Karen
Different kinds of leisure activities at the weekends in Bristol
Introduction:
When I first time to come to Bristol, I found that there are so much green space and people love to take a sunbath with their lovers, friends or families. It is a relaxed and casual moment for them. Therefore, I felt that the Western people enjoy and attach importance to their leisure time. People can arrange the entertainment at the weekends. For this reason, I want to comprehend how many activities are attracted to Bristol people and how they can prepare it properly.
Research method:
This research is divided into five sections. First of all, I searched the internet about the explanation and definition of “leisure.” Second, I made several questionnaires and asked 20 people in Bristol on the street, at the bookstore or in the museum and the shopping mall. Third, after the short interview, I analyzed these data, gathered the statistics and came up with final conclusion.
Background:
1. What is leisure?
It can be simply said that leisure is the time when you are not working and you can relax and do thing that you enjoy most. In the dictionary, when leisure is a noun, it is expressed two meanings:
(1) Time available for ease and relaxation.
(2) Freedom to choose a pastime or enjoyable activity.
But general speaking, leisure means the way people can make the balance of living style, personal development , relief or relaxation, and the interaction between family and friends. In modern society, people are more closed to the nature, sports and outdoor activities because people are busy working, studying and doing business during the weekdays and they lack of time to exercise so that people develop many psychosomatic diseases. Only at the weekend, people can make use of their own time to do something they like and ease up to take a breather. The benefit of leisure is to balance between work and rest.
2. Some weekend activities in Bristol:
There are many summer activities in Bristol that you can join at the weekend. For example, the boats attraction can be suited all tastes. There is one festival related to boats in Bristol. Also, there are many parks and green spaces you can stay and have a great afternoon to picnic. It is a common activity for the Western people to do in summer. If you like adventures, you can explore the outstanding gardens and the nature landscape. Besides, as the sun sets over the harbour, the whole Bristol comes alive with music, theatre, cinema, laughter and drink. Hence, if you like to socialize with others, it is the best to join the nightlife, such as going to the pub or bar and order the tasty beers, and chat with friends all night. There are so many fascinating activities you can do at the weekend in Bristol.
Research results:
By asking 20 people in Bristol, I have generalized some findings.
(1) Lots of people like to go away at the weekends. They think that outdoor activities can make them relaxed.
(2) Especially younger and single people prefer going away than staying at home, because they have more free time and do not worry about taking care of their family.
(3) On the contrary, great majority of old people like to stay at home. The main reason is that they feel they are too old and tired to go away.
(4) Most people, on average, go away twice a month, no matter men or women.
(5) The Western people place great importance on their family and friends.
(6) Compare men and women, I found out some difference between the two. For men, they like to go to the pub or go for a meal. It is an important social time for men to have a cordial conversation with new or old friends. Some men love to listen to the music, watch the film, or walk their dog. Oppositely, for women, they love to go shopping, go to the cinema, fitness for keeping the shape, surfing the internet, baking the delicious cookies. All of these are the nature instincts for women.
(7) Most of the people have some hobbies, for instance, surfing the internet (like eBay), dance, travel, etc. Actually, they will do it at the weekend and then gain the satisfaction and achievements from their hobby.
The graphs of research data:
Q1. Do you usually go away or stay at home at the weekend?
|
|
Go away
|
Stay at home
|
|
Young men
|
60%
|
40%
|
|
Middle-aged men
|
33%
|
67%
|
|
Old men
|
7%
|
93%
|
|
Young women
|
54%
|
46%
|
|
Middle-aged women
|
25%
|
75%
|
|
Old women
|
21%
|
79%
|
Q2. On average do you go away once a month or twice a month?
|
|
Once a month
|
Twice a month
|
More than twice
|
|
Men
|
35%
|
55%
|
10%
|
|
women
|
15%
|
60%
|
25%
|
Q3. If yes, where do you usually go?
|
a) to meet some family
|
40%
|
|
b) to meet some friends
|
40%
|
|
c) to the seaside
|
10%
|
|
d) abroad
|
4%
|
|
e) other
|
6%
|
Q4. If not, what do you do in Bristol at the weekend?
|
a) stay at home
|
30%
|
|
b) go shopping
|
20%
|
|
c) go to the cinema
|
10%
|
|
d) go for a meal
|
10%
|
|
e) go to the pub
|
20%
|
|
f) other
|
10%
|
Q5. Do you have a hobby?
There are 70% people have some hobby.
Q6. Do you do it at the weekend?
There are 95% people will do their hobby at the weekend.
Conclusion:
There are several differences between Bristol and Taiwan:
(1) In my opinion, I think that most Western people lay down their life style. By contrast, Taiwan people tend to earn more money even at the weekend so that there are still many workers has to go to factory. Western people prefer having their own free time than working all day.
(2) According to the climate, places in the higher latitude, like Britain, it is warm in summer; therefore, many people like to go outside to enjoy the sunbath or take a trip. But in Taiwan, it is very hot in summer so that almost everyone would rather stay in the air conditioning room than going outside. Furthermore, if the local government emphasis outdoor activities a lot, it tend to hold more festivals in the city and attract more visitors.
In short, the leisure and outdoor activities are importance to the Western people. From the experience of Bristol, in the recent year, outdoor activities are gradually popular in Taiwan. Family are planning the weekend activities like the two day trip and joining the particular festivals in certain areas. Leisure is not only the time to rest but also the time you can do more meaningful and interesting things and reach the healthy status of physiology and psychology.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leisurehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weekendhttp://tw.knowledge.yahoo.com/question/?qid=1105050903621http://visitbristol.co.uk/
