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Life in Ambridge
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Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments" - Episode 14 Life Outside Ambridge Have a seat and let's chat.
Russ should enter. Pancakes with lentils , cranberries and venison on the side. 😋
ReplyDeleteOh, I forgot doused in a lemon jus. All served with his best creepy voice.
DeleteOn a bed of locally sourced, organic bad judgement...
DeleteYou are becoming exceedingly creative Gary.
ReplyDeleteAnd the wit on this blog is revealing of certain characters.
Jus' right !New picture + funny, pertinent comments - a spanking start to the new blog.
ReplyDelete👨🍳😆
DeleteLove the idea of Mince Pie Ice cream..🍧🥄
ReplyDeleteTom should join with Eddie, to produce Turkey sausages.
Light bulb moment 💡💡
ReplyDeleteRuss "producing" Jim's ghost stories, means he has open access to the Attics.
As such he roots around, finds valuables, and then "scams" Lizzie, Lily, Freddie, Nigel and LL. This might be a S/L which had to be put on the back burner.
Nigel is included in thoughts, as although no more, it is his and his families memorabilia stored there...paintings, Julia's vintage clothes etc.
Perhaps have remembered wrongly, about the contents of the LL Attics...
DeleteAn old crapper and some dust is all that's there if I have remembered correctly Miriam....
DeleteSo Joe's back then...
DeleteTee-hee!
DeleteIt is being reported on facebook Archers Addicts (via Tom Graham - old Tom) that Colin Skipp has died aged 80.
ReplyDeleteThe news was also forwarded to Mustardland where nearly all posters mentioned the best performance by an Archers' actor was by him; when he found John's body by the overturned tractor.
I heartily agree with that. I can still hear the despair in his voice.
Yes, I remember that moving scene. Colin Skipp retired a while ago, not all members of the cast wish to go on till the end, as someone said about Jill recently.
DeleteI think that Colin Skipp retired from The Archers because he was unwell.
ReplyDeleteThat was quite a while ago.
I thought he was such a good actor and it took me quite a while to accept the present incumbent.
Sad news. Colin Skipp was Tony for me and one of my earliest memories of the Archers, at least the first time I took notice of the plot, rather than Walter Gabriel’s voice, was his engagement to Pat. I do get on fine with new Tony but it did take a while as Colin Skipp was so recognisable. I also understood he left because he was unwell.
ReplyDeleteI am sure all of us are sorry to hear about Colin Skipp, although I am think David Troughton is a reasonable replacement.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed last nights episode, nothing too much happening, but an indication of Eddy moving on and Tracey’s idea for Grey Gables proving successful. Harrison’s fawning over the actor was slightly odd to me, presumably meant to be comical.
Watch out, Tracy ! I sense that actor is bad news for you - too smooth by half....
ReplyDeleteThink I agree.
DeleteNeil to Emmur, Hannah, ‘.Grrrrrrrrrr. Emememem. Agrrrrrrrrrrr. Ohhhhhhhh, Hannah.
ReplyDeleteDid he say anything in between.?
Not a lot ! But it was clear that his nose was considerably put out of joint by bumptious Hannah & avaricious Justin's eager response to her ideas. Emma felt for him - so did I !
DeleteSad news indeed 😢 Colin Skipp was marvellous as Tony and was much missed when he (understandably) retired through ill health to spend more time with his family although I have to say Imo DT is a good replacement.
ReplyDeleteIn last night's episode Harrison's part was utterly pointless unless the writers wish to establish him as the village idiot.
ReplyDeleteThe worries for Tracy to watch out for the actor are absurdly misplaced. It is well established that she is not the village virgin. She will eat him.
I think that Lilian or the actress playing her has a speech impediment.
ReplyDeleteShe can rarely say a sentence without interjecting most words with er -er -er.
Can’t be doing with it.
She's acting her part, as to what the SW's have written for her. At no time have thought that Sunny Ormond has a speech impediment.
DeleteTracey can take care of herself .
ReplyDeletebut we surely don’t need any more characters to be introduced.
The BBC in order to save money should have a one in ,one out policy..
If this new actor fellow joins the cast , who should go?
No ,Maryellen, not Leonard.
Lanjan & Pierre, I, also, would have thought Tracy had been round the block enough times to fend for herself, & well able to spot a wrong 'un, BUT she was definitely succumbing to his charms, & I smelt a rat.
ReplyDeleteThat said, my sense of smell isn't acute ....
We have had Hannah and Kirsty taking the initiative for recreational sex. I also seem to remember that it was Pip's suggestion that lead to the " friends with benefits " arrangement. Elizabeth seduced Roy. Why is it now somehow different that a woman might seek her own pleasure?
DeleteSusan takes the initiative in recreational sex too - remember her chilli nights?!
DeleteBut Susan and Neil are in a long established relationship. I remember when she first broke the news to Neil that she was pregnant before they married she used a phrase something like "do you remember the night you were ever so nice to me? "
DeleteIt now seems the norm for the ladies to take the initiative in casual relationships as often as the men. Nothing wrong with of course. Indeed a great improvement.
Interesting. That means sex for Susan and Neil switched from recreational to occupational when they got married - though Susan’s chilli nights sound pretty recreational to me! (And I do like the word play on chilly, which they are clearly not!)
DeleteIt seemed to me that Harrison was doing more flirting with the actor than Tracy was!
