Joseph Turner

One day the dog of Joseph Turner (a famous English painter of the XIX century) broke a leg. The artist loved his dog very much and spared no pains to have it well again. So he sent for the best surgeon in London instead of taking a veterinary.

When the medical man arrived, Turner said to him by way of an apology, "My dog has broken a leg. I know that you are too great a doctor for such a patient, but I beg you to help my dog. It is so important for me." The surgeon felt annoyed but did not show it.

The next day the medical man asked Turner to come to his house. The artist thought that the surgeon wanted to see him in connection with his dog. When he arrived at the doctor's, the medical man said, "Mr. Turner, I'm so glad you've come. My door needs painting. I know that you're too great a painter for this work, but I beg you to do it. It is so important for me."

One of the first things a foreigner notices about British railways is the platforms. They are higher than in most part of the world. The platform is almost on a level with the floor of carriages. This makes it a little easier to get in and out of the carriage with your luggage.

The trains that go to and from London are very crowded at the times when people are travelling to work, since about a million people travel to London to work each day.

On many fast trains to London there is a dining car in which you can buy lunch, dinner or coffee. On others there is a buffet at which it is possible to buy snacks and drinks. Sometimes a waiter from the dining car brings round cups of coffee to the passengers.

There are only two classes in Britain — first and second. A first-class ticket costs 50% more than a second-class ticket. On long journeys, there is a ticket inspector, who visits every passenger to see if he has the right ticket and is not travelling in the wrong class.

In England train passengers seldom converse with their fellow-travellers even on a long journey — this is more a national custom than a matter of etiquette.

When the passenger reaches the end of his journey and leaves the train, he has to give his ticket to the ticket collector at the exit before he can leave the station.

How many people speak English and why?

It is only in the course of the last hundred years that English has become a number one world lan­guage. In the year of 1600, in Shakespeare's time, English was spoken only by 6 million people and was a "provincial" language (as was Russian), while French was the leading foreign language of that cen­tury. Three centuries later 260 million people spoke English and now, at the end of the third this millen­nium, probably one billion people speak English. It has become one of the world's most important languages in politics, science, trade and cultural relations. In number of speakers English nowadays is second only to Chinese. It is the official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. It is used as one of the official languages in Canada and South Africa and in the Irish Republic. It is also spoken as a second language by many people in India, Pakistan, numerous countries in Africa, where there are many different lan­guages and people use English as an "official" or "second" language for government, business and education. Throughout the world many people use English as an international language: some use it for social purposes, others for business or study. In 1992 51% of European schoolchildren studied English as their first foreign language and now this number is much higher.

Near London's centre, a couple of hundred yards from Trafalgar Square is a tavern known as the "Sherlock Holmes," which is dedicated to preserving the legend of the great detective. It is elaborately decorated throughout in Victorian style. On the lower floor is the "bar." Displayed here are such "authentic" exhibits as the head of the Hound of the Baskervilles and the coiled cobra described in the mystery of the "Speckled Band." On the upper floor — adjacent to the dining-room you can find a complete reconstruction of Sherlock Holmes' living-room from his lodgings at the fictional 221B Baker Street. Everything is placed as if the master detective had just stepped out for a moment.

There is his bust on a pedestal by the window, where he placed it to foil any would-be intruder into thinking he was still at home. The remarkable collection of "Holmesiana" to be seen includes revolvers, handcuffs, a police lantern, a model of a Hansom cab, tintype photographs, and some 19th-century cartoons. You cannot help coming away from the "Sherlock Holmes" with a feeling that Holmes just might have existed, after all!