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Breaking a UK topic down!
Follow the Erasmus’ adventure in Southampton of the students from the IEMN-IAE, Nantes, France. Every other week, “Breaking it down” tries to make things as clear as possible about a tricky UK topic!
Summary Episode:
Brexit. People are claiming they want their country back: it happened to the UK, could it happen elsewhere?
See you the other week for breaking a topic down! Rdv: 1st December, 9am (Nantes hour) <3
If you ask me for a museum recommendation in Scotland, I would suggest you to go to the National Scottish museum in Edinburgh.
This museum is one of the most interactive I have ever visited.
The museum offers a lot of different exhibitions, so no matter what you are interested in from transport to fashion or animals, there is something for everyone.
If you are in Edinburgh and you don’t want to go and visit a museum it still worth to go in and climb to the 7th floor to enjoy a breathtaking scenery of the city and especially the castle.
The museum is free for everybody.
This week I want to talk about religion in England. Today there are numerous religions practiced within the United Kingdom. However, the predominate religion is the Church of England.
The Church of England is also known as the Anglican Church. It is a Christian religion between Catholics and protestants. For example, followers of the Church of England do not recognize the authority of the Pope. The break with the Catholics occurred in the middle ages because King Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife. However, the pope did not allow King Henry VIII to separate from his wife. This objection led King Henry VIII to start the Church of England.
Religion has a fairly large presence at Keele University. In the middle of campus there is a chapel for Christian students. There is also a small mosque for Muslim students. What is very striking is that the Christian union here is an institution and everyone respects what they say. I think it’s more open than in France where we do not dare to speak of God. Usually the Church is open after huge events. They offer tea and toast to the students coming out of the evening. I found it very strange at the beginning, but it is finally fine to be able to sit in a quiet place and talk a little after a long night out. Christian Union organises many events. Most of these events are spiritual, but they have sporting and cultural events as well. For my part I’m going to mass every Sunday. There’s a great choir so I like going !
See you next time, enjoy your life !
Romain
Within the Keele Church before catholic mass
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland.
There are 2 different districts: the old town where there is the castle and the new town.
Edinburgh Castle
It is situated on the Castle Rock, a volcanic hill.
The gun is fired at 1pm every day except Sundays, Christmas Day or Good Friday, with crowds gathering to enjoy the spectacle.
There are so many places :
-The Great hall: A wonder of medieval Scotland, it was completed in 1511 for James IV. It is the heart of the castle.
-The Royal palace: For kings and queens the palace was a richly decorated and with comfortable furnishing
-St Margaret’s Chapel: It was built around 1130 by David I and dedicated to his mother Queen Margaret. The chapel is still used for christenings and weddings.
-Scottish National War Museum: Commemorating the dead of both world wars and of military campaigns since 1945.
-Prisons of War : Between 1757 and 1815, there were one thousand of French and American prisoners
Edinburgh Castle
The 28-hectares of the Garden are calm and relaxing. This is free except greenhouses
The rhododendrons are one of the main attractions in the garden.
Inside of the futurist greenhouse we can walk on sinuous ways.
Greenhouses
In the botanical Garden we can easily see squirrels.
Squirrel in the Botanical Garden
It is at one hundred metre of altitude. It is called the “Edinburgh Acropolis”
We can see there the National Monument of Scotland. It is the Scotland’s national memorial to the Scottish soldiers and sailors who died fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. It was designed during 1823 – 1826 and is modeled upon the Parthenon in Athens. Construction started in 1826 and, due to the lack of funds, was left unfinished in 1829.
National Monument of Scotland
Palace of holyrood
Palace of Holyroodhouse:
There are many rooms :
-State Apartments
-Throne Room
-Evening Drawing Room
-Morning Drawing Room
-King’s suite
-King’s chamber
-Historic apartments
Holyrood park and Arthur’s seat:
The parks highest point is Arthurs Seat, an ancient volcano, and sits 251m above sea level giving excellent view of the city. This is one of four hill forts dating from around 2000 years ago.
Arthur’s seat
Arthur’s seat
In The Royal Yacht Britannia some of the world’s most famous people came.
It was home for the British Royal Family for over 40 years.