ReplyDeleteI tried to post my condolences for Colin Skipp yesterday, but it failed.
ReplyDeleteLike Seasider my strongest memory is of him and Pat ' wooing' each other.
And I also felt so very moved by his performance when finding John dead on the side of the field. I remember standing in my kitchen with tears streaming down my face.
I think Troughton has eased himself into the role well enough in the end.
ditto Mrs P, so heartbreaking as he tucked the jacket round John to keep him warm..
DeleteRoman in the Gloaming with a Tracy by your side.
ReplyDeleteRoman in the Gloaman an actor not so shy
When the fun has gone out with the wind that's the time he loves the best
And Roman will be Gloaming withanother Tracy by his side.
But it was so lovely Roman in the Gloaman.
Apologies. This drivel just entered my bored brain?
I am glad that David was open with Jill about his feelings and she confirmed them.
ReplyDeleteShe could always tell Leonard that they're fine as they are.
And if she does, I think Leonard will be relieved.
ReplyDeleteI can't see the Lilian/Justin relationship surviving somehow, it's just not her scene to be forever placating & manipulating a man to get her own way ( in this instance, given her good nature, to get the persistent Pheobe's way) Mild bickering, even over the dog's diet, pretending to be interested in his BL dealings when she's not, giving in about plans for The Bull.....before too long, she'll get bored.
ReplyDeleteTrue, she was royally messed around by Crawford, but he often won her round with treats & promises, which Justin doesn't appear to bother with any more. She's pretty materialustic, but even the comfortable lifestyle, I suspect, won't be persuasive in the long term.
Dopey, Dozy and Grumpy! The three Re-weeding dwarfs are living in cloud CUCKOO land. They want a lot of land for glamping, safaris and cattle running wild. That activity will bring back all sort of wildlife and vegetation??
ReplyDeleteBut nasty Justin has a plan, he will make money by renting out the land, this will boost his eco credentials and the planning applications will get through.
£500,000 is not a lot of money and most of it will be gobbled up in rent to BL. What knowledge do these three legally challenged small fry have when it come to understanding business contracts? BL is a business organisation and even Phoebe BA Oxon will certainly be out of her depth when she pitches her plan. She was crap at speaking when pitching to Peggy and the rest.
As for Jill and Leonard I wish them well in never-never-land.
Oh I think they will get the land ,Stasia because It is such a ridiculous storyline that the editor probably wants it over and done with
ReplyDeleteRe Jill and Leonard.
ReplyDeleteI have had second thoughts.
I initially thought they should get married but then I thought that there is no way I would want to share a house with anybody new at my age.
A very lovely elderly widower I knew had a lady friend.
They spent one week in her home,one week in his and two weeks In their own homes getting over the previous fortnight.
That sounds a great idea.
🤙 👏🏻
Delete👍😀
DeleteOh dear, the Archers is boring me at the moment, so if you don't see me for a while you will know why.
ReplyDeleteI must be the only one interested in the rewilding story line! I really hope it continues, with lots of factual information about how they implement it, and how the three young people develop and learn as they go along.
ReplyDeleteNo, you're not alone, Janice. I'm really interested in the rewilding line too. I'm forever hearing/seeing items on radio, TV and in the newspapers which tie into it. Only yesterday I was listening to my radio in the background as someone was emphasising how a lot of the present flooding was being caused by decades of using increasingly heavy farm machinery on the land which had compacted it so much that it was not only unproductive, but couldn't absorb water any more, causing it to run straight off and into the rivers. I couldn't understand Adam's hostility to rewilding in view of the measures he was using himself to put something back into land which had been impoverished by years of overuse of fertiliser.
DeleteAnd I am with both Janice and Suz in being enthusiastic about the re wilding project in Ambridge.
ReplyDeleteI suspect the clumsy way in which it has been dealt with thus far, is a deliberate attempt to muddy the issue in order to confuse the listening public, but eventually through many mistakes and a number of related storylines become a success. Just as Pat and Tony's efforts years ago to be ahead of the game in organics, became a success.
Remember, there was flooding in Ambridge not too many years ago.
Lanjan, I also know a few couples who choose an arrangenent similar to the one you describe. It suits them, works well & allows for more personal space than actually sharing a dwelling. This might be entirely appropriate for Jill & Leonard, & what they prefer.
ReplyDeleteI do think the SWs are deliberately making the couple ambiguous in what they say , in order to titillate the listeners, get us all speculating , as we are ! It's entirely reasonable, from HIS manner, to think, whilst greatly valuing the companionship, he is mainly considering a proposal in order to please HER, & her comment to David, that she can only see Phil as her partner at Brookfield, means that marriage to HIM is not what she seeks.
On the other hand, that could all be nonsense, a smokescreen, as marriage need not involve them living with Jill's children & grandchildren at Brookfield at all. Quite honestly, would any fairly recently bereaved, elderly man want to live with new wife's large family ? Would Jill want to bring him into the fold with all the lack of privacy that involves ?
So, of course, they live somewhere else independently, nearby so she retains familial closeness, but both make a different sort of life, together. Not an unusual scenario.
However, that could well be a bridge too far, at their respective ages ( especially for Jill, I think, with her matriarchal mentality)
We'll see !
CowGirl 11.02am
ReplyDeleteI’m also a bit bored, and whilst I agree that many of the ‘issues’ portrayed in the storylines are important, I cannot take seriously some of the the ways in which they are conveyed through the characters.
