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Life in Ambridge: Comments week of September 8, 2018
Life in Ambridge: Comments week of September 8, 2018
Easy to program, variable temperature control with 11 settings from 110°f to 212°f.
Programmable Warm keeping from 110°f to 190°f.
Cuppa tea?
ReplyDeleteWell done, Ruthy. A witty idea.
Deletegreat start.
DeleteOnly three temperatures, Russ? Pathetic.
DeleteGirl, yo nasty.....
ReplyDeleteIn a good way. Obvs......
DeleteOoo Ruthy - love a bit of humour, that photo made me laugh ! This could be a new weekly theme, depicting an important item from the story. You are very inventive!
ReplyDeleteRe last nights episode - just one word -
Unbelievable!
The Lily/Russ story is now becoming farce, can’t wait to hear what nonsense they come up with next.
Still it makes a welcome change from Pip at Brookfield and too much Home Farm angst, so I’m quite enjoying TA at the moment 😉
👍
Delete100% love the kettle! Can't do ticks.
DeleteLove the pic Ruthy. 😀
ReplyDeleteI hope Lily is beginning to see through Russ, as was hinted last night. My first thought was that Kenton had reported him.
I have an idea for Pat :
ReplyDeleteHow about a day out visiting Greenham Common, they have just opened a museum in the old control tower there, including displays about the Women’s Peace Camp in the 80s. She might even bump into her old friend whatshername there and try befriending her again!
Very apt, Ruthy ! 😁😉 This SL becoming a hoot - do people recall the spoof Brief Encounter scene between Like & Crawford's brother ?
ReplyDeleteMeaning 'Lil'....
ReplyDeleteFab photo Ruthy....very apt. Made me laugh. 😆
ReplyDeleteI can’t believe how wet E is behaving with Freddie. I mean if my son was awaiting court for drug dealing I’d be reading him the riot act not treating him to a meal out at a favourite Italian restaurant.
If I were E I’d be finding out if LL could be left to lily instead of dreaded Freddie.
Isn't that what Russ is hoping for? Get rid of the heir apparent in some way. I really don't think you nor E should go for that just now.
DeleteOdd sort of will anyway, isn't it ? More normal to leave LL to the pair of them, the future decides the fate of the place anyway - any number of scenarios : selling it as a business, running it jointly perhaps, one buying the other out, one a sleeping partner whilst the other stays & manages, & so on.
DeleteNot odd - it was normal practice and still is amongst the large estates, and that's the image the SWs are trying to project. The second child or daughters would be given some sort of settlement, but a minor one which did not endanger the estate itself.
DeleteIf you say so, it just seems way out of step with our times, & very assumptive. Pargetters may be 'gentry' but not aristocrats or royalty, where primogeniture, even male heirs only may still hold sway.
DeleteAs it is, Lily already shows an interest in LL, shown competency already in organizational & handling of guests, whereas Freddie, nothing. I know they're only 18, will change & develop. Neither may feel bound by the past, in the event.
Actually, we are on the same page as regards Lily and Freddie. Lily has shown much more interest and has the right "touch" for managing LL and one feels she should take the bigger role in future. What's the betting that a reformed Freddie will eventually sweep in and take over, having come good in the end - leaving Lily out in the cold to make her own way in life.
DeleteThe Pargetters are not aristos, to be sure, but I just think the SWs are playing it that way to show that the old thinking still lingers on - which is certainly does in bigger families. A more modern approach is shown by the Sainsbury family, and look what happened there - much of the fortune split up between increasing numbers of relatives down the generation, each losing a little more interest in the business, so that now the Sainsbury family is firmly in the back seat and has been for years.
Am I right in thinking that there has been publicity during the past year about an aristocratic family (sorry can’t remember name) where there are no immediate male heirs and they were trying to get the law changed so that the estate could be passed down to the daughters? Otherwise it was going to pass sideways to some distant male cousin or other. Cannot remember all the details or what has/hasn’t been decided yet. I know they were quoting the fact that male children taking precedence over females has been abolished in the Royal family now and were arguing that it should apply to inheritances too.
DeleteYes, the Royals are way ahead of the game here. Amazing that this question still exists. You might remember it was the case in Downton Abbey where there were 3 daughters and it was to pass to their cousin. So unfair and presuming the male will manage it better. Just look at the many cases where spoiled males such as Freddie have gambled it all away! Lily should inherit at least half but only after Russ is out of the way!
DeleteThe Royals have changed the accesion line, before Charlotte was born. She is the first female to included directly into the Line of accesion to the throne.
DeleteThis surely is different to inheritance. I thought that the trusts Nigel set up, was to pass on LL to Freddie, and so avoid taxes. Is there a difference?
This was his last will + testament and cannot be changed, unless Lily or Elizabeth contest it. Would death duties, inheritance tax then be payable, resulting in the loss of LL as a family enterprse? I do not know. But it is not what Nigel envisiged.
I discovered the other day that the children of the monarch's daughters (currently Princess Anne's children) don't get to be 'Prince' or 'Princess' although the children of the monarch's sons do. I wonder if this will be changed to reflect the change in the laws governing succession?
DeleteI was under the impression that Princess Anne chose not to give her children a title but wonder whether we were misinformed at the time? I’m not sure but don’t think Edward’s children are prince or princess although of course Andrew’s two are princesses. Interesting!
DeleteI thought that it might have been Kenton who reported Russ to the college but Elizabeth's line of reasoning was that getting him into trouble wouldn't drive Lily away from him, just the opposite. Still, she may be wrong and Kenton may have reported him.
ReplyDeleteI'm also wondering if Lanjan's idea is also correct. Supposing Kenton reported this, and it resonated with some other allegation - maybe two things together might trigger the police to come knocking on Monday. The baby Button might be a red herring - there could have other rumours which have broken following allegations from Russ's wife. It's a blank canvas "pregnant" with any ideas the SWs care to weave in, and that makes for good listening.
DeleteThat was my immediate thought too Basia. Kenton did say that somebody should *do* something and I assumed that, for once, he had been true to his word.
