Tell us about the place you live

[BloodyHeretic]

This is a great idea, I'll post tomorrow!

[Cyberman]

I've lived in the same town all my life, so far: Walsall (pron. War-sull, not Wall-sull) in the Black Country, which is most definitely not a racial slur. One school of thought holds that the term "Black Country" has its roots in the industrial heritage of the region; a time when the sky would have been blackened with the smoke from thousands of coal-fired iron foundries and steel mills that powered the Industrial Revolution. However another possibility is that the name refers to the rich abundance of coal outcroppings throughout the area.

If there's one thing guaranteed get a Black Countryman's back up, it's the ignorant assumption by outsiders that the Black Country and nearby Birmingham are interchangeable. They most definitely are not. It's rather like saying the USA and Canada are the same place, or that Scots come from England. This ignorance is of course encouraged by Birmingham citizens, who seem almost desperate to be part of the region.

We have our own officially recognised dialect, known imaginatively as Black Country Dialect (BCD), and I guarantee that most of my fellow UK natives thought instantly of the Brummie accent the moment they read that. Well, that's fightin' talk! The two are nothing alike; similar maybe, but Brummie has been described as a watered-down verion of BCD. BCD is probably the clearest indicator of the region's ancient roots, as a linguist would recognise it as probably the closest living relative of Early Middle English. BBC Black Country has an interesting piece on the subject.

Walsall Town itself seems to have been in a state of constant change over the last couple of decades. Years of mismanagement by central and local Government has seen the town slip almost into neglect, a condition which isn't helped by the high number of nightclubs and wine bars all enjoying the relaxation of licensing laws, plus all the attendant pizza and kebab places and all the alcohol-fuelled violence and mess that goes woth these establishments. One main exception is the town centre itself, along with the primary retail thoroughfare named Park Street. These have been the focus of most of the council's attention, including a £21 million Art Gallery which houses the Garman Ryan collection and work by Jacob Epstein all of which used to be on display at Walsall Central Library & Art Gallery, before that building was vandalised in the name of renovation. My theory as to why only the centre of the town is kept pristine and modern while the immediately outlying areas is that the Town Centre is the bit that gets on telly. One thing which hasn't changed is St Matthew's Church, which dominates the skyline from its hill at the top of the town.

I've made the place sound like hell on Earth so far, but once you get out of the Town Centre things couldn't be more different. Walsall's Victorian Arboretum is an obvious example, managing to comprise two large lakes, a children's play park or lido and acres of woodland into 80 acres. There's a golf course as well, but I don't let that spoil my enjoyment. Then there the Leather Museum which showcases the industry for which Walsall is traditionally famous. The Town Hall building dates from the early seventies, but is still instantly recognisable with its huge tower housing a lovely example of a carillon. Several years ago the doorway of the Council House was featured extensively in the series Dalziel and Pascoe. Some scenes of it also show some of the surrounding town in the background.

Famous notables - or notable famouses - include: Noddy Holder (lead singer of Slade, for whom my Dad used to carry their gear); Boy George; Rob Halford of Judas Priest; actor and musician Goldie; Three Men in a Boat author Jerome K Jerome; actor Frank Windsor, who attended the same school as me, Chuckery School, though he'd left by the time I was there; TV and Hollywood actor Matthew Marsden; comedienne Meera Syal; poet Sir Henry Newbolt, who gave us the immortal line "Play up! Play up! And play the game!"; ex-PM John Major's dad, Tom Major-Ball; and many others, including Olympic sportsmen and women, politicians, and playwrights. Soap opera afficianados might recognise the names of (The Honourable) Sue Nicholls of Coronation Street fame; and Don Gilet, who was the deliciously psychotic Lucas Johnson who terrorised EastEnders a few years ago, as well as the xmas 2006 Doctor Who story "The Runaway Bride".

And me, of course.

There's lots of photos online, however my Dad has quite a collection of his own so I'll see if I can sort some out.

[paintpooper]

Anchorage, AK USA.

Seems like a normal American city. It's not too bad. Kinda cold, kinda weird. Only 45 miles from Sarah Palin! Woot!
Lots of homeless, native Alaskan people who have alcohol addictions. We have at least 1 or 2 die a month.
Not many famous people from here... we have oil. We produce crooked politicians! Maybe some winter Olympic people... Tommy Moe.

Downtown

[Cyberman]

I'm sure I've seen that second photo in an old Star Trek at some point... purple backdrop and all.

[fr0d0]

Wallsall... isn't that Greater Birmingham?

[Cinjin]

Grand Rapids, Michigan. USA



...and about 45minutes away Lake Michigan ...



A LOT sucks about the US ... but hey, it still beats the hell outta living in Iran, or hell, the entire continent of Africa.

[Cyberman]

Wallsall... isn't that Greater Birmingham?

Someone's gonna need more facial tattoos soon, methinks...



Greater than Birmingham, certainly.

[Anomalocaris]

Where I live rightfully would be a desert, But epic hydrological vandalism gave it the appearance of overgrown yet underdeveloped city. The natural scenery would be good if only it could be seen through the smog. Not a single piece of the scenery got there without the help of big earthquakes. 17 million years ago what would become this scenary was 300 miles south of the border. The city is not just one of immigrants, it is an immigrant. In another 17 million years, San Francisco would be to it what Oakland is to San Francisco today. In 50 million years or so, it would be to Alaska what Italy is to Europe today.

Where do I live?

[Erinome]

I live in Nashville, TN.

Population- 640,000



Nicknames- Music City, The Athens of the South, The Protestant Vatican, The Buckle of the Bible Belt, and Little Kurdistan. Yeah.

We have a lot of cool shit. One of the coolest being The Parthenon-



It is a full scale replica of the original in Athens, built in the 1800's, finished in 1837.



Complete with a 42 feet high statue of Athena.

Nashville is most famous for being the home of Country Music, The Grand Ole Opry, and lotsa sinnin' Christians.

[ElDinero]

Where I live rightfully would be a desert, But epic hydrological vandalism gave it the appearance of overgrown yet underdeveloped city. The natural scenery would be good if only it could be seen through the smog. Not a single piece of the scenery got there without the help of big earthquakes. 17 million years ago what would become this scenary was 300 miles south of the border. The city is not just one of immigrants, it is an immigrant. In another 17 million years, San Francisco would be to it what Oakland is to San Francisco today. In 50 million years or so, it would be to Alaska what Italy is to Europe today.

Where do I live?

Los Angeles!