Sunday, March 11, 2007

Home James!*

Conversation between Jay and I upon leaving the supermarket the other day...
Me: "Home James!"
Jay: "I'm not James, I'm Jay! Who's James?"
Me: "No, it's an expression. James is the chauffeur."
Jay: "The chauffeur?"
Me: "Yes, a chauffeur is someone who drives people's cars. When the people are ready to go home after shopping they get into their cars and say 'Home James!' It's just an expression that crazy English people use when you're ready to go home."
Jay: "James is the chauffeur?"
Me: "Yes"
Jay: "Are you James?"

* I'm not entirely sure where the expression Home James comes from, possibly taken from the British TV comedy that aired in the mid 80s by the same name and starring Jim Davidson as a cockney chauffeur. My mother, being a cockney herself, has always used the expression so it's possible that it has been in play well before that. Not sure why the assumption that all chauffeurs are called James!

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