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Life in Ambridge: Comments week of September 16, 2018
Life in Ambridge: Comments week of September 16, 2018
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Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments' - Episode 8 Life Outside Ambridge Beach Chairs
Helen's cheese?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely ! As it was, & will be again once she's got the cows....
DeleteIf Elizabeth wants Lily to ring her, she should try ignoring her text asking for money
ReplyDeleteto be transferred into her account. I am sure she would be on the phone immediately
and then Elizabeth could sugggest she asks Russ for some money.
👍
Delete✓✓ but E. Is in a tricky position, already, in effect, financing Russ.She didn't have to agree to the flat, but she did.
DeletePeggy. My thoughts entirely. 👏👏
DeleteTotally agree Peggy!
DeletePeggy - yes, yes, yes. Has Lily spent her student loan already?
DeleteThat’s the answer, Lizzie, cut them off without a penny!🍂💇♂️🙇♂️ ✂️✂️😀
DeleteHarsh. But undoubtedly the right answer! Russ doesn't know he's born.
DeleteAgree!!
DeleteShula really didn't care for Alistair looking healthier, sounding positive, the clincher being when he said he'd enjoyed the best birthday he'd in a long while. What a disagreeable woman she is. Supportive of F. & E., yes, but never gently challenging where it might count.
ReplyDelete👍
DeleteI think Shula, who, in effect said she was leaving Alistair because he was boring, is now taken aback to realise that she is the one leading a boring life .....and Alistair is moving on, getting fit, taking up new challenges and starting to enjoy himself.
DeleteHow dare he have a great birthday party!
Having been something of a
Shula fan for most of her life I am now finding her thoroughly disagreeable.
Sorry, Carolyn, just used the same adjective as you (disagreeable) . Should have been more inventive and used a different one but at least it shows I am in full agreement with your post.!😊
DeleteGood to agree about disagreeableness ! (Not sure there is such a word...)
DeleteI agree with you both.
DeleteI fear that Shula is now discovering the truth, that she was bored in her marriage because she, herself, is boring.
But having made the decision to call a halt on her relationship with Alistair, she now has to live with herself.
And....... what is ' herself' ?
Mmm...quite - not much substance there !
DeleteHow very untrue! There is a lot to Shula, she is a high achiever, and because the scriptwriters have allowed her character to develop, not at all boring. (It would be so tranquil to have a blog on which every female character with the exception of Kirsty and possibly Jolene, Fallon, and Clarrie didn't regularly get done over!)
DeleteIf Shula runs a successful stables I believe she must be quite a strong and adaptable character. Working with horses is constant hard work and likely to be a crisis every few days, though we don't here much about it. She's miffed at Alistair surviving so well without her which clearly knocked her ego, but I think it was Alistair who was being disagreeable, deliberately rubbing salt into the wound. I'm not saying I blame him for doing so, but it was certainly he who was disagreeable, not Shula. If one want a successful negotiation, one should be firm without being provocative. And I'd give that advice to both sides.
DeleteAw, not fair to Alistair, FOSO. What was he supposed to say? 'I had a crap birthday without you, my darling. I know I have no right to have the slightest bit of fun on my own.' But I still hope Shula will resume her 'decent human being' persona.
DeleteRuthy. Wonderful looking blue cheese, good enough to to eat. Better than the inedible picture on the old blogs when Helen won the Borchester prize for best cheese.🧀🧀
ReplyDeleteStasia - I think you'll find Ruthy's picture is as inedible as the BBC's! 😀
DeleteDisagreeable, very apt, very Jane Austen. Since Shula is supposed to be on the way out, she might as well go down as such. Something that has stuck: on her wedding day to Mark, Phil wanted to kiss her but she refused because it would spoil her lipstick, what a bore.
ReplyDeleteI can see why something like that would stick with you, so uptight is she. Is she ever spontaneously warm ? She can be sympathetic with those in distress, coming out with the bland platitudes, as Archerphile says below; thinking of Elizabeth & Will recently.
DeleteThe Radio Times led me astray! The strap line for last nights episode was “Elizabeth breaks down”, so I was expecting a ‘big event’ with her finally letting all her emotions out and someone finding out exactly what has been going on ...and taking steps to do something positive to help.
ReplyDeleteInstead, she almost sounded cheerful at times and it was only Shula who was on hand to offer platitudes .... and she knew the whole story already so there was no big disclosure.
Must admit, I was a bit disappointed, I had been expecting an explosive episode with consequences but instead it was just same old, same old, and we have progressed no further.
That's why I resist reading the strap lines and "The Archers this week" in the RT!
DeleteI had withdrawl symptoms at first, but I am glad I overcame them. I liked Shula seemed so supportive. She needs a "lodger". Lets think, Lee, the karate kid physio, Hannah, Kate?
I mean Elizabeth needs a lodger, not Shula as she already has one.😀😀
DeleteArcherphile, I think likewise. Both Friday and Sunday did not live up to their potential.
DeleteI think Shula has assumed that “Alastair’s best birthday yet” involved Lavinia and therefore is concerned what others will think of her that her husband has moved on in that way - even though she wanted the split? I also think Alastair knew what she was thinking and deliberately left her in limbo intentionally 👏🏻
ReplyDeleteHadn't thought of that ! She does seem to be fixated on this La inia thing ( oh, the humiliation - so silly) she knows this woman was always making eyes at A. in the past, so now continues to do so at every opportunity after the one night stand. A. told the truth, perverse of Shula not to accept that.
