Living in the UK

Introductions and Greetings in English
This section is in advanced English and is only intended to be a guide, not to be taken too seriously!
Greetings and Introductions
First impressions are a really important aspect of British culture. Introducing yourself and others in the correct way is fraught with various do's and dont's of etiquette.
Introductions
In social situations, a man is traditionally introduced to a woman. However, in the business world introductions are based on a person's rank or position in an organisation. Whoever is the highest-ranking person is introduced to everyone else in order of their position. If you introduce two people of equal rank to each other, introduce the one you know less well to the one you know best.
Introducing Yourself
There might be occasions where you will have to introduce yourself. For example, if you are meeting a new colleague or an associate, you might start off by extending your hand and saying "Hello! I am .....". If you have been introduced earlier to someone, do not assume that the person would remember you and be prepared to reintroduce yourself should it be necessary. There are someuseful tips below.
Greetings
The British do shake hands, i.e. when first introduced to new people, but we rarely shake hands when parting.
In an informal situation you may see social kissing (often just a peck on the cheek), this is acceptable between men and women and also between women who know each other very well, but it is rare that you will see two British men kissing, even if it is only on the cheek.
Useful tips
Introductions are much simpler if you can memorise a few simple rules.
Introducing others
In business a person of lower rank tends to be introduced to a person of higher rank. In other situations you may find that a younger person would be introduced to an older person and a man introduced to a woman.
Introducing yourself
When shaking hands people may give you their name without saying "Hello" or anything else. It can come across as a bit unfriendly, but it's not considered to be rude
For example:-
I hold out my hand to you and say, "Lynne Hand."
If you wish to be on first-name terms with someone you can indicate this by stressing your first name:-
For example:-
"Hello, my name is Lynne. Lynne Hand."
Reacting to an introduction
The response you give should have the same level of formality as the introduction.
Shaking Hands
When meeting someone formally for the first time, we shake their hand and say "How do you do?" or "Pleased to meet you."
"How do you do?" isn't really a question, it just means "Hello".
When young people meet informally they sometimes say "Give me five!" and slap their hands together (high five).
Generally we do not shake hands with people we know well.

Naturally speaking
You say hello, and I say goodbye!
Follow the dialogue.
Mr Bean meets Mrs Breuer, one of his students, and her husband in the street.
Mr Bean:
Good morning, Mrs Breuer.
Mrs Breuer:
Good morning, Mr Bean. How are you?
Mr Bean:
I'm fine thanks, and you?
Mrs Breuer:
Not too bad. Mr Bean, this is my husband Michael, Michael this is Mr Bean my English teacher.
Mr Breuer:
Pleased to meet you.
Mr Bean:
Pleased to meet you too. Are you from Germany, Mr Breuer?
Mr Breuer:
Yes, East Germany, from Dresden. And you, are you from London?
Mr Bean:
No, I'm from Derby, but I live in London now.
Mrs Breuer:
Well, goodbye Mr Bean, it was nice to see you.
Mr Bean:
Yes, goodbye.

Formal to Informal Greetings and Introductions
First meetings
Formal
Introducing yourself
Introducing others
Responding to an introduction
On Leaving
How do you do? My name is Mrs Hand.
Mrs Hand, may I introduce my boss, Mr Smith.
Pleased to meet you Mrs Hand.
Goodbye. It's a pleasure to have met you.
Hello, Lynne Hand. I'm the owner of this web site.
Lynne, I'd like you to meet John Smith, our salesman. John, this is Lynne Hand.
Pleased to meet you Lynne.
Goodbye. Nice to have met you.
Lynne Hand.
Lynne, meet John, my husband. John, this is my teacher Lynne.
Hi, Lynne. How are you?
Bye. It was nice to meet you.
Informal
Subsequent meetings
Formal
Possible Greetings
Possible responses
Hello, Mrs Hand.  It's nice to see you again.
What a pleasant surprise! How are you? It's been a while.
Good morning Mrs Hand.  How are you today?
I'm very well thank you.  And you?
Good afternoon, Mrs Hand.  It's good to see you.
Thank you.  It's nice to see you too.  How are you?
Hello Lynne.  How are you doing?
Fine thanks.  What's new with you?
Hi, Lynne! How's it going?
Not too bad, busy as ever.
Hi, Lynne. How are things?
Oh fine. You know how it is.
Informal
!Note - on first meetings say, "It's nice to meet you". For future meetings say, "It's nice to see you again".
Marriage and Weddings
This section is in advanced English and is only intended to be a guide, not to be taken too seriously!
Before the Wedding
Marriage is usually initiated by a proposal of marriage, simply called "a proposal". In a heterosexual relationship, the man traditionally proposes to the woman and the actual proposal often has a ritual quality, involving the presentation of a ring (an engagement ring) and the formalized asking of a question such as "Will you marry me?" The man may even go down on one knee before proposing. If the proposal is accepted, the couple become engaged.
In the United Kingdom, the engagement ring is worn, by the woman, on the fourth finger of the left hand.
In the UK the 29th of February (in a leap year) is said to be the one day (coming round only once every four years) when a woman can propose to her partner.
It is usual for a couple to be engaged for a while before they get married. An engagement is actually an agreement or promise to marry, and also refers to the time between proposal and marriage. During this period, a couple is said to be affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged.
A man who is engaged to be married is called his partner's fiancé; a woman similarly engaged is called her partner's fiancée.
Once a wedding date has been set the banns of marriage, commonly known simply as "the banns", (from an Old English word meaning "to summon") are announced. This is a notice, usually placed in the local parish church or registery office, that a marriage is going to take place between two specified persons.
The purpose of banns is to enable anyone to raise any legal impediment to it, so as to prevent marriages that are legally invalid. Impediments vary between legal jurisdictions, but would normally include a pre-existing marriage (having been neither dissolved nor annulled), a vow of celibacy, lack of consent, or the couple's being related within the prohibited degrees of kinship.
In England, a marriage is only legally valid if the reading of the banns has taken place or a marriage licence has been obtained.

The People
In addition to the bride and groom, traditional weddings involve a lot more people. Typically, these positions are filled by close friends of the bride and groom; being asked to serve in these capacities is seen as a great honour.
For the couple:-
Ringbearer - an attendant, often a young boy, who carries the wedding rings.
Ushers - helpers, usually men, who assist with the organization.
For the groom:-
Best man - a close male friend or relative of the groom, given a place of honour.
Groomsmen - one or more male attendants who support the groom.
For the bride:-
Maid of honour - a close female friend or relative of the bride, given a place of honour. If she is married, she is instead called the "matron of honour."
Bridesmaids - one or more female attendants who support the bride.
Father of the Bride - One who symbolically "gives away" the bride. If her father is deceased or otherwise unavailable, another male relative, often an uncle or brother, will give the bride away.
Flower girl - a young girl who scatters flowers in front of the bridal party.
Junior Bridesmaids - young girl typically between the ages of 8 and 16 who is too old to be a flowergirl, but the bride wants to be a part of the wedding.
Wedding guests are generally sent invitations to which they are expected to reply (rsvp). The guests are generally invited to both the wedding and the wedding reception afterwards, although sometimes reception places are limited. Often certain people are invited due to perceived family obligations, as to not receive an invitation can be considered an insult.

The Wedding Ceremony
When the guests arrive for a wedding the ushers' duty is to hand out the correct books, flowers and the order of service, they also ensure the guests are seated in the correct places. Traditionally, the side on which people sit depends on whether they are friends or family of the bride or of the groom. The front rows are generally reserved for close family or friends, with the very first seats reserved for the bridal party. However, in many ceremonies the bridal party will remain standing at the altar during the ceremony along with the bride and groom.
The groom and his best man wait inside the church for the arrival of the bride and her "entourage".
This entourage generally arrives in elegant cars or in horse-drawn coaches, specially hired for the occasion. The bride's entourage normally consists of the bride, the bride's father and all the various bridesmaids, maids of honour, flower girls and page boys that are intended to attend her.
The ushers and/or groomsmen escort the grandparents of the bride and groom to their seats.
The ushers and/or groomsmen escort the mother of the groom and mother of the bride to their seats.
The bridesmaids enter, escorted by the groomsmen.
The maid or matron of honour enters, either by herself or escorted by the best man.
The ringbearer enters.
The flower girl enters. (In some ceremonies, the ringbearer will accompany the flower girl.)
The bride then proceeds down the aisle, escorted by her father, to the accompaniment of music (usually the wedding march, often called "Here comes the bride"), and the ceremony starts.
During the ceremony the bride and groom make their marriage vows. Marriage vows are promises a couple makes to each other during a wedding ceremony. In Western culture, these promises have traditionally included the notions of affection ("love, comfort, keep"), faithfulness ("forsaking all others"), unconditionality ("for richer or for poorer", "in sickness and in health"), and permanence ("as long as we both shall live", "until death do us part"). Most wedding vows are taken from traditional religious ceremonies. Touching love poems or lyrics from a love song can be revised as wedding vows. Nowadays some couples choose to write their own vows, rather than relying on standard ones spoken by the celebrant (priest).
After the wedding ceremony, the bride, groom, officiant, and two witnesses generally go off to a side room to sign the wedding register. Without this the marriage is not legal and a wedding certificate cannot be issued.
Afterward, guests file out to throw flower petals, confetti, birdseed, or rice (uncooked) over the newly-married couple for good luck.
Finally, a photographic session ensues of the couple leaving the church.

