Tell us something new...

[Kaybee Bailey]

...about the place you live.

Since I have two home towns at the moment:

Wolverhampton had the first set of automatic traffic lights in the country installed in Prince's Square in 1927. The current modern lights have striped poles to commemorate the fact.

The population of Leeds drops by over 70000 in the summer as so many students go home.

Let's see what we all learn.

[Dirk Gently]

It is believed that Brackley, which can trace its history back to the very earliest times, was originally founded in two distinct areas. One was around the existing parish church of St Peter and the other around the castle (near Hinton Road) by the River Great Ouse (which rises in Northamptonshire, only a couple of miles from Brackley). Iron Age remains were found when Mill Lane was developed and others were found when the Castle Lane site was excavated. To the south east of the parish church there was probably a Roman villa and the first settlement was built here by BRACCA.

[Captain Tancredi]

Otley was the birthplace of cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale and England rugby player Mike Tindall (and also arch-restorationist Steve Roberts, I seem to remember him mentioning on the BBC boards). The Cross Green rugby ground is famous in rugby history as the venue for the Northern Division's defeat of the All Blacks in 1971.

[Pip Madeley]

Heaton Park, right on my doorstep in Higher Blackley, is the largest Municipal Park in Western Europe.

[SiHart]

The village of White Waltham lost out to Bracknell in the race to become Berkshire's New Town in the early 1950s.

Si xx

[Captain Tancredi]

The population of Leeds drops by over 70000 in the summer as so many students go home.

On the bright side, this usually knocks about 15 minutes off my bus journey home

[Milky Tears]

The Fanboy Depot has a funny smell.

[Alex]

I've sort of got two homes right now as well.

Reigate: In an interview with the NME, Norman "Fatboy Slim" Cook called the town a "Surburban Hellhole", which our local paper the Surrey Mirror got all upset about, I think they devoted about 3 pages to it, with lots of quotes from old people going "No it isn't."

Queens Park: I had to look it up on Wikipedia, as I don't know the history of the area that much, but found this blatant lie "The area has a well established community, and "almost village atmosphere" in the words of the local residents' association, QPARA."

[Stuart Wallis]

Loughton's biggest current claim to fame is that Britain's bank notes are printed here. Famous residents have included Queen Mary I, Ruth Rendell, Jack and Deborah Watling, Vicki Michelle, Dick Turpin and Lord Tennyson. Land around these parts was owned by the nearby Abbey of Waltham, which was founded by King Harold, and was the last monastery shud down by Henry VIII.

[Jon Masters]

The town where I went to school, Rugeley, was most famous for being the home town of Palmer the Poisoner, who in the 19th century bumped off at least 11 people using strychnine including his mother in law, his legitimate and illegitimate children, his wife and his brother.

At the time of his hanging the people of Rugeley applied to change the name of the town, to avoid all the associations with the national press interest. Unfortunately they were told that the only choice was to change it to the Prime Minister's name. At the time the PM was Viscount Palmerston so they decided not to bother

[Mike Saville]

The town of Gateshead has the highest density of Jews per capita outside of Isreal.

[Si Hunt]

Ruth Rendell

Isn't she a fictional character?

Sawbridgeworth's local school has a fully functioning wind turbine. What the frick they do with that is anyone's guess.

Si.

[Dirk Gently]

No, I believe she is an author.

[Stuart Wallis]

She worked for the local paper, and is now a baroness.

[Si Hunt]

... who solves Crimes. She's fictional!

Si.

[Stuart Wallis]

She created Inspector Wexford, whom you'll say is real next!

[Dave Lewis]

Loughborough is famous for producing the Dave Lewis.

[Si Hunt]

Rendell must be fictional, as there's "the Ruth Rendell mysteries". Who solves the mysteries, if she's real?

Si.

[Dirk Gently]

Si, they are called the Ruth Rendell Mysteries because she wrote them.
They are investigated by the afore mentioned Chief Inspector Wexford played by the Full Circle George Baker.

[Stuart Wallis]

Have you ever seen any Ruth Rendell Mysteries? (I'd say not!) If you had, you'd know they're based on stories she's written.

[Ralph]

Glasgow was once described by a House Of Commons parliamentarian in the 1930s during the city's most smog laden era as "the closest surburb to hell". I think even to this day we're still the worst spot in the world for heart disease - surprisingly we didn't invent the deep fried Mars Bars - That fame goes to the granite city Aberdeen.

Other things:

Chicago's streets were designed using Glasgow's grid system as a blueprint.
Glasgow's tram system was shipped off to Hong Kong I think in the 1950s
Glasgow I understand has the most parks of any of the UK's cities.
It has the only underground system in Scotland and maybe outside London? - even if it is a couple of simple circles

Oh and it was the second city of the empire.

The Royal Yacht Brittania was built and launched on the Clyde but in retirement resides in Leith over in Edinburgh. Apparently there wasn't enough tourist attractions in Edinburgh already

Oh and if you wander into a traditional pub in Glasgow you'll have pals for life already waiting to meet you - in Edinburgh you'll be hard pressed to find anyone that will talk to you

[Captain Tancredi]

It has the only underground system in Scotland and maybe outside London? - even if it is a couple of simple circles

Famously the Subway is quite possibly the only railway system in the world without any points- the carriages get lifted out of the system at Govan whenever they need repairing. My favourite story, though, is the one about the original cars- given that the system consists of two concentric circles, some canny Scot realised at an early stage that it was only actually necessary to give them a full paint job on one side and the other side could be left in undercoat...

[Rob McCow]

According to a letter we just got from Virgin Media, Queens Pine just got sexier. And we didn't think that was possible!