Things I’ve Learned About The Good Old U S of A From Watching Films And Telly

[Long Nose]

Wasn't it Penelope Keith in To The Manor Born?

Good show. What is the "old school" saying that we hear from Margery and Audrey? "No blez or bleige" I can't quite make it out, or what it means. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[RoryA]

as I'm sure you are aware, it's the old staple " noblesse oblige"!

 

[Long Nose]

Great, that makes perfect sense now. Americans will not recognize titles in the USA, so the idea of birth rights are sorta lost on us. You might say, "We Americans have no class." LOL.

 

[cornflakegirl]

You're right about Marmite - it's disgusting stuff!

 

[Long Nose]

You're right about Marmite - it's disgusting stuff!

I almost forgot this one, my cousin's name is Randy Schrock, and that means absolutely nothing to Americans, but the British have turned that fine name into something entirely different.

Cheers!
Doug

 

[RoryA]

marmite is one of the finest inventions in Christendom!!

 

[Joe4]

Doug:

...And on Sundays I elude the Eyes,
And hop the Turbine Freight
To far outside the Wire,
Where my white-haired uncle waits.

(good taste in music, my man!)

 

[barry houdini]

Hey, Long Nose, that's a pretty good list......here are some answers

2) Some British eat toast for breakfast with a beef bullion paste called Marmite. This is not quite as bad as tasting a fisherman's friend, but it comes pretty darn close..

I agree with you about Marmite, can't stand the stuff. Bovril, on the other hand, is the food of the gods......

3) As soon as you open your mouth and utter a sentence, it can be determined where you live within a few blocks..

This is true, but in the case of Londoners many Americans wrongly locate those few blocks in a suburb of Sydney......

4) A public school is really a private school, but what then is a government run school called?.

Presumably even more confusing Stateside, government run schools are "state schools"

7) If you ever get an American dentist, you will never have had such clean teeth..

What's a "dentist"?

8) Americans don't understand how and when you change your Prime Ministers..

Keep watching, it could be happening again anytime soon.......

 

[PaddyD]

re the British comedy stuff - might have missed it in an earlier thread but should be pointed out that most of the good stuff started out great on the radio - BBC Radio 4 deserves inestimable praise in this regard - you heard it there first for:

- Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
- News Quiz (on TV as have I got News For You)
- League of Gentlemen
etc etc...

But the zenith of all this, and the epitome of British humour has to be I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/clue.shtml

...which has yet to be translated to TV for some very good reasons.

 

[cornflakegirl]

Paddy - and Absolute Power, and Little Britain (which was actually funny on the radio!)

I heard Graeme Garden talking about them bringing back ISIHAC (without a fixed chairman) the other day - and I'm sure that he said there was going to be a telly version too. But that may just have been a nightmare.