DeleteSorry FOSO, it may have been bawling its head off but it was definitely a baby, not a fish
Delete; )
Is Baby Button about to supplant the Fake DNA Test as the supreme example of a fiction created by TA listeners which they come to believe is 'real'? (I'm fond of Molly, Tilly and Billy and rather wish their family hadn't been dragged into this charade! 🙂 )
DeleteSadly, all the Buttons are fictional. Just some are more fictional than others.
Delete(I don't even recall hearing about Billy, who is he?)
Think we only ever hear about Molly, she never speaks, not a family to become fond of or otherwise, simply there to indicate a feisty prole element in the district. Did enjoy your slipping in of a Button into the highly entertaining letter, OW !
DeleteAh, maybe it's the bisexual Meredith who presented herself at the college reception ?
Let's put it this way: I'm happy to suspend my disbelief for TA characters Molly and Tilly Button and their younger bother Billy and think of them as real. My concern is when listenets do the same for the characters or situations they have created. The fake DNA test got mentioned over and over again on the BBC blog yet was completely unfounded. My previous post was meant to be light- hearted, hence smiley face, this one isn't so much, so no smiley face!
DeleteNow there's a thought. Did we ever discover the identitiy of the first Mrs Titchenor's one night stand? 😉
DeletePerhaps I could add that the fondness I feel for the Buttons (ifIam allowed to feel fond of them, that is) may be due to the fact they don't speak!
Delete.
At least I know I'll make one person happy next time I go AWOL from this blog ; )
DeleteVery interesting posts about inheritance, e.g, knew about the royals, not about the other family, nor about the Sainsbury family ( has it altered anything for the worse at the consumer end ? Ages since I shopped there)
ReplyDeleteI guess E.'s hands were tied; good thing she was in joint charge before, & clearly wanted to continue after Nigel's death.
In my opinion, yes, Sainsburys has suffered from the absence of family members at the helm. I have shopped there all my arrived life, starting of at one of their pre-supermarket shops when one queued at different counters for cheese, bacon, biscuits etc.
DeleteLord John Sainsbury lives not far from us at Preston Candover and I was in the queue when he cut the ribbon to open our local new super-duper supermarket, probably about 30 yrs ago now. The atmosphere was one of complete dedication to customer service and supplying top quality goods at, not cheap, but reasonable prices. Nowadays the same shop seems to have far less choice of goods, staff have been cut, so service has been affected, they have used valuable shop space to ship in franchises for such things as a shushi counter (at which I have never seen a customer in 6 months) and taken shop and warehouse space for an in-store Argos. A new scan and pack service has been disastrous and is rarely working. All these changes have taken place since the Sainsbury family are no longer in charge and I am a very disillusioned customer after 48 years if loyalty.
Sorry, I know this isn’t the right blog for my rant, but felt compelled to answer Carolyn’s question. 🤭
I don't reckon Sainsbury is that bad - and we are there regularly. I can't say we are at all disillusioned by the various changes and it still supplies what we need effectively. Each to his own :)
DeleteI do still shop there FOSO, it is my nearest supermarket and a 48 year habit is hard to break. But I am having to complain more and more often: veg, especially carrots, going rotten before the use by date, items I buy regularly missing from the shelves (probably due to much less storage space behind the scenes because of Argos moving in)and this new ‘improved’ scan and pack system that keeps breaking down or is out of service when the old system worked perfectly. Several long term staff at our branch have been asked to work fewer shifts or have been made redundant. Many of them seem rather demoralised which doesn’t help customer service. Perhaps it is just our branch. I keep threatening to shop elsewhere but somehow old habits die hard and I keep waiting for the improvements promised by the local manager.
DeleteMaryellen (previous blog)
ReplyDelete'She could terminate the pregnancy like Phoebe and hopefully it wouldn't affect her or her career at uni any more than Phoebe.'
Are you sure? I remember Phoebe had a pregnancy scare with the lothario picker but the test came out negative.
Why does 'terminate the pregnancy ... it wouldn't affect her ...' make me feel like a potential new life has no more significance than a cancelled order from Amazon?
✓✓
DeleteAlso Phoebe was reprieved, the test came back negative.
Oh sorry. I don't know why "terminate the pregnancy etc" makes you feel it's like a cancelled order from Amazon. Do you?
DeleteOh, do let's spell it out. Few woman emerge unaffected, emotionally unscathed, after an abortion, however clear they remain about making such a decision.
DeleteIt's that knowledge that made Pip cancel at the last moment, despite her reasons a) the wrong timing for her b) no ongoing relationship with the father c) mmm... Probably unfortunate paternal character genetic.
Sorry, Carolyn, I should have made it clearer that I was asking the poster who asked the question, not you. It didn't compare like with like with like so I was curious about the association.of ideas.
DeleteSomething to do with 'Oh, there's a baby on the way, it's not wanted, terminate baby, end of problem.' As I said, it makes the whole 'transaction' seem no more significant than changing your mind about something you've bought online. This may or may not be your attitude to abortion, I don't know, but the tone of your original post gave me that impression.
DeleteSo it was what you assumed was my attitude to abotrtionthat made you ask "why does....make me think? Got it! I think I'd prefer a full frontal attack! 🙂
DeleteI realize whom you asked, Maryellen, but this is an open forum, & any of us may respond to any post, if so minded. One of the freedoms of blogging - no eavesdropping involved.
DeleteI'm sorry, Carolyn, I appear to have offended you, so this is to say that of course your contributors are always welcomed and it was very good of you to take the time and trouble to spell out the questioner's meaning for me and add your own Archers- related point of view.
DeleteSorry, should read contributions not contributors.
DeleteAnd no offence taken, Maryellen.
DeleteI may have got this wrong but Phoebe didn't actually know whether she was pregnant did she but I think perhaps Elizabeth did and actually had the pregnancy terminated.
ReplyDeleteI would be amazed if Lily is Russ's first conquest although he is so wet that I wonder what young women see in him.
Lexi took her for the test.
