Posted by: themoonisdown | February 24, 2010

Robert Pattinson and his Englishness

Inspired by our “Educational Moments” wherein our readers explain to us differences between the American culture we’re used to and the British culture Rob is used to, The Old One breaks down Rob and his cliched “Englishness”

God save the Rob!

Dear Rob:

I saw an article on binge drinking in British pubs, and it made me think of you, of course, as almost everything does.  I was thinking if you were an American, you wouldn’t be YOU, you would be just another utterly boring celebrity, and I would never have developed the acute fondness for you that has taken over my pitiful existence.  Since my childhood days back in the mists of time there has been a special place in my heart for the British.  I think it began when I spent part of my childhood as a resident of Canada, where we had to sing God Save the Queen at regular intervals in school, and name every member of the Royal Family on sight. I was around for the first British Invasion–no, not the redcoats, the Old One’s not quite that old–but the Beatles, Rolling Stones, et al.  You could say I imprinted on their cheeky humor and exuberance and have been a pushover for a sexy young Brit ever since.  And it’s not just me. There’s just something about the British that is so fascinating to a lot of Americans.  Is it the creaky charm, the frumpy taste in clothing, the inferiority complex they give us with their accent?  Well, whatever it is, Rob, you sure have “IT”.  So I thought I would try breaking down what IT is:

The Name:  Robert Thomas.  Those are two names that haven’t been popular in the U.S. since the Eisenhower era, but apparently are still OK to name a kid in England. At least you weren’t named “Cedric” or “Nigel”—names Americans have never ever called their kids.  And think about your sisters’ names–Elizabeth and Victoria.  Way to kiss ass with the aristocracy, Clare.

Tally ho baby Rob!

The Proper Upbringing: Is it required of every English parent to instill a love of plaid and dowdiness in their children from the cradle?  Take a look at those pantywaist shorts and suspenders!  And the leash!  This is quite controversial in the U.S.  We like our kids to learn independence and to be able to run freely into traffic.  What effect did this have on your toddler sense of self-esteem? Is this why you can’t run properly?

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Has he been 'sorted' yet?

The Cheeky Schoolboy:  Your school days—a proper, private education and forced to wear snobbish uniforms that haven’t changed in a hundred years.  Apparently you didn’t quite toe the line, Rob, even then; never did your homework or cleaned up after yourself and were kicked out.  Even being expelled, you seem to have come away with a better education than most Americans.  How do the British do this?

Follow the cut for the rest of the stereotypes and some awesome pictures

The Youthful Stereotypes: You have given us a nice cross-section of stereotypes of British Youth in your films so far:  Harry Potter = glorified private school boy.  The Haunted Airman = Royal Air Force pilot and troubled WWII veteran.  The Bad Mother’s Handbook = Uber-dork with truly bad taste in clothing.  How To Be = Disenfranchised musician on the “dole”.  Even the cut scenes from Vanity Fair (the movie) were every romantic’s idea of proper young English lord, a la Mr. Darcy.

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fag toking... heh heh

The Pub Rat: This is what you would be if you hadn’t been catapulted into the celebrity stratosphere:  a pub-crawling,  Heineken-drinking, fag-toking (that means cigarette to you, you yank), pasty-white, tends-to-pudginess, showering-once-a-month part-time musician.  You and the rest of the Brit-Pack would be swilling your pints in obscurity if it weren’t for Twilight, sorry to say.

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c

To the country estate Nigel and lets be quick about it!

The Dowdiness Factor:  I won’t go too much into this endearing aspect of the British character, as your sense of style or lack thereof has been discussed at length here before.  We all know you clean up real good, and should you want to, you could drop the Pub-Rat look and jump to Country Squire faster than you can say “motoring in the Range Rover with wellies on”!

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The Accent:  Ah, I could listen to you say “Litrally” “Moist” “Massive” and “Big, hard, tool” all day.  And I have.

I could go on and on:  the love of vacationing in cold, wet, places.  The inability to cook. The odd pharmaceutical products:  Lem-Sip, anyone?  But I’m sure the readers have their own favorite British Rob cliches ?

XO,
The Old One

I love this T.O.O (give her a round of applause!) especially Rob as a country gent… so what do we think? What are your fave Rob Brit cliches? Let’s start naming them people and let’s have a bunch of “Educational Moments” today! Speaking of E.M’s what do you prefer British or English and what’s the difference?!

Have something burning (you should get that checked out) you just want to share with us about Rob? Have an idea for a letter or you want to write us? EMAIL US your Rob or Twilight letters and you just might be featured like The Old One!

Our internet game is ridiculous: LTT, The Forum, Twitter


Responses

  1. Way to kiss ass with the aristocracy, Clare.

    bhahahah

    +1 TOO

    • hahaha +1 too TOO!

    • haha!

  2. Isn’t it funny how the British accent makes us feel inferior?

    It’s like that accent automatically bumps your IQ up 30 points.

    No wonder Johnny Depp, Madonna and Gwenyth Paltrow have adopted a fake British accent.

    • TOO:: omg I always thought Jonny Depp WAS British…..bhahahahah

      • For the longest time I did too.
        I think that’s normal.
        I mean, my way of thinking was why else would he have an accent, right?
        But nope. All American.

      • This is totally lame for me to say-type; whatever…but Johnny Depp was actually born in my small home town of Owensboo, KY. It’s, like, our only claim to fame. Ever.

        This might be my only post here that wasn’t 100% about Rob and his awesomesauce.

        • You take that claim to fame, girl, and be proudl!

          My only “claim to fame” is that I live about 10 minutes from a bar/restaurant that Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson used to frequent.

          Trust me, I’d take Johnny any day (t.w.s.s.).

        • JD should be proud of where he’s from! I don’t care for affectations.

        • Kat,
          I lived in Owensboro for several years and as I was reading the comments about Johnny, my first thought was something like, “Hell no he’s not British! He’s from Kentucky!”

      • Perhaps because as a man and an actor he is both extremely good-looking and also wonderfully…metrosexual, if you see what I mean. And I find that American men (and actors) often seem obsessed with being a two-dimensional mix of Macho and boyish. So of course one would assume him to be European.. 🙂 Johnny Depp can be an honorary anything anywhere as far as I am concerned!

    • I’ve given Johnny Depp honorary English status!

      • Dude! You can’t do that!!!

        You already have Rob…us Americans get Johnny. You can’t hold a monopoly on fuckhawt uber talented dudes.

        This is like a game of Red Rover…send Johnny back over! Or Rob…take your pick.

        • OK – I’ll keep Rob, you have Johnny 😉

          • Shleeeigh…ECCELLENT CHOICE!!! 1+

      • Totes!

    • Well, Johnny has never really done much for me–seems to try too hard to cultivate his “rebel” image. But I hadn’t noticed the fake accent before, probs because I’ve never cared to watch or listen to him much. Just knowing that he’s adopted a fake accent makes him even lamer in my book.

      Sorry! I know Imma get tons of thumbs down for this. I know there are lotsa Johnny fans among the Rob fans….But I DO love Rob! He handles his insecurities much better–he just admits them and tells us all the stoopid things he’s done to try to act cool. Love him!

      • Does Johnny really use a fake accent now? It wasn’t just for PotC? He doesn’t strike me as someone who would do that.

        • IDK, am just reacting to what toooldforthis mentioned.
          If he has adopted a fake accent, though, I find it terribly lame and embarrassing.

    • I did a test a while ago about which celebrity I should be with. It turned out it was Johnny depp. But as much as I like him I just love Rob.
      You girls can have whoever you want as long as I get Rob! 😉

  3. um I would love to know what the difference b/w British and English is??? good question….

    Dea Rob,
    please give us a demonstration on the difference between English and British….when I say demonstration, I mean demonstration…NOT explanation….ifyouknowwhatImsayin’

    love,
    me.

    p.s. how do you take your tea? one lump or two???

    • Here we go, Rob was born in England, I was born in Scotland. We are both British. Since I’m over here rather than over there, when peeps ask me where I am from, I instinctively say Scotland before Britain. Why do I say this I hear you ask? I usually say this since a lot of Americans think that Britain = England only. And when I do say I’m British, I get the response “Well you don’t sound British!” Sigh, it’s frustrating to say the least. I guess the equivalent would be to say “I’m a Texan” = “Well you don’t sound American”. You also have to remember that historically, Scotland got their butts kicked by England (think Braveheart) and to this day, there is still a rivalry between the two.

