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ARCHERS COMMENTS: WEEK OF JUNE 30, 2018
Montauk, NY Lighthouse

Comments

  1. Good morning. Back to lighthouse. Took this last week on my short visit to Montauk, NY.

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    1. I love the lighthouses, and as I have said before:- a lighthouse means an Archers Site. I am so simple.
      Are these lighthouses manned, or, as in the UK, fully automated. Regardless, they still serve a massive purpose for ships/sailors.

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  2. Hello Ruthy and fellow Archers' fans.
    We know that the main objective is for Brian (Charles C) to retire and the programme is heading in this direction however clumsily it may be done. Brian himself is aware of possible criminal prosecution, now there may be civil action from his daughter, so he'd better remortgage, sell or whatever before Alice has another accident and the whole estate goes up in smoke. The insurance under the circumstances will not amount to much.

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    1. Charles C lives around my area (and Arcerphiles) not aware of any local gossip re retirement from TA for him and/or his wife Judy Bennett - Shula not that I know them or anyone who does but nothing in local paper and from time to time he does book signings locally. I do hope not after all June Spencer - Peggy is still going strong at 99yrs ....

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    2. My personal idea is that the S/L's are building up, so that Mr. +Mrs Colligwood will have a 6 month sabbatical. Will it be a world wise cruise, a long stay in a villa some-where, or just relaxing whilst deciding what to do next.

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  3. Miriam - none of the lighthouse in the US are "manned" and are automated. They are historic and nostalgic. There are even some you can book to stay as bed and breakfast.

    I am intrigued as to where the SW has stored for Brian and Jennifer - I hope not bankruptcy and hope Kate has sense talked into her. Strange that Adam skipped out of the meeting, how did that work into the SL?

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  4. Basia, do we know for sure that Charles C is to retire.
    It was me that promulgated the theory, but I have no actual knowledge in fact.
    And I certainly have not heard any suggestion elsewhere, other than that two major characters are to leave.

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    1. MrsP - I thought it was Archerphile who informed us that 'apparently' the couple wanted to retire and I'm prepared to be corrected before I become the Ambridge gossip machine.

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  5. Something that made me smile was when Anisha told Rex that he hadn't found his 'niche' in Ambridge - he calls her: Nish...

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    1. Oh yes Basia - well spotted!

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    2. Ah ! Yes, quite symbolic - would like to think that was scripted knowingly.

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  6. I'd miss Brian more than Shula. I've always had a thing about his voice. I don't want to lose either of them though.

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  7. I may have reported that, on the Facebook Archers site there was speculation about Mr and Mrs Collingood retiring but I don’t have any inside information, and so very much hope it is not true! I think people were conflating the stories of Brian and Shula’s problems, putting 2 and 2 together and coming up with an unlikely 96!

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  8. What a nasty piece of work Kate is! All she's ever done is take, take, take from her parents and now she's threatening them with legal action. I would not miss her character if she decided to emigrate to South Africa or somewhere but I would miss Brian.
    Pleased to hear that Lily is finally going to tell on her twin brother. It's about time.

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  9. Freddie has that stubborness peculiar to weak people. Also, lost any sympathy when he failed to own up after the brick throwing, which caused significant damage to Johnny, who's been a good friend to him.

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  10. I think Kate is behaving pretty badly, if her business was so good she’d be able to raise finance against it to relocate or even place a counter bid for the land. Instead she just threatens to split the family completely. I accept that Brian bears some responsibility by not being honest earlier, but he has always supported his family.

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  11. Ruthy. Thank you for another lighthouse.
    I suspect that the light has been out in Kate's brain for a long time, and soon she may be making home Farm a living hell. She is an extremely self serving individual, it's all me, me and me again, this new age enlightenment she administers is the stuff of nonsense. I wouldn't let her anywhere near me, especially with hot stones.

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  12. I have tended to cut Freddie and Lily a fair amount of slack so far, but I thought this week Freddie was horrible.
    I hope Lily does speak to Elizabeth, while she has been foolish with Russ it is him as the responsible adult who will, in my opinion rightly, be held culpable. Freddie on the other hand has seen the potential damage his actions can cause, Nolunthando ended up in hospital, yet has continued as if he is invincible. If he gets prosecuted then he could find that his travel plans are scuppered as some countries won’t give him a visa, which in my mind would serve him right.

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  13. I listened to The Omnibus this morning. I thought of:-
    a) Kate -emtional blackmail
    b) Ruth - as so non-emotional, looking at other options to raise monies (the sale of the farmhouse- as if this will actually happen).

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  14. I am so looking forward to when Elizaneth finds out that her darling twins, are not as wonderful as she thinks. She will need a male/father figure(?) to help her out to try and talk some sense into them. I am thinking that this could be re-appearance from Richard Locke. I do hope though, that Freddie will still go to SA to partake in a conservation project, (as a no drugs enviroment). Lily will become more involved in the LL set-up. Lily did show a flair in this scenario, a while ago and I hope it will resurface.

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    1. Please forgive the "typos"!

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    2. Ooh, Miriam, you're being very old-fashioned. A single woman can't bring up her children without needing a father figure? 'Oh Richard, you're so masterful.'

