Went out with some rellies for a fish and chip dinner the other night.
I got my receipt with our order number on it, and it was 88. “Two fat ladies!” I said to the youthful extended family, and they looked at me with embarrassment and concern. “You know – the bingo call!” I persisted, but with ongoing blank looks. Clearly I am some sort of cultural dinosaur.
I get the same feeling when I occasionally find myself singing some music hall standard such as “(I do like to be) beside the seaside!” and “Yes! We have no bananas!” These cultural touchstones would have been instantly recognizable to my dad but possibly even most of my generation would have no idea what I was going on about. Some of it may have come from spending a chunk of my formative years in England. Would most normal Kiwis recognize the classic panto audience catchphrase “Look out! He’s behind you!” or even the old “Oh no he isn’t! Oh yes he is!” dialogue?
This makes me feel a little wistful, but maybe I should be more concerned with keeping up with contemporary culture? I enjoy memes, but my oldest informed me the other day that there’s a new short video format called ‘reels’ that’s taken over from where vines stopped a few years ago. I’d never even heard of it. Is this how one gradually becomes consigned to the dustbin of historical relevance? Being aware of the zeitgeist can certainly be fun, I readily acknowledge. Food for thought.