This Christmas I spent an enormous amount of time doing something rather strange.
I found myself ‘defending Eastleigh’ a lot to my family.
The problem was that I started reading Bill Bryson’s new book, The Road to Little Dribbling, on Christmas day, after gift-giving, and before mother-in-law’s turkey was ready. This book has now topped the UK hardback charts for the third week.
The 384-page book covers 26 sections, from Bugger Bognor to Cape Wrath and beyond. Eastleigh is mentioned for the first time on page 6, then from page 9 to 11. Descriptions on Eastleigh is under Prologue.
It means that Eastleigh was set as an introduction to Bill Bryson’s new book. This was serious.
When I first saw the word Eastleigh on page 6, I got excited. What’s the world-famous, best-selling author got to say about Eastleigh?
Bill Bryson came to Eastleigh (Wessex House) to take a British citizenship test. He did well in the test, then in November 2014, Bill Bryson became a citizen of the United Kingdom in a ceremony in Winchester.
I’m a huge fan of Bill Bryson and have read almost all his books. I’ve re-read Notes from a Small Island many times and could recite some passages.
In this new book, The Road to Little Dribbling, Bill Bryson described Eastleigh as
an “interestingly unmemorable place – not numbingly ugly but not attractive either; not wretchedly poor but not prosperous; not completely dead in the centre, but clearly not thriving.” (pg. 9)
Hang on – this was the polite bit.
“The bus station was just an outer wall of Sainsbury’s with a glass marquee over it, evidently to give pigeons a dry place to shit.” (pg. 9)
I started feeling a bit unease.
Bill Bryson moved on depicting the obvious shops he saw in Eastleigh – coffee shops and charity shops. He said there were mainly two types of shops in Eastleigh town, empty shops and coffee shops.
“Some of the empty shops, according to signs in their windows, were in the process of being converted into coffee shops, and many of the coffee shops, judging by their level of custom, looked as if they weren’t far off becoming empty shops again.” (pg. 9)
According to Bill Bryson, a few adventurous entrepreneurs had opened pound stores or betting shops, and a few charities had taken over other abandoned premises.
“but on the whole Eastleigh seemed to be a place where you could either have a cup of coffee or sit and watch pigeons defecate.” (pg. 9 and 10)
I’m not particularly thrilled by Bill Bryson’s description of Eastleigh town.
“Eastleigh town is not that bad,” I muttered to my family around me (Remember, it’s Christmas day and I was surrounded by the loved ones).
My son asked me why I was upset about someone’s view on Eastleigh. “We’re in Chandler’s Ford, not Eastleigh,” my teenager son tried to console me.
“But Chandler’s Ford is part of Eastleigh,” I justified my mild irritation (on Christmas day).
“But Bill Bryson is talking about Eastleigh town centre, not Chandler’s Ford,” my son emphasised his point.
Then for the rest of the day, and Boxing Day, and the day after Boxing Day, I told people I was feeling a bit down.
Eastleigh town centre is vibrant and interesting to me. It’s in fact more interesting than Chandler’s Ford.
Eastleigh town is culturally more diverse. It is non posh. The streets are full of working class people. It’s full of colours and tastes and exotic languages.
I visit Eastleigh town centre very often for its convenience and its ways of life. Most Saturdays throughout summer, Eastleigh is filed with exciting events run by passionate people in the community.
I’m not sure if Bill Bryson had had a chance to visit Eastleigh Museum and say ‘hi’ to Mr and Mrs Brown there?
If he did, he would have discovered a bit more interesting history of this railway town, and could possibly have added some intelligent historical facts into his writing.
Was he aware that one of the best Fairtrade shops in Hampshire, Shop Equality, was just around the corner, amongst a sea of coffee shops and charity shops?
Was he aware that hidden away from the high street was The Sorting Office, the window to the creative world of some 20 artists and makers?
Did he walk around Leigh Road Recreation Ground and find The Point theatre nearby? Here is the hub of culture and creativity. In 2016, The Point theatre will celebrate its 20th anniversary.
None of these were mentioned in the book, unsurprisingly.
I’ve spoken to a few people about this new book that I’ve read. Of course I asked my local friends what they think about Eastleigh town.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have been startled, but a few of them totally agreed with Bill Bryson’s viewpoints.
“He (Bill Bryson) is a bit brutal, but he is quite right. Eastleigh is boring.”
“Eastleigh has too many coffee shops.”
One person asked me, “What can you really do in Eastleigh?”
Eastleigh is a place with charm and is full of characteristics. I won’t expect Eastleigh town to be as busy as Southampton, as posh as Winchester, or as clean as Chandler’s Ford. I love Eastleigh for its noises, its colours, and its Saturday markets. We don’t even have a market in Chandler’s Ford. Things are happening in Eastleigh. People are keen on transforming the place.
