“Hello,
I wonder about the following: At the moment, there are two Princesses of York: Beatrice and Eugenie. Now, if somebody, let’s call him John Smith, marries Princess Beatrice, what would his style presumably be? I’m somewhat doubtful whether he would be called Prince John of York after the marriage… Second question: If some years later Eugenie gets married as well, say, to a Harry Miller, what would his new title be? I guess, it wouldn’t be the same as the one of “JohnSmith”…
Thanks for your answers
Michael”
We are not sure of the answer to this question. We know that a Queen’s husband is not know as a King and so assume the same applies to a Princess ( if a Princess marries, her husband is not known as a Prince).
Comments welcome
Visit projectbritain.com for more about British life and culture.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Pronunciation of British words
The following message was sent via email:
Do you have a view on the use of the word ‘Movie’ instead of Film. Personally I hate the proliferation of the word Movie.
Secondly is there a view on the pronunciation of the word ‘Texted’ TV news readers tend to pronounce the word as ‘Text ED’ I disagree and feel that it should be ‘TextD’ – the emphasis on the D After all we don’t say I ‘Fax ED’ you. We say ‘FaxD’ emphasis on the D again. As with ‘TelephoneD’ We never say ‘Telephone ED’ you.
This is a personal grip of mine.
Oxford University have nothing definite to say on the matter. ‘The BBC Oxford Guide to Pronunciation’ have no listing for the word.
sincerely
Gerald
Do you have a view on the use of the word ‘Movie’ instead of Film. Personally I hate the proliferation of the word Movie.
Secondly is there a view on the pronunciation of the word ‘Texted’ TV news readers tend to pronounce the word as ‘Text ED’ I disagree and feel that it should be ‘TextD’ – the emphasis on the D After all we don’t say I ‘Fax ED’ you. We say ‘FaxD’ emphasis on the D again. As with ‘TelephoneD’ We never say ‘Telephone ED’ you.
This is a personal grip of mine.
Oxford University have nothing definite to say on the matter. ‘The BBC Oxford Guide to Pronunciation’ have no listing for the word.
sincerely
Gerald
Monday, December 25, 2006
Christmas Day in England 2006
We woke up to a dull cloudy day. It was not too cold at 7 degrees celcius.
The children were the first to wake this morning. They were so excited to find out what Father Christmas had brought them. Their Christmas stockings were bulging with presents.
They got the usual presents such as a chocolate orange, an apple, hat and scarf and some small toys.
The family gathered around the Christmas tree for the ‘grand opening’ of presents. It was interesting to note this year, like many others before, that most of the presents come from around the world especially China.
We finally sat down for Christmas Dinner at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
You can see what we had on the Woodlands Junior website
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Xmas/dinner.html
It is now 3:30 and we are expecting more relatives to arrive for Christmas tea and a party games. This is one fun filled day of eating, drinking and opening pesents but not forgetting the true meaning of Christmas.
Merry Christmas to one and all
The children were the first to wake this morning. They were so excited to find out what Father Christmas had brought them. Their Christmas stockings were bulging with presents.
They got the usual presents such as a chocolate orange, an apple, hat and scarf and some small toys.
The family gathered around the Christmas tree for the ‘grand opening’ of presents. It was interesting to note this year, like many others before, that most of the presents come from around the world especially China.
We finally sat down for Christmas Dinner at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
You can see what we had on the Woodlands Junior website
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Xmas/dinner.html
It is now 3:30 and we are expecting more relatives to arrive for Christmas tea and a party games. This is one fun filled day of eating, drinking and opening pesents but not forgetting the true meaning of Christmas.
Merry Christmas to one and all
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Princess Diana and Queen of England
The following question was sent by Jerry from the USA
Could Princess Diana, if she had lived, ever have become Queen of England?
Yes, she would have been if she was still married to Prince Charles. (Please note there is not a Monarch of England. The Queen today is the Queen of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland)
When a Prince becomes King his wife is known as the Queen so we have a King and Queen. The Queen in this case is officially a Queen consort which means she has no constitutional statue or power.
