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Life in Ambridge: Comments week of September 22, 2018
Life in Ambridge: Comments week of September 22, 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.
I think Henry is second from right.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant ! ( & Kiera 3rd from the right ?)
ReplyDeleteI think Henry is third from left (we know he's a good-looking lad).
ReplyDeleteBut as Henry is new he won’t have a belt yet so must be 2nd from right!
Delete(Sorry, Maryellen, just showing off my knowledge from watching grandkids advance through the judo/karaté system!)
They only have a white fabric belt to start with and work their way up to black. So your favourite must be very advanced indeed!
DeleteHenry is good looking but troubled, so he is third from left, but "borrowed" a belt from another child in the changing room to boost his self-esteem.
DeleteGood interpretation FOSO 😂
DeleteHigh five, FOSO!
DeleteRuthy is correct
DeleteHenry is 2nd on the right.
Just look where his right leg is.
He is about to trip Keira up by knocking into the back of her left leg.
Just listening to the Omnibus - Alistair talking to Freddie outside about getting a haircut and tidying himself up. In the background, distinct sound of woodpeckers drumming on trees. Surely not at this time of year?
ReplyDelete(Sorry, this is my “Routemaster” moment!)
Listening to that final scene in the Omnibus - Shula, Alistair and Freddie going for a walk up Lakey Hill - reminded me of a poem I learnt at school that starts with the line:
ReplyDelete“Up the airy mountain....”
It seems that Lakey Hill is the go-to place in Ambridge to seek solace for ones problems, amongst other things.
Will the Lakey Hill fairy
bring Shula and Alistair back together and hopefully give Freddie the confidence to face what he has done and tell the whole story next Friday? We shall see. 🧚♀️
Hope you're right about Freddie, Archerphile, but don't want S. & A
Deletereunited - he deserves a less fractious mate !
Was it this one?:-
DeleteUP the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl's feather!
William Allingham around mid to late 1800's
Yes indeed FOSO! I had to learn and recite that for one of my LAMDA élocution exams in the 1950s - does anyone take elocution these days I wonder?
DeleteOne of my favourite poems when I was a child, FOSO - hope Shula and Alistair don't meet any meddling 'little men' up there to spoil their truce! (I seem to remember an Arthur Rackham illustration of the poem too - another of my favourites).
DeleteBTW Ruthy, it's a brilliantly appropriate picture. You've set yourself a high standard to live up to, which could become difficult to keep up. Rather you than me! - but well done for having the enthusiasm.
DeleteI think Ruthy is well up to the challenge FOSO!
DeleteElocution lessons ,Archerphile?
DeleteHalf the youngsters in Ambridge take them.
The last time we heard George he was very "top drawer"!
Well I am by no means ‘top draw’ but my rather snooty RP pronunciation gained at those classes has stayed with me all my life and has caused much teasing down the years! Even I cringe when I hear my own voice on our answer machine - ‘who does that woman think she is, the Queen?’
DeleteAnother brilliant "Ruthy" moment - karate kids. Brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI also caught up with the omnibus this morn, and then "read" the Ambridge Observer".
Well, forget about Freddie, -
just bring on the "Flower + Produce" Show.
I don't understand though, how the flowers,veg, are still in the perfect condition for showing. My sweet-peas, runner beans, are no more. But Ambridge is different - I love it!
I thought the same thing Miriam, it does seem a bit late for a flower & produce show especially after some of weather we've had. Oh, I forgot Ambridge has it's own microclimate independent of the rest of the country.
DeleteMy runner beans are doing well, Miriam, and the sweet peas too. I find that you have to pick the beans and cut the sweet peas at regular intervals, to encourage them to produce even more fruits and flowers, because their whole mission in life is to produce seed for next year's seedlings.
DeleteSuz, sadly mine are no more, due to the high winds and torrential rain. It is amazing how the wild weather, has decimated every-thing. My window box + hanging basket have been totally ruined! Still, I can now re-plant, with bulbs, winter pansies etc.
DeleteFrench beans are long gone, drought & water restrictions, still on-going here. Good meaty beetroot though! Shame there isn't a flower & produce here in 16
Deleteshow..
DeleteDo they time the Flower and P show to coincide with harvest festival?
DeleteOh, that's a shame Miriam. Luckily for me, although the winds were strong, the beans and sweet peas were in a sheltered part of the garden. So sad when something you have nurtured for weeks is spoilt by the weather.
DeleteRuthy, I agree. Henry is 2nd from right and looks exactly like my 4.5yr old Gt.nephew! They could be twins. 😀😀
ReplyDeleteIs it just me? I am just
ReplyDeletegetting so fed up with the Freddie situation, along with Kenton/Fallon/Jolene/Harrison and their differing feelings.
Fallon is protecting her husband, and justly so -but as to the others. How would Kenton + Jolene react if "drug dealing" was happening in The Bull, - do they know, if it is not actually taking place. I bet that they would then love Harrison to do his duty, if that was the case.
Who knows what Wayne adds into his breads, pies ......😂😂
Think Henry is far right. He looks a little devil.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ruthy for finding such an appropriate picture.
ReplyDeleteSome of the descriptions of the entries for the Flower & Produce show sound delicious.
At least no one has suggested Henry's 3rd from right....yet. That would really throw Helen off kilter..
ReplyDeleteI first entered this post on 21st Sept. but it was the last one before the blog changed - so I will try
ReplyDeleteagain. I think it would be the wrong message to send if Freddie was to get away with a lenient
sentence I.e. just lie to the police with the support of your mother and you will be fine - of course,
unless the police have evidence we know nothing about in relation to Ellis. I realise that most
people do not know all the facts. However, surely the police should have been able to find out at
the college with a thorough investigation.
I think so too .
