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Life (and Death?) in Ambridge
Life (and Death?) in Ambridge
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.
As I am off tomorrow for 5 sun-drenched days* on the West of Scotland Riviera, I thought I would open a new blog in advance...
ReplyDelete*Ever the optimist!
Wishing you happy hols in bonnie Scotland.
DeleteGG. Have a great hols in "Bonnie Scotland" - and thanks again for keeping this fandabbydosy blog, going.
DeleteHope you enjoy your trip Gary
ReplyDeleteThanks Gary.
ReplyDeleteI’m trying to work out which farm the new picture represents. Might have been Hollowtree when Phil kept his pigs there - years before Rex and Toby set up their geese enterprise?
I love these vintage pictures.
ReplyDeleteHave a great time Gary, and yet again....... thank you.
Ditto GG - enjoy ☀️🤞
DeleteI've just noticed the sign on the shed door.
ReplyDeleteI think it says Members Only, which means it must be the cider club. So it's Grundys yard.
Yes, so have I Mrs P. Last night I was reading on my tiny iPod and couldn’t read the writing on the door, but now I’m on a bigger screen it’s clear - Grange Farmyard. 😃
DeleteHave a lovely holiday Gary. 🤞for the weather for you.
ReplyDeleteI think the midges don’t arrive until August ,Gary .
ReplyDeleteHope I am right.
H ave a good time.
When did Ruarie become so obnoxious?
ReplyDeleteHe and Ben are a good pair.
I have a suggestion.
Let them both go over to Ireland to visit Ruarie’s mother’s family and stay there until the end of the holidays.
Lanjan. What have the Irish ever done ☘️To have those two teenage imbeciles inflicted on them? Surely they have enough of their own to deal with.?
DeleteGary have a great time.
Oh Stasia I thought perhaps his mum’s family would love to see how he has turned out.
DeleteHe isn’t exactly a good advertisement for the Public School system.
I am sure they would like to meet Ben,his sort of relation who spent much of his childhood until the age of 16 in his bedroom with only his IPhone and computer for company.
Does anyone think the lorry arriving late to collect Pepper Pig was suspicious. Has he been pig-napped by one of Tim’s associates and Ed will never get the money?
ReplyDeleteOh dear, all the current stories are making me very suspicious of everyone and everything!!
It’s paranoia all round Archerphile.
DeleteAt 1st sight I thought 'Manor Farm' (Orwell) +Napoléon, Snowball, Boxer..... c'mon girl, this is AMBRIDGE!!
ReplyDeleteEd should have kept Peppa Pig. His worth, as a viable ram, would have multiplied in a short space of time. Where was his mentor, Oliver, to advise him?
ReplyDeleteJazzer is going around like a bull in a china shop, projecting his anger/frustration onto anybody he meets. But I think all this is his opportunity to say what he thinks about some of the more superficial characters. It won’t be long before his tongue lets Jim’s past out.
ReplyDeleteI think that Jazzer really respects Jim, who has helped him so much.
DeleteI hope that for once, Jazzer stays silent, and doesn't tell, despite his anger + angst.
I actually find it touching, that Jazzer feels so protective, caring and concerning, as to "The Prof".
I think Stasia and I, perceive Jazzer, in very differing ways.
DeleteThis is the fun on this blog, to say what one thinks, rightly or wrongly. It's freedom of speech.
So Jim had a shock for the second time, I agree with him, it's easiest to blame oneself.
ReplyDeleteEd lied to William. Toby had a birthday surprise for Rex, like him I hate surprises but it was OK and now hopefully Rosie's birthday will be too. Lynda said some of the suggestions for the fete were 'rubbish', normally she'd have said nonsense.
Lynda was very kind to Jim. After his rejection of her thoughts in preparing the dossier after the party and just throwing it away many a person would have taken huge offence but she has shown her sensitivity in welcoming him back and not wanting to know the reasons for his recent behaviour. He is obviously embarrassed at having confided in Jazzer and Alistair but it has lanced a wound to a certain extent and now he can move on.
DeleteEv - Lynda showed what a true friend is, unlike Shula who continues to prod and pry! However with regard to your final sentence I believe Jim had 'moved on.' As he said, nothing can change what happened. He had come to terms with it and led a full and interesting life. It was the sudden shock which caused the panic and bad reaction.
DeleteI suppose Fiona will have to be told but otherwise let him revert to the character he was, sometimes scathing, sometimes kind but always interesting.
He didn't want to be a victim all his life. Good for him!
Super Bro and Super Dad both! What a wonderful human being T❤️O❤️B❤️Y has turned out to be! Interesting comparison between the two sets of brothers, I thought.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are wrong about Jazzer ,,Stasia ,because I want the whole storyline to go away as does Jim himself.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that now Fiona (who sounds like all the other women who drop in briefly to Ambridge ) will have to be told.
I think the best thing to do -if he could trust her not to say anything to her father is for Alastair to tell her something but not go into detail about abuse -perhaps imply Harold was a bully but I reckon Jazzer will get there first .
It would be best if Jim could tell his daughter. He can't just leave forever wondering what that extreme reaction was about. It's cruel - she's clearly very fond of him, it's not prurient curiosity. Still, it's completely understandable that he can't face telling her the truth.
DeleteAlistair is in a terribly awkward situation.