Eastleigh has arts, music, history, food from different cultures, and yes, many charity shops and coffee shops.
Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island was a huge number-one bestseller when it was first published. My English teacher recommended this book to me 20 years ago as an introduction to Britain. This book was voted the nation’s favourite book on modern Britain in a World Book Day BBC poll.
If Bill Bryson’s new book has the same potential as Notes from a Small Island, which sells over two million copies, hundreds of thousands of people are going to read about Eastleigh through his lens in this new book – his views on Eastleigh as an uninspiring coffee-drinking, pigeon-defecating place.
I told my son that I quite like to present a very different perspective from Mr Bryson’s on Eastleigh. There is no need to ‘challenge’ his views as he is entitled to his observations based on his day trip. Perhaps Mr Bryson should come down to Eastleigh one day again. We could sit in one of many coffee shops (I’ll let him choose) and have a nice little conversation.
Readers, what’s your views on Eastleigh town? How would you like Eastleigh town to be seen?
Here is a small collection of articles on Eastleigh on Chandler’s Ford Today. Have a read if you haven’t done so.
- Charlotte Mary Yonge in Eastleigh
- Join The Point and Share Your Stories for its 20th Birthday Celebrations
- Eastleigh’s Christmas Lights Switch on – 21st November 2015
- Don’t Forget: Winter Open Studios This Weekend at the Sorting Office Eastleigh
- Eastleigh Basics Bank 2015 AGM
- Join Eastleigh Knitters Making Twiddlemuffs for Dementia Patients
- Remembrance Sunday in Chandler’s Ford and Eastleigh: 8 November 2015
- Eastleigh Museum Summer Soirée with the Chameleons
- Glorious Honey at Eastleigh Museum
- Eastleigh Bunting & Eastleigh Museum WW1 Poetry Evening
- Eastleigh Lions: Bravery Certificates
- Chilli Festival Eastleigh 2014
- A Very Eastleigh Festival: Mardi Gras and Vintage Market 2015
- Eastleigh Mardi Gras 2014: Fun, Joy, Charities for Community
- How Much Do You Know About Eastleigh’s Twin Towns?
- Celebration: Volunteers’ Week in Eastleigh 2015
- Mims Davies MP Makes Maiden Speech in Parliament
- St. George Visited Eastleigh – Who is St. George?
- Eastleigh: 250th Park Run
- 2014 Eastleigh Christmas Lights Switch on: Snow Has Fallen
- New – Tropic Exotics in Eastleigh Town Centre
- Eastleigh Artist’s Designs Picked up for New ASDA Greetings Card Range
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Don’t worry Janet (or anyone else who lives in the Eastleigh / Chandler’s Ford part of the home we call the World), Bill Bryson inc. is there to sell books. Any easy target is an easy target. He’d be pretty sore if we started satirising (not satirizing) parts of his old country – why did he naturalise in Britain by the way? May be something to do with our free speech and tolerance. Don’t push it, Bill.
If Bill Bryson is really that interested in pigeon shit he should go to Trafalgar Square. He will find plenty there. What’s more, there are no coffee shops to upset him.
I guess Eastleigh is an ‘in-between’ town. Not big enough to have a M&S or John Lewis but not small enough to manage without Boots and WH Smith. It doesn’t thrive nor does it fail. It exists and the turnover of shops reflect the changing economy and fashions of the times.
It functions for me as I know what is there and what is not. I make swift and purposeful visits. They have too be swift because of the car parking.
PS Just recalled a lovely poem by Spike Milligan
‘Tis due to the pigeons
That alight
On Nelson’s hat
That make it white.
He does have a point (several points). There are a lot of coffee shops and charity shops in Eastleigh town centre. In fact,the number of restaurants, cafes, and other establishments where you can purchase ready-to-eat food has been a source of amusement for my friends and I for some years.
I think this is just an example of the familiar feeling “I can make fun of my town/country/family/etc. but people from outside can’t”, which is pretty much the reaction I felt several times when reading Notes from a Small Island – rapidly followed by “but he does have a point and I know people similar to those he is describing.”
I found Bill Bryson 20 years ago was funnier and more earnest. He informed me of Britain in fine writing, and of course, humour. He created a vivid image of trainspotter, which has etched on my memory.
This new book somehow failed to relate to me. Bill Bryson is ruder and grumpier – some people may think his grumpiness and moaning are funny, but I just felt he has lost (or failed to show through his words) the charisma and sincerity for the country he’s adopted. It’s probably because I’ve known Britain a bit more in the past 20 years, and have lived here long enough to form my own opinions.
Of course Bill Bryson’s new book is not a history textbook and he should be forgiven for his lack of balanced views on Eastleigh.
Eastleigh town is not posh. It’s not middle-class. Somehow Bill Bryson thinks it’s ok to be condescending while enjoying his coffee in Eastleigh.
