THIS POST IS CLOSED
Life in Ambridge: The Archers Comments Week of July 8, 2018
Life in Ambridge: The Archers Comments Week of July 8, 2018
Life outside Ambridge
Popular posts from this blog
Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments" - Episode 14 Life Outside Ambridge Have a seat and let's chat.
My two lovely 😺😺, Boris and Jeff.
ReplyDeleteI changed the photo. That’s is Jeff on our deck - photo from last summer.
ReplyDeleteI read your first post Ruthy then wondered where the second cat was for a while before reading the second post! What a lovely view you have.
ReplyDeleteLovely photo ,Ruthy.
ReplyDeleteIs that Buddha I see in the corner?
I was given a Buddha by a pupil 30 years ago and was told if I rubbed his tummy it would bring good luck.
His tummy was rubbed yesterday!
Wasn't it great to hear that the main news story was not one of tragedy,violence or Brexit but of a magnificent win by England?
Do others like me feel uplifted by it?
I hope the next headline will be that the young Thai boys have all been rescued.
I agree Lanjan with the first and wait/hope for the second.
DeleteBootgums Coats 'n' Ats - I only got it now.
Yes Lan Jan, I agree, it was uplifting, even for someone who hates football.
DeleteI was in an almost completely empty town when suddenly great cheers arose from nowhere (presumably a pub) and cars tooting their horns. And suddenly every one was smiling.
The rescue of those boys seems almost impossible to achieve with complete success, but we must all hope and pray ( if appropriate) that as many as possible escape, with the help of all those magnificent cave divers.
LanJan - you can"t seriously think that the most important thing affecting Planet Earth and the Human Race today is a sporting fixture! It just illustrates said human race's ability (or the news editors' bit of it) to get things out or proportion.
DeleteI think we’re all aware of the problems facing the human race but please allow us a bit of happiness when reflecting on the small things in life, Maryellen. This morning I sat by the creek with Gypsy and sketched some of the boats down there. The sun was shining, Gyp was safely in the shade and just for those moments all was right with the world! I’m no football fan but this very young England team have done us proud and we should be proud and rejoice in them.
DeleteHere. here. well said Ev. I, too, am no football fan but I did watch yesterdays match (with much explanation of rules by Mr A) and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the pleasure of fans when England scored and the fact that England had something to celebrate. Ishall be watching the semi-final on Wednesday with new interest.
DeleteOn the other hand, I am desperately worried about the ongoing rescue of the boys in Thailand and shall be watching all the news reports until they are all safely out of that cave.
(Sorry Ruthy, just realised this should all have gone on the non-Archers blog rather than here!)
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteLike some others, not a sports fan (yawn), but still glad that England are through, and happy to have something to celebrate, even if it's not the most important thing in the world.
DeleteRuthy, the view from your veranda looked very tranquil, are the humming birds still feeding?
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could spirit Jeff into the Ambridge animal Fete, I'm sure he would be a match for Hilda Ogden.
Love the photo of your deck, Ruthy, featuring the outlook on the other side, & think Jeff is a very handsome lad ; I reckon he's about to meditate before the ever tranquil Buddha (like my Percy does sometimes, in the evening by the larger fish pond....)
ReplyDeleteWhat a dangerous mission it is to rescue the Thai boys & their coach, raining heavily now. We should know more by the end of the day. Just have the feeling they wouldn't have been found at all, unless somehow the outcome was going to be rescue. Superstitious ? Maybe, can't be proved either way, but don't accept coincidence or chance.
Sorry - this is for TA comments !
I agree with Lanjan re the Football and I am not normally a follower but amongst all the ongoing troubles of the world (most of which we can only worry about or sympathise with) it is a great mental lift to have something to smile and get excited & hopeful about.
ReplyDeleteWell done lads, playing as good role models to youngsters under GS leadership and of course so many viewers have not experienced this before (1966) Unlike us "Golden Oldies" 😀 appreciate not everyone here Is a G.Oldie 😉
Apparently after an earlier match M&S who supply the teams suits said the sale of waistcoats had gone up by 35% at that point.....so another plus!
Have I have posted on wrong blog? Is so apologies 🙄
ReplyDeleteI don't think there's need to apologise, we are amongst ourselves, sometimes, thank goodness, life takes over from the Archers. I for one am glad because I rarely post on the other one. So far Stasia has been the only one to post an Archers related comment.
ReplyDeleteAs I said, I hope Debbie returns to bring some sense into the Home Farm debacle.
We have a new blog thanks to Ruthy and modern technology, let's rejoice an spare many thoughts for those who are not as fortunate as we are.
√√√
DeleteIt was good to hear Debbie again even if on the other end of the phone! CC did a marvellous job of acting the part of a defeated Brian with voice breaking. When you think of it Debbie is about the only one he can turn to although Alice did have the sense to condemn Kate to Jenny for the self obsessed person she is. It is building up to a huge crescendo in the Aldridge clan. Hope Debbie has booked her flight!
DeleteI thought Brian's emotional blackmail of Debbie (It's your mother....), when she was reluctant to come straight home to support him, added to his contemptibility. I suspect he has misjudged her.
DeleteBoth Brian and Jennifer are showing the strain they have been under since the contamination. Brian has had a lot to drink prior to phoning Debbie which has made him even more emotional so that he has turned to her. Maybe in the cold light of day he will have calmed down but by then Debbie will be on her way!
