Gavin and Stacey - S1E3 'Engagement Party'

This is a bit random, but that brief shot at 14:48, im 99% sure is on the A4119 by Miskin. I live around there and it feels so bizarre that people that live thousands of miles away, see this random road that ive lived close to my whole life even if it only briefly appeared.

Sheep shagger is racist!! 😅

Somewhere around a quarter of Welsh people speak the language, but it’s not surprising that someone can go to Wales and not meet any speakers as the numbers vary greatly by region.

Dick Power is a phenomenal name!

The Welsh language has a tragic history. When the English conquered Wales they banned the speaking of Welsh and almost wiped it out. In 1995 around 9% of Welsh people could read, write and speak in Welsh, but with Welsh government support for Welsh Schools, that number sits around 24% (and rising). I am one of the lucky ones who was sent to a Welsh school despite my parents not speaking the language. My daughters now also go to Welsh school. Please visit Wales one day. You will love it.

Every single time I've seen two families drink together it ends up like this 😂

Basically south walians usually don't speak Welsh it more common I'm west and north Wales

Wow, I used to home-brew. 19% is about as high as you can get without distillation - which is illegal in England!

Part of the context you may not be understanding here is that it's about a 4 hour drive between their houses - Gavin just keeping shooting off to Barry all the time is costing him at least a full day and about £120 in petrol (at today's prices).

This show has been the backing track of my life since it came out when I was 10 (most jokes went over my head at that age😂) I always say that my love for the show manifested my life in some strange way. I’m from London, met the most perfect man from south Wales on a night out and the rest is history. In the craziest turn of events, my favourite show ended up mirroring my actual life🥹❤️ I can’t wait for you guys to enjoy it in all its glory❤️

As Rodney would say "Stone me, you've been engaged more times than a switchboard!"

Brilliant, love it

about 24% of the welsh pubic are fluent about 48% have a good understanding of Welsh because of fairly new legitation kids MUST be offered Welsh education, the future of the language I dependent on our children, those that moan the most are from an English background. They hate the Welsh language and. have over the years tried to destroy our culture.

I'm from North West Wales, The Isle of Anglesey specifically. Welsh is almost the first language. I work in a shop and some people get annoyed when I'm speaking English.

Welsh speakers are more common in North and North/west Wales I believe. Not many in South, even my Grandsha (Grandad) with the strongest accent couldn’t speak a word haha

Wednesdays are the best now :)

I’m originally from Swansea which isn’t that far from Barry and like others have said Welsh isn’t spoken much in South Wales at all. South Wales, particularly in certain places, is historically ‘anglicised’ (I’m half English myself) and so much more ‘British’ leaning whereas areas in mid and north west Wales have a much higher concentration of Welsh speakers. This show has South Walian accents and slang though on Stacey’s side and it does remind me of home!

During the Covid lockdowns, Alison Steadman (Pamela) who is a great ambassador for the charity I work for held an online Gavin & Stacey quiz with Matthew Horne (Gavin) to raise money. There was a request to send in your impressions of Pam. I did an impression of her rant in this episode about the wedding being in Barry Island. She reacted with a like, which makes me cringe like hell but with a pinch of pride 😬

Enjoyed that. Thanks. ❤️

I’m Welsh and can barely speak Welsh. This is true lol.

I speak it despite being English (from Kent specifically). I moved to Wales years ago and learnt Welsh. Diolch yn fawr am gwylio Gavin a Stacey dwi'n mwynhau o llawer. Diolch i bawb am bod yn cyfeillgar :-)

“Cause I don’t speak the lingo love “ “leak munching sheep sh*gger “ Pam is a legend

So happy you’re watching Gavin and Stacy. It’s a national favourite.

Bryn cracks me up😂

Love the reference to Carol Powell and Bryn saying he didn’t know what became of her; that was Nessa’s best friend from ep 1 that went to Scotland and never came back - Nessa said she might have been trafficked but “I doubt it mind, because she was bigger than me”

[sorry, long post] A lot of the comedy in this series is England v Wales of course, but as always in British comedy there is a class element as well. I'm not sure Mike & Jess read these comments, but Billericay is a relatively prosperous town, mostly because of its proximity to London. Gavin and his dad are what we used to call C1 (white collar, but below senior management). Pam is a stay-at-home mum (rare in that era and demographic, most such families would have 2 earners). Smithy is C2 (skilled tradesman). Those groups probably cover most of the people in that area. Barry Island is a bit lower down the scale: like many seaside towns in Britain it lost a lot of trade when cheap travel to the Med became available to the average family, and so although Stacey is in the same bracket as Gavin, Ness is a bit lower, what we now call "gig economy". Pam looks down on them (esp. when her tongue is loosened by drink :-) ) but she's not really much higher in the pecking order, for those who care about such things. And I've always said that places like Billericay (and the area where I now live) would look more like declining northern towns (where I was born and raised) if they weren't so close to London.

