The Boat Race:

The Boat Race is a set of annual rowing races between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between eights on the River Thames in London, England. It is also known as the University Boat Race. It usually takes place on the last weekend of March or the first weekend of April. The most recent race was the 2015 race which took place on Saturday 11 April 2015, with Oxford winning the race by 20 seconds.

The first race was in 1829 and the event has been held annually since 1856, except during the first and second World War. The course covers a 4,2 mile (6,8 KM) stretch of the Thames in West London. Members of both teams are traditionally known as blues and each boats are « Blue Boat », with Cambridge in Light blue and Oxford dark blue. Cambridge has won the race 81 times and Oxford 79 with one dead heat.

The race is well-established and very popular. Upwards of 250,000 people watch the race from the banks of the river each year, while a further 15 millions or more watch in television.

Academic status: 

Oxford University does not offer sport scholarships at entry; student-athletes are not admitted differently to any other students and must meet the academic requirements of the university, with sport having a neutral effect on any application. Likewise, bursaries and scholarship opportunities for athletes at the University of Cambridge are only open to those students who have already been admitted to the University on academic merit.

Participants in the boat race are indeed academically capable: the 2005 Cambridge crew, for example, contains four PhD students, including a qualified medical doctor and a veterinarian.

In order to protect the status of the race as a competition between genuine students, the Boat Race organizing committee in July 2007 refused to award a blue to 2006 and 2007 Cambridge oarsman Thorsten Engelmann, as he did not complete his academic course and instead return to the German national team to prepare for the Beijing Olympics. This has caused a debate aboute a change of rules, and one suggestion is that only students who are enrolled in courses lasting at least two years should be eligible to race. 

General elections in the UK

The United Kingdom general election of 2015 was held on 7 May 2015 to elect the 56th Parliament of the United Kingdom. Voting took place in all 650 parliamentary constituencies of the United Kingdom, each electing one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons, the dominant house of Parliament. Local elections took place in most of England on the same day, excluding Greater London. 
Like in the USA, people are proud of their opinion and do no hesitate of showing it to everyone. Peoples have signs in front of their house wit the name of the persons they want to elect. 

Election Process

 All British and Commonwealth citizens over the age of 18 on the date of the election were permitted to vote. In general elections, voting takes place in all parliamentary constituencies of the United Kingdom to elect members of parliament. Each parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom elects one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons. If one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form the Government. If the election results in no single party having a majority, then there is a hung parliament. In this case, the opinions for forming the government are either a minority government or a coalition government. 

Main Parties:

 The main Great Britain-based parties are listed below in order of seats: 

- Conservative Party: led by David Cameron, the prime minister. The Conservatives were the larger party in the coalition government, having won the most seats (306) at the 2010 election. 

- Labour Party: Led by Ed Miliband, the leader of the opposition. Labour had been in power from 1997 to 2010. The party had won (258) in 2010.

- Liberal Democrats: Leb by Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister. The Liberal Democrats were the junior member of the 2010-2015 coalition government, having won 57 seats.

- UK Independence Party (UKIP): led by Nigel Farage MEP, who had no previously been in parliament but was standing in South Thanet in the general election. 

- Green Parties: Two district but cooperating Green parties operate in Great Britain: the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) and the Scottish Green Party, with opinion polling generally making no distinction between the two.

- Scottish National Party (SNP): Led by Nicola Sturgeon, who is First Minister of Scotland. The SNP only contested seats in Scotland and stood in all 59 Scottish consistencies.

Results:  

The Government :

The english government is quite special because it is still a monarchy. But nowadays, the power of the Queen is just "symbolic". In fact, the government is run by the prime minister. Let's have a look about the powers of each parts of the government.

The Queen : 

The Queen’s prerogative powers vary and fall into different categories…

             - Political power : The Queen's political powers nowadays are largely ceremonial, thought some actively used by The Queen, such as at General Elections or are available in time of crisis.

              - Judicial power : The Queen's judicial powers are now very minimal.

              - Armed forces : The Queen's powers in the armed forces are usually used on the advice of Generals and Parliament, thought some functions are retained by the Queen herself nowadays.

              - Honors : One of the main prerogative powers which is still used personally by the Queen these is the power to grant honors. As all honor derive from the Crown, The Queen has the final say on knighthoods, peerages...