DeletePerverse, but surely understandable. If your husband had strayed, it would be pretty normal to be suspicious after that.
DeleteSure, but she'd dismissed him as a husband ! hello
DeleteSorry, don't know how ' hello' crept in there I
DeleteHello, Carolyn😊 She dismissed him as a husband, but that doesn't mean she is totally detached. It's not like flicking a switch where emotions are concerned. Having been through a surprisingly amicable divorce, I can understand a little of both sides here.
DeleteI can see that, but perhaps better to conceal such feelings ? Except when she needs to unburden mixed/ disturbing emotions, to Kenton or Elizabeth, who seem to be her chosen confidantes. She's accused A. several times,loudly, not letting him say a word in denial or protest, when he was doing something quite other. Also, we don't know he was actually winding her up - though he might have been - but he certainly wanted to let her know he enjoyed the birthday, & was more positive about his life. He was devestated initially, if you remember, & it's those 3 men who have restored some of his self worth.
DeleteAlistair did not stray! He'd already been sacked. I can understand that Shula wouldn't be entirely happy about it, but she must accept that, though hurt, she can hardly be offended. (I didn't find the one-night stand very convincing, though. Not Alistair's thing, I wouldn't have thought.)
DeleteI hate cheese, as I have mentioned before.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised though, to hear that the future of Bridge Farm depends on Helen's cheese!
What about the yoghurts + ice-cream, which must give a good income. What have I missed?
PS If the source of the organic milk is causing the poor quality of the cheese, is this also then affecting the other dairy products? I don't recall any complaints about these from Underwoods the village shop etc.
DeleteI am perhaps thinking too much, yet again. But I assumed that the organic milk would be used in the entire dairy, not just for the Borsetshire Blue.
DeleteTonight they were proposing buying in a breed of French cow, the milk from which is used to make Comté. When the desire was to reproduce the supply of high quality milk which they had previously, I cannot see the rationale. Why risk buying in milkers of a totally different breed when they know Friesians (or Holsteins?) were what worked before. Apart from anythibg else, Borsetshire Blue and comté have quite different characters. And I can't help feeling the French breed would be dearer too.
DeleteI've always thought that the milk will be for the dairy as a whole, perhaps the quality of yoghourt and ice-cream was not affected but will improve with the new herd.
DeleteI also think that they should stay with the tried and tested and that Tony will have his way.
Yes. A different cow suggests that Bridge Farm will be starting from scratch, and going back to the experimental days of Borsetshire Blue.
DeleteNew milking parlours for Brookfield and Bridge Farm and Johnny is very keen on the idea and the role assigned to him. Elizabeth didn't want Pip to stay just yet, fair enough but Lily won't be welcoming her to Manchester and even if she did it would not be to Pip's liking.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand that last remark. Tonight answered one question for me: what happened to Bridge Farm's existing milking parlour? Apparently, it was demolished to make way for the shop. Does anyone remember this happening, or is it a retro fitted rationalisation
DeleteHmm. Hasn't Bridge Farm had a shop for ages? Why would the parlour have needed to be demolished to make room for it?
DeleteJohnny seemed to think the new project was fiddly and small - he likes big, eg. the big machinery Adam offered him the chance to drive at Home Farm - but big would mean leaving the comfort zone that is Ambridge........
DeleteHe's already done leaving comfort zones. It was a big step a few years ago leaving his home ( got on fine with parents, just not with school) to follow what felt right. He has knowledge now, aware the herd will be small, but does other stuff as well - it's a good opportunity for him, aside from getting on very well with the B. Farm 'discovered' family.
DeleteBootgums, I don’t think the shop was at the farm. I seem to remember it was in the town but could be wrong. Yes, Rob was involved in the farm developments.
DeleteEv, you are correct. The shop needed to reduce costs so they brought it into the farm. I can only think that history might have been rewritten and they possibly extended the shop or cafe by demolishing the milking parlour. I don't remember this, but it's what they came up with by way of explaining having to build a new one.
DeleteI had an idea they had a farm shop as well as (or before?) Ambridge Organics, or whatever it was called, in Borchester. But I wouldn't swear to it. I can't think who would have staffed them both, so they probably didn't exist at the same time.
DeleteI have a memory of a Bridge Farm shop before the Borchester shop. It was probably small, maybe open part-time. Pat probably looked after it. Present shop is mark #3.
DeleteI didn't know the milking parlour had been demolished. Pip & Ruth have recently researched parlours, on a larger scale. Wasn't one of Pip's favourites costed at £100s of thousands?
Don't like baby adoration sessions much, but Pip was sweet with Elizabeth tonight, & the latter was comforted by the contact. I think she would have loved them to stay the night, but doesn't want to reveal what is really going on with Lily, which she would be tempted to do, after a good film & a few glasses of wine...basically, she's hoping Russ will get his marching orders before everyone finds out.
ReplyDeleteSpot on, and most particularly before Jill finds out.
DeleteI was a bit startled to have it brought home to me that Elizabeth is a great-aunt!
DeleteCarolyn and Seasider, I saw it that way too. The company overnight of a sympathetic young woman would have tempted Elizabeth to let her thoughts and fears be spoken out loud.
DeleteShe wants to keep her distress and Lily's possible humiliation close to her own chest, and to keep the wider family at bay. For obvious reasons.
