As Monster's Legs explained, the Spectrum was an home computer that had huge diffusion not only in UK but also in other european countries. For example, I am Italian and I was (and I still am) a Spectrum user. A proud one!
Enjoy and, if you need any info, don't hesitate to ask. There are literally TONS of excellent Spectrum games available on the web.
If you will understand how big were the machine limitations you will understand why the games are so amazing: coders did their best to avoid the problems or to overcome them to create wonderful stuff. They still do: just take a look on Savage Princess and you'll understand what I mean.