During Saturday evenings post match drink in the Strawberry, I suddenly became all nostalgic for 1970’s children’s tv; with flashbacks coming thick and fast. Was I cracking up; was my brain turning into a fuzzy haze brought on by a mixture of euphoria and emotion and fuelled by lager and victory over the so-called mighty Arsenal; the only true contenders to challenge Guardiola’s sky blues, simply because their manager was a 'Guardiola apprentice' only a short few years ago.
But back to those flashbacks that were landing on the year 1977 and in particular focussing for some reason on the Just William tv series; based on the Books of the same name by author Richmal Crompton and particularly William’s neighbour Violet Elizabeth Bott who lived next door, played by Bonnie Langford.
Odd you may say but bear with me!
Why? Because said character Violet Elizabeth had a catchphrase that she repeated almost every time she appeared on screen and the cause of the flashback was because I’m sure I had just heard said catchphrase being uttered for the first time in 46 years, and live on a tv screen, in a pub on Tyneside on a Saturday night, immediately after a win for Newcastle Utd had taken the team up to sixth place in the premier league.
I looked around. Some of my fellow pub dwellers were screaming at the TV, some were cursing, others laughing while expletives echoed the crowded room. yet none were showing signs of flashbacks as far as I could tell!
I looked up and there on the tv screen above the pinball machine was a part tearful, part angry Mikel Arteta, manager of Arsenal; hardly someone I thought would be a follower of a 1970’s kids series aimed solely at the UK market; nor an avid reader of Richmal Crompton.
But there he was doing a fine impersonation of Violet Elizabeth, (all be it in Spanglish) paying tribute to Bonnie AND doing it in full-on Violet Elizabeth modes I swear he shouted at the interviewer ‘I’ll scream and scream ‘til I’m sick!’when asked how he felt about losing 1:0 to Eddie Howe's Newcastle Utd. I’m sure he said it; in fact I’m certain of it!
As a character Violet Elizabeth was meant to be unbearable; and she was. And as the tears built up and the anger grew so was Mr Arteta; indulging in a full-on Violet Elizabeth temper tantrum. and his was that of an unbearable sour faced self-entitled football manager; not a 10 year old girl. A grown man disengaged from reality in full on meltdown simply because a team of highly paid professional footballers under his charge had failed to cope with the pace, power, and guile of Eddie Howe’s upstarts.
A team who managed only one shot on target all game.
A team that tried the roughhouse treatment and came off second best in all departments.
A team who went down to the only goal of the game in the 64th minute.
A team whose goalkeeper failed twice, to clear crosses into the box and who’s stumbling centreback went down from the most minimum of contact without clearing the ball from two yards out after none of his teammates bothered to track across to cut out any threat from their former teammate Joe Willock, who chased a lost cause and came up trumps, retrieving the ball from going out for a goal kick and placing a fine cross unopposed into to the six yard box.
That team was Arteta’s team; or was it Violet Elizabeth’s team. Either way, they and he got what they deserved. Now’t.
Howe by contrast when he appeared on screen was beaming. Smiling like the proverbial Cheshire cat. Perhaps he by-passed Richmal Crompton at school and simply stuck to Lewis Carroll!
But back to those flashbacks that were landing on the year 1977 and in particular focussing for some reason on the Just William tv series; based on the Books of the same name by author Richmal Crompton and particularly William’s neighbour Violet Elizabeth Bott who lived next door, played by Bonnie Langford.
Odd you may say but bear with me!
Why? Because said character Violet Elizabeth had a catchphrase that she repeated almost every time she appeared on screen and the cause of the flashback was because I’m sure I had just heard said catchphrase being uttered for the first time in 46 years, and live on a tv screen, in a pub on Tyneside on a Saturday night, immediately after a win for Newcastle Utd had taken the team up to sixth place in the premier league.
I looked around. Some of my fellow pub dwellers were screaming at the TV, some were cursing, others laughing while expletives echoed the crowded room. yet none were showing signs of flashbacks as far as I could tell!
I looked up and there on the tv screen above the pinball machine was a part tearful, part angry Mikel Arteta, manager of Arsenal; hardly someone I thought would be a follower of a 1970’s kids series aimed solely at the UK market; nor an avid reader of Richmal Crompton.
But there he was doing a fine impersonation of Violet Elizabeth, (all be it in Spanglish) paying tribute to Bonnie AND doing it in full-on Violet Elizabeth modes I swear he shouted at the interviewer ‘I’ll scream and scream ‘til I’m sick!’when asked how he felt about losing 1:0 to Eddie Howe's Newcastle Utd. I’m sure he said it; in fact I’m certain of it!
As a character Violet Elizabeth was meant to be unbearable; and she was. And as the tears built up and the anger grew so was Mr Arteta; indulging in a full-on Violet Elizabeth temper tantrum. and his was that of an unbearable sour faced self-entitled football manager; not a 10 year old girl. A grown man disengaged from reality in full on meltdown simply because a team of highly paid professional footballers under his charge had failed to cope with the pace, power, and guile of Eddie Howe’s upstarts.
A team who managed only one shot on target all game.
A team that tried the roughhouse treatment and came off second best in all departments.
A team who went down to the only goal of the game in the 64th minute.
A team whose goalkeeper failed twice, to clear crosses into the box and who’s stumbling centreback went down from the most minimum of contact without clearing the ball from two yards out after none of his teammates bothered to track across to cut out any threat from their former teammate Joe Willock, who chased a lost cause and came up trumps, retrieving the ball from going out for a goal kick and placing a fine cross unopposed into to the six yard box.
That team was Arteta’s team; or was it Violet Elizabeth’s team. Either way, they and he got what they deserved. Now’t.
Howe by contrast when he appeared on screen was beaming. Smiling like the proverbial Cheshire cat. Perhaps he by-passed Richmal Crompton at school and simply stuck to Lewis Carroll!
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