England

England is a country that is part of the UK (United Kingdom) and the Great Britain as well. They speak English, which is the worlds “lingua franca” such as Latin used to be. The name England comes from the Old English name Englaland, which means "land of the Angles”. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages. 

The country of England has about 53 million habitants (2011) distributed on an area of 130 395km2. Their currency is GPB (Pound Sterling), and a little fun fact; they drive on the left side of the road, which equals them driving on the right side in the car-the opposite of what we do.

Generally speaking, the parts of England closest to the Atlantic Ocean experience the mildest temperatures, although these are also the wettest and experience the most wind. The areas in the east, on the other hand, are drier and less windy, but also display cooler temperatures. 

England is warmer and sunnier than any of the other countries making up the United Kingdom. The month with the most sunshine is July, which is also England’s driest month. 

On average, the sun shines for about 1340 hours every year in England. The south coast has the clearest skies (i.e. the least cloud cover) due to the prevailing winds in that area. This means that counties like Kent and Sussex benefit from significantly more sunshine, attracting local and international visitors to their shores. The cloudiest areas are in the northern and western parts of England as well as in the mountainous areas. 

The whole United Kingdom is an island consisting of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and of course England. England borders to Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. Most people do not know the difference between England, The UK and Great Britain. Actually most people, included myself have to admit that they have mistaken the United Kingdom's flag for being the flag of England. 


                  Great Britain                                 England

The capitol city of England is a city that is world known, and among lots of people around the world it is a popular shopping and sightseeing destination. The city is known for its many facilities such as the Big Ben, Madam Tussaud and the London Eye. Yes, the city I am talking about is of course London. When you think of London you might also think of the Buckingham palace. 

England is in fact a monarchy “ruled” by Queen Elizabeth 2^nd.  In reality the queen has no power at all, she just represents the country. The one in power is the prime minister David Cameron which at the age of 43 became the youngest prime minister in 198 years. (!)The Prime Minister simply choses the ministers who run Government departments and chairs the Cabinet – the collection of the most senior of those Ministers. In practice, however, the Prime Minister is a very powerful figure and increasingly has been behaving like a president in other political systems, especially in the area of foreign policy.

In England there are only three parties to vote for. They have the Conservative party, The labour party and The liberal democrats party. In addition to these three main parties, there are some much smaller UK parties like for example the UK Independence Party and the Green Party.

Education in England is overseen by the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Local authorities take responsibility for implementing policy for public education and state schools at a local level.
The education system is divided into nursery (ages 3–4), primary education (ages 4–11), secondary education (ages 11–18) and tertiary education (ages 18+).

Full-time education is compulsory for all children aged between 5 and 16, either at school or otherwise, with a child beginning primary education during the school year he or she turns 5

 England is a highly industrialized economy with a well established trade infrastructure. Ever since colonization started, trade has been the most prominent factor of England’s economy. The legacy has been continued into the New World as well, with strong trading relations with the EU and other western countries.

England, as an industry, produces:

• Machine tools
• Electric power equipment
• Automation equipment
• Railroad equipment
• Ships
• Aircraft
• Motor vehicles and parts
• Electronics and communications equipment
• Metals
• Chemicals
• Coal
• Petroleum
• Paper and paper products
• Processed food
• Textiles

I have been to London once with my family when I was about 7 years old. I enjoyed it a lot, and even though I wasn’t quite a happy shopper as I would be if I would travel to London now, I still found a few shops that I remember very well. One of them being a small store not far away from the Big Ben called “Valentina”. I was so amazed and of course I had to buy something, and even take a few pictures. We saw most of London in a few days and I can remember having a great time. One thing in particular about London is that you see so many different people who totally rock their own style. London is not like Milano or Paris where people are “hipsters” but still in a very fashionable way. In London you can dress however you want. I remember seeing a man looking like Sherlock Holmes walking next to a girl with an enormous amount of hair in every color of the rainbow. To resume London is city full of opportunities and fun things to do. However, the weather could have been better… 

SOURCES: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom, http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/Britishpoliticalsystem.html#Government, http://www.england.org.za/englands-climate.php#.UPZxEh0sCvs, http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/england/export-import.html

Pictures: google.no