| Page 1, Panel 7 |
O fortunatos... = O farmers excessively fortunate if only they recognized
their blessings! (Virgil, Georgics ii.458)
(alt.) 'O Fortuna' from 'Fortuna imperatrix mundi' the well known
orchestral work by Carl Orff's 'Carmina Burana'.
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| Page 3, Panel 10 |
Oxbridge - Oxford and Cambridge, the two universities famous for their
boat race. |
| Page 5, Panel 5 |
"A Garden is a lovesome thing, god wot!" - The first line of a famous
19th century poem by Thomas Edward Brown called "My Garden".
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| Page 5, Panel 6 |
Note the souvenirs on Asterix's shelf |
| Page 7, Panel 5-6 |
"Smaller than the garden of my uncle, but larger than the pen of my
aunt" - From the high-school English as taught in a popular English
method of instruction in France. The French edition uses "the helmet
of my nephew" for "the pen of my aunt". The book in French is full of
odd-sounding literal translations of English phrases like "I say",
"that's a bit of luck", "all that sort of thing", "goodness gracious",
"I beg your pardon"; the English edition conveys the effect by
overdoing the Bertie Wooster-ish talk.
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| Page 10, Panel 6 |
Alea jacta est = the die is cast (Julius Caesar) |
| Page 10, Panel 9 |
The Channel Tunnel or Chunnel. |
| Page 11, Panel 9 |
"In Rome do as Romans do" = St Augustine of Hippo was used to eating on
Saturdays, but in Rome was obliged to fast on this day. When he mentioned
this, St Ambrose replied "When I am in Milan I eat on Saturday; when I am
in Rome I fast on Saturday." Robert Burton, c. 1600 restated this phrase
in "Democritus to the reader" (Pt. 3 Sec. 4 Memb. 2 Subsec. 1), and it was
also mentioned more famously by Miguel Cervates in "Don Quixote" (Ch. 71) |
| Page 14, Panel 1 |
Does this refer to to the St. Andrews (even though it is further north)
golf course??? |
| Page 15, Panel 10 |
The Beatles. It must be said that George Harrison looks strange. |
| Page 20, Panel 6 |
Uderzo momentarily forgets that the English drive on the left side of
the road. He got it right in Page 13, Panel 4. |
| Page 20, Panel 8 |
"London Bridge is falling down" - traditional children's song. |
| Page 21, Panel 4 |
The statue that Asterix and Obelix walk by is a take off of a famous
statue called 'Diana on the Hunt'. Except, in this version, Diana is big
and crushing the stag. This might explain Obelix's affectionate gaze at
her.
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| Page 22, Panel 7 |
"Little Brown Jug" — a well known drinking song written by Joseph A. Winner (1837-1918). |
| Page 25, Panel 8 |
The present-day Tower of London, a popular tourist attraction, was
built on the site of an old Roman fort. |
| Page 28, Panel 6 |
Park Lane is a famous high-class residential area. |
| Page 28, Panel 9 |
The UK has many housing areas featuring identical dwellings (mind you,
so do many countries). |
| Page 32, Panel 1 |
"Drink to me only with thine eyes" - Ben Jonson, "The Forest. To
Celia", c. 1600. |
| Page 32, Panel 3 |
Rugby |
| Page 32, Panel 8 |
Mufti: plain clothes |
| Page 33, Panel 1-2 |
A Caricature of a "British Bobby" (policeman), complete with swinging
truncheon.
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| Page 33, Panel 5 |
Scottish bagpipes |
| Page 33, Panel 6-7 |
Sacred goose and hen??? |
| Page 40, Panel 3 |
"that's not cricket" = not fair play; a common expression (also an
anachronism, given that cricket wasn't developed until the 16th
century) |
| Page 44, Panel 6 |
Fluctuat nec mergitur = It is swayed by the waves
but does not sink. Motto of city of Paris. |
