What is the most British thing ever?

Our ability to take the mickey out of each when things are going truly bad.

When I went to see my late mother in hospital, it was in Lancaster. My mum was from Lancashire and eventually settled in Westmorland. Westmorland is now part of Cumbria.

My wife came to join me while I was staying up there. She was born and bred in Sheffield. Sheffield is in Yorkshire. Lancashire and Yorkshire have always had a bit of a rivalry, especially the War of the Roses from 1455 onwards. Every street sign in Lancaster has a red rose, the symbol of the county. She just nodded and smiled every time they got pointed out.

Anyway, fast forward to the funeral, in Morecambe, Lancashire. My mum lived there with her parents for a while when she was growing up. Across Morecambe Bay there are a number of towns that were originally part of Lancashire until the formation of Cumbria. The new county was formed of Westmorland, Cumberland and “Lancashire – north of the sands”. At the meal afterwards my Uncle David, from Manchester, mentioned that some of the old counties could be brought back into being. Without thinking, I said, “That’s great, you can have Barrow back, it’s shit”. He laughed and agreed.

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