[News] North - South Divide

[Live by the sea]

This article was in todays Guardian:

Greggs and Pret index reveals England’s true north-south divide, say scientists

AI-based analysis suggests the north starts at Watford Gap, where avocado wraps give way to sausage rolls, and includes Birmingham

www.theguardian.com

It has an interesting article on the north / south divide when it comes to food. Apparently up north starts at the Watford Gap.

The precise location of the north-south of England divide is a fraught question that has been debated for centuries, drawing on factors ranging from economic prosperity and political views to the pronunciation of the word “scone”. Now, scientists have entered the fray, proposing an objective, machine learning-based analysis of the distribution of Pret a Manger and Greggs shops across England.​

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The AI-based approach places the critical dividing line at which avocado wraps give way to sausage rolls close to the M1 Watford Gap services and concludes that Birmingham, Coventry and Leicester, which often fall into a disputed grey area, should be considered “northern”.​

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“The food we eat is a very good indicator of whether someone is northern or southern. Greggs is very popular in the north, where people do seem to prefer a steak bake,” said Dr Robin Smith, the physicist at Sheffield Hallam University who led the study, adapting an algorithm normally used to study nuclear reactions.​

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

The article is drivel, as everyone knows the north starts at Crawley.

 

[schmunk]

What a load of bollocks.

Anyway, clearly the North starts at Yorkshire and Lancashire, and the South at Herts / Bucks / Beds / Essex. Everything between this is the desolate wasteland of "The Midlands".

 

[Bozza]

The article is drivel, as everyone knows the north starts at Crawley.

The North starts at Ashington.

 

[Blue3]

1069 when William the Conqueror charged north where he found Greg’s and northers tried to stop him with a cold meat pie

 

[Chicken Run]

The North starts at Ashington.

Anything North of Devils Dyke is the start of the North for me

 

[banjo]

When there’s an option for chips with gravy, that’s North.

 

[Badger Boy]

You leave the South when you reach the Mill Road roundabout on the A23.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Anything North of Devils Dyke is the start of the North for me

Nah, if I'm the other side of the A27, then I'm up north.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

When there’s an option for chips with gravy, that’s North.

Even in KFC in Portslade?

 

[macbeth]

don’t really care as i’d never head north of gatwick anyway

 

[banjo]

Even in KFC in Portslade?

That’s north enough.

 

[Chicken Run]

Nah, if I'm the other side of the A27, then I'm up north.

Good shout, f*** the Dyke it’s North Btw if they built the new stadium at Waterhall it would officially be in the North

 

[Rogero]

Hollingbury is very north.

 

[HangletonGull]

Anything over the bridge towards devils dyke is north

 

[US Seagull]

If you say "the North" starts at the Watford Gap, then you are putting Northampton in the South.

Clearly nonsense.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Interesting. Seems I preferred Northern food even when I lived down South. At least I am now in my spiritual home. You can keep your Avocado wraps (yuck !).

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

What a load of bollocks.

Anyway, clearly the North starts at Yorkshire and Lancashire, and the South at Herts / Bucks / Beds / Essex. Everything between this is the desolate wasteland of "The Midlands".

One of the thing the South and the North agree on neither wants to claim the middle

 

[WATFORD zero]

Interesting. Seems I preferred Northern food even when I lived down South. At least I am now in my spiritual home. You can keep your Avocado wraps (yuck !).

Thank you very much. Avocado, Spinach and Crispy Bacon wraps, with a nice mayo, food from heaven

It's the East West cultural divide that concerns me more. West Sussex, Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth, ending eventually in that complete cultural desert, the USA. Coming over here, posting on our message boards

 

[Eeyore]

A discussion we had among work colleagues a while back, as we work in almost every town. The conclusion was that the north started at the Chesterfield crooked spire.