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Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments' - Episode 8 Life Outside Ambridge Beach Chairs
Archerphile,apologies.
ReplyDeleteI wasn’t getting you or anyone else in particular re spoilers.
It shows how interested I was in last night’s episode that I completely missed any mention of Lexi.
That’s OK Lanjan, I hate spoilers too! Roy was in the room when people were talking about Lexi’s return and he sounded very guarded about it I thought.
DeleteBut I still don’t know how she is allowed to fly as she must be at least 36 weeks pregnant by now. Hope the SWs haven’t left it too late and she gives birth on the plane..... now what nationality would the baby be if that happened I wonder? 🤔😆
Just looked up flying and pregnancy. Apparently you are able to fly until you are 36 weeks but if you are over 28 weeks you need a doctor to put in writing that you are fit to fly and not likely to go into labour on the flight. (How would a doctor be able to say about the latter?)
DeleteI believe the “transfer” took place in early January so this is close to the wire, as expected by the drama and tension-loving script writers.
Pregnant women can travel by plane up to 36 weeks gestation within the UK. Otherwise the cut off is 32 weeks gestation unless there is some special agreement with the airline company. This is pretty much the rule in most countries.
DeleteWe are coming to the end of 35 week of the year, so it may be touch and go, but we don't have the exact dates. In the synopsis it says that Ian will be taking 'maternity' leave, quite fitting though incorrect because he is like a clucking mother hen.
DeleteThe 'transfer' (how romantic!) took place Tuesday 8th January. It wasn't mentioned that night but had been said by Adam the previous week. Lexi confirmed her pregnancy on 18th January.
DeleteRemember the days, ladies, when we had to wait three months before seeing the doctor to confirm a pregnancy?
No wonder they seem to go on forever, knowing for certain when you are 1 week pregnant with 39 to go instead of 10-12 weeks with about 28 to go!
Presumably if Lexi didn’t want to or wasn’t allowed to fly she could travel by train/Eurostar, bit slower but probably easy enough.
DeleteMany people who travel to Eastern Europe do so by coach even. When eldest son was working in Vienna I did. It took 24 Hours with 3 stops and reclining seats but not very comfortable. This experience also went to help conquer my fear of flying!
DeleteMy son brought his family to UK when second gd was due. Dil was about 34 weeks pregnant and was not permitted to fly so whole family arrived by 2 trains and ferry.
BTW the only reason that baby was born here was because of the trouble it took to give first gd British nationality after she was born in Vienna. Most other European countries do not automatically give statehood to babies born there apparently, so she was stateless until British citizenship was bought and paid for !
Oh and second gd's birth and after treatment for mum and baby was also paid for privately, even down to £2 for paracetemol tablets!
Shula was unwarrantably shirty withTracey, no call to be like that. A little gentle mocking would have been better. Surely she was wrong about the church not doing exorcisms? I thought they did in certain circumstances, if not on the say-so of a woman with an overactive imagination.
ReplyDeleteYes Carolyn I was under the distinct impression that the Anglican Church did do exorcism, although it might depend on the personal feelings of the minister in question. Nevertheless it happens I believe.
DeleteShula certainly did not come across as a caring person in this episode did she ?
Not again!
ReplyDeleteIf any more proof was needed that Will is incapable of looking after his children...
ReplyDeleteHorrendous ! The man's completely lost it. Poppy will surely be taken into care, & he's brought it all on himself. Is he going to shoot Bev or himself ?
DeleteOr take Emma hostage until Poppy is "returned" to him?
DeleteI sense a story line about dodgy abattoirs coming up ! Brian will tell David about Vince's set up & then....
ReplyDeleteStill don't think Pip's got the point, &, like others, find her voice & style SO irritating.
Will should have been grateful to Bev. for helping out both Clarrie + Poppy (who is her grandaughter), instead of threatening to call the police.
ReplyDeleteI bet, he won't let Poppy go to school next week, and takes her to work with him, yet again.
Who can help - not Bev, Clarrie, Ed, Emma or even Eddie.
It should have been Joe - but this can't happen- but what about George??
He is Will's son, Poppys half brother, he knew Nic + loved her, and often stays at Greenwood, so he must be aware of some things.
It only needs one person, to make Will see sense, rather than bringing in the authorities, a straight-jacket or handcuffs.
Wishfull Thinking only.
Surely you can't be advocating the return of a child to the sole care man who is so stuck in the depths of paranoia and mental anguish that he has sunk to the level of sitting alone drunk & cradling a loaded shotgun! I think he might need just a smidge more help than George could ever give him Miriam.
DeleteBut then again, it IS The Archers. It will probably be forgotten about by next week and Will will be married to Emma again. Or Ruiari. Or had a sex change. Or been abducted by aliens. Or popped out for a pint of milk and never heard from ever again. Depends what Attention Deficit Disordered intern has been on script writing duty....
🤣😆
DeleteI give up!!!
DeleteOh gosh, that was a pretty disturbing end to an episode - more akin to a Friday night than midweek.0
ReplyDeleteIt reminded me of Greg, an earlier gamekeeper who shot himself in the throes of deep depression.
Poor Clarrie, she is never going to forgive herself if Poppy is taken away from Will and he gives up on life.
Is nothing every going to go right for the Grundy family.
Wonder what sort of Christmas they will be having this year?
I imagine one or two of them will be having the same sort of Christmas as their famous turkeys will be having Archerphile...
DeleteGG 🤭 😂
DeleteWill does need help but apart from Clarrie he is just facing constant criticism. I can see why he doesn’t want Bev involved when she has seized this chance to take Poppy away allbeit for just a few days. Will is her father and so far has not officially been found unfit. Bev did not attempt to hear his side of the story and it is apparent that she has always disliked him. His young wife was taken cruelly from him and he is doing his best with Poppy and likewise with Mia even if he was misguided. He needs support from those around him and I’m not seeing much of it. I’m glad Emma went back to make amends and hope now he will be encouraged to seek professional help which he does need.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very compassionate attitude towards Will Ev.
DeleteBut Will has alienated everyone but his mother and even she he has shown anger towards.
I agree that he has done his best, but Will Grundys best leaves an awful lot to be desired for don't you think.
He has a very skewed picture of the actions and motives of all who have any contact with him.
