Staines-upon-Thames

This Surrey town gained fame thanks to Ali G, and has since become the focus of many a joke involving middle class wannabe rappers growing up in suburbia . Ali G’s character may have tried to make us believe Staines was in some way “gangster” but things couldn’t be further from the truth. Staines is a commuter town popular with families, hence the large cinema and shopping complex as well as a bustling high street filled with shops and bars. Local facilities and its proximity to Heathrow and London mean house prices are on the up with some claiming Staines could be the new Kingston. Hardly very gangster, is it?