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  15. So Kate still lives at home which she wants to sell, behaving like a teenager by turning the music up and that's exactly what David and Ruth did, some more loud music and throwing up after the party.

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  16. Was Pip having us on when she was taliking about the delivery room?
    Are expectant mothers not left in a very sparse. room by themselves with a good book?
    Mine was an Alastair McLean.
    Suited me.

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    1. Pip is very disillusioned if she think a play list will get her through labor. It's called labor for a good reason, not a dance party and 500 quid for an all terrain buggy? I am not sure that Toby should have so readily agreed to that. It'll be better if they just decide on a monthly stipend instead of what Pip wants at the moment.

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    2. I had my first child, 32 years ago, in a very modern teaching hospital in Cardiff, and took in a tape of wonderful soothing harp music which was played repeatedly throughout most of a long labour ( until I got whisked off to another room as her head was jammed back !). But what I found interesting was that my daughter grew up loving harp music and in fact learnt to play the harp. My second child was born back home in Cornwall in a hospital about 50 years behind the times, and we didn't have the opportunity for music in that one.

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    3. What a lovely story Janice and a tribute to your daughter and the amazing human brain.

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  17. I realise I've got some gaps in my knowledge of Home Farm affairs. I thought Alice and Kate each had a Home Farm cottage, so when and why did Kate downsize to a room in the farmhouse, and if her cottage is now being let, who gets the cash? Also, there was an offer from Adam of a cottage for Lexi while carrying his baby. Is she pregnant now or did all attempts fail? Can anyone enlighten me, please?

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    1. No pregnancy yet for Lexi Maryellen, as far as we know.
      Yes Alice and Kate each had a cottage.
      Alice and Chris live in hers as far as I know.
      Can't remember, but someone else will, when Kate moved into the family house, and do not know who gets the rent. Probably herself.

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    2. I'm pretty sure Kate gets the rent. That was the point of moving into the farmhouse. I don't know whether she pays rent to her parents, but it would be less (for just a room) than what she gets for the cottage.

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  18. Maryellen, Kate moved into her Home Farm cottage when she came back from S.A. She did it up as she wanted Phoebe to move in with her. When she needed ready cash, she let it out with the other holiday cottages, They all had twee names, I think Alice's was called 'Robin's Nest' or some-such.I'm not sure if she wanted the money for university fees or Spiritual Home. Lexi is due to be impregnated again very soon, possibly this week.

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  19. Five hundred for a pushchair! Seriously! Pip might think she's seen it all as far as birthing goes but that's not been her own experience but just 'helping' farm animals give birth. Entirely different thing when it's your own pain.
    Yes Kate needs to grow up. How teenagerish to turn up the music and stay in her room. She really has no clue about family loyalty and the realities of life.

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  20. What a very noisy episode! Kate acting like a sulky teenager in her room and Ruth and David acting like silly teenagers at their adventure centre or wherever it was!
    Pip needs to come down to earth and get real about the costs of baby equipment and realise that giving birth is not going to be all soft music and candles - it will be really hard work!
    I just hope, more than anything, that we don’t have to listen to the entire process in stereo with the sound effects crew treading in cassette tape to mimic birth sounds!

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  21. Kate is definitely rent-free at Home Farm - Brian spat that out last night.
    Can"t make out where the likes of Kate & Toby get their money from. Solicitor fees ? Expensive presents ? £500 for a buggy ? Same for a bouncy castle ? Toby earns enough to pay his rent & keep body & soul together, I see that, but as for the rest....P. & T. seemed to be wafting around in some deluded space last night.
    David & Ruth's adventure sounded like a nightmare, true, but they got some kind of masochistic pleasure from it !

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    1. Thanks for fillling in my gaps, everyone! So Kate has a source of income from letting her cottage plus any saved profits from Spiritual Home before the business was ruined by Brian's past and present conduct. That would explain how she can afford a solicitor. And T❤️O❤️B❤️Y has two sources of income - his regular job at The Bull, which probably covers his basic living expenses, and his gin business which is evidently in profit because he is able to pay back Pip's loan and cover unexpected outlays like the bouncy castle as well as the baby-related expenses he shares with Pip. No shirking there!


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  22. Would have thought Pip would have been one of these that would have the baby strapped to her then, when old enough, in one of those back pack things. Certainly more practical. I don’t care how all terrain the push chair is it will be no good for bringing the cows in.

    Ruth and David’s trip sounded fun apart from all the loud music. I would have loved to have done the free fall wind tunnel. On YouTube there is a clip of a woman, basically, dancing in one of those. It’s amazing.
    I would have jibbed at the bungee, although I love the thought of one, cos with my luck I’d be the one where the elastic decides to give way.....splat!!!!!!

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    1. That's exactly what happened to the son and daughter in law of some friends of mine. They spent a fortune on an all terrain buggy and ended up carrying the baby in a sling and then a back pack most of the time.

