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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
Nurse in A&E - "Has Paarpy's routine changed in any way Mr Grundy? Is there anything that you can think of that may be affecting her physical or mental health adversely? Anything at all?"
ReplyDeleteWill - "Not a thing. I mean I have been dragging her around forests in the middle of the night and isolating her from friends and family - but that's because I love her. That can't be affecting her at all. It MUST be something else."
Prediction. Will will get a visit from Social Services sooner rather than later. And after he loses his job, he will hole up in Greenwood Cottage in an almost siege like situation, OR he will go on the run with Paarpy whilst under the impression that EVERYONE wants to take her away from him. I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea for someone to have a word with him in a professional capacity. Discuss...
I think I shall call Will’s daughter Poppy out of respect for the dead mother who named her, and I will stop referring to St Niggle..
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that someone from A&E may be keeping tabs on all of Will's visits....
ReplyDeleteFollowing on from Phoebe comments on closed blog, it seems some Kate tendencies are creeping in where previously Phoebe seemed like the sensible one. Now as in Kate’s case it’s all about ME! Pip should know better than to have her feet in both camps but she hasn’t shown much sense recently either!
ReplyDeleteHas she ever, really, Ev ?
DeleteMy thoughts:-
ReplyDeleteWill + Poppy will have to move into No1 The Green, after Will loses his job, and so loses his cottage.
The Grundys will remain at Grange Farm in the short term, as Oliver will be empathetic to the situation, when he hears about Tim + the problems.
Ed + Emma will re-unite with George + Keira, living with Clarrie + Eddie. This is as how it should be.
Just a few simplistic ideas + idle thoughts of my own only.
I think it's high time that all the adults in Ambridge stopped living with their, or their partners, parents! At what age do they look in the mirror and think "Oh hang, on! I'm supposed to be a grown up now!"? No wonder most of the younger residents bugger everything up constantly - they've not got the faintest idea of how the world actually works due to being constantly babied by their families...
ReplyDeleteAnd Jazzer, Rex, Toby & Kate - I'm talking to you too!!!!
DeleteExactly, including the emmets and they have to find a father figure. Jazzer with Jim, the Trexes with Bert. Then there are those who return to the parental home when life gets tough. They’ve all done that, Kate several times. Now Alister back with daddy.
DeleteIt’s never never land.
But isn't this life today, as Emma + Ed have shown. This is available affordable properties to buy, saving for the deposist, plus paying solicitors fees. Many stay at home, to try to do this.
DeleteAmbridge has very limited affordable homes, which means youngsters moving out of their home village, ending up in a suburb. in a "rabbit hutch" is their only option.
I still find it hard that Emma didn't get her dream Beechwood home, but it still has to find a new buyer, as is for sale.
Perhaps things might change, after all they still have the deposit, and the coffee table!
I thought "emmets" was a Cornish dialect word Stasia. Do you use it in Ireland as well?
DeleteYes, yes, yes to the last 2 comment. I've glad to see the end of this musical chairs with houses
ReplyDeleteEh ? Accidentlally posted. It's farcical.
DeleteFine if the odd couple, Jazzer & Jim stay in the same abode, but time soon for Alistair to brunch put once he's reassured Jim doesn't need constant surveillance.
I wish SOMEONE would give capable Ed a decent permanent job, so he & Emma could rent somewhere for a while until they can buy. Emma, also, ditch the cleaning, tea shop & wretched chicken factory, but be employed as a teaching assistant ? She'd be excellent, as she's good with children
As for LL. We know Freddie still hasn't a job, but presumably Lily is still happy selling kitchens or whatever it was, & the stately home has regained its licence. That leaves hanger on Russ ? Aren't the 2 women wise to him yet ?
Sorry about all the mistakes. Not deft with fingers, but, if you can be bothered, can still make sense, sort of....
DeleteFreddie will take charge of The Stables.
DeleteThis is his only a short term destinity, learning managerial, organisational and personal interactions with staff,
This will help in time, with Lily, Russ + LL.
So Freddie will be another adult waiting for his parents or relatives to retire or die before he can actually start living then Miriam?
DeleteAh but if he loves horses Gary he will be living to the full. Maybe he could set up his own business breeding fine horses at Lower Loxley, and leave the management of L.L. to Lily. I find it sad when children are expected to give up their dreams to run, or help to run, the family business.
DeleteI would love a catch up, be it via Kenton, David or Shula, as to LL
ReplyDeleteThis is how Lizzie is, what are the plans and what Lily + Russ are doing.
How professional is it to be rehearsing for a quiz at work or preparing a panto?
ReplyDeleteWell isn't that the ' joke' or irony, Basia.
DeleteLinda believes that she is professional in all she does.
The truth is that she is unprofessional in most of her actions.
“Not very,” is answer,Ev.
ReplyDeleteAlso ,Lynda is another Ambridge resident who doesn’t listen to what the other person is saying when speaking on the ‘phone.
Not enough time is given for a reply before she jumps in again with her fourpennorth.
Sorry Basia I meant to write your name not Ev’s.
ReplyDeleteI have just mentioned Ev on the Barbican blog and must have had her name in my mind.
🌏🌎🌍
ReplyDeleteGood evening Kenya & Belgium...
GG - are you masquerading as Matt Crawford?
ReplyDeleteVery much so Mistral! It's from a day out a couple of years ago when we came across a face painter just before we were due to meet old friends for lunch in a "fancy" restaurant. We thought it would be the funniest thing on this earth if we both turned up looking like tigers. And it was!!!! We laughed like drains for hours....
