Sunday 30 December 2012

Tongues of fire from a Welsh dragon


Every now and then, the front page of our local rag, 'The Bath Chronicle', is a real gem. This week it was about a man who had a stroke, then woke up to find that he could speak fluent Welsh.

In the past when I have heard about this phenomena, the stroke-victim has spoken with a strong accent - like the man who suddenly became Italian overnight - but cannot speak the actual language. This man seems to have somehow acquired enough Welsh to be able to hold conversations with real Welsh people - something that many people who were born in Wales cannot do.

Luckily, he can still speak English, so he does not have to move to the Valleys to express himself.

In other news...

Last night I started to watch a DVD box set of a TV comedy show which is popular right now, called 'Nighty Night'. It is wall to wall bad taste, but it's prime interest for me is that is written by and stars a comedian called Julia Davis.

Julia used to be a barmaid in my local, and I remember her going off to do the Edinburgh Fringe when she started out in showbiz. Looks like she's made it. She is not the only one of our barmaids to have her own TV show - Tooni Mahto does that underwater documentary series about oceans, and the last time I saw her (she now lives in Australia, but her parents still live in Bath) she was shooting another series, but this time in the cold and murky waters off the British coast. When she left our pub, she went off to do a course in Marine Biology. I don't know how she broke into TV, but she is pretty good at it, and looks nice too, which is a bonus.

So I sit in the pub with an empty glass before me, waiting for the next generation of media stars to notice me as I try to order another pint...

9 comments:

  1. Oh, and did I tell you that I was once served tea by Dame Helen Mirren when she was a waitress in a Bath cafe (yawn...)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I LOVE Julia Davis and 'Nighty Night' was one of my favourites ........ even better was the series 'Human Remains' ( Julia Davis and Rob Brydon). More recently, she was in 'Bad Sugar' and wrote and starred in 'Hunderby' both really dark, odd, twisted and funny.
    Lovely name dropping Tom ........ I could do the same but I won't !!
    Lechyd da !! XXXX

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh go on, Jack@ - let a little of their magic rub off on you. They've got plenty to spare. I didn't realise how busy she has been.

      Delete
  3. Don't go and get all moribund into your pint Tom just because it is New Year - you never know - fame might be just around the corner. Happy New Year to you and H I

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not moribund - it's just that our pub is famous for employing bar staff who tend to ignore you if you don't shout for attention, but if you do, they ignore you even more. As for fame, I have always been a late developer. Happy New Year to you too, Weave - enjoy your party.

      Delete
  4. I hope you don't have to PAY to get into your local tonight; I believe it's becoming common practice on New Year's Eve.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You certainly do, and I certainly won't. £22.50 per visit. I would pay that NOT to have beer spilt over me by strangers.

      Delete
  5. The hubby and I always stay home on New Year's Eve, it's called Amateur night in Wisconsin.
    Prime rib, a nice fire and a comedy are on the agenda instead of a cold night out spending money and fighting for a place to sit or stand while our feet stick to the floor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes - we have amateur drinkers here as well as amateur betters on horse races - the Grand National.

      Delete