I say "I'm from Irchester ... " Slight pause while listening to incredulous reply. Then "Yes, I know it sounds like something out of the Archers!"

Northamptonshire is a black hole to most people. You go straight from Buckinghamshire to Leicestershire.

To the ignorati - almost anyone who doesn't come from Britain - I simply say "I live 60 miles north of London." They lose interest at that point ...