Monday, September 13, 2010

National Health

Illness strikes at rich and poor alike. But it has always been easier to avoid it or at least to buy a cure, if you are rich.
There was a terrible plague in 1665. In London seven thousand people died in one week alone.
But many of the rich simply moved to the country. John Milton, for example, went away to Buckinghamshire and wrote Paradise Lost.
Today good health is not reserved for those with money.
Under the National Health Service nobody pays their doctor. Medicine is very cheap and hospital treatment is absolutely free for everybody. And visitors to Britain can take advantage of this if their country has a reciprocal agreement.
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Giving Present

A team of English archaeologists working in the Andes some years ago presented their hosts with fifty strings of orange plastic beads.
The Indıans were friendly and helpful. The archaeologists wanted to show their appreciation. The indians were delighted. They immdiately provided wives and arranged marriage ceremonies for every member of the team.
In that society, visitors give presents when they want to marry into the tribe.
The conventions in Britain are less exciting. Traditionally English people give presents to their friends and relatives at Christmas, on their birthdays and whn they get married.
Nowadays it is also common to take wime, flowers or chocolates when you are invited to someone's house. But it is not necessary or expected. And you will not get a wife in return!
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Can computer translate?

Electronic engineers dream of translating languages on a computer. Why not? It would certainly save a lot of time and effort at international congresses.
A small gadget already exists. It looks like a pocket calculator. At the touch of a button it tells you how to say simple words in four different languages.
But it is very limited.
The problem is that a computer cannot think for itself. You can teach it words, you cab teach it grammatical structures. But how, for example, do you teach it to interpret a figurative use of language?
Imagine a spokesman at the United Nations: 'My President is hungry for news'.
The computer translation might be: 'My President wants to eat the newspaper'.
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A British Joke

An Englishman, an Irishman, a Scotsman and a Welshman were talking to a bishop.
The bishop asked 'What would you do if you won a lot of money?'
The Welshman said 'I would build a new rugby stadium, because rugby is a heavenly sport'.
The Scotsman said 'I would save it because it is a sin to waste money'.
The Englishman said 'I do not discuss my private affairs'.
The bishop turned to the Irishman who said without hesitation 'I would go straight to the church. I would stand in front of the altar. I would throw all the money up to Heaven. What God wanted he would take. What fell to the ground would be for me'.
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The Times

The time on the clock is half-past four. But although this famous newspaper is as British as tea-time, the time is actually half-past four in the morning. That is the time when the first edition of The Times used to appear.
The Times is the most influential newspaper in Britain. It is independent of governments and political parties.
But this was not always the case.
In its early days the newspaper was paid to criticize members of the Royal Family. For this the unfortunate owner was sentenced to two hours in the pillory and two years in prison!
However, The Times soon established a reputation for independent, accurate and rapid information. (At one time the newspaper used to publish foreign news before it reached the government.)
In 1840 The Times sold more copies than all the other British newspapers put togetger. Today, it has a comparatively small circulation. But its influence and prestige are enormous.
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Sunday, September 12, 2010

Greenwich Mean Time


What time is it? Nowadays there is only one correct answer to this question. This was not always true.
In 1859 a man in Dorset lost a court case because he was late. The court used Greenwich time. He used local time.
Even in small countries like Britain the local time varies a lot from place to place. Noon in Dorset is 17 minutes later than it is in London.
It was the development of the railways in the nineteenth century which made a national system of time keeping necessary. In 1880 the time at the Greenwich Observatory in London became the legal time for Britain.
Today GMT is the basis of time keeping all over the world. Nearly all countries have a national system which is so many hours ahead of or behind Greenwich.
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Dreaming spires and production lines

Oxford is about 130 kilometers west of London.  It is an important centre of Industry. And of course the oldest and most famous university town in England.
But visitors frequently walk around asking: "Where is the university?"
In fact it is everywhere. The university has nearly 12,000 students in 28 separate collages. And each college has its own buildings. (Many date from the Middle Ages.)
The principal means of transport for the 17,000 students in Oxford is the bicycle. It is interesting that the principle industry of the town is cars - 17,000 people are employed by British Leyland(BL) alone.
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