>Glad to learn from Guest,PATSY, above, that "thee bist" for "you are", which my late first wife used to quote as previous generation talk for "you are" in the Forest of Dean area of Gloucestershire on the borders of Wales, where she was born in 1935, is still apparently current in not-too-far-distant Bristol. That same old neighbour who used it in her childhood would also say "Old Butt" or "Old Buttie" as a vocative where others would probably say "Mate".

~Michael~ <

I know the Forest of Dean it is a lovely place and have had many a family picnic. It is not far to travel out of Bristol for the change of scenery and it is especially good in the Autumn.

She was right, 'Thee bist' etc. was from a previous generation of Bristolians. Especially in town areas like Old Market, St. Phillips Marsh, , Newfoundland Road, Bedminster etc. Where the old Bristol families remain it can still be heard but less though now, with new generations setting up home elsewhere and people from other areas moving here you don't hear the broad dialect as it was. Sometimes back then my mother accused me of becoming a little Bedminsterite if I came out with an expression that was just a bit too Bristoleaze. I don't know why but in the 60's it became something to be ashamed of and my mother even sent me to elocution lessons which was great but if I lost my temper or got a little bit tipsy out it would come! A bit like a WestCountry Eliza Doolittle I suppose!
Farming people in the rural parts such as Winterbourne have more of a wurzely dialect for example when talking about 'Our mother' they would say 'R Ma' rather than 'Muh.' As a Bristolian you can usually tell what part of Bristol someone hails from just by the slight differences of dialect. Now though it is mostly used in light heartedness and in an affectionate nod to Bristol culture, both with young and old as well as being a greeting.