The rewilding concept is one such issue. Choosing a GT in the shape of Phoebe is unrealistic imo. Much Of the rewilding here where I live, is being undertaken by the wildlife trusts. For example, they have bought a farm nearby and are returning it to its natural past, which would have included flooding the fields in winter to stop flooding elsewhere. This brings in lots of wildlife and birds and in the summer it returns to meadows with plants and wild flowers. Once a year visitors can visit and be taken on guided tours.
Phoebe, Pip and Rex as eco warriors is simply laughable.
I have just seen elsewhere a posting from a lady who visited Knepp Castle in West Sussex; a rewilding project of just over 3500 acres. She said that when she visited she was told that the Archers' team had visited the castle on a fact finding mission. Somehow I don't think you'll get many deer and wild boar on 300 acres!
DeleteYou don't need many boar, Spicycushion, they're extremely efficient, believe me. Can turn over the grass outside my house in no time at all!
DeleteI'm very impressed that they actually went to Knepp Castle and did the research. I know when the kefir making enterprise was attempted they consulted with Shann Jones of the "Chuckling Goat" company.
DeleteKnow I am in a minority but..
ReplyDeleteI would love Jill + Leonard to marry. They could move away, far from Ambridge, and enjoy their twilight years together, in whatever way they want.
I don't think age has to be an issue in whether to marry again or not. It depends on those individuals and what they want out of their lives.
I, for one, hope that they will marry and depart.
If Leonard + Jill, sold both their properties, they will have no financial worries, just a new + wonderful life together.
Both Jill and Leonard feel quite attached to their former partners, would they feel disloyal marrying again? Would they want to set up a new home together at their time of life? It would complicate things for their descendants. Then again, if Patricia Greene doesn't want to go on forever, they'll have to find a solution.
ReplyDeleteAs for rewilding, I'm not bothered about the logistics. Let them acquire the land and get on with it.
And as for the deer, well they don't need three hundred acres either.
ReplyDeleteLess than a quarter acre garden next door to me gets plenty of visitors.
They also wander through the town, and up and down the lanes here.
I have personally encountered them on several occasions.
Roman Trench indeed! Sounds as if he might have been discovered by Time Team.
ReplyDelete🤣🤣👍
DeleteWas his name ACTUALLY Roman Trench?!? I missed that - that's hysterical!!
DeleteI heard Ronan.
Delete'S what it says in the Radiotimes!
DeleteMiriam 6.29pm today
ReplyDeleteJill has no property to leave. Glebe Cottage is hers for her lifetime and then the ownership passes to Shula and Elizabeth. It was quite a complicated business.
Firstly it was left to Doris by her employer (can't remember the name) when she was a maid at Arkwright Hall. Dan and Doris lived there when Phil took over the running of Brookfield. When Doris died she left it to Shula..When Christine decided to retire Brookfield Ltd bought Glebe Cottage and Shula used the money to buy The Stables.
I think Jill just has her pensions and at the moment the rent from Carol Tregorran. Both will end when she dies.
Jill and Leonard marrying would certainly provide a storyline so that the actress who plays Jill could retire. We could just imagine them happily living elsewhere and hear about them from time to time.
ReplyDeleteI can't take the name Roman seriously, let alone Roman Trench!!
Bring on the re-wilding if it will help the poor birds and other wildlife.
I heard Roman. Second attempt to send this. The first disappeared.
ReplyDeleteCast list says Roman!
ReplyDeleteTypo?
DeleteSee above entry, 9.18pm.
DeleteThe cast list compiler was clearly using predictive text! Ronan is exactly the type of trendy name Mr Trench (real name Fred) might adopt....
DeleteSpicycushion,you have lost me regarding who actually now owns Glebe Cottage and where Christine comes into it.
ReplyDeleteYou say that the cottage was Shula’s and she sold it to buy the Stables but when Jill dies the ownership passes to Shula and Elizabeth.
Who are Brookfield Ltd?
Dan and Doris set up Christine with The Stables when Phil got Brookfield Farm and Jack got The Bull. She wanted to retire (I think after she married George Barford) and offered it to Shula as a going concern. Shula had to raise capital so sold Glebe Cottage to Brookfield Ltd with the proviso that Phil and Jill would live their all their lives. Don't know why it will only revert to the two sisters though!
DeleteWhen Phil retired he and Jill moved into Glebe Cottage. Do you remember that Elizabeth created an almighty fuss because she thought it wasn't fair that , (despite living in a semi stately home which was a family run business) she and her children wouldn't inherit anything from Brookfield. As far as I remember Elizabeth had done nothing or contributed anything towards the farm anyway.
She , of course, got Kenton on her side and despite him having been bailed out by Phil and Jill with tens of thousands of pounds many years ago.and who was told that it was in lieu of his future inheritance, he demanded that 'Dave' shouldn't get it all.
So the siblings were at odds with each other and Phil set up Brookfield Limited which owns all the land and buildings etc. The equal shareholders are the four siblings and Jill may have a few as a casting vote (?)
The actual farming business (buying and selling of crops and stock etc) belongs to David and Ruth. Included in the property portfolio is Glebe Cottage along with the unused, presumably derelict farmhouse at Hollowtree and any other odd buildings scattered around.