He misunderstands or misinterprets every action of all he meets.
He isolates himself, and gets rid of his co worker which isolates him further and piles on his responsibilities when he should be seeking to lessen them.
He has little if any common sense, will not listen to advice from family and mistrusts medical professionals.
Put another way, he has few social skills and although he tries in a practical way to be a decent parent he is seriously lacking in giving his children any guidance towards becoming adult.
Gary's picture of Will cradling his gun just about sums up Will Grundy in my opinion.
Some might say, ' a nasty piece of work the world would be better off without '.
Some might say that Mrs P but I wouldn't agree with them. Will behaves in the way he does because he is absolutely terrified of losing his little girl. He has already lost his beloved wife, his son is rejecting him,, Mia and Jake are elsewhere. He feels everyone's against him and he'll lose everything he loves. He's been behaving in an idiotic and obsessive way but deserves some compassion IMHO.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you absolutely Anneveggie. Will desperately needs help to understand what has happened and is happening around him and to ‘re-set’ his brain and emotions.
DeleteI think it is cruel to simply label him as ‘a nasty piece of work’ a description that could far better be ascribed to the likes of Rob Titchener!
He is behaving as he is because of what life has thrown at him in recent years, not from some innate nastiness.
Give him a break, get him some help, before the inevitable happens.
I think a nasty piece of work describes Matt Crawford more aptly than Rob Titchener. Last night’s episode left me cold. So different from the compelling scripting and acting of the Rob and Helen scenes and demonstrating yet again how inferior TA has become since the days of Sean O’Connor. I think Clarrie and Will are two of the programme’s worst actors so listening to an emotionally charged scene between them was teeth gritting.
DeletePosted at 1.27 AM? Good heavens, Anneveggie, I do hope this story line isn't giving you sleepless nights.
DeleteNo it is not keeping me awake Sir Ron. I realize it's fiction.
DeleteMaybe like myself a night owl? 🤗
DeleteWill does deserve some compassion because he's so lost in fear & grief, but I find fo hard to summon any up as he makes one horrendous blunder after another. No problem in feeling sorry for anyone around him who've all
ReplyDeletebeen very supportive & forgiving, so often.
Ev, suprised at your take on Bev. She may well dislike him now, with reason, as he's been vile to her, but it wasn't always like that. The rot set in, I think, when she saw what happened to her other granddaughter. Even then, whilst she warned him, she has tried to be conciliatory, & didn't keep pestering to see Poppy.
Will is a pretty insecure & possessive man. Sure, he loved Nic, but he undermined & bullied her, just as he has since done with Mia & Poppy. This is not Titchener style, of course not, but it is prioritizing his own neediness well above the needs of those he purportedly loves. We're all human, are not always unselfish, but Will's version of love is exceptionally flawed kind of love, beyond the average range
Last bit should stop at 'exceptionally flawed' expunge those last words !
DeleteI am with you on this,Ev.
ReplyDeleteI do not like Will but I do feel sorry for him.
His mother is kind and means well but never seems to be able to say or do the right thing in any circumstance.
He has lost his wife,his step children are never heard of now, his former wife led him to believe she was interested in him again, his mother in law wants to take his young daughter away from him.
Whatever his behaviour ,how can one not feel for him?
I do, Lanjan, I really do! See my bit above at 8.19.
DeleteWill is a man set in his ways and in the middle of his personality is a chunk of paranoia. This element of his persona informs his vision of the world and how he interacts with those around him. He is essentially insecure and compensates by setting conditions and rules which others find controlling , to some extent marrying Nic enabled him to less controlling. For example, He didn’t want her to work, women on the cricket team etc. When stressed many of us cling to those aspects of our personality that have protected us in the past, but in Will’s case events have changed and these defence mechanisms are inducing negative responses from others.
DeleteBev can understand the impact of his controlling behaviour because she is more removed, and has had to support Mia and Jake who obviously found their stepfather too strict. Will has a vulnerability which he has covered up with rigid boundaries and fixed ideas and becomes paranoid when these are challenged.
He needs help and maybe Bev intervening will enable him to stand back and look at how he can regain the confidence of the three children? He is of course a risk to himself and others. He has the tools of his trade to make threats.🔫
Sometime back I commented on this happening. Don’t wish to blow my own 🎺.
See my 7.17am above,
DeleteStasia - it touches on some of what you say.
Emma: ex girlfriend, lover, wife, mother of his son, estranged wife of his brother and now his best friend came to the rescue in a typical soap style. There's no way they are going to do 'Greg take two' or I'll resign. Last time it was Brian who sorted William out, someone will, I am on his side.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course he can't even relax and find solace in his time at work because of the stress the wretched Martin Gibbs is causing.
ReplyDeleteBut getting rid of his assistant was Will's doing, &, as far as we've heard, Gibson isn't cutting up rough about all the time off work lately.
DeleteSorry Archerphile I don’t know how I missed your post.
ReplyDeleteI think the business about the gun is a bit over the top unless he was going to shoot rabbits or pheasants to get things off his chest.
Did the script writers think that we haven’t had a shooting for a few years so we must be due one?
It interests me that many of the comments above, have interpreted my final sentence (post 12:44 am Aug30 ) as the nub of my post.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't.
I outlined as others have, Wills failings in his personal interactions with the family and friends he has dealings with on a daily basis.
I also said that he clearly tries to be a good parent, but that he has failed at that since Niks death too.
I have compassion for Will, but was outlining why those close to him were struggling with how to respond to his needs, and how many, without thought, never mind compassion might well feel he deserves all he gets.
Stasia, has given an understanding of his personality.
I think it is difficult to understand the unpleasant character of Will and how it has developed, given the general kindness attributed to the other members of his family, with the possible exception of Joe.
But this is how the SW have chosen to paint Will Grundy over a very long period and we must wait to see what eventual fate they have, or will, decide for him.
I suppose last night couldn’t have all been a big wind-up, and he was genuinely Junction cleaning his gun to go and shoot rabbits, could it? (That is supposed to be ironic, by the way!)
ReplyDeleteI wonder what Emma will do, having seem Will with the gun and in a distressed state. Will she tell anyone e.g. Sgt. Burns, so that he could visit Will and confiscate the gun, due to Will’s mental state and suspend his license until he has had a medical assessment?
