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Life in Ambridge
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Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments' - Episode 8 Life Outside Ambridge Beach Chairs
Too late Jennifer - they're already here...
ReplyDeleteGood morning Gary, and thank you for yet another witty beginning to our blogs.
ReplyDeleteYour doing well, that man.
Why, thank you Mrs P! It's a pleasure - never a chore.
DeleteGary, this is a quick 'thank you'. I think you are doing a great service for us, and imagine that you didn't expect to become the administrator.
ReplyDeleteDo you hear from Ruthie at all? If so, is she alright?
I'd like to add my thanks to those above Gary
ReplyDeleteet un grand merci from me, GG.
DeleteMe too Gary... whatever would we do without you? 😘
DeleteGosh GG. You certainly are being kept busy, putting up new pages, perhaps more often than actually needed.
ReplyDeleteI so appreciate your wonderful efforts. 😆
I'm sure it helps some of us GG to have shorter pages to scroll through. So thank you for being so quick off the ball.
ReplyDeleteHeavens above. Brian and Jenifer in their waxy country coats! I had to adjust my eyes Gary.
ReplyDelete“Actor” picture no surprise to me, what about others? I have one friend who never wants to see pictures as the characters are in her head. When I first saw Jennifer & Brian I was ok with the real life versions.
ReplyDeleteHowever yesterday I looked up “Emma” quite the stunner and as such I would have imagined her to be an Alice or Kate as opposed to the “Emma” voice that we hear - wrong of me of course! 🤭
Thanks GG - doing great ☀️
Lady R, I thought long and hard (about 3 seconds...) about whether to post a pic revealing the actors. I came to the conclusion that most people would know what Jennifer & Brian look like in real life. Apologies to thems that didn't want to know!
DeleteI am one, who has very clear pictures/images in my vivid, technicolour mind, as to what the Ambridge residents look like.
DeleteI don't mind these pictures at all - as my own images just don't change.
Gary, I shouldn’t worry about showing Jennifer and Brian - they have been around for so long, and appeared in so many newspapers, magazines, the Archers website etc that I should think everyone knows what they look like by now.
DeleteHowever I shouldn’t think many would recognise characters such as Terrible Tim or Fiona or Harrison or perhaps even Jim, so perhaps better be careful with them.
Actually, I’d quite like to know what Tim looks like - I might try to find out! 👿
Pip to me has long blonde hair, often tied into a ponytail, with bright blue eyes - and Rosie is just the same.
DeleteDaisy Barber (aka Pip) was in the TV series Home Farm, but I couldn't relate to her as Pip, in the same way, it was a different character.
I also don't relate Helen to Louisa P. when she appears as Moira in Coronation Street.
They are just other characters, in other productions being portrayed differently.
I also see them differently, compared to their Ambridge characters and I can keep these images separate, as I do with photos.
Mistral at close of previous blog, lovely mention of some old characters!
ReplyDeleteDear old Colonel Danny 🤗 living with Aunt Laura ahh those were the days 👏🏻 The second actor to play the part Ballard Berkeley was also in “Fawlty Towers” (and I think “ Waggoner Walk”?)
Lady R. You have lost me with these.
DeleteShould read Colonel Danby, even I had to google to jog my memory although Aunt Laura was a main Character. Wikipedia has a huge piece on TA.
DeleteThe oldest character I remember is Walter Gabriel, not forgetting his son Nelson Gabriel.
DeleteLady R - I thought the actor that played Colonel Danby, the original one, was the same as the doddery old lovely in Fawlty Towers. Never saw WW.
DeletePerhaps I never realised there were two of them.
I always had mixed feelings about Aunt Laura. I suppose much the same as many of us feel about Peggy now.
But whatever ones feelings, Aunt Laura was altogether a nicer character than Peggy. I remember her as always optimistic. Am I correct ?
I also liked, much later, Chris's second husband, the gamekeeper.
A lovely voice.
You wouldn’t have seen Ballard Berkeley in Waggoners Walk Mrs P ... it was Radio soap that took over from Mrs Dales Diary when it finished!
DeleteI've lost the plot, they are to complete tomorrow, so must have had the deposit money. What difference one week's wages will make? Emma is chasing after money and antagonising many people in the process. She's not hungry or facing eviction, she's not raising money for expensive treatment to save a child from a dangerous illness. She wants bricks and mortar.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, Basia. I assumed they had paid the deposit otherwise the completion date wouldn't have been set. So, it's a matter of meeting the heavy monthly mortgage, given Ed's out of work, YET 20k isn't enough ?!
DeleteEmma has truly lost it. Panic reighns & not--so-latent bitterness is rampant. Do feel very sorry for her & she's alienating all the wrong people ( namely, Fallon & Neil)
Still, Tracy was sweet, whilst Keira was most disobligingly to come down with chickenpox...
Reigns...
DeleteThe scriptwriters are taking it too far now. What next? Emma robbing a bank? Selling Keira? Prostitution? Absolutely unbelievable nonsense. I get it. She's desperate. Enough already.
ReplyDeleteEmma has lost it in the way that some ' Lose it ' when a partner or lover walks out.
ReplyDeleteShe has become temporarily ' mad '. I do feel for her. She has yearned for her own house for so long. Probably since Neil and Susan moved in to the house that they built.
Seeing it slip away has triggered a reaction that seems to lead her to believe that she is losing every thing of value, temporarily forgetting the love and respect of all those that she holds dear including her dad and her husband.
But she hasn't lost it completely, has she, 'cos Susan is still being kept in the dark !
