It sounds a strange thing to say, but there are several reasons why Texas reminds me of my childhood county back in lil’ ol’ England…

Firstly, it’s at the far end of the country a long way from the capital, somewhat off the beaten track, making it a rather quirky place compared to other regions. Secondly, just like any Yorkshireman I’ve ever met, Texans are very proud of their identity. On the plane here, a BIG guy sat down next to me and the conversation went something like this:

“You owff to Teyxas?”
“Yes I am”.
“Ahm from Teyxas. Pleased to meeyt you”.

Which brings me on to the curious accent, on the same end of the incomprehensibility spectrum as Yorkshire dialect for sure. To me the accent is somewhere between Johnny Cash and Forrest Gump, but I’m sure any American would tell me I’m way off…

And there are even aspects of the landscape which are not dissimilar (even though I was expecting oil wells). Look at this view – it could almost be the outskirts of Doncaster:

That’s not a river, it’s called Joe Pool Lake, named after a bloke of the same name. Joe Pool – even sounds like someone you’d share a pint of bitter with in a Yorkshire pub!

And finally, the people are sooo friendly and total strangers will talk to you as soon as look at you. I was in Walmart lastnight and a lady in the queue behind me asked: “Where y’all from?” The very same thing could happen in Barnsley (but with different colloquialisms, of course!)

One BIG difference is the texan flora; no sycamore trees or privet hedges to be seen here:

Thanks for reading; I’m wondering if this might just be the first time any blog has ever compared these two parts of the world…