Archive for the ‘UK’ Category

Blackpool, England

Thursday, December 1st, 2005 by Bill Tusan

Perhaps, no place better represents what Blackpool is about than the fun spot called “Pleasure Beach”. It is not really a beach but an amusement park, squeezed onto a 42-acre site along the sea front. On the coast of the Irish Sea is this seaside town, which you can get to with a car hire UK.

One block from the seafront are more than 3,500 small hotels and guesthouses. Every house nearby perhaps 50 total are guesthouses. There are scores of streets in Blackpool like this where virtually every property is a bed and breakfast.

Whether you’re 2 or 102, there’s something for every age group; there’s Beaver Creek Children’s Theme Park - a safe haven for young children and their families, through to the extreme white knuckle experiences of the Pepsi Max Big One and Valhalla for those adrenalin seekers, to leisurely cruises around the River Caves or a trip on the world’s first commercial monorail, making Blackpool Pleasure Beach® the perfect fun destination for everyone.

The Shows include thrilling ice shows, sensational circus musicals to magical illusion shows and fun-filled on-park live entertainment.

At present, the town is becoming notorious for its hen and stag night-life as soon-to-be-weds of both sexes, along with packs of their friends often dressed alike in absurd or risque attire, roam the town’s myriad bars and clubs getting increasingly drunk. Sometimes drinking games are part of the nightly fun.  This is said to be putting off the “family visitors”.

Of course, while in England you might need medical attention of sort.  If so, you should look for a dentist in Manchester.

Oxford University

Thursday, December 1st, 2005 by Bill Tusan

It’s a university where students generally aren’t required to attend lectures, don’t receive grades, seldom study anything outside their chosen subject and take just three sets of exams during the course of their college careers. One exam to get in and two exams to get out.

Outsiders have been puzzled (puzzle games) and minds have been trained for over 800 years at the Oxford University. When one walks down the curving and broad High Street which is one of the most beautiful in England one follows the footsteps of Samuel Johnson, Adam Smith, Edward Gibbon, Jonathan Swift, Roger Bacon, Oscar Wilde, T.S. Eliot, C.S. Lewis, Margaret Thatcher and even Bill Clinton.

Of course as one would expect Oxford is more than a seat of learning of so many illustrious alumni. It is a university that is comprised of dozens of colleges and museums, houses, gardens, libraries, and churches.

More or less it has been evolving since the 12th century when scholars began gathering in Oxford. The university was founded due to a decree of King Henry I that scholars in holy orders were forbidden to study in Paris.

This evolution is most apparent when one visits the botanic gardens founded in 1621. Its specialization is medicinal plants with over 8.000 species representing 90 per cent of the world’s plant families.

The Bodelian Library, founded in the 15th century is one of the oldest and largest libraries in Europe. The library is immense with over 6.5 million volumes and over two miles of new shelving is required per year. As one might imagine the library is housed in several buildings. Readers must request a book at the central desk and wait for runners to finally deliver it in up to two hours time.

Another benefit to attending Oxford University is the access to many excellent doctors.  Find a cardiologist in Liverpool or cosmetic dentist Manchester.  There are many options available.

Nothing at Oxford is quite like any other university experience anywhere else. With more rules and traditions than one can imagine there is no equal to Oxford University.