The Prime Minister :  

The Prime minister is head of the UK government. He is ultimately responsible for all policy and decisions. He:

     - Oversees the operation of the Civil Service and government agencies

     - Appoint members of the government

     - Is the principal government figure in the House of Common.

Today, the Prime Minister is David Cameron, he was elected in London in 2010.

The Deputy Prime Minister : 

The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, is the deputy head of government. He is the leader of the Liberal Democrats and was appointed Deputy Prime Minister when the coalition government was formed following the 2010 general election.

External conflict :

 The UK in engaged in a significant number of peacekeeping operations around the world. The UK is also involved in Afghanistan and Iraq and engages in combat operations in both countries. 

Afghanistan : 

The UK was involved in Afghanistan alongside Coalition forces, led by the US under Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), from the first military engagement in October 2001. The UK is currently engages in armed conflict in Afghanistan as part of a UN-authorised country.

ISAF (International Security Assistance Force), which aims to assist the Afghan Transitional Authority in creating and maintaining a safe and secure environment in Kabul and its surrounding area, was created in december 2001, authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 1386 and successive resolutions.

As of May 2012, the UK was contributing 9500 troops to ISAF.

Iraq:  

UK military operations in Iraq were conducted under the name "Operation TELIC". The UK operates as part of a coalition called Multi-National Force-Iraq alongside troops from 25 other nations. In Febuary 2007, the-then British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, announced the first large-scale withdrawals of British troops from Iraq. As of November 2008, there were 4,100 British troops stationed in Iraq.

Internal Conflicts : Conflict in Northern Ireland:

The conflict in Northern Ireland, which has killed thousands, has political and religious roots that are centuries old.

In modern times the conflict has centred on opposing views of the area's status.Some people in Northern Ireland, especially the mainly Protestant Unionist community, believe it should remain part of the United Kingdom.

Others, particularly the mainly Catholic Nationalist community, believe it should leave the UK and become part of the Republic of Ireland.

 Origins : 

Since the 12th Century constant revolts challenged the often brutal British rule of Ireland, climaxing in the 1916 Easter Uprising in Dublin.

It sparked a chain of events leading to civil war and partition of the island.

Over successive decades the Catholic minority in the north suffered discrimination over housing and jobs, which fuelled bitter resentment.In the south 26 counties formed a separate state, while six counties in the north stayed within the UK.

Nowadays : 

Problems remain as devolution has been suspended several times since it began.

It was last suspended in October 2002 over allegations of a republican spying ring at Stormont. The case against the accused later collapsed and one of the defendants was revealed to be a British agent. He was found shot dead in April 2006.

The United kingdom :   

The United Kingdom is composed of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It is important not only to be aware of these geographical distinctions, but also the strong sense of identity and nationalism felt by the populations of these four nations. 

The terms 'English' and 'British' do not mean the same thing. 'British' denotes someone who is from England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. 'English' refers to people from England. People from Scotland are 'Scots', from Wales ‘Welsh’ and from Northern Ireland ‘Irish’. Be sure not to call someone Welsh, Scots, or Northern Irish ‘English’. 

English culture has got many differences with ours, I will talk about some of them :

The british Houses : 

The British have the smallest houses in Europe. In fact they are downright pokey, with only an average usable floor space of 76m sq according to a report made by Bradford & Bingley. To compare, in Italy, the average is of 92m sq per dwelling.

This point highlight and interesting aspect of the British lives. In fact, because of the price of the real estate, english people are used to live in smaller house. But most of them prefer leaves in a small house than in a bigger flat. This point explain why there is not that much flat in many cities of the country. 

English Gardens :  

Tudor Gardens 

The Tudors followed Italian influence in creating gardens which mirrored the alignment of the house, creating a harmony of line and proportion that had been missing in the Medieval period. For the first time since the Romans left, sundials and statues were once more popular garden ornaments. 

But the most prominent contribution of the Tudors to gardening was the knot garden. Knots were intricate patterns of lawn hedges, usually of box, intended to be viewed from the mount, or raised walks. The spaces between the hedges were often filled with flowers, shrubs, or herbs.

English Food :  

The traditional food of England has long been recognized for its simplicity of ingredients and flavour. However, England has a complex history and has featured as a major global player. This has meant that people from all over the world have settled in this country, bringing with them flavours and techniques. Traditionally, English food uses lamb, beef, pork, chicken and fish as its feature item. The meat is then accompanied by potatoes (in various forms) and one vegetable.