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Life as a Thatcher |
| Posted by admin in History on 02 15th, 2009 |
Leo Wood lives in Welford, Northamptonshire and makes his living as a self-employed thatcher. He didn’t plan a life working with this traditional craft.
“From school I intended to follow in my father’s footsteps as a chemical engineer but preferred working outdoors. I was helping a friend whose farmer father was ill with odd jobs weekends on the farm and working in the laboratory of a chrome plating plant full time.
“I had no real intention of changing my job, but by chance while helping on the farm a government agricultural employment agent came to try to arrange for a full time worker on the farm.
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Watch Skins |
| Posted by admin in News on 02 12th, 2009 |
Skins is a British serial which shows company of young people as they live. This show has many attractive charecters like Cook(charismatic and sociable) and others. This serial won Best Drama prize in 2008 and Best Production Design. Filming of the third series began on 23 July 2008. The first part of episode one has been available for us on the E4 website since January. Trailers began across the Channel 4 family of channels on January, showing cast creating havoc in a pub. So don’t wait watch skins . Another great show is Fringe. It’s a fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams. The show follows an FBI Fringe Division Olivia Dunham located in Boston. Unlike Lost, J. J. Abrams told that series’s story will be easier to follow. All over the world, a series of apparent experiments referred to as “the Pattern” are occurring for unknown reasons. Olivia, Peter, and Walter are in charge of investigating these events. Connected to the Pattern is Massive Dynamic, a leading global research company that holds the patents for a number of new and important technologies. You can watch fringe right now!
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Henley Royal Regatta |
| Posted by admin in History on 02 11th, 2009 |
In 1829 a boat race challenge was held between teams representing the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The venue chosen was a straight stretch of the Thames at the small town of Henley (or more properly, Henley-on-Thames). So popular did the race prove that the town of Henley realized they were onto a good thing.
A public meeting was held at the Henley Town Hall, and the decision was made to make boat racing at Henley an annual event.
Even though “The Boat Race” between the university teams was moved to a course closer to London, the first Henley Regatta was inaugurated in 1839.
There have been four race courses at Henley. The first (The Old Course - 1839-1885) began on the Berkshire side of Temple Island and ran to Henley Bridge. That course was 1 mile, 550 yards long. The “New Course” (1886-1922 started on the Buck nghamshire side but had two slight bends in it.
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English Hedges |
| Posted by admin in All about UK on 02 11th, 2009 |
Hedges have been used as field boundaries in England since the times of the Romans. Excavations at Farmoor (Oxon) reveals Roman hedges made of thorn. The Anglo-Saxons also used hedgerows extensively, and many that were used as estate boundaries still exist. Although these early hedges were used as field enclosures or to mark the boundaries of one person’s property, there was no systematic planting of hedges in England until the first enclosure movement of the 13th century.
The pressures of population expansion led to a widespread clearing of land for agriculture, and the new fields needed to be marked clearly.
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Fortnum and Mason |
| Posted by admin in History on 02 11th, 2009 |
How does a used-candle seller found one of the most successful and prestigious businesses in British history? Well, if your name is William Fortnum and the candles in question belonged to the royal family, you are well on your way to business success. It all came about like this.
William Fortnum became a footman in the royal household of Queen Anne in 1707. Every night he replaced the candles used by the royal family with new ones. The used candles he promptly resold to ladies of the royal household for a tidy profit. The enterprising Mr. Fortnum also had a sideline business as a grocer.
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English gardens |
| Posted by admin in All about UK on 02 11th, 2009 |
The earliest English gardens that we know of were planted by the Roman conquerors of Britain in the 1st century AD. The Roman gardens that we know the most about are those of the large villas and palaces. The best example of the latter is probably Fishbourne Roman Palace in Sussex, where an early garden has been partly reconstructed.
Fishbourne shows a carefully symmetrical formal planting of low box hedges split by graveled walks. The hedges are punctuated by small niches which probably held ornaments like statues, urns, or garden seats. The formal garden near the house gave way to a landscaped green space leading down to the waterside below. There is also a small kitchen garden which is planted with fruits and vegetables common in Roman Britain.
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Half-timbered houses |
| Posted by admin in All about UK on 02 11th, 2009 |
Half-timbered houses, their blackened oak beams showing the fissures and cracks of great age, the floors tilting crazily askew, these images are a part of the charm of medieval and Tudor England for visitors. But what was half-timbering, and why were the buildings we marvel at today built this way?
Until the 17th century England was blessed with an abundant supply of oak, which was the most common material used for timber framing.
Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England
Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire
Oak is hard and durable, which in part explains why so many medieval half-timbered buildings have survived.
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History of monarchy |
| Posted by admin in History on 02 11th, 2009 |
The history of the English Crown up to the Union of the Crowns in 1603 is long and eventful.
The concept of a single ruler unifying different tribes based in England developed in the eighth and ninth centuries in figures such as Offa and Alfred the Great, who began to create centralised systems of government.
Following the Norman Conquest, the machinery of government developed further, producing long-lived national institutions including Parliament.
The Middle Ages saw several fierce contests for the Crown, culminating in the Wars of the Roses, which lasted for nearly a century. The conflict was finally ended with the advent of the Tudors, the dynasty which produced some of England’s most successful rulers and a flourishing cultural Renaissance.
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Scotland - a separate nation |
| Posted by admin in History on 02 11th, 2009 |
A complex series of wars and diplomatic maneuvers in the period from 500 AD to 1000 AD resulted in Malcolm II becoming king of a Scotland that apart from a few disputes about the Highlands and Islands was basically in its modern form. Border wars with the English continued. Edward I had succeeded conquering most of Scotland, but Robert the Bruce had then won back most of the English gains. Only Stirling Castle remained in English hands
robert the bruce
An English army arrived to relieve the Scots siege of Stirling. Bruce defeated the English army under Edward II, who was lucky to escape with his life. The Scots victory at the Battle of Bannockburn secured complete Scots independence.
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The United Kingdom |
| Posted by admin in All about UK on 02 11th, 2009 |
Great Britain is the term used for the island containing the contiguous nations¹ of England, Scotland and Wales. Great Britain is used to distinguish Britain from Brittania Minor, or Brittany, in France. The term “Great Britain” was officially used only after King James I (who was also James VI of Scotland) acceded to the throne of England and Wales in 1603, styling himself King of Great Britain, although legislative union between Scotland and England did not take place until 1707.
England, Scotland and Wales together with the province of Northern Ireland, form the country officially known as “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” or simply the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom came into being in 1801 following the Irish Union, although the greater part of Ireland gained independence in 1921 to form the Irish Republic (or Eire). The majority of the people in Northern Ireland have wished to remain part of the U.K., although a minority wish unification with the Irish Republic.
