The British Experience. Part Seven Quiz

Answer: Dragon

The Welsh flag has a red dragon on a white and green background. It was granted official status as recently as 1959.
One legend of the Welsh flag says that the red dragon represents the British Celts and it fought a white dragon, representing the invading Saxons of the fifth and sixth century. According to the legend the red dragon is eventually triumphant over the white dragon and the nation is freed.
Wales is not represented on the Union flag (Union Jack) because it was not officially recognised when the Union Flag was created in 1801.

Answer: Conservative

Margaret Thatcher, the daughter of a Grantham grocer, was born Margaret Hilda Roberts in 1925. She was elected to The House of Commons as a Conservative MP in 1959.
In 1961 Margaret Thatcher voted for the restoration of 'birching', a form of corporal punishment in which the offender is thrashed across the buttocks, back or shoulders with birch rods. She also opposed the abolition of capital punishment. While Secretary of State for Education in 1970 she became known as "Maggie Thatcher, milk snatcher", when she abolished the free milk given to school children. In 1976, following a scathing speech attacking the Soviet Union she earned the nickname of "The Iron Lady".
Margaret Thatcher became the UK's first female Prime Minister in 1979 and remained in that post until 1990, becoming the longest serving Prime Minister of the twentieth century.

Answer: An order to behave in a civilised manner.

ASBO is an acronym for "Anti-Social Behaviour Order". An ASBO is a civil order, but the offender can be given criminal penalties if he/she breaches the order.
The "Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003" is used in cases such as vandalism, abusive behaviour and harassment, it can also be imposed on fly posters and public transport fare dodgers.

An opinion poll in 2005 claimed that 85% of those questioned were in favour of ASBOs.

In 2015 ASBOs were replaced by Criminal Behaviour Orders.

Answer: Harold II

King Harold II of England (Harold Godwinson) had ruled for just ten months when he perished at the Battle of Hastings. He was killed by the victorious invading forces of William of Normandy in 1066. William claimed that his cousin, the childless King Edward the Confessor, had named him as the heir to the English throne.

The story of the Battle of Hastings is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry.

Answer: Sausages and mashed potato

Bangers and Mash is usually served with thick onion gravy. Sausages were given the name bangers during the last world war because they often exploded when cooked. This was caused by the high water content of the sausages due to the wartime rationing of meat.

Answer: Edinburgh

Edinburgh became the capital of Scotland in 1437. It is Scotland's second largest city, after Glasgow, with a population of around 450,000.
Edinburgh, located on the Firth of Forth, was give "World Heritage Site" status in 1995.
Each year the city's population doubles when Edinburgh hosts the world's largest performing arts festival.

Answer: Fertility ceremony held in apple orchards

The earliest record of wassailing dates back to 1585. Young men go into the orchards on Twelfth Night pouring cider over the tree roots and placing bread in the branches. They also make loud noises clattering pots and pans or discharging shotguns. This is said to wake the spirit of the sleeping trees and ward off demons.
It was also traditional for villagers to visit their neighbours over the Christmas season, wishing them good health and dispensing spiced ale from the wassail bowl.

Answer: Snakes

Although the legend says that Saint Patrick is responsible for ridding Ireland of snakes, they had probably not reached the area before it was separated from the mainland.
Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is said to have herded the snakes into the sea with his staff, removing them for eternity.

Answer: actor

Archibald Leach is the birth name of actor Cary Grant. He joined the Bob Pender Stage Troupe for a two year tour of the US in 1918. Grant remained in the USA achieving success on Broadway and later in Hollywood. It is said that Ian Fleming modelled James Bond's character on Grant's suave, debonair persona. Grant donated his fee for the 1940 movie "The Philadelphia Story" to the British war effort, and his earnings of $100,000 from "Arsenic and Old Lace" to the US War Relief Fund. Cary Grant starred in more than 70 movies and was honoured with an "Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement" in 1971, he died in 1986.

Answer: The Bank of England

The Bank of England was founded to act as the national bank by William Peterson, in 1694. The original bank notes of this era were hand written and then signed by the cashiers. Fully printed notes were first issued in 1855.
As the Government's banker the Bank of England manages the country's foreign currency exchange, it also holds the nation's gold reserves.
The Bank of England is located on Threadneedle Street, London, and is said to be haunted by the ghost of Sarah Whitehead, the "old lady". Sarah's brother Philip, a Bank of England employee, was executed for forgery in 1811.