MORE : 25 reasons the North of the UK is way better than the South 7. They don’t understand the chips and gravy hype This authoritative new history of place and people lays out the dramatic events that created the north – waves of migration, invasions and battles, and transformative changes wrought on European culture and the global economy. In a sweeping narrative that takes us from the earliest times to the present day, the book shows that the people of the north have shaped Britain and the world in unexpected ways. Did you just smile at that stranger?' It's always slightly depressing when I go down south and no-one thanks the bus driver when they get off. I think that's really sad." – Abbie, Newcastle

things northerners do that make southerners want - Metro 10 things northerners do that make southerners want - Metro

Meaning: To get angry. Usage: You’d better clean the dishes, Dave, or mum will see her arse when she gets in. One thing that proper annoys me is when some people think Birmingham, and other places near that, are northern." – Richard, Manchester

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Many northerners will see their mouth water at even the slightest thought of chips and gravy – up here it’s a classic and is widely regarded a substantial meal. Could you pass me a bread roll?' Not sure what that is but you can have a barm cake." – Jess, Manchester

British Library Regional voices: The north-south divide | The British Library

Everything north of London is the North if you think about it." – Will, Hull What do you mean you don't call it a bread roll? Isn’t dinner what you have in the evening, not at lunch? So boring." – Abbie, Newcastle My cousin is from Manchester, do you know her? If it sounds like a different language, it’s probably because it is. Who needs Queen’s English when you’ve got northern English? There's the seasonal annoyance, every autumn and winter, where people ask if the wind and rain 'remind me of home'. Or, if being further south at uni is 'practically a holiday' for me compared to the barren wasteland a huge 70 miles north where I come from." – John, Sunderland As well as poking fun at one another for their accents and slang,they quibble about who is the friendliest. According to research carried out by Cambridge University, people from Yorkshire are the most helpful when asked for directions and Scots are the friendliest. It also found Londoners to be the least friendly.Northerners accuse southerners, especially Londoners, of being “southern fairies.” This means they think people from the South don’t know what an honest day’s work means and spend too much money in wine bars. I found some northerners and spoke to them to see how we can become one nation, united despite our differences when it comes to what we put on our chips. Why are you talking funny? It’s not hot, it's only 26°C.' Sorry that I'm not used to living on the surface of the sun." – Abbie, Newcastle It’s not just about stereotypes though; there are many different cultural practices in the two that creates this division. Like how it drives northerners crazy when southerners refer to dinner or tea as “supper.” Figures such as King Oswald of Northumbria, Saint Cuthbert and Bede, Victorian heroine Grace Darling, reformers Josephine Butler, Mary Astell and Emily Davies, Jarrow MP Ellen Wilkinson, railway pioneers George and Robert Stephenson and engineer William Armstrong feature prominently in Northerners: A History, from the Ice Age to the Present Day by journalist Brian Groom.