To be irritated by people who bang on about where they’re from

[Notfromthevalleys]

Couple of women where I work will NOT stop talking about how they’re from The Valleys (south Wales)
“Haha it’s the valley girl in me”
“Haha you can tell I’m from the valleys”
“You can take the girl out of the valley but you can’t take the valley out of the girl”

There is nothing remotely different or valley-esque about them as far as I can see, other than the fact that they keep harping on about the valleys as though being from there is some sort of pedigree.

There’s also a bloke who will not shut up about being a “Swansea lad”.

Is it a south walian thing?

I am from mid Wales and we all work in mid Wales so not like they’re a million miles away from home.

It’s like the Oxbridge people who name drop their college all the time. That’s annoying too, but I at least it’s a genuine achievement to go to Oxbridge.

I understand that people’s community and identity is important to them, but there’s just no need to bring it into everything.

Anyone else come across this and AIBU to let it grate on me so much?!

I've noticed some people are desperate to portray people from the south east as having prejudices - when it's actually only them going on about it, whilst most people from the south east don't give a shit about where someone's from.

I have experienced this, my Welsh friends put so much energy into hating England and moaning English people hate the Welsh but my experience the English people I’ve met don’t really care 😆

A family member is from South Wales. Don't know if it's still a thing but years ago he had people from North Wales call him English. Apparently loads of English emigrated to South Wales a century or 2 ago.

That’s silly though, unless you’re an ancient Briton then most British people are from elsewhere, even the Celts weren’t native.

I watched WDYTYA with Cheryl Tweedy and every positive thing that came out about one of her ancestors was ‘that’s such a Geordie thing’ Oh he helped a family member ‘that’s such a Geordie thing’ ... no Cheryl that’s just a good human thing to do, but people like to chalk it up to it bring a trait of their city/area 🙄

Glasgwegians are terrible for this too. You'd think no-one has ever been friendly to another person or made a joke outside of Glasgow.

@HarebrightCedarmoon

Doesn’t happen so much down south. Well, apart from Claire from Masterchef. Did you know she was from Kent?

No, you are all too busy pointing out northerners instead.

"Ooh, is your accent from The North?"

Whenever I've been 'Up North', I'm constantly asked 'you're not from here, you've got a southern accent, where are you from?'. The vast majority is friendly curiousity, making conversation....but it does get to the stage where you do start to feel like there's a Southern (Not From Here) tattoo on your forehead

Some posts on this thread (certainly not all) remind me of the Two Ronnies sketch with John Cleese.
Some people need to look down or sneer at others. Having worked in Cardiff for many years and being from the Valleys I have been on the receiving end many times.
People from different areas of the country are not living in insect colonies with a hive mind.

@hippopootamus 😂 I can imagine.

I mean, I get it, we all want to belong, humans are social and tribal... I travelled to Paris on my own in my 20s and attached myself to other Brits (for comfort) so I do realise it’s natural but Zzzzzzz 😂

What is the culture of the valleys?

I'm vaguely remembering a friend from NYC referring to American valley girls. I think a part of California? Perhaps they could do a twin town thing with the Welsh Valleys.

I have no idea and I have lived here for many years.
I am sure someone will be along shortly to enlighten me

Brilliant thread. Read all 10 pages of posts!

Not quite the same but in my old job I worked with all women, at the end of every day, when we would be mopping the floor. One woman would go "Whoops! Looks like I forgot to change my Tena Lady!" And everyone else would laugh hysterically, every day I guess it might have been mildly amusing on the first occasion, but not hysterically funny every single day?!

I think if it’s that great why aren’t they still living there. But in saying that it’s so exciting meeting someone who comes from the same place as you do.

Not quite the same thing, but I've had ex-boyfriends claim both Mediterranean and Latin American ancestry on very thin grounds as though it would make them sexier, and also an ex who wore a kilt at weddings on the basis of having one Scottish grandparent they never saw. They had very little else going for them and were lazy sods, so I guess they thought it made them more interesting without them having to actually do anything.

I think if it’s that great why aren’t they still living there.

It's not that hard to understand surely? Anything from just fancying seeing a bit of the rest of the world to not there not being many openings for a cardiothoracic surgeon on Inisbofin.

