AA Gill - Sunday Times 'Style' 04/03/07

For two weeks running now we’ve had reference to the ongoing Huddersfield joke in AA Gill’s ‘Table Talk’ (Sunday Times Style Magazine – 4th March 2007). Much as I and all my fellow Huddersfuddlians appreciate the recognition, more normally dolled out over intermittent periods, I must point out that this week’s historic and geographic references are not up to AA’s usual standards.

First of all Doncaster is in South Yorkshire and Huddersfield is in West Yorkshire. Whilst both towns are indeed in ‘God’s own county’ they are as far apart culturally and socially as Basques and Catalans – both easily recognisable as Spaniards but so very different.

Adrian spends more than half of his column comparing the origins of the Chinese-style New Year, recognising (no doubt correctly) that the Yorkshire beastly calendar came first. His forgivable historical inaccuracy is that this Yorkshire year is the year of the Yaffle. Lucky Stone: Coal, Lucky body part: cleft palette, Lucky car part: grease nipple, Spiritual word: bollocks! The year of the Yaffle (according to those East Yorkshire folk) is the year of clenched buttocks and tight smiles.

When it comes around, I’m certain that the year of the ferret (as predicted by AA) will cast a gilded glow of nicely nicely magic over Huddersfield – but until then we must abide within our dark and dank satanic Pennine valley.

;-)