h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It is obvious that Mr603 has guessed most of his "Swinton" facts because he clearly doesn't know what he is talking about. Worsley is no posher/richer than Swinton as it includes places such as Walkden and Little Hulton, which, although my grandparents lived there, are not in the least bit posh.

Swinton did used to be a pig farming town - hence the name which derived from Swine Town.

The "scallies" who live in Swinton have been moved there from Ordsall, Salford and are just the same as scallies anywhere else in the country.

Weaste is definitely not the roughest area of Salford by any means, there are a lot of Old Salfordians live there and have done all their lives.

Victoria Park is a lovely place for children to play. It is frequented by teenagers in the evenings just like any other park.

Swinton has lots of lovely restaurants. The best indian restaurant is definitely the Balti Night on Moorside Road, although there are a lot of cheaper, really good indians as well, including the Balti House on the top road, Bolton Road, and Balti Chef takeaway on Manchester Road and Alizaks on Moorside Road.

There are also some lovely Chinese restaurants - Chopsticks (where Yates's used to be) and the one next to Domino's on Chorley Road (it has recently changed it's name and I can't remember it). You should give it a go. Also, one of my very favourites is the Tung Fong on Worsley Road, although it is a little more expensive.

L S Lowry was actually born in Stretford but lived at 117 Station Road, Swinton for 40 years. His famous paintings were of Salford and surrounding areas.

The Cricketers Arms and Park Inn are probably the roughest pubs in Swinton. The Bulls Head isn't far behind but there are still some nice places to go, such as the White Horse, John Gilbert (on Worsley roundabout), The Bridgewater, and Barton Arms - all of which are down Worsley Road.

The Football and Weavers are also good fun with their Karaoke amongst other things... ha.

And finally, some famous Salfordians are:-

Albert Finney - Actor, born in Gore Crescent, Weaste

Alistair Cooke - Radio journalist - 'Letter from America, Radio 4', born in Isaac Street, Salford in 1908

Andy Crane - Television and radio presenter

Al Read - Popular radio comedian active throughout the 1950s and 1960s

Sir Ben Kingsley - Oscar-winning actor, grew up in Pendlebury

Christopher Eccleston - Actor - 'Cracker', 'Shallow Grave', the former 'Doctor Who'

Doris Butterworth - Dancer and tiller girl

Emmeline Pankhurst - "Mrs Pankhurst" was one of the founders of the British suffragette movement

Elkie Brookes - Singer/songwriter

Ewan MacColl - Singer, songwriter, actor, playwright, radio broadcaster and socialist. Born in Broughton, Salford

Freddie 'Parrot Face' Davies - Comedian

Graham Nash - Songwriter - Crosby, Stills and...

Harold Riley - Artist

John Cooper Clarke - Inventor of punk poetry

John Thomson - Actor and comedian

Ken Wolstenholme - Football commentator - 1966 World Cup

Laurence Stephen Lowry - World famous artist, he lived in Station Road, Pendlebury

Mark E. Smith - Long-time member of 'The Fall', an English post-punk band, formed in Manchester in 1976

Mike Leigh - Writer and director

Mike Sweeney - Broadcaster and DJ

Mike Walker - Jazz guitarist

Peter Hook - Musician

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies - Classical music composer, appointed Master of the Queen's Music in March 2004

Richard Cobden - Salford’s apostle of free trade

Robert Powell - Actor - 'The Thirty-Nine Steps', 'Jesus of Nazareth'

Russell Watson - Opera singer

Ryan Giggs - The Manchester United star has been a Swinton resident since he was 6 years old

Shelagh Delaney - Playwright and screenwriter, best known for her debut work, A Taste of Honey

The Ting Tings - The indie pop duo formed in 2007 at Islington Mill studios in Salford

Tony Warren - Creator of TV's 'Coronation Street'

William Crabtree - Predicted and recorded a transit of Venus in 1639

William Renshaw - Seven time Wimbledon winner between 1881 and 1889, including six consecutive titles

Hi Maxi, thanks for the feedback.

Yes, it's tongue-in-cheek, yes the Worsley stuff seems to get misinterpreted on a yearly basis, and yes, it's not a brilliant entry.

But it was published on 14th August 2003 and needs some updating. Especially as I've not lived in Swinton since about that time.

Please, feel free to re-write this piece to bring it up to date and ensure it's more to your tastes.

The update guidelines are here: A87727936

I look forward to seeing what you come up with!