East or South East?

[anti-pacer]

In the mid-90's the government renamed the East Anglia region by calling it "East of England", and added Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire to it, which had all previously been in the South East region.

I can understand Essex being in that region although geographically it's a southern county, but also an eastern one. Bedfordshire and especially Hertfordshire though, they're more southern than eastern. It doesn't seem right that Chorleywood, north west of London, inhabits the same region as Cromer on the north coast of Norfolk.

Also, travelling south on the WCML, you enter the South East first in Buckinghamshire - Wolverton to be precise, but then leave it again after Bletchley, moving into the East of England region between there and just south of Watford, despite travelling ever further south.

Do you live in these counties and if so, do you consider yourself a Southerner, and Easterner, or indeed something else?

 

[causton]

I lived in Hertfordshire and now live at the top corner of Bedfordshire... and have never considered myself to live in the East!

 

[Ianno87]

I found living in Milton Keynes/Northampton and getting BBC Look East....a little odd! News from Cromer and Sheringham! Whilst in MK having Thames Valley police.

 

[anti-pacer]

I lived in Hertfordshire and now live at the top corner of Bedfordshire... and have never considered myself to live in the East!

So looking at the two places you've mentioned, what do you consider them?

 

[EM2]

Essex born and bred, and I've always felt southern rather than eastern, and never south-eastern.

 

[causton]

So looking at the two places you've mentioned, what do you consider them?

Definitely South East. I would consider East to start around the Hertfordshire/Cambridgeshire border

 

[anti-pacer]

I found living in Milton Keynes/Northampton and getting BBC Look East....a little odd! News from Cromer and Sheringham! Whilst in MK having Thames Valley police.

I lived in Banbury between 1996-8 and like MK the local police force was Thames Valley. I paid water rates to Thames Water, watched BBC Newsroom South East and ITV Central South as my local news, but got what was then Midlands Electricity.

Some of the town got BBC Midlands Today and ITV Central West, but fast forward to today and I believe most get what is now BBC South Today and ITV Meridian Thames Valley.

As Network South East was well and truly alive in them days, a big sign greeted you at Banbury station saying "Network South East - Welcome to Banbury".

Being in Oxfordshire, Banbury is in the South East, although most of my friends regarded themselves as Midlanders, despite the accent sounding more southern. That said, from my flat I could see both Northamptonshire two miles away (East Midlands) and in the distance Warwickshire (West Midlands).

 

[anti-pacer]

Definitely South East. I would consider East to start around the Hertfordshire/Cambridgeshire border

Do you consider even the most northerly points of Bedfordshire as South East?

 

[EM2]

In the mid-90's the government renamed the East Anglia region by calling it "East of England", and added Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire to it, which had all previously been in the South East region.

What are these 'regions'? For what purpose are counties allocated to a region? Why does the Government need to define them?

 

[anti-pacer]

What are these 'regions'? For what purpose are counties allocated to a region? Why does the Government need to define them?

Good point.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I lived in Hemel Hempstead for a few years and considered myself a Yorkshireman.

Joking aside, it didn't make any sense being in the same admin region as Ipswich when I lived 20 minutes from Euston. It didn't really matter very much, the biggest difference was local news on the BBC, but I still don't understand it.

 

[anti-pacer]

I lived in Hemel Hempstead for a few years and considered myself a Yorkshireman.

Joking aside, it didn't make any sense being in the same admin region as Ipswich when I lived 20 minutes from Euston. It didn't really matter very much, the biggest difference was local news on the BBC, but I still don't understand it.

Did you get TV from London or the East?

 

[Tetchytyke]

Did you get TV from London or the East?

The strongest TV signal was BBC London, which didn't cover any local news from the area because local news should have been BBC East.

 

[anti-pacer]

The strongest TV signal was BBC London, which didn't cover any local news from the area because local news should have been BBC East.

It got a mention just before Christmas on ITV London News. I watch it on Virgin Media.