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  23. Kate brings three children into the world, abandons all of them and returns to her parents home in her late thirties with no means of support. After a failed attempt at going back to college she decides to set up Spritual Home. Her parents put her up in their house rent free in order that she can let out the cottage, which they have given to her, so that she can have extra cash. They provide the land for her business again rent free, and she helps herself to items from her parents house to furnish her yurts. She now, under the threat of taking them to court, wants her parents to sell the family home so that she can continue her unprofitable business. She has been indulged for far too long and it's about time she started to live in the real world.

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  24. I absolutely agree with the poster who said Kate is her father's daughter - I've thought this for some time. Neither Brian or Kate are admirable characters. Both put themselves and their personal ambitions before all else, though Kate is the more honest about it. Brian hypocritically disguises his intentions as wanting what's best for his farm or his family, it varies. But they both provide some of the most entertaining listening on The Archers (and have nice voices) so I'd prefer not to lose either of them.

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    1. Agree with what you say Maryellen but can't agree about Kate's voice.
      It grates with me.
      Whining and often childish.

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    2. Tamsin Greig in WH drama, that's the only reason I'm listening because I like her acting and voice, but not Kate's. Brian has some good lines and delivers them well.

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  25. Last nights episode was in three distinct parts, and none of it was very pleasant on the ears. I could have done without David and Ruth's shenanigans, screaming alongside loud music.
    Is Brian now only realising that his daughter is a user, a behaviour condoned and encouraged him and Jenifer over the last forty years.
    Pip now about to be Mother Earth, thinks 'birthing' is like being a lamb or a cow giving birth. Toby (I can't keep it in my trousers) rationalises his episode with Kate as a need to get things out of his system. Was he referring to the prospect of being a Daddy or the prospect of now having to spend money he doesn't have.
    Adam the odd man out, was right, everything will be alright, eventually?

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    1. I agree about last night's episode. David and Ruth's day out was uncharacteristic. Toby promises to turn over a new leaf again, how many times is that now?

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    2. Stasia - 9.43am re T❤️O❤️B❤️Y - that's one gratuitous insult and one categorical statement (about his finances), both unfounded. Tut, tut! 😀








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    3. Maryellen, when will you realise Toby is a cad? Must admit though that Pip’s expectation that he should abstain is a bit rich given his past record and that their bedroom shennagins are history!

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    4. Ev, when will you realise he is not? A cad would not have taken care of Jill so sensibly and sympathetically.despite her being such a cross patch, when she foolishly broke her ankle - and there are barious other examples I could cite. His past record, as you call it, pales in comparison with Brian Aldridge's - I'd say he was more on a par with Neil. I think we can assume that 'past' is the operative word in all three cases!





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    5. I must say that although Toby is somewhat reckless in his endeavours, I do think it is stretching it to label him a cad.

      It is possible for such young men as Toby to ' get it out of their system' in all sorts of ways, not just in the trouser department, and turn into reasonably upright citizens attending to their various responsibilities throughout the rest of life.

      However, Maryellen please note, I am not joining the T Fairbrother fan club.
      Yet !

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    6. A pink T❤️O❤️B❤️Y t-shirt would look wonderful with your pink floppy hat, Mrs P!

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    7. I'm sure MrsP would look delightful in a pink t-shirt. Minus 'Toby and Love Hearts'.

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    8. Thank you Stasia.
      You are correct of course, minus Toby and I never do love hearts.

      I do have a pink T Shirt of course with a big K on it.
      Worn generally for rounders at which I am absolute rubbish.
      I also possess a shocking pink silk all in one, ( fashionable again I observe ), which was always worn on one particular day of the year, parading through central London.

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    9. OK, Maryellen, I take back my remark! He does seem to be buckling down to responsibility but am still a bit sceptical! He was giving good advice to Rex tonight but I don’t think Rex will go with Anisha even so.

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    10. "Never say never", Mrs P!
      Thanks, Ev. Toby isn't faultless - who is? - but he has suffered from a bad press (ie. his brother) and the Fairbrother charm he has inherited is a double-edged sword, especially where Jill Archer is concerned!

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  26. I had a very wry smile when Pip was talking about her "Birthing Plan". In theory, this does sound very idealistic, but in Ambridge when do things actually come to fruition, exactly as in the planning?
    I have a very strong feeling, that Pip will give birth in a field, some-where on Brookfield Land. As another poster (I think Maryellen) suggested that, Toby, would deliver the babe. (I wonder why the birth of Del Boy's son Damien, springs to mind?).I think that Toby will then face his responsibility as a father. He might just change.

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    1. I am not a Toby fan. He will have to change a lot, before I consider that idea. The only thing that recommends him to me, is that he has a steady supply of gin! Hic!

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  27. I can’t see Toby changing too much and I don’t think Pip has the right to dictate how he conducts his personal life. I just hope he shows the child some support.
    I agree sling & baby backpack better than bulky overpriced buggy.
    I was told that birth plans were written to amuse the midwife ( I think my only request was no pethidine)

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  28. Kate and Toby have a lot in common, they are both users, and it's not just in hitting the hay or bouncy castle. Kate swans back to Ambridge from somewhere, and daddy and mummy set her up in an unrealistic business.
    Toby waltzes into Ambridge and latches onto the Princess of Bridge Farm, this gives him access, via his Bro and David, to a barn and a wad of money from Kenton to start a gin business.
    Both Kate's and Toby's businesses will fail as is the nature of these storylines. It is foretold in the stars, and Kate should know as she has another alternative angle, she consults with mystic Matt.
    maryellen. Tut, tut, Toby's money came from Kenton, and as yet we have no evidence that his enterprise is making Pips and his future Pipette secure. 😅😂👨‍👨‍👦

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    1. Stasia - Repaying Pip's loan (for which we have the evidence of our ears) is doing just that!