DeleteIf Russ was in the habit of seducing female college students,he would have acquired a reputation which Freddie would almost certainly have referred to in his conversations with his twin. So I don't think Russ was.
DeleteI am not saying there have been lots of students Maryellen but Russ is obviously unwilling to find out why the Principal is 'phoning him.
DeleteI think there has been at least one other student with whom Russ has been involved.
Perhaps she is annoyed that she has been usurped and has told the Proncipal about Russ and Lily.
They seemed to have been able to have kept things quiet until the end of term.
He must be worried that the 'phone call isn't just about next term's timetable.
If he has just resigned without giving notice I don't think he will be given another teaching job.
Has he perhaps been sacked?
Lily will get shot of him
Freddie will be given a suspended sentence
We will then return to boring Brookfield
I think the reason Russ wasn't in a hurry to phone the principal was because he wanted to keep his audience (i.e. us) speculating until Monday:)
DeleteCareful FOSO, I don't think he knows we exist ; )
DeleteYes !!
DeleteWhoops, yes to FOSO, that is, but OW, I'm convinced that all the fictional characters have access to alternative, parallel universes, including ours, it's just the puppets ( cast members) who only know the SL developments a few weeks in advance of all of us - limited vision.
DeleteCarolyn, the Button siblings and Ben probably share a blog. It's probably jam-packed with posts but massively password protected. Let me know if you ever manage to find a way in.
DeleteNot IT savvy enough for that, OW, but Ben has telepathic powers, much preferring these to boring old everyday speech, especially at home, which centres around Gran's latest flapjack batch, dinner, farm talk, silly baby nonsense, Josh banging about in the yard etc. He swears a lot - yes, you're right, well in with the Buttons online, picked up ideas & colourful vocab. from them, & is really fed up with his family who've paid scant attention to his brilliant GCSE results, but witter on about that loser, Freddie, the whole time, who doesn't deserve prison blah di blah.
DeleteActually, Ben fancies getting wasted next year in the IOW, but just for the experience, right, a laugh, not interested in the drug scene really - got ambition, see, head off out of Borsetshire, maybe study engineering, go places, SA ? Nolu wotsit was quite cool, not that he's interested in girls much but the profile pic. of Molly B.online for the blog was, wow, pretty revealing, know what I mean...
Ben is welcome to lodge with us when he comes to the island for the festival as I know he won’t be noisy!
DeleteWhat chilled me most last night was Lily's comment when R. Said his wife ( real or invented) was being difficult : something like, ' She's bound to be a bit upset, but....' a big awakening is due to Lily on the lines of not being the centre of the universe, about the equal validity & strength of others' feelings in emotional situations.
ReplyDeleteSo E has paid for the deposit for the flat, 2 bedrooms no less, 1 br for Russ’ art, and purchased all the furnishings. Lily is now nervous if Russ can no longer teaches and she or rather mother will have to support them both. I think the romantic notion of being with a starving artist is wearing thin. She will be awfully traumatized when the relationship doesn’t have a story book ending.
ReplyDeleteStarving artist, romantic story book ending - not like La Bohème, I hope!
DeleteNote to Carolyn, I answered your post about Sainsburys somewhere above - a bit late I’m afraid!
ReplyDeleteGot it, Archerphile - thanks. Sounds grim - I'll avoid !
DeleteElizabeth has had to work hard to generate income and although they live in an ancestral pile this sort of building requires a lot of costly maintenance. It would be so unfair if Russ wanted to live off her. Where is his pride? Hope Lily is seeing the light,!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. We don't actually know if E. paid the deposit, do we ? Kind of presuming she might, as she would have done if it had just been Lily. However, the situation has changed disastrously
DeleteThe least she could have done is insist on half the money being paid by the cuckoo in the nest. On the other hand, that would make problems later when they split up before even moving in ( which they will ). Another tie in to extricate themselves from.
Lily paid the deposit because she came back saying 'done' and very pleased with herself, so I assumed that the payment came out of Elizabeth's account since she'd paid for everything else. If Russ had been paying he would have done it himself I think.
DeleteAh, thanks Basia, missed that.
DeleteEv, of course Russ is proud. He's proud of his new kettle and his luxury bedding.
ReplyDeleteAnd he'll be proud of his luxury new flat too, right up until the bailiffs come to sort out the minor issue of unpaid rent.
(I suppose he could offer some of his newly created artwork in lieu of cash but how ignominious to be spurned by an ignorant prole who cannot recognise genius when it is held under his nose.)
I would expect Lily and Russ to be jointly and severally responsible for the rent and if Russ is without funds, it will fall to Lily (or Lizzie) to carry the can. They will probably have signed a six month contract, or Russ might even have insisted on one year. So she is stuck with him - or if they fall out, Russ may stay in the flat and Lily will have to move, so LL will end up funding the cuckoo's nest and Lily new one until the whole caboodle can be unwound. All this at a time when the business has lost part of its income due to losing the licence. So many possibilities in this story!
DeleteRuss hasn’t seen the flat and made an excuse to not go along to pay the deposit. These are the reasons why I think E paid. How are is Ambridge to Manchester?
ReplyDeleteSorry, meant to say how far is Ambridge to Manchester?
DeleteI should think getting on for a hundred miles.
DeleteEx-londer.
ReplyDeleteI aso have "La Boheme" in mind! "Mimi" aka Lily, might have a frozen hand, but Lizzie will pay the heating bill.
Ex-Londoner - La bohème - I hope not. Mimi died of consumption right - not the end I would like to see for Lily.
ReplyDeleteRuthy.
ReplyDeleteFrom "Ambridge" (Inkberrow) to Manchester, it is 111 miles, a drive time of 2.5hrs.
It is far enough away, but near enough for Lizzie/Kenton et al. to get to when the bubble bursts.
Miriam - apparently we were posting at the same time responding to Ex-Londoner and La boheme. Thanks for distance to Manchester. Do we know what Lily will be studying? What is the uni she will be attending - she should have registered for all her classes and attending orientation. I still think her Manchester/Russ plan will all fall apart and she ends up staying in LL to for a while yet.
