Another Great Thing About Living in the South...

[BarryG]

A great deal of stereotyping going on in this thread started out lighthearted now seems to be have a go at anyone lives north of Watford. I have relations who live in Henley on Thames who recentley braved there way north for a family wedding. I was astounded at some of the things they came out with. (These are all university educated people mind you.) They couldnt believe I lived in a detached house in its own grounds, they were expecting me to live in a terraced house like on Coronation street. Yes terraced housing still exists and most of them are well built well kept in my experience. Having converted quite a few personally I can attest to there build quality.
They also seemed to think the majority of people in this area were unemployed and scroungers. The greater part of the North Easts manufacturing base was decimated in the seventies by nice rich people who dont live up here. Our shipyards were renowned world wide for build quality we also had the largest crane manufacturer (for whom I worked for awhile) . Now one of the biggest employers is Nissan car plant and somehow I dont think the profits are staying in this country.
I could go on for pages on some of the other things they came out with but wont.
Suffice to say.
What you see on TV in different programs is not real life I am sure I could find someone just as bad down south as stated about wife swap but then I still wouldnt watch such rubbish.
I have been to both Manchester and Liverpool and found them totally friendly and I think you may find ignorant people where ever you may travel. Or in myy case they travelled to me

 

[mlc]

Barry,

Cant spot a single word that I dont agree with. Good and bad everywhere. I had however assumed that the comments were all lighthearted.

Mark

 

[big x]

A great deal of stereotyping going on in this thread started out lighthearted now seems to be have a go at anyone lives north of Watford. I have relations who live in Henley on Thames who recentley braved there way north for a family wedding. I was astounded at some of the things they came out with. (These are all university educated people mind you.) They couldnt believe I lived in a detached house in its own grounds, they were expecting me to live in a terraced house like on Coronation street. Yes terraced housing still exists and most of them are well built well kept in my experience. Having converted quite a few personally I can attest to there build quality.
They also seemed to think the majority of people in this area were unemployed and scroungers. The greater part of the North Easts manufacturing base was decimated in the seventies by nice rich people who dont live up here. Our shipyards were renowned world wide for build quality we also had the largest crane manufacturer (for whom I worked for awhile) . Now one of the biggest employers is Nissan car plant and somehow I dont think the profits are staying in this country.
I could go on for pages on some of the other things they came out with but wont.
Suffice to say.
What you see on TV in different programs is not real life I am sure I could find someone just as bad down south as stated about wife swap but then I still wouldnt watch such rubbish.
I have been to both Manchester and Liverpool and found them totally friendly and I think you may find ignorant people where ever you may travel. Or in myy case they travelled to me

It's that graffiti on the north bound M1 at Watford that does it "it's grim up north"

adam

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

Now you really have lost the plot, Salford is a different city to Manchester! Lets just hope that the Cheetham Hill Lads dont know where you live

Mark

actually it was Salford Quays I was staying in. The company I was working for hired me a flat there for 9 months (across from the Quay House). It was "sort of" posh but some of the people who passed through were not. The Tesco metro store at the end of the road had security guards at the door! Never seen that down south (athough, in fairness, I wouldn't be surprised if they have them in London). They also had anti-theft devices on the shopping baskets. Who nick's a shopping basket?!

I just don't do "built up" really. I do fields and trees and hills and things. In fairness to Manchester I don't like ANY city (although London is pretty much at the top of the list of cities I don't like)

 

[entropymatters]

It's that graffiti on the north bound M1 at Watford that does it "it's grim up north"

I prefered the three bridges on the way into London which were daubbed;

WELCOME

HOME

LEMMINGS!

