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| 2 MAY 2005 at 5:04pm |
Chris.Schattenjger
Posts : 1842
Joined: 8 MAR 2005
Status : Online | OK, I'll start off then. I don't know much about Sheffield but I could write a book about Southport, so I'll do that instead.
Southport: seaside resort in north-west England. Founded in 1792. Population 90,000.
Ten interesting facts
1. Home of Britain's smallest pub, the Lakeside Inn (or the "Tardis" as it's known). The lake it is beside is the world's largest seawater lake. Apparently some absolute nutjob has gone to the trouble of recreating it exactly in California: http://www.clear-lake.com/Lakewood/Lakeside.htm (Best quote of that site: "Anyone 'ave fourpence?" You can't talk to a single British person without them saying that!)
2. Come and visit the world's only lamnmower museum (somehow they never caught on anywhere else). Exhibits include Lawnmowers of the Rich and Famous: Prince Charles and Princess Diana (they had one each), celebrity gardener Alan Titchmarsh and Hilda Ogden (a fictional character from Coronation Street?) Entrance costs £1. They're overcharging. http://www.lawnmowerworld.co.uk/
3. Southport is famous for the annual Flower show, when 100,000 pensioners flood the town, causing a 4-day traffic jam. Every year it's hosted by a B-list celebrity, such as 80's one-hit wonder Kim Wilde, Rolf Harris, or Christine Hamilton ::shudder:: My mum's boss is head of the committee that runs it, so we gets tickets for free. He's overcharging.
4. The main street, Lord Street was home to Napoleon III in his youth (he was probably here for the flower show) and inspired him to commission Georges Haussmann's redesigning of Paris. The road was originally paved with wood like a parquet floor.
5. Southport's sand dunes are one of the very few places in the world you can find the endangered Natterjack Toad and Great Crested Newt (they're probably here for the flower show). I googled the Natterjack for an interesting fact; apparently it "rarely hops".
6. The Royal Birkdale golf course has hosted the Open Championship 8 times and will again in 2008. http://www.royalbirkdale.com/ Tiger Woods only comes to visit the lawnmower museum, really.
7. Home to Britain's oldest (1860) and second-longest (4380 feet) recreational pier. Technically it was demolished a few years ago and completely rebuilt, but officially it's been "renovated".)
8. Approximately 60% of the population are over 55 years old. http://www.nsdatabase.co.uk/locationdetail.cfm?locationid=1440 Because of this, Southport has the charming nickname of "God's Waiting Room"
9. The Traumatizer is the UK's first suspended looping roller coaster. The ride costs, i think, £5 a go and lasts for about 20 seconds. http://www.coasterforce.com/parkguides/pleasureland/traumatizer.shtml
10. Southport is neither in the south nor a port. It was originally going to be called South Hawes, but luckily that plan fell through.
Three famous faces
1. Oscar-nominated actress Miranda Richardson (Blackadder, Sleepy Hollow, The Hours, Phantom of the Opera, soon to appear in Harry Potter 4).
2. 80's electro group Soft Cell ("Tainted Love". Before my time so I'm not sure how famous they were, but Marilyn Manson covered that song, so I'm guessing they were known in the US.
3. A horse. Seriously. Red Rum, the only horse to win the Grand National three times. We're very proud of that, but I don't know why.
...not to be confused with Keira Knightley
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| 2 MAY 2005 at 9:58pm |
EvaGuild Master
Posts : 3247
Joined: 5 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | I can't find 10 things to say about the town I live in. Well, it's not a 'city' anyway.
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| 2 MAY 2005 at 11:23pm |
CarolineJA+ Overseer
Posts : 16540
Joined: 28 JAN 2007
Location: AU
Status : Offline | Eva
I think you're setting the bar too high. They don't have to be really interesting facts - just stuff we don't know - like the name of where you are.
Besides, after Chris's hilarious offering, we're all going to sound dull. Gee, that lawnmower museum sounds amazing.
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| 2 MAY 2005 at 11:31pm |
AnneGuild Master
Posts : 4800
Joined: 8 MAR 2003
Status : Online | I refuse to say.