      So getting back to Rob, I bet my Pocket Eddie he would say he is English before British.

      x
      p.s. by the way, I’ll take one lump and no milk in my Earl Grey tea thanks.

      • Oooh! Thanks for that explanation, I’ve always wondered this and thought there was no difference.

        This letter scared me for a second when I read the part about Rob and the Brit Pack being obscure if it weren’t for Twilight. Just imagine, we would not be here today, if it weren’t for Twilight. Would we? Would Rob have eventually shown up in some other movie and created this Craze we call Robsession?

        • If it weren’t for Twilight where would I be??
          Probably out accomplishing something useful and living in a clean house.

          But I wouldn’t change a thing!!!

          • That’s the truth.

          • Ditto that!

          • My thought exactly

          • Oh, I would so change everything and go back to my pre-Rob life. If it weren’t for Twilight, well…my life wouldn’t be ruined! I would be the hyper active girl doing all sorts of cool things, now I can’t, I’m busy talking, stalking breathing Rob online. But love to have met a lot of people on LTR though. Only good part of the whole thing. Kinda like heavy drug addicts, they make friends when they are in the streets looking for crack.

          • Bwahaha MP, that crack refernce. Classic. You really have no shame. 😉

          • “Out accomplishing something useful and living in a clean house” Hahah! Well said!

            I also wouldn’t change a thing…

          • Cath, it’s not me, it’s just that the situation is tweed serious.

          • So, MP, what you are saying is that we are all each other’s enablers for our addiction? Let’s hope no one tries an intervention because I don’t want to quit!

      • cazza–thanks for the explanation…
        +1

        • you are very welcome Misty 🙂

      • I love Scotland and Scottish accents Cazza!

        • I heart you Cath for that!

          • Oh Cazza, I swoon for kilts!

          • I second that Snowwhite!

  4. Rob’s a real GUY from London, he’s sort of his own cliche, fulfilling it in any immaginable aspect (thx T.O.O.., you nailed it totally) , I guess he’s hiding somewhere a bunch of corkies, plays Polo with TomStu on sunday, has a poster of the Queen, and most important…he is not able to drive a car, or left or right side…..just NOT ABLE!!!

    🙂

    • ‘poster of the Queen’

      Is it like that Farrah Fawcett one from back in the day, with the red bikini?

      *shudders*

      • haha, if Farrah Fawcett wore a CROWN….then….YES!

    • RG,
      Where is that final photo from?

      I gotta know…

      pls. Nice, going, T.O.O!!!! Loved this.

      • Hackett campaign 2007, Rob as a model, I’ll send it to you! *waves*

        • I had never really seen those photos from the Hackett London campaign except for the horse on here on LTR. I just googled them and I really did SQUEE when I saw this photo:

          Rob and Matthew Goode, who I adore! Holy #$%@. Made my day.

      • I think it was Vanity Fair.

        • Dang! Wrong last photo! My bad! Should have known you would know where the VF photo came from!

          • It was the Hackett campaign, but perhaps it was in VF, I don’t know………but the campaign was beautiful!!! His last model job, I guess….

          • I’m sure you are right. I have never seen the actual last photo of the letter. I didn’t scroll down far enough when checking. You are def the fangirl for knowing this!

  5. *round of applause*
    Brilliant.

    “Is this why you can’t run properly?”
    Flippy!
    I think it’s quite endearing that he can’t really run properly. He just wouldn’t be the same if he was all athletic!

    • Right!!! Wonky Rob, so sweet and sexy …..very strange b/c I never thought before that to be not-athletic could look so good, with him …everything has changed 🙂

      • Tell me about it!
        Pretty sure he’s the exception to every single one of my rules.

    • I totes agree. I love that Rob is spazzy. It wouldn’t be the same at all if he spent his days playing sports. Although, a sweaty Rob is something worth seeing I’m sure.

      • Thumbs waaay up!
        I would pay to see “sweaty Rob”

  6. Awww, Lem-sip – it tastes gross and I’m not entirely convinced it helps when you have a cold.

    That’s so true, Rob just wouldn’t be Rob if he wasn’t from Barnes! To me it makes him so effin normal it convinces me we really could be friends. I mean, my guy friends are so similar to Rob it’s unreal, except they’re not as fit, obviously. This is the reason the obsession keeps on trucking, because I feel like I could meet Rob in my local boozer in London, and not just on the BAFTA red carpet… where I saw him on Sunday… for real (otherwise known as The Greatest Day Of My Life So Far).

    Oh Rob – come on, I know you saw me in the crowd and though ‘hey, she looks like a normal type, we should go out drinking’ – MAKE. THIS. HAPPEN.

    • YOU saw him on the red carpet? Please tell us more……

    • Exactely, he’s just like my friends and you know you could meet him at the pub and have a great night. That’s the thing. Except that it’s pretty difficult to get friendly now with all the craziness. Damn, why didn’t I know about him before!

      • minuit , that’s pretty much the question WE ALL have!!! 🙂

        • and the next question is: Rob, why wouldn’t you get friendly with the not so many (compared to the fandom) cool people who like you a lot a lot?

          • and…

            Rob,
            we’re not begging, CAPISCI?

          • really Rob?? wtf??? totes normal ppl. who “like” you (one of us may even love you, I wonder who lol)…we like hanging out at the pub, listening to singer/song writer music….no batsh!t caziness either or pattinson pants to be seen..sonds like a good time, give us a call…

            Robgirl..notice I didn’t say please b/c we are NOT beggers…lol

          • Misty….I NOTICED that immediately!!!! and I second everything you’ve said!

          • minuit, you know I’m still voting for you to be the most likely candidate to infiltrate Rob’s world and get to know him on a personal basis so you can report back!

          • haha, and I ❤ u for that plus think the HotPocket fragrance is the best concept ever! But I voted for mine! (Mine!??? hello!!!), the girl is in London all the time!!! and goes to the same pubs as he does!!! That being said I can spend all my week-ends in London and will be more than happy to know him "on a personal basis". 🙂

          • I have to admit it looks like mine! and Shleeigh are good candidates too, just for proximity, and I wish they would stalk even harder, for god’s sake, but, minuit, I think your Frenchness will make you stand out and catch his eye. You will need to speak to him, and let him hear your charming accent, and I think things will naturally progress from there . . .

    • Lucky, lukcy, lucky woman!!!! Was his hair really that gross as it looked in the pics?

      • kat – i didn’t think his hair looked gross – i believe it was raining really hard and it might have gotten wet, but that is his Bel Ami hair so better get used to it! He looked beautiful.

    • otherwise known as The Greatest Day Of My Life So Far- I’m green with envy, tell us more.

    • DETAILS WOMAN!!!!!??????

    • Details? Well, I had to get up at 5:30am in order to get a good spot on the red carpet and I’m still not entirely sure it was worth it. No wait, it was! I was in the crowd quite close to where they get out of the car. He was the last person on the red carpet and we had to wait a good 15mins after everybody else had gone through before he turned up, making a lot of people think he wasn’t coming (twss).
      I was super lucky because I watched online that he signed a few autographs and then went straight down the red carpet past most people (probably because he was about an hour late) – I was lucky enough that he signed them literally right in front of me and the part of the carpet where everyone posed was also where I was standing so I got a good eyeful.
      He did look so, so young! It didn’t help that he was giggling like a schoolboy the whole time, some girl asked for a high five and he obliged and it seemed to amuse him because he laughed. This might sound weird and obsessive but it was nice to hear him laugh in real life! He also shot me one of his trademark crooked smiles. That was when I died.

      • Awesome shleeeigh! Soooo happy for you, virtual high five right there! You must still be walking on air/ living off the nervous energy!

      • AWESOME, I’m happy for you as well!
        …… to hear him laugh in real life…..<3

      • He smiled at you and you lived to tell the tale? I must just die with a BIG smile on my face. Seriously I’d be shaking and blushing and sick to my stomach. That’s me when I’m nervous and he would definitely reduce me to a puddle.

        • that s/b might, not must..

