What comes to mind when you think of these English counties?

[Osweo]

Northumberland
Cumberland
Westmorland
County Durham
Lancashire
Yorkshire
Cheshire
Derbyshire
Nottinghamshire
Lincolnshire
Shropshire
Staffordshire
Warwickshire
Leicestershire
Northamptonshire
Huntingdonshire
Cambridgeshire
Rutland
Norfolk
Suffolk
Herefordshire
Worcestershire
Gloucestershire
Oxfordshire
Buckinghamshire
Bedfordshire
Hertfordshire
Middlesex
Essex
Berkshire
Wiltshire
Hampshire
Sussex
Kent
Surrey
Dorset
Somerset
Devon
Cornwall

[Electronic God-Man]

Northumberland
Cumberland
Westmorland
County Durham
Lancashire
Yorkshire
Cheshire
Derbyshire
Nottinghamshire
Lincolnshire
Shropshire
Staffordshire
Warwickshire
Leicestershire
Northamptonshire
Huntingdonshire
Cambridgeshire
Rutland
Norfolk
Suffolk
Herefordshire
Worcestershire
Gloucestershire
Oxfordshire
Buckinghamshire
Bedfordshire
Hertfordshire
Middlesex
Essex
Berkshire
Wiltshire
Hampshire
Sussex
Kent
Surrey
Dorset
Somerset
Devon
Cornwall

England. That's about it. ...ok, when I think of Kent I think "Jutes".

[Beorn]

A thin red line.

[Æmeric]

Northumberland - Use to be a kingdom.

Cumberland - There are lots of places in America named after Cumberland. The Cumberland River, Cumberland Gap.

Westmorland - US general in Vietnam.

County Durham - Town in North Carolina named after this place.

Lancashire - Cotton mills. Major center of the industrial revolution.

Yorkshire - York is here. Yorkshire pudding. I've heard it is disgusting. The pudding that is.

Cheshire - Cats.

Derbyshire - Horse races are named after this place.

Nottinghamshire - Robin Hood.

Lincolnshire - Land of Lincoln. He forefathers must have come from here. St. Hugh of Lincoln.

Shropshire - Wassn't coke invented here. Not the kind you drink but the kind they use to make pig iron.

Staffordshire - pottery, china.

Warwickshire - Shakespeare Country. Forest of Arden.

Leicestershire - Earl of Leicester, Good Queen Bess's 'favorite'.

Northamptonshire - Dianaland.

Huntingdonshire - There are places called Huntingdon in America, assume they are named after this county.

Cambridgeshire - University. Very prestigious.

Rutland - I think there are places named Rutland in America. The name seems vaguely familiar. Or maybe I'm thinking of Rutledge.

Norfolk - The US Atlantic Fleet is based here. No wait, that's the Norfolk in Virginia.

Suffolk - East Anglia. A lot of Puritans came from here.

Herefordshire - Herefords are a popular breed of beef cattle in the American West.

Worcestershire - They make a fine sauce that goes well with Hereford beef.

Gloucestershire - There's a fishing port in Massachusetts named Gloucester. Must be named after the one in England.

Oxfordshire - The other very prestigious university.

Buckinghamshire - Duke of Buckingham. There were several, one gave his (titular) name to Buckingham Palace.

Bedfordshire - There are several places named Bedford in America.

Hertfordshire - Hartford, Connecticut was named after Hertford.

Middlesex - = Greater London.

Essex - East Anglia, Puritans.

Berkshire - Windsor Castle.

Wiltshire -

Hampshire - New Hampshire was named after this place.

Sussex - Sounds like something that would be illegal in the bible belt.

Kent - Makes me think of Kentucky.

Surrey - A kind of carriage. There was a song about it in "Okalahoma!".

Dorset - I'm sure there was a Duke of Dorset.

Somerset - Wat Tyler talks about it a lot.

Devon - The garden of England so I've heard.

Cornwall - Prince Charles is the duke of this place. Provides him with a nice income.