Miriam - I do agree with your comment about Bridge Farm's future depends on Helen's cheese. We still never have heard how much income the cheese actually brings in, and she only makes 1 type of cheese I believe. There are good local farms in New Jersey and New York that make cheese, but they all make more than just 1 type of cheese, and yogurt. How much does the veg boxes bring in? A holistic business plan for the entire farm should be developed, since Tom has volunteered to develop cost for the milking parlor. Of course, Helen will get her way, now that Dad is on board.
ReplyDeleteDoes Sterling Gold still exist?
DeleteGood Question bootgums.
DeleteSterling Gold was developed to use the milk from Oliver Stirling’s herd of Jersey cows, which were disbanded some years ago.
I don’t know if Helen carried on producing it from other milk afterwards or if it was just dropped from their range.
I also wondered about the milking parlour. I was surprised to hear of the demolition but can’t quite remember. Was there some redevelopment at the time the cafe opened? Perhaps the shop was expanded then - I do remember Rob’s “involvement”.
DeleteSeasider. None of us remember demolition of milking parlour but scriptwriters have access to information to which we are not privy. Either that or they make it up as they go along. Q. What can a farm do with a redundant milking-parlour? A. Demolish it and build a shop and café on the site. Perhaps customers' car-park is on site of old milking-parlour. The shop and café were new at the same time. The previous Ambridge Organics shop had been in Borchester but it had ceased to be profitable and was closed.
DeleteI don't want blue cheese. I would try the real equivalent of Stirling Gold. Has Helen made goats' cheese? I've eaten soft and hard goats' cheese.
DeleteHelen may not have been the only cheese producer having problems this year because of the drought.
Catching up this morning with everyone's posts. There was a question by maryellen who asked if Pat had had a Welsh accent when she first appeared (in the 1970s) As far as I remember yes she did have as did her uncle Haydn Evans who had been farming in Ambridge for donkey's years! While checking I came across an old BBC blog which was written by Keri Davies in 2010 celebrating sixty odd years. There were six articles each summing up a decade of TA. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thearchers/entries/fe495845-1f47-3629-9408-18689ea449b5 That was the 1970s) There is a link there to other decades as well.
ReplyDeleteUnfair to call Brian a 'serial adulterer' though I think! Two affairs in over forty years of marriage! Doesn't there have to be a third 'occasion' to make it 'serial?' :)) (Not yet mastered Windows 10!)
That's Caroline, and Siobhan? Did he get it together with Mandy Beesborough, or not quite? Failed with Betty.
DeleteThose are the affairs we know about. Jennifer once said something, probably to Lilian, about being suspicious when Brian gave her an expensive present for no apparent reason, in case his reason was guilt. Even Jennifer doesn't know the whole truth. Brian can be discreet. Listeners didn't know about his affair with Caroline until it ended. Ambridge residents were not suspicious about his visits to Siobhan.
DeleteFOSO - What I meant was that if Pip went to Manchester with Rosie she would discover that Lily had a live-in married lover, would she accept it? Is Lily prepared to tell everyone? I think not to both for the time being.
ReplyDeleteBasia: I see what you mean!
DeleteHaving a daughter hasn't turned Pip into Auntie Peggy. Phoebe may privately disapprove, as her parents' marriage was ended by adultery, but her priority is remaining friends with Lily, gently offering an alternative point of view when opportunity arose. At least Russ has no children to be harmed. Pip's attitude would probably be similar to Phoebe's.
DeleteObviously Lily is now sending pictures of her new love nest, minus the lover, is she embarrassed about him? As she is so smitten and sooo in love why isn't she proclaiming this to the world? How has he become invisible, he lived at LL , went shopping, had lunch with Pheobe present, someone must have seen them smooching about Borchester buying kettles etc in Underwoods. Plus he hasn't spent a penny.
ReplyDeleteOf course Pip should know all about lazy leaches. She might be able to persuade Lily of the error of her ways before she she finds herself, (or most likely Elizabeth finds herself) up to her eyeballs in debt.
It seems that Carol has seen through Brian's underhand methods; she's back after a long time away and 'they' gave her a stick.
ReplyDeleteShe could have sprained an ankle, and so it is just temporary. Also as she has been silent for so long, I am wondering, has Carole like Archerphile, had a hip replacement, and she still needs a stick, to help her.
DeleteYes, but she could have mentioned why she needed one.
DeleteDo you think that Carole's chutney is not made of the ingredients she mentioned to Jill ,Peggy and Brian,Basia?
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to know is how she still has sweet peas which look good enough to show at the F and P Show.
Mine are still flowering and are lovely.
DeleteLanjan, I think she told them the truth since Peggy said her chutney days were over and Brian declared no interest, Carol felt safe to disclose her entry but realised too late that Brian was taking notes and was not deceived that he was looking at cricket scores. Perhaps she will alter her recipe, we'll see on the day.
DeleteAre you suggesting that Carol's chutney may include some of the possibly dodgy items that went into her herbal teas, Lanjan?
DeleteMy sweet peas are lovely too Miriam. They seem to be having a second flowering now we have had a fair bit of rain.
DeleteBootgums !since Carole obviously has kept her recipes a secret for so long I wondered if she had divulged them now knowing that Brian would tell Jennifer.
DeleteI thought it was rather silly because I really can't believe Jennifer is going to be that delighted if she wins first prize for her chutney.
As for Carole-now we know why she has been silent for so long.She has spent the entire summer preparing for the Show.
Janice and Miriam,on the other blog will you tell me your secret for growing sweet peas please?
DeleteThe only thing I am really pleased with this year are the tomatoes which I think could win a prize in the F and P Show.