      • So glad to hear that it’s really true that was giggling the whole time. Read that from other people who were also alongside the red carpet. He’s too cute!
        Rob, you’re just too lovable!

      • hate u 😀
        u are so lucky girl.. so his voice was just awsome then?it’s been 3 days and u just tellin’ that?
        i’m sure u’ve just pulled yourself together,that’s the excuse right:)

      • So glad you reported back. I may or may not have giggled while reading your account, as if vicariously living through you. Well done!

      • Sorry I didn’t divulge this earlier but I have to say it’s taken me a few days to get over it! It was kind of awesome. It makes me especially happy that you are all happy for me!

        • Its great, Shleeeigh! I need to live vicariously through those who are lucky enough to see him in person. If I were a recipient of one of his smiles, I’d treasure that!

  7. What about Anthony Hopkins. Brian Houston hasa accent too. The Aussie one is cool. The Beatles. Ed Sullivan and all of that. Richard Starr and all of that. The pictures are cut. The chubby one is cool. How abot New York accent with a hint of British twang. Or a southern drawl with a touch of brit.
    http://defutebol.net

  8. Question: is “Thomas” is second name or is it his second SURNAME?
    and YES, that’s very important!

    🙂

    • it’s is second name..it’s not his surname. Almost 100% sure of that.

      For the best English accent – you can’t have a British (GB) accent, because Britain is made up of England, Wales, Scotland (though they have devolution now and stricktly speaking aren’t part of GB, but they…it’s confusing trust me, and I’ve probably got it wrong…and I studied poltics and religion at Uni!!!!!) and Northern Ireland (all of which have their own distinct accent…and that’s not taking into account regional accents within the said defined accents….I’m going to stop now)…Republic of Ireland not part of Britain (GB) either, that’s a seperate country all together.

      Anyway what I was going to say, is that I just love English Comedians with the posh (Rob) accent they always sound funnier….i.e. Michael Mckintyre, it doesn’t matter what he says it’s funny just because of the voice.

      • ok that was the most mixed up post I’ve ever written.

        1. Can’t have a British accent, but can have an English, Welsh, scottish or Irish accent. Britain encompasses all the above mentioned accents. Though people do tend to think of English people as specifically British and the other nations within our fair land as welsh, scottish or irish and not British, though technically they are all British. However were you to suggest to a scotts, welsh or irish person that they were British they could be a fight!!!! 🙂 We use the term British at say the Olympics to denote all of the above nationalities within the boarders of our small land.

        2. You need to consider regional accents also whey discussing Robs accent as his is not typical, except in London, where his accent is fairly common. If you move around the country you will find that it is only the more affluent who have this kind of accent (generally speaking) hence that is way I think that mandy see Rob as being a bit posh!

        hope that clears up the mad rambling post from above!!!! Not quite sure what happened, it all got a bit lost….what can I say, it’s one of those days.

        • Mine! Thanks for the explanation! I think of Rob’s accent as posh, but not too posh (maybe not like the accent of an older Royal, for example, no offense intended).

          Its the same here in the US- many regional accents, even with the ‘regions’ only be a few miles apart!

        • thx mine!
          1) the name, I saw several times his sisters referred as “Thomas-Pattinson” as well, so that’s why I asked…thx for clearing up..

          2) Rob’s accent = posh accent , nice to know 🙂

        • Mine!
          In german school we’re supposed to speak/learn “Oxford”-English…in which category fits that?

          • This would, I believe fit it to the [plummy] English category, it’s the ‘queen’s English’ (or king’s english depending who’s on the throne). Rob speaks the ‘Queen’s English’ no trace of an accent, no colloquiums.
            No bad speaking habits, though obviously he uses words that have entered the language from the streets or in other ways. That’s my take on it anyway.

          • Mine! Did you said, that ME is speaking like HIM???
            hahaha…

        • rob’s accent posh?loved that.maybe b/c the good education and being from west london?is that true one of the hardest accent to understand is merseyside/liverpool?

          • Any accent that’s not the ‘queen’s english’ can be hard to understand, and if English isn’t your first language.

            The Gordie accent is quite thick, so is the Northern (Yorkshire [my] accent, though mine is not quite so thick as it used to be, also our sense of humour is complete different from Londoners, we tend on the side of sarcasm and we can be a bit brusk…but always straight talking though that can be a bad thing sometimes cos I dont’ always know when to shut up).

            The Yorkshire accent is difficult in that it misses letters out of words and replaces them with different ones.

            For example……
            Sit thissen dahn an’ tell me abaht it

            translated: Sit down and tell me all about it.

            !!!!!

          • lol good to know that and thnx for the explanation.
            so u are from Richard’s hometown:)u live still there?

          • Yes, but I’m not sure where he hails from? Which part of Yorkshire.

          • Oh sorry, no I dont’ live in Yorkshire anymore, I live in London, couldn’t live anywhere else, unless it was out of Britain.

          • don’t know which part 😦
            London.. lucky girl 🙂

        • Before it was also required that British actors in drama schools ditched their accents if they had one and learned the Queen’s English. Such a waste, really when there’s so much varitety out there. I very much agree. And Rob’s quite posh, but he’s no Sir Ian McKellen, whose origins were Yorkshire, so he’d to learn that too.

          • You are correct, Rob’s accent is not the worse kind of plummy but it’s still plummy enough to be recognised as traditionally middle class. Sir Ian can do yorkshire really well whenever he wants, but he’s old school and therefore would have had to lose the accent if he’d wanted to get work. That wouldn’t be the case now, though he would have still had to change is accent to suit the part, obviously! 🙂

      • Scotland, Wales and England form all toghether, Great Britain. And with North Ireland, they form the United Kindom of Great Britain and North Ireland. And if you add all the tiny islands around them, so then you have, The British Islands. Yes, I am anglophila.

        • You are my hero! Lol!

  9. Yay! Finally another Anglophile comes out of the closet! (No, that’s not a sexual deviant, it’s a person in love with all things British..) I particularly enjoyed the Flippy reference, Old One: which one of us wouldn’t want to be there to pick him up when he keels over running after a taxi, and blow soothingly on his – ahum – hurting parts? 🙂

    I am convinced that I would NEVER have fallen for Rob had he not been such an adorkable young Brit in his interviews, with the self-deprecating, absurd sort of humour that I love above all things. (I guess sadly, his British public school background is an argument in favour of the suspicion that he steers the punt from the Cambridge end, which was a subject for discussion here some time ago..)

    I can clearly imagine him as one in the Monthy Python gang: picture him dressed as an old lady with handbag and a scarf tied under his chin, sqwaking away with Terry Jones – oh, those were the days of British humour.. Tea and scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, anyone?

    • “dressed as an old lady with handbag and a scarf tied under his chin, sqwaking away with Terry Jones” ! Yes, I want to see this. I know he has the humor (humour–you English do everything differently, don’t you?) in him to do it.

      • “Steers the punt from the Cambridge end”–does that mean what I think it does?

        • Ever seen “Lost in Austen”? British TV series from 2008 about a girl who loves her Austen and switches places with Elizabeth Bennet through a magic door in her bathroom. It’s great! That is where the quote came from, and yes, it means what you think it does, and aren’t the British great with their eufemisms..? 🙂

          • Someone mentioned that series before, and I’m def. going to look for it.

          • I absolutely LOVED that series, Maria!

            “You could park a bloody jumbo!”
            Died.

            And I loved how Lizzy turned out after the ‘switch’ too – she was made for our world!

  10. I can’t believe to left out that picture of him as a toddler with the red shoes and English bobby (policeman) hat!

    All I can think of when I see that are Jane & Michael Banks in “Mary Poppins” with the constable.

    pip pip

    • Mary Poppins! I bet she was his nanny and that’s why he’s so unique! Mystery solved.

  11. Tally-ho Baby Rob!

    How cute! Great post O!

  12. Since our dear gay colleague found himself an English boyfriend, we’ve all been practising our artistocratic English accents. For serious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNu3q5ODgqs&feature=PlayList&p=D5FC258FE480FF19&index=0&playnext=1
    Join us!
    “He was feeling bloated from eating a roasted tomato.”

