What Are You Giving Up For Lent?

[Magere Hein 1,400]

Work.

 

And not just for Lent either.

 

Oh yeah, I've tried this but it's not that much fun. There's just not enough people to piss off in a home office but it's been nice to give up answering the phone, door, wife etc. I've taken to photographing ladybirds.

 

Very relaxing, I've been told, for the ladybirds too.

 

regards,

Hein

[Spade_Cooley 9,515]

Only middle class kids watched Blue Peter.

[time 8,597]

Only middle class kids watched Blue Peter.

 

Not when I was a kid they didn't. (By which, I mean working class kids did too).

[Lard Bazaar 3,799]

I'm giving up fuck all. So there.

[Godot 149]

Only middle class kids watched Blue Peter.

 

Spade that's bollocks.

[Godot 149]

I've given up being nice for Lent.

[Spade_Cooley 9,515]

Only middle class kids watched Blue Peter.

 

Spade that's bollocks.

 

You know it's true. It's the CITV/CBBC divide. It's not a coincidence that New Labour's destruction of traditional values of working class values coincides with the death of CITV.

[Red Flag 84]

I would agree with that, aside from ChuckleVision, which my middle class parents were never keen on as well (although I always enjoyed it). Having said that, CITV's programmes for young kids was always slightly better when I was growing up - Thomas the Tank Engine, Tots TV, The Riddlers etc (should give you a rough date as to how old I am)

 

Kids TV is rubbish these days [/rosetintedspecs]

[time 8,597]

Only middle class kids watched Blue Peter.

 

Spade that's bollocks.

 

You know it's true. It's the CITV/CBBC divide. It's not a coincidence that New Labour's destruction of traditional values of working class values coincides with the death of CITV.

 

Just to define the terms of reference, which era are you talking about? I was a working class kid of the 60s/early 70s and watched Blue peter until Jenny Hanley proved a greater attraction on Magpie.

[Spade_Cooley 9,515]

Just to define the terms of reference, which era are you talking about? I was a working class kid of the 60s/early 70s and watched Blue peter until Jenny Hanley proved a greater attraction on Magpie.

 

You see, that's what I've based my heavily-researched thesis on. From my understanding back in those days there was a clear class divide when it came to Blue Peter/Magp (and, I won't lie, I only vaguely understand what Magpie was, something to do with talk radio nutjob Tommy Boyd right?). And in my youthful days of the late 80s/early 90s, CBBC seemed a lot... worthier. CITV was all bright colours and people being splatted with cream pies and Knightmare with that beardy dude haunting my darkest dreams for the next two decades as he cackled over graphics of the children competing's faces turning to skulls and Julia Sawahalahala being a solid 7 on Press Gang. CBBC was just, like, lots of TV shows that had the faint aroma of Enid Blyton around them. And The Movie Game,which is as an obscure a reference as you'll ever see on this website.

 

In the process of researching this answer (read: trying to remember what The Movie Game was called), I found out that the 1980 series of Screen Test was won by Jan Pinkava, director of Ratatouille.

[Guest Wax Beans]

For Lent this year it has been suggested I forgo my daily portion of wax beans. Seems a trifle brutal to ask such a sacrifice.

[Paul Bearer 6,101]

For Lent this year it has been suggested I forgo my daily portion of wax beans. Seems a trifle brutal to ask such a sacrifice.

 

Why not just give up posting utter shite on websites?

[time 8,597]

Just to define the terms of reference, which era are you talking about? I was a working class kid of the 60s/early 70s and watched Blue peter until Jenny Hanley proved a greater attraction on Magpie.

 

You see, that's what I've based my heavily-researched thesis on. From my understanding back in those days there was a clear class divide when it came to Blue Peter/Magp (and, I won't lie, I only vaguely understand what Magpie was, something to do with talk radio nutjob Tommy Boyd right?). And in my youthful days of the late 80s/early 90s, CBBC seemed a lot... worthier. CITV was all bright colours and people being splatted with cream pies and Knightmare with that beardy dude haunting my darkest dreams for the next two decades as he cackled over graphics of the children competing's faces turning to skulls and Julia Sawahalahala being a solid 7 on Press Gang. CBBC was just, like, lots of TV shows that had the faint aroma of Enid Blyton around them. And The Movie Game,which is as an obscure a reference as you'll ever see on this website.

 

In the process of researching this answer (read: trying to remember what The Movie Game was called), I found out that the 1980 series of Screen Test was won by Jan Pinkava, director of Ratatouille.

