Текст Лекции (изначальный) (Lectures of The Linguistic Culture), страница 3

Homes and Houses

Is an English man's home really his castle? Well not quite. Some typical British homes are the smallest in Europe, in fact they are downright pokey, with only an average usable floor space of 76m sq.( according to a new report by Bradford & Bingley).E.g. the Italians hae the most space - an average of 92m sq per dwelling, over a fifth larger than us Brits enjoy.

The report undertaken by the Centre for Economics & Business Research for Bradford & Bingley compares the UK property market to Germany, France, Italy and Spain. It reveals British living space per home is 12 percent smaller than the average Spanish home, 14 percent smaller than in Germany and 16 percent smaller than in France.

These figures are more surprising when the types of properties are taken into account as over four-fifths of British households prefer to live in a house. The report reveals that 82 percent of British families live in a house and only 15 percent live in a flat. This is in stark contrast to families on continental Europe where flats are more popular. In Spain, Italy and Germany more than 50 percent of families live in a flat and France is not far behind with 41 percent. Yet almost bizarrely the average British family home has the least usable living space of the countries.

An Englishman's home is as much his castle is it was 100 years ago - even if today's castle has solar panels, home cinema and underfloor heating. But both the role and the look of the home are changing. Social, cultural and economic factors are changing the face of British home life.

National Dress in Britain

One of the most famous national costumes in the world is that worn in Scotland, the kilt, however some people say that the kilt is not as traditional as some would have it. Be that as it may it is certainly what people associate with Scotland, along with whisky and haggis that is.Some people consider it very bad luck to wear a kilt in a tartan that does not belong to your family. Just to remind you should you visit Scotland any time - the men do not wear skirts - they wear kilts - and don't you forget it!

Today traditional dress for men in Scotland is a kilt with a shirt, waistcoat and tweed jacket, stockings with garter flashes, brogue shoes and a sporran. A bonnet is often worn displaying the clan crest.

Traditionally ladies don't wear kilts, they do however wear dresses or pleated skirts in a tartan material. More often though they wear a light plaid or shawl of tartan material,

Welsh National dress is relatively young and not as famous as Scottish National dress. Still they do have a National costume, but it's the way the ladies dress that is most well known, in fact there isn't really a National costume for men although recently through the rise of nationalism in Wales a tartan has been created and tartan trousers or kilts are often worn.

For the ladies the typical Welsh costume consists of a hat, made of black felt, with a high crown and wide brim, which is worn over a lace cap. A red flannel shawl is worn over a crisp white blouse, and a full skirt made of wool with a black and white check pattern and a starched, white apron. Proper Welsh ladies always wore black woolen stockings and black shoes and carried a basket, made from willow withies.

Irish National Dress English has without a doubt become the global language.

With the revival of Irish dancing, the traditional Irish costume has become associated with the bright flamboyant costumes worn by traditional Irish dancers. However in ancient Ireland people were more likely to be seen wearing 'leine' (Irish for shirt), trews (Irish for trousers) and long cloaks fastened with a brooch.

All in all there are a lot of myths and legends surrounding many of the so called 'traditional' costumes. Often when you do some real historical research you will find that they aren't that old or traditional.

Unfortunately the English don't really have a traditional National Dress as such. In one notorious episode during the Miss World pageant the English contestant came out wearing a Beefeater's costume, it was very embarrassing I can tell you.

There have been calls over the years to create a costume, but as usual no-one can decide on what it should look like. Even Henry VIII got in on the act and commissioned an artist called Van Dyck to create an English National Costume, this also failed. So for lack of anything else I will leave you with the following picture of the nearest thing - a Beefeater costume as worn by Miss England.

UK Fashion

Currently riding on a high again for its fashion, Britain has some of the most cutting-edge designers around. The ‘British Fashion Pack', including John Galliano,Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, is creative, original and often controversial. Big fashion houses such as Chanel, Givenchy and Chloe snap up the hottest new talent . Love them or hate them, they keep the rest of the fashion world on its toes and celebrities like Sadie Frost, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Moss very well dressed.

Off the catwalk, Britain is still riding on the ‘Cool Britannia' vibe it enjoys overseas – all that is vintage, all that is heritage, all that is the ‘New Mod'. London's Carnaby Street was the original home of British fashion in the 1960s and it's alive again with concept stores for vintage, street and sports brands like Puma, Ben Sherman, Fred Perry and Lambretta. There are loads of 2nd hand clothes stores around Covent Garden and Portobello market for cool rejects. Away from the capital, city centres like Manchester and Leeds are home to individual boutiques original, up-to-the-minute designs.

All this cutting-edge fashion ensures that young Brits are a pretty well-dressed bunch. City-centre institutions like French Connection, Oasis and Next are cheerfully mobbed at weekends. You'll soon notice a few distinct tribes –label-conscious clubbers (Cockfighter and Libertine for boys, Preen and Marc Jacobs for girls), ‘Gentry Geezers' clad in Burberry, Pringle and Hacket, and outdoor types who won't go anywhere without a Berghaus fleece.

Those keen on snapping up the latest threads for less will find bargain-priced designer outlets at various locations around the country. The best place for good value latest trends is Top Shop, with branches nationwide. Also try H&M for high street copies of catwalk pieces for men and women .

London Fashion week held in February and September is the main UK fashion event attracting the glare of the world's style gurus. Hobbs Show in Bristol around March is another well-known fashion-fest showcasing raw new talent.