Mrs P , I love your perspective on events in the Archers, and your words of support and encouragement to other bloggers. You are truly a wise old crone.
DeleteMeant with the greatest respect.
DeleteI enjoy reading everyone's comments and views on our favoutite fictional village.
Well thank you Zoetrope. That is very kind of you.
DeleteEmma really has lost it completely now. The way she spoke to Neil was dreadful, so ungrateful for all his efforts to help and I’m glad he pulled her up. Even Ed is losing patience with her and if she’s not careful she will lose him as well as the house. At least he still seems to have a sense of proportion about the whole shemozzle!
ReplyDeleteBut I agree with Gary, the situation is becoming almost farcical with the SWs piling on agony after agony.
Perhaps Emma should go and see Uncle Clive in prison and beg him to give her some of his ill-gotten gains - if there are any left.
Sorry to be sarcastic, but Im just about at the end of my tether with this miserable tale!
I am totally gripped by Emma this week and as much as I know I should be sympathetic to her cause I find myself wanting to slap her. Poor Neil she was so rude to him and she is riddled with jealousy regarging anyone who has more than her.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the point of buying a property with not a penny piece of security behind them, the chance of repossession high I would think!
I’m sure Oliver is in the cast this week so it must be tomorrow he makes an appearance either in the village or via the phone.
If all else fails they have the thousands of pounds deposit money to rent a place of their own even if not in Ambridge if they don’t have enough financial security best not to buy a property the pressure on the marriage may then break it!
Emma's now almost constant hectoring of Ed is becoming uncomfortable to listen to - I wonder when it tips over into bullying and, dare I say it, coercive control? Or are we already in that territory?
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat to hear such brilliant acting instead of the usual routine stuff! Emma and Ed can act the rest of the cast off the planet, and Lynda’s affectations and Neil’s stodginess made a painful contrast. I’m rooting for Emma every step of the way - she wants what I wanted and though, thankfully, I didn’t have a team of scriptwriters piling on the agony beforehand, I fully understand her anger and despair. My fingers, toes and eyes are crossed for her!
ReplyDeleteMe too Maryellen.
ReplyDeleteI do so want them to have the house
Emma is everything people have said about her but I can understand what she is going through and I feel so sorry for her .
She has gone totally over the top but she has no support from weak Ed and is doing whatever she feels she can to make her dream come true..
Come on Oliver you are needed now!
As you say ,brilliant acting by Emma and Ed.
Remember the Susan card hasn’ t been played yet!
DeleteI'm afraid I'm NOT rooting for her. I have empathy for her, I understand her "need" to have a house that is theirs and her wish for her kids to have stable living arrangements. All very natural things. But her bitterness, bullying and anger compounded with her jealousy makes it very hard to LIKE her. If she does get the house, what exactly will she have? A lifetime of struggling to meet the mortgage payment every month, never mind the cost of running it? A lifetime of stress and a succession of crappy jobs? The never ending fear that it could be taken from them? She has already pissed off most of her friends and neighbours - not to mention her family. When do you admit defeat and start again? They now have enough cash surely to press the re-set button on their lives. A period of stability would do the both of them the world of good right now. They need to breathe. (On a purely selfish note, I don't think I would like to spend the next 30 years of The Archers listening to their constant money worries!)
ReplyDeleteThe acting HAS been superb tho', hasn't it?
Agree with all you say GG, plus there's Joe's demise still to come.
DeleteHow secure will Emma’s home be if they go in deep in debt to others? She keeps saying we will pay you back with interest - but how? Where will the money come from to do that!
DeleteA fairy tale ending would be great for Emma & Ed but how would a real life situation pan out?
Totally agree Gary. Emma has (through the brilliant acting of Emerald O’Hanrahan) turned into a thoroughly unlikeable shrew and my original sympathy for her situation is fast evaporating.
DeleteHer treatment of anyone who is unable or unwilling to help, plus her distain at the amount able to be given, by those who will help, is really ugly.
Someone on another site said the BBC should give out a ‘help is available’ message at the end of the episodes concerning Emma and Ed’s plight.
Is it a sign that TA stories are becoming so distressing that ‘help’ messages have to be given so often these days?
Pity Emma hasn't come across Jazzer, he'd tell her what's what.
ReplyDeleteWhy hasn't Will asked Ed about the stash of 'stuff' in the barn or will Emma be visiting Ed in jail?
We all 'rent space' on this planet and people do kill for 'property'.
Tracy is the only one with any sense, she even broke her piggy bank.
I thought Emma and Ed had already got the deposit, so why is she running around like a deranged and desperate woman [not requesting] demanding money from people and being extremely rude when they aren’t forthcoming. She keeps telling us that she and Ed have done everything for the community, what exactly has she done? She and Ed get paid for their cleaning and farm jobs and no one is under nay obligation to give her money even if she increases the interest rate.
ReplyDeleteShe is a hard worker so how much h e they saved between them if £20000 isn’t enough. Haven’t Susan and Neil given money already? She has an unpleasant streak of believing everyone having it all landed on a plate and when thwarted in plain nasty.
She is a very good actress but I don’t want to listen to anymore whining.
I have lost the plot along with Emma.
Apologies for typing errors.
DeleteI need a break from Emma. Hope she has next week off, otherwise I will be driven to section her.🧟♀️😼
Didn't Emma become a Parish Councillor in order to campaign for affordable housing? The very post she was willing to resign from in a heartbeat the other day if it got in the way of her getting HER house? All Ed seems to have done for the community is sell dodgy chemicals at knock down prices - how very civic minded!