DeleteBut community service would not be lenient, & a prison sentence would achieve nothing - he wouldn't learn from that style of punishment - just hardship, resentment, & we'd get constant rewinds of his self pity in THAT voice.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWhat do you mean Peggy by lenient ?
ReplyDeleteCommunity service isn't necessarily an easy option particularly if it makes you look at yourself and the needs of others.
Frddie isn't a hardened drug user yet, sending him to prison would more than likely mean he would come out one, because of the culture that currently exists in prison.
People keep asking why Freddie doesn't expose Ellis. Freddie is portrayed as a weak and immature boy, he is well aware that if he were to expose Ellis what the likely consequences would be and they could be dire. the drug world is viscous and it takes strength to stand up. Whilst Ambridge is a small community, serious drug pushers are moving into these areas and finding them profitable and are using younger and younger children.
No I am not defending Freddie, but trying to give some insight into how it is in reality.
True, & Ellis has already retaliated - the brick through the widow which injured Johnny. Anyone would be afraid, but the consequences of being found out in a consistent lie cound be worse. The police can't have been completely inactive all these weeks, so chances are they may now have evidence against a gang of dealers.
DeleteYou and I may know that, Carolyn, but I suspect Freddie fears Ellis etc far more than prison. If the police had found out more I they would surely have had Freddie in for questioning again and to place more charges. I believe it hasn't gone any further.( a script writers licence no doubt)
DeleteScandinavia has an interesting and effective approach to offending. Rehabilitation is focused on, and in prisons that are much more open than ours. They try to keep young offenders separate from hardened criminals, and non custodial sentencing is common. Reoffending rates are considerably lower than in our country.
DeleteI would agree in real life Freddie would be very afraid of Ellis. Last year , and again I would agree drugs are infiltrating even quiet country areas, a young lad in this area either jumped the cliff, or, as his body was never found ( just his rucksack left at the top of the cliff) faked his death because of pressure from drug dealers he owed money to. His family, nice people, are left devastated, and cannot have closure because the body was never found. Sorry to mention such a miserable thing on a Monday morning!
P.s. Why the heck isn't our government capable of stopping the drug trade in prisons!
DeleteToo PC , Janice ,its all about Human Rights. I have no problems with human rights persay, but it goes alongside personal responsibility, which I,m afraid is forgotten.
DeleteSince marrying Harrison, Fallon has become dull and petty.
ReplyDeleteHarrison should have let one of his colleagues arrest Freddie, there were certainly enough of them at the stag do. Had he done so he wouldn't now be experiencing being sent to Coventry by the might powerful Archer clan. Freddie is simply a cog in the drug industry wheel, and police officers like Harrison should be fousing on sorting out the Barons and sending them down.
I hope that when Harrison obtains his Promotion he is placed behind a desk in Borchester as the booking in Sargent. Safer for his residency in Ambridge, and for my ears as I also find him dull and tedious.
Wasn't Harrison the only relatively sober one at his stag do. Any of his colleagues might have been too "over the limit" to make an arrest, which could have caused other problems.
DeleteWe need Sleepy Lawyer or rather Freddie does.
ReplyDeleteSurely Usha can't act for him if she knows he is not telling the truth about his dealing of drugs?
Elizabeth doesn't seem to realise how serious it is
I have a feeling that although they may be mentioned ,we may not hear Lily or Russ for the next 5weeks.
I think the new 5week stint may have just started which may mean we won't hear as much from Jazzer.
Although Freddie isn’t using many drugs, it is the dealing which is serious, endangering others, as with Noluthando. I think prison can be a place to learn more angles with
Deleteregard to drugs but I can’t see that as a reason to keep dealers out of prison. More
could be done to run programmes whilst they are in prison to help them change their
lives.
Peggy, more should be done in prison to help offenders change but it can't be done because of overcrowding, lack of staff, too many prisoners with complex issues, challenging behaviour, &c. Prison officers were so desperate last week that some went on strike for a few hours in protest. I agree Freddie should be punished. Prison is a punishment but it fails in the other objectives of reform and rehabilitation. Freddie would be likely to leave prison with a bigger drug problem. That's if he comes out alive.
DeleteI found this on a website:
ReplyDelete'If a client tells us that he or she has committed the offence in question, then we cannot allow him or her to give evidence of his or her innocence under oath otherwise we would be complicit in their perjury.'
So if Freddie (and not Elizabeth) has confessed to Usha then she presumably has to work hard to explain to him his situation, Freddie is hopefully bright enough to understand his situation.
Bright and Freddie are not two words I would put together 😉
DeleteWhat dramatic feat is Linda planning? A one-woman show? All-singing, all-dancing Lindarama.
ReplyDeleteLast years panto was painful to listen to and hearing Lynda just say the word panto brought all that back to me.
DeleteI always enjoy the panto myself, especially the rhyming couplets. I hope T❤️O❤️B❤️Y will tread the boards this year. There may even be a part fo R.R. Grace.
DeletePerhaps they could do ‘Babes in the Wood’ but with just one babe?
DeleteThe police has Freddie’s laptop and cell phone, so I would gather they already know what his dealings with Ellis was.
ReplyDeleteRe - Sunday, Kenton was way out of order, so Fallon's attitude entirely understandable to my mind; Harrison is extraordinarily good natured, Jolene gets it all, but whether she prevails or not, mmn....it's irritating that Elizabeth & Shula are so focused on ''distracting' Freddie, placating him at every turn when he needs to take further steps in his thinking. Hooted at his smug pronouncement on Lily, that she should ' learn from her mistakes like he hasn't - oh, really ?
ReplyDeleteHaven't caught up with Mon.
'..like he HAS'
DeleteI suppose we cannot blame Elizabeth (or the wider family ) for being concerned about Freddie’s fate, should he be sentenced to prison and for being worried about his state of mind. I actually tried putting myself in her place last night and tried to imagine how I should have felt had it been our son who was in this position.
