Great Britain covers about 94,200 square miles (slightly less than the state of Oregon), while England itself has a land area of 50,871 square miles.

The Highlands of England are part of Europe's oldest mountain chain (called the Caledonian system), extending from the Lake District across Ireland, northern Wales and Scotland, and into Scandinavia.

Lowlands, rolling and broken by hills and low cliffs, are predominant landscape features in England. The Lowlands contain both agricultural land and a densely populated industrial region. The most heavily industrial regions are the plains of Central England called the Midlands, the coal-bearing areas of the North, and the London area.

The climate in Great Britain is generally mild and temperate due to the prevailing southwesterly winds. The weather is subject to frequent changes, however. Temperatures range from a mean of about 40 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter months to about 60 degrees in the summer.

Britain's incorporation into the Roman Empire after the Roman invasion in 55 B.C. drew Britain into her first active relationship with the Continent. With the fall of the Roman Empire, Britain was vulnerable to periodic attacks until the Norman Conquest of 1066. The development of London as a political, administrative, cultural, and economic center began during this period of Norman rule.

Wales, Scotland, and Ireland were all originally independent kingdoms. English rule over Wales was established in 1282; the practice of naming the Crown Prince of England the Prince of Wales was instituted in 1301 in order to appease the Welsh. The union between the two nations was completed in 1536. England and Scotland were united under one crown in 1603 when James VI of Scotland became James I of England, succeeding his cousin Elizabeth I. In 1707 England and Scotland took the common name of Great Britain, and the Union Jack became the national flag. Dissension between the English and the Irish began in the twelfth century, but the legislative union between Great Britain and Ireland was finally completed in 1801 under the name of the United Kingdom. In 1921 the Anglo-Irish treaty established the Irish Free State, while the six northern and predominantly Protestant Irish counties remained a part of the United Kingdom.

Britain's influence was expanding not only close to home but world wide. The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 firmly established Britain as a major sea power, enabling her not only to protect British trade, but to open up new trade routes. Britain's interest was first attracted to the Far East by the spice trade. It was the search for a better trade route which brought John Cabot to the North American continent in 1498. The British Empire has established most of her territory by the time of the American Revolution. The years of growth following the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 brought the United Kingdom to the peak of her power and influence. World War I drastically depleted British resources and undermined the United Kingdom's ability to maintain her dominant role of the previous century. In 1926 the British Commonwealth of Nations was founded when Australia, Canada, and New Zealand gained complete independence, and in 1947 the United Kingdom began an orderly withdrawal from her former colonies.

The British constitution is unwritten, based partially on statute, partially on common law, and on traditions going back to the Magna Carta of 1215.

Executive power is exercised by cabinet ministers selected primarily from among members of the House of Commons, though occasionally from the House of Lords. The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party in the Commons.

Parliament represents the whole country and enacts legislation for the entire country or for any part of it. The maximum term is five years, but the Prime Minister can dissolve Parliament and call for a general election at any time. There are 635 members in the House of Commons which is the focus of all legislative power and controls all financial legislation. The House of Lords has little real power, though it can review, amend, or delay legislation except bills concerning finance. One of its most important functions is to debate public issues.

The judiciary acts independently of the legislative and executive branches of the government, but it has no power equivalent to that of our Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of legislation.

The Labour Party led by Prime Minister Tony Blair is currently the majority party.

The Conservative Party is the Labours' opposition. The Liberal Party offers itself as a moderate alternative to the two leading political parties.

City of Birmingham Facts

Birmingham is Britain’s second largest city, with over 1 million people. It is rich in history and is also one of Europe’s most modern cities. Birmingham was an important military camp during Roman times. It has been a market center since the twelfth century and an industrial hub since the sixteenth century, when it was already known for its wool processing and metal working. England’s Industrial Revolution took root here, and by 1850 many of the city’s 250,000 people toiled in foundries and workshops.

Birmingham’s industrial heritage is based around engineering and the skills of making jewelry, guns, swords, buckles and buttons. Many of these crafts still form a part of Birmingham’s economy with the addition of major industries such as food and drink production through Cadbury and automobile component manufacture with the Rover Group at Longbridge.