[Jarl]

Northumberland - rough, Newcastle, Geordie accents, Percy ducal family.

Cumberland - ...? CUMBRIA - Lake District! Windermere and Kednal town! Old norwegian toponyms.

Westmorland - again... Cumbria?

County Durham - Durham university, college system, Durham accent, old Norman castle,

Lancashire - Lancaster castle,

Yorkshire - Peninnes, hills, little farms, puddings

Cheshire - cat

Derbyshire - ...

Nottinghamshire - forest, Robin Hood, university, rough place.

Lincolnshire - Indian minority...

Shropshire - blue cheese

Staffordshire - bullterriers...

Warwickshire - ...

Leicestershire - large Indian minority (majority?)...

Northamptonshire - ...

Huntingdonshire - all I can think about is Huntington's disease

Cambridgeshire - Cambridge, green "backs", university, flat country, massive farms,

Rutland - ducal family,

Norfolk - the fens, the broads, the Wash, Norwich, peaceful tiny fishing villages, Blakeney Point, salt marshes, seals, Howard Catholic ducal family,

Suffolk - Sutton Hoo, Harwich, Newmarket horse races, wild unspoilt coastline

Herefordshire - English-Welsh borderlands

Worcestershire - ...

Gloucestershire - Gloucester, Severn,

Oxfordshire - Oxford

Buckinghamshire - ...

Bedfordshire - ...

Hertfordshire - North of London...

Middlesex - London

Essex - girls old city of Colchester, Mersey island, Loki

Berkshire - ...

Wiltshire - bacon, Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain,

Hampshire - Portsmouth,

Sussex - Brighton, Battle, Hastings, Arundel castle,

Kent - garden of England, Darwin, Dukes of Kent, Canterbury.

Surrey - South of London, urbanised...

Dorset - Swanage, Durdle Door, Weymouth beach, old Norman abbeys, hills.

Somerset - Glastonbury, Wells, Strongbow cider, lovely old villages lost in the Mendip hills, Quantocks, Cheddar Gorge, picnics in Stourhead.

Devon - Exmoor and Dartmoor, Hound of the Baskervilles, Torquay, "English Riviera", Plymouth, Sir Francis Drake.

Cornwall - Newquay, windsurfing, Land's End, old copper mines, Lizard Point, pilchards, Celtic surnames, Redruth, Bodmin Moor, Tintagel castle.

[Fortis in Arduis]

Northumberland - Castles, tough grassy moors, flora and fauna.

Cumberland - the name from which Cumbria derives; Quakers.

Westmorland - Kendal, but not the mint cake. It is now Cumbria.

County Durham - drab 1970s houses... Consett... A very clever Lady called Deborah with an all-but-extinct hereditary title.

Lancashire - Really dry materialistic people who are well into their 'stuff' and what they have that you do not...

Yorkshire - Folk who actually have a very large amount of 'stuff' and are therefore very modest about it. Some horrible boarding schools. Ilkley, Leeds, Bradford and Dentdale. Sharp-witted and industrious people.

Cheshire - Footballers and their horrible wives.

Derbyshire - grey area for me.

Nottinghamshire - Hugenot lace, latter-day gun-crime

Lincolnshire - An enduring post-Christian regional obsession with the Devil, devils and devilment.

Shropshire - Almost Wales

Staffordshire - Pottery

Warwickshire - Leamington Spa; my friends who I met on holiday. Nice architecture - tedious backwater!

Leicestershire - grey area for me

Northamptonshire - Boring, provincial, seedy.

Huntingdonshire - My childhood, canals, flintwork churches.

Cambridgeshire - Cambridge my teen and early twentyhood; amazing free parties, dreamy summers, harsh winters that I just forgot, bicycles, crazy people, my best friend.

Rutland - an obscure, academic county; in this regard, much like the micronation of http://www.sealandgov.org

Norfolk - beautiful delapidated houses, artists, a refuge, but not a sanctuary.

Suffolk - My father's latest parish, those thatched cottages, those villages.

