The Archers Comments: week of April 21, 2018
River Am
River Am
Life outside Ambridge
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Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments" - Episode 14 Life Outside Ambridge Have a seat and let's chat.
1. Good morning 🌈❤️
ReplyDeleteMorning Ruthy. How wrong I was. I thought you were an expat Brit.! Hope Rob Titch doesn't turn up in your local bar crying into a paper napkin. How wonderful and special that TA has spread so far. Thanks for new thread more writing less scrolling😁
DeleteMessage to Stasia re 129 on previous blog. Your impersonation of Ed's ewes and lambs were very good. You've got the parts, all 80 of them.
ReplyDelete👍
DeleteHH I do sheep calls very well. Am surrounded by them, on the allotment and at the bottom of the garden. We do have quite a few conversations. Baa.
DeleteIn case you're feeling daunted by the prospect of portraying 80 different sheep voices, I can assure you that you won't need to do 80 individuals. Budget restricts animal cast members to 7 per episode. An occasional all sheep epi might require bleating by 4 ewes + 3 lambs. Ed's sheep are Texel so ewes may have a slight Dutch accent. If you're not confident bleating in Dutch, any British Isles regional accent will do, since we don't know where Ed sourced his flock. Lamb bleats - Borsetshire, please, since they were born at Grange Farm.
DeleteI've practised conversation in different human languages with animals. Also dialect.
DeletePerhaps Shula's not wanting to engage is a defense against being sucked into Alister's need to know why?
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit like being asked, why anything happens. WHY? Simple. Why Not.
They will certainly need to talk, but if he keeps asking why she doesn't love him anymore then she will retreat even more. Discussion between them should now be more pragmatic. Finance, accommodation and those massive loans taken out to build and modernise the vet practice.
I wonder what part the silent Anisha will have to play in financial discussions about the vet practice?
Delete'Spect it'll just be reported to us via Alistair or Rex.
DeleteStasia, it sounds to me that you have been reading the online advice I recommended to Alistair last week.
Delete"Love & relationships" are now on the interests list on my google profile, although they should really be on Alistair's profile. He might soon notice adverts about single females popping up.
8. Morning Ruthy, and thank you again.
ReplyDelete3
ReplyDeleteMaryellen might be interested to hear that I am presently watching an item about the huge increase in craft gin production in the UK in the past 5 years. Apparently there are now 315 distilleries (more than doubled) and it featured a young man who gave up his job to create “PinGin”, with his girl friend, installing a still in his garage. Looks like T❤️O❤️B❤️Y wasn’t as daft as some of us first thought! (Or perhaps that should be the SWs were more on trend than we thought).
Well done T❤️O❤️B❤️Y for being more astute than I gave you credit for!
6 (Do replies count as posts? If so, then it's a higher number) It's time William went back home and it looks as if Eddie's plan for Jake to stay longer with his father is shaping up by itself. Does Jake want to come back? And if he does will it be to create havoc? He's already been introduced but what about his sister Mia?
ReplyDeleteI should have thought a completely new post would take the next number, then replies to that post could start with @ (6) or regarding (6) or something like that ? As we used to do on the BBC blog. As Maria used to say "just my idea", not being prescriptive.
DeleteYes, you're right Archerphile, this has already been in use, I forgot. Thank you for the information on Toby as I am his No2 fan.
Delete7. Eddie was sound enough in his reasoning, but somewhat out of character, being perceptive about a child's needs? He's well meaning but hardly sensitive inthat way. He should speak to Will himself, Clarrie made a hash of it.
ReplyDelete7 a) He's speaking from empathy. That was the first time I can recall him mentioning his feelings about his mother's death. Interesting that he felt Joe's grief and memories overshadowed his own. According to my Archers' book, Eddie had just turned 18 when his mother died.
DeleteTaking the kids to the burial ground so often is a big turn-around from Will who hadn't even wanted them to attend Nic's funeral.
Jake can have something like normality with Andrew.
8. Pat was quite defiant that she would find Olwen, I wonder where that will take her. I am of the opinion that being played by Alison Steadman detracts from her character.
ReplyDeleteI agree Basia, I think I said when she first appeared that hearing such a familiar voice, is distracting and prevents one from ' hearing' the character, only ' hearing' and indeed ' seeing' the voice.
DeleteI disagree. She's Olwen. I've not seen her recently so that's helped. Other radio characters I've heard Alison Steadman play are totally different. She's the subject of the main article in the radio section of RT. Repeat of "The Kraken Wakes" has just finished on R4. Tamsin Greig (Debbie Aldridge) was one of the 2 leads. I knew it was her but the familiarity didn't detract from her portrayal. There was a cameo role for Nicola Sturgeon. (Btw UK Parliament relocated to Birmingham which was then put under martial law. No mention of TA. )
DeleteConversely HH, I kept thinking ‘Oh, it’s Debbie’ when listening to the Kraken Wakes. She has such a distinctive voice I just couldn’t forget her Archers role. Brilliant production I thought, with the atmospheric music and very clever setting it in the near future rather than in the era it was written. Better stop now or I’ll have to depart to the other blog!
DeleteThis afternoon was a repeat. I heard it 1st time too. Ambridge is too far inland for inhabitants to have been Kraken victims. It may be nearer the coast in future. Seaweed fertiliser. Kate, Tom or Susan would set up a seaweed food business. Change brings new marketing opportunities.
Delete9. HH. The one good thing about speaking sheep, is that wherever in the world I take myself , when I bleet and baa I am understood. Being an Irish sheep helps as we can bleet and baa for longer than othe international sheep. We are also very friendly and like to party and Frolic in the green, green, grass. Now I'm sure the Ed Grundy's Texels have to bleet loudly if they want to beheard. Having to live on such a noisy farm, children, adults, ferrets, dog and donkeys requires a lot of wool around the ears. We are dreading shearing time.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure some surplus wool could be made into earmuffs. Home Farm sheep would appreciate them to block out sounds of the toxic clean-up. You could keep the bits decorating your ears. Start a new look.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYou're referring to my reply to Stasia's post about Shula & Alistair.
Delete"Stasia it sounds to me that you have been reading the online advice I recommended to Alistair last week."
To explain: I clicked on an article on my news- feed , "How to save your marriage ". Some of it seemed to be dialogue straight from Shula's & Alistair's lips. It was by an American marriage counsellor. He identified 8 ways to save a marriage. There's a book. I recommended the site to Alistair.
(You may have noticed that I had a one-sided conversation with Alistair. He didn't reply as he was occupied in a one-sided conversation with Shula.)
I've noticed adverts about single women frequently popping up at the bottom of my computer screen, presumably from dating sites.
