Hi All

[Bound2Please]

13 hours ago, addicted said:

 I still don't understand why Essex became the butt of denigrating humour

 

 

Carole

CarolE because of f@&%£ng towie, I get asked why I moved away from there. answer in a nutshell sad to say but the Barracks closing in 50's was the start of the downfall of Brentwood. It started with the white stilettos and handbags, dancing round a heap of the handbags on the floor. Since then towie has made it just look a plain stupid place. Painted skin talking like erm, when in fact true Brentwoodians are nothing of the sort. So jokes and tv programs has tarred all Essex people with the same brush and pot.

If you didnt laugh at it CarolE youd cry.

rant over

Charlie

[Poppy]

As a 'once Essex boy' I can happily say in its defence that it's the home to some very pretty traditional sailing craft.  As for the rest of it.....

[MauriceMynah]

I take your point Charlie, but I think Essex jokes predate TOWIE by quite some margin.  To quote from Wikipedia...

 

"Essex girl, as a pejorative stereotype in the United Kingdom, applies to a female viewed as promiscuous and unintelligent, characteristics jocularly attributed to women from Essex. It is applied widely throughout the country and has gained popularity over time, dating from the 1980s and 1990s."

and...

"The stereotypical image formed as a variation of the dumb blonde/bimbo persona, with references to the Estuary English accent, white stiletto heels, mini skirt, silicone-augmented breasts, peroxide blonde hair, over-indulgent use of fake tan (lending an orange appearance), promiscuity, loud verbal vulgarity, and socializing at downmarket nightclubs."

Wikipedia then goes on to quote Time magazine saying...

"In the typology of the British, there is a special place reserved for Essex Girl, a lady from London's eastern suburbs who dresses in white strappy sandals and suntan oil, streaks her hair blond, has a command of Spanish that runs only to the word Ibiza, and perfects an air of tarty prettiness. Victoria Beckham – Posh Spice, as she was – is the acknowledged queen of that realm "

So there you have it! As a genre of humour it is recognised in the USA.

Essex was chosen owing to its proximity to London, otherwise the genre could equally have applied to Norfolk and Great Yarmouth or Suffolk and Lowestoft. Wherever it applies, if it wasn't there, it would have been somewhere else. As for the actual jokes, like any other jokes, some are good, some are not. Most are inane and a few are genuinely offensive. Twas ever thus.

[Malanka]

I remember starting work daaan saarf in 1986, Essex jokes sort of replaced blonde jokes(Fiona is a blonde) . Remember DINK's, bonking, Filofaxes, getting on your bike ( Norman tebbit) stripy shirts and white collars and cuffs. Personal pager devices and the first mobile which looked like a brick. Ahh those were the days. After that I started to work in Harold Hill and then Dagenham. Essex jokes were just as prevelent there as in slough. 

 

Fun times M

[addicted]

Thanks all for the explanations So now I know. Charlie I've never seen towie. I think the whole attitude came about because Essex is East of London. While Brentwood may boast more than it's fair share of doxies it also boasts an excellent school.

 

CarolE

[Bound2Please]

1 minute ago, addicted said:

Thanks all for the explanations So now I know. Charlie I've never seen towie. I think the whole attitude came about because Essex is East of London. While Brentwood may boast more than it's fair share of doxies it also boasts an excellent school.

 

CarolE

I also have never seen it, but seeing what they've done to a historic land mark for the sake of TV should never have been allowed.  I see the changes (for the wiorse) every time i see mum and that regularly. More than one excellent school I might add or it did in my days at school there.

Charlie

[Gracie]

I have watched TOWIE twice and will never go there again, they come across as shallow, common and dumb and that's just the men lol. Then when a cast member leaves they pop up in some game show or other and are introduced as 'celebrities' or 'starts of TOWIE', some of them are making a lot of money off the back of it though, It does shroud Essex in a poor light but it is a lovely place and there are some pretty nice people that hail from there, look at our Charlie and Jean for starters

Most of us are proud of our roots no matter where we come from, I was raised in Sarf London and have friends across the Thames in the East End and lordy what characters they are but salt of the earth and friends for life, you're alright if they like you but Lord help you if they don't

we shouldn't knock anyone's place of birth or where they live, even if it's in Great Yarmouth

Now shuuuuu up and am I bovvered, do I look bovvered? 