 

[Howardh]

When ITV was properly regional, it was always interesting which football clubs the individual companies covered, but even more so those that were in neither/both regions. Example, Stoke City would associate itself with ATV (Birmingham) coverage, but wouldn't most there receive Granada? Lincoln City - Yorkshire TV or Midlands? Bt the funniest was Anglia who only had a couple of decent teams and had to stretch their tentacles far and wide which meant Luton seemed to be under "Anglia" but probably their local station was LWT!
Would Anglia cover Southend, Colchester, Watford?

 

[anti-pacer]

When ITV was properly regional, it was always interesting which football clubs the individual companies covered, but even more so those that were in neither/both regions. Example, Stoke City would associate itself with ATV (Birmingham) coverage, but wouldn't most there receive Granada? Lincoln City - Yorkshire TV or Midlands? Bt the funniest was Anglia who only had a couple of decent teams and had to stretch their tentacles far and wide which meant Luton seemed to be under "Anglia" but probably their local station was LWT!
Would Anglia cover Southend, Colchester, Watford?

These days ITV Central West would cover Stoke, ITV Yorkshire AND ITV Central East would cover Lincoln.

ITV Anglia East would cover Colchester and Southend, although ITV London would also cover Southend. Watford would solely come under ITV London.

 

[Busaholic]

I live in Penzance, Cornwall, and when regions are being spoken of down here we are told that if we had a regional assembly it would be based in Bristol. I retained a house in London when I attended Bristol University as a mature student, and thought nothing of the return journey on a weekly basis, even from SE London. Bristol by car from my house now, even with dual carriageway or motorway virtually all the way, cannot be accomplished in less than 200 minutes, and that only in perfect driving conditions. No-one would suggest Bristol is in the same region as London, yet if that had taken 200 minutes on a regular basis I'd have baulked at it.

 

[anti-pacer]

I live in Penzance, Cornwall, and when regions are being spoken of down here we are told that if we had a regional assembly it would be based in Bristol. I retained a house in London when I attended Bristol University as a mature student, and thought nothing of the return journey on a weekly basis, even from SE London. Bristol by car from my house now, even with dual carriageway or motorway virtually all the way, cannot be accomplished in less than 200 minutes, and that only in perfect driving conditions. No-one would suggest Bristol is in the same region as London, yet if that had taken 200 minutes on a regular basis I'd have baulked at it.

Your "official" region - South West - stretches from just south of Stratford-upon-Avon right down to Lands End. The northern extremity to your region is closer to the Scottish border than it is to you.

 

[AM9]

These days ITV Central West would cover Stoke, ITV Yorkshire AND ITV Central East would cover Lincoln.

ITV Anglia East would cover Colchester and Southend, although ITV London would also cover Southend. Watford would solely come under ITV London.

ITV included north Kent as part of London TV in the '70s but it then decided to switch Bluebell Hill to an East Kent service loosely being part of the old Southern franchise. The Dover ITV transmitter (ch. 66) was viewed by many in the Colchester/Clacton area.
North-East Essex is a bit of a no-man's land, falling in the outer area of London commuting and the southern limits of East Anglia. Anglia TV was widely viewed from Chelmsford north-eastwards as the Sudbury transmitters were better placed than Crystal Palace.
Here in St Albans (like virtually all of Herts south of the A505), I've always seen it as Home Counties territory, which in cultural and travel terms means with London values and links.That is probably the same for Essex as far as Chemsford, Kent west of the Medway, all of Surrey, Berkshire to Maidenhead/Bracknell and metroland to Amersham/Chesham.

 

[O L Leigh]

Born in Bedfordshire, grew up in both Norfolk and Suffolk, lived for many years in Essex but now in Worcs. I consider myself to be East Anglian, not northern or southern.

This whole notion of North, South or East is sort of lost on people like me. Norwich is as far from London as Birmingham is and is actually further north, but it's considered to be "south" where Brum is not. I suspect that this is mostly linguistic rather than geographic due to the pronunciation of supposed key words like "grass" and "bath", following a line that runs roughly from The Wash to the Bristol Channel. I get accused of being a Cockney at work because people can't discern the difference between my accent and the London accent, so I get lumped in as some sort of generic southerner. Maybe I should start calling them Mancs.

