LIE OF THE LAND

I agree with Mr J. Evered (Spring 2020) about people’s woeful knowledge of their country’s geography. Not only the man in the street, but some “experts” as well.

A recent example I saw was on The Chase, when the chaser had no idea which county Shoeburyness was in (Essex). He answered Kent while the contestant said he thought Yorkshire. One of the “Eggheads” admitted that he had no idea of where anywhere was when asked which county Minehead was in.

I think the most awful

was on the show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? To win the jackpot the man was asked which county cricket team played its games at Chester-Le-Street. He was about to go for Surrey, but settled for the half million instead. I wonder how many people were screaming “Durham!” at their TV.

When undergoing a job interview for Royal Mail in 1961, I had to answer a quick-fire series of questions as to which county places were in. If you didn’t know you were out, no ifs or buts! Don Foster, Chesterfield,

Derbyshire