It's (not) grim up North - Judith Holder

North of Watford (and west of Reading, for that matter) there exists a part of the country that rarely gets a look-in from our London-centric national media. Three-quarters of the country, in fact. And yet its London, London, London all they ever hear is London! Well, London and the South. The royals, the Olympic bid, film premieres, overcrowding at Heathrow, union problems on the Underground, something provocative at the Tate Modern, Congestion Charging, and Bridget bloody Jones. Surely there's a balance to be redressed here? A light-hearted and humorous look at what it's really like outside the M25, Its (not) Grim Up North will be an education of sorts, divided into sections easy for Southerners to digest: Food, Weather, Culture and Money. Did you know its warmer in the Tyne Valley than in the Thames Valley? No? Typical! The author, like rest the series contributors, is from the North, and she's got a thing or two to say about life in the Provinces.