That's it as far as I remember and have looked up!
Apologies Wrong 'there' fourth line!
DeleteLots about re wilding on Desert Island Discs right after the Omnibus with Isabella Tree, and apparently the TA team did visit for research.
ReplyDeleteJust found and listened to it 😊. I've read her rewilding book and it was interesting hearing about her life on the programme.
DeleteJohnny is better off without her, they've been together for what, six months and he's changed beyond all recognition. There was no need to apologise to Lily.
ReplyDeleteA bit of a charade at Brookfield, at trial run, like the royals but all's well in the end.
What was that all about? To my knowledge we have never heard from Bella before so why now just to end a relationship we have never heard in action. I guess it was to do with leading us into a “Josh” / “Johnnie” showdown.....
ReplyDeleteNo surprise re J & L, although I’m surprised L could persuade Jill to leave BF at Christmas! I had to laugh out loud when David’s main reaction was “ Who will cook dinner”.
I’m glad Johnny felt the need to apologise to Lily for his unpleasant and unwarranted accusation that she was trying to wreck his relationship with Bella etc (the fact that it was made in the heat of the moment was no excuse, imo). It reflected badly on him and having the decency to apologise, which I hoped would happen, has restored my wavering confidence in his innate decency?
ReplyDeleteIt’s the iPad questioning Johnny’s decency, not me!!🙂
DeleteI wonder if Jill's forsaking Brookfield to be with Leonard on Christmas Day of all days is a ‘rehearsal’ for her leaving it altogether, as she drives off into the sunset with him. Without Jill to summon her brood, it will be a ‘small’ Christmas there as well as at Grange Farm. Perhaps T❤️O❤️B❤️Y will get an invitation this year and spend the day with his daughter, who will surely miss him otherwise, as they spend so much time together. Now could be the time for Josh to rekindle his relationship with that nice catering student, and leave Bella alone!
ReplyDeleteWould any man of Leonard’s age really use Pip as a sounding board for making a proposal of marriage to her grandmother? Her initial response give me the impression she’d been asleep throughout his little monologue and only woke up at the word marry.
ReplyDeleteThere's to be no pantomime this year, so it was performed at Brookfield as Christmas substitute.
ReplyDeletePuzzling over what has ‘changed’ Johnny in the past year (Bella wasn’t very explicit), I think it might be the Monties (no, not Mounties, thank you iPad). They are the only new thing to come into his life. Put simply, is he more in love with them than her?
ReplyDeleteJohnny has grown up in the last year (the others are still a work in progress 🤔)
ReplyDeleteSo grown up that he drank himself legless at Freddie’s party while all the others stayed sober enough to get themselves to The Bull afterwards.....
DeleteAh, well, as many surmised, neither Jill nor Leonard want to marry, & for exactly the same reason, BUT things are going to chsnge. Jill is taking the huge step, for her, in meeting Simon on Christmas day, instead of taking charge of the usual Brookfield jamboree. Quite right & proper ! Just hope Simon turns out ( either heard or reported afterwards) to be as agreeable as his dad.
ReplyDeleteThey are lucky that they both feel the same! For myself I would love to have a man to enjoy his company, do things together and just be good friends. Like Jill and Leonard I married the love of my life and have no wish to go there again!
ReplyDeleteI thought Lily didn't know who Bella was kissing in the photo, didn't she say that Bella didn't know Johny would be there or she wouldn't have invited the guy to be there & kiss him, so why didn't she recognise Josh??
ReplyDeleteMy understanding was that tin the dark, the shadows making it impossible to recognise the man. Maybe we're meant to think Lily has been sleuthing since then !
DeleteDon't really see why Johnny apologized to Lily about what he said, as it is true. The only thing to be sorry about is that he was angry with her, when he now sees she acted from friendly intentions towards him.
As for Bella, she sounded quite nice, but what's this about Johnny having changed ? Seems to me she's simply realised that his feelings for her are much stronger than hers for him, so better to end the relationship.
As for Johnny, he's always been mr nice guy, I'm glad to see he's showing both hurt & anger in a situation that calls for it. Emotional experience is causing him to grow up - as indeed, you said, Lady R(10.07am) !
2nd & 3rd line above :'...in the dark, shadows made it...'
DeleteI think it was Bella who told Johnny that it was Josh she was kissing, Johnny hadn’t known until then, she seemed to think he knew this, and that was when he asked her to leave. Certainly shabby behaviour on Josh’s part.
DeleteSeveral questions about last night’s episode.
ReplyDeleteYes Maryellen I feel the same regarding Johnnie.
I don’t see how he has changed .
Except for the fact that Lily mentioned Phoebe’s name I wouldn’t have been able to tell who was who when the two girls were talking except.
Does anybody else confuse them?
I thought Bella sounded a bit like a younger version of Hannah .
Was that a pseudo northern accent?
Delighted with the outcome of the proposal but as Stasia said there is no way Leonard would have gone through that charade.
Hope Simon turns out to be a nice bloke.
Perhaps he’ll do for Elizabeth.
Totally gone off Josh.
If you are going to make a play for your friend’s girl friend at least do so away from home.
It was a nice gesture by Ruth and David to offer a piece of Brookfield land for rewilding.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, nothing much happened.
Thought that would happen Bastia!
