These strange Englishmen

The aim of my project is
the acquaintance with Englishmen’s traditions and the way of their life.
I’ve called it “These strange Englishmen” not without purpose, as the people of this country really differ from others.

Who are the English?

Now you can see the British Isles.
They include two big islands: Great Britain and Ireland and many small ones.
Great Britain is the largest island. It includes England, Scotland and Wales.
Near Great Britain there is the island called Ireland. The northern part of the isle is Northern Ireland.
Great Britain and Northern Ireland forms the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK).
The UK is a political term which includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The people who live in England are called
the English or the Englishmen.

Traditions
The Englishmen are very proud of their traditions as they have been checked with time.
So they keep them up very carefully.
There can be found many examples
of their attention towards their traditions.

1. Officers of the court still sit in judgement in the powdered wigs of the 18th century.

2. The professors of old English universities such as Oxford and Cambridge wear black gowns with red linings and quadrangular hats.

3. The royal guards still wear the uniforms of the 16th century.

4. The English like their Queen.
The attitude of the English towards their Queen Elizabeth II is very reverent and respectful in spite of the fact that she has no actual power. It is limited by the Parliament.
Elizabeth II is the Queen for all parts of the UK, but the attitude of the English to her is special.
The English believe that the Queen is very important for the unity of the English nation. The image of the Queen often appears on stamps, notes and coins.

Meals and tea time.
Traditionally the English have 4 meals a day: breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner.
Breakfast is the first meal of the day. It is usually Englishmen’s favourite oatmeal porridge and several eggs.
In the afternoon at 1 o’clock the English have lunch. Lunch is a light meal and eaten at school or work. For many people lunch is a quick meal, often just a snack.

Tea time
Tea is the English national drink. They drink tea 5-6 times a day: tea for breakfast, tea in lunch time, tea at tea-time, tea after dinner. Some English families have "high tea" and no supper.
As the English say “Seven cups of it wake you up in the morning; nine cups will put you to sleep at night”.
The English drink mostly strong and fresh made Indian tea and only out of cups, never out of glasses.
So tea means two things for the English - it is a drink and a meal.
At midday everything is stopped for tea. Afternoon tea is taken at about 5 o’clock.

Dinner is usually the main meal of the day. It’s usually eaten at 7 o’clock in the evening and consists of two courses: soup and fish or meat with a lot of vegetables.

The place where an Englishman becomes himself is his home!
The English are a nation of stay-at-home. "There is no place like home", they say. When they don't work they like to spend their days off at home in the company of their families.
People all over the world know the saying 'The Englishman's home is his castle". And it is true. For the Englishmen their houses are real fortresses where they can hide not only from others, but from bored problems.
To come home means to move to another world, the world without work. The Englishmen never discuss their work problems at home. Home is the place for the rest!
An Englishman’s home is his castle.

Gardens
Another Englishman’s place for the rest is his garden.
Gardens are very important for the English. Every Englishman dreams about his own house with a little garden at the backside.
The English like growing flowers and try to learn the Latin names of the flowers they plant.
Many people who have no gardens of their own have patches of land. They spend much leisure time working among their flowers, trees and vegetables.
The English take part in numerous flower-shows and vegetable shows with very good prizes.

The English like RED.
The red color is very important and popular in England;
it can be found practically everywhere. Even Napoleon said that the red is the color of England.
The red flag of the British Navy has been existing since the 17th century and symbolizes “a challenge to a battle”.
The national emblem of England is the red rose.
Big red double-deckers, red post boxes, red telephone boxes and red suits of royal guardsmen are red.
You see, everything is red.
The red color is the symbol of Old England and it is very important for English culture as it’s the national color.