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Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments' - Episode 8 Life Outside Ambridge Beach Chairs
Nightingale Farm - "a farm in name only, Matt Crawford lost it when he was convicted of fraud." A candidate for re-wilding? Or is that yet another of these bloody stupid schemes in Ambridge that just "happen"? No costings, no research, no due process, zero consultations etc. Just the whim of a scriptwriter and to hell with reality in any way shape or form... Grrrrrrr!
ReplyDeleteBTW, Ruthy emailed me to say she is busy, busy, busy - but had a great big break and will be rejoining us soon!
ReplyDelete✔️🤗 glad Ruthie is well but what a great job you are doing for us GG 👏🏻
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ReplyDeleteCouldn't get my words straight.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear that Ruthy is to join us again soon.
In the meantime, well done Gary for keeping us going.
Isn't this where Majorie Antrobus lived with her dog(s)? Poss red setters or great danes. She was Ruth's landlady when R was a student.
ReplyDeleteThat’s good news re Ruthy. I was starting to get worried about her.
ReplyDeleteI’m dreading the arrival of “ the second coming”.
At this rate I’ll be looking forward to Linda and her pantomime, which I normally detest.
Comment on all above!
ReplyDeleteRoy and Hayley also lived in the flat at Nightingale Farm.
Not sure what happened to the farmland when Marjorie Antrobus lived there because she wouldn't have needed all that much for her Afghan Hound breeding. Presumably absorbed into either Home Farm or even Brookfield.
So glad Ruthy is still interested and around. Look forward to more comments from across the pond!!
Thanks Gary so much for keeping us going.
I can’t speak for anyone else of course, but I’m going to be nice to/about the new and innocent little ‘Archer’ arrival - s/he didn’t ask to be born in circumstances bloggers disapprove of, to people bloggers disapprove of. Ambridge needs to ‘grow’ it’s next generation.
ReplyDeleteMarjorie Antrobus aka "The Dog Woman"! definitely Afghans. courage Ruthy, looking forward to your return.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear Ruthy is well. Very happy and grateful to Gary and Ruthy for keeping the blog going.
ReplyDeleteAny chance of a reconciliation or rekindling of Roy and Lexi?
I do hope not !
DeleteWell I was 2thirds wrong.
ReplyDeleteGary 11.47 pm. 2nd
The now Gleesome threesome couldn’t have undertaken all the due process of presenting a project, no land. Also No trial runs, so now they will have to do the rounds of Ambridge farmers looking for land to rewild. Totally ridiculous! project management is a professional occupation. I don’t think a degree from anywhere will equip these three with the skills to undertake the project. Who will take the lead. They will have to sort out allocation of tasks, otherwise it’s a case of too many cooks
Then we had shrieking Jenny, dopey dads and bumpy woman.
I was also squirming with embarrassment as I listened.
We have lurched from a gun wielding suicidal depressive to stupidity.
Gary. Thank you for contacting Ruthy. Good to know she will be back soon.
DeleteAgree Carolyn.
ReplyDeleteDreadful woman.
How could she even contemplate being so cruel to someone she professed to love?
carolyn 9.37am.
DeleteI also agree. I find her faux accent irritating.
Lanjan 9.40am.
Just teasing.
Well said Stasia
ReplyDeleteMaryellen 8.55
ReplyDeleteInteresting point - what will the new baby be called? Can’t be an Archer (though a member of ‘The Archers’ community of course). Will it be a Macy or a Craig, or a double-barrelled version of the two? Or will ‘Grandma’ Jennifer insist an Aldridge is inserted somewhere in the name?
Alex Craig-Travers-Macy? (No Aldridge genes!)
DeleteI know we don’t usually mention politics here but I’m finding a grim amusement in the current political situation’s similarity to the TA scenario - are we building up to a big Friday evening denouement/cliffhanger re a general election???
ReplyDeleteOh lord, that was a dreadful episode last night! I think that if Jennifer carries on like she did last night, coupled with having Lexi hanging around after the baby is born, it might well prompt me to switch off for a few weeks
ReplyDeleteWhat a combination of annoying voices, even more fussing from Jennifer, together with a ridiculous result to Peggy’s competition, all in one evening!
My beloved Archers just went beyond the pale for me last night. Especially after the drama and excellent acting we were given on Friday.
Gary - good news about Ruthie, glad to know she is OK and will be posting again soon.
ReplyDeleteBut are you going to carry on as our administrator? You have been doing a splendid job with keeping us on track and with your super photos. Perhaps you and Ruthie might share duties in future, or just provide cover for each other when away?
Glad to hear that Ruthy is okay. Think it would be lovely to have a river at the bottom of the garden.
ReplyDeleteSpicycushion 8 a.m.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Afghans. I knew the dogs were unusual.Was one named Bettina?
And the other Portia.
DeleteAfghans very popular in the seventies and eighties.
DeleteHardly see them now, although I expect there are some, just not as fashionable as they were.
In the seventies when I had my Llasa Apso a close friend had two Afghans. Wonderful looking dogs, but very neurotic.
We made an interesting group when we walked them together.
Archerphile 10.00 a.m.
ReplyDeleteJennifer was toe-curlingly embarrassing and annoying. I wanted to put a cushion over her face and I'm not a violent person!
The re-wilding win is ridiculous. Not thought-out at all and 'trendy'. How on earth are those teenagers going to run such a large undertaking.
Farcical after the drama on Friday.
I thought the gleesome threesome (like it, Stasia!) would win, because it sounded as if they wouldn’t, what with their presentation tailing off so dismally.
DeleteI wonder if the Re-wilding will now be put on hold.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Pip,Rex and Phoebe will not be heard of after this week for a while.
I can’t see where the script writers can go with the story.
How are they going to spend the £500:000?
Are the three of them going to go round the village buying up spare plots of land if there are any?
I think they will find it difficult to rewild .
