Episode 2

Lemn Sissay heads north as he continues his odyssey around modern England following the route map of another writer, JB Priestley.

In Autumn 1933, Priestley travelled the length and breadth of the country in one of the first attempts at "documentary journalism".

The result was "English Journey", a book recalling chance encounters with the "ordinary folk".

Priestley was unimpressed by the northern cities with their grime in 1933.

In the last of two programmes, Lemn returns to Stoke, Manchester and Bradford with a different eye.

What would Priestley think of the multi-cultural mix in his home city of Bradford, about regeneration of Rushholme in Manchester and the new call centre amongst the once proud Potteries?

Producer: Philip Sellars

First broadcast on BBC Radio in November 2003.