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Posted on Jul 13, 2011 by 
It has been observed, one time too many, that people from the West seem to have a more liberal attitude than the rest of the world. Though this includes more countries than the United Kingdom, an incident in a beach in Dubai has brought negative attention to the UK once again.
Last week Michelle Palmer, 36, from Rutland, and Vince Acors, 34, of Bromley, southeast London, were sentenced to three months in prison in Dubai for having sex outside marriage on a public beach and offending public decency. They were also fined about £200 and will be deported when they have served their sentences. They were lucky: their punishment could have been much worse.
This incident is evoking a lot of varying opinions. On the one hand, these are adults who are supposed to be free to do whatever they want to. On the other hand, some people think that their behaviour is offensive and insensitive to others. The Times feature actually leans towards the second point and I tend to agree. Indeed, we live in modern times where the attitude towards sex and sexuality has changed a lot. However, these two people were NOT in the UK. They were in a country which has a different culture, a different religion. Come to think of it, if this happened in the UK, sensibilities would probably still have been offended. The point, I think, is that our freedom should end where other people’s toes begin. Freedom is only as good as not stepping on other people’s toes. Whatever happens in your own house is your business. What you do at the beach becomes everyone else’s business.
How do you feel about this?
[From the Archives]
Summer is always here and for many British of the older generation, this season is akin to preserving the fresh fruits of the season. Though making homemade preserves may not be necessary today – thanks to modern processing plans – it would still be a good activity to engage in this summer. Have you ever made preserves or jam in your own kitchen? Maybe you should try out this age old tradition that our elders engaged in. Not only will you have homemade jams and jellies to consume throughout the winter months, but you’ll also have memories to last for the rest of your life.
So how do you go about making jam? Helen Gaffney of The Great British Kitchen provides tips that have been tried and tested by time. Here they are for your reading (and jam-making) pleasure.
1. It is most important to have jars, saucepan or preserving pan and spoons ready and scrupulously clean before you start, so that you prevent any micro-organisms from getting into the jam.
2. Choose sound firm fruit. A mixture of ripe and rather less ripe fruits is best, unripe fruits contain more pectin and fruit acid (both needed to obtain a good set) than ripe fruit.
3. Use fruit as soon as possible after picking. Wash only if necessary.
4. Cook the fruit with or without water for 20-30 minutes prior to adding the sugar. Simmer it gently to draw out the pectin.
5. Warm the sugar before adding it to the fruit to help it dissolve quickly.
6. When you have added the sugar to the hot, softened fruit, stir it over a gentle heat until it has completely dissolved before returning the jam to the boil.
7. Boil rapidly until set, stirring from time to time to prevent sticking at the bottom. Test frequently to avoid over-cooking.
There’s more from where this came from. I suggest that you visit Helen’s article and read for yourself!
Photo courtesy of Noah McMurray
Summer is the time to get out of the confines of the house and enjoy the weather. While it may not be sunny all the time, this is the best period in the year to enjoy what nature has to offer. You don’t even need to go far or out of the country. Just take a look around you and you will find a lot of options.
One of these is a floating picnic at the River Thames. The best online resource for this kind of outing is Visit Thames, which compiles most anything that you can do related to the river. There are lots of restaurants by the river, from the outskirts of London to the Cotswolds. The Guardian recently had a feature on these floating picnic outings and suggests these:
The Beetle & Wedge Boathouse in Moulsford near Goring (beetleandwedge.co.uk) makes up hampers of cheese, salads, gravadlax, baguettes, melon and strawberries, then puts you in a wooden launch that seats up to 10 people (one hour boat hire £50, hampers from £15pp).
Or cruise the Thames in style from Marlow on the Compleat Angler’s Edwardian-style electric launch, while tucking into poached salmon, sandwiches, salads, scones, cheese and biscuits and strawberries and cream (macdonaldhotels.co.uk/compleatangler, boat hire £75-£95 per hour, hampers £25-£36).
If you want to pack your own hamper the website also lists boat hire companies such as Cotswold Boat Hire (cotswoldboat.co.uk), based in Lechlade, which has open-top motor boats from £80 for four hours for up to five people, and rowing boats from £15 per hour.
Now that sounds pretty good to me. What about you?
The London Underground (locally known as the Tube) is the biggest and oldest metro system in the world. It’s also one of the most convenient, serving about 20 hours on a daily basis. Each of the Underground lines has a different name and colour. This helps you easily follow your route on the map.