If you have ever tried to sow wild flowerseed (very expensive to buy) in a garden you will find that you don’t have the success you think you should have because the cultivated soil in the garden is too rich.
So rewilding won! I thought that might be the case when the SW tried to put us off the scent by Peggy asking “What ground(s) do you have earmarked to start your project “ - Phoebe “er none....”
ReplyDeleteMy next thought is Rex and two women! Pip always ready to snap at anyone who suggests Rex has a girlfriend as she did when it was assumed by Kate (?) that he and Phoebe might be getting together - well the scene has now been set for the 2 women to be in a close working relationship with him🤔
As for Lexi 😱 What is the matter with the bl...y woman- she’s free Roy is free he offered to go to Poland, although there might be a problem there now of course - so...is it because the baby is Roy’s or even someone else’s from home, has she met someone at home and dreads coming clean to Roy. There is definitely something afoot😧
Oh how I wish the baby was Roy's, not possible? even in Ambridge?
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DeleteI cannot see any way that woman can stay in Ambridge once the baby is born for everyone’s sake.
ReplyDeleteLook elsewhere Roy.
Maybe Elizabeth is still willing.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLady R 1.15pm.
ReplyDeleteI am deeply offended. I do not wish, as a half 🇵🇱 Polish person, to be associated with Lexie’s nationality. She is 🇧🇬 from Bulgaria.😅😀 Although the actor has a Polish background.
Lexie is now holed up in the 👶 baby’s bedroom (Calling it the nursery sounds too pretentious) staring at the clouds trying to avoid Roy. No doubt we will have will they, won’t they get together antics.
If we are going to be subjected to Roy running around desperate for attention, claiming undying 💗 then I shall definitely be turned off. Too much of this sort of yuckyness is not good for the ears.
Miriam.
ReplyDeleteIf you notice,Lady R made a comment at 1:15pm
I made a comment at 1:32pm
When I made it it was the next one down from Lady R’s
Basia and you made comments at 4:21 pm and 4: 34 pm and you pressed the orange REPLY button.
Because of this your comments appeared higher up than mine which meant that the times were not in order.
There is nothing wrong with this and I am not criticising either of you but it is easier if we all ignore the REPLY button and stick to the Comment button at the bottom it means that comments appear in the order they are written which makes it easier for folk to follow.
Miriam,
ReplyDeleteI am only addressing this to you as I thought you were unsure what I was suggesting.
I do rather go round the houses ,I know ,when I write some comments
As was mentioned yesterday.
It is not a directive.
I just thought it would make it easier especially for those with vertigo who don’t like scrolling up too far.
By doing what I suggest it means one only needs to scroll up as far as the last post one read without checking to see if anyone has left a reply by pressing the orange REPLY button higher up the blog.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLanjan 5.49. What you say does make perfect sense, & makes following the posts easier. Like Seasider said earlier, it can get confusing when posts are out of chronological order. If one wants to respond to a particular post, it's quite easy to start with person & time they posted, & then everyone can be clear where they are.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteStasia 5.19pm
ReplyDeletePlease accept my deepest apologies 🙏🏼
Miriam, 5.54 + 6.34, you are . perfectly entitled to navigate the blogs & post as you wish, & no one is telling you off or dictating. It is simply that Lanjan came up with an idea that seems to many of us to make life simpler here, so we intend to carry on as she suggested. It has nothing to do with personalities, & backgrounds, as you stated. It is not compulsory, so please stop acting hard done by & don't make an unnecessary issue of this.
ReplyDeletemaking an issue of it, &
Omit repeated last line..
DeleteFamous last words Emma, what are you going to do, emigrate? Each child by one brother, linked to both.
ReplyDeletedifferent brother
DeleteTony said he had mixed feelings about Freddie doing a sculpture for the church, because he's been to prison? I'd have expected him to be the last person to care, but there we are.
Lanjan.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a good idea with the name and time as I’ve missed loads from not scrolling back enough in the past only to find replies days later.
I do tend to start with the name of who I want to reply to.
Miriam, there is no right or wrong way, no directives etc. Everyone just go with the flow. Everyone’s opinions differ, and so they should, otherwise the world would be a boring place.
Namaste 🙏 all.
Basia, Freddie has done his time and has behaved well since his release from prison. It shouldn’t taint him forever and as a hopefully reformed character I would have thought he was ideal for making a contribution to the church. Tony must be very unforgiving!
ReplyDeleteI was pleased to hear Ed vocalising to Emma that their behaviour had had a detrimental effect on Will, although Emma was less willing to accept responsibility.
ReplyDeleteI can’t see why Tony seems so negative about Freddie, he served a pretty stiff sentence (compared to what might have been expected) and Tony & his close family had not been hurt in any way, Nolunthando’s family would have more reason to bear a grudge (although it would be hypocritical on Kate’s part)
I thought Emma was being very hard tonight, self righteous and very unforgiving.
ReplyDeleteWhereas Ed was much more understanding of Will’s behaviour and actions. He was ready to admit that he and Emma had been at the root of Will’s problems, and that they had to shoulder some blame. Emma, of course, refused to see that and only seemed interested in how events directly affected her and her children.
Ed went up a great deal in my estimation this evening and, sadly, Emma sank even further down.
Archerphile I feel as you do, Ed rose in my estimation tonight, though for me, Ed has always been a good 'un.
ReplyDeleteI cannot though but feel for Emma.
Forty five years ago I was in precisely her place.
Rejected by a husband with the excuse, I'm not good enough.
I see Emma feeling as I did.
' This has come to an end, I have to be strong for my children, I will not allow myself to be hurt again. I must shut down my emotions in order to survive. '
Sensitive men like Ed Grundy, and my husband, attract and are attracted to strong women.
It happens frequently.
Emma feels, knows absolutely that she will have to rebuild her life. She will believe that she can only do so by being resolute and keeping emotions only for her children.
