There
are few people who actually know where Middlesbrough is. Stating that
our comfy little town must be `in the middle of England’ does not
classify as knowing it’s true geographical location. If you are
moving to Middlesbrough for university, chances are your buddies
won’t know where it is either.
“So
which uni are you going to?”
Your
friend asks your other friend.
“Leeds
Metro… what about you?”
“Ah,
Leeds. My sister went to Leeds. It’s banging.”
Both
friends look at you with expectant eyes.
“Oh,
I’m going to Teesside. You know… Middlesbrough? It’s near
Newcastle?”
Silence.
We
can sympathise with your frustration.
This is Middlesbrough
We
Own a Crown…
…for
being the King of Steel. Middlesbrough is best known for being `up
there` in the steel and metal industry. Our town is actually the
leader of the North- East industry, but our fame doesn’t stop
there. There is a town in Kentucky named in ode of us!
We are home to
many factories as well as a bright blue transporter bridge, which
sits above the River Tees.
We’ve
Got an Embarrassing Nickname
Okay,
okay. We may be famous… but the inhabitants of ‘Boro still have a
rather wretched nickname. Due to our steel status and the amount of
smoke our factories used to give off, we are forever known as
`Smoggies`. In addition, we also have `Smoggie Slang`.
Haway,
we’re buzzin’…
Our
Population Was Once 25
In
the olden days, before students, steel workers and Smoggies existed,
Middlesbrough was formally known as a `Hamlet`. This hamlet looked
after just 25 people, which is a few hundred thousand less than the
population of Middlesbrough today.
Our
Neighbours are Goths
The
first weekend of every November is Whitby Goth Weekend. The quaint
town turns into a mass of cobwebs, death and plum coloured
eye-shadow. This beautiful biker-slash-emo fest has been around since
the year 1994, and it brings thousands every year. There’s music,
dancing and drinking, all in the arms of a hand-built Halloween town.
Better invite Buffy…
We
Love Yoghurt Smothered Chicken
Well,
that’s not strictly true. We all love Parmo’s (`Chicken
Parmesan`) here in Middlesbrough. It’s basically a breast of
chicken covered in melted cheese and a creamy sauce… but it was
born here, and it’s our after-Apple Sours-saviour. Restaurants far
and wide have tried to recreate our `delicacy`, and the BBC loved in
enough to give it some coverage on their website.
We
live in Middlesbrough. It’s not in the middle…
Words by Leonie Ann Garlick
