Where is Romford?

I've blogged before about being an 'Essex girl' and the impact of your accent. However, today I came across an article specifically focussing on Romford.

This piece featured in the Romford Recorder - a local paper I will always have a soft spot for, since I spent many weeks of work experience at the River Chambers offices from a young age writing, interviewing and researching. If things had turned out differently I may well have begun my full time career there as a trainee journalist.

Anyway, I digress. This current piece asks the question is Romford in Essex or London?

How can you not know where you live or where a town belongs? Well the interesting thing about Romford (and indeed Hornchurch where I've lived since a baby) is that it sits in a London Borough - the London Borough of Havering. It also sits within the county of Essex.

I have a few thoughts (surprise surprise) on this, but my main view is this - why does it matter? Why can't we stay as we are - within both. We live within a London borough, however this borough happens to sit within the county of Essex.

As people who know me will be aware, I an proud to be from Essex and have never felt ashamed of being from here. To judge someone on where they are from, still in this day and age, I feel is rather ignorant and taking a step backwards from where we have reached in society.

All throughout life I've been teased about being from Essex and it's become part of who I am. Don't get me wrong I love the banter and conversations this leads to and I'm not complaining at all. Although it's funny how these conversations never seem to tire.

I imagine there will be people from my local area who feel it sounds more impressive to say they're from London as it creates connotations of a much more positive nature - culture, intelligence, fashion, trendy and more. Yet if you say someone is from Essex you're more likely to conjure up images of fake tan, a whiney accent, lack of intelligence and chavs.

Imagine though to find after all these years of living in Essex, it's all been a lie and I'm actually a Londoner! Rather than speaking Estuary English and living in a heavily stereotyped county, I am in fact an East Londoner with a cockney accent instead.

Although I argue what does it matter and people don't need to label everything, oddly I admit it makes me sad to think I'm not a true Essex girl.

It remains to be seen what will eventually be agreed and how this campaign raised by Romford Life will turn out.

Wherever it turns out we're officially from and living, I'm proud of where I've grown up regardless, but it's going to take us all some time to shift the Essex stereotypes of the residents and area regardless.