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    2. Also, it was not T❤️O❤️B❤️Y who latched onto Pip,but the other way round. (I'm prepared to state this fact as often as it takes!)

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    3. I think they latched on to each other!

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    4. For what it's worth, in my recollection Toby pursued Pip, she resisted for a while because she could see he was unreliable, and eventually gave in to something not very far removed from lust (whereas he bore in mind that she came with a farm attached). Toby has come a long way since then, I'll give him that. Keep going, Toby!

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    5. In fact, Pip pursued Toby from the outset, forever turning up at Hollowtree with hollow (😀) excuses.Toby didn't haunt Brookfield similarly. He actually backed off when she proposed to him, on the grounds he could be unreliable, and didn't want to hurt her. She ignored that. Not being mind readers we don't know if and how the farm figured in his thinking, but I took his original remark as one of his typical faux cynical throwaways.

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  29. I don't think Rex will leave, he feels a member of the community in Ambridge.
    Tom's plans up in the air as always.
    Both Lily and Freddie have chosen the wrong path and they can see it about the other but not themselves.

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  30. Rex has to choose between his two life support machines - Toby and Anisha's. Toby is the best bet - he'll always be his brother (despite Rex's constant stream of little digs at him) whereas Anisha could dump him at any moment. So Rex is playing up his affinity with Ambridge, including muscling in on Toby's relationship to Pip's baby. Why has Rex so little self-esteem?

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    1. I think Anisha is one of those people who see their partner as an accessory and little else. Rex is no doubt attractive and to her mind a good appendage. Agree she is likely to dump him. Maybe he will drop everything and go but if so will soon be back tail between legs!

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  31. I warmed to T❤️O❤️B❤️Y a while ago.
    He dropped a notch in my estimation after the incident with Kate.
    Had it been Xanthe I wouldn't have cared.
    He is now on a plateau a little below his peak.
    I think he has been very good listening to Pip prattling on about birth plans and such.
    He didn't want the baby in the first place.
    Did Pip?
    I think she possibly deep down might have thought it a way to get back with T❤️O❤️B❤️Y

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  32. As for Rex.
    Nice good looking lad .
    Bit weak
    Too thoughtful for his own good.
    Give Anesha the push and go for Xanthe ,Rex.

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    1. LanJan - Xanthe sounds like a drip and probably looks like one too! Unlikely to put the backbone into Rex he needs..

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  33. Toby made it Clear to Rex that he (Toby) didn't need his brother looking after him, he can stand on his own two feet. Toby, then in his dumbo way began to explain the Fairbrother gene, ' not selfish, but self centred' now in my dictionary they are one and the same thing. Toby selfish/self centred and his brother thoughtful and reflective. Rex should stop picking up the pieces after Toby and head off into the sunset with Anisha. Pigs are very popular in the Norfolk/Suffolk area, so he won't have any trouble acquiring a few and I'm sure Anisha will find some land?
    If Toby is financially well fixed, why then is Rex worried about him being able to pay the rent on Hollowtree.
    Pigs might fly. Of course.🐖🐖😈

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  34. I like both Rex and T♥️O♥️B♥️Y equally. There are very different in their attitudes to life, work and other people but that is what makes them ‘interesting as brothers. I fully admit I was not too keen at first but they have grown on me over the months/years. T♥️O♥️B♥️Y, in particular, has improved in attitude, having made a success of the gin buisiness despite most people’s predictions, has held down his job at The Bull and is trying to support Pip who has led him a merry dance in the past.
    I hope they both stay in Ambridge. Whether one or the other will end up with Pip remains to be seen but I would rather Rex found another love who really appreciated him and his brother became a doting and supporting father but not irrevocably tied to Pip’s apron strings.

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  35. I like them both equally, and feel that they have become part of the Ambridge life, both having made a contribution to the community.
    If one or the other ' ends up with ' Pip, is irrelevant.
    At the moment Toby is certainly trying to be a responsible father to be, and Rex feels that he should be responsible for keeping his brothers nose to the grind, in that capacity.
    Pip and Toby are now biologically entangled, and the SWs could take their futures, together or separate, wherever they wish. Although I think it unlikely that Pip will be going anywhere other than Ambridge, but even that is possible I suppose.
    If Rex does disappear with Anisha, then I rather hope he does come back, but on the whole I would prefer him to see her for what she is, a highly ambitious professional woman who is likely to leave many unhappy people in her wake, as she strides through life.