Or Eddie, who might be able to go to Greenwood and wrestle the gun from Will’s hands?
Or perhaps Oliver, who could be the person to talk to Will like a Dutch Uncle and talk him down from doing anything drastic and arrange for him to receive some sort of help?
I hope she didn’t just go home and keep what she had seen to herself.
That should have been ‘just cleaning’ - wretched auto correct!
DeleteI expect gamekeepers often clean their guns at times of stress! Though drunk is not a good idea (Emma kindly clarified that for us, Will’s acting skills being as poor as Brian’s in that respect).
DeleteArcherphile, I was just about to ask if the junction cleaning was a special technique for guns. You having been a farmer 👩🌾 and all that. 😀
Delete😂🤣😂. ( not that our sort of farming involved any guns, except for an air gun to shoot rats in the chicken houses!)
Deletecarolyn. How can you be so erudite at 7.17 am? I always listen on catchup whilst having breakfast. I did read your comment so I must have digested your wisdom whilst being half 💤 awake and because I was eating my toast forgot everything.
ReplyDeleteEmma went to see Will having changed into her kind and caring frock now I suppose will think she has caused him to react in what could be perceived as a suicidal gesture. I think Emma has an intuitive side to her personality! She has been wonderful with MIA BUT THEN THERE IS THE FLIP SIDE.
MrsP has indicated that Will does try to be a good parent, however he has now gone too far in how he perceives and instigates the role vis á vis his children.
There's always a flip side, isn't there, Stasia.....
DeleteDon't know about erudite, but tend to be an early bird; not as switched on at 7.17pm, gormless by 10.30pm....
I guess Will thinks he's a good parent, but it's always more about him than them. Thinking of Mia, &, earlier, trying to please Jake, so that Jake would want to stay with HIM, not really to help Jake through his own grieving by showing him the fun side of life can still go on. Previously, I think we were given to understand, he'd left the parenting, emotional & practical, to Nic. He's actually pretty clueless about what children need or want. He's stifling Poppy, no wonder she was happy to be out with Clarrie, & thrilled to see granny again.
Isn’t it interesting like in real life parents think they are doing the right thing for their children, but very often they do the opposite ultimately doing harm. It’s the old refrain, ‘we did everything for her/him and that how s/he repays us’.
DeleteIn fact I think I remember Brian saying that about Kate.
I'm glad that's over.
ReplyDeleteAfter tonight ‘s episode am drained!
ReplyDeleteQuite. Now what? Will the Grundys keep this to themselves? I think they will all need support after that but from which quarter will that be forthcoming?
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm !
ReplyDeletePerhaps help, at last.
What rubbish! i lost count of the number of times Eddie uttered the immortal words Give me the gun,. Best ignored.
ReplyDelete100% agree maryellen. But I still enjoyed it...
DeleteWhat other words could be used in that situation ? 'Put down the weapon?' Cop talk,not Dad to son.
DeleteNo, it was sound dramatic use of the fact the man's a gamekeeper so has a gun licence.
Well the one certain thing to come out of tonight’s episode is that Emma and Ed will get back together .
ReplyDeleteI reckon it will all be hushed up.
Even Clarrie won’t be told the full story.
I thought Eddie was great.
It would have been better had Emma not told Ed about Will’s pass at her but I suppose had she not done so it would have detracted from the drama.
Thank goodness Clarrie wasn’t around .
Yes, I think we all thought Ed & Emma would make up - at least the crisis confirmed that !
DeleteAbsolutely, Lanjan, Eddie was cool, good for him. Ed stopped his urge to punch the living daylights out of his brother, too.
I hope Clarrie pulls herself together'.
As for Will, what a mess. Poor, desperate man. Can't see Poppy going 'home' any time soon. The family will endeavour to cope, as they always do in the end, somehow.
Hope Will has reached the bottom of the pit now and will be able to pull himself back up very slowly no doubt! Emma needn’t have told Ed about the nearly kiss but just that she had blurted something out about George not wanting to see him. As you say Lanjan, had she not done it would have detracted! Acting was superb all round and Eddie was wonderful and calm. What happened to this former lovable rogue?!!
ReplyDeleteI think he has rather grown up in the last decade Ev.
DeleteEddy must be about sixty now, or more ?
His sons are grown men with families of their own.
He has regular work and doesn't seem to do scams any more.
Some people take a long time to become really adult, but my experience is that the slowest are often the wisest at the end of the day.
Do I sound like someone who champions Eddy Grundy ?
I am, and always have.
Yes, he’s one of my favourites too!
DeleteIt was another Tim Stimson tonight.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me that often other writers configure the plots, and TS brings those plots to fruition.
A wonderfully written and acted climax tonight. Thank goodness Emma had the sense to ring Ed so he and Eddie could take action.
ReplyDeleteAs I predicted earlier today, Eddie to the rescue and all but wrestling the gun out of Will’s hands.
I think there is hope that Will is going to get the help he needs now. How long it will take for him to recover emotionally I don’t know. Hopefully enough to be trusted to take care of Poppy again.
And the brothers lives have come full circle .- Will saved Ed from committing suicide many years ago and now Ed has, perhaps reluctantly, returned the compliment. Very fitting.
Well!!! I had an inkling that the truth regarding Nic was about to come out before Joe’s demise but knew it could not come from him - but Will spilling the beans I did not foresee.
ReplyDeleteQuite an episode, Eddie keeping up a cool front in a crises and doing well I thought and seemingly a possible route back now for Ed & Emma 🤔 who clearly still have feelings for each other.
Back to Joe if I remember correctly he has the same birthday as David so will he pass on or just before David’s 60th? Special events are usually marked with a row / fight/ death etc. Just a thought!
(Good acting tonight imo ⭐️)
Another (rambling) thought. If Joe dies very soon maybe Eddie & Clarrie will go to live with Will to help him out and therefore Poppy will be allowed back. In the meantime Ed, Emma & the children move into 1 The Green🤔.......
ReplyDeleteThe programme certainly kept to its agricultural brief last night - corny from start to finish, scripting, acting, directing the lot.
ReplyDelete😀
DeleteDon’t agree!
ReplyDeleteNor me. I was gripped throughout the episode.