ReplyDeleteYes, I should have been horrified that he had allowed himself to get involved in the drugs scene and, no doubt, furious at what he had been up to. And, probably, have blamed myself for having been a poor mother. But I am sure, *as his mother*, my main concern, terror even, would be what could happen to him in prison. Would he get beaten up or worse, would he come out a total junkie, would prison break him or lead him on to an entire life of crime.
My first thoughts would probably not be that he deserved prison, that he was the lowest of the low for having dealt drugs, that he was irredeemable. Others, not so closely related can do that. We can do that if we wish, because we know the whole story, that he was stupid and stubborn and carried on doing what he knew was wrong and illeagal. But then we are not his close relations, or thank the Lord, his poor mother.
Really interesting and insightful, Archerphile.
DeleteI noticed Elizabeth told Shula she and Usha have been trying hard to convince Freddie to tell the truth. As listeners we haven’t heard any of that so we have the impression Freddie only receives treats and distractions. I suppose there’s only so much can be included in the broadcasts, especially as Usha is silently working behind the scenes. Other possibility is that Elizabeth wasn’t being truthful to Shula, perhaps even to herself, about how much she’s working on Freddie. However, as with the Lily situation she is in an impossible place where being too dogmatic could just make things worse.
I think she’s just put Shula in an awkward place as well as she now knows more than Freddie has admitted to the police. I think Shula realises this. Is she going to court?
Shula has form herself in not telling the truth to the police as she did with the fracas between the hunt protestor and Rob.
DeleteThat’s true - perhaps she can handle it then.😉
DeleteCaught up. Alistair is such a decent man, E.accusing him ( because of that hackneyed interruptus thing in soaps before Shula explained it was her idea to take the blame for divorcing), then acting cold whilst he remained calm & sympathetic.
ReplyDeleteNo evidence we've heard that E. & Usha have been trying to get F. to come clean. Sure, we know he's scared, but if he drops Ellis in it, the police have a better chance of uncovering the whole gang, including Ellis, & he won't feel so threatened.
Lynda, again, playing hard to get, but making plans for the Best Amateur Christmas Show. I take it that was a private Snell joke, Robert rhapsodizing about the Silmarilion ? He hated the book.
The way I remember it is that S is Robert's favourite and it was Lynda who couldn't get through it and wanted to see the film instead.
DeleteGosh, you're right ! I remember now. Sorry about that.
DeleteI always used to like Kenton, - who was a great personality alongside, his lovely wife, Jolene. I feel quite upset, how he is now treating his step-daughter, Fallon with her new husband Harrison.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't he realise the antagonism he is causing?
I don't like that such a family, is being torn apart, by circumstances which Kenton is not familer with.
I cannot see, how things will return to how they were.
Where is Wayne in this situation - he must have thoughts + an input, about what is going on, having been in a similar position previously.
Well I have never thought that Kenton had a particularly high IQ and his performance this evening proved it to me.
ReplyDeleteNot only was he extremely rude to Fallon and totally out of order but I cringed when I heard him say that something was "pretty unique".
Either he ,the actor or the script writer must be unaware that something is either unique or it isn't.
It cannot be "almost "or "pretty "unique
Something can be almost unique if there are only two of it.
Delete..........but unique is an absolute .
DeleteKenton said "pretty unique."
I can't even remember what it was that was so unusual.
Kenton was following the advice that language is your servant not your master. You understood exactly what he meant - so unusual. That's the aim.
DeleteKenton was a pig tonight; hope Jolene tears a strip off him. Can he seriously think that the policeman husband of his wife's daughter should refrain from arresting his nephew when caught in a crminal act ? Didn't realize he was that thick.
ReplyDeleteAt last, Elizabeth spoke it as it is & forced Freddie to listen. We'll see if he actually follows up with Usha, or is just fobbing mum off. Why does he think the lawyer will be instantly a available ? Everyone on tenterhooks for Freddie Pargetter's next move ?
Kenton is being sacrificed on the altar of 'Conflict is drama', or 'Drama is conflict', or whatever it is, being interpreted as 'Squabbling is interesting'. (Sorry, I know I'm a stuck record.) It was the same when Elizabeth tried to pick a fight with Alistair over who filed for divorce, and then mysteriously had an off-microphone reconciliation with him. Please bring on the new editor, or let the agricultural editor take over perhaps.
ReplyDeleteGlad that Freddie has seen the light, though, and I can understand his 'If I don't do it straight away I'll never do it' stance. Elizabeth was clever to point out that his friends (Johnny and Noluthando) would counsel the same thing, and that his father, though a bit daft in his youth, would undoubtedly have done the right thing.
Not the agricultural editor if it means more mini-lectures on soil and crop management - though I agree these are preferable to the endless confrontational drama we've been subjected to in the last two years by the last editor and his stand in.
DeleteI wish we could hear the conversations with Usha - she has been missing for a long time, since last years cricket season in fact. Will we hear her pleading for Freddie in court on Friday I wonder. And more importantly, actually hear the verdict. Or is it just going to be spoken about afterwards in typical Archers fashion - or even worse, held over as the cliff hanger until Sunday when we’ll hear about Freddie’s fate in The Bull or somewhere?
ReplyDeleteAgree with tonight’s comments. Kenton acting implausibly to create drama and a last minute turn around for Freddie when we suddenly hear Elizabeth tackling him, again presumably held back for the drama. I hope Kenton will extend an olive branch to Fallon when he hears the full story but will it be too late? I certainly don’t like this families stick together even in the face of criminal activity line. A bit too tribal, and Kenton didn’t used to be so loyal.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ruthy's comment that as the police have Freddie's laptop etc. then they probably already know about Ellis and everything else that was going on. In this case it will surely be in Freddie's best interest that he confesses everything.
