Rode, WiltshireThe World > Europe > UK > England |
||
Remember "The Suspicions of Mr Whicher"? The family would have known this place well - just off the old byway to Frome. The village has, for obvious reasons, changed its name from Road to Rode. The house where the murder took place is very much larger than you expect from reading the book. However, because of the high walls and security, you can't see much.
You should view this panorama with respect. Cows are big, dangerous, smelly creatures who don't like having their photographs taken!
For thousands of years before the road network was developed in the 18th Century (Turnpikes); farms, ...
The Somerset village of Norton St Philip goes back over a thousand years. It might be beautiful but i...
English Oak trees at their most colourful standing in 18th Century Parkland in the southern Cotswolds.
Hoar Frost is usually formed during freezing, foggy weather. When it drifts across solid objects like...
Iford Manor has a large garden area with many Roman style architectures and buildings, as well as top...
High Summer on the outskirts of the hamlet of Midford which lies in, what used to be, the Valley of t...
This panorama is taken from the dried up bed of the disused Somerset Coal Canal which was constructed...
The combination of sun, rain and grass make the English meadow gently distinctive. Traditionally, the...
Midford Castle is really a folley. Only the super-rich live here. Nicolas Cage owned it for a while.T...
Europe is generally agreed to be the birthplace of western culture, including such legendary innovations as the democratic nation-state, football and tomato sauce.
The word Europe comes from the Greek goddess Europa, who was kidnapped by Zeus and plunked down on the island of Crete. Europa gradually changed from referring to mainland Greece until it extended finally to include Norway and Russia.
Don't be confused that Europe is called a continent without looking like an island, the way the other continents do. It's okay. The Ural mountains have steadily been there to divide Europe from Asia for the last 250 million years. Russia technically inhabits "Eurasia".
Europe is presently uniting into one political and economic zone with a common currency called the Euro. The European Union originated in 1993 and is now composed of 27 member states. Its headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.
Do not confuse the EU with the Council of Europe, which has 47 member states and dates to 1949. These two bodies share the same flag, national anthem, and mission of integrating Europe. The headquarters of the Council are located in Strasbourg, France, and it is most famous for its European Court of Human Rights.
In spite of these two bodies, there is still no single Constitution or set of laws applying to all the countries of Europe. Debate rages over the role of the EU in regards to national sovereignty. As of January 2009, the Lisbon Treaty is the closest thing to a European Constitution, yet it has not been approved by all the EU states.
Text by Steve Smith.