ReplyDeleteI went to college/uni for the first time on Sept 21st, so Lily still has a couple of weeks yet. Anything can still happen.
DeleteRuthy, most Universities over here don't commence the new term (semester) until the end of September beginning of October. For new students called Freshers, the first week is spent registering and joining groups, meeting teachers, generally finding their way around the university. It would be usual for new younger students to live in halls, but if Lily is intent on living with Russ she will be missing out on the whole student experience.
DeleteFor many, including Lily this will be their first time living away from home, and some will be nervous whilst others eager to flee the parental nest. Lily may find her circumstances curtailed by dragging around a man old enough to be her father. The age difference may not be too apparent when she is thirty something but a man of 42years it just makes him look like a dirty old man. Especially as she has a little girly voice.
Elizabeth put Russ his thirties so possibly not much more than a 16 year gap, old enough to be glamorous but only technically old enough to be Lily's father!
DeleteThought Russ is 40+, but not sure. I have envisaged a 20yr age difference. Bet I am wrong!
DeleteI was in the category, so glad to leave the "parental nest". Is Lily though? She comes over as a strong person, but I do wonder if she really is as mature, as she seems.
DeleteWhen asked by Kenton, Elizabeth said Russ was in his late thirties/early forties.
DeleteHe may have a forthcoming birthday, so we'll find out.
Still quite to be young to be Lily's father by today's standard and it sounds as if he's kept himself fit! But yes, Lily may be a symptom of some approaching mid-life crisis.
DeleteElizabeth estimated Russ's age on one occasion as 'about 40' and on another, as Basia says, late thirties/early forties. Old enough to be a youngish father of an 18-year-old: older than Roy was when he fathered Phoebe (whoops!), a bit younger than Toby (whoops! again).
DeleteBootgums - I don't understand the whoops - care to explain?
DeleteJust that neither Phoebe's nor Rosie's conception was planned, or even took place within a stable relationship.
Deletestasia ' The age difference may not be too apparent when she is thirty something'
ReplyDeleteHeck, you're not suggesting we're going to have to put up with Randy Russ for the next twelve years or more, are you?
I sincerely hope not. I couldn't continue listening to him witter on about his gut and the benefits of yeast, kettles and kitchen equipment.
DeleteWhether Mrs Russ or Kenton has blown the whistle Lily will likely have a luxury artist studio all to herself, if she doesn’t defer her degree until she decides which subject she’s studying. If she can find another student from a stately pile who hasn’t sorted their accommodation she could rent out the room. Surely someone on campus will be in dire need of a programmable kettle. Deal done.
ReplyDelete😂👍
DeleteOh ye of little faith.
ReplyDeleteRuss will vanish quickly ,worry not.
Lily will go off to University and for most of the year she will not be heard.
In years to come some of us will get confused between her and Phoebe.
As I have mentioned before,Freddie will get a suspended sentence.
He will become a silent character for a while as the actor playing him joins the cast of Coronation Street .
I don't watch the programme but can't help wondering if he will actually find it easy living in Salford-but Lily will be nearby and can help him out.
Soon we will have another 5 week stint with different characters.
Back will come the Brookfield Archers,T❤️O❤️B❤️Y and Rex.
Anisha may return -briefly.
The new editor may think we need a change and we will get a storyline featuring Kathy,Jamie and Ben.
So much to look forward to......
We may not .
Perhaps Freddie could find his inner artist in a north-westerly studio with a fancy kettle.
DeleteI do hope Lily does not become silent. But then, I hoped that of many others too...
DeleteLast night of Proms finished: good night all!
Made a nice change , not having a
Deletefemale singer in a outrageous dress dinging ‘Rule Britannia’, I thought. 🇬🇧
If anyone is interested in seeing Daisy Badger (Pip) acting in the TV series ‘Home Fires’, I have just discovered that the series is being repeated on ITV3 on Fridays at 8pm. I loved this series which depicts life in a village during WW2 and the effects war had on the wives and family’s when their men went off to fight. A sort of ‘Home Front’ of the Second World War on TV. Daisy Badger plays the part of Claire Hillman, a young woman in love with the local postman and, as far as I remember, had none of the verbal tics many of us disliked when she first started in TA.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if you don’t want your personal idea of what Pip looks like spoilt, it might be better not to watch!
Sorry about the rogue apostrophe in “familys” - ‘twas iPod’s idea, not mine!
DeleteI suspect the Principal will have no alternative but to suspend Russ pending investigation of the complaint. That would be normal procedure and could take some time. His comment to Lily about them not having done anything wrong is a bit disingenuous, he has certainly done something wrong in starting an intimate relationship with a student, who was still enrolled on college courses.
ReplyDeleteI managed a tutor who became involved with a younger student, and when she left they moved in together. He was charming, boyish and clever and whilst she was pandering to his needs all was fine, then she matured, wanted independence and his response was to be violent towards her and the to himself. He presented himself to myself and the Dean looking as though he had gone into the boxing ring with a heavyweight boxer. He had done all the facial damage to himself, and cried throughout the meeting like a little boy lost. His ex student partner ended up in Hospital with the police being involved.
We couldn't suspend him as the student had left, but he was sent home pending the police investigation. We also discovered that he had been involved with other students in the past. His position in psychiatry was in jeopardy and eventually he handed in his resignation and eventually had to be reported to his professional body. He pleaded guilty.
I suspect Russ has had other flings with students.
A sad & violent account, Stasia. Thanks for telling us about it. What a messed up guy. Time will reveal, but Russ is messed up all right, but more about tight control, rather than losing it ? I suspect OCD, amongst all else !
DeleteCarolyn. You could be right about OCD he certainly is a bit obsessive about his diet, but then was also very keen to convince Lily he could live on baked beans. Balcony. He is a very pretentious, self obsessed man who has deluded himself. and Lily into thinking he is a wonderful artist. Perhaps he homed in on Lily thinking it would give him an intro into some upper class Bloomsbury clique. Unfortunately the only pretentious arty farty literary character in Ambridge is Lynda and she would eat him for breakfast.