ReplyDeleteKenton was an idiot tonight. Very unpleasant and uncalled for behaviour.
👍
DeleteLast nights episode was , An every day story of Fatuous Folk.
ReplyDeleteFreddie whining, Elizabeth placating, Jolene shouting, Kenton being thick, Fallon reticent, and Harrison trying, too hard.
I was cringing listening to the 'Polite' discussion on the wedding photos knowing that it would all end in an unpleasant bust up.
Can't wait for the Flower and Produce show.
Seasiders, you are right about Kenton not being so ‘loyal’ to his family in the past. His protestations about loyalty and sticking up for his nephew ring very hollow when you remember how he treated his brother over the money situation at Brookfield in the past. He owed David big time when they desperately needed money back to keep the farm going. I think I remember him offering ‘interest’ in the form of a couple of free meals at The Bull. It was down to Jolene to organise a regular repayment scheme for the money they owed Brookfield.
ReplyDeleteSo much for Kenton’s family loyalty. Only gets turned on when it suits him (or when a bit of conflict is required in the script 😒)
Spot on Archerphile. My thoughts exactly!
DeleteJolene should have let Kenton go home without her. She's not an old-fashioned wifie à la Ursula who can't stand up to her husband when he's being unreasonable.
DeleteAnd mine !
DeleteYet again, character transformation for the sake of yet another family rift.
Kentons lack of familial loyalty extends all the way back to his early youth.
Always out of step with the rest of the family.
Now, suddenly, family loyalty becomes high priority.
I am with Maryellen on this. ( post 8.05 am - 25/9/18 )
A further thought - can anyone else remember his reaction when Wayne was arrested ? I seem to remember he was against Jolene when she protested.
Am I correct ?
Don't think Kenton is acting out of character; he's volatile, acts impulsively, heart rather than head as examples given, so has always been out of step with Archer values. This has its attractive side, of course, but he's flakey. He favours his female siblings & makes a joke of 'old Dave' because really he's quite jealous of the stable, successful brother. K. is neither stable nor solidly successful, & probably it boggles, though he'd never admit it. He's also begun to take Jolene for granted, which he wouldn't have done in their early days together ( he'd never have upset her or her daughter in the past) He's warm hearted, plenty of bonhommie & humour, but ruled by the emotion of the moment - his stance against Harrison is unjustified & ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteRead 'niggles' for 'boggles'....
DeleteAbsolutely right, Carolyn, you've summed him up nicely :)
DeleteIsn't David younger than Kenton?
DeleteYes, but he's more grown up !
DeleteI was surprised too Bootgums when Jolene trailed after Kenton when he stormed out. She’s normally more feisty than that.
ReplyDeleteSick of the flower and produce show talk. I’ve missed Bert and his tales of ploughing matches between him and his arch rival.....can’t remember his name. How are Brookfield managing without poor old Bert?
I am surprised that Usha will be representing Freddie on Friday. I, for some reason, thought that a Barrister, would have been engaged.
ReplyDeleteIt's a court hearing, I think, rather than a trial, in which there would be a jury & barrister
DeleteTom and Hannah ?
ReplyDeleteThey deserve one another !
Well I have said it before and no doubt I will say it again but I think Horrible Hannah is a really nasty piece of work and why does she have to be such a b ....... to Emma?
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that does please me is that she is throwing herself at Tom who in my opinion doesn't deserve any better.
I hope lots of folk sign up for Lee's karate class and Helen and Lee become an item because it is obvious that that is on the cards.
I hope that in the future HH doesn't then upset the apple cart by setting her cap at Lee -but that is in the future so we won't go there yet.
Hannah is pursuing Tom, I wonder when she'll drop him. The only time that she was serious was when she apologised to Helen about Henry and video games.
DeleteLee has two daughters, Helen two sons, as long as he's divorced/widower, I don't think Helen would like to break up another marriage.
HH, I like it ! Playground bitchiness to Emma, & coming on to the susceptible Tom. Don't go there, boy, she's poison. That's where we differ, Lanjan & Mrs P, I reckon he's not so bad these days, & could be onto something good with the agro forestry ( not that I know anything about it, but he would nice if he scored a success. I wish Helen would get a grip - they tread on eggshells around her, & she's so half hearted about everything/anything different : reluctant about Tom's idea, coaxed by Emma into trying karate ( how handy that would have been a few years ago....), & everyone impressed that she shows a little concern about another family member in trouble - that dreaded word, 'prison'.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think Helen could do with a good slap round the chops with a wet dishcloth. Miserable, whiney woman she is.
ReplyDeleteHannah.......just awful. I hope the smell of pigs gets ingrained on her and she never finds a poor bloke to have a relationship with.
The whole lot of em at organic heaven farm are a happy/clappy lot....
don’t know how they manage to make a living really. AND, while we are at it, where are Pats goats.... she was all over them for about two weeks now there’s no mention of anyone even milking them. They must have exploded by now! ������
Blinking heck. Why no emojis again. Supposed to be a goat, a glass of milk and an explosion!!
DeleteI can't remember, do they make goat's cheese at Bridge Farm? They already have the goat's milk so it would seem obvious.
DeleteThey make the kefir from the goats milk.
DeleteI do not like Hannah at all. She's so nasty to Emma and generally bossy and hard sounding. She and Tom must be the most unromantic coupling we've heard in TA.
ReplyDeleteHe was interested in her when she moved into the shared house, she told him no, never, not likely. I wonder what changed. She is also a bit snide about Neil IMO, not critisising him outright, but having to 'check his figures' and 'work late because another feeder's blcked' etc etc. Indirect criticism running him down. I think she resents him.