DeleteI think you are in the minority here Maryellen. What were you expecting, or hoping for I wonder?
Like everyone else on these boards, I was expressing my personal opinion.,so my motives are the same as theirs. We are allowed to be in a minority, you know!
DeleteAnd to be honest, frank, open, blunt and plain speaking, I’m not too fussed whether anyone agrees with me or not. I don’t blog for the ticks - is that what others are hoping for, I wonder?
I doubt that ! We're not kids looking for the gold star, just sharing opinions, arguing our case sometimes, even modifying our views occasionally when challenged well.
DeleteJust like me! But I’m the one that gets constantly challenged as to my motives! Heigh ho, as you said to SRN, we’re robust enough to take it.
DeleteI thought the acting was excellent.and in no way corny.
ReplyDeleteI found it quite moving.
Will lost his first wife to his brother, his second wife to sepsis his step children to their father and he fears , his daughter to her grandmother .The final straw is that his son doesn’t want to be with him either..
I listened whilst watering the garden and I have to say I had tears in my eyes and was relieved at the eventual outcome which I didn’t feel was guaranteed.
I've just listened to last night's episode ... I was holding my breath at times.
ReplyDeleteNow Will has reached rock bottom, perhaps he will get the support he needs, from family (and professionals? - he surely needs some professional help if only he woukd accept it.) to deal with his grief and depression. I have felt sorry for him as he has struggled to manage since Nic died, and his paranoia increased ... but in the interest of Poppy's safety and welfare, he must accept help.
(Now I'll go back and read the comments above)
Maryellen, I found Eddys handling true to life, exactly as I responded when I encountered some one with a knife, in my working life.
ReplyDeleteYou'll have tell us about that some day, CowGirl !
DeleteThe family, very much including Bev, will figure out a temporary plan for Poppy, & Will, shaken by his desperate action, & the confession about Nic, will trust them at last & be compliant. (I think, & hope)
Well done, Cow Girl!
DeleteHope you got a pay rise, but expect it was just counted as part of the job!
DeleteI have thought for a long time that when people leave or retire from social services, the police, or similar, that counselling should be offered.
Nearly 13 minutes of “give me the gun son” and I wanted to 😱 scream, give him the bl...y thing or get on with it and shoot something, then the gun went off. Predictable.
ReplyDeleteI also like Eddie, he Emma and the 🐕 dog did an excellent job, not so sure about Will or Ed.
Would a real person rush into a room and attempt to fight someone with a shot gun. But, Ed is not the brightest spark in the Ambridge community.
Stasia, firstly Eddie broke into the room in fear for his son. I would certainly have done the same and believe my husband would have done too.
DeleteThen I think Ed rushed in the room to protect Eddie, and later, in anger, to challenge Will about having tried to kiss Emma.
Both entirely believable to me.
Ah, but it was the male pride come to the fore.
DeleteTwo points: it's the second time that Eddie and Ed rescued Will, he ran away and they found him somewhere where they used to go on holiday.
Both Ed and Will have unresolved matters with the law, does that mean we let it pass now?
Sorry Basia, think you have that the wrong way around. It was Ed who ran off to the seaside place and Eddie and Will who searched for him, eventually found him and brought him home. I think it was when Ed was caught up with drugs, took a car and crashed it with Emma inside who was badly hurt.
DeleteThat why I commented on the bothers coming full circle.
Stasia, your first sentence was spot-on; well said. Actually, when I was listening to the previous episode (Emma finding Will with the gun) I wanted to post here something along the lines of "Will, do us a favour and disappear into the woods with a length of rope - it will be a lot less messy than putting a shotgun in your mouth". But then I thought that might upset some colleagues, so I didn't submit it.
DeleteBut wait! I just have...
It's ok, Sir Ron, I reckon everyone here is robust enough to take it !
DeleteDespite the well-known saying that if a gun is introduced on stage it has to be fired, did anyone in the majority here seriously think Will was going to intentionally shoot himself or anyone else.? (This is a serious question.)
DeleteSir Ron, you are not alone, in your wish for Will, or your reason for declining to post.
DeleteBut then last night I sat with arms folded listening intently.
I thought it was very well done, and brought several protracted strands and apparent dead ends together to create a plausible way forward for the latest concerns within the Grundy clan.
Maryellen, yes I thought it might be a strong possibility.
And of course Maryellen you are entitled to your opinion in this case as in others. You are often the grit in our discussions and we are the better for having you.
And no. No points.
Isn't that the best part of having left the BBC blog ?
Thanks, Mrs P!
DeleteYes please.
ReplyDeleteI have had enough of Solictors and Court Cases.
Maybe they’d bring back “Nigel” again to sit on the jury!
ReplyDeleteI hope that Will & Bev come to an understanding as they have so much in common (ie Poppy) who binds them together as a daughter and granddaughter. They both love her and want a good life for her yet both are fearful of the other for their own reasons, and at present Poppy is losing out!
ReplyDeleteMy middle sister would be able to identify with Bev she lost her first husband when they were both 34 yrs, nine years later a son in a road accident not long married and just expecting a baby. Awhile after baby very young mum met someone and family pleased for her but he turned out to be jealous of a dead man and decided his family were the grandparents enough. My sister in particular (and by then her new husband -now of many years) did not want to rock the boat for her granddaughter by the on / off able to see her so stepped back. How this chap could have been this way beggars belief as like Bev in TA a child lost to a parent and then a grandchild too.
Over the years life has moved on (and that man also) plus the young lady concerned now has a family of her own and contact has been re established over time.
So come on Will and Bev you are in the same boat both have lost their loved one but can share the love and joy of Poppy!
What a sad story which took time to straighten out.
DeleteBev has told Will that he's not the only one grieving, though she has three grandchildren and Will clings to Poppy deaf and blind but maybe there's hope for change.
Archerphile, I take your word for it, I didn't listen at the time of the car accident.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely hear Ed's voice over the airways, when they used to trail the Archers, and he was saying 'you're a country boy Will', the idea being that he was lost in a city somewhere, after Nic left him after a disagreement over George? Perhaps someone can put me straight.
At 9;30 am I posted Yes please
ReplyDeleteSince I posted the reply to Basia there have been four more comments posted above mine so that it looks a# if I am saying that I was responding to Maryellen and tha5 I wanted Will to shoot himself or somebody else.