DeleteI still maintain he is a social misfit, sociopath who has charmed/ blagged his way into a very good job and now made himself cosy in Lower Loxley.
We shall most likely discover that he is in fact a crap DP and doesn't have the skills to manage a student population.
You could be right, Stasia, can see that as time goes on - his odd behaviour at LL, nervous, polite awkwardness initially, then taking advantage massively, creating noxious smells in the kitchen, & emptying Elizabeth's purse. Sounds distinctly sociopathic to me, though I didn't see that in the earlier encounters we heard. Does low cunning & manipulation come into the definition ?
DeleteAlso, as you suggest, could be the college are wise to him, internal investigations & police enquiries ( blind eye being turned to rampant drug dealing on the premises...)
If Russ has had flings with other students, as Stasia suspects, how come it wasn't common knowledge among the students? I would have expected his reputation to have reached Freddie's ears and been referred to in his conversations with Lily - who might have heard it anyway. The a
DeleteLegation that Russ is sociopathic has been discussed here and dismissed due to complete lack of evidence.
he hasn't acquired a reputation among the students which would
I heard of two teachers at my sixth form college who had previously had relationships with students at the college. Apparently it was common knowledge amongst that particular section of the college but I don't think the wider student body knew about it. As far as I recall, Freddie was not involved in the Arts scene at college so could well have been blissfully unaware of anything Russ may have been up to with anyone else before Lily.
DeleteHow much the senior management team knew about what was going on at my college, I couldn't say. But this was some years ago. I doubt they'd get away with it now ...
Do we actually know that the Principal is telephoning Russ to complain about his behaviour?
ReplyDeleteShe might be 'phoning to tell him to clear his room .
We know there’s been “some sort of allegation” .
DeleteThe Ambridge Observer is back as promised. A hearty welcome from me.
ReplyDeleteMaryellen , I agree it may be a little 6th form at times but then I often think that of some of the absurdities the SWs impose on us..
Thanks, Pierre - just read now for the first time ! Great send up, what fun.
DeleteHurrah! Laughing out loud and the cat thinks that I've flipped at last 😃
DeleteYes, what a brilliant take on the Russ/Lily/ Elizabeth shopping trip. So glad it is back again.
DeleteIt's interesting you say that, Archerphile, because I thought that was the feeblest of the items. I've come to the conclusion (not surprising really)) that The Ambridge Observer waxes and wanes with the programme itself, so when I began reading it in the Sean O'Connor era I thought it was altogether brilliant, but now I think it's patchy and sometimes downright unfunny. It's still a welcome addition to Sundays, though.
DeleteIf it was Kenton who has been in touch with the college about Russ + Lily, then he is a hypocrite. He still thinks that Freddie should have been let off with his drug dealing. There is no comparison, just very complicated issues.
ReplyDeleteThere is also the possibility that either Shula or Elizabeth might have talked to Dr. Venables.
I still think that Russ is somehow involved with Ellis + the drug dealing. I am like a "dog with a bone" on this idea. I wait for events to show that this is "just silly"!
DeleteI think Kenton and Elizabeth think that Freddie had one little slip in trying to sell a pill to Toby. They don’t know as we do that his drug dealing has been going on for some time. However Lily does know and her outburst in the cafe was unjustified. She tends to sweep things under the carpet as witness the Russ saga! I feel sorry for Fallon and Harrison. The man was only doing his job.
DeleteTotally agree Ev
DeleteLoved the injection of one T. Horrobin's outspoken cheek tonight ! Ruffling the Aldridge/Archer/Pargetter feathers. Don't they come across absurdly prissy when riled ?
ReplyDelete👍👍
DeleteHonestly now,does anybody actually know anyone who is remotely like any one of the characters we heard this evening?
DeleteI think the most realistic was Peggy and much as I was pleased to hear Tracy I don't think that even she would be so stupid as to try to buy drugs from Freddie .
I thought that Jennifer was extremely rude to Tracy.
Nobody else is interested so she could have given her a quick tour round the place.
It would have made Tracy's day.
👏👏
DeleteTracy Horrobin wins the lottery .....
DeleteActually, I don't think they will end up selling. It'll be Brookfield all over again.
My thoughts exactly!
DeleteYes, I am coming round to that opinion too. Especially after all last nights comments about it not being a sellers market, the low offer they had on the farmhouse ... and all Peggy’s remarks about how down Jennifer is and how much she’d miss her kitchen etc.
DeleteI think this was all drip feeding leading to the Aldridge’s changing their minds about selling after all.
I also believe they will change their mind, which begs the question: what is the solution to raising the cash needed to defray costs, and the difficulty relating to Kate's business?
DeleteWith a bit of luck Kate will realise she was being unreasonable about her business and will agree to the land next to the yurts being sold, or move them to another part of the farm. I don’t think she ever thought B &J would really sell the farmhouse and she had quite a shock when they decided to do just that. She wouldn’t have to find somewhere else to live either, if the farmhouse is not sold.
DeleteSo we are all set up for the end of the week - Russ meets with the head on Friday and Saturday morning is the intended departure date for Manchester. Well I wonder how Friday’s meeting will change that?? I expect we will find out next Sunday.
ReplyDelete(Just managed to sign myself out accidentally - much panic ensued 😧)
Seasider,I once pressed "sign out "instead of "publish"
DeleteI know what you mean about panic!
(Talking about panic.
DeleteWhen I was on a train last Tuesday having just left Euston to travel north, a young man approached one of the staff and said that he was a stowaway.
He had been helping a relative put her case onto the train when it had departed.
The first stop was Warrington -200 miles away.
To be fair he seemed very calm.)
Like Seasider, we are well set up for an exciting Friday night cliff hanger. Having flagged this, I really hope something significant happens and they really keep the momentum rather than teasing us for another week or two. It has the feeling of a storm breaking, and they should let it.