A few days ago I clicked on another item on my news-feed, this time about internet security. There were instructions how to locate one's google, FB profile etc to see what info each company keeps. My google profile had my gender & age range + a long list of interests. Among them was "Love & Relationships". I assume it's on the list because of the article I clicked on last week. Then I wondered if that is what has triggered all the ads for dates with single women. Hence the rest of my post to Stasia that if Alistair had taken my advice and gone onto the saving one's marriage website, he may by now be noticing on his screen ads from dating sites telling him there were lots of lovely women in his area. I imagined them on the computer in his consulting room.
I also checked a long list of firms who have me as a "Target of Interest". Majority were ad firms. Text from one was in a foreign language. I've used that language in a few online communications during the past fortnight and may have looked up a word in an online dictionary.
No way am I derogatory about single women. Imo society wouldn't function half as well without them.
I believe in marriage and think a good marriage is a rare and wonderful thing. Words of the wedding ceremony "cherish", "forsaking all others", " for better and for worse" and "plight thee my troth" encapsulate the essence of it.
However I understand Fallon. I thought a bit like Fallon when I was a few years younger than her.
I was/am strongly in favour of Pip keeping baby + staying single. I don't want SWs to find a new partner for Will for a long time.
Such an interesting post, HH - it really is quite horrifying how many details of one's surfing are analysed and stored away in this monster internet. That's the main reason I don't subscribe to any social networks, although I think it is already 5 past 12 as soon as one has a Google account. May I ask how to go about finding one's Google profile? I am useless at these things.
DeleteI hope Maria will take back that 'derogatory' bit.
HG It's just got worse. See my reply to Lanjan's last but one post on "Life outside Ambridge" blog. I almost accidently clicked on something . If I had clicked on it I would have got more of them.
DeleteI got into my profile by following instructions from the online article. Most firms' names meant nothing to me and clicking on "more information" brought a load of jargon. I deleted some.
I saved the article in case I needed it again.
The article was in Huffington Post 28th March 2018. Headline "Google Knows Literally Everything About you - Here's how to Delete That Data". There are linked articles.
DeleteOne firm listed on my profile is a German car firm. I don't even possess a licence. I deleted that one.
10. Dear HH. I understand that you are auditioning for animal noises in TA. I am fluent in frog, wood-pigeon and Jack Russell, and have recently mastered Ruby Bellamy-Elliot. I wondered if you might be able to find a role for me in future episodes.
ReplyDeleteYours sincerely
Sarnia.
That comment was a long time 'publishing' so should have been 11. This is therefore
Delete11a)
Yes indeed, in response to listeners' requests.
DeleteWill a Jack Russell suit Linda & Robert and the llamas? What about when little Mungo and the other grandson visit? Who else needs a dog? It could be a regular client of Alistair and Anisha.
Lilian may be due a few appearances so we should hear from Ruby. Kirsty & Phil might hear frogs on evening walks by Arkwright Lake.
Do you realise wood-pigeons share scenes with Will ? If he's carrying a shotgun a wood-pigeon role may be short-lived. Practise being cut-off mid-call.
Technically this IS on topic - I "qualified" as an actual archer today...!
ReplyDeleteTake a bow! Were you handed a ceremonial arrow?
DeleteCongratulations Official Archer! Do you use a long bow or a crossbow, I wonder? Whichever, well done!
Delete👍🎯🥇
DeleteWell done!!
DeleteBullseye 👁⬆️
DeleteThank you everyone! I even got a tiny ceramic badge for my efforts. It is/was every bit as enjoyable as I thought it would be - it's soooo relaxing!
DeleteArcherphile - champion knitter that you are, would you be able to design a T❤️O❤️B❤️Y woolly sweater for the Christmas market? The Christmas market currently consists of Basia, me, Toby (outsize to accommodate Julius as well) plus a baby sweater for Julius with the design on the back to avoid regurgitation?
ReplyDeleteOh yes Maryellen, I’d be delighted! If it’s only for a few of us I could probably knit them too - at least the baby size one wouldn’t take more than a week. Do you think Pip would want one?
ReplyDeleteExcellent, Archerphile! I think one for Pip too so the three of them can wear identical sweaters for their studio photo together. (I'm told the current trend is for new fathers and their baby sons to be photographed both wearing the dad's favoured football team's colours, but I don't think we know who supports what in Ambridge?). If demand grows. we'll have to outsource some of the knitting....
DeleteI’d much rather knit Toby and Toby Junior matching cricket sweaters - I’ve had quite a bit of experience knitting those. Just don’t ask me to kit out the entire Ambridge Cicket team, that would be a sweater too far!
DeleteArcherphile - you might find the sweaters for people living in the Ambridge time zone knit themselves more quickly than those for people living outside it (known as the 'extra bedroom effect'.)
DeleteHave just listened to Friday’s episode. Is there going to be a battle between Will and Andrew over Jake? Both seem to be trying to spoil him as often happens in divided families but Eddy is right and it is down to Jake to decide, he is old enough. Will saying he will be back where he belongs assumes that is with him but maybe he belongs with his natural father who seems caring and maybe when Nic was alive felt Jake should be with his Mum. Things have shifted though with her death. It will be interesting going forward.
ReplyDeleteI thought heard Ellie mentioned as in 'Andrew and Ellie' so if I'm right, it sounds as if Andrew is not only Jake and Mia's natural father but he has a substitute mother figure attached - which might answer the children's needs more than the constant reminders of their mother's invisible presence which is all poor Will can give them
DeleteHi listening to the omnibus this morning I smiled again at the Jazzer interview. It was really winners all round, Neil asserted himself by including Jazzer, Justin could say that local workers were being given an opportunity and Jazzer got his pay rise.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely correct KPnuts! Hadn't thought of it like that.....
DeleteThere has been considerable discussion re numbering of of posts (and omissions of same.)
ReplyDeleteI noticed on the Frog Blog 117 Suz (117) had referred back to a post by Mrs P identifying it by the time of posting which I thought an excellent solution.
As the blog automatically shows this for each post could this not become the convention?
e.g the post I am at the moment seeing is that br KPnuts 12:50 P M/22/4
That would avoid trying to work out which number we are up to and then finding that someone has posted in the meantime with the same number.
DeleteThat's really helpful - should we refer to replies inserted on a later date by the 'parent' date and time so people know they need to look further back?
DeleteSounds sensible Maryellen in combination with the suggestion by Pierre les C.
DeleteTo Soz - I've posted a message to you on the BBC Writers blog which I hope will help.
ReplyDeleteTo anyone reading Ruthy's blogs who would like to contribute but is having difficulty signing on - if you post an SOS on the BBC Writerroom blog (Getting Your First Broadcast Veditb is the one LanJan has started us on), someone here will try to help!
DeleteSorry, that should be Writersroom blog
DeleteI agree with the post from Ev and Maryellen- 11.22 - 12.26 this morning.
ReplyDeleteThis would be another social ' issue' of course, satisfying some and annoying others, but probably needing some public discussion.
