July 18, 2010
Crap Towns II The Nation Decidesthe New Top
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This brand new list of fifty towns will include new entries, non-movers and a new #1 based on the publics reaction to the burnt-out cars, shell suits, cheap shoe shops and housing estates patrolled by rabid dogs and feral kids that scar the face of this glorious kingdom. Are the disgruntled residents of Hull right to consider their town the worst place to live in the country? Crap Towns II will find out. Crap Towns was the must-have humour title of 2003 with sales of over 100,000 copies. A hot topic, Crap Towns generated much press attention. The ugliest, most depressing, and plain worst places in Britain as voted for by the public. more info
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Comments on Crap Towns II The Nation Decidesthe New Top
"They live where you wouldn't dare to drive.."
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Anyone who has had the good fortune to travel to the UK will hit many of the great sights and cities - London, Edinburgh, York, Durham, Bath and more. But in your quick travels you may have wondered what the British locals feel about those unassuming or even visually disagreeable towns you zip past by train or drive through to get to Stonehenge, the Lake District, Glencoe, Glasgow, searching for Robert the Bruce.
At the beginnings of Rick Steves European Guidebooks, there are large maps of the country in question. All of the larger cities are marked in colours of black or grey. Black locations are "places of touristic interest". But the grey locations are "places of little or no touristic interest." What are these "grey places"?
There is now a remedy - The books "Crap Towns" and "Crap Towns II: The Nation Decides" are mostly areas of grey, with despair, boredom, and poor council planning leading the way.
Readers of the UK "Idler" magazine submitted letters filled with memories, testimonial, fear, dismay, sadness, bemusement, hope for the distant future. All so that a book could be compiled of the 50 worst cities and towns the UK has to offer.
I will only list a few of the 50 - the fun is in being surprised. Hackney (for the second time in a row), Milton Keynes, Gravesend, Cleator Moor, Bristol, Sunderland, Kew, and (yes) Manchester & London.
The book is thoughtful, blunt, bitter and humanist. The letters written to the Idler and put into the book are witty and thoughtful. The black and white photographs are perfectly chosen and will leave you invigorated in your bleak mood.
Because this is a British book with British readers in mind, it helps to have a good feel for British slang, culture and perhaps history. But no matter. I cannot recommend "Crap Towns 1 & 2" more highly.