Herefordshire - grey area to me

Worcestershire - grey area to me

Gloucestershire - grey area to me

Oxfordshire - good land, flat open spaces; beautiful Georgian houses

Buckinghamshire - Milton Keynes

Bedfordshire - Naff and provincial, but Bedford is a special place where live many special patriotic British people live. A rose in a desert.

Hertfordshire - North of North London. Civilisation ends long before we reach Hertfordshire going North. Hertfordshire has dull towns and a boring university.

Middlesex - According to wikipedia, I can put Middlesex as my county address, but in reality 'London Town' ATE Middlesex. Some Londoners are upset if you tell them that they are not in Middlesex. Middlesex is the new Atlantis.

Essex - 'Fit birds' as they are known in the local parlance. Especially outwith the towns. Lovely English pubs. Kent with a little more savoir faire, but very lacking in refinement, in parts.

Berkshire - Come friendly bombs and drop on Slough. ***

Wiltshire - Militarised, but not civilised.

Hampshire - Civilised and militarised.

Sussex - 'B.Right.On' and other places which are more cute and historical.

Kent - Real Gypsies The blue stained glass windows of the Anglo-Jewish, yet Christian memorial chapel Tudelely-cum-Capel by Marc Chagall

Surrey - Green and verdant, another Saxon enclave.

Dorset - Boring and also a grey area for me.

Somerset - Beautiful but boring and provincial.

Devon - Totnes, a crazy alcohol-soaked market town, a few hours from London. Go there and forget time.

Cornwall - Newquay - A good example of bad tourism.








***

'Slough' by John Betjeman (1906 - 1984)

Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough!
It isn't fit for humans now,
There isn't grass to graze a cow.
Swarm over, Death!
Come, bombs and blow to smithereens
Those air -conditioned, bright canteens,
Tinned fruit, tinned meat, tinned milk, tinned beans,
Tinned minds, tinned breath.

Mess up the mess they call a town-
A house for ninety-seven down
And once a week a half a crown
For twenty years.

And get that man with double chin
Who'll always cheat and always win,
Who washes his repulsive skin
In women's tears:

And smash his desk of polished oak
And smash his hands so used to stroke
And stop his boring dirty joke
And make him yell.

But spare the bald young clerks who add
The profits of the stinking cad;
It's not their fault that they are mad,
They've tasted Hell.

It's not their fault they do not know
The birdsong from the radio,
It's not their fault they often go
To Maidenhead

And talk of sport and makes of cars
In various bogus-Tudor bars
And daren't look up and see the stars
But belch instead.

In labour-saving homes, with care
Their wives frizz out peroxide hair
And dry it in synthetic air
And paint their nails.

Come, friendly bombs and fall on Slough
To get it ready for the plough.
The cabbages are coming now;
The earth exhales.

[Skandi]

Northumberland. Northern mnarches, border country.
Cumberland. Sorry Sausages is the answer
Westmorland.
County Durham. Oh dear I live there
Lancashire. I used to live there, west pennines, sheep
Yorkshire. which bit? Moors and sheep
Cheshire. Gorge
Derbyshire. matlock bath
Nottinghamshire. forest
Lincolnshire. More sausages, flat
Shropshire. Cheese
Staffordshire. Breed of dog, plowing country
Warwickshire. Castles
Leicestershire. imigrants
Northamptonshire. oh dear
Huntingdonshire.
Cambridgeshire. red brick, london commuters
Rutland. tiny
Norfolk. Very flat boggy, used to be the densest populated place in the country
Suffolk. horses and farming
Herefordshire, cows (beef)
Worcestershire. the sauce of course oh and a cathedral
Gloucestershire. Cheese!
Oxfordshire. only 1.5 hours to go (when driving home)
Buckinghamshire. Hunting
Bedfordshire. boring, nowt happens
Hertfordshire. see above
Middlesex. too close to London
Essex. girls
Berkshire.
Wiltshire, next to us the last stop before the west county yokles
Hampshire, family home quiet, it's all history
Sussex. farms
Kent, garden of England
Surrey, horses
Dorset, one month spent climbing on rocks
Somerset, cider
Devon. used to live there pretty and warm. Janners
Cornwall. wet and empty, pretty but full of grockles (Tourists)

You can see I like food and animals!

