Places everyone on OTF has been

[Gangster Octopus]

Never been to Aberdeen. Not sure of its size, but it's definitely big. Never been to Belfast either, but that's in Ireland...

[Gangster Octopus]

Done all the English counties. With a possible exception of West Sussex...

Just checked: Crawley's in West Sussex, so I've been there.

[WOM]

How many counties are there?

[ursus arctos]

What a highly contentious question

[WOM]

You know me...

[Janik]

Which is why I stated modern ones. Of which there are 50 or so.

I took the "Island of Greece" to be just lacking an 's' off the first word and mean the Greek Islands. All of them. From Lesbos in the north-east all the way down to Crete in the south, and then all the way back up again to Corfu opinion in the north-west. Dubious to consider these as all one place, though...

[Fussbudget]

Are the modern ones the postal counties, like Avon, Cleveland and North Humberside?

[ursus arctos]

The postal counties were abolished in 1996

My understanding of the current situation is that England now has 83 “metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties” (not counting Greater London and the Isles of Scilly) and 48 “ceremonial” counties that are based more closely on the 39 “historic” counties.

Presumably this is all quite useful in identifying spies under deep cover (as they would be the only ones who could be arsed to learn the system).

[Fussbudget]

I was being semi-facetious (though to my mind 1974 is very much peak "modern".) I kind of disapprove of the ceremonial counties and all that bizarre archaic lord-lieutenant business.

[Lang Spoon]

I used to hate when Fifteen to One had their English Counties questions. Anti Scotch racism.

[Patrick Thistle]

What's the shittest place visited by most people on here?

I've changed trains at Tamworth Station. In the USA I've been to Albany NY.

[Lang Spoon]

Any of the motorway services on the M6 used to sink my heart as a nipper. Even the cut price 60s futurist one with the covered bridge across the carriageway.

[Lang Spoon]

Broken arcade game machines, hellish scrambled eggs and soggy toast. Always with beans.

[San Bernardhinault]

Luton bus station?

[Lang Spoon]

John Lennon airport was fuckin rank. Victoria bus station was utterly brutal. Saw some Met Filth roughhouse crusties there around ‘99 or so. They were coming back from Amsterdam but even so. Was Paris cops levels of Cuntishness.

[Lang Spoon]

Edinburgh to Glasgow train journeys always seemed to have rain start around Polmont/Falkirk High.

On an Irish tip, Longford town is irredeemable. And Dundalk.

[Bored Of Education]

it's not really all that much fun unless you're in the cockpit and that can be a bit stressful.

Actually, when I was really frightened of flying (pre-happy-pills), being in the cockpit or, at least, being able to see it in smaller planes calmed me down a lot. Indeed, the first time I flew was in an RAF trainer plane when I was 14 and not only was I obviously in the cockpit but I also took the controls for a bit. I would have thought that many people nervous of flying would feel better if they felt they had some control (whether the rest of the passengers would, I don't know). Indeed, this didn't just happen with smaller planes - upon seeing a queue of kids lining up to visit the pilot, in pre-9/11 days, I decided to ask the stewardess if I could join them. Thinking she would laugh at me, she said, of course. When I went in, I actually found it quite calming. I later found out that on fear-of-flying courses, a trip to the cockpit is an integral part for nervous fliers - hence the stewardess' reaction and lack of surprise, I suppose.

[Bored Of Education]

What's the shittest place visited by most people on here?

I've changed trains at Tamworth Station. In the USA I've been to Albany NY.

Mansfield
Side
Milan
Manchester
It used to be Toulouse but having gone back in 2016, a fair amount of money has gone into it and it is really lovely now.

[ad hoc]

Luton bus station?

Old Luton bus station was well dodgy looking but the newer one is much nicer. I have never got off or got on at either one but I do go through there all the time on my way to and from the airport

[WOM]

Buffalo, NY at 6 a.m. in November (@1992) will probably always take the prize for me. 'Grim' doesn't have nearly enough letters to describe how grim it actually felt. But, having done a straight-home run from Key West, I probably wasn't in the right frame of mind at that point.

[Lang Spoon]

Mansfield
Side
Milan
Manchester
It used to be Toulouse but having gone back in 2016, a fair amount of money has gone into it and it is really lovely now.

I loved Toulouse in about 1999, didn’t seem too fucked to me.

I’d like to see your working on Milan and Manchester.

[Benjm]

I took against Craven Arms, a small (pop. 2500) town in Shropshire, when I had to spend an afternoon there. It wasn't particularly ugly, certainly not by West Midlands standards, just lifeless and vaguely threatening.

[elguapo4]

I'm with LS about Longford,once spent two hours early Saturday evening there waiting for a train,none of the pubs served food and were full of surly looking 20 somethings playing pool.
I used to work with someone who played for Longford town fc. Most of the team were from Dublin and commuted for games and trained at home. When they won the second division they decided to have their Christmas party in Longford and show off the trophy to the locals,he said every pub they went into someone wanted to start a fight with them,awful kip

[Amor de Cosmos]

Buffalo, NY at 6 a.m. in November (@1992) will probably always take the prize for me. 'Grim' doesn't have nearly enough letters to describe how grim it actually felt. But, having done a straight-home run from Key West, I probably wasn't in the right frame of mind at that point.

Yup. Though the time and date would be a bit different. (1972, 3:00am)

If I'm honest though, there are a couple of blocks on Hastings Street in this fair burg, that are as sad and depressing as any I've seen elsewhere.

[ad hoc]

Mansfield
Side
Milan
Manchester
It used to be Toulouse but having gone back in 2016, a fair amount of money has gone into it and it is really lovely now.

Side? The town on the south coast of Turkey with the amazing amphitheatre looking out over the blue blue waters of the Mediterranean?

If that's one of the worst places you've been you must have lived the world's most charmed life