DeleteIs anyone else disliking Lily as I am? She is utterly selfish, self-righteous and demanding. Seems to have no idea, or care, about how devastating her behaviour, and her brother's, is to E. She just thinks that E should foot the bill for whatever she deems to be her right. I think Russ will have to face the consequences of his actions in some form and that Lily will end up on her own. There'll be no sympathy from me as my sympathy is reserved for Russ's deserted wife. I do think it was probably Kenton who 'told' on Russ.
ReplyDeleteI have become increasingly irritated by Lily over the past few weeks, especially her wheedling little girl voice when speaking to E. In fact, it has come to the point when I am no longer sorry about her predicament but just very cross with her for being so blind to the situation she has got herself into.0
DeleteAnnieveggie - no, I'm not disliking Lily as much as you are (which, on a scale of 1-10 seems to be 15). I am convinced that there is a really worthwhile person under her late-teen veneer and look forward to the scriptwriters allowing it to emerge. I have no sympathy or any other feelings for Russ's wife about whom I know absolutely nothing except her name and occupation. At the moment, she's just a cipher.
DeleteI don't dislike Lily at all. She has tremendous potential: bright, organised and with ambition. She's made a mistake by falling in love with the wrong person, and until then had a pretty well faultless record as the better of the twins. She will learn and could become a very successful woman. Who of us isn't selfish sometimes, when it comes down to it? And as a young man, I made some ill-thought out comments about others that I would cringe about now: one grows out of it (mostly!).
DeleteClassic stories are full of young women like Lily who make one mistake of this kind: they usually do not get sympathy and end up taking a harsh punisment. One would hope that in this epoch we had moved beyond that sort of judgement, but it's still apparently endemic.
'I have no sympathy or any other feelings for Russ's wife about whom I know absolutely nothing except her name and occupation. At the moment, she's just a cipher. '
DeleteThat's more or less Lily's opinion too.
The fact that Russ married the woman and that she might therefore be entitled to expect love and loyalty from him is completely at odds with Lily's opinion that she and Russ were 'meant to be together'. Anyone who gets hurt along the way is simply unfortunate collateral damage. (Especially wives who have the temerity to object to their husbands discarding them in favour of 18 year old students.)
Agree - it's that attitude, isn't it ? ''Only my feelings count in the moment'.
DeleteIn essence, though, agree with FOSO's last para. (8.07 today) we wouldn't want the bad old days again, double standards for men & women, the latter being ostracised, brutal punishment.
Still, I don't care how bright Lily is, how golden her future might be, good luck to her, but hope she gains some sense of others' rights, & feelings, & doesn't harden into a ruthless self seeker.
We do not know anything about Russ's wife (if she even exists), whether she is in collusion with him. is herself prone to extra-marital affairs, or ( if he is as ghastly as bloggers say) is congratulating herself on a long-wished-for escape, or, if she is good and dutiful wife to Russ, " entitled" to his loyalty and support in return. So until I have independent evidence that she exists, is an innocent party and is as genuinely as upset as Russ says, I think it's premature to have any feelings towards her myself, and I think the above verdict on Lily's feelings is unnecessarily harsh: inexperienced as she is, she is bound to have difficulty putting herself in Lara's position. Give her a chance - slowly but surely, she's getting there!
DeleteThe thing is, Lily knows no more than we do, the only difference being she believes him, we don't. Both equally natural positions to hold. She hears the wife is upset, but appears to think that isn't important in the face of 'true love'. Of course, she can't think that at all, not really that stupid or amoral, but it is necessary for her to remain in denial emotionally for the duration. It's realistic enough, whilst hardly endearing her to anyone.
DeleteCarolyn - I think you have misinterpreted. Lily obviously took all Russ told her about his marriage at face value initially - as one tends to do with information people divulge about themselves until proved otherwise - it's only cynical listeners to soap who immediately think otherwise. But even blinkered by love, Lily is not dim, and she is slowly beginning to grasp that there are discrepancies and omissions in what she was previously told. From having tried to rationalise the situation, she is moving towards the realisation that she has been misled and it's untenable.
DeleteI have high hopes of Lily!
Not last night, but, yes, she has had some uneasy moments about Russ recently. Painful reality seeping through.
DeleteNo misinterpration by me. I clearly see why she believed him. What 18 yr .old wouldn't ? Not many. Still, doesn't take 'cynical listeners' to smell a rat, just anyone outside the love bubble, including unperceptive Freddie.
Assuming Russ' wife does indeed exist, they will have made promises of love and loyalty to each other at their wedding. I accept that we don't have independent evidence of her behaviour but Russ clearly has not been keeping the promises he made to her.
Delete'My wife doesn't understand me' - isn't that the oldest line in the book?
As others have pointed out, a certain Mr Titchenor painted his first wife as an unstable harpy who was doing all she could to ruin his relationship with Helen. Bearing in mind the fairly high profile of that storyline it's no surprise if we as listeners are disinclined to believe Russ' version of the relationship.
I'm far from condoning Lily's attitude, but she isn't the first person to fall for a "charmer" and I do not believe that makes her a terrible person. Cupid's arrow does the oddest things to people against all rationale, and makes them blind in the process - until clear vision is restored. In addition, she is young and inexperienced - she will probably look back and feel mortified at some of the things she said or did. I believe at heart she is "OK" - at least as OK as many of our own aquaintances, I'd wager. Let's cut her some slack and not condemn her as we did Helen. (NOT that I wish to start all that again!).
DeleteLily must have given some thought to the morality or otherwise of getting involved with a married man, surely.
DeleteWho is Tracy and why does she think she can just show up to view the house? And but drugs from Freddie?
ReplyDeleteTracy is Susan's sister. The Horrobins are the local ne'er-do-well family, of which Susan is the only respectable member (hence her social climbing). Tracy thought she could just show up to view the house because – em, well, because she's like that. Trying to buy drugs from Freddie was implausible: Tracy has not been depicted as criminal before (unlike, notably, brother Clive), just a bit full-on. She's divorced, and has from time to time targeted single men: Iftikhar, a maths teacher and cricketer who once gave private tuition to Freddie and hovered on the brink of a relationship with Elizabeth; then Roy, who put her off by convincing her that he was really boring, and then had to live with being generally believed to be really boring.