I definitely was not.t
I would like them to keep it amongst those who were there at the time .
I would not even tell Clarrie too much about what actually happened.
Keep the police out of it.
🌍🌎🌏
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon to those reading us in Japan...
MESSAGE TO THE RESIDENTS OF AMBRIDGE. Via Twitter.
ReplyDelete“If you were emotionally disturbed by” hearing a shot gun go off last night amidst a lot of shouting, don’t worry and certainly do not contact Sargent Burns of Borchester police.
It were only our Will testing his gun for the grouse shoot. As his father I’m delivering the message while he is Junction cleaning the gun, so no worries.
Twitter response.
Eddie, whilst I was on my knees having my nightly talk with my spiritual leader I could hear a lot of shouting and suddenly a large bang sounded. I thought it might be a message, or perhaps the phantom of GG. I didn’t get a good nights 😴 sleep, and my nerves were shattered this morning after all that racket.
Concerned of Ambridge.
✔️✔️✔️ Stasia
DeleteOh Stasia! 😔 I’m never going to live down junction cleaning, am I? 😊
DeleteI haven't read yet, any previous comments, so if I am repeating other thoughts, then I apologise profusely, in advance.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts:-
What a gripping episode Friday night was. I think the SWs have kept Joe alive for this climsx. Will would not have been able to accept his death, in his current I also thought that Eddie + Emma were great and Ed took the place of Joe!
Now perhaps, in a short while, after Will gets his life back together (can Lizzie help again?) that Joe gets his quiet demise at Grange Farm, with all his family with him.
It is time TA had a death, as it should be....
Like it Stasia
ReplyDelete✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
To answer maryellen's question - yes actually I did fear that Will was going to kill himself. I'm glad he didn't. The scene was gripping and well acted. Now the family need to rally round and get him some help.
ReplyDeleteWell I'm joining the minority. I thought the episode was tosh (there I've said it) I didn't enjoy it one bit. Yet another shouty, aggro kitchen-sink type of melodrama!
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't help that I can't stand 'Will's ' voice and imho he is an abysmal actor. He has two 'tones' to his voice; one trying to be friendly and kind= creepy and the other talking to anyone else he has a 'praablam' with = sneering.
But as the others have said "Each to their own!" 😀
I agree with all of that, Spicycushion. Are we really in a minority? I am conflicted 1) credit due to the SWs that we all get so worked up about this, but 2) do we really care? To be honest, I don't.
DeleteI agree with Spicy. I thought Eddie, Ed and Emma were well-acted, I actively listened when they were speaking. Clarrie and Will both make me cringe, I mentally turn off when they are on. Clarrie wailing the other night made me physically turn off the radio.
DeleteI thought that Eddie might get caught in the firing line by accident, adding patricide to Will's Woes.
In the 80's, I think, there was a much better Clarrie, younger, more believable. I think the actress commited suicide,
I remember her, as I had just started listening regularly around that time, as opposed to hearing TA on in the background as a child/teenager and I agree she was very good. I also liked Rosalind Adams once I got used to the change.
DeleteSpicycushion and Sir Ron. You are not alone. Someone in Ambridge should be asking questions about the noise and a gun going off. It was all to deafening, what with the dog barking, Emma screeching and Ed making i’ll Kill him noises.
ReplyDeleteI live over a mile away from a shooting range (in a rural area) and the sound of a shot gun going off is definitely distinctive.
For me Pip is a terrible actor, wouldn’t object to her being replaced.
That makes sense. Maybe someone will react & rumours will follow ? Could be, though, that the villagers are used to the sound of distant gunfire from Will, & the screams & loud voices won't carry.
DeleteStasia, your comment about Pip made me wonder how much I dislike the character is down to the way she's depicted as a person & how much to the affected performance. Can't answer that ! Yet someone here, can't recall who, found her acting convincing in a TV drama, so maybe the actor is just trying to put across the negative aspects through these speech peculiarities. Just trying to be fair, but have no clinching argument...
Agree Stasia and Carolyn
DeleteSee later comment✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
I know where you are both coming from Spicycushion and Sir Ron.
ReplyDeleteI am sick and tired of the Continuity Announcer saying at the end of each episode.
“If you were affected about any..................”
However because the actors playing Emma and Eddie were so good I did find the episode moving.
The script writers just went for the easiest option.
Depressed man =suicidal tendencies.
Regarding talk about Clarrie.
ReplyDeleteI think there have been three actresses
One did commit suicide and I think her replacement left for her own reasons and that the present Clarrie is the original one.
I am with you Mistral about the acting of both Will and Clarrie but they are not the only poor actors.
I agree with Stasia .
Pip is dreadful.
Nobody would speak like she does.
Stop -start - pause again.
The original Pip was excellent but I think she chose to leave .
New Tom is awful too and Real Tom didn’t want to leave.
New Emma fitted seamlessly into the role.
At the moment she would certainly get my best actor award.
Worst actor?
Pip or Tom without a doubt I
Here, here Lanjan. And yet the strange thing is that when Daisy Badger appeared in ‘Home Fires’ she didn’t speak like that at all. Perhaps she has not been trained in radio acting and thinks she has to have these stops and starts for emphasis or to indicate uncertainty. It is extremely irritating. I thought it would have improved by now and that she would have received some direction to sound more natural - it appears not.
DeleteInterestingly (to me, anyway), I have seen three of the current cast on stage, and they have all been significantly better than they are in The Archers. Maybe it’s the difference in the material they are given, or the difference in the medium, or the dirrence in direction, or a combination of any of those. Maybe best to wait for Will’s Macbeth before judging him ( could be a long wait!)
ReplyDeleteMy criterion for judging a radio actor is whether I can imagine the person in the place where he or she is supposed to be.or if the actor is just standing up reading the lines from a script.
ReplyDeleteIt is unusual for me to say I don’t like a female character, but Pip and the actor who plays her are the exception. Maybe because the character is boring the actor is employing acting techniques of stop, pause, umms etc by trying to make her interesting and more dynamic.
ReplyDeleteDo I believe that? No.
I have just listened to the gun scene again on the Omnibus, and I still found it very powerful, affecting and well acted by ALL of the participants, despite reading what others have written here.