Nice Day for a White Wedding
The Western custom of a bride wearing a white wedding dress, came to symbolize purity in the Victorian era (despite popular misconception and the hackneyed jokes of situation comedies the white dress did not actually indicate virginity, which was actually symbolized by a face veil).
Within the "white wedding" tradition, a white dress and veil would not have been considered appropriate in the second or third wedding of a widow or divorcee.
Before the white wedding dress became "traditional" an old poem (which seems to favour blue) sang the praises or woes of various colour choices.
“Married in white, you will have chosen all right.
Married in grey, you will go far away.
Married in black, you will wish yourself back.
Married in red, you’ll wish yourself dead.
Married in blue, you will always be true.
Married in pearl, you’ll live in a whirl.
Married in green, ashamed to be seen,
Married in yellow, ashamed of the fellow.
Married in brown, you’ll live out of town.
Married in pink, your spirits will sink."
The average price of a traditional white wedding dress is around £826.

The reception
After the ceremony there is usally a reception at which the married couple, the couple's parents, the best man and the wedding entourage greet each of the guests. At such events it is traditional to eat and drink.
During the reception a number of speeches and/or toasts are given in honour of the couple.
Any dancing is commonly started by the bride and groom, usually termed the "Bridal Waltz", but dancing an actual waltz is comparatively rare - often the couple chooses their favourite piece of music or a song.
An arranged dance between the bride and her father is also traditional. Sometimes the groom will cut in halfway through the dance, symbolizing the bride leaving her father and joining her new husband.
At some point the married couple may become the object of a charivari, a good-natured hazing of the newly-married couple. While this is most familiar in the form of tying tin cans to the bumper of the couple's car, or spraying shaving cream on the windows, some of the pranks can be far more malicious. The worst one I've ever heard of is when the bride and groom returned from honeymoon to find their front door had been bricked over.
The final tradition is the newly married couple to set off for their honeymoon.

Have your cake and eat it
A wedding is often followed by a wedding reception, at which an elaborate, tiered, wedding cake is served. Traditionally this is a fruit cake. Often there are a couple of little figures on top of the cake, normally they are a representation of the bride and groom in formal wedding attire.
It is considered lucky for the couple to cut the cake together. A portion is usually stored, and eaten by the couple at their first wedding anniversary, or at the christening of their first child. The cake can be frozen and if the top tier of the cake is fruitcake, it can be stored for a great length of time.

British Wedding Traditions
Traditions include:-
The happy couple toast each other. (This has nothing to do with sliced bread.)
The newlyweds have the fiirst dance.
The couple cut the cake together, this symbolizes their first meal as husband and wife (see above).
The bride may throw her bouquet to the assembled group of all unmarried women in attendance, with folklore suggesting the person who catches it will be the next to wed.
(A fairly recent equivalent has the groom throwing the bride's garter to the assembled unmarried men; the man who catches it is supposedly the next to wed.)
It is usual for the couple to go away on holiday together. This is called the honeymoon.
On arriving back home it is traditional for the husband to carry his wife into their new home. This is called carrying the bride over the threshold.

The Cost of Getting Married in the UK
In 2004 the average wedding in the UK cost £16,000, and prices have risen since then, it now stands at a staggering £18,500. Of course there is no need to get caught up in Competitive Wedding Syndrome, none of it is actually necessary. You can simply get married and live happily ever after.
British Food
British Cuisine!
Yes, we do have a wide and varied cuisine in Britain today, no more do we suffer under the image of grey boiled meat! After years of disparagement by various countries (especially the French) Britain now has an enviable culinary reputation. In fact some of the great chefs now come from Britain, I kid you not!
However Britain's culinary expertise is not new! In the past British cooking was amongst the best in the world. Mrs Beeton is still one of the renowned writers of cookery books, her creations have now gained international popularity, years after her death.
Traditional British cuisine is substantial, yet simple and wholesome. We have long believed in four meals a day. Our fare has been influenced by the traditions and tastes from different parts of the British empire: teas from Ceylon and chutney, kedgeree, and mulligatawny soup from India.

A brief history
British cuisine has always been multicultural, a pot pourri of eclectic styles. In ancient times influenced by the Romans and in medieval times the French. When the Frankish Normans invaded, they brought with them the spices of the east: cinnamon, saffron, mace, nutmeg, pepper, ginger. Sugar came to England at that time, and was considered a spice -- rare and expensive. Before the arrival of cane sugars, honey and fruit juices were the only sweeteners. The few Medieval cookery books that remain record dishes that use every spice in the larder, and chefs across Europe saw their task to be the almost alchemical transformation of raw ingredients into something entirely new (for centuries the English aristocracy ate French food) which they felt distinguished them from the peasants.
During Victorian times good old British stodge mixed with exotic spices from all over the Empire. And today despite being part of Europe we've kept up our links with the countries of the former British Empire, now united under the Commonwealth.
One of the benefits of having an empire is that we did learn quite a bit from the colonies. From East Asia (China) we adopted tea (and exported the habit to India), and from India we adopted curry-style spicing, we even developed a line of spicy sauces including ketchup, mint sauce, Worcestershire sauce and deviled sauce to indulge these tastes. Today it would be fair to say that curry has become a national dish.
Among English cakes and pastries, many are tied to the various religious holidays of the year. Hot Cross Buns are eaten on Good Friday, Simnel Cake is for Mothering Sunday, Plum Pudding for Christmas, and Twelfth Night Cake for Epiphany.
Unfortunately a great deal of damage was done to British cuisine during the two world wars. Britain is an island and supplies of many goods became short. The war effort used up goods and services and so less were left over for private people to consume. Ships importing food stuffs had to travel in convoys and so they could make fewer journeys. During the second world war food rationing began in January 1940 and was lifted only gradually after the war.
The British tradition of stews, pies and breads, according to the taste buds of the rest of the world, went into terminal decline. What was best in England was only that which showed the influence of France, and so English food let itself become a gastronomic joke and the French art of Nouvell Cuisine was adopted.

Today
In the late 1980's, British cuisine started to look for a new direction. Disenchanted with the overblown (and under-nourished) Nouvelle Cuisine, chefs began to look a little closer to home for inspiration. Calling on a rich (and largely ignored) tradition, and utilising many diverse and interesting ingredients, the basis was formed for what is now known as modern British food. Game has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity although it always had a central role in the British diet, which reflects both the abundant richness of the forests and streams and an old aristocratic prejudice against butchered meats.
In London especially, one can not only experiment with the best of British, but the best of the world as there are many distinct ethnic cuisines to sample, Chinese, Indian, Italian and Greek restaurants are amongst the most popular.
Although some traditional dishes such as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, Cornish pasties, steak and kidney pie, bread and butter pudding, treacle tart, spotted dick or fish and chips, remain popular, there has been a significant shift in eating habits in Britain. Rice and pasta have accounted for the decrease in potato consumption and the consumption of meat has also fallen. Vegetable and salad oils have largely replaced the use of butter.
Roast beef is still the national culinary pride. It is called a "joint," and is served at midday on Sunday with roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, two vegetables, a good strong horseradish, gravy, and mustard.
Today there is more emphasis on fine, fresh ingredients in the better restaurants and markets in the UK offer food items from all over the world. Salmon, Dover sole, exotic fruit, Norwegian prawns and New Zealand lamb are choice items. Wild fowl and game are other specialties on offer.
In fact fish is still important to the English diet, we are after all an island surrounded by some of the richest fishing areas of the world. Many species swim in the cold offshore waters: sole, haddock, hake, plaice, cod (the most popular choice for fish and chips), turbot, halibut, mullet and John Dory. Oily fishes also abound (mackerel, pilchards, and herring) as do crustaceans like lobster and oysters. Eel, also common, is cooked into a wonderful pie with lemon, parsley, and shallots, all topped with puff pastry.

