North vs South (...and the Midlands)

[Mark Albrighton]

Do Scotland and Wales have similar north/south identity divides or an equivalent?

Ireland...aside from the obvious, is there likewise within Northern Ireland and the Republic respectively?

[Xela]

I like the fact that Edinburgh is actually further west than Bristol

[sidcow]

2 hours ago, dAVe80 said:

Lived in the Midlands, then the North, the South for a bit, then back to the North. I'd never want to live anywhere south of Leeds these days. 

I'm Birmingham born and bread, but I consider myself pretty much Northern now. Only thing I will never ever do, is call my Mom, Mam. 

What?  Even walk round with ferrets in your trousers? 

[sidcow]

26 minutes ago, Mark Albrighton said:

Do Scotland and Wales have similar north/south identity divides or an equivalent?

Ireland...aside from the obvious, is there likewise within Northern Ireland and the Republic respectively?

My dad (North Wales) says the Southern Welsh are basically English. 

[Demitri_C]

50 minutes ago, Xela said:

If I had to choose I'd consider myself more northern than southern. Brum and the wider midlands has much more in common historically with the north than the south IMO

Historically i think you have a point. But do you not feel when you see how developer new street ia from the ahopping centre to the huge train station its like london? I definitely feel brums becomed more modernised.

I mean someone up north who lives there would be  better answered than me to confirm if there is anything like that up there?

[Mark Albrighton]

7 minutes ago, sidcow said:

My dad (North Wales) says the Southern Welsh are basically English. 

I’m aware of the Pembrokeshire Little England thing, just wondered if it went further than that (in that particular instance). 

[Xela]

12 minutes ago, Mark Albrighton said:

I’m aware of the Pembrokeshire Little England thing, just wondered if it went further than that (in that particular instance). 

Least they've stopped burning the English owned homes down. 

[Xela]

13 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Historically i think you have a point. But do you not feel when you see how developer new street ia from the ahopping centre to the huge train station its like london? I definitely feel brums becomed more modernised.

I mean someone up north who lives there would be  better answered than me to confirm if there is anything like that up there?

Brum is a microcosm really and nothing like the wider Birmingham area. Yes the City Centre is developed but so is Manchester. Very similar to Brum IMO

I guess my feeling of being more northern is the fact i'm from north Birmingham. I've always lived north of the city and i'm edging further north all the time! My next move will probably take me into Lichfield, in Staffordshire, which is definitely not southern as counties ago, although Lichfield as a quaint historic city could easily be placed in Berks, Bucks or Oxon, and not look out of place. 

Perhaps someone residing in South Birmingham way would consider themselves more southern? 

[dAVe80]

32 minutes ago, sidcow said:

What?  Even walk round with ferrets in your trousers? 

Aye. It's reet champion. 

[bickster]

9 hours ago, Mark Albrighton said:

I’m aware of the Pembrokeshire Little England thing, just wondered if it went further than that (in that particular instance). 

There are two distinct versions of Welsh, North and South, my mother was somewhat interested in the differences because we had relatives from mid/ north Wales and she had to work out what they were saying sometimes.

[blandy]

12 hours ago, Xela said:

....without doubt my favourite people to deal with are from the North West - Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Gtr Manchester. Genuinely the nicest people I deal with... 

Well, obviously. Living contented, gravy fuelled lives makes for friendliness and amicability. There are some odd gravy refuseniks round these parts, so beware.

[Demitri_C]

11 hours ago, Xela said:

Brum is a microcosm really and nothing like the wider Birmingham area. Yes the City Centre is developed but so is Manchester. Very similar to Brum IMO

I guess my feeling of being more northern is the fact i'm from north Birmingham. I've always lived north of the city and i'm edging further north all the time! My next move will probably take me into Lichfield, in Staffordshire, which is definitely not southern as counties ago, although Lichfield as a quaint historic city could easily be placed in Berks, Bucks or Oxon, and not look out of place. 

Perhaps someone residing in South Birmingham way would consider themselves more southern? 

Do i classify as a northerner then as i live in north london?

[bickster]

Just now, Demitri_C said:

Do i classify as a northerner then as i live in north london?

No, definitely a lager shandy

[Awol]

Wessex = the south

Mercia = the midlands

Northumbria = the north

Wales = Wales

Scotland = heathens

1500 year old map still fits today. 

[The Fun Factory]

14 hours ago, Mark Albrighton said:

Do Scotland and Wales have similar north/south identity divides or an equivalent?

Ireland...aside from the obvious, is there likewise within Northern Ireland and the Republic respectively?

I would say yes to all of the above. Hardly anyone lives in the highlands of Scotland apart from Inverness due to a lot of things such as the clearances and the industrial revolution. If you see the parliamentary constituencies you will see what I mean.

North and South Wales are hugely different. The south became heavily industrialized and a lot of the Welsh population in the south could well have English ancestry when people from the west county moved to get work. Mid Wales and North far less built up and more welsh speaking. Transport wide it is slow to go North to South in Wales which shows a lack of connectivity. South Wales has strong links to the South West and North Wales to the Wirral and Merseyside.

Northern Ireland and Republic are different, though you would get different answers depending if you are a nationalist or unionist. Long story. Norn Iron is still just about majority protestant and republic obviously catholic. Northern Ireland is also slightly higher population density, and has a strong Scotish influence as well.

[Chindie]

Pembrokeshire is sometimes called little England beyond Wales. I knew a few Welsh people from Pembroke at uni who genuinely sounded like they'd come from the South East.

Wales also has the 'great desert of Wales' which creates a natural barrier between the North and South - vast bits of Wales are basically empty.

And there's some genuine antagonism between some elements of the North and South IIRC. Some bits of North Wales views the South as not really Welsh, and some bits of the South view the North as weird backwards people who hate outsiders. There's even pejorative terms for the people either side of the divide.

[chrisp65]

18 hours ago, Xela said:

Least they've stopped burning the English owned homes down. 

Stopped as soon as folk realised you could put out a cottage fire with a pick axe handle.

 

 

[Xela]

2 hours ago, chrisp65 said:

Stopped as soon as folk realised you could put out a cottage fire with a pick axe handle.

...and children. I wouldn't recommend using a toddler to pat the flames out on a timber cottage as I find them not very fire retardant and likely to fall to pieces. 

I do sympathise with the problem of holiday homes / Air BnB places ruining villages and towns. Happens in all nice areas. Easy to solve though: Stamp duty on second homes begin at £50k and rise from there. Council tax on second homes is 10x normal rates. 

 

[maqroll]

On 01/11/2020 at 05:06, It's Your Round said:

I’m all for the Midlands being the best of the three options. I live up north now with my wife who’s a Yorkshire lass, her best friend is from Kent. We’ve had plenty of North/South debates covering all aspects from the shite they eat to the strange language they speak. Almost always ends up with them both agreeing that the Midlands doesn’t know if it’s north or south, and nothing good ever came from there.

That’s when I embark on my diatribe of Midlands greatness - Charles Darwin, Black Sabbath, The Birthplace of Industry, Shakespeare, Aston Villa, Isaac Newton, UB40, the modern day Olympics was created in Much Wenlock, ELO, Balti, Tolkien, Duran Duran, Cadbury, Spaghetti Junction, more canals than Venice etc... 

The Midlands really does have its own distinct identity, but those northern monkeys and southern softies are ignorant to the fact. 
 

On the whole though, I’m much more aligned to the North than the South. But in reality, everywhere’s pretty much the same. 

Steel Pulse>UB40

[It's Your Round]

18 minutes ago, maqroll said:

Steel Pulse>UB40

Agreed sir.