Обычаи Великобритании – British Customs
В Великобритании существуют очень необычные традиции. Одна из них – состязание городских глашатаев. Городские глашатаи со всех концов страны собираются в Хастингсе, Сассекс, в августе на Национальный турнир городских глашатаев. На состязание они надевают свою традиционную форму для церемоний и берут свои ручные колокольчики. Процессия, возглавляемая оркестром Хастингса, марширует к арене, где ее приветствуют мэр, члены городского совета и гражданские служащие. Чтобы судьи имели возможность определить, кто же обладает самым мощным голосом,
Перевод на английский:
There exist some very unusual traditions in Great Britain. One of them is Town Crier;s Rivalry. Town criers from all parts of the country gather at Hastings, Sussex, in August for the National Town Crier;s Championship. For the contest they wear their traditional ceremonial uniforms and carry their handbells. A procession headed by the Hastings band marches to an arena where the Mayor, members of town council and civil officials greet them. To enable the judges to determine who possesses the most powerful voice the competitors are rowed to a small island about 75 yards from them. From this little island they one by one make their cries and declaim a 150-word test piece. Another curious tradition reminds us of our country. Fun and jokes are very common on April Fool;s Day. In Scotland an old name for April Fool is April-cuckoo. For some reason the cuckoo is a symbol for daftness. The return of the cuckoo and the arrival of spring are connected with all this fooling. Still another interesting tournament is the Veteran Car Run. The veteran cars are set out on the London – Brighton run each November. There is an important condition – every car taking part must be at least 60 years old. It provides the gayest motoring spectacle of the year and a wonderful opportunity to see these old fine cars. The London – Brighton ride is not a race. Participants are limited to a maximum average speed of 20 miles per hour. At 8 o;clock comes the;Off;. The main things in this tournament are the cars that represent the history of the country.