Regional Specialities
Despite recent setbacks beef is still big industry in England, and the Scottish Aberdeen Angus is one of our most famous beef-producing breeds. Dairy cattle are also farmed extensively -- England is famous for its creams and butters and for its sturdy and delicious cheeses: Stilton, Cheshire and its rare cousin blue Cheshire, double Gloucester, red Leicester, sage Derby, and of course cheddar.
Some of our more interesting dishes include:-
Beefsteak, Oyster, and Kidney Pudding: Oysters may seem unlikely in this meat pudding, but their great abundance in the Victorian age and earlier eras inspired cooks to find ways to incorporate them creatively in many different recipes. This steamed pudding combines the meats with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and Worcestershire, then wraps the whole in a suet pastry.
Black Pudding: invented in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis black pudding is often served as part of a traditional full English breakfast.
Black Pudding Recipe
Cock-a-Leekie : This Scottish specialty can be classified as a soup or a stew. It combines beef, chicken, leeks, and prunes to unusual and spectacular ends.
Crown Roast Lamb: The crown roast encircles a stuffing of apples, bread crumbs, onion, celery, and lemon.
Eccles Cake : Puff pastry stuffed with a spicy currant filling.
Hasty Pudding: A simple and quick (thus the name) steamed pudding of milk, flour, butter, eggs, and cinnamon.
Irish Stew: An Irish stew always has a common base of lamb, potatoes, and onion. It could contain any number of other ingredients, depending on the cook.
Likky Pie Leeks: pork, and cream baked in puff pastry.
Mincemeat: Beef suet is used to bind chopped nuts, apples, spices, brown sugar, and brandy into a filling for pies or pasties - not to be confused with minced meat!.
Mulligatawny Soup: What this soup is depends on who is cooking it. Originally a south Indian dish (the name means pepper water in tamil), it has been adopted and extensively adapted by the British. Mullitgatawny contains chicken or meat or vegetable stock mixed with yogurt or cheese or coconut milk and is seasoned with curry and various other spices. It is sometimes served with a separate bowl of rice.
Syllabub: In the seventeenth century, a milkmaid would send a stream of new, warm milk directly from a cow into a bowl of spiced cider or ale. A light curd would form on top with a lovely whey underneath. This, according to Elizabeth David, was the original syllabub. Today's syllabub is more solid (its origins can also be traced to the seventeenth century, albeit to the upper classes) and mixes sherry and/or brandy, sugar, lemon, nutmeg, and double cream into a custard-like dessert or an eggnog-like beverage, depending upon the cook.
Trifle: Layers of alcohol-soaked sponge cake alternate with fruit, custard and whipped cream, some people add jelly, but that's for kids.
Welsh Faggots: Pig's liver is made into meatballs with onion, beef suet, bread crumbs, and sometimes a chopped apple. Faggots used to be made to use up the odd parts of a pig after it had been slaughtered.
Welsh Rabbit (or Rarebit): Cheese is grated and melted with milk or ale. Pepper, salt, butter, and mustard are then added. The mix is spread over toast and baked until "the cheese bubbles and becomes brown in appetizing-looking splashes" (Jane Grigson in English Food, London: Penguin, 1977).
Westmoreland Pepper Cake: Fruitcake that gets a distinctive kick from lots of black pepper. Other ingredients include honey, cloves, ginger, and walnuts.

Pies, Puddings, Buns and Cakes
Pies and puddings are related phenomena in British culinary history. Originally, both solved the problem of preparing dinners made with less expensive meats. Pies covered a stew or other ingredients with a crust; puddings were made from butcher's scraps tucked into a sheep's stomach, then steamed or boiled. Pies have remained pies, although, in addition to savory pies, there now exist sweet variations, which tend to have two crusts or a bottom crust only.
Pie crusts can be made from a short dough or puff pastry. Snacks and bar food (Britain's fifth food group) are often in pie form: pasties (pronounced with a short "a" like "had") are filled turnovers.
Over time, however, in a confusing development, pudding has become a more general term for a sweet or savory steamed mixture -- as well as a word that describes desserts in general. For example, black pudding is actually made with pig's blood. Whereas plum pudding is a Christmas treat consisting of a steamed cake of beef suet (the white fat around the kidney and loins) and dried and candied fruits soaked in brandy. And, of course, one can't forget rice pudding.
Amongst cakes, buns and pastries local delicacies include Bath Buns, Chelsea Buns, Eccles Cakes, and Banbury Cakes.

The Great British Breakfast!
"And then to breakfast, with what appetite you have." Shakespeare
The great British breakfast is famous (or notorious) throughout the world! Actually nowadays it is a bit of a myth, today many British people are more likely to have a bowl of cornflakes or a cup of coffee with a cigarette than to indulge in the wonders of this feast!
However that is not to say that the traditional breakfast is dead, far from it, it's just not often eaten every day of the week. Speaking as a true Brit I occassionally push the boat out and treat myself to the full monty (not to be confused with the film of the same name).
The typical English breakfast is a 19th century invention, when the majority of English people adopted the copious meal of porridge, fish, bacon and eggs, toast and marmalade, that has now appeared on English breakfast tables for 100 years.
The annual consumption in the United Kindgom is 450,000 tonnes of bacon, 5,000 tonnes of sausages and millions of eggs, so you can see the Great British Breakfast is very much alive and well. It has retained its popularity as one of the country's favourite meals, and survived a whole series of eating trends and food fads.
Mrs Beeton would have recommended a large list of foods for breakfast such as, bread, rolls, toast, toasted teacakes, Sally Lunns; eggs cooked in various ways; fish, baked halibut steaks, fried whiting, broiled fresh herrings, soused herrings, fishcakes, broiled kippers, 'Findon' haddock, sprats fried in butter, fish kedgeree, fried salmon, salmon pie, baked lobster, codfish pie, cod's steak, croquettes of cod's roe, herrings stuffed with fish. Fruit such as stewed figs, stewed prunes, and fresh fruits in season. Game and pheasant legs, brawn, devilled drumsticks, and meat dishes both hot and cold, such as collared tongue, kidneys on toast, sausages with fried bread, pig's cheek, Melton pork pie, ham, galantine, spiced brisket, pressed beef...
So what does the great British breakfast consist of nowadays?
Simpsons in the Strand, a well know (and expensive) restaurant, serves breakfast daily. Their full English breakfast consists of the following:-
The GREAT BRITISH BREAKFAST at £13.95 includes:- Toast with jam or marmalade, pastries, fresh orange juice, freshly brewed coffee, a choice of cereals, porridge, stewed fruit or half a grapefruit, The Simpson’s Cumberland sausage, scrambled egg, streaky and back bacon, black pudding, grilled mushrooms and tomato and a daily newspaper (not for consumption).
In addition to the GREAT BRITISH BREAKFAST, for serious breakfast eaters, Simpson's offers THE TEN DEADLY SINS - at £15.95 per person this includes: Toast with jam or marmalade, pastries, fresh orange juice, freshly brewed coffee Choice of cereals, porridge, stewed fruit or half a grapefruit The Simpson’s Cumberland sausage, fried egg, streaky and back bacon, black pudding, lamb’s kidneys, fried bread, liver, bubble & squeak, baked beans, grilled mushrooms and tomato.
Guests may also choose from an à la carte selection of classic breakfast dishes such as: Smoked Haddock Kedgeree; Poached Finan Haddock; Quail’s eggs with haddock; Smoked Salmon with Scrambled Eggs; Grilled sirloin steak with grilled mushrooms and tomato and welsh rarebit. There is also a selection of plain, cheese, bacon, herb, mushroom and smoked salmon omelettes.

