ACCENTS — they're funny old things aren't they?

I admit I'm as guilty as the next person of making snap judgements not just based on what someone is wearing, what they look like but also what they sound like.

Anyone who has ever met me — or even just spoken to me on the phone — will know how daft this is as I have one of the strongest accents of anyone going.

Yes, I think I sound perfectly proper and that everyone should talk like me — but even I realise I have what can only be described as a “broad Barrovian accent” — the marvellous place where I'm originally from.

It's often confused with a North Eastern twang. Not full-on Geordie you understand, but a bit of the east coast about it.

Which is completely barmy because it's as far North Westerly as you can possibly be, as it's situated right on the sea.

But for some reason a lot of Cumbrians are accused of sounding like we're from t'other side of the country.

There are accents that really grate on my nerves. Without naming names, one of them is based in the Midlands.

While others can't help but make me smile — aforementioned Geordie-land voices leave me with a big grin on my face. They could be telling a joke or reading from a phone book, it still makes me happy.

Then there's the lovely Irish accent. Everything they say sounds happy.

I've even got my sat nav set so a nice Irish lady tells me when I should be turning left/right/moving into the inside lane as there's a exit coming up.

It makes me feel calm when I'm driving somewhere I have never been to before — even in rush-hour traffic on a Friday afternoon.

This is in complete contrast to my dad's sat nav — who has a scary sounding woman who barks orders at him, which would definitely make me panic. This isn't as much of a problem for him because he doesn't trust his own sat nav and still insists on using a map book even though his is actually built into his super-reliable Volvo.

Scottish is lovely too — even when it's being slurred at you in a bar on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow.

I confess, I'm not a huge fan of our southern pals. I have nothing against them as people — but their voices don't make me smile in the same way as the north eastern buddies. But then again that could be because I'm a fiercely proud northerner.

And it turns out I'm not alone in my love of our different accents.

Advertisers use it to their advantage, persuading us to buy things we don't really need.

And even call centres get in on the act, using call centres in various places to make us trust them.

So, it would seem that we should definitely be celebrating our differences.