DeleteGG -
ReplyDeleteIt seems that most of the world now reads these blogs. Do you know if people regularly look in, or are some of these visitors accidental, i.e. look once and never again. It must be fascinating to administrate the blog.
I wish I knew Mistral! Only the bare bones is available to me - and even then only if I check the info on a very regular basis.
DeleteI did comment on the old blog and although it did publish, it has gone today!! Is this because
ReplyDeletethe blog has now closed and I live in New Zealand and it takes longer to register ? I wouldn’t
have thought so. I will see if this comment arrives.
Morning Peggy Kay! I'm afraid I can be of no help to you in the Case of the Missing Comment - maybe it was bad timing! Maybe the comment got stuck in a queue at Customs & Immigration just as I was closing the other blog? But the important thing is that you are still with us....
DeleteKeep trying Peggy Kay! I recently had two postings disappear from the general blog and couldn't understand why. Gremlins in the World Wide Web perhaps? 😈
ReplyDeletePeggy. If at first....we would love to hear from you.
DeleteSo Tracey is set to be the gum chewing, problem solving receptionist whilst Lynda swans around. They make a good team - L. provides the tone & T. does the work....an entertaining scene, including the batting to & fro between Jim & Lynda. Good to see the man is rising above Jazzer's gross faux pas.
ReplyDeleteWill is deranged. Even Emma, who has much more pressing matters on her mind, but who can calm him down to an extent, couldn't shift him from the Poppy obsession.
Well it was to be expected that Tracy would get round Lynda, but amusing all the same.
DeleteJanice 10.51 yesterday.
ReplyDeleteYes it is Cornish. The Irish don’t, to my knowledge have derogatory words for foreigners/incomers.
However they have lots of words to describe each other.
We went over a couple of years back for a wedding, and were impressed by the friendliness shown to strangers, from the amazing bus driver, aided by his passengers, who diverted from his usual route to take us plus suitcases down country lanes right to a hidden away hotel, and when in the city we only had to stop and look lost and people would come and ask us where we wanted to be.
DeleteI have heard emmets used in the West Country many years ago, perhaps it is a more widely spread term than is thought.
DeleteIf Will takes Paarpy to A/E again I shall Make sure he is diagnosed as experiencing Munchousen syndrome by proxy. As the carer of Poppy he is determined to keep the child a prisoner. If she make a sniffle or snuffle the child will be packed up to be seen by the medics, again. Not allowing her to go back to school will produce the very response he doesn’t want, social workers, child protection officers and others.
ReplyDeleteWill have to blame someone and guess who is likely to be the recipient.
Got it in one! BEV.
A ghastly scenario, Stasia ! But it does fit....
DeleteI don’t think it’s a case of Munchausen by proxy because we have no evidence that Will is physically harming Poppy - unless he is picking her spots himself?
DeleteI think he is just panicking because of what happened to Nic. I am wondering if Emma will help out more and more, Will's love for her will be rekindled, and then he will be hurt all over again when she and Ed get back together. I hope the story doesn't go that way but the s/ws seem to favour anguish and turmoil.
DeleteI agree Janice.
DeleteWill is in panic due to his guilt at what he feels about his neglect of Nic.
He didn't neglect her of course but nevertheless she died and he is unable to come to terms with the loss of her.
However I also agree with others ....
GG - yes, A&E should be keeping a close watch on the number and frequency of Wills visits with Poppy. And they should also be alerting Social Services.
And to others, agree it might not be Munchausen but certainly it is a serious case of unnecessary over concern leading to smothering of the child.
Also, if Will is keeping Poppy off school for an extended period or too frequently, then again does not the school have the duty to alert Social Services.
And agree again, he, Will, will automatically lay blame for such consequences at Bevs door.
I think that Will's 'over concern/obsession' with Poppy is understandable. As he said, Nic was showing symptoms right under Will's nose and he didn't pick up on them and Nic died. He's so terrified of the same thing happening that he's going over the top with Poppy. Intervention is needed but he wasn't even listening to Emma who can be so kind and understanding despite all her other faults.
DeleteThey had done that in the past, raising Will's hopes and he attacked Ed, but Emma broke a jar on his head. It'd be lazy to have the same scenario and *it seems to me* that the three of them have moved beyond that, besides, Will spoke up for Ed yesterday.
DeletePtbY, I'm sure like me, you never want to hear another word about Munchausen's again in your life! By proxy or otherwise... God bless Yolanda! (and her fridge...) 😁
ReplyDeletep.s. I AM aware that no-one else will have the slightest clue what I'm wittering on about!
Can we be included?
DeleteI cannot see any link to Munchauson's Syndrome.
ReplyDeleteAll I see/hear, is Will be very neurotic and over protective as to Poppy, as the sad demise of Nic is still so raw and unacceptable to him.
He should take up all the offers of help, and accept these, is the way they are meant.
Off topic - but fits in - I am having visitors on Sunday, my Big Sis and my pregnant niece. I am "one-eyed" at the moment. and will be for another 2 weeks, so I have had an offer of bringing some shopping with them . My first reaction was No - I am Fine - but thinking, realistically, it will be a great help, so I have accepted this generous offer, in the manner it is meant.
This is family matters, and each look out for, and help each other out, if needed.
Will needs to learn, trust and respect similar, as Bev, Clarrie, Susan, Emma, would never let anything happen to Poppy.
