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Life in Ambridge: Comments week of August 25, 2018
Life in Ambridge: Comments week of August 25, 2018
Life outside Ambridge
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Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments" - Episode 14 Life Outside Ambridge Have a seat and let's chat.
Good morning Ruthy and well done for finding that photo that has been spoken about.
ReplyDeleteJust listened to last nights episode and it was a great end of the week cliff hanger wasn’t it?
I loved Susan being hoist on her own petard - loves dishing the dirt on others but is horrified at the thought of folk knowing what she has been up to. Justice at last - perhaps now she knows the affect gossip can have she will, at long last, desist.
And what about that Russ, smooth talker, charmer, honey-voiced; no wonder a young girl like Lily fell for him!
So what will Elizabeth do now? Can’t wait to find out.
Absolutely 👏✔️
DeleteI think Carolyn Harrington is giving us something more like the real Susan instead of the caricature we have had to endure in the last couple of years and I can sympathise with her plight. I hope this is a good sign for the programme.
ReplyDelete✔️✔️
DeleteI do like Elizabeth's voice - of all the female voices on the programme, it's the one I'd most like for myself (apart from the days when I yearn to be a contralto and hanher after Carol Tregorran's).
ReplyDeleteAgree maryellen E is nicely spoken but with a softness of tone, whereas sister Shula's voice is harsher of tone to me...
Delete✔️✔️
Delete👍🏼I fully agree.
DeleteWell done, Ruthy, for treating us to a view of a Minchinhampton bovine - I think he looks like a Hamish. He has some stunning views from his home up there on the common, which in earlier days was a haunt of highwaymen and footpads.
ReplyDeleteOh, the relief when Lily finally came clean and put Elizabeth in the picture. I was so dreading the inevitable interruption just as she came to the point (a la Pip and her parents), but at last, someone managed to get right to the end of their speech without those irritatingly dramatic pauses and sidelines.
Hi. I haven't looked in for a very long time, and was surprised to discover the old BBC blog is no more: the cads. So, I'm here to find out how you are all surviving!
ReplyDeleteYou're so resourceful, Ruthy, I do like the way conversations flow here - proper conversations ! Cows with horns, they're very good looking .Now I see we've some like these within walking distance, on what used to be an airfield; could they have wandered down from Minchinhampton ?
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting Carolyn since the furthest boundary that these cattle are able to reach is very close to an airfield. ( going south that is )
DeleteAnd since FOSO appears to have joined us ( ! ) it's not the one that he did his air walking from.
Mrs P, How interesting that you should remember my wing-walking. I can recommend it as something for one's bucket list. Now I continue me old habits: I am off for a walk with my rambling group on this slightly dodgy-weathered Surrey Sunday morning.
DeleteGood morning all and thank you so very much Ruthy.
ReplyDeleteNot only my beloved cattle, ( yes Suz, Hamish will do nicely, ) but our Rodborough sign also.
I broke into a big smile when I logged on and saw this weeks picture.
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you.
Indulging myself with another look at the pictures, I realise it's Minchinhampton, not Rodborough.
ReplyDeleteApologies.
They roam of course across both commons, but home ground for this herd is Minchinhampton.
Good day to you FOSO.
ReplyDeletethe BBC blog closed soon after you last posted.
Lancashire Janet led a passionate campaign to reinstate it, but in the end accepted that it would not be.
Ruthy started this one and we are all very happy with what we have.
We do not criticise or argue here.
Our disagreements, when they arise, are modulated and polite and without angst or rancour.
Hats off to Lily.
ReplyDeleteShe timed her announcement at just the right time.
How can her mother say anything about her relationship with Russ when he just might have saved Freddie from prison by lying about what Freddie is really like-a spoilt,not very bright whinger .
True, she's no longer thinking straight about Freddie, or what might be in his best long term interests, which is a shame, as initially she was very firm with him about telling the truth.
DeleteHad a rogue thought, please tell me to forget it, but suppose Russ isn't a cad after all, but really does have a disastrous marriage & has fallen inappropriately but genuinely in love with the petulant Lily ?
Happy to oblige, Carolyn - forget it!
DeleteThank you ! (Moment of madness over)
DeleteVery amused by this exchange. Have to agree with maryellen, alas.
DeleteFirst smile of the day.
DeleteMaryellen will be right.
Hope so anyway.
Can't be doing with any more slushy love talk
Sorry Carolyn.
I want Maryellen to be right as well, was glad to have the disturbing thought dismissed ( now, another disturbing thought - is this because the only realistic outcome is that Russ is a bounder, & Lily will suffer her first adult broken heart, OR a sneaky appetite for schadenfreude, OR both ?) Becoming too convoluted here...
DeleteWell, after hearing the slightly too reasonable sounding Russ talk with Lily tonight, surely he's a bounder? I'm all for a good outcome (whatever that may mean) but he's not behaving in a way that suggests otherwise. Anyway, can the BBC afford another permanent actor on the payroll? Or will both he and Lily "go silent" in a few months' time?
DeleteOn the other hand, we know the writers can turn a story on its head in short order. Perhaps he will add Elizabeth to the notches on his bed - an old male fantasy of having both mother and daughter.
Russ isn't going to 'have' Elizabeth, is he? I don't think she was that smitten!
DeleteDelighted to see the return of FOSO.
ReplyDeleteI hope you will decide to post comments now up you have found us all.
,FOSO.
I may be being rather thick but what does FOSO stand for?
DeleteHe will no doubt tell you himself but I think I remember that the F is for father .O for of and the S and O are something to do with his son.
