What's your unpopular opinion about Barnsley?

Beautiful place been down to see him loads of times . Lovely house backed onto farmland with Hereford breed of cows just over his fence.
His missy’s loves it she’s not a tarner Never lived here .
My mates a social animal and he says the locals are hard work not nearly as accommodating as the folk he was brought up with .
There’s just as much beauty in Barnsley and the council estates are much the same in Hereford .

 

I found the people incredibly welcoming and laid back, but I only spent a few days around there so its an incredibly small sample. Absolutely stunning cathedral backing onto the old school buildings and obviously the stretch of river, and some beautiful beautiful buildings. The black and white tudor style architecture interspersed with some georgian townhouses, large market squares, old castle walls.

It's an absolutely beautiful place. Theres a few nice buildings in central Barnsley, but it doesn't feel on the same level as Hereford from what I've seen of both places.

 

The thing is, JamDrop, when people claim in a negative manner "Folk from Barnsley are..." then that DOES tar us all with the same brush. The negative connotations can just as easily be levelled at people from any town or city in the country. Barnsley is not unique on that score.
As I posted earlier in the thread, I do not have anything against people who move on and live their lives away from Barnsley. It's their choice and good luck to them. After all, my son has done exactly that by living in Chester after going to university there.
My argument has always been against folk who, once they've left, can't wait to criticise the town, area and people in it as if they themselves have had a Damascus-type epiphany that makes them somehow better, all seeing, more knowledgeable people than those of us who have decided to stay. At the risk of repeating myself, they make no difference in their derogatory comments.
I and others do not need to leave our place of birth to know ignorance & bigotry, racism, homophobia and intolerance is wrong. Therefore it is NOT a trait than can be labelled on Barnsley folk, but on folk throughout the country who are ignorant, bigoted, racist, homophobic and intolerant.

 

Can’t understand why they do tbh though.
When anybody asks me where I live , I always say Harrogate but from Barnsley originally

 

I can't recall any time recently (pre covid) of asking where someone was from or being asked where I was "from". I might ask them where they live and been asked where I live. That seems much more prevalent and of interest than where someone was popped out 20,30,40,50 years prior.

Just a personal thing, and maybe (as I think more about it) I see it as quite a divisive question anyway, particular in brexit britain.

 

That’s because they quite often seem to purposely seek out folk with the harshest accent they can find and then use them.

 

It happens to me quite a lot, probably because although my accent has mellowed over the years it’s still different to many up here.

 

Actually, I'm mistaken, it happened a couple of weeks ago when we were in Barmouth strolling the beach. An old couple suddenly struck up a conversation as we were stood taking in the view and after being polite (and trying to keep 4 or 5 metres) and trying to make our excuses as the woman dumped her entire life story on us without request, she bluntly asked... "where are you from?".

My answer was London. As that's where we'd come from.

 

But if you didn't have a London accent then it's another follow up question

 

Me too.
A hour in Wombwell and he'll never want to come North again.

 

Well thankfully she didn't ask, she just carried on with her soliloquy! ;-)

I'm not sure what a London accent is, given how diverse it is nowadays. My accent is probably fairly neutral by now with hints of northernness which get stronger if i've been in the north for any decent period of time.

 

There are some beautiful parts of Barnsley (agree with Marlon.)
Driving up Harborough Hills this morning at 7 a.m. I was struck at how smart the new Glass Works looks - lots of trees near the Asda and at the bottom of Sheffield Road - the front of the Town Hall is stunning - the Ibbeson (sp) sculpture at the bottom of Victoria Road is brilliant as is the view across to Barnsley College and left towards the Victorian houses on Huddersfield Road - not forgetting the RED WALL at Oakwell etc etc.
Well maintained trees everywhere adds to the beauty.
When my Welsh relatives visit they are always struck by how pleasant/beautiful the town is.

The good folk of Barnsley - are o.k. (well most of them!) - what you see is what you get!

 

Told you.....
http://barnsleyfc.org.uk/threads/wh...ion-about-barnsley.309062/page-3#post-2837977

 

What I actually think is really sad is just how neglected places like Barnsley and Wakefield have become. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of people doing very good work to bring back and uplift civic pride in former mining communities like ours, but its not very easy to give people the hope they need in order to change the area for the better. At the end of the day you need investment in jobs from the public and private sector and money to make transport links and roads comparable with the South.
I've been to place like Worcester and Tring in the last couple of months and I've spent plenty of time in Essex/London/Sussex and worked for long stretches in Brighton/Cheltenham and Reading and I would say the gap between things like infrastructure and general upkeep of places is growing bigger between the North and the South and I don't know why people aren't more p*ssed off about it. The roads, railways and state schools are miles behind the investments there's clearly been down south, its actually quite shocking. Yes, I agree there's more to life then money and wealth and the accumulation of stuff, but under our current economic system if you don't have people in well paid and fulfilling work then is it any wonder they show no interest in their surroundings? All this talk of a "Northern powerhouse" is patronising nonsense made up by privately educated Oxbridge baffoons who've never been North of Birmingham in their lives. I know there are good and bad everywhere, but if you compare the state of the North to the South then we are fighting a losing battle against forces most don't even seem to recognise. Those in charge have no interest in changing the status quo lets always remember that - why are we in this situation with jobs and education disparity between the North and South? Because thats the way they want to it - keep people in the dark and blame the EU and immigration (and where do most asylum seekers end up? I tell you where its not - places like Cheltenham and Worcester).

