PORTSMOUTH has again been criticised for being ugly in the latest edition of a leading travel book.
The sixth edition of the Rough Guide to England has repeated comments made in the previous edition that the city was ugly. It says: 'Bland tower blocks from the nadir of British architectural endeavour now give the city an ugly profile.'
But city leaders say it has a lot more to offer. Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock said: 'This is absolute twaddle, the author of this obviously has never been to Portsmouth. 'With the seafront and the view of rural Hampshire we are in one of the best settings in the country. 'We have got a dozen or so buildings over 12 storeys, we are hardly the Manhattan of the UK.
'People should treat this with the contempt it deserves and ignore it.'
As for my opinion, I really doubt the writer would have been thinking about Mahanttan (yeah, you wish!) when he wrote the comments. Hancock, my friend, let me tell you something. I think the writer DID visit the city. Indeed. I'm afraid the comments are unfortunate, but accurate. Sorry!



La ciudad de Portsmouth ha sido nuevamente criticada por su fealdad en la ultima edicion de una conocida guia de viajes. La sexta edicion de la Rough Guide dedicada a Inglaterra ha repetido los comentarios aparecidos en la edicion previa, confirmando que la ciudad es fea. Dice : "Los edificios, altos y sin caracter, provenientes de una era de dudoso gusto arquitectonico, dan a la ciudad un aspecto deplorable".
Sin embargo, las autoridades locales aseguran que Portsmouth ofrece mucho mas al visitante. El diputado por Portsmouth Mike Hancock declaro : "Estos comentarios no tienen ni pies ni cabeza. Obviamente, el autor nunca ha visitado Portsmouth. Con nuestras vistas al mar y a los campos de Hampshire, tenemos una situacion privilegiada. Existen una docena de edificios altos, de mas de 12 pisos, pero eso no nos convierte en el Manhattan del Reino Unido. Los lectores de esta guia no deben tener en cuenta comentarios de este tipo".
Por mi parte, dudo mucho que el escritor estuviera pensando en Manhattan (ojala!) cuando escribio su comentario. Y, amigo Hancock, mucho me temo que dicho escritor SI visito la ciudad. Sus comentarios son desafortunados, pero reflejan la realidad. Sorry!


The weather today:
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