I am in no doubt that Will has psychological difficulty in coming to terms with Nic’s death. He is under a great deal of stress compounded by dismissing his assistant. He is also has a rather intransigent personality with fixed ideas about lots of things, and currently that is Poppy’s health.
ReplyDeleteThe problem isn’t Poppy but Will{s inability to accept the professional reassurances that she is okay.
He is the one needing help and Attention, his behaviours are indicative of being stressed.
He is self sacrificing and presents this as being devoted and caring.
NoOne can look after her like him, so he has to keep her close at hand.blocking all support and being paranoid if his motives are questioned. Clarrie tried as did Emma.
Put simply if he carries on locking up and separating the child from school and friends then he is an abuser.
MbP does not necessarily have to include physical violence,
I appreciate and acknowledge, your point of view.
DeleteI fear that Will will take this too far, putting his work + home, in jeopardy.
Thank you. I agree.
DeleteI thought Poppy playing school with her toys was a subtle touch - indicating how much she was missing it due to Will’s short sighted over protectiveness. He hasn’t though how her education and friendships might suffer.
DeleteWell spotted, a 'subtle touch' that passed me by.
DeleteThing with chickenpox, Keira & Poppy, they've only come out in spots a short while ago & isn't there an official quarintibe period where they can't return to school, however they feel ? Always used to be.
Esscee - Absolutely right. You are supposed to keep children out of school until spots have dried up usually between two and three weeks. As Poppy has had the spots for a week she should be able to return with the rest of the children when the Autumn term starts on or about September 3rd. Officially they may start back on 2nd but it used to be a compulsory Staff Inset Day but many schools take in the new Year 7 pupils and the new Year 12 pupils on that day to acclimatise and finalise timetables respectively.
DeleteEsscee you are right, the s/ws or whoever checks them made a mistake there.
DeleteIt's embarrassing in the extreme, what a lot of twaddle, pish.
ReplyDeleteI think we were due some twaddle !
DeleteA leopard can't change her spots.....
ReplyDeleteCharlotte Martin said that Susan was a gossip because she was lonely?!
DeleteI thought for one horrific moment Neil was going to recommend to Brian that he should try Viagra!!..........a new topic on men's health possibly! Twaddle is too good a word for that one. The SW's idea of humour doesn't even touch the funny bone let alone anything else! Gives farce a bad name. As for Susan......no change there imo. I can see her gossiping will continue; alive and kicking.😕
ReplyDeleteWell, there’s poetic justice for you - Ambridge’s serial adulterer is now “too tired”!
ReplyDeleteJust so Maryellen !
DeleteAnd was it me, or did he sound very tired ?
As reminded a few days ago by one of us, we haven't heard from Brian for a while.
Was it me, and my rubbish radio, or my hearing, or was Brian's voice different tonight ?
What is going on ?
Brian is not a 'serial adulterer.' He had two affairs in 44 years. I don't consider two occasions a 'serial!'
DeletePlus his other philandering.
DeleteIf that is the twaddle they want to churn out they can say goodbye to many of their (up to now) loyal listeners.
ReplyDeleteIt was embarrassing to listen to and I was by myself when I was listening.
Had Mr LJ been in the same room he would have thought I had taken leave of my senses listening. to it.
I must have missed something.
Why did Jennifer invite Susan and Neil for Dinner?
LanJan - here is a question for you.
DeleteIf you, or A N other were to stop listening.........
Could you still be part of this group ?
No,Mrs P, I don’t think I could which is a good enough reason to keep listening .
DeleteHowever I do think there will be some listeners who will give up.
If I were not part of this Group I think I would possibly stop listening for a while like I did once before (a long time ago ,can’t think why or indeed why I decided to listen again)
I don’t like saying how poor I think a particular episode has been.
I would far rather be impressed either by the acting or the story line.
This evening I was not impressed by anything .
How about Chris being nice and comforting to his mum ?
DeleteI was amused by Brian confessing to Neil that he was losing confidence in his 'marital ability ' when WE all know that Neil has no such problems in that department.
In that daft scene between Brian and Neil I thought Brian sounded out of breath as he was saying his lines. It made me wonder if the actor is, or has been, ill.
ReplyDeleteBrian & Neil 😂😂 loved it - and then Jennifer’s reveal!
ReplyDeleteWell Susan very nearly reinvented herself 😉
Well it made me laugh, I wrote my comment before reading any others,
ReplyDeleteCurrently we have a friend who out of the blue is on a 2 weeks to 2 mths diagnosis and so I was especially grateful to find that unexpected scene amusing - I thought poor Neil’s reaction to Brian’s revelations just brilliant. For me it was Chris who sounded different - yet again.
With you on this, Lady R, thinking the misunderstanding quite funny. A bit of nonsense does us good ! Glad it cheered you a little after receiving sad news, too.
DeleteNot the slightest embarrassing, but marred by the utter implausibility of Brian confiding his sexual anxiety to Neil. Men usually don't & Neil is hardly a great buddy, anyway.
Sorry to hear about your friend Lady R. Something like that is very hard.
DeleteThank you both, as always this blog helps a lot by the sharing of news and it’s friendship - taking ones mind elsewhere 🧚♀️ whilst reading / contributing.
DeleteI have come to the conclusion that I only continue listening because it keeps me involved on this blog. This blog has witty and clever commentators who also show concern for each other.
ReplyDeleteThe old BBC blog wasn’t so nice and could be very cliquey. We can disagree with each other but always remain polite and friendly.
I did laugh out loud at Susan’s claim to be able to smell misery and then rationalising her need to gossip as a normal function.