'can't just leave her wondering....'
DeleteLan jan - Only got as far as Basia and Ev's posts and have said similar! Will endeavour to read all before putting my four-penn'th in!
DeleteI would hate for Jazzer to let out what he knows. He feels so passionate about his friend 'the Prof' and his abuse but I so hope he keeps schtum. Not sure what Alistair can do regarding Fiona. He's sworn to Jim that he won't tell her and I think he should keep his promise.
ReplyDeleteLynda was indeed very gracious to Jim and I'm pleased she welcomed him for chat and cuppa.
Ed's in such a mess. He hasn't finished with Tim so told William a lie. This will all end so badly.
Yes Lanjan, I'd like this storyline to go away but it won't. We have a broken old man, his two distraught children, his raging housemate and a wailing ex-dil. They have acquired an extra dimension. Living with other people's burdens doesn't make one or them stronger, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI prefer to be a paper cut out.
Perhaps Alastair could explain to Jim that he is in an awkward position regarding Fiona and would his father mind if he just said that the man in a wheelchair had bullied him when he was a child.
ReplyDeleteI still think sadly that Jazzer might let the cat out of the bag inadvertently.
Whatever happens,Fiona has to be told something.
ReplyDeleteBut as Carolyn says (10/9/19 12.35) how dreary it would be if characters always conformed to how bloggers imagine a situation should be handled.....
Delete😁That's meant to be a self satisfied smirk, maryellen. Thanks....I can't have enough ( could be turning into Lynda?!)
DeleteMore will no doubt follow so the smirk could become permanent!
DeleteI wonder what the wrong (Jim’s word) he has done in his life was. Maybe my exploded theory about his academic credentials has some mileage in it after all. I was pleased by his re-evaluation of Shula which coincides with mine.
ReplyDeleteI am a bit confused about Toby’s behaviour regarding Rosie. He and Rex seemed to be walking from a designated meeting point and when they eventually arrived there was little Rosie, all on her own, by the river. Had Toby left her unaccompanied and unprotected! She certainly could crawl at nearly a year old, and now has made her first steps towards Uncle Rex.
ReplyDeleteWhat a negligent, irresponsible PLONKER.
Indeed very sloppy scriptwriting! Worthy of a Year 7 pupil!
DeleteRex met them there. S’obvious!
DeleteSloppy & soppy. Rex has become utterly wet, singing the same disconsolate tune on the very few occasions we hear him, living vicariously through his brother & the child, whilst Toby has morphed from selfish, lazy brother to being encouraging & nice to him. What's his game ?
DeleteAs for Will - how dare he read the riot act to Ed ? Why does everyone still tread on eggshells round Will ? Far too much fuss around Poppy & the cow.
Jim & Lynda scene, a refreshing respite from all the above.
Spot on with all you said Carolyn.
Deletemaryellen. It wasn’t obvious to me. What I heard was two men walking for a few minutes, and then Toby blindfolded Rex, then they walked a little further, and surprise Little Rosie was sitting on a blanket. If Rex had arrived at the scene he would have immediately seen the child.
DeleteAlternatively, Tobes had Rosie with him all the time, she just didn’t get referred to till they reached the river bank. No plonkership implied!
DeleteI think Toby said that he had a special guest for Rex to meet, and I assumed that was little Rosie, so, if so, they weren't with Rosie to begin with. Written by a scriptwriter unfamiliar with the dangers of leaving little children unattended perhaps. Toby seems to have been maturing so he surely wouldn't have left her close to a riverbank, would he?
DeleteCorrect Janice. Toby and Rex had been walking together before the conversation started, certainly out of sight of Rosie and the riverbank otherwise it may have been obvious they were making for the river. Then Toby said he needed to blindfold Rex. They were certainly out of sight of the baby/now toddler for quite some minutes.
DeleteAll down to a lack of continuity I think. When I heard Rex delightedly greet Rosie I assumed that Pip was with her, had taken her there in the prom/buggy and had sat themselves down at the picnic place.
DeleteIt’s only when we didn’t hear anything from Pip that I realised something was amiss.
Friends, blogfolk, country lovers! Here is the clinching argument that nothing was amiss - because if there had been, Rex (who never misses an opportunity to point out his brother’s failings) would certainly have made a Derogatory Remark.
DeleteRosie was 'a sleeping baby on a rug' when they first arrived and talked about a card from Anisha with her wedding invitation inside, only then she stirred and took some steps towards them, the sound of her was surprisingly faint.
DeleteBasia It was after they arrived and were sitting by the river that it was said that "a fishing rod, a sleeping baby on a rug and (something else was mentioned) a perfect birthday present" That was not as they arrived at the scene.Anyway at any time the baby could have woken up and crawled away in just a few seconds.
DeleteNo It's as Stasia said in the first place.
Like I said a classic mistake in storytelling by the scriptwriters and as Archerphile said a big (IMHO) continuity error. Amateur stuff.
Stasia is more likely to right than not, I guess, crass mistake though that would be.
DeleteThere is yet another possibility - the living Dad had put her in a cage, a sort of large cat carrier ! Rex didn't remark on its unsuitability because it's common practice in Ambridge & environs, to give busy mums a break, rather like a playpen with a lid....