ReplyDeleteI am not usually out of step with many of you, especially Spicy and Lanjan, so I am wondering why it seemed a fitting and believable climax to me, when it was ‘tosh’ to others?
Perhaps I am naive, gullible or just too easily pleased?
I thought it well acted and scripted too but of course we all have our own views. Am just relieved no one died! I certainly found it gripping.
DeleteArcherphile, along with Ev and Miriam later today, I found that scene gripping and believeable and I thought Eddy was magnificent in his perfection of how to stop his sons proposed actions.
DeleteIt could not have been any better IMO.
✔️👍🏻🤗
DeleteThank you, all three. I’m glad I was not the only one. I thought my judgement was begining to decline with old age!
DeleteI also found it gripping and moving, believable emotions displayed by the characters as we know them.
DeleteI have radio 4 on all the time. I have the World Service at night.
ReplyDeleteI am selective and do sometimes turn the radio off, or listen to music. But I listen to so much because I find most of it interesting.
Increasingly I find younger female contributors to a variety of programmes very similar to Daisy Badger as Pip.
Even those whose first language is not English often display the characteristics that are complained about from TA listeners.
Personally I accept Pip and her voice as who Pip is as projected by the actress.
I don't much like it either but like others of her age both on the radio and in life this seems to be the way young woman choose to speak.
Is it affected ?
I don't know, speech and language changes and develops through time, and, it would seem rapidly now days.
Perhaps we should ask Michael Rosen to do a programme on the rise and fall ( or not) and speech patterns of young women's voices.
I'm not sure, but I don't think either of my granddaughters have these mannerisms.
Not sure, because the eldest might have some, but the younger one I think does not.
Mrs P - I agree about speech patterns changing over time - people here have said how different early episodes of The Archers sound from those of today. I think ‘affected’ also depends on the listener. The old buffer tones of Oliver, for example, sound affected to some, and I’m afraid Lynda Snell has always sounded dreadfully affected to me. It was a relief to find it wasn’t the actor’s natural speaking voice!
DeleteArcherphile, you are definitely not naive nor gullible. I am most certainly not, as I am another one who found Friday nights episode, both powerful and well acted. I listened to the omnibus this morning and really enjoyed all the weeks build-up to Friday, alongside the "Ghost of Grey Gables" silliness. It seemed a good balance to me.
ReplyDeleteTo add, as I have said before, I am a very visual person. When I read a book or listen to the radio, my mind automatically turns it into a visual context, so it is like watching a film or a TV programme. I never think about a radio programme in the context of actors/actresses standing by a mike. reading from a script.
This is difficult to explain, but I don't hear TA, I see it, and the characters and Ambridge always look the same to me.
Know exactly what you mean ⭐️
DeleteI still think that Fridays episode had been planned for very many months.
ReplyDeleteOriginally (IMO only) it would have included Joe. He would have been the one telling Eddie, about Nic, Matt + the accident - as Nic told him this, with her last words - not Ed. I also think that the ghost story has been written in, along with Bev keeping Poppy, as Joe would have been quite a prominent character in the build-up episodes. The S/Ls have had to changed, re-written and I think the SWs have done a great job.
I think many will disagree, but these are my thoughts only.
Sounds plausible ✔️
DeleteAgree, that makes a lot of sense. The only bit I wasn’t convinced by on Friday was the confession about the hit and run that seemed blurted out of nowhere. Joe being there would have made it plausible for me.
DeleteBut not possible 😥
DeleteI know many do not like my many ideas + thoughts. This I totally accept + understand.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like, on this wonderful site, is that I can tell these and every-one is so civil and not antagonistic.
I am a true Archers Fan.
👏🏻 🤗
DeleteKate in the community - a bit of farce and some tragedy, it was all right I suppose.
ReplyDeleteWill needs to go to a GP quickly, just to get signed off from work, for a number of weeks. Without this, Martin Gibson could well terminate his employment and this would mean that Woodgreen Cottage also goes.
ReplyDeleteNo 1 The Green, will certainly be crowded then.
The Ambridge Removal Fairy could move, Jennifer + Brian into Grange Farm, Ed Emma Keira + George into Willow Cottage, leaving Will Poppy Eddie + Clarrie +/- Joe, in No.1
Just an early speculation.
Well done Peggy!🤣🤣
ReplyDeleteA episode of 2 half’s. Hilarious with Peggy and Kate. Atrocious crying acting with Clarrie and William.
ReplyDeleteOh Peggy 10/10 “Before you go out could you take me to the lavatory “ etc 😂😂😂😂
ReplyDeleteWill you are paying the price for delaying your grief so please take Eddie’s advice and for starters visit your Dr.
Sometimes people feel pressured to claim they are getting on ok so as not to worry family / friends or to tell them what they want to hear and therefore it’s a possibility that this is where some mental issues can stem from (imo)
i felt a difference in the character of Will this evening.
ReplyDeleteVoice lowered, subdued. Even understanding when speaking with Clarrie when she came to find him in the workshop.
I actually thought ' oh some acting from this character at last ' and it caused me to think that the previous 'Will' was acting too. That whiny sneery delivery has had a great deal to do with creating this unpleasant person. But now having reached the bottom the voice has changed to signify that fall.
On the other half, I cheered on Peggy.
A very clever turnaround.
Well done SWs.
Well done Keri Davis, you can tell he is back this week!
ReplyDeleteThe scenes with Peggy & Kate were very clever, Peggy exploiting Kate to the full, she’ll have great fun over the next few weeks until Jakob realises that Kate is not actually Peggy’s ‘carer’. I hope she makes the most of it.
Then Will, subdued, in great need of solace and comfort. Clarrie and Eddie are just the ones to provide it, and get him on the road to recovery at long last. And they will make sure he sees a doctor too, even though he thinks he doesn’t need one.
I think there is now a glimmer of light at the end of Will’s long dark tunnel.
Apologies for daring to differ, but I thought Peggy was being obnoxious yesterday. So rude to say ‘How odd’ to a guest when Jakob said he didn’t like cake - and then to make much of it by forcing it on him, so he had to keep refusing. And as for deliberately ruining his and Kate’s outing....what an old bag that woman is!