DeleteClunky script-writing rather than Brian being contemptible, I think. This evening's episode continued in the same vein. Unsubtle.
DeleteListening to the Omnibus it struck me what a thoroughly good hearted and unselfish person Neil is. His little homily with Will was pure gold. Gently advising him not to make a rash decision about the custody case, without preaching, just helping Will to work through the arguments for an against. Neil is a star!
ReplyDeleteAlso, hadn’t picked up in the week the decision by Tom and Helen to ditch the idea of building a new ‘education centre’ but to get back to their core values of supplying first class, healthy food to the locals. Then Johnny bemoaning the fact Bridge Farm was becoming more of a food factory, buying in milk and meat rather than producing their own as they used to when it was a ‘proper’ farm.
I wonder if the Bridge Farm Archers will now decide to invest some of their money for the housing land in buying a new pedigree milking and/or beef herd and become true producers once again instead of just an ‘adding value’ establishment ?
My fault for posting my comment about the football on the wrong blog but I reckon that Maryellen is trying to wind me up.
ReplyDeleteShe won't succeed.
I bet at this very moment she is ironing her replica England shirt ready for Wednesday.
She will be there with the rest of the Country (except Ambridge who have rain but no National Sports coverage ) shouting out.
"Come on "Engurlund"
What a change that fewer than 20 men (I include the bewaistcoated Gareth Southgate ) have made to the mood of the Country.
😀
DeleteWonder is football will be mentioned in today's program?
ReplyDeleteEv & Co - I have absolutely no objection to world sporting events being covered in the sports sections of the media, and their fans being happy (or not) - though when England fans express their happiness by damaging public property etc, any sense of national pride evaporates. What I do object to is events like these being elevated to front page news at the expense of more important events which directly effect lives and environment on a much larger scale. Incidentally,I wonder how much coverage the Thai boys' rescue would it have got if it had happened yesterday afternoon instead of today?
ReplyDeleteLanJan - I shall be at the theatre on Wednesday, watching Pip on stage!
I’m not sure what you mean by Ev & Co. There is no grouping together but we are all independent and simply giving our individual points of view. I rejoice that 2 of the Thai boys are out and hope and pray the rest will emerge without further casualties. Of course this is far more important than football but nevertheless the English nation can be proud and happy that our national team are doing so well.
DeleteOh dear. Ev - I simply used 'Ev & Co' as a lazy way out of listing the people who had the same POV as you. I would prefer England to win, but I'm not fussed if they don't, and I certainly don't want them to win if it leads to more deplorable behaviour by their "happy" supporters. Did you read about the two women in the front row at Nottingham Theatre Royal noisily listening to the match with Columbia during the performance and upsetting the cast and everyone around them? When Front of House staff asked them to put their phones away they gave a thumbs up and shouted We won - as if that excused everything!
DeleteOK, Maryellen! Agree there is no excuse for bad behaviour and it lets us all down. Better get back to TA now!
DeleteDon't let a minority of people spoil the vast majority's pride and celebration - Come on England!!
DeleteI agree with Ev that football supporters have a communal responsibility for bad behaviour by their fellow fans, so I was impressed by the report I read of Millwall Fan Club's whip round to repair damage caused by happy England fans to a parked ambulance car whose driver who was attending to a case.
DeleteThanks Maryellen, I'm pleased to hear the fans did that.
DeleteEnjoy the Show,Maryellen.
ReplyDeleteHopefully tomorrow's newspaper will have what we both hope for on the front page.
Everyone thinks Debbie is a 'good thing'; living abroad, engaged in full on work, she can certainly command an objective overview of her family's dire situation. I hope she makes a difference somehow, & I can't find it in myself to blame him for getting drunk or appealing to her. Jenny is at the end of her tether, & he is desperate.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree about Neil, Archerphile, he was spot on with Will, in his ruminative way. Very effective. I'd thought Eddie was going to get through to his son about this paranoid rush to hire a solicitor, but....'objective overview' appears to be paying off - maybe it will with the Aldridge's too.
Did Will ever get to a soliciters appointment, about the custody situation? I am not really sure, but I hope he did, so that his solicter would then be informed on any " custody action" from Andrew's solicitor. I would so hate him to receive a nasty surprise in the post.
ReplyDeleteI don't like football, as such, and I followed the match via nearby properties.
I am very concerned that the Thai cave rescue, will not be 100% succesful, but I so hope that I am very, very wrong. Their teacher, perhaps should not have taken them into the caves, but he certainly did well, to keep them all together and find them a relatively safe place until found. The last I heard was that 4 or 5 boys are out safe.
I sat up all night watching the
Chilean miners being rescued and this feels even more tense.
Ruthy. Is that a hibiscus flowering in its pot?
ReplyDeleteI have a "Blue Bird Hibiscus" in my garden. This grows very slowly, is about 6foot high and produces wonderful blue flowers throughout July + August. I don't think it will flower much this year, due the dry weather.
I am so missing Bert with his own garden and tending the garden for Carole T. at Glebe Cottage.
