"A H" wrote in message
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"Nick" wrote in message
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"A H" wrote in message
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What I loathe is people within the GLA boundary denying they are part
of
London. Places like Bexley, Bromley etc only exist in their present
form
because of London, not the neighbouring county of Kent.

If the people of Bexley want to be associated with and branded as part of
Kent, who are you to force them to share your London identity? I never
understand why Londoners always want to conquer yet more and more
territory
and smear their London branding ever more thinly over areas who actively
reject it.

What annoys me most about this "London" mindset is the staggeringly wrong
assumption that somehow London is the best place on the planet and
everyone
within the boundary should somehow consider themselves lucky to be here
(and
that everyone else outside the boundary must be dying to join, right?!).
Much of London is a polluted, grim urban toilet that festers with high
levels of anti-social behaviour, and is characteried by a total absence
of
community.

I wager that Sevenoaks, Swanley, and Dartford are all as dependent on the
London economy as Bexley is. Do you loathe them being allowed to remain
in
Kent (even if that's what they want?)

Sevenoaks and Swanley are not part of the metropolitan built up area, they
are seperate from London. Bexley and Bromley are part of London.

So I take it you're saying Dartford is in London now?

Bexley and Bromley *adjoin* London, that doesn't make them part of London.
If I was living in a semi-detached house, I would be adjoining my neighbour
but that doesn't mean I am part of their household. My point is that
proximity doesn't mean a great deal; if you understood the character of
Bexley you might begin to appreciate what I mean.

Anyway, there is just a mile or so of open space between Swanley and the
housing of Bexley and Bromley. It is clearly a close neigbour and much more
accesible by car than most areas to the west. Swanley, I would say, is very
much part of my local area, whereas most parts of SE London aren't.

Sevenoaks is more seperated and indeed outside the M25, but how long will
that last for...

All these people in outer London suburbs who like to deny they are part
of
the metropolis and think they live in rural Kent, Surrey, Essex, Herts
or
'Middlesex' should take their heads out of the sand.

It is entirely up to us, the local people, to choose what we want to be
described as. Nobody is pretending that suburban Bexleyheath is rural
Kent - that hasn't been said, and I'm sure you know that. But the
character
of somewhere like Bexeyheath and Sidcup I find *much* closer to the
character and ambience of say, the suburban housing developments on the
edge
of places like Tonbridge, Dartford, High Brooms, Maidstone. How can I
explain this: when I visit somewhere like Maidstone it feels very
similar;
when I visit somewhere like Lewisham, New Cross, or Deptford, they seem
so
entirely different. Superficially, Bexley is on the edge of the urban
sprawl that includes these latter places, but it is so entirely different
in
character.

You are clearly in denial and living in the past. You live in suburban
London, *not* in a town in Kent.

Since when were these terms mutually exclusive? Bexleyheath is a town in
its own right, own retail centre, a moderatel degree of provision of local
employment. I would say it's in "metropolitan Kent" - the part of Kent that
has evolved and devloped more rapidly than other Kent areas to serve the
*employment* needs of central London. But so what?

Bexleyheath is a town in Kent that is suburban in nature and which adjoins
London. And if that's what those of who live here want it to be regarded
as, I fear you will just have to come to terms with it, rather than
insulting us.

The only reason they
can still cling to outdated county identities was due to the Post
Office/Royal Mail insisting after 1965 (wrongly) that large chunks of
London
were actually in Kent, Surrey, Essex, Herts or 'Middlesex' when they
weren't.

And, of course, another reason being we have a right to label our area as
Kent if we wish. You'll just have to understand that everyone doesn't
want
to be part of your area or share your identity.

Even this requirement has been dropped by Royal Mail, as always it
will takes generations to catch up...

Postal counties still exist and are maintained, they just aren't one of
the
mandatory address fields. However, as far as I am aware, the RM *still*
recommend the use of the postal county for places such as "Rainham,
Essex"
and "Rainham, Kent" to avoid any potential confusion.

I understand why some people like London and understand why others like
Kent. Each to their own. If you want to be part of London and enjoy
what
it has to offer then that's just fine with me, but don't deny my
neighbours'
and my right to choose our county affiliation.

Nick

If you feel so strongly anti-London (which is what clearly comes across)
then why are you still living in suburban London, within the Greater
London
boundary (GLA area)? Why have you not moved out to your beloved Kent so
that
you can really say you live there - not pretend your Bexley, outer London
house is in Kent when it is not?

You mean, why don't I just give in?

You don't seem to appreciate that the vast majority of people in Bexley
*want* to be described as living in Kent and to feel an affinity with the
county. And that is entirely a matter of us; you have no business asserting
that our hearts are minds lie with London when they don't.

I really feel no need to move. I live in Old Bexley which has nice
non-London friendly feel to it, the neighbours and local community and it's
a million miles away (in terms of atmosphere) from central London.

You're fighting a losing battle. Your refusal to face up to reality i.e.
that cities expand and surrounding hamlets, villages and towns get
swallowed
up and become part of the city which fuelled their suburban growth in the
first place, is just sad. Get over it, you live in the London Borough of
Bexley, not a small town in Kent (Kent County Council area).

I never said I lived in small town. I live in "metropolitan Kent" and I am
sure most of my neighbours would agree with that.

I'm sorry you find it sad that I care about where I live and its identity
and branding, but that's just the kind of cynicism I've come to expect from
Londoners ;-)

Nick