DeleteFreddie is so not the best person to support a mate who's just been dumped ! 😎
ReplyDeleteA certain person has been resurrected for a reason, obviously, but realistically, after the horrible way she dumped him, wouldn't he just have returned the boy to Helen, & walked away sharpish ?
Run Lee run if you know what’s good for you 😂
DeleteLee was, and I would think still is a nice person.
ReplyDeleteHe's had time to think and may have made some discoveries about Helen and be in a better position to understand that she needs even more careful handling than he first realised. His understanding nature would mean him being unlikely to ' brush her off '.
Plus being unexpectedly greeted by Henry would probably have delighted him.
( notwithstanding the above, IMO she doesn't deserve him, but then we don't know where the SWs intend taking this. )
Bella may have thought that the Johnny she first started dating was lighthearted and
'up for a laugh' ( vulgar expression) but has changed by becoming serious and no longer lighthearted.
Josh is very ' light ' in personality and manner. His kissing Bella while everyone else is occupied would be typical lad behaviour, and Josh is nothing if not 'Jack the Lad'.
They are all very young at the moment and Bella may feel that Josh is better company than Johnny, who might be seen as old before his time.
Mrs P, I agree Lee seemed to be a very nice man, but it doesn't follow he is a doormat. True, it is possible that he may have come to hear more about her via the community grapevine, why she is the way she is, & why she treated him so badly, but whilst that could arouse his compassion, it would also be pretty off putting. His personal life isn't simple, he'd have to be seriously smitten to take on her baggage, & I don't think it had got that far.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn @ 2.56 Yes I suppose that makes sense & as KPnut @6.42 says it was Bella who named Josh. Lily would probably have had a go at Josh if she had realised it was him kissing Bella. Hope we're not going to have a "tangled romance" scenario. Bella has been talked about rather than heard talking up to now, so why has she been brought in if that's all her character was for??
ReplyDeleteThis bringing a character to speaking, just as the SL appears to close, has happened a couple of times recently.
ReplyDeleteThe dodgy character that Ed was doing ' fencing ' for comes to mind, though we did hear from him over several weeks.
Cannot remember who, but feel sure there was a similar incidence of this with another character not so long ago.
Freddie was very insensitive towards poor Johnnie. Helen sounds such a cold fish and that meeting with Lee was excruciating to listen to, so awkward.
ReplyDelete✓✓✓summed up succinctly, Anneveggie(11.10pm) !
DeleteWe have long known that Freddy has just enough synapses to be able to walk and talk but not nrcessarily both at once. Last nights charade has confimed him as "thickissimus". With his persistent badgering of Johnny he was luck to escape without a thick lip.
DeleteOn Jan 2nd Henry will be 9 yrs old for goodness sake - when is he going to sound like it 😡
ReplyDeleteI’ve seen 7yr olds talking on news programmes about many things including Brexit in a very intelligent way, yet H is still plodding along to see Father Christmas and acting / speaking like he is 5yrs old...
But what do you expect Lady R, with Helen and all that she's been through as his mother.
ReplyDeletePat and Tony and Johnny as well have given more than enough energy towards giving Henry as normal a life as possible, but Helens fear overrides all.
I suppose it's possible that the TA team have deliberately kept Henrys voice ' baby ish ' to illustrate the result of Helens mothering.
I thought last night that his voice had risen a little.
Ahh could be Mrs P I shall take your thought on board ✔️
ReplyDeleteCf Dick Strawbridge's son Arthur in 'Escape to the chateau', who is also about 8 years old, but sounds younger than his little sister. From a previous career in primary school teaching I can confirm that small boys' voices are often higher pitched than those of girls of the same age and on the whole their use of language is less mature - and Henry is 'babied' by his family for reasons cited above; he also spends a lot of time with grandparents, whose manner towards him is more indulgent. It's quite possible that he sounds quite different at school, where hopefully the expectations are higher, but of course, we don't hear that.
ReplyDeleteWhen my son was little, although articulate in the extreme his voice was almost at dog-whistle frequency - you heard him before you saw him - and it was such a relief when it broke at a relatively early age!
Hello...is anyone there??
ReplyDeleteHave you all adjourned to discuss the rewilding proposal?
I am another who is getting bored with the archers at the moment. Can’t be doing with this rewilding scheme. Phoebe should be off somewhere getting a high flying job with her oxford degree not trying to rent bits of land to sprinkle a few wild flowers on.
ReplyDeleteI was pleased that Jill and Leonard are going to stay as they are. I hear today that Jill is going to be making mince pies on the radio on Christmas Day I think for 10 mins. Something about quiet radio. Thrill a minute stuff.
Also I can’t help thinking that it seems scabby russ and Elizabeth are getting on more and more. I really hope the sw’s are not planning on him seducing his girlfriends mother!
PtbY - your final comment - I've been suspecting this for at least the last month.
ReplyDeleteRe wilding - after Desert Island Discs on Sunday I spent at least an hour and a half reading up on re wilding and listening to Ted Talks.
Fascinating subject..... and I'm all for it.
Have I missed something....Phoebe was called Miss Aldridge at the BL meeting..isn't she Roy's daughter therefore shouldn't she be Miss Tucker?
ReplyDeletePhoebe’s parents weren’t married and illegitimate children traditionally take their mother’s surname. We also have Rosie Archer and Rory Donovan.
DeleteVery good point autumn leaves. I missed that.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I can’t get on the other blog.......just wanted to say I like the righteous brothers version!