DeleteI don't understand what the dramatic point of the Hannah character is. I thought she had been resurrected to fill the 'feisty thirty-something career woman' gap left by Anisha's department (shame!) and perhaps provide a dramatic foil to Neil at Berrow Farm, but why all the assertiveness (apart the scriptwriters' confrontational drama hang ups)? Do they think listeners are at their happiest when tearing the characters they think are stupid or unpleasant to pieces, so are giving us lashings of obnoxiousness as a result?
ReplyDeleteI suspect the dramatic point is being dramatically witheld for a while ! HH(to quote Lanjan) is up to something(s)
DeleteIt's intriguing that she dismissed Tom's tentative advances initially, but now is making play for casual sex. The game's afoot - 'affordable home', a takeover of Bridge Farm ...we could speculate endlessly, I suppose.
You are right Carolyn.
DeleteHH IS up to something.
If I am correct in my assumptions we are going to have another 3or 4 weeks of her.
To be honest I don't care enough about Tom to be bothered that he is being used..
Maybe the actress will move onto something new like "Anisha" (but that actress could act ) and vanish again
Sooner rather than later.
Emma has got the measure of her and I might have to sign up for the karate just to help her out.
Just think if a group of youngish ,middle aged and slighter older women wearing Ruthy badges turn up at the next session ,that will take the smile off HH's face.
👍😂. A friend persuaded me to go to karate a long while back. Happy to support Emma. Hannah needs it more than anyone to sublimate that aggression. Otherwise we might have another bullying story on our hands, female to male this time.
DeleteHannah has been given a stereotypical male persona, in your face pushy sexual crudeness. She certainly does not have the qualities of being assertive, and why is she so unpleasant to Emma? I know she thinks Emma has a foot on the housing ladder but her viciousness is unacceptable. Especially as her boss is Emma's father. I still think she has her eyes, not only on Tom, but on Neil's job. She does make little throw away comments about having done Neil's paper work.
ReplyDeleteThinking about her and Tom is a bit sick making.
I find the way HH’s conversations with Emma have been written are unrealistic. Would anyone, only recently back in the village, be quite so openly nasty, scornful, critical and viscious to someone they hardly know?
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to credit this antipathy, even though she is being portrayed as a hard, no-nonsense career-orientated female who wants it all her own way.
Her casual attitude to sex and use of Tom to fulfill her immediate needs, with no apparent feelings for him as a person, I can sort of understand. I know there are people like that.
But her attitude and treatment of Emma has, IMO, been over exaggerated to the extent of sounding like the performance of the Wicked Fairy in a pantomime.
Agree, it’s East Ambridgers confrontation all over.
DeleteSo,agree
DeleteCasual sex with some you don't know very well is definitely dodgy. Think again and get your selves checked out. We know to some extent where and with whom Tom dash been. But what about Hannah.
ReplyDeleteQuite stasia, I don't think we've had an STI as one of The Archers awareness storylines yet!
DeleteWe did, with Phoebe, Constantin and a ripped condom; Lexi took her to a clinic and she was afraid of touching anything as if she hadn't already, very 'awareness'.
DeleteElizabeth wanted casual sex with Roy, Pip with Toby and now Hannah wants it with Tom.
ReplyDeleteI guess it can work but not in such close proximity.
Toby with Pip first, and then Pip with Toby.
DeleteWhere has Kate disappeared to? .- is she still living at Home Farm, and is her Spiritual Home, still getting clients and is so a viable business.
ReplyDeleteJust an idle thought.
Did Freddie rescue a child from a burning house?
ReplyDeleteDid he save someone from drownings?
Did he raise money for a worthwhile Charity?
If so Elizabeth could quite rightly say she was proud of him.
Since all he did was to come clean about what he had been involved with in order to make it easier for himself hoping that nobody finds out it was he who "shopped" Ellis,had I been Elizabeth I would have told him I loved him and would alwaydpalways be there for him but to tell him she was proud of him three times-well words fail me..
As for Elizabeth letting him stay at LL.
What an episode
Come back Lilian and Justin,Pip and Toby all is forgiven.
Yes, Yes, Lanjan - proud of what? and he's still scared of Ellis. Breaking the bail conditions is Freddie's reward, I know she wants him to spend tonight at home in case it's the last for quite some time but it's wrong.
DeleteAs for Hannah and lover-boy - tasteless and going from bad to worse.
The only people I liked tonight were Susan and Emma.
Are we old fashioned?! Am I alone at feeling disgust with Hannah? The way she said OK Tom if you don’t want t o have sex with me again as if it was a handshake! No wonder STD’s are out there. Tom should ask himself how many others have been similarly involved with her. I hope she is written out of TA soon!
DeleteElizabeth encouraging Freddie to break his bail conditions was just plain stupid, not an expression of love or anything approaching it. I could understand her saying she was proud of him for (eventually) doing the right thing, but then encouraging him to do the wrong thing was weird.
DeleteIf you're old-fashioned, Ev, then so am I. Hannah is a waste of the third bedroom and should be dispatched as soon as possible. Why has such a promising character been thrown away? I'm glad Jazzer has escaped her clutches (well, I hope he has).
Does anyone else have the sneaking feeling that Hannah is meddling with things so that Neil is having problems & then she's mis-reporting how badly he's coping?? Think she's setting him up for the push so she can have his job! THe stuff with Tom is much more than we need to know thank you.
ReplyDeleteNo. And I thought it was good to hear two people sounding happy together, for a change!
DeleteI shouldn’t be at all surprised if that is Hannah’s plan. Paint Neil as incompetent and not up to the job of manager and get herself a big promotion. And to use her quite erroneous assumption that Neil is using his position on the Parish Council to promote Emma’s housing ambitions, as a stick to beat Emma with is very twisted and almost paranoid.
DeleteI certainly didn’t want the picture of Tom with his trousers around his ankles planting in my head either !
