Wednesday 11 February 2009

La la LA laaaaa... la la la la la la

On finding out that we are British, a lot of Bosnians have greeted us with "That's so cool - I LOVE British comedy!" For quite a while we weren't sure what British comedy they meant. Were they talking Mr. Bean (or, heaven help us, Benny Hill) type of British comedy? Is it something more along the lines of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers? Or more modern - maybe The Office? Black Books? Peep Show?

It wasn't until we really got to the bottom of why it is that people always ask us if we have ever been to Peckham that the penny dropped. One of the top Bosnian shows is Only Fools and Horses. Rodney and Del Boy are complete stars here. We couldn't understand it.

The show was on last night so we watched it (instantly transported back to our childhoods and Thatchers Britain). But we did see why the Bosnians like it. The tower blocks of Peckham are not too far removed from the tower blocks of Tuzla where many people live. The apartments are small and whole families live together. The Bosnians, stifled for years with overbearing authority, tend to operate just on the other side of the law, finding a good deal is a national pastime. Trotters Trading is very similar to the businesses that many people have here, or at least many people can understand the thinking behind it. I hadn't thought of it before but Peckham and Tuzla are not too different at all.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Serbs also love Only Fools and Horses. I was absolutely gobsmacked when I first found that out.

The Bosnians and Serbs, at least, are huge fans of British comedy. Mr Bean was a huge hit, Benny Hill, Allo Allo and Faulty Towers are also very popular.

It's a nice connection us Brits can share with our Bosnian/Serbian hosts!

Luis Portugal said...

Hello
It has a nice blog.
Sorry not write more, but my English is bad writing.
A hug from my country, Portugal

Unknown said...

hilarious

have you read the book about norman wisdom being surprisingly popular in albania?? ah the reach of the bbc..