Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about
Staffordshire
Where better to start this list than with a dog everyone loves?
The Staffordshire bull terrier is know for its stocky build and for making a good pet.
Ranging from small to medium-sized animals, they descend from 19th century dog fighting and rat baiting pooches.
They are now one of the country's most popular companion dogs.
And of course, the breed was named after the county where it was developed.
The celebrities who hail from the county
Staffordshire boasts a whole plethora of famous faces to have come from the area.
Staffs celebs range across sports stars, those from the world of politics, entertainment and the business world.
International musical icon Robbie Williams, once a member of Take That, has an impressive list of hit songs to his name.
Top tunes include "Angels", "Feel" and "She's the One". And world-famous Robbie was actually born in Stoke.
Fellow entertainer, Neil Morrissey also hails from Staffordshire, as he was born in Stafford in 1962.
He is best known for his roles as Tony in TV sitcom Men Behaving Badly, Eddie Lawson in Waterloo Road and Nigel Morton in Line of Duty.
Actor Paddy Considine was born and bred in Burton and award-winning film and TV director hails from Uttoxeter.
A number of top football sides also call Staffordshire home.
League One side Burton Albion first of course, if you come from the town, then there's Championship side Stoke City and League Two side Port Vale.
Six towns in Staffordshire make up the "Staffordshire Potteries".
These are Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Tunstall and Stoke, which were the centre point for ceramic production during the seventeenth century.
This is mainly due to how readily available clay, lead, coal and salt was in the area, which first launched in 1720.
They make well known ranges like Moorcroft, Wedgwood and Emma Bridgewater.
A number of ovens and chimneys can still be seen across the area throwing back to days-gone-by.
Many, many rivers
Rivers run through the veins of county including the 185-mile River Trent, which features in the titles of places in Staffordshire, including Burton and Stoke.
Smaller rivers in the area include the River Penk, which stretches for 22 miles beginning near Perton, in South Staffordshire and ends by joining the River Sow.
The River Sow itself stretches 23 miles, while other smaller rivers like the River Churnet and the River Blithe, can also be found in the county.
Love it or hate it - Marmite of course
Staffordshire is home to the centre point of British brewing - Burton.
With so much brewing going on in the town, there is inevitably going to be a lot of by-products generated as a result - with one of the more famous being yeast extract which if you hail from Burton you know is used to create the brown nectar - Marmite.
The delicious spread that you love or hate, as the saying goes.
Marmite was actually created by accident in 1902when a German scientist started experimenting with brewer's yeast, it was soon turned into a spread.
Marmite's far meatier cousin, Bovril is also produced in Wellington Road, at the Unilever site.
First invented by John Lawson Johnston in the 170s, it has been made in Burton now for more than 125 years.
And as always have a chilled day from the Viking
Comments
Post a Comment