Miriam - Yes that is a hibiscus plant which needs to be watered almost everyday since it needs a lot of water and I have it in a clay pot. It flowers all summer long. I took this plant last year indoors and it almost died because of the low humidity and not enough sun. It is back out on the deck but it has never recovered. I brought another one with with same orange flowers this year. I would love to see your blue bird and wow at 40 ft! Talking about flowers, I do miss Kirstie since she saw swam in the River Am, with her bird watching and helping Pat with the bees.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteIt's 6 foot and very manageable. It gets a good prune every 2 years to keep it neat and tidy.
DeleteBrian is wearing his despot's hat again an I'm disappointed in Ruth for allowing herself to be bullied into submission. I'm finding Brian more and more unlikeable. I wonder if this is the scriptwriters' intention?
ReplyDeleteMaryellen, I too found Ruth's caving in to Brian's threats, so dispiriting.
DeleteI really thought she was about to say, " if any one actually asks for my personal opinion, I will definitely give it " only to hear her conclude her sentence with " I will keep my mouth shut.
You may be correct in that Brian's character is being set up to be unpopular in order to ' let him go '.
I am so disappointed with the way Ruth is bowing down to Brian. Another negative against women on TA.
DeleteBrian being cast as a 'baddy'. Please get a decent editor, preferably with no background in 'soaps' and some notion of complexity in characterisation.
DeleteWell, TA IS a long running soap, a gentle face wash type, maybe with argan oil, but there has to be a narrative where stuff happens, characters are tested. You can't really have a Tom Forrest rambling on about birds & the countryside at the beginning of every omnibus these days (remember that from early teens, I suppose)
DeleteI don't know whose side I'm on in the Brookfield negotiations: I don't particularly like Josh but I don't like David and Ruth's attitude either, couldn't they give him a head start or have they already?
ReplyDeleteMe too Basia. I still think D&R Show great favouritism for Pip over Josh. As he said last night, she doesn’t pay rent for Rickyard whereas they expect him to pay rent for barn space! They said Rickyard was for the work Pip does on the farm, but Josh works there too and will have to spend far more time on farm work when she is on maternity leave.
DeleteI’m glad Josh was canny, negotiating with David, but I still feel D&R should be helping their son with his business aspirations rather than putting obstacles in his way. They should be proud he has had the nous to find himself a, hopefully, lucrative occupation after telling him there would be nothing for him at Brookfield. And he has stayed around to help out on the farm rather than hightailing it to some big city in search of work. OK, his manner is sometimes abrasive but he will learn, in time, that being pleasant to people works well too! Perhaps he needs a girlfriend to help him see that.
Kind of agree there, Archerphile, & Josh has been more reasonable lately, which his parents don't acknowledge. Yet, David was pretty canny in their ' negotiations, & if it weren't for the blatant favouritism shown to Pip, we might find their parental stance fair enough. It's the contrast which grates.
DeleteAgree with you both Archerphile and Carolyn.
DeleteI much prefer Josh to Pip.
Can't think why Ruth and David think that the sun shines out of her.
I think it's reasonable that Josh learns the realities of running a business but, as it seems that the running of Brookfield is going to be handed over to Pip, it's important that they help Josh's business to succeed so that he can support himself.
ReplyDelete✅✅ wonder what silent Ben's future will be, no farm for him to Inherit? Maybe he will learn to talk and become a speech therapist.
DeleteNeither Brian's/Ruth's behaviour, nor the script arouses criticism in me. He was harsh, even unreasonable, but he's desperate, & anxious about Jenny; she is clearly weary of her involvement in their troubled affairs - it's only her commitment to Ruairi that kepps her in.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteDave and Ruth have to play favorite with Pip because she is the future of the farm, not Josh. His refurbishing old farm equipment business started when he decided to not further his education and has been trying to get his business off the ground. I don’t believe it’s unfair that he starts to pay his way living on the farm. Paying a small percentage of the commission should be a good compromise till he starts to pay rent, which I think Josh will find difficult to make it on his own somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteSo it begs for me to ask another question. It seems that most of the farm equipment he gets need paint work and some spot welding and most are in working condition, why are the sellers so eager to off load them at low prices and Josh does light work and makes a handsome profit? Has anyone else heard of such similar successful businesses?
Ruthy 11.43 today I'm not sure *when* someone said that Pip was the future of Brookfield but as far as I remember Sean O'Connor (editor who introduced the Rob & Helen storyline) was the one who said it. Maybe David has said it since.
ReplyDeleteIn June 2014, as she was finishing her studies, Pip announced out of the blue that she wanted to spread her wings and see the world. She applied for a job (and got it of course!) as a technical manager for an agricultural firm.
In the two months before she started the job (while she flirted and pursued Toby) we heard from Josh's talks with Johnnie that he was looking forward to working full time and that he had some ideas and plans for Brookfield. Pip went away for three days and returned telling her parents that she wanted to stay at home.
David then told Josh that there was now no job for him but Josh said he wanted to expand his 'business' to see if he could make it full time and that he had deferred entry to university. David sounded really embarrassed and promised all sorts of help to Josh.
David and Ruth do not need the money from Josh so why bring up rent and costs now? Or is it another device to bring in more family arguments?
As to your last question I think the answer is the same as for Toby's gin business and Fallon's recycled stuff and thriving tea rooms, together with all the niche enterprises that support so many adults at tiny Bridge Farm!
