Revolutionary Rants

I was just watching Channel 4 News, as I usually do whilst eating my lunch. They had a light hearted article on the new ‘Lonely Planet’ guide, which apparently praises Leeds as being like ‘London’s Knights bridge area’, as well as complementing Sheffield and, wait for it, Blackpool…

Yet, this same guide rubbishes the ‘English Rivera’ and refers to the Devon seaside town of Ilfracombe as like the end of the Earth on a wet day’!!!!!!!!

OK, so Ilfracombe is not Devon’s finest resort, Chris was not greatly impressed when we visited; but it has been cleaned up since then, and the high street (which I recently visited, as you may have read) is pretty nice (good ice cream, too!). I wouldn’t mind, but to praise the sleaze pit that is Blackpool (it even looks foul on the telly for f**k’s sake!), and Leeds and Sheffield, which, in my experience are grey, rather unfriendly cities, seems a little bit rich! Many bits of the North (including my favourite holiday place in childhood, Whitby) are absolutely lovely - as is much of Devon - so why mis-inform people about slightly improved cities which might well put you off the North for good seems a bit daft and counter-productive to me!