DeleteI have given up listening to this story because it is so stupid and unrealistic. It is just an excuse for another misery-fest. I suppose we'll have the death of Joe next, then what - something wrong with the planned baby/adoption?
DeleteThe trouble is I suspect, but can't confirm without wasting hours googling etc, that not one of the production team, right from the editor to scriptwriters or producers have a) actually bought a house with a mortgage and b) have EVER lived in a rural community.
For the fourth time last night my computer was borrowed to download, print, sign, scan said signed documents and returned to solicitors for my son's new house. (We've already done that for mortgage brokers, developers and local council.) The same procedure was followed for a 10 page document which was a statement to HMRC to confirm they were first time buyers and the money used for the deposit was all their own (not laundered!)
The deposit was paid about two months ago to the solicitors at the same time the mortgage was agreed. If they manage to exchange contracts at the end of next week then they will be given a moving- in date.
SPOILER ALERT
Having looked at the tag lines for the next two weeks I can't see any let up in the misery-fest, and 'aggro' type of storylines either, so it looks like reading comments for the foreseeable future to see if anything like the serial (not a soap!) of TA will reappear. 😪
Still I have the Barbican meet-up to look forward to! 😄
It seems to me the production team don't know the difference between exchange and completion or perhaps Emma doesn't. She told Tracy that she asked Justin about delaying completion and she asked what the problem was, they have the money, just pay up the rest of the deposit. In the synopsis it mentions exchange when only a percentage of the deposit is paid and employment has to be proven. It's all artificially hyped up and it must be completion because they're moving.
ReplyDeleteJust a thought - I wonder if this storyline might be impacting on younger listeners (if there are any) who might also be in the process of buying a house.
DeleteThe SWs have a duty to be accurate in these sort of stories in order not to spread unnecessary worry.
I doubt it. I am sure that younger listeners, are not as naive, as Emma appears at the moment, and make sure their finances are in place.
DeleteI am just being a bit cynical, sorry.
Does Boris Johnson have a bigger majority in the Commons in TA”s England, I wonder?
ReplyDeleteThe additional election returns from Borsetshire may have made a significant difference.
Two pandantic points-
DeleteAmbridge is in the UK as well as being an english country village, plus-
Why would Borsetshire be voting in a bye-election not in their area of the UK?
Perhaps I have just mis-interpreted your post, as I was relating to yesterdays by-election.
Note to self, learn how to spell 😭
DeleteI meant pedantic.
To him staying or going?
DeleteI should imagine Ambridge as having returned a Tory since as far back to when the Grundys were the serfs of the local Lord of the Manor. They were and continue to be the lower orders. In the eyes of the S/Ws the medieval hierarchy still exists in a rural village.
Rural serfs of the world unite, you having to lose but your dignity. And of course your home.
Emma with her lofty ambitions should never have shacked up with a Grundy who can’t think out side of a tractor. She certainly didn’t follow in her parents or brother’s footsteps.
Ambridge belongs to an England/UK geographically larger than the country we live in. There are more MPs in the Commons there because Borsetshire returns some MPs, number depending on how many constituencies it is divided into. So there could be more Conservative MPs to supporting Boris Johnson in Ambridge’s England than in ours, depending how Borsetshire voted in the last General Election.
DeleteI don’t think TA are even aware that we have a government! Brexit is hardly mentioned let alone a change of Prime- Minister. At our pub lunch on Wednesday my friend (A) who has returned recently to TA after a very very long time is finding it hard to get her head around the lack of farming content and topical UK/ major world events and as for sorting out the youngsters voice wise 😱 I told her even those of us who have stuck with the programme throughout are having the same trouble with that!
ReplyDeleteI mentioned Fiona recently and the fact that she was on tv talking about part and said she would like to be involved further but (a) they need to want her to do this and (b) it would depend on her schedule- so there you go that is why SL commence and then fizzle out as well known actors can only appear as per their other commitments!
I like that Ambridge is a brexit-free and a non political zone.
DeleteI would prefer to hear about the fete, what Lilian is planning at The Bull, who moves where, when and how.
It was bad enough with Shula spouting religion, so I personally do not want to hear politics, at this moment in time. As the countdown continues, then things will become more relevant for the Ambridge residents. I am content to wait until that time.
I think it is totally ridiculous that we don’t hear the likes of David, Brian, Tony and Adam discussing Brexit and the effect it will have on their businesses and also the contingency plans will have to be making.
DeleteIn particular, the effect a no-deal exit would have. Farmers, especially sheep farmers, all over the country are very worried about this and talking about nothing else.
I know there is not as much farming content in TA these days as there used to be, but to exclude this major topic in a programme about a farming community is very unrealistic.
Even Mr A who is now retired talks about Brexit a lot and the effects it will have on friends in the farming community.
Archerphile. I do know how important and concerning things are for re Brexit for farmers, companies (such as Aerospace, Vauxhall Motors etc).
DeleteMy thoughts were simple, in that there is so much in the press + on-line, which I read + digest every day
This is why I love TA, which gives a break from these topics. There is still 90 days to go, I think it should be introduced and discussed, but just not yet.
I don’t belong to Facebook, but do sometimes venture into another blog site.
ReplyDeleteThere is brilliant blog written by a professional in mortgages and conveyancing who outlines why The Emma Ed house buying is totally unrealistic. It would seem that the S/Ws have no knowledge about the intricacies of being a first time buyer and the legal requirements of how and hen money should be negotiated.
