Wait,What?
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CHAPTER 1: Wait, What?
Alright, you’ve finally decided to visit the Great
Britain and you can’t wait to set your foot on it! It’s
„Oyeee, Governor“
only a short matter of time till you hit London
Starter Pack
Victoria Coach Station, go straight to the
Buckingham Palace, have a dozen of selfies next to
the Big Ben, have lunch at Costa(lot), spend the rest
of your week roaming around Central London and
raiding Souvenir Shops, thus making your trip a one
big… disappointment.
Before you ask any questions, let me ask you
something first. What do you think of when
someone mentions Great Britain in their speech? I
want you to picture the very first thing that visits
your mind. For those of you who thought of
anything but London or UK Merchandise –
congratulations, you may now read the following without taking
most of the stuff personally. As for the other 90 percent, do not
worry, there are just a few things to realize before we can move
on.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there is nothing bad about dreaming of
going to London, after all it is the most visited city in the UK for a
reason, but more on that later. The problem that I want to
address is that most of the people, who have never visited Britain,
but are interested in going there sometime, portray nothing but
red phone booths, Big Ben, the Tower Bridge, Double-Deckers,
making fun of the Royal Guards and creeping outside the Queen’s
residence. In other words, a typical day in the City of London and
Westminster which cannot be more typical. I really hope that
began to sound less attractive to you as it should be for this
kind of way of spending your money is very mainstream,
unwise and no fun at all compared with what
can be achieved for the same price all
around the Great Britain and London itself.
To sum up, I would like to say, that Great
Britain and UK in general is not all about the
highlighted objects of its capital. Don’t limit yourself like that.
There are enough tourists who are unfortunate enough to do this
mistake, believing they have seen it all
afterwards. You are way better than that.
Now that we’ve got that sorted, let’s get
to the more interesting part.
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Facts & Myths about the Great Britain
Before packing all the bags and buying tickets,
how about you get to know your destination a
little better? You might have done some of the
research yourself, so there may be something you
are already aware of. However, I am almost sure
you will find something that will surprise you or
change the way you’ve seen Britain until now.
Not in a bad way, hopefully as this country has
quite a crazy history. Here’s the list of a few Facts
and Myths that you may or may not know about
Britain:
MYTH: All people in the UK live in London – This is probably the most common hyperbolic joke and
a frustrating statement that came from the United States. It can’t be denied that from all the cities
in the UK, London has the largest chunk of citizens, reaching over 10 million, but it still has a long
way to go to reach a 100 percent mark.
FACT: British people love tea – Some people from overseas might say that this is a stereotype, but
between locals it is the undisputed and definite truth. It is very hard to find a Briton that would not
fancy to have a cup of tea, especially when it’s so rainy all the time!
MYTH: Great Britain, England and United Kingdom is the same thing - A lot of people can’t tell the
difference between the three and it’s not that bad as it is a bit confusing until you finally get it
down. England is just a separate country, Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales
whilst United Kingdom is Great Britain combined with Northern Ireland.
FACT: Britain holds the record for the World’s First „Speeding” Ticket - The first person to be
convicted of speeding is believed to be Walter Arnold, of East Peckham, Kent, who on January 28,
1896, after a hot 5-mile pursuit, was fined 1shilling for driving at 8mph. What a notorious daredevil.
MYTH: All Brits love Manchester United – Yet another misconception by the Americans who aren’t
great fans of football (excuse me, soccer) anyway. While Manchester United may be amongst the
all-time best teams in the UEFA Barclays Premier League it certainly isn’t the all-time favorite
amongst the British fans since there are many more local teams that can be as popular. So, if you’re
planning to impress somebody with your Man United T-shirt, you better put it away as it won’t do
much good, especially if run into some Chelsea fans.
FACT: Murder was “sort of” legal in York until 2013 – It sounds really shocking, but British laws are
famous for being ridiculous and this is probably the best proof out there. In 2013, the Local York
government changed the law that allowed to kill a Scotsman carrying a bow and an arrow.
Fortunately, due to the legal circumstances being so specific there are no confirmed fatalities.
MYTH: The Queen is in charge - The Sovereign, whether King or Queen, is the symbolic head of the
United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Elizabeth II represents its history and continuity. But she
has few real powers. Most of the influence comes from the Parliament and the Queen is just giving
advices from behind the scenes.
There are so much more interesting stuff to discover about the Great Britain, but most of it will be
covered once you are already there. So let’s get those bags packed, shall we?
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