DeleteAs I remember ' father of son of '
DeleteHis son often referred to himself as ' son of whatever name FOSO has'
So FOSO adopted ' father of son of ' hence FOSO.
Right. Thank you. I don’t feel thick. Couldn’t have worked that out in a million years.
DeleteI once surmised that it was 'Friends of [Something or Other]', in view of FOSO's cultural inclinations. But I was wrong.
DeleteOh Dear - FOSO. It's a bit embarassing really. When my son and I used to play computer games (about a century ago, it seems) he boastful adopted the screen name "Skillful One" so I just fell into being Father of Skillful One, thus FOSO. Well remembered, - some of you got very close to it. I can always change it, I suppose, but it has stuck now.
DeleteRe voices a few posts back : objectively, can see Elizabeth has an attractive tone but I've always found it somewhat precious, even ludicrous when she was having the affair with Roy - kind of correct, morally sound, when her behaviour was anything but ! Shula's voice is fine, it's what she gives utterance to that is so off putting.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to find the words to describe the way Elizabeth speaks and I think you have got it spot on Carolyn
DeleteThere has always been something I didn't like about the way she speaks.
I think the way she speaks is not the way a woman of her age would speak .
I think she sounds"little girlish"
Another thing.
A woman who might well have a son who is about to be incarcerated and whose Business is suffering because of his actions is hardly likely to be wanting to send him his favourite ice cream.
She never sounded particularly upset to me.
I would have been yelling and screaming I am sure.
I wasn't over impressed by Usha either.
I wonder how much she charged?
I also agree with what you say about Shula,Carolyn.
She spouts a load of rubbish but the way she spouts it sounds right to me.
.
She's good actor, isn't she, Lanjan ? Admirable as she must wince at some of things she is given to say, the attitudes she holds.
DeleteJudy Bennett does have a young sounding voice and years ago she played radio children's roles I believe and even now is playing a character of 60 yrs of age at 75yrs so she should never feel her age 😉
DeleteMaybe the harshness I hear is just her required delivery of the SW lines 🙄
I agree about the last two comments relating to Shulas voice, and indeed what she has been required to say in recent years.
ReplyDeleteNot sure I agree about Elizabeth. Some women have quite childish, or young voices.
And they are often disregarded in what they say or express.
I rather feel that was the case when I was young, and it certainly was for my daughter, who had a great deal of responsibility as a young professional woman.
When face to face she was highly regarded, but on the telephone, where much of her work was conducted she was often dismissed. And she was once told that she didn't get the job she had interviewed for as her voice sounded too young.
Elizabeth is confident and does what she does at LL very well.
But her voice does sound young.
Elizabeth just sounds like she did when I first listened to TA more than 30 years ago. A kind and gentle voice - I think she is still my favourite character.
DeleteI'd say clear rather than especially young, akin, as you say, to a well spoken child .What puts me off is the rarified tone, precious, as if her experience of life is more refined than that of other people !
ReplyDeleteHello to you FOSO - great to see you have found us. Have you sussed out that Ruthy has very cleverly arranged two blogs for us - this one is for chat about the Archers programme with no off topic stuff (or at least there shouldn’t be). This one lasts for a week and each Saturday Ruthy start a new one with a new photo , so that we don’t have to keep scrolling down too far. The second blog is for chat about any other topic and is just like chatting over the garden fence or down the pub! Includes holidays, hobbies, animals, Recipes, health ( I have been guilty of that topic a lot lately) and we ask each other for advice, suggestions or help generally.
ReplyDeleteI strongly suspect you will be more interested in the Archers one but I should love to hear about your theatre, concert or opera outings again which is what the second blog is for.
Sorry if I sound a bit dictatorial but we have found this method has worked very well over the past few months and all is friendly and non-confrontational as the old Beeb ones
sometimes became! 😉
✔✔😀😀
DeleteArcherphile - "Have you sussed out that Ruthy has very cleverly arranged two blogs for us " No I hadn't: now feeling slightly confused, so I must bear in mind what you say and "check out the architecture!". Thanks for the information.
DeleteI only found the blog at all because it was mentioned in the last of the old BBC blogs. If that goes, presumably it will become less likely that people will find this one.
Archerphile - glad you find time to blog as you recovery from your hip surgery and thank you for the primer on our friendly little blogs.
ReplyDeleteSo last week I was listening to Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado. I would love to hear a “current” version of the List song. I think it would be very interesting. Maybe one of our clever bloggers can come up with a good List. Sorry I am violation as this is Off Topic.
Ruthy, I do hope you don’t feel I was stepping on your toes by telling FOSO about our new blog ‘system’. I am sure that’s your job really, so apologies for stepping in. Just delighted to see a old name here with us again.
DeleteAlso, blogging is the only thing I feel like doing since I came home. Can’t seem to concentrate on reading and get irritated by TV so am relying on my good old iPad for entertainment and enjoyment
DeleteArcherphile - no apology needed - feel free to blog as much as you like - I love to hear from you. Have you caught up with the latest TA episodes that you missed while in the hospital? I am just amazed that Henry sounds like he just learned to speak! If he is so bored with being with just Helen, as 7 year old might be, whey can’t she get to a playground where there are other kids his age? I can’t think Helen is that busy with the “cheese” that she can’t spend more time with him.
DeleteArcherphile: don't worry, it's quite usual not to be able to concentrate for some time after major surgery or to be irritated by TV: my sister was an expert knitter and needlewoman and it annoyed her no end that she had all that time on her hands but not the mental energy to do anything with it, and it certainly happens to me as well. I started back at work last week and had to make sure that everything was brain-dead simple or my 'little grey cells' would have seized up!