(A notable exception to this rule is that of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. It was announced that, in the event of Charles’s ascent to the British throne, Camilla would assume the title of Princess Consort, not Queen Consort (although the legality of this under existing statutes has been called into question).
When a Princess becomes Queen, such as did our present Queen, her husband is not known as a King but instead as a Prince. (a prince consort). The present Queen’s husband is Prince Philip.
Could Princess Diana, if she had lived, ever have become Queen of England?
Yes, she would have been if she was still married to Prince Charles. (Please note there is not a Monarch of England. The Queen today is the Queen of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland)
When a Prince becomes King his wife is known as the Queen so we have a King and Queen. The Queen in this case is officially a Queen consort which means she has no constitutional statue or power.
(A notable exception to this rule is that of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. It was announced that, in the event of Charles’s ascent to the British throne, Camilla would assume the title of Princess Consort, not Queen Consort (although the legality of this under existing statutes has been called into question).
When a Princess becomes Queen, such as did our present Queen, her husband is not known as a King but instead as a Prince. (a prince consort). The present Queen’s husband is Prince Philip.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Special Days Around the World
We have written about many of the special days in England on our website.
Linda wrote to tell us about special days in her country, Australia:
“Thank you Woodlands Junior School for your wonderful website. I was looking all over the internet for the date of Mothers Day next year for the calendar I send to my parents in England-I like to write a little message on the days that are special to them and me-and I couldnt find it until I looked in your website. Thank you too for the information about the Simnel Cake, I have often wondered the significance of it.
Here in Australia, when we go to church on Mothers Day, which is the 2nd Sunday in May (13th next year 2007) we Mums get presented with small handmade items, like flowers or bookmarks. I have a bookmark that has some pretty beads threaded onto a length of plaited embroidery silks.
Fathers Day is the 1st Sunday in September and small handmade items are given to Dads when they arrive at church too.
And because I now live in a country that has palm trees, on Palm Sunday, we are sometimes given small crosses made from palm leaves. I am english but I moved here in 1991. I live in a small suburb called Bethania, which is about 35kms from the city of Brisbane, on the southside, in the state of Queensland. Qld is on the east coast of Australia.
Christmas
All our grade 12 young people finished school mid November, our grade 10 & 11s finished on 1 December and the primaries (Juniors) will finish the first or second week of December. This is the end of our school year, which begins at the end of January, so our main summer holiday is December and January. When you are having your main summer holiday, we have a couple of weeks winter holiday. For the temperature to drop to 0, you have to be up on the ranges (high ground) and usually heading west. The further up the State you travel, the warmer it gets because you are heading towards the equator. If we go South into New South Wales, in winter, we will find snow. And I believe a lot of schools include a “snow trip” for the seniors. There are people here who have never seen snow, except in pictures.
On 26 January, we will all be out and about celebrating “Australia Day“. It is a public holiday here and families and friends get together and BBQ (barbecue)in their backyards, in parks (all parks have BBQ facilities) and on the beach.
Another special day here is Anzac Day, that too is a public holiday, for the purpose of remembering all those people who fought and died in many wars for freedom of all people and to stop injustice. We have parades here, just like you will see parades in November for Remembrance Day, but here the children and grandchildren and even great grandchildren will march alongside the veterans, wearing the medals of the grand/parents. The parades are usually held very early in the morning, just as the day dawns. Special Anzac services will be held in schools the day before.
The other main public holiday we celebrate, in all the states, is “Show Day“. Each State will hold an annual show that last for around ten days, its when the country people come to the city and show us some of their way of life. They bring their cattle, sheep, dogs, fruit and veggies, chooks (chickens)and horses. Here in Qld it is called the “Ekka”, short for Exhibition and the different suburbs of Brisbane will have a day set aside to go to the show. The show in Brisbane is held mid August. There is also a fair at the show and a whole pavilion set aside for “show bags”. Once these were free and held merchants samples, now they cost anything from $2.50 up to $50, depending on what is in the bag you want. They usually contain sweets (lollies)and a toy, maybe something to write on or colour in.