When a woman feels this way, there is only one way to be.
Hard.
I also felt after Eds plea to her that she did, however reluctantly, admit some degree of culpability towards Wills condition.
I feel that I must also say, well done to the writing team.
We complain often that loose ends are left loose, yet here we have the circumstances of almost twenty years ago being brought to bear on a situation now.
How many of us, none blogging then, felt deeply concerned at Emma's ambivalence all those years ago about which brother she loved and which would be a better mate for her. And how deeply did we fear that one day it would all end in a sad emotional mess for all concerned.
Of course it's not over yet.
The SW might have another story to tell regarding George and his confusion over two fathers who are also brothers in another twenty years.
Dynasty ?
Mrs P. Yesterday 11.03
ReplyDeleteWhat a very wise and erudite post.
I am fortunate not to have had your experience but I can understand why you feel some sympathy for Emma. Who wouldn’t given that you went through something similar.
I remember very clearly being horrified and disgusted by the way Emma behaved around the time of her marriage to Will. Sleeping with Ed the night before her wedding. Abandoning Will and taking George to live in an old caravan with Ed. Trying to convince Will that George was Ed’s son and not Will’s until a test proved otherwise.
I think I have never forgiven her for that behaviour. Not even when she eventually married Ed, settled down with him and had Keira who was, indeed, Ed’s Child.
I have always had great sympathy for Will, even when he was castigated for being miserable, bad tempered and difficult. I think I always put it down to his reaction to Emma’s treatment of him.
Ed has, to my mind, behaved more honourably than Emma, acknowledging that Will has hit rock bottom and that he & Emma bear some responsibility.
Strangely, I can forgive Ed to some extent and think he is basically a good man: Emma I can never like or forgive.
AP - Isn’t it the teensiiest-weeniest bit illogical to blame Emma for sleeping with Ed on her wedding eve, but not Ed for sleeping with Emma? As I recall, it was entirely mutual. Is this the old double standard rearing its ugly head? I think she is wise to steer clear of him while he still has the possibility of a criminal charge/gang retribution hanging over his head.
ReplyDeleteYes, they were both to blame, she for doing such a thing on the eve of her wedding and he for sleeping with his brother’s soon to be bride.
ReplyDeleteDiffering opinions above are proof, if 'twere needed, that last night's drama was so.much better than the nonsense dished up on Monday.
ReplyDeleteThe scenes between Emma & Ed were painful & real. Could see both points of view, but still hope they will be reunited eventually ( some incurable romantic lurking inside, maybe...)
I guess all 3 made grave errors in the past, but 2 of them have grown up & possibly this will be a turning point for Will as well.
I don't forget how kind & sensitive Emma had been to Will & his children ever since Nic's death. She's had shock after shock - though it is true her desperation for a home caused selective blindness to the Tim danger. Nic's involvement in the Crawford accident was, perhaps, the last straw. Ed wants a reconciliation but, another aspect, she has to get over being dumped by him, however understandable his reason was in the moment.
At last an episode with some substance and not the usual twiddle-twaddle we have been subjected to recently.
ReplyDeleteI think Ed and Emma are over egging the lemon drizzle cake. Life experiences do influence how we move on, but Will was not a child when Ed and Emma did the dirty on him. He did move on and then experienced a terrible loss in difficult circumstances. The gun business should be taken seriously and not as Ed is attempting to do, silence Emma for the sake of rationalising away his own guilt about his relationship with his brother.
carolyn.9.04 am. I concur I didn’t believe Emma’s final words.
Of course they have both contributed to William's unhappiness, yet Emma is reluctant to accept it, coming up with: so you wish we'd never been together and bringing Nic's accident into it, she's simplistic and refuses to see the larger picture, the way Ed does. As Foso once said: life does not invalidate anything. It's not an overdraft that can be cancelled. I note that Emma has her cherished table back and now she wants nothing to do with Ed and his family. As Clarrie once told her she made both her sons unhappy, leaving William, breaking up with Ed then marrying him and they all live very close together.
ReplyDeleteYes Stasia, I wasn't thinking about the gun, should William's licence be suspended, pending a medical report?
DeleteIf his licence is suspended his job is on the line as gamekeepers presumably need a gun.
DeleteWhilst we had Ed/Emma were doing their thing, the little distraction of Ruth and Tony discussing cows and slaughter houses has other implications?
ReplyDeletePip is a full time employee on the farm, but now she has another job with a packet of money. Will she and the others pay themselves a salary?
If I were Ruth and David I would sit Pip down and discuss Her commitment to the job at Brookfield.
Little Rosie won’t how who her mother is unless Pip takes her meetings or Toby becomes a full time father.
More twiddle-twaddle to come. Mooo, Baaa.
In the middle of all the acrimonious argy-bargy in the programme (and, I infer, earlier in this blog), there was a glimpse - just a glimpse - of farming reality in last night's episode. It was good to hear the clanking, swishing and mooing in the milking parlour with Ruth and Tony talking about the demise of Crowther's abattoir and the problem it is giving Hassett Hills cooperative. So Crowther's is going out of business for the want of a £15,000 loan to repair the floor? The bank won't play ball but there are other avenues. We can't expect at least one of the Gleesome Threesome to support slaughtering. So, come on, Peggy! Cough up a bit more dosh to support real farming.
ReplyDeleteBasia.9.45.
ReplyDeleteTo put it simply, yes.
Maryellen. 8.18
ReplyDeleteYes, I suppose I am being a bit illogical blaming Emma for sleeping with Ed on her wedding Eve and not Ed. He was, of course, also in the wrong, but somehow I have always blamed the bride more than the groom’s brother. That’s just me, illogical, I admit it! But it was also all the other things she did to Will that have coloured my opinion of her. Especially trying to deceive him about George back then and now vowing never to let him see his son again.
Sir Ron. 9.58
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree, it was good to hear some proper farming sounds last night. To be reminded that farming still goes on in Ambridge and that folk are trying to earn their living from it.