DeleteI think it might be where the body wants us to focus on physical matters to help with the healing process.
Agree with Sarnia and sympathise Archerphile.
DeleteI spent all those weeks feeling so frustrated as there were so many tasks I could have been doing, ( all that filing ! ) but not a jot of concentration to do them.
I love puzzles and when I allow myself, can become utterly absorbed and switched off for hours. Yet I could not do any of it.
Just lay there staring into space.
But I was able to listen to the radio.
Thanks for the reassurance Sarnia and Mrs P. I specially bought some lovely new wool and a pattern to knit myself a jumper during the recovery period but can’t face it - Mr A can’t get used to seeing me not knitting, and as for the jigsaw waiting on the dining table, just not interested!
DeleteGosh, sorry, this is the wrong blog. Slapped wrists Archerphile. 😖
Hello FOSO how good that you have found us - Ruthy has done us proud and both blogs are a happy place to meet and exchange views etc 🤗
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to hear from FOSO.
ReplyDeleteI hope he starts to comment again, with his views as to TA.
Good to hear from FOSO. His ears must have been burning!!! 😊
DeleteYes !
DeleteWonder if he will read back to previous weeks ?
Minchinhampton 😍 So close to home. Thank you Ruthy. X
Delete😀😀😀 jinner glad to hear from you
DeleteWelcome 'home', FOSO!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure where Minchinhampton Common is so had to look it up. Looks a beautiful part of the world.
ReplyDeleteI also was relieved that Lily was able to spill the beans without interruption and that Elizabeth is, at last, in the picture. What on earth will she do now?
Also Susan needs to do 'the honourable thing' and tell Lynda that she is the culprit and so get Harrison out of trouble.
Anneveggie, look for reply to your post on the other blog
DeleteMrsP.
Re Eliabeth's voice. I always thought that 'grown up' Elizabeth sounds like the Cadbury's Caramel Bunny! The pitch is lowered to sound 'sexy' and smooth. Just my opinion. :)
ReplyDeleteI do hope Alistair does keep fired up and stops letting Shula lie and manipulate the situation to make him despair and despondent; and look very bad in the eyes of friends, family and clients!
Despite the adverse comments on Elizabeth's voice from female contributors it's still the TA voice I'd like for myself, if not Carol's (on the days I feel like a change from my young- sounding, light soprano ). Agreed Shula's voice is pleasing but Elizabeth's is more mellifluous.
ReplyDeleteCarol's for me,Maryellen.
DeleteLucky you with your young sounding soprano voice!
I do not like the sound of my voice which is why one of my step granddaughters who both speak beautifully has recorded the message for our answerphone.
Lovely to see so many of the original names here and Ruthy has done a great job with the continuation. I cannot promise to contribute very much as most of it has been said over the years, and if I do it might be quite occasional. MrsP, I'm glad to hear this blog is more peaceful, and I shall adhere to that :) I really hope we don't literally have to agree all the time - but having a polite aethos suits me.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, most of the old gang will find their way here eventually, but in the meantime - whether I contribute of not - it's heartwarming to know the conversation continues to your satisfaction. I have fond memories of the old blog and the people on it.
Patricia Greene, Jill, is going to be interviewed on Broadcasting House at about 9.30, apparently her eyesight is being affected by macular degeneration, but according to the “trailer” she plans to carry on working.
ReplyDeleteBeat me to it KP! Just logged on to say the same. Great minds, as they say!
DeleteWell, how interesting, listening to Paddy Greene talking about her eye problem. Considering that she now has to virtually learn her lines in advance from a large font script, I withdraw any criticisms of her performance I may have made recently. She is brave to continue acting at all under the circumstances and long may she (and Judy Dench, who has similar problems) continue.
ReplyDeletePatricia Greene sounded very confident and giggly, she passed it on to Jill, on BH. It must be the anxiety that makes her sound breathless, she's probably hyperventilating. Jill had to stop driving because of her cataracts and they are of the same age, so life and art intertwined.
Delete✔️
DeleteTalking of Patria Greene.
ReplyDeletePlease can anybody tell me when the programme about Bess of Hardwicke was on the radio?
Thank you.
LJ
DeleteLook up ' Great Lives' R4 Mathew Paris.
I think it was last weeks episode.
I enjoyed it particularly since Bess of Hardwick is also one of my great heroines.
Thanks for tip - tuned into BH, &, yes, she comes across pretty well balanced & agreeable.
ReplyDeleteI listened later and agree with others.
ReplyDeletePatricia Greene is not losing her marbles.
Personally I don't think Jill is either..... yet !
Thank you,Mrs P.
ReplyDeleteI have just listened to the programme about Bess of Hardwicke.
Fascinating.
Coincidently I have spent a wet afternoon going through a box of letters etc and find I have a card from The Duchess of Devonshire to whom I once wrote.
At last we heard Lily and Russ together and it didn't sound well, even though he's told his parents. Elizabeth will soon find out the whole truth whether the Friday supper takes place or not.
ReplyDeleteGreat reaction from Clarrie to the llama confession.
Well Russ will soon be a thing of the past .
ReplyDeleteWait until Lily gets up to Manchester and meets some real men from the north
√√√
DeleteToo right. Shame they won’t be Yorkshire men though.