Agree wholeheartedly with your last paragraph.
DeleteIf Ruth is so keen for Josh to pay rent for his business maybe, at the next partner's meeting, she should suggest that it would be in Ruari's best interests that Kate pays rent for the land she uses for Spiritual Home.
Kate should also have to "pay back" the costs, that were incurred, in the buying of, and the setting up, of The Yurts.
DeleteMiriam - how do you Kate hasn't"t paid for them?
DeleteI apologise that I am unable to reply personally, to the post, I read earlier, which related to a new editor, who does not have a "soap" background.
ReplyDeleteJeremy Howe will be the new Archers Editor but he seems to be a long time coming. He has, at least, a R4 history as he has been, until recently, the Editor for R4 productions of Drama + Fiction. Perhaps The Archers will have a new lease of life, under his editorial leadership, and he can re-introduce some very silent characters.
I am waiting in anticipation.
I am too! This is the only lifeline to hang on to. If the storylines do not improve into more believable scenarios then it's good bye from me, a listener for over 65 years(although it was my parents who took the decisions to listen in the 1950s!) For me it has degenerated into the typical soap merry-go-round of personality changes; people committing heinous crimes then disappearing so as to be brought back when listening/viewing numbers flag; with shouting and arguments every week ad infinitum. As the BBC made such a big thing about SOC and HKJ joining (neither of them stayed long ) perhaps they are being more circumspect with Jeremy Howe. I believe he is due to take over in November. It may be that we will not hear his contributions until after Christmas though!
DeleteAs part of his job as Commissioning Editor for Drama and Fiction at the BBC, Jeremy Howe has overseen The Archers, with overall responsibility for the programme whenit peaked under Vanessa Whitburn and Sean O'Connor and troughed immediately after Sean left, to the low point at which it is now. So he has a mixed record of success and failure where The Archers is concerned. Time will tell what a more hands on approach will produce, and I am hopeful but not overly optimistic. It looks to me like an easing out job for a man nearing the end of his career, or a filling in job or second one while he changes career.
DeleteTypical of Jennifer to tick Debbie off for not dyeing her hair, I'm glad she lives in a 'country of her own skin'.
ReplyDeleteJenifer is shallow when it comes to appearances. I bet Debbie looks very distinguished.
DeleteWonder Woman Debbie has arrived to find a solution that doesn't involve selling the house!
ReplyDeleteBrain is expecting her to fix things to his liking, somehow I don't think that will happen. The actor playing Debbie has a very reassuring voice, so I await to hear her conversation with Kate, will she become exasperated with her and her free loading yurt business?
And, if things go bottom up and Home Farm is annihilated, will there still be a job for Adam in Hungary as she once promised?
DeleteI would probably be a very bad witness - I thought it was Brian that mentioned Debbie’s hair.
ReplyDeleteOnly by reading the synopsis I discovered that Robert was fixing a whack-a-mole last night, I looked it up, still none the wiser, it sounded like "guaçamole" because of my ignorance.
ReplyDeleteAt out village fete it is called Whack a Rat! Games consists of a toy rat or mole being slid down a log drainpipe and the contestant trying to whack it with a cricket or baseball bat when it emerges - not as easy as it sounds - I know, I have tried!
DeleteSorry, that should have been ‘a long drainpipe’ not log! ðŸ¤
DeleteDon’t care if this is the right blog or not - just want to say how fantastic it is to hear that all the boys and their coach have been rescued in Thailand. I just hope those amateur cave rescue men, who risked their own lives and undertook such a difficult task, are properly recognised.
ReplyDeleteMedals for the British experts and whatever accolades the other nations can award their men.
That's wonderful news!
DeleteIt certainly is ! Been out all day, so thanks for passing on, Archerphile.
DeleteCouldn't agree more,Archerphile.
ReplyDeleteWe can truly celebrate when all the helpers have been rescued from the cave.
I have to admit I shed a tear or two when I heard the news.
The last three divers and the doctor are also out according to the latest I've read.
DeleteI have recently posted my thoughts, about the cave rescue on the other page, and these were really similar to Archerphile's.
ReplyDeleteI know that this is the wrong "page" but I hope that Ruthy will forgive us, on this momentous day.
Adam is two-faced: he was reassuring Jennifer that the sale of the house won't happen, now he thinks it may be an option.
ReplyDeleteRex, come round any time you want but I won't be there, so just bring the boxes and tomorrow
Anisha he won't be around because it's the night of THE Match.
but the TV soaps are not all the same. I am watching Coronation Street, with a parallel sepsis story to Nic, as a result of a knee graze. This is showing the upset + angst, when the young lad, has had to have his lower leg amputated.
ReplyDeleteEvery-one is united, just as they were in Nics sepsis storyline.
No worry - this blog is as good as any to share good news. Been out all day and only just now on train back home. Another 2 hours or so till home.
ReplyDeleteRex don’t go with Anisha and Ruth please speak your mind.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree.
DeleteI’m getting sick of this partnership stuff. In fact, I’ve just listened to tonight’s, and I started to doze off in the middle of it.
DeleteZzzzz
DeleteI agree with you Ruthy on both points. I think Rex is beginning to realize that Anisha's just bossing him around and he may have his own ideas. I understand Ruth thinking about resigning her post, who could blame her?