The city has successfully diversified its economic base, however, and no longer relies solely on heavy industry. The International Convention Centre which opened in 1991 is Britain’s first purpose-built conference complex and is one of the largest in Europe. The city hosts a number of national and international events annually. The National Indoor Arena (NIA) is Britain’s premier sports arena, where world athletic events, as well as rock concerts and other musical events, are held. The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) hosts such events as Britain’s annual automobile show and the annual international Crufts dog show. The world-class Symphony Hall is the home of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Ballet, opera, musicals, and a wide range of theatre productions abound in Birmingham.

Other attractions include the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery which has an outstanding collection, Sea World Aquarium, a working Railway Museum, the National Motorcyle Museum, and Cadbury World which traces the history of chocolate and the Bournville Cadbury factory.

The 1991 census showed Birmingham to have an ethnic minority population of just over 20%. This number has grown significantly in the last decade. The largest group has its roots in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh; another large group is African or Afro-Caribbean in origin. This diversity lends itself to a wealth of cultural opportunities in Birmingham including abundant ethnic restaurants, cultural festivals, and a wide variety of arts and musical events.

For more information on Birmingham, check its official website at http://www.birmingham.gov.uk.

The University of Birmingham

(adapted from the information in its website at http://www.bham.ac.uk)

The University of Birmingham was founded in 1900 by the citizens of Birmingham who wanted their own university to train and educate the people who would create and manage the burgeoning businesses and industries of the Midlands. It was natural, given the nature of Birmingham's industry, that the University should, from the start, teach the major scientific and engineering disciplines. It was also the first British university to establish a Faculty of Commerce and incorporate a medical school. The modern university is equally distinguished in the humanities, education, social sciences and law. It is recognized as one of the leading research-based universities in the United Kingdom.

The main university campus at Edgbaston is outstanding among British universities. It is spacious and attractive with lawns, trees, a lake and pleasant spaces between the different buildings. It was one of the first 'redbrick' universities and is said to be the origin of the term. The buildings, which reflect changing architectural styles through the twentieth century, are grouped around the central Chancellor's Court with the 100 metre high Chamberlain clock tower which honours the University's first Chancellor, Joseph Chamberlain. The spectacular Great Hall and Aston Webb Crescent are buildings of self confidence and majesty.

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts on the Edgbaston campus houses an important collection of works of art. Its contents range from the 13th to 20th centuries and include paintings, sculpture, furniture and objects d'art. The institute is open to the public and has a concert hall where there are lunchtime and evening concerts. The large university orchestra and choir give regular concerts. There are many public drama performances, recitals and lectures throughout the year.

The university has some of the best sports facilities in the United Kingdom. These include a swimming pool, sports halls, athletics track, gymnasia and squash courts, as well as state of the art water based hockey pitches. There are playing fields and a golf driving range. At Coniston in the Lake District, the University has an outdoor pursuits centre.

The nearby Selly Oak campus is situated on a beautiful ‘garden' site just five miles from the City centre. The spacious eighty acre site is green and leafy, with an interesting mix of old and new buildings, including the state of the art Orchard Learning Resources Centre. Originally the site of Westhill College, it became a part of the University in 1999.

Westhill (http://www.westhill.ac.uk) was founded in 1907 by George Hamilton, a Canadian Presbyterian, with the full support of the local Quaker benefactor, chocolate manufacturer George Cadbury, who gave the land. George Cadbury played a major part in the creation and development of both Westhill and the University, and Cadbury Trusts continue to play a major part in education at Selly Oak today.

At the start the two institutions performed very different functions but, as Westhill became more and more concerned with professional training, its work developed more and more like that of the university. In 1947 Westhill became a founder member of the University of Birmingham Institute of Education, formed by all the teacher training agencies in the area. Rather later Westhill became a validated college, and in 1994, it became a college fully accredited by the university.

In such ways the two institutions have increasingly been working together, leading up to the establishment of a strategic alliance on 1 August 1999 with both staff and students at Westhill becoming staff and students of the university. The alliance reinforces and renews the academic strengths of both institutions; provides a major development for the benefit of Birmingham and the Midlands region; facilitates initiatives in continuing education, work experience placements, new part time programmes, and other access initiatives, alongside existing degree programmes. This campus is now know as the Selly Oak Campus of the University of Birmingham.

THIS ARTICLE IS BEING REPRINTED, WITH PERMISSION FROM THE ROTARIAN MAGAZINE, FOR USE BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, DULUTH.

