Things British....

Magna-Carta said:
Why oh why was it that as soon as I saw this thread start yetserday, I thought it was going to ends in tears (not you perChance). Not literally tears, but I’m sure you understand the saying.

To be clear, if anyone wants to contribute, in your own way, to any thread I have started or will start in the future, then please do so. Not that you need my permission, for anything. When it comes to contributing to a thread, ‘the more the merrier’. Well, I say merrier?

Anyway, just to add some clarity to the "Lord Mayor of the city of London” & the “Mayor of London”, in a “Things British....” kind of way. They are very much two different things – they are mayors of two different cities.

It might be easier to understand if I break it down in to bullet points:

* The boundary of the “City of London” was originally Roman. (Londinium)
* London as you might understand it grew up around the “City of London”.
* The “City of London” is only about one square mile & sits next to the River Thames, within London.
* You & I can easily enter the “City of London”, but the reigning monarch cannot enter without permission form the Lord Mayer – for one thousand year old historic reasons.

This 5 minute video will explain the rest:

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I learned something by this I never knew before. Plus, it was a fun video. Thanks, @Magna-Carta.
 
hollydolly said:
lol..Warri... but of course I'm sure you realise the video I posted was actually a bunch of various accents from Scotland across to Ireland, and the north and south of England.. :ROFLMAO:
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Yes, I did. We were friends with a couple from Northern Ireland years ago. When I first met them I couldn't understand a word they said. After I had said 'Pardon?' twice I would just pretend that I did.

Eventually I was able to tune in to the accent which I do find delightful, however they moved to Western Australia and I stopped hearing it. When we met up again some years later, I was back to square one and had to listen very carefully once again.

I really love the musicality of the Northern Irish accent.
 
Warrigal said:
Yes, I did. We were friends with a couple from Northern Ireland years ago. When I first met them I couldn't understand a word they said. After I had said 'Pardon?' twice I would just pretend that I did.

Eventually I was able to tune in to the accent which I do find delightful, however they moved to Western Australia and I stopped hearing it. When we met up again some years later, I was back to square one and had to listen very carefully once again.

I really love the musicality of the Northern Irish accent.
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. I have a particular fondness for Northern Irish as it's where all my grandparents and ancestors were from.. they moved across the sea to Scotland during the Potato famine with thousands of others.. in the late 1800's...

Of course Scotland being so close to Ireland I grew up with as many Irish as I did Scots.. :D
 
Warrigal said:
Yes, I did. We were friends with a couple from Northern Ireland years ago. When I first met them I couldn't understand a word they said. After I had said 'Pardon?' twice I would just pretend that I did.

Eventually I was able to tune in to the accent which I do find delightful, however they moved to Western Australia and I stopped hearing it. When we met up again some years later, I was back to square one and had to listen very carefully once again.

I really love the musicality of the Northern Irish accent.
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Interesting. As a Canadian, I have no trouble understanding Irish or Scottish accents. It's most (not all) English accents that I have trouble with.
 
hollydolly said:
. I have a particular fondness for Northern Irish as it's where all my grandparents and ancestors were from.. they moved across the sea to Scotland during the Potato famine with thousands of others.. in the late 1800's...

Of course Scotland being so close to Ireland I grew up with as many Irish as I did Scots.. :D
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Interesting. My ancestors came from County Wexford in the south of Ireland, moved to London, then Yorkshire. Another branch left Scotland and moved to Yorkshire. Yet another lot moved from Wales to Yorkshire. They all ended up in Hull.
 
Lavinia said:
Interesting. My ancestors came from County Wexford in the south of Ireland, moved to London, then Yorkshire. Another branch left Scotland and moved to Yorkshire. Yet another lot moved from Wales to Yorkshire. They all ended up in Hull.
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All of my grandparents were from Fermanagh.. :D ..
 


When British people talk about our most prestigious universities, we refer to them simply as Oxbridge. So equal are they in standing, status, and reputation that we tend to amalgamate them into an amorphous mass of higher education.

However, placing them on such equal footing would be a transgression close to blasphemy to a student of these two schools. For centuries, Oxford and Cambridge have continued a healthy rivalry that has brought the two closer together in its own strange way.

From the boat race to University Challenge, competition has helped Cambridge and Oxford to push their limits and produce some of the most important students in the world!

Without a doubt, Oxford is the older of the two universities. Though it has no official founding date, teaching at Oxford has been recorded as early as 1096. The masters teaching on the site were officially recognised as universitas in 1231.

The official rivalry began when, in the late 12th century, a mass of Oxford masters fled from the town. The story goes that two scholars were hanged by the townsfolk without trial following the mysterious death of a local woman. Looking for a safe haven, the scholars found themselves in Cambridge and decided to continue their practices there. Fast forward more than eight hundred years, and the two universities continue to be recognized as among the best in the world.

Between them, Oxford and Cambridge have produced some of the most influential and celebrated alumni in the history of the world.

Very proud and happy to say I graduated from Oxford…

 
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Jamala said:
King Charles and Queen Camilla are to have their own new unique thrones during the Coronation ceremony. During the crowning and anointing section of the ceremony, King Charles will sit in the historic Coronation Chair.

The Coronation Chair in St George’s Chapel is one of the most precious and famous pieces of furniture in the world. It has been the centre piece of coronations for over 700 years and is placed in the centre of the Abbey, in front of the High Altar.

The Coronation Chair was made by order of King Edward I to enclose the famous Stone of Scone, which he brought from Scotland to the Abbey in 1296, where he placed it in the care of the Abbot of Westminster.

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Diana had it right when she called Camilla a rottweiler!
 

Gilbert and Sullivan are a British institution. Even if one doesn’t care much for Opera, the charm and comedy of G & S operettas captivate the most discerning theatregoer.

For nearly 150 years, this brilliant duo have influenced popular culture in the English speaking world. Lines and quotations from the Gilbert and Sullivan operas have become part of the English language, such as : "What never? Well, hardly ever!", "Let the punishment fit the crime", and "A policeman's lot is not a happy one” and many others all came from G & S Operettas.

Librettist W.S. Gilbert wrote the words and composer Sir Arthur Sullivan wrote the score for their fourteen operas, in a collaboration that lasted 25 years! H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado are among the best known and loved and performed nowadays all over the world.

The Mikado is a tale set in Japan. Nanki-Poo (son of the Mikado), loves Yum-Yum, although she is betrothed to Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner of Titipu. When the Mikado (the Emperor) orders a beheading, Nanki-Poo agrees to lose his head so long as he can be married to Yum-Yum for a month. Katisha isn’t happy about this arrangement as she wants to marry Nanki-Poo herself!

The Mikado arrives, believing his son to have been beheaded, and states the only way Nanki-Poo can come back to life is if Katisha marries someone else – Ko-Ko obliges. Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum then appear as husband and wife, and everyone is happy!

I have just been asked to play the part of Yum Yum in a production of the Mikado which I have accepted. Although I have played this part before in London and was much younger, I am looking forward to the challenge and wearing a kimono again ! Yum Yum’s aria …The Sun Whose rays…”

 

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