Thanks Maureen and yes, something I’ve enjoyed since moving back to the northeast is being surrounded by that rich vernacular - purely belter as we say up here or doubleplusgood as Orwell would have offered in Newspeak 😉
Hi Harry, I was taught this song by my Geordie dad and sang it a lot as a girl with him and my sisters. I enjoyed reading your article. I had no idea of the background of the song. Thank you.
Yes, it’s the richness, and the phrases like purely belter. Has your accent become more Geordie since your return, do you think ? Or maybe just when you speak to other Geordies and not when you meet up with family?
Hi Maureen - sorry missed this. My accent has always 'thickened' whenever I spoke in the past to other Geordies. It just happens naturally as if flicking a aural switch. And now I'm back in the north not only has the accent thickened I'm using the phrasing too. ie 'you'll get wrong' instead of 'you'll be told off' , 'me' for 'my' and the introduction of 'man' as in 'why aye man' etc
It’s lovely that it has always been a part of you and has come into its own again. Mine is very boring, probably typical St Albans, a city you know well. I lived in the UAE for six years over thirty years ago and English was usually spoken with an American accent. When I returned, for quite a while I used to pronounce a couple of words in an American way, although with an English accent.
Sarah's parents moved from Barnet to the little village of Chipperfield in Herts and that's where she was born and raised. And yes it's a small world at times!
One of my two best friends at school in St.Albans lived in Chipperfield ! But I suppose England is a small place, and one connection leads to another. I also got married in St.Albans and had my wedding breakfast there. I think I should stop now, before I find another coincidence !
I'm not alone, all exile Geordies I know automatically slip back into the accent whenever 'home'. Yes, I do know St Albans very well from my years in the south. My first visit was in 1975 and the last time I was there was around three years ago to speak at the wedding of some dear friends. And in between there were countless visits. Even worked out of an office there very briefly in the 1990s.
I always think the Brummie accent makes it appear the people there are sad and downhearted! Small world re Barnet. Sarah's father's family all hailed from there and going back to St Albans - Sarah and I had our first proper 'date' there and also our wedding breakfast back in 2005.
I always liked Barnet, although on recent visits, I’ve noticed it looks rather run down, unfortunately, but that has happened to so many places in recent years. Is Sarah a Barnet girl ? Yes, it is a small world ! When I was in the UAE I met an American woman at a coffee morning. Her best friends at an international bank just happened to be the English couple I had rented a house from many years before in Orpington, Kent !
Thanks for more on Ridley, Harry. I really enjoyed reading this article. Thank you for the “translations” to better understand the song and also for the historical references of the time. Isn’t it wonderful that regional accents persist, in spite of how we are all so much more ‘connected’ today.
Thanks Maureen - I can't see Geordie ever fading away and as I write this the prize giving at this year's Blaydon Races road race is just over. Twenty five people took part in the first one in 1982, 5000 people took part this year (that's the maximum that can run because of H&S)
It's the Geordie vernacular that people of the northeast of England still speak today Connie - a very distinctive accent in England unlike the pronunciation that many outside these islands would recognise, with many words dating back over a thousand years. Not sure if you've read this that might help give you an insight into the region ...
It's unlikely Ridley went to school given he began working in the coal mine aged eight so no one knows how he learnt to read and write although it's suspected he was self taught.
Thanks Maureen and yes, something I’ve enjoyed since moving back to the northeast is being surrounded by that rich vernacular - purely belter as we say up here or doubleplusgood as Orwell would have offered in Newspeak 😉
Hi Harry, I was taught this song by my Geordie dad and sang it a lot as a girl with him and my sisters. I enjoyed reading your article. I had no idea of the background of the song. Thank you.
Pleasure Charlotte - hope it brought back some fond memories
Great meeting you today in the half moon. Tam and I are meeting there at 1030 next year. I hope you can join us.
Much enjoyed it too Kevin and it's in the diary! 👍🍺
So very interesting, thanks, Harry.
Yes, it’s the richness, and the phrases like purely belter. Has your accent become more Geordie since your return, do you think ? Or maybe just when you speak to other Geordies and not when you meet up with family?
Hi Maureen - sorry missed this. My accent has always 'thickened' whenever I spoke in the past to other Geordies. It just happens naturally as if flicking a aural switch. And now I'm back in the north not only has the accent thickened I'm using the phrasing too. ie 'you'll get wrong' instead of 'you'll be told off' , 'me' for 'my' and the introduction of 'man' as in 'why aye man' etc
It’s lovely that it has always been a part of you and has come into its own again. Mine is very boring, probably typical St Albans, a city you know well. I lived in the UAE for six years over thirty years ago and English was usually spoken with an American accent. When I returned, for quite a while I used to pronounce a couple of words in an American way, although with an English accent.
Sarah's parents moved from Barnet to the little village of Chipperfield in Herts and that's where she was born and raised. And yes it's a small world at times!
One of my two best friends at school in St.Albans lived in Chipperfield ! But I suppose England is a small place, and one connection leads to another. I also got married in St.Albans and had my wedding breakfast there. I think I should stop now, before I find another coincidence !
Indeed Maureen.... 😊
I'm not alone, all exile Geordies I know automatically slip back into the accent whenever 'home'. Yes, I do know St Albans very well from my years in the south. My first visit was in 1975 and the last time I was there was around three years ago to speak at the wedding of some dear friends. And in between there were countless visits. Even worked out of an office there very briefly in the 1990s.
I haven’t lived there for a very long time, but lived not far away, in Barnet, from 1991 to 2015. Now in Birmingham.
I always think the Brummie accent makes it appear the people there are sad and downhearted! Small world re Barnet. Sarah's father's family all hailed from there and going back to St Albans - Sarah and I had our first proper 'date' there and also our wedding breakfast back in 2005.
I always liked Barnet, although on recent visits, I’ve noticed it looks rather run down, unfortunately, but that has happened to so many places in recent years. Is Sarah a Barnet girl ? Yes, it is a small world ! When I was in the UAE I met an American woman at a coffee morning. Her best friends at an international bank just happened to be the English couple I had rented a house from many years before in Orpington, Kent !
Thanks for more on Ridley, Harry. I really enjoyed reading this article. Thank you for the “translations” to better understand the song and also for the historical references of the time. Isn’t it wonderful that regional accents persist, in spite of how we are all so much more ‘connected’ today.
Thanks Maureen - I can't see Geordie ever fading away and as I write this the prize giving at this year's Blaydon Races road race is just over. Twenty five people took part in the first one in 1982, 5000 people took part this year (that's the maximum that can run because of H&S)
Wonderful that it continues to this day.
Interesting language (wording, spelling) I assume Ridley didn't go to school?
It's the Geordie vernacular that people of the northeast of England still speak today Connie - a very distinctive accent in England unlike the pronunciation that many outside these islands would recognise, with many words dating back over a thousand years. Not sure if you've read this that might help give you an insight into the region ...
https://open.substack.com/pub/harrywatson/p/larn-yersel-geordie?r=1v4z4o&utm_medium=ios
It's unlikely Ridley went to school given he began working in the coal mine aged eight so no one knows how he learnt to read and write although it's suspected he was self taught.