

• If the above delicacies don’t appeal to you, every Briton would insist you try the nation’s favourite supper, Fish and Chips! Not to be confused as the nation’s favourite dinner the Roast, traditionally eaten on a Sunday.

• However, these days many people would agree that the UK’s favourite meal is curry, which is not native to the UK. This is testament to the wealth of culinary diversity in the country.

• According to the British Beer and Pub Association, there are approximately 54,000 pubs in Britain – with 15 million people drinking in pubs more than once a week. Be certain to get the address of any pub with the name ‘Red Lion’ if meeting people there as this is the most popular pub name with 759 different Red Lions in the UK – it’s like the plains of Africa with that many around!

• No amount of alcohol will ever come close to the nation’s favourite drink – according to the United Kingdom Tea Council, Britain drinks 165 million cups daily or 60.2 billion per year!

I was surprised to hear the UK drank 165million cups a day, until I looked at my daily tea consumption...

Katie Jamieson

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Royalty

Much of the UK’s history can be traced through the long line of British monarchs. The ups and downs of the British monarchy are at times so dramatic that their many life stories could be turned into novels, drama series or films and this is often the case. Our current ruler, Queen Elizabeth II is perhaps the best known person in the world (maybe second to Oprah), but did you know:

• Queen Elizabeth II is Head of State not only to the UK, but to 15 other Commonwealth realms.

   

  

  Queen Elizabeth II on 'Dress Down Friday'

   

• QEII celebrates two birthdays every year and sends a greeting card to anybody who celebrates their 100^th birthday. These cards are not known to be the ones that sing though.

• On 29^th April 2011 the Queen’s grandson Prince William, 2^nd in line to the throne, will marry Catherine ‘Kate’ Middleton at Westminster Abbey. Though it is highly likely he will eventually become king, it is unknown what his royal title will become upon marriage.

• Think it is only those of noble birth who can be given titles? Think again – Lordships and Ladyships can be bought for as little as £15 online. They don’t last forever though, only 999 years till you become a commoner again!

• The Queen owns 7 dogs. Four corgis called Linnet, Monty, Willow and Holly and three dorgis called Cider, Candy and Vulcan. They travel with the Queen to her various residences.

 Katie Jamieson

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Law

The British legal system is probably commonly associated with barristers wearing long black robes and grey curly wigs. Over recent years, it is becoming less popular to wear this traditional garb, which some people argue is archaic. Before the legal sector updates their apparel though perhaps they should repeal some of their laws first:

• All English males over 14 must carry out 2 or so hours of longbow practice per day. This makes sense as boys would have had to learn such skills from an early age when physical combat was more frequent. Why it has not been repealed remains a mystery, as it’s doubtful many boys obey this law. Unless 2 +hours shooting on a games console counts, in which case, most boys probably exceed the recommended daily practice.

• It is perfectly legal to kill a Welshman by decapitation. Yes, you heard me. This is a bye-law introduced in 1403 by Prince Henry during the Welsh revolt, before he became King Henry V. which stated it was perfectly legal to kill a Welshman by decapitation if he was loitering inside Chester city walls after sunset. There is no record of this law being repealed. This law no longer allows legal protection against murder though.

• It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.

• It is illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas day. This strange law was introduced in 1657 during Oliver Cromwell’s reign as Lord Protector. Cromwell abolished the celebration of Christmas including mince pies. This has never been revoked and millions break the law by eating these sweet snacks every Christmas day in the UK.

• It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside down. Perhaps more annoyingly than committing treason, your post probably won’t be sent off.

• A pregnant woman can legally urinate anywhere she likes in the UK, including a police officer’s hat! Apparently pregnant women can choose to do this. A police officer’s hat is an interesting choice though.

Katie Jamieson

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