I do agree with her, benign tittle tattle is good for the soul.
✔️ 😂 Stasia
DeleteBrian was supposed to be drunk, that's why he sounded jaded, hasn't he learnt yet that "drink provokes the desire but takes away the performance"? I laughed out loud with Jennifer, who for once sounded genuine, not her usual stilted self.
ReplyDeleteBrian acting drunk reminded me of those old music hall drunks. Cigarette in one hand and glass in the slurring over their words. Neither did it very well.
DeleteDrunk and supposed to be laying the table.
ReplyDeleteBrian Aldridge, multi tasking !
Jennifer the snob confiding in an agony aunt or acting as one: both ideas ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteSpicycushion says "Brian is not a 'serial adulterer.' He had two affairs in 44 years". I recall Siobhan, of course, but who was the other? I seem to remember Brian tried it on with Betty Tucker, but never actually did the evil deed. Was there someone else?
ReplyDeleteYup - Caroline (Bone as was) Stirling. It was not long after she came to Ambridge, Relations between her and Peggy were strained when it all came out in the open of course, as well as between her and Jennifer later on.
DeleteWell, fancy that! I didn't know. It must have happened during one of my two stints living in the Colonies when I was prevented from listening (no BBC Sounds in those days).
DeleteMandy Beesborough.
DeleteOoh yes!!!
DeleteWe haven't heard that Brian actually 'did the deed' with Mandy Beesborough I believe and as Keri Davies says 'If it didn't happen on air, then it didn't happen!'
DeleteHe was adulterous in thought if if not in deed! Not a nice man.
DeleteJust listened to last night on catch up and I thought it was an hilarious episode! Brian confiding in Neil must have been because he was drunk, otherwise, in the cold light of day it surely would have been someone like David or Justin.
ReplyDeleteThought it was the first really funny episode for ages, and I certainly needed one today.
Many thanks TA for distracting me 😄
Oh, and I see Susan hasn’t been put off gossiping at all. She's going to Peggy’s meeting, invited or not, with her ears on stalks. I expect her tongue will follow!
That final para, Archerphile has made me laugh.
DeleteSo witty !
I also enjoyed last nights episode. It was just light-hearted banter, and a welcome break from the doom, gloom + church.
ReplyDeleteYou're never too old to have fun!
Wasn’t the point that Brian WAS too old to have fun??
DeleteI am sad + surprised, that some no longer enjoy TA + only listen, to join in on this wonderful site.
ReplyDeleteI agree the S/Ls can sometimes be not truelly realistic and OTT. But, and this is what I feel:-
Times + Life, are changing far quicker than anyone likes. The Ed + Emma house buying portrayed how difficult it is for 1st time buyers, Pheobe has graduated from Oxford but has no job/employment as yet (again in previous times this would not be a problem), There also seems a lack of casual work etc. due to the business/landowners, having to comply wirh all the beaurotic health + safety rules etc..
I still enjoy TA warts + all, and just accept to move with the times, which TA is trying to do.
Reference Ed & Emma - A lot has been said recently about how difficult life is for young people nowadays, especially house purchase. But consider that in 1975 when Lady Norris and I bought our first property inflation was 24.3%. Recently it has been hovering around 2%. Mortgages in 1975 were almost impossible to achieve, and even if one was successful the bank rate would likely increase to make repayment commitments extremely difficult.
DeleteMoreover, today it has never been easier to get into University. Back then (late 1960s and early 1970s) 7% of students achieved A-levels and only 4% were accepted into University. Now what is it - c.50%? Where I do have some sympathy with the young is on the question of the iniquitous student loan system.
Going off-topic here; sorry. So I should acknowledge Phoebe and her academic achievements and to hope that her student loan is not a millstone around her neck for too many years. With Oxford on her CV she won't be out of work for long. She needs to lift her sights and get away from Ambridge.
Oh, my goodness - I'm taking all this far to seriously.
Or even TOO seriously
DeleteI am so fed up with Peggy's Prize.
ReplyDeleteI hope, + predict, the winner will be a scheme which has not yet been heard abour, from an unknown source.
Just like Freddie winning the art project.
True to form, Pip screws up again. Pheobe was spot on, & more like her normal self tonight. It is a competition ! I would have thought it was against the rules, maybe unwritten, that anyone would hedge their bets in that way. Pheobe saw that yesterday when she nagged the older girl, but Peggy reinforced today.
ReplyDeleteI was just delighted to hear Pip getting a right old rollicking from her parents for once.
ReplyDeleteNo longer Daddy's little princess who can do no wrong.
I sincerely hope Overton Farm win the prize now. I know nothing about them, or their proposal but it would serve all the Archers and their kin right and save months of argument and jealousy amongst the family. 😉
I agree. It was so good to hear David and Ruth being angry with Pip. But what's the betting that Pip will choose to support Brookfield, and it will be as if it never happened?
DeleteI too was pleased to hear beloved Pip getting torn off a strip by Mum and Dad. She deserved it. How clueless she is.
DeleteI hope Phoebe and Rex win. Phoebe could pay herself a wage to manage the project, and it is one that could be taken up by the whole area, and not just one individual farm.
DeleteP.s. I am looking forward to this evening to see who wins.
DeleteThere is an interesting feature about women farmers on the BBC News website this morning, the examples shown are all in the young and attractive Pip mould, though they are first timers rather than fourth generation. Women farmers are not a new phenomenon, of course, but still rare - only 17%, it said.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking that perhaps being a member of our Archers Fan Blog Group is a bit like being a member of a Health Club and then finding out when you get there that you prefer sitting in the café chatting with other members rather than working out in the gym.