ReplyDeleteGo, Rex, go!
ReplyDeleteDo you mean.
DeleteStay,Rex ,stay! Maryellen?
What a cheek that young woman has.
Rex will not go with her and nor should he pick up any boxes for her.
She implied,I thought ,that he would be rewarded in the time honoured way .
Forget her Rex.
There are other fish in the sea.
Go = leave, depart, quit, Rex!
DeleteLeve Anisha you surely must mean,Maryellen.
DeleteThat woman is thinking of nobody but herself.
If someone better comes along in Newmarket ,Rex will be ditched..
He is kind but weak.
Just wish Anisha well,Rex, but say goodbye and tell her what to do with those boxes that you will not be collecting for her.
Anisha is just using Rex as a convenient lap dog ‘with benefits’ and I think last night he might have had a glimmer of what his future might be with her. She thinks she can crook her little finger and he will come running. Anisha will be better off in Newmarket where she can fulfill her career ambitions to the full without having to consider anyone else - business partner or boyfriend.
DeleteI didn't take to Anisha when she first arrived. There was something quite unlikable about her - too spiky-too big-headed and too bossy. She has proved that she is totally selfish and cares for no-one.
ReplyDeleteShe rode roughshod and/or was rude to almost everyone she met; Alistair when he wanted to sell his Practice; cheated in her 'game' with Jazzer; Mr Hodge (who demanded that she should not attend his animals again;) played hot/cold with Rex when they first got together; joked about Justin and Lilian's behaviour in front of Miranda; bullied Alistair into confessing that he attends GA and so on.
However the SWs should have researched the legal situation, even a little bit. There must have been a Partnership Agreement and that *would not* permit a partner to walk with just three weeks notice!
There is no way someone would have come along, handed over thousands of pounds to a business, made a Business Plan to present to a bank to get finance for a very large expansion (£250k!) without the bank demanding a correct legal formal agreement. All very unsatisfactory.
What should happen next is for Rex to say 'No! I am not your servant/doormat/lackey!'
Some are saying that Rex would be no loss and that he is boring He is fair, honest, unassuming and very hard-working. There aren't many of those in his generation Ambridge at the moment!
hear, hear !
ReplyDeleteExactly,Spicycushion.
DeleteWhat I would like to know is.......
How did Anisha even get an interview without a Reference from her Partner?
From who'm did she get a Reference?
Why were they not suspicious of her reason for wanting to move so soon after persuading her Partner to spend so much on improvements?
The storyline like many others,doesn't hold water.
..........and another thing.
ReplyDeleteThis Ruari business is ridiculous too.
Surely a young man of 16 years of age should have been told about the situation?
Where is he hiding when these heated meetings are taking place?
Where are Jennifer ,Brian and hangers on going to live if they sell their home?
Will they purchase one of Justin's affordable homes?
Who will want to buy a £million+ home in Ambridge
I imagine that Jennifer,Brian and Silent Ruari will go off to pastures new.
Phoebe will have to go to live in holiday time with Roy and Lexi.
Kirsty will have to move out-hopefully not to Phillip's house
Will the people who buy the Aldridges house be silent and anonymous as are the ones who bought Mike and Vicky's?
Oh and another thing.....
If Ruth is going to say nothing ,how can she act as Ruari's attorney?
Lanjan, that's an awful lot of Where, Will's Who's, and the occasional Why. 😅
DeleteLanJan I fear the Home Farm is a duplicate of the Brookfield sale. It's deja vu all over again!
DeleteRex is staying in Ambridge.
ReplyDeleteHome Farm-house will not be sold.
If I am wrong, I shall lose 2 hats from my collection.
🎩⛑👒🕵
DeleteBro and Bro are like a biological set of conjoined twins, with Toby being the dominant one. Was he cajoling Rex to leave or manipulating him to stay. Anisha maybe ambitious, but I don't t see her wanting to shack up with the superficial and facile Toby.
ReplyDeleteRex can't leave. Even if he wanted to, BroToby pulls the strings, and anyway he needs Rex as the nice and pleasant face of the brothership . Isn't that how he ended up with B/B and barns at Hollow tree.
Good point ! Yes,does Toby have a devious motive, painting an unappealing picture of a kept man ('just like me !') to get Rex to stay ? Or is he just being his normal, opportunistic self, & no agenda ? On balance, I reckon the latter, the former being too subtle for his 'live for the day' type.
DeleteYes Stasia,Rex will stay .
ReplyDeleteAs for the selling of Home Farm....
If the actors who play Brian and Shula do want to leave then I think that the storyline might have Home Farm being sold and Brian and Jennifer and Ruari leaving Ambridge.
In my opinion,Brian owes his children nothing and he and the others involved should tell Kate that the land near to her Yurts will be sold and that is that.
The Home farm debacle is all about land and house boundaries, which bit to sell, which to keep. It would seem that none of them can maintain appropriate interpersonal boundaries, making unfounded verbal attacks on each other, and on Ruth.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Kate is about to lose her free board and lodgings and access to Brian's wine cellar.
PS. Is it in Rex's personally to be a kept man? Just Like his brother who was, happily ensconced at Rickyard being watered and fed, (like one of Pip's cows) not getting out of bed, having fringe benefits like lots of Jill's brownies, and other activities.