I was annoyed when a packet of seed cost over £3 but contained only 5 seeds but they were more than enough to produce loads of lovely tomatoes.
There are still some to come.
I usually buy cheaper seeds or use ones from previous year's tomatoes but two years ago they suffered from blight so I bought blight free seeds this year.
Nice to hear Carol again, & odd development though it is, Brian & Peggy are clearly enjoying themselves. Don't think winning all the prizes would lessen Jennifer's heartache at losing her home, but that won't happen (neither the winning nor losing) Don't expect Brian will go to prison either, the contamination SL has been vaporised into the already polluted atmosphere...
ReplyDeleteWho, besides Shula, Phoebe, and Kenton, knows about Lily and Russ living together? Lily has been careful to not broadcast her and Russ in a serious romantic relationship. Is Phoebe swarned to secrecy?
ReplyDeleteDavid's reaction would be same as Kenton's, then Jill would find out. I thought some of Lily's friends at college would have twigged.
ReplyDeleteThe SWs obviously know nothing about making chutney. You could not enter a jar of very recently made chutney in a show - it takes several months, a year even, to mature!
ReplyDeleteThey should have checked the WI cookbook first.
Good for you Jazzer, Philip Moss is a very irritating character. Other than preaching on smoking and advising on marital breakups does he ever do any building work?
ReplyDeleteAlso, what a cheapskate, a bar of chocolate for Kirsty.
But maybe that's exactly what she wants ! Sometimes a chocolate fix is more welcome than anything...
DeleteIT could have been a big bar of Cadbury's dairy milk.
DeleteI would far rather somebody gave me that the an the overpriced Hotel Chocolat chocolates I was once given.
Having said that it would take more than a bar of chocolat for Phillip to impress me.
A giant sized Tobletone would do it for me!
DeleteOh, you know what I mean - IPad obviously never heard of TobleRone!
DeleteI would prefer good fudge.
ReplyDeleteI was an absolute piggy driving home from Lyme, having bought £3.50 worth of hand made fudge at the fudge shop, and eating the lot.
Pressed the wrong bit, was going to add.....
DeletePhilip did say it was her favourite.
Not all presents have to be spectacular, it being the thought that counts.
I find Philip Moss a bit sanctimonious with his advice, he and his wife's marriage just came to an end, but he lied about the reasons for the irretrievable breakdown. Is he too good to be true, or will Mrs Moss turn up claiming an invalid divorce.
ReplyDeletePhilip and Alistair are advocates for divorce law reform which was in the news recently. Real people have said similar things.
DeleteI've just discovered to my annoyance that I can no longer catch up on iplayer without having to sign in first. I didn't even want to listen to last night's episode, just read the synopsis, as since August these ceased to be available on Lowfield.
ReplyDeleteI have duly contacted the BBC (much good may it do me) and, no, my feedback was not favourable.
Really puzzled by the adverse comments about Philip, now & in the past 🤔 I take him at face value - competent, friendly, warm hearted, sensible. A good mate to Alistair, &, in a different sense, of course, to Kirstie, though she seemed to have some doubts after meeting his parents, or something to do with moving too fast, too soon
ReplyDeleteI can't put my finger on it Carolyn.
ReplyDeleteI just do not like Phillip.
I also find him boring and a bit wet.
I think he says what the person he is talking to wants him to say..
I hope Kirsty doesn't end up with him.she deserves better,
You may well turn out to be right, Lanjan - I just don't see it yet .
DeleteAs far as I'm concerned he can stay. He's nice to Kirsty and he's Welsh. Buying her favourite bar of chocolate was thoughtful. He's been a good friend to Alistair. If Jazzer decides to give up smoking Philip will support him.
DeleteUnenviable, being piggy in the middle, but good for you, Jolene ! Now have a few frank words with your flakey husband.
ReplyDeleteJohnny & Alistair are being very kind to Freddie, he's lucky, AND, and, at last, he has realized he's the author of his misfortune - important first step....
I hope I’m wrong but I’ve got a horrible feeling that Freddie might do something really stupid like attempting suicide. I am cheered that at least he got himself a haircut, the apathy and lack of personal hygiene that Johnny commented on worried me. When my daughter is going through a bad patch sleeping in her clothes and not showering is the norm.
ReplyDeleteThat worrying thought crossed my mind tonight as well. I hope the fact that he got his hair cut is a sign to the contrary.
DeleteI thought that too. I had also wondered if Freddie and Johnny might have bumped into Ellis when they were out clubbing last week, and that was the cause of Freddie feeling low this week.
DeleteAlso passed through my mind, but dismissed it. A crisis point, yes, when he was feeling low enough, without hope, but where reality hit too, so he couldn't remain in denial any more.
DeleteI thought it too, and, no doubt it was written with the intention that we should think that.
DeleteBut he seemed to pull himself round, or was pulled round by the lovely Johnny and I hope that he is able to sustain it.
Freddie has been an irritating character, but could be developed into a decent adult.
Yes it could actually be a watershed. Perhaps with Lily out of the area he may have his chance to find his way rather than always being the less successful twin.
DeleteI have read negative comments about the friendly Welshman on Facebook sites too, and cannot understand it. As far as I remember he has done nothing to be censured for and has simply provided a sympathetic shoulder for several different Ambridge residents.
ReplyDeleteUntil he really blots his copybook in some way or other, I remain convinced that he is a rather nice man with a lovely accent.