Lady R. You are a most esteemed member of this community and you have highlighted an important issue for Farmers and for us if no deal goes ahead. Adam has now changed his mind.
A kind comment - thank you stasia 😌
DeleteWell at last they were honest with each other. And Ed said it was exchange, so he did the right thing, not completion as Emma said two day before. Ed said everything we mentioned about the so called 'security' of mortgage repayments. Emma won't be dealing with slimy chicken next week.
ReplyDeleteThere is some parallel with Kirsty's spending before the wedding and Tom cutting corners.
Pity it's always the Grundys though, I wonder where it'll go now.
I wonder what Emma will do with the new settee, the coffee table, curtains etc she has bought, now no longer returnable but still has to pay the monthly credit card bills.
ReplyDeleteThe least of their problems, I would have thought. She can sell them.
DeleteBrilliantly scripted and acted. Both sides defining their views on a wretched situation. For heaven's sake SW's give us something positive to chew on. Keeps us listening though!
ReplyDeleteA very fraught, highly emotional episode. Ed did the right thing, & the poor man sees his world collapsing. I think when he said, ''We're done', it should give Emma such a jolt that she will overcome the huge disappointment, put her bitterness to one side & see what is really important, what her fundamental values truly are, & the love she actually has for her husband & children.
ReplyDelete✅✅
DeleteYikes! What a bloomin' great episode!
ReplyDeleteWow ... what an episode! And brilliant acting from 'Ed' and 'Emma'.
ReplyDeleteEd was being realistic, while Emma saw her dreams crashing away. Can they get over this? Or has this opened up a chasm between them which can't be bridged?
The pesticide still has to be disposed off.
ReplyDeleteVery moving.
ReplyDeleteExtremely well acted
Whilst I can understand that Ed has had enough of Emma nagging and that he would have ended his association with Tim had Emma not kept on about how he should continue ,had Ed been honest with her in the first place perhaps she would not have been so keen for him to carry on working for Tim.
I feel very sorry for them both but Ed is too weak and in my opinion is more to blame than Emma. .
I don't think Ed is anything like as weak as you say. He rallied from earlier mistakes of his life, is certainly a grafter, & behaved honestly & honourably tonight about the mortgage. His Achilles heel has been his desire to give Emma what she wants.
DeleteI don't particularly blame Emma - what she wants is a better life for her family - & that has caused a selective blindness as to what was actually going with the manipulative criminal, Tim.
I cheered inside my head when Ed spelled out that the chance of missed mortgage repayments could result in repossession compounded by not being honest with the mortgage company re not being in employment at the time of exchange. Then Emma said she needed to buy a house not totally just for them but to be able to hold her head up in Ambridge because she feels as no doubt many do in the UK that if you rent either privately or socially you are as TVs George Clarke said only this week you are part of a stigma that does not exist as badly in any other country.
DeleteI wonder where the SL will go from here, after all that Emma said telling Ed what a useless failure he is I was surprised that she appears to still want him. Although of course she was lashing out because of the huge disappointment and she has worked hard, but being together with a healthy family is a blessing in itself Emma.
We know close to double figs of parents who have lost a child so regroup and take on board the true treasures in your life.
Having said all that totally gripped and Ed & Emma actors - good ⭐️ ⭐️ stars from me - brilliant acting!!
⭐️⭐️ Gold stars of course 🙄
DeleteWe could have been listening to the Afternoon Play. If Eddie and Clarrie’s Brummerset accents hadn’t been such a giveaway.
ReplyDeleteIf Ed were not so weak in the past and had stood up both to Tim and to Emma they would not be in the position they are in now,
ReplyDeleteI grant that he is a hard worker and I agree ,Carolyn .about what you say about his Achilles heal but I think he is still weak.
That does not mean to say that I don’t feel just as sorry for him as I do for Emma.
I thought Ed’s sudden outburst of morality was ironic, given he is - let’s face it - a petty criminal who has lied to his wife and brother (and still not not come clean to Emma about the stashed pesticide). So now he’s about to desert Emma, does Will step into the breach?
DeleteThe thought has just struck me that this story has a parallel with the Tom/Kirsty story - with a woman so wrapped up in her own preoccupations that she failed to notice the stress/pressure her partner was under. But unlike Kirsty, Emma has now realised this.
I heard strength from Ed Grundy tonight.
DeleteI've heard it before, several times over the years.
I remember his strength when he left his family to disappear and sort himself out rather than stay and confound the issues of the time within his family.
I heard nothing but weakness from Emma.
A weakness that informs her that to be as good as her neighbours and to have self esteem she must have material goods for herself and her children.
I understand this, but see it as a weakness.
Her mother wanted these things too, but she was prepared to support her husband in realistic ways including turning her hand to manual work herself to achieve this.
( I do not forget that Emma has worked hard doing unpleasant work in order to save )
Ed has done all he could possibly do to satisfy Emma's need for a house and at no time has he lost sight of his values, his wife children and his parents and grandad. He did not lose sight of these values regarding Tim. He was unwilling to do the work required knowing that something was not right. But he overcame his concerns for the sake of Emma.
A mistake, not weak in my opinion.
Ed is a gentle person and a thinker and very considerate in his interactions with others. It never occurs to him to try to outdo others, unlike his brother.
He is also very kind.
Tonight was very painful to hear.
✓✓
Delete✔️✔️✔️
DeleteSpot on Mrs P ✔️ ⭐️
Delete✔️✔️✔️
DeleteVery well said, Mrs P!
