The only other person I heard say “Gertcha”.

Was my Grandad. I remember him saying it whenever his displeasure was incurred. Which was quite often. My sister remembers him uttering some other words, mostly beginning with F when she was with him on the No.52 bus and he forgot to ring the bell. His vocabulary could be quite mysterious. At bedtime I remember him telling me to “Get up the apples to your Uncle Ned”. I was reminded of him yesterday at the news that Chas Hodges, one half of Chas & Dave had died. My Grandad would have loved Chas & Dave but died a few years before they came to fame. He spoke just like Chas Hodges, even when he wasn’t saying “Gertcha”. Maybe because, contrary to popular belief, Chas was not from the East End. Like my grandad, he was born and bred in North – sorry, Norf – London.