Personally I tend to see the phrase "East of England" as being interchangeable with "East Anglia", although I don't particularly like it. To me it's just dumbing down to allow for people's blunted sense of geography (reference Jade Goody: "East Angular...? That's abroad, innit."). As to what comprises the region, I would say Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and at least parts of Essex. The southern half of this latter county, particularly along the A13 corridor, certainly does look more towards London, but the more rural northern half around Colchester, Saffron Walden, etc, is definitely East Anglia to me.

O L Leigh

 

[D365]

I've never really thought of myself as 'southern', not until I moved oop north. I do try to explain sometimes that I'm eastern

 

[DarloRich]

So looking at the two places you've mentioned, what do you consider them?

South of Doncaster = there be Cockneys

It should be in the South East - the main axis of travel for business is to London.

 

[321446]

Essix an' Praad. Lived me whole life just outside Southend-on-Sea. Grew up with Anglia telly and Look East news (I remember Delia when she was a slip of a lass).

Always thought of meself as East Anglian, although being well south of the Blackwater that is a stretch, but as I get a nosebleed going south of the Thames, never considered myself Southern. They all talk funny and can count to 12 on one hand down there.

 

[anti-pacer]

South of Doncaster = there be Cockneys

It should be in the South East - the main axis of travel for business is to London.

DarloRich, as you (from what I can gather) live near MK, do you consider your "locale" as South East England?

 

[anti-pacer]

Essix an' Praad. Lived me whole life just outside Southend-on-Sea. Grew up with Anglia telly and Look East news (I remember Delia when she was a slip of a lass).

Always thought of meself as East Anglian, although being well south of the Blackwater that is a stretch, but as I get a nosebleed going south of the Thames, never considered myself Southern. They all talk funny and can count to 12 on one hand down there.

I personally think Essex is divided on the East Anglia front. North Essex yes, South Essex definitely not.

I'm surprised you don't see yourself as a Southerner . You're on the same latitude as London and a stone's throw across the estuary from Kent.

 

[DarloRich]

DarloRich, as you (from what I can gather) live near MK, do you consider your "locale" as South East England?

I do. Coming from the north east it certainly feels like the south east down here to me. It is very affluent, poverty seems low, employment is high, house prices are extortionate, many people seem to drive flashy cars and there seems to be cash in peoples pockets for "luxury" items

 

[anti-pacer]

I do. Coming from the north east it certainly feels like the south east down here to me. It is very affluent, poverty seems low, employment is high, house prices are extortionate, many people seem to drive flashy cars and there seems to be cash in peoples pockets for "luxury" items

Just out of interest Darlo Rich, what default ITV and BBC local news do you get where you are? I ask as MK seems borderline between 2 regions in TV terms.

 

[bramling]

In the mid-90's the government renamed the East Anglia region by calling it "East of England", and added Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire to it, which had all previously been in the South East region.

I can understand Essex being in that region although geographically it's a southern county, but also an eastern one. Bedfordshire and especially Hertfordshire though, they're more southern than eastern. It doesn't seem right that Chorleywood, north west of London, inhabits the same region as Cromer on the north coast of Norfolk.

Also, travelling south on the WCML, you enter the South East first in Buckinghamshire - Wolverton to be precise, but then leave it again after Bletchley, moving into the East of England region between there and just south of Watford, despite travelling ever further south.

Do you live in these counties and if so, do you consider yourself a Southerner, and Easterner, or indeed something else?

I think it's fair to say that Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire associate more with London than "Anglia". Living in Hertfordshire, it mildly irritated me to get the BBC Look East news, as I'm completely uninterested in what's happening in places like Norwich, Bury St Edmunds, or even Cambridge.

 

[DarloRich]

Just out of interest Darlo Rich, what default ITV and BBC local news do you get where you are? I ask as MK seems borderline between 2 regions in TV terms.

no idea - i don't have a TV! I THINK it is BBC Look East. It certainly isnt Look North with Mike Neville

 

[anti-pacer]

no idea - i don't have a TV! I THINK it is BBC Look East. It certainly isnt Look North with Mike Neville

Mike Neville on Look North? I'm guessing that's the North East version as you're from Darlington. Mind you, despite being broadcast from Leeds, Look North's Yorkshire version doesn't even cover most of North Yorkshire. Harrogate even gets the Newcastle based Look North.