DeleteSorry, Mrs P - that is absolutely not what I heard. I heard weak Ed running away - again - because “it’s too hard” (his words) to stay with his family and face difficult times with them,, despite loving them more than anything (his words, but what sort of love is that). And I heard Emma, with the strength inherited from her mother and father, facing up to reality, gritting her teeth and preparing to pick up the pieces.
DeleteFacing up to reality included the realisation of what a broken reed Ed is.
I could have done without the scriptwriters trite contrast of the older Grundies declaring they would always be together, in a totally unnecessary scene, and the younger ones falling apart.
My radio must be a different model to yours because the above is definitely whatI heard on it!
I too thought that the Eddie/Clarrie scene was unnecessary and that in particular “Carrie’s” acting -especially the crying -was poor
Delete(Lady R,I like George Clarke .
ReplyDeleteWhat programme was he on please?)
Lanjan - twice this week.
DeleteWednesday 31/7 - Channel 4 @ 9pm “Council House Scandal”
Thursday 1/8- Channel 4 @ 8pm “ Old House New Home” been a few of these I think we have seen 2.
He is such a personable man l / we like his programmes very much. A few years back our close friends had other friends who appeared on one of his programmes whilst their work was being followed the young lady contracted terminal cancer and I remember George being visibly broken when visiting the completed project and she was not there 😥
Thanks Lady R
DeleteI remember the programme which you mentioned as the property being restored was a few miles from where I used to live.
Maryellen- are you sure Emma has realised ?
ReplyDeleteYou mean that Ed is a broken reed and a liability - and she should have stayed with Will after all?
DeleteOr that she didn’t notice Ed was stressed? Yes, the moment of realisation was very well-acted by Emerald O’hanrahan. But Ed’s inability to cope with pressure and/or stress predates Emma.
DeleteMaybe with the risk of losing Ed Emma will realise what is important in life. She has driven him to the extremes in satisfying her ambition to have their own home. For richer for poorer, Em - worth remembering. Having said that I do feel sorry for young couples struggling to afford their own home. Prices of houses are ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, just as I predicted last night - Emma has not only lost her precious house, she has finally driven her much more precious husband away.
ReplyDeleteI have only just listened to this powerful episode and need time for it all to sink in before commenting further , in the morning.
To lose one brother may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness.
ReplyDeleteSusan with a chip on her shoulder for being a Horrobin. Emma for being married to a Grundy. Neil and Ed, both striving hard to satisfy their wives' ambitions to raise their social standing. At least Neil managed to provide the house, even if it did mean a stint as a seed rep and now working at the Mega Piggery.
It reminds me of the wedding mnemonic: 'Aisle, altar, hymn'.
Ed did the right thing calling the mortgage company. I suspect he should have waited for the dust to settle a bit before dropping his next bombshell. But it must be quite some kick in the teeth to realise that however hard you try you'll always come second to your wife's need for 'social betterment' : (
BTW Thanks for the lovely welcome back. I don't get in here often at present but I haven't forgotten you all : )
No, not forgotten OWiaSh, often mentioned when wondering how you are along with the same for Hamburg Gardener by many of us.
DeleteYou may not have seen that HG popped in by chance recently, to tell us that she has moved on from TA.
It was good to hear from her, and now you.
I thought that was compelling. Brilliantly played by Ed/Emma actors. I have said before, and say again - I Love Ed. Poor Emma, who has only herself to blame for losing the love of her life. Poor Ed, who's only wish was to make her dreams come true.
DeleteHonesty IS the best policy. I hope Ed informs Harrison about Tim.
I still miss bootgums and her wise and witty comments, not to mention her inexplicable penchant for Matt Crawford! This board is poorer without her and I hope she left from choice and not because something bad happened.
DeleteOr she made the choice to leave because she was uncomfortable with what did happen.
DeleteAnd I agree Maryellen, we are poorer without her comments.
If she is still reading, then I hope that one day she will choose to return.
In my opinion life is all about choice.
Whenever I am in the minority(often) I read all posts and try to see what it is I am missing.
ReplyDeleteEd is a gentle man.
The Character is played by an excellent actor which helps.
He is a far”nicer” character than is Emma
However
This was a man who slept with his brother’s wife on the eve of her wedding .
This is a man who is unable to say no when she spends money on trivia and buys a overpriced coffee table with money that she was meant for the House deposit.
This is a man who after spending half the night doing illicit deeds is too scared to tell his wife what he has done when he returns home.
At last ,last night I thought he showed a bit of bottle.
He castigated Emma strongly for going round with the begging bowl and embarrassing their neighbours.
However instead of continuing in that vein and telling her that they are in it together ,that he will inform Harrison of what has been going on and eventually they will come through in the end and that if Emma does not want that she can leave him ,he just gives up.
Sorry much as I like Ed ,I still think he is weak as far as Emma is concerned.
Think it was Spicy who said ' illegal is illegal is illegal !' ( just like you can't be 'little' pregnant' ) & Ed was dubious from the beginning, did act weakly when Emma talked him out of his misgivings. The first collection told him this was more serious, but the money was good so he weakened again...then the collections became yerore scary....he wanted out, but there was the threat to his family....the whole thing snowballed & Ed was trapped.
DeleteHe's paid a heavy price for his initial weakness, & the man is owed a break.
Yet more scary..
