Real Britain Company News…

As the election is still in my mind I thought I would write about this remarkable woman. In 1918 an act was passed allowing women to stand as Member of Parliament. Later that year Constance Markievicz became the first woman to be elected to the House of Commons at Westminster. However, as she was an Irish Nationalist and a member of Sinn Fein she didn’t take up her seat.

She was already a reknowned figure, having played an active part in the 1916 uprising. She only survived execution because she was a woman. In 1919 she was appointed Minister of Labour in the Dail Eireann, thus becoming the first female minister in a modern democracy.

Her families estate, Lissadell at Sligo, is privately owned but can be visited. The poet W.B.Yeats was a friend and frequent visitor.

The flag of the United Kingdom is really called the Union Flag, but it is commonally referred to as the Union Jack. A ‘jack’ is actually a flag flown on the bow of a ship. It is made up of the individual flags of the countries of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, all united under one Sovereign. Wales was not a Kingdom but a Principality so it could not be included on the flag.

In 1194 A.D., Richard I of England introduced the Cross of St. George, a red cross on a white ground, as the National Flag of England. At this time England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland were separate countries. However in 1536, under Henry VIII, an Act of Union was passed making Wales a province of England.

Scotland is represented by the flag of St. Andrew, a diagonal white cross form (called a saltire) on a blue background. After Queen Elizabeth I of England died withot any direct heirs in 1603, King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne and became King James I of England. In 1604, against Parliaments’ wishes, he declared himself ‘King of Great Britain’, although each country still kept their own parliament.

On 12 April 1606, the National Flags of Scotland and England were united for use at sea, thus making the first Union ‘Jack’. Ashore however, the old flags of England and Scotland continued to be used by their respective countries. The Act of Union of 1707, joined England and Scotland together, creating a single kingdom with a single Parliament called ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain’ .

Almost hundred years later, on 1 January 1801, Ireland was united with Great Britain and it became necessary to have a new National Flag in which Ireland was represented. The cross of St Patrick, a diagonal red cross on a white background, was combined with the Union Flag of St George and St Andrew, to create the Union Flag that has been flown ever since. England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland were now all joined together and called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The name was later changed to United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland when the greater part of Ireland left the United Kingdom in 1921.

The Union Flag is not symmetrical however. Due to the complex rules of heraldry, the red bands of St Patrick are not symmetrically placed within the white bands of St Andrew. Very few people in Britain now know which way up to fly the flag!

The Legend of King Arthur is possibly the most popular and well known of all the legends associated with British history. There are simply dozens of sites which purport to have a connection. Tintagel and Glastonbury perhaps are the most evocative.

If he existed at all, he was probably a war lord who lived in the 6th century during the early Anglo-Saxon period after the Romans. His story was first told by a monk writing in the 9th century, and then in 1136AD Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote The History of the Kings of Britain in which Arthur’s role was expanded upon and elaborated. It is Geoffrey’s account which forms the basis of the current legend.

While you’re planning your trip to the UK, do a little research on currency exchange options. Consult a professional currency exchange broker while you’re planning the trip, so you can develop an exchange strategy that saves you money. Waiting until you arrive at Heathrow or Gatwick to exchange money can be very expensive. The Pound fluctuates constantly, so it’s important to know when and where to exchange currency. The first rule is to stay away from airport exchange merchants, hotels, restaurants and local businesses, especially if you want to get a decent exchange rate without excessive fees.

If you have to exchange money while you’re traveling, use a bank or Building Society. Even large Post Offices will give a fair rate, but you will have to pay a fee, plus a handling charge of £ 2.50 to make the exchange. A professional currency exchange broker will give a real time exchange rate every time you exchange money without fees, handling charges and inflated exchange rates. A currency broker can help you average your exchanges, so you can offset Pound fluctuations before you leave home. That means you have more money to spend on the trip.

Other travel tips
Always carry cash in a money belt, leg pouch or hidden pocket that’s secure and out of sight and use hotel safes when you reach your destination. Remember to use common sense. It’s your best security tool when you use it.

The experts at ForexTraders.com provided this article to help you understand the importance of properly exchanging money for a trip to a different country to maximize your budget. For additional information on currency trading, forex broker reviews, strategies and a free course to educate yourself, make sure to visit ForexTraders.com

In Britain we are holdng on to the pound while most of the rest of Europe, incuding Ireland, has moved over to the Euro.

With Christmas just past I was reminded of the old tradition of stirring in silver sixpences into the pudding and it reminded me of the days when we had a wide variety of coins, until decimilisation in 1971, with all their colloquial names.

The Pound is still often called a ‘Quid’
The Pound was divided into 20 Shillings
A shilling, or ‘Bob’, was worth 12 pence
A sixpence was worth 6 pence (not surprisingly) and was called a ‘tanner’
A Crown was worth 5 shillings and a half crown was 2 shillings and sixpence.
A Florin was worth 2 shillings
A guinea (which was long extinct by decimalisation) was 1 pound and 1 shilling.
A pretty 12 sided coin was worth 3 pence, called the threepenny piece (pronounced ‘thruppance’)
Half a penny was a halfpenny (pronounced ha’penny)

It is a wonder how we managed to work out it all out! There was a lot of resistance to converting to pence (100 pence or ‘p’ to the pound), just as there is now resistance to getting rid of the pound all together. For many years considered the reserve currency of the World, it has had such a glorious history!