Having been born in Odiham I knew old Basingstoke well.
The minute it was designated London Over-spill it went downhill and on infrequent, subsequent visits it seems to be still heading that way.
Those who knew Basingstoke will also have known "Porters of Dummer" the coach company based in Dummer that ran round-robin village services to the Basingstoke Market and later expanded into a fully fledged excursion company. Cousins of mine don'tcha know.