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Tea is the Most Popular Drink in Britain

Everyone knows that tea is the most popular drink in Britain. It's even more popular than coffee, which is favoured throughout Europe and America.The Dutch brought the first tea to Europe in 1610. But it was not until 1658 that the first advertisement for tea appeared in a London newspaper. At that time a pound of the cheapest tea cost about one-third of a skilled worker's weekly wages. Tea was guarded by the lady of the house and kept in special containers, often with a lock and carefully doled out by the teaspoon.By 1750 tea had become the principal drink of all the classes in Britain. Later, tea-drinking developed into a fashionable social ritual. Tea parties were popular at home and soon the ritual of "afternoon tea" was firmly established.Nowadays, throughout the homes, tea shops and hotels of Britain, the custom of tea-time continues. Tea in Britain is brewed in a teapot. Then the one spoonful of tea per person and one for the pot is added.Most people in Britain prefer a rich, strong cup of tea with milk, and sugar is sometimes added to taste.

The British Media

The British Media consists of the press and radio and TV broadcasting.Now a couple of words about papers. First of all there is no subscription. You may buy any on sale. There are two main types of newspapers: the «popular» papers and the «quality» papers.The popular papers are less in size, with many pictures, big headlines and short articles. They are easy to read. They are such papers as «Daily Express», «Daily mail», «Daily Mirror», «Daily Star», «The Sun» and others.The «quality» papers are for more serious readership. These papers are bigger in size, with larger articles and more detailed information. The «quality» papers are - «The Times», «Daily Telegraph», «The Guardian», «Financial Times», «The Independent».In addition to daily papers we have just mentioned above there are Sunday papers. They have a higher circulation than the dailies. Sunday papers in Great Britain are such «quality» papers as «Observer», «Sunday Times», «Sunday Telegraph» and such «popular» papers as: «News of the World», «Sunday Express», «Sunday Mirror», «Mail on Sunday».As far as broadcasting and telecasting are concerned there are two radio and TV stations. The first one - well-known BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation, and the second - IBA - Independent Broadcasting Authorities.The newspapers in Britain are proud of the fact that they are different from each other - each tries to have a definite profile.

Transport in Britain

You can reach England either by plane, by train, by car or by ship. The fastest way is by plane. London has three international airports: Heathrow, the largest, connected to the city by underground; Gatwick, south of London, with a frequent train service; Luton, the smallest, used for charter flights.If you go to England by train or by car you have to cross the Channel. There is a frequent service of steamers and ferryboats which connect the continent to the south-east of England.People in Britain drive on the left and generally overtake on the right. The speed limit is 30 miles per hour (50 km/h) in towns and cities and 70 m.p.h. (110 km/h) on motorways.When you are in London you can choose from four different means of transport: bus, train, underground or taxi. The typical bus in London is a red double-decker. The first London bus started running between " ALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH=260 HEIGHT=249 BORDER=0>