Despite the concentration on relationships these days I should like a bit more farming content (not airy fairy schemes put forward by Phoebe et al, which aren’t ‘farming’ at all) - proper hands-on farming, animal noises, feed prices and yes, even problems with abattoirs closing down.
And abattoirs closing is and has been a real problem. Not least to the animals who previously would have had a short journey, but now might be transported many miles to face their end.
ReplyDeleteAgree Wills Gun licence should be suspended or revoked for the time being. Of course this would mean that he would not be able to carry out his work requirements and would be unlikely to please M Gibson.
Agree also with opinions regarding Ed and Emma's coupling on the eve of her marriage to Will. However, I am also acutely aware of passions and emotions running high where sexual attraction is in the moment.
We are animals at base.
Sometimes there is but a veneer of human civilisation.
And at the time the SW made the most of such failings of the humans involved.
Emma is a caring person, with a wide and nasty streak down the middle of her character. A rounded personality.
Back to the milking parlour for a moment... Tony mentioned to Ruth how impressed he was with the Rapid Exit System. What's that? Apologies to those who know but here is a very short film showing it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWLW_xo-52c . I think I was more impressed with the entry system than exit. Now I have a better picture Ruth & David (and Pip now and then) at milking time.
ReplyDeleteI watched for a minute, all this machinery, I remember a stream of milk against a bucket under the udder...
Delete✔ and having to use binder twine to tie together the back legs of the occasional kicker to save the bucket going over!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteSorry, trying to write on my tiny iPhone and got the letters all mixed up. Not an important comment anyway.
ReplyDeleteTony mentioned that Tom and Natasha are in Cuba on their honeymoon. I hope they don't get caught up in the hurricane.
ReplyDeleteI love Cuba and I hope it has missed the hurricane.
DeleteI am planning my 3rd visit.
Sorry. I hope they do, and don’t return. For a very long time. I hear that the America’s want our pork pies and Tom is best placed to make them. They’re only filled with sausage meat and now they can be complimented with the inclusion of apple 🍏.
DeleteBest made in situ rather than transported thousands of miles.
Stasia - if Tom + Natasha don't return from Cuba, then how can he supply pork pies to America??
Delete😂😂😂
DeleteLexi to Phoebe: how's your father? already putting some distance by not saying Roy's name.
ReplyDeleteThey have to sit down at Brookfield and work out the time table but Ruth comes across as a spiteful petty woman.
I don't agree, Basia, but think instead that Pip comes across as an extremely dense woman.
ReplyDeleteI laughed out loud when Phoebe came out with something like 'I wasn't expecting that' when Peggy asked the most obvious question ! For once, Rex sounded the most compos .mentis of the three.
Miriam. 5.56 pm
ReplyDeleteIt was a political comment. I should have said that they stay in Cuba and make them there, as pork pies don’t travel very well, unless frozen.
That's how I understood your comment Stasia.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn, I'm just anti Ruth at the moment.
I'm trying to remember exactly what happened but wasn't Lexi very nice to Phoebe over a pregnancy scare? Phoebe had a fling with one of the pickers (some name like Constantin) and Lexi pretended that a discovered pregnancy test kit was hers. They do therefore have a connection each other independent of Roy.
ReplyDeleteThey do have that connection, Ex-Londoner, 8.19, so that Phoebe was happy when her father & Lexi got together, & then sad for him when they split, as I remember it. I'd guess Lexi wouldn't want to refer to a blip in Phoebe's past, but instead ask about the other connection, Roy. Also she feels guilty about what she did to him & really does want to know how he is.
ReplyDeleteI did find Lexi over sensitive tonight, however. Why would she not anticipate some awkward questions from the locals ? Why the surprise ? Of course, the man was rude, but the curiosity was genuine - I bet nobody there has come across a surrogacy pregnancy before, close to home, as it were.
I don’t blame Ruth at all.
ReplyDeleteApart from the fact Pip didn’t tell her parents what she was up to she now spends time with her new partners when she should be working at Brookfield.
Phoebe gave her “excellent “ pitch but couldn’t answer the question about what land they would be using.
Surely that is the first thing they should have sorted out as I think Carolyn was implying.
I think Ruth was quite right. Pip’s first loyalty should have been to Brookfield and instead she was competing against them and didn’t even have the honesty to admit it sooner. Now she expects a slice of their land for her crackpot scheme. Surely the judges would have gone into the plans for acquiring the land before making their decision! This whole storyline is so unbelievable!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Ev. I bet they don't get any offers from landowners before the end of the month, don't get the money, & the prize goes to the next on list. Actually, why on earth did they expect an advance before they'd even done anything towards securing some land for the project ?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above comments.
ReplyDeleteThis has been a very badly worked out story - full of holes.
I support Ruth entirely. It’s about time Pip was told what’s what and doesn’t just assume she can do whatever she likes with Brookfield land, and that Mummy and Daddy will praise her every move.
I strongly suspect that the land won’t be found by whenever, how are the trio going to fund such a large purchase for a start - can’t see a bank, or anyone, lending the money for such an ill-thought out scheme.
So they won’t be able to fulfil Peggy's criteria and the money will be awarded to the second best entry - Ruth and David. That should serve Pip right.....I can hardly wait !
I was rather floored when I realised they wouldn't have any money up front to buy some land, and it only needs lower priced land not prime agricultural land.
ReplyDeleteSo, having given it some thought I think what they need to do, as a start, is to contact the National Trust because the trust is moving into rewilding and would probably welcome a joint project. In 2016 the N.T., against some opposition, bought a sheep farm high up in Borrowdale and are working towards returning it to the natural tree covered state it would have been prior to clearance for sheep grazing. Two people in their 30's plus an enthusiastic 21 year old should have no problem in getting a project like that off the ground.
