10 Reasons Why Yorkshire Is The Best Place On Earth
In celebration of Yorkshire Day on 1st August, the woman who turned being from Yorkshire into a personality, and co-Artistic Director, Rachael Abbey lists why the county is so great.
1) The Geography
It’s pretty much in the middle of the UK, with a huge train station at Leeds and York, from which you can get to pretty much anywhere you want. If you’re in West Yorkshire, you’ve got rolling hills and countryside, and if you’re in the East you’re never too far away from a gorgeous coast line. Best of both worlds.
2) The Culture
Yorkshire culture involves being tight-fisted and being proud that you’re from Yorkshire, which really does explain my existence to be fair. I went to a gig when I was about 16, and the crowd started chatting “YORKSHIRE! YORKSHIRE!” just to remind the band where they were playing, and they stormed off the stage because they thought we were saying “YOU’RE SHIT! YOU’RE SHIT!”
TBH they were a bit shit.
3) The Cuisine
Yorkshire Puddings. You’re welcome.
4) The People
Some of the best people in the world have come from Yorkshire. Here’s the top hits:
Amy Johnson – Aviator extraordinaire
Guy Fawkes – The last man to enter parliament with honest intentions
Bronte Sisters – Not read any of their books but they seem popular
Chuckle Brothers – Peak 90’s hilarity
Brian Blessed – My father (spiritually)
Dame Judi Dench – A QUEEN
As a list it's varied, it's unique, its POWERFUL.
5) The Sporting Achievements
Lest we forget that if Yorkshire was its own country in the 2012 Olympics we would have finished 12th. We would have been 14th in 2016. Let that sink in. Both times we would have beaten Canada.
6) The Musical Achievements
Arctic Monkeys. The Housemartins. The Cribs. The Beautiful South. Joe Cocker. The Kaiser Chiefs. The Human League. Jarvis Cocker. Reverend and the Makers. Pulp. Alt-J. Gareth Gates...?
If you type “York bands” into Google, it wants to autocorrect to “York Council tax bands” so they’re not included in this list.
York, you’ve let us down.
7) The Accent
Look, it’s not the sexiest thing about us, but it's diverse and we often make up our own words. Just look at the lyrics for On Ilkla Moor Baht’at.
8) The History
Castles – check.
Abbeys- check.
Some seriously petty wars – check.
There is a lot of history in Yorkshire. Its been inhabited since 8000 BC so of course there’s going to be some stories.
9) The White Rose
The iconic flag of Yorkshire. Whenever I think of the white rose, I think of the one from Alice in Wonderland which sparkles and sings like an angel. That is how it feels to be from Yorkshire.
10) Its not Lancashire.
Somewhere pretty in the Yorkshire Dales.