 

I’m not sure that anyone ‘can’t wait to criticise the town’, in fact it seems the people who moved away who are stating things they’ve noticed are still very happy to be from Barnsley. Us talking about our experiences has clearly upset and offended you but as we were not referring to you then there’s really no need for you to be either of those things. I won’t pretend that what I’ve seen and heard isn’t true though. If you don’t agree that people who are like that should behave in that way then acknowledge it happens and address it when you see it, or ignore it. Arguing against it even though you agree it’s wrong, just because it’s not everyone, smacks of ‘it’s not all men’. Not everyone from Barnsley is like it but far too many are and pointing it out just makes them hate the people who left, who they now wrongly think looks down on them, even more. Even you have done it with this ‘as if they themselves have had a Damascus-type epiphany that makes them somehow better, all seeing, more knowledgeable people than those of us who have decided to stay’. That just completely sums up what we are saying to be honest. At no point do I think that and I suspect Mido doesn’t either but it’s the kind of response we get for sharing what we’ve noticed. It’s not because people have been ***** to us, it’s clearly because we now think we are better than everyone.

Edit: fully did not expect ‘*****’ to get through the swear filter.

 

Not ashamed in the slightest of Barnsley despite having moved away. Will defend it to the hilt - have done on many occasions. Having travelled round there are far worse places to work and live. Didn't it once have highest % of people born there who have stayed - must be doing something right

 

To consider how surrounded Barnsley is by farmland and green belt undeveloped land, the centre has never felt an especially green place to me. You've got the churchfields area which at least is something. The view you're talking of just down from there isn't resonating for me, and its an area i'd been around a little bit in the last 6 months when i'd been at my mums, taking her to and back from hospital.

Years ago, I worked on Huddersfield Road. And though they are probably some of the better properties in the area, they don't look especially loved and felt quite dowdy. I've never liked the new college building. It just jars and doesn't really represent anything, though the old building was a carbuncle too. So that pulls down that area, and Old Mill Lane hasn't got much going for it at all sadly. The area going right, past the chronicle building and the college building/cooper art gallery is probably the best part of the centre. A few nice old buildings retained and the arcade/gallery (though unless its changed in the last 3-4 years, its always felt like its been neglected and could have been made into a much more spectacular area and soemthing that could become more of a destination.

There are some trees, yes. But thats not an uncommon thing for the fringes of any town or city. And obviously there are some towns and villages that are abundant with greenery, fields, parks, hills and scenery.

The town hall is a decent building and the areas around it have generally been pretty well maintained. I wouldn't call it stunning though. Look at the Hereford town hall as a comparator. And there are plenty more across the country, and most town halls in the UK arent even in the same league as Belgium.

But at the end of the day, as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Nor is it heresy to consider something more beautiful elsewhere, than a place you live or were born in.

 

My argument is that it's not a Barnsley trait, but a trait of ignorant, bigoted, etc. people as a whole. The fact that some on here persist with the condescension of Barnsley people on this thread also shows it persists, which is why I posted what I have. Again, it's some and not all.
As it happens, I DO address such issues when they occur, whether that happens in Barnsley, or elsewhere.
I happily stand by what I've posted on this thread, whilst at the same time acknowledge people can be ignorant, whether they're from Barnsley, or not. Personally, I'm quite happy to stand my ground on this issue. Neither I nor people I know are ignorant, bigoted, racist, homophobic or intolerant. I accept others are. At the same time, some people who have left the town ARE self righteous and condescending to the town and people. Again, not all, but some.
I'd like to think that with my history of posts on the BBS show what sort of person I am.

 

I'm not Barnsley born and bred but I'm positive about the place and happy to 'talk up' the town --
you seem to be very negative about the place -- whilst I'm not sure what Belgium has to do with things there is nothing wrong in finding other places just or even more beautiful.

 

This is exactly what we have been on about. No doubt this poster supports the Party that has largely been responsible for the demise in former pit towns and villages and the ongoing Tory bias towards these places especially when it comes to Govt, funding.
Edit: Very remiss of me not to mention my late father’s side of the family all come from and still reside in Wombwell. His sister a retired Bank Manager, her son a DCI in the police force. My dad’s brother returned there after serving 21 years in the military. His 5 children all have families settled in the Wombwell area, and you know what, none of them have any links to working in mining.