ReplyDeleteWould that be a good analogy?
Part of the pleasure of contributing to this site is that we do not all agree ,can appreciate other people’s points of view ,feel free to complain about poor acting and bad (in some cases - in my opinion ) script writing.
I feel that the storylines are poorer than they used to be .
I didn’t enjoy the chat between Neil and Brian .
I couldn’t see the point of it.
Others thought it was good to have a bit of humour.
That is fine by me.
I felt that the editor missed a trick by not showing when Mia was looking after Poppy how difficult life can be for young Carers .
I am able to say what I think and if others disagree with me they can say so.
I will not take offence.
There are times when I really enjoy an episode for whatever reason (I usually like the ones when Tracy is involved )
I know that sometimes -on the rare occasion - I may not be right!!
I still have high hopes though of getting a slice of Barbican cake from P tbY if only the scriptwriters would get back to the Ed and Tim storyline.
or
I reckon the winner this evening will be the Brookfield Clan.
Where is your money P tb Y?
👍👏
DeleteLanjan. Precise and to the point. ✔️✅
DeleteA very good analogy Lanjan! And there wouldn’t be much point in having a blog where everyone agreed with everyone else and said ‘yes that was a good episode’. It is much more satisfying to hear others’ opinions and compare one’s own with everyone else's.
DeleteFor example, I can’t be doing with either Susan or Tracy and cringe when I hear their voices. I do like and have always supported Will, against most other’s opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed Brian’s chat with Neil and it made me laugh after a tough day.
On the old BBC blogs I would be criticised, made fun of, or otherwise castigated for having such views, probably torn to shreds by one notable blogger who always seemed to have it in for me! But not here. It feels like a safe space to express one’s opinions and always so interesting to hear other people’s views. And sometimes the discussion, and topics raised, are even more interesting than those we have heard in the programme.
I don’t think that’s the best analogy, LanJan, because it’s contrasting solo physical exercise with group chat, wheras these blogs contrast two types of group chat - chat about The Archersp and chat about ourselves, so it would be a case of which of those bloggers preferred - if they had any preference.
DeleteOK, how about going to the opera for the sake of it, rather than being a music lover and looking forward to the interval - since ours is a soap one?
DeleteNo, because you (hopefully) don’t chat to your companion(s) during the opera itself.
DeleteWe normally exchange comments after the broadcast, in the interval between the episodes, unless it's something that requires immediate attention which could be a 'whisper'.
DeleteMiriam. 7.04pm.
ReplyDeleteReceived and understood.
If I were Pip I'd withdraw from both bids, since they think they can do without her, someone else can play her part. Yes, she should have told her parents but there's nothing in the rules that says she can't participate in two areas she supports, though it seems *to me* that she has spread her commitment rather thinly.
ReplyDeleteGet the analogy, Lanjan, even if listening to TA is annoying at times, not as arduous as sweating it out in a gym ! ( Despite what devotees say about how great one feels afterwards...)
ReplyDeleteJust a thought on the point you made about the Ed/Tim SL. I reckon it's like the Titchener/Crawford stories - they reach a certain dramatic point & are left there to be stored against a future shock appearance. We know Tim did a runner, taking the chemicals with him, so that, for the time being, Ed is safe from the law. However, if the criminals get caught eventually, then Ed's involvement could come to light, maybe this year, or much, much later on....
Being boringly permickerty, we don’t know it was actually Tim who reclaimed the chemicals, it could have been another of the gang,. As you say, Carolyn. Ed is not nor will ever be safe from the Law. Some might say that knowledge was punishment enough, but I think he should be brought to justice with Tim and the rest of the gang - which could yet happen.
DeleteTrue. We only know that both Tim & chemicals have disappeared.
DeleteAgree, justice should be done, the offence is serious, but would hope that Ed is treated leniently ( & not until he has got his life back on track) Best scenario - owning up & facing the consequences.
Absolutely!
DeleteI agree. Ed should go to Harrison and make a statement with all details since the time of Olivers recommendation, including the 'gift' of the van for Eddy.
DeleteA statement might lead to a further investigation into rural crime, and at the end Ed might be let off, or get a reduced sentence, for having helped a police investigation into a much greater crime, or indeed a criminal gang.
WARNING: they put up today's synopsis on the website instead of yesterday's, so do not read if you don't like spoilers.
ReplyDeleteDon't care about spoilers, Basia, so checked, but they must have realized their mistake since you looked, because all I saw was what we already know, that Friday is the Big Day for the competing projects !
DeleteLanjan. Good analogy.
ReplyDeleteI’m going to say Adam will win tonight. Not another bit of cake on the table is it!!!! I’m gonna be the size of a beached whale when you’ve finished paying up with cake. 😁🍰🍰☕️
Fair enough P Tb Y.
ReplyDeleteYou can have a drink of your choice if you prefer
I will have a toasted tea cake or better still a Chelsea bun with butter if I win please
Well, I wouldn't be surprised if Phoebe and Rex won the contest. Re-wilding is very topical at the moment, and perhaps Phoebe will rise to the challenge this evening now that she doesn't have Pip to rely on for confidence. It would be soooo boring if it were Adam or Brookfield. Both so smug that they've got it in the bag - and, as I said, boring.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the judges will split the prize money. It won’t all go out of the family, that’s for sure!
DeleteWe have already re-wilded part of our garden which we only mow once a year and lots of wild flowers are growing there, including some early purple orchids.
