A COCKNEYS LOT (Chapter One)

Comments6

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  Michael Edwards March 7th, 2017 01:13

  A word of explanation for those of you not in the know.A cockney is (or was) someone born in the East End of London traditionally within the sound of Bow Bells. They were members of the indigenous race but with changing demographics they are very much a dying breed. To preserve exclusivity they invented a language of thier own known as rhyming slang.
  
  Most were of two words long but many were shortened to just one word as in jimmy in this poem. Many of the expressions survive to this day and although I am not a cockney I was born and raised in London and was familiar with them mainly learning from my father who was born near the near East End and used them regularly.

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  Goldfinch60 March 7th, 2017 01:23

  Understood every word, I come from the souf east where we speak proper.

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    Michael EdwardsMarch 7th, 2017 01:40

    Well dun me ole geezer. Anyway I'm puttin' on me daisies an' orf darn the frog soon to do some paintin'.

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    Goldfinch60March 7th, 2017 02:14

    Watch out for the jam jars as you bowl darn the frog me ould mucker.

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    Michael EdwardsMarch 7th, 2017 03:05

    Not so much the jam jars where I live in the sticks - its the 'orses tom tit in the bread and butter that's the problem.
    Just remembered - isn't a horse a Charing Crawse (Cross) ?

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  WriteBeLight March 7th, 2017 04:19

  I absolutely love the language. Great work Michael. Sculpture is wonderful, as well.

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    Michael EdwardsMarch 7th, 2017 11:19

    Thanks WBL - a lot of the terms are now adopted across the country. You will often hear people saying 'Lets have a butchers' when they want to see something or 'just off for a jimmy' or 'its a bit of a two and eight' - this last one derives from our currency before it was decimalised ie two shillings and eight pence.

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    WriteBeLightMarch 7th, 2017 11:57

    Ah. I see. Very educational. Very cool or great! 😉
    
    

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  willyweed March 7th, 2017 12:41

  we have the same thing here as far as telling where a person is from northeast, south, south west or north, so watts the problum overher' you from tha Bronx or somem' fa git abut it. how ya doin'

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    Michael EdwardsMarch 7th, 2017 14:03

    We're not so different are we. Just as all Americans sound the same to us Brits I expect all Brits sound the same to Americans. It's down to the practised ear - now there's a great title for another poem. Where's that blasted pencil?

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    willyweedMarch 7th, 2017 14:10

    are you from far or near... fairly close or so I hear? yeah you may have one?

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  MendedFences27 March 7th, 2017 17:35

  Wicked awesome Michael. Just more slang from the Boston locale. Within the sound of Beau Bells. I've heard from a friend. is the true Cockney. It's hard to imagine a rapid exchange in this dialect, but Londoners due tend to speak quickly. Getting up in the morning and using the language of the Cockney would tire me out such that would have to return to bed. A very humorous poem, fun to read and translate.- Phil A.

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    Michael EdwardsMarch 8th, 2017 00:02

    Thanks Phil - yes the Cockneys do speak at quite a rate of knots but as I said somewhere above, they are something of a dying breed. I go back to the East end of London quite regularly and travelling on a good old red London bus I am often the only white face and not a true cockney in sight. I'm not making the point out of any sense of prejudice - just to demonstrate the change over my own lifetime in the demographics.

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  Augustus March 7th, 2017 17:39

  Thanks for the lesson, humor and a glimpse at your sculpture.

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    Michael EdwardsMarch 8th, 2017 00:06

    Thanks Augustus and so glad you enjoyed it. It would be great if others posted poetry reflecting a bit more of culture as we have a diverse set of contributors - thanks again.