Delete
ReplyDeleteMay I make a suggestion?
It may seem a bit pernickety
On our blog we have the facility to reply to a comment by going back to the original post to reply means that earlier replies to that post are often beneath it if you see what I mean so a 8:04 pm is followed by a 6:35 pm followed by a 3:08 pm which means the posts are out of sinc
This means that when somebody refers back to a post of 9 :06 am it could be anywhere.
Therefore what I suggest is that we ignore the orange REPLY and just write a comment saying to which post we are referring by name and time.
I think some posts may not be read because people know how far back they have read and when they reach that point they do not scroll back any further but someone might have written a pertinent reply at a later time by pressing the orange REPLY
Well, for the first time for a long time I thoroughly enjoyed last night's episode. To me, the Grundy first-half had some credibility at last, whilst the Kate/Peggy/Jakob episode was hilarious. "Will you take me to the toilet, dear?" (a phrase I hope I never have to use!). That'll teach her, or should do. As for a chap who doesn't like cake - very strange. If he doesn't want it, I'll have it...
ReplyDeleteI do not think that Peggy is an old bag at all Maryellen.
ReplyDeleteShe is a very shrewed old lady who I would think was very hurt by what Kate has implied to Jakob .
Kate lying to him was appalling.
I would have been livid had that been done to me by a close relative and would have been far ruder than Peggy.
I think of Jakob as a cardboard cut out.
He has absolutely no personality
Talking to him must be like getting blood out of a stone.
Dr Dolittle he certainly is not.
As for Kate,if I were Peggy I would give her Notice and either get somebody in to share the house with her or ask Emma if she will return to do what Kate has failed to do
If Jakob (wisely) doesn’t eat cake, he’s probably kept his figure. No wonder Kate fancies him. And he’s nice to demanding old women too!
ReplyDeleteArcherphile 12:10am 2nd September
ReplyDeleteI agree that Eddie will be good for Will but not Clarrie.
She would drive me to distraction with her moany voice and fussy ways, whittering on.
Going round saying “Oh Willyum” is not going to do him any good at all.
He needs someone who will be firm but kind.
Nic is not coming back and he has got to accept that and plan his future without her.
I think Clarrie is a lot to blame for the way her sons have behaved .
Her daughter in law has more common sense in her little finger than she has .
Maryellen, 6.22am
ReplyDeleteNo need to apologise for differing from my assessment of last night’s episode.
I have got used to us often having different opinions about plot and characters.
It’s what makes this site interesting!
Gosh, I hope it's not the only thing, AP !
DeleteImportant message from Peggy, she was just going to ring the WINNERS (in the plural) of the competition. Then Jakob arrives minus his social skills. We are now expected to wait, the anticipation of wanting to know will be too much. Can I survive another 24 hours or so until she tells us.
ReplyDeleteThe storyline of losing a partner, so young is a terrible experience for anyone to endure, but using the character of Will to project the storyline has not worked for me.
Maryellen 8:34am
ReplyDeleteJakob is not nice to old women-well not to one particular one.
Peggy offered him a choice of cakes.
He could have said he had just eaten or was about to eat but would love a small slice of cake.
I think Peggy knew what Kate was like but now has it confirmed that she is a lazy,lying sponger.
Get shot of her,Peggy.
Send her back to her parents.
(Got her relationship with Peggy mixed up earlier.
Of course she is her granddaughter not gt granddaughter )
Nice one, Peggy - Kate had it coming ! I wonder how long the chemistry will last with Jakob ?
ReplyDeletePeggy's having a great time - holding the whole community in thrall about her competition & putting Kate's nose out of joint.
Listening to last nights episode as I drove to work I thought Jakob had told Peggy that he had been led to believe Kate was her carer, was corrected and was in on Peggy’ behaviour.
ReplyDeleteLike many people I think Jakob is being portrayed as on the autistic spectrum. He is lacking in social graces and probably not very good at reading people, so he has accepted what Kate told him about being the family peacemaker and Peggy’s carer at face value and assigned the details of these roles from his own conception of how these work.
That sounds feasible. But I wonder if this will be pointed up and explained in the story, so that we have a mini public awareness campaign about autism, or whether the SWs will just leave listeners to reach their own conclusions?
ReplyDeleteI think the whole basis of Peggy's competition is ridiculous. Those of you who have worked in the commercial world will know just how long it takes to prepare a proposal to win a half-million pound contract (which is effectively what we have here) - identifying all the variables, spreadsheeting the figures to show best/most likely/worst case scenarios - each to include forecast return on investment - not to mention the dreaded Powerpoint presentation. All we heard on the evening of the proposals meeting was clips of shallow, subjective deliveries. Of course, none of us want to listen to 13 minutes of business-speak, but it would have been more credible if at least one of the proposers described in better detail how the money would be used and, more importantly, how their initiative was likely to develop and grow.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, I know the old bat has some eco/sustainability aim, but the money aspect cannot be ignored and the proposals need to show her money is being invested wisely. And I seem to recall there is some shadowy finance man advising her. He will know all about this.
Or - please tell me, someone - have I totally missed the point? Is this simply and unconditional gift that will most likely go to one of the Archers clan?
Lanjan, good idea about replies, if only we could have numbers, that's why I often read and comment at the end.
ReplyDeletePtby - I agree, William's crying was appalling, they should have done without.
I am very odd as I no longer like cake and eat it exceptionally when home made.
Maryellen, I find Peggy a waspish old woman but in this instance Kate had obviously been telling big lies to paint herself in a good light and Peggy was quite right to get her own back! Insulting to imply she has to be helped to the loo! Also it is odd not to like cake, shortbread and flapjacks and at Peggy’s age surely she can comment about the oddness as long as she doesn’t say it in a disparaging manner.
ReplyDeleteGood manners apply whatever one’s age. I think Peggy is a bit of a sadist, enjoying Jakob’s discomfiture while she attempted to force feed him cake, and subjecting prevents visitors to her horrible cat’s malign behaviour - at least he was spared that.
Deleteprevious visitors
DeleteI agree about the cake. If someone says they don't want it, they don't want it. Why the Spanish Inquisition ?