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 12:56am |
Chris.Schattenjger
Posts : 1842
Joined: 8 MAR 2005
Status : Online | From the lawnmower weirdo's site:
SEE: the first Atco & Ransome lawnmowers
I can't wait till I next go home now, I've always wanted to see a real-life Atco & Ransome!
the largest toy lawnmower collection in the world
Somehow I don't doubt him.
There's a page begging celebrities to donate their old lawnmowers. I'm dying to e-mail them as the Emperor of Japan or something.
And finally, here's what you've all been waiting for...
http://www.lawnmowerworld.co.uk/images/Qualcast_Panther_-_Owned_by_Hilda_Ogden.jpg
Hilda Ogden's Lawnmower!
As you can see, the lawnmowers are allowed to roam free in their natural habitat and eat as much grass as they like, but they are tagged in case they run stray.
...not to be confused with Keira Knightley
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 1:33am |
MissBSchattenjger
Posts : 2217
Joined: 15 OCT 2002
Status : Online | [smiley=rofl.gif]
chris, you are too funny!
As much as I'd love to rip on my town, there are too many crazy people in the world for me to tell my exact location in a public forum. If I lived in a larger town, I wouldn't hesitate, but there are less than 5,000 people here!
My name is Bethany and I'm the daughter of Gamergal/Michelle.
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 2:27am |
jujigatameSchattenjger
Posts : 1976
Joined: 14 FEB 2003
Status : Online | New York, New York
'Nuff said.
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 3:14am |
AnneGuild Master
Posts : 4800
Joined: 8 MAR 2003
Status : Online | Mine is a town.The city would be St Albans.Incredible shops.And a Cathedral.But also,Doncaster,and Grimsby. :
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 4:17am |
AvakaJourneyman
Posts : 1437
Joined: 17 SEP 2003
Status : Online | I'm looking up info even as we speak.
Won't be long now before I found something of interest.
I'll be right back with the good news. Hang on.
Myst IV - Never finished it. Got frustrated with it.&&Myst V - Did not finish it either. Very disappointing.&&ATTWN - BORING!!! Never finished it. Kept falling asleep.&&Paradise - So far .... not so good&&Voyage - Not on my favorite list
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 9:43am |
The Terror of the Wolf part 3Schattenjger
Posts : 2391
Joined: 11 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Mine is one of the only cities in the world that has a survival guide website for it.
[url=http://www.justadventure.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1136331866/0#0]GAMES FOR TRADE!![/url]
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 10:13am |
AnneGuild Master
Posts : 4800
Joined: 8 MAR 2003
Status : Online | For those who don`t know,he is Glaswegian.Which to me means Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 12:15pm |
HelenGuild Master
Posts : 3436
Joined: 12 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Well, a few things I can think of at the moment are:
1) Our river ( the Cuyahoga ) caught on fire in the 60's.
2) Our city went bankrupt under Mayor Dennis Kucinich
in the late 70's ( I believe )
3)We havent had a winning sports team in probably over 40 years, and it makes all the sports nuts crazy.
Im sure there is plenty more, but I have to get to work.
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 1:28pm |
AnneGuild Master
Posts : 4800
Joined: 8 MAR 2003
Status : Online | No one has a river with that name.And rivers don`t catch fire. ???
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 1:40pm |
AnneGuild Master
Posts : 4800
Joined: 8 MAR 2003
Status : Online | BTW.Toads don`t hop.Frogs do.Toads walk.And they don`t turn into bloody princes when you kiss them.
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 1:53pm |
EvaGuild Master
Posts : 3247
Joined: 5 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Caroline (2 MAY 2005 11:22pm)
Eva
I think you're setting the bar too high. They don't have to be really interesting facts - just stuff we don't know - like the name of where you are.
I could tell you that but then I'd have to kill you...it's quite a small place. Like Michelle, I'm slightly paranoid. Besides, nothing's going on here. It's more than 40 km to the nearest clog museum.
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 1:56pm |
MorgausePrivate Detective
Posts : 687
Joined: 2 SEP 2004
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Anne (3 MAY 2005 1:40pm)
BTW.Toads don`t hop.Frogs do.Toads walk.And they don`t turn into bloody princes when you kiss them.
Princes are never bloody: their clothes are always very clean, no matter how many ruffians they had to kill on their quest to save the "not really in distress damsel, I just happen to enjoy recluse towers". Just try it, and you will see!
And you can never, ever swear about a prince. They wouldn't be princes if they weren't perfect after all, just like princesses.
