Janine Scott

Peter Rees

GREAT BRITAIN{NOT-FOR

-PARENTS]

{NOT-FOR-PARENT

S]

3CONTENTS2 Not-for-Parents GREAT BRITAIN

Introduction 4A Great Land 6British Bulldogs and Buddies 8Queen of Hearts 10Aristocratic Eccentrics 12Bobbies in Blue 14Laughable Laws 16Cool Canals 18Secrets of the Stones 20Spot that Loco 22On the Ball 24Upstairs, Downstairs 26

The Sea Clock 28A Ring of Castles 30Flaming Hot 32The Treasure Keepers 34What the Dickens? 36Coal and Kids 38Tea Mania 40Best in Show 42Great Game of Golf 44Medical Marvels 46Odd Bods and Odd Balls 48

Nessie 50Bond, James Bond 52Voyage of Discovery 54Children of the War 56Hats Off to Royal Ascot 58Rugby Rules! 60Off the Page 62What’s the Big Idea? 64Beatle Mania 66Robin Who? 68Queens of the Court 70A Daring Designer 72

A Regal Ruler 74Oldest, Smallest, Loudest, Tallest… 76Royal Retreats 78Loud and Proud 80The Home of Gadgets 82Totally Great 84A School of Tradition 86Pier Pleasure 88Rise Up! 90Royals on the Road 92Index 94

CONTENTS I THINK I’D L� K BE� ER ON A BATSMAN THAN

A BOWLER.

THIS IS MY LUCKY SHIRT.

I’m f� ling a bit DI� Y.

I DON’T LIKE THIS HAT, BUT I’M GOING TO BITE

MY LIP.

we are NOT AMUSED!

� H, IT’S DARK IN

HERE.

LIGHTEN UP, SUNSHINE!

5INTRODUCTION4 Not-for-Parents GREAT BRITAIN

THIS IS NOT A GUIDEBOOK. And it is definitely Not-for-parents.

IT IS THE REAL, INSIDE STORY about

one of the world’s most exciting places – Great Britain. In this book you’ll read

fascinating tales about kids down the mines, battles on the football

field, secret stones and kings and queens galore.

Check out cool stories about a famous spy, an underwater monster,

a flying scotsman and a flying great grandmother. You’ll find hats

and bats, crazy laws, royal limos and some amazing legends.

This book shows you a GREAT BRITAIN your parents

probably don’t even know about.

H� , I’VE GOT A BA� AND A STICK.

I THINK I MIGHT play GOLF!

{NOT-FOR-PARENTS]

{NOT-FOR-PARENTS]

Wales

6 Not-for-Parents GREAT BRITAIN

WANTMORE?

7A GREAT LAND

www.great-britain.co.uk

Long

nam

eTh

e lo

nges

t pl

ace

nam

e in

G

reat

Brit

ain

is L

lanf

airp

wllg

wyn

gyllg

oger

ychw

yrnd

robw

lllla

nty

silio

gogo

goch

, whi

ch m

eans

‘th

e ch

urch

of S

t M

ary

in t

he

hollo

w o

f whi

te h

azel

tre

es

near

the

rap

id w

hirlp

ool

by S

t Tys

ilio’

s ch

urch

of

the

red

cave

’. Whe

w! J

ust

call

it Ll

anfa

irpw

ll fo

r sh

ort.

A G

REAT

LAN

DG

reat

Brit

ain

is t

he n

ame

give

n to

the

isla

nd t

hat

is m

ade

up o

f thr

ee g

reat

pla

ces

with

thr

ee g

reat

nam

es: E

ngla

nd,

Scot

land

and

Wal

es. T

he g

reat

land

of G

reat

Brit

ain

has

a gr

eat

man

y gr

eat

nam

es. T

here

are

old

nam

es, l

ong

nam

es, r

ude

nam

es a

nd ju

st p

lain

sill

y na

mes

.

Lost

nam

eYo

u ar

e no

t lik

ely

to g

et lo

st in

the

tin

y vi

llage

of L

ost

in A

berd

eens

hire

. H

owev

er, t

here

is

one

thi

ng t

hat

keep

s ge

ttin

g lo

st –

its

road

sig

n.

Som

e to

uris

ts fi

nd

it a

grea

t so

uven

ir.

Chee

ky n

ame

Fanc

y vi

sitin

g Ba

cksi

de in

Sco

tland

? U

nbel

ieva

bly,

the

re a

re t

wo

such

pla

ces.

So b

e qu

ick.

It w

ould

be

a bu

mm

er

if yo

u m

isse

d on

e of

the

m!

Noi

sy n

ame

If yo

u he

ad t

o G

reat

Sn

orin

g in

Nor

folk

, it

mig

ht p

ay t

o ta

ke

som

e ea

rplu

gs. I

f th

e no

ise

gets

too

m

uch,

Litt

le S

norin

g m

ight

be

quie

ter.

Win

dy n

ame

Scot

land

can

be

win

dy, a

nd it

mig

ht

be s

light

ly m

ore

win

dy in

the

tow

n of

Bro

kenw

ind

in A

berd

eens

hire

!