DeleteThis calls to mind a frequent, tedious childhood ritual. A great aunt comes to tea, & , when offered cake, makes a great fuss on the lines of 'Oh, I shouldn't !' several times before allowing herself to be persuaded. Of course, she wanted it all along. I often wished my mother would simply accept the first refusal, so I could witness the auntie's discomfiture. ( nasty child...)
Yes, Carolyn, and even worse, saying no thanks and meaning it when offered a second helping, only to be thought you are doing ‘a Carolyn’s auntie’, so the persuading carries on until in desperation you say yes please, and the persuader thinks they were right all along...if they haven’t dumped a second helping on your plate anyway. Aaaaah!
DeleteMy first attempt at using my desktop rather than my phone - we'll see if it works! I'm with Sir Ron (12:57): I've been involved in writing research proposals for much less than half a million and it's a very complicated process. You need to produce detailed budgets with breakdowns of all costs, as well as very clear statements of objectives and how they will be achieved. I like TA because it is more based in reality than other "continuing dramas". (I confess to following "Neighbours" and "Holby City" but am increasingly put off by their far-fetched storylines!) However, I am disappointed by the sloppiness shown in getting details correct for Emma's mortgage and Peggy's trust - it can't be that hard.
ReplyDeleteI assumed that when Peggy said that she had to ring one of the competitors, she was informing the winner.
ReplyDeleteIt was strange, that this was not meationed again.
Perhaps it was to let them know, that they had been disqualified, for an unknown reason.
Who knows??
I would still like The Judges, to decide that none of the projects meet the actual requirements of the Conservation Trust, so it is postponed. This does not mean being abandoned, but just disappears for a while.
DeleteThere are far more topics to be dealt with:-
Lexi's birth - will she give the babe up?
Will - what will happen next for him + Poppy
Joe's passing - how, when and its effects.
These to me are for more relevant and important.
I loved Peggy + Jakob, winding Kate up. Pure TA magic IMHO.
ReplyDeleteWho knows how long June Spencer (now 100yrs) will continue as Peggy. She to me is still a wonderful actress + TA character.
I really enjoyed it too, Miriam - really made me chuckle. I think I can see what Peggy's thinking was re Jakob and the cake. She was obviously casting around to think what she could offer him instead of a slice of cake proper, thinking that flapjack and shortbread were more akin to biscuits than something like a sponge or fruit cake. Peggy knows exactly what Kate is like, and is clever enough to call her bluff.
DeleteMaryellen, 3.15 - Hilda would have stood no chance with Jakob, he's handled her and more besides.
ReplyDeleteTrue, O Basia!
DeleteSir Ron, 12.57pm.
ReplyDeleteYou haven’t missed the point. The presentations were ridiculous, especially Pip and Pheobe rewilding fields they don’t have.
For me it was Peggy on a power trip bestowing her beneficence on the community, but making them sing for their supper. She is just divvying out the money in a more divide and rule dictatorship style.
My prediction, based on nothing tangible, is that some money will go Adam, some to the tiresome trio and some to Tom and Natasha the apple queen. Half a million three ways.
But there will be conditions. At a guess they will have to work together. Causing more friction. 😁
Well done who said that they'd keep Phoebe in Ambridge!
ReplyDeleteI think it was Stasia? who said they'd keep an Oxford graduate in the village.
DeletePersonally I didn't like Ruth saying that Pip would come on board if Brookfield won, but they have plenty of land for rewilding.
Don’t they use their land productively, ie. farm it?
DeleteWell, I did say that the winner of Peggy's competition would be Phoebe & co. All they have to do now is find the suitable land . . .
ReplyDeleteWhat happens if they can’t buy any land to rewild in Ambridge?
ReplyDeleteSo a re-wilding project in in Ambridge!
ReplyDeletePhoebe strikes me as one of those people who will work hard to achieve something, possibly to prove how clever they are, then going off to another project. My niece is a bit like that; natural sciences at Cambridge, then passed all her law exams then threw in very good prospects with a city firm to join some start up computer company writing programs for a legal advice website or similar. Along side this she has also had several art exhibitions in small galleries, it exhausts me just thinking about it all.
Exactly ,Maryellen 7:25pm
ReplyDeleteI thought the winners/competition/Lexi/Willyum/everything is absolute rubbish. I am finished with it. Will begin making presents for the winter solstice instead.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what kind of presents you make Mistral. My daughter is about to start making blackberry jelly, my son when in this country used to make a very nice sloe gin, and I have a friend who spins her own wool and then knits warm socks as gifts. For my birthday she gave me socks made from alpaca wool, so very special.
DeleteTonight set my teeth on edge from start to finish. Jennifer was a total pain, a caricature of herself, as for Lexi - bit late to get all sensitive about Roy, isn't it ?
ReplyDeleteAs for the rewilding, surely crazy ? They couldn't even answer the basic question 'where?' when they did their presentation. Ignorant as I certainly am on such things, Adam made sense when he was talking to Iain, & the other projects sounded more thought through. Bet the judges aren't experts at all, they just went for something that sounded 'sexy' or on trend.
Oh dear god she’s back. 🤮
ReplyDeleteBoth Lanjan and myself were wrong on the money scheme so bet and cake are void!!! 🍰😩
We have a few days to have another bet ,P tbY !
ReplyDeleteAny ideas?
Why does Phoebe have to do anything with her Oxford degree.
ReplyDeleteShe doesn't even get a grant now days, so she doesn't ' owe it ' to anyone other than herself.
I know a young woman who worked hard at getting her Oxford degree, got herself an excellent position in the city and works her socks off earning her mega bucks.
Throughout all these years she gets up at five, drives out to where her horse is stabled ( yes she did pay for the horse herself) and exercises it. And she did this throughout her time at Oxford too.
She is working her way up the eventing ladder ( and boy does she work hard ) because this has been her ambition for ever.
She worked to get the degree, to enable her to get a job that would pay for her passion and ambition. She has also bought her own flat in the last year.
Perhaps Phoebes ambition is to re wild part of the environment where she grew up.
I had forgotten how annoying I used to find Lexi - it all came rushing back tonight!
ReplyDeleteSo what with gushing Jennifer, laconic Adam, bouncy Ian, infuriating Phoebe and stop-start Pip it was not a good episode for me tonight!
Jennifer was just totally embarrassing,
ReplyDelete