21 reasons you know you're from Basingstoke

1. You’ve posed for a picture hugging the Wote Street Willy 

2.  You tell people that Basingstoke is a nice place to live because it’s only 45 minutes away from London and an hour away from the seaside

3. You’ve tried to impress someone with the fact that the IBM building (Skyline Plaza) is the tallest between London and New York – but you’re not sure if it’s actually the AA building

4. You add an ‘s’ to the end of words such as Tescos, Asdas, Liquids (R.I.P)

5. If you’re over 35, you've spent a Saturday night in Martine’s 

6. You know who Mrs Blunden is, and have probably had a nightmare about her

7.  You refer to Houndmills as Houndsmill

8. You were caught up in the snow chaos of 2019 - or 2009 (pictured below)

9. You've donated some of your spare change to Dave the Rower 

10. You’ve eaten a kebab from Joe

11.  You probably weren’t actually born here

12. You think it’s only acceptable to slate Basingstoke if you actually live here

13. You don’t know how to drive around a roundabout despite there being approximately one for every ten citizens 

14. You remember or have heard tales about the Ross Kemp Christmas lights switch-on chaos of 1999 

15. You’ve referred to Basingstoke as Amazingstoke

16. You’ve seen Jimmy Carr at The Anvil and are proud when he (or other top comedians) mock the town

17. You know the secret of the Lime Pits!

18. You've been stressed out by Festival Place's car park 

19. You know someone who knows someone who knows Liz Hurley’s mum

20. You have been guilty of sometimes telling people you’re from ‘near London’ (it's just easier, right?) 

21. You tell people that Tanita Tikaram is Basingstoke’s most famous singer

Originally published in 2014, updated in 2019.