We celebrate Easter and Christmas at the same time you do, the only difference is the climate. This is a really long comment but I thought you might like to hear a little of our culture.
Merry Christmas, happy holidays and God Bless you each.”
Linda
Please tell us about the special days in your country.
Linda wrote to tell us about special days in her country, Australia:
“Thank you Woodlands Junior School for your wonderful website. I was looking all over the internet for the date of Mothers Day next year for the calendar I send to my parents in England-I like to write a little message on the days that are special to them and me-and I couldnt find it until I looked in your website. Thank you too for the information about the Simnel Cake, I have often wondered the significance of it.
Here in Australia, when we go to church on Mothers Day, which is the 2nd Sunday in May (13th next year 2007) we Mums get presented with small handmade items, like flowers or bookmarks. I have a bookmark that has some pretty beads threaded onto a length of plaited embroidery silks.
Fathers Day is the 1st Sunday in September and small handmade items are given to Dads when they arrive at church too.
And because I now live in a country that has palm trees, on Palm Sunday, we are sometimes given small crosses made from palm leaves. I am english but I moved here in 1991. I live in a small suburb called Bethania, which is about 35kms from the city of Brisbane, on the southside, in the state of Queensland. Qld is on the east coast of Australia.
Christmas
All our grade 12 young people finished school mid November, our grade 10 & 11s finished on 1 December and the primaries (Juniors) will finish the first or second week of December. This is the end of our school year, which begins at the end of January, so our main summer holiday is December and January. When you are having your main summer holiday, we have a couple of weeks winter holiday. For the temperature to drop to 0, you have to be up on the ranges (high ground) and usually heading west. The further up the State you travel, the warmer it gets because you are heading towards the equator. If we go South into New South Wales, in winter, we will find snow. And I believe a lot of schools include a “snow trip” for the seniors. There are people here who have never seen snow, except in pictures.
On 26 January, we will all be out and about celebrating “Australia Day“. It is a public holiday here and families and friends get together and BBQ (barbecue)in their backyards, in parks (all parks have BBQ facilities) and on the beach.
Another special day here is Anzac Day, that too is a public holiday, for the purpose of remembering all those people who fought and died in many wars for freedom of all people and to stop injustice. We have parades here, just like you will see parades in November for Remembrance Day, but here the children and grandchildren and even great grandchildren will march alongside the veterans, wearing the medals of the grand/parents. The parades are usually held very early in the morning, just as the day dawns. Special Anzac services will be held in schools the day before.
The other main public holiday we celebrate, in all the states, is “Show Day“. Each State will hold an annual show that last for around ten days, its when the country people come to the city and show us some of their way of life. They bring their cattle, sheep, dogs, fruit and veggies, chooks (chickens)and horses. Here in Qld it is called the “Ekka”, short for Exhibition and the different suburbs of Brisbane will have a day set aside to go to the show. The show in Brisbane is held mid August. There is also a fair at the show and a whole pavilion set aside for “show bags”. Once these were free and held merchants samples, now they cost anything from $2.50 up to $50, depending on what is in the bag you want. They usually contain sweets (lollies)and a toy, maybe something to write on or colour in.
We celebrate Easter and Christmas at the same time you do, the only difference is the climate. This is a really long comment but I thought you might like to hear a little of our culture.
Merry Christmas, happy holidays and God Bless you each.”
Linda
Please tell us about the special days in your country.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Exchange Rates
The strength of the pound against the dollar at the moment means huge savings for British people Christmas shopping in the US. However, did you know that there is a £145 allowance? British people buying more than £145 pounds worth of goods have to pay import duty and VAT which could add 20% to the bill on their return trip!
For more information on pound sterling visit our pages about Money in Britain
For more information on pound sterling visit our pages about Money in Britain
Friday, December 01, 2006
When is Twelfth Night?