'loving Dad'
Deletecarolyn -🤣🤣🤣
DeleteI listened again: Toby and Rex are walking, Toby mentions a surprise guest and Rex says he's not ready for a blind date which reminds Toby of a blindfold. The surprise is a fishing rod, a picnic and a sleeping baby on a rug. All I can think of is that Toby put Rosie on the ground and asked Rex to meet him somewhere near by, from where he could see her but Rex couldn't, slightly complicated.
ReplyDeleteMaryellen - Jim's words were: I've done many wrong things in my life Alistair, I have regrets. I could speculate, but I won't and I hope he doesn't tell us what they are and that 'academic impostor syndrome' which has been identified, is not one of them.
I doubt if Jim's regrets are anything to do with academic shenanigans, that doesn't sound like the man ( though he &Robert can be pretty vicious over bird spotting..), but more likely to do with reserve in relationships, perhaps especially where Fiona & Alistair were concerned in their childhood.
DeleteYet he has lightened up since turning up in Ambridge : the friendship with Jazzer, implausible on the face of it, actually works well. Now he's even beginning to recognize Shula's merits (which take some doing). Maybe he will even soften towards the church ! I don't mean conversion, just more tolerance towards others' beliefs.
So Shula's guessed at the truth and she told Alistair about the keyboard even though Jim asked her not to. How many times is she going to say: I know we're no longer married, what does it have to do with it? She suggested a surprise party and helped organise it, so married or not makes no difference. They're bleeding this storyline white, until the whole village knows. Oh, something terrible has happened but we can't tell you, so keep on imagining.
ReplyDeleteThe keyboard is another continuity lapse - as Ker Davies said, if you didn’t hear it, it didn’t happen and we didn’t hear Shula tell. Alistair about it. I agree about the handling of this storyline,first us playing a guessing game about Jim’s dark secret, and now it seems, everyone except Alistair and Jazzer doing the same. I hope Jazzer blabs asap.
DeleteIt is up to Jim, and him only, who he tells about his secret.
DeleteEveryone else should not interfere + just let Jim sort things out in his own, individual, way.
We didn’t hear this explanation about the keyboard either but a more likely scenario would be that Alistair asked about the missing keyboard andJim told him about his moment of madness. I imagine that when Alistair referred to Jim doing something worse he was thinking of suicide?
DeleteYes, I think Alistair does fear that.
DeleteI think Alastair is making far more of this than he needs to.
ReplyDeleteHe has made Fiona think that his father is ill .
He should tell Jim that Fiona is worried and unless he can co e up with a better solution he will tell her that her father was bullied as a child and that the perpetrator came to the party.
Fiona can then go home and Jim can carry on with his life.
I do not believe that Jim has spent the last 70 years thinking about what happened to him as a child.
He will have thought about it now and then but then put it out of his mind.
Jim sounded perfectly happy when he was making bacon butties.
He was pleasant with Lynda.
Why don’t they just leave him alone?
When Jim said that he was going to put it behind him,why didn’t Alastair let him..
I thought the editor had decided that he would curtail this storyline.
Obviously not.
✅✅✅
DeleteI thought he did tell Fiona it wasn't his health ?
DeleteDon't agree she should be told a lie about bullying ( though, of course, sexual abuse could come under that umbrella heading), she's not a child & it just means Jim can continue to hide, as he's done all his adult life until now from anyone who's close to him. In a way, he owes it to himself as much as to his daughter. It's a cleansing of the past which can't be changed as a fact, but can be cone to terms with in a healthier way.
In many ways, he's trying to do just that, resuming life in the community, apologising where necessary, appreciating what he has in the present. It's a final step.
I agree with you Lanjan.
ReplyDeleteI agree too Lanjan.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know what to think...or whom to agree with!
ReplyDeleteBut I do think Alistair is reaching breaking point with the worry of it all.
Something positive needs to happen before his stress leads him to make a serious mistake in the vet. practice (as with the horse last night) and he finds he self out of a job and Jakob taking over.
Lanjan. My agreement also. Jim has an analytical brain and has worked things out for himself, he has had his cathartic moments and wants to maintain his style of normality. For heavens sake he is eighty years old.
ReplyDeleteThis story is now about Alistair and Shula. Are we going to be subjected their reunification.?
Last night was mostly rubbish. If the S/Ws had wanted to focus on an abuse issue then looking at the role of religions would have more contemporary. Both the CofE and RC churches are having to face inquiries and criminal investigations.
ReplyDeleteMr. Jayston’s age or infirmity would not be an obstacle to criminal charges. Let’s hope he pops his clogs before the script writers get any further into boring me.
I’m beginning to sound like Ruairi.
No spoilers from me re next week but can confirm no happy / good news on the horizon. I do wish the SW could mix it up a bit! I’m not asking for a perfect happy ever after Ambridge (as if anyway) but we all have a mixed life as our other blog confirms many moments of celebration 👏🏻 to share alongside some sadness 😥 and the odd rant 😡
ReplyDeleteSo SW give us a break and some real life balance.....Pleaseeeeee🙏🏼
Hear hear Lady R
DeletePS stasia - re Alistair & Shula it looks that way doesn’t it? but for A sake I hope he stays 💪 strong and Shula finds something / someone else to plug her empty home syndrome with (now she is not to be called to the ministry!)