Will is thinking of his own needs, not of Jake and Mia's needs, nor of their other natural parent.
Andrew came across as a man prepared to be reasonable.
Will seems to be by nature competitive.
Certainly Will and the rest of the G family would hopefully keep in touch with Nics children, but Andrew is the natural parent and now that circumstances have changed, he should be included in the discussions around where and who the children should be living with.
Will, of course will be resistant to this. Probably to even considering any arrangement that he has not conceived himself.
But the two children are old enough to be making decisions for themselves or of being part of any discussions about who/where they live.
A week ago I suggested that Eddy would be the most likely to come up with sensible suggestions, and I think I have been proved correct.
Eddy is considered to be a rather useless clown most of the time, but IMO he has
a down to earth and pragmatic approach to relationships.
You are right Mrs P.
DeleteAndrew we know has always taken an active part in the children's lives having them for weekends and the arrangement was for alternate christmas's.
Should it come to courtas I have said before, The childrens views would be paramount given their ages, Will would be very unlikely to win.
I agree Mrs P. It doesn't seem to have occurred to Will that Andrew, as the father, should have a say or that the children are old enough to have a view.
Deletemaryellen. April 22, at 8.56am.
ReplyDeletePip, Toby and baby all grinning at the camera with pearly white straight teeth, and wearing matching jumpers. I shall be having nightmares tonight trying to rid my brain of such a horrible vision. Correction the baby will be toothless, but horror of horrors, everyone in Ambridge will be given a picture free with a bottle of scruffy gin.
:) :)
DeleteStasia 3.03pm 22/4
ReplyDelete' horror of horrors, everyone in Ambridge will be given a picture free with a bottle of scruffy gin. '
I'd be fine with that. Toby if he has any sense (or if he listens to Kenton) will sell the celebratory gin, not give it away. So the solution is simple - don't buy the gin and so escape the picture : )
But perhaps Toby should consider a special Celebration Edition with a photo of the Fairbaby on the label. In fact, come to think of it, perhaps he should run up some Royal Baby and Royal Wedding labels too. Perhaps a free paper flag with every bottle.
Stasia & Sarnia 21st April + other animal impersonators.
ReplyDeleteThere are roles for 100s of sheep in Ambridge.
Home Farm sheep bleat in RP.
Brookfield sheep have adopted Geordie. This is partly due to lambs from the past 10 generations entering the world to the sound of Ruth's gentle, encouraging tones. When the flock heard about proposed move to Northumbria 4 years ago they did an intensive "Speak Geordie" course so they would blend in "oop North". Even though the move was cancelled ewes still call their offspring "pet". They soothe their lambs to sleep with a chorus of "When the Boaat Comes in" although they have no idea what a boat is. Rams Kevin, Robson and Ross lead the flock in procession each Durham Miners' Gala Day.
Thanks for that, H H ! I thought it was dogs and owners who merged, but... what a limited perspective I have...
DeleteWell, you know what sheep are like. If one does something they all want to do it. Some lambs must have imprinted on Ruth at birth. The intensive course they did was a Geordie immersion experience. The word immersion reminds them of sheep-dip so it's not used.
Delete🐑🐑🐖 baa, grunt
DeleteBridge Farm pigs grunt in Borsetshire overlaid with Glaswegian, similar to what a real Jazzer's accent might be. It's not clear where inhabitants of Mega-Pig are coming from. Their predecessors, cows of the Mega-Dairy were imported from Eastern Europe. There's a risk that porcine communication problems might scupper the planned coup d'état masterminded by Jazzer. If they have to rely on "Piggle-Translate" matters could go awry.
DeleteBridge Farm cattle are pedigree Aberdeen-Angus and have Scottish accents; not Glaswegian although some may have attended Glasgow School of Moosic.
DeleteBrookfield's beef herd being Hereford, not far from Borsetshire I expect they sound like the Carter-Horrobin-Grundy-Larkin clan, maybe with a slight Welsh overlay. The dairy herd are a West Country breed, so standard yokel "Moomerset" accent ideal. Or imagine a bovine version of Prudie from "Poldark" (apology to actress who is lovely). Yes, I know Cornwall, Devon and Somerset are all different .
The mob-grazing cattle at Home Farm sound as if they might be an unruly lot and youngish. "Urban", "Street" type whatever that is. They consume music via their ear-tags.
Oh dear. Grundy situation is turning out how we feared.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Andrew is putting Jake's needs first. William has tunnel vision. Last thing Jake needs is to be object of a "tug-of-love". It's a relief they aren't real children.
Will complains that there isn't enough space at Grange Farm where he is a visitor, gets meals cooked, washing done, not to mention empathy. He wouldn't be able to look after Poppy, Jake and Mia in his house, another arrangement needs to be found.
ReplyDeleteAs for Shula she's obviously way ahead of Alistair and by mentioning a divorce has only aggravated the situation.
Will didn't seem to appreciate the empathy this evening in his conversation with Shula when in town.
DeleteHe needs to return to his own home, with the children, and get some housekeeping help.
Of course, he won't.
Will did not acknowledge that he tends to react in the wrong way. (I still want to like Will, because he used to be a nice boy.)
DeleteHe apologised to Shula for his reaction to her remarks on the previous Sunday at Lower Loxley.
Delete'Hurt feelings' was tonight's theme, Alistair's more rational than Will's, though I don't know why he was so outraged at the divorce word - hardly an uncommon outcome when couples separate. Shula is trying( yes, in both senses) but she doesn't have the emotional, mental or imaginative equipment to measure up in this situation. She sounds like a '50s female retard. Poor, needy Will - agreed, HH, Andrew is the one who is putting Jake first. He can see what the boy is going through, he is distanced from the grief and, of course, Will isn't, can't be. Ed was pretty useless tonight - means well, but not the quickest of wits. Given his showing the other night, I wish Eddie had been the one listening to Will.
ReplyDeleteEd said as much as he could. His main role was to listen so that Will could vent his feelings. Since Will has been staying at Grange Farm Ed has focussed on "being there" for Will and remaining calm amidst the chaos. Will is unlikely to accept Ed's advice on parenting or any other matter. Last week Ed seemed to have mediated successfully between Jake and George, proposing a solution for the broken laptop until Emma arrived and intervened. Will saying that if "his" children need discipline he will do it brings to mind "just wait until your father comes home".
DeleteJust repeating the post I put on the off topic blog, as it really belongs on topic!
ReplyDeleteI have just sent the following email to this site asking for ideas for a blog - you have to scroll down a bit to find it!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/entries/59c8fa85-d090-42b0-ae59-d88496afaafc
Dear Alistair Smith,
I have just come across this invitation to get in touch with an idea for a blog.
