Towns of th Great Britain

In the UK there are a lot of different and so beautiful cities. London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic and cultural centre. It's one of the largest cities in the world.  Traditionally London is divided into several parts: the City, the West End, the East End and Westminster. The City is the oldest part of London, its financial and business centre. Westminster is the most important part of the capital. It's the administrative centre. The Houses of Parliament, the seat of the British Government, are there. To the west of Westminster is West End. Here we find most of the big shops, hotels, museums, art galleries, theatres and concert halls. Piccadilly Circus is the heart of London's West End. In the West End there are wide streets with beautiful houses and many parks, gardens and squares. There are no parks or gardens in the East End and you can't see many fine houses there. Most of the plants and factories are situated there.  Manchester is one of the English most important cities. In the early 19th century Manchester became world famous as a manufacturing centre. Wool, silk and cotton were manufactured and vast numbers of working people worked 12 hour days in the mills. There was also a paper making industry and iron foundries. Manchester University was founded in 1903. The central library was built in 1934.

In the second half of the century manufacturing industry declined and was, to a certain extent, replaced by service industries such as education and finance. Tourism also became an important industry in the late 20th century. Oxford is the university town. This university town is very beautiful. The oldest university there is Oxford. Oxford is, of course, famous for its first-class education as well as its beautiful buildings. Some of the most intelligent men and women in the country live and work here. Oxford gives them what they need: a quiet atmosphere, friendly colleagues and the four-hundred-year-old library, which has about five million books.

National holidays in Great Britain

A public holiday is called a bank holiday. They are called so because they are days on which banks are shut and no other business could operate. British bank holidays are New Year’s Day, Good Fridey, Easter Monday, Spring Bank Holiday, Summer bank holiday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The British associate Christmas with good food and drink, with TV show and the Queen’s speech. In Great Britain the most popular Christmas food tradition is the mince pie. It is necessary to make a wish on the first on of the season. After that the British try to eat one pie for every day of the twelve days of Christmas. It is believed that it will bring them good fortune for the twelve months until next Christmas. Another official holiday if Spring bank holiday. It is celebrate on the last Monday in May. People do not go to work on this day. They go to the country and have picnics. Summer Bank Holiday is also official public holiday. It is celebrate on the last Monday in August. During this holiday people go to the seacoast. They take a picnic lunch or tea with them and enjoy their meal in the open. It is also a time for a big sports meetings, horse races and large fairs.