If they must indicate that there is more ‘friends with benefits’ action going on I should prefer it to be more subtly portrayed thank you very much!
Which two people were sounding happy?
DeleteTom and Hannah, Good luck to them both. I think it's a genuine possibility that Neil is incompetent when he's not face to face with.a pig.
DeleteOh Maryellen, do you really think that about Neil, or are you being deliberately provocative?
DeleteWe have only heard Hannah’s little digs about him and have heard nothing from Neil himself about problems at work.
She obviously has a real bee in her bonnet about his Chairmanship of the PC and Emma’s housing ambitions (quite wrongly), and must have ambitions herself to take over as manager of the pig unit - don’t you even consider that
she lay be letting thèse things colour her view of Neil?
Maryellen,I think you are playing devil's advocate here.
DeleteHannah is a nasty piece of work and I think she is going to try whatever way she can to take over from Neil.
If she tells enough people "in confidence" that she is worried that Neil isn't up to the job it will soon get back to Justin .
Sadly for her the one person she can't tell is Susan ,the biggest gossip in Ambridge.
Then of course there is the affordable homes business and Emma.
Does she think that she would be more entitled to one of the homes than Emma and Ed?
Tom and Hannah?
They are just using each other.
We need Kirsty back.
She will be able to see through HH.
They are not particularly happy about it.
I think that final line should have come after "using each other"
DeleteI really think it is a possibility, Archerphile. No one doubts Neil's ability as a pigman, but what business management skills and experience does he have? Is he too old to learn now? The only reason Justin appointed him rather than a younger and more widely experienced man that I could think of (apart from being good with pigs) was to have the Chair of the PC on side. I assumed Hannah's appointment was to meant to bring to Berrow the experience and skills Neil doesn't have, and it sounds as if that's what she's doing. It also has dramatic potential, of course.
DeleteI don't think Hannah's comments are little digs, I think she's just saying how it is - and Neil probably wouldn't want to broadcast his office shortcomings.
Tom did not endorse HH's view of Neil; it's not that he sees through her ( as Ruthy says below, & we know many instances of his failure to understand others) but he has known Neil all his life, is aware of the man's qualities.
DeleteWe were kidded into thinking of HH as filling the Anisha gap initially, but the similarities are superficial - Anisha was ambitious, straight talking, but not devious, envious or vicious.
I think you are dancing to the scriptwriters' tune, Carolyn' Hannah really isn't as bad as you personally think she is. She is no more of those things than other Ambridge folk - in fact, how is she devious , she's always straightforward in my hearing. If you want devious, look at Aldridge!
DeleteDancing to SW's tune ? Possibly, on the lines of making a character thoroughly unlikeable, then reveal she's a good' in, after all....we'll discover in time. Devious, yes, the 2 attacks on Emma, no witnesses except listeners, the drip, drip criticisms of her boss, & reiterated assertions of nepotism, unfounded & unproven, but said often enough, coming to be believed, perhaps.
DeleteLanJan - I don't think 'entitlement' comes into it, because it isn't a Council development, it's a private development so open to all purchasers. . Hannah and the Grundys have equal opportunity to buy. If Kirsty is so perceptive, why isn't she making a better fist of her life.
DeleteYes of course you are right about entitlement,,Maryellen.
DeleteI wonder though if Emma isn't thinking the way I was that somehow if several people want to buy the same property then there is some sort of pecking order.
Haven't they got the deposit now?
Does Emma still work at the chicken factory?
When we bought our first house we put down a deposit £50 (which we had to borrow) and plot 293 was ours
I agree with you about Kirsty ,Maryellen
The answer is-I don't know why she is like she is.
Does she think that eventually her parents
'home will be hers and meanwhile she will rent?
As long as she doesn't get involved with Phillip in desperation
She will return in about 3weeks time along with Adam and Ian ,your mate T❤️O❤️B❤️Y ,Rex ,Neil and Eddie when the Freddie situation has been sorted out.
Carolyn - most of Ambridge are devious by your definition, i.e.having a conversation that only the listeners can hear!! Most of them are justifiably or unjustifiably critical of others, and as for nepotism - Ambridge is rife with it. You are putting a spin on Hannah's actions that isn't justified. Why do you think that is?
DeleteMaryellen, I’m not sure why you are so defensive of Hannah. Have just listened to last night’s offering and her blasé suggestion that she and Tom can see someone else and have their “bit on the side” is appalling. It shows her devil may care outlook, not caring if she hurts others and I think her baiting of Emma is uncalled for. She is nasty and vicious, always putting herself first.
DeleteEv - because I have quite often found Hannah to be pleasant and amusing (as she was with Tom apres sex) and see no reason to condemn her outright. She is upfront with everybody, which I like. Who doesn't have (or hear) the occasional moan about a boss who needs help with things s/he can't handle, even though getting paid more than you? I'm not defending her as you put it - just being fair.
DeleteI think you know what I was saying, Maryellen. Not conscious of putting a spin, just giving an opinion. Plenty people have secrets in the Archers, a fatality of village life, close community, doesn't make them devious, which implies plotting against another(s) as well as not being up front
DeleteBasia: 6.09PM. Yes Phoebe did get tested, but it was just a one off rather than a storyline about someone living with HIV, HepB or Hep C. Not that I particularly want that.
ReplyDeleteCC You're right, nor do I, that was enough, they ticked it off.
Delete✔️✔️✔️
ReplyDeleteTom and Hannah have a 'deal' as she called it, to go out with other people and have an occasional fling at home, in secret. Tom was ambivalent about it but then agreed. So far, so good.
