Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
The "Ladder" name
Like it?
I hadn't really thought about it till the other day (waaayyy too much time on my hands), but, I don't like it. We always say we live on the Ladder because you can't really say you live in the Ladder; linguistically it just regsiters as plain wrong.
The only other places you live on are islands.
I wonder if this and the very meaning of the word ladder (going up, going down - but going, not staying) convey a sense of impermenance and not belonging.
The messages conveyed by single words are certainly powerful. Commercial organisations spend millions on getting a product or brand name right and the choices made can mean success or failure.
If I had a vote on the name, I'd vote for change. To what? With some historical basis, one could choose Harringay Park. All the roads of the Ladder, excluding the Endymion-Lothair quadrant were once part of the old grounds of Harrringay House, called Harringay Park.
You'd then have Harringay Gardens & Harringay Park.
And I could finally say I live IN somewhere.
I hadn't really thought about it till the other day (waaayyy too much time on my hands), but, I don't like it. We always say we live on the Ladder because you can't really say you live in the Ladder; linguistically it just regsiters as plain wrong.
The only other places you live on are islands.
I wonder if this and the very meaning of the word ladder (going up, going down - but going, not staying) convey a sense of impermenance and not belonging.
The messages conveyed by single words are certainly powerful. Commercial organisations spend millions on getting a product or brand name right and the choices made can mean success or failure.
If I had a vote on the name, I'd vote for change. To what? With some historical basis, one could choose Harringay Park. All the roads of the Ladder, excluding the Endymion-Lothair quadrant were once part of the old grounds of Harrringay House, called Harringay Park.
You'd then have Harringay Gardens & Harringay Park.
And I could finally say I live IN somewhere.
Tags for Forum Posts: The Ladders, gardens, harrinagy, harringay, harringay name, ladder, park
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Sophie BBARR on
-
I have never really thought I live on Britain!
-
Permalink Reply by Barrie Maskell
-
I live on a cliff!
-
Permalink Reply by StephenBln on
-
and what about Harringay West?
Both Harringay railway stations have changed their names over time, being known at one time as Harringay Park and Harringay West respectively...
I also remember The Beatles performing their song "Ticket to Ride" in front of an enormous "Ticket Background" showing a ticket from "Harringay West". I've hunted through YouTube to find a copy to post here, but to no avail.
Greetings to you all from me....Check out my site by clicking here!
-
-
I once worked for BBC Radio Orkney (yes they do exist!) and made the mistake during an interview of saying something to do with people living on the islands - apparently this is something that ignorant outsiders say, as locals say that they live in the isles. So, if English can chop and change at our hands, which of course it does, and if we live in Britain and in Orkney but on the Ladder, there should be nothing wrong with saying that we live in the Ladder. Why though?! What's wrong with on the Ladder?!
Ah I should be studying. :)
-
Permalink Reply by Hugh on
-
Yee-urs, the consensus that seems to be building up here is that I'm a bit bonkers. Ah well.
-
-
The English language is truly excellent! How come you chop a tree down and then chop it up?
-
-
A Turkish friend of mine asked me to explain why 'hear' and 'bear' are pronounced differently. I couldn't. Why should 'tomato' be pronounced 'tomaRto' and 'potato' not? (Unless you are American of course and then they are the same).
Another is 'come' and 'tome'.
'Work' and 'pork'.
Etc
-
-
As a youngster I took pride, when crossing Harringay West Station footbridge, in pointing out to anyone who would listen of the spelling mistake written, in beautiful gold lettering, on the glass of the station ticket office - TICKETS MUST BE SHEWN HERE - It was many years later that I learnt that it was the old English spelling of - SHOWN - and was perfectly acceptable at the time!
© 2025 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
