A Yorkshireman Abroad...

"You don't live down south, yer just visiting"

Apparently being from Yorkshire never leaves you. I was told this by a friend I saw whilst spending a week back up in Sheffield last week. I think it's the longest period I've been up there since mum moved to be close to my nephew, Leo. 

Some of the people I met up with were ones that I hadn't seen in 7 years, which was quite an odd experience. But in another sense, being back in Doncaster and the faces I saw only reminded me how much I have achieved since leaving, and it also made me question whether I should continue to call myself a Yorkshireman, or whether I should blend into the young professionals flocking to Bristol.

The one thing I did notice was a definite north/south divide. Make no mistake, after living for three years in the south west it definitely exists. I'm not sure whether it's really judgemental of me to say that you can see it in the clothes people wear and the state of the buildings. There was so much more industrial wasteland, and it seemed to me much harsher and more down to earth. I've stopped batting an eyelid at the dreadlocked, baggy trouser-wearing and free spirited folk which inhabit so many parts of Bristol. You would never get away with that up north!

It definitely existed in the horrendously old train carriages from the 1980s that I had to endure which rattled and rolled their way to Lincoln and Doncaster. I feel sorry for commuters who have to put up with journeys on those rickety and out of date trains

The inside of my train to Lincoln.

Whilst at Doncaster, I bumped into a dinner lady from my secondary school, who I got on very well with during my time there. She was infinitely impressed that I had worked my way into the BBC, and it struck me that not very much in her life had changed in the past 7 years, probably because she wasn't fortunate enough to get the same opportunities in life that I had.

Now make no mistake, I don't think many traits typical of a Yorkshireman have left me. I still balk at the extreme prices of basic items down here, and I have always been thrifty even though I now earn what would be considered a decent wage for most people up north.

So at what stage do I call myself a Bristolian now? At the moment I couldn't see myself moving back to Yorkshire, it would just feel like a step backwards in life. Yes, it's cheaper, and yes a certain part of me feels more at home there - but for now I'm content to keep crossing over to the dark side and immerse myself in southern life!