alistair I’m talking more of it’s rich history, from the Rettenden murders and all the awful gangster movies it produced, through to Mark Francois, and everyone in between.

    This thread (and board) needs ETC now more than ever

    bosstrabs I think your spot on Dave.

    That’s why I live in Kent.

      Smallman1 Surrey is dull as ditchwater. No thanks.

      Cumbria and Devon are England’s most beautiful counties, probably. Shame there’s no work in either and the cities (Carlisle and Plymouth, anyway) are full of quite loathsome chavs.

          Cornwall is more picturesque than Devon i would suggest

            bosstrabs agreed on Surrey. Soulless stockbroker belt and Pringle sweater brigade.

              Essex is indeed an odd place, but on paper just to same as the other home counties apart from the accents and more traditional Londoners moving there from the East End.

              The whole Towie thing made Essex a laughing stock. I lived in Buckhurst Hill/Chigwell where they began filming it and it was pretty true to form. A bunch if little rich kids with no education running riot, but you get that everywhere.

              What gets on my tits is people taking the piss out of the Essex/east end accent. Seems like the media/UK in general scorns upon an accent nowadays, with everyone trying to speak in this bland Hampshire droll. I remember in the 90s people tried to talk a bit Essex with the whole Mockney/New Lad/Laddete thing. You used to hear regional accents a lot more on TV. Nowadays everyone tries to talk like Wills and Kate when they come from Colchester. Its like the Essex accent is being ethnically cleansed out of the UK………..

              It is rather common though

              The uncouth and asinine ramblings of such chancers as Joey Essex and that Gemma whatserface Mr Blobby tribute act thing have no place in polite society.

                Read somewhere that Essex has more self made people/entrepreneurs than any other county. Can believe it

                essex is pretty bad but parts of yorkshire are even worse. especially looking at places like bradford, rotherham and hull.

                my bother and his mates were all into the typical essex boy scene crusing around chelmsford in their RS turbos blaring out the latest deep heat album. that never interested me and more the reason why I moved to Leeds to go to clubs like Up Yer Ronson, Basics etc rather than have scrap in Dukes every Monday.

                  Millsy ……but give those characters a posho accent saying the same drivel and the UKs perception of them is a bumbling toff rather than a pleb.

                  The UKs class system fascinates me, probably because i’ve experienced the full spectrum when I lived in England then compared that to the US since i’ve lived here. I went to prep school, then passed the 11plus to go to Grammar school. Then went to Uni where there were some of the poshest people known to mankind, then lived in London, Essex, worked in the City blah blah. The stealth class wars and putting people in boxes in the UK is crazy. The US has some pretty shocking traits but its very nice to not get segmented within 5mins of meeting people like you get in the UK.

                  Christ, I even watched that garbage “5 dates in a week” last night with the Mrs. Thats a microcosm of the UK class system in one series. One episode for the northerners, one for the arty types, one for the poshos in Surrey, one for black people, …..never the two shall mix……dear oh dear.

                    alistair would much prefer to out for a night in leeds than Chelmsford or Essex in general, which is why I moved. certainly dont miss it at all