Chapter 6: Ireland

Food

You can eat well in Ireland; there is fresh fish and seafood and fresh meat and vegetables. Irish stew is the national dish, and is made from lamb, potatoes, onions, carrots and parsley.
Tea is the most famous drink, and Irish person drinks six cups a day more or less.

Sport

The national sport of Ireland is Gaelic football, witch is a sport than there are fifteen players in each team, the goals are H-shaped, and you can hit the ball with your hand as well as kicking it.

Another sport is hurling, a sport than you hit the ball with a stick.
On 26^th of December, Irish people go to the horse races.
Other popular sports are rugby, football and golf.

Music and dance

The love for typical Irish music is still very strong. Irish dancing is also popular and the show Riverdance was an international success. There are also many Irish rock and pop stars, like U2, Boyzone, Enya, Van Morrison…
The best-known traditional Irish song is probably “Danny Boy”.

The economy

Ireland has been a poor country with many problems but from 1995 to 2007 there was an economic boom there.

Lots of new hauses were built, new companies grew, there were more jobs and lots of people from the new European countries moved there.

People called Ireland the “Celtic Tiger”.

Iconic places

Dublin is the capital of the Republic of Ireland. The River Liffey passes through the centre of Dublin, and there are many famous bridges too.
In 1916 there was The Easter Rising in Dublin. This was a revolution by Irish Republicans against the English.
Some of the Republicans organised the revolution from inside the Post Office.
Trinity College is the most important Irish university. In the library you can see the Book of Kells, which contains parts of the Bible and detailed pictures were painted by Irish monks.
Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland. It was divided between the Catholics and the Protestants.
The Giant’s Causeway is on the east coast of Northern Ireland. It was formed naturally by a volcano. There is a legend which says that an Irish giant made this type of bridge by throwing rocks in the sea so that he could cross to Scotland to fight a Scottish giant.
In the walls of Blarney castle you can found an ancient piece of bluestone called the Blarney Stone. People believe that if you kiss it you will start to speak very well.

Iconic People

There are many Irish heroes, for example, Teddy Roosvet, J.F.Kennedy,RonaldReagan, Bill Clinton and the mother’s family of Barack Obama.
There are many famous Irish writers and artists, for example G.B.Shaw, W.B.Yeats, Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney.
“George Best” was the greatest footballer in the world, and he was from Ireland.
Bob Geldof was the leader of an Irish punk band.
Mary Robinson was the first woman president of Ireland.

Saint Patrick

A legend says that Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland and today there are no wild snakes there.

The Irish celebrate St.Patrick’s day on 17^th March with special parades. These take place in Irish communities.
-He wasn’t Irish but pirates caught him.
-He was a salve in Ireland.
-He escaped, but returned to Ireland.
-He converted the Irish people to Christianity.


Stories from the past

There are lots of stories in Ireland about leprechauns or “the little people”. They are little old men who wear green or red jackets, carry a stick and wear a tall hat. If you catch a leprechaun, maybe you will find his pot of gold and he might give you three wishes. Many Irish people don’t like this image of leprechauns, which they think is something just to please the tourists.

There are many Celtic legends too. Deirdre of the Sorrows was a very famous one. Deirdre was a beautiful young woman but when she was a baby, the druids said that she would cause the death of many men. The King sent her to live in the forest until she was a teenager. Then he wanted to marry her. But Deirdre fell in love with another man and married him, and then they escaped to Scotland. After seven years, the King said that he forgave them, so they returned to Ireland. But the king had lied. Deirdre’s husband and his brothers were killed and Deirdre died of a broken heart.

Chapter 5: Scotland

Scotland is a land of mountains and lakes. There are about 5 million of persons. The Scottish culture is a bit different than the English.

Men in skirts

The kilt is a piece of clothing which many Scottish men wear on special occasions. It is a 3-meters piece of clothes that it uses like a skirt. Man uses to wear a sporran too.

Tartan is the name of a typical coloured pattern. Every family have a different and significant tartan.

There was a time that English government banned kilts, because they thought that tartan was a symbol of independence.

In 1969, an astronaut who stood on the moon, wore tartan.

Food

Haggises are a sheep’s stomach with meat, onion, oats, spices and salt.