I've just said the same in reply to adverse comments. A Philip Moss Defence Group may be needed. Perhaps the suspicion is Rob-related. A Rob Effect. Far-reaching Rob ripples.
DeleteI don't think my dislike of Philip is Rob related,Hedgehog at Hollowtree
DeleteI can't see him being violent in any way
I think he is wet ,boring and uninteresting .
His conversation is limited
He thinks the answer to everything is a pint at the Bull.
I don't think he will be as good for Alastair as Jazzer has been.
Of course he is nice to Kirsty.
She is a catch.
She is a bright girl though and will see /has seen through him.
And talking about a nice man (or perhaps, lad) offering a friendly shoulder, was’t Johnny brilliant tonight?
ReplyDeleteGoing out of his way to try and cheer Freddie up and motivate him to climb out of the well of despondency he has fallen into. A true friend indeed. I just hope that between them, Johnny and Alistair can pull Freddie back from the brink and motivate him to face his hearing in a more positive mood.
Freddie is behaving like the rest of his immediate family apart from Lily - blaming himself for being an idiot - but not for being morally and criminally wrong. Until he understands that, I don't think he stands much chance of turning into a decent man and a worthy successor to his father.
ReplyDeleteYes Maryellen, Sorry for himself but not for the wrong-doing.
DeleteMost people say what a wonderful person Nigel was.
ReplyDeleteI agree.
He was kind and pleasant and I don't think he would have intentionally hurt anybody but could you have been married to him?
I couldn't.
He would have driven me bananas.
Anyone of his age who calls his mother "mummy" hasn't really grown up.
Lanjan. Agree with your last sentence. On the few occasions I heard Nigel refer to his mother as Mummy he did sound a bit like an upper class twit of the year. At least Freddie and Lily have broken the mold.
DeleteJonny is a good friend.
I have no problem with calling one's mother ..... Mummy 😉
DeleteOn the subject of Philip Moss, I'm sorry to say that I'm not a fan of the 'friendly Welshman' either, which is odd, as I like a Welsh accent and I'm sure the scriptwriters want us to trust him. I can, however, put my finger on what annoys me about him. It's the way that he tends to turn any conversation about someone's misfortunes around to his own experiences, and then seems to be engaging in a kind of one-upmanship re. the misery. Thus, for example, when he was commiserating with Kirsty about her miscarriage, he said that his ex-wife had experienced TWO miscarriages. If I'd been Kirsty, I would have been annoyed rather than consoled by that mode of conversation!
ReplyDeleteHe did exactly the same with Jazzer and smoking, including taking his cigarette from him, with his advice to go cold turkey. He just "packed it in" was the advice. Also advising Alistair to invent behaviours leading to the marital breakdown. He did with his marriage and it all went through smoothly.
DeleteI would ADVISE Kirsty to give him the push, he seems like the sort of man who might say, and how was it for you? Do you fancy a bar of your favourite chocolate?
Such an astute point, Nemo, recovery this trait, know a few people like that, one who goes step further - they have difficulty even allowing another person to have more to be miserable about than them, distinctly competitive ! Another, not related to misery but anything related by another will be responded to with a similar anecdote from their own lives...
DeleteI digress, still not convinced about Philip - mention of wife's miscarriages could simply be a way of indicating empathy, 'I may be a man but do have awareness of what women go through when this happens' Agree, his approach to smoking was crass, but he really did seem to be effective with Alistair. As for Kirsty's future with him - have no idea or opinion.
''recognise', not recovery 2nd line...
DeleteYou have hit the nail on the head,Nemo.
DeleteIt is a sort of one upmanship with Mr Moss.
To be fair - aren’t we all a bit like that sometimes? Even on here (the other blog in particular) someone raises a subject, be it sweet peas, flat irons or (forgive me) new hips and lots of people chime in with their experience or story to add to the discussion.
DeleteIt’s normal human interaction, often born from the desire to sympathise, empathise or just help. It doesn’t necessarily have to be one-upmanship.
And I still like Philip.......until he does something to let me down!
Archerphile we don't do one upmanship like he does.
DeleteIf someone has a replacement hip we don't all rush in and say that we had two done .
With flower growing etc nobody brags about bigger ,better sweet peas etc
I suppose I was a bit guilty with flat irons because by saying minewere used as bookends I did imply I had two!
As Nemo said earlier Philip had to top it every time
(I am not suggesting that is "better" to have two miscarriages than one,far from it but you know what I mean)
Perhaps Philip could be paired with Lara.
Just keep him away from Kirsty please.
Must say, have never felt that with the other blog - it's engaging & informative ( especially, for me, about 'fings wot grow', & interesting recipes), not competitive at all, but a pooling of knowledge.As Archerphile says, it's quite natural to compare experiences. Nemo was talking about one-upmanship, I guess I was thinking about the rampant ego, the need to bring the almighty ME into conversations when 'me' would be better taking a back seat for a while.
DeletePS, don't feel Philip is guilty of that yet, but a matter to agree to disagree about, until proven one way or another.
DeleteThe point about Philip trying to go one better (or worse) hadn't struck me. I suspect the impression isn't intended, but that Philip is a useful device as a confidant. I like the accent, but feel that he hasn't shown himself to be worthy of Kirsty.
DeleteLanjan; Telling us you made use of 2 flat-irons as book-ends doesn't count as one-upmanship. I assume they were always a pair which stayed together in old-age. I don't imagine any of us are at risk of iron-envy. Certainly not me.