I find this highly ironic after the BBC has just axed the enormously popular and well used Archers Blog causing immense distress, anger and frustration to hundreds of fans of Radio 4’s iconic programme. This was a blog that attracted several hundred comments per week, a community of like-minded people built up over several years – and for many socially disadvantaged through disability, sickness or plain loneliness a lifeline that enabled them to communicate with fellow The Archers lovers. We had bloggers from all walks of life, and when issues such as coercive control, child welfare, bereavement were taken up in The Archers, their expertise was often found to be more acceptable and easily accessible than any expensive Helpline provided by the BBC.
It was blogging at its best and a service that was greatly appreciated by listeners of The Archers.
As an Expat, it was for me personally an invaluable link to home.
I have spent a few hours surfing through other BBC blogs. It is dismaying to see how many blogs are either ignored or only contain a very small number of posts. We were never given a plausible reason for cutting off one of the most valued and highly used blogs. Several bloggers were even interviewed by Feedback and promised an airing. That also never happened.
If you are looking for ideas for a blog, I have one – along with hundreds of other listeners:
Give us our Archers blog back, please.
Sincerely,
hamburg gardener
Well done HG
ReplyDeleteHowever, I very much doubt that you will even get a reply.
The monolithic BBC has made its decision.
Unlikely to be reversed.
But I do admire all efforts to attempt to reverse that decision.
If I were Jake I too would hate to live at Grange Farm with the Grundy clan.
ReplyDeleteHe is a teenage boy and I think Mia must be in her teens also.
It would be difficult but not impossible for Will to move back to his own home .
Incidently Andrew's partner is called Ellie.
She isn't Ellie the midwife who visited Helen is she?
HG ,I have responded to your post on the other blog.
ReplyDeleteGood on you.
29. Just listened to Sunday’s episode. I am ready to move on from Shula/Alistair and SL revolving around Will. I have said Shula needs to give Alistair the right reason, that she wants excitement in her life and Alistair is boring and she wants to move on. Will needs someone to speak sense in dealing with Jake and moving back home and getting back their own life, without Mom to interfere and withou Emma as the house maid.
ReplyDelete👪👨👨👧👬👫🏃🏼 that is what the Grundy household looks like. Jake is running away, good for him.
DeleteStasia - Makes me wonder, not for the first time, just how many bedrooms/bathrooms there are at Grange Farm?
DeleteJust caught up with tonight’s episode and found it so sad and frustrating! Firstly Will, unable to understand Jake’s reaction to his mother’s death. He is, course, still too engulfed in his own grief to see that Jake needs to grieve in his own particular way - by getting back to normal and not constantly visiting Nic’s grave. At least Andrew can see what Jake needs and is able to give him the time and space to recover. Then the discussion between Shula and Alistair - I am so unhappy at the way Shula is treating him, it seems so unlike the Shula I have known for her entire life. I find myself becoming desperately sorry for Alistair and thoroughly annoyed with Shula who has become rather shrewish and selfish, unable to empathise with her husband any longer. How very sad!
ReplyDeleteMy reactions too. I've also known Shula all her life, growing up "with" her. I suppose, like Will, she's wrapped up in her own misery.
DeleteSad and frustrating describes my feelings as well.
DeleteSorry, off topic, but just wanted to say that there's a message for Mrs.P on the Off-Topic blog - just in case you miss it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Suz....
DeleteHave replied.
Will sounds like he has forgotten he has a home of his own. Someone should point out that the best approach for children is, that they. remain in surroundings that are familiar and secure. They need their own room, bed, toys etc, but suddenly Mums gone, and they are having to share in an environment that is over stimulating and crowded. Certainly the youngest will present with emotional problems, usually bed wetting .
ReplyDeleteEllie obviously has the skills to enable Jake to say that he doesn't want to return despite all the presents Will is giving him. I think Will is determined to bring Jake back to Ambridge, more conflict for the children and arguements within the Grundy household.
Couldn't agree more stasia - can't believe that no-one apart from Emma has questioned the insanity of an entire family deciding to shack up together to grieve! A family that was already horribly fractured to begin with... And even then she seems to be more concerned about the physical practicalities of the situation rather than the damage that must be being done to everyone's fragile minds. I can't think of a single reason why Jake would wish to return to the horror of it all.
ReplyDeleteEmma seems to be the person bearing most of the burden of the practicalities. Trying to keep on top of them is sapping her physical & emotional energy. She voiced her concern to Clarrie about Will taking the children to the burial-ground so frequently. Clarrie gave her short-shrift. Emma may have talked to Ed in private but even finding any time alone together will be difficult. Having Will + 3 children staying there for weeks in normal times wouldn't be plain-sailing without the grief and all the emotional pressure of the present situation.
DeleteArcherphile 23/04 9.52 am
ReplyDeleteAccording to my "Book of the Archers" published 1994 and 'written' by Charles Collingwood, Patricia Greene and Hedli Nicklaus Grange Farm has 6 bedrooms. There was certainly a spare bedroom when they were doing B&Bs. I suppose there are enough bedrooms if the children double up but where would the Grundys have found, overnight, four extra beds. I presume the teenagers are sleeping on the floor on mattresses or airbeds? Not ideal for a long term solution. Will needs to return home and make a new life with the children be it with 1, 2 or three. He wants Jake 'home' but is not making a home for him. I also presume Will is not working but being waited on hand and foot by Clarrie and Emma. Eddie was right in his little talk with Clarrie on Friday night (heard whilst driving home) The children must come first but Will is putting his own needs first.
However all this signals a new 'conflict' in the used-to-be peaceful Ambridge. Who else is there to fall out now? Harrison and Fallon; Jolene and Kenton;Ruth and David; Peggy and Christine? I think the first of those pairs is being signalled as a possible future storyline already.
Will has returned to work, maybe not full-time yet.
DeleteBedrooms & beds situation: There must be either a double bed or twin beds used by the guests, perhaps with a child's bed. Did Clarrie & Eddie give up their room for B&B guests? Children's rooms may have each had an extra bed already, perhaps cabin or bunk beds. As Poppy is still having disturbed nights she might be sleeping in Will's room. That would mean 2 girls instead of 3 in Keira's room. The 3 eldest children need space & peace for homework and other activities, undisturbed by little ones. Bedtimes vary; the little girls may be woken by Mia getting ready for bed.
Spicy @ 23/4, 9.52
ReplyDeleteI am very much afraid you are right. Why is it that so many stories these days (not just TA) seem to revolve around conflict of one sort or another. Because that makes it interesting or dramatic and keeps audiences coming back for more?
I should so much like to hear some feel-good and/or uplifting content, especially in The Archers which is - after all - supposed to represent life in a rural village. There must be something happy, amusing or even just mundane going on somewhere in Ambridge! Goodness me, I could even stand Susan gossiping in the shop if it made me smile for a couple of minutes.