Porridge is another dish which is made by boiling oats in milk and shortbread is a delicious butter biscuit.
Aberdeen Angus beef and salmon are also well-known for a very good Scotland dishes.

Iconic Places

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and is very popular for the Castle and the famous streets such as Princes Street and the Royal Mile. Many famous philosophers and writers lived in Edinburgh: Robert Louis, J.K.Rowling and more. Loch Lomond is the largest lake in Scotland and Loch Ness is the most famous and Ben Nevis is the tallest mountain.

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland. Aberdeen is another Scottish cities.

Iconic creatures

The Loch Ness Monster is the most famous inhabitant of Scotland. There is a legend of it. Do you believe in Nessie? She is very good for the Scottish tourist!

Dolly the sheep is another famous Scottish animal. She was the first mammal who was cloned.

Iconic people

William Wallace and Robert the Bruce were two great Scottish heroes who fought for independence from England.

Robert Bruce was put in prison by the English. When he was there, he watched a spider trying six times to make a web, and in the seventh time he succeeded.

Mary Queen of Scots had a dramatic and very sad life.

Robert Burns is a poet. His poems in Scottish dialect became very popular. He died in his 37, but his poems live on.

Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were famous Scottish writers.

Sean Connery was a famous actor and Susan Boyle was a singer.

James Watt, Alexander Bell, Alexander Fleming (penicillin) and John Logie Baird were famous inventors.

Sports

Rangers and Celtic are the most famous football teams. Sir Alex Ferguson is Scottish too (the manager of Manchester United).

Golf is another popular sport, and in the winter you can go skiing in the Highlands.

The Highland Games is a typical Scottish sporting event.

Celebrations

New Year is more important than Christmas.

Scottish people know it as “Hogmanay”. There are street parties, and the people sing “Auld Lang Syne”.

Burn Night takes place on the birthday of Robert Burns, 25^th January. People read poems and sing songs.

Chapter 4: England

What do the English like doing?

They have hobbies like repairing or decorating their home. Fishing in rivers is also a common activity, also shopping and going to nightclubs, but people prefer foreign holidays because it is often cheaper to go abroad.

What is there to eat in England?

Most English people eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, elevenses, tea and supper.

There are a lot of traditional dishes in England for example “Fish and chips” (white fish fried in batter). It is eaten with a kind of purée made from green peas, Roast diner, and Stilton cheese (blue cheese with a very strong taste) and also cakes and biscuits are so popular.
They usually drink cream tea in the afternoon. The traditional breakfast includes sausages, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, fried eggs, fried bread and a cup of strong tea.

Sport

Football, rowing, horse-racing, tennis, rugby and cricket are the most famous sports in England.

English people say that they’ve invented football. The bests teams in England are: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. And also cricket is very famous and played by many English-speaking nations.

Celebrations

The most important festivals for the English are Christmas and Easter . Most English children look forward to Fireworks’ Night on 5th November. Another important date is April Fool’s Day, on 1st of April when people is allowed to play jokes on other people.

Music

The most popular English music all over the world is pop and rock. England have had a lot of famous groups from the Rolling Stones to the Beatles and Coldplay.

Iconic Places

Stonehenge and Hardian’s Wall are examples of Iconic places in England. The most famous castle is the Tower of London. Also has buildings like Canterbury Cathedral, York Minister, Salisbury and Lincoln Cathedrals.

It's curious that members of Royal family get married in Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s in London.

Liverpool is a port city which is also world-famous. People speak with a strong local accent and have a reputation for being warm, creative and strong.

The Lake District is one of the most attractive landscapes in the United Kingdom. In Newquay you can enjoy surfing.

Iconic People

The most famous people in England are, for example, Queen Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, Dickens, Darwin and Winston Churchill.

Princess Diana was, the wife of Prince Charles, died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. But there are more, for example John Lennon wrote most of the songs of the Beatles. Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to become Primer Minister of the UK. Some people supported her, but she had haters. David Beckham is probably the most famous. He married one of the Spice Girls.

Chapter 3: From the Gunpowder Plot

The Execution of a King

On 4^th November 1605, Guy Fawkes hid under the Houses of Pariliament with 20 barrels of gunpowder and planned to blow up King James because he was angry about the King laws, but he was arrested and the King was safe.