Stre

et n

ame

Som

e ro

ad n

ames

in G

reat

Brit

ain

mak

e yo

u la

ugh.

Fun

nily

, Ha-

Ha

Road

in G

reen

wic

h is

now

here

ne

ar S

illy

Lane

in L

anca

ster

.

Funn

y na

me

You

wou

ld p

roba

bly

not

stop

sm

iling

if y

ou

lived

in H

appy

Bot

tom

in D

orse

t. M

ind

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Sc

ratc

hy B

otto

m in

Dor

set

mig

ht b

e fu

nnie

r!

Gra

ve n

ame

Som

e to

wns

are

goo

d to

liv

e in

whe

n yo

u ge

t ol

der.

You

can

bet

that

Gra

vese

nd

in K

ent

will

mak

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good

fin

al re

stin

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ot.

Villa

ge n

ame

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Nor

th

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shire

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rack

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amed

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ome

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Eng

lish

pers

on,

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rath

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ck in

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Old

nam

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nam

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old,

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t to

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orth

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as d

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Mol

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in t

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100s

.

Food

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ent

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tow

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ham

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calle

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am.

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mou

s si

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poin

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to t

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amle

t an

d to

wn

read

s ‘H

am S

andw

ich’

!

Scotla

nd

Engla

nd

BACK

SIDE

CRAC

KPOT

SILL

Y LA

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SCRA

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H

LOYAL TO THE ROYALSDogs can be a queen or king’s best friend. Queen Elizabeth II is a loyal Corgi owner. She has had pet Corgis for more than 79 years!

In 1910 King Edward VII’s fox terrier, Caesar, was loyal to the very end. He walked in procession behind his master’s coffin.

9BRITISH BULLDOGS AND BUDDIES8 Not-for-Parents GREAT BRITAIN

Find out more about dog breeds www.the-kennel-club.org.uk

Pubs and poochesMany pubs welcome dogs (and their owners!). Some serve dog-friendly pub grub. One pub dishes up Sunday roast with cat-flavoured gravy made from beef stock and fish sauce! It can all be washed down with a cool non-alcoholic dog beer.

Some say that the British love their dogs more than they love their children. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but many pet owners definitely treat their dogs like royalty. Even the royal family’s pet pooches are treated like kings and queens!

Pet powerKing Charles II was besotted with his dogs to the point that he made a decree that the King Charles spaniel could go in any public place and even in the Houses of Parliament. This law still stands today.

BRITISH BULLDOGS AND BUDDIES

The leader of the packDuring World War II, the great leader Winston Churchill was nicknamed ‘the British Bulldog’ by the Russians because of his fierce fighting spirit. If only they had known that his dog was a poodle. WANT

MORE?

I l� k like the dog’s di� er

in this scarf.

I don’t think dogs l� k like their owners.

Bu� dogs don’thave a sti� u� er lip!

A miniature poodle

King Charles II

Bulldog buddyThe British bulldog was first used to guard and bait bulls and bears from the 1200s until the ‘sport’ of bull baiting was banned in 1835. Today, pet bulldogs are more like to guard their food bowls!

A corgi

A fox terrier

Not King Charles II

10 Not-for-Parents GREAT BRITAIN

WANTMORE?

11QUEEN OF HEARTS

Mary was a half-sister of Elizabeth I www.royal.gov.uk

QUEEN OF HEARTSMary, Queen of Scots was a bit of a drama queen. At just six days old, she became Queen of Scotland when her father, King James V, pegged it. She later hooked up with a succession of hopeless husbands during her reign. Unlucky in life and unlucky in love?

Loyal to a royalMary had a very loyal subject – her dog. After being imprisoned for 19 years by Queen Elizabeth I of England, Mary was beheaded on 8 February 1587. Her dog hid under her dress!

A killer of a crushMary soon detested Darnley and grew to fancy the Earl of Bothwell, who ended up murdering Darnley in February 1567. Mary wasn’t too upset. She played golf just days later.

‘I’d love to help’In July 1567 Mary was forced to abdicate and was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle. Luckily, a lovesick man nicknamed ‘pretty Geordie’ helped her escape the next year.Teen queen

In 1558, aged 15, Mary married the young crown prince of France. By the age of 17, she was a widow. Her husband had died of an illness brought on by an ear infection, which ended up destroying much of his brain!

KISSING COUSINSIn July 1565 Mary married her cousin, Lord

Darnley. Mr Right turned into Mr Wrong.

Darnley was a selfish man, who some

believed wanted Mary dead.

Mary’s third husband,the Earl of Bothwell,

kidnapped her and forced her to marry him!

I wonder who is going to wear

the pants?

Is she deadgorgeous

or Gorgeous Dead?

Loved by a loonyFrench poet Pierre de Boscotel de Châtelard wanted to be Mary’s suitor but ended up being her stalker. On 14 February 1562, he hid under her bed. His obsession with her eventually got him hanged.

You are my Valentine!

Lord Darnley and Mary, Queen of Scots

Escaping Lochleven Castle