DeleteImo Philip has shown empathy.
It’s difficult to know the depth of Freddie’s remorse at the moment because he has isolated himself by lying to the police and now he can’t face anyone knowing that there is a lot more to the story. I did wonder last night how much he is driven by the thought of prison but hope he will think more deeply than that.
ReplyDeletePhilip has a tendency to pop up like a pantomime character fairy when someone is in need (perhaps he has a take on drug dealing and could help Freddie) which stretches his plausibility and might be why some people are suspicious of him.
I had doubts about Shula's heart-to-hearts with him last year. She employed him to fix the kennels, then confided in him.
DeletePerhaps it is going to be the next Archers public awareness campaign!
ReplyDeleteI believe there is going to be a give up smoking week campaign. Heard it on the news this morning.
ReplyDeleteI too thought this a new aspect of Jazzer’s character! In the past, maybe not now, much of the adult population in Glasgow smoked. The whole of my father’s family did so it is plausible that Jazzer smokes and maybe it has been introduced as a new SL.
ReplyDeleteArcherfile, agree that most of us relate to others through our own experience and share it with them when required. I’d like to see Philip have a good SL instead of popping up now and again to enhance the main ones! Either that or send him back to Wales! Still think Kirsty is for Tom!
Jazzer is a smoker, who else in Ambridge? Lilian obviously, I remember Jolene a long time ago, any more references? Philip is a member of the hunt, that does it for me but not Kirsty.
ReplyDeleteJoe smokes a pipe. Jolene tried to stop. Lilian is a good advert for smoking. 70+ and never a day's illness. The fresh air she breathes in while riding must help. I'd like Lilian to give up for reasons of vanity.
DeleteI bet Lilian smells .
DeleteA non smoker can tell if someone smokes because the smell is on that person's clothes
Pretty sure that Ian has been known to go outside for a cigarette. I remember because it was when he and Adam were thinking about fostering and it was pointed out that it would be unlikely they would be accepted if he smoked.
DeleteTrue about Ian. I don't know how a non-smoker could live with a smoker, but of course in the past lots of people did.
DeleteHelen recently has been focused on her cheese and the milk problems.
ReplyDeleteShe though seems to be having problems, as to Jack + Henry. .Pat +Tony seem to have been taking Jack to + from nursery, and putting him to bed. Helen is short-tempered with Henry and cannot appear to be able to control and connect to him.Emma (and now Lee), can talk to him and Henry reacts to them in a much calmer way.
Is Helen having a late; related PTSD episode, as it is 2 years since her trial + aquittal, and this relatea directly to the "boys"
To add - Jack is Rob's son who was born in prison,and nearly kidnapped Henry, who was there on "that night" and saw things, and then Helen was separated from him for very many months.
DeleteIf we have to have someone to replace Philip for Kirsty how about Lee the Karate Kid ,Counsellor and Soundalike?
ReplyDeletePerhaps he can play cricket too .
He has got about 8 months to brush up his game before next Season.
Oh no.!
I bet Hannah gets in there first.
She could have Philip but I expect the age difference is too much.
...or Emma could start to find him rather more attractive & interesting than the plodding Ed....
ReplyDeleteI wish we could have a Henry that sounded like a 7 yr old rather than a 5 yr old with a slightly above average vocabulary & sentence structure. Interesting how that SL is developing, though, the boy learning better ways to interact, adults offering a different path to the bullying intimidation inculcated by Titchener.
Having recently spent a week with my nearly 7 and nearly 5 grandchildren I would say that Henry sounded younger and less mature than both of them.
DeleteSo with mine, CC, but then, we're not hearing them on radio. In real life I'm sure the 7-yr-old boy playing the Henry part sounds just like any other child of the same age. On Countryfile recently one of the finalists in the Young Presenter competition was a very bright girl (called Miranda, Matilda, can't remember which), who was aged 10 but sounded like a squeaky 5-year-old on TV.
DeleteSomeone once contributed that children do sound younger than they are, when filtered through radio/TV. I suppose the obvious thing to do would be to use a slightly older child, as is often done. But I prefer real children to women pretending to be children (which Judy Bennet used to do).
DeleteThe Devious Aldridge still sounds rather flat to me - like a character who's had his marching orders.....
ReplyDeleteJazzer has been a smoker for as long as we've known him, and (at one time) not only of tobacco. It may be that he's going to be persuaded to give it up, as Jolene did, for instance, at Kenton's request (though not at Sid's, as far as I remember, who got healthy when he became a father (again) at a relatively advanced age). Somewhat mysteriously, Eddie was suddenly a non-smoker without having made any fuss at all about giving up (really?). Ed probably gave up when he became a family man. One assumes that with Fallon it was a brief teenage thing that she grew out of. Peggy once said that the only person she knew who hadn't stopped smoking was her daughter (Lilian, obviously).
ReplyDeleteI assume Jazzer doesn't smoke in Jim's house. Lilian didn't smoke in the Dower House when she shared it with Matt (who smoked an occasional cigar). Ivy Horrobin used to iron Matt's shirts, and they came back smelling of fag smoke.
Joe still likes his 'baccy', but is presumably banished to the turkey shed or somewhere, and is going to live for ever just to be difficult.
Carolyn 9.38 p.m.
ReplyDeleteEmma will never leave gorgeous, hard-working, caring, lovely Ed.
More's the pity.
If quitting smoking is the next big issue, I will quit the programme.
Although Freddie is/was feeling sorry for himself, I think it would be sending the wrong.
