Politics

The United Kingdom is the name given to the Union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. England is part of Great Britain, which also includes Scotland and Wales.

Britain has the oldest parliamentary democracy in the world. The Queen is the Head of State while the leader of the Government is the Prime Minister. The Government is made from the party that has the largest number of seats in the House of Commons. There are elections every five years.

Elected politicians are called Members of Parliament and they go to the House f Commons where they debate and vote on bills. There are also other politicians who are in the House of Lords. The House of Lords also debates and votes on bills. A bill must go through the  Houses to become law. The House of Lords is not elected. The Lords are either  appointed by the Government or inherit the position from their parents.

The Royal Family

Queen Elizabeth II  is the 2nd Monarch (7th Queen). She is one of  the richest women in the world. As well as being the Head of State and the Church of England, she is also Commander in Chief of the armed forces (Army, Navy, Air Force) and leader of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth includes the third world countries  that were in the British Empire,  as well as  Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

In reality the Queen doesn't play an active role in the government of the country, although the Prime Minister has to meet her every week to discuss what the Government is doing. Every year she officially opens Parliament in one of the colourful state occasions that she performs. These state occasions are big tourist attractions.

The British State pays the Queen and the Royal Family for the job that they do. The people in the Royal Family who are paid by the state are called the "Civil List". The Queen now pays taxes but this is very recent. Love them or hate them, the Royal Family is an important feature in British culture.

The Media

There are 2 types of newspapers in Britain: broadsheets and tabloids. The broadsheets are also called the quality press and include newspapers like The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and The Observer. These papers are more serious and intellectual than the tabloids. Some of the tabloids include The Sun, The Daily Mirror and The Daily Star. These papers include a lot of pictures and gossip but not very much serious news.

It is a good exercise to read the same stories in a quality paper and in a tabloid and to compare the language and vocabulary. The language in the tabloids is not necessarily easier than the broadsheets, it's different. They use a lot of slang, colloquialisms, more phrasal verbs and idiomatic, colourful language.

There are also local newspapers. For example, the local newspapers in Oxford are called The Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times. They are useful for the What's On sections (cinema etc.). There are also many free newspapers. These are mostly for advertising.

There are an enormous number of magazines that you can buy - just look in a newsagents. You can buy international newspapers from most newsagents, too.

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Smoking and Alcohol in Britain

Don't buy cigarettes in a pub or from a machine as they are very expensive. Buy them in a shop - usually a newsagent's (where you buy a newspaper). Or even better, don't smoke, save your money and stay healthy!
You must be 16 to buy cigarettes. If there is a "no smoking" sign - don't smoke! You will notice that in Britain they nearly always obey signs and rules.

You can only buy or drink alcohol if you are over 18. If you don't look 18 you will be asked to show identification (passport or student card). You can buy alcohol in pubs and shops called off-licences, where you can usually help yourself so you won't need to ask for what you want.

There are two main types of beer in England - Lager and Bitter. Lager is the type of beer familiar all over the world but Bitter is British - there are many different types. Another popular beer is called stout. Guinness and Murphy's are two famous types of stout.

Pubs

Pubs are a very important part of British culture and have a unique atmosphere that makes some of them very special. However, they are often a mystery to overseas visitors. Pub means Public House and most landlords live upstairs, which means that what happens in their pub is very important to them. In local pubs there is often a group of regular customers who sit at the bar drinking and chatting. They are the landlord's best customers.

Most pubs are open from 11-00 to 23-00 Monday to Saturday, although many close in the afternoon. On Sunday they are open from 12-00 to 22-30. Nightclubs are open until much later.

Some pubs provide a complete service which includes coffee, food and snacks, live music and, of course, alcohol. Other pubs only serve drinks. It is usually clear what a pub has to offer and you will find that a lot in the city centre serve lunch and evening meals. Remember that most pubs will stop serving food by about 21-00.

What to do in a Pub

Go to the bar first. In a pub they always order at the bar. If you go and sit down first the bar staff will not come to the table to serve you! If the pub is busy and there are people at the bar buying drinks they will be very annoyed if you sit down before them and you don't have a drink.

When you are standing at the bar it is natural for you to take time deciding what to have but don't stop another customer who has decided. A pub is one of the few places where visitors don't queue but they do know who's next - be polite! It is traditional to go in a pub and drink continuously until you leave. That means that you don't spend two hours with one drink! You don't have to get drunk but if you are in a group and you only have a few drinks in the evening the landlord won't like you very much - especially if you are taking a table that could be occupied by local people drinking beer.

Ten minutes before closing time the landlord will call "last orders at the bar". This means that you have a short time to buy more drinks. At 23-00 he will call "time at the bar". This means you cannot buy another drink. You will usually hear a bell ring. You have ten to twenty minutes to finish your drink and leave the pub.

Here are a few example orders in a pub:

• "Two pints of bitter, a half of lager and a packet of cheese and onion crisps, please"
• ''A coke and two orange juices, please"
• ''A glass of red wine and a gin and tonic, please"            

Don't forget to say 'please'.