I also love that Bryn always enters through Gwens back door even though he lives across the road.

Love that Nessa has so many past relationships with british celebrities and high profile jobs, but somehow ended up being an arcade supervisor in Barry 😅

She’s been engaged more time then Del boy

“I don’t know you from Adam…and he’s been barred twice” That’s a good gag.

You’ll see Nessa referring to past relationships a lot. These are often people with the degree of fame in UK popular culture. So in this episode she referred to a relationship, after the firing squad guy, with John Prescott who rescued her. John Prescott, is a real guy or was a real guy, he was a Labour Party politician and deputy Prime Minister to Tony Blair for many years. Might be worth your while noting those names down and looking them up after each episode. She’s one of those characters who has a hinterland that is remarkably colourful and no one is ever sure just how true each of her stories are - but clearly the intention is that she has lived a life and then some - and it’s that that gives her a unique wisdom. But she has known everybody, she has been everywhere and she has done everything.

Pam and Bryne are superb

It's around about 20% the number of Welsh speakers in Wales, highest concentration in the North-West.

As a Welsh man myself yes it’s true the Welsh language isn’t widely spoken, especially down south where i’m from. I know a few words but like Bryn it does embarrass me that I can’t fluently speak my own mother tongue. Cymru am Byth. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Basically the reason why Welsh language levels are low in Wales is due to decades/centuries of persecution from the English/UK Government in a bid to marginalise the language. They outlawed the language in classrooms, children caught speaking it would be forced to wear a 'Welsh Not' to shame them. Take a look in to the history, you'll be pretty surprised by what has happened to Wales at the hands of the English/UK Government. I'm sure not many people, other than Welsh or perhaps those who border North Wales, would know of what Liverpool and the English/UK Government did to Capel Celyn, for instance. It may actually be worth doing a reaction to a video about Wales as it may help with some of the more niche references the show makes - like Bryan saying he'll have 'half a dark at Cardiff Arms Park, due to the way the Cardiff accent pronounces it's 'ar' sound.

I stopped my membership but you managed to lure me back with Gavin and Stacey. This is my favourite episode.

I live in South Wales (30 minute drive from Barry actually 🙂) and the number of fluent Welsh speakers is very much in the minority. They are trying to bring it back with compulsory Welsh learning in schools and there are even some towns where Welsh is people's first language (particularly in North Wales) but across the whole country, only a small percentage can speak the language to a high level.

Jess in them dungerees is giving Chucky vibes 😂

You both were shocked at Nessas stories 😅 they only get better

My Grandmother and her family spoke Welsh but unfortunately she didn’t speak Welsh to my Dad frequently or to us I wish she had . My Dad knows some but is no where near fluent .

Homework for Mike & Jess - look up Leigh Delamere, Chieveley and Heston on Google Maps. Recurring theme 🙂

I'm North Walian and can't really speak welsh. Haven't really learnt it since college

The show really kicks into gear from this episode. Episodes 5 and 6 in particular are just excellent.

Unfortunately, many English people (particularly football fans) use the derogatory term “sheepshagger” as an insult to the Welsh, on account of the (probable) misconception that Wales is filled with nothing but sheep that are better looking than the Welsh ladies. This is clearly a misconception because there are lots of pretty Welsh ladies in Wales (and beyond) but the term has become so etched in the English psyche now, that it’s never ever going to go away!

Im welsh, from Mid Wales.. (gavin n stacey are in South Wales) and Welsh has been a minority language for many years..the English used to punish people using it (victorian times) .. but lots of people do speak it and i have cousins who do. Sadly i dont! There are lots of efforts being made now to encourage and support it being used more. For example..In my home town there is now a school that is only welsh speaking.. when i grew up in 80s that wasnt a thing.. its good to see the heritage being nurtured.

The national symbol of Wales is the leek and "sheep shagger" is a common slur used by the English to the Welsh... so... Leek munching sheep shagger 🤣

North Wales is full of Welsh speakers, as a first language. I'm from the south where it's rare.

I am only part Welsh. But none of my Welsh cousins speak the language but they do live in the south of Wales (where this show is also set) where the language is uncommon, or at least that was the case at the time of this show's release. There are/were more native speakers in the North

Gavalaaaarrrr

Fun Fact: Stacey West, Gavin Shipman and Pete/Dawn Sutcliffe The surnames all named after UK serial Killers 😭

Looking forward to the inevitable upcoming Nessa & Uncle Bryn cosplays 🤣

Tidy!

Jess is rocking the dungarees! Looking great!

Pam and Bryn are just the highlights of this episode

Never been this early before .. so glad to have something to watch on the commute to work!