DeleteCan I have the prize please? 😇
Me too, and coming along nicely, so, sorry Archerphile, you'll have to share with me!!
DeleteOnly if you both move to Ambridge!
DeleteIsn't tonight just the pitchs from the short-listed candidates?
ReplyDeleteI doubt a decision will be made, as the judges will need more time to peruse + digest, what has been presented.
And so Peggy's Prize will go on + on....
Perhaps I will be surprised though.
My thought is, that this SL will continue, with no announcement, until Lexi produces the Adam/Ian sprog.
Delete2 weeks from now is my guesstimate.
Miriam you are right of course, they can't decide on the spot, however, unlike you, I like this storyline.
DeleteI like the thought and ideas about the conservation project, but just not how it is being portrayed and managed.
DeleteHas Kirsty put an idea in??
ReplyDeleteNothing has been heard, but perhaps the Ambridge Trust has or even LL.
I still expect, and hope for, a surprise revelation.
There are 6 bids but we've only been told about 4, what are the remaining 2, from outside of Ambridge, so they don't matter?
ReplyDeleteThey will + one will be The Winner. 🤣
DeleteI think all 6 are in the Ambridge area, the 4 family bids + Overton Farm + something to do with encouraging pollinators which the family contestants didn’t seem to rate much.....
DeleteI got that one right - for the 1st time with a thought - a wait for the decision, and rightly so.
ReplyDeleteAs I posted earlier. This will coincide with the Lexi birth, in 10 days time, which must be her due time.
.....so Adam wins & then has no time to put his ideas into practice. Great.
DeleteDid like the way Adam & Tom were friendly competitors & appreciative of others' ideas
No Adam doesn't win and is relieved....that's my silly thought.
DeleteEvery time Pip opens her mouth, I get the mental image of a 38 year old Sloane Ranger visiting the countryside who's just parroting some things she's read in that day's papers that have got "something to do with farming" - it doesn't exactly help me to suspend my disbelief in any storylines she appears in!
ReplyDeleteAnd I really do hope that her family find other things to do when she needs childcare. Who's turn was it this evening? Or did she just give Rosie a valium and stick her in a drawer?
Go on, David & Ruth, change your minds about passing the farm over to Pip, encourage her to get a job in Brazil or somewhere, &, whilst she's making applications, find you have no time to babysit.
ReplyDeleteI thought Pip had done agricultural qualifications & certainly presents as a lnow all, up to date etc.. How come she didn't notice that Pheobe & Rex had no land in prospect to do their re wilding( odd expression, that) on ?!
How strange, Gary that we both had the same thought about childcare ! Posted before I saw yours.
DeleteAnd I have a sneeking suspicion that we aren't alone in our thoughts carolyn...
DeleteRosie has a devoted and dedicated father called T❤️O❤️B❤️Y.....
DeleteToby hasn't put a foot wrong since the birth of Rosie! I can't actually recall Pip ever really interacting with her daughter. I think she grudgingly threw a party for her first birthday but am I right in thinking that it was Toby who did most of the organising and it was he who totally got into the swing of things?
DeleteQuite, Gary. Considering he wasn’t keen on being a father at first I reckon he is more interested in Rosie than Pip is a lot of the time. Pip
Deletejust makes use of him whenever she wants to do something more interesting than childcare
Re-wilding does not need any financial input surely, let alone K500.
ReplyDeleteIt just needs every farm, home, the parish council etc. to give up a piece of land each be it large or small, to then let it grow wild, and seed narurally. This will attract butterflies, bees, insects, birds etc. as the self-seeded plants will be from local enviroments and natural to Ambridge. eg The village green or the jubilee field, either would make a wonderful wild flower + natural habitat.
Is it possible or even feasable, that the judges will decide, that none of the shemes are worthy of winning?
ReplyDeleteThat would be a good and final twist, to this silly S/L and Peggy' will win her own prize, keeping her cash.
That's real wishful thinking, on my part.
Quite a lot of wild flowers are antisocial (eg thistles, nettles, brambles) which wouldn’t be good come firework time on the village green and have a tendency to take over. 0thers look a dreary mess when they have finished flowering, which wouldn’t do much for Ambridge’s image. I don’t think public spaces should be wilded, or only their verges.
ReplyDeleteI support a charity called Plantlife, they have been campaigning for a few years to stop councils mowing verges, creating wildlife corridors along roads and motorways.
DeleteMy local council has a policy of sowing wild flower seeds on verges and roundabouts, it makes the approaches to this small town really lovely.
We have loads of those corridors in and around Glasgow Mistral, it looks fantastic for most of the year! The nearest large park to our house has completely been given over to nature and the council are as unintrusive as they can be, so in effect there is 81 acres of semi-wild woodland at the bottom of the hill I live at the top of...
DeleteAlso makes a complete mockery of Pip, Pheobe & Rex's bizarre proposal to actually charge people money to see wild birds and plants etc!!! "Wildlife Safari" my arse....😁
We have roundabouts of wild flowers here. As well as the natural wild corridors.
DeleteI agree that the Wildlife Safari is rather daft as you can see and visit re-wilded areas in lots of places with no payment required. Also rather daft that the team (Pip, Phoebe & Rex) hadn't thought about being asked about what land they had to re-wild so sounded a bit pathetic with ums and ers.
DeleteDon't know who will win and, dare I say it,, I don't really care very much.
