Okay, I admit it, I’m a Smoggie. For those of you scratching your heads, I’m not admitting to some bizarre medical condition or an addiction to cigarettes. I’m from Middlesbrough. Please don’t wince.
Most people have a limited concept of the town and its people. Whenever Middlesbrough makes an appearance on the television, you usually see a vista of cooling towers and chemical plants filmed from the vantage point of the A19 flyover, never the lush Stewart Park or the grand old listed buildings like Acklam Hall.
Basically, the rest of the country think that Middlesbrough is a shit hole, the worst place to live in the UK (thanks for that one Kirstie and Phil) and the people are all unemployed, uneducated and heading for an early grave thanks to smoking, drinking and eating too much. Oh and our football team are shite.
Okay, so most people who have ever lived in Middlesbrough will tell you on a bad day that it is a dump. But it’s our town so we’re allowed. When you outsiders do it, we don’t like it!
I remember going for an interview at York University and being shown round the campus by three rather posh boys. Hearing that my friend and I were from Middlesbrough, they shuddered, “Oh yes, that’s got quite a reputation, hasn’t it?”
Err yes, actually. As a major industrial centre for the UK, the ‘infant Hercules’ of the North East. Or the home of the Grade II listed Transporter Bridge; how about the birthplace of explorer Captain Cook. Oh and did you know that there’s a town in Kentucky named after us?
Way back in 2007, Location, Location, Location voted Middlesbrough the worst place to live in the UK based on some dubious statistics, for example that 90% of people in the town do no exercise. How did they come to that conclusion? Stand in the town centre and ask ten morbidly obese people if they go to the gym on a regular basis?
Although it was six years ago, mention the show and Boro folk will still start foaming at the mouth, because we’re passionate about our town.
Most people would be quick to dismiss Middlesbrough as industrial, poor and inconsequential, but it’s no worse than any other large town. In fact, there are a lot of great things that outsiders just don’t see.
Recently I came across this blog post from Bridget of the North about the Boro dialect. It’s been endlessly shared by us Smoggies on Facebook and it inspired me to share my own perspective on what it means to be from Middlesbrough.
- The parmo. Middlesbrough’s very own cuisine is famous in many circles and is a takeaway fanatic’s dream. Made from flattened chicken breast (although you can get pork too), coated in breadcrumbs, béchamel sauce and cheddar cheese, the parmesan, or parmo for short, is recommended post night out cuisine. Plus, they’re big enough to challenge Adam Richman!
- The location. Middlesbrough is surrounded by some beautiful countryside, including the North Yorkshire Moors. Ten minutes up the road is the seaside town of Redcar, where the Dunkirk scenes from Atonement were filmed.
- The accent. We have our own distinct accent, as anyone who has seen Boro lass Steph McGovern presenting on BBC Breakfast will be able to tell you. Unfortunately, we are often mistaken for Geordies, usually by southerners whilst on holiday abroad. Calling a Smoggie a Geordie is a great insult and no one from Middlesbrough would ever claim to be one. Except Holly from Geordie Shore, but she’s getting paid. Boro Shore doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. Smoggie Shore anyone? (If you’re wondering, Smoggie is short for Smog Monster. Do I need to explain further?)
- The history. Once referred to as Ironopolis, iron and steel making formed the backbone of the town for many years; the steel components of Sydney Harbour Bridge were built in Middlesbrough. The town’s industrial centres were a target for the Luftwaffe during World War Two.
- The people. It’s not unique to Middlesbrough, but northerners, especially those in the North East, are renowned for being some of the friendliest people in the UK. People will chat to each other at the bus stop, community spirit still exists and you always see someone you know on a night out.
- The culture. Don’t laugh. Sure, we don’t have the pull of the big cities, but Middlesbrough attracts some of the top bands each summer to its annual music festival, not to mention the exhibitions at mima (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art). Plus, one of our top nightclubs, The Empire (commonly known as The Theatre), is a converted art deco Victorian theatre and has hosted performances from the likes of Kasabian and Scissor Sisters.
But when it comes to Middlesbrough, there’s nothing I can say that will ever top the immortal words of Sky Sports legend Jeff Stelling…
“The iron of Eston has diffused itself all over the world…It has crept out of the Cleveland Hills where it has slept since Roman days, and now like a strong and invincible serpent, coils itself around the world.”
Sir H.G. Reid
Mr T says
Steve is bonkers! He rode home last night!
