Hull

[codfanglers]

My Public Television Station just started the Enwistle episodes in its rotation. The regular cast members comment about his "foreign" appearance. It is even in the script that Enwistle has come from the East but the joke is he is from Hull In the first two Enwistle episodes there are so many "Hull" comments.

I am an American fan and I often use Summer Wine forums to get a great insight on the subtle joke lines of the show. What is the significance of the town, Hull? Can someone help me understand the humor behind the Hull comments? Just curious.

Thanks so much!

 

[Big Unc]

I am not aware of any standing joke about "Hull" but Yorkshire natives might well know better.
I have always assumed the "joke" is based on the fact that Entwistle is patently Chinese, i.e. oriental, i.e. eastern. Hull is about as far east as you can get in the big (England's biggest) county of Yorkshire. It is certainly the most easterly of Yorkshire's cities.
Hull's full name is Kingston upon Hull but that it commonly abbreviated to Hull (unlike the southern Kingston upon Thames which is commonly known as Kingston). Hull sits on the junction of the River Hull with the big Humber Estuary. It has relatively recently been brought back into Yorkshire (East Riding) having been deposited for around 20 years in a fabricated county of Humberside.

 

[barmpot]

Given that anywhere outside the former West Riding (abolished in 1974 and most of which is now in either West Yorkshire or South Yorkshire apart from parts pinched by Lancashire!) was considered to be foreign by the main stalwarts of the series, not surprised that Hull is cast as East!

Quite early on there was some exchange about going one day on an outing to Lancashire (for American readers there has been a long rivalry between Yorkshire and Lancashire in many fields especially cricket) which brought forth howls of protest from Clegg, if I recall correctly.

As Big Unc states Hull is about as far as east as you can go witout getting your toes wet. Holmfirth would have gone to Scarborough for the seaside (the old North Riding - now predoiminantly North Yorkshire) and Hull was in the East Riding. Apart fromas fcitional work there was never a South Riding.