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Life in Ambridge
Life in Ambridge
Dear Archers blogspot fans,
I hope you are all keeping well, keeping occupied and staying safe at this difficult time... rest assured we will do our best to keep creating the show, so that you can keep on enjoying it!
Best,Nick Barber (Rex Fairbrother)
I hope you are all keeping well, keeping occupied and staying safe at this difficult time... rest assured we will do our best to keep creating the show, so that you can keep on enjoying it!
Best,Nick Barber (Rex Fairbrother)
I found this book on-line - Philip has been a busy boy, hasn't he.....?
ReplyDeleteFROM PREVIOUS BLOG
ReplyDeleteMiriam - March 21, 2020 at 5:14 PM
My only concern re Philip, was how quickly he has been able to fit in jobs.
These include, to name just a few:-
The Hunt dog kennels.
Lilian's "en-suite"
The Ambridge playground
The Brookfield Wedding Barn work
The Grey Gables drains.
Any good builder, is booked up, for months, in advance.
I feel for both Gavin + Kirsty, as to what might be revealed.
I think Gavin has been spying, thinking things are not right, as seemed.
Miriam - March 21, 2020 at 8:30 PM
I just hope this S/L will be concluded, before the wonderful Archers, becomes silent
I wouldn't appreciate this - as a possible 6 month - "cliffhanger" along with Linda's fate...
My thoughts exactly Miriam one minute Philip is just SO busy or so he says) and the next he can do any job that is requested at the drop of a hat. I would certainly find that suspicious.
DeleteBrilliant Gary. Going to have a look for this book.
ReplyDeleteRoll on tonight.....bet ruddy Blake won’t be mentioned and it’ll be all Jill cooking a Mother’s Day meal for the 5000!
Why cook when The Blessed St Shula could feed the 5000 with one tin of sardines and an old stale bap....
DeleteAs long as she doesn’t give a sermon on Lecky Hill calling on us all to keep our distance and not to panic buy in the village shop. But as we are all self isolating nobody will be listening.
DeleteBlessed are the Gary bloggers for they shall follow the rules.
Don’t worry, Stasia, Ambridge has been declared a totally COVID19 free zone.
DeleteI think real life has been suspended there for the duration. Otherwise, they’d have to cut out all the scenes recorded in The Bull!
...and certainly no Mother’s Day lunches together at The Bull or anywhere if living apart and a visit required 😉
Delete👍😂😂GG & Stasia..
ReplyDeleteI’ve bought the Philip moss book on kindle. £2.99.
ReplyDeleteSounds like good entertainment for an afternoon this next week.
After listening to the wonderful TA omnibus, this morning, I suddenly realised,
ReplyDeletethat I had missed, the Gavin/Philip conversation, about their workers.
I am appalled, as to what they are up to. I thought Gavin was an innocent, how wrong am I!
All I can say is - poor Kirsty.
DeleteShe has no idea, what she is marrying into.
Who will rescue Kirsty - and be her Knight in Shining Armour - Roy or Tom??
ReplyDeleteMy money, is still on Tom. They are meant to be, as are Ed + Emma.
I had to listen again, but Philip did ask Gavin: have you fed the other horses today? That's Kensy and Jordan.
ReplyDeleteI just hope, that Justin + Neil, will keep a close eye on Philip, with the upcoming Berrow Farm work + expansion.
ReplyDeleteThey might notice things.
Basia, 7.26.
ReplyDeleteI thought that phrase was very chilling, not expecting it at all. Horrible characters.
I had to go back and listen again. Yes, he said have you fed the other horses!!! Going round to the flat!!! Oh I want these two to get their comeuppance good and proper.
ReplyDeleteThe Moss brothers will do a runner.
ReplyDeleteKirsty will discover Philip had transferred the house to her name for tax reasons.
She will find joy and happiness with Roy and move out.
Ed and Emma will be reunited and buy the house from Kirsty at a knock down price (she's glad to get rid of it).
They'll all live happily ever after.
How bad these characters sound now. I don't think Philip can keep Kirsty in the dark for much longer surely. Let's hope the police are sufficiently suspicious to keep investigating.
ReplyDeleteSorry but I can't get interested in the re-wilding.
I felt like shouting at Kirsty - dont waste time feeling sorry for Philip - he’s absolutely not what he seems. Get out while you can.
ReplyDeleteBut she wouldn’t have heard me, and wouldn’t have believed me if she could hear.
I do hope this situation is not going to drag for months. It’s such a nasty story it needs a quick resolution. And Kirsty needs saving.
