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My nickname since primary school in the 60s has been Taff, life long friends know me as Taff, I probably say some people don’t know my actual Christian name.
Taffy was a Welshman has been a inherent rhyme the whole of my life, at least 4 generations, worn like a badge of honour.
However, in this day & age of political correctness?
Discuss!
( Postcards from Poland, bored on the Baltic coast … to hot to sleep!)
As a Welshman who has lived in Somerset, Dorset, Kent, London and Devon (as well as Scotland and Germany) I have never experienced genuine prejudice regarding my place of origin so I'm not really twitchy about an 18th century rhyme that most young people have probably not come across.Quote:
Originally Posted by Des Parrot
The point came about when one of my Polish colleagues asked why I was called Taffy & he googled it. Obviously not good PR :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie
One of my best friends is from Newtown. We have known each other over 50 years and to this day we still call each other Taff.
For those who may be unfamiliar with the rhyme that the OP is talking about, here it is...
"Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief,
Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of beef,
I went to Taffy's house, Taffy wasn't in,
I jumped upon his Sunday hat, and poked it with a pin.
Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a sham,
Taffy came to my house and stole a leg of lamb,
I went to Taffy's house, Taffy was away,
I stuffed his socks with sawdust and filled his shoes with clay.
Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a cheat,
Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of meat,
I went to Taffy's house, Taffy wasn't there,
I hung his coat and trousers to roast before a fire."
You missed the first & most common verse.
Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief;
Taffy came to my house and stole a leg of beef;
I went to Taffy's house and Taffy was in bed;
I upped with the jerry pot and hit him on the head.
Upped with the Jerry pot gets interchanged
normally
I picked up the leg of beef & hit him on the head
My mum used to hate Taffy was a Welshman with a vengeance, never bothered me though - I certainly wouldn't be offended by being called Taff (not sure I ever have been though).
I get called it all the time and it really pisses me off.
Funnily enough it is mostly Scots who use it when talking too me ,once they have established that I am a City fan.
As I am neither Welsh nor have a welsh accent I assume that they struggle with regional accents that are not related to their part of the world.
Never mind Taff/Taffy, what's with this alright "BUTT" lark !
Perfectly understandable you not being happy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Majorblue
I have never be called Taff (that I can remember) but doubt it wouldn't bother me anyway.
That said, it wouldn't sit right with me calling someone Mick if he was Irish or Jock if he was Scottish, unless of course they were happy being called that.
Was in a Jack's company once and he was furious when someone called him Taff.
Funny as feck so it was :hehe:
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacAdder
Bit of a mouthful though, saying “Jimmy the Scottish person”
In the interests of balance, I've come up with my own rhyme.'Taffy was a Vegan'
It's a ditty about the Welsh Reivers crossing the border and stealing cattle.
Who cares what you are called? If its benign without any malice then so what.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rock_Flock_of_Five
Years ago, we had a video of nursery rhymes for the kids, and "Taffy was a Welshman" was one of them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Des Parrot
Can't recall all the words, but I was bloody fuming!
Then again, We had to clear out my late Mum's house a couple of years ago, and found some old multicoloured 78 rpm records for kids.
Titles like "Three Little pigs", "little Red Riding Hood" and...
"The Brave little Sambo" :yikes:
They were dated 1960
I always thought the rhyme was referring to escapades at various M4 service stations in the bad old days:hide:
That's out and out racism , I'm reporting this to the human rights commission..Quote:
Originally Posted by Rock_Flock_of_Five
And farted a lotQuote:
Originally Posted by Tuerto