Upon your arrival at a station, you should have a look at the colour-coded signs that will direct you to the line you’re looking for. The London Underground system is divided into 6 different fare zones. The London city centre is of course in Zone 1. Your ticket price depends on the number of zones through which you travel. You can easily buy your ticket from an automatic ticket machine or alternatively at the ticket office at any station. Both single and return tickets are available and they are valid only on the date shown.
If you know where you want to go, I recommend you should use the ticket machines because they can save a lot of your time. The instructions are easy to follow. The ticket machines usually give change, but I would suggest that you use the correct money if possible. By doing this, you will help keep change for other passengers who really need it.
Most London Underground stations have ticket gates. You need to pass through them quite a few times throughout your journey. Upon your arrival, just insert your ticket into the slot of the machine through which the ticket will pass. You can then take it from a slot at the top and the gates will open to let you through. When you have completed your last journey, the gates will open and let you through but your ticket will be retained by the machine.
As far as I’m concerned, London’s Tube is probably one of the most famous in the world. However, I feel that there is something about being underground I am not very keen on. For instance, the massive crowds swarm towards the train platforms, rushing up and down stairs, following the signs and the annoying ‘Mind the gap’ thing. Based on my experience, the trains are also absolutely packed. I have so many times been pushed up against someone really stinky. It’s never easy to find yourself a seat, and you can hardly see anything. Having said that, I still believe it is the cheapest and quickest way to get around London though.
To sum up, The London Underground is really easy to use so long as you are equipped with a map. To avoid wasting your time, simply validate your ticket and pass through the gates, stand on the right hand side of the steep escalators, or just walk down on the left if you are in a rush. The Tube normally arrives every few minutes so you don’t need to run. In summer the tube can be really hot and smelly, but again it is another part of travelling around the capital of England.
In England, one of the greatest advances of the nineteenth century was the foundation of the English police service. It replaced the poorly organised and rather ineffective watchman system that was then broadly seen as flawed, and introduced a better and new class of public servant to the English public, one whose duty was obviously to protect people against the burgeoning criminals on the streets.
Famous throughout the world for their considerate helpfulness and assertive authority that even extend till these days to not carrying a loaded firearm, the ordinary English police are a globally recognised figure in all respects. They have been portrayed in many TV dramas, and their everyday duties have never ceased to stir one’s imagination.
The average English bobby is much respected all over the world for his consideration, efficiency as well as ability to do his job. He is also renowned as being honourable and morally upright and is among the very few unarmed police patrols in the crime-dogged world. Even though the uniform has gradually changed over time, there is little doubt it is still highly recognisable.
The English police did and to a large extent still do represent citizen security and the spirit of community that made them such a symbol of England for a number of years. Many say that the good English bobby is simply the envy of the world. In addition, they also argue that the English police should never be stripped off their bobby status as they always handled the situations in the kindest possible manner.
One of the things that people will always remember is the good old English Bobby being marched out by their sarge at the beginning of their shift. The most popular sight was probably the police standing in the street phone boxes calling their station, or the glossy blue light flashing telling the bobby to answer the phone. Another very familiar sight was the sarge attracting the attention of the tired constable by tapping the pavement with his truncheon.
I myself am a fan of police drama The Bill in which the English police are always capable of sorting out the most difficult offences. It is also fascinating to see them getting tough on crime and giving people a sense of security watching the show on TV. The English police in the drama are always in large numbers and even the worst offenders will have a hard time dealing with them.
Unfortunately though, in reality we no longer see that many English constables anymore. I reckon there should be more police back on the streets to help tackle the street crime in England. Countless times I have heard awful stories of people being murdered even in broad daylight which is appalling. Hardly can anyone understand what is going on here. The government has apparently generated a lot more tax revenues than ever before but it seems very little is spent on street policing.
The Angel of the North is a relatively new landmark in Great Britain. Some say it is popular, some say it is controversial. If you have not heard of it, then it is about time that you did. This landmark is a modern sculpture made of steel and is located in Gateshead. As the name implies, the steel sculpture is of the figure of an angel. Wikipedia describes the Angel of the North as:
Standing 66 feet (20 metres) tall, with wings measuring 178 feet (54 metres) across — making it wider than the Statue of Liberty’s height. The wings themselves are not planar, but are angled 3.5 degrees forward, which Gormley has said aims to create “a sense of embrace”.[1] It stands on a hill, on the southern edge of Low Fell overlooking the A1 road and the A167 road into Tyneside and the East Coast Main Line rail route.