ReplyDeletemessage if he gets off lightly - just tell lies and keep back everything else and you can
get away with this. Hopefully, those building the case have information we know nothing
of at the moment such as the involvement with Ellis.
I agree Peggy. Perhaps those interviews at the college gave leads which will be revealed at the trial.
DeleteLikewise - been hoping for that since he was arrested. The truth must come out ! Best if F. confessed, whatever the fallout.
DeleteCarolyn it crossed my mind that Emma might start something with Lee but then I thought that a) she was probably older than he is(not that that would matter ) but b) that even the scriptwriters of The Archers would baulk at having yet another extra marital affair as a storyline
ReplyDeleteMaybe he'll jump at the chance of pulling the fragrant Helen ?!
DeleteGood thinking Carolyn.
DeleteI hope that happens.
Of course Lee may be a flash in the pan like midwife Ellie who only appeared twice..
The actor has already appeared recently. He played Harrison’s CID mate at the stag night - I recognised his name from playing a young constable in Heartbeat. Don’t know if this means he’s more likely to be offered a longer part or keep reinventing himself.
DeleteThe last extra-marital affair on TA was Lilian and Justin and that was enough for me. I believe Emma and Lee were just sharing a good parenting moment together.
ReplyDeleteI was confused that drinks were being served in the tea room last night for the cricket celebration.
Ruthy, the cricket night normally takes place at the Bull but since the stand off between Fallon and Kenton who blames Harrison for arresting Freddie it was transferred to the tea room for a one off with Jolene as a link between the two.
DeleteI'm not in for illicit affairs, didn't Lee mention a family, also Emma has already made two brothers unhappy at some point.
Lee has two daughters, whatever his role is supposed to be apart from the karate coach.
DeleteBasia - I was wondering if they were drinking tea for the party or were they able to get a license to serve alcohol. That was my question. Or do tearooms in UK able to alcohol?
DeleteI seem to remember someone asking Harrison if it was a "bring a bottle" do to which he replied yes but some extra would be provided.
DeleteI think the reason they didn't need a license, Ruthy, was because no alcohol was being sold. People either brought their own, or it was provided free, so just like a private party, but a bit larger so needed larger premises than the average home.
DeleteDid anyone try to look at Lowfield recently? I wanted to check a synopsis but the site seems to have stopped publishing.
ReplyDeleteFOSO: See message I copied and pasted here from the Lowfield homepage.
DeleteThis message: Monday, August 27
Recent errors with the page loading
A migration to a new hosting provider failed. An errant backslash caused a server to become overloaded. There is still an issue with uploading new content. Please do bear with us.
CAH - 2018-08-27
I saw that too, Ruthy, but I just wondered if anyone had any later information or found whether they had migrated to somewhere else. People usually find these things out before I do!
DeleteThank you, Ruthy. That explains why nothing has been published since August.
DeleteI did not recognise the actor playing Lee, nor his role in Heartbeat. After a short while, I managed to find an image, when his was probationary PC "Tom" in Heartbeat from 2002. I now remember him well!!!
ReplyDeleteMy thought is, that he will become a close confidant/friend to both Helen + Henry. They need some-one to help them, in a subtle way.
'If you can't love the one you want, love the one you're with.'
ReplyDeleteAs for Shula and Alistair at least they're on the way of going their separate ways amicably.
Isn't it 'If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with'?
DeleteI suppose I am a prude but I found Hannah's suggestion to Tom both tacky and tasteless.
ReplyDeleteStill, he sounded not a little interested !
DeleteLanJan, was that just in your mind (and Tom's)? She might have wanted a game of scrabble, which has saved many a disastrous evening.
Delete😁😁
DeleteYou are obviously right FOSO
DeleteWhat a mind I do have.
Of course now I come to think of it Scrabble is just the sort of game Hannah would want to be playing after being stood up and exactly the game Tom would enjoy when he had been dumped by Whoever the girl was
On the other hand we all know what happened when Tom and another young lady spent the night together........
Well I don't like Hannah and I am not over fond of Tom .
They would spoil another couple so good luck to them
Well, I hope it's just a consolation prize, without consequences, or continuing development, because I wouldn't wish the spikey Hannah on the rather naive & susceptible Tom - he'd suffer. Alas, it probably is going to develop in some way ( obviously not a pregnancy yet again) otherwise, what's the point of a one off ?
DeleteAlas, Lanjan, my mind is as sordid as yours. I assumed that Hannah, having been stood up, thought she might as well have sex with a housemate. What's the point of getting dressed up if you're not going to pull?
DeleteHannah was an interesting character in her earlier manifestation.
Not more friends with benefits?
DeleteI also thought "oh no" LJ and others, I think we interrupted correctly. I cannot imagine such activity without it being part of a committed relationship even if it does not last forever. It must seem odd to many youngsters (although hopefully not all) these days that some people have only ever had 1- 2 or maybe as many as 3 😮 sexual partners in their whole lives😉
DeleteI once read a book where a mother and daughter were talking of D friend who kept a button box - each time she slept with someone she would put a button in the box. D ensured M she did not do this... M said she would only need a small pill box and would only need to use one side of it. D then totally amazed because that meant her M had only ever known (in the biblical sense) her Dad and was completely amazed, cannot recall title of the book but have always remembered this conversation from it!
Good job I am not on "Just a minuet" too much amazement going on 😂
DeleteIn another age Hannah would have been called a 'forward hussy'.