DeleteIn my opinion what a very irritating episode tonight. Shula amazed that Alaister might feel inclined to retaliate with a petition of his own. Elizabeth fretting over Freddie who has put himself in this position, taking at face value Lily's assertion that Russ is separated/divorced from his wife and having the nerve to say she was young once and made mistakes........yes and in middle age too, a cracking one only a few years ago with Roy, but managing to come up smelling of roses, unlike Roy. As for Susan as far as I'm concerned she just gets worse! The SW are certainly giving Ambridge women a bad name. I've never seen so many in denial or with little self awareness. The men, however, seem somehow to be much more rounded in character without having to drive the dramatic plot all the time.....I suppose Rob made up for this though in bucketfuls!!! Nothing, however, can mar my day as I've just be taken out to an early birthday lunch at a very grand restaurant in the New Forest. What more can a girl ask for! 😊
ReplyDeleteNot knowing the exact date, may I wish you a very happy Birthday in advance B.B. Hope your wonderful sounding lunch was spectacular ! 🥗🍛🍧🍷
DeleteThank you Archerphile it was, and I didn't have to pay for it!! Courtesy of the 'dawt' and her partner! A double bonus! Hope all is progressing as it should be with the hip. Slowly but surely does it. 🙂
Delete👍
Delete' He puts on a brave face for me' Eh ? Whenever we've been privileged to hear E. talk to her son this week he's been whinei g, complaining with an ice-cream moustache gathering on a trembling top lip.
ReplyDeleteSo Lily lied to mum about the marriage being over, & mum, gran & auntie clutch at straws & say, ' Well, that's something at least' as if they believed the lie...
Lily is getting anxious, though. Be interesting to see how he never manages to find 'the right moment'.
Would Russ really tell his parents before his wife? I can’t see him turning up for dinner. Sounds like a Friday night dramatic end of week climax, or anti climax for Lily. Elizabeth expects it to blow over so isn’t investing too much angst.
ReplyDeleteOoh lunch in the New Forest - we’re off there soon and I thought Ruthy/Mrs P’s lovely picture reminiscent of it.🐄🐴🐖🙂
1.Russ doesn’t tell his wife and doesn’t show for dinner Friday
ReplyDelete2. Tells his wife and she threatens suicide and Russ can’t leave her
3. Russ lies that she told his wife and will be leaving her any day now
That other scenarios are there?
A repeat of Elizabeth and Robin Fairbrother's past perhaps whereby Russ's wife tells him she is pregnant so he doesn't feel he can leave.
DeleteLet's hope Russ doesn't try to add Elizabeth to his conquests and runs mother and daughter in tandem! (If I'm having a mad moment here like Carolyn - please tell me to forget it!)
ReplyDeleteMadness can be contagious....don't think our dear SWs would be that crass, yet, yet such triangles have happened in Real Life, so maybe...
DeleteHow about.
DeleteRuss goes for the meal.It passes off pleasantly.
He thinks it seems like he may be onto a good thing .
Elizabeth has a bob or two and no doubt Lily will do very well out of it.He and she will be able to run LL He will be able to give up teaching.
but
Lily goes up to Manchester and meets proper men from the north.
Bye bye Russ.
But, Lanjan, wouldn't proper men from the north find her pretty enough, but too full of southern airs & graces to tolerate for more than a one night stand ? Even that she'd veto as her identity tag will be Tragic Heroine & when that palls, a few weeks before the end of the Michaelmas term, she won't be looking for tawdry gropes in shabby student bedsits, or discarded bouncy castles, but True Love...
DeleteLanJan - could you define "proper men from the north", please (apart from having been born and bred north of Watford?)
DeleteHaving a flat cap and a pet ferret!! 😂
DeleteI wonder if Lily is aware of her mother's relationship with a man from the north - Cameron Fraser? That didn't work out too well.
ReplyDeleteI think I heard Elizabeth reassure someone that Lily and Russ didn't, ah, commit intimacy until she was over 18. I'm not sure but I strongly suspect that in a teacher/pupil relationship (particularly given that Russ is a lot older and is married) this would be irrelevant. I doubt that the principal of the college would be happy about it. Does anyone know how the authorities would regard this?
ReplyDeleteAnyway that doesn't matter as, according to Lily, Russ is give up his job and leave his wife. Yeah, right!
I think all lecturer/student liaisons are deemed inappropriate to varying degrees. Even if they had waited until after Lily had left having finished her exams I think the college authorities would be concerned. This along with Russ’s covering for Freddie, which no doubt will emerge, has a good tabloid story written all over it
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree - this is heading for some sort of disaster, and there are many ways to write it. Including, most immediately, the complete undermining of Freddy at the trial. I've no doubt our terrific script writers will wring the most out of the thematic material, like a Beethoven sonata.
DeleteI have just had a crazy random thought ..... I heard mention, a couple of times this week, of Lily’s inherited Gwen John painting, much admired by Russ apparently.
ReplyDeleteI don’t suppose he might realise it is worth a small fortune and is manipulating Lily to get his greedy paws on it? 😂
Smooth talker, seducer, fortune-hunter - could Russ be a coercive controller as well???
DeleteOr just an expert on Gwen John!............yeah right! 😕
DeleteHave to say I am quite enjoying all this speculation about Russ; is he a wicked philanderer with evil intentions or just a genuinely nice man whose wife truly doesn’t understand him?
DeleteCan’t wait to find out!
Come on, new Editor, give us the answer, do!
At the very beginning, I thought Russ was after the Gwen John painting rather than Lily herself.
DeleteAnd this week, when meeting Elizabeth, I too thought he might decide to have a go at seducing mum.
Whatever.... he is an ' operator '
LJ, I'm sorry to tell you that all the ' men from the north ' that I've ever met, were ' professional northerners ' .