ReplyDeleteIf he does go I suggest he ventures into the turkey business, at least he has some knowledge of the feathered world, and he might raise some 'Beautiful' birds. At least he will have something to talk about when he attends those horsey Upmarket soirées, otherwise he becomes the useless partner. Only good for fetching and carrying.
Anisha still generally thought of negatively, I see. She has been thoughtless with Alistair, & I don't see how she can leave so easily with such short notice, legally, apart from anything else. She did explain herself, honestly I believe, & she has arranged Graham, but why not leave getting paid back until Alistair is in a position to do this, in some indefinite future ? She owes him that, & she's has had it all her own way so far. As for asking Rex to collect packing boxes, surely it's normal for couples to help each other out.
ReplyDeleteI suppose Rex will stay, even though, oh no, it probably means he'll end up with Pip. Sigh.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/what-to-listen-to/archers-lear-like-struggle-feels-like-just-beginning-act-one/amp/
ReplyDeleteThis was flagged up on my tablet, but as I don't subscribe to said newspaper I couldn't read the whole article. Any offers?!
that looked like a really interesting that it was faded out after the first paragraph - how mean of the Telegraph!
DeleteBrian = Lear ? Kate = Regan & Goneril rolled into one ? Debbie=Cordelia or Edgar ?
ReplyDeleteMeantime, back to the provincial, Adam & Alice were well out of order, haranguing Ruth. She really would be better backing out altogether of such a thankless task. Ruairi is one element of the family, underage, his future aspirations unknown, so he will have to accept whatever is eventually decided. No one is out to do him down, all their future prospects are jeopardised.
I have read a lot of these wonderful thoughts + Ideas, and they have given me a lot to think about.
ReplyDeleteI, personally, think I need to take a step backwards, to think logically, and consider the Home Farm situation, with its monetry situation and what is the best viable option, for the farm + family.
Bring out the violins at one point tonight, though my heart didn't melt....don't dare say any more, as so many of you will be glued to the football, & won't want spoilers. However, you'll be glad to hear that the game did actually have a few mentions !
ReplyDeleteWon't be blogging, or listening much probably for about a week, as friends from States arriving tomorrow, off to Brighton on Sat. for The Wedding....
Have fun !
Enjoy your wonderful Wedding Event, and I hope it doesn't clash too much with the Wimbledon Finals + the World Cup Final.
DeleteHope the wedding goes splendidly and the weather continues fine for you all.
DeleteHave a really marvellous time.
For Kate, the only position for her is Spiritual Home is not disturbed, no matter how the rest of the farm is disrupted. I guess the only solution is they dissolve the farm, then Kate won't have Spiritual Home anyway. She is a right old spoil brat and should have been told a long time ago. She made it sound as if Spiritual Home is financially successful, except I remember when Nolonthodo (spell?) was visiting from SA, Mom and Dad had to give her money so they can go on a shopping trip? Kate is a big joke, and I can't understand why Debbie was so sympathetic.
ReplyDeleteKate says she can't consider giving up Spiritual Home because of the connection she feels to the land that it's on. She hasn't given any thought to the connection that the rest of the family have to the the home and the land that they have lived in and worked on for decades while she's been going off and "finding herself".
DeleteQuite so.
DeleteDitto to the above. Sadly Kate is missing her 'empathy' chip. 'Finding herself' should involve connecting with other people, something imo she has never done. In real life (when did that ever worry the SW's!), all her children would have shown some real behavioural, rejection, intimacy problems (yes I know Nolothundo's drug escapade). Coupled with that, no business (i.e. Home Farm) would spend so much time 'pussy footing' around her when there is so much at stake. I'm not sure she 'gets' that her stance could bring everything tumbling around her as well as everyone else. Drama overload in the hands of the SW's!........Again! A 40+ woman who has never really been told 'what's what' will never imo make a success of her life both spiritual or financial.........of course I'm sure the SW's will have other ideas.....pffft!
DeleteAnd more dittos. Home farm?🆘 🆘
DeleteA lot of emotional blackmail from Kate, in conversation with Debbie about her spiritual attachment to the land. Although she did have some insight into running off when faced with something she doesn't like.
ReplyDeleteNo remorse for abandoning children. Only what they are doing now in respecting her business acumen. Pheobe cleaning the yurts and Nolluthando respecting her. It is still all about me, but now she is fighting her entire family for something she never owned in the first place.
Ruthy, your assessment is spot on, she may end up with nothing and no Brian or Jenifer to rescue her and her spiritual business.
Ditto to yours too!!😊
Delete✔️✔️
DeleteI was surprised at how patient Debbie was with Kate last night, listening to the whole sob story and seemingly sympathising. I was expecting her to tell Kate to stop being so selfish and consider the rest of her family who have consistently baled her out over the years. I am not at all sure where Debbie stands on this huge dilemma at Home Farm and cannot, for the life of me, imagine how it is all going to work out.
ReplyDeleteAny chance we could stop the Kate-bashing?
ReplyDeleteWhere is the evidence for having a more positive attitude towards Kate!..........Apart from the niceties of some sympathy for a deluded middle age woman, who could do with a good dose of appropriate therapy. Perhaps her parents should have shoveled some money in that direction instead of trying to placate her at every opportunity. They don't appear to have the 'Nous' either that they too have a lot to answer for her behaviour.