... and will that be before the recordings in the can run out 🤞🏼
ReplyDeleteI do hope so Lady R
ReplyDeleteWell, the stories are going to last a bit longer: we're going to lose Friday's episodes.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/22/archers-becomes-latest-victim-coronavirus-coronation-street/
I presume this means that Sunday will become Friday, Monday will be Sunday, and so on. So Ambridge will enter a whole new time system. A novel approach to keeping the virus out. I wonder if it would work for the rest of the UK?
Here is a link to a 'tweet' sent out by 'Harrison' regarding recordings and the goings on at BBC studios. https://twitter.com/Jcartywright/status/1240320792140877827/photo/1
ReplyDeletePossibly we'll just have references to Friday's happenings rather than 'being there' on a Friday? I am just hoping that Philip's criminal activities are resolved before we lose our visits to Ambridge possible in May(?) Also hope that it isn't Justin who exposes him. Justin Elliot does not deserve to be a 'hero'!
Much as i dislike Pip she is being proved right that JE would take over and Phoebe is being feeble. Wonder what Peggy will think about him (and BL) taking over the re-wilding project?
What is the point of Phoebe. She is utterly wet and the acting is non existent. The story that an Oxford PPE graduate would just return to her home village following graduation is farcical.
ReplyDeleteIt's infuriating isn't it?
DeleteShe's been there from the start letting BL take over and continues to do so.
DeleteWith her whining voice she always sounds like a spoilt brat that she is.
I must admit to skipping the Archers at the moment. I'm just catching up on here & on-line places. I'm not going to listen to the Philip/slavery episodes - just like when the Rob & Helen storyline really got going. I'm just not one for hard hitting "drama". I like escapism.
ReplyDeleteI just catch up when I feel like it, always well behind, so I hardly ever post on this side of the blogs. Just enjoy reading all your comments!
ReplyDeleteIn the old days there used to be five episodes Mon-Fri; let it go on for as long as possible.
ReplyDeleteRadio presenters now work from home, with today's technology it's possible to send in recordings, but they know best and I remain at their bidding.
I’m surprised that it is the Friday episode they are losing. As Basia says, TA always used to run from Monday to Friday, the Sunday episode was added later and usually didn’t feature anything particularly important to the current stories. In the summer it often featured a cricket match, or the fete, rather than actual plot development. The sort of episode some people might describe as ‘boring’. (Not me, though!)
ReplyDeleteI would much rather listen Mon - Fri and have a break on Sunday, but I suppose I should be grateful it is continuing at all, in the current circumstances.
Maryellen, in case you are not reading the other blog, Gary has come up with a lovely idea which is that any of us who wish to can write down our eight Desert Island Disc records so that we can all listen to them.
ReplyDeleteIf you are interested. please check the other blog and let Gary know if you would like to take pa rt.
We have 16 pieces off music to listen to already .
Thanks very much, LanJan - and what a great idea of Gary’s! I’ll transfer to the other blog to ask how it works.
DeleteI did switch off mind & ear when Pip & Phoebe were twittering on. Agree with Pierre, Phoebe has become a pain, a shame as she used not to be. Yes, why isn't she aiming at a career ? Those 3 years of working for a demanding degree subject down the pan? Maybe she was only caught by the politics strand, but only the trendy PC parts.
ReplyDeleteKirsty & Philip more than made up for lack of any dramatic tension elsewhere !
Like you Gary I don't want nasty realism in my entertainment. There's too much of that on TV, newspapers and films. (Oh for the Busby Berkley films of yesteryear! ) I too tuned out during the R&H story-line. Sometimes there are some things too unpleasant to 'eavesdrop' on!
ReplyDeleteThe reason I'll probably listen to the 'slave' story is that it is more 'distant' to me and I don't know much about it. And I long for Philip to get his comeuppance as I have never liked him.
Although I won't be commiserating too much over Kirsty . Somehow I have never taken to her and the pairing off of her and Philip I think in reality would be so unlikely it's difficult for me to take it seriously. . But anyway it's a shame she fell for two such awful men! (Tom and Philip)
Archerphile and Basia We didn't actually get an extra episode though when the Sunday one was broadcast, because the BBC shortened the programme from 15 to 12 minutes.
Philip sounds so different when being Mr Nice Guy to Kirsty and all at the Bull compared with his hard man attitude when talking about his dodgy business with Gavin. Bit of a Jekyll and Hyde! Ironic the description by Kirsty that he is a Nice Man! She will get the shock of her life when it comes out as it surely will! Like others I think she will end up with Roy.
ReplyDeleteOWIAS @about 9.50pm last night.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful idea, and it makes so much sense.
Joy, living next to Ed + Emma, will be very interesting, what with their children + her cat (Hilda O. The II).
I detected a slight change in Philip’s tone of voice when Kirsty was boring me and him about how wonderful and kind he was, especially when he faced everyone at the Bull.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what technique he uses to enslave his workers. A bit of violence or does he leave that to Nasty Gavin.