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  36. I don't think that Rex will leave Ambridge.
    I don't know how far ahead the editor looks when suggesting scripts but presumably the one who decided to introduce Anisha had no idea that the actress would be missing on other work as often as she was .
    Rex arrived before she did and as far as we know the actor seems to be available for much of the time so why should he ,the actor give up a job just because another actor is unable to do her job because of other commitments?
    I don't mind these story lines at the moment.
    I am looking forward to Seedy Ross getting his cumuppance.
    As long as they keep Lexi away from the air waves and don't spend any time at all in the birthing suite that will suit me.
    Let Pip go into labour at 7.22 one evening so that we don't have to hear anything about it.
    Ruth can tell us all what a clever girl Pip was and how beautiful Pipette is.
    Incidently why do people feel they have to say how beautiful new born babies are.?
    I once took a friend to see her friend's daughter's new born baby
    In all honesty nobody could say it was beautiful so I said how I thought it looked like his daddy only to find out that "New Partner" was not in fact "daddy"

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    1. Lanjan, I agree I don't want to hear Pip screaming and Toby telling her to breathe or him fainting at the sight of a wrinkled thing emerging into daylight. I still remember my sister yelling Get this f.....g thing out of me" and her language was awful.
      Jut tell me the gender and its name. But no doubt it will be long and protracted.

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  37. Where is Esther Pickle, the potential extra "goth" bellringer, who is new to the village but only seems to be known by Alan. Surely by now, she would have visited the shop and Susan or Lynda would have mentioned her.

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  38. Google "The Archers at home - right move", it is a 2015 interview with Charles Collingwood and Judy Bennett (Brian & Shula) after their move from London to Hampshire - interesting and lovely photos of their cottage and its views. They are now - in 2018 both 75yrs and do not have a computer or iPad between them but plenty of tv's and radios!
    (A months worth of Archer episodes are recorded in a week.)

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    1. I've just read it, it's actually At home with The Archers - Retiremove.
      They didn't mean to retire in 2015 but may have changed their minds.

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  39. Oo-er, everyone hopping mad tonight; not without cause,but did anyone think Pat was channelling Boudicca ?

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    1. No, I didn't think that about Pat - but I did see the conflict of interests I've been prophesying for Neil since he took Justin's Elliot's job offer, on the near horizon. With his daughter campaigning against Justin on the Parish Council, which he chairs, Neil has a tricky time ahead - especially as any move that could threaten his job will also threaten Susan's plans......

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    2. You make a good point Maryellen but I hope that Neil will leave on his own account.

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    3. Gosh, yes, didn't think of that angle. Poor old Neil stuck in the middle.

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    4. Neither did I Maryellen - well spotted!

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  40. I'm glad Bridge Farm is staying true to itself.
    Emma will get her dream home of that I'm sure.
    Maryellen said that Kate is Brian's daughter which was confirmed tonight, why don't they dissolve this partnership, I've lost interest.

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  41. I was disappointed in this evening's episode. It was 'drama means conflict, and conflict means people shouting at each other' again. I don't believe that Justin could overturn the terms of the planning permission and get away with it in a 19th-century lord of the manor way, or that confronting him personally would be the first resort for anyone, let alone a parish councillor. I rather lost track of the Home Farm argy-bargy because my mind started to drift . . ..

    On the other hand, Tom sounded slightly interesting for the first time since Real Tom was booted out.

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    1. Was the Real Tom interesting? He bored for England about sausages, alienated the winsome Brenda, & then betrayed kirstie. On reflection, yes, I suppose interesting in a negative way ( I.e can anyone-get-it-so-wrong-so-often kind of way)
      Home farm is under such threat that nerves are frayed beyond endurance. Kate's ruthless betrayal is spectacular, on top of all else. Don't why the family can't unite with Brian over that issue, at least. He gets zilch support, considering his neligent action/inaction occured so long ago, & he certainly is doing all he can to save the farm & their futures now. He is selfish, plenty of shortcomings, but I believe, where work is concerned, he has always acted in the best interests of the family. Kate is a taker, never a giver.

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    2. Brian has only acted in his family's best interests when they've coincided with his. He has forced his solution on them, knowing it would be unpopular (we heard him say so) and is now behaving like a thwarted adolescent, when exactly that has happened.

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    3. Real Tom was recognisable even without being called by his name

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    4. Brian's interests are interchangeable with that of his family in this regard, as they are all dependent on the business he created & developed to a greater or lesser extent. He consulted only his personal interests during his affairs, & in persuading J. to take on Ruairi; it has not been in anyone's interests to have Kate living & working on home farm

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    5. It's not in anyone's interests to have Alice or Rory around either, since neither of them makes an active contribution to the Home Farm business, although Alice keeps promoting her firm's interests. Brian has made it clear he regards his immediate family as puppets who may grumble a bit but will fall eventually in behind him, and he's been right - up till now. Benevolent despotism is still despotism and I for one am glad Kate has spearheaded the revolt, however much her motives are sneered at.

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    6. Kate has been happy to benefit from the family's benevolence when it suited her. I would have more sympathy for her position if she contributed towards her accommodation and food and ran the business on a proper footing by paying rent on the land she uses for Spiritual Home.

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    7. You don't need to sympathise with Kate toapplaud the stand she is taking against her father's despotism.