The Sunday Roast
Every Sunday thousands of British families sit down together to eat a veritable feast of roasted meat served with roast potatoes, vegetables and otheraccompaniments. It is a tradition with a long pedigree, so read on...
How it all began
In medieval times the village serfs served the squire for six days a week. Sundays however were a day of rest, and after the morning church service, serfs would assemble in a field and practice their battle techniques.
They were rewarded with mugs of ale and a feast of oxen roasted on a spit.
Nowadays
The tradition has survived because the meat can be put in the oven to roast before the family goes to church and be ready to eat when they return.
Typical meats for roasting are joints of beef, pork, lamb or a whole chicken. More rarely duck, goose, gammon, turkey or game are eaten. The more popular roasts are often served with traditional accompaniments, these are:
roast beef - served with Yorkshire pudding; and horseradish sauce or English mustard as relishes.
roast pork - served with crackling (the crispy skin of the pork) and sage and onion stuffing; apple sauce and English mustard as relishes
roast lamb - served with sage and onion stuffing and mint sauce as a relish
roast chicken - served with pigs in blankets, chipolata sausages and stuffing, and bread sauce or cranberry sauce or redcurrant jelly
Any self respecting Sunday roast should be served with a gravy made from the meat juices.

Bangers and Mash
You might see this on offer in a pub or cafe. Simply put, bangers are sausages, and mash is potato that's been boiled and then mashed up (usually with butter). The sausage used in bangers and mash can be made of pork or beef with apple or tomato seasoning; often a Lincolnshire, or Cumberland sausage is used.
The dish is usually served with a rich onion gravy. Although sometimes stated that the term "bangers" has its origins in World War II, the term was actually in use at least as far back as 1919.

Bubble and Squeak
Bubble and squeak (sometimes just called bubble) is a traditional English dish made with the shallow-fried leftover vegetables from a Sunday roast dinner. The chief ingredients are potato and cabbage, but carrots, peas, brussels sprouts, and other vegetables can be added. It is usually served with cold meat from the Sunday roast, and pickles, but you can eat it on its own. Traditionally the meat was added to the bubble and squeak itself, although nowadays the vegetarian version is more common. The cold chopped vegetables (and cold chopped meat if used) are fried in a pan together with mashed potato until the mixture is well-cooked and browned.
There are various theories as to the origin of its name, one of them being that it is a description of the action and sound made during the cooking process.
You can even by pre-p repared frozen and tinned versions, but they're pretty disgusting.

Fish and Chips
Fish and chips is the traditional take-away food of England, long before McDonalds we had the fish and chip shop. Fresh cod is the most common fish for our traditional fish and chips, other types of fish used include haddock, huss, and plaice.
The fresh fish is dipped in flour and then dipped in batter and deep fried, it is then served with chips (fresh not frozen) and usually you will be asked if you want salt and vinegar added. Sometimes people will order curry sauce (yellow sauce that tastes nothing like real curry), mushy peas (well it's green anyway) or pickled eggs (yes pickled).
Traditionally fish and chips were served up wrapped in old newspaper. Nowadays (thanks to hygiene laws) they are wrapped in greaseproof paper and sometimes paper that has been specially printed to look like newspaper. You often get a small wooden or plastic fork to eat them with too, although it is quite ok to use your fingers.

Steaks - an American tradition?
When you think about steak America always seems to come to mind, with cowboys and Texan cattle millionaires. However in the past steaks were so British that our elite troops were referred to as beefeaters, you can still see them in their traditional costume at the Tower of London.
The term Porterhouse for a special large kind of steak cuts has nothing to do with porters or luggage carriers but originates from British pubs where a special brand of dark beer, Porter beer, was served, and where a snack consisted of a steak some 2 lbs (about 900 grams) by weight - a single portion for a single man.

British Cheese
Cheese is made from the curdled milk of various animals: most commonly cows but often goats, sheep and even reindeer, and buffalo. Rennet is often used to induce milk to coagulate, although some cheeses are curdled with acids like vinegar or lemon juice or with extracts of vegetable rennet.
Britain started producing cheese thousands of years ago. However, it was in Roman times that the cheese-making process was originally honed and the techniques developed. In the Middle Ages, the gauntlet was passed to the monasteries that flourished following the Norman invasion. It is to these innovative monks that we are indebted for so many of the now classic types of cheese that are produced in Britain.
The tradition of making cheese nearly died out during WWII, when due to rationing only one type of cheese could be manufactured - the unappealingly named 'National Cheese'. The discovery and revival of old recipes and the development of new types of cheese has seen the British cheese industry flourish in recent years and diversify in a way not seen since the 17th century.
I have written a quickguide to British cheeses here.

The Humble Sandwich - yes that's ours too!
Where would British be without the cheese sandwich? The origin of the sandwich is as British as it could be. The name refers to the Earl of Sandwich who lived 1718 to 1792. The British have always been keen on betting and gambling, but the Earl of Sandwich overdid it even by our standards. During his gambling days, taking meals was considered by him as highly unwelcome interruptions. He therefore invented a kind of meal not requiring him to exchange the gambling table for the dining table: sandwiches.

Indian Cuisine in the UK
The word curry, meaning 'to spice' has been used since the medieval period. Nowadays, a night out in the pub, followed by a curry, is a tradition in many cities. Ever since the Victorian era, during the British Raj, Britain has been "borrowing" Indian dishes, and then creating Anglo-Indian cuisine to suit the British palate. Back then we came up with kedgeree,coronation chicken and mulligatawny soup, all traditional Anglo-Indian dishes, but they are not that popular today. More recently many varieties of Indian curry of which chicken tikka masala and balti are the best known have been popularised. In fact chicken tikka masala is now considered one of Britain's most popular dishes, you can even buy chicken tikka masala flavoured crisps.

The future
The food industry in Britain is now undergoing major changes. From a resurgence of interest in organic food to the other extreme - genetically modified (GM) food. GM food has so incensed the general public that there have been mass demonstrations against it all over the country.
Genetically modified food
Enough sites found for GM farm trials (13 March 2000)
taken from simplyfood.co.uk
Farm-scale trials of genetically-modified (GM) crops look set to go ahead after enough sites were found to carry out the experiments, following a meeting of the Scientific Steering Committee, an independent group overseeing the trials.
A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said: 'The outcome of the meeting was that there are sufficient sites to allow trials to go ahead. They will be advising ministers next week and an announcement will be made as soon as possible.'
It had been reported last month that the trial site organisers were 'struggling' to find enough farmers to take part. Ministers were said to want about 75 farm-scale trials of GM crops this year to test whether they damage the environment. They need to choose from a pool of 150 farms for the first phase of the three-year scientific experiment.
Peter Melchett, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: 'If these trials go ahead it will be a potential tragedy for the environment. Britain will be bombarded with GM pollen without any regard for wildlife, people, or GM-free farmers. The whole process has been nothing short of genetic tyranny with an almost complete absence of public consultation.'
A Friends of the Earth spokesman urged farmers who had volunteered for the trials to 'think again'. He said: 'Farmers who have signed up for these very large trials should realise that they have also signed up to a packet of potential problems. Issues such as liability for cross-pollination of neighbouring crops and contamination of honey have not been resolved. The main beneficiaries of GM crops could well be lawyers rather farmers.'
Formal Dining
In Britain, even today, people are judged by their table manners, especially when eating out or attending formal functions. There are certain ways you should behave and certain niceties to observe. These are just a few, from basic manners to some more advanced niceties for formal occasions.
A popular saying in the UK is "Manners maketh man."

Basic Manners
Eating
Things you should do:-
If you are at a dinner party wait until your host(ess) starts eating or indicates you should do so.
Chew and swallow all the food in your mouth before taking more or taking a drink.
Soup should be spooned away from you. Tilt the bowl away from you.
Break bread and rolls with your fingers not with your knife.
Break off a small piece of bread (or roll and butter it. Do not butter the whole slice or half a roll at one time.
You may use a piece of bread on a fork to soak up sauce or gravy. Never hold the bread in your fingers to do this.
Only clear consomme should be drunk directly from the soup bowl, and then only if it has handles.
You may eat chicken and pizza with your fingers if you are at a barbecue, finger buffet or very informal setting. Otherwise always use a knife and fork.
Things you should not do:-
Never chew with your mouth open.
Never talk with food in your mouth.
Never put too much food in your mouth.
Never mash or mix food on your plate.
Do not blow on hot food or drink.
Do not sip from a coffee spoon or teaspoon.
Never use your fingers to push food onto your spoon or fork.

