england

The Home of Football. It's a big name to live up to, especially with the England football team's woeful recent history. But, whilst the team may be struggling along without a permanent manager or captain, Wembley Stadium certainly does not disappoint.

With Euro 2012 now just three months away and the England team dominating the football news in the last month, there was a sense of confusion, but also anticipation in the run up to the game with Holland last night. It was with this backdrop that I caught the tube out to West London.

One of the best things about living in the UK is how quick, easy and cheap it is to get around Britain and to mainland Europe. For short weekend breaks there are so many options it can be hard to decide where to go. To help you out we are creating a series of guides to places throughout Britain and Europe that are perfect for short holidays. If you have been anywhere exciting in Europe and want to write a short guide, then please get in contact with us.

Here, ForeignStudents.com Editor Andy, describes his weekend spent on the Isle of Wight.

The Isle of Wight, England

The Isle of Wight is an English county with a difference. It is an island (surprise, surprise) a couple of miles off the south coast of England in the English Channel. As well as mile upon mile of beach and unspoilt scenery, it has a number of traditional towns and villages.

The kit the England football team will wear for Euro 2012 this summer has been unveiled to a mixed reception. According to kit makers Umbro, the new kit (seen above) is steeped in tradition and English history, taking inspiration from everything from the St George's flag, to the 1966 World Cup winning team.

The shirt is the first ever to be purely white and red. The traditional blue badge has been replaced by a red one, therefore matching the colours of the country's flag. The shirt also sports an unusual collar, which looks far more like the kits of the 1960s than of this century. Supposedly the red design of the collar was "inspired by Sir Alf Ramsey's [the only manager to have won the World Cup with England] iconic 1966 jacket and the St George's flag".

However, this is not even the most ridiculous statement about the kit, as Umbro go on to describe the new shorts as "shaped to move with the player and give minimal interference during the game". Nice.

For all the grand statements are inspiration and tradition, ultimately the only thing that matters is, does it look good? Though the new design has certainly been met by a mixed reception, in our opinion, it is the best England shirt in years. Simple, elegant, classy.

As part of Foreign Fridays, we explore a different country each week through its most unusual, amusing and odd facts. If you want your country to appear, then simply get in contact with us either in the comments below or through Facebook or Twitter.

This week it is the turn of the England:

The world record number of people to simultaneously flip pancakes together is 890, set in Sheffield a week before Pancake Day in 2012.

Tuesday next week is Shrove Tuesday. Traditionally a deeply religious day, it is the day before the start of lent. However, as with most religious festivals these days in Britain, it is now all about food. And in England, one food in particular: pancakes.

This weekend saw the latest round of football fixtures for the FA Cup in England. It brought the normal mixture of upsets (or ‘Cupsets' if you like that sort of thing), giant killings and rivalries, cutting the competition from 32 teams, to just 20 still standing. The competition that each year goes against all football betting hasn't disappointed this year.  

The FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world and is very much a part of English history and culture. A huge range of teams are allowed to enter, meaning everyone from the best in the country to local amateur sides have a chance to enjoy the ‘magic of the cup' (a favourite phrase of football commentators and journalists).

This year, some of the country's most successful teams have been drawn against each other, meaning that whilst Manchester United and Manchester City (who won it last year- above) are both out, teams like Crawley and Stevenage are going strong.