ReplyDeleteMaryellen, yes I agree about the keyboard, obviously Alistair would have noticed that it was missing, who told whom what we don't know.
ReplyDeleteStasia, yes, this is now about Alistair and Shula. She helped him through his addiction, though she later publicly humiliated him. She walked out on him. Together they organised Jim's party, she advised him to tell Alistair why he didn't like it, so he did. Now she's helping Alistair to help Jim but they'll have to include Fiona and Jazzer. I'd venture to say that the marital break up was engineered for them to remain friends as if they couldn't have done all this while still married. In Ambridge people get to know things, some not all found out about Kathy's rape by chance. Helen's abuse came out in court. Elizabeth talked openly about her mental health to remove the stigma. Now we have Jazzer who shoots his mouth off (almost) to whoever is around.
👍👍👍
DeleteAnd another thing: some people very much dislike having the intimate details of their lives disclosed to third parties by those who seek sympathy and indignation on their behalf. Jim told Jazzer that terrible things happen children but he's coped with it. No one listened to him when he only wanted to go away for his birthday and no one listens to him now. Yes, Alistair is concerned, so he can seek help and keep an eye on Jim. But this is Ambridge, there's already an offshoot to this drama and if they smother Jim with sympathy and attention the lid may come off again to create further drama which is always the aim.
ReplyDeleteI am so pleased that I am in step with others over the Jim situation.
ReplyDeleteI was so adamant that Jim should not be forced into going to see a Counsellor that I thought I would ask somebody who should know- a Professor of Medicine at a prestigious University.
I am pleased to say that he agreed with me.
Counselling is not for everybody and if Jim wanted to put it behind him and move on , then he should be allowed to do so.
Now Alastair and Shula should do the same.
Another thing that irritated 😠 me last night, was the idea of Adam/Ian clubbing in the gay village in Birmingham, accompanied by three straight relatives, I’m assuming these three are not of the pink persuasion, yet?
ReplyDeleteIn common parlance, the oldest clobbers in town have a trio of faghags in tow to make sure they can survive the night.
Then there is the ISSUE of Adam’s 🍒 cherries splitting, (in a poly tunnel) because it rained!
Lanjan. A “prestigious professor”. you need go no further than this blog for expert comments on many Archer related issues. 🤓🧐
I was trying to work out what exactly the "challenge" for Ian & Adam WAS stasia - as far as I can tell, it is for 2 gay men to go to some gay bars and then go to a gay club. Hmmm - how challenging...
DeleteOr is it an excuse for a few characters to visit some sort of gay stereotype Disneyland-style theme park where, I imagine, everyone loves Kylie, all the men are well dressed and handsome and it's all rainbows, drag queens, disco fun & "amusing" camp bitchy comments? I haven't been in a "gay" bar like that for a very, very, very long time - but I can assure you all that the least "fun" thing about it was a gaggle of straight women drunkenly screaming that they loved "the gays". (Whatever " the gays" are!) I pray to God that there isn't an episode like that. Grrrrr etc...
...🙏🏼and so say all that of us GG!
DeleteDelete the “that” from above post 🙄
DeleteGary. I can imagine the scene in the club! Adam/Ian will twitch their bodies and look silly.
DeleteAlice will get very drunk and tell everyone she loves them, Pheobe will be out of her depth and Chris?
I have no idea what the purpose of this challenge was, except this week was the anniversary of Stonewall and we needed to be reminded. So sending two middle aged men clubbing was a nod and a wink to diversity.
But couldn't they just have had Ian & Adam mention something like "50 years, blah, blah, look how far gay rights have come in the UK, blah, blah etc" rather than make them take straight people to a gay ghetto? I have this horrible, horrible feeling that they have tapped into some bizarre, outdated offensive notion that gay men just LOVE to party! One of the conditions of the "challenge" was for the other 3 to tag along. Why? Do they sometimes visit Birmingham's black village? Muslim village? Jewish village? Women's village? Straight village? (You get my point by now.....😋) Or is it that they think gay men are FUN, FUN, FUN 24/7. Yucky...
DeleteYes Gary, it sounded to me as if the other three 'straight' ones - whatever that is - were going on an adventure, they've all lived side by side but now treat them as "other".
DeleteAnyway, the moral of this story, as Ian said is, put some food into a man's/woman's stomach and you may get your way.
You are of course right Stasia .
ReplyDeleteI did not say the professor was prestigious but the University is.
Would I have mentioned it had he disagreed with me?
You will have to take my word for it.
Yes I would.
But was it his ' subject ' Lan Jan ?
DeleteWas my first reaction.
Prestigious or not, if he knows nought about it, it's an opinion as good as the next, and not necessarily any better. !
MrsP. I agree.
DeleteUnfortunately this story will drag on and on, and in my opinion the S/Ws haven’t a clue how to manage writing about historical sex abuse. Especially as Jim is being harassed to get help which clearly he doesn’t want. Or think he needs. Tharaphy isn’t for everyone and what therapeutic approach would be appropriate?
In the past various group therapies were used with the elderly, but these were eventually modified because some individuals became more distressed at being reminded of stressful experiences.
Jim is medically a geriatric and applying pressure, just because Alistair wants him to get help, may be counterproductive to Jim’s mental health.