Serviettes, crockery, and cutlery.
Things you should do:-
Your serviette should always be placed on your lap. If it is small you may open it out fully. If it is large it should be kept folded in half with the fold toward you. ( In some of the more exclusive restaurants the waiter will place your napkin on your lap for you.)
The fork is held in the left hand, the knife in the right to cut food and to help carry food to the fork. The fork is held, tines down, and the knife used to move food unto the fork or support food so the fork can pick it up. There is no shifting of cutlery.
When you are finished eating, soup spoons, coffee spoons, and dessert spoons should be placed on the side plate or saucer, never leave them in the bowl, cup etc. Do not push your plate away or stack your dishes. Place your knife and fork together in the "twenty past four" position, as if your plate were the face of the clock, with the knife on the outside and the fork on the inside. Or place the utensils side by side in the middle of your plate, fork tines down, knife to the right, sharp blade turned inward toward the fork.
Keep your serviette in your lap until you leave the table.
When you leave the table place your serviette in loose folds at the left side of your plate, never on top of the plate.
Things you should not do:-
Never tuck your napkin into the collar of your shirt.
Never use a napkin as a handkerchief.
Do not wipe off cutlery or glassware with your napkin. If dishes aren't clean, ask the waiter quietly for replacements.
Do not cut up more than three bites at a time.
Do not scrape the plate.

Passing dishes and food
Things you should do:-
Soup spoons, coffee spoons, and dessert spoons should be placed on the service plate or saucer when you are finished eating. Never leave them in the bowl, cup etc.
Always pass to the right.
Initiate the passing of rolls, butter, and condiments even if you do not want any.
Pass jugs, gravy boats etc. with the handle toward the recipient.
Things you should not do:-
Never reach across the table. If anything isn't directly in front of you, ask for it to be passed.

Posture and behaviour
Things you should do:-
When being entertained at someone's home it is nice to take a gift for the host and hostess. A bottle of wine, bunch of flowers or chocolates are all acceptable.
On arrival in a restaurant or at a formal function give your coat to the waiter, never hang it on the back of your chair. If in doubt ask your host(ess).
When you wish to use the toilet, excuse yourself and leave quietly. Do not ask people where they are going if they excuse themselves.
Things you should not do:-
Elbows should not be on the table until after all courses have been cleared away.
Never lean on your elbows! Keep your posture erect.
Never rock back in your chair.
Never smoke during a meal. Smoking should not take place until dessert is finished. Follow the lead of the host or ask if you may smoke. Use ashtrays only.
Never apply makeup or comb your hair at the table.

At first glance, a formal table setting can be intimidating because there are so many forks, spoons, and knives, all for different courses. However, do not be dismayed, there is a simple system behind it all.
Placement and procedure
Start with the utensils on the outside and work your way inward with each subsequent course. In other words, the outermost fork is your salad fork if salad is served first.
Forks will be on your left. Knives and spoons on your right. One exception to this is the oyster or seafood fork, which will be on the right next to the soup spoon.
If you are in a restaurant and did not order fish, soup, or salad, the waiter will remove those utensils. In a private home or at a banquet the silverware indicates the courses that will be served.
At the top of your plate will be a dessert spoon and dessert fork. When dessert is served, slide them down to the sides of the dessert plate: fork on the left; spoon on the right.
To eat dessert, break the dessert with the spoon, one bite at a time. Push the food with the fork into the spoon. Eat from the spoon. (Fork in left hand; spoon in right.)
Coffee spoons are either to the right of the plate or brought with the coffee.
Red wine is served in a glass with a round bowl and fairly short stem. Hold it at the base of the bowl. It should be served at room temperature.
White wine is normally served in a larger glass with a longer stem. Hold it at the base of the stem. The same applies to all chilled wines.
The order of the wine glasses begins with the one closest to you: (a) Sherry (soup course) (b) White wine (fish/chicken course) (c) Red wine (meat course) (d) Water goblet. ( There may be other glasses used throughout the meal. )
There will be a butter knife located near the butter dish. Use it to transfer butter to your side plate. Your butter knife will either be lying diagonally across your side plate or as the last one to your right in the row of knives. Never use the knife with the butter dish to butter bread. If there is no knife with the butter dish, transfer the butter with your butter knife.
Sorbet, a fruit flavored ice, may be served between courses to cleanse the palate. A spoon will accompany the sorbet.
Salad may be served before or after the main course. The placement of the salad fork will give you a clue.
Finger bowls are presented after the main course and before dessert. If the bowl is placed on a plate directly in front of you, lift the bowl with both hands and place it to the left of your place setting. If there is a doily under it, move it as well. Often the finger bowl will be placed to the left. Dip the fingers of one hand into the bowl, dry on your napkin which remains on you lap. Follow with the other hand. There may be a flower or a lemon slice in the bowl. Leave it be. (Some restaurants use hot towels in a similar manner as finger bowl.

Seating at a formal dinner
The male guest of honor sits on the hostess' right.
The next most important man sits on her left.
The female guest of honor sits on the host's right.
The second most important woman sits on the host's left.
Men and women should be alternately seated.
Couples should be separated.
Use of round tables puts everyone on an equal basis.
There may be place cards at a formal dinner or your host/hostess may indicate where you should be seated.
Social manners are expected: males should seat females and rise when they leave and return to the table.

If you spill anything on the table or yourself discretely use your napkin or ask the waiter for sparkling water. Do not dip your napkin into your water glass.
If you spill anything on someone else do not try to mop up the spill, offer them a napkin and let them do it for themselves. Offer to cover any laundering or cleaning costs.
If you burp cover your mouth with your napkin. After it happens, say a quiet "pardon me" to no one in particular, do not make a big deal about it.
If you break anything, call it to the waiter's attention. In a private home, speak quietly to the host and offer to replace the item.
If you get some food stuck between your teeth do not use toothpicks, fingernails, or napkins to dislodge the food at the table. If necessary go to the bathroom and take care of it.
in the UK
Easter in the UK
In the UK Easter is one of the major Christian festivals of the year. It is full of customs, folklore and traditional food. However, Easter in Britain has its beginnings long before the arrival of Christianity. Many theologians believe Easter itself is named after the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn and spring - Eostre.
In Britain Easter occurs at a different time each year. It is observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This means that the festival can occur on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Not only is Easter the end of the winter it is also the end of Lent, traditionally a time of fasting in the Christian calendar. It is therefore often a time of fun and celebration.
The Friday before Easter Sunday and the Monday after are a bank holiday in the UK. Over Easter schools in the UK close for two weeks, just enough time to digest all the chocolate.

Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter. Christians remember it as the day of the Last Supper, when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and established the ceremony known as the Eucharist. The word Maundy" comes from the French word, "Mande," meaning "command" or "mandate” and is taken from the command given by Christ at the Last Supper, "love one another as I have loved you.”
In Britain, the Queen takes part in the Ceremony of the Royal Maundy, which dates back to Edward 1. This involves the distribution of Maundy Money to deserving senior citizens (one man and one woman for each year of the sovereign's age), usually chosen for having done service to their community. They receive ceremonial red and white purses which contain coins made especially for the occasion. The white purse contains one coin for each year of the monarch's reign. The red purse contains money in place of other gifts that used to be given to the poor.
In the 17th century, and earlier, the King or Queen would wash the feet of the selected poor people as a gesture of humility, and in remembrance of Jesus's washing the feet of the disciples. Suffice to say that doesn't happen any more, in fact the last monarch to do this was James 2.
This is how the Royal Mint explains Maundy history:
"...The Royal Maundy is an ancient ceremony which has its origin in the commandment Christ gave after washing the feet of his disciples on the day before Good Friday. The commandment, or mandatum, 'that ye love one another' (John XIII 34) is still recalled regularly by Christian churches throughout the world and the ceremony of washing the feet of the poor which was accompanied by gifts of food and clothing, can be traced back to the fourth century. It seems to have been the custom as early as the thirteenth century for members of the royal family to take part in Maundy ceremonies, to distribute money and gifts, and to recall Christ's simple act of humility by washing the feet of the poor. Henry IV began the practice of relating the number of recipients of gifts to the sovereign's age, and as it became the custom of the sovereign to perform the ceremony, the event became known as the Royal Maundy. In the eighteenth century the act of washing the feet of the poor was discontinued and in the nineteenth century money allowances were substituted for the various gifts of food and clothing. Maundy money as such started in the reign of Charles II with an undated issue of hammered coins in 1662. The coins were a fourpenny [groat], threepenny, twopenny and one penny piece but it was not until 1670 that a dated set of all four coins appeared. Prior to this, ordinary coinage was used for Maundy gifts, silver pennies alone being used by the Tudors and Stuarts for the ceremony. Today's recipients of Royal Maundy, as many elderly men and women as there are years in the sovereign's age, are chosen because of the Christian service they have given to the Church and community. At the ceremony which takes place annually on Maundy Thursday, the sovereign hands to each recipient two small leather string purses. One, a red purse, contains - in ordinary coinage - money in lieu of food and clothing; the other, a white purse, contains silver Maundy coins consisting of the same number of pence as the years of the sovereign's age. Maundy money has remained in much the same form since 1670, and the coins used for the Maundy ceremony have traditionally been struck in sterling silver save for the brief interruptions of Henry's Vlll's debasement of the coinage and the general change to 50% silver coins in 1920. The sterling silver standard (92.5%) was resumed following the Coinage Act of 1946 and in 1971, when decimalisation took place, the face values of the coins were increased from old to new pence. The effigy of The Queen on ordinary circulating coinage has undergone three changes, but Maundy coins still bear the same portrait of Her Majesty prepared by Mary Gillick for the first coins issued in the year of her coronation in 1953..."
© Royal Mint, 2007.

