I come from the Nottingham area and have travelled extensively in the USA. I learned to say when asked about my homeplace "I come from the city of Nottingham, about 130 miles north of London" That worked well because to many Americans 'England' means London. Lets face it, don't most English people who have never been to America think of New York as Manhattan?. I think it's quite reasonable for people to think like that. Most of us have a country's capital city as our main reference to that country. But now I live in Cardiff and my problem has changed. I tell people I live in Wales and get the answer "Is that near England?" So an explanation of Wales and it's position, culture and language ensues, carrying on to the point where they wish they'd never asked. They do consider both Nottingham and Cardiff to be quite close to London, using their American judgement of distance which has to do with driving time rather than mileage. I would ask British people to remember that those questons which seem a bit untoward to us are asked from genuine interest, with the typical American warmth towards strangers. Particularly British strangers in my experience. Ringer, your post takes me back. I know all those pronunciations, also 'Wassup'-where they don't shut doors'. My Aunt & uncle lived in Pinfold Lane, Stapleford. Many English towns and villages have a 'Pinfold' (sometimes 'Penfold') it's a holdover from the days of the old drove roads, a resting place for cattle on the journey to market. One more thing about Nottinghamshire dialect, it's the only place I know where 'toffee' is pronounced 'Tuffy'. Oh, and where the people call each other 'Duck' as a term of affection. Must stop now, I'm getting homesick.