| kirklancaster |
10-10-2016 04:07 PM |
I once sat - Forrest Gump style - on a bench in Islington (long, long, before it became the gentrified and desirable place it is now) and was talking to a stranger, a born and bred Southerner who told me he was originally from Hackney just around the corner.
This guy was, at that time in his early twenties, about the same age as me, and he initiated the conversation (which was rare for a Southerner' in those days - nothing much changes does it? :laugh:) and I was being civil and polite and engaged him.
He soon pissed me off though, because once he had established that I was a 'Northerner', he proceeded to relate a whole plethora of reasons why the South was superior to the North - not least of which was a long list of all the famous (and very exclusive) facilities and attractions London boasted in comparison to the North.
Among these were Harrods, Threadneedle Street, Bucks Palace, and Westminster Palace, as well as fashionable nightspots, such as the then famous 'Tramps' on Jermyn Street - then one of THE haunts of the Rich, Famous and Beautiful.
I countered by pointing out that it was totally irrelevant just how many 'illustrious' attractions London - or any other City - has to the ordinary, working class man or woman in the street, who cannot afford to visit or patronise such places.
He was having none of it, but then - when he rose to leave and continue on his journey - HE ASKED ME IF I COULD 'LEND HIM A 'FIVER'!!! :laugh:
This is perfectly true, and I'll never forget him (No, I gave him Zilch :laugh:) but it does put the question of where we are from into some kind of perspective.
I don't think it matters where we are from, really.
People are people.
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