DeleteI will only speak for myself. I am not Kate bashing, it just so happens I am not sympathizing with her on this. Right now I don’t care for Brian, Jennifer, Adam, Alice or Phoebe. Ruari is OK because he is the quiet one in the family and I don’t know how he stands on this issue.
DeleteIt seems to me that the highlight within TA at the moment, is the insistence on focusing on Spiritual Home by Kate.
DeleteTherefore Kate is at the forefront of our consideration as listeners.
Whether seen as ' Kate bashing' or ' focusing on Kate's attitude to the situation', this aspect of the future of Home Farm becomes ' our ' highlight also.
Very well said MrsP. Today, I dislike Kate's attitude, tomorrow it may be someone else, or I might like Kate for something she's done or said.
DeleteI think Debbie has been brilliant at empathising with Kate and everyone in the family in turn. She has made a real effort to understand how they have all experienced recent months whilst she has been at a distance. I did feel for Kate when she was speaking last night and I don’t think she’s the only one in the family who is seeing things from their own perspective. I also think Debbie will be much more assertive and objective at the meeting having had all those conversations with her family members.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Debbie was doing a marvellous job at diplomacy. She had to encourage Kate to open out, in order to be fair. Well,now she knows. Her sister is a sad woman, a narcissist who can't see others' pain or how they might feel, not helped by the fact that she's always been supported, & rescued from her messes.
DeleteIt is difficult when business and personal are intertwined. However, everyone at Home Farm stands to lose the whole kit and caboodle. Is Debbie their saviour? Who can say. Only those pesky SW's. I wonder if any of them knows what it's like to lose a home, business and family cohesion. The repercussions will be very long lived....or not depending on what new story line tickles the taste buds of the writers!
DeleteThanks, Seasider, for a balanced and sensible view with which I thoroughly agree. A welcome change from amateur psychology.
DeleteAll here entitled to their view, but, 'amateur psychology'! Goodness me I think not!🙄
DeleteAs far as I know, only Stasia is a professional in clinical prsyhology, ergo....
DeleteNot everyone divulges their heart, soul and profession on a blog!
DeleteAmateur psychology as you term it Maryellen might also be explained as common sense derived from consideration of personal life experience.
DeleteWe are not dumb creatures, but thinking individuals.
We may sometimes, perhaps often, get things wrong, but there is often more than a grain of truth in our observations.
If something as variable, subjective and unvalidated as personal experience equates with an objectively assessed and recognised qualification in clinical psychology, why would anyone bother to get one? Perhaps contributors to this blog (apart from Stasia) with a qualification in clinical psychology could reveal themselves on the other blog and I will apologise to each of them for regarding them as amateur.
DeleteOh dear! This is starting to read like some of the conversations we used to have on the old blog. Please don’t let’s get into having to state our qualifications in order to be apologised to.
DeleteSurely everyone is entitled to their own view about characters, situations etc
We may agree with some opinions but not others, which is entirely natural.
I am not keen on Kate or Susan but fully appreciate others may like those characters and get upset if they are constantly criticised.
Although I don’t think anyone was ever accused of ‘Rob bashing’, but if we dislike a character surely we are allowed to say so?
Yes, Archerphile, and if we are bored to tears with the constant repetition of a character's faults, however well deserved, we should also be allowed to say so. How about a bargain - if bloggers could stop saying Kate is self-centred (which she undoubtedly is) for the umpteenth time, I will stop saying Rex Fairbrothet is a no hoper (which he undoubtedly is)?
DeleteOK, fair enough Maryellen. I hadn't actually picked up on your opinion of Rex being "over-repeated" but have to agree that although he is a pleasant and fairly sensible young man he doesn't seem to have much ambition and seems to be easily led. I cannot see him making a good husband for Pip, as some have suggested. He is not a born farmer and though he might make a good house husband and stepfather for the sprog (how odd, fathering your own brother's child when said brother is still around!) I think he would bore Pip to death after a while!
DeleteHappily, assessment of characters in drama & fiction in the past did not rely on objective labelling, but on observation & instinct. Now there is a Freudian interpretation of Hamlet etc. It's true, many bandy the Clinical term 'depression ' around, meaning they're feeling miserable that day or week, & the cause is clear. Kate's life & behaviour is out of order, so it could be seen as a kindness to attribute this to one mental condition or another, rather than just judge her as a nasty piece of work.
ReplyDeleteSorry Caroline, but I feel that Kate is just a "Me, Me, Sponger". I would love to know what her actual financial input has been, and has she actually contributed to the Home Farm business, + her own Spiritual Home enterprise, in any way at all?
DeleteI am at a loss to recall any, but I might be wrong.
Absolutely agree, but her blatamt self centeredness is so extreme that it could be an a recognised personality disorder of some kind.
DeleteNice touch Susan mentioning "the waistcoat".
ReplyDeleteThe secret weapon of Susan's may backfire, waistcoat or not, hopefully Neil has more sense than to question Justin about the number of low price houses.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that Basia
DeleteRuthy, Thank you for removing an anonymous junk post that didn't belong here.
