Southern Expo

[Weaver]

My dad was stationed at Hornchurch during the war. That's quite enough southerness for a couple of generations of the family though...

Hornchurch isn't "Southern". I have to cross the Thames (twice using the route I'm being forced to take) and thus is Northern as far as I'm concerned. 

My definition of 'Southern' starts anywhere from Milton Keynes to Birmingham, depending on what mood I'm in...

In England, I'd suggest the following 4 approximate areas.

Lowestoft to Oxford to Bournemouth outlines the south east. Hereford  to Oxford to Bournemouth the south west. A line from  Hull to Blackpool  is the northern limit of the midlands.  The bit above that  line is the north   And the bit inside the M25 might as well be another planet, albeit inhabited by several worthy Whiffers who do their best to raise the tone of the area.

An acquaintance from university days came from Wick, in the far north of Scotland and regarded anyone south of Inverness as a southerner.

As a wild-haired German theoretical physicist with a funny moustache once informed the world "It's all a matter of where your relatives live"...........or something vaguely similar.

That might make sense in terms of roughly equal areas, but culturally, you'll find precious few people north of Sheffield who consider themselves anything but 'northern'. You pretty much have to split The North into the North West and the North East, the dividing line being the Pennines. The North West is Cheshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cumbria. Partly, the sense of regional identity comes from the local broadcasting areas nowadays. Here in Manchester, we get 'local' news from as far north as Carlisle, but not from Leeds, which is much nearer, but the wrong side of the Pennines.

[PR19_Kit]

When I lived in Derby they all thought of themselves as 'East Midlands', not North West.

[Weaver]

When I lived in Derby they all thought of themselves as 'East Midlands', not North West.

Derbyshire's an interesting one. Officially, yes, it's in the East Midlands region, however Derby itself is very far south in the county, part of it forms a 'finger' that juts northwards from the rest of the East Midlands, and the whole county straddles the Pennines, so it's neither 'East' nor 'West'. People in Derby might feel like East Midlanders, but people from Buxton and Matlock identify much more with the North West. My purely personal feeling in that 'my' area ends somewhere the other side of Matlock Bath. That roughly corresponds to the High Peak and Derbyshire Dales districts within Derbyshire: areas 1a and 1b on this map (Derby itself is area 2):



On the wider question, this is what the official map of UK regions looks like:

[The Rat]

Visited Hornchurch a few times when we lived in Stanford-le-Hope, but the last time was '62 so I'm guessing it's changed a bit! 

[Rheged]

When I lived in Carlisle, the basic rule of thumb was that the REAL North was north of a line from the mouth of the Lune to Teesmouth.  It's one of those things people can argue over for aeons.   Lancs/Cheshire and Yorkshire are probably sufficient to count as a separate area in their own right.   

[Weaver]

When I lived in Carlisle, the basic rule of thumb was that the REAL North was north of a line from the mouth of the Lune to Teesmouth.  It's one of those things people can argue over for aeons.   Lancs/Cheshire and Yorkshire are probably sufficient to count as a separate area in their own right.

Yes: the 'feelings' boundaries as opposed to the admin and broadcasting ones are:

The North West: Cheshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, part of Derbyshire
Cumbria
Yorkshire
The North East (everything North of Yorkshire and east of the Pennines)

[Gondor]

Any pictures from the show?

Gondor

[NARSES2]

That might make sense in terms of roughly equal areas, but culturally, you'll find precious few people north of Sheffield who consider themselves anything but 'northern'. You pretty much have to split The North into the North West and the North East, the dividing line being the Pennines. The North West is Cheshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cumbria. Partly, the sense of regional identity comes from the local broadcasting areas nowadays. Here in Manchester, we get 'local' news from as far north as Carlisle, but not from Leeds, which is much nearer, but the wrong side of the Pennines.

And after all that I'm still a southerner who's 50% Maccam 

[NARSES2]

Any pictures from the show?

Gondor

Afraid not mate. After the journey over there, there was nothing that really stirred my camera finger. It's a fairly tightly packed show and not the easiest to get photo's at, especially on the Saturday. That and the fact the mood didn't take me, sorry.

[NARSES2]

What was the price of your ticket like?

Didn't cost me because I was still within the GLC area, so my "Boris Card" worked. (Pensioners travel pass) I can travel inside the GLC for nothing as long as I avoid the morning rush 

Train fares in the UK are now extremely complicated. However I can do London to Newcastle for £30 with my senior citizen 30% discount card. With the discount and given that I can travel at less busy times, train fares aren't bad. If you have to pay full fare or commute however 

[PR19_Kit]

Didn't cost me because I was still within the GLC area, so my "Boris Card" worked. (Pensioners travel pass) I can travel inside the GLC for nothing as long as I avoid the morning rush 

Train fares in the UK are now extremely complicated. However I can do London to Newcastle for £30 with my senior citizen 30% discount card. With the discount and given that I can travel at less busy times, train fares aren't bad. If you have to pay full fare or commute however 

That's interesting. Does the 'Boris Card' work on busses and trains, both Overground and Underground then?

More to the point, would my Forest of Dean Bus Pass do the same if I ever found myself in the Big Smoke?

I've got a Senior Railcard too, and as you say it makes train travel almost sensible. It'd cost me about £3.00 return to get to Gloucester from here, less than the fuel would cost if I drove, but the station here is over a mile from my house, and I don't fancy my bike's chances if I locked it to the station fence down there!

[NARSES2]

That's interesting. Does the 'Boris Card' work on busses and trains, both Overground and Underground then?

More to the point, would my Forest of Dean Bus Pass do the same if I ever found myself in the Big Smoke?

The "Boris Card" works on everything, buses, trains, Underground, Overground, trams (trains only after 9-30 Monday to Friday, all day Sat/Sun). The only things it doesn't work on as far as I know are the river ferry (1/2 price I think ?) and the cable car. I'm not sure about the Woolwich Ferry ?

To answer your question. I'm afraid your card would work on the buses as that's national but the rest is only for us Londoner's  People's Republic of London  You could get an Oyster Card which would still save a fortune.

[Weaver]

The "Boris Card" works on everything, buses, trains, Underground, Overground...

So literally wombling free then....

[NARSES2]

The "Boris Card" works on everything, buses, trains, Underground, Overground...

So literally wombling free then....

Yup. One of the best inventions since sliced bread 

Most of our public transport is busy all day now, not just the rush hour. It's all us pensioners up and about  Seriously it's probably had a positive effect on life expectancy, but having worked in statistics I should know  where to go to prove that or otherwise 

[Glenn Gilbertson]

We country folk do not need to buy an Oyster card - tapping a contactless bank debit card on the entry & exit terminals gives you the same fares.