    • And we’ve all been envious too. *sulk*

    • That link is great, I’m going to practice! Though I can’t imagine a scenario in which I’d say “He was feeling bloated from eating a roasted tomato.” haha

      • haha how cool is that? I think I’ve strained my mouth, so many Ooooo’s…

        • The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.
          In Hartford, Hereford, and Hampshire hurricanes hardly happen.

          Just quoting some My Fair Lady here…

          • I love that movie Cath! You and I both are into Audrey Hepburn right?
            🙂

  13. Dear T.O.O., there is so much awesomeness in your letter! The harness, the wonky running, the bad clothes, the bad driving, poor cooking, the English school boy (hint of English rose for Cath) and then, the cleanup……. its too much in one person.

    ‘Even being expelled, you seem to have come away with a better education than most Americans. How do the British do this?’

    I’ve wondered this myself. As you say, it does relate to the accent and sounding somehow more intelligent. [I’ve had several British professors and they do sound smarter or maybe I’m so dazzled by the accent I can’t tell the difference.]

    I’ve said it here before- the English accent and especially his accent gets me every single time.

    Thank you for your letter-

    • the cooking is REALLY bad there…REALLY!!! All I saw were BEANS!
      No, wait…………. the orange bitter marmalade is yummy!

      • Hahaha, you must have surely tried some other yummy delicacies… No jellied eels, cockels and whelks? No pie & mash, liver & onions?? All super traditional fare? How about next time your in town we treat you to some good old fashioned Nando’s?!

        • I hear Eels are also much sort after in Japan. One could say they were big in japan.

          • haha, right..I forgot, I loved Garfunkel’s…..BUT I was talking about the supermarkets, beans everywhere…..lol
            ..and Eels are disgusting everywhere, even in Italy….wait…there are jellied eels? *shudder*

          • * sought after

            I don’t know what my problem is today.
            Badcase of robfever.

          • People BIJ reference!

          • I thought I’d slip it in there. TWSS.

          • well spotted, yeh for Rob BIJ…..loving Rob BIJ….will always be loving Rob BIJ.

          • Gotta say, unagi is fabulous. Eels are just a type of fish, afterall.

            But traditional English jellied eel does not sound good. at. all.

            Methinks this whole conversation could rapidly spiral out of control what with BIJ and eels and all that.

        • not to mention the rich fruitcake you all love for big occasions and that you can eat like years later. I have an E. friend in Paris and everytime we go to her house, once people are drunk she asks weather somebody wants a piece of cake (the one from her mariage in July) also always threatens to bring some cake at parties.

          • Urrh I know that fruitcake makes me retch!! Apart from that we do GOOD CAKES! Really we do.

          • LMAO! fruitcakes!
            …..and what’s about chicken pie and marmite? 😦

          • I know, lovelove so many of them! It’s just that this fruitcake has become a kind of a myth for me and my friends.

          • You’re talking about Christmas Cake….we all make it (well our mothers and grandmothers do) a few months before christmas, you are supposed to feed it every week or so. It’s all the bloody alchol that’s in it that keeps it going. Oh and you are also supposed to but a coin in it, the person who finds it on Christmas Day will be lucky!

        • Thanks, GGGP- for the BIJ ref!

        • Yes, it defs could, Rob thought he’d give japan it’s own ‘educational moment’ on english eels.

    • Do you know it’s weird isn’t because a lot of the Brits (ok I mean English) love the American accent, though they are somewhat snobby about it. i.e. a particular kind of American Accent…much like all yous liking Rob’s accent.

      It’s quite interesting but how do you all feel about a ‘North of England Accent’ or an Irish Accent etc, for instance, does it have the same affect or is it just the specifically (non) accent of Rob, because technically Rob doesn’t have an accent, if that makes sense. Many years ago his kind of accent was the only kind that would be used in Broadcasting…regional accents were seen as uncouth and not used until more recent times…i.e the last 20 years or so (I’m talking TV now and not film).

      So is it the English accent generally or the (non) English (Rob) accent of the plummy kind?

      • That’s so funny and good point mine.
        Heard the podcast the other day and Moon sounds super girly! She made me think that my spoken voice English (southern accent) is waaayy harsh hers. Its all softened and so diff to the tone of he hilarious posts.

        • * compared to hers.
          * the hilarious posts

        • yes, I also listened to the podcast to hear them speak and it’s true I pictured her diff. Moon you sound so Am. but probably because when I read all of you, you all have my accent :).

          • What podcast??

          • on LTT. caught smth about it on twitter I guess so I went there especially for the podcast just to hear UC&Moon.

      • I’m aware I’m going to say some major BS since E. is a foreign language to me but somehow Rob’s accent is not the most charming or posh I’ve ever heard. It’s too neutral to me, maybe with some Am. influences like when he says “either” (???), don’t know, just doesn’t sound like people on the news or the tapes “Listen and repeat”:). But I’m in love with British accents, and I think I love more the not so literary accents, also Irish or Scottish accents (the ones of people from the city, otherwise I can’t understand a thing, so less charming all of the sudden). Usually people with accents seem funny and a bit stupid, but somehow in E everything is sooo charming!!! So you don’t think Rob’s accent is more neutral since he’s been living in the States?

        • I think his accent probably has changed since he’s been in the states, but you can’t get away from the fact that he’s got a (non) accent which is typically middle class england. You’re right he’s not quite so plummy as the ariso/upper class, but their accents are not quite so previlant as they used to be, it’s becoming more like Robs. I’m not against his accent, he’s got a lovely voice, I just don’t like the fact that we in England tend to judge a person by their accent, we make assumptions about someones background, education etc because of their accent.

          • Well, seen from here, the UK is one of those places where there is a place for a lot of accents, and it’s not socially descriminating. And may I add sooo very charming!!! Again, seen from here!!! I thought it was so because there are so many accents and people seem attached to their identity, it’s so common so I thought it wasn’t stereotyped. Also feel a lot of people in the media/film/music industry have diff accents in the UK. Anyhow as compared to other countries. But obviously I was wrong. In Fr. you def. need to ditch your accent if you want to be taken seriously, and as much as I hate social stereotyping, I can’t not burst out laughing only thinking of the Fr. southern accent. But also accents are really not common here, and so much more related to education rather than identity.

          • We do that in the U.S. too, make assumptions based on regional/class accents, but maybe not as much as in England.

          • TOO, there you were. Loved your letter! Also love how you are all smart ad classy everytime you’re talking TO Rob, and all smart and pervy everytime you’re talking ABOUT Rob with us.

          • Funny you noticed that, minuit. I can tell you’re classy most of the time, and pervy here too. Thank goodness there’s an outlet for the perviness!

          • Here the same as in France, you have to ditch down the accent if you want to be seriously taken, I remember Boris Becker having a personal teacher for a long time for some proper german accent lessons!There’re some stereotypes as well, especially for the south or east parts, but maybe from their point of view it’s my part!

      • I love all the accents. But will admit that I often have no clue what’s being said when surrounded by a bunch of Scots. Not that that happens regularly…..

      • I love all the regional accents, too. I watched “Eastenders” for years (even though it was 5 years behind the current broadcasts in England) and loved their East End/Cockneyisms. Scottish, Irish, Liverpudlian, Welsh, all so charming, even when you can’t quite catch what the heck they’re talking about. Prince Charles’s accent is so stuffy and stiff-upper-lip, but I like listening to him, too. It’s all good.

    • Did I hear English rose somewhere??? I love me some pink, blushing cheeks Rob.
      CedricRob: oh my. And the pic of little Rob in uniform. He was practising his dazzling stare there already. So CUTE! Cuteness overload! Love this post!

      • Right , the rosy cheeks are very british, from my german point of view 🙂

        • From my Dutch point of view also RG, there’s no blush like an English blush imo.

          • lol if u come to the east to Balkans u can find pretty much blushing cheeks,not sure which one worse.i guess bristish’ aren’t just the cheeks they can be all rosy.i like Rob’s blushing cheeks it’s not claret red thnk God.

          • It’s a very specific colour Che, more pink-ish.

          • yes just didn’t want to be cruel,cuz i have someone around me who likes to make fun with brits’ skin how they are pink like this is something derogatory,really annoying,some people can be just dull

      • I love his rosy cheeks, I want to pinch them so bad! And kiss them of course. Tehehehe.

        • I hear you SB!

    • drsaka, thanks, this subject is so much fun!

