No Comprende

Here's what doesn't make sense to me: I visit England and understand everything that's said to me. I watch British TV all the time and understand almost everything they say, and almost always what they mean.

So what's my problem with 'Ashes To Ashes'? I know why 'Life on Mars' was a problem (Mancurian!) but I'm having a devil of a time understanding the characters on A2A. Alex I usually understand, Gene half the time, the rest of them - I have no idea what they're saying. Drives me crazy, it does.