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 1:56pm |
Chris.Schattenjger
Posts : 1842
Joined: 8 MAR 2005
Status : Online | Anne, you sound like you're talking from experience there.
Eva, does the clog museum have Hilda Ogden's clogs?
...not to be confused with Keira Knightley
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 1:56pm |
AnneGuild Master
Posts : 4800
Joined: 8 MAR 2003
Status : Online | A clog museum?You have a clog museum?
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 1:59pm |
AnneGuild Master
Posts : 4800
Joined: 8 MAR 2003
Status : Online | I have a tale to tell about clogs.And funnily enogh,Eva,It happened in Denmark.Jutland.
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 2:11pm |
| Deleted User | 8 facts about Uppsala:
1. The fourth largest city in Sweden, and one of the oldest. Originally it was known as Eastern Aros. In the outskirts of modern Uppsala lies a cult site that probably featured a huge temple back in the Viking Age. The bishop and historian Adam von Bremen left accounts of the ceremonies held there to worship the ancient Norse gods. According to him and other historical sources, every nine years all the Swedish people (although Sweden wasn't formally a state in that age) had to gather there for blót, a nine day festival of worship. During the blót, nine male specimens of every single known breed of living creature were sacrificed, including humans. Everyone brought gifts no matter who they were and if you were a Christian you had to pay huge sums of money to be allowed not to attend.
2. In a more recent exhibition of savage behavior, most of the 19th century buildings that dominated the city were demolished and replaced by new buildings in the 60's and 70's. In fact, there are fewer 19th century buildings in Uppsala today than in post-WWII Dresden, Germany!
3. Dominating the skyline is the 13th century cathedral of Uppsala, built in Gothic style, but with added architectural features including two rather striking towers after a 1702 fire damaged the cathedral and destroyed most of the city. The Swedish arch bishop is located in Uppsala and the church has been visited by Pope John Paul II.
4. Inside the cathedral, many of the older Swedish kings lie buried. The most prominent tomb is that of Gustav Vasa, the Swedish king who introduced Protestantism and in many other ways made a mark in history as one of the most important Swedish kings. I happen to have one of the best views in the city of the cathedral from the apartment where I live.
5. The University of Uppsala is the oldest university in Scandinavia (founded 1477), and has seen most of Sweden's best known scientists. These include Olof Rudbeck, who discovered the lymphous system and made worldwide fame for his contributions to the anatomical science in the 17th century. He also published a book called "Atlantica", where he argues by scientific observation that Sweden is the lost Atlantis, origin of all the world's culture and science. Outrageous as it is, its validity was not questioned for almost a hundred years.
6. The most famous Swedish scientist also studied in Uppsala. Carl Von Linné catalogued and named all plants and animals, and his system is still evident today in the latin naming of living things. Modern genetics has added new information, but the system is still very useful. Another famous Swedish scientist from Uppsala is Anders Celsius, who created the temperature scale based on the freezing and boiling points of water.
7. The largest library in Scandinavia is also located in Uppsala. It archives everything published in Sweden, which means 1.5 kilometers of added shelfspace every year.
8. A restaurant in Uppsala serves what's probably the most expensive hamburger in the world. It costs over $50 and has Russian caviar on it, among other things.
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 2:14pm |
AnneGuild Master
Posts : 4800
Joined: 8 MAR 2003
Status : Online | I love caviar but lumpfish is all I can afford. :'(
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 2:41pm |
EvaGuild Master
Posts : 3247
Joined: 5 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Anne (3 MAY 2005 1:56pm)
A clog museum?You have a clog museum?
There are at least 2 in Denmark. And as I said, the nearest one isn't that close to me...sad, right? I never even went there. I'm totally uncultured, clogwise.
I have a tale to tell about clogs.And funnily enogh,Eva,It happened in Denmark.Jutland.
Do tell, Anne!
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 3:12pm |
AnneGuild Master
Posts : 4800
Joined: 8 MAR 2003
Status : Online | Well,It involves clogs and an outside pump by the Lakes and a shower.
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 3:22pm |
EvaGuild Master
Posts : 3247
Joined: 5 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Anne (3 MAY 2005 3:11pm)
Well,It involves clogs and an outside pump by the Lakes and a shower.
A clogged drain?
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