 

There must have been a shift around the late 70's early 80's; as a kid, my Grandparents (upper-working class) never watched BBC. It was always an effort to get them to put Dr Who (Hartnell/Troughton vintage) on if we happened to be visiting Saturday tea-time.

 

At home, viewing was split between BBC and ITV. BBC - Jaqckanory, Blue Peter, Magic Roundabout, Crackerjack; ITV, Thunderbirds, Stingray, Tomorrow People, Lift Off with Ayshea (at least an 8, possibly 9) and the aforementioned Magpie.

[Toast 16,133]

At home, viewing was split between BBC and ITV. BBC - Jaqckanory, Blue Peter, Magic Roundabout, Crackerjack; ITV, Thunderbirds, Stingray, Tomorrow People, Lift Off with Ayshea (at least an 8, possibly 9) and the aforementioned Magpie.

 

Crackerjack!

[Godot 149]

OK Spade not complete bollocks but far too simplistic. I come from as working class a background as it's possible to get but I wouldn't have been surprised to find that my parents voted conservative - they never told me and I never asked. They had values, I suppose, that were more aligned to the BBC than ITV - and so do I. I couldn't warm to Magpie, but I couldn't relate much to people like Christopher Trace or Valerie Singleton either. But John Noaks, well he was very down to earth and working class. It's not just a class thing but a bit of a north-south thing too. The middle class is very strong down south but in the north in my town when I was a kid there weren't many middle class people so there were no Jonses to keep up with or to suggest what TV station to watch. The BBC just seemed better and didn't have any adverts. But when the other side did something decent such as Coronation Street, we watched it. The thing is, nearly all the best stuff was on BBC. ITV had Tommy Cooper, Benny Hill and World In Action and that was about it. Another thing - middle class very definitely didn't mean better as James Cameron pointed out when he showed all the Irish having a great time down in third class on Titanic - until it sunk and they all died. There's a lot to be said for the working class. It needs to be revived.

[Josco 49]

...... Another thing - middle class very definitely didn't mean better as James Cameron pointed out when he showed all the Irish having a great time down in third class on Titanic - until it sunk and they all died. There's a lot to be said for the working class. It needs to be revived.

 

I don't think it's the class divisions that needs reviving, it's having a good time whichever class you're in. People are generally far too miserable these days, alcohol has become the new demon (they've got rid of smoking almost); beer in my local has gone up to 3 guineas a pint. Holy shit! It was 2/6 (about 12p) when I first started going to a pub.....

[Godot 149]

...... Another thing - middle class very definitely didn't mean better as James Cameron pointed out when he showed all the Irish having a great time down in third class on Titanic - until it sunk and they all died. There's a lot to be said for the working class. It needs to be revived.

 

I don't think it's the class divisions that needs reviving, it's having a good time whichever class you're in. People are generally far too miserable these days, alcohol has become the new demon (they've got rid of smoking almost); beer in my local has gone up to 3 guineas a pint. Holy shit! It was 2/6 (about 12p) when I first started going to a pub.....

 

Half a crown? You wuz robbed. A pint of Younger's Tartan was 1/6 when I first started, mind it was like dish water. You could drink that stuff all night and still pass a breath test.

[Toast 16,133]

Half-a-crown, now that's what I call a proper coin. I found one in a drawer the other day. Beautiful thing.

[Paul Bearer 6,101]

I was at Warwick castle at the weekend. They had various pre decimal coins in a plastic envelope, there was a florin, threepenny bit, tanner, penny, ha'penny, farthing, half a crown, a shilling all for £10.00. I seriously did think about buying one.

[Guest w]

I believe that I shall give up Devonshire clotted cream. Not a big loss really, as I've never had it.

[Spade_Cooley 9,515]

OK Spade not complete bollocks but far too simplistic. I come from as working class a background as it's possible to get but I wouldn't have been surprised to find that my parents voted conservative - they never told me and I never asked. They had values, I suppose, that were more aligned to the BBC than ITV - and so do I. I couldn't warm to Magpie, but I couldn't relate much to people like Christopher Trace or Valerie Singleton either. But John Noaks, well he was very down to earth and working class. It's not just a class thing but a bit of a north-south thing too. The middle class is very strong down south but in the north in my town when I was a kid there weren't many middle class people so there were no Jonses to keep up with or to suggest what TV station to watch. The BBC just seemed better and didn't have any adverts. But when the other side did something decent such as Coronation Street, we watched it. The thing is, nearly all the best stuff was on BBC. ITV had Tommy Cooper, Benny Hill and World In Action and that was about it. Another thing - middle class very definitely didn't mean better as James Cameron pointed out when he showed all the Irish having a great time down in third class on Titanic - until it sunk and they all died. There's a lot to be said for the working class. It needs to be revived.

