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

Home to such lovely towns as Cheltenham and (of course) Gloucester itself, who can help us write an entry about this fine county?

Paully

I have a connection with it and so do a few other people on here. But isn't it already covered?

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Well we're hoping to get entries written about every UK county and region - just like our American researchers have produced entries about their States as well as the major towns and cities in them. So an overall entry about Gloucestershire - population, industry, agriculture, tourist sites, history, that kind of thing - would be marvellous!

Paully

so the person who picks this one would have an easy job then

Not volunteering! But I might be able to help.

B

please do what info can you bring?

Born and bred in a briar patch

Stroud, then?

B

That would be funny if it wasn't funny!

Neary nuff.

B

how about Tetbury entery, tis a wonderfull place and also sack races to a nice fish and chip shop, good cheese shop, bakers are not bad and since the arrivel of Tesco's the place is complete!

I'll have more to say later

oooh cheese rolling

Here's a few ideas to get the ball rollling:


** General location of the county in the UK (Northwest, Midlands, Highlands), including bordering counties.

** The main towns and cities there, plus any tourist attractions or places of note.

** A very basic history of the county (which, for those counties created in 1974 or after might include a little background about the region before the county was formed). Some counties will be famous for specific key events in history, which we'd also like to know about.

** Any geographical features (lakes in Cumbria, Peak District in Derbyshire, Pennines in Yorkshire/Greater Manchester)

** Links to other related entries for the region.


Cheers!

Paully

I started writing a Woolsack races entry, still needs some attention, but I was hoping to finish it in the next month or so. I can help out with the Gloucestershire one though...

where's my entry gone?

peeps got confused with counties

don't we need an overall country history?

Yes, we'd love to see a history/overview of Gloucestershire! Anybody living in Gloucestershire who'd like to give us a hand writing it?

Paully

I assumed Opti was doing it.

me nope

OK. I'm not doing it, but I would suggest an entry which included the following:

Geology - the too oolitic limestones of the Cotswolds, the bit 'over the river' - ie the Forest, and the Vale of Gloucester

History - Romans and Roman villas / anything interesting from the Domesday Book / the wool churches and the medieval wool industry / Richard II and Berkley castle / the large number of plague villages abandoned or relocated during the Black Death / the Tudor connections in Sudely and Bisley / the Civil War / the Industrial Revolution and the Stroud Valley / the Arts and Crafts movement / the WWII airfields and Gloucester docks / the influx of Royals in the late 20th C

Towns - Gloucester / Glevum / Bishop of Gloucester / Cathederal / Walls Ice Cream - Cheltenham / Literary Festival / Gold Cup / GCHQ - Tewkesbury / Abbey / Bishop of Tewkesbury - Cirencester / Corinium - other such as Stow-on-the-Wold, Moreton-in-Marsh, Bourton-on-the-Water, Tetbury

Infrastructure - the M5 / the A419/A417 / ex-Roman Roads / railways

Local Government - Cotswold District Council / others

Gloucestershire in books and films - Cider with Rosie / Laurie Lee, Blue Remembered Hills / Dennis Potter, at least one of the WWI poets, a lot of the Midsummer Murders are filmed in the Cotswolds

Famous people - Gustav Holst / Captain Oates / Dick Wittington / there must be more

Agriculture - the post-War depression / the good times / foot and mouth / diversification / set aside / the fox-hunting ban

Traditions and customs - Cheese rolling / Woolsack races / again, there must be others

Modern Gloucestershire / absorbing the diaspora of London glitterati / Cheltenham as 'renaissance city and festival town' / Gloucestershire as a tourist destination / the Cotswold way

I can put in some sentences about some of the above, but that's about it without research, and I ain't got no time for that.

B

PS - the above is SO not comprehensive