Jim’s relationship with his children and his remoteness in the past isn’t necessarily a side effect of his abuse. The parents of our older generations may have behaved with certain behavioural mores that didn’t encourage open expressions of emotions.
I said I wouldn’t discuss Jim’s abuse so I’m going to stop
It has sounded to me that it is Alistair who is in need of ‘help’ rather than Jim.
DeleteHe has had a huge shock, learning totally unknown or even suspected information about his father and it seems to have hit him really hard.
As far as I can tell, Jim seems (on the surface, perhaps) to be recovering from the encounter with MiW and is determined to get on with Life.
Meanwhile Alistair has the problem of dealing with a concerned Fiona, a seething Jazzer, and a curious Shula.
I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes.
AP, that comes across as a pretty good summary to me.
DeleteI agree therapy is inappropriate for Jim, but still maintain Fiona needs to be told, for her own sake & for her father as I think it would be a relief to him however much he dreads this & would help the healing process that he's already embarked upon.
At present ( surprise, surprise) I reckon Shula is handling it all sensitively, & is supporting Alistair. There've been plenty of hints, increasing, that they could get together again but....we'll see !
Lanjan. If you told me 2+2=4. I would believe you. You are an expert.🆗🔢
ReplyDeleteI agree entirely with your first paragraph 9.28 am ,Stasia.
ReplyDeleteIt is what I have been saying all along.
I have also said in the past that I know that you are far ,far more knowledgeable about this kind of situation than I am .
Like you ,I will say no more about it.
🥰😁
DeleteJim also lost his wife. I really thought that we were getting some kind of closure when he talked to Alistair about her Diorissimo perfume and how they did a crossword before lights out. But no, there's too much mileage in it.
ReplyDeletePS David Troughton is in the afternoon drama today.
I am also not wanting to mention Jim's problem again.
ReplyDeleteJim should just, sit Alistair + Jazzer down together, to calmly let them know, that they both should do as he is doing, and just forget about, and move forward. This seems to be HIS choice, which should be acknowleged and appreciated together and for him to live, quietly + peacefully, in Ambridge, which he obviously loves.
That's my last comment on this subject.
A quick extra -
ReplyDeleteOn listening to the Omnibus this morning, what I missed in the weekly episode, was that Eddie only met Natasha for the first time, last week, at the cricket.
I find that hard to believe, and also that she didn't know about his scheming ways.
A minor point, which I found
Yes, I was a bit incredulous about this being their first meeting and even more so that she knew nothing about Eddie. I would have thought his antics were well known in the village!
DeleteI am beginning to think this historic abuse of Jim as an eight year old boy and now an eighty year old man, has been conceived by the SWs to illustrate how NOT to treat the news if you are the adult child(ren) of said eighty year old.
ReplyDeleteNow daughter is overtaking daughter in law in the sympathy overload.
Poor man !
I think that's why people who want to avoid sympathy keep things to themselves, because often they end up comforting the well wishers, there's a role reversal, they are 'in charge' and dealing with it.
DeleteScheming auntie Lilian thinks that her wily old mother will not want to see her piece in 'The Echo'?
ReplyDeleteAnd what scheme is Emma going to come up with?
I don't think Peggy's going to be impressed with Lilian's efforts when she reads the next copy of the Echo
ReplyDeleteI missed TA tonight. I was far too engrossed in the Tennis + Cricket.
ReplyDeleteWhat is Lilian up to?
I have just realised something about the picture above.
ReplyDeleteThose pigs !
They are the cement pig statues that Eddy G traded on once upon a time.
Instead of gnomes, he made pigs.
Remember ?
That's right Mrs P, it must be Grundys field. I wonder if that's Bartleby, I always imagined him being brown or black.
DeleteDidn’t Jennifer have one? When she went back to have a sneaky peek at Home Farm she found it discarded in the undergrowth. We still haven’t heard from the new owners or anything about them!
DeleteOh Boy! That was the most exciting cricket match I have ever watched...and I don’t usually approve of, or enjoy, ‘pyjama cricket’!
ReplyDeleteSorry, but it beat tennis, the Grand Prix and even my beloved Archers tonight.
I’ll listen to the repeat tomorrow lunchtime instead. 🏏🏏🏏🏆
✔️✔️✔️✔️🏏🏏🏏🏏🏏
DeleteAgree Archerphile .
Felt sorry for New Zealand who would have won had the fluke with the ball hitting Stoke’s bat and going for a four,not happened.
Ps Archerphile It was OK to post our comments on this blog as there was an Archer in the England team!
DeleteOh, here you all are! I've missed this group since the beebs closed the comments down off of FacePlace... I don't quite understand why I don't get to choose what I call myself, or which email I use but what the hey...
ReplyDeleteWelcome pumpkinsparshott! Glad you caught up with us...
DeleteBut you do get a choice of TWO blogs so not a chance of someone complaining to a moderator you are 'off topic!'
DeleteHello and Welcome!
Oh, great to see you here pumpkin ( hope you don’t mind the abbreviation of your name!).
DeleteYou must be very persistent and a great Archers fan to search for us for so long!
Well done on finding us, and a big welcome from me! 😃
If it’s any help, some of who use iPads, or other apple devices, find it easier to use Chrome to access these blogs. The Safari browser on those devices doesn't seem to like the google blogspot and it was difficult to log in.
