Home, sweet home

East or West home is best.

It is common knowledge that there is no place like home. To the British their homes are important. They are dedicated to them; they give them a lot of time and effort, looking after their homes with much love, care and enthusiasm. More than half of British families own their homes (houses or flats). Others live in council accommodation and some people rent from private owners.

Types of Houses. There are three types of houses that people live in:

a) detached;

b) semi-detached;

c) terraced.

A semi-detached house is joined to the house next door by a shared wall. A house of this kind is less expensive than a detached house, but still offers a good standard of privacy and comfort. It usually has a small garden at the front and a larger garden at the back

A detached house is the most expensive type of home. It stands on its own land and is not attached to another building. Such houses have privacy from neighbours, and they are ideal for keen gardeners who can devote plenty of time to work in their garden.

A terraced house is usually two- or three-storeys high. It is one of a continuous row of similar houses, joined together by their side walls. Many rows of terraced houses were originally built for workers in nearby factories or coalmines. A terraced house usually costs less than a semi-detached or detached house of similar size. There are miles of terraced houses in most towns. Over a quarter of British families live in them. There are also other types of buildings in which people live:

d) apartment blocks;

e) bungalows;

f) country cottages.

Bungalows are one-storey houses which are particularly popular with older people.

Apartment blocks are high-rise blocks of flats which provide accommodation for a lot of city dwellers. But these buildings are not very popular. About 20% of the population live in flats. There are more flats in cities than in rural areas. Most people in Britain traditionally like to live in houses.

The number of people owning their own houses is steadily rising in Britain though a house is expensive. A person does not usually need to have all the money himself to pay for the house. Most people buy their homes with a mortgage which they get from a bank or a building society.

Public Housing. About one third of the population now live in council houses. These houses are provided by local authority councils such as town councils, usually at a low rent. Such houses are mainly occupied by working-class people who cannot afford to buy a house.

Since 1980 it has become possible for council house tenants to buy their houses at favourable rates after they have lived in them for at least two years.

British food

Foreigners often say that food in Britain is uninteresting and plain, nothing fancy; that it lacks originality and excellence. But British food is not as bad as some people think, especially if it is cooked in the home, where it is possible to time the dishes to perfection.

There are four meals a day in an English home: breakfast, lunch, tea, and dinner.

Breakfast is the first meal of the day. It is at about 8 o'clock in the morning, and consists of porridge with milk and salt or sugar, eggs-boiled or fried, bacon, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, bread and butter with marmalade or jam. Some people like to drink tea, but other prefer coffee. Instead of porridge they may have fruit juice, or they may prefer biscuits.

The usual time for lunch is 1 o'clock. This meal starts with soup or fruit juice. Then follows roast beef with vegetables and gravy or poultry with potatoes - boiled or fried, carrots and beans. Then a pudding comes. Instead of the pudding they may prefer cheese and biscuits. Last of all coffee - black or white. Englishmen often drink something at lunch. Water is usually on the table. Some prefer juice or lemonade.

Tea is the third meal of the day. It is between 4 or 5 o'clock, the so-called 5 o'clock tea. On the table there is tea, milk or cream, sugar, bread and butter, cakes. Friends and visitors are often present at tea.

Dinner is the fourth meal of the day. The usual time is about 7 o'clock, and all the members of the family sit down together.

Dinner usually consists of soup, fish or meat with vegetables - potatoes, green beans, carrot and cabbage, sweet pudding, fruit salad, ice-cream or cheese and biscuits. Then after a talk they have black or white coffee.

This is the order of meals among English families, but the greater part of the people in the towns, and nearly all country-people, have dinner in the middle of the day instead of lunch. They have tea a little later -between 5 and 6 o'clock, and then in the evening, before going to bed, they have supper.

If you want to have a meal outside your home you can visit such place as ‘fish and chips shop’. Fish and chips is a popular and relatively inexpensive British dish. It consists of plaice or cod fried in batter and is served hot with fried, chipped potatoes. More and more people in Britain now buy hot food from a ‘take-away’ and eat it at home. Fast food shops have become very popular. The most common take-away meals are fish and chips, hamburgers, and Chinese foods.

There are also thousands of pubs in Britain. These are alehouses, where working men meet in the evening to drink beer; inns, where travelers can stop, rest and stay overnight. Pub is a public place and at the same time it is rather like someone’s house, where people meet, speak with each other, play games and listen to music. The most common drink served in a pub is beer (ale, bitter, stout or lager), but you can also have wine, cocktails, spirits and soft drinks. If you are hungry you can order food.