In his knockabout column in The Times this week, Sathnam Sanghera manages to insult three cities, all of which he clearly regards with contempt, without mentioning a fourth many of us would feel to be much more deserving.
"There are certain places that I would like to visit before I die, Tokyo, Mumbai and Havana among them," Sanghera begins, before stating that the list of places he would rather die than visit is longer - and topped by Dubai.
Then, after a sideswipe at Birmingham, he uses these words to sum up his loathing for the city he imagines Dubai to be:
I would rather go on a cycling tour of Sunderland than spend a week in Dubai.
An opinion, we can all agree, to which he is perfectly entitled.
Or at least, would be entitled but for one inconvenient fact that Sanghera conceals. He comes from Wolverhampton, which surely ranks with Derby among the world's most gruesome cities.
The portrait of the Wolverhampton canal comes from the extensive "Fray Bentos" archive at the Flickr photo-sharing site and can be assumed to he highly flattering since FB is a gifted photographer. I am not, but even my limited abilities show the somewhat deeper aesthetic qualities of Sunderland (top).
As for Sanghera, he should be sentenced to a cycling tour of his home town, followed by a trip - on foot - to the 27th floor Skyview bar of the Burj-al-Arab hotel..
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