[Óttar]

Northumberland - Frontier between Scotland and England.
Yorkshire - The third world according to Monty Python, possibly where some of my ancestors came from due to high rate of a past surname.
Nottinghamshire - Robin Hood
Northamptonshire - Where some of my maternal ancestors came from.
Cambridgeshire - Oxford ?
Herefordshire - OE Army-fjord town
Worcestershire - Sauce
Oxfordshire - Oxford ?
Buckinghamshire - Palace
Middlesex - Middle
Essex - East
Sussex - South
Kent - Etymologically related to an uncouth Germanic word, as it was the "origin." ()
Devon - Celtic settlement, outpost of the Roman Empire in Britannia.
Cornwall - Kernow, coasts, dark hair, tin, distinct

[007]

Northumberland-Bamburgh Castle and the taste of the sea
Cumberland-Fells and lakes, Hartley's XXX
Westmorland-wrestling
County Durham-"There's na puffs in the DLI, Stokes!"
Lancashire-the clatter o'clogs, Thwaites, a pint o' bitter
Yorkshire-"Hear all, see all, say nowt, tak' all, keep all, gie nowt, and if tha ever does owt for nowt do it for thysen" Old Peculier
Cheshire-cheese
Derbyshire
Nottinghamshire-Robin Hood
Lincolnshire-Lincoln green
Shropshire
Staffordshire
Warwickshire
Leicestershire
Northamptonshire
Huntingdonshire-Here underneath this little stone lies Robert, Earl of Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire
Rutland
Norfolk
Suffolk
Herefordshire-SAS, scrumpy
Worcestershire-sauce
Gloucestershire
Oxfordshire and
Buckinghamshire-Arnhem, Pegasus bridge
Bedfordshire
Hertfordshire
Middlesex
Essex
Berkshire
Wiltshire-Stonehenge, hard r's
Hampshire
Sussex-a lovely young lady named Claire
Kent-Invicta
Surrey
Dorset
Somerset-Ooh arr! Cheddar gorge
Devon-Drake, Dartmoor, commandos
Cornwall-Pixies, Ruby Robert Fitzsimmons

[Treffie]

Northumberland - Kielder Dam, the largest in the UK, Lindisfarne

Cumberland - Sausages!

Westmorland - Barrow in Furness

County Durham - The only county that is not a shire

Lancashire - Hotpot

Yorkshire - Puddings (yes, I've got food on my mind

Cheshire - Posh bunch of people, historic Chester

Derbyshire - Peak District

Nottinghamshire - Nottingham - violent place?

Lincolnshire - Yellowbellies

Shropshire - Very hilly, quite a few Welsh speakers

Staffordshire - Pottery

Warwickshire - Stratford on Avon

Leicestershire - Muslims?

Northamptonshire - Shoe factories

Huntingdonshire - John Major

Cambridgeshire - Good universities

Rutland - Tiny, but expensive!

Norfolk - 2 headed people

Suffolk - Too close to Norfolk

Herefordshire - Rural, beautiful

Worcestershire - Historic towns

Gloucestershire - Fred West

Oxfordshire - Dreaming spires

Buckinghamshire - Perfect English countryside

Bedfordshire - Luton - muslims

Hertfordshire - not sure

Middlesex - London isn't it?

Essex - Ford Escort Convertibles

Berkshire - Yes, very nice!

Wiltshire - Haunting, austere, fascinating

Hampshire - Beautiful coastline

Sussex - South Downs

Kent - Garden of England

Surrey - extension of London

Dorset - Lyme Regis, romanticism

Somerset - Haunting, Glastonbury, Avalon?

Devon - Cream teas

Cornwall - Only county in England with an indigenous language