British Food

Yes, The British do have a wide and varied cuisine in Britain today, no more do they suffer under the image of grey boiled meat! After years of disparagement by various countries (especially the French) Britain now has an enviable culinary reputation. In fact some of the great chefs now come from Britain, I kid you not!

However Britain's culinary expertise is not new! In the past British cooking was amongst the best in the world. Mrs Beeton is still one of the renowned writers of cookery books, her creations have now gained international popularity, years after her death.

Traditional British cuisine is substantial, yet simple and wholesome. We have long believed in four meals a day. Our fare has been influenced by the traditions and tastes from different parts of the British empire: teas from Ceylon and chutney, kedgeree, and mulligatawny soup from India.

A brief history. British cuisine has always been multicultural, a pot pourri of eclectic styles. In ancient times influenced by the Romans and in medieval times the French. When the Frankish Normans invaded, they brought with them the spices of the east: cinnamon, saffron, mace, nutmeg, pepper, ginger. Sugar came to England at that time, and was considered a spice -- rare and expensive. Before the arrival of cane sugars, honey and fruit juices were the only sweeteners. The few Medieval cookery books that remain record dishes that use every spice in the larder, and chefs across Europe saw their task to be the almost alchemical transformation of raw ingredients into something entirely new (for centuries the English aristocracy ate French food) which they felt distinguished them from the peasants.

During Victorian times good old British stodge mixed with exotic spices from all over the Empire. And today despite being part of Europe we've kept up our links with the countries of the former British Empire, now united under the Commonwealth.

One of the benefits of having an empire is that the British did learn quite a bit from the colonies. From East Asia (China) they adopted tea (and exported the habit to India), and from India they adopted curry-style spicing, they even developed a line of spicy sauces including ketchup, mint sauce, Worcestershire sauce and deviled sauce to indulge these tastes. Today it would be fair to say that curry has become a national dish.

Among English cakes and pastries, many are tied to the various religious holidays of the year. Hot Cross Buns are eaten on Good Friday, Simnel Cake is for Mothering Sunday, Plum Pudding for Christmas, and Twelfth Night Cake for Epiphany.

Unfortunately a great deal of damage was done to British cuisine during the two world wars. Britain is an island and supplies of many goods became short. The war effort used up goods and services and so less were left over for private people to consume. Ships importing food stuffs had to travel in convoys and so they could make fewer journeys. During The Second World War food rationing began in January 1940 and was lifted only gradually after the war.

The British tradition of stews, pies and breads, according to the taste buds of the rest of the world, went into terminal decline. What was best in England was only that which showed the influence of France, and so English food let itself become a gastronomic joke and the French art of Nouvell Cuisine was adopted.

In the late 1980's, British cuisine started to look for a new direction. Disenchanted with the overblown (and under-nourished) Nouvelle Cuisine, chefs began to look a little closer to home for inspiration. Calling on a rich (and largely ignored) tradition, and utilising many diverse and interesting ingredients, the basis was formed for what is now known as modern British food. Game has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity although it always had a central role in the British diet, which reflects both the abundant richness of the forests and streams and an old aristocratic prejudice against butchered meats.

In London especially, one can not only experiment with the best of British, but the best of the world as there are many distinct ethnic cuisines to sample, Chinese, Indian, Italian and Greek restaurants are amongst the most popular.

Although some traditional dishes such as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, Cornish pasties, steak and kidney pie, bread and butter pudding, treacle tart, spotted dick or fish and chips, remain popular, there has been a significant shift in eating habits in Britain. Rice and pasta have accounted for the decrease in potato consumption and the consumption of meat has also fallen. Vegetable and salad oils have largely replaced the use of butter.

Roast beef is still the national culinary pride. It is called a "joint," and is served at midday on Sunday with roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, two vegetables, a good strong horseradish, gravy, and mustard.

Today there is more emphasis on fine, fresh ingredients in the better restaurants and markets in the UK offer food items from all over the world. Salmon, Dover sole, exotic fruit, Norwegian prawns and New Zealand lamb are choice items. Wild fowl and game are other specialties on offer.

In fact fish is still important to the English diet, we are after all an island surrounded by some of the richest fishing areas of the world. Many species swim in the cold offshore waters: sole, haddock, hake, plaice, cod (the most popular choice for fish and chips), turbot, halibut, mullet and John Dory. Oily fishes also abound (mackerel, pilchards, and herring) as do crustaceans like lobster and oysters. Eel, also common, is cooked into a wonderful pie with lemon, parsley, and shallots, all topped with puff pastry.

Regional Specialities

Despite recent setbacks beef is still big industry in England, and the Scottish Aberdeen Angus is one of our most famous beef-producing breeds. Dairy cattle are also farmed extensively -- England is famous for its creams and butters and for its sturdy and delicious cheeses: Stilton, Cheshire and its rare cousin blue Cheshire, double Gloucester, red Leicester, sage Derby, and of course cheddar.

Some of our more interesting dishes include: Beefsteak, Oyster, and Kidney Pudding: Oysters may seem unlikely in this meat pudding, but their great abundance in the Victorian age and earlier eras inspired cooks to find ways to incorporate them creatively in many different recipes. This steamed pudding combines the meats with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and Worcestershire, then wraps the whole in a suet pastry.