Wednesday, August 02, 2006

www.icons.org.uk

LONDON (Reuters) - Fish and chips, Sherlock Holmes and Monty Python have joined cricket, pubs and red double-decker buses on a growing list of England's national treasures.

More than 350,000 people have voted in a government-backed project to catalogue the icons which capture the essence of England.

Other new entries joining the list on Tuesday include the Oxford English Dictionary, Robin Hood, the Mini and the long-running BBC Radio 4 soap opera "The Archers".

"Choosing the things that most represent England has really got the nation's creative juices going," said Jerry Doyle, managing director of the Icons project.

The first wave of icons was announced in January. They included Stonehenge, the FA Cup and the humble cup of tea.

The Icons Web site (www.icons.org.uk) has received more than 600 nominations from the public.

A panel has picked more than 50 to be listed on the site with pictures, videos and stories explaining their history.

The icons website is a great web site for the ideallists among us because it has on its pages everything that you and you alone thinks is iconically British. I personally suggested The Mersey Ferries & Blackpool Trams - yeah pretty sad I know but that is the whole point of the site.

Go on have a look for yourself, be as sad as you like and it's not often you get that opportunity these days is it?

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