The North vs South

Here it is, the age-old debate: which is better out of the North and the South of England? Doesn't it seem bizarre that there is such a large difference between two halves of such a small country? Can you believe that around 7 million Britons have never ventured across the north south divide? Three quarters of the British public actually admit that they discriminate against those from the other side of the 'divide', with northerners thinking southerners are arrogant and up themselves, and southerners thinking that northerners are backwards and bleak. So which half of the country wins?

So here it goes, the top 5 best things about the North and South:

The North:

1) The People: In general, although I hate to say it, I have found that the people in the North are so much more kind and welcoming than those in the South. Always being more willing to take the time out of their day to give you directions or just say good morning.

2) The Cost:  Everything is cheaper in the North! From houses to alcohol, it's just easier to live in the North... The average house price in the South is around £280,000, whereas in the North it is £140,000 - making it literally half as expensive to live in the North as the South.

3) The Beauty: Obviously this is a plus side for both the North and South, but there is definitely something to be said for the beauty of places such as North, on the whole it seems less ruined than the majority of the South.

4) York: The South has London, the North has York. Although these places are incomparable there is definitely something to be said for York, this is proved by the fact that it is the second biggest tourist destination after London. Considering York is tiny in comparison this is pretty impressive...

5) Community: Generally people in the North feel more of a sense of belonging to a community, this may well be due to my earlier point about the people being kinder, but I think it is also because in the lifestyle in the north doesn't seem to be so rushed and busy as it can be in the South.

The South

1) London: With hundreds of attractions including the London Eye, Madame Tussaud's, and the tower of London, the West end... the list goes on! You can be in London your whole life and still be surprised by what you find, it never gets boring.

2) The Weather: Whatever the weather is like in the North, it's always better in the South... Maybe it's because it's less windy, maybe it's warmer, and all I know is that it always seems to be nicer...

3) The Accents: (controversial, I know....) This isn't really a sound argument for why the North is better, but in general I just prefer Southern accents to Northern, the exception being Newcastle which has a great accent.

4) Cornwall: With the beaches and surfing you can sometimes forget you are still in dreary England. Although there are of course plenty of beaches in the North, I’m not sure that Blackpool measures up to Cornwall when it comes to a summer holiday.

5) The Businesses: Although it isn't easy to find a job anywhere at the moment, there are more job opportunities in the South compared to in the North. This is to be expected seeing as London is the hub of trade in England.

The worst things about the North and South have already been explained through the opposites top 5. For example the main worst things about the South are the high prices and the often rude people, whereas the worst things about the North is the weather and the fact that overall it isn't as wealthy as the south. However seeing as this is probably what makes the people kinder this is not necessarily a bad thing...

So there isn't really a better out of the two - it's purely a personal preference... In such a small country it seems silly to have such a big split and to have formed such harsh prejudices against the other side of the 'divide'. Everyone should just put their pride to their side and admit one is not better than the other - they are simply different.

The New Year's Eve Dilemma

It's coming up again, that time of the year which everyone looks forward to, only for it to happen and no one feel any different... Every year millions of people get ready to see the new year in with friends and loved ones, planning far in advance what parties to go to... Only to realise that once the second hand reaches twelve it really isn't that big a deal...

It's sad that the majority of New Year's Eves are huge anti-climaxes... Everyone gets so excited and then can't help but feel a little bit down when their big night wasn't so big at all... After all, it is just like any other day, the only main impact it makes on everyones lives is that for a few weeks you keep getting the year wrong when writing the date... So does this mean that we shouldn't celebrate New Year's Eve anymore? Should we just give in and accept that although it feels like it should be celebrated, really it is just like any other night? My answer is definitely not. There must be some reason why people still feel that it is acceptable to sometimes spend around £50 just for a ticket to a New Year's Eve party...

1) The Tradition
For years people have celebrated the New Year! Did you know that on New Year's Eve in 2010 an estimated 250,000 people gathered in London to watch the 8 minute long fire works display? Traditions vary from "Irish Wind" - a tradition of predicting the political future of a country by checking which way the wind blows at midnight on New Year's Eve, to celebrating the first baby being born. If we stopped celebrating it we would be losing a huge part of our culture.

2) The excuse for a huge night
It's an excuse to either dress up nicely or in some weird costume and make a fool of yourself, but it's ok because everyone does it! It's not like on people's birthdays when YOU may be dressed up and ready for a big one, but people walking past in the street look completely normal. On New Year's everyone is up for having a good time, and if we stopped celebrating it we would be missing out on a chance to have a great night.

