For what it's worth, I worked in Salford for 15 years. The people I worked with were great - very warm-hearted and funny. Some of them had turned swearing into an art form - but none of them were chavs - they were mainly people from working class stock (like me) who had taken the trouble to get themselves a decent education. I've got absolutely nothing against Salford or Salfordians and I imagine the ratio of decent people to anti-social, wilful idiots is about the same as anywhere else.

And yes, I was probably a bit harsh re. my comments on markets - but I still think they're a bit dull these days. Unless, of course. you're prepared to spend £100 on a 100 grams of free-range, organic, teak and frangipani smoked Parma Ham with crushed Javanese peppercorns at a 'Farmers' Market'.