Grace

 

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Grace,

After checking out your bovvered meter, I can tell you can not give a monkey's.

As for Towie, its bad enough just having to endure the advert for this cheap program. 

Regards

Alan

 

[Poppy]

37 minutes ago, addicted said:

Thanks all for the explanations So now I know. Charlie I've never seen towie. I think the whole attitude came about because Essex is East of London. While Brentwood may boast more than it's fair share of doxies it also boasts an excellent school.

 

CarolE

So good it produced the likes of Noel Edmonds!

[Bound2Please]

Just now, Poppy said:

So good it produced the likes of Noel Edmonds!

True and dave edmonds and frank lampard and another one the chancellor etc etc lol sad init really

Charlie

[Timbo]

A historians perspective on the 'Essex' character I hope may bolster the Essex pride. The 'idea' that Essex women have loose morals and the general population have pretensions above their social station is actually a little bit of medieval propaganda that has taken a considerable time to come to fruition.

We are talking the Peasant's Revolt of 1381 here...the original flash point being Essex. The medieval definition of 'peasant' is somewhat different to our modern one. For example peasants included bakers, tradesmen and even wealthy merchants.

The Peasants Revolt kicked off when one John Bampton arrived in Brentford to investigate alleged non payment of poll tax. The process of this investigation included extrememly intimate searches of the person of the womenfolk. In the village of Fobbing he came across one Thomas Baker who was having none of it and told Bampton they had paid their contribution, no more would be forthcoming and attacks upon women would not be tolerated. Bampton high tailed it to London in the face of the anger leaving his clerks and some townsfolk of Brentford who had agreed to act as jurors behind. His Clerks and jurors were killed by the principled people of Fobbing and surrounding villages.

After the almost nationwide revolt had been put down the propaganda machine went into action. Royal soldiers, clerks and jurors can't possibly have sexually assaulted women in Essex...they must have had loose morals to begin with. Tradesmen and merchants demanding to meet with the king...ideas above their station. Ever heard of 'fobbing' someone off? Of course the mere peasants of Fobbing owed us money they were making excuses not to pay, after all we are the nobility etc.

So men and women of Brentford...you stood up to the tyranny of the feudal system, you started a revolt that spread like wildfire in a matter of days through Kent, Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire you stormed the city of London, breached the defences of the Kingdom's strongest castle and made the nobility tremble. Be proud.

[Poppy]

The only valuable 'claim to fame' which Brentwood can reasonably make is that Paul Simon lived there once - and penned 'Homeward Bound' whilst waiting for a train back there at a station in Widnes. Not sure which was the better choice.....

http://thejoyofessex.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/oh-i-wish-i-was-brentwood-bound.html

[Bound2Please]

14 minutes ago, Poppy said:

The only valuable 'claim to fame' which Brentwood can reasonably make is that Paul Simon lived there once - and penned 'Homeward Bound' whilst waiting for a train back there at a station in Widnes. Not sure which was the better choice.....

http://thejoyofessex.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/oh-i-wish-i-was-brentwood-bound.html

Actually Pops Paul Simon was a near neighbour in his Brentwood days, him and the girl Chitty were inseparable. It was I believe crewe station while waiting for a train back to his beloved Kathy Chitock that he penned homeward bound. He played in all the local folk clubs of 60's Brentwood.

Charlie

[Timbo]

There's a plaque and everything Charlie. 

[Bound2Please]

1 hour ago, Timbo said:

There's a plaque and everything Charlie. 

Ok Tim but im going on what he said at the time, when he lodged in Crescent Road in Brentwood. He was just a yankee hippy type in those days. There are lots of myths about him still in brentwood mind.

Charlie

[JennyMorgan]

12 hours ago, Poppy said:

As a 'once Essex boy' I can happily say in its defence that it's the home to some very pretty traditional sailing craft.  As for the rest of it.....

Poppy, so you are an Essex boy then, that explains so much! You can take the boy out of Essex but can you take Essex out of the boy?

[JennyMorgan]

And there was me thinking that Towie and Eastenders are true to life!

The original Essex Girl joke-book was printed in Lowestoft, under duress. The proprietor of the print works claimed that his business was that of a Christian Book Printer and having contracted to print the joke book he tried to pull out, being somewhat put out by the book's content. He was held to contract.