DeleteJazzer's bad mood as he tries to give up smoking is plausible, but that he's doing it because Philip challenged him in the way he did, is so NOT ! Far more likely such an approach would have the reverse effect.
ReplyDeletePresumably Jazzer has always known that he ought to give up smoking. If he uses Philip's challenge as an incentive, good for him! He's well out of his teenage years, when he might have reacted by doing the opposite.
DeleteWhy doesn't Jazzer try vaping. Might make the transition easier......come on SW's keep up with the zeitgeist!
DeleteI can see that Jazzer would want to say to Philip that he had given up and it was "nae problem pal"
ReplyDeleteBootgums, you're right about the quote, still it comes down to the same thing and very unwise to have sex with a flatmate, Jazzer will be even more furious but I'm glad it wasn't him.
ReplyDeleteErm, what quote?
DeleteDid I detect that Freddie is, at last, beginning to realise the full extent of the harm his drug dealing has done? Last night it sounded to me as if he had been thinking very hard about the consequences of his stupidity and illeagal behaviour. And most importantly, not just worried about his own future but about the detrimental effect he has had on others, especially Elizabeth.
ReplyDeletePerhaps this will lead him to tell the authorities the full story of how he came to be involved, the part Ellis had to play and, hopefully though improbably, Russ’s attempt to blackmail him into not revealing the liaison with Lily. The fact that Russ knew about the drugs but covered it up would be a huge mark against him.
Agree with all you say. He has yet to face the fact that what he did was criminal, so Jazzer's blunt words, spoken through withdrawal symptoms, were no more than the plain truth.
DeleteDon't think a prison sentence would achieve anything, but a stern community service order might, & is more appropriate . Drug dealing is harmful to society, so making amends by giving time, effort & sweat to a project that is beneficial to the community fits the crime to the punishment.
To resume...he needs to acknowledge & own up to the extent of his drug involvement - surely the inevitable next step.
ReplyDeleteNuff Jazzer!! I have a horrible feeling the scriptwriters are lining him up to replace Joe Grundy as Ambridge's No. 1 Comic Turn.
ReplyDeleteI really do hope that Freddie receives a harsh custodial sentence, mainly because his intonation/whining voice goes right through me - I have no real opinions on the moral issues surrounding drug dealing or drug use. In fact, it would be startlingly hypocritical of me to do so to be brutally honest...!
ReplyDeleteI think it would be a better storyline if he was imprisoned and we got to hear the subsequent fallout - which of course could rumble on for years!
I have strong opinions on the health and social issues surrounding drug use and dealing rather than moral ones. I am not sure that prison would be the right answer for Freddie, he would be exposed to more of the drug culture in there. I think some sort of community sentence would be better but am not sure what.
DeleteAgree about the whiny voice though.
I have to agree with C.C. Prison is not the right option for Freddie. Prisons are a hot bed for drugs and dealing, he would be more likely to become a hardened user.
DeleteDrug use and dealing has sadly now reached even younger children, pressure put on down the line so to speak. I wish we had answers to the problem
Am with you about health & social issues , dealing in anything much but not sure about a blanket ban
DeleteDope is sometimes used in treatments & simply for pleasure, without ill effects - depends on the user. Most drugs sound very dodgy as do the sources. Hence the danger on danger in dealing. Community service I also advocated earlier for the likes of Freddie; something where he gets his hands dirty ? Something that is of use to vulnerable people? Whatever that gives him an insight into how the other half lives, or the mucky jobs that are out there (litter, graffiti...)
Rule out 'on danger'...
DeleteI am convinced that Freddie will be given a suspended sentence.
DeleteI think he may have to do some Community work.
I agree with you Carolyn that Community Work might be the making of him.
I have a feeling that he won't be entirely honest and will imply he was acting alone and he was caught out the first time he tried dealing drugs.
Like many other posters I can't abide his whiney voice.
LanJan - I am in agreement with you.
DeleteOh, yes that awful whiney little spoilt boy voice! Beginning to think it's deliberate, though; for instance, last night, when he was expressing remorse etc. he sounded quite normal, but as soon as he feels sorry for himself we get this pathetic tone, & it's been like that before. The crying need to grow up a bit, get real, is being highlighted in the script & performance !
Deleteagree, serious community work could be the making of Freddie.
DeleteCarolyn has expressed the difference in Freddie's voice, when, in a different mood it is no longer 'Whiney'.
DeleteIt's called acting, and I have felt for some time that the actor playing Freddie is improving daily. His voice portrays every mood very well whether angry, bored or manipulating, or when just feeling sorry for himself.
I'm beginning to wonder if the FreddieWhine and Little LilyGirl are voices reserves for their mother's benefit. We rarely hear the twins speaking to each other, but when they do I've noticed before that they sound quite different. If this is so, they wouldn't be the first offspring to cultivate a different voice/persona for a particular parent to 'put them off the scent', so to speak. They might have decided between them that this is what it's better for her to hear.
DeleteHaving worked with young people earlier on in life I have to agree with CC and Cowgirl. Unless prisons have greatly improved, and I doubt it, then Freddie will have a learning experience of the worst kind and come out more of a criminal than he went in.
DeleteI agree with Community Work for Freddie as being much better than incarceration. In prison I think he'd be picked on as being 'posh' and would possibly make him more 'damaged' than doing some worthwhile tasks to help the local community.
DeleteI greatly fear for the attention Freddie would attract with his "posh" accent in prison.
DeleteI think our comments came the same time Anneveggie.
Delete