Perhaps that is because they have all come south and feel that they need to 'big up ' home turf.
The northern men Lily may have come into contact with are men like Alan the vicar,
DeleteRichard the doctor ,Harrison the policeman and Johnny the farm labourer.
None is really typical of what I think of as a northerner or maybe they all are.
So I think what I meant by "proper " men from the north was what I think of as a typical northerner.
Not necessarily Sean Bean or Alan Bates but they are not bad choices for a start off?
I call myself a northerner by choice because although I was not born in the north nor were my parents ,I lived most of my life there.
One should not generalise but I would say that a typical northern man is open,friendly down to earth and has a good sense of humour.
Think of all the comedians and comediennes who come from that part of England.
The north starts at Crewe ,Maryellen not Watford.
I don't know what Mrs P means by a professional northerner.
Incidently,I am married to a southerner
Professor Google has plenty to tell you about professional northerners
DeleteLancashire Janet, should you care to ask him.
None the wiser ,Mrs P.
DeleteI had a look as you suggested.
None of it was any help I am afraid.
All I can suggest is that while some parts of the Country are obviously proud of their area as you are of Gloucestershire of course Mrs P ,northerners are proud of the whole of the north and so there are more of them.
professional northeners..... those that exaggerate their accent in the company of tourists and play up to stereotypical culture .... ?
Deletean observation .... not necessarily my opinion ..
DeleteRuss says the psychotherapy training week-ends can take it out of her (Lara) - to me it sounds that she can put the acquired knowledge straight into practice when she finds out the truth.
ReplyDeleteI have not had much time for reading this blog for almost the entire summer but was lucky enough to log in two weeks or so ago when Archerphile mentioned the Book at Bedtime being read by Eleanor Bron. Thank you so much, Archerphile! Not only did I enjoy listening to the five episodes tremendously, but the book was a real discovery for me, too. I have meanwhile bought it and think I will try other stories by Elizabeth Taylor, too. Thanks again - I would certainly have missed something there.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you enjoyed it Nigella A. I read the book the first year it was published and it has always stuck in my mind as I was pregnant with my first baby at the time. I have a large volume of Elizabeth Taylor’s short stories and they are all gems.
DeleteI am very suspicious about Russ. On listening to the ommibus on Sunday, I noticed that Russ said something along the lines that:- we at this college are a family.
ReplyDeleteAfter a long think, my thought is that Ellis is a member of his family, be it a son or nephew. His "seduction" of Lily is purely to keep her quiet, and the "glowing" character ref. for Freddie is also to deflect interest from Ellis. This is purely my simplistic idea.
Just for once I was giving a thumbs up to Peggy tonight.
ReplyDelete✔️✔️✔️Carolyn except I am usually in agreement with her.
DeleteShe is a wise old woman.
So - who is guessing what is in Natasha's email!
ReplyDeleteNothing good !
DeleteI agree.
DeleteNatasha was not impressed.
I hope that is the last we hear from her.
Henry playing up? Is the the first sign of the damage done to the little boy by Rob’s behaviour or just the usual sibling rivalry and tantrums of a seven year old not getting his own way?
ReplyDeleteOr maybe the later effect of Bridge Farm's behaviour? I suspect he has been over-indulged.
Delete✔️ maryellen
DeleteGetting bored in the Summer hols. is more likely to be 11, 12 yr. behaviour, I suggest, than 7 yr. old. Reckon it's delayed reaction to the trauma, apparently no problem at school, but extended time at current home triggers disturbing thoughts about abruptly evacuated previous home & disappearing 'dad'.
ReplyDeleteI had the same thought - I wouldn't be surprised if he threw a comment to Helen along the lines implying his "Daddy" was nicer. Second thoughts: surely impossible to think that!
DeleteOr this is just the 'issue' that's come to the top of the pile.
ReplyDeleteCertainly that as well !
DeleteRuss definitely strikes me as a smoothy player type. He probably won't find the 'right moment' to tell his poor wife, or if he does, she'll react 'hysterically' in his words and he'll have to stay with her a bit longer to 'help her'. BTW the hysterical reaction is just the normal reaction of a wife being told her husband loves someone else. Also think it's weird that he told his parents before telling his wife.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about Henry's behaviour which I think is probably a combination of being over-indulged by everyone around him and some memories of the events leading up to his dad disappearing.
Re all the Northern man chat - I believe actress Maxine Peake has been described by some as a 'professional Northerner'.
I think we only have Russ's word that he's told his parents. Cynical? Moi?
ReplyDeleteAgree - I thought it was strange that he told his parents - almost seems to me he doesn’t have friends
Delete✔️✔️
DeleteHe hasn't told anyone because as he has no intention of resigning and will no doubt have another young student to seduce when next term starts ,he doesn't need to let anyone know what he has been up to.
DeleteHe has got away with this one.
Lily will soon be forgotten.
He would have to give notice as well (I thought it was a couple of months ) before he left his present job.
Russ telling his friends (if he has/ hasn't) wouldn't impress Lily with the seriousness of his feelings and intentions as much as telling his parents (if he has/ hasn't) would.
DeleteI doubt he's told anyone - do we have any conversaton to support this? It's a classic Rob move - doing or saying something which no one can prove or deny. If Lily gets too heavy or impatience with him, we'll see his other side. I'm hoping Lily's basic intelligence will wake her up before it goes even further, but at the moment she cannot see what is going on any more than Helen did.
