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The approximate population of the United Kingdom is 59,755,700 (60 million) Japan?
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England 49,997,100;
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Wales 2,946,200; Scotland 5,114,600;
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Edinburgh 450,000
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Northern Ireland 1,697,800.
It takes about 4.5 hours to get to Edinburgh from London. The train leaves from Kings Cross Station, the station in the Harry Potter film.
Devolution.
- Since the election of the current Labour government in 1997 there has been a rapid move towards ‘devolution’, or the creation of independent governments for Scotland, Wales and Ireland. At the moment, Ireland is the only country in Britain which does not yet have its own devolved government. This may change in the near future.
- In 1997 there was a referendum on the issue. A referendum is a yes/no vote which determines people's opinions. 74% of Scottish people voted in favour of starting a separate Scottish Parliament (parliament= government).
- If you want to understand more about Scotland’s struggle for independence you should see the film BRAVEHEART with Mel Gibson.
- The Scottish Parliament is responsible for most powers (except foreign and defence policy), including the rate of tax.
Events
- The highlight of Scotland's calendar is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in August. It started in 1947, is now one of the world's largest and most important arts festivals.
- More than 1,000,000, people come to the festival, and more than 1500 amateur and professional groups give shows in venues all around the city.
- HOGMANAY, the Scottish New Year is another big day in Edinburgh, and 1000’s of people gather
Edinburgh’s Architecture
The centre of Edinburgh is beautiful and a world heritage site.
Edinburgh town is divided into the Old Town and the New Town. The old town dates from the 12th century, but most of the buildings are from the16th-17th centuries. ‘Gladstone's Land’, for instance, is an example of 17th century urban architecture. The new town is Georgian, that is, it has buildings which are known as Georgian architecture.
Georgian Architecture
- There is a lot of Georgian architecture in Britain and this is ‘typically’ British architecture. The period of Georgian architecture equals the 18th century,1730-1800.
- These are the years in which King George II and King George III were the Kings.
- The Georgian style is linked with the classical period of Greece and Rome. Think about the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. This is because at that time most of the male children of rich people traveled throughout Europe on the "Grand Tour", which was supposed to improve their education.
- These young men (only very occasionally did women undertake a Grand Tour), came home to Britain fired by an enthusiasm for classical architecture and design.
The Royal Bank of Scotland's head office on the eastern side of St Andrew's Square was completed in 1774 as a mansion house is typical of the ‘New Town style’, buildings constructed at the peak of Edinburgh's Georgian elegance. The New Town consists of straight streets, squares and crescents, and most of the original architecture remains unspolit, making the New Town a wonderful place to walk around.
Terraces.
The type of building which most characterized the Georgian period was the Town House, often, though not always, joined end to end to create "terraces".
- Windows were almost always sash-windows,
- Front doors are paneled, with a semi-circular fanlight above.
- Look at a picture of the Prime Minister’s House