Having lived in Stoke (Newcastle under Lyme) for a couple of years & having one of my sons in Uni in Stoke. I beg to differ. In fact I'd say of all of the towns / cities we go to Stoke is by far the most similar to Cardiff (& even more so the valleys). My Bluebird badged car survived with no issues during my time there.

The people are great and amongst the friendliest I've worked with, their attitude about not being loved and overlooked is the same as South Wales and there are many similarities between the history of the pottery & mining industries. I'm going to the game with my ex-Stokie work mates & will be quaffing in Delilah's with them.

Shithole? Probably. But look around you! The people are real & not pretentious like some of the places we go to.