Also, it seems better to stay logged in and not sign out after you have posted.
I look forward to reading your thoughts on the current stories.
Greetings Pumpkin. Like Archerphile I hope you don’t mind the abbreviation. I use the word frequently as a term of endearment for my cats and partner.
DeleteUnlike the old BBC blog this little blogging community is inclusive, friendly and warm. Doesn’t mean to say we always agree, but we do respect each other.
Back to the Archers, at least the S/Ws have been put straight on The charitable status of Peggy’s wacky competition. I’m quite excited about who will enter and and the bizarre ideas they will propose. Lillian will of course do everything to thwart her mother, but maybe Peggy is the more cunning. Is there some sort method in this mad scheme?
Upset the Archer clan! Heaven forbid.
Eddie will find out about the extendable competition. He is the sort of person who will read the inserts in the local paper looking for bargains. My paper advertises all sorts of things from animals to secondhand furniture. 🦆🐣🐰🛋🚪
ReplyDeleteI don't often comment, but love reading the conversations on here, thinking about all the different points of view and having a good chuckle at all the witty comments. I'm posting here rather than the other blog, because this is slightly 'Archers related', but sorry if you feel I'm wrong. Just wanted to say that I adopted a little long haired dachshund girl at the weekend from a rescue centre in Wales. She is 4 years old, and rescued from Ireland where she was used for breeding and then discarded. Has never lived in a home, and very limited contact with the outside world, so it's going to take a very long time and lots of gentle patience to rehabilitate her as she's very nervous. Anyway, the point of my post being on here is that, although she had been christened Victoria by the centre, it really doesn't suit her, so I have changed her name to Rosie in honour of little Rosie Archer, and also her beautiful auburn hair (the dog's that is, not Rosie Archer's!). Yes, I am off topic aren't I - please forgive.
ReplyDeleteNot at all Suz a very interesting post and totally relates to TA with little Rosie being your inspiration in naming your new 🐶 canine friend who has been lucky enough to find a loving and caring home with you. Mrs P (and Lady) 🐕 will agree wholeheartedly too that’s for sure. Look forward to progress updates!
DeleteSuz -
Deletecongratulations on adopting Rosie.
I like the apt name.
Just to let you know the following.
Because I am on several ' adopters ' sites, I have noticed that there is a Group for adopted Daschunds. Don't know how to find it, but if your interested I'm sure you can.
Have a happy life with her.
As you say, lots of work to do. Good luck.
Hi MrsP, Thanks for the information. I was on the official dachshund adoption list for ages (very few for adoption due to the present popularity), but then I eventually found Rosie on the Many Tears site in Wales. They collect unwanted ex-breeding bitches from Ireland and bring them over here for adoption. I adopted Sheba from them nine years ago, also from Ireland. Hence the reason why Rosie is completely clueless about living in a home or having the freedom to come and go and explore the garden as she wants too. Has always been shut in a kennel, producing litters of puppies until now, as far as I can make out. No wonder she's extra extra nervous! Love her to bits already, and taking everything at super slow pace so that she can relax, stop being on the alert for trouble all the time and start to enjoy life at last.
DeleteYes, they are very popular again aren't they Suz.
DeleteSo pleased for you, and well done for adopting a breeding machine.
I remember years ago, a couple I knew adopted an ex brood bitch, and she was the saddest looking dog I have ever seen. I only met her once, but I've never forgotten her.
I wish you many happy years together, and hope it's not too many months before she begins to play.
Lady played with the ball I took out with her this evening.
The first time.
So will TA team (as in years gone by) record a “slot in” for tonight’s episode re yesterday’s great sporting events. The cricket ⚾️ in particular as surely the Ambridge team would have been glued to the W. Cup match. Likewise our Lil re Wimbledon 🎾and the longest finals match as we know she has attended in previous years!
ReplyDeleteHello and welcome Pumpkin - what a great name tag 👏🏻 🤗
ReplyDeleteMine evolved years ago and when first used to sign into the BBC to vote online for SCD I did not envisage it ever being used for its current purpose. Maybe I should just be R.....😂
ReplyDeleteJust realised it would be too much off a faff and might end up not being able to post so best stick with it!
ReplyDeleteGood ! It wouldn't be the same if you were just 'R', like a spook, or Bond film..
DeleteWelcome Pumpkin !
Peggy was at her insufferable worst tonight, but, oh, dear, Lilian, you sometimes talk the talk but when it comes to it, you're not very public/community spirited, are you? So long as the clan come out on top, never mind any larger concerns, however half baked mum's grandiose ideas are.
ReplyDeleteThat's mostly the reason I don't like Lilian.
DeleteThat and the dreadful cackle.
Though like others I didn't mind her before she went of to the CI.
It was when she returned as a different character that I took a distinctive dislike to her.
Me too Mrs P! As I think I have said before (either here or somewhere else) she has been one of my least favourite characters since she became a widow and returned from Guernsey. Her awful nudge-nudge, wink-wink manner of talking and that appalling cackle are so different from the Lilian who sailed off with Ralph Bellamy as to be unrecognisable to me!
DeleteWelcome from me too Pumpkinsparshott...... sounds like an apple variety.
ReplyDeleteVery distinctive blog name.
Might become shortened to PkpT. No, we mustn't it's so good.