He probably offers them free board and lodging in return for their labour, with some on-the-job training and maybe pocket money. Skimping on an employer’s legal obligations is his major crime (I imagine).
DeleteSo that’s why he refers to them as horses, they’re simply work horses only to be fed when Gavin remembers?
DeleteWell, ‘horse’ can also be short for horsepower. Gavin’s memory is a separate issue.i’m puzzled how Blake got whatever it was he was going to put under the grille, did he beg orbuy something from the hotel’s pop up breakfast bar, or did I miss another explanation?
DeleteCarolyn.12.28pm
ReplyDeleteLike you I agree with Pierre about Phoebe and her degree from Oxford. Most PPE students (from my experience) usually join a university club or political party as a foot on the ladder of finding a job as somebody’se worming her way political dogsbody. It all about connections and ambition as they ‘’move forward’ to pursue a career. She returns home and suddenly she is an expert on all things horticultural, agricultural, animals and fencing. What’s her connection to the great and the ? Justin Elliot and a rich manipulative granny.
Is she worming her little girly way into becoming a future aid to Mr Big?
What is all this about “the other horse”?
ReplyDeleteHave I missed something?
Sorry Stasia,just read your post .
ReplyDeleteWork horses.
Of course.
Stacia - I'm afraid if Philip and Gavin have at least three men (Blake, Kenzie and J(?)something) being housed somewhere at Philip's expense, they are not being trained, educated or even looked after otherwise there would be no story here.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they are illegal immigrants. I believe they are 'vulnerable' young men, probably special needs and just out of 'Care.' They are 'slaves' indeed and as such P & G will 'go down' for many years (as Philip said) as have some recent gang-masters in RL for treating human beings so disgustingly.
When I worked in a little village in N.Wales, there was a wonderful Indian restaurant, with a take-away service. Their staff spoke very little english, and lived together, in a building close by, set up as flats.
DeleteThe Phil + Gavin situation, has made me think as to, was this similar. How I wish I knew more, at that time....
We know that it'll be Philip who will end up in prison.
ReplyDeleteDidn't the police ask Blake his home address?
Why is Josh not working at Brookfield?
Poor Blake - he clearly believes Philip is protecting him. Very 'caring' with just enough pressure to make sure Blake knows that if it all goes pear-shaped it will be All Blake's Fault.
ReplyDeleteIs Philips' care and attention to Kirsty all an act too? Or is he just terribly good at compartmentalising different parts of his life?
As you possibly know,I never liked Phillip .However I really did not think he would turn out to be as evil as he obviously is.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to believe that Kirsty knew nothing about the three “horses”.and yet had she known about them she would have been appalled.
Does Phillip have any skilled employees working for him?
Are they and Gavin his only staff?
Is that the real reason he didn’t want Ed to work for him?
This storyline just does not ring true.
Good acting from Mr Nice Guy Philip.
ReplyDeleteVery menacing words and expressions coated in sweet caring sugar when talking to Blake this evening.
I know there is a lot of sympathy for Kirsty, including some from me, but not a lot to tell the truth. I have said once before that she doesn't seem to have a lot of luck with her choice of men, but I'm beginning to change my stance on that view.
Cheerful Kirsty, always out to help others is perhaps a young woman without a great deal of self esteem, and perhaps, too eager to please everyone as well as having poor skills at 'reading' character.
Lack of self esteem, I reckon you have a strong point there, Mrs P., about Kirsty, & I would date that from being jilted at the altar ! Enough to knock a girl's confidence for a long time....however, she is better at reading character than most - the first person to see that Titchener was an abuser. Philip Moss had always been very respectful & loving towards her, nothing substantial to the contrary to make her doubt his genuineness.
DeleteI think the latter Owias, he is ruthless in business but knows which side his bread is buttered at home. His session with Blake was chilling and it would be so good to see his callousness exposed. It seems obvious he wants Blake to take all the blame and far from protecting him will probably intend to drop him like a stone when the case is closed. Let’s hope there is a Morse there who will ferret out the truth. Poor Blake being so hungry he had to steal food. It’s horrible that vulnerable people like him are so badly treated by the likes of Philip. Send him (Philip) down!
ReplyDeleteAgree with all of the above. Of course Philip will go down, the police are not stupid.
ReplyDeleteLanjan, like you I didn't take to him but didn't think they'd take it so far, unless it's all connected with Tim who disappeared together with the chemicals.
MrsP, yes, as many of us said why didn't the warning bells ring in Kirsty's ears when she found out about Philip's involvement with the hunt, but she just brushed off everything she stands for.
Didn't Kirsty just pretty much "settle for Gavin"? After all, she seems intent on never broadening her horizons or leaving Ambridge, even