The date of Twelfth Night has and still does confuses people. It is important for us to know when Tweflth Night is because it is the time when all Christmas decorations have to be taken down by.
We received the following message from Brian, who has an answer to the confusion:
It is only with our modern understanding of astronomy and timekeeping that we start a new day in the middle of the night. We have all been taught this for generations so it seems logical to us and the resulting confusion is all our fault. However to anyone not so indoctrinated it would make no sense whatsoever. It is far more obvious that the day ends when the sun goes down and that the oncoming night is the beginning of the next day. To our ancient ancestors that was true of every day, not just special holidays. So there was no intention on anyone’s part of celebrating the previous night as a holiday. The night was actually part of the holiday. Nor would there be any significance for 6pm, especially in northern Europe where it would be hours after sunset. Rather December 25, Christmas, started at sunset on December 24. They considered this to be Christmas Evening (or Christmas Eve). Christmas would then continue until nightfall on the 25th which started St..Stephen’s Day, the first of the twelve celebratory days of Christmas.
Likewise the Twelfth night after Christmas would have been to them the evening starting January 6, Epiphany, the twelfth and final day of the Christmas season.
Brian
We received the following message from Brian, who has an answer to the confusion:
It is only with our modern understanding of astronomy and timekeeping that we start a new day in the middle of the night. We have all been taught this for generations so it seems logical to us and the resulting confusion is all our fault. However to anyone not so indoctrinated it would make no sense whatsoever. It is far more obvious that the day ends when the sun goes down and that the oncoming night is the beginning of the next day. To our ancient ancestors that was true of every day, not just special holidays. So there was no intention on anyone’s part of celebrating the previous night as a holiday. The night was actually part of the holiday. Nor would there be any significance for 6pm, especially in northern Europe where it would be hours after sunset. Rather December 25, Christmas, started at sunset on December 24. They considered this to be Christmas Evening (or Christmas Eve). Christmas would then continue until nightfall on the 25th which started St..Stephen’s Day, the first of the twelve celebratory days of Christmas.
Likewise the Twelfth night after Christmas would have been to them the evening starting January 6, Epiphany, the twelfth and final day of the Christmas season.
Brian
Campaign for a Real Christmas
Our students enjoy finding out about the meaning of Christmas. They want to know why we do the things we do at Christmas. Who invented the Christmas card and the Christmas Cracker? Why do we decorate a Christmas tree? Their list of questions is endless but they all know why we celebrate Christmas. They all know the true meaning of Christmas.
We live in a society where the true meaning of Christmas can be lost. Christmas today has not only become commercialised but it also has started to change. The traditions we have taken for granted and have been passed down from generation to generation are, very sadly, being replaced with a ‘politically correct’ version or, even worse, stopped altogether.
This year a campaign to save traditions of Christmas from pollically-correct interference has been launched in the UK by Christians and Muslim leaders.
Notorious local authority attempts to stamp out Christmas include Birmingham’s decision to name its seasonal celebrations ‘Winterval’ and Luton’s attempt to change Christmas into a Harry Potter festival by renaming its lights ‘luminos’.
Read more about how oganisations have tried to obliterate Christmas from the calendar on our Politically Correct Christmas page
We live in a society where the true meaning of Christmas can be lost. Christmas today has not only become commercialised but it also has started to change. The traditions we have taken for granted and have been passed down from generation to generation are, very sadly, being replaced with a ‘politically correct’ version or, even worse, stopped altogether.
This year a campaign to save traditions of Christmas from pollically-correct interference has been launched in the UK by Christians and Muslim leaders.
Notorious local authority attempts to stamp out Christmas include Birmingham’s decision to name its seasonal celebrations ‘Winterval’ and Luton’s attempt to change Christmas into a Harry Potter festival by renaming its lights ‘luminos’.
Read more about how oganisations have tried to obliterate Christmas from the calendar on our Politically Correct Christmas page
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