The visit starts at the bridge, after we can discover the Royal Apartments and explore the Crew’s Quarters. The last place is the Engine Room.
The most beautiful places inside are:
-Magnificent Royal Apartments and Royal Bedrooms
-The Sun Lounge: The Queen’s favourite room
Four streets constitute the royal mile: Castle Hill, Lawnmarket, High Street and Canongate. This is the most beautiful and the biggest road.
Glasgow is situated on the River Clyde, in the West Central Lowlands. With its 599 650 inhabitants, it is the largest city of Scotland, and it is a big industrial city.
There are lots of things to see and to visit in Glasgow. So, I am going to present you the main visits to do.
To visit Glasgow, I advise you to do the City Sightseeing Glasgow tour which is a bus that takes you in all the main districts of Glasgow. During the ride, a person tells you the history of Glasgow and its monuments, the translation in French is available. The first bus leaves at 9.30 am and the last bus at 4.30 pm. The price is £12 (if you book online) for 21 stops, you can stop when you want and take another bus after.
Bus City Sightseeing Glasgow
You don’t have time to do all the stops but you can stop at the main places.
First, you can get off at the stop number 2, the Glasgow Cathedral. The entry is free and you can visit the cathedral freely.
Then, you can get off at the stop number 11, SECC. At this stop you can visit the Glasgow Science Centre which contains the Science Mall, a planetarium, Scotland’s biggest-screen IMAX cinema and a Science Show Theatre. The price for the Science Mall is £9, it’s £3 more if you want to visit also the planetarium, and £3.50 more to visit the Glasgow Tower next to the Science Centre.
The Science Centre comprises 3 floors of over 250 science-learning exhibits. It includes interactive exhibits and live laboratory experiences. In the Science Show Theatre there are live science shows with bangs, flashes, flames, crashes and explosions.
The Glasgow Tower is 127 metres high and can rotate at 360 degrees. It is the tallest freely-rotating tower in the world.
After, you can go to the next stop, the Riverside Museum. The Riverside Museum is a museum of transport where you can see old trains, bus, vintage cars, motorbikes and bicycles. You can also walk in an old street of Glasgow with shops dating from 1895 to the 1980’s.
Outside the museum you can visit a sailing ship named the Tall Ship and see how the sailors lived. The entry for the museum and for the boat is free.
Riverside Museum
Riverside Museum
To finish, I advise you to get off at the stop number 16, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. The Kelvingrove is a huge museum with a wide range of objects and collections: exhibitions about natural history, arms and armours, paintings, sculptures… The entry for this museum is free too.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
Enjoy !
Follow the Southampton’s adventure of Marguerite and Guilhem from the IEMN-IAE, Nantes, France.
Summary Episode:
Discover more about the tradition of the Guy Fawkes Night…
Last september with some other international students we decided to rent a car and go to spend a week end in the Isle of Skye. Visiting the Isle of Skye is considered as ” the thing to do in Scotland” according to many touristic guides.
Even if you have to cross all Scotland to go from Dundee to the Isle of Skye I totally recommend taking the trip because the landscapes are absolutely unique. However be careful because the weather is really bad usually over there, so be ready for some hail even in september.
See you next week !
Inverness is situated in the Scottish Highlands (north of Scotland) and it is along the River Ness. The city is one of the 6 biggest cities in Scotland and it is regarded as the capital of the Highlands.
Inverness is a very beautiful city, you really have to visit it.
To start you can see the Inverness castle which is dominating the city centre. The castle is wholly pink and you can enjoy a beautiful view of the city. Today the castle is a courthouse and is not open to the public.
Inverness Castle
In the city you can also visit the St Andrew’s Cathedral which is also pink and is richly decorated.
Near Inverness, there is the famous Loch Ness. The Loch Ness is the second largest Scottish loch with a surface area at 56 km². To enjoy the beauty of the loch, I advise you to do a boat trip on the loch. During the tour, someone tells you the history and the legends of the loch, and maybe you will be able to see the famous Loch Ness Monster if you are lucky! You can do a trip in the journey or the evening, and you can also choose to do a high speed trip. Trips begin at Fort Augustus situated at the other end of the loch.
