What’s your view though @IdleRich ?
Well, first off, let me say that the above was obviously a slightly selective view, while all of the things I said above did actually happen to her, there were also loads... well, some, well at least a couple of good things that happened while she was there.
My view, quite hard, I can't really sum it up., My Dad is from Manchester and his entire kinda extended family still remain there. So, in a way I spent a lot of time there growing up, going two or three times a year.... but, really, just sitting in this aunt's house, chatting with these cousins, or visiting my Gran's neighbour Mrs James, a lovely old lady for sure but I didn't really experience the real Manchester doing that.
The family are all a good laugh though, much so than Dad himself. A few years back our friend Detlef from Germany was over and he played some gigs in London and then he had one in Manchester and another in Edinburgh I think, and we travelled to Manchester to catch that gig with Ruf Dug and Sean Canty at some kinda hipster place there and that was really the first time I'd been out in Manchester since I was a student and we went up to Afflecks Palace or whatever it's called.
We had a decent enough time although the misses started to miss London after a few hours, she felt at home when we went in a bab shop run by Bangladeshis and that made her feel kinda more comfortable than all the northern accents that I guess brought back bad memories of being threatened by this gangster guy who felts she owed him money, having to take out a restraining order on one ex who started stalking her etc
Then after staying at a mate's house for one night we went to visit my aunt and a couple of uncles for good measure, they cooked us dinner and then we sat up until like 5am drinking with them having a great time. Think Liza was surprised at how much more fun they were than their brother, my dad....
In general though, as i think about it, I have very limited experience of the north apart from that. I went to uni in Nottingham and I used to go out with fucking insane girl from Birmingham so I know that sort of area well, but, for the benefit of the Americans and Luka, those areas are really the midlands. I have never been to Liverpool or Newcastle in fact.
My only problem with northerners is when they start coming out with all that shite like I was saying above, about how they are all really friendly and warm and kind and how the south is filled with cold and unfriendly people. That is just obvious bullshit, but it's only said by the very worst types, it's just basically the same people who, if they were down south, would be claiming that all northerners are inbred yokels with ferrets down their trousers.
A few years ago my flatmate go married, he was from Manchester or something and a load of his mates were down for the wedding. At the meal afterwards I was sat next to one of them who was a total arsehole. Everything I said was simply the excuse for him to start a tirade about how he hated the south, or London, or some aspect of London; how miserable he was to be there, how he couldn't wait to leave, how everyone was unfriendly and dour and moaned all the time. I had to put up with this through the whole fucking dinner, sadly looking to the left, right and straight on, where I could see everyone else getting on really well, smiling, laughing, having fun together, while I was stuck in under this guy's personal anti-fun cloud. Obviously i hate that kind of cunt but so does everyone. I mean, there was probably a reason why none of his "mates" had chosen to sit next to him and why I was stuck with him.... though of course I can't really explain why none of my mates were sat with me, must have been a totally different reason anyway.....