P.s. just looked it up and Pip is only 26. Rex is older but not sure exactly how old. I still think that's plenty old enough to manage a project successfully.
DeleteThere is also the millennium wood.
DeleteIf that is enclosed and B&J were prepared to let it, that could be a small start.
Or does it belong to the community ?
Well Ruth certainly told you Pip!👏🏻 although it could be too little too late! No doubt dad will try to pour oil onto the troubled waters...
ReplyDeleteAnyway it looks as though the Pip /Rex/ Phoebe win could yet turn into Brexit take 2 😱
As for Lexi I’ve lost the plot so what if villagers ask how she is and when is the baby due - what did she expect. Am I missing something 🤔
Also if the Pip project fails and the Brookfield project is then awarded the prize (as Ruth told us this week “Peggy said we were so close” Pip still wins - unless Ruth decides she is not to be a part of it after her “betrayal”....
ReplyDeleteIs the message coming through the shouty-shoutiness which is the hallmark of every TA storyline these days, that farming to feed the world and rewilding to save the world, are incompatible ? I was struck by Adam’s remark about introducing rare breeds of cattle - must be a reason they are rare......?
ReplyDeleteFurther thought about rare cattle ( whilch for me conjure up those eighteenth and nineteenth century landscapes I tend to hurry past), they must be just as bad for the planet as modern breeds like Tony’s Anguses and Montiies, so....?
DeleteLady R September 5, 2019 at 1:00 AM
ReplyDeleteI think what you have said here may prove to be accurate. Honestly, the scullery at Norris Towers this morning echoed to the shrieks of hysterical laughter as I listened to last night's episode and tried unsuccessfully to drink my morning cup of tea without spluttering it all over my new silk pyjamas (birthday present from Lady Norris a few days ago).
To purchase and secure title to 60% of 400 acres by Christmas? Is there that much available for sale? Or (best case) rent? Surely no-one is going to give them the land. What on earth is Peggy and the judges/trustees thinking of? Sorry, SWs, but this set-up-to-fail is far too obvious. So let's hope Brookfield get it in the end and someone kicks Pip's bottom way out of it.
Archerphile September 4, 2019 at 11:05 PM
ReplyDeleteSorry, Archerphile, I should have acknowledged this comment, too. Right on, baby, as my rather gauche US relations would say.
Archerphile,11,05 pm ,I think you will be spot -on.
ReplyDeleteOff course Brian could try to offload some of his already wild bits of land or maybe Brookfield could sell Pip et al a bit of their land .
Lanjan 8.25 (and others, above)
ReplyDeleteI don’t think there is any chance Ruth & David would sell Pip even half an acre of Brookfield land, not after Ruth’s reaction last night.
Are the trio hoping to obtain land in the environs of Ambridge (which was surely the point of Peggy’s competition) or will they have to look further afield? I think the Lake District might be a bit too far!
Are they aiming to secure one big plot for their scheme or several smaller ones, scattered around the village?
I can’t believe that such an ill-thought out scheme, as shown at the end of their presentation when they admitted they had no land yet, could win this prize. The judges seemed more interested in an airy-fairy, currently fashionable scheme than a good solid farming one that could produce food with less effect on the environment.
Maybe the fact that Phoebe is a complete business novice, Rex is a business failure and Pip has no solo business experience, were considered irrelevant by the judges? I think Stasia is right - Peggy Woolley is loving exercising the power of her money and has no intention of letting go. I suspect she was enjoying the gleesome threesome’s discoomfiture as much as Kate and Jakob’s earlier. (I suspect the actor won’t let go either..)
DeleteMaryellen, 6.44
ReplyDeleteYes, of course you are right. Any cattle whether it be a rare breed or a modern one, will produce the same amount of methane unless it’s feed is controlled. Sticking rare breeds in a re-wilded landscape is hardly going to do that.
Janice 11.38 pm.
ReplyDeleteYou are right The NT manages vast amounts of land throughout the UK, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it has all been rewilded. Many of their estates are basically more like theme parks and they also continue to breed and graze cattle and sheep. I am a member, but have been critical of their management of these estates. To facilitate managing the land they have to employ agri/bio scientists plus specialists and tenant farmers along with volunteers to keep the system going.
The three stooges should have realised that Peggy’s scheme would come with conditions!! I suspect Phoebe corralled Pip into the project as she had access to land. Pip assumed her parents would agree because she is the linchpin of Brookfield.
Now they are up a gum tree, hanging over the river Am and not a paddle or 🛶🧠between them.
Could be failure unless Brian or Adam obliges Jenny’s clever granddaughter. I’m still scratching my head about Rex and his input.
Oxford ‘brain-box’ Phoebe is not (I should know) more like my neighbours sons GCSE project work.
Phoebe said last night that she had an idea for the 60% of land use but Pip went back to have it out with Ruth whom I found mean, nasty and jealous. I do hope that the rewilding project succeeds and in Ruth's face if necessary.
ReplyDeleteEx-Londoner, earlier, Phoebe told Roy that the test was Lexi's and she explained to Roy that she didn't have a boyfriend. Lexi took Phoebe to a clinic where she wouldn't touch anything, though she didn't mind touching Konstantin. I just found it odd that she referred to Roy as 'your father' last night.
ReplyDeleteI agree with re-wilding as have indicated on previous blogs as the extinction of our native wildlife continues apace, especially with insects. If that is the plan then small amounts of useless lands can easily be turned into a 'project.'
ReplyDeleteHowever the idea of the Gleesome Threesome being able to buy/rent/lease 400 acres in the next three months is a bit far-fetched.
I absolutely agree with Ruth, for once, that after spending decades turning land into useful productive farmland The Archer family is not likely to let even some of it go 'native!'
Brookfield Farm is about 500 acres so even 10% of their farmland is not going far to help with the target set by Peggy. We know that Brookfield did have some unused land (surprise surprise! and again totally unbelievable, unless they were getting subsidies for 'set-aside' which in my view is scandalous!) which Pip persuaded David to rent to Toby and Rex. Would there be much more available I wonder?
