Who likes pie?

taff bach

The pies at the World's End are the dogs bollocks, though the ain't on every day.

Philistine'sMonster

Pie?! Fucking hate this cliche (self-perpetuated by unimaginitu northerners, by the way) about pie being a Northern culinary privilege. How many pie and mash shops do we have in London?

All of them. All. Of. The . Fucking. Pies.

Northerners lose.

Welsh people are scum, too. Yes, Taff Bach -- you! Xx

Ian

Phew, @Philistine';sMonster doesn't mean me. I'm from the Midlands.

andy

Ian, stoke=the north

miss annie

Anywhere north of the North Circular = The North

Ian

The proper Northerners think we are southerners and the southerners say we are northerners. We are basically the kids in the playground the rest of the nation pick on. We midlanders would have our own independence movement if only we didn't hate ourselves more than outsiders.

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Arkady

Being a Worcestershire man I am *definitely* a Midlander. I’d agree with Ian that Stoke, like Nottingham, is in the Midlands. Everything north of there is The North. Oxford plays a similar role in the south.

Papa

In my southerners' mind the Midlands is definitely up North, generally the mental line gets drawn just above Luton. I'm aware that this is obviously nonsensical

tosscat

I'm from the Midlands. It is neither the North nor the South, hence the name. (Not Brum by the way, that woud be revolting.)

andy

@papa L - absolutely. I draw a line through Milton Keynes, Banbury and Cambridge. Anything above that is the North.

Two pieces of evidence:
1. This sign at Junction 13 of the M1. The place after Milton Keynes is "The North"
<img src="http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgpoyeq3r51qgwatgo1_500.png" width=400>
<a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=m1+j13&aq=&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=10.914724,35.991211&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=M1,+WF3+3,+United+Kingdom&ll=52.024402,-0.596008&spn=0.088727,0.281181&z=12&layer=c&cbll=52.024734,-0.59653&panoid=F2njVBNdkWYOYTh9hyZvQQ&cbp=12,258.68,,0,-8.52">Google Map</a>

2. The next town is called Northampton. Why would it be called Northampton if it wasn't in the North?

Arkady

How do you deal with the cognitive dissonance that occurs when you encounter signs to The Midlands a little further up the road?

ADGS

The existence of South Shields rather foils your argument. The short answer being, 'because most places were named by ignorant parochial fucks with no idea of the country beyond a day's walk away'.

Arkady

Dude that's weird - actually used South Shields as an example then deleted it as I didn't want Andy to think I was taking him too seriously.

ADGS

Spooky! I have a friend (who now has the good sense to live not far from here) who hails from the less famous North Shields, maybe that's what keeps it in my mind.

Papa

@Arkady ow do you deal with the cognitive dissonance that occurs when you encounter signs to The Midlands a little further up the road? As proof that the Midlands is up North

Arkady

Did you remove the H from 'how' in order to make me sound Northern?

andy

What Papa L said. If a sign to "The North" comes further south than a sign to "The Midlands", then it's in the North.

andy

What is a South Shields?

ADGS

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Shields">South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne to Tyne Dock, and about 4.84 miles (7.79 km) downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne. The town has a population of 82,854,[1] and is part of the metropolitan borough of South Tyneside, which includes the riverside towns of Jarrow and Hebburn and the villages of Boldon, Cleadon and Whitburn. South Shields is represented in parliament by Labour MP David Miliband.</a>

Arkady

I see. The Midlands is either in the South or the North, depending on which way you are driving down the M1.

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Arkady

Do the Midlanders have a say in this? Is it not contradictory to say that the Midlands is in one or the other... isn't that the point of calling it the Midlands?

Arkady

I’m reminded of a university friend from Darlington, who was outraged at the idea of Yorkshire being classed as being in the North.

Ali

Talking about things North I saw a oldish gentle man taking couple of ferrets for a walk on leads last night while cycling home along Barnsbury Road

Jenowl

The Midlands are the Midlands are the Midlands.

But some are East and some are West.

miss annie

Anywhere past the far northern end of the Northern Line is The North, no?

ADGS

On the train from London to Sheffield, after Derby and Chesterfield, there is a mile or so of rusting industrial ruins. For me, that is where the North begins.

I've never found a similarly clear boundary between the South and the Midlands. I think that may be in the accents.

WillM

@ADGS Outside of boundaries like seas and oceans, shurely looking for exact boundaries is like differentiating shades of grey. The question isn't where the line is drawn exactly, but merely that there is a line.

Arkady

Imagine if international law worked like that. The Israelis would love it.