Good Friday
On the Friday before Easter, Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is a day of mourning in church and special Good Friday services are held where Christians meditate on Jesus's suffering and death on the cross, and what this means for their faith.
Calling it 'Good Friday' may seem a bit bizarre, but some people think that it was once called God's Friday or Holy Friday.

Symbols of Easter
Many of the symbols and traditions of Easter are connected with renewal, birth, good luck and fertility.
The Cross
Of course as it is a Christian festival one of the main symbols is a cross, often on a hill. When Jesus was crucified, the cross became a symbol of suffering. Then with the resurrection, Christians saw it as a symbol of victory over death. In A.D. 325, Constantine issued a decree at the Council of Nicaea, that the Cross would be the official symbol of Christianity.

Palms
The week of Easter begins on Palm Sunday. Why Palm Sunday? Well, in Roman times it was customary to welcome royalty by waving palm branches, a bit like a ticker-tape parade. So, when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on what is now known as Palm Sunday, people welcomed him with palm branches carpeting the streets and waving them. Today, on Palm Sunday, Christians carry palm branches in parades, and make them into crosses and garlands to decorate the Church.

Easter Eggs
Easter eggs are a very old tradition going to a time before Christianity. Eggs after all are a symbol of spring and new life.
Exchanging and eating Easter eggs is a popular custom in many countries. In the UK before they were replaced by chocolate Easter eggs real eggs were used, in most cases, chicken eggs. The eggs were hard-boiled and dyed in various colors and patterns. The traditionally bright colours represented spring and light. Sadly, nowadays if you gave a child in Britain a hard-boiled egg on Easter Sunday, you would probably end up wearing it!
An older more traditional game is one in which real eggs are rolled against one another or down a hill. The owner of the egg that stayed uncracked the longest won. Even today in the north of England, for example as at Preston in Lancashire, they still carry out the custom of egg rolling. Hard boiled eggs are rolled down slopes to see whose egg goes furthest. In other places another game is played. You hold an egg in the palm of the hand and bang against your opponent's egg. The loser is the one whose egg breaks first.
Nowadays people give each other Easter eggs made of chocolate, usually hollow and filled with sweets. On TV you will see adverts for Cadbury's Creme Eggs, a very sweet confectionery. The catchphrase for the adverts is "How do you eat yours?" And Britain children hunt for (chocolate) Easter eggs hidden about the home or garden by the Easter bunny.

The Easter Bunny
Rabbits, due to their fecund nature, have always been a symbol of fertility.The Easter bunny (rabbit) however may actually be an Easter hare. The hare was allegedly a companion of the ancient Moon goddess and of Eostre.
Strangely the bunny as an Easter symbol seems to have it's origins in Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 16th Century. The first edible Easter bunnies appeared in Germany during the early 1800s, they were made of pastry and sugar.
In the UK children believe that if they are good the "Easter Bunny " will leave (chocolate) eggs for them.
Sadly hare hunting (hare coursing) used to be a common pastime at Easter. But this might please some of the more fundamentalist Christians, who consider the fluffy fellow to be unchristian.

Morris Dancing
Morris dancing is a traditional English form of folk dance which is also performed in other English-speaking countries such as the USA and Australia. The roots of morris dancing seem to be very old, probably dating back to the Middle Ages.
In the dance men dress up in costumes with hats and ribbons and bells around their ankles. They dance through the streets and one man often carries an inflated pigs bladder on the end of a stick. He will run up to young women in the street and hit them over the head with the pigs bladder, this is supposed to be lucky (men)!

Dressing Up For Easter
Easter was once a traditional day for getting married, that may be why people often dress up for Easter. Women would make and wear special Easter bonnets - decorated with flowers and ribbons. Even today in Battersea in London there is a special Easter Parade, where hand-made bonnets are shown off.

Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns, now eaten throughout the Easter season, were first baked in England to be served onGood Friday. These small, lightly sweet yeast buns contain raisins or currants and sometimes chopped candied fruit. Before baking, a cross is slashed in the top of the bun. After baking, a confectioners' sugar icing is used to fill the cross.
An old rhyme was often sung by children awaiting their sugary treat:
"Hot cross buns,
hot cross buns,
one a penny, two a penny,
hot cross buns.
If you do not like them,
give them to your sons,
one a penny, two a penny,
hot cross buns."

Simnel Cake
A traditional way of breaking the Lenten fast is to eat some simnel cake. These are raised cakes, with a crust made of fine flour and water, coloured yellow with saffron, and filled with a very rich plum-cake, with plenty of candied lemon peel, and dried fruits.
An old Shropshire tale has it that long ago there lived an honest old couple, Simon and Nelly, and it was their custom to gather their children around them at Easter. Nelly had some leftover unleavened dough from Lent, and Simon reminded her there was some plum pudding still left over from Christmas. They could make some treats for the visiting family.
Nell put the leftovers together, and Sim insisted the cake should be boiled, while she was just as certain that it should be baked. They had a fight and came to blows, but compromised by doing both. They cooked the cake over a fire made from furniture broken in the scuffle, and some eggs, similarly broken, were used to baste it. The delicacy was named after this cantankerous couple. Or, so it is said.

Other - More Obscure - Celebrations
Some customs to do with Easter have now, thankfully, died out. For some reason the humble shoe appeared in several of them.
Easter Day Customs at Durham, 1826
On Easter Sunday it was a common custom, for a number of boys to assemble in the afternoon, and as soon as the clock struck four, scoured the streets in parties, and accosted every female they happened to meet, with "pay for your shoes if you please," at the same time, stopping to take them off; which, if they did, and did not immediately get a penny or twopence, they actually carried them off. Often the boys collected, at least, a dozen odd shoes; but generally, something was given, which in the evening they either spent in public houses or divided.
On Easter Monday, the women claimed the same privilege towards the male sex. They began much earlier in the day, and attacked every man and boy they could lay hold of to make them pay for their shoes; if the men happened to wear boots, and would not pay any thing, the girls generally endeavoured to seize their hats and run off. If a man caught the girl with the hat, it was usually thrown or handed about to the great amusement of spectators, till the person was baffled out of sixpence to redeem the right of wearing it again.

Easter Day Customs at Rippon, 1790
On Easter Sunday, as soon as the church services were over, the boys ran about the streets, and laid hold of every woman or girl they could, they would then take their buckles from their shoes. This farce was continued till the next day at noon, when the females began and returned the compliment upon the men, this did not end till Tuesday evening. At one time, no traveller could pass through the town without being stopped and having his spurs taken away, unless redeemed by a little money, which was the only way to have your buckles returned.

Easter Day Customs at Twickenham and Paddington, date unknown
To the Editor of the Every Day Book:
According to a Mr. Lysons, "There was an ancient custom at Twickenham, of dividing two great cakes in the church upon Easter-day among the young people; but it being looked upon as a superstitious relic, it was ordered by parliament, 1645, that the parishioners should forbear that custom, and, instead, thereof, buy loaves of bread for the poor of the parish with the money that should have bought the cakes. It appears that the sum of 1 pound per annum is still charged upon the vicarage for the purpose of buying penny loaves for poor children on the Thursday after Easter. Within the memory of man they were thrown from the church-steeple to be scrambled for; a custom which prevailed also, some time ago at Paddington, and is not yet totally abolished."
A correspondent's images that the Paddington custom of throwing bread from the church-steeple, which exists also in other parishes, was derived from largesses bestowed on the poor by the Romish clergy on occasion of the festival, and that it has continued since the Reformation, and, therefore, since the institution of poor rates, without due regard to its' original object.

