Englishman's Home example essay topic

If you choose to travel across half the world, and find yourself in the UK, you truly will be in a land of paradox. A 'rigid's social system is contradicted by incredible social diversity, where street signs are written in Urdu, Mandarin, Welsh... This traditional country is at the centrepiece of the European Union, yet doesn't subscribe to it's currency, the Ecu. The food to feed the family is all meat-and-potato, yet the most popular take away food is the Curry, closely followed by Asian dishes, and then Pizza.

The Royal Family jostles for position with the 'New Royals', Posh and Becks, Stella and John McCartney, Madonna and Guy... When travelling through the UK, you are actually visiting a Principality, Wales ('Prince-Ruled' Kingdom) two Realms (Scotland and England) and a Province, Northern Ireland. When travelling through, you will see that drastically different dialects can exist in communities spaced just a few miles apart (oh! By the way, petrol is sold in Litres, but distances are still measured in miles!) They say an Englishman's home is his castle, and if you ever do get invited in to someones home (which doesn't happen very often!) be sure to accept - if you are lucky, you will find a cosy home full of books, antiques, history and curios. To meet 'the true Brit', make sure you visit a country Pub, order a Bitter (Britain's dark-beer version of lager) and sit by the fire or at the bar. It's hard to strike up a conversation with people sometimes (the traditional British reserve!) but you will learn much about social mores and structures just by watching and listening.

Locally-brewed bitters and beers have their own, distinctive tastes, and the London Beer Festival brings all of these together in three riotous, fun-filled days. Nothing is ever very far away in the UK. You can drive from the top to the bottom in 6 hours. This means that in the morning, you could enjoy a Full English Breakfast in Cornwall, have a Cream tea in Somerset for elevenses (morning snack), have a Scottie (Large sandwich) in Newcastle for lunch, and feast on Haggis and Scotch in Scotland by Dinnertime! You can get a ferry to Ireland from Wales, (2 hours) or take the tunnel (20 mins) or ferry, (2 hours) to France and be on mainland Europe in a flash. If you go to Britain, be sure to take time to discover ancient rituals, such as Morris Dancing in Somerset, Cheese-Rolling Chasing in Gloucestershire, Beefeater Lore at the Tower of London, Longest-Day Equinox at Stonehenge and Eisteddfods in Wales.

Village Fetes (annual get-togethers at the local village hall) are usually hilarious, with races and painting competitions for the kids, cake-making competitions for the wives, and welly-wanting contests for the men (throwing Gum boots - its harder than it sounds... ). Going to Britain is to immerse yourself in the past, whilst keeping one eye on the future. Fashion, science and industry all get a forward shove in the UK, but we are still very proud of our past got none.