Lancashire, where women die of love - Charles Nevin

For far too long, the County of Lancashire has languished under the grimy pall of smoke, muck, mills and mines; enveloped in outdated condescension and smothered by the easy dismissals that put down the north of England as just 'up there' and 'grim'. Thank you very much, George Orwell, Monty Python and every London cabbie.But Lancashire is not 'up there'. It is actually situated in the centre of the British Isles and, far from being grim, Lancs is in fact a place of wit and wonder, romance and surprise; a land of exotic influence whose people have ever looked outward to sophistications and influences beyond frontiers and seas. Indeed, French writer Honore de Balzac recognised these affinities and yearnings in the Lancashire people when he had one of his characters declare that 'Lancashire is the County where women die of love'. Mock if you like, but then think about it: where is the magnificent thoroughfare that inspired the boulevards of Paris? Where did they go to film Brief Encounter, arguably the most romantic British film ever? Which city informed the great vision of C. G. Jung? Where did the young Shakespeare dream and draw his inspired imaginings? Where do you think Britain's only bullfighter, the doughty El Ingles, is from? Where will the new Las Vegas be? Join Charles Nevin, Fleet Street journalist and humorist, as he returns to his roots and reveals all this and more in Where Women Die of Love. Discover the true Camelot and the beauty that is Rugby League. Ponder over Cotton and Gandhi and Engels, and mull over the reason why Britain's greatest comics, from Laurel to Coogan........