to wish people would stop saying 'The North'

[Lludmilla]

...like it's all one great big homogenous lump of land.

This irritates me at the best of times, but the recent Covid scapegoating has made it worse. Newsflash: Covid rates actually VARY in what people are referring to as 'The North'. Just like poverty rates, crime rates, unemployment rates, everything really. Who'd have thought it?

I've spent my life in various places, mainly around the north-west and the east Midlands, and I don't have all the southern counties lumped together in my mind as one big mass called 'The South'.

Am I alone in feeling that some (note I said SOME) of those who use the term 'The North' are exhibiting unconscious ignorance/bias?

I lived in the North (Yorkshire, Durham) for most of my life but now live down south and regularly refer to the North when it is contextually appropriate.

This thread reminded me of a great Della quote from Raised by Wolves

"We're the best, aren't we mum?"
"Yes we are Wyatt. We're not Southern twats, and we're not Northern twats ... we're Midlands twats.

This still makes me giggle

@TroysMammy

I've been to Durham and I'm sure somewhere on the way was a sign on the motorway saying To the North.

That figures. Durham must be in the South.

I always say 'down south, meaning south of the Scottish border. So the whole of England was 'the south'. When I lived in the north of England it was referred to broadly as 'the north'. When I lived in the south of England everything north of London was 'the north'.

Winter is coming!

Call a spade a spade... It's The NORTH.

@sbhydrogen

Call a spade a spade... It's The NORTH.

Tha should call a spade a bloody shovel, tha knows.

I live in Brighton and am enlightened enough to believe that The North starts at Gatwick. Many of my co-Brighthelmstonians believe that anything north of Patcham or Hollingbury (look at a map) is exclusively populated by whippet-owning, ferret-fancying, flat-cap-wearing mill workers.

controversial POV alert

Is Manchester really the north? Or is it north midlands?

I live in Edinburgh and Manchester doesn’t feel very north. Leeds yes, Manchester, not really. I have to drive 5 flipping hours to get to Manchester.

To be fair, on the train from London to S Wales, it actually says ‘change here for the North.’

As a Scot I tolerate proper northerners (Cumbria, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Northumberland) as being virtually Scottish as their weather is almost as crap as ours.....they get us!

@Disfordarkchocolate

No, Hexham. It's lovely up here in the Proper North.

Oh, we are going to Hexham next week! Or at least a static caravan with hot tub 2 miles outside Hexham! All hints and tips for a decent socially distanced break with two kids much appreciated!!!

@Caplin

controversial POV alert

Is Manchester really the north? Or is it north midlands?

I live in Edinburgh and Manchester doesn’t feel very north. Leeds yes, Manchester, not really. I have to drive 5 flipping hours to get to Manchester.

Where do you think Sheffield is? It would be a brave person who'd say that any of Yorkshire wasn't in The North. I reckon, and Manchester is slightly north of Sheffield.

I remember going to Thurso once, next stop John o’Groats. Edinburgh to Inverness was 4 hours, which felt proper north. Thurso was another 4 hours north of that which blew my mind. Never mind the ferry from there to Orkney!

Oh Sheffield is North, Preston and Manchester are borderline.

Blackburn is noth though.

Maybe north is a state of mind 😝

While we're on the subject of north-south divide and covid, I think I can safely say that a good proportion of people contributing to our extreme rise in cases here in Durham, this week, are from down south. Most who are not from further south are far from the idea of families living cheek to jowl that some people seem to have of us northerners. Nearly 1,000 staff and students at Durham University test positive for Covid-19

www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/nearly-1000-staff-students-durham-19109144#ICID=Android_ChronicleNewsApp_AppShare

@NerrSnerr

I'm from the north and now live in the south west and do get frustrated when people talk about any southerners benefiting from politics being London centric, believe me we don't over here!!

I used to live in the midlands and the northerners thought we were in the south and the southerners thought we were in the north!

I'm with you.

Where I come from London is a city in the North (which starts at the River Thames BTW).

I'm from Staffordshire and I class myself of North of London but South from 'The North' very Midlands.

Waving at @caplin from Hadrian's Wall

@Riapia

The economic north south divide.

Yeah, they're all loaded in Leicester.

Just leaving this sign here. I am from the far north. The South begins in Inverness, you have to lock your car and there's an M&S.

@LadyCatStark that’s interesting! Thanks for that.

Glad I’m a Stark 😉

@Caplin

Oh Sheffield is North, Preston and Manchester are borderline.

Blackburn is noth though.

Preston is north of all of those....you're a bit geographically challenged.

As with Yorkshire, Lancashire is Northern. Manchester and Liverpool used to be in Lancashire hence they should be included whether we want them or not.