My Visit to the Senned

Two weeks ago my tutor, classmates and I visited the seneed that is located in Cardiff Bay. When we first arrived we went through the security device. We had to take away everything contains metal so that the alarm would not turn on. Then we got inside the senned and whated for our journey guied.

The guied took us through the senned and explained what the building was made of, and how it is working. The building looked very impressive because its wall made of glass and everyone cand see it inside out because it is completely transparent.

The inner decoration was designed creatively environmetly-friendly that a zero maintenance is used. The selling was made from wooden planks taht could not become corrupt, and in the middle of the building there was a huge wooden cylinder called the tree. Its job is to work like an air-conditioner by letting air in.

Finally, we had a look at the hall where the politicen gather. people can stay in overlooking sight where the hall can be seen clearly. Also, there are interpretting service that able non-english speakers understand what is beign discussed.

In conclusion, constructing such a massive project like senned costs a huge amount of money, but when it is completed it saves a lot of money as well. This building can last for long ages because of its nature and it does not need a constant maintenance very often.

Team Work

It is widly agreed that the cooperative work is crucial and highly demanded for the professional career. Employers recruit those who have the skill of working harmoneously within a team. Workers need to have the skills of communicating with all mempers of the team, and commiting to their tasks. What I benefited most from my class today was that it is always easier to solve problems by team work method. It can save time and efforts as the load of the work is distributed on all of the members. Also, they share knowledge and diffrent ways of critical thinking. This surely will improve the feasbility of their solutions to the issues.

The Welesh Assembly (The senedd)

1. Who designed the building ?

It was desgined by Richard Rogers.
2. When was it opened and by whom ?

The Senedd was opened in 2006 by the queen.

3. What materials were used ?

The upper part of the roof is an aluminium standing seem roof with the underside being a woven timber soffit. The roof is supported by structural steel columns. The frame is constructed mainly from steel, and the outer walls mainly from slate and glass. The plinth is made from reinforced concrete and slate. The Siambr desks and public gallery seating is made of Welsh oak

4. What is particulary special about the building ?

it is environmently-friendly, the design is always trying to reduce the consuming of water and electricity

The Houses of Parliament

The Building of the UK Parliament

        Despite that any democratic country in the world either monarchy or republican has its own regime that differs in the futures from others, they have the same essence but with varied forms. Mainly, the most powerful authority in any democratic government is the House of Parliament, and the UK's one is the most deep-rooted experiment among the world, which apparently made some countries that were previously part of the British Empire embrace a similar approach.

        The UK Parliament building that is located beside the river Thames in the center of London was constructed in the 19th century, and it is the most famous in the world. This is mostly due to its distinctive ancient architecture, in addition to the attractive popular clock tower that known by Big Ben. It is usually referred to as the Houses of Parliament, because it contains the two houses assemblies which are the House of Common and the House of Lords.

      The most effective is the House of Commons, which is made up of 650 publicly elected MPs that represent various constituencies around the United Kingdom. It is powerful part of the UK politics because its essential roles are to consider and propose new laws and regulations, and can investigate the government policies through questioning ministers about current affairs. The House of Commons administration is formed of the Speaker which is the chair of the house and it is a MP elected by the other MPs for this position. Basically, the speaker keeps order and allow MPs to give their opinions and comments about the issue, and make sure that MPs adhere to the house rules. Then the political parties opposing each others led by their presidents.


       The House of Lords is the second essential chamber of the UK Parliament. It is an independent body apart from the House of Commons and complement to its roles. On the contrary, the House of Lords consists of 760 members who are assigned by the Queen and they come from different professions and some do not have political experience. The chamber shares tasks with the House of Commons in making laws and scrutinize the government policies. Similarly, the House of Lords has a speaker chairs the daily businesses of the chamber and have the same job as commons house speaker.


       At the end, this majestic edifice has a vast influence on the progress of the different sectors in the country, especially on the economic, the education and the social aspects. It is always possible for public to go on tours to have a close look at the two important houses of the parliament, and know their historical development, and the story of the building construction.