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    8. I agree that they are both self interested but Kate does have a point and Brian continues to collude with whoever takes his point of view at the time rather than negotiating openly with the whole family. At one time Adam looked like being the one to stand up against Brian.

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  42. Basia, I have also lost interest in this Partnership thing, and completely lost interest when Adam and Brian started shouting at each other. In fact I didn't understand what Brian was going on about in relation to getting rid of different bits of land. Tractors around here frequently move more than a mile from one field to another, it also irritates lots of motorists.
    Pat is beginning to sound like her ex friend Olwen.

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    1. Animal movement is difficult if you have to drive them along increasingly busy lanes to access separated parcels of land; and if there is anything dire happening like foot and mouth or B.S. E cattle cannot be moved at all, which means that once they have eaten the pasture down in their fields you can't move them to fresh pasture. Hugely problematic.

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  43. Emma, will find that as a Parish Councillor, she has no clout now that planning has been agreed. Justin is still building affordable Houses, if not so many, so what makes her think she won't be able to put down a deposit on one.
    Pat has wound her up unnecessarily and maryellen is spot on, this may comprise Neil's position as an employee of Jusin and chair of the council.

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  44. It was Mr A’s birthday yesterday so didn’t get to listen in until late last night - a bit too tired to take in the full intricacies of the Home Farm Saga. In fact, for the first time ever, I fell asleep before the end! But I agree with Stasia - how does Pat know Emma won’t get one of the low cost houses? Justin didn’t say they weren’t going to biuild any at all, just fewer, so Emma could well be one of the lucky ones. Pat is using poor Emma to get back at Justin and possibly winding her up unnecessarily.
    It will do Emma no good at all, haranguing Justin, and could even scupper her chances.

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  45. The Le_Meridian Funding Service went above and beyond their requirements to assist me with my debt consolidation. They were friendly, professional, and absolute gems to work with.I will recommend anyone looking for loan to contact. lfdsloans@lemeridianfds.com

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  46. Seems we are attracting spam mail.

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  47. This entire land Home Farm saga is just ridiculous.

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  48. Agree with Stasia & Archerphile - there apparently will be affordable homes, if fewer, so Emma is in with a chance still. The decision to cut down on their number is not in JE's control.
    Pat's style of warning was, of course, red rag to a bull for Emma; this move has meant so much to her for so long.

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  49. I don't understand why the decision to reduce the number of affordable homes is not in Justin's control? In any case, it reduces not only Emma's chances of obtaining one but those of all the other wouldbe purchasers in similar circumstances to hers, so Pat is right - it's a personal campaign with wider implications. It could be an interesting storyline but I'm afraid it will get bogged down in messy personal relationships as other storylines have done in the past 2 years.


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    3. If Justin is breaching the terms of his planning permission, someone should shop him. The notion that he can do what he likes now he's bought the land is daft. I found out some years ago that the builders of the development I live on, of 14 houses with one to three bedrooms, hoped to build a smaller number of larger houses. The local authority said no. So they couldn't. And didn't.

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  50. I am wondering if the TA writers will be able to bring this hot weather and potential and probable drought, into the SL's in the near future, (regardless of last weeks Ambridge downpour - perhaps that could help with washing out the contamination).
    I have read an article today, about the fate of dairy farmers, due to the fact that the grass is very dry + is not growing. This means that the cows have no grass to feed on.
    This is a siuation that David + Ruth would have to try and resolve, to try and keep their milk yields up.

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  51. I am like so many others, in that I feel that Emma is particularly placed, to show a conflict of interest with Justin and his affordable housing. I wonder how she will resolve this situation.
    I would also like to hear Olwen re-appearing in Ambridge.
    What a TremendousTrio .... Pat, Emma + Olwen will be - it will definitely be "Hubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble" which will be directed directly at Justin.

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  52. Jazzer sent Lynda barking, how delightful.
    Neil, amazingly, was one step ahead of Susan about the fete and helped Will out with the fence and the custody dilemma.
    The meddling Susan ringing Justin and I wonder how much did Alistair win on the fruit machine?

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  53. It was so nice to hear Neil advising Will about his custody battle so caringly, also helping him with the fence.
    Is Alistair down on a downhill path with gambling, having had a go at the slot machines? He's very low and could do with some good friends and family advising him.




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    1. Phil tried to advise Alistair, Jazzer too, but sadly without success. He shrugged them both off, first telling Phil he was okay and now telling Jazzer he is beyond help. It's not clear what the scriptwriters have in mind for him.

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  54. maryellen, 'Phil', it has just dawned on me who you are referring to, Philip Moss, Ambridges resident counsellor.

    I'm glad Alistair went on the bevy with Jazzer, at least he let go of some of his anger, let's hope he doesn't resort to the old coping mechanisms of gambling. Though he did sound very self pitying.
    I did enjoy the conversations between Lynda and Susan and Neil and Will. Nice to have an episode with less angst.

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  55. I am thinking that Ruth is becoming, dare I say, two-faced? She was very happy to sell Brookfield to Justin for mega money, so that the Brookfield clan would locate to be near to Heather. But as things changed and evolved differently, She + David, were extremely happy to remain at Brookfield, the home of Jill + Phil, and where they belonged.
    Why is Ruth now encouranging the sale of The Home Farm farm-house, so depriving Jennifer + Brian of their family home, which it has been for over 40 years (contamination or not), is this an example of "double standards"?