The angel is definitely something that you must see if you ever find yourself in this part of the world. As you can see from the description above, it is VERY big and can be quite overwhelming. You can just imagine the effect that the work of art can have on a person. While it was being built, there were some sectors who were saying that it would never work; that it would be a menace to motorists. Some even went as far as to call the work as an angel of death.
Well, we now know that Antony Gormley, the designer, has been right all along. The Angelf of the North is a sight to behold.
How costly is your lifestyle? Do you think that you spend less than the average person in your country? How about comparing your lifestyle to people from other countries? Well, if you find yourself comparing your lifestyle to the British people, then you just might find out that you are not living such a costly lifestyle at all.
I read a report published about the cost of the British lifestyle. It was published by Metro.co.uk. Based on this report, the British lifestyle is the third most expensive in the world. The report states:
The study by the bank HSBC found that money in every other country in the world, apart from Norway and France, would go further.
It examined how long the typical British salary would last if people maintained their standard of living, including eating out in a restaurant twice a week.
It found that the average British salary would run out after 11 months and one week in Norway, while in France it would run out after 11 months and two weeks.
But, at the other end of the scale, a year’s British salary would last four years in Iran, two years and ten months in India and more than two years in Peru, Egypt, Argentina and Costa Rica.
Interesting – I always thought that our cousins from across the ocean lived costlier lifestyles than us. Then again, this study was conducted months ago and perhaps, with the changes in the economy, lifestyles have changed as well.
Photo courtesy of fishyfish_arcade
I don’t know about you but summer evokes special memories for me. Taste, sound, and smell all mingle to bring about the most treasured times of my life. One of the best things I remember about summer is having a nice meal outside – with several fresh and sweet cobs of corn. Now isn’t that just wonderful?
But if you like corn as much as I do, you would know that nothing sucks more than corn on the cob that tastes stale. So where do you get the freshest corn for that nice summer picnic? The people over at The Guardian apparently have the same taste – they recently featured the best ways by which we could get corn on the cob:
PYO farms are an excellent source of super-fresh cobs (go to pickyourown.org). Corn is coming into season now and should be available until late September. If you pick more than you need, cut off the kernels, blanch briefly in boiling water and freeze. Don’t add salt when boiling, though, because it toughens the kernels.
British-grown organic corn on the cob, from areas such as Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, is available through nationwide organic box providers including Riverford (riverford.co.uk) and Abel & Cole (abelandcole.co.uk).
But that is not all of it – they also give tips on how to find the best corn in markets and shops. If I were you, I’d read up on this a bit more and serve only the best corn in your next summer bash.
Photo courtesy of shannonpatrick17
Any self-respecting music lover would know at least a teeny bit about Pink Floyd. If I were to describe Pink Floyd in one word, I would say psychedelic and I am sure that many people would agree with me. This English rock band is in fact, an icon in the music world. Their music continues to span generations.
So where does Pink Floyd come from? In the 1960s, Syd Barrett and a couple of other guys got together to play music. They got their name from two blues musicians – Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Though Syd Barrett was the lead man for a while, his erratic behavior led to his decline and departure from the band in 1968. It was also after his departure that the band started to experiment with other sounds, leading to the emergence of Roger Waters as the front man of the band. It was during his time that the phenomenal album The Wall was created.
Waters left the band in 1985, leaving David Gilmour as the lead member. Today, what is left of the band is more of solo acts. Despite the fact that a lot of the original members left the band, Pink Floyd remains influential in many people’s music preferences. From modern day musicians to people who merely appreciate music, Pink Floyd definitely holds a special place in their hearts.
We all hear these terms a lot but which means which? Can we interchange the names or do they refer to something specific? The truth is, they each refer to something specific although even the British may not all be aware of that.
Great Britain refers to the largest island in the whole of Europe. When you say Great Britain you use it to mean three countries. That is, England, Scotland, and Wales. Other small adjacent islands are included except for the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. When did this term come into being? It was actually during the reign of King James VI of Scotland (also known as King James I of England), when England and Scotland became one kingdom. This union didn’t mean that only one government managed the two countries. It was basically having one crown recognized as the head of two separate states.
When you say United Kingdom, you are referring to Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In fact, British passports now say “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” This term came into use in 1922.
The third term, the British Isles, is quite different from the other two in that is of a geographical nature and not political. When you hear someone talk about the British Isles, he probably means this group of islands:
Great Britain, the whole of Ireland, the Orkney and Shetland Islands, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Isle of Wight, the Scilly Islands, Lundy Island, the Channel Islands and many other smaller islands