Loch Ness
Then, you can also visit the Urquhart Castle and the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition, both situated in Drumnadrochit along the Loch Ness.
Urquhart Castle was built in 1230 on a hill along the Loch. The last of the government troops garrisoned in the castle blew up the castle when they left in 1692. So, now you can visit the Urquhart’s ruins and see the life of the noble residents of the castle at medieval times. And, on the top of the hill you have a beautiful view on the loch. The entry costs £7.90 and the visit lasts around 1 hour.
The Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition was opened over 30 years ago. The museum presents us the history of the Loch Ness from the ice age to the third millennium, so 500 million years of history, natural mystery and legend. The history of the loch is presented in 7 themed rooms via a hi-tech multi-media presentation with animations, lasers and special effects. You can discover the history of the Loch Ness Monster and learn about rumours, hoaxes and truths about it. You can learn about what has been discovered and what research has been done, and see some of the actual equipment used to explore the loch. The entry costs £7.95 and the visit lasts a little more than 1 hour.
I have presented you the main activities to do in Inverness, and I hope it can help you to organize your trip.
Have a good trip!
The minimum hourly rate depends on the age of people.
The current rates for the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage are :
-25 and over : £7.20
-21 to 24: £6.70
-18 to 20: £5.30
-Under 18: £3.87
Workers over 18 are usually entitled to 3 types of break :
♦ Rest breaks at work : Workers have the right to one uninterrupted 20 minute rest break during their working day, if they work more than 6 hours a day.
The break doesn’t have to be paid (it depends on their employment contract).
♦ Daily rest : Workers have the right to 11 hours rest between working days.
♦ Weekly rest : Workers have the right to either
-an uninterrupted 24 hours without any work each week
-an uninterrupted 48 hours without any work each fortnight
⇒ There is no statutory right to cigarette breaks
They don’t need to work more than 48 hours in a week and they are entitled to 5.6 weeks paid leave per year. Their employer can choose to include public holidays in this total.
If you are 14 or 15, there are restrictions :
Large shops (over 280 square metres) in England, Wales and Scotland are not allowed to open on Christmas Day. This is regardless of which day of the week it falls on. This means that if you work in one of these shops, you must be given Christmas Day off. However, whether or not you will be paid will depend on your contract of employment.
⇒ We can see that most of the rights and working conditions are almost the same as in France. The largest difference is the hourly rate which depends on the age of people
⊗ Opening hours particularity in Scotland :
Big shops usually open at 9am and close around 5-6pm depending on the day. But small shops open around 8 am and close at 11pm. Workers in shops must be at work 30 minutes before the shop opens because they have to make sure all the stocks are fine, count the money and clean. They leave 30 minutes after the shops close because they have to clean and restock.
Hi everybody, today as promised I will tell you about the food at Keele University.
There is a refectory that is open all week except on weekends. You can have three daily meals. In the morning you can have a traditional English breakfast which consists of bacon, eggs, sausages, mushroom and cheese. It is very different than the breakfast in France. However, I find it very nice because it is not as sweet. There are also several bar on campus where you can buy pizza and other dishes prepared like this. Sometimes it is nice to eat a meal with a pint of beer in a lively bar with good company.
English breakfast in Keele
One of the English specialty is fish and chips. I got the opportunity to eat fish and chips at Liverpool in an authentic restaurant. It was really good. There are also several cafeterias where you can order coffee and muffin between courses. It’s nice to be able to sit down and work here among students who take the traditionnal English tea time. The refectory, cafeteria, and bars aren’t very expensive if you are a member of the University. I can pay with my University card which gives me a discount on the food. I’m really surprise to discover that English people take the dinner at 6 p.m., and sometimes at 5 p.m., too early for me…
Fish&chips in Liverpool
There is also a small grocery store on campus, but it is more expensive than the large grocery stores located in the city. I only use it for small errands. When I want to make a big purchase of a lot of groceries I order my food on the internet. Morrison’s delivers the groceries to my dorm within two days. There are roughly the same products in France with some differences. There are less choices of cheese to choose from and no fresh baguettes!
That’s what I miss the most about France!
See you next week and enjoy!