I'm irish, living in London, and cant get over people here in UK always reminding me of this. Some break our their version of an Irish accent or a verse of "how are things in Glockkamara" or where their Granny was born and did I know it?
It was far worse in America but I find myself bracing for some comment or other on where I am from where I meet someone new.

I don't know if its a South Wales thing. I am originally from Cardiff. I went to London to see a west end show and was sat behind these really loud Welsh people, fair enough everyone was enjoying themselves, no problem. Then one of them turns around and said something along the lines of "we can't help being loud/having fun we're welsh" with a valleys accent. Umm, yeah so are we, think we were on the same flipping coach up here. Any way we just thought you're a bit embarrassing really 🙄. One of my best friends is from the valleys but she doesn't harp on about it so I don't know 🤷‍♀️.

Perhaps I should start proclaiming my northerness more loudly. People just look confused when I say I'm mithered.

(I'm from Cheshire, but most people think I'm from the south from hearing me speak.)

There's nothing worse than Americans asking you if you're from London because that's the only place in the UK they've heard of, then attempting to do a British accent (ie. Cockney) by imitating Dick Van Dyck and expecting you to find it even vaguely original or funny. I would retaliate by asking them if they're from Alabama, (especially if they're clearly from New York) and then doing a redneck impression "now wait just a cotton-picking minute there, Billy-Bob!" And do it over and over again and see how hilarious they find it.

@Novelusername

There's nothing worse than Americans asking you if you're from London because that's the only place in the UK they've heard of, then attempting to do a British accent (ie. Cockney) by imitating Dick Van Dyck and expecting you to find it even vaguely original or funny. I would retaliate by asking them if they're from Alabama, (especially if they're clearly from New York) and then doing a redneck impression "now wait just a cotton-picking minute there, Billy-Bob!" And do it over and over again and see how hilarious they find it.

This is very true 😅

It's definitely a thing. One of my sisters is 'a professional northerner' it's very irritating and very funny in equal measures.

Rubyrecka I never quite understand what they get out of it - do they genuinely think it's hilariously funny, the idea that foreign people have foreign accents, or are they looking for praise for their incredible imitation? Or is it supposed to be a bit of a dig? It just feels awkward whenever it happens and is usually followed by finding someone else to talk to. To be fair it's not only Americans who do this, but they're the worst offenders.

Very much agree with the comment that people from southern counties like Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire etc don’t mention and compare which county they are from in the way that some others do on an endless basis 🤣

I lived further north for a while and was constantly teased about my “posh” south coast voice (I went to a comp, it’s not a posh voice) by work colleagues there because I pronounced words differently. It certainly works both ways and there are a lot more professional northerners than southern 😂

@Paddingtonthebear

Very much agree with the comment that people from southern counties like Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire etc don’t mention and compare which county they are from in the way that some others do on an endless basis 🤣

I lived further north for a while and was constantly teased about my “posh” south coast voice (I went to a comp, it’s not a posh voice) by work colleagues there because I pronounced words differently. It certainly works both ways and there are a lot more professional northerners than southern 😂

I'm a foreigner with no skin in this game, but that always seems to me as at least partly because people from those counties implicitly think of themselves as the norm from which the north diverges. It's like accents -- more people from those counties appear to genuinely believe they are accentless, but to believe that people from, say, Yorkshire 'have an accent'. I moved to England to study at Oxford, and a friend from York was continually having her accent remarked upon as though she was some kind of deviant. Whereas to the ears of a non-British person, an accent from Yorkshire isn't of itself any more marked than one from Hampshire.

Tbh I had the same issue when I live in Midlands/East Anglia way too!

@Paddingtonthebear
I lived further north for a while and was constantly teased about my “posh” south coast voice (I went to a comp, it’s not a posh voice) by work colleagues there because I pronounced words differently.

Same. I’m from South Wales and fairly close to the border, I don’t really sound Welsh, I have a lilt on certain words like cold and January (co-wold and Jan-u-ree) but I think most people here think I’m posh Welsh or I’m hiding my accent but it’s just how everyone sounds where I’m from 🤣

Like a previous poster has said, I think some regions are way more territorial than others are, and often are more friendly towards those from their own regions despite the popular stereotypes!