Chapter 5: The Wessie (pronounced Weh-zee): Noun: (Yorkshire, slang, often derogatory). A person from West Yorkshire
Hi all, Lambo drove to
Featherstone Rovers ground and back yesterday after breakfast with his dad. He then
spent an hour in the gym, showerd and
decided to show his Wessie Belly to the Universe. Keeps him entertained so
harmless.
On Sunday I sat on a bench,
overlooking Bridlington Harbour, when a portly looking man, much bigger belly
than Lambo, sat on the next bench and belowed into his phone;
"Efin Wessies, cum over
Fridays in their efin cars with their efin kids and him over thier - he points
at a couple scoffing fish and chips- ee's never given me owt fo fact a let im
park in me efin parking space every efin weekend. Efin pint or fish and chips
wud be nice but nowt, all they ever say as leaving is, "see ya later"
and their off. Efin Wessies"
I was planning to respond and
say, 'excuse me old chap but I am a Wessie and live here' but given my accent has gone all funny after
fifty years down south, I thought better of it.
What is a Wessie? Lambo asked AI.
‘Wessie (pronounced
Weh-zee): noun: (Yorkshire, slang, often
derogatory) A person from the West Riding of Yorkshire. They certainly sound an
interesting group of folks’, ‘she’ replied. Lambo then named her Molly and asked her to speak with an Irish
accent. She duly obliged and with a lovely Irish drawl said ‘would you like me
to look deeper into the Wessie Tribe’, ‘yes
please’ his response.
‘In the ninth century the growth
of all the Christian kingdoms of the English was disrupted by invaders from
Scandinavia. Most of those came to Yorkshire across the North Sea from
Denmark. The Vikings first arrived in
Yorkshire on November 1, 866, when they attacked the Anglo-Saxon town of York.
The boundaries of Yorkshire, which were settled during the Viking period, and
which remained until 1974, are roughly those of the Danish kingdom of York
(Jorvik) which was ruled over by more than a dozen kings between A.D. 875, when
Halfdan, the son of the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok, who founded the kingdom,
ruled, and A.D. 954 when the kingdom was lost by Eric Bloodaxe. For the rest of
the period until the Norman Conquest Yorkshire was re-absorbed into the English
kingdom and the Danelaw ceased to exist. The subdivision of Yorkshire into
three ridings or "thirds" (Old Norse: Þriðungr) took place during the
early Viking rule. The West Riding was first recorded (in the form West
Treding) in the Domesday Book of 1086’, replies to Molly.
‘They must have pretty good genes
to row across the North Sea, jog 30 miles to York, party in the Rape &
Pillage nightclub and row back again’ adds Lambo. ‘Absolutely’.
She responds. ‘To add, the Wessie Tribe would have come 8th in the 2012
Olympics medal table had it been an independent country. They claimed; 7 gold,
2 silver and 3 bronze medals. Add the giant killing heroics of Lads from
Featherstone and its safe to say the Wessie tribe have Viking DNA’
‘Ok clever clogs, what can you
tell me about the Wessie Belly which seems very prevalent in Bridlington over 1,000
years after the first invasion’ adds Lambo
‘To be precise it started 980
years later in 1845 with the opening of the railway between the West Riding and
the coastal towns, Bridlington being a prime exmple. The mining communities arrived in their
thousand to scoff fish n chips and drink John Smiths Yorkshire bitter by the
gallon’ she replies. Thats more Yorkshire than Irish thinks Lambo but he doesnt care, he is in love with her again. The first time is for later.
That makes sense as Lambo made first
Wessie journey to Brid by train age six, Acton Hall Colliery annual day out for
the kids. In the 150 years that followed Brid, as t locals call it, became the
holiday destination for hundreds of thousands and the new retirement home for
many thousands including Lambo’s mum, dad and now Lambo.
It is also safe to say Brid is
the Wessie Belly capital of Yorkshire and Lambo has had a few LOL.
And the point I am making is.
I would like to say big thank you
to my fellow Wessie’s, cos without you we wouldn’t have the beautiful
Bridlington I see before me.
Have a good day.
Colin
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