The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.

The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.

Sally Barker (born 19 September 1959, Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, England) is an English singer and songwriter, known for her solo work and as a founding member of The Poozies.

In Barker's early career as a singer-songwriter she supported acts including Fairport Convention, Taj Mahal, Richard Thompson, Wishbone Ash and Roy Harper. Her second release, This Rhythm Is Mine, which also received a US release on Ryko's Hannibal label, marked her maturity as a songwriter.

In 1990 Barker became a founding member of The Poozies, an all-women folk band. The lineup featured harpists Mary Macmaster and Patsy Seddon from the Scottish harp duo Sileas, and Karen Tweed (accordion) who Barker met at a folk festival in Hong Kong. Barker played with The Poozies until 1995, when she left just before the birth of her first child.

Sally also appeared on the Show of Hands album Live at the Royal Albert Hall. In 1992 she recorded the song I Misunderstood for the CD The World Is A Wonderful Place: The Songs Of Richard Thompson. Barker also provided vocals for the 1997 Pete Morton CD Courage, Love and Grace and the 1998 Janet Russell CD Gathering the Fragments.

Ryan Michael Green (born 20 October 1980) is a Wales international footballer who plays as a defender for Hereford United. He is perhaps best known for breaking Ryan Giggs's record as the youngest player to be capped for the Wales national football team, a record which has since been surpassed.

Born in Cardiff, Green began his career as a trainee with Wolverhampton Wanderers turning professional in October 1997. He made his Wolves first team debut on 10 November 1998, in a 2–1 victory against Sheffield United at Molineux. After 70 minutes he suffered a medial ligament injury which sidelined him for six months. He struggled to establish himself at Wolves and joined Torquay United on loan in March 2001, playing ten times as Torquay successfully fought off relegation to the Conference. However he scored an own goal in the final game of the season, a 3–2 win away to Barnet which nonetheless resulted in Torquay surviving at Barnet's expense.

He moved to Millwall on a free transfer in October 2001, and almost joined Bradford City in 2002, a move scuppered by the financial impact on Football League clubs of the ITV Digital collapse. Instead he joined Cardiff City on a monthly contract in November 2002, joining Sheffield Wednesday two weeks later. He was released by Wednesday at the end of the season, joining Hereford United in July 2003. In three seasons with Hereford he made a total of 117 appearances, scoring 4 goals. His first senior goal came against Telford United when, in the third minute of injury time, he ran the length of the pitch to get into a position to score the winning goal. He scored his most notable goal in his final match for the Bulls, the 2006 Conference play-off final against Halifax Town. In the second period of extra time, he curled a shot into the top left corner of the goal, which secured Hereford's return to the Football League. However he left shortly afterwards, on 31 May 2006, signing a two-year contract with Bristol Rovers.

Jocelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist. Her second album, the equally multiplatinum Mind Body & Soul, topped the UK Albums Chart for one week and spawned the top ten hit "You Had Me", Stone's most successful single on the UK Singles Chart to date. Both album and single each received one nomination at the 2005 Grammy Awards, while Stone herself was nominated for Best New Artist, and in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2004 was ranked fifth as a predicted breakthrough act of 2004. She became the youngest British female singer to top the UK Albums Chart in history to have her first album at number one. In early 2009, she joined the eclectic supergroup SuperHeavy.