DeleteA very good summing up bootgums
DeleteDitto, but Tracey's view of what is criminal is unlikely to be legally precise ! I doubt that getting drugs, inevitably illicitly, counts with her.
DeleteI agree with above comments that Home Farm will come off the market. Looks like Kate is going to be right after all.
ReplyDeleteFOSO I like your storm that needs to break image. Did anyone else think Lily sounds less girly all of a sudden? A couple of times I thought it was Elizabeth speaking for a moment.
Last night Freddie and Lily speaking together both dropped their childish voices.
A subtle sign to indicate they are starting to mature.
DeleteYes I agree it’s Kenton “something must be done “ who contacted the college. He got involved previously at parents’ evening which Elizabeth didn’t appreciate. Did he encounter Russ on that occasion?
Thought exactly the same, Seasider, about Lily sounding like E. during the chat with Freddie. Did not care for the detached way they reflected on mum having 'the worst year of her life, apart from when dad died'. They admitted to being the cause, but with no compunction or sense of making amends, just the fact.
DeleteCertainly agree we're being set up to expect the Home Farm sale not to happen, but the attempt to sell has been completely genuine, hence all the angst & strain, so if she proves to be right about the outcome, Kate was off the mark in claiming it was only a pretence. She only said that anyway, to assuage any creeping sense of being the cause. Kate doesn't do responsibility, guilt, making amends.
I agree Carolyn, I was being flippant about Kate as I expect you realise. Kate is quite capable of saying “I knew they wouldn’t go through with it” without noticing how upset everyone has been throughout. She quickly complains if her own emotional needs aren’t being met but lacks empathy. Of course we know all this and that’s the irony of her running a healing “centre “.
DeleteYes !!
DeleteThe only reason the scriptwriters will have for selling Home Farm is if the actor playing Brian decides he has had enough and he and his wife(Shula) retire from the programme.
ReplyDeleteI hope he doesn't retire which is why I think and hope the sale will not go through.
Re Lily and Elizabeth sounding similar.
They all sound very similar to me-Elizabeth,Phoebe,Lily,Kate,Alice ,Dorothy,
If the new editor nips the Russ storyline and the selling of Home Farm and the Lexi business -easily done -in the bud now he can start with a clean sheet.
👍🤗
Delete
Delete" he can start with a clean sheet."
How great would that be! :))
But hopefully with believable and satisfactory nips in the bud rather than just abandoning the stories to the ether.
DeleteWhat a wonderful thought.
Delete"That Lily is insufferable" - I've said so before and am saying it now. I only got one down arrow at the time. Why are there no down arrows on this site?
ReplyDeleteGosh, never heard of anyone yearning for down arrows :)
DeleteBasia - 100%
DeleteI don't think Jennifer was rude to Tracy, she said she only came to have a look at the kitchen. Viewings are arranged via the estate agents and they don't usually come out on Sundays.
ReplyDeleteI said I'd eat my hat if Home Farm were sold, yes Brian and Shula may want to retire.
I can still keep the other one which was in case Rex left Ambridge.
bootgums - thank you for answering my question "who is Tracy". I now remember she was interested in Roy and then found him boring, his music and the car he drove are what comes to mind.
ReplyDeletePlease let Home Farm be sold to some interesting new occupants. The Devious Aldridge is past his sell by date!
ReplyDeleteBrian gets some good lines but I'd go for Robin to become the next occupant, didn't you suggest it Maryellen?
DeleteYes, I suggested Robin with a base for his son's gin company in mind. Brian seems to have run out of good lines lately and was sounding rather flat, I thought - maybe just preoccupied with his next devious move.....
DeleteBut I like Brian's voice . . .
DeleteI prefer Robin's....
DeleteI suppose Lucas could decide to relocate to England and buy Home Farm with his new partner.
ReplyDeleteNow that really would spoil Kate's vibes in the yurts ; )
What a delicious thought !
ReplyDeleteHere's an idle guess, following a bracing walk, wherein TA spec. played no part : the wife has reported misconduct to the college, fulfilling a threat to do so after his last student fling, should he stray again OR she is heartily relieved to see the back of him after years of kitchen smells, fussing, complaints, general selfishness, & threw in the college report for a little revenge....assuming she's not financially dependant
ReplyDeleteDidn't Rob give Henry an ipad (or similar), for him to play on to keep him quiet, whilst visiting his ex-wife (with her new babe), Ursula + Bruce, and that "school". I am not sure.
ReplyDeleteYes, he did. Or possibly a DVD player to use in the car. Something to keep him occupied on a long journey.
DeleteI kept expecting Emma to volunteer her experience with George of game consoles etc. The question must have come up.
Tony & Tom sounded like a scene from a musical where two characters sit opposite sides of the stage both singing at the same time & neither hearing what the other is singing/saying. There will be trouble ahead I think.
ReplyDeleteWas that a different actor playing Henry this evening?
ReplyDeleteHe still didn't sound realistic to me.
I think the new editor should have a policy of making all inhabitants of Ambridge below the age of 20 silent characters.
George ,Ben and Mia and the Button girls as well as Jake and Keira recently are SCs.
I think Henry should be added to that list.
Alternatively, all the inhabitants over the age of 70"could become silent characters? No more cackling from Lilian!
DeleteThat's a lot of characters! Bert, Brian, Christine, Jennifer, Jill, Jim, Joe, Justin, Lilian, Lynda, Peggy, Robert to start with.
DeleteWell, people were wishing the new editor could start with a clean slate just now, and this would be halfway there! The speaking population of Ambridge is well-known to be heavily skewed towards the ancient, and shutting up all those under 20 will make the skew even worse.Time for that senior citizens' outing ending in fatal coach crash!
DeleteWell, yes, it was rather, Phoenix ! A divided family it seems, about the way ahead for Bridge Farm : Tom & Pat versus Tony & Helen. I notice no one was brave enough to say to Helen that she might have to drop the cheese, once they've weighed up the options & done the sums.
