A friend asked me to come to their English club and give a talk about the BBC. I said what do you want me to talk about? Oh just give us an idea where it came from, it’s history and TV etc. So I sat down and did my research on the history, the programmes, personalities and the importance of the news. I spent at least a morning trying to find some video and information. I agonised over the content. I want to do it well so they can really understand its birth and its life.
There are about 25 young Chinese that turn up and most are familiar with the BBC and so that’s good. I start to explain the beginnings of the BBC and then I realise that it’s not going too well. Lots of blank faces. No one seems to know any of the names from history. Even World War 2 hardly got any recognition.
I moved onto Wimbledon which is the biggest tennis championship on the planet. Nope no one new about that. I said that David Attenborough had been in charge of the broadcasting back then and that Wimbledon was the first programme to be transmitted in colour. No one had heard of David Attenborough.
I swiftly moved on. I had lots and lots of material but realised that I could use none of it because I would have to give the back ground to some or most of the material before I used it as an example. How does one explain the chicken when I have to also explain the egg.
They know Mr Bean and they love him. I hate him. They have heard of Sherlock, but not Top Gear. A few of them have the BBC app on their phone and use this for news and also to practice English. But everything else is a mystery.
I asked them if they wanted to see what the top 10 shows were on the BBC so I showed them a short video. Monty Python was in there, where to begin explaining that. BlackAdder, Only Fools and Horses, Faulty Towers and then finally Sherlock and there was a glimmer of recognition.
I decided to completely blow their minds by showing them an episode of The Magic Roundabout. There was Ermatrude and Dougal and Dylan, the cool spaced out rabbit. That got a bit of a laugh but I was losing then again and so thankfully Zebidee arrived and it was all over.
So what have I learned from this? Well that’s a good question and I’m glad you asked it. I guess know your audience a bit better. Maybe ask a local before the event to get some feedback from them as to what might be appropriate or relevant. Mind you I would have probably got the same reaction in Australia if I had tried to let them in on some British TV that was not mainstream. I’m so glad I grew up in the UK. Of course I’m Scottish first, let’s just make that clear. But the contribution that the UK as a whole has made to the world in regards to classic clever TV entertainment is second to none and there are gems that are still very clear in my wee brain. Do you remember “Budgie, The Tooting Popular Front,The Wombles?”
At one time the BBC was the benchmark but I think its crown has slipped a little over the years, in fact it’s 90 years old this year. But to me I would still consider it to be the best by far.