Janet you are quite right! Eastleigh Town Centre like most other district centres has its share of charity shops and empties as stores turnover, and coffee shops are for the most part the modern era’s pubs as local meeting places.
What’s more, Eastleigh has done well to diversify to become a local destination of choice for leisure. The restaurant and cafe offering is improving all the time, and with The Sorting Office and the recently refurbished foyer at The Point, Charlotte Yonge at the station, the bright new appearance of Wessex House and Eastleigh House, and M&S Simply Food to arrive in 2016, the town is moving in the right direction.
Not surprising then that Eastleigh showed up as one of the best places in the country to live only this month. Perhaps it’s time to invite Mr Bryson back?
(Editor’s note: Councillor Keith House is Leader of Eastleigh Borough Council.)
Thank you for your comment, Mr House.
Yes I’ve read about Halifax Bank’s report, which ranks Eastleigh at the 18th place as the best place to live in the country. (Link: Hampshire Chronicle, and Eastleigh Borough Council.)
This report is a good indicator, yet, ‘Eastleigh’ in this report covers a much larger area.
The book focuses on Mr Bryson’s day trip to Eastleigh town itself. He sees a very different Eastleigh town as a visitor.
I’m glad to see Eastleigh town itself is flourishing. The recent Vintage Markets are a good attempt and I hope they continue to do well.
We enjoyed so many delightful afternoons in Eastleigh town to the sounds of music (thank you Eastleigh Fusion Choir), and shopping (yes, at charity shops, because they are for good causes, and charity shops in Eastleigh town are good value for money), reading in Eastleigh Library, and also visiting snakes, lizards and frogs at Tropic Exotics in Eastleigh.
My son and his friends are rather happy with Eastleigh as they’ve just watched Star Wars at Vue cinemas.
Mr House, Eastleigh town still has much room for improvement. What’s your plan of improving the parking situation in Eastleigh town, to make it more welcoming for visitors? Thanks.
Well, to be honest, there’s less of a parking problem in Eastleigh than in most places. There are almost always spaces in the multi-storey car park and Swan Centre, and the free surface car park at Lidl usually has short-stay spaces. A new long-stay car park is opening just across the bridge in Dutton Lane, but that will take the long-stay parking that’s at present where M&S will be. There are pinchpoints when major events are on, but solutions that work in larger towns like Park & Ride would not be viable in Eastleigh. The best bet is to go for one of the big car parks.
If there are always spaces in the multi-storey, couldn’t some of these to be converted to long-stay, and remove the need for the car park in Duttons Lane. Although the walk across the bridge will give a beneficial 10-minute walk twice a day.
Quite rightly you’re defending Eastleigh, Mr House, and it is a nice town. But parking has never been one of Eastleigh’s strong points and sadly that remains the case. (Okay on the plus side it does encourage people to use the train to get in and then shop but that is not always a viable option. And for some people it is no viable option at all). The new long term car park is welcome but some shorter stay ones would be a good idea too.
There’s nothing wrong with Eastleigh that creating better car parking would not solve! (And I prefer it for shopping than Southampton, Eastleigh is much more manageable though another bookshop would always be welcome or HMV come to that). And I love the Spike Milligan ode. He was wonderful at those (and for The Goons).
And a place is about the people who live there too. There are loads of community minded people making living in Eastleigh a good place to be. Local Charities including Marie Curie have always found the people of Eastleigh generous in their support in both time and money.
Just reading Bill Bryson’s book now (purchased from Waitrose in CF), and his words made me laugh out loud. So very true – Eastleigh town centre is bland and depressing. Always has been, always will be. Thank heavens Hiltingbury is in the Winchester constituency.
Wow I have never read such claptrap in my life. I can’t believe you have the audacity to write “the streets are full of working class people”. That just makes you appear to be a champagne socialist who wants to feel “down” with the masses. You utter pillock.
And Bill Bryson if anything, was too kind to Eastleigh. It’s a hell hole.
Interesting fact! If you look to the right of The Point’s main entrance you may note a door which appears little used. When the building was the Town Hall,vthis door gave one of two access points to an underground complex which was the designated HQ for ” officials” to retreat to in the event of Mr Hitler & Co’s arrival. Contained within were, as I recall, A telecommunication centre,vrecords office detailing essentialvpersonnel/residents etc. A planning desk with maps not unlike a War Room control centre. The whole set up I believe, later became the Cold War Nuclear Attack centre for the area. To the left of the main door of the Library in the adjacent building was a small brick “shed”. This was in fact the second access point to the complex, once inside, stone steps led to a long corridor and eventually to a “Blast Door” with direct access to the centre. Born in the tin huts of Velmore Camp and bred in Eastleigh, I hold many more probably useless memories, none the less would be happy to share.
For those who are interested, Bill Bryson is coming to Winchester in October.