ReplyDeleteSo far.........so modern! Hannah seems to have a clinical approach to sex and possibly relationships as a whole. Or just doing what men have been doing as far back when! There can't be many unattached men (or even attached) who would turn down 'free sex on a plate'. She seems to have no hang-ups about it, if we are to take it at face value. I agree not a pleasant character. It's almost as if she is jealous of Emma. Maybe no warm caring family of her own. Let's hope Tom doesn't fall for her. I believe he is much more into relationships than casual flings.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteCut off ! Meant to say that Tom is looking for a relationship, but not averse to making do with what's on offer
DeleteI keep thinking, Hannah + Toby (sorry Maryellen). Rex would then re-enter with Pip.
DeleteI'm glad that Emma has realized what Brian and Peggy are up to, she just doesn't know that it's for Jennifer's sake and even she told them to stop.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, now what will Kenton have to say?
ReplyDeleteThey decided not to trivialise the issue, at least Freddie is safe from Ellis, he might even learn a new useful skill, I do feel for Elizabeth though.
ReplyDeleteShula talked of no 'physical affection and emotional intimacy', I guess it could be put like that.
I couldn't concentrate on what Brian and Peggy were saying because I was listening to Otis Redding in the background, they seem to realize that their game is up.
I don't think that Freddie had the best legal representation (no offence to Usha).
ReplyDeleteNow that Ellis has been mentioned in supposedly changed statements, (but I am not sure that this is correct), can an appeal be put forward, so that Freddie serves his "time" on licence, with an ankle bracelet, to track his movements 24/7.
Usha told Elizabeth that Freddie would be out in six months which is standard if nothing untoward happens, no mention of an appeal but this is drama.
DeleteIt was unfair of the judge (was she a judge?) to mention Freddie's privileged background and leave out the fact that he lost his father at an early age. That's not an excuse, but being comfortably off doesn't mean Freddie's life has been a bowl of cherries.
DeleteHow many Ambridge residents have done time? Alf, Susan, Clive, Clive's brother (?), Matt, Helen and now Freddie. Any others? It seems quite a high proportion.
Whoops. The latter point has already been made.
DeleteHannah’s take it or leave arrangement with Tom sounded cold and uncaring. She is! I hopeinsisting on her partners taking protection in the form of:condoms. However! even they are not full proof.
ReplyDeleteAny bets on Ellis being sent to the same young offenders institute as Freddie?
ReplyDeleteI'd bet on it. Unless there's a choice of establishments.
DeleteI disagree, but we'll see, it's a drama.
DeletePeggy & Brian don't seem to share Kenton & Co view that it was wrong for Harrison to arrest Freddy & then he be taken to court!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth said it was all her fault. Why doesn’t she apportion any blame to Freddie? He was dealing drugs which nearly had fatal consequences for Nolly and could have killed others or ruined lives. I once knew a mother whose son had, after consuming too much alcohol, run his car over the pavement killing a 59 year old man. The son was convicted, sent to prison and she lamented that he was there amongst all these criminals. No thought for the man or his relatives. E has treated F like a little boy lost giving him treats and taking him out instead of confronting him about his thoughtless acts. The judge was quite right and he deserves his sentence.
ReplyDeleteWell said. I totally agree.
DeleteHmmm Nolly was the one who encouraged Freddie to gather and take magic mushrooms, and without that initial trigger he might not have become involved in the drugs scene, so I have no sympathy at all for Nolly.
DeleteExactly, Janice. To be fair, she did try to stop him when he became seriously involved in the drug scene.
DeleteI don’t particularly have sympathy for N but the fact remains she nearly died and it could have happened to any of Freddie’s clientele. If he had learnt from it
Deletethen he would not be in this situation now!
✓✓
DeleteWell said,Ev.
ReplyDeleteI was wrong.
I didn't think he would get a custodial sentence.
I am pleased he did though.
Why do they say a year if what they actually mean is 6months?
We have had Helen,Susan,Wayne I think or maybe not,Clive and now Freddie.
Quite a lot for a village .
My thoughts too LJ about the number of prison sentences for such a small community.
DeleteAnd don't forget M. Crawford.
I agree Ev with what you say.
I would feel for my child, but I would also be very very angry with what had been done.
If the sentence is 12 months or more the first half is spent in prison and 2nd half in the community "on licence". If the person break any licence conditions he can be sent back to prison. See headings Crime > Justice and the law > Prisons and probation > Types of prison sentences > Determinate prison sentences at the government website. https://www.gov.uk
DeleteInmates of young offenders institutions are supposed to spend 25 hours per week in educational or training activities. So it's back to school for Freddie. He'll be top of his class in maths. Best students are the lifers. Informal lessons among inmates are how to be a better drug-dealer and a creative course - fashioning a weapon from available materials.
A news article from 2016 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37291160
Thanks for that, HH, very informative - good to know efforts made to educate/train, but, alas, your informal training undoubtedly true as well !
DeleteElizabeth in her moment of grieve and blames herself because she feels that she hasn't been a good mother to Freddie and failed him. This is all nonsense and maybe she will come to think otherwise after the grieve lessens. Freddie is getting his due punishment for dealing drugs and thought all along he would get away with doing it since his attitude was the next time would be the last time, which we all believe he would never have stopped because Ellis would always be after him.
ReplyDeleteWhen is the flower and produce show?
I too was very distracted by Otis Reading ‘Sitting on the Dock of the Bay’ in the tearoom , a tad too loud I thouht.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it couldn’t have been an ironic choice of music as Freddie was sitting ‘in the dock’ awaiting his judgement?
A trivial thought I know, in the light of such drama but it struck me quite forcibly that the editor had been playing musical tricks on us again.
An ' in joke ' then ?
DeleteI had the same thought, Archerphile. Jailhouse Rock would have been too much of a giveaway.
DeleteAnother trivial thought if I may. Couldn’t help noticing mention of Edgar at Lower Loxley. So the Tidcoombes(?spelling) or at least Mr T is still alive.
