FOR anyone in South Lakeland who doesn’t read The Sunday Times (quite a few I suspect in this Lib Dem constituency), journalist Rod Liddell’s recent article commented on the North/South divide. His rabbiting generated a wry smile.

Only in the South, be it in the street, on the Tube, on the bus, in restaurants, do people not speak to each other.

Only in the South is a Tube Chat badge necessary. What next?

Walk down the street in Cumbria where we live and a mere smile encourages a smile in return and at least 'hello', if not full-blown conversation.

Smile at someone on the Tube, as I did a couple of months ago when visiting my younger daughter in London, and the result is a glowering, nay murderous, look back. Heaven forbid we should try to make eye contact.

Our Southern friends delight in teasing us for our accents - bath instead of barth, raspberry instead of rarsberry, castle instead of carstle... the list goes on, despite the fact I have never seen an 'r' in any of those words.

At least we north of Watford pronounce 'th' as 'th' and not as 'f', as in 'Oi fink'.

Quite frankly I wouldn’t live in London or the environs for a big gold clock (old Northern saying) and now I’m just off in me clogs to ‘ave a good old natter in me pinny, over the garden fence.

Louise Broughton

Bowness-on-Windermere