The UK. General info. Symbols

General information about the UK

Dave: Hi guys! I`m Dave. I`m in Great Britain at the moment. I came here to improve my English and I`ll be glad to share my experiences with you.

So, first of all I think I have to tell you some general information about this wonderful country.

Today we`ll lift the misty and mysterious curtain of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. They often call it the UK, so shall we.

Britain is so different that every day you can fall in love with something new: rolling hills and picturesque plains, high mountains and deep valleys, blue rivers and mysterious lakes, modern cities and old-fashioned villages, wonderful beaches and unique people.

The United Kingdom lies on more than five thousand islands of different sizes and Great Britain is the biggest one.

Look at this map. Now you can easily notice that the UK consists of four countries: England, Scotland and Wales which lie on Great Britain and Northern Ireland which lies on the neighbouring island - Ireland.

The capital of the United Kingdom is London but I have to say that every country has its own capital city. Let`s get acquainted with them. London is not only the capital of the UK but of England, too. The capital city of Scotland is Edinburgh, Cardiff is the capital of Wales and Belfast of Northern Ireland.

Each country has not only its own capital but its own flag and patron saint, too.

Patron Saint is a saint who is believed to protect a particular place or type of a person. То есть, святой покровитель – это святой, который, как полагают, охраняет какое-либо место или же людей. For example Russia is protected by St George (Россия охраняется Георгием Победоносцем). In addition St George protects all the warriors, farmers and travellers. Также, Святой Георгий защищает всех воинов, земледельцев и путешественников.

 And people call their sons Yuri (earlier it sounded Yegori) to show veneration to this saint. А люди называют своих сыновей именем Юрий (раньше оно звучало как Егорий), чтобы выказать почитание этому святому.

And we start with England. Its Patron Saint is St George and this is the flag of the country: the cross of St George. The flower of the country is the red rose and I know that the lion is the national animal of England.

Now let`s find out the same facts about Scotland. The Patron Saint of this country is St Andrew and you can see St Andrew`s cross on the flag of Scotland. You see – it`s the blue one with white diagonal cross on it. The plant of Scotland is the thistle. And you won`t believe: the national animal of the country is the unicorn.

And what about Wales? Let`s see. The flag of Wales is called the Red Dragon and the Patron Saint is St David. The flower of this country is the daffodil (you can also meet the leek). And as you can guess the animal of the country is the mysteriuous and powerful red dragon.

And the last country of the United Kingdom: Northern Ireland. Its Patron Saint is St Patrick and on the flag of this country you see St Patrick`s cross. The plant symbol is the shamrock and I`ve got no information about its national animal.

And look here: if we take the cross of St Andrew, then add the cross of St Patrick and finally the cross of St George on top of all of them, we will get the flag of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Its name is Union Jack (or Union Flag).

The word ‘union’ means союз, that`s why the flag of the United Kingdom of Great

Britain and Northern Ireland has such a name.

And a bit more about numbers.²

You can notice that only Northern Ireland has a land border with another country – the Republic of Ireland. Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the North and North-east. It also borders on the North Sea in the east, the Irish Sea in the west and the English Channel in the South.

The United Kingdom has an area of about 243 square kilometres (km what makes it the 78^th largest country in the world. If we compare the UK and Russia with the territory of about 17 million square kilometres, we`ll see that Britain almost 70 times can fit in Russia.

The population of the country is about 64 million people and more than 8 mln live in London.

Look at the map, please. Have you ever heard of the Gulf Stream? It`s a current which brings warm waters towards the British Isles and that`s why the climate is mild: it`s not too hot in summer and it`s quite warm in winter.

And such weather is a great advantage for plants. I have noticed that one of the most popular British hobbies is gardening. Just have a look at all these gardens! …

And another very popular British hobby is football or being a football fan. Did you know that this game in the way it`s played now was born in the UK? For example, London is the home for 13 professional teams and 80 amateur ones. I`m sure that you now such names as Arsenal, Tottenham or Chelsea.

The British have always been famous as a nation of animal-lovers. Nearly every family has a pet: a dog, a cat or a hamster. It shows vividly that people in Britain love their homes most of all. They say “There`s no place like home”.

And what about you? What do you care most of all about? А о чем же вы заботитесь больше всего?

I think that`ll do for the beginning. But soon I`ll tell and show you many more facts about this unique country.