"Sheldon" wrote
Unless someone was a local they'd not know that "Herts" is ghetto/slum
speak for Hertfordshire.

It's actually the normal accepted short version, even the Queen would use.

The UK includes England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the Isles...
that covers a few different bios... don't need (or even want) an
address, but a bit more specificity would help. It's only southern
England that has relatively mild winters, most of the UK is just as
cold and snowy as NY's Catskills.

Not true, we are a Maritime climate you are a Continental type climate,
totally different. Our climate is governed by the seas around us, yours by
the land around you.
The effect is your winter comes, stays for a few months then goes and spring
comes... ours changes constantly and is all mixed up. Whilst it is colder
the further North one travels it's still not constant like your weather and
even then there are exceptions like the effect of the warm Gulf Stream on
the West of Scotland. It's why we don't talk in zones.
--
Regards
Bob Hobden