35. You may be right about Harrison and Fallon, Spicycushion. A 'non-married couples don't have rights' storyline seems to have been being flagged up for a while: possibly Lilian and Justin, or Harrison and Fallon. H has changed his will, but F would have to pay inheritance tax (assuming the cottage is worth more than the threshold) in the event of H's demise. F's insistence that 'we don't need a piece of paper' hints at an 'issue'. But I doubt that the scriptwriters would want to kill off another thirtysomething so soon after Nic.
ReplyDeleteIt may depend on whether they are tenants-in-common. Harrison borrowed money from his parents to make up the deposit. He's probably paying the mortgage as I doubt Fallon's businesses are bringing in a big income. Were Harrison to depart this life soon Fallon might have to sell the cottage and repay Harrison's parents. She wouldn't be able to afford the mortgage on her own. She would get his life insurance and police pension if he's nominated her as beneficiary.
DeleteI wonder if Nic's life was insured. A widower such as Will but without close family support would need to pay someone for childcare and housekeeping tasks which Nic did.
Pierre les Corbeaux April 22, 2018 at 1:12 PM - I am pleased to see that the suggestion that the date and time be used instead of numbers received some positive responses. When I first suggested this (April 11, 2018 at 11:13 AM) with suggestions how to copy the details I had some comments that I was being too techy. Plus ça change (as you might say).
ReplyDeleteI seem to remember that I thought your suggestions to be worth trying, but I don't think I said so, just did it. I do remember then, that one other person commented on what I had done. Which was to quote the time as well as the name of the post.
DeleteSo ... well done muckspreader.
Good afternoon Muckspreader. I missed your original post being somewhat concerned to organise myself on this site at the time. As I said in my post yesterday I noticed that Suz had used the system. I found it easy to use and just wanted to bring to the general notice as a good and easily workable idea.
DeleteRegarding the 'conflict in Ambridge' debate. I think we have to acknowledge that conflict is the life blood of all fiction. Without it, there is no story, but it has to be balanced against less dramatic moments and storylines. Having said that, I do think that there has been too much conflict in T.A. recently, which has swung the balance too far in the direction of conflict and has lessened the ameliorating effect of gentle humour and good old -fashioned happiness. All the great novels are a mixture of dramatic and gentle moments - perhaps T.A. writers should take a lesson from them.
ReplyDeleteBBC Writersroom have given us a red notice to quit! They have asked us to be courteous to genuine users and offered us a link to some TA scripts as more appropriate.
ReplyDeleteSo we're being given lessons in courtesy, are we?
DeleteI'm going to pop my head around the door of the Writersroom. I'll be quiet and not disturb them.
DeleteThere's always the 'About the BBC' blog. They even provide a 'Round up' blog for the week. OK, so you'd need to post a few days after the episode but at least they can't complain about being off-topic. What's more, I've only found one blog with more than one comment (there are several to choose from) so they could hardly claim we were being discourteous to the 'proper' posters.
DeleteI intend to listen to Sketchorama on IPlayer and then make another comment.
Delete38. I don't acknowledge that conflict is the lifeblood of all fiction! I've just Googled 'conflict is drama' in an attempt to find the origin of this commonplace, thinking it might go back to Aristotle or someone. In an admittedly brief search, I only found very recent and superficial references. It's probably true at a deep level: maybe not always conflict, but there has to be a problem of some kind, and the drama traces its resolution. But I suspect that scriptwriters are taught to chant this unthinkingly, and that they take it to mean that 'conflict' means everyone has to squabble all the time. Internal conflict can be much more interesting, as can be the slow burn of characters realising they have different attitudes to life, or different reactions to social change.
ReplyDelete'I know, let's put all the Grundys in one house, so that they can all fall out. That'll be dramatic!' is an example. The person who asked, 'Why on earth would they do something so obviously daft, and so obviously wrong for the children, and where would all the extra beds come from?' was ignored or dismissed, for overestimating the intelligence of the imagined listener.
But, even internal conflict is still 'conflict, bootgums. And the quotation 'Conflict is drama' is, as you say, incorrect. It doesn't have to be dramatic. It is just the coming together of two different characters or points of view which can either errupt into drama or become reconciled during the course of the story.
DeleteExactly, I'm happy with internal conflict. It's the crude interpretation of 'conflict is drama' as 'everyone must fall out' that I'm unhappy with, and that we get too much of in The Archers. And I think, say, personal development can provide material for fiction, which may involve some 'conflict' (shall I do this? shall I do that?), but doesn't have to include bickering.
DeleteTitle of a BBC Writersroom blog is "Story v Character v Dialogue". I might put a relevant comment there or ask a question.
Deletebootgums (3.29 PM.) ..... and characters shouting at each other in a public place.
DeleteWe're completely in agreement then, bootgums. I do feel that they haven't quite had the balance right for some time now - probably since the Rob/Helen storyline. A case of too much shade and not enough light, I think.
DeleteThis is my room assignments at Grange Farm:
ReplyDelete1. Joe
2. Eddie and Clarrie
3. Emma and Ed
4. Will and Poppy
5. George and Jake
6. Mia and Keira
Am I missing anyone?
Beyoncé and her partner? They probably rotate bedrooms. ( Beyonce might be name of a ferret.) Joe lost one in the house last week. A ferret not a bedroom.
DeleteThat's odd; an accent appeared on last letter e 1st time I typed her name but not 2nd.
Holly, I suppose. Probably doesn't have her own room.
DeleteWhere is/are Will's dog/s? Are they curled up with Holly? She didn't like Ruby staying at Christmas; she nipped Ruby's ear. Will's dog is a well-behaved, mature working dog, different to Ruby. There may be canine stress too at Grange Farm .
DeleteI have just discovered that now I have a Google sign in for this blogspot I can leave comments at the bottom of Christine Michaels’s fantastic Ambridge Observer too, because that is also published on a Google blogspot ! I had been getting weekly copies via email, but they started being diverted to my junk mail and I couldn’t retrieve them. So I went to ambridgeobserver.blogspot and found the latest edition there plus a complete archive of ‘back copies’. Thoroughly recommended!
ReplyDeleteI'll try it. I've tried to post a comment on AmOb before.
DeleteSuccess. I just wrote something because I can.
DeleteGlad I could help HH, and very pleased we can comment on the AmOb too now
DeleteArcherphile - agree, the ambridgeobserver is a very good read.
ReplyDeleteI have seen a post concerning Harrison and Fallon and the possibilry of inheritance tax. From what I have heatd, whilst listening to TA, that they have done their wills from downloaded forms. Although these have been witnessed, are they legally binding? I always thought that a will had to be notorised, legally by a solicitor. I do not know - except my will has been drawn up by a solicitor, and it will avoid "inheritance" tax.
ReplyDeleteYou do not have to go to a solicitor.
DeleteThe Gov web site tells you all about it
We need sleepylawyer to give an opinion. A downloadable will form might be OK if everything is simple & straightforward. However the person making the will may have overlooked something. You have peace of mind which is worth paying for.