      • I’m sorry I couldn’t comment more today, but I’m reading it now- good topic choice!

  14. When I read books to my son I tend to change the voices with different accents. Without fail the Cat in the Hat is British.

    I think it’s the hat.

    This now makes me want to hear Rob reading Green Eggs and Ham.

    I do not like them Sam, I am.

    • I’d listen to him read the phono book.

    • I seem to remember some actor, maybe English, reading Green Eggs and Ham in a posh accent, maybe on Sesame Street, maybe Saturday Night Live? My brain is murky repository of all kinds of old crap.

  15. English is just for England, and if you are from England, you will speak with that lovely accent that Robert has, specially if you are from a nice neighborhood in London. But if you are British, you can be of any part of the British islands (Scotland, Wales, North Ireland, or any tiny island around) and that means that you could speak english too with a funny and imposible to understand accent. Or maybe just speak gaelic.

  16. “Way to kiss ass with the aristocracy, Clare.” LOL. Love this!

    I love all Robs, but Pub Rat Rob and Country Squire Rob in equal measure for me, please.

    One more sleep and I’m off to Jolly Old England! Of course, just as Rob is coming to NYC. Just my luck!

    Great letter, The Old One!

    • thanks!

    • Thanks! Maybe you’ll run into him at the airport?

  17. Nice letter, TOO!

    I also cultivated a love of all things Brit (except the cuisine) at a young age. Giving away my ancient-ness here, but I remember around the age of 10 or 11 being first introduced to the British punk, post-punk, and ska movements through MTV and the Young Ones, my favorite show in the early 80s. It’s amusing–I had all those same t-shirts that Kristen wears. Didn’t have a cool mullet though. Oh, and my first celeb crush was Rik Mayall. Yes, I realize he’s ancient–way ancient-er than me, even. But I thought he was a comedic genius. I travelled to GB just for the music scene (and to talk with lovely men with sexy accents) during the Bristol trip-hop scene of the 90s.

    Anyway, this perhaps this young infatuation explains part of my love of Rob, besides his f*ckhawtness, his sexy slovenliness, and his adorkable personality.

    • I LOVE the Young Ones!! My husband and I used to watch it on MTV. I love England and all things English too. I went to England with the hubs (then bf) twice. The first time we spent a month in London, going to record shops, museums, dumb attractions (London Dungeons-is it still there??) and just bumming around.It was fantastic. I really want to go again (and not just b/c of you, Rob).

      Have you ever seen The League of Gentlemen? They used to show it on Comedy Central, but they pulled it after a year or so, as they do with all good shows. If you haven’t, get it on Netflix. It’s just amazing.

    • Haha I never realised there were cool mullets ANYWHERE!
      Bristolian trip-hop… Holla

    • I was a baby in early eighties but I listened to a lot of Bristolian trip-hop.

      • Portishead, Massive Attack? I heart Portishead.

        • I live 10 mins from portishead – they were named after a real place!!! they were cool I think they have new stuff coming out soon

        • yes, love them too.

    • The Young Ones! I raved about that show to an English girl I used to work with, and she looked at me like I was crazy. Well, I guess that’s obvious.

  18. I LOVE that picture of him from Vanity Fair. I’ve watched his deleted scene, too many times.

    OMG, he is just so gorgeous in that period costume, and when he says,”This woman wants to claim as her own.” I just melt….

    I’ll “claim” you Rawley….

    • +1

  19. One of my favorite things about Rob is his English accent-I’ve always been a sucker for one. He has such beautiful enunciation-I could listen to him read the dictionary.

    My husband has an English friend who comes over a couple times a year. He’s from London, but sometimes I find him very difficult to understand. I find myself smiling and nodding a lot. Rob’s accent is very crisp-you can understand every word he says. I hope he keeps his accent in Bel Ami.

    • I’m a sucker for English accents, but not just any kind, I especially love Rob’s accent. I dated an British guy several years ago and he didn’t quite sound like Rob, so I guess it’s a regional thing. But there I sure did learn a lot of English slang from him!

      Like you said, Rob’s accent is crisp and yeah I can understand him too. 🙂

      My aunt is married to an Australian and oh boy I can barely understand him! No offense to the Australians please! He has a hard time understanding us too when we talk in our southern accent! So we sit there and ask “excuse me or pardon” all the time.

      • We went to Scotland and I had a really hard time with the Scottish accent. Funny-to me an Australian accent sounds a bit English, but when we were in England, people would ask if we were Australian. I don’t think an American accent sounds Australian at all, but I guess it depends who’s hearing it.

        I don’t know if there is such a thing as an “American” accent-we have so many here. I’m from CT, and I don’t think we have an accent here, but someone from another part of the country might.

        • dazzled -even though I’ve never heard you, I’d put money on people noticing your accent…although they might have a hard time pinpointing the locale. Or should I say they might have a “haaahd” time.

          The variety of accents is amazing in the US and I guess not unexpected considering the size of the country and the fact that most everyone came from somewhere else – now or some generations back.

          Even within a small geographic area – take my beloved New England – there are a mess of different accents and particular words that are unique. Some easy to understand, others not at all. Someone mentioned the rather brusque demeanor in the north of England and I’m reminded of the craggy folks of Maine (lov ya!) You’ll hear “down Maine” even though it’s UP to most of us, and a lot of “a-yup”

          Take a ride to Boston (home – sigh – I miss you Beantown) and you’ll hear a huge difference between your auntie (ahn-tee) saying how lovely the flowers are (“how lo-veh-lee the flow-ahs ahhh) anf the guys in a rabid discussion about the last Red Sox game (pretty “wicked”)

          My favorite is the fact that is a word has “er” at the end it’s pronounced like an “a” but if there’s an “a” at the end it’s most often pronounced “er”. Case in point. Sheila has the newspaper becomes “Shee-ler has the news pay-pah” *scratches head*

          Rob’s accent had me DEAD in a heartbeat. I’ve always LOVED English accents – as well as Scottish, Welsh and Irish. When I decided to hit youtube to do a little “research” on Rob, I know his accent was one of the biggest reasons that I kept going and going and going. That is along with his laugh and his smile and his amazing eyes and his shyness and his amazing hands and his golly-gee-I’m- nothing-special attitude and….well… you get the picture.

          • My home state is Hawaii. You wanna hear crazy accents–just listen to those locals! I grew up talking like that, but lost it, even the inflections, from my “proper” education. I can only talk that way now when I’m back home and hanging with my sister and old friends.

          • your picture practically killed me britluvr!

          • Bleriana -I wince and am in awe at the same time. How does he DO that – without permanent injury??

            Ohhhh, the things he could do with those very flexible fingers. I’d be willing to take on that research project. Even if it’s a longgg term project. Le sigh.

          • Hi BritLuvr- I’m from NewYork/New England and I’ve lived in Boston for many yrs. Great synopsis of the strange accents going on here. My accent is neutral, but I’m floored by people here sometimes!

        • in what parts of the States people speak the standard/literary Am?

          • I don’t think there is such a thing, Minuit. California accent has become well-known because of movies and TV. Southern accents–and there are many–aren’t considered standard. New York/Brooklyn is very distinct–think Woody Allen, but not standard either. Maybe the Midwest?

          • so how do u appreciate Rob’s american accent,closer to californian or has nothing to do with?

          • Is there such a thing? I don’t think so. We all sound a little different and we call things differently. Here Coke is everything, even if you mean Sprite or Mountain dew. LOL.

            I think in other states they say soda or pop.

          • Hi MP- Americans from different regions can sound really different. I’m from New York/New England, but I’ve got none of the strong New York city boroughs accents or a Boston/New England accent; my accent is neutral.
            TOO- not sure about the midwest – I heard a few dreadful accents in Chicago and Wisconsin!

          • Che, Rob’s American accent in Twilight was okay, but he gave several words very odd pronunciations: continental, joke, and there were a couple of others-

          • I think there is a “Standard American Accent” and it would encompass much of the midwest and west. I have family in Illinois, and I live in the southwest. We sound the same. Also, from travelling around the US a lot and from interactions from people from many different places in the west (by west, I mean west of the Mississippi River), I’d say a lot of us sound the same. We might use a few different words here and there, but basically the same accent.

