Hi Guys and Gals,

Here is this week’s journal from the UK.

 

Politics: The United Kingdom, which has the Queen as its symbolic head, is made up of 4 countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is an island that is made up of 3 countries, England, Scotland and Wales. The island of Ireland was divided into two in 1921 after centuries of fighting. Still today feeling about this divide runs very high.

Island of Great Britain (in red)

Wales is known as the land of mountains, mining and song. The Welsh are known for their singing, for example the Welsh mining choirs, Shirley Bassey, Kathryn Jenkins and Tom Jones.

 

Here is the Welsh national anthem, very stirring, sung here in Welsh.

 

 

Here is ‘Myfanwy’ (a girls name) a Welsh folk song remembering the minors who lost their lives in many accidents, as well as the adults and the 116 children who died in 1966 when mining debris slid onto a school.

 

 

Football: Manchester United has just been named as the club with the most fans, over one million. I have no idea how this number was calculated. Did they count the three fans in Cuba? Manchester United will play Manchester City in the first game of the new season 2011 – 2012. This game is played between the holders of the FA Cup and the top team in the Premier League.

 

Olympics: 1.8 million Brits (a Brit is someone from Great Britain) applied for tickets for next year’s Olympic events in London. 1.2 million Brits received no tickets. Some tickets for less popular events are available, but the impression is of chaos and disorder. Thousands of tickets have gone to companies and sport organisations in other countries.