Well, I have now listened to last nights episode and am relieved that Fiona is finally in the know about Jim. Although we didn’t hear it, Alistair telling his sister must have been incredibly difficult for him, as it was for Jim when he knew, that she knew - if you see what I mean.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if she is going to hang around for a while. On another site someone predicted she could be a future partner for Oliver - isn’t it funny how people always want to partner up characters as soon as a new one appears!
She isn’t much use in the situation being all tearful.. of course she will be very upset but should cry in private and put on a brave face for Jim.
DeleteI felt just as you did a Ev.
DeleteIt's not about her. She should have kept her understandable tears to herself.
I love Lilian - my type of "gal" as she is not afraid to say things as she sees, and understands.
ReplyDeleteAs for her "cackle" - at least she laughs + shows it.
When was the last time - Shula, Emma, Susan, Alistair, Clarrie, plus perhaps the entire TA cast, were heard to laugh out loud. Laughter (and tears) is needed in every-one's life, so why not in TA.
🤗 very true Miriam ✔️
ReplyDeleteHa......tonight Natasha met her match!!! Loved it, Eddie part of the family. 🤣
ReplyDeleteGlad Will finally got rumbled as well.
✔️✔️
DeleteYay ✔️🤗
DeleteWe didn’t hear the rest of the conversation between Natasha and Eddie of course, but I doubt she let it go at that. My sympathies were definitely with her - I thought she was being really nice about it with Tom beforehand, while Eddie later was doing his usual ‘given an inch, take a mile’ thing, to the point where ihe got ludicrous. His sons mutual promises got broken by both of them.
DeleteLoved it.
DeleteI think Natasha certainly met her match
Round 1to Eddie
I not not think she will get rid of Eddie that easily and when Eddie finds out that Peggy is going to open it up to all Ambridge residents Natasha may well wish to stick with him.
Eddie has far more nous than Soppy Tom.
William shouldn’t feel so afraid of his boss (the awful Martin Gibson) that daren't tell him he can’t just drop everything to work at night, due to the fact he has a very young, motherless child to look after.
ReplyDeleteIt is unreasonable of Gibson to expect him to do so. He should insist on employing a gamekeeper’s assistant to help in such contingencies despite Will getting rid of his number two. Will would either have to accept having an assistant or find a job with more family friendly hours.
Will needs to accept he can’t have it both ways and put Poppy’s needs before his own pride about accepting help at work.
Gibson needs to take employment law into account and establish better workplace relations with his employees.
But as Carolyn says (10/7/19, 12.35pm), how dreary it would be if characters always conformed to how bloggers imagine a situation should be handled.
DeleteNigel might never have fallen had he taken bloggers’ (and his wife’s) advice. I was reminded of him when reading the feature on the BBC blog about TA scriptwriter Mary Cutler retiring after 40 years - it was she who pushed him off ( and presumably wrote the Aaaaaaaassssaaaaaaaagh! which followed). Her piece was so packed with superlatives it left me feeling I’d swallowed 6 spoonfuls of sugar.
Yuk ! Thanks for the warning, Maryellen, & also for the quotation again ( smirk reappearing as I write...)
DeleteWell, I would dearly live to see Martin Gibson get his comeuppance at long last, after all the nasty things he has done.
DeleteRemember his bullying of Kathy at the golf club when she was bar and catering manager?
And how he inveigled his way to the top of the Borchester Land Board after conspiring against Brian?
If Will’s situation could somehow be used to get back at Gibson for being a bad employer and get him removed as head of BL I should be well pleased.
But I don’t suppose anything will happen and it will be Will Grundy who takes all the flack, one way or another. 😡
(Perhaps he’ll end up having settle for a job at the chicken factory with Emma, on regular hours, so he can look after his daughter)
I’m confused is Martín Gibson really D. Trump in disguise? Fire anyone who doesn’t do as he wants.
ReplyDeleteWill is a weak man who is also paranoid about everything and everyone. Hence the need to control all around him with his pathetic excuses and lies. But he is also a toady to those in more superior positions. Isn’t that reason why Mia went back to father.?
Scheming Natasha has met her match in Eddie. Did he make those apple varieties up?
I did laugh during their conversation.
To give Martin Gibson his due, he hasn’t been party to poisoning the Am like You Know Who!
DeleteI think the real issue with Will is not the demands of his work but his perception of Bev. If he would only accept her willingness to help with childcare, then work demands would be minimised.
DeletePS. I’m not saying Will should do that, because that’s the scriptwriters prerogative, only that focusing on Martin Gibson is missing what imo is the real point.
DeleteI wonder if it would help for Clarrie to have a heart to heart with Bev about Will’s real reason for not accepting her help i.e. that he is frightened of loosing Poppy and that Bev might want to take her away?
DeleteIf Bev knew that, she might be able to convince Will that is not the case, so that he would feel able to trust her for babysitting.
It is such a shame that he has this vision of Bev as a potential enemy rather than a loving grandmother and mother-in-law.
Clarrie, do your best!
Speaking of workloads - it was only a few days ago that Adam was saying that it was sooooooo much easier now that they no longer had the strawberries and the attendant pickers and that everything was marvellous and simple and relaxing and idyllic. Now he seems to be constantly whining about how hectic and busy he is. Make your mind up man!