            But again, there are regionalisms. Texas and Oklahoma are part of the “west” but they each have their own accents, which are probably best categorized as being a variety of a southern accent. And while the two might sounds similar at first, they have some differences.
            Also, Chicago in and of itself has an accent, which is also similar to, but not quite as strong as a Wisconsin or Minnesota/North Dakota accent. But the rest of Illinois (the state in which Chicago resides) doesn’t necessarily have an accent.

          • I think you’ve got the most definitive answer, there Luludee.

          • 🙂

            I guess I find the subject of accents to be somewhat fascinating.

        • We have so many different accents here, you can srsly tell where a person is from by their way of speaking. 🙂

          I think for foreigners, it’s harder to understand southern accents, we draw and we don’t enunciate! LOL

  20. I really love all the Rob cliches that I can’t really decide which one I want~!!!!! He’s so versatile.

    A Rob for all seasons! LOL. Perfect. Somedays I may feel like a pub-crawler and he’s perfect. Someday I may feel like acting like a starving artist/musician and he’s perfect too, and on and on. 🙂

    The pictures are so awesome btw….sigh. He’s just beautiful. What a way to start my dreary snowy, cold morning. Rob is so much better than my cup of coffee!!!!!

    • Hi SB! Rob’s more like a cup of really strong English Breakfast blend. (With lots of sugar…) 😉

      • I mean Tea ofcourse, haha

      • Hi Cath, I was thinking he would be more like a Venti vanilla latte with lots of foam on the top :-).

        • That sounds good SB!

    • I absolutely love coffee….
      And Rob IS def BETTER than my cup of coffee!

      SB I heart you =)

      • whiteflower I heart you too….and I’m inlove with your avatar!!! He’s staring at me!!!!! *Melts*

        • I know what you mean, he stares at me all the time! sigh…

  21. Great letter, T.O.O.

    “Tally ho baby Rob”
    You could see his wonky legs even then.

  22. Awesome letter T.O.O.

    You had me at the Daniel Gale sweater! It gets me every time!

    • Me too. I was wondering if one of these days he might wear that again. Won’t that be something? 🙂

      How you been shortie bestie?

      • I would love to see more of Rob in that sweater! Just adds to his adorkableness! Bad Mother’s Handbook II – The Adventures of Daniel Gale. I would pay good money for that!

        I am doing good shortie bestie, just wish I had some cool twi-friends to hang out with. You guys are the only ones that get what I am talking about! The hubs is getting tired of the acute fondness and he only sees part of it and the ladies in my Bunco group have no idea what a sparkle peen is. I mean really shouldn’t everyone know what a sparkle peen is!!!

        How have you been? Are you having any luck curbing the Robsession? Hard, isn’t it! TWSS.

  23. Aw

  24. didn’t kristen also say, in a recent interview, how amazed she was with her british friends’ vocabulary??

    tell me, TOO, how do the british develop their extensive knowledge in words? are 8-yr old kids commonly fed shakespeare and austen? is it really common out there to say such words? or is it just a matter of regional perception. i mean.. are americans the only people who think having such vocab is awesome but the british themselves don’t actually think so?

    here’s a link to that interview:

    http://www.popeater.com/2010/02/22/kristen-stewart-eddie-redmayne-yellow-handkerchief/

    Eddie has a very posh accent. Were you intimidated by it, Kristen?
    E: That’s my favorite question I’ve heard all year!
    K: Yeah, you know he was the first Brit I was ever sort of friends with and then I realized in meeting a couple more of them that they’ve all got the same scary vocabulary that he does.

    And he went to Eton.
    K: He’s a smart guy, you know.

    Eddie, did you go to school with Prince William?
    E: I did actually… He was in my year. I haven’t seen him since school, but he’s a lovely boy and a good man.
    K: S**t, I didn’t know you went to school with Prince William.

    • The Brits must cringe at her stuttery attempt at language.

      • even the AMERICANS cringe at her stuttery attempt at language! ;p

      • Hell yes!

        Oh, I mean “one is far to polite to comment on that” (said in best Received Pronouciation voice).

        ps you don’t have to sound like Rob to have a sexy English accent … Sean Bean anyone? You’ll also hear lots of genuine regional accents used by young TV presenters in the UK nowadays which is great as they should be celebrated – our regional differences are what makes Britain “great”.

        Finally … I don’t think Prince William sounds plummy at all nowadays – just pleasantly well spoken. In fact I think Rob speaks better than Prince William.

        • and of course I meant “too” polite … must get the English right today of all days …

        • What doesn’t Rob do better than the rest of the world?
          Just curious…

          • Nothing, absolutely nothing. 😉

          • Can’t think of anything……….

        • ooo, Sean Bean! The Yorkshire accent! Hmmm…..

      • “The Brits must cringe at her stuttery attempt at language”.
        As well as wide culture and knowledge onf what’s happening in the world nowdays.

        • yeah, i know there’s an “a” missing

    • Did she actually said sh*t, I didn’t know that??? That’s my KStew, um, haha.

    • Yes, I was reading austin by the age of 9….my grandmother made me!

      🙂

      • or more probably Austen?

        • yes, you are right, can read well, but can’t write!!!

          hahahaha

          • Ditto.

            But I was trying extra specially hard today!

    • I’m sorry- but ‘scary vocabulary’? Well, acting and not education has been her goal.

  25. I don’t know but all this talk of accent has wound me up a little bit, don’t know why, maybe because the English are so bloody snobby about them…it irriates the hell out of me the way we in England define people by their accent. It’s stupid, and it’s only recently that regional accents have become more acceptable in say, the Broadcasting Industry, before anyone who couldn’t speak with that plummy kind of accent, that (non) English accent was considered to be uneducated, stupid and beneath notice.

    Sorry I think tt’s the historian in me coming out to play, before you know it I’ll be ranting on about popery and politics and the Titus Oates affair during the reige of Charles II or the plight of the underclasses during the IR. If I start talking about trade unions and the Bryant & May strike of 1888, then just shoot me, seriously.

    What the hell’s wrong with me today, I’m going to leave you ladies to your lovely conversations without me grumping all over the place and getting all working class and Northern about things.

    Right I’m going to crank my neck back, and shut the f**k up.

    • no mine today our educational moment day and this is your day.

    • Popery! This is why I love LTR.

  26. To demonstrate modern day England and that not all English accents are sexy listen to this

    I’m English and I find Rob’s accent tres sexy

    • But must stress I do not sound like vicky pollard !!!!

      • hahaha i LOVE little britain!! but they cancelled the show here a long time ago.. yeah, i’m asian.. lots of people prolly found the show too discriminating or something. but i totally missed it. 🙂

    • OMG–that was hilarious!

      Still love the accent. I think I just love accents of all kinds, from everywhere. Yes, even Fran Drescher’s. Okay, valley-girl accents irritate me. But otherwise, I love all of them. Fascinated with regional inflections and idioms within all cultures. I’m just geeky that way.

    • Hahahah!!! LOOOVE Little Britain!!! It showed sporadically here, and then I just went out and bought the DVD’s….nonstop laughter and tummyaches .
      I’m asian too 🙂

  27. I love his bright skin, another thing HE changed in my book….the type of skin that burns after 2 seconds in the sun, never becoming really tanned…
    In Italy we made lots of fun about the english that tried to get tanned at the beach …looking after 1 weeks like roastbeef….read I MADE FUN OF IT, NOW I LOVE IT…not the red, but the SKIN!

    Rob has GREAT BRITISH SKIN…..sigh*

    • ha, and they probably made fun of tanned Italians 🙂

      • Italians make much more fun on FRENCH than on brits…lol…you stole my FORMAGGIO and my CHAMPAGNE!!! YOU personally…. I guess! 🙂

        • Yes it was me personally. (love both. separately) But at least I’m not fake tanned. 🙂

    • yeah but I remember him being a bit tanned in the first vanity fair photoshoot and I kinda liked tanned Rob too…
      To be honest I love his skin no matter if its tanned or not.

      • that was orange make-up…just saying 🙂

        • whatevaaa…
          Can we just agree that Rob always looks great? And the wrong person was naked? (sorry rg I just had to say it again)

          • I agree!
            Rob always looks great and I’ll say it again “wrong person was naked, damn it!”