DeleteNo, she can't because it's her first love affair & she's only 18, but we heard the first niggle of anxiety the other night ('you said you'd tell her as soon as she walked through the door') &, for her, it's becoming urgent - mum knows, she's off to university soon. All along, she's closed down the logical side of her mind & it'll be very painful when it kicks in again.
DeleteHelen was twice Lily's age when she made her big mistake. I think this is a significant difference.
DeleteLily seems to be treading a similar path to Pip when she fell for the dreadful Jude several years ago, although at least Jude wasn't already married, but he certainly led Pip astray. I think that Lily's problem is that she thinks she is a lot more worldly wise than she actually is - oh dear!
ReplyDelete✔️
DeleteWith reference to earlier comments regarding Russ and Lily's relationship.
ReplyDeletein reality is it a big No No! Under the Sexual Offences Act there is a special clause for adults with special responsibilities with others (ie under age children, vulnerable adults and so on.) It matters not whether Lily was 18 years old when her intimacy started with Russ. He, as a lecturer at her place of study, was in loco parentis for her. If (and I surely hope it will) the relationship is found out by the authorities -
he will lose his job,
will be extremely unlikely to get another in the teaching profession,
will at least be placed on the register (used to be known as List 99) for barring anyone for a set period of time or for life to have anything to do with 'vulnerable ' people, voluntarily or in paid employment.
I do hope that the S/Ws will, at least in this case, not allow the perpetrator to get off Scot free as with recent past criminal storylines!
Oh and Freddie too.
Drug dealers are scum, whether from Stately homes or Council estates!
Second line - " IT IS a big No No"
DeleteSpicycushion your (corrected) post is 100% correct. I agree with your hopes regarding the outcome.
DeleteAbsolutely spot on Spicycusion. Also as a Deputy Principal he would have to give a terms notice, which he clearly hasn't done, so he won't be heading off to Manchester any time soon.
DeleteAgree on both counts.
DeleteYes and me too !
DeleteWith you absolutely,Spicy, about Russ's position & Freddie's. Hope neither are whitewashed.
ReplyDeleteMe too.
DeleteAnd me. I believe it is just as reprehensible for a University lecturer to have relations with a student, however old they are. It is totally unacceptable and the fact that Lily was (only just) under 18 when they ‘met’ and their relationship didn’t start until after her birthday does not make it OK
DeleteYes, Russ is culpable. Even though Lily is over 18, at the time she was still a pupil and he was a teacher in a position of trust. No matter what a teacher needs to shy away from such a relationship and certainly should not encourage it. Of course he’s lying about telling his wife and Lily only has his word for it that she is unstable. Maybe Elizabeth will see through him!
ReplyDeleteHenry has reached an age where he realises that he doesn’t have a father plus the trauma around Rob contributes to his present disquiet. I thought it was selfish of Helen to embark on the pregnancy with an unknown father. All very well in the first few years but when awareness kicks in the child is bound to feel insecure. All this to deal with topped up with holiday boredom! I well remember the end of one summer holiday when my daughter was young going into the village shop and expressing my relief only to have another young mum practically in tears as she missed her offspring so much! I thought I must be a very bad mother!
It seems Tom is stepping into the breach to b.ecome the father figure that Henry lacks and give him the extra attention he is demanding. Good for Tom! It could also give Tom a renewed sense of purpose. Will he do the same for Jack?
DeleteHello, all! I've only just managed to sign in again. Good to see FOSO back and to reconnect with this civilised blog. I must say that I'm rather enjoying TA at the moment. So--is Henry just going through a 'normal' childhood phase, or is the trauma of Rob finally emerging? I suspect the latter! As for Russ, I'm on the edge of my seat, awaiting the ghastly denoument! Silly, silly, Elizabeth, taking it all so calmly!
ReplyDeleteHello Nemo ! Glad you've made it here. Yes, it surely will be a ghastly denouement. I think E. is not being particularly silly ( for her, anyway, prob.not saying much, true) as a) remembering her own youth, so empathetic towards Lily b) she's got so much on her plate she isn't focusing too well, & it was convenient to believe Lily's ' the marriage is over'. Most mothers would have asked what she meant by that vague statement. Not E. - in fact, she seems surprised when anyone says F. could well serve a prison sentence. In denial.
ReplyDeletecarolyn - didn't E when talking to Shula (I think it was her) said Lily's relationship wouldn't last? Lily will be off to Manchester soon and this affair will all soon be forgotten?
DeleteE is treating Lily's relationship as a summer fling before going of to U.
DeleteYes, she is ! Agreed
DeleteIt's easier for her to think that, as all her troubles pile up.
Elizabeth said something like 'He has been married' or 'He was married'. I think Lily let her believe that Russ was divorced.
DeleteAgreed Lily has allowed her mother to think that Russ 'had' a wife.
DeleteBut do 'we' know there is a wife at all.
It is possible that the wife is a ploy for ' we can't be together yet, because'
And that in fact, no wife exists.
Good to hear from Nemo. Welcome.
Lynda's not taken in by that rubbish...
ReplyDeleteNo, but she might let Susan get away with her craven lie, & never let Clarrie know she's been maligned by her good friend. Is Lynda decent enough to do that ? Dunno.
DeleteSusan would not have done that.
DeleteApart from anything else ,how does Susan know that Lynda would not be so incensed that she would go and have it out with Clarrie?
Even were that not to happen it would surely come out at a later date.
Ridiculous .
I see Maryellen has said the same sort of thing below.
From the way Lynda was talking,I think she knows who the culprit was.
How lovely to see more commenting on this lovely Archers site, and giving constructive and interesting thoughts, as to The Archers
ReplyDeleteThat was utterly disgraceful - the scriptwriters have really gone too far this time. No way would Susan have dumped Clarrie in it like that or been so stupid. Editorial heads should roll!