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  56. And now there is drug dealing on the farm - the contamination is spreading in ways Brian et al have not imagined. Perhaps it is time for the whole place to be sold so B and J can enjoy the retirement they talked about years ago, Adam can start an independent business/farm and the others can branch out into the adult world with their own projects. Do folk remember when Phil (Archer) and Jill retired? That was another family feud with Elizabeth behaving not a little like Kate.

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    1. The Home Farm kitchen alone must be worth a bob or two 😉

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    2. Just so Seasider 😂
      Similar storylines (as often in life) appear to follow through the generations - married men, men who don't want them ie Elizabeth and Pip re Jude etc pregnancies and abortions
      & talk of same.
      I suspect the Home Farmhouse situation will progress (as with Brookfield) right down to the wire and then all will be well. What's with Phoebe's change of mind re mum? Needs her onside before she reveals why she did not want Kate to give her a free massage for her birthday!!!

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  57. Where is Home Farm (house) actually situated?
    I assume it is in the middle of the land Brian will still have.
    Who would want to buy it?
    Where will Brian,Jennifer,Ruari,Phoebe,Lilian (when she falls out with Justin),,Kate live if they sell the house?
    The answer is to give Kate some money to leave Ambridge and set up her non profit making business elsewhere -preferably South Africa.

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    1. Seasider. The kitchen, plus Brian's wine cellar, would buy a new home.

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  58. Having to vacate the family home is not new in Ambridge, the Grundys had to leave and a miracle happened in the shape of Oliver, and they returned, Uncle Tom Cobly and all.
    Home farm is the upper class version of the Grundys, too many people all coming and going under one roof. But another miracle will happen, the s/ws will have to come up with a solution, sooner or later.

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  59. Lily will have a huge let down with his sneaky married man Russ. Now she's giving a hint that Russ is unhappy because his wife acts crazy. Isn't that always the married man's defense? Freddie continues to deal pills now because he has gotten used to "easy money". They both each should listen to the others advise. They are both over 18 , but I really feel they need some adult advise. Where is Elizabeth. Oh wait, she thinks Lily is a lesbian, does not talk honesty about it with her and only in a cryptic manner. Why are the script writers making everyone so stupid?

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    1. It’s the old, old story of married man saying he will leave wife but can’t yet because she has a hold on him. In the meantime affair continues and other woman waits by phone to snatch moments with him, at his beck and call constantly! Lily knows the situation is less than perfect and her cry that she loves him made me feel I wanted to give her a hug. She needs her Mum but Elizabeth is the last one she can confide in because she feels she is letting her down and yet Lizzie would understand having been in a similar situation all those years ago. The twins are in a catch 22 situation in that disclosure of one by the other would result in their own secret coming out. Freddie is oblivious to the potential disaster of drug dealing at present and it will need a big consequence of his actions to bring him to his senses. Oh dear, these highly charged teen years can be an awful time!

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  60. I think I have lost the plot about the Home Farm situation.
    What I now think will happen is that Brian will decide enough is enough and he and Jennifer will leave Ambridge and take with them Silent Ruari.
    Shula will also take off to pastures new.
    The actress playing Jennifer may well not want to leave the programme and so in the future Brian mayhave a heart attack and die so Jennifer will return to Ambridge.
    She won't be buying one of Justin's houses though.
    She could live at Blossom Hill Cottage or by that time Peggy may well have died or gone into a Home -Auntie Chrine likewise so Jennifer would be able to buyout Tony and Pat and live there.

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  61. Perhaps Jenny could be a live-in baby sitter for the Transfer.

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  62. Lanjan: I think the new Editor (who must be starting before long) should take you on as a script advisor! You come up with better ideas than the present lot do. What do you reckon will happen with Alistair when Shula leaves? Down the slippery path of gambling again and probably serious depression or will ‘Auntie Philip’ be able to guide him back onto the right path? And will the awful Kate, who has pecome persona non grata in her own family finally and irrevocably go back to SA and mess up her other family’s lives.
    It is quite delicious thinking up the fates of our Archers friends, but which of us will be proved right, in the end I wonder!

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  63. I came across a Daily Telegragh snippet today, dated June 1st 2018. This hinted - "that Rob Titchener may be on his way back". I wonder if this will relate to the Home Farm farmhouse sale (if it actually happens) with Ursula + Bruce returning as well as they will be financing it. Olwen will also re-appear, in her true personna, as Ursula's sister.
    I think that my imaginatation has gone into "over-drive"!😯

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  64. I agree with Brian: they keep the house, as for the rest, they sort it out, not interested.

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    1. It was nice to hear Debbie, especially after this week's WH drama where she played two characters.

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  65. I enjoyed Jazzer's comments on the wedding dresses, it was obvious that it was going to end up being a vintage dress in the end. I wonder how he will cope with watching Fallon getting marrried.