DeleteAh, but LanJan! If you flip your first paragraph around - EMMA slept with HER husband's brother on the eve of HER wedding, EMMA was the careless spendthrift and EMMA was such a bullying, obsessed harpy that Ed was unable to express his feelings to her out of fear OF her. Put this way Emma now sounds incredibly controlling.
DeleteI don't recall many people "blaming" Helen for being "weak" or "scared" in the face of Rob's behaviour...
Emma knew Ed was doing something underhand on top of VAT evasion because he worked at night. At least Ed put his foot down about more fraudulent behaviour. It remains to be seen if he informs the authorities.
DeleteCarolyn ,you did say that Ed acted weakly and that he paid a heavy price for his weakness.
DeleteI agree.
Basia you say that Ed put his foot down about more fraudulent behaviour but he didn’t right away.
Had he done so the minute he realised what was going on I would have thought more of him
He did that one last drop off which was his big mistake.
Gary,I agree with you about Emma.
Six of one etc re the night before her wedding but where Emma was concerned Ed was certainly weak .
He was scared of what would happen if he said no to her.
I will grant you that the whole problem arose was because Emma is a very jealous person and like her mother wants to keep up with or surpass the Jones but that does not get away from the fact that Ed is weak.
How does walking away from the situation show him in a better light?
When/if he goes to see Harrison and tells him the whole story I will think more of him.
I hope he does.
Worth mentioning that Ed also spoke very clearly against using g Tracey's loan shark.
DeleteTrue
DeleteI wonder where Hannah is hiding?
ReplyDeleteDidn’t she want one of the affordable homes?
Could she perhaps have the one that Emma and Ed have had to give up?
...........or have they?
I still think they will get it in the end with the help of Oliver.
My goodness what a week's listening to catch up on...
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Thank goodness for BBC Sounds. This is my bed-time story at about 11pm each evening,
DeleteI think it was quite well scripted, they both tried and failed and will they manage to rebuild their relationship now?
ReplyDeleteFor once let’s have that scenario showing that the “for better or worse, for richer or poorer” etc can over time sometimes be possible.
DeleteI have just remembered - that Jennifer has got through and how! - on more than one occasion!
Ed & Emma however misguided they have both been admit they still love each other and they certainly care deeply about their children so maybe 🤞
I also think Oliver will come into it somehow (but I understood the house to be “gone” now??)
After spending a very disturbed night, thinking about Ed and Emma, I have just listened to the entire episode again, to insure I didn’t miss anything. My thoughts this morning are:
ReplyDelete1. Some of the best acting I have ever heard on TA. Emerald O’Hanrahan sounding so bitter and Barry Farrimond so distressed.
2. Ed did exactly the right thing in telling the mortgage company the facts, it would have been far worse to have faced prosecution and possible eviction further down the line if they had defrauded the company as Emma wanted him to do
3. Emma finally admitted owning a house meant more to her than a providing a family home for her family - it meant status, elevation in the eyes of the community, proving she was as good as everyone else. Though I doubt it would have, Emma and Ed are already well-liked in Ambridge and didn’t need to become house owners to improve their standing.
4. Ed finally realised that he is never going to be good enough in Emma’s eyes and cannot live up to her expectations.
5. I don’t blame him for wanting out, at the moment. He has been terrified by the threats from Tim and got no support from Emma. If only she had pleaded with him not to go on with the scam instead of encouraging him to cheat because ‘everybody does it (and also to defraud the mortgage company) he might have had the strength to stop and inform the police.
6. I wonder what effect this will have on Susan and Clarrie’s friendship
7. Will Emma take the kids to live with Susan & Neil; Ed return home to Grange Farm?
8. Is this huge row going to finish off poor old Joe
9. I hope Emma will return what money she has ‘borrowed’ from various relatives
10. I sincerely hope Will keeps quiet and doesn’t fuel the flames with any stupid comments.
I certainly hope Emma will return Tracy's £300.40 (?) because she'd scraped the bottom of a barrel. Emma was bitter that only the family came forward with the money. As I said before *to me* it wasn't an emergency, if she'd had a sick child the whole village might have helped. Yes, they're in it together and only they alone can sort it out.
DeleteI think this may be a set-up for Emma to return to Will, thus ensuring Will's snide comments about his brother for the foreseeable future! 😥
ReplyDeleteIf that is the case then I hope Ed departs for fresher pastures as I couldn't bear years of arguments in the Grundy family and Ambridge in general.
NO NO NO
DeleteWrong 'bare' !!!!! 😮 Sorry!
DeleteI think it would take a lot of twisting and turning to exonerate Ed and blame Em for Ed’s illegal actions. Unlike Spicycushion,I think there are degrees of illegality, or why would the law have punishments of differing severity. Emma has never known she was condoning an illegal pesticides operation, and still does not know Ed is harbouring said pesticides on Grundy land. Had Ed told her, this would have been a different story. In any case, he should have had the moral fibre and strength of mind to say no to something he knew was wrong at the outset, not have to ack Emma for approval based on her ignorance and his deceit. His long standing bitterness and jealousy of Will has compounded the situation.
ReplyDelete"ack Emma"? Good heavens, that brought back WW1 memories. "We go over the top at 5 Ack Emma, chaps. Good luck...".
Delete🎖️🌝
DeleteI hope the s/ws don't return us to the triangle of the past and a lot more angst. Will has his own home, and as an experienced gamekeeper a steady good wage, things which Emma craves, and he very much wants someone to live in and look after Poppy and Emma was his first love. Emma has said such cruel things to Ed, yes out of upset and disappointment but cruel nonetheless, that Ed's love may never be the same again, and I am not sure that Emma is the kind of person who could cope with not being the total centre of someone's love and admiration.