Paste Eggs
A correspondent, . . . mentioned this custom in Cheshire: "Children go round the village and beg for eggs for their Easter dinner; they accompany it by short song. . . the burthen of it is addressed to the farmer's dame, and asking "an egg, bacon, cheese, or an apple, or any good thing that will make us merry," ends with "And I pray you, good dame, an Easter egg."
In Cumberland and Westmorland and other parts of the north of England, boys begged on Easter eve for eggs to play with and beggars asked for them to eat. These eggs were boiled, and coloured with the juice from herbs, broom-flowers, etc. Once the eggs were prepared, the boys would go out and play with them in the fields; rolling them up and down, like bowls, upon the ground, or throwing them up, like balls, into the air.

Sugar Cupping In the Peak of Derbyshire
To the Editor of the Every Day Book:
"Sir--The pleasure and instruction I have derived from the perusal of your interesting miscellany, induced me to offer to your notice a custom in this neighbourhood denominated Sugar-cupping, which, like similar remnants of the "olden time" is gradually running into disuse. Last Sunday, being Easter-day, I walked to the "Dropping Tor", the rendezvous of the "sugar cuppers", but, owing, to the extreme inclemency of the weather, no one was there, nor was it, I believe, once visited during the day.
From frequent inquiry of the oldest persons in the neighbourhood, I can learn nothing but that, on Easter Sunday, they were used, when children, to go to the "Dropping Tor", with a cup in one pocket and a quarter of a pound of sugar in the other, and having caught in their cups as much water as was desired from the droppings of the spring, they dissolved the sugar in it, and drank it. The natural consequences resulting from the congregation of a quantity of 'young men and maidens" followed, and they returned home. . . . I conjecture this custom to be peculiar to this part."
British Work Culture
Facts and Figures
There are about 3.7 million businesses in the UK.
About 75% of British jobs are in service industries - hotels, restaurants, travel, shopping, and computer and finances. It is our fastest growing business and employs over twenty million people.
The working day/week
The usual working day starts at 9am and finishes by 5pm. Most people work a five-day week. The working week is, on average, the longest of any country in Europe. In 1998 a new law was passed saying that workers do not have to work more than 48 hours a week if they don't want to. However, about 22% of British workers do work more than a 48-hour a week. However, on the whole everyone is out of the office early on Fridays and no one would dream of coming to work on Saturdays.
British employers must give their workers four weeks paid holiday a year.
The tea break
Frequent tea breaks are the bane of office productivity.
One strange custom requires you to ask everyone around whether they'd like tea or coffee whenever you go to get some for yourself. Often people will try and wait each other out so that they can avoid this chore.
The tea break is so famous there is even a song about it:-
EVERYTHING STOPS FOR TEA Featured in Buchanan's 1935 comedy film, "Come Out Of The Pantry" (Goodhart / Hoffman / Sigler) Jack Buchanan
Every nation in creation has its favourite drink
France is famous for its wine, it's beer in Germany
Turkey has its coffee and they serve it blacker than ink
Russians go for vodka and England loves its tea
Oh, the factories may be roaring
With a boom-a-lacka, zoom-a-lacka, wee
But there isn't any roar when the clock strikes four
Everything stops for tea
Oh, a lawyer in the courtroom
In the middle of an alimony plea
Has to stop and help 'em pour when the clock strikes four
Everything stops for tea
It's a very good English custom
Though the weather be cold or hot
When you need a little pick-up, you'll find a little tea cup
Will always hit the spot
You remember Cleopatra
Had a date to meet Mark Anthony at three
When he came an hour late she said "You'll have to wait" For everything stops for tea
Oh, they may be playing football
And the crowd is yelling "Kill the referee!"
But no matter what the score, when the clock strikes four
Everything stops for tea
Oh, the golfer may be golfing
And is just about to make a hole-in-three
But it always gets them sore when the clock yells "four!"
Everything stops for tea
It's a very good English custom
And a stimulant for the brain
When you feel a little weary, a cup'll make you cheery
And it's cheaper than champagne
Now I know just why Franz Schubert
Didn't finish his unfinished symphony
He might have written more but the clock struck four
And everything stopped for tea
Meetings
"Meetings - where you take minutes and waste hours."
Generally a meeting scheduled for one hour always lasts one hour.
The objectives of a meeting are spelled out at the onset and the communication is so clear and simple that the discussion hardly ever meanders.
For formal meetings there is a chair and a secretary. The chair is in charge of the meeting and the secretary takes the minutes.
An amusing saying is, "A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours wasted".
British Transport
A History of Transport in the UK
Bicycles
The first bicycles were introduced into Britain from France. There was a great craze for the hobby-horse or dandy-horse, though it was little more than a scooter. In 1839 a Scottish blacksmith, Kirkpatrick Macmillan, added pedals that drove the back wheel. But an invention in France in 1865 produced the more popular 'bone-shaker' bicycle, driven by pedals attached to the front wheel. To increase speed, the front wheel was made bigger and bigger until it measured five feet across with a back wheel of only 14-18 inches in diameter. This was known as the penny-farthing.
On a penny-farthing a rider perched five feet up on his saddle could have a nasty fall so it was the chain driven safety bicycle with wheels of equal size that became popular. Today's bicycle is very similar, with the addition of Dunlop's air-filled tyres, better brakes, a free wheel, three-speed gears and various types of handlebars.
Nowadays you can take your life in your hands and cycle around Britain. There are many cycle lanes set aside for this use, but don't be surprised if they run out in the middle of three lanes of traffic.

Canals
With the Industrial Revolution in the UK there was a need to transport coal more quickly and efficiently, efforts were made to improve water transport. The Duke of Bridgewater commissioned The Bridgewater canal, the first of its kind, so that large quantities of coal could be transported from his mines in Worsley, Lancashire, to Manchester, seven miles away (11km). His engineer, James Brindley, designed a waterway that went to the very coalface of the mines and included an aqueduct across the River Irwell. The canal was so successful that on its opening, the price of coal in Manchester halved.
As factory and mine owners realised the value of water transport, the great canal age began. Between 1760 and 1840 nearly 4,000 miles (6,400km) of canal were built. These canals were vital to the new industries because they carried materials for building factories, for making cotton, iron or pottery goods, and then took these goods away to be sold once they were made.
The success of the railway saw the demise of Britain's canals, however interest in their maintenance has been revived recently as they now attract holiday makers.

Cars
It is usually agreed that a German, Carl Benz, built the first motor car in 1885. It was really a tricycle with a petrol motor at the rear. Members of the Royal family and other wealthy people took up motoring as a sport; they were pleased when the Red Flag Act was removed in 1896.
Many of the early cars were two seaters, steered by a tiller, not a wheel. They had no hoods, so motorists wore goggles, hat-veils and short leather coats. There were no petrol pumps and few garages, so every driver had to be his own engineer for the frequent breakdowns which occurred.
By 1905, cars began to look like cars today, with headlamps, bonnet, windscreen, rubber tyres and number plates. Roads were sprayed with hot tar to ensure a smoother ride and fewer punctures. Henry Ford's 'Model T', introduced in America in 1909, was cheaper because it was made on assembly line. It brought cars closer towards the reach of 'ordinary people'.
The popularity of the car meant that registration was introduced in 1903 with the Motor Car Act . Competency tests were introduced in 1935. Today the legal driving age for a car or van in the UK is seventeen. You are not allowed to drive a car unsupervised until you have passed a driving test, which involves three sections: a theory test , a hazard perception test and a supervised driving examination).
Forty years ago, Britain celebrated the opening of its first motorway, the Preston bypass, just one month before the M1. Until then, no one really understood what a motorway was, not even the labourers who were building it. The bypass hailed a new era in motor travel and was greeted with excitement and optimism.
Nowadays we have the M25 - affectionately known as the largest car park in the world.
Service stations came with the motorway and the legend of the transport café was born. Of course, the service station has diversified greatly since the days of chip butties and grey tea, but - whether it's an English cooked breakfast or a cappuccino and croissant - one thing has remained the same: the prices.

Planes
In 1852, Henri Giffard made the first powered airship flight in France. But it was Count von Zeppelin's rigid airship of 1900 that proved air travel was possible.
Powered aeroplane flight began in 1903 when the Wright Brothers flew their first machine in America. In 1919, a passenger service began between London and Paris and the first regular Atlantic crossings were made in 1937. The jet engine was successfully tried out during the Second World War.
The most famous British aeroplanes of all time have to be the Comet and Concorde. Even now, Concorde excites much admired for its beautiful design. It took its first ever commercial flight in 1976, with two planes taking off simultaneously from Paris and London. But the plane was just too costly and Concorde was doomed almost from the start.