This Article by Jo Nugent appeared in the January, 1984, edition of The Rotarian. While outdated in some minor details, it gives the reader a good introduction to the Birmingham.

Heart of England

In defining "English Traits" in 1847, Ralph Waldo Emerson called the Englishman "the man of all men who stands firmest in his shoes"...a man of "pluck" who had applied machinery "to all work ... mines, forges, mills, breweries, railroads". . giving "a mechanical regularity" to all. But he also saw a man of "aplomb," whose self assurance resulted from "a good adjustment of moral and physical nature."

In essence, Emerson was describing the men of Birmingham, the 19th century giants who were making their city and the "Heart of England" the forge of the Industrial Revolution and the "Workshop of the World." Birmingham's great industry had lured such inventive geniuses as Joseph Priestley, the chemist who discovered oxygen; the printer John Bask erville; the Cadburys, whose famous chocolate is still manufactured here; William Murdock, the inventor of gas lighting; James Watt, who perfected the steam engine; John Austin, the automotive pioneer; and Matthew Boulton, who brought new concepts to manufacturing.

But along with the roar of industrial progress and the smoke and dust had come the inevitable by product, the overpopulated misery of the city slum. Here is where the men of Birmingham displayed their well adjusted "moral and physical nature" and, with inspired reformers like Joseph Chamberlain at the helm, initiated an ambitious program of slum clearance, setting up school and fire boards and other municipal improvements. In 1890, following the building of the city's famous Law Courts, another American observer called Birmingham "the best governed city in the world," and in 1911, the city fathers introduced England's first townplanning scheme.

Modern Birmingham is still a business and manufacturing giant, but if you come here today expecting a smoke grimed cauldron of industry, you are in for a happy enlightenment. This clean, modern city of more than a million inhabitants bears little trace of its sooty beginnings. Modern technology and judicious planning and rebuilding have brought the city high quality of life as well as high standards of achievement. "Forward" is Birmingham's motto and it is an objective that fits. This is a progressive city in every way with an eye on the arts as well as the sciences. Its symphony orchestra is one of the best in the country and its museum system is unusual and varied, combining pride in the past with the promise of the future. As befits its history, Birmingham has the finest industrial history collections to be found anywhere. Its Museum of Science and Industry houses one of the world's best records of industrial development, from steam engines to computers. Its Railway Museum is another treasure, as is the Sarehole Mill an 18th century waterpowered corn mill, now restored to working order. J.R.R. Tolkien played there as a boy and his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy reflects his boyhood fascination with the mill.

Birmingham's City Museum and Art Gallery has the world's prime collection of Pre Raphaelite paintings and drawings, including the works of native son Edward Coley Burne Jones. The city also boasts such architectural masterpieces as Aston Hall, a Jacobean mansion containing examples of 17th , 18th , and 19th century furniture, and ceilings of exquisite plaster work. Aston Hall is undergoing complete restoration and will be in mint condition by convention time.

Another treasure well perserved from the region's industrial past is the network of canals which opened in Birmingham in 1786 and out of which grew an extensive waterways system connecting the city with the Thames, the Trent, the Humber, the Mersey, and the Severn. Today the canal network offers a wide choice of holidays afloat to vacationers. All told, the region has more canals than Venice.

On the futuristic side, nothing could be more technically avant garde than Birmingham's new exhibition complex, which of course will be the venue for Rotary's convention, 3 6 June. In addition to its truly "state of the art" meeting and program facilities, the National Exhibition Centre offers adjacency to large hotels, an international railway station, and a new international airport terminal. The latter will be open just in time for the convention. A unique feature of the new terminal is the Maglev "people mover," an elevated device which will whisk you from the airport to the convention complex or the railway station in a matter of minutes by means of a frictionless magnetic suspension system.

The rolling hills and meadowlands surrounding Birmingham and the villages nestled among them are visual delights. Visitors are enchanted by the village names, most of AngloSaxon and wool trade ancestry: Wootton Wawen, Chipping Campden, Great Alne, Ross on Wye which sound to the non-British ear like words from a magical language concocted by an imaginative sprite.