DeleteI think the conversations between Harrison & Fallon could be a precursor to some problem for Lillian if Justin were to leave her for any reason. I don’t recall the Dower House being put into her name...
DeleteDoes Lilian even know what Matt did with the proceeds of the sale. There is supposedly a trust fund with Lilian as sole beneficiary. It might be hiding in South or Central America with the non-existent racehorses.
DeleteI have just posted a comment on the writers blog in response to 31&32.
ReplyDeleteA telling off for using that blog to send messages about the Archers, and on a pink/red background. A bit like being a naughty child or red rag to a bull, I don't want to discuss the Archers on Facebook or Twitter.
I followed the link to Archers on FB. I read comments posted during past 2 days. I'm not on FB so can't post a comment.
DeleteI suppose it was a bit disappointing for Ling to find that almost all comments on her blog were from TA listeners.
(Thinks) if we took advantage of the completely unused Rado 4 Extra Jane Austen blog, the writer who is the subject of the blog wouldn't be in a position to feel upset about it.....
ReplyDeletemaryellen - very funny! Any ideas as to how we could get the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's death to have some bearing on TA?
DeleteOn the other hand, since nobody has contributed in the 9 months the blog has been open, perhaps the mods. have given it up. I wonder if lights start flashing somewhere if such a corpse of a blog suddenly gets reanimated!
I couldn't find the Jane Austen blog.
DeleteI expect Joe's great-grandad was born 200 years ago. Would that do?
A Jane novel must surely be on Linda's reading list. She's probably read them all 10 times.
DeleteWe've used the "Badly done, Emma, badly done" quote a few times in the past.
I expect Joe's great-granddad was born on the very same day as Jane.
I'm glad that Peggy knows the truth about Home Farm. It's no surprise that Lexi is not pregnant.
ReplyDeleteI'm concerned about Pat, she's on a quest and I hope it doesn't take her away from Tony.
Me too Basia. And didn’t Peggy give Brian a good telling off? Good for her!
DeleteI'm surprised that Peggy is apparently so accepting of Adam & Ian employing surrogacy. She wasn't happy when she heard about Helen's plans for IVF. She's mellowed in her extreme old age. Perhaps she's kept her true opinion for Hilda Ogden's ears alone. That's one of the benefits of living with a cat.
DeleteI have posted another comment on the Writersroom blog pointing out that were it not for us ,Milkey would be the only poster(actually I think there were posing ly another couple in fairness)
ReplyDeleteWe congratulated Ling .
Mikey seemed grateful.
I asked Anon some questions .
I hope he/she answers them.
I read your post LanJan, very well put. Even though we were told off on the Writersroom blog at least someone took notice which is more than we got from the Archers team.
DeleteTwo good things happened this evening.
ReplyDelete1) Lexi isn't pregnant
2) Helen didn't win the Cheesemaker of the year.
I suspect the winner of that will be somebody who lives north of Preston.
I used to get Lancashire cheese from a local market in Lancashire less than 20 years ago.
Wonderful.
1) Not so good. It means we and Lexie have to endure the whole procedure again. Hopefully we won't have to accompany her to the clinic next time to hold her hand.
DeleteI can see this being a Brexit Baby, due date March 2019. Peggy commiserated with Jennifer. I wanted to eavesdrop when Peggy was told about A & I's surrogacy plans.
2) Total agreement. The best cheese in the world is made in the County Palatine and preferably bought from a market or local shop supplied by local farms. My other favourite cheeses are made in the Yorkshire Dales, Wensleydale and other dales.
Lancashire Crumbly cut fresh from a cheese wheel on a market stall - nowt like it!
There is a blog site called About the BBC
ReplyDelete"Shining a light on the wealth of BBC Activities across the organisation."
There are several open blogs with no comments at all .
Unfortunately the latest one is about a Radio Wales so we would probably have to mention Pat or Phillip if we high jacked that.
I wonder if anyone will respond to us on the writers one we hijacked.
Not tonight but sometime I think I may well put a comment on the open blogs asking why our blog site was closed when they continue to produce blogs which nobody uses .
I won't be using the Technology one again.
That was the one Alex ??? wrote a comment about The Archers blog.
LanJan, you could start a new fashion - gorilla blogging ; )
DeleteI have also posted again in the Writersroom - telling them what I think of their suggestion to visit the script library! Also an apology to Ling if she feels we have been discourteous.
DeleteNot that she would have much to read without us - yet another little used blog.
I expect gorillas have a long list of topics they would like to get off their collective chest. I look forward to hearing about them.
DeleteDid someone ask about the Jane Austen blog? Try googling BBC4 radio blog. Once you get to that bbc page, scroll down to Jane Austen. It’s a blog with no comments.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't realised that Helen was holding weekly how to make cheese sessions and just for locals. She didn't need Ian to tell her she should schedule them less frequently and attract participants from further afield. I could have told her that. So could Tony. Making them part of a mini-break linked to Ambridge Hall B&B is a good idea though, despite Tom's sneers.
ReplyDeleteI have put a first comment on the BBC Radio 4 - Jane Austen 200 blog. It's meant to establish our credentials for being there and pave the way for future Archers discussion. 'They' may squash it but I thought it was worth a try - if only to give readers of this blog who are having difficulty signing on to contribute, a place where they can still contact us.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, when I posted on the Jane blog (and the Ling blog) I didn't have to await moderation for a first time poster as we did on the TA blog.
DeleteMaryellen, we are logged into the BBC anywhere, so perhaps those awaiting moderation are the ones who are commenting for the first time ever.
DeleteBasia - I'm sure you're right, just me being thick! I guess the Writers Room stipulation about max no of characerts pet post reflects a frequent constraint on media writers.
Delete're 23.4.18 529pm
ReplyDeleteYes a home made will is fine as long as it is signed and witnessed. Subject to normal will rules! E.g. made with sound mind, no coercion. If simple it's okay bit more complicated you probably need a solicitor. Remember too marriage automatically cancels any will made before that marriage. A fact beloved by Victorian writers A Woman in White involves marriage wills etc??
I must be very dumb as I can't find anybody from here on the BBC Creative or Writers blogs. Can anyone help? Has everyone taken pseudonyms....
Sleepy - Under 'All Blogs' scroll to W (BBC Writersroom) - the second from latest 'Getting My First Broadcast Credit' now has 41 comments, mostly from us!
DeleteRe last nights episode: 1) Hooray for Peggy, she’s still able to put Brian in his place despite her age! 2) Thank goodness Lexi is not pregnant but will she try again or give up and allow Roy to resume his, er, not-quite-marital rites, fall pregnant with his baby and scupper Adan & Ian’s plans? And 3) What did everyone think about that painful family conference at Bridge Farm? Will Pat really seek Olwen out and let her influence future plans or will Helen and Tom prevail with their money making ideas - which sounded quite airy-fairy to me. I think they need to concentrate on producing high quality, popular and profitable foods, a few niche products ( bring back black pudding scotch eggs for a start), advertise widely and try to lower costs in the farm shop. I can’t see Helen’s big idea of running courses in a very expensive new building ever justifying the costs.