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  66. I wonder how Wayne will respond, when he learns, as Fallon's father, he won't be walking his daughter down "the aisle". I would think that Jolene will have something to say about Fallon's decision.

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  67. I understood bridesman to mean a male equivalent to bridesmaid or maid of honour, though have never heard of that before, not the man who 'gives her away' (awful anachronistic expression)

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    1. I do hope Fallon won't agree to be 'given away', carolyn. To me, it's just as bad as promising to obey, but seems never to have got as much attention. Similarly bad is a man asking for a woman's hand in marriage, as though it were a contract between two men.

      I think Fallon will have more guts.

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    2. As, indeed, it used to be !(contract between 2 men) Yes, it's strange that still obtains. Maybe it's because women like to be accompanied up the aisle, but the description could be changed to 'Bride's Companion' or something. Was going to suggest 'Escort', but that has other connotations....

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  68. You're right about Jazzer being the male equivalent of a bridesmaid, Carolyn. When my daughter was married, she had two bridesmaids and a brides's man who was a very close friend of hers, and it all worked out perfectly.

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    1. What a nice idea, & practice, Suz - reflecting the best aspects of modernity - straightforward friendship gesture ( though, in Jazzer's case, there's more to it, & though I never understand more than a few words he utters, there was a curious frisson between the 2 of them last night)

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    2. There was a bit more than a frisson in an 'Ambridge Extra' episode long ago.

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  69. So what I want to happen is this...... jazzer stood there as bridesman and when the vicar asks if there is any reason for them not to marry....speak now.... I want jazzer to announce that she shouldn’t marry dopey, never at work Harrison because HE loves her and for Fallon to go off with him.

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    1. It could happen !! TA has a precedent now in dramatic wedding scenarios (Lil + JE/Tom + Kirstie)

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    2. Please not! I like Harrison and can do without Jazzer's endless one liners.

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  70. Things have indeed changed. The son in law of a friend of mine had a best woman at his wedding to her daughter. My daughter is visiting us next weekend in order to go to the stag do of an old school friend.

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  71. Poor Jazzer, wants to be close to Fallon, so agrees to go wedding dress shopping. As someone who didn't want to get married she is now going over the top. Very boring.
    Who is TYLER, I thought Emma served in the tea room?

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  72. Does a bride really need a handbag for her wedding outfit - as mentioned by Jennifer?

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    1. A handbag to keep a lipstick and other small essentials 😀

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    2. Definitely a hands free approach, a bridesmaid/man could look after the essentials.

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  73. I was very touched by Jazzer last night - always one of my favourite characters (Sorry Maryellen!)
    I thought he was a star helping Fallon on her wedding dress search and seemed to know exactly what would be right for her. I do hope we will continue to hear more from him in future, especially to leven all the angst and worry at Home Farm we are be exposed to recently!

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  74. First time I heard Debbie since I am a relatively new listener. So will she be taking the first plane back to Ambridge to rescue the family?

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    1. I hope so Ruthy, she should be the voice of reason and a very pleasant one too.

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  75. Johnny made a valid point to Tom last night, if he wants to go back to basics Bridge Farm should have their own dairy herd. I take it the sausage production is outsourced now.

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  76. If it ain't broke don't mend it.
    For years there have been fathers giving their daughters away and if there was no father it might be an uncle or brother.
    (I do think though in the case of a second marriage the father has already "given" his daughter away so he can't do it again.)
    Similarly with bridesmaids.
    Two or four perhaps adult female friends or relations
    Definitely no children .
    Especially not little boys who do not want to be there.-in Little Lord Fauntleroy trousers.
    Why change tradition?
    Sorry..Feminist I am obviously not.
    There are some things which men can usually do better than women and others which in the main women are better at.
    Sadly I think people sometimes want to do things just to be different.
    Viva tradition I say.
    I am glad that Fallon is not planning to wear the one dress most brides seem to wear nowadays
    Ie the strapless one.
    I wonder what Fallon paid for her 1960s dress?
    I paid £14 for mine.
    I saw it in the window of C and As in Leicester and it was perfect .



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    1. My mother gave my sister away, but it was a long time ago, and less patriarchal.

      Ah! Coats 'n' 'Ats, of blessed memory.

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    2. C+A's. How I missed them, when they closed, and now it is Wallis + Principles. I miss their high street shops, where I could browse + try-on, then buy.

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  77. I had mixed feeling about Jazzer last night.
    Think he still yearns for Fallon deep in his heart.
    I never wanted to walk down the isle in a white dress, and reluctantly bought a cream dress and coat and a white beanie hat from Fenwicks in Bond Street, to wear at my register office wedding.
    Then so angry on the morning itself stamped the hat into the wet gutter.

    Not a happy picture on my wedding day.
    Not a happy young woman !

    Bootgums....

    I've never heard that expression before. How very apt.

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  78. I think that Fallon has very strong ideas about her wedding, be it in St.Stephens or elsewhere. It will be plastic free, but who is doing the catering - Bridesmaid Emma with Father of the Bride, Wayne + plus mother Jolene, and where is the venue for the reception + party?
    Harrison so far, as not reacted too much, except to engage Chris as his Best-Man.

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  79. Opening new blog for a new week!

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