On the whole it does seem to me that maryellen ( 5/9/2019 6.32 am) is right and the storyline here is indicating that feeding the world and conservation are incompatible!
I think that someone may have mentioned this but I'm not sure it was here or on one of the other sites I read but a thought occurs.
ReplyDeleteIn one of his interviews SOC stated that he envisaged Pip as the future of Brookfield. That was around 2013/4. I wonder now whether Jeremy Howe has decided to put that storyline to rest?
He was appointed in Feb 2018 and storylines are apparently 'roughed out' about eighteen months in advance. Time enough by now to change direction of the perfect 'princess' who has been, imv, thoroughly obnoxious over the past decade from being a know-it-all teenager to a thoughtless, demanding young adult expecting everyone to fall into her wishes. Sadly David has sided with her constantly, to her detriment, just the same as Jennifer did with Kate. Both parents did seem to take the child's part against their spouses!
Time will tell I suppose but for me it would be a welcome change to hear more about the boys of Brookfield.
"The Electra complex is a psychoanalytic term used to describe a girl's sense of competition with her mother for the affections of her father". I don't know whether this Internet definition is reliable but it seems relevant to the Brookfield household.
ReplyDeleteStasia 9.30am. I am wondering if Rex could be the steady anchor of the team. He seems sensible.
ReplyDeleteSpicy, 10.29am
ReplyDeleteHooray! Totally agree with your every word about Precious Pip. She was a nightmare in her teenage years, ,unreliable after college (turning down, at the last moment, that job that would lead to a stint in South America) and choosing to lead a *relatively* easy life at Brookfield subsidised by Mum & Dad who have cushioned her throughout her life.
Now the worm (sorry, Ruth) has turned and she is not going to find it so easy to get what she *thinks* she is entitled too.
It’s not just Pip’s voice that annoys me, it’s her whole personality.
Anti-Pip rant over!
Yes, sadly it seems, as Maryellen said that feeding the world and conservation are incompatible.
ReplyDeleteProf. Robert Winston and Bill Gates, the latter when talking of Africa, advocate the use of GMOs for the increasing world population, presumably they do as they preach.
I agree with most of what Ruth says but not how she says it.
Janice(11.50am), I thought that too.He'll take a cooler look at the situation ( & may conclude he'd rather jump ship ) At the same time, I'd love to see him succeed spectaculatly at SOMETHING. He seems to have lost his mojo these days but he was such a grafter when he first arrived, while his bro' just swanned around, weighing up the local talent & never present when there was work to do.
ReplyDeleteAgree, Spicy(10.29), I'd welcome more from Josh & Ben.
ReplyDeleteStasia 9:30am -I smiled when I read that you call the trio”The Three Stooges”
ReplyDeleteI used to watch them when we went to Saturday afternoon Cinema (6d) (or “the Pictures” ) in the 1950s
Can’t use the Gleesome Threesome because Peggy has burst their bubble. They thought they could immediately get their hands on the dosh.
DeleteMy local wildlife trust has a field near my house (10.minutes walk away) and it has rare plants and flowers. But every year it has to be mowed so that these wild plants can grow again, along with the various insects. In the scheme of things 400 acres will eat up Peggy’s half million very quickly. Especially if they have to buy land. Poor quality land could equal housing. Why isn’t a Justin Elliott banging on Brookfield door.
If the land spluttering Pip mentioned is unproductive surely it must already be naturally Wild. Quite frankly, my dear, I haven’t a clue and should stop wittering.
Re today’s comments on incompatibility of farming and environmental issues: my understanding is that recently concerns have been raised about the loss of wild flower meadows because it is affecting the pollination of the farmed crops. I heard that the scarcity of habitat for the pollinating insects means a lower crop yield as those insects pollinate the crop.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to correct me as I am neither a farmer nor an environmentalist. However I assumed that because there seems to be such a push in that direction, the Archers is an obvious place to drop in such a story. Maybe allowing folk who don’t have much knowledge to take it forward is also a “message” for the masses.
It would explain another clunky shoehorned story line.
That convinces me, Seasider. Maybe they are also saying that rewilding needs more thought & planning than the 3 stooges ( love that, Stasia )have done, i.e, ignorant idealists won't cut it.
DeleteJust remembered ( to further boost Rex a bit), he did extend the week Peggy gave to get some land offers, to the rest of the month, where the other 2 would have said 'Yes, yes!' Says he's more grounded in reality.
Seasider 2.03pm That’s the word I was looking for, Meadow and I called it a field.
DeleteIt is a wonderful experience walking through this meadow as it is very different from the surrounding fields.
Also have this troika worked out how to keep the birds and other large wildlife from creating destruction of the rewilded fields? Badgers, foxes etc are very adept at ruining the hay and causing havoc.
I had to stop growing sweet corn 🌽 because of their devastation of the crop.
I think one of the problems of rewilding in proximity to farmland must be that the wild constantly encroaches (like the wild animals Stasia mentions). So it’s potentially more work for the farmer, something any farmer the trio approach might want to take into account.
DeleteD.E.F.R.A. already has the Countryside Stewardship Scheme in place, and has had similar for a long time, with payments given to farmers who agree to manage land to benefit wildlife e.g. wide strips left unploughed around the edge of fields. The payments are not large but help compensate the farmer for the income he loses by not being able to reap a crop from the land taken out of production. Rewilding is just doing it on a bigger scale.
DeleteRuth is letting her anger blind her to the advantages of letting the threesome use any
unproductive land. Ruth and David would get to receive the stewardship scheme payments while the management would be done by the youngsters - not I hasten to add done during Pip's normal farm working hours. I too, as others have said, would like to hear more from Josh and Ben
Quite right Eddie. Strange that there's no mention of Joe.
