Background: Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999, but the latter is suspended due to bickering over the peace process.
June 25th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » England » Shropshire » Ludlow Hi Folks
Writing this looking out over the forecasters idea of a light shower - it is cold, wet and windy. Planned bike ride has been ditched and will drive to Leominster (about ten miles) as that ... [full story]
May 28th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » England » Shropshire Shropshire is quite big, it turns out. If you recall, it was badly flooded in many parts last summer. And no wonder, we thought, as it rained for almost all of our 40 mile morning cycle to Shrewsbury. ... 1 photos[full story]
May 2nd 2008Europe » United Kingdom » England » Shropshire We’re stopping the night at the marina for an early start in the morning where we met up with some other canal boaters and ended up having drinks with them; so much for an early night. ... [full story]
May 1st 2008Europe » United Kingdom » England » Shropshire Made our way back down the canal and have stopped by a beautiful Mere. A mere is like a lake but it doesn’t have water running in or out of it they were formed in the ice age, (that’s the ... [full story]
January 21st 2008Europe » United Kingdom » England » Shropshire » Telford is to New Zealand! Excitement is mounting, so are the piles of things to take. I must keep a list of places where I put things down, as I am fed with looking for vital things!
If you would like to ... [full story]
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