The weekends are a time for families in Britain. Often parents are not at work (having worked from Monday to Friday), so Saturdays are a busy time for shops with many families all going shopping. Sundays used to be a very special day of the week ~ it was the one day of the week for 'worship and rest'. Shops were closed and most people were at church or at home doing gardening or odd jobs (DIY - Do It Yourself things). 

Until a few years ago shops were not permitted to open on a Sunday. Sundays today are becoming like any other day other week with a lot of shops now being open. (Shopping hours on a Sunday are usually a little less than on any other day of the week.) Some families will now spend their time shopping rather than going to church or they will combine the two activities. Because of this, Britain is becoming a far less Christian country with fewer people regularly attending Church. Many Christian's believe that Sunday should be kept special, as a time given to worshipping God. Others believe that it is important that families have time to be together ~ what do you think?

So how do we spend our free time?

People enjoy various indoor and outdoor activities in Britain. A survey showed that people in Britain spend about 45% of their free time watching television, 24% of their free time socialising, 22-23% on sport and hobbies, and 10% on other activities ~ DIY, gardening, eating out and going to the cinema.

What do we watch on the telly (television)?

People in Britain also listen to about 15 hours of radio each week. I used to listen to the Top 40 every week, so I could find out who is number one in the pop charts.

Entertaining
The second most popular activity in Britain is visiting or entertaining friends or relations, and then is going to the cinema (movies).

Homes and Gardens
The Brits are also known as a nation of gardeners. Most people have a garden on their property and many people are proud of their gardens. They want their homes and gardens to look nice. Every town in Britain has one or more DIY (Do it Yourself) centres and garden centres. These are like supermarkets for the home and garden, and are very popular with British home-owners at the weekends.

Do we have any gardeners out there? ? ?