ReplyDeleteI agree, stick to the basic good quality products and if they sell enough they may be able to lower the prices. I still think that Helen will win the award which will help with spreading the word.
DeleteI had a look at the About the BBC blogs and they are all empty: record stores, the Proms.
I think Tony is just about the only sane member of the Bridge Farm family left. Tom is useless with all his half baked projects and leaving the only real work to Jazzer. Helen bores me to tears with her cheese classes and Pat is getting obsessed with Olwen. I think the latter showed great sense in getting out when she did. Olwen is a very independent person who can't be beholden to anyone, even if it does mean sleeping in her car. If Pat does find her and bring her back, it will end in tears, believe me!
ReplyDeleteHG - Tom leaves the only real work to Jazzer? There's more to the non-dairying, shop and tearoom side of the Bridge Farm than the pigs, e.g. the entire veg box operation from planting to delivery, and (how could you forget) the sausages? Apologise to Tom! 🙂
DeleteOh, all right, maryellen, if you insist! (I hadn't forgotton the sausages, I thought Tom had!)
DeleteBtw, what is T-O-B-Y (can't do hearts) going to say about you suddenly flying the flag for Tom? :-)
HG - T❤️O❤️B❤️Y knows it's not serious till I start talking tee-shirts!
DeleteSo we've posted in the Writersroom and on the Jane Austen blog, Maryellen made it Archers related by the class issue, both blogs highlighted by LanJan.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else having difficulty with all the BBC blogs?
ReplyDeleteYes, but it seems to have righted itself. I thought perhaps they were trying to remove our posts but all seems well
DeleteT♥️O♥️M
ReplyDelete:) But 1'm worried about you, Ruthy, maybe work, domestic life, but, above all, administering a site peopled with gorillas at a tea party, who Chuck rock cakes and hot beverages at their erstwhile keepers(BBC), has proved too much for your balance of mind. I can account for losing your heart to the hapless Tom no other way. Please take a few deep breaths, a neat vodka, cherry flavour, and all will settle down, I promise.
DeleteRock cakes? Never! Flapjack is way more effective.
DeleteTop secret. Classified.
Please don't try to dissuade Ruthy. She is part of a highly confidential mission to lure Tom out of the country for good.
This message will self destruct in one hour!
Somebody on the Technology and Creativity blog mentioned the BBC Charter.
ReplyDeleteI quote a small section of it.
"The BBC is accountable to its audiences .Their continuing trust in the BBC is a crucial part of our relationship with them.We will act in good faith by dealing fairly and openly with them."
I have decided that I am going to let the Local Elections get out of the way and then I am going to get in touch with my MP .
In fairness I think he is a waste of space but I will give him a chance .
Aren't all MPs a waste of space, we never hear from the MP representing Ambridge, and given all the problems re toxic land contamination and pollution of the Am, house building, shanningons with horsey swindling, someone should be asking questions. I must make a slight correction, MrsP's MP is very nice and committed.
DeleteWe haven't even heard from the county or district councillor for Ambridge. Emma and Neil were the only elected representatives who stirred themselves about pollution. (On behalf of district councillors in my own area, I know they do a lot. I was at a meeting this evening. One has called a public meeting for next month about some issues.)
DeleteI so want Olwen to return. She has upset Helen and I would so like this to continue, without being too malicious. From what I have heard, Olwen has looked after Jack - he spilt his juice so the cheese "provenance" was put aside to dry (seemed lost). Olwen also said she loved living where children were and as to her antagonism against Helen - I just have an idea that she is a carefully, instructed "plant".
ReplyDeleteI also wonder about how profitable the Bridge Farm Organic shop is. When Helen ran Ambridge Organics on the High Street in Felpersham, it closed as not viable. This was a high street shop, so I do not understand why the same enterprise on Bridge Farm is now so succesful. I cannot understand this
ReplyDeleteThe Bridge Farm finances have been a mystery for a while - funding expensive lawyers on top of a heavy mortgage to buy the farm not that long ago...perhaps Justin the fairy godbrother-in-law has waved away all their need to worry about such mundane matters, or is it the extra bedroom fairy spilling magic dust over the farmyard. Meanwhile the richest farmer in the village has history rewritten and now finds he fell on hard times. What a topsy-turvy world is Ambridge. Perhaps those Grundy elves were up to mischief or revenge for being evicted from Millenium wood.
DeleteMike cared for the Millenium Wood and the Greensite Burial ground, but who is now caring for and maintaining these sites?
DeleteJamie Perks, the silent forester? The Millenium wood was gifted by Brian. Perhaps Will and his assistant do necessary maintenance. Trees are approaching 20 years old. Phoebe may have helped plant one when she was a toddler. Is the green burial site owned by the community or council?
DeleteLarge chunks of expenses for Helen's shop in Borchester would have been rent and rates. No rent to pay at Bridge Farm. Unsure of rateable value of farm with added retail premises.
DeleteFootfall on High Streets is much reduced these days.
A similar set-up to Bridge Farm was on "Farming Today" on Monday. 140 acre farm with shop, café + other ventures. So successful it now requires several back-office staff. After 20+ years it's become one of the village's important employers.
I am wondering if The Old Woman,Annhill and HG might collaborate and write "Our" story?
ReplyDeleteA sort of Calendar Girls.
I don't mind adding a bit .
Maryellen can act as our Agent.
The Feedback three would feature of course and Ruthy will come over here for the Award Ceremony after the film has been made.
We can obviously continue to use the Writersroom blog whilst we are writing it.
I wondered if we could get the help of someone like Meera Syall?
We will actually be doing the BBC a good turn because in the end they will see the error of their ways,people like Esther Ransom who was made a Dame because of her scheme to help elderly folk get 'phone calls will be impressed by -( here I satarted to write down names but there were too many and I didn't want to miss anyone out) and Doctors all over the Country would be delighted because the waiting rooms would be less crowded because advice would be given by Archers listeners on the "extras" blog produced by Ruthy.
Ruthy,I don't think you can be a proper "Dame"but Douglas Fairbanks was knighted so I don't see why not.
Between us we will save the NHS so much money and the BBC will be indebted to us because they will get the credit for what we have done.
But we won't care.
We will be magnanimous.
LanJan - the reference to Calendar Girls is titillating. (Sorry, it's been a trying day.!)
DeletePS I have to say that our local MP, parish and county counsellors, are just wonderful! We always receive monthly news-letters which relate to all local, and further afield issues and the e-mail addresses, websites, where we can give our views. I appear to be very well represented, well until the next local elections in May, when it could all change.
ReplyDeleteI may have to contact your MP then Miriam.
