Thanks to rhap_sody for sending in this cracker of a story of how the story of the call 'Two Fat Ladies' came about. This could well be where the call came from... you be the judge :) Thanks again rhap_sody you have won 1000 points....



Two fat ladies Bingo Call

Hi I just want to relate to you how the bingo call two fat ladies came about here in New Zealand.



This is in actual fact a true story. Here in New Zealand what you call bingo we call housie, now when i was in my teens my mother and other members of my extended whanau(family) started a housie night and one of my aunties used to call at this housie along with her sister and my mother. Both my aunties were big woman and thats no exageration. At first 88 was called as billybunter all the eights, one night my two aunties were arguing about who was going to call the first ten houses, my aunty nan was in a hurry to go to the local pub so she asked my mum if she could call the first ten, my uncle Jim got quite upset about it as the housie was run as a fundraiser for our local marae, and every one was supposed to be there for the duration of the housie which was only forty games back then. Uncle Jim turned to both my aunties and said to them and i quote (U two fat b*****s) started this housie now u will stay and finish what u started,

and when uncle jim spoke they listened because he was our kaumatua(chief) and he was not impressed with his two sisters, so when mum called the first ten houses she literally changed billybunter to two fat ladies and every one in the housie hall clapped and roared and my two aunties were suitably embarrassed

about there behavior. All though it wasn't actually funny at the time my aunties soon got into the spirit of it and for ever after billy bunter became two fat ladies.

I hope you enjoyed this story because since the 1960s when housie first started and became popular as a fund raiser all the local iwis(subtribes) joined and started there own housies to raise funds for there maraes and child health and education. Generation after generation have continued to call 88 as two fat ladies 88.