ReplyDeleteSorry Spicy, the last couple of comments didn't come up on my tablet until I pressed the pu lish button on mine.
DeleteI wasn't listening to the Archers when Emma married Will. I came back when Ed and Emma were living with her parents. Can some one tell me where Will and Emma were living and how long they stayed together. Thanks.
DeleteGianna, I remember that when Will and Emma married they went on an exotic honeymoon, I think it may even have been Cuba. When they came back to live in the tied Cottage Will already occupied as the gamekeeper for BL, they renamed it Mia Casa (sp?) because that was the Spanish for ‘My House’ and reminded them of their wonderful honey moon. Will later changed the name back when Nic went to live with him there.
DeleteI cannot remember how long they stayed a happily married couple before Emma started seeing Ed and discovered she was pregnant.
Thank you Archerphile.
DeleteEmma and Will spoke before going into church, Will had doubts because she'd said something earlier over the phone but she convinced him by saying: I'm pregnant, now will you marry me? She thought by Ed, so she'd slept with them both. Before Ed's wedding Will told him it was unlucky to see the bride before as he should know.
DeleteMaryellen- your post 6.28am
ReplyDeleteI think it is how one views strength/ weakness.
Walking away from a situation is seen by you as weak.
I see walking away, to give time to reflect and to relieve the situation of ongoing tensions, and find a way of resolving those situations as strength. And growth.
I could present a long argument on these different interpretations but having read all the other posts, and having already written a long reply on this subject to a friend who also listens to TA, I will not.
However I do not deny that Ed has made many poor decisions in his life including those most recently.
But I do not consider poor decision making as indicative of a weak character.
Each individual needs to make mistakes in life in order to grow.
We are all works in progress.
Jim and his past and recent history is proof of this.
And, hey, which TA character hasn't made mistakes ? Sometimes gross ones. We wouldn't have any stories from the everyday to high drama unless they did.
DeleteSorry again, Mrs P, but walking.away and leaving your wife and children in the lurch is a step too far for me! Tom walked away from Kirsty to find himself, but no one has said that was a sign of strength and growth. He has been severely criticised for it. I think Emma and the children are in a worse plight than Kirsty was. If Ed is also going to walk away from his responsibility for the stashed pesticides too, his father will also be left in the lurch.
ReplyDeleteI don't see that 'we're done'(as a couple) means he's going to leave them in the lurch.
DeleteI sincerely hope you’re right.
DeleteI quite agree Carolyn.
DeleteWhen a man walks away from wife and children it does not ALWAYS mean that he will not continue to support them in whatever way is negotiated.
In my experience in my sixty years of adulthood when women walk away, they frequently walk away for ever, often denying a father any rights to his children.
Please note, I am not stating that this is always the case.
Re: Will & Emma.
DeleteI don't think they went to Cuba, but Will and Nic went to Cape Verde on honeymoon.
They called the tied cottage 'Casa Nova' which made me laugh.
What about Emma walking away from Will, and towards Ed, pregnant but not sure by which one of them?
DeleteMistral, you are right, it was Casa Nova, not Mia Casa, my memory let me down. But I still think it was Emma and Will who named the Cottage that after their honeymoon (somewhere that spoke Spanish)because Will changed the name back to something like Woodland Cottage when Nic moved in.
DeleteEmma needs to think long and hard about what her priorities in life are.
ReplyDeleteIf it's home ownership, cash and standing in the community she should have stayed with Will.
If it's love and loyalty then she's got some serious bridge building to do with Ed.
Of course, it would have been better if she'd done all that thinking before marrying one brother whilst in love/lust with the other. And, as Lady R pointed out, she did promise (twice) 'For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer ...'
Perhaps Neil can talk some sense into her. After all, he's managed to stay married to her mother for all those years ...
PS I did pop into the Village Shop to ask susan what was going on but she just muttered something about Emma not being happy with the colour of the carpets and then started telling me all about the BOGOF on the Custard Creams.
DeleteOf course, I blame the great aunt (?)
ReplyDeleteIf she hadn't so thoughtlessly died before Ed was born then she could have left the money to both brothers equally and everyone would have been happy. Or did she die later but fail to update her will? Something like that anyway. Whatever, it's ALL HER FAULT! ; )
Yes, money the source of all evil!
DeleteI don't recall, but as Will was her godson, didn't Caroline leave him something?
DeleteYes, about £1000 I think.
DeleteUnlike the great aunt she left the same amount to Ed - Will was not amused.
Basia, I believe it's 'the *love* of money ...
Maryellen, why should Ed be bitter and jealous of Will? He's got the girl after all, it's Emma who's jealous of everybody who married into or inherited money. I'm not apportioning blame, they're both in it together and Ed saying "we're done" can be interpreted in many ways.
ReplyDeleteIt won’t be too long now before Joe gets his wish and does not need to leave Grange Farm.
ReplyDeleteObviously Oliver who apparently is still living at Grey Gables whilst pulling the odd pint at The Bull will soon hear of it and will be on hand to sort everything out
.
My thoughts also on both counts.Ed needs to talk to Oliver and tell all, but it might be too late.
DeleteI think Linda said Oliver is away visiting his daughter but could be given a message and back next week?
DeleteThe dangers of not visiting blogs and Archers homepages: I only discovered today that Edward Kelsey died in April : ( I hope the scriptwriters let Joe die peacefully in his sleep and don't use the shock of the non house purchase to finish him off. Will Bartleby pull the hearse do you think?