Phoebe is an Aldridge, I think that's what Kate decided. I'm glad she's staying close to the ground and not looking for a job with lots of money.
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought Justin was asking her searching questions, so that she could prove the worth of the project, but his final comment meant that he thinks it'll be good for BL to keep them on in order to show green credentials.
Yes you're right Basia, I checked the character list...bit of a slap in the face, though isn't it?
DeleteBasia, he may have meant that, but he wasn't commiting. Evasive, cards close to chest, gamesman ship - that's JE !
ReplyDeleteCurious cliff hanger - could the lack lustre Rex actually have an IDEA, or was his last comment simply empty rhetoric ?
Hmmmm. Well he could be going to suggest networking with the ecology group opposed to the development, and also with the planning department of their Council. The latter will probably be receiving "do something" directives because the government is falling way behind it's own targets re. tree planting.
ReplyDeleteIts
DeleteWell I for one am not going to hold my breath..I know the writers are going to milk it for what it's worth and they're going to get their land in the end before the deadline...hurrah for Pip, Phoebe and Rex.....am i reading a Famous Five book by Enid Blyton?
ReplyDeleteJust as ridiculous as them getting the project in the first place😴😴
Famous 5 - well said, Autumnleaves !! It really is like that. There's the bigging up of 'yoof', too. Pheobe heads the project, so eloquent from her vantage point of vast knowledge & experience.....( anyone else spring to mind?)
ReplyDelete.....& how come this eco warrior didn't anticipate a question about profit timing, if not from JE, someone on the BL board ?
ReplyDeleteRe wilding is for me the only interesting thing at the moment. It is so sad that this important subject has been.in my view, so badly handled by the BBC that it detracts from its value.
ReplyDeleteAgree 100% CowGirl
ReplyDeleteCowGirl, I also agree, but in spite of the messed up logistics I wish the project every success. I was disappointed that Rex was dismissive of the 12 acres on Oakey Bank, every little bit counts.
ReplyDeleteJanice, you were the first to put forward this idea. I hope they will get the land and will manage to use Justin's machinations to their advantage.
It was obvious that Jim and Russ would clash. Jim at the age of 80 was prepared to adopt the foetal position as instructed by Russ but Russ's blackmail about Elizabeth's state of health was revolting.
ReplyDeleteI also disliked Tracy being portrayed as a simpleton, she may not be well educated and I think it was supposed to be but wasn't funny at all.
Oh, I think Tracy gave as good as she got ! Lynda was off on one of her fancies, & Tracy twigged the absurdity. The fact that Demetrius is Greek doesn't mean he's steeped in Greek mythology, any more than many an English person of today is steeped in British history or folklore. This may be considered sad, but it is important to meet people where they are rather than where imagination would like to place them. That is Lynda's faultline.
ReplyDeleteI loved Jim's brusque summary of Russ - his intellect, artistic sensibility, & knowledge ! He tried to be patient with the silly man, &, I agree, Basia, that the blackmail employed to gain Jim's compliance was repellent.
For goodness sake, we know that Jim can tell a story effectively - witness Robert's reaction !
Elizabeth has been well & truly gulled; she's even using Russ's language to justify his involvement in this entertainment. She came up with a solution which retains them both, working at arm's length, but she's fooling herself.
I laughed at Jim's response to Russ saying 'just imagine' what he could do with the windmill!
ReplyDelete✅✅🤣🤣
DeleteIf Jim thinks Russ is a poseur, all I can say is it takes one to know one. It was the same with The Canterbury Tales last year. Jim is the one who tells, never the one being told. I am feeling over exposed to him ( as some of us felt about Lilian last year) and think it’s time his actor took a holiday or found a hobby.
ReplyDeleteLoved Tracey's remark "You could say I've moved on from the Greek to the Roman!"
ReplyDeleteClassic comedy when Lynda said something about his Hellenic background and Tracey replied "No. He's Greek!"
It was obvious that sparks would fly with Russ and Jim working together. I have a word for Russ but I think it's too rude to put on this so I'll just call him a twit. Elizabeth is completely taken in by Russ and I do hope things don't develop between those two.
ReplyDeleteDo you need any help placing that
ReplyDeletewindmill stick Jim!
The first time Elizabeth met Russ, at the college to request a reference for Freddie, she was full of admiration for him.
ReplyDeleteJim was pitch perfect with his comments and timing in what was otherwise a silly scene. Elizabeth sounded like a primary school teacher pulling them into line.
She did, didn't she, Seasider ! I could almost hear Joyce Grenfell ( for those who remember her)
DeleteShe can make decisions these days, though they are often the wrong ones. Her perception is very inconsistent - gets David's feelings about Jill & Leonard, recognises Jim's useful talent, but can't/won't see the phoniness of the self styled art supremo, nor the crassness of 'warning' Oliver about Tracy. She seems clueless about her twins, as well.
I thought Russ was being pretty patient with the old crank, but agree the scene was a very exaggerated piece of writing, culminating in Elizabeth’s unconvincing ticking off.
DeleteCan certainly see the irony of Jim being subjected to someone else’s “vision”, although I thought asking him to lie down in the foetal position after what Jim has been through (obviously unknown to Russ) was in poor taste, but perhaps I am over-analysing.
DeleteYes I remember Joyce Grenfell (text changed to Grendel - must be those Old English sessions I am going to creeping in) and laughing with Mum at her sketches.