    • same here about the bright and tanned skin.actually it didn’t change with Rob but i’m sure there are some brits who can get tan but i love How rob can’t

      Uniqlo Megastore Launch 2007

      no Rob not this way

      • that’s soooooo adorable…..and so not-spanish-looking!!! 🙂

      • OMG. The sweater! My eyes! My eyes!

        • and i remember that sweater on some Rob’s grilfriends, don’t remember the name.
          so he doesn’t share clothes just with boys

    • Yeah I love his skin too, it’s flawless.

      My hubby has the same skin, and he’s so white! He burns so easily. He’s Irish descent though, wonder if Rob has a little Irish in him?

      Anyway if Rob went to the beach he needs like SPF 100 or something!!!!!! lol

  28. this doesn’t really have anything to do w/ rob.. but since people are talking about accents now, i’m sharing something w/c actually fascinated me 🙂

    • Wow, that was awesome. Her southern accents (TX and SC) weren’t very realistic, though, IMO. I wonder what her native accent is?

      • The Texas one sounded like Reba MacEntire (to me) and she’s from Oklahoma, I believe.

    • LOL good one

    • This was cool. I don’t know how accurate all of them were, but the Seattle accent, which I would call the “Standard American” accent (or no accent at all) was spot on. I would classify myself as having that accent.

  29. btw awesome post the old one! Thanks for some more or less educational moments and laughs.
    I laughed out loud at the nigel picture. Which wouldn’t have been that bad if I wasn’t in class. I literally laughed out loud a bit too loud…
    And is it just me or is Rob absolutely doable in that picture with TomStu and that random girl? Seriously he looks hot!

    I think I just saw david slade…
    B

  30. My dad is British. From London, even.

    I tell myself everyday that my fascination with Rob is not some weird daddy issue thing. Every. Day.

    ‘Cause it ISN’T, ok?

  31. Isn’t the random girl his ex – Moon and UC did a letter to her back in the day – was one of the mosy hilarious posts ever

    • Yes, her name is Nina :-).

  32. Love this post T.O.O! Want to marry it in fact!
    On a other note:kind of glad that I’m not his ex Nina, she may have been his gf (good for her), but she will forever reminded of that fact trough those pictures of them together who pop up over the net.

    • yep, I’d be depressed if I were her. But she did have him for three years, which is three more than any of us are likely to have him for 😦 Bloody hell!

      Doesn’t she work in a slaughterhouse out in Kiwi land now? Odd choice of occupation after being a model, don’t you think?

      • Yeah, read that somewhere last year. She might be doing something else now, she also painted. I think she did some modelling in the UK, but was not really the kind of model that can work all over the globe. She is tall and cute, but not really spectacular model material in my opinion based on that picture. And yes, she had him for 3 years, and it seemed to be that they were still friends, Rob commisioned her for some paintings. If there’s closure, than the pics aren’t that bad I think. Only if there were some feelings left there.

        • Ok, am going to shoot self… have just read that some MP saw RP and KS in the Marquis of Granby, opposite Burberry HQ over in Westminster. I drink in that bloody pub, I’ve dunk in that pub on many, many occasions. That’s one of my after work pubs….. I can’t believe it. Apparently, he give her a few kisses but they left separately, bloke who tweeted said they seemed more friendly than amorous.

          BLOODY HELL!!!!!!!

          Actually, amazed no photos of the two, it’s a really busy pub, mainly after work drinkers, but a young crowd. OH God, OH God, OH God!!!!!

          • Yeah, I’ve read about it as well. I think Rob pays people off who take a pic with their phone! LOL. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, not like the romance of the century, haha. And you should go there more often!!! 😉

          • MINE! The whole pub-scene is against you….omg, I’d go CRAZY!!!!!

          • This is the second pub that’s been mentioned recently that he’s drunk in that I also frequent (recently and not so recently) the MofQ is a pub I’ve not been in for a few weeks cos i don’t work in that area anymore, but I still drink in it every now and again when I meet up with the boys for after work drinks every couple of weeks or so.
            However, if I had still been working in that area, there’s a pretty good chance I’d have been in that pub last night……god dam why on earth did I change jobs!!!!!!!!

          • OMG, i’d also go crazy! almost feel like vicariously living through you now! all those mentioned pubs will become places of pilgrimage for all of my future London trips.
            Maybe he’s been stalking you 🙂 and just goes to those places thinking of you.
            Don’t regret changing jobs, it’s the ultimate proof you didn’t completely forgot RL for Rob dreams.

          • minuit…pls take a pen and write the pub-names on your filofax…lol…and MINE! Im living through you as well these NON-MEETING-ROB reports are HILAR!!!! ❤

          • minuit….the MofQ is not bril…it’s just a reasonable pub to drinking in after work, not that many half decent pubs on Horseferry Road to be fair. The MofQ is just off Horseferry Road, first turning on your left if you’re coming from the river end of the road (lambeth bridge). So now you can find it if you decided to do the whole ‘pilgrimage to the pubs that Rob’s visited’.

            Personally, I think you’d prefer the Macbeth.

            Robgirl, cheers!

  33. Great letter The Old One.
    “The cheeky schoolboy pic” scares me a little though . He looked like Damian Omen there.
    English is not my first language.
    I’m Indonesian, that’s in south east Asia. So thank you all, this has been very educational post on for me.
    I’m curious, is Clare Pattinson English or Irish or???

  34. LOL! I love that you brought up “Lem-Sip”!!!

  35. Uhm, where can I see The Haunted Airman?
    Rob + Uniform = Died (but not looking forward to the bugs)

    • The bugs WERE pretty creepy. Peered through my fingers the first time (yes, I watched the movie more than once).

    • Netflix. Or buy it.

    • http://www.movies-links.tv/movies/the_haunted_airman/

      so many links here
      enjoy:)

  36. Great letter The Old One!

    *philosophical moment*
    I think the American fascination with Brits (or the English to be more specific) is the fact that Americans are a constantly, neverending, overstimulating bunch that thrive off of celebrity and fashion and trends and ideals and glitz and glamour and shiny lights, whereas the English tend to be utterly underwhelmed by it all and don’t seem to get distracted, much less amazed, by anything, no matter how famous or shiny it might be. Where most young guys in Hollywood who are hot and have #1 box office hits strut around LA preening and primping like they own the world, Rob mulls around Barnes and rides in the backseat of his parents car and is like, “wha? I’m famous. Lovely. Time to go shopping with TomStu.” And his American fans see him doing that and think, “OMG, that’s so exotic!” when in fact, I think, the English are just more comfortable in their own skin and are truer to themselves than most American celebs (or celeb wannabees) ever end up being. And that has something to do with the pressures the different societies place on each other.

    OK I know I generalize. But it’s my perspective based on observations from my neutral perch in Canada, which itself has a weird 1/2 American, 1/2 British, 1/2 quirky Canadian mix of culture.

    • OK, you generalize, but I think it’s true I love Rob mostly because he seems so “underwhelmed” by celebrity, whether that’s true of all Brits or not. I’m happy he’s getting to spend time in London where he’s comfortable going out shopping or to pubs. That doesn’t seem possible if he were in L.A.

      • His attitude towards celebrity is endearing and charming.

        I definitely do generalize because I can think of some exceptions to my philosophy… Victoria Beckham comes to mind.

        So part of it is maybe the general English culture towards celebrity, and part of it is just the charming man that is Rob.

  37. Ha ha ha – funny post

    Lem-sip : from memory it’s essentially powdered paracetamol (and we allknow how gross that is) mixed with some fake lemon flavored powder. You pour boiling water on it (from the kettle – natch) and then drink it when you have a cold. Not convinced it works either.

    “Suspenders and leash” comment – too funny! I actually think the “suspenders (which would actually be known as braces in the UK, suspenders refer to what is know as a garter belt in the US) are part of the whole shebang and they’re usually refered to as reins (I guess like you’d use on a horse, in fact in the Details interview didn’t Rob get all excited about some kind of horse restraint in a sex shop? He was thinking back to his reins as a child!!)

    Reins on kids are pretty popular, unfortunately there were a couple of highly publicized child abduction cases in the UK – probably around the time that this picture was taken (Jamie Bulger was one horrendously sad case) and the sales of reins shot up. Whilst I’m sure Clare & Dick live in a very nice area they probably thought it better safe than sorry.