ReplyDeleteHas Roy a spare room? There was some mention of a cottage if Lexi wanted to bring her daughters to Ambridge.
Finally, was Roy the quizmaster?
I thought it was Christopher, Basia but in truth it could have been any one of four or five
ReplyDeleteLanjan, you're probably right but being analytical like you I thought they'd use one actor for two different functions, this way it makes nine actors in total which is unusual.
ReplyDeleteHave fun those of you who are meeting tomorrow.
I was convinced Roy was asking the questions, it sounded just like him.
ReplyDeleteBut who is the Richard that Lynda was talking about - just gone to the loo, she said.
Unless I am suffering from brain-fade I can’t think of anyone called Richard in Ambridge (apart from Dr Locke who hasn’t been heard for ages)
I did assume it was Richard Locke - due for a resurrection?
ReplyDeleteI think it was Richard Thwaite who is one of the silent ones who has been mentioned on occasion.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed tonight's ep. Roy was very perceptive and caring with Lexi. The scene between Jazzer and Jim at the end was sweet - complete resolution of that s/l. Is Eddy right that William shouldn't be anywhere near a gun? It is his livelihood and wouldn't he find tremendous difficulty in finding other suitable employment in a different job?
ReplyDeleteJanice - 8.42 pm
ReplyDeleteBoth Brian and David and Ruth have been involved in set aside for years now, they often talk of the scheme. ( well, it gets dropped into conversations from time to time, probably to fill in the 'farming' gaps and inform us at the same time )
I haven't listened to tonight's broadcast yet, but guess that Richard is Richard Thwaite. As said, a silent character.
Isn’t set aside the modern equivalent of the old farming practice of crop rotation, where a field laid fallow for a year.?
DeleteI distinctly remember being taught about crop rotation in secondary school. I always assumed "set aside" was the same thing too maryellen.
DeleteThe field opposite our cottage, which for many years was always cropped, was put into set aside for several years. It just became a mess of overgrown grass, thistles, nettles etc and was a bit of an eyesore. It is quite a steeply rising field and forms the full view from our front windows. The soil is chalk and full of large flints which became very visible too.
DeleteWe were delighted when, last autumn, a tractor unexpectedly appeared and ploughed the field for the first time in years, then returned to manure, drill seed, fertilise etc
This year there has been a magnificent crop of wheat once again and we had the pleasure of watching the harvesting from our bedroom window.
The subsidies for set-aside have, thankfully ended and land put back into food production
Hooray!
Set aside is not the same as 'lieing fallow.'
DeleteIt is a government scheme initiated by the EU in 1992 to remove productive agricultural land from the stock so as to keep prices up for farmers so there would not be annual surpluses such as 'butter mountains, wine lakes etc' that we had in the late 20th century.
A completely outrageous practise which means that certain countries would then have to rely on imports from other parts where different crops would be subject to set-aside.
That's as far as I will go as it now develops into politics!
It's just that farmers would have been possibly earning money so would not remove from the stock pile and lose money, even a little, so EU compensated them for possible losses. I believe that it was compulsory that a certain percentage had to be withdrawn.
I have just discovered that 400 acres is the equivalent of 300 football pitches. Much bigger than Ambridge.
ReplyDeleteVery touching exchange between the two Js.
Blimey,! So the trio would have to move outside the enclave. Funny Peggy & Co didn’t spot that, given the Trust money is supposed to benefit Ambridge specifically (or so I think, but the goalposts seem to keep shifting!)
DeleteI particularly enjoyed Eddie and Clarrie discussing Will last night, and especially Clarrie praising Eddie for how good he had been with Will. It was a good idea to suggest Will went to the quiz, to get out again, a small step in his rehabilitation. I would love to know what Will had spoken about with his doctor - did he tell her/him the whole story I wonder.
ReplyDeleteEddie was also wise about the gun, though loosing his license could end his career as a gamekeeper. If Martin thingy were a more understanding boss, he might offer Will a different job at BL if he has to resign as gamekeeper, and also loose his Cottage. But I don’t hold out many hopes for that!
"Set aside" and the Countryside Stewardship scheme are different things. Set aside came about in the years when there was overproduction of crops, and the E. U. wanted to persuade/compensate farmers to produce less. Stewardship is, or is meant to be, an active management scheme with regular inspections. I think it was Seasider who mentioned the link between pollinating insects and crop yield. Unless we take care of the pollinators they will become extinct and without them we will starve.
ReplyDelete✅🐝🐜🕷🦗🦟
DeleteAnd I think it was Mrs P. who said something about possibly the best thing for our world to survive would be our extinction, and that is probably correct. A million or so years without humans around would allow the earth to recover, and then maybe the few always left after catastrophes could start to repopulate the world, and maybe with a few lessons having been learnt.
ReplyDeleteThere is also permaculture where nature and humans coexist by virtue of mutual respect.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was MrsP who mentioned human extinction, we seem to have reached a point where to destroy all and start anew is the only option.
Oh dear, what a depressing thought! I think I must have lived too long to see this happening in my lifetime.
ReplyDeleteI am truly frightened what sort of world my grandchildren will grow up into. 😢
I think one day we will find places to colonise in space, but it will take time; and if we don't manage to look after this world I wonder if we will do any better anywhere else.
DeleteJanice11.19 am.
ReplyDeleteI spent sometime on farm in 🇵🇹 Portugal and that year their harvest was devastated by a bird called (ironically) the Bee Eater. It does what it says on the tin and devours pollinators. We all need to eat but we humans are the biggest destroyers of the environment.
Eddie is right what do the winners actually know. Not one of them is scientifically inclined and of the three I suppose Pausability Pip is the most knowledgeable. I just love neologisms.
All I am liking about Life in Ambridge, at the moment is:-
ReplyDeleteJazzer + Jim are staying together at Greenacres (I might have just moved them elsewhere).
