I live on the border of Sandwell and Birmingham, and people here are very sensitive about ‘the Brummies’ coming in and stealing their homes, jobs and women. I’ve lived in Sandwell for nearly 30 years and I’m still regarded as a visitor from what they describe as ‘over there’ with a nod in the direction of the City. With the possible exception of ‘cockneys’ (who are defined strictly as anybody south of Coventry) there is no-one the people of Sandwell trust less than ‘the Brummies’…. although a special loathing is reserved for the ‘dingles’ from Wolverhampton.
They used to say that if you saw a bloke in a factory doing nothing, he was probably from Walsall. If you saw a bloke in the factory with his hands in his pockets, he was from Wolverhampton, but if he had his hands in someone else’s pockets…. then he was a brummie.
Anyway, on 20th July, as with the rest of the year, I’ll be talking proper. The rest of you will have to practice.
Hat tip to Tom.
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Bob, it sounds like a form of racism to me!
I hope you are ashamed of using such negative stereotypes!
You might also mention that there’s nothing we (meaning Black Country folk, not just Sandwellians) loathe more than being called or referred to as ‘Brummies’.
There was an occasion back in the 80s when Thatch decided to grace us with her presence – IIRC is had to do with the Merry Hill development and she was up to glad hand the Richardsons – where she made a speech that was greeted throughout with stony silence by the majority of her audience, much to the complete confusion of her press minders.
Only afterwards did they realise that ‘I’m delighted to be here in Birmingham’ is the worst possible opening gambit one could try when giving a speech in Brierley Hill.
Did you know that Marx was a Count? Comes across a bit rude in broad Brummie as I recall. Also a joke about “me meat’s fallen in the cut” which has police searching the canal for hours for the boy’s mate when all he’s lost is the filling from his sandwich.
Aren’t you from up norf?
And I thought you just talked BULL Mr Piper.
Chris…. the ‘meat-mate’ bit is definitely black country, brummies call their mates ‘oppoes’.
Brummie, it depends how far north you think Kingstanding is I suppose.
Snafu… parochialism, I think, not racism.
As a Yorkshireman in exile, I’m told I already speak like a Brummie when I’m oop north. When I’m here I speak like a northener. I’m just looking forward to Yorkshire day, so I can celebrate some real heritage…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire_Day
A good thing ’bout coming from sarf Londin like wot I do is that we’ve bin learnt to talk proper an wiv no axint…
As far as I know, there is only one resident of Bearwod that was actually born within the sound of Bow Bells. Sadly they were out of commission at the time due to enemy action a few years before. Being a Cockney is nuffink to do wiv being sarf of Coventry.
And they accuse us Welsh of being tribal and looking down on any other accent.
Me I’am bilingual, I speak English and perfik Sarf Lundun.
GW