ReplyDeleteAll this repetitive angst from Dan, Shula and co is becoming so tedious. OK, we get it, she doesn't know why she's gone off her husband, these things can't be satisfactorily explained to rejected husband and confused son, but it is useless to do the verbal equivalent of hand wringing every time she's challenged. Why can't she stop treating Dan like the child he isn't any more, but which he's regressed to in his confusion at the moment. He's upset for his dad, but tonight it was mainly about himself - accusing S. of turning his childhood into a mockery. I'd advise her to treat him like an adult, not offer the bland rubbish she handed out: 'It's for the best, darling..' Better to be honest and say she has a life too, the right not to live it pretending to be content when she isn't. Does he want her to be destroyed to save their feelings ? Would it be doing them a good turn in the end? She could say much the same to Alistair, so long as she also made it crystal clear that it is not his fault and that actually fault and blame doesn't come into it at all.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest Carolyn,I am rapidly going off Dan or Darling as he is now known.
ReplyDeleteDo many mothers call their grown up children "darling" all the time or has Shula caught Jenniferitis?
Jenniferitis. That describes the temporary memory loss which afflicts parents of several children. To avoid calling a child by another's name the parent refers to them as "darling".
DeleteMuch like actors. It deserves a mention on "Word of Mouth". Must look for a Michael Rosen blog.
I just run through the list of names and hope at least one of them responds : )
Delete66. Many moons ago, Kathy (remember her?) saw a counsellor and told her (or him – I don't think the counsellor spoke) how she now felt about Sid – she could hardly watch him enter the room without cringing and feeling something close to revulsion. One could understand that the marriage was irrevocably over. In contrast, Shula's 'I just don't love you any more' is feeble. 'I don't feel the way I did when we got married'? Why would she expect to? What does she mean by 'love'? She ought at least to address these questions.
ReplyDeleteWas that after Sid & Jolene got all steamy in the shower?
DeleteShula's basic problem is that she has become so boring she needs a partner with a bit of oomph to balance things up a bit and rescue her from a life of beige cardigans. Perhaps she pines for Nigel in his gorilla suit.
ReplyDeleteI know, she could get Latif to do a bit of research and then run off to join Tiger wherever he's lurking at present. OK, so she's not his Pussycat but perhaps he could get used to a Five Toed Slothy.
Lilian here - no, he couldn't!
DeleteAh, OW, but would a man with 'a bit of oomph' even notice she was in the room, so to speak?
ReplyDeletecarolyn April 24, 2018 at 6:01 PM - took a few deep breaths and downed a G&T, back to myself 😀
ReplyDeletePhew, so relieved you've come through this, Ruthy. Now you're in a fit state to take flight (your comment below) and collect that oh-so-well-deserved honour. Time it to coincide with a royal christening, wedding,whatever - if the palace don't wake up to sending an invitation, no worries, Lan Jan will sort it.
DeleteDone it again, can't delete 2nd posting. Have tried, Blogger won't let me.
DeleteLanJan - Dame Ruthy 👑, I am on my way🛩 to collect our award 🏆
ReplyDeleteNo Archers comments at all today ?
ReplyDeleteMrsP - I liked the fact that there are no hard feelings between Harrison and Fallon even though she's not keen on marriage but she may yet be persuaded because of the inheritance tax, like allegedly a certain BBC presenter.
DeleteOK Mrs P : what did you think of Dan last night, then? On another forum I have seen people criticising him for sounding like a 14year old, not sounding strong enough to be an Army Officer and being generally pathetic. I can’t agree with that at all. He is obviously shocked and very distressed that his parents are breaking up and feels that his childhood was based on false ground. Of course he wants to understand what exactly has gone wrong between Shula and Alistair and can’t bear to see his father sleeping on the floor (I presume) of his grandfathers house. I don’t blame him for being angry with Shula, it must be very difficult not to take sides. But maybe dealing with this will help him, as an Officer, to understand and empathise with his men if any of them come to him with similar problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Dan is trying very hard to make sense of something he was not expecting to deal with when he came home on leave and like Alastair he had not noticed the cracks in the marriage so it came as a shock. Also professional life is very different from personal situations where we are emotionally involved and react differently from the way we do at work.
ReplyDeleteTesting
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI had to look up Dan's age and I was so surprised to suddenly realise that he is still only 23. He is now a newley appointed Captain in the British Armed Forces, He is in obviously in charge of other members with, not only their professional career but also their personal lives. I would imagine that these would overlap. This is also what is now happening in his own personal life. I would have thought, that with his experience, he would be able to step back and look at Shula and Alistairs situation. I am sure that Dan would just want his Mum + Dad to be happy. whatever the outcome. Dan had his own career to focus on with Dorothy. He is emotional at this moment in time, bit Dan has to be careful, in that he doesn't cause any antagonism.
ReplyDeletei thought Clarrie and Emma supporting each other over a cup of tea was good, their conversation allowing them to let go of some of the frustrations. I do wonder if Will's anger towards Emma is about abandonment. She ditched him and Nic died, both leaving him abandoned, but for different reasons.
ReplyDeleteDan is beginning to punish his mother with little remarks, his idealised view of Shula and Alistair's marriage and its ending, is pushing Alistair into being the victim and Shula as the persecutor. Now Alistair is behaving like a victim, sleeping on the floor etc. Shula was right to remind Dan, that it was she who suggested she move out.
I'm, beginning to find this marriage s/l a bit boring.
15 years ago my elder sister and her husband divorced (due to an affair by Big 'sis). Their eldest daughter was horrified, she was then 25. To this day, she is still resentful - so much so - that she, her partner and children will stay with Dad for a week, who only lives 6 miles away. She will only "pop" in for a short visit, so that that Mum can see her grand-children. I just hope that Dan can accept what is happening, and that he will feel happy to visit his parents, wherever they end up.
ReplyDeleteMiriam 5.15pm.
ReplyDeleteI mentioned Dan's age some days ago and was told that his brain hasn't developed yet, not until he is 25yrs. The suggestion being that he hasn't yet achieved emotional and intellectual maturity. Yet, he leads a group of Men and women, some probably older and some younger than himself. He has a lot of power and responsibility in his job, including commanding his subordinates to shoot and kill, clearly objectivity is a skill he needs to learn. We are essentially not different people at work , all our learned skills are transferable whether at work or at home.
I hope that this what I was trying to convey, in that Dan, should be able to assess the situation, accept and support both Shula + Alistair, with whatever their decision will be, without being vindictive/accusitive. I hope that I have undetstood your post correctly.
DeleteLan Jan - I have just followed your post on the Technology blog with another comment on what I think of the BBC! Had to edit it though, as I ran out of characters. At least we were not limited in that way on our blog, nor are we here, thank goodness! 1000 characters is not much.
ReplyDeleteTechnology Blog, what is this?
Delete