 

I think maybe my views are a little clouded perhaps because I grew up a) during Thatcherism and in an immigrant family, so maybe I'm too eager to over-simplify. Indeed, ITV was always bigger with immigrant audiences because it used to look like a foreign TV channel. every night being variety show night. Also, immigrants loved "Mind Your Language". I've watched that show on YouTube, I'm really glad that Barry Evans died alone and broke.

 

The traditional working class of this country doesn't exist anymore tbh, the right destroyed the unions and the left destroyed the churches. So outside of Islamic Fundamentalism (which is becoming increasingly middle class, you seen how much a return to Islamabad to train costs these days?) and the EDL, there's no real massed gatherings of the working man these days. Which is a shame, but I can't imagine there's anything we can do on a message board dedicated to zinging corpses that'll help revive the proleteriat.

 

Feel like deadpooling is working class anyway, there's a sense of a lack of respect or a refusal to bow to authority inherent in it.

[themaninblack 2,112]

I kind of lean on Spade's side in this debate. It reminds me of a magnificent debate I had at University with my best mate's girlfriend on this very subject of what's working class and what's middle class and I'm pretty sure that Blue Peter and The Muppets were mentioned as admissible evidence (We also once had a debate about whether to call vaginas flaps or slits - you can't beat a good education!).

 

Lots of WC people watch BP but it was made for the middle classes, undoubtedly.

 

The BBC have been better but ITV had their moments too (Shelley, The Sweeney, Minder, Widows, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Kenny Everett's Video Show, Brideshead Revisited, Rising Damp) and in CITV terms too (Knightmare, Dramarama, Worzel Gummidge, Dangermouse, Fat Tulip's Garden, Educating Marmalade, Tiswas).

 

TV was pretty good in those days. I actually don't like these dedicated children's channels because I think modern parents pander to children by having those channels on all the time and don't show them the real world enough. To me the 1980s which I grew up in really was much about IRA bombing campaigns, mass unemployment and the USSR than it was about Zammo and Rowland. Not to mention alternative comedy and wall-to-wall snooker...

[Spade_Cooley 9,515]

Prodigious DL fan Melvyn Bragg wades into the debate.

[time 8,597]

I kind of lean on Spade's side in this debate. It reminds me of a magnificent debate I had at University with my best mate's girlfriend on this very subject of what's working class and what's middle class and I'm pretty sure that Blue Peter and The Muppets were mentioned as admissible evidence (We also once had a debate about whether to call vaginas flaps or slits - you can't beat a good education!).

 

Lots of WC people watch BP but it was made for the middle classes, undoubtedly.

 

The BBC have been better but ITV had their moments too (Shelley, The Sweeney, Minder, Widows, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Kenny Everett's Video Show, Brideshead Revisited, Rising Damp) and in CITV terms too (Knightmare, Dramarama, Worzel Gummidge, Dangermouse, Fat Tulip's Garden, Educating Marmalade, Tiswas).

 

TV was pretty good in those days. I actually don't like these dedicated children's channels because I think modern parents pander to children by having those channels on all the time and don't show them the real world enough. To me the 1980s which I grew up in really was much about IRA bombing campaigns, mass unemployment and the USSR than it was about Zammo and Rowland. Not to mention alternative comedy and wall-to-wall snooker...

 

Of course TV was much better 20+ years ago - there were only 4 channels - at most - to choose from (and I'm not sure Channel 4 had children's programmes). Now, there are so many channels the quality is spread far too thin, including far more dedicated children's programming.

 

I'm also of the opinion that its far too much aiming for the lowest common denominator.

[Spade_Cooley 9,515]

I will stand up for a lot of lowest common denominator TV, but the truth is Britain does LCD really, really poorly. No British reality show has ever come close to the schadenfreude excellence of My Super Sweet 16, the catty bitchiness of Next, or the improv effortlessness of the first few series of Jersey Shor. All three shows are as dumb as a box of nails/Andy "The Hammer" Hamilton, but they have an effortless entertainment about them. What are the... not even great, acceptable British trash TV shows? Take Me Out is key as a guilty pleasure, Snog Marry Avoid has its moments but other than that... there's probably not been a key British reality show since George Galloway was pretending to be a cat.