Northerners: The bestselling history of the North of England

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What is perhaps more surprising is how English people feel about each other. One might have expected that devolution would have strengthened a sense of Englishness at the same time that it weakened Britishness. But when we looked at shared values within England, we found an even larger gulf between northerners and southerners than we did between English and Scots. Southerners can be identified by the spit on the inside of their car's windscreen that comes from yelling at other drivers. This easily-readable history of the north of England is not a coherent narrative. It reads as a collection of independent, semi-linked chapters rather than a free-flowing, interconnected whole. And it is a reminder that the north of England is not an easily defined entity. There is a real difficulty in writing a separate history of the north, because the north is not separate from England. The connections between the north and the south are too deep for this awkward and simplistic division. On the other hand, regional differences are more genuine, something that the book brings to light. I fear that in some sense the book wants to divide, that the author wants to leave us with uncertainty and open wounds rather than conclude with healing or at least aim towards it. On several issues. The Wall is a colossal fortification that protects the north from threats beyond the Wall, such as wildlings. It is separated from the northern lands owing allegiance to Winterfell by the Gift, which are lands of the Night's Watch north of the Umbers' lands.

The thing that really bugs us northerners about this phrase is that those down south who use it tend to be the ones who have never stepped foot up here. The Starks led the north to war during Aegon's Conquest. After the Field of Fire, however, King Torrhen Stark knelt to Aegon the Conqueror rather than face his dragons. The north was included in the Seven Kingdoms and owed allegiance to the Iron Throne of House Targaryen. The Stark Kings in the North became the Lords of Winterfell and Wardens of the North. Some northmen who refused to bend the knee fled into exile in Essos and formed the Company of the Rose. [64] The whole point of chips is that they’re crispy on the outside, so why the hell do you want to make them soggy?!? South of the wolfswood is hilly terrain with several large lakes. Torrhen's Square, seat of House Tallhart, is by the largest of these lakes. Farther west along the Sunset Sea is the Stony Shore, which contains fishing villages. Southeast of the Stony Shore and north of Blazewater Bay is the Rills, plains which are ruled by House Ryswell. East of the Rills and south of Winterfell are the barrowlands, hilly plains dotted with the barrows of the First Men. House Dustin rules the large town of Barrowton. There are unnamed rivers which flow south from Barrowton and near Torrhen's Square into the Saltspear, while another unnamed river divides the Stony Shore from the Rills. [11]People always love to tell me how grim the north is. Sorry, have you seen the lakes?" – Rachel, Preston Stannis Baratheon had come north with no more than fifteen hundred men ( A Dance with Dragons, Davos III), and has five thousand men after the mountain clans join him ( A Dance with Dragons, Jon VII). Trying to write an objective review is daft, so I'm gonna openly admit to being extremely biased towards this book.

Northeners are very down to earth people, they try hard and alway give a good days work. Coming from one of the poorest parts of England does not stop them from being lovely and considerate. Deciding where the north starts in England is always a good question and the author does give the reader choices.Did you just smile at that stranger?' It's always slightly depressing when I go down south and no-one thanks the bus driver when they get off. I think that's really sad." – Abbie, Newcastle BLOOD AND SAND: that was a lot to take in! This was an in-depth look into how the North has been shaped through the ages. From The Vikings to Marcus Rashford. From the North-South divide to why the bloody hell people just used to kill each other all the time. Ramsay Snow, the Bastard of Bolton, abducts the widowed Lady Donella Hornwood and claims the lands of the Hornwoods. After hearing that Ramsay starved Donella, the Manderlys skirmish with the Boltons in the Hornwood. [12] [75] The way the book is structured threw me off at times too because it jumps around in time an awful lot due to tangents but, to be honest, that is a minor qualm. King Stannis Baratheon sails from Dragonstone to the Wall to aid the Night's Watch in defeating the wildling army of Mance Rayder, King-beyond-the-Wall, in the battle beneath the Wall. [51] A Feast for Crows

Bath doesn't have an 'r' in it you know." – Will, Hull Do you want a cup of dinner with your tea lol The north's exact military strength has not yet been revealed. According to a semi-canon source from 2005, the north can perhaps raise forty-five thousand soldiers, [52] although it takes a long time for armies to be gathered from such a large region. [42] [53] According to George R.R. Martin, the north's military strength is about equal to that of the Vale of Arryn, and Dorne. [53] During Aegon's Conquest, King Torrhen Stark raised an army of thirty thousand men. [54] Nearly twenty thousand can be raised on short notice [13] near the start of autumn, [55] while thousands more might be raised from more distant houses, such as the mountain clans, if more time is allowed. [17] During the Dawn Age, Westeros was inhabited by children of the forest and by giants. [57] Maester Kennet has found evidence that giants who lived in what is now the north buried their dead. [57] a person from the northern part of a country, or (in the US) a person from the part of the country in the north and east Yep, this is the classic, my friends always ask me why I'm putting gravy on my chips. They also have no idea what scraps are." – Abbie, Newcastle How can you be warm? It's freezing!I especially found the chapters on slavery/ cotton manufacturing and the women's movement really interesting as I had not been aware that the North part of England had played such an influential part, first in terms of commerce and then later in abolishing slavery both here and in America. And much of the change in women's equality, was pioneered by very strong Northern women. It is possible that Brexit is further exacerbating these centrifugal tendencies, making Scottish independence and Irish re-unification more likely. Many Scots, for example, feel they have been dragged out of the EU against their will. Missouri was a slave state but another new state (Maine) was admitted as a free state close free state A state in North America which did not support slavery during the 19th century..

As you are cursing the person driving 15 mph in a 50 mph zone, directly in the middle of the road, remember, many folks learned to drive on a model of vehicle known as a Reliant Robin, and this is the proper speed and lane position for the vehicle. Communicate using animal like slang and resort to violence for any possible reason. This is often started by the large swarms of Chavs or Townies hanging under every shop doorway. Favor shops like Tesco and the local corner shops where they are seen illegally buying Cigarettes and cheap Booze. Do you know Peter Kay?' Just because I live near Bolton doesn't mean I personally know the guy." – Jess, Manchester In the video game Game of Thrones - A Telltale Games Series, House Forrester lives at Ironrath in the wolfswod. Their rivals, House Whitehill, live at Highpoint between the wolfswood and the northern mountains. [22] The name of Rillwater Crossing, seat of House Glenmore, suggests it may be in the Rills.What I have taken from the book is a list of things I would like to read further on. Thankfully the footnotes and the select bibliography have given me somewhere to go next in my exploration of Northern history. (On that note, I think the book could have done with a map of the North at the beginning for those that are less familiar with Northern geography). Northerners understand that sometimes there’s nothing better than a roast dinner drowning in gravy and the classic ‘chips and gravy’ combination is basically considered a delicacy. 6. Southerners are all ‘soft’ Could you pass me a bread roll?' Not sure what that is but you can have a barm cake." – Jess, Manchester A lot of southerners may not understand the north’s affinity with Greggs, but after trying one of their pasties you might start to. 5. Gravy goes with everything That being said, I wish Groom had gone into a little more detail in places. This study could never go into too much depth, but I felt the absence of some chapters. In particular, since my research involves crime, Groom says nothing about the Moors Murders or the Yorkshire Ripper, significant parts of the North's history, whether it likes it or not. This criticism is personal, however. The only other criticism I have is that there was some repeated information towards the end of the book. It would have been better if Groom only wrote new information instead of repeating points made in previous chapters.