The North really is grim

[HST Power]

Absolutely! Tyneside, for example, is crime central. Every drug dealer in town lives in my back lane!

You should see some of the dealers that come out of Stevenage...

 

[eastwestdivide]

Ooh, touchy subject. One of the reasons I chose my user name, as a southerner living up north, to highlight that it's way more complicated than a single divide. As a counter example to the perceived stereotype, I give you... Chatham and Harrogate.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

We took the Manchester Metrolink today to the Media City UK terminal to visit the Lowry Centre and found that the old Salford dockland area had been transformed beyond recognition into new large corporate office blocks of companies and a sizable media complex, with the Lowry Centre and the Imperial War Museum (North) that are both modern buildings.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Ah, the most pointless light rail extension ever undertaken. You should visit there on a weekend, I and a couple of others off here saw maybe ten people as we went from the station to IWMN.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Ah, the most pointless light rail extension ever undertaken. You should visit there on a weekend, I and a couple of others off here saw maybe ten people as we went from the station to IWMN.

Media City UK is a very short stub on the Eccles line and the reason why it was built is contained within the title of the station name. It also serves the very busy Lowry Shopping Mall as well as the Lowry Centre (which includes a theatre) and the Imperial War Museum (North) by offering a fast direct link from the centre of Manchester from Piccadilly Station undercroft.

There were over thirty people on the outward journey who disembarked there, of which six (besides my wife and I) had travelled from our own station on the Macclesfield line. There is a regular service during the day and in mid-afternoon, when we returned, there was already over twenty people waiting to board at Media City UK. This was on a Wednesday. I do not think that you can underestimate the numbers who use this station to access the Lowry Shopping Mall, which was packed with shoppers today.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

How can you live in the Blackburn area and not consider yourself a "Northerner" ? What do you mean by "rim" in quote above....do you consider the North to be "on the edge" of economic matters?

Your own area of Blackburn has a historical focus that you should be proud of and not to decry. The area has historical links to the days of pre-history which show the area was suitable for habitation by ancient tribal peoples and the Roman invasion of Britain saw its importance by their military fort at nearby Ribchester (Bremetennacum Veteranumurum) and in the following Anglo-Saxon period, Blackburn was an important place in the Kingdom of Northumbria. Following the Norman invasion, the area was entered in the Domesday Book (Blachebourne). You may consider textile production in the area to be only from the days of the Industrial Revolution, but textiles have been produced at Blackburn since the 13th Century, which encouraged the Flemish weavers to settle here in the 14th Century. I will not make any detailed comment on the long religious history of your own area, as I know this is anathema to your views on this matter.

Look at the area that surrounds Blackburn and not just the environs of its central base and you will find many areas that are far removed from your description in the thread title. There are people in London who would consider your own "Northern" area to be be far preferable to the areas in which they live. I consider that I am a "Northerner" even though I live in the most affluent part of Cheshire East and I can see much in your own area to be proud of.

Firstly, 'rim' was a typo for 'grim'. Secondly, it would help if you read the thread thouroughly first, as I have already posted this

Thanks for the replies guys.

The real reason I started this thread was to see what people thought of the North / South divide. I personally, for many reasons listed here, doubt it exists. I started this thread like I did to get debate / arguing going on. I don't personally hold those views, it's a collection of what I have heard / read over the years.

For those of you doubting this, trust me, I personally don't agree with what I said, I love the area I am from, I am a proud Blackburnian. I did it the way I did to get you to take it seriously, to spark some debate.

Strange way of doing this? Yeah, but thanks for the reading, and sorry if you feel I've wasted you're time (I hope some on here at least know I can formulate better arguments.

 

[blackettstreet]

We took the Manchester Metrolink today to the Media City UK terminal to visit the Lowry Centre and found that the old Salford dockland area had been transformed beyond recognition into new large corporate office blocks of companies and a sizable media complex, with the Lowry Centre and the Imperial War Museum (North) that are both modern buildings.

I have seen such development in my hometown Gateshead. The Sage and the Baltic have appeared down by the Tyne and apparently represent gateshead boldly progressing. However, if anyone here ever visits Gateshead, you'll see that isn't the case! I hear it's now running for city status. Well, its 'town centre' is two streets - one full of seedy pubs - a supermarket, and a demolition site. The Sage and Baltic really just cover up what a dump Gateshead actually is!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It is that old stereotype, but somehow I agree. The North is rubbish.

You are not getting out of this so easily. This quote above is the very first part of your own original posting. You cannot post such a comment (in which you state that you agree with the sterotype) and then decide that all you wanted to do was create a forum for debate and try to give your true feelings upon the matter.

Yes, I have read all the thread through. This is why I already knew of your very strange explanation for starting this thread in the first place. You have made a stick for your own back if you expected matters to suddenly cease. If you then wanted an end to the matter, you should have made an application to the moderators to have this thread locked. This has not happened and forum members are still posting upon this thread. This is called democracy and as far as I can see, no posting has been made that contravenes the rules of the forum and would cause the moderators to take action over the matter. But then, this is my own personal opinion and I am not trying to influence matters in any way whatsoever.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

No one's called for this thread to be locked, certainly I am not... Also, forum's aren't democracies. Anyway, back to the matter in hand.

Did I really type that? I genuinely didn't mean to, that's what you get when you type things in a hurry and don't check them first

 

[telstarbox]

There are places in the south which have classic "northern" characteristics (parts of Cornwall, Medway Towns) and vice versa (York, Cheshire).

 

[Class172]

A more complete list of counties, complete with a map:

South West
Bath & N.E Somerset
Bristol
Cornwall
Devon
Dorset
North Somerset
Somerset
South Gloucestershire
South
Bournemouth & Poole
Buckinghamshire
Hampshire
Oxfordshire
West Berkshire
Wiltshire
South East
East Sussex
Greater London
Kent
Surrey
West Sussex
West Midlands
Gloucestershire
Herefordshire
Staffordshire
Shropshire
Warwickshire
West Midlands
Worcestershire
East Midlands
Derbyshire
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
Nottinghamshire
Northamptonshire
Rutland
East Anglia
Bedfordshire
Cambridgeshire
Essex
Hertfordshire
Norfolk
Suffolk
North West
Cheshire West
Cheshire East
Cumbria
Greater Manchester
Lancashire
Merseyside
Yorkshire & Humberside
East Riding of Yorkshire
North Lincolnshire
North Yorkshire
N.E Lincolnshire
South Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
North East
Durham
Hartlepool
Middlesbrough
Northumberland
Stockton-upon-Tees
Tyne & Wear

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

There are places in the south which have classic "northern" characteristics (parts of Cornwall, Medway Towns) and vice versa (York, Cheshire).

With regard to the Cheshire example above, there is the "magic triangle" so well loved by Premiership footballers consisting of Prestbury, Wilmslow and Alderley Edge.