3) Seeing people you wouldn't usually see
New Year's Eve is a great chance to have a catch up with people you don't always have a chance to see. It's the time of year when people have big parties with friends and family, where everyone is in a good mood and you don't think about anything else. With jobs and university it's hard to make sure you see everyone, so it's great having one night of the year when you know everyone is out - it's as if it is mandatory. Whether it is out in London or at someones house, you often see people that you definitely would not have otherwise.

4) Being part of something big
Now, this is generally the reason that New Year's Eve is an anti-climax... Nonetheless i still think it is a reason for us to keep celebrating it. When people celebrate New Year's Eve you really feel part of something. You can imagine everyone in England counting down the seconds, and then all at once shouting "Happy New Year!!". There isn't much that England does as a whole, so it's nice that we have something that the majority of people celebrate. So even though after New Year's Eve some people feel like their has been an anti-climax, it is still important to feel like you are part of something that everyone thinks is special.

5) It only happens once a year
This isn't something that happens every month, it happens once a year. Well, being pedantic each new year only happens once. Surely that is something to celebrate?

Obviously these are not the only reasons why i think that we should still celebrate New Year's Eve, there are hundreds, but they are some of the important ones. My point is that although New Year's Eve can be a let down, generally it is a fun night. You just have to make sure you don't put too much pressure on it. Realistically your life will not change between 11.59 and 12.00, even if technically it is the next year. People should put less of a burden on the night and just enjoy it for what it is - a night with your friends which also happens to be seeing one year into the next. We have to stop expecting a night to be magical on its own, and instead focus on making it special ourselves.

So, I hope that everyone has a great New Year's Eve. Sure, it may well be another anti-climax when it happens, but during the hours before and the hours after hopefully it will be a great night.

The New Breed of Christmas Shoppers

It's that time of year again when everyone is rushing around, desperately trying to find that perfect gift for their family and special someones. You can go shopping on any day of the week at any time and there will be thousands of shoppers going crazy, rushing around, not caring who or what they break in their way.

Recently I went to London for the day, not to do christmas shopping in particular, just to look around and have a nice day out. I was shocked that apparently normal politeness went out the window. I'm not sure whether it was due to the christmas 'spirit', or just because i was in london, but all i know was that i cannot count the number of times i was banged into, shoved past, pushed to the side... the list goes on. What shocked me the most was that after all these 'encounters' no one even turned their heads to say goodbye, or even give me a dirty look for being in their way! I'm not going to lie, i am a HUGE clutz.. i am awful at looking where i am going and also have really bad balance, this combination means that in a crowd i am not always the best person...This being said i know that quite a few of my pushes and shoves i received during my trip were my fault. So, if someone wasn't looking and walked into me, i definitely would look back at them and give them the evils... yet none of these people did! What are these people? It's as if they are some kind of mutant london christmas shopper... So focused on their goal that either they don't notice or they don't care about being pushed around. A kind of being which comes out of people once a year...

This breed of London shoppers is urged on by the businesses who want to make as much money from them as possible. Previously shops would start their sales on boxing day, making the shoppers come to them, however since the recession has unfortunately come upon us they have had to change their tactics. This year the sales have come to the shoppers, i walked into Mango the other day and the whole shop was a sale! There were no clothes that were not included, i managed to get a great pair of jeans down from £45 to £25... If the sales are this good now just imagine what they will be like on boxing day!

I guess we should be happy about these sales, making our christmas shopping that little bit easier, but honestly after seeing everyone in London yesterday i am having my doubts. Before going i met someone who used to live in England but for the last four years has been in Sydney. Straight away she started telling me how confused she was by the sales here, however she also commented on how the people were so much more hostile than in Australia, it's as if you could fall over and people would just tred all over you. Can the early sales and lack of manners be linked? Sure - the commercialism of christmas going haywire and causing people to lose sight of what is actually important.

However, to be fair to the British i must admit that this is a rash conclusion to reach. Another thing that i was told was how the recession hasn't really reached Australia. I'm sure a link can be made here, the recession has obviously hurt everyone in different but equally bad ways, it's effected everyones lives. Christmas is a time to try to forget about the problems that have been caused, and if these sales help people to forget, then that's fine - even if it means there is some damage caused on the way (namely my being pushed around in London!). Although the main reason for these pre-christmas sales is so shops can get as much money as possible, we can also realise that the more people spend the more money goes into our economy. As demand increases and more money goes into the economy, maybe peoples confidence will grow and we could slowly make our way out of this recession and back into the good times. So for now i will ignore the pushes and shoves, in the hope that maybe one christmas in the near future people won't have to forget about all their troubles, they would have already disappeared.