@ Carol… You brought back some funny memories for me. Me and my friends would go to happy hour every Friday, all dressed up in suits and ties, straight from work. Usually about 2am we would end up at the only place around that sold six packs to go, a biker bar. (this was in Maryland, probably over 20 years ago) We always felt so odd going in there and very uncomfortable. One Thanksgiving we went in there to buy beer (to go) and noticed they had a huge spread of Thanksgiving food, all for free. We ended up spending the whole day there and had a fantastic time. Some of the nicest people I had ever met, very open and accepting of everyone. Definitely a “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” moment for me.
I think I’m fond of the Brummy (or maybe moreso Black Country) accents…especially from/with/whatever women. Maybe I wouldn’t if I heard them alot though.