Finding one's way through the circular maze of roads is a challenge, but the beauty and serenity of the passing scene makes getting lost good sport. Besides, there's usually a good natured bicyclist or a family out for a stroll who will be glad to put you right. There are no garish billboards inviting you to lunch, but just 'round the next bend or two you may find a friendly pub where you can enjoy a "ploughman's lunch" or a shephard's pie and a pint of the local brew. Many of the pubs in the region and the elegant restaurants as well are controlled by the local brewers, such as Mitchells & Butlers and Ansellts.

The countryside can be seen at its best in the Cotswold and Malvern Hills. The distinguishing feature of the Cotswolds is the pale as honey limestone which roams everywhere, facing the walls of manor houses, churches, cottages, barns, ancient mills, and curving along the roads and hills in hundreds of mortarless fences, fitted like intricate jigsaw puzzles by local stone masons. Many of the fences date from medieval times when the Cotswolds were the center of the wool trade and thus England's wealthiest region.

The Malverns are a long ridge of peaks and hollows whose moorlike tops afford one of England's most spectacular views.

As soon as you set foot in Warwickshire, you realize that you are in "Shakespeare's Country." The very atmosphere is romantic, dramatic, inspirational in the shadow of the grand castle, along the quiet river paths, in the gently wooded hills. Here is Warwick Castle with its mighty battlements, its regal staterooms; and private chambers (some newly peopled by Madame Tussaud's), its green lawns and flamboyant peacocks, and its terrible dungeons and torture chambers.

Built in 1068 as a fortress to guard the Midlands against their enemies to the north, this most romantic of English castles even has a "ghost tower." It is haunted by Sir Fulke Greville, who occupied the castle in the 1600's. Sir Fulke was stabbed by a disgruntled servant who didn't make a very clean job of it. It took the poor fellow a month to die, giving him plenty of time to coach his spirit in the art of revenge.

The town of Coventry is famous for its magnificent modern cathedral, consecrated in 1962, which stands beside the bombed out hull of its medieval predecessor. The contrast is awesome.

Equally famed is Coventry's graceful sculpture of Lady Godiva. The Lady is shown mounted on her splendid horse, herself "clothed on with chastity" and nothing else as she rides to intercede with her husband, Leofric, Earl of Mercia, in behalf of the poor.

Coventry is also known for its Museum of British Road Transportation, a monument to the British car industry which has on display some 400 cars, cycles, and commercial and military vehicles.

The heart of Shakespeare's country is Stratford upon-Avon, where the great bard lived and wrote and is buried, and where his matchless plays are still performed. Modern Stratford is a mecca for Shakespearean visitors and scholars from all over the world. The new Shakespeare Centre is most impressive, and failure to see a play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre would be like going to Agra without glimpsing the Taj Mahal.

A necessary stop for visitors interested in industrial archaeology is the "Black Country," so called because it owes its prosperity to its coal fields and other mineral deposits. In the early days of the Industrial Revolution, the Black Country became "a hellish nightmare of fiery furnaces and smoking chimneys." Today it has been transformed again, into a clear aired center of new technology. But the traditions remain and are being carefully preserved in great outdoor museums showing how people lived and worked during the days of smoke and flame. Here the first iron rails were made, the first locomotive built, and the chains forged for the world's largest steamships.

At the restored Victorian township of Blist's Hill, you can visit stores and homes where men, women, and children in period dress carry out the daily routines of yesteryear. You can also see the great Ironbridge Gorge with its famous bridge over the Severn and its blast furnace, and the factories where England's exquisite china and crystal are produced.

Yes, pleasures abound in the Heart of England, including plenty of intellectual stimulation. Although the countryside may be almost fictional in its beauty, the people are very real warm, friendly, helpful, and intensely interested in a guest's every want and need.

So when you travel here in June, first enjoy Birmingham itself to the hilt, then take the advice of an earlier visitor named Washington Irving: "The stranger'who would form a correct opinion of the English character must not confine his observations to the Metropolis. He must sojourn in villages and hamlets ... visit castles, villas, farmhouses...wander through parks and gardens ... The English ... possess a quick sensibility to the beauties of nature." Truer words were never written.

