"Boing", said Zebedee

The first place we stopped in the Midlands, actually just outside Redditch, was the hotel we stayed at for Rupert's wedding and in chatting with the lady receptionist I was immediately hit by the accent.  To the outsider (like myself) all Midlanders talk with a Birmingham or Brummy accent.  Its sort of flat and nasal and doesn't have much of the up and down sibilants that make it easy to understand and follow what is being said.

More than that though, it reminded me of a children's show that was very popular in the 1960's and 1970's that aired just before the 6 o'clock news called the Magic Roundabout.  This was one of the first children's series that was written, billiiantly I may add, to appeal both to children and to grown ups because of the sub-texts written into the script.

I read only last night on Wikipedia that this all came about because the BBC were too cheap to buy the storyline from the French creators of the show, so they hired someone to write an all new one.

Why Birmingham though, you ask?  Well one of the characters to my mind -- a snail called Brian -- was portrayed as a little less complex a character -- alright then, a country bumpkin if you really want to know -- and he had a Brummy accent.

Or so I thought at the time for as I'd not been to Birmingham, I thought that was what they sounded like.  But he actually doesn't.  Take a look at this You Tube link and see for yourself.

However a comedian I liked very much named Jasper Carrott did.  And he did a very funny rendition of the Magic Roundabout that I will also share.

What does this have to do with anything?  Well, not much actually but we did drive through the centre of Birmingham a couple of days ago to find the Cadbury Factory in Bournville (an essential for all chocaholics incidentally), and I was taken with the place and the accents!