“George don’t do that “ 😂😂😂
DeleteDid laugh at the foetal position idea - not unfeelingly towards Jim, hasten to add - but talk about over egging the pudding, & insulting the audience's imagination ! Can't even see the need the adopt a stagey old nurse voice. If it's a creepy, well written story, told seriously, & carefully paced, using telling pauses & emphases, as it would be by Jim, that all you need, aside from the simplest setting, low lights, perhaps complete dark at some points &/or the odd, strategic bright light. Jim could easily figure that out for himself & give stooge Russ the lighting plan which he would then operate.
ReplyDeleteBy complete chance the day before yesterday, when I was sorting out books, I picked up one of the old 'set texts' for Eng Lit from the 1990s, to send to the charity shop. It was short stories of pre and post 20th century and the very first story in the book was "The Old Nurse's Story!'
DeleteI enjoyed the comedy, although I thought the pretentiousness of Russ was, as Carolyn said, over-egged. We know he is 'arty-*arty' with regards to his painting etc . I'm not sure he would have such strange ideas about performance? What does he know of Literature? I'd certainly prefer the views of a Classics scholar than an Art teacher. (No offence meant towards any Art teachers. 😀) Also not sure why Elizabeth would want to make such drama of the readings and why she would think Russ would be an ideal Director?
However I like the idea of performing, as Dickens did and some solo actors still do, with the different characters spoken in different voices. This is still exampled on Radio 4 'Book at Bedtime' etc. A talent I much admire.
I can only think she feels sorry for him and was trying to find him something to do?
Tonight's episode! What an utter load of twaddle. This is surely the nadir of plots..
ReplyDeleteI liked it, it's in place of the pantomime. Three reasons why it should have been Russ:
ReplyDeleteEddie liked his audition and I wanted to hear it.
He didn't want to do it.
It would have freed Jim.
I actually left the room about halfway through as I was too embarrassed to listen any further. Will be taking a break from it for a few weeks - I do that quite often when it gets too amateurish for my liking!
ReplyDeleteI've missed it as dog arrived home just on seven.
ReplyDeleteI will now have to wait till later, but am intrigued.
You've not missed much MrsP, I'm easily pleased but there was hardly any stress for once.
ReplyDeleteThanks Basia, nice to know I'm not the only one who is easily pleased.
ReplyDelete( by TA at least )
Oh dear! Perhaps it's the medication but I laughed out loud two or three times! I thoroughly enjoyed it but then I don't like 'kitchen sink drama'. I can't see why we have to have people double crossing, two timing, whining, shouting or having a breakdown every week!
ReplyDeleteAgain not sure about Russ's character though. Considering how he looks down on all and sundry I don't think he would be 'all heart' and join in with the other male villagers to help out the Grundys.
I enjoyed tonights episode. A bit of lighthearted fluff, nothing wrong with that.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you here Mrs P. Have you had the op on your finger? (Wrong blog, I know)
I hope you're ok.
It was a slightly weird scenario and Eddie still doesn’t seem his usual self (meaning Joe’s absence is still hitting him hard,), but I did enjoy hearing newcomers Leonard and Russ being absorbed into village activities, and Leonard and Harrison’s take on Robert Snell and the other competitors.
ReplyDeletePierre 7.20
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, the worst episode I have heard in months
Must say, after a long day, found last night quite amusing, even entertaining ! Do wish Leonard had got the job, though, he'd have been the best, & it would integrate him ever more closely in the community. Still, not to take it any of it seriously !
ReplyDeleteDidn't like the way Russ said sneeringly, ' The Grundy way of Christmas ?' Leonard effectively shut him up by explaining what a bad time the family had had this year, & it was good to see them doing something like this.
Why was Clarrie so heavily respectful to Mr Jones ? Was she being sarcastic ? Not her usual style.
Leonard didn’t even make the final three! Interesting that the three selected were (probably) the youngest candidates.
DeleteMy post last night didn't 'take' so will try again.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the episode and especially Eddy Grundy being the ' boss' rather than the 'hireling'.
Thought Clarries voice strange and am rather unsure of her interaction with Mr Jones.
But integration with the village with Russ and Leonard welcome from me.
Yes, it was the first time that Leonard and Russ met. It was the first time that I saw a human face in Russ, who realised how much it meant for Clarrie and decided not to disappoint her by stating the real reason for his visit. If he'd been chosen I'm sure he would have got into the spirit of the venue. Why didn't he just hoho if he didn't want it, he's a professional after all.
ReplyDeleteHe and Jim may still get on like a house on fire as long as they don't burn the stately pile down.
PS Paul Copley in the Afternoon Drama, I may "watch".
Well I am confused.
ReplyDeleteI thought the Grundy world of Christmas was all about Will and Ed going round the houses flogging holly and mistletoe (from Grange Farm?) and wreaths ( made when and by who’m and from what?) along with turkeys and a Clarrie’s mince pies.
Where does Father Christmas come in?
How often is he to appear?
Why would so many men actually want to be Father Christmas?
Why was Clarrie tugging her forelock?
Sorry I thought the whole thing sounded like a pantomime and a very poor one at that.
I actually listened again to see what I might have been missing but I could not find anything.