DeleteThe one person who needs to be sorted out is Tim + caught!
ReplyDeleteEd will be involved + then prosecuted, but with a good solicitor, he might just get a suspended sentence.
It is time for another Archers court case as the last was Freddie, nearly a year ago!
🤣🤣
Will Emma then support Ed??
Helen was in court in September, Freddie was sentenced in September - so will Tim + Ed follow with a September court hearing?
DeleteI wonder what Anna Tregorran's up to at present?
DeleteI agree, Ed needs to 'fess up'. For a start, it's the only way that illegal weedkiller will get disposed of safely.
I don't want to see Ed sent off to prison - although at least he and Susan would then have something in common to talk about. His defence would need to argue that after the first exchange he acted out of fear, built up by Tim's warnings of what the big boys would do to him if he pulled out now. Ed has only ever been a petty criminal, this time he got himself pulled in way over his head.
Lovely to see you again OWIAS with your insightful comments.
DeleteMust add - where is Carole T.?
DeleteI would love Jill to return to her home, Glebe Cottage.
Leonard could then take up residence, in the other bedroom.
This would be, two companions, just sharing their lives together, in a simple way such as Kirsty + Roy have been doing.
Has Ed been involved in crime before? My memory might have let me down! I think he wouldn’t be severely punished this time although the stash of chemicals is a bit dodgy. He did only act as a driver not knowing the full implications until in it up to his neck. With a good lawyer paid for by Oliver (?) he could just get a suspended sentence.
DeleteIf Ed is running away to gather his resources etc as Mrs P suggests, then prison might be the best place for him. (For Tom it was Canada.) Prison would be better than spiralling down into rough sleeping and drug addiction as happened last time he ran away.
DeleteWell have just listened and am now emotionally drained. What a lot of stuff crammed into a small amount of time. V good acting.
ReplyDeleteHyacinth Bouquet was a snob but her nagging was never as brutal as Emma’s castigating of Ed.
Sir Ron Norris are you new to these parts?
Sir Ron Norris ? ? ?
DeleteStasia - am I being thick ?
Because I don't understand ?
See post at 1.38, Mrs P.
DeleteAh sorry !
DeletePassed me by, that post.
Yes a new moniker.
Stasia - not entirely new. I remember listening to the first episode of TA in 1951, and before that Dick Barton. Been listening off and on (but mostly on) ever since. Always fancied Lillian in 1964; she and I are similar ages. But the current Ed/Emma story line? Very powerful but, as other have said here, not accurate. If they have paid the deposit then they should complete, use the money they have borrowed to pay some of the monthly instalments in order to give Ed time to find another worthwhile job. And did I understand it his correctly - Emma asked Peggy Woolley for the WHOLE amount of the cost of the house? If so, a touch optimistic I would have thought...
DeleteWelcome Sir Ron! We look forward to hearing your no doubt wise counsel - 68 years of listening to the Archers! You must have an absolutely stunning amount of Ambridge info (and shenanigans) stored in your brain....😀
DeleteP.S. Lillian eh? Good choice!
Thanks, Gary. Yes, lots of memories - like the day Doris Archer died. I was driving to Cornwall. Had to stop the car; watery eyes! But I must be careful not to stray too far off the current topic. Can't wait for tonight's episode to see how it is going to turn around, as no doubt it will in some form.
DeleteWelcome from me too Sir Ron. Like you, I have been listening since the first broadcast in 1951 and to virtually every episode since (except when on holiday before transistor radios were invented!). It will be good to swop reminiscences occasionally. There are quite a few very long term listeners here so we must have a great deal of collective knowledge between us that could help the SWs......if only they would listen. Continuity is not what it once was!
DeleteYes, they could have used the money so far collected to pay the mortgage for a few months. The sticking point is that Ed no longer has a job. The mortgage company will have based the mortgage on his and Emma’s earnings. He will of course probably get further work but this cannot be supposed as far as they are concerned. You would have thought though that it would have taken more than a phone call to lose the house. I would have thought Ed would have been called in for a face to face chat when he could have assured them that he had funds to pay about 20 months of repayments. The SL that Emma had raised this money to reduce the mortgage doesn’t seem realistic to me as the amount would have been decided with the full amount of interest in view.
DeleteLooking forward to more Archers history from Sir Ron! Welcome to the blog!🤗
Delete👍thanks to Archerphile and Ev.
DeleteArcherphile - the only time I stopped listening for a long time was when my RAF father was posted to Cyprus and, three years, to Malta. As far as I remember the British Forces Broadcasting Service did not offer TA, although difficult to believe. I was probably too busy enjoying myself to take notice.
Bienvenu Sir Ron, TA listener since the 70's, not a patch on your service history..
DeleteI really must learn to proof-read my posts before I submit them; "three years later". Is there no post-submission editing facility here?
DeleteAfraid not Sir Ron...
DeleteThe comment from Stasia made me laugh. I have always thought that Lynda as The Ambridge - Hyacinth Bucket.😁
ReplyDeleteHilda has been heard from, but where are the other Ambridge pets/dogs etc. Holly (Ed + Emmas), Ben's new sheepdog he was training, Will's gamekeeper dog, Monty (Lynda + Roberts), not forgetting Bartleby + Gem plus Lynda's Llamas?
ReplyDeleteHilda scared them all off.
DeleteThe Buttons bought a pit bull terrier but it took one look at Hilda and fled into the next county.
go Hilda!!
Delete