ReplyDeleteThey seem to think it's funny and are trying to stretch it out of proportion, very immature sense of humour. Lynda will now use it to her advantage.
DeleteMust have an immature sense of humour then, finding the whole scene quite funny : Susan squirming, Lynda playing her, the literary lecture, & Susan's ingenious way of owning up without confessing. She's so desperate not to be tarred with the Horrobin brush, that she took the considerable risk of Lynda not confronting Clarrie, accepting Susan's abject apologies in lieu, OR, seeing clearly what Susan is doing, magnanimously letting her off the hook, now the mystery is solved.
DeleteOf course, Lynda being what she is, there'll be pay back - she'll use this to get compliance from Susan in the future. Blackmail !
I rather enjoyed this episode, for all the reasons expressed by C above.
DeleteHowever, I also agree with Maryellen.
Susan dropping her friend Clarrie in it was disgraceful, and yes, heads should roll !
I'm obviously suffering from malfunction in the humour department then,. I thought the original merry prank was mildly amusing but from the moment Lynda appeared like the Wicked Wiitch of the West the storyline descended into nonsense. This keeps happening! I don't think the scriptwriters are doing Lynda any service either. She is becoming increasingly tedious and heading for redundancy.
DeleteI could accept that after a few drinks and seeing the llama on her way home Susan would pull this prank but surely it’s stretching credibility too far that she has now told a bare faced lie and dropped Clarrie in the soup! Susan is many things, can stretch the truth but she is not a liar and loyalty to her friend would not allow her to do this! It made me gasp in disbelief! Another complete character transplant!!
ReplyDeleteIt's herself she doesn't want dropped in the soup. Susan is an expert on village gossip, she's the main source of it, so she is trying to avoid her llama abduction being on everyone's lips within 24 hrs, thus becoming a local joke, & the prank being attributed to her Horrobin origins. The gamble is that Lynda won't confront Clarrie.
DeleteI too gasped in disbelief Ev, and yes, Carolyn agree, it's a gamble that Susan must believe will work.
DeleteDid I just hear tonight’s episode aright? Is Susan really putting the blame on poor Clarrie?
ReplyDeleteI am appalled. I have never liked Susan and her gossipy rumour mongering ways but she has really gone beyond the pale tonight!
How dare she blacken her friends name in an attempt to shift blame!
I sincerely hope Lynda does not believe this and will find some way of putting Susan firmly on her place.
I am spitting feathers I am so cross! 😡
Welcome back Nemo! How lovely to see some old familiar names coming back. 😀
ReplyDeleteJust want to join the chorus of 'Ridiculous' etc. Quite stupid. The scriptwriters, that is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with others that tonight's ep with Susan dropping Clarrie into it was completely daft. Susan would not do that to her friend. She is a gossip and snob but not a disloyal friend. In any event, Lynda is not fooled and knows that Susan is the culprit.
Delete✔️ 100%....
DeleteGood to see you back Nemo ~ and with the lovely profile photo.
ReplyDeleteHenry behaves like a 3 year old is because the directors will only give him,dialogue suitable for. 3 year old.
ReplyDeleteRe Susan/Clarrie: I am hoping Fallon or Harrison will find out and tell Lynda the truth (if she hasn’t already twigged). I am sure Lynda will have an ingenious way of dealing with Susan, just hope it is in public somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the SWs have overstepped the mark, but the situation is as it has been written and has to be dealt with satisfactorarily.
Perhaps Lynda also deserves some come-uppance for pushing this silly vendetta too far?
She does indeed ! Unfortunately, she loves power ....
DeleteLynda gave the impression that she had already been tipped off about who took the llama.
ReplyDeleteSusan was reduced to the age of Henry, who might just blame Jack for one of his misdemeanours. "It wasn't me, it was her, him." I'm surprised she didn't blame the llama for taking itself to Fallon's garden. Enticed by the greener grass.
Natasha has thrown a spanner in the works, and Tom will pick it up and create another business disaster. More Farmer Tom Sausages?
I have a feeling that there could be a clue in the fact that Helen's cheese has gone downhill since they got rid of their dairy herd at Bridge Farm, although no-one seems to have picked up on it yet, despite Helen working it out, but then seemingly forgetting about it. The only reason Tony has the Angus herd as a "hobby" herd is because he was missing his dairy cows so much. Could Natasha have pointed out that in doing that they have shot themselves in the foot cheesewise?
DeleteSorry, I should have said that it was obviously the quality of the milk from the Bridge Farm dairy herd that gave the cheese that certain something, and which it now lacks.
DeleteI don't understand why it's taken so long since the change of milk supply for the deterioration in the quality of the cheese to show up, and why Grey Gables is the only customer to complain? Or why only one cheese is affected and apparently not Sterling Gold or Bridge Farm's other dairy products?
DeleteI for one understood your reasoning in your first post Suz, and agree with your point. A point that I also had realised.
DeleteMight we see the return of a dairy herd to Bridge farm ?
But if so, is there room, and enough willing hands, to continue the pigs, the shop, the vegetables in the poly tunnels, the veg boxes and the cafe as well as the cheese and yoghurt making industry.
At least they might drop Susan's revered Kefir !
Ha ha, yes, MrsP, that's one line that could go for a start! I think that was the gist of Natasha's critique - too many irons in the fire, and no joined up thinking. I think we may see them getting back to basics, but obviously need to convince dismissive Helen first.