DeleteI comment on these blogs for two main reasons, I enjoy the writing and company of fellow (Sisters/brothers) bloggers, and find it fun to discuss the characters and storylines presented to us by the S/Ws. The only time I made a professional comment was during the coercive control discussion when posters were discussing Sectioning Rob. Then I made it clear that the MHA was not a diagnostic tool. Psychiatric practitioners use assessment of behaviour and its consequences to make diagnosis, the MHA only facilitates treatment under special conditions, other safeguards are then put in place to protect the patient.
ReplyDeleteGiven the manner in which the Archer characters are written many could potentially be diagnosed as having psychological issues at one time or another. Psychiatry is not infallible and certainly approaches and diagnosis have developed over the years,but IMO the profession is still more art than science.
Kate has many problems, but it's not easy to define a particular mental state, she could fit into many clusters of behaviours that would/could fit a diagnosis. The point for me is the freedom to be just another posters making a comment in a safe place.
I thought going through the photo album with Debbie was pivitol in reaching a resolution about the Partnership and the farm.
That is a really interesting post Stasia. And yes, it seemed to me that Jennifer made up her mind about the house at Home Farm when going through that photo album. Maybe she now realises that bricks and mortar aren’t everything.
DeleteAll you say makes sense to me, Stasia. Have felt the same for a while, that the mental health profession is more art than science.( diagnoses for one person with various difficulties can be changed, I've heard, as well - very far from being an exact thing)
ReplyDeleteNot sure about Jennifer, she could be accepting a possible outcome, in order to get through the whole painful affair. Her position is very different from Ruth's. J. is a farmer's wife, a family woman ( like Jill ) & highly domesticated, whereas Ruth is a farmer, so the land really is the stronger attachment than the 'bricks & mortar'.
stasia - that you for your insightful post, especially part on looking at the photo album. I wonder what today's meeting will bring us. Will it be Kate's downfall, or the grand house, or the farm altogether? Should be interesting.
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy blogging with all of you here on this sight.
I am having problems with off topic post :( I will open a new post now :)
ReplyDeleteCould Brian + Jennifer do some sort of Equity Release, a Life-time mortgage or a similar scheme, such as just "selling" part of their home, but can still live there rent-free? But why not just sell up, downsize and leave the land, cottages etc. to be managed by others. This way, no-one will lose out, apart from Ruiari!
ReplyDeleteThere is one extra cottage where Lexi was supposed to live during the gestation, so Brian & Jennifer can live there, sorted. I wonder what sort of neighbours they might get. The house with garden, swimming pool and super kitchen will sell for quite a lot, look forward to the valuation.
ReplyDeleteThere is such a preoccupation with Brian and Jennifer that they should continue to support the family. Beside Ruari, everyone is grown and independent. If must, they can all just move out and make their own living. It's a bit of a joke coming from Brian that he always wanted to provide for his family. We haven't heard anything about the cleanup or possibility of jail for some weeks now. How would Brian continue to support his family then. This program was a let down. After the entire week of talking about the meeting, we didn't get the meeting.
ReplyDeleteRuthy, the way that the Archers finished tonight, having talked of the meeting all week, then not actually featuring it on the programme at all, is typical of how many ' big ' events in Ambridge have always been portrayed.
ReplyDeleteMany of us long term listeners are used to this tactic, and, I suppose, because we are used to it we take it for granted.
How used to it I am, is reflected in my reading of your post, when I feel slightly shocked that you should feel that this episode was a let down.
I'm sorry that you feel this way, but do understand how you must feel.
To me, it's the way TA is, and always has been, prior to recent times, when the Rob Helen court case was given such a special profile, as an example.
As far as I am concerned, selling the house is the most obvious way to solve the current problems at Home Farm.
Building a new, smaller property on the farm would make sense, plan B, but then of course we could have another crisis when the local authority decides that the need for another farmhouse is not good enough.
So plan C might be to convert the Cottages ?
Perhaps we shall see Brian turning to Neil and Susan for advice on doing a self build !
I have advocated all along, that selling the farm house, is the best financial + viable option. The one person who would lose out, is Ruairi.
DeleteI have a very random question. I am very sure that some-one will be able to answer this.
ReplyDeleteDoes Jennifer have any "money funds" in her own name eg from Adams father, which she invested and are still intact?
I have no idea. This might be slightly relevant, but I think it is probably just a silly notion.
Thank you MrsP for historic insight. I’ll have to wait till Sunday to hear the outcome of the meeting. I suppose Debbie will be back to Hungary.
ReplyDeleteI think many of agree selling the house is a good financial solution.
It will be difficult for both Brian & Jenny to adjust to a smaller property but it can be done and, who knows, they might end up enjoying the adventure. Lots of people downsize out of choice but of course it's different if you're forced into it.
ReplyDeleteI sensed we wouldn't hear the meeting in tonight's episode when Neil and Hannah had the drawn out conversation then Neil and Susan's chat.
I too was waiting for the meeting to start and hearing a great deal of argument and recriminations, so I am rather glad the SWs handled it in the way they did ...unless we get to listen in on Sunday night. But I expect it will be the usual dramatic device of people discussing what happened after the event.
ReplyDeleteOn a different subject - I do wish Neil had told Susan to shut up going on about judging (and even opening) the village fete. I think he was getting really p....d off with her, just wish he’d told her so!
Out with the old, in with the new.
ReplyDelete