Boris is a jackass re Shakespeare

[MayDayChild]

If you live in London you may have received a letter from Boris today.
He states that Shakespeare is a Londonder.
Hallo? Really ? Since when was Stratford upon Avon in London.
Surely you have to have been born in a town in order to hail from it??!
Opinions please fellow Pedantics.

Clearly that's Londoner stupid iPhone

Wow! I was born in Stratford upon Avon, I hope he doesn't ruin the legend the whole town is built on. Where would the coach trips stop for tea on their way from Edinburgh to Stonehenge in an afternoon?

Maybe I should send him a leaflet for Shakespeare's Birthplace as a hint.

People can identify with places they come to late in life, especially if they flourish there. Although I can't and don't claim to be a Londoner or a burgher of any of the other two towns I have thrived in, I would, equally, never claim to be "from Guildford"; I can only say I was born there.

However, Bo-Jo is a fool, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

I haven't received my letter from Bo-Jo yet
YANBU - Shakespeare may have flourished during his time in London, but as Sliverlace says, the entire Stratford upon Avon 'legend' revolves around The Bard, so Bo-Jo is a fool

Rather off-topic, but I watched the Bo-Jo 'Who Do You Think You Are?' episode on TV recently. He seemed very keen on using the word 'fossicking' when he was talking about some of the research he and his family had already done. But what made me really was when he used it in conversation with some of the academics he was talking to in Russia and Germany. Their expressions, albeit polite, were absolutely priceless

Fru, you must understand that if you boom at Johnny Foreigner in a posh enough voice, he will understand you, regardless of the suitability of your vocabulary.

OP: not just re Shakespeare, surely?

So you have to be born in London to consider yourself a Londoner?

I know some self-proclaimed Londoners who would disagree.

I don't think he is trying to steal Shakespeare away from Stratford, what a strange idea.

Hmm. Think of an article in something like the Evening Standard-"Londoners struggles to work in yesterday's snow" or " a survey has found that 50% of Londoners are looking forward to the Olympics" Doesn't Londoner in that very common usage just mean someone who lives in London? I used to, and I would have identified as a Londoner in that context, even though not born anywhere near there.

"struggleD", bloody iPhone.