For more information:

www.paliament.uk

The Big Ben

The House of Commons

The speaker's chair

The House of Lords

The Begining of the European Union

     



       The idea of peacefull and prosperous European Union began after the World War II by some European statesmen in (1939-45). Because of the second world war's destruction and the mutual distrust and the tense situations, there was a desire to become one unite. The foundation of the union was initially established when six countries signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957, and formed the European Economic Community (EEC). At the bigining, Britain didn't express its willingness to become one of the union, but instead it contributed in founding the European Free Trade Association in 1959. Britain considered its future in the trading patterns of the commonwealth, and the special long-standing partnership with the USA. Furthermore, it accounted itself as a commercial power and didn't wish to be influenced the union's regulations.


      However, ambitions to combine with the union grew amid the different parts of the British society in 1960, which were caused by the country's raising social and economic issues. Therefore, Britain strived to obtain a membership in the union, but all attempts were vetoed by the french president Charles de Gaulle because he was concerned by the relationship that gathered Britain with the USA especially on nuclear weapons policies, also, he didn't want Britain to dominate the EEC.


      Since the resignation of the french president in 1969, a new British debates on membership began in 1970 were crowned with acquiring the membership when the European Parliament voted in favour of entry in 1972 despite of growing doubts and the strong opposition of different parts of the community. Moreover, Britain, Denmark, and the Republic of Ireland officially joined the EEC on 1 January 1973. There are six institutions that together compose the EU which are the European Council, the Council of Ministers, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice. Although each of them has its functions and different rules, still the most powerful body is the Parliament. it is the only elected institution that represents the people of the European countries and proposes varied regulations and projects. it consists of 736 MEPs from all the EU countries, 78 of them are from the United Kingdom.


        One of the main purposes of the EU is to create an economical unity. Therefore, the euro currency was founded in 1990 by the EU, and it is the official currency of the euro-zone which consists of 17 of the 24 members of the EU. Single currency has a positive results such as currency stability, cheaper mortgages, lower interest rates, and Business benefits, however, this currency have been facing some difficulties, one of them is the euro crisis. The crisis has started and spread over the euro-zone since Germany had broken the dept (3%) followed by France. Debts kept piling up in Spain ,which was the worst affected one, and Italy that caused recession their markets.

Euro

The Education System In The UK

      There is no doubt that every country has its special education system that distinguishes it from other countries. The education system in the United Kingdom particularly is one of the oldest in the world, and it is a result of many years of experience in this sector.This essay will address the differences between the education system in my own country and the United Kingdom in the education levels, examinations, higher education system.

       It is known that every education system in any country consists of Primary School, Secondary School and Higher Education. In Bahrain, before children start their Primary School, their parents can join them into nursery school from age of 5 to prepare them to Primary School, and children are not really studying because they just play and socialize with others.Then, they move to Primary School normally at age of 7 years old and continue studying for 6 stages, 1 stage each year, in the first two years students are not taking any exams because children are quiet new to school and that may frighten but they sit on exams next year. At the end of each year there are final exams, if the student passes them all, then they go up to the next level. Intermediate and Secondary Schools are not much different from Primary School system expect that they are for 3 years and  the Secondary school depends on a GPA system and students go through national exams, in the end of this level they graduate with Secondary School Leaving Certificate at age of 17. Finally, the students decides either find a job or continue their higher studies. when they choose to carry on studying undergraduate studies in a higher education institution, they have to enroll on 4 years Bachelor course, or two years for postgraduate course. Bahrain's education system has been developing years go and the total amount of study will be cut off to 10 years instead of 12 next years.

       In the United Kingdom, the education system is more complex. there are many types of schools such as state schools that are available free, and about 95 % of the British students go to, privet schools and Public schools parents pay for the studying fees. Also, every type of schools may have a different teaching style but they are monitored by the government. the Primary School stage in both countries are almost similar, but there are some differences in the next stage. First, the British education system has a Lower and Upper Secondary Schools instead of the Intermediate and Secondary Schools in Bahrain. Students commerce the Lower Secondary Education when they are 11, and they move on to Upper Secondary Education at age of 14. They end up when they are 16 with General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSEs) and they can legally leave the Secondary School to work, but most student continue to study 2 years more in sixth-form college to get GCE A-Level certificate that qualifies them to access to further and higher education. Finally, Undergraduate courses in the UK are for 3 yeas for British and European students and Master degree is just for one year, but regarding to the international students they have to study a foundation year that prepares them to the first year degree. The United Kingdom education system was structured after many years of experience that is why it is one of the best systems in the world.