DeleteEdgar and Eileen (?) Titcombe? Do they live on-site? References to Elizabeth being all alone at Lower Loxley seem to have left out Lewis. It sounds as though he's even more alone, as the scriptwriters keep forgetting that he exists.
DeleteJustice was dispensed. I'd thought community service, but young offenders sounds appropriate - it might really work for him ( provided Ellis & co don't beat him to a pulp when they're sent down....would like to think security tighter in YO's than in adult prisons)
ReplyDeleteYou can't but sympathize hugely with E., & Understand the guilty reaction, BUT I do hope she stops thinking/gets argued out of regretting urging him to tell the truth, when it was the best thing she did over these last weeks.
Shula grudgingly admitted that Alistair was doing well, & took the 3 reasons given on the chin, but was cross that she didn't tell the whole truth to E. when she criticised A. Yes, it was mutually agreed that S. would take the blame for the marriage breakdown, but A. did offer first to be the one, generously, & practically, in order to move proceedings on, but S., for the first time, acknowledged she was the cause, &, in all fairness, should shoulder the 'legal blame'.
ReplyDeleteI hope Freddie doesn’t get sent to the YOI near us. There was a report on local television last night that our local jail and YOI is failing and needs severe improvements. A new governor has been appointed to get to grips with the increasing number of suicide attempts, self-harming, drug taking and violence caused by severe overcrowding, amongst other things.
ReplyDeleteA very bleak prospect for the likes of Freddie.
I think they are all the same with violence prevalent, and according to the statistics a three quarters reoffending rate. I hope the BBC gives us the harsh reality of life in a YOI and not a sanitised version.
ReplyDeleteIn a perfect world with a perfect prison system urging Freddie to tell the truth would have been the correct decision, but if reality is portrayed then Elizabeth is going to regret more and more her advice to him.
DeleteIn a perfect world, a perfect prison system would be unnecessary : )
DeleteYou are absolutely right! 🤗
DeleteRegarding Lily and Freddie SL part of the plan or do both actors require a break for other commitments I wonder?
ReplyDeleteYou may be correct Lady R, or perhaps it was these two who were leaving.
DeleteSeems ages ago that we were speculating on who would go and who would stay.
The sentencing Judge was biased when summing up before sending Freddie down. The comments about his ‘privileged’ background have implications for other drug dealers and the sentences they might receive, Depending on their social upbringing. If, for example, someone comes from a ‘sink estate’ with Both parents out of work and have many siblings, are they likely to receive a suspended sentence because they are not privileged? The punishment therefore, only fits the crime when the criminal’s background fits into the Judge’s belief about privilege or the lack of it in life.
ReplyDeleteFreddie has done wrong, he admitted to the crime, but is being treated differently in relation to others who have engaged in drug dealing.
I think there should be an appeal on the grounds that objectivity was not not demonstrated, and as this is his first offence then leniency should have been applied.
Bring back The barrister who defended Helen, at least she would have done a better job of supporting Freddie.
Well the character reference from scrounger Russ had absolutely no effect and was a waste of time in that he (F) is now facing six months. I wonder what impact that will have on Lily’s decision to continue with her degree. Will she come home to support mum.
Yes, although Freddie deserves his sentence I did get the impression that had he come from a deprived background he would have been treated more leniently. Hardly fair as the punishment should fit the crime regardless of social position.
DeleteI was taken aback to hear that opinion from the Judge, and wondered about the implications for others.
DeleteI would have thought it was grounds for an appeal. He was been discriminated against, certainly no discussion of a social enquirey report so her judgement was based on her own personal bias, in my view
DeleteExactly.
DeleteThe Judge implied that had he not been from a privileged background the decision might have been different.
I agree with Stasia. The judge showed bias against a 'privileged' background which should be irrelevant.
DeleteI hope Lily will try to support Elizabeth, but without giving up her degree. The latter would make Elizabeth feel worse, I should think, but wouldn't it be great if Lily realised Russ was a mistake and gave her mother some credit for seeing him as such?
DeleteGiven the rate of suicide among young men in the UK over the past couple of decades, I wonder if the character of Freddie is going to be used to highlight this issue. There is no way on this earth, given what we know of him, that he can possibly deal with being in the YOI - he is like a lamb being flung to the wolves...
ReplyDeleteI had the same thought, GG. There's a high rate of suicide among people on remand, and in their early days in custody. Not sure how this correlates with the high rate among young men in general.
DeleteUnless Young Offenders' Institutions are really successful at rehabilitating their inmates, it's hard to see what might be achieved by banging up the likes of Freddie. A fairly tough application of probation would seem a better option, given that custody can make things worse.
But I'm still bothered by the presentation of Freddie as intellectually weak (only relatively, note) and hence clueless about life in general.
Lady R. What a good thought. Mine is slightly different, in that Freddie is near Manchester, so Lily will be able to visit, and support him. After all, she is one person who knows the majority (but not everything). Could lead to her finding out about Russ, whom I still strangely, think is involved. Is this why he has gone to Manchester with Lily, so to co-erce her to do the same at the University, as they need the money. An idle thought, only, and a far fetched one.
ReplyDelete...and it is not Ambridge based. I think that I am more concerned about Hannah, the future of Jenny + Brian with Home Farm, and when will we here from Justin again, with his low cost housing situation.
DeleteI missed the bit where they said Freddie would be imprisoned in Manchester.
DeleteI wondered whether he would be sent to Feltham not far from Heathrow.
Or in near here in Winchester which has just had a terrible report. I suppose he could be sent anywhere in the country which could make it very difficult for Elizabeth to visit
DeleteShoul we offer to visit on her behalf?
DeleteI am sure between us we’ve got it covered.
DeleteStarting a new post.
ReplyDelete