Besieged- Annotations
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Page 1
"Your memory of that life won't come back until you're in it": See annotation for Besieged page 1.
Page 2
"In the next world war...": From Radiohead's song "Airbag"
Page 3
"You been talking to pixies again?": Aaron is very... open-minded.
Page 4
'While the Courinnean Grand Général is feeling something of a fool': Chirac was ridiculed for a long time by the French media for calling an election early to allow him to adjust France's economy for the Maastrcht criteria,
and then narrowly scraping a win.
Page 5
'...with clarification for the novice, or for Mr C. Blyth': Christian was the one who was always griping he couldn't follow the plot. See also Besieged page 15, frames 1 and 2.
Page 8
"And Hannah has left a folder there": It wasn't unknown...
"Research for my book on dinosaurs": Never completed, to my knowledge.
Page 9
"Dinky-doo": Dennis got this catch-phrase from a local TFM DJ.
"What are you up to, Sam?": He's playing Space Invaders!
'It is sent to Leeds...': Mr Blyth's comment: "Ah, how sweet! You think we go to sleep in Leeds just because the lights go out!"
'Owing to an old college law...': There are doubtless still plenty of unrebuked laws in Oxford colleges, such as laws stating that speaking Latin or French is still compulsory.
Last frame: The silhouettes in the background were supposed to be Jenny and Ace Dave, Richard's flatmates at the time.
Page 10
'Sudent of this parish...': Reminiscent of Robert Rankin, author of a series introduced to me by Tom.
"It's Tom here, in 'Nam": Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, we must have seen them all!
Page 11
"Silence, jackass!": In the English subtitles for Les Visiteurs, Jacques Ouilles was called 'Jack the Crass'.
Page 12
"Grand Vizier and Master of the Tees": Miss Morley suggested the title herself when I told her I was drawing this scene.
"Proprietor of Casanova's": A fast food house on Stockton's "Eat Street", from where Dr Cheese got his nickname.
"MALAKAS": Malakas: Well-known Greek slang. For those that don't know it, it roughly translates as 'asshole', although it can be used affectionately among Greek friends.
Page 13
"I want someone to blame for this!": Possibly the first example of Stockton's evolution since the comic was drawn. The grassy area behind the Cat here is now a research institute.
Page 14
"I've always wanted to do that": I was itching to draw him stroking a white cat saying "Ve've been expectink you, Mr Bond..." but then there would have been too many cats.
"Hazar!": Does this word need explaining? It means 'hooray'.
Page 15
"The jelly bean machine was jammed": And now it's gone altogether. What is the world coming to?
"There's Kauser and Sordia": Sam insisted on calling Sahdia 'Sordia' for three years.
"How about a bridge...": This now exists, on that exact spot too.
Page 16
"Bloody students": A favourite phrase among the people of Stockton.
Page 21
"Hey, the gadgie's in": Regional slang. Gadge/gadgie = bloke.
Page 22
Frame 7: It's meant to be Rob Lowe. What d'you reckon?
"'E 'as nô pôst!": Nothing important ever goes in the pigeon holes.
Page 24
Frame 7: The guy in the background is a cardboard cut-out that the girls got from a wallpaper store.
Page 25
The site: Again, another site that has since been built on. This is the ground over the bridge from 'Bells', and in the background on frame 1 is the location for the new 'Millennium Bridge'.
"Kind of like in the film 'Speed'?": Where they loop a piece of security tape to convince the terrorist that no-one has left the bus.
"Visualising Stockton with our third eyes": The 'third eye' is a reference to extra-sensory perception, I think.
Page 26
"Is this from that new company?": The all-intrusive nature of McGregor, O'Miley, Llewellyn and Brown Ltd is reminiscent of Rankin's East of Ealing.
Page 27
"Out past those new McGregor offices": In my mind's eye I had the offices situated somewhere between the college and the Tees Barrage.
Page 30
The Falchion: I don't think I ever saw more than ten people in that pub.
"Who does your blackboards?": I tried offering my services as a blackboard painter. I was usually told the brewery did it for free.
"All the waitresses, they will be horses!": Aparently, so Dennis told us, calling a woman a 'horse' in Greek is like calling her 'fit' in English. Horses are graceful and sleek, see?
"And Sam, you are a GHFTOS": Giftos = Gypsy. Greek insult, one of Dennis' favourites.
Page 31
"I wonder where that bison got to": Just around the corner. Tom is heading past O'Casey's on it's back while the girls are just over the dual carriageway from the Waterfront.
Page 33
"Relics from the Cretaceous era": I don't mean 'relics' do I?
Page 34
"Have a most enjoyable evening": I think that guy used to take insincerity classes.
"Ticket please, sir": The bilboard behind him advertises 'The Return of Les Battersby' from Coronation Street. He really did come to Millennium; that's the kind of entertainment guaranteed to all you potential visitors to Teesside.
Page 35
"...A series of dead heats on 'Bomberman'": That would be Sam and myself. It was a very addictive game.
"Linda's eyeing up wierdos with afros again": Click here to see the first one.
Page 36
"...I think we still have a bet on.": Richard bet Christian a hypothetical sum of money that he, Richard, would never set foot in a nightclub.
Page 37
"Hey! Two cervezas!": See the cast list under Tarantino.
Page 39
"Are you sure about this, Jim?": Not sure how Jim could have known that he would have had to change at Darlington anyway.
Page 40
"Home of TFM and Magic Eleven Seventy": Mr Rogers often moonlights as a local radio DJ and has extensive knowledge of this sort of thing.
Page 45
Bonfires: A popular past-time at our house, we developed an uncanny ability to find spare wood just when we needed it. When it was lying around in back alleys it was conveniently lining the walls of our garden shed...
The last frame: A photographic reconstruction of this frame exists somewhere in mine and Tom's respective photo collections.
