The North and South

No, this isn't a story by John Jakes.  Nor is it commentary about my Southern American angst a la "The South Shall Rise Again.."  This is a different North and South:  this is about North England and South England.  Though, for all intents and purposes of this post, 'South England' really means 'London.'

A few weeks ago, my group at work hired a new person, who is originally from Northern Engalnd-Sheffield to be specific. This now brings the count of North England people in the group up to 2, and has since become a source of commentary (and good-natured ribbing) in the group.  'Joe' is now living in London for the first time, and we've had a few conversations about the difference of where he comes from versus life in London.  Oddly, for the first time since I've been here, I think I've finally met someone who understands me when I talk about the aggression and rudness of London-as a a big city, not an English city.  Joe has commented that he's stunned at how frequently he'll get run into/hit while on the tube, and rarely does anyone offer a 'sorry'- muchless a sincere apology.  He said it would be very uncommon to walk around the North in much the same way as in London, and *not* apologise to someone if you ran into them.

Of course, the Southern American in me can't help but giggle a bit inside when I think about the inversion of the stereotypes of North and South in England-versus the Northern & Southern parts of US.  In England, it's Northerners who live a slower pace, are friendly and ougoing, and show a level of civility to their fellow man when out in public.  In the US, this is the stereotype of Southerners.  In the US, stereotypes of a Northerner are that you'll be rude, loud, & aggressive; that's also the stereotype of Southern England.

Kinda funny, I think.