The phrase *Essex Girls*

That's very good news GG13. I think we have discussed this before that the description does not fit every young woman from that neck of the woods.

And does fit a fair few from elsewhere!

White stilettos, baked-on tan, hair extensions etc.
Ubiquitous the world over nowadays!

Mind you TOWIE didn’t do the area any favours did it especially with having the word ‘Essex’ in the title!
?

One of our local restaurants (we can walk to in five minutes) often has TOWIE cast as customers, they are not at all like how they appear on the programme.

I hope that my GD’s can grow up without having to apologise for their birth County.

Yes I can see TOWIE must be irritating GG13! A parody of themselves really. I’m sure the girls in RL are lovely.
?

Are you in Chigwell or Loughton by any chance GG13? Mark Wright is often in the local Costa and always appears friendly.
I think TOWIE actually did do our area a lot of favours and regenerated businesses. No apologising from my GD, and several of her mum's clients were from the show.

Southend and proud, me. ?????

Neither Elliane but there is a popular restaurant in Chigwell with a spin-off near
me.

Petra ?

I hope that my GD’s can grow up without having to apologise for their birth County.

How silly.

I was born and brought up in Essex and I have never felt any need to apologise for my birth county.

Same here MaizieD.
I'm "Essix" and "prayerd"!!

My husband is from Essex when ever we go out that way, he always points out the 3 swords their emblem which denotes the county boundaries. He is very defensive about his county, and feels it is at times unfairly the but of quite a lot of pejorative jokes and comments. I'd never been to Essex before I met him. He's given me a tour of the county on quite a few occasions, once away from the Greater London sprawl which is common to all the other surrounding home counties, it's really lovely rolling country side, lovely little villages and so many Elizabethan buildings dotted about, especially around Saffron Walden where some of his extended family live.

Essex born and bred and proud of it

Being proud to be from Essex is one thing, being taken for easy and stupid because of where you were born is another.

Well I come from the Black Country, and someone charmingly said to me when I moved to the rural south-west: 'of course, I believe they still wear woad up there.'
She wasn't joking.

GrannyGravy13

Being proud to be from Essex is one thing, being taken for easy and stupid because of where you were born is another.

I don't think anyone has taken me for either...

I'm glad that Terribull admires our county. I used to love driving 'home' from the north through all those lovely villages with timber framed houses, thatched roofs, tiled roofs, mellow red brick walls , stucco painted in pastel colours, Essex boarding, such a huge variety of styles which you just don't get in 'the north'. And the Essex marshes have their own beauty. I do miss it sometimes..

(But I love my adopted county, too)

That phrase, like many similar ones, tells you more about the person using it than the person it's about.

However - many of us on this site have spent time in a foreign country, some of us live in countries where we have to use a second language. I have been grateful to quietly look up meanings in a dictionary - even if they are insulating or rude, I want to know what they mean, so I can avoid them or act appropriately.

Many years ago, as a community nurse I visited a family where the father used F! every other word. he had learned his English alongside National Servicemen, then worked on building sites, and really didn't know the context. Because his child was ill and he needed to deal with healthcare professionals, it was me who ended up telling him - and he made me a beautiful cake to say thank you (having previously, quite politely, asked me if I wanted a F...cup of coffee!)

How many grammar schools do you have in Essex?

More than most counties I believe, which makes a nonsense of the Essex girls ‘joke’

It’s a lovely county, especially the north.

Excellent schools * JenniferEccles* and a wealth of top independent schools too. There's brains and money!
West is my area, though the address comes under London so I got the freedom pass at 60!

When I tell people I come from and live in Essex, there’s always a raised eyebrow and a giggle. Oh Essex gel they say with a smile. I laugh along with them. Like all counties, we have beautiful areas, rural, coastal , gorgeous historic places to visit. My Dg has just gone to university in Southampton and her new friends assumed she is from London and when she told them she is from Essex , they were surprised. I’m never ashamed to say I’m from here but it definitely conjures up an image of dolly birds with no brains.

MaizieD

^I hope that my GD’s can grow up without having to apologise for their birth County.^

How silly.

I was born and brought up in Essex and I have never felt any need to apologise for my birth county.

But you are probably pre-TOWIE!

We were due to move to Essex when my DGD were 12 and 5 but another job transfer meant we moved elsewhere.
I've never been, although DH worked there for a short time but parts of it look lovely.

Oh, well pre TOWIE, but so are Essex Girls. I recall that they came in around the time of Medallion Man. I've had 'Oh, so you're an Essex Girl? (nudge nudge) for decades...?

North east Essex is lovely...

JenniferEccles

How many grammar schools do you have in Essex?

More than most counties I believe, which makes a nonsense of the Essex girls ‘joke’

It’s a lovely county, especially the north.

Essex has four grammar schools. The unitary authority of Southend also has some, but Essex has far fewer than the "grammar school" authorities such as Kent. I'm not sure how they're a reflection of the intelligence of anyone in Essex, as only a tiny fraction of the children go to them. The overall performance of Essex schools is about average.

Callistemon

MaizieD

I hope that my GD’s can grow up without having to apologise for their birth County.

How silly.

I was born and brought up in Essex and I have never felt any need to apologise for my birth county.

But you are probably pre-TOWIE!

We were due to move to Essex when my DGD were 12 and 5 but another job transfer meant we moved elsewhere.
I've never been, although DH worked there for a short time but parts of it look lovely.

Essex is a big county. I confess I've hardly ever been anywhere in the county south of the A12.

Ellianne

Excellent schools * JenniferEccles* and a wealth of top independent schools too. There's brains and money!
West is my area, though the address comes under London so I got the freedom pass at 60!

Oh yes? I can't think of any "top" independent schools in Essex.