Pies and Prejudice: In Search of the North Book

This isn't so much THE guide to the north of England, as Stuart Maconie's guide to the north. And in the spirit of 'write-what-you-know', he has done just that. There's also a massive chunk of the north of England missing from this book, but I'll come to that later. No book is perfect I suppose, and this is a good read. It's funny, it's interesting and there are things to learn. I've got a couple more places I've never been to yet that are added onto my native wishlist. And in all of this he is also trying to capture "northerness". Because, for people outside of the UK, there is a north-south divide in England, and it's not just the geography but a way of life and a way towards life. And for all the non Brits who have been to London and consider that they have now "done" England. Sorry. You've not even started.

So this is Maconie telling us about the places that he grew up (hailing from Wigan to the west), knows well, and some he explored for the making of this book. I actually came to this book myself because of Wigan. In recent years I've been feeling that I need to see more of my own country (and I'll add that I've seen a LOT more of the UK that my average fellow brit). So a few weeks ago I went for a day trip to Wigan, to learn about the pie eaters of Uncle Joe's Mint Balls Land, and to stand on Wigan Pier. And also to meet up with my friend who lives there at the moment. I told one of my work mates about this trip, and he started telling me about this great book, which he then lent me. So there you go; you never know where these small adventures will lead you.

There are chapters about the biggies in the north - Manchester and Liverpool - as well as a chapter on Maconie's home tract, then about the coast, and ending things off with Newcastle. There's a bit of history, a bit of randomness, a bit of biography, a bit of travel... also music history (I like my music so I didn't mind this) and a bit about football (yawn - not interested!).

I'm going to quote a bit from the end which I really liked:

"...I'm not sure that northernness is geographical. It's philosophical. I've met people from Devon who had the right stuff and people from Preston who made my heart sink. Just like Doctor Who said, lots of planets have a north. By which I like to think he meant that northernness is a cast of mind, not a set of co-ordinates. It's about appreciating that an afternoon's snow is an excuse for sledging, not a state of emergency. It's about realising that the best place to drive a Range Rover is Cumbria, not Islington. It's about embracing that life is short and work is hard and that London is not the answer to everything..." (p. 337)

Now, Mr Maconie, I have a few quibbles, and this isn't just about you being from Lancashire and me being from Yorkshire. First off, this, as many books, suffers from a lack of maps. I love a good map. Seriously. Put maps in your books. My other issue is that in his search for the north, Maconie sticks to what he knows. This is an incredibly north-west orientated book. On the chapter about the coast, it's all about Blackpool and Barrow in Furness and the Lakes (ie. the west side). The ENTIRE east coast gets a paragraph. Given that Yorkshire is the biggest county in England, it only gets a chapter. Manchester and Liverpool get a chapter each. Plus the whole Yorkshire thing sees him clinging to the west side of things, always ready to flee back over the border. North and East Yorkshire may well not exist, for all that gets a mention is a bit of the Pennines, Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield. Is this why there were no maps? This isn't just me being niffed that my home county of N Yorks, and my current abode of York have been missed out... but come on, a book about the north of England and you don't mention York? Ye olde capital of the north? Regards to the north and east of Yorkshire, I first thought, oh well, these are very rural areas and he seems to be a townie, so perhaps he just doesn't do the countryside. But there's a big section raving about the Lake District, so I can't explain it away that way either. It's just a gaping omission.

And for that, whilst I can say this was a grand old read and would recommend it to anyone interested in England beyond the bubble of London, I would also have to add that this isn't the complete guide to the north you might be looking for.