DeleteMaybe the time it takes to mature cheese explains the gap between getting rid of the old dairy herd and detecting the lower standard as it would be used in rotation. If all other factors are the same, the milk quality must be to blame.As far as I remember getting rid of the dairy herd was instigated by Tom, another of his gaffs! Milking had become a burden but they could have cut the number of cows, introduced more mechanisation or taken on help.
ReplyDeletePerhaps they can spice up something in current herd's feed, to bring back the je ne sais quoi to the cheese ? 😙( Take no notice, just mucking around)
ReplyDeleteBTW, not condoning Susan's shafting of her friend, Clarrie, but do get the reason for it.
Back to the cheese, didn't Helen say orders, or sales, had gone down, so Ian's cancellation for GG isn't the only indicator of a poorer product ?
Ian is getting antsy about Lexi's continuing absence, but Adam, whilst making the right soothing noises, really couldn't care less, it seems. He gave excellent, considered responses to Tom, though
Maryellen, wasn't Sterling Gold, made using the milk from Oliver's Guernsey cows at Grange Farm, which also Mike used in his bottling plant? When this herd was disbanded, then so did Sterling Gold cease production.
ReplyDeleteMy memory could be playing tricks one me - but this is I how recall things.
Can any-one else clarify this?
I think you're right Miriam, and, as far as I can recall, now that they have lost Oliver's Channel Island herd, and Bridge Farm's own dairy herd, they are having to buy in milk for all their cheeses, which must make a difference because I believe that the 'terroir' that the cows graze on does make a difference to the taste of the final product.
DeleteYes, if you eat lamb in certain parts of Greece they graze on wild herbs so come ready herbed! Yum! I can’t remember where the milk for Helen’s cheese comes from or what sort of cow. We have Guernseys on the island and IOW blue is produced from it which is a creamy Brie like consistency. It is delicious but at a price as not too much is produced. I would have thought H should source her milk from Channel island cows or similar.
DeleteMaryellen nil, Scriptwriters won! Like Lynda, fell for it hook, line and sinker.! So glad Susan is vindicated.
ReplyDeleteI'm guilty too 🙄 did not see that coming!
DeleteBrilliant ! I loved it. After all our chat on here, & a friendship consolidated, & Lynda sorted ( but she might well know the truth, at that, but graciously decided to let it all drop...)
ReplyDeleteNo point in clinging to the theory that Lynda knew the truth all along because a) how would she, b) why would she, and c) we'll never know, anyway. Just have to accept we all fell for it!
DeleteI suspect she guessed from the moment Susan came in with Something to Say - the pointed reference to courage as the theme of ' to kill a Mockingbird Bird' ?
DeleteYep. I think Linda knew and agree with C. It was the tone used to ' inform ' Susan of the theme of the book.
DeleteI fell for it too.
Anyone who didn't ?
Russ's character reference will be all right as long as his involvement with Lily doesn't come to light, doesn't sound right to me.
ReplyDeleteSurely Usha should not have encouraged Elizabeth to keep quiet about the liaison between Lily and Russ?
DeleteI may be wrong but didn't she know about Freddie's previous involvement with drugs.
In any case
I don't think I would want Usha acting for me.
I agree, Basia - I couldn't believe Usha actually said that. Did Elizabeth misinterpret?
DeleteShula's got form in concealing something from the authorities, & now her sister has. It's a bit more complicated, though, as she's clinging to the idea that it's a brief affair ( which it probably is). As it is now, the honourable thing would be to decline the man's offer of a reference - whatever that means for Freddie. I doubt it actually means much, because I can't believe the police haven't investigated further between the arrest & the forthcoming crown court hearing.
DeleteWell that fooled us didn't it?
ReplyDeleteI don't think any of us thought that Clarrie was in on it.
Well done to the script writers this time.
Exactly, Lanjan & Maryellen - what sort of lawyer is Usha ? Wouldn't she be in trouble if it became clear she knew about the concealment ?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Suz's comment why it took so long to find out Helen't cheese is not up to par. I seem to remember Natasha actually liked the cheese. Doesn't make sense that Tom is taking her as the "expect" in all farm matter, when she doesn't know when is cheese is bland. I would not trust N.
ReplyDeleteI think they gave Natasha a taste of the earlier, good cheese.
DeleteSo, we were all conned! Very clever SWs.
ReplyDeleteBut I am confused.
Did Susan actually take the llama, in which case I think she is a complete coward for not owning up and allowing Clarrie to talk her into the hilarious ploy of putting the blame on her friend?
Or did Clarrie actually take the llama and Susan admitted blame to Fallon to protect Clarrie, then had to ‘confess’ to Lynda, but blame Clarrie because they thought Lynda wouldn’t cause a fuss because of Clarrie’s bad year!
Oh lord, I’m getting in a complete muddle, it’s late at night, co-codamal is kicking in and I’ve lost my sense of humour.
What a lot of silly nonsense!!
It didn't appeal to my sense of humour, I agree that it was a lot of silly nonsense.
DeleteIs it just me? _Why_ did Susan and Clarrie concoct the fiction that it was Clarrie that abducted Constanza? Just to put one over on Lynda? What if Lynda gets shirty with Clarrie?
ReplyDeleteBut it's a less harmful deception than the ones Elizabeth & co. seem intent on perpetrating.
Well we were all fooled by the SWs weren't we. I found it amusing though and I enjoyed the chat afterwards between Susan and Clarrie. True friends indeed.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we've heard the end of the llama story yet (it's supposed to be the light theme), Lynda will make various comments and might give Clarrie 'a look in church'.
ReplyDelete