The Civil War began in 1642 and it divided the country between the Royalists, who supported King Charles, and the Parliamentarians who supported Oliver Cromwell, but finally Cromwell won in 1649

Christmas is cancelled

From 1649 to 1660, there was no king or queen in England but Cromwell became “Lord Protector”. He tood an army to Ireland, where they killed many Irish soldiers, then, He gave land in Ireland to his Protestant soldiers and his actions were the start of the twentieth-century problems. So in England, the theatre was banned, the women could not wear bright colours or make-up and also the Christmas was banned

Plague, Fire and Revolution

Cromwell died in 1658 and in 1660 Charles II, the dead king's son became king. There were terrible events during his reign. The first was “The Great Plague” when a bubonic plague killed about 20% of the population of London. The second was “The Great Fire of London” which destroyed many building and had to be rebuilt.

In 1688, Parliament invited William Orange to invade the country. He won and married with James II daughter (the King). In 1745 “Bonnie” the granson of James II began a war in England but he lost

England + Wales + Scotland + Ireland

Anne was anothe daughter of James II and she became Queen in 1702 and developed two political parties: the Whigs and the Tories. There were two important acts in Parliament: The Act of Settlement (1701) said that no Roman Catholic could be king or queen. The Act of Union (1707) said that England and Scotland were one country.

She died and began the Georgian Age in Britain. Britain lost his colonies as a result of the American War of Independence, but colonised Australia.

In 1727 Robert Walpole became the first British prime minister. In 1801, the government introduced Act of Union with Ireland.

The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain towards the end of the eighteenth century. People began to work in the factories. In 1825 the first railway was opened. This revolution made Britain rich, but it also created problems: living conditions for the workers were very crowded and unhealty, the owners became rich and the workers poor.

Coal was the main fuel of the revolution, so children worked in the mines for 18h each day.

 

The Victorian Age

In 1834, Victoria, an eighteen years old woman became queen of Britain. During her reign many British men such as Dickens, Darwin and Graham Bell became world-famous. There were many changes in society: using children as workers became illegal, education became free for everyone and cities were safer and healthier. The British Empire grew to include parts of Africa and Asia. But also the queen Victoria government had problems. From 1845-1849 there was the “Great Potato Famine”. From 1854-1856 there was a war with Russia when more than 20.000 British soldiers died

At the end of this period there were electric lights, telephones, the London underground and many things became more modern

The Twentieth Century

The population grew to sixty milion. The country was involved in the two world wars, the First and the Second. The relationship between Britain and Irelan changed: in 1919, the Irish War of Independence began and finally in 1921 the south became independent, but the north remain part of Britain. After a time some people of the north want the independence so (the IRA) and British Army fought. In 1998 the “Good Friday Agreement” was signed and “the troubles” ended.

In 1960s (known as “the swinging sixties”) there was a great social change. Teenagers and women had more freedom. This was the time of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

The British Isles entered the European Community in 1973, North Sea oil was discovered, the Channel Tunnel was built and Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales became more independent

Into the Twenty-first Century

The Scotish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly make those nations more independent. People face the global warming. From 2008 there have been economic problems. London is getting ready for the Olympics in 2012.

Internet Project

1)Where can you sometimes see Darwin's face?
You can see his face on courthouse wall or in the stamps outside the Royal Family or in the 10 pound notes.

2)Which city was named after Darwin? Where is it?
Is in the North Australia.

3)Who was Jenny?
The first ape Darwin saw was an orang-utan named Jenny at London zoo.

4) Did he write his first scientific paper about biology?
No he didn't. He wrote it about geology.
5) What percentage of British people belive in evolution?
50% of the population belived in evolution.

6) Did Darwin write On the Origin of Species for scientists only?
No, he wrote this book for the general public.

7) Did his father expect him to be famous?

No, he didn't expect that.

8) What did Darwin study at university? Was he successful?

He studied medicine but he didn't finishes his degree.

9) What did Darwin do with his specimen of the lesser rhea?

He ate his specimen of the lesser rhea.

10) Which islands did he explore?

He explore the Galapagos islands.