Trains
The first man to combine the steam engines and wagon-ways was Richard Trevithick. An engineer, he designed a steam engine that could run on wheels in 1803. In 1804, his engine pulled wagons carrying 18 tonnes of iron ore and 70 men for five miles (14km) in South Wales, but it was so heavy that the track broke when it reached five miles per hour (8kph).
The rail transport system in Great Britain developed during the 19th century. Britain's railways were initially owned by four companies, then during WWII they were the railways were taken into state control and they were nationalised in 1947. It wasn't until 1996 that they were privatised again!
Today there are 25 train operators who run the services. One infrastructure company - Network Rail. Three rolling stock companies. And all sorts of companies who do maintenance work on the 13,000 miles of track. There are also a number of government organisations like the Strategic Rail Authority and the Health and Safety Executive which are involved in running the railways, making the whole structure extremely complicated.
Broken tracks, leaves or the wrong type of snow on the line and trains past their sell by date are a feature of rail travel in the UK nowadays where, according to statistics, only two out of ten British trains are late, the main problem is they always seem to be my trains! If you have a problem when travelling by train in Britain there is a very good network called the Rail Passenger Council which deals with complaints and will also give a lot of advice on any problems you might have had.

Taxis
A taxicab (sometimes called taxi, cab, or hack) is a vehicle for hire which carries passengers. The word hack comes from the horse-drawn for-hire hackney carriages that began operating in London in the early 17th century. It wasn't until 1903 that gas-powered, metered taxis began to operate in London.
The most famous taxis have to be the black cabs taxi service in London. Black cabs--also known as hackney carriages, or hackney cabs--are particularly famous on account of the specially constructed vehicles. London taxi drivers have to pass a difficult test called the knowledge, which can take up to three years (the taxi driver here says " free years of me life"). The taxi drivers have to know every street in London.
Shopping in Britain
The small shop
Britain was once known as a nation of shop keepers, however the small shop in the UK is almost a thing of the past. Many villages have lost their local corner shop or post office because of competition from the supermarkets and out- of-town shopping centres.
Small shops are often run by families operating as sole traders or partnerships. They usually specialise in a small range of goods, e.g. butchers, tailors, greengrocers, newsagents etc.
Prices are often higher in these shops, as they cannot afford to buy in large quantities, and the range of goods on offer is often small. However there tends to be a friendlier atmosphere and personal service. Some small shops even deliver to the home, newsagents especially will deliver a newspaper to the door.

Supermarkets
A supermarket must by definition have a minimum selling area of 186m2 and at least 3 check outs. They are often situated on the edge of a town by a main road or motorway and provide a large car park for customers.
They are mostly self-service and sell a range of goods including groceries, clothing, electrical goods etc, however their main selling items are food and drink.
A supermarket is organised into aisles and goods are displayed on shelves. Some supermarkets have counters where fresh produce is displayed, for example a cheese counter or meat or fish counter.
Prices are generally low and there tends to be a large variety. Tescos, Sainsburys and Asda are three of the largest supermarkets in the UK. One of the new concepts in supermarkets is the customer loyalty card and banking facilities. A customer loyalty card allows the customer to collect reward points for every pound they spend, these points can then be redeemed for money off vouchers.

Department Stores
A department store sells a very wide range of goods, they can be described as a collection of shops under one roof, but under the control of one firm.
They usually occupy large buildings in expensive city centre or out-of-town shopping sites. Each store is divided into a number of departments and each of these departments specialises in a particular type of product or service. For example: electrical goods, carpets, clothing, furniture etc. The proliferation of supermarkets has led to problems with distribution of goods, in the UK there are thousands of lorries on the road every day, just to deliver fresh produce to the supermarkets. The government is concerned about this and this and is looking for a sustainable distribution policy, you canread their report online.
The most famous department store in the UK is probably Harrods, in addition House of Fraser, Marks and Spencers and Debenhams are three of the largest department stores in the UK. They don't just sell goods either, all of these department stores offer customer loyalty cards, in store credit cards and finance and insurance facilities too.

Out of Town Shopping Centres
Catering purely to people with cars are the out of town shopping centres. Hated by many people and blamed for the run down state of many city centres they are still extremely popular.
Fair Trade
A phenomenon that I am much more in favour of is the growing fair trade movement in the UK. Fair trade is all about providing fair wages and good employment opportunities to economically disadvantaged artisans and farmers worldwide. By buying direct from farmers at better prices, helping to strengthen their organisations and marketing their produce directly through their own one world shops and catalogues, the fair trade charities offered consumers the opportunity to buy products which were bought on the basis of a fair trade.
In order to co-ordinate the work of the national initiatives and run the monitoring programmes more efficiently, an umbrella body, Fairtrade Labelling Organisations (FLO) International, was set up in April 1997. One of its aims is to see the introduction of a single international Fairtrade label. The national initiatives retain responsibility for marketing and promoting Fairtrade in their respective countries.
If you want to know more visit these web sites:-
The Fair Trade Federation directly links low-income producers with consumer markets and educates consumers in the US about the importance of purchasing fairly traded products which support living wages and safe and healthy conditions for workers in the developing world.
The Fair Trade Foundation was set up in the UK by CAFOD, Christian Aid, New Consumer, Oxfam, Traidcraft and the World Development Movement.
The Fair Trade Labelling Organisation oversees the issuing of the Fairtrade label to ensure that the product conforms to Fairtrade Standards and contributes to the development of disadvantaged producers.
Traidcraft works with more than 100 producer groups in over 30 countries around the world. What unites every area of our work is our mission to fight poverty through trade.

Online Shopping
The best way to learn is to do. You can now go shopping in England without leaving your desk. The latest craze to hit the UK is online shopping, not just for books and cds, but for the daily necessities too, food, clothing etc. Check out these interesting sites, and don't worry you don't have to buy anything.
Beanz Meanz Heinz - shop online at Heinz's grocery store. They deliver all over the world.
Marks and Spencers - no shopping trip is complete until you have visited M&S - food, fashion and home departments.
London is a long way to travel. Let me take you there to one of the most famous department stores in the worldHarrods, browse around the different departments, it's the next best thing to being there.
Don't forget the kids. The biggest Toy Store in the UK is ToysRUs.
Dates in January
Happy New Year!
Traditions
England
England celebrates the New Year from the evening of December 31st into January 1st. Traditionally it is not as widely celebrated as Christmas, but the year 2000 saw a large change. For instance people did not used to celebrate New Year with fireworks (they were reserved for Bonfire Night), but last year and this all across England people were setting off fireworks on the stroke of midnight.
More traditionally, on the stroke of midnight, people open the back door (to let the old year out) and ask the first dark haired man to be seen to come through the front door carrying salt, coal and bread. This means that the following year everyone in the house will have enough to eat (bread), enough money (salt) and be warm enough (coal).

Scotland
In Scotland they always seem to celebrate New Year better than anywhere else. The celebration of New Year's Eve is called "Hogmanay". The word Hogmanay comes from a kind of oat cake that was traditionally given to children on New Year's Eve.
In Edinburgh the celebrations always include a massive party from Prince's Street to the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle. Unfortunately due to overcrowding in the past the event is now ticket only.
On New Year's Day (actually from the stroke of midnight) the tradition of first footing is observed. This is because the first person to set foot in a residence in a New Year is thought to profoundly affect the fortunes of everyone who lives there. Generally strangers are thought to bring good luck.
Depending on the area, it may be better to have a dark-haired or fair-haired stranger set foot in the house, but it does mean Scotland is a very welcoming place for strangers at New Year!

Wales
New Year's Eve is called "Nos Galan" in Welsh, and whilst they also believe in letting out the old year and letting in the newif the first visitor in the New Year is a woman and a man opens the door it's considered bad luck. In addition, if the first man to cross the threshold in the New Year is a red head, that is also bad luck.
People in Wales also believe that you should pay off all debts before the New Year begins. Tradition states that ending a year in debt means a whole new year of debt.
On New Year's Day "Dydd Calan" in Wales the children get up early to visit their neighbors and sing songs. They are given coins, mince pies, apples and other sweets for singing. This stops at midday.
it can also depend on where you live as to when you celebrate New Year in Wales.  Some areas still celebrate Dydd Calan on January 12th.