Sana’s TV bilgi

Keeping up Appearances – the art of smiling and nodding

I laughed when I saw a Keeping Up Appearances forum topic over at the Universal-Playback forums that asked whether you could survive as the husband or even neighbor of the hilariously awful Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced, according to dear Hyacinth herself, Bouquet, with a rather falsely plumy English accent, for those not in the know).

When I was younger, I would sit and watch Keeping up Appearances with my parents, and we would all groan and shake our heads at Hyacinth’s awful, snooty behavior. Her wealthy sister apparently owns a property that has ‘room for a pony’, and this is a joke that has stayed in our household for many years since.

While Hyacinth is hilarious on the screen, and it’s highly amusing to watch her put on airs and try to hide the truth about her family, who is perhaps not quite as hoity-toity as she likes to pretend they are, I certainly feel a bit of sympathy towards her poor husband Richard, who is rather put-upon by his bossy wife. Neighbour Elizabeth unfortunately doesn’t fare much better, and it’s almost cringe-worthy to watch her forced expression of interest whenever our dear Hyacinth sails by.

While Hyacinth is definitely a character who works brilliantly on television, and she’s one whom I’d much rather preferred stayed there—it is, after all, nice to be able to switch her off when she’s in one of her moods!—the reality is that many of us do have a Hyacinth in our lives whom we have to deal with on a regular basis. Fortunately, though, I’m not in a position where I’m married to one, or am stuck with an over-friendly neighbor who likes to pretend that she’s someone she’s not—because I have a feeling that it would encourage me to make some major changes to my living arrangements!