Originally Posted by judesM (Post 10617709)

I don't know if it's just me but each time I return to the UK, nearly everyone appears to have the same generic Essex/East end accent everywhere I go. Bristol, Cheltenham, Norwich are some of the places I go to. I grew up in W.Sussex and no one speaks like me any more including people I went to the village primary school with. It's just plain bizarre to me. Almost as if folk are covering up their original accents. I dread to think how wierd I must sound to them after 35 years in the US.

It's as if there was an official EU UK accent change day and this was the new accent adopted and I didn't receive the memo! :)

Originally Posted by judesM (Post 10617709)

I don't know if it's just me but each time I return to the UK, nearly everyone appears to have the same generic Essex/East end accent everywhere I go. Bristol, Cheltenham, Norwich are some of the places I go to. I grew up in W.Sussex and no one speaks like me any more including people I went to the village primary school with. It's just plain bizarre to me. Almost as if folk are covering up their original accents. I dread to think how wierd I must sound to them after 35 years in the US.

It's as if there was an official EU UK accent change day and this was the new accent adopted and I didn't receive the memo! :)

Originally Posted by J.JsOH (Post 10618271)

It is now not typical to hear a Norfolk accent in Norfolk.
There are many people moved here to Norfolk from further south. I have come to expect a Essex / London accent and am surprised to hear a Norfolk accent.