Russ might yet be Father Christmas as Harrison is having second thoughts. Besides, how will he or Kenton have the time to take off work in the run up to Christmas. It was interesting to hear folk who don’t normally speak to each other being put together in the same room, but it did seem like they were all acting out of character.
ReplyDeleteThe only way to describe this episode for me is daft.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Would so many men really sit and wait to be interviewed for a role that requires interacting with little children? The only one with a CRB?check is most likely to be Harrison. But the person most credible FC has to be Leonard.
DeleteRattlesnake liar 🤥 Russ would not be entitled to remove furniture etc from the village Hall without the permission of the Clerk, and guess who holds the power.
As Mr S’s dad used to say “too daft to laugh at”.
DeleteI would think the reason for this storyline is to show how the village is coming together to help out the Grundys. I am sure the 'younger' men who volunteered were just joining in the same as the local people in Eastbourne collected clothes etc for the hotel workers who lost all their possessions in the hotel fire.
DeleteYou do not need a DBS check if parent/appropriate adult is present.
I thought Eddie's comment to Harrison "It sounded like you were interrogating a suspect' very funny!
Never mind - we'll soon be back to sordid double dealing and letting people down I don't doubt.
How do you make a profit from rewilding? What are they talking about? And why does Phoebe talk like someone who has never met a businessman in her life? Does she ACTUALLY think that if they butter up people with land that it will be just given to them? Are they all 7 years old? Just ridiculous...
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's Thunberg effect😞😞
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DeleteI would think it would be a long long time before any profit at all could be made, in which case the trio might benefit from not having to pay rent. I suppose Justin as a business man must have done his research and isn't just banking on subsidies.
DeleteA fiasco on both counts, as Gary says, 75% of what?
ReplyDeleteOliver is turning into a bit of a lad, a quick getaway after smashing the place up, I hope they are landed with a bill. Also, Oliver's unnecessary apology to Tracy, again, the value of their friendship. He was very much concerned if she was in safe hands. Will he be the one to console her when Roman exits?
Or when Time Team have finished with him and fill him in!
ReplyDeleteWho the heck is Gratziano (? spelling!) have we ever heard him? At first I thought he must be Ian’s replacement for paternity leave but then that has only just started and it’s for a year?
ReplyDeleteNot a scooby...
I don’t understand how Justin’s proposition benefits BL financially. They will be swapping 100% of dubious profit from this land for 75% of even more doubtful profit ( admittedly without any expenditure on it), when they could have a 100% of assured income from rent with no expenditure - I thought that was Phoebe’s main selling point? This bear of very little brain would like someone to explain!
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that even the scriptwriters don't know the answers to your questions maryellen!
DeleteI also don’t understand what Phoebe is currently living on, how she plans to make a living during her working life, and whether intends to make any sort of living out of the rewilding project - using some of the £half million to pay herself a project manager’s salary, for instance?
ReplyDeleteExactly,Maryellen.
ReplyDeleteI always assumed she had a degree in English,I don’t know why.
Perhaps she and Lily are the start of a new storyline which will be about the fact that “ Uni”- (dreadful abbreviation ) is not for everyone .
Lanjan. Phoebe did a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.
ReplyDeleteShe certainly didn’t learn anything about real life economics or the politics of dealing with likes of JE or even her own grandfather.
As for Rex, injury to the top of the neck! The neck bone is connected to the skull bone 🦴, the skull bone is connected to the brain. Or maybe not in his case. His public school boy interaction with JE, all toffs together discussion, was excruciating 😖.
Phoebe has a PPE (philosophy, politics, economics) degree from Oxford which is supposed to be the easy way through. She's living at home with Roy. She is following Kate's quest to make the world a better place from a position of privilege. I don't mean it in a sarcastic way but that's how Ambridge unwittingly accentuates the social divide. We could also ask how did Rex become a member of the golf club overnight. The 75% means to me that it's not handed to them on a plate, speaking of which it is the upright citizens like Lynda and Oliver who incited wrecking of the place and ran. This is something I could relate to. As for rewilding, as I said, the logistics don't bother me, as long as the project goes ahead.
ReplyDeletePithily summed up, Stasia - Pheobe & the defects of her education !
ReplyDeleteNot sure about Rex, have to reconsider; I was so delighted to see a) he had an idea at all b)he acted on it c) we saw actual evidence of eye for a ball, even if in a golf context d)learnt more about the injury which ended his professional sporting career.
Justin, maybe he's the one to bring hard reality to the rewilding project ? For one thing, the truism that you don't get something for nothing.
Spicycushion. 29th, 7.01pm.
ReplyDeleteCertainly the fire in Eastbourne was a catastrophic event for the workers who lost everything, presumably including their jobs. As we learnt yesterday we human beings can respond with generosity and bravery.
But the Grundys are living in a huge house, on the kindness of Oliver, if they have lost anything it is because they are feckless and unable to hold down permanent jobs. Clarrie being the exception to the Grundy rule and she struggles to maintain a sort of stability.
An old man of 98 died, as is usually the case for individuals of that age. Why would a whole village want to commemorate a scrounging old geezer and his ne’er do well family. Then most of the males become eager to be Father Christmas for the Grundy world.
Enough of the Grundys for the time being. Please BBC send them off to the North Pole, I believe Santa lives there with his Elves and Reindeer.
Apologies Spicycushion I had to let off steam.
With you all the way stasia!
Delete🎅🤶🏻👍
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