Quirky things about where you live

[BobISMyUncle]

I have discovered, quite accidentally, that I live in a recently designated Market Town. I love this! We have one market stall, on a Saturday. It sells trousers. Sometimes, it sells plants. Sometimes it sells tartan stuff. On Thursday, but might be Tuesday, it sells fish. Sometimes, none of the above is true.
We're a Market Town now!! Do not be messing with me, I've developed webbed feet

@redsquirrelfan

One of my favourite bookshops was the Harbour bookshop in Dartmouth. I only discovered last year that it was run by Christopher Robin of AA Milne fame. I don't know how I didn't know that.

Our family holidays always involved a trip to Christopher Robin’s bookshop in the 1970s.

Our garden and several others which adjoin are close to the HQ of a strange religious sect. The sect believes that these gardens were the site of the original Garden of Eden and Jesus is expected to return here.
We have a nice apple tree but no snake, and we keep the gin topped up in case Jesus would like to pop round for a drink.

@trevthecat

The town I live in was loved by Hitler! And is the only town in the UK with 3 pier's!

@trevthecat - Hitler loves Blackpool?!

• loved

@Chambored I thought Hitler loved Eastbourne. Only 1 pier there though I think!

Yeah he loved Blackpool! It was deliberately not bombed! He wanted it as 'his personal playground'!

The town I live in has the grave of Fanny Adam’s, namesake (and sad story) of the expression “sweet FA” or “sweet Fanny Adam’s”.

It might actually be Blackpool. I’ve just googled and found this:
“Adolf Hitler saved Blackpool from Blitz because he wanted it as a personal playground“ from a Telegraph article.... who knew! But hopefully @trevthecat can shed more light....

Cross post there Trev!

My town has an asparagus festival complete with a man dressed as a piece of asparagus and an asparomancer!

@Aethelstan

I've had to name change for this as it's really outing and there are only 5000 people that live here :

It's the oldest borough in England
Burial place of the first King of England (plenty of people who live here can trace their families all the way back to the battle that decided his reign in 880 and are called the Wardens of the town)
It was the scene of the first manned flight in England - a monk made himself some wings and jumped off the top of the Abbey
A girl was killed by a tiger here in about 1830 - the first death by tiger in England!
We also have the oldest church in England

It is really quite Hot Fuzz, as you might imagine

I know it well. My dad has a book on the town with elephants walking down the high street (from a travelling circus). Lots of fascinating history.

Also name changed

I live in a hamlet where there is an old cotton mill, (now flats).

In the distant past, the treatment of the children who worked there was terrible, they say the mill owners buried children who died there around the hillsides, and their ghosts haunt the area.

I've never seen one obviously, and the neighbours don't talk about that, but I have had some strange experiences of the sort I never had where I lived before!

@Newrumpus

Over 70% of dog owners in my village have developed physical similarities to their dog within the first twelve months of ownership.

Well that's put a load of funny mental images in mind!

I can see an actual castle from DD's bedroom window, and the ducks in the village have special protected status granted by the local Duke (who likes a pint in one of the village pubs).

The 'Cofiwch Dreweryn' painted wall

@TooManyButtons I can see polar bears from my bedroom window (I live in the UK smile)

so jealous. do you watch them a lot?

LunarSea I'm not in the UK

You can see the great pyramid from my balcony.

@TooManyButtons

I can see polar bears from my bedroom window (I live in the UK )

I want that!

We have a ‘fake house’ near us. When they built a row of houses they didn’t want to leave a gap where the tube line ran underneath (with an shortish open space) so the builders created a fake front and painted the windows dark grey. So it has the same frontage, windows, doors etc as it’s neighbours.

I walked passed it for years before I realised.

I used to work near where the first Paddington bear film was filmed.

I was wandering along getting my lunch one day when a family stopped me to ask where the house was - oh the look on the little girls face (and dad who gave me the thumbs up behind her back) when I pointed to the house and said ‘he lives in there but shhhhhhh, don’t tell anyone!’ It was snowing at the time and just pure magic. They has been trudging up and down for ages trying to find ‘the house’. I was/still am a huge PB fan and if I was that little girl I would have been delirious!

I wasn’t so impressed when tourists would stop and ask me where the ‘Notting Hill door’ was - hadn't/haven’t seen the film, still haven’t and don’t know where the flopping door is! (‘Oh I think it’s off portobello... better ask someone else’).

Down the road is a 14th century inn used as the headquarters of Monmouth's army, during the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685. In the aftermath of the failed rebellion Judge Jeffreys used the Inn as a courtroom and conducted 12 executions on the village common, as part of the Bloody Assizes.[7]

Just down the hill from me is a 'hanging stane' - site of the last gallows used in the city, erected for the use of 2 highwaymen. There's a commemorative plaque in the pavement. Further off is the Bore Stone- said to have been used to hold the battle standard on Flodden Fields - but that's probably a myth.

[quote BikeRunSki]@BournvilleGreen, my work used to use a training centre there! The smell of chocolate was delicious, but rather distracting!!

My village is fairly uneventful, but I can see the tallest unsupported structure in the UK in a nearby village in one direction, and the next village in a different direction is famous (locally) for enormous pies. And Jodie Whittaker comes from another local village - DS goes to her old school. My my village - not distinguished for anything much.[/quote]
We live very near each other 😊

@Coffee2sugars, I live in the village that no one can ever pronounce!!

Ulysses S Grant opened our train station.

@Manteo

I live in one of the best places (I think) in the UK to find ancient shark teeth on th beach It's shockingly easy.

I used to live on Dorset coast but since moving to suffolk I know now they are more easily found here. Literally pots full when my kids go and look.