by With British bingo, in particular, bingo calls are legendary. They’re also changing all the time to keep up with popular culture so David Beckham, number seven is one that, of course, the previous generation would have no idea about.
But the best bingo calls of all stand the test of time and have a fascinating history in some instances. Similarly, the best online bingo sites try to keep the true spirit of British bingo alive for the punters who still love the great game’s traditions like cockney rhyming slang, for example, as well as its firm rooting in history. One recommended bingo site bgo, for example, does all it can to keep alive some of the best bingo traditions by carefully designing its site in accordance with what its users are telling it – and mirroring, in many ways, the old-fashioned bingo halls of yesteryear by keeping a real fun element in all the games; because bingo has always been about fun, by tradition, and a fair bit of ribald humour. You’ll soon see what we mean when you have a look at a few of the best bingo calls of all time:
1. At number one we have Gandhi’s Breakfast, number 80. To get this one, you have to imagine looking from above on the skinny father of India Gandhi sitting cross-legged in front of a plate – a plate with not very much or nothing at all on it as the great man was famous for his fasts.
2. At number two, we have Doctor’s Orders number 9, as the “number 9” was the nickname that soldiers gave to a laxative pill they were given by army doctors during the Second World War.
3. Next up, there’s Duck and a crutch, 27. This one’s easy enough; you just have to imagine the shapes of the numerals as the umber 2 looks like a duck at a stretch of the imagination – whilst the 7 is simply the duck’s crutch.
4. David’s Den, number 10. This one simply refers to whoever is the current occupier of Britain’s most famous house, Number 10 Downing Street – so at the moment it’s David of course.
5. Two little ducks, 22. Here again, the 2s look like ducks in side profile so it’s straightforward enough. But the fun part of this call and so many others is the audience’s standard return call to the bingo caller. When he or she calls out “22”; the crowd’s response is traditionally “quack, quack, quack”.
6. The Brighton Line, number 59, originally found its name due to the name of the bus from London to Brighton, the number 59, though some sources claim the same for the railway line, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway.
7. Burlington Bertie, number 30 is simply rhyming slang and refers to the old and famous music hall song of the name, originally composed in 1900 though made even more famous by a parody version, “Burlington Bertie from Bow” in 1915. Incidentally, in bookmaker-speak, Burlington Bertie is rhyming slang for odds of 100-30.
8. Danny La Rue, 52 is again rhyming slang for the famous late British drag queen, though more recently, the call has changed to Chicken vindaloo, 52, as rhyming slang for the UK’s favourite spicy curry. The call was reputedly first introduced at a Butlins holiday camp back in 2003.
9. Two fat ladies, 88, is the one everyone seems to know, but did you know that if you’re in a bingo audience, you’re supposed t respond with “wobbly wobbly”? Well – you do now.
10. And last, but not least, how about the fat lady with a crutch, 87? Now you must get that after what we’ve taught you above!?