To me, rewilding suggests rank, unsightly vegetation. Yes, our council has also followed the (I suspect, cost-saving) trend of planting roundabouts with wild flowers and now they have gone over, the result is distinctly unattractive. Well-mown grass with low-growing, naturally-occurring dandelions and daisies would be much better, imo.
DeleteI put public rewilding on a par with jogging - an attempt to compensate for modern lifestyles when it’s the lifestyle itself that should be addressed. I think Tom and Natasha’s idea is better, especially if they can persuade people to get rid of unproductive paving, decking and gravel and plant/grass the ground instead.
I saw a feature on TV the other day (on the BBC news, I think) on rewilding, and, in an agricultural context, it is slightly different to creating small areas suitable for wildlife to flourish. Have found the website for the example featured in the programme - a large estate in West Sussex - where they have allowed the whole estate to return to the wild, and where they graze all the livestock (cattle, sheep, pigs and deer) together to nourish and 'cultivate' the land. Apparently, as well as still operating as a farm, they have also seen the return of rare species which are currently in danger of dying out. This is the site which explains the idea behind the change in use, if you are interested in finding out some more. https://knepp.co.uk/the-inspiration. I'm still backing Phoebe and her idea, although I thought it was a bit silly of them not to have thought about exactly what farmland was going to be used.
DeleteMaryellen- I am in utter agreement with your post above.
DeleteIn particular your reference to jogging and lifestyles.
But also have to defend the local council of this town, since wild flowers on the roundabouts are part of a whole here and very much an aspect of many other initiatives in the district.
But along with roundabouts we have many many areas of naturally overgrown, self wilding, ex industrial land, either turned over to nature reserves or simply left to re forrestation (?). And I am happily exploring these areas with Lady.
Well, what a swizz! I was all geared up for the big announcement but there wasn’t one.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know how I’m going to wait for another 10 days.....🙄
There is an interesting book called Wilding by Isabella Tree. She and her husband began turning their Knepp Castle three and a half thousand acre estate over to rewilding about 20 years ago. They were not allowed by the council to keep bison or wild boar, both animals which help with land restoration, so they have compromised with very old cattle breeds and Tamworth pigs. So much rare wildlife has returned there that they they do help fund themselves with a holiday business for nature lovers.
ReplyDeleteIf only Pip had discussed matters with her parents earlier they might have agreed for the land Rex rents for his pigs to be used as an experimental patch.
Ha ha, snap, Janice. Just what I've just added above. I thought it was a very interesting concept.
DeleteI saw that programme too and was very struck by how ‘ancient’ the land looked. All different kinds of trees, bushes, plants mixed up together, just as it must have been centuries ago. Animals allowed to wander where they wanted, not penned in and many rare breeds doing well. It looked like a paradise to me, and such a change from the large fields of monoculture we have been more used to seeing in recent years.
DeleteYou mean the owners turned their thousands-of -acres estate of preexisting countryside into a theme park with ‘Nature’ as the theme? Good thinking!
DeleteNo not at all. They were doing what lots of folk are saying we should do and re-wilding areas and trying to preserve some diminishing breeds of animals. At the same time as letting nature do the work itself by animals fertilising the land instead of using chemicals. They are not trying to make a fortune out of it, just generate enough income to keep it going. What’s wrong with that?
DeleteDid I say anything was wrong? I thought it wa an astute and imaginative use of their assets. Though I would have liked it if they had gone the whole hog and returned to our ancestral wild - primaeval forest.
DeleteLiked "the whole hog" pun! Something interesting re forests happened in south west Norway after an agricultural depression and mass emigration in the mid 1800's. The land had been like the Scottish Highlands, but once there was no farming and no sheep the land gradually became covered in trees even in unexpectedly high and exposed places.
DeleteBeavers have been reintroduced to a farm in south Cornwall to create wetland that will hopefully slow up flooding and protect the village.
What am I doing on this blog ? I should be hanging the washing out before the sun goes!! It gets so interesting sometimes. I must admit I would like Phoebe and friends to have Peggy's money for their project, as long as they were careful with the money management side of things. With that amount of money they could use some of it to buy a few acres to start the project off.
Many Apologies Maryellen, I misunderstood you post and thought it was being anti the idea! Sometimes so difficult to know when a post is sincere or ironic.
DeletePlease forgive my mis-interpretation! 😔
I find it very difficult to tell when you can't see people's expressions.
DeleteThe piece of Ambridge I would like to see rewilded is Beechwood - a wonderfully productive area of land lost to Bridge Farm greed.
ReplyDeleteAgree. Perhaps Jenny's purple orchids will reappear, where they once grew in a natural habitat.
DeleteI know very little about re wilding but I think one of the worst things that has happened in recent years on farms is the removal of all the hedgerows in order to make the fields larger.
ReplyDeleteI think that is the main reason why we have fewer birds now but no doubt someone will still blame cats.
Is anybody else confused as to where Pip.Phoebe and Rex were going to do their rewinding?
Maryellen,I too hate the idea of Concrete and paving instead of front gardens .
However we now live in an age where it is rare for the average family to have only one car.
The family opposite to where we live has four -husband,wife and two childreneach with a car.
Many former Council houses which had no garages. are now privately owned
(Big mistake in my opinion of Mrs Thatcher) so all cars are often parked in the front”garden”.
We are fine because although the garage (1930s bungalow ) is too small to fit any modern car, there is enough room to park our car but still have a front garden.
Many folk are not so fortunate.
What is the answer?
What is the answer ?
DeleteGoing backwards ( which of course the ' need ' for progress does not allow ), but in due course we as the human race will not have any choice in the matter.