ReplyDeleteHe's a wimp Garry, what do you expect ?
DeleteAnd funny he’s saying he’s relieved not to have to look after the fruit pickers when one of them, quite conveniently, was used as the surrogate mother of his expected baby!
DeleteHow hypocritical.
Good idea ,Archerphile.
ReplyDeleteHope the scriptwriters have thought of that..
Eddie was very quick off the mark. Natasha believes in doing business at the 'beauty salon', we didn't hear how she replied because it wasn't in the episode. As Lanjan says, since the project has been extended they might collaborate.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree that Bev should be put in the picture, she might use it to her advantage, just let her babysit now and again.
Further to Maryellen's comment, Mary Cutler said: I have had the benefit of being listened to by what must be one of the most intelligent, engaged and passionate audiences in the world.
ReplyDeleteYes, those are some of the superlatives I mentioned.
DeleteToadyism !
DeleteEven those wonderful superlatives couldn't make me forgive someone who wrote Nigel off the roof.😥🏛🤸♂️
DeleteJanice. I am 100% with you. Nigel should never have had that incident.
DeleteI don"t understand why Will is so anti- Bev.
ReplyDeleteShe is his mother-in-law, the mother of his late wife who was also her daughter, and wants the best for her grand-daughter.
I am sure Bev only wants to help out, in the best possible way, but Will won"t let her.
This is partly down to Bev. as to her reaction when Mia left.
I think Bev and Will are both interpreting things wrongly, and need a long quiet chat, to clear the air, and give each other mutual support and help.
Out last night, friend over this morning, but reading the comments, keen to catch up, have now done so.....Agree, AP, it would be sensible for Clarrie to fill Bev in about Will's fears. Maybe that would be too easy ?! Will, of course, is paranoid & should never have got rid of his assistant - he is his own worst enemy, bigging up the spectre of the monstrous Gibson.
ReplyDeleteWhile we're about it, Eddie might be advised to have some straight words with his son, who seems to assume that everyone's life takes second place to his own needs - 'Oh, Mum or Emma can fill in the gaps'.
He's far more likely to gain Bev's trust if he does include her & ask for her help. AND, how about remembering she is mourning her daughter, as he is his wife, & would appreciate having more contact with her granddaughter ?
As for the scene between Natasha & Eddie - brilliant ! I don't think he was being disingenuous, he really did think she meant he was 'part of the family' ! Tom can just jettison his family & Grundy prejudices, & see what happens...anyway, Natasha was impressed by Eddie's ideas & she's rather more perceptive than her spouse ( which wouldn't be too hard)
The only ‘Borchester Dumpling’ in Ambridge is ‘Slap me Sides’ Clarrie allowing herself to be dumped on, again. Has no one in Ambridge ever heard of professional babysitters? Does every one, like Will expect relatives to immediately drop what they are doing to suddenly baby sit.
ReplyDeleteAre Game Keepers really expected to drop everything and go chasing after Mr 🦊 in the middle of the night, and that is after working a normal day.
The "glorious 12th" is not that far away. Will must be feeling the pressure, as to the expectations.
ReplyDeleteAs such, he should be more open as to help.
To add, I wonder if Bev is a true Grandma with contact with Jake + Mia, now that they are living with their father + new wife?
ReplyDeleteShe is also in an upsetting situation, as her daughter died and perhaps feels excluded from her grandchildren's lives.
I don't know, nor can assume or guess her situation and thoughts.
A *keyboard* of all things?!?!
ReplyDeleteIt was obvious Ben would pass and the two of them getting so pally with Leonard?
It would have been a shock had Ben failed again I agree,Basia.
DeleteDo they think we all expected him to?
Why are the script writers so obvious?
How lovely was Jim talking about his wife - the mother of Alistair + Fiona (although I thought that they were very condescending to Jim to begin with).
ReplyDeleteJim is a very proud person, who understands his life, both now + in the past, and should be allowed to do what he wants.
PS I wonder if Ian calls his husband - Ali?
But Miriam surely he’d call him Ady? Short for Adam.
ReplyDeleteSorry Miriam,why would Ian call Adam Ali?
ReplyDeleteIf he wanted to shorten his name he might call him Ada but I doubt it.
Almost great minds there ,P tbY .
ReplyDeleteParhaps he calls him Tarmac.
ReplyDeleteGood one!!
DeleteVery subtle Maryellen.
ReplyDeleteDon’t like Fiona. She’s just as pushy as Shula.
ReplyDeleteJust leave Jim to sort himself out.
Loved the chat between Leonard and rauri. A bit of light relief.
I agree PtbY. Very touching scenes tonight but didn’t like the constant use of ‘Ali’ or her rather pushy way with Jim.
DeleteLeonard is a gem and is played by such a brilliant actor that he is totally believable to me.
Was Mr B being genuinely inept last night or was he slyly faking it in order not to influence Ben’s test results? I admit I wasn’ listening properly because it all sounded so contrived and unnatural, and for the same reason, I’m reluctant to listen again.
ReplyDeleteI don’t like Fiona either.
ReplyDeleteWhy does the silly woman not just leave well alone ?
Alastair must have the patience of Job.
I hope she is played by an actress who has too much work on to return to the programme.
Because Alistair is hopeless without a strong woman around.
Delete