Whatever happened to the likely lads

Bora Natty

Bora Natty

Dedicated Member
I just turned on Dave for my afternoon summer wine and whatever happened to the likely lads is still on. I glanced up from my laptop and I thought, that guy looks familiar and here it was Bill Owen. Being in the U.S. I'd never seen him in another show before. I can't get used to them calling him George. Lol!
 
Bora Natty said:
I just turned on Dave for my afternoon summer wine and whatever happened to the likely lads is still on. I glanced up from my laptop and I thought, that guy looks familiar and here it was Bill Owen. Being in the U.S. I'd never seen him in another show before. I can't get used to them calling him George. Lol!
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At least he played a Yorkshireman in that, if you ever get chance to watch any of his early work he was almost typecast as a cockney character.
 
You should check out The Likely Lads then watch What Ever Happened to the Likely Lads, the Geordie accent isn't to thick so you should be able to understand it.
 
Lol, okay thanks! Honestly, I'm not really into it, I just turned it on waiting the LOTSW. Maybe I'll start watching it more and see if it grows on me?
 
It's good. I started watching it about the same time I was watching "Only When I laugh."
 
Its a great show written by the kings of comedy Clement and LeFrenais being from Newcastle you may think I'm biased but it is such a well written show. The sad thing was the huge fallout with Bolam and Bewes and the bitterness continued until Bewes passed away.
 
What I found puzzling Captain was it was based in Newcastle.....but we did not hear many Geordie accents ????......one catchphrase that always reminds me of that wonderful "Whatever happened to" series was....."DRINK IT WHILE IT'S HOT".......Terry would always say it to Bob when passing him a cuppa.
It was so well written Captain...and it had it's poignant momemts...I think when they went round Newcastle talking about the old nightclubs they used to go to in their "wilder days" was a very special moment....seeing the changing face of Newcastle.
The bike race episode and the football match with the kids episode were fantastic.....remember the kids saying "we will take the fat one " when they chose Bob over Terry...a truly amazing series that has stood the test of time.....they don't write 'em like that anymore [unfortunately !!!]
 
MoodyBlue the accents weren't very thick, I think mostly because no one South of Middlesbrough would have understood a work of it, there was another North East based programme called When the Boat Comes In and I had to translate for him in doors! Even now when we visit family up there I have to do the talking because he can't understand anyone! It always bothered me that they watered down the accent because it's a beautiful accent but I get why they did. Terry's sister sounded like she was schooled at Eton!
 
Pearl said:
MoodyBlue the accents weren't very thick, I think mostly because no one South of Middlesbrough would have understood a work of it, there was another North East based programme called When the Boat Comes In and I had to translate for him in doors! Even now when we visit family up there I have to do the talking because he can't understand anyone! It always bothered me that they watered down the accent because it's a beautiful accent but I get why they did. Terry's sister sounded like she was schooled at Eton!
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Odd about the Geordie accent not being understood outside it's own area. I'm from New York State, had never visited Northeast England nor been otherwise exposed to the accent when I watched When the Boat Comes In, and I understood every word. This was before my hearing began to fail, so I didn't have the closed captions turned on.
 
My parents lived in the Midlands for 45 years and still some people couldn't understand them but to me they didn't have an accent. I think some people are just better at understanding accents than others.
 
I think you're right Pearl, I understand things well, as people who would watch LOTSW when I had it on were going, huh, what did they say? I'm sure some of that was the slang words as much as the accent, so I just called them a prawn.. :)
 
Mr Blue :) I have lived in Newcastle all my life but my accent isn't particularly thick . Terry has the stronger dialect than Bob and Thelma , Terry's sister Audrey has an even "posher" accent. I am not sure it's deliberate but clearly to appeal to the wider British public perhaps they played it safe and softened the accents . Alun Armstrong appears in what I think is the best episode and his accent is perhaps the strongest of them all [similar to that when he played a prisoner in a Porridge episode when Godber is studying for an exam] . One episode holds a surprise Bob is ill and Terry goes to see him . In his bedroom there is a picture of a football team on the wall , they are portrayed as die hard Toon Fans but I am pretty sure the picture is of Sunderland and could be there because Bolam is a huge mackem fan :)
 
captain clutterbuck said:
Mr Blue :) I have lived in Newcastle all my life but my accent isn't particularly thick . Terry has the stronger dialect than Bob and Thelma , Terry's sister Audrey has an even "posher" accent. I am not sure it's deliberate but clearly to appeal to the wider British public perhaps they played it safe and softened the accents . Alun Armstrong appears in what I think is the best episode and his accent is perhaps the strongest of them all [similar to that when he played a prisoner in a Porridge episode when Godber is studying for an exam] . One episode holds a surprise Bob is ill and Terry goes to see him . In his bedroom there is a picture of a football team on the wall , they are portrayed as die hard Toon Fans but I am pretty sure the picture is of Sunderland and could be there because Bolam is a huge mackem fan :)
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That always made me laugh, a mackem in Newcastle lol
We took my mam into hospital once and had a doctor with a good thick accent, she asked him where he was from and he said Newcastle, he asked her where she was from and she said Sunderland, they looked each other in the eye and he said with a very serious look on his face " well Pet I'll not to let that affect your treatment " he was a great a doctor and got her back on her feet.
 
It's funny everyone is talking about regional accents being "softened".....here is Liverpool the accent is getting stronger...the "youth of today" speak a different language to The Beatles accent of the 1960's and 70's......I speak with a very strong Scouse accent because I am from an area called "The Dingle".....it is an area just south of the city centre.....I have friends in Salford,where the accent is so different to a Manchester accent......but nowadays...everyone under 35 speaks like they are from Salford.....just listen to Liam Gallagher from the 1990's/early 2000's...and listen to him now.....it is an amazing transformation !!.
We have 2 "new towns" ....Runcorn and Skelmersdale which were build in the late 60's/early 70's to house the slum clearances in inner City Liverpool....the young people there have the strongest scouse accents ever.......but have never actually lived in the City !!!....[I know Newcastle and Sunderland have Washington new town as The Captain will confirm]...I have friends from Byker in Newcastle......and they have the strongest Geordie accents I have ever heard...they make Jimmy Nail sound like King Charles !!!!.
Strong regional accents are quite fashionable on TV now.....just listen to certain adverts.....there seems to be less of a stigma nowadays.....because if I had £1 for every time some random stranger has shouted "CALM DOWN,CALM DOWN !!!" at me I would be a millionaire !!!!.
X!
 
Washington New Town is indeed a new[ish] town sort of half way between Toon and Sunderland but whilst they built the New Town it's centre is very much Historical . The Hall was built in the 17th Century but there are parts of it that date from earlier times. Washington Hall is of course the ancestral hall of George Washington's forebearers before they moved to Northamptonshire which hopefully members over the pond will know anyway.
 
captain clutterbuck said:
Washington New Town is indeed a new[ish] town sort of half way between Toon and Sunderland but whilst they built the New Town it's centre is very much Historical . The Hall was built in the 17th Century but there are parts of it that date from earlier times. Washington Hall is of course the ancestral hall of George Washington's forebearers before they moved to Northamptonshire which hopefully members over the pond will know anyway.
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Visited there a couple of years with my Aunt, who lives in Sunderland, it's a beautiful place to visit.
 
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