Also the gorgeous Webster gets to stay, as well.
This is the best S/L for me, at the moment. I am finding all the others boring - but that's just me and only my opinion at this time. It will change.
I am unable to join in with the current discussions about the winners of Peggy's Prize + all the enviromental issues involved. It is just I have no knowledge as to a lot of these. I am not as academic as so many others. My field of work, was very specialised in a very narrow way. I will continue to read, digest and learn.
DeleteI think it's wonderful that you have a specialised field of knowledge. Never underestimate yourself.😊
DeleteIn Ventnor a bank of wild flowers has had to be dug out as rats have been nesting among the flowers. Another downside and are Pip and Co prepared for such horrors!??
ReplyDeleteMy problem is squirrels, such a pest!
DeleteRecently released on the island, we now have 6 white tailed sea eagles. One of them. called Culver after the area they are in, has just done a 680 km circuit of the south as far as London but he has just landed back on the island near to Tennyson Down. There were some misgivings about the release not least the possible fate of lambs in the southern farms but of course we also need to protect our squirrels of the Red variety! Time will tell but can’t help feeling some of these reintroductions are questionable! Maybe the same can be said for rewilding!
DeleteMy problem is wretched rabbits, eating anything and everything in my garden - even thorny roses! Don’t bother trying to grow veg outside anymore as the rabbits devastate them, so have to stick to greenhouse crops.
DeleteBeautiful birds. Had been daft enough to let myself be persuaded to cross channel on a smallish sailing boat , and a white tailed eagle passed us a long way out to sea. He was flying effortlesly just above the water, and turned his head and looked at us as he went by - magical.
DeleteEffortlessly!
DeleteDavid is lucky to have been turned down by Vince, but he may yet come across him at the market.
ReplyDeleteI think Vince will buy David’s lambs at the market, but at a significantly lower price than he paid Brian.
ReplyDeleteVince is a nasty piece of work and best avoided. He is a chancer and would not give a fair price for the lambs.
ReplyDeleteEv - we haven’t a shred of evidence that Vince is a nasty piece of work! You can’t condemn a bloke on the grounds of his name, accent, and hard-nosed business approach, which are literally all we know about him.
DeleteJanice - 11.26 am
ReplyDeleteThank you Janice.
My point precisely !
Ev - 10.25 pm
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Ev.
The night of the release of the eagles I was too tired to find out about them though I was extremely interested.
Forgot the following day, and then the moment was gone. ( short focus me )
Now you have told me, Culver !
So pleased to hear that. Our fortnight in Sandown every summer as a child included every evening a walk up Culver, and I have always treasured the memories of arpets of gloworms.
In the nine years that my daughter was on the island I was promised a trip to walk up Culver again. It never happened, not even on my last visit, though we did get over there but son in law wasn't going to co operate.
Now I know the eagles are there I have another reason for Culver and Tennyson being special. I shall imagine them flying between the two.
Who owns Lakey Hill?
ReplyDeleteWho owns the Green? Who owns the green burial site? The council?
ReplyDeleteMaryellen, Basia, earlier this morning.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think Lakey Hill actually ‘belongs’ to anyone. It is probably just a piece of land open to anyone to walk over. Though if you wanted to build anything there you would have to get permission from the County, or Borough Council. I have never heard any of the local landowners claiming it.
The Village green is probably administered by the Parish Council and would be considered to belong to them, as part of the village, within the village boundary. If anyone wanted to, say, put children’s swings up or a shelter they would have to get permission from the Parish Council and/or Borchester Borough Council. Our local village green (Called Cuckoo Meadow) was left to the village in perpetuity by a local landowner many years ago and is administered by a village trust who raise funds to keep it in good order, mown regularly and they have erected a children’s play area. It is considered a great asset to the village.
The green burial site, *I think*, was part of the Aldridge Millennium Wood created by Brian and Jennifer. They employed Mike Tucker to look after it. I think I’m right in saying that when it was decided to use part for the burial ground it was handed over to The Parish Council for the benefit of the village.
Thank you Archerphile, I remember you used to work for a council. A lovely idea about your village green, we know that the Ambridge one has a bench.
DeleteMrsP, Janice - there is already plenty of space waste out there created by us, or should it be 'waste of space'?
ReplyDeleteSadly I think you are right Basia.
DeleteA waste of space? Don’t tempt me, Basia!
DeleteFor anyone interested - tomorrow, 3pm, Radio 4 - they are repeating The Canterbury Tales as acted by the Archers cast.
ReplyDeleteI missed it first time around so this is a good second chance for me to catch up!
A Question for Gary (as administrator)
ReplyDeleteGary, I have just started receiving emails every time someone posts a comment on either of the blogs- even my own posts!
They are cluttering up my inbox - do you know how I can stop them?
I searched various places on the blog site but can’t find any help.
Very strange that I should suddenly start getting these emails - has anyone else?
Archerphile, I remember you had the same problem when we first started, have you accidentally clicked on the 'Notify me' box perhaps?
DeleteBrilliant Basia! You’ve got it in one!
DeleteI looked and saw the box was ticked so I have unticked it. Don’t know how it happened, perhaps I was holding my little iPod with my thumb over the box, I shall
Have to be more careful. Thanks for your help 😀
Archerphile,Sept 7th 4:05 pm
ReplyDeleteSurely you will be listening to the radio or watching the TV to see if England can save this Match at 3pm today -or will it be all over by then?
We can’t expect Stokes and Leech to do it every time.
Sadly don't hold out much hope..
DeleteOf course LanJan! I plan to record the Canterbury Tales on my iPad so I can listen in the week, during my jigsaw sessions. The radio will be tuned into LW all day!
DeleteI note that the bank are after David for cash following the demise of the slaughter house. Does this open the way for Brookfield to sell some land for the re wilding scheme ?...…. Why else mention it.
ReplyDeleteI guess David will put the screws on Kenton again.....
Delete