SHA Small Heath Alliance

wookie

I used to see Bomber in the paper shop on Wash Lane in Yardley fairly often.

Was always a bit starstruck 🫣

Loved the series, Barry’s terrible brummie accent excepted…

Barry evolved into a great character.
Pat Roach was regularly seen in Blackheath on the piss

met Bomber once in the old Faculty & Firkin on Aston Uni campus and stood behind Dennis and his missus from Corrie at the time in an Easyjet queue to Amsterdam !

loved the show, it’s still a go to

newblue

I used to drink in the same pub as his older sister and knew her a bit, she was involved in setting up what has become a pretty famous local theatre up here. Her brother Jimmy was by repute a character you were advised not to get on the wrong side of, I met him a few times and chatted to him before he became well known - I’d say his character in the series was not a million miles from the bloke I chatted to as far as I could tell.

The story was that his girlfriend told him to audition for the show and he didn't want to. So turned up and said something like "I don't know why I'm here, but my girlfriend told me to come, so I've come, now I can bugger off". Exactly the attitude Clement and La Frenais were after.

Friday nights were great then 83/84. A live game on bbc at 7pm ( we weren't used to live games then) and then Auf Wiedersehen pet 1st series in Germany at 9pm on itv

newblue

I used to drink in the same pub as his older sister and knew her a bit, she was involved in setting up what has become a pretty famous local theatre up here. Her brother Jimmy was by repute a character you were advised not to get on the wrong side of, I met him a few times and chatted to him before he became well known - I’d say his character in the series was not a million miles from the bloke I chatted to as far as I could tell. Tim Healey used to hang around there too. Newcastle is a relatively small place.

👍

Very popular in Finland apparently. I was at a music festival in Spain a while ago and a couple of Finns heard our accents and ran over to say, ‘you are from Birmingham! Not Newcastle, Birmingham! Like Barry. We love Auf Wiedersehen Pet!”

I replied with a big grin, ‘Why aye pet, donkey shite!”

QBBC2

donkey shite!

Cervantes' less successful sequel.

Rab C Nesbitt

wookie

I used to see Bomber in the paper shop on Wash Lane in Yardley
fairly often.

Was always a bit starstruck 🫣

Loved the series, Barry’s terrible brummie accent excepted…

Barry evolved into a great character.
Pat Roach was regularly seen in Blackheath on the piss

Saw him in the forge a few times. I use to work on Heath Mill Lane and had a few liquid lunches 😏

👍

I remember seeing him in a TV interview when the show was on and thinking that he was trying too hard to sound like a jack the lad, but he was on the radio the other day and he was absolutely lovely, sounded really smart and nice.

Just like other great comedy (EG Life Of Brian), the writers managed to build some of their funniest moments out of interesting tidbits of underlying wisdom - EG the democracy scene in Auf Wiedersehen Pet where the punchline is 'everybody gets what nobody wants' according to Dennis and Barry concludes 'that's democracy Dennis'.



When I was a kid I loved the programme so much I bought the 7" single of 'That's Livin' Alright' and 'Breaking Away'. When I listen to 'Breaking Away' now, I think because it was a bit more solemn it still sends a little tingle down my spine and takes me right back to being a kid again.

Without needing to watch it-
“The winner is yellow”

JohnP

I remember seeing him in a TV interview when the show was on and thinking that he was trying too hard to sound like a jack the lad, but he was on the radio the other day and he was absolutely lovely, sounded really smart and nice.

He didn’t need to sound like a Jack the lad. He was the definition of it.
Working class bloke to the core, done good. Love the bastard to bits

Rab C Nesbitt

Without needing to watch it-
“The winner is yellow”

👏 👍

Met " bomber" the late Pat Roach in Lanzarote in 86 he was a smashing bloke kept calling us " my lovely" in his west country lilt.RIP Pat and Gary ( Wayne) one of the best comedies ever.

Great TV that always reminded of building sites I worked on around the midlands as a chippy in the 1970s.