See the current concerns over the wild fires in the Amazon rain forests.
If, of course we, the human race, is not wiped out before such time.
( IMO the best option for this planet )
Re wilding which is not new but is still in its infancy, is a step in the right direction.
And thank you for the several 👍for the programme which I will attempt to watch.
Can someone please let me know when it was on and which channel.
I think it was a feature on BBC News that I saw, MrsP. But I did find the website of the estate that was featured - Knepp Castle in East Sussex. There's some information on it on https://knepp.co.uk.
DeleteThank you Suz, I have now read and viewed the videos.
DeleteVery interesting and uplifting.
The three stooges, Dumbles, Mumbles and Fumbles will win and here is the reason why.
ReplyDeleteIt is obvious the intention is to keep ‘I’ve just come down from Oxford’ Phoebe and a scheme is needed a to keep her in Ambridge.. she has a massive loan student loan to pay off and the money will come in handy. She is also the genius on the quiz team so it’s vital she stays.
Pip will provide the land needed for the rewilding. Mumsy and Dadsy will be converted because their clever daughter has won the money so they will benefit by turning the land into an upmarket wild theme park, with ⛺️ which of course will mean lots of cars 🚘 and people leaving their rubbish.
Glamping, camping, guides etc sounds more like a safari park.
Rex and his role in this daft idea, there you have me???
Apologies for the typing mistakes.
DeleteStill think it will be an outsider (to the family, not the village) that will win.
DeleteUnless the SWs want to drag the story on forever and get maximum aggro out of it.
Interesting point about it being a device for keeping Phoebe in the village. When was the last time an intelligent young woman escaped from A bridge? Brenda? Debbie? A decade or more ago.
DeleteSorry, predictive text changed "Ambridge".
DeleteI think Rex will be the one who cares for whatever animals they introduce to their rewilding habitat, and his pigs will play a part in that, rooting grass up and creating hollows for wildflower seeds to take hold. Or at least that is the theory. I don't know a lot about pigs although I think Archerfile must do. My only experience of pigs was the occasional one that seemed to have the ability to turn a platt into a mudbath in very quick time.
DeleteRe-wilding is SO important! Numbers of bees and insects have declined to dangerous levels and if the insects die so do we!!! They polinate more than 75% of crops (can't remember exact amount but more than three quarters.)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a little girl there was a class in our village flower show for 'a collection of wild flowers in a jam jar.' I can remember collecting in excess of twenty different wild flowers from the verges and hedges. Nowadays you'd be lucky to get more than ten! Anything and everything that can be done to attract, feed and keep insects is so important.
In our part of the world hedges were taken out about thirty years ago to allow larger machinery to get in the fields to harvest quicker. Also permitted crops to be grown right up to the roadside.
For the last five years the hedges have been replanted, thanks to grants from EU (!) which has become aware of the damage having been done over the past decades.
Also has paid dividends in that many roads were being blocked during snow storms due to no hedges and snow ploughs were being constantly used to keep the road clear. Now not necessary.
I see nothing wrong in 'wildness' on roundabouts and dual carriageways as well as all other roads. It's lovely to see 'countryside' instead of decking, paving and concrete, or heaven forfend, neatly manicured suburban-type edgings.
Broad-leaved woodland is also important for the environment. This is ideal for boar, deer and so on.They enrich the woodland naturally and it's so nice to keep old breeds alive.
Guess I'm just an old-fashioned country girl!
Speaking as an old-fashioned countr girl myself, I have to say that the countryside can look far from picturesque and be ‘neither good for man or beast’ if not properly managed - which means labour, which means money. which I fear cash-strapped public bodies may not have. Personally I favour planting trees rather than poppies, and feel very enthused by the new Forest the Woodland Trust have created a few miles away.
DeleteAs for Ambridge, of the four ‘family’ bids, I prefer Tom and Natasha’s. Brookfield and Home Farm’s bids benefit the two farming businesses and the planet, the rewilding bid is too vague to take seriously, but Tom and Natasha’s bid may benefit their businesses, will benefit the planet, and crucially, will involve and benefit the community. It’s a very practical and homely form of rewilding of which I thoroughly approve.
Can't we have trees AND poppies ?
DeleteI find re wilding a clumsy phrase - what's wrong with meadow ? Mmn...suppose that is because meadows don't include trees. Answered my own question. How about meadows & copses ?
Aside from this pointless musing, fascinating to read everyone's kknowledgeable & enthusiastic views on countryside & wildlife preservation.
Loved your story about the poppies by the railway track, Lanjan.
A couple of years ago at our local railway station the grass verges were unkempt but there were quite a few perennial sweet peas so I thought I would add to them by scattering poppy seeds.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I went on the train I would walk the length of the platform scattering the seeds.
I was delighted when the poppies started to grow but then “they” decided to tidy everything up by mowing the grass such as it was so the poppies and sweet peas vanished.
One or two poppies did end up at the far end of the platform amongst the blackberry bushes though.
That was a sad end to your efforts LJ, but even the one or two poppies that did survive will have helped the environment in some way.
DeleteMany many decades ago, there was a neglected bank beside a church on the South Circular near where I lived.
I went out at night and planted some tree saplings that had sprung up in my garden. They grew. And I watched them for the next thirty years, until the church was rebuilt and what had been a bank was flattened to become a car park. But by then at least some planting of shrubs around the car park was included.
I posted earlier but it has disappeared
ReplyDeletePATRICIA GREEN on Broadcasting House tomorrow morning.
Talking about bees.