American and British Words and Phrases

Although it is generally assumed that the Americans and English speak the same language, when you meet a true Brummie for the first time or ask a Cockney for directions, you may question whether that assumption is correct. The following is a list of words and phrases and their standard British counterparts:

American	British
apartment	flat/digs (refers to where you live)
baked potato	jacket potato
ball point pen	biro
Band-Aid	plaster
bar	pub ("free house" pub serves a variety of brands)
barrette	hair slide
bathroom (toilet)	loo or toilet
bath	room with a bathtub/shower
beef and potato pie	Cornish pasty
beer	lager closest to our beer bitter dark ale mild dark ale, sweeter than "bitter" ale not as sweet as our beer
brochure	leaflet
bus	coach
busy signal (phone)	engaged
candy	sweets
check (restaurant)	bill
check room (train)	left luggage
cigarettes	fags
cookies	biscuits
dentist's office	surgery
dessert	sweets
diaper	nappy
dinner (evening meal)	supper or tea
direction signals (blinkers)	winkers
divided highway	dual motorway or dual carriageway
doctor's office	surgery
drugstore	chemist
editorial (news)	leader
eggplant	aubergine
elevator	lift
eraser	rubber
excellent	brilliant
"excuse me"	sorry
exit	way out
faucet	tap
fender of a car	wing
first floor	ground floor
for hire	to let
four lane highway	dual carriage way
freeway/interstate	motorway
french fries	chips
garage/yard sale	jumble sale
garbage/trash	rubbish
garbage can	dustbin
gasoline	petrol
goodbye	cheers/cheerio
ground meat	mince
ground beef and mashed potatoes	Shepherd's pie
guy	bloke/geezer
highway intersection (circular)	roundabout
hood of a car	bonnet
jello	jelly
jelly	jam
jumper (dress)	pinafore
kerosene	paraffin
line of people	queue ("q")
line up	queue up
liquor store	off license
long distance call	trunk call
lunch	dinner
mailbox	pillar box/post bo
make fun of	piss (take the piss out of)
mashed potato and cabbage	bubble and squeak
meatball	faggot
mom	mum
movies	pictures
napkin	serviette
nosh	food
nylons/pantyhose	tights
nylons (knee highs)	pop sox
one room apartment	bedsit
one way ticket	single ticket
orchestra tickets	stalls
pamphlet	leaflet
pants or slacks	trousers
parking lot	car park
pedestrian crossing	zebra crossing
pedestrian passage (underground)	subway
police officer	bobby/cop/copper
potato chips	crisps
pound (money)	quid
problematic	dicey/dodgy
pullover sweater	jumper
pumps (women's shoes)	court shoes
quilted vest	body warmer
railroad car	coach/carriage
raincoat	mackintosh
rent ("to rent")	to let
rental (car rental)	hire (car hire)
restroom	toilet/loo/W.C. (water closet)
roadside stop	lay by
round trip	return
sausage	banger
second floor	first floor
sedan (car)	saloon
shopping bag	carrier bag
shrimp (regular)	prawn
shrimp (large)	scampi
sidewalk	pavement
"silverware"/flatware	cutlery
sneakers	trainers/plimsoles
station wagon	estate
steal	nik
stove	cooker
subway	underground/tube
sweater	jumper
telephone (to call someone)	ring up
telephone booth	phone box/callbox
television	telly
tennis shoes	training shoes/trainers
thank you	ta/cheers
tired/worn out	knackered
to call someone on the phone	to ring them
to visit someone at home	to call
toilet	loo/W.C.
toilet paper	loo roll
trash can	dustbin
truck	lorry
trunk of the car	boot
turn signal	winker/indicator
two lane highway	dual carriageway
two weeks	a fortnight
ugly person	minger
umbrella	brolly
underground walkway	subway
underpants (women's)	knickers
undershirt	vest
underwear (men's)	pants
value added tax	VAT (Nat'l sales tax)
vest	waistcoat
visit	knock up/to call
washcloth	flannel
windbreaker	wind cheater
windshield	windscreen
wrench	spanner
yield	give away
z (the letter)	zed
zucchini	courgettes
7 up or Sprite	lemonade
16 oz = 1 pint 20 oz = 1 pint
128 oz = 1 gallon 160 oz = 1 gallon
14 pounds (weight) =1 stone

Note: some of these terms are used solely in Birmingham. You will find that each region has its own dialect. Who said you didn't need a foreign language to enroll in this programme?

When writing the date use day month year: (12 February, 1995)

Spoken times: 7:30 = "half seven"
1:15 = "quarter past one"