      Consequently, the most notable differences between the British education system and the Bahraini one are much more in stages after the Primary education. The secondary education in the United Kingdom splits into Lower and upper secondary schools, and students are allowed to leave the secondary education with GCESs or to move into sixth-form to obtain GCE A-Level certificate. While in Bahrain students go through Intermediate School and when they end they have to continue studying in the Secondary education to graduate with Secondary School Leaving Certificate. In future, the education in Bahrain is expected to extend by innovating new curriculums that save students time and equip them better knowledge.

The secondary school uniform for boys

The Four British Nations

The map of the United Kingdom

Most international students get confused about how the united kingdom is formed, sometimes they think that England is the United Kingdom other times they don't distinguish between Great Britain and the United Kingdom and they keep mixing up all of the four nations. Therefore, today I'm writing this essay to clarify the most distinctive features of all four nations which are England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

England map and St. George flag

First, I'm going to write about the biggest country, nation, in the United Kingdom, England , this country extend to occupy two thirds of the southern Great Britain and its total area is 130,410 sq km (50, 352 sq mi) and it contains 84% of the UK population. England's national flag is St. George, the national day on 23th April is St. George's Day, and its emblem is the red rose. The capital city of England is London and it is also the capital city of the UK the biggest city in the whole UK and where the royal family live particularly in Buckingham Palace. Even though all of the four nations have their own languages such as Scottish, Welsh, Irish but the official language in the UK which is English originated from this country and it is even spoken more in Scotland, N. Ireland and Wales. Many people think that the national sport of England is Football, the most popular sport in the UK  whereas it is actually called Cricket and it can be played on green lands in villages or towns. Also, England has very famous football teams worldwide and they are Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. The United Kingdom is generally very famous of Fish & Chips, traditional meal, and it is the national meal of England.

The red rose

The Queen Elizabeth II

Cricket Sport

Fish & Chips

Scotland

Scotland map and St Andrew flag

Scotland is the second biggest country after England and it's located in the northern part of Great Britain. Its capital city is Edinburgh and it has about 790 island 130 of them are inhabited. Scotland is famous for its fresh water lakes, the most famous lake is Loch Ness where a mysterious monster is alleged to live in the depths of the lake. The flage of Scotland is called St Andrew and its national day is St Andrew's day on 30 November and its national flower is the Thistle. Also, Scotland has a national dish named haggis and neeps

and it is prepared from lamb’s offal (lungs, liver and heart) mixed with suet, onions, herbs and spices and it is normally served with mashed potatoes. The dominating sport in Scotland is golf, there are numerous golf courses, over 400, in Scotland alone and the most popular golf club is in town of St Andrew.

The Thistle

Loch Ness Lake

The mysterious monster 

Wales

Flag of Wales

Wales is one of the four nations along England and Scotland. It is a mountainous country located in western side of Great Britain. Wales is inhabited with about 2,918,700 people (2002) and its area is 20,779 sq km. The national flag of wales is a red dragon on a green and white fields and its national day is St David's day which is on 1 March. Like the others nations, wales has its national flower too and it is the Daffodil and its national game that is Rugby. There are many traditional food in wales that are made of local ingredients and one of the most popular is laverbread and it is made from seaweeds. Traditionally, Wales is ruled by the eldest prince of England's monarch and that is why the welsh flag is not showing on the union flag.

The Daffodil

Rugby

Laverbread Dish

Northern Ireland 

Although Northern Ireland is part of Ireland island, it is as the other nations a part of the United Kingdom but it is not one of the Great Britain. N. Ireland is the smallest country in the United Kingdom its area is 13,843 km squared and its population is 1,810,900 people (2011). The capital city is Belfast where the HMS titanic ship was built. Its flag is St Patrick that is red cross on white field. As all nations of Great Britain, N. Ireland has a national day it is St Patrick's day on 17th March and the Shamrock is the national flower of Northern Ireland. N. Ireland does not have national sport, but there are very popular sports such as Gaelic Football and soccer.

St Patrick Flag

the Shamrock

Gaelic Football

Useful links:
http://projectbritain.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland

Welcome to My Blog !

Hi bloggers !

I'm Baqer from Bahrain I'm studying International Foundation year in the UK and hopefuly I'll be studying Aircraft Maintenance Engineering next year, I like reading particularly english books, swimming, and painting.

that's it :)