ReplyDeleteEmma still helping Will out, she's a good egg, she really is. She made perfect sense about children's behaviour in general, too, but Henry is a very particular concern. Helen, please just stop worrying & wringing your hands ineffectually; you didn't avail yourself of counselling services for the boy 2 years ago - do it now !
Did you notice Johnny was prominent by his absence? I think he'll swing behind the idea of having a herd of milkers. I dare say, they would not need a large number of cows anyway, so I'm not sure what the fuss is about. If what Tony says is true about cheese being a good source of revenue, it would be stupid to give it up for one of Tom's wild goose chases.
DeleteYes Foso I agree re. Johnny. I think he could be the real farmer in the family. However , if they did have enough land the planting of apple trees could in the long term be productive because of the market for fruit juice. Both kefir and apple juice have health benefits but the demand is much higher for fruit juice than for kefir. I have more free time now and have recently started planting old, mainly Cornish, varieties of apple tree as a conservation hobby. If I was younger an eventual juicing plant would have been nice but I shall have to leave that to the young Tom's of this world! Just in case anyone is interested and had room for one then research has been done on a Cornish variety dating from the 12th century called Pendragon and nutritionally it is of greater value than most modern varieties. It also has pink flesh as well as a red skin so it makes a very pretty juice.
DeleteCan anyone remember why Bridge Farm got rid of its dairy herd in the first place? I can't, so I don't know why Tom thinks producing their own milk is such a daft idea.
DeleteI'm pretty sure it was economics - milk not doing well at the time.
DeleteI'm sure mayellen is correct. but not only do trends come and go in prices, but if they need to control milk quality for the cheese - which according to Tony is an important earner - then having a small herd is a brainer. I reckon there's room for both apples and cows on the farm and this whole thing has just been invented to make a controversy run.
DeleteI don't agree that all Ambridge inhabitants under 20 should be silent.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Johnny?
What about Rosie?
Don't the inabitants of Ambridge; surely include the animals, so no cows mooing, lambs bleating, pigs snorting, dogs barking, cocks crowing, turkeys gobbling etc etc.
OK I am being cynical.🤣🤣
I'm happy for Rosie to be silent for a while.
DeleteClarrie's sister is called Rosie too.
Helen's cheese - how profitable is that? Doesn't seen there is a far reaching distribution. Would having milking cows be affordable to off-set from the profit of selling the cheese? What about making cheese with Pat's goats instead of the kifir?
ReplyDeleteI don't remember this, are the sausages being made from free range pigs on the farm?
Yes, Bridge Farm has pigs, and I think they're as free-range as they want to be, though they spend some time in arks. They're Jazzer's particular responsibility.
DeleteThank you bootgums! I thought so but wasn't sure. Wait till you see the new photos for the next post - which will be soon, as we are reaching 200 comments already.
DeleteHow great that these blogs are so successful Ruthy. There must be far fewer ‘members’ than for the old BBC blogs and yet we tot up nearly 200 posts in less than a week.
DeletePretty remarkable I’d say and all down to you taking up the challenge and giving us this forum.
THANK YOU 💐💐💐
Some of the posts are dodgy in a way we didn't get on the BBC blog - not Ruthy's fault of course, she's done/is doing wonders!
Delete3.36am! Oh, Maryellen, someone else who can't sleep!
DeleteIt must be catching - either that, or this blog is so addictive that some of us are up all night reading and posting. It was the only thing keeping me sane last night! 😵
DeleteAnother thing we insomniacs have to thank Ruthy for!
DeleteRuthy: "Helen's cheese - how profitable is that? " All we have to go on is Tony's tstatement that it was an important earner for the business. On the other hand, this is rather at odds with Ian cancelling what must be quite a major order for cheese. In truth, the SWs can make of it what they like, depending who they want to win the argument to dictate to forthcoming story line. I'd imagine the chees production is fairly niche but important as regards both cash flow and reputational aethos of the farm. I don't think they would need many cows. A quick search shows 5-6 litres of milk make 1kg of cheese. Cows produce of the order of 20 litres each a day, so about 4kgs cheese per cow per day. Even if we say their yield is lower owing to the higher quality, I still can't see them selling more than the cheese produced by a micro herd. I'm prepared to be shot down in flames if I have my basic maths wrong - I'm in a bit of a hurry this morning.
DeleteGood grief! How on earth did that crazy post get here! Hopefully Ruthy will take action when she sees it. What a strange place the web has become.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is a little unusual in that there is no facility to report an OTT blog, but we can be pretty sure FRuthy will be "on it". There's another site I'm on which occasionally has people trying to advertise their services, but they soon get reported and deleted.
DeleteYou are of course right about Johnnie,Miriam.
ReplyDeleteI do like him and I think he should definitely be given a voice.
As for Rosie.
I will be happy to wait until she is 18 before I hear her speak.
The most ridiculous thing is that although Henry is allowed to speak with a voice several years below his actual age,Ben is not allowed to speak at all.
Apparently they decided to wait until his voice broke before employing a new actor for Ben but had they employed an actor of the same age as Ben,that would have happened anyway.
I would like them to do that with Henry ie wait until his voice breaks before we hear him again.
🤭👍🤞
DeleteAs FOSO says, a small number of cows for the cheese, or planting trees for profit in the long term, it's down to the TA team to play the conflict out as they will. I wonder if both projects are mutually exclusive, once the feasibility has been studied ? Some risks involved, but worth pursuing both.
ReplyDeleteWould rather like Tom to be successful, at long last. He's been considerably less tiresome recently, ,& I suppose the Nuffield wizards do know what they're talking about. As for the cheese, why not return to past success if Helen is given the chance to bring the quality up to scratch ? Then they will be diversified enough to suit Johnny - everyone's favourite youth...
I'm not a devotee of Johnny - a harmless and hard working but unimaginative youth, who I''be filed in the 'boring' box with Rex.
DeleteRemember 9/11
ReplyDelete