Today, some wise words from Geoffrey Boycott OBE, the former England and Yorkshire cricketer and successful cricket commentator.
” I don’t speak French. I don’t speak English. I am from Yorkshire.”
What do you think about the variations in the way English is spoken across our nation? Are you proud of your Bristolian lilt or Scouse twang?
The Royal Navy was renowned as the World’s most powerful seaforce from C17th, well into the C20th. The Royal Navy was the power behind Britain’s colonial expansion, and protected her flourishing trade.
Today, the Royal Navy still works tirelessly for our nation, and is part of the Naval Service which also comprises the Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxilliary, Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Marines Reserve. Much of the Royal Navy’s modern form is based on the 1661 Naval Dicipline Act, co-written by Samuel Pepys!
Image credit: Defence Images
Another Place is a piece of modern sculpture by Antony Gormley, on Crosby Beach in Merseyside.
Cast iron figures, which are replicas of the artist’s body, face the sea on a two mile stretch between Waterloo and Blundellsands. As the tides ebb and flow, the figures are revealed and submerged by the sea, to dramatic effect.
Another Place was first exhibited on the beach of Cuxhaven in Germany in 1997, then in Stavanger, Norway and De Panne in Belgium. It was intended that it would stay in Crosby for a short while, before moving to New York, but it was announced in 2007 that the Iron Men would be a permanent fixture on the Mersey!
And don’t forget to follow them on twitter @ironmencrosby!
Image credit: Paul McGreevy
Today, another joke from the late, great Tommy Cooper.
A man walks into a bar with a roll of tarmac under his arm and says: “Pint please, and one for the road.”
Have you got a favourite British joke that you’d like to share with us?
Image credit: CJFIZZ
“An Englishman thinks he is moral when he is only uncomfortable.” George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Irish playwright
Great wisdom from one of the Britain’s finest ever playwrights, it’s a cheeky jibe aimed at the English, let us know whether you think it’s true, or even if it still holds true after 100 years!
Did you know George Bernard Shaw was awarded both an Oscar and a Nobel Prize in literature?
He is also attributed with saying, “There is no love sincerer than the love of food” a man after our own hearts.
Image credit: Gtall1
Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. A symbol of home and of the monarchy, it is where state occasions are held and Royal Hospitality such as the Queen’s annual Garden Parties.
Built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1705, Buckingham Palace finally became the official royal palace of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.
According to a book published by the Royal Collection Department, the Palace has 19 state rooms, 52 principal bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms, and the largest private garden in London.
The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September, as part of the Palace’s Summer Opening.
Earlier this year, the Queen revealed her thoughts on the Palace’s public tours; “Do you know, everyone shuffles along in a line. This means that they push all the carpet pile in one direction, so the following year we have to turn all the carpets round so they can push it back the other way!”
Image credit: alex drennan