    I can’t believe I’ve just typed such a boring message on LTR – sorry.

    And I’ve thrown in the term UK just to further confuse the England/Britain/United Kingdom discussion. Here’s the deal from the interweb:

    The UK is a country that consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In fact, the official name of the country is “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”

    Great Britain is the name of the island northwest of France and east of Ireland that consists of three somewhat autonomous regions: England, Wales and Scotland.

    Therefore, England is part of Great Britain, which is part of the United Kingdom. The U.K. includes England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are not countries but the United Kingdom is. The remaining portion of the island of Ireland (that which is not the U.K.’s Northern Ireland) is an independent country called the Republic of Ireland (Eire).

    Righty-oh, now I’m even boring myself.

    • That wasn’t boring to me at all. I love being educated about anything remotely pertaining to Rob. Who knew England, Scotland, etc. aren’t countries! And the mystery of Lem-sip! And I think we’ve discovered why he was fascinated by the horse-harness! Ha!

      • Actually I just remembered one of the best books I have ever read:

        For those of you wanting to study up before Rob invites you for tea at his parent’s house – a must have read.

        I’ve lived in the US for 8 years now, I read this on a flight back from the UK and it made me cry with laughter. Will explain the whole insane class system, words that will give you away if you use them incorrectly and just general explanations for English behaviour.

        My favorite part was the explanation about the obsession with apologising: the Englash are the only people who you can push off the pavement (sidewalk) into knee deep muddy water in the gutter and they’ll say “Oh – sorry!”

        • “My favorite part was the explanation about the obsession with apologising: the Englash are the only people who you can push off the pavement (sidewalk) into knee deep muddy water in the gutter and they’ll say “Oh – sorry!””

          —- some English-Canadians do this too!

          I was so shocked when I moved here (to Canada from the U.S.) and English-Canadians (at least in Toronto and Montreal) apologized for EVERYTHING.

          Here, though, “sorry” has become a bit more of a replacement for “excuse me” or “I’m going to do something rude but pretend I’m making up for it by apologizing,” as in, I’m going to drop this door on you rather than hold it open, but I’ll say “sorry” as I bump into you and run through.

    • thnx for the whole reins explanation cuz it looks the weirdest thing to me.i was shocked when i saw these things in some other pic-it remainded me some bad things

    • thx for explaining…these baby reins are not good at all…if the baby is forced to walk too early, the result can be tremendous…… or just a wonky walk 🙂

      • I think in the UK the reins are primarily used to prevent your child wandering off/being snatched. Extremely rare but obviously high profile. I don’t think they’re used to sort of hold the child up to make him/her walk. But I could be wrong 🙂

        • You’re right, it’s to prevent them from walking/running and getting run over. I have one for my DD, I don’t use it all the time. But it’s a lifesaver. Kids this young don’t always want to hold your hand and they definitely don’t always listen.

          So no it’s not to prop or yank the kid to stand up. LOL

      • Nope, not for forcing a child to walk. Meant for use in very busy places when you’re worried about your kid getting snatched or running away from you and getting lost. At least, that’s how I used mine (only one time). There is that age when your kid does not want to be held or put into a stroller, but wants to run, run, run! And in some places that could be a dangerous thing….

        • thx…ok….but I’m still laughing about your ..”wants to run, run, run” picturing lil’Rob!

          • I know–so cute!
            The love.

    • Yes, don’t mock the kiddie-reins! It’s not just the English who use them. I will admit to strapping my 18 month old in them when we were at the Sao Paulo airport a few years ago. Very very busy place, we don’t speak Portuguese, and my son was a runner. I also carted him around in those backpacks that you plunk your toddler into for hiking. The Brazilians thought we were a very strange breed. And then there was that time I went running in Paris with my so very colorful, American running shorts. I saw no other runners, and if I had, I’m sure that they would have been running because they were being chased or were scared of the crazy American girl in her “vivid” running shorts. That’s just me, maintaining the “Americans are fascinatingly tacky” stereotype one country at a time…. 🙂

      • well, sounds very logical to use these thingys…no doubt, I was referring what my mom said when I was little, reins seemed to be very en vogue in the 80ties and the pic is from that time….so NO offense to the baby reins, at least I have no kids, what do I know? ❤

        • Hmmm.. Maybe that’s why the Brazilians were giving us that look. Perhaps the reins were so 80’s, and not at all a good “look” for the naughts…?

          Those Amercians–always behind the times!

  38. “I was around for the first British invasion- no, not the redcoats- the beatles”

    LAMO! Gawd, I about peed myself when I read that!

    T.O.O. you are awesome!!!

    • Thanks, tupelohoney. I guess I dated myself there a little. But I was VERY young.

      • If you’d been around for the redcoats, then you’d probably be the resident vampire here on LTR. Beatles are much more fun anyway! 😉

        • More of a mummy, I think.

    • Tupelo I love your new avatar! How are you?

  39. I love educational posts. And I am really looking forward to test if this things are true when I go to london in May. I am so excited already!

  40. I really enjoy Educational Moments!

    Old One, you’re awesome!

    Have a nice day! =)

  41. OMG, I’ve learned so much today….lol, better than school here, you girls are GREAT!

    One thing I really appreciated in T.O.O. letter is the mention of the classic name..”Robert”, thx Clare and Richard, well done!
    There’s nothing more strange than baby’s names ourdays, I read of parents here that fighted in a cause for naming their baby “Winnetou” and “Shooter Manhattan”, the first won, the second lost!
    Unbelievable as well, when parents choose names that are soooo weird or from languages they cannot even pronounce!
    LOVE me some ROBERT!!!

    • i’ll go with spunk, that’s how Rob likes 🙂

      • thump up for the Pippi-Longstocking-reference!

      • I’ll go with anything Rob wants me to call him. Whatever he wants.
        Ih if I could call him baby…. Hmmm

  42. sitting and reading this brings me back to that one picture of Rob on his Wikipedia, everytime i go there(twice a day) i think, man rob, you look really british today. srsly look at it, its love.

    i wish every english boy was a daniel gale/rob mix…it is love

  43. Anyone else think Rob looked like a Omen child in the school picture?
    Seriously that picture will be giving me nightmares ..

    • He’s working up to the impregnating stare he perfected in the Vanity Fair photoshoots.

  44. I have learned more today than I ever did in all my years in school.

    Now I really feel educated! In a Rob-way of course!

  45. i know this is out of subject but is anyone excited about remember me unscripted with Rob,Emilie,Pierce and Chris and artist on artist interview with Rob and Pierce?

    p.s.football lovers @mine and qBleriana i need to calm down cuz so angry about tonight’s match(inter2-chelsea1)any sugestions cuz looking to Rob doesn’t help at all

    • I watched it on a german tv-channel and I gotta say… It was funny. (Well for me at least; I find soccer funny in general) but well. No suggestion from my side… Sorry

      • don’t make fun with my pain girl 😀
        seariously i was just shaking,so nerves
        and as i said HHH doesn’t help to calm down 😀

  46. I….lurve…johnny…depp… i will offer my virginity to him… hehehehehehe…

  47. definitely prefer the term British… hearing anyone/anything referred to as English makes me think of the bathroom scene (who does #2 work for!?!?) in whichever Austin Powers movie that was where he’s dressed up in that ruffled collar shirt & red velvet jacket… WAIT. Rob has a red velvet jacket… oh lord…

  48. WOW thank god someone can break it down for us.

    Hmmm the accent…Hmmm the I dont give a f*** attitude…Hmmm Robert……..Hmmm Thomas…

    You know I dont think you covered everything because not one time did anyone minchin his hot body!?!?!

    Hmmm…..His Hot Body;)

    I love Rob and I exspress my Acute Fondness of him everyday.Though it drives some of my friends crazy and yes Im only talking about the guys all I have to do to get the girls to shut up is show them a picture of him….Which is pretty easy since hes my wallpaper;)

  49. I’m a day late in responding, but T.O.O, that was brilliant. T.O.O. = T.W.O.

    “The Red Coats are coming, the Red Coats are coming!!” too effing funny 🙂

  50. […] to english. My teacher was impressed by how much I knew about that one. Thanks LTR for the Educational moment 2 days […]


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