24 Reasons Newcastle Is Definitely The Happiest City In The UK

18. Pease Pudding

Glorious, creamy best friend of ham, there's no better sandwich condiment than the humble pease pudding. You can keep your hummus.

17. The Viz

Brainchild of Chris and Simon Donald and friend Jim Brownlow, The Viz has been a hilarious, always outrageous must-read for Newcastle residents (not of a delicate persuasion) since the late '70s. Its pages burst with profane, gloriously silly characters and biting political commentary, and it has inspired the genius Profanisaurus and the Top Tips life-hacks that Twitter copied so shamelessly.

16. The Glorious Music Scene

Bigger bands might swerve the region a little bit these days, but the world of rock owes a lot to Newcastle thanks to the character-building residence of one Jimi Hendrix, as the birthplace of Brian Johnson and as the former stomping ground of Sting, Hank Marvin, Bryan Ferry, one half of the Lighthouse Family and both parts of hip hop pioneers PJ & Duncan...