Good article you smoggy 😉
Not a bad town really..
Amy says
Thanks for the comment Mr T!
Red Rose Exile says
You should also take pride in the fact that Teesport is the 3rd Largest port in the UK, handling 35 million tonnes of cargo on 5000 vessels a year
Amy says
That’s true – there are so many things, I couldn’t fit them into one post. Perhaps I should do a follow up!
Dave says
Things to note:
-Rosebery Topping (first image) & surrounding beautiful countryside (North Yorkshire Moors) are not part of Middlesbrough.
-Stewart Park isn’t ‘lush’, instead, it’s riddled with chavs and drug addicts.
-Middlesbrough ‘was’ an industrial hub for the UK in the early 20th century. It hasn’t been a major industrial hub for many decades.
-Middlesbrough was voted ‘worst place to live’ by the television show ‘Location, Location, Location’ in 2007. This claim was further supported by Ofcom in 2009, arguing that the show had used reliable statistics to back up its claims. It also said it was not unfair for the programme to have included “details about smoking, drug misuse and physical exercise in the area”.
-The Parmo is a disgusting dish which seems to be a staple food of Smoggies. The regular consumption of this extremely unhealthy dish further supports the claim of unhealthy lifestyles.
I don’t doubt there are many good people in Middlesbrough; however my experience living in the town saw the majority of my interactions with characters who certainly would not be classed as friendly.
The problem with Smoggies is their reluctance to accept Middlesbrough was voted worst location to live for a plethora of reasons, supported by hard facts and statistics. Middlesbrough is currently not a great place to live and won’t be until it’s inhabitants accept the issues, and work towards tackling its socioeconomic problems.
Teessiders should be proud of their rich history; however always holding onto what once was, will not fix the present.
Amy Lord says
Perhaps some fair points, but I have to disagree with you on a few things.
Things to note:
– I don’t state in the article that Roseberry Topping or the North York Moors are a part of Middlesbrough. However, they are only a few minutes up the road and people from the town visit both places often, hence my including them.
– Maybe you get a few chavs in Stewart’s Park, but I’ve never encountered a druggie or any drug paraphernalia. Although I did once get flashed by a 12-year-old boy.
– It’s true that much of the industry is in decline, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be proud of the town’s past achievements and recognise what remains.
– Indeed, Ofcom called the statistics used in ‘Location, Location, Location’ fair, but the programme was hardly balanced, or an in-depth study into Middlesbrough’s perceived problems.
– The parmo isn’t a healthy dish, but most people don’t gorge on them everyday. The creation of this particular dish is hardly evidence that an entire town is unhealthy. But it does show the town’s sense of pride in their identity, as the parmo is something we can claim as our own.
Middlesbrough does have many socioeconomic problems and the people who live here are well aware of them. But we’re also aware of the positives, and that is what this article was intended to address. We rarely see anything positive about the town in the media, which only adds to the perception that it is a poor place full of people with unhealthy lifestyles and few prospects. If the only conversations we ever have about Middlesbrough are negative, then how will things ever improve? How will we attract new business if we present the town’s inhabitants as druggies and chavs? Who will want to come and study in the ‘worst place to live in the UK’? I see this first hand by the search terms that often bring people to this website.
There are many people living in Middlesbrough who are trying to improve the area, but this will always be a struggle for many reasons, both social and political. That is true of many areas in the north of England. I’ve seen many positive changes in this town over the years, along with the negative ones, but I don’t think there is anything wrong in a group of people feeling passionate about their home and wanting to defend it from criticism, while sharing a little of the good with the wider world.
Gary Chapman says
Love it… I’m a Southern lad from an equally derided town down here called High Wycombe and get sick of lazy, half-baked stereotypes of Wycombistan and feel your love for your home town as I do mine. Also best friend of another Boro legend (that might be pushing it, as he largely grew up in Beaconsfield) Dave Shayler, MI5 nemesis and lately Dolores Kane. People should check their own back yards before sounding off about places they’ve never been to.
Having said that, if you want to go to a crap town where nobody speaks to each other and nothing ever happens, I’d recommend Basingstoke.
Cue outraged Basinstokians…
Amy Lord says
Ha, thanks Gary! I stick to the idea that it’s okay to bitch about the place you’re from, but not so much if you’re taking about somewhere you’ve never visited. Although there are plenty of ‘crap towns’ out there – maybe we should start our own competition?!