 

[jberks]

A great deal of stereotyping going on in this thread started out lighthearted now seems to be have a go at anyone lives north of Watford. I have relations who live in Henley on Thames who recentley braved there way north for a family wedding. I was astounded at some of the things they came out with. (These are all university educated people mind you.) They couldnt believe I lived in a detached house in its own grounds, they were expecting me to live in a terraced house like on Coronation street. Yes terraced housing still exists and most of them are well built well kept in my experience. Having converted quite a few personally I can attest to there build quality.
They also seemed to think the majority of people in this area were unemployed and scroungers. The greater part of the North Easts manufacturing base was decimated in the seventies by nice rich people who dont live up here. Our shipyards were renowned world wide for build quality we also had the largest crane manufacturer (for whom I worked for awhile) . Now one of the biggest employers is Nissan car plant and somehow I dont think the profits are staying in this country.
I could go on for pages on some of the other things they came out with but wont.
Suffice to say.
What you see on TV in different programs is not real life I am sure I could find someone just as bad down south as stated about wife swap but then I still wouldnt watch such rubbish.
I have been to both Manchester and Liverpool and found them totally friendly and I think you may find ignorant people where ever you may travel. Or in myy case they travelled to me

This is so true. Sure London is a high pressure congested concrete mess and therefore unpleasant place to live, certainly from the point of view of those of us who can see North Yorkshire from our bedroom windows anyway.
My hatred for London and all things south is based on the fact that 80% of Southerners total ignorance of anything north of watford - as Barry say, the majority honestly believe we all live in back to backs and keep ferrets. We are all thick, wear shell suits and live in the Rovers. Whenever I speak to someone in London, their knowledge of UK geography is totally absent. When they call up with 'something in the city', my wife always asks "Which city?" Just to p them off. One told me that Milton Keynes was commutable from Leeds last week.

If I'm honest, I get irritated because of the insular attitude of the Southerners that are the media and the government. These imbeciles shape our world view.
Watch TV any night. Ads are a great example. If they want someone a bit thick or poor - they have a northerner. Clever, or street smart, a Londoner. It's plain lazy, but also offensive. Sattchi made his name but going beyond the end of his street to film ads, but they're back to the old ways now. Same goes for the programming. Watch 5th gear if you don't belive me. They have a new presenter whose only qualification as far as I can tell, is that he's a southerner. He knows nothing about cars (by his own admission), has no personality or humour to speak of and exhibits a speech impediment with a strong east end accent, making him harder to understand that the wildest geordie. What the hell is he doing there? I'm more qualified and I'd be hopeless.

The mrs watches wife swap. The plot is always the same, 2 opposites - fair enough. Mr and Mrs hard working succesful from the home countes are swapped with Mr and Mrs unemployed scrounger from a hovel 'up norf'. There are lots of well to do folk up norf and scroungers down south but it's odd that they never get picked. Same with 'holiday swap'. Southerners holiday in Dubai, Northerners, like to camp on a tip and spend the week scavenging for old scrap. Also, Northerners ONLY eat grease and fat.

Then there is the Southern Preservation Society, apparently known as the 'UK Government'.
We're all supposed to get excited by London 2012. Why? It's an excuse for the government to spend a few billion more of our money on regenerating London, sucking jobs south and keeping the money firmly planted in the greater london area. The original story was that many of the tracks etc would be shipped throughout the country after the event but they've finally admitted that this was, what we all knew, a lie. The 'super Casino' is open to offers from Blackpool, Newcastle etc. Anyone want to bet that it won't end up in Grenwich? No? Didn't think so. The Channel tunnel was built with a promise that it would have a direct link to the east coast main line. Yeah - right we all said - we weren't suprised. Once London got a connection, at massive expense to the country's coffers, suddenly it was too expensive. New tube line from Government coffers? No problem. Leeds needs a tram system? Sorry - not enough cash. I could go on.

We're bound to get P'd off after a while!

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

occasionally I have to do the comute to London on the train in the morning (haven't seen the Three Brides grafitti), only about a dozen or so times a year fortunatley and I really don't know how people do it every day without going barking mad. I know you can earn more in London but there is such a thing as quality of life. I guess people think they are leaving it behind when the leave on the train but some of the surrounding areas, like Croydon are still pretty grim.

I like that when I do finally get off the train (and get on it in the morning) the carriages are usually adout 95% empty. If I lived much futher South from London I'd need to speak French.

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

My hatred for London and all things south !

Hate, sounds a little "strong". I'm not sure I hate anyone based on where they live. Sure I have opinions and I would certainly not chose to live in some places (Manchester being an obvious one from my earlier threads, London being another - but that's because I don't like ANY city) but I don't think I could say I "hate" someone because they come from up-North. I was born in Surrey and now live in West Susses, although I travel all over the country and the planet for work. I know I can be a bit of a berk at times but it would be sad if you hated me because I was born in Surrey. There are planty of better reasons to dislike me (just ask Hawk)

Although you do have a point about that new presenter on 5th gear. For him I'm not sure hate is a strong enough word. What's that all about?

 

[jberks]

Hate, sounds a little "strong".

To clarify - I hate the place and what it does to people - not the people themselves - clearly there are lots of nice people everywhere and even us yorkshiremen can ignorant prats from time to time!

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

even yorkshiremen can ignorant prats from time to time!

just ask Meg Ryan....

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

btw, this is the view from my living room window (taken a few weeks ago at sunrise). Hopefully you'll agree it doesn't look all that horrible for being "dan saaf".

 

[Brett]

btw, this is the view from my living room window (taken a few weeks ago at sunrise). Hopefully you'll agree it doesn't look all that horrible for being "dan saaf".

Nice but who put that telegraph line there, and my that is some smog problem you have

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

mist on the field (honest). Although it could be caused by all the cows farting! The cable, unfortunatley, is for elastic trickery. As we're a tad rural they seem to think it's a better idea having the cables ruining the view rather than burying them underground.

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

actually I suppose it should be "dan saaf" or "dain saith" depending on what class of Merc you drive

 

[littlebrooklyn]

Looks very nice

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

thanks LB, it is. Would be nicer if only we could stop all the blasted lorry drivers thinking it makes a nice shortcut, despite all the signposted lorry routes away from the area. Problem is, it seems that most of the lorry drivers around here don't actually read English and their sat navs don't take account of the official routes they are supposed to take.

 

[angus falconer]

I wouldn't give you a pound of Angus's favourite Morrison's lard for London life, then, or now.

Myros, you have a good memory (for the record I wasn't being anti-Northern just anti-Morrisons, which is not the same thing - Morrisons is just a crap shop chain run until recently by an out-of-control autocrat)

Re leafy parts of London; there are many green and leafy parts just as there are some pretty horiffic parts.

I like the green leafy bit I live in and have a fun media crowd to hang out with after a day working in corporate IT-land. Having moved down from Edinburgh 19 years ago I can't complain.

 

[mlc]

btw, this is the view from my living room window (taken a few weeks ago at sunrise). Hopefully you'll agree it doesn't look all that horrible for being "dan saaf".

Great view

except for the smog coming over the fields and the red sky in the morning - isnt that something to do with upper atmosphere pollution.

We have nice views in the North of course, we call then National Parks. Depending on which way you want to look you can view the peak district, yorkshire, wales or the lakes. sadly not all visible from my home but all rather local.

On the other hand I now have to be more careful in my local country park, a 14 year old caught a Piranha whilst fishing recently. I would like to claim that they breed their,however more likely that someone wearing a shell suit decieded that it was too big for the tank in his lounge.

Mark.

 

[Myros]

when it comes to lard, I never forget

Angus, I have a fun bunch of workmates to hang around with as well after work, and during, but I like to get home to my girls. If the weather is right we can be on the top of the pennines flying Dad's stunt kite in 10 mins from home.
I did all that Tebbit stuff 20 years ago, but when I weighed it all up, the north, grim though it may seem, won hands down. Home , hearth and people who you might just bump into again beat the sad but moneyed bachelor existence in the big smoke. and the lard is way better up here.

 

[angus falconer]

Angus, I have a fun bunch of workmates to hang around with as well after work, and during .

Don't get me wrong - I like my job in IT. I have lots of interesting clients, I can do 3 meetings a day in central London no sweat, have a quick beer in town and still be home in time to see my little boy at tea time.

I just find it interesting to meet people who do different jobs and here in west London there are lots of creative types.

but I like to get home to my girls. .

err......is that family you are referring to?

If the weather is right we can be on the top of the pennines flying Dad's stunt kite in 10 mins from home..

Now that's cool. I have a great little stunt kite but rarely fly it :-(

Having said that if you stay in one part of London it can eventually become like a small village - I am always bumping into people I know round my patch.

It can take a long time though - not as immediately friendly as, say Edinburgh where I came from