NEC
Junior Member
Posts: 12
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Post by NEC on Jan 21, 2005 22:33:53 GMT
Did Wells have a dislike for Woking and is that why the Martians landed nearby?
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Post by RustiSwordz on Jan 21, 2005 22:45:04 GMT
Well i come from Woking and its a crap hole.... so yeah i suppose so.
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Post by Curate on Jan 21, 2005 23:20:38 GMT
Well, they say it's best to write about what you know. By setting WOTW in locations that were familiar to him, HG Wells was able to sustain a highly believable feel throughout the story.
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Post by timeship2 on Jan 22, 2005 5:22:01 GMT
I have to admit that if I was going to write about a Martian invasion story, I'd probably choose Swindon....;D
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NEC
Junior Member
Posts: 12
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Post by NEC on Jan 22, 2005 9:52:37 GMT
Excellent. I live in Swindon and it is s**t
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Post by timeship2 on Jan 22, 2005 14:57:33 GMT
So were you born and bred there?
I lived there for a while and noticed it seems to be a town of 'immigrants' as quite often it seemed to me that everyone I met was from somewhere else in the UK! I guess it's not surprising as I myself only moved there due to a company relocation. I certainly wouldn't have chosen to live there otherwise. In fact I lived near Chippenham at first before moving into Swindon for a while. I never liked the place and I won't hide the fact that I was glad when I moved away!
Oh the wonders of the 'Magic Roundabout' ;D
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NEC
Junior Member
Posts: 12
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Post by NEC on Jan 22, 2005 22:39:43 GMT
I had the "pleasure" of moving here through work a few years ago and have been trying to get out beyond the roundabouts ever since. Actually, it isn't too bad but the odd heat ray here and there might be useful.  |
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Post by Happy Chappy on Jan 22, 2005 23:12:55 GMT
Stevenage would have been a better choice to destroy!! ;D ;D ;D
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Post by TOMAHAWK on Jan 23, 2005 13:14:28 GMT
I dare the martians to come to HULL or "ull" if u are from here ;D cos we are HARD!!!!
see ULLA means HARD as nails
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Post by timeship2 on Jan 23, 2005 17:19:57 GMT
Anyway those of us who have some connectin with Woking should be rejoicing that wells decided to 'blow it up!' ;D Afterall it has given the town of Woking a major link with one of the greatest Science Fiction novels ever written!
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Post by timeship2 on Jan 23, 2005 17:24:53 GMT
I noticed that Woking is still classed as a Town. Here in the USA it seems anything not classed as a village is a City ie there are 'Cities' where I am that (at least populationwise) would be mere villages in the UK!
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Post by Killraven on Jan 23, 2005 18:34:30 GMT
I noticed that Woking is still classed as a Town. Here in the USA it seems anything not classed as a village is a City ie there are 'Cities' where I am that (at least populationwise) would be mere villages in the UK! Timeship, this is due to relative scale of course. In the UK, I think it used to be the case that to be a city a place needed to have a cathedral. However, nowadays there are various requirements (including population) which must be met for a chity (sorry, misspelling there!!) city to be classed as such. Each year, a panel convenes to choose a new habitation to receive this 'accolade', and the applicants must leap through various hoops to be nominated. Last year I think Preston won, which seemed daft to me, as Reading seemed much more worthy (in the city sense, not necessarily as a place to live!). Btw, to answer the originally posted question - a resounding YES! I live here and it is a dump ;D |
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Post by Killraven on Jan 23, 2005 18:36:15 GMT
As a footnote, it would be interesting to compare the relative populations and facilities of UK cities and their US 'copycat' namesakes - eg. Birmingham, Manchester, Plymouth etc. etc.  |
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Post by timeship2 on Jan 24, 2005 15:20:05 GMT
You may want to look at www.citymayors.com/ to compare cities around the world. London is Number 15 in the ranking of top 300 Cities in the World in terms of population for instance. |
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Post by Happy Chappy on Jan 25, 2005 8:50:31 GMT
Timeship, this is due to relative scale of course. In the UK, I think it used to be the case that to be a city a place needed to have a cathedral. However, nowadays there are various requirements I thought it was a cathedral and/or a university that qualified a "town" for "city" status. Obviously, with all the Polytechnics turning into universities, I think that criteria was dropped... ...now it appears that if a town has "culture" then it can be called a city - see Brighton!! |
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Post by timeship2 on Jan 25, 2005 13:43:48 GMT
Happy Chappy,
I heard the same as you and always wondered why Guildford was never a city since it meets that criteria.
Isn't there a disadvantage or something to being a City? Something to do with taxes or funding. I had heard that this was the reason some places fought against becoming Cities.
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Post by Killraven on Jan 26, 2005 23:16:10 GMT
...now it appears that if a town has "culture" then it can be called a city Maybe that includes bacterial culture?? ;D |
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Post by smigmaestron on Feb 21, 2005 20:24:06 GMT
Hull is a hell hole, The amount of illegal immigrants there hellbent on destruction could destroy any martian threat overnight! I'm sure the government would allow any martian safe asylum though!!!
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Post by maniacs on Feb 21, 2005 20:34:09 GMT
I thought it was a cathedral and/or a university that qualified a "town" for "city" status. Obviously, with all the Polytechnics turning into universities, I think that criteria was dropped... ...now it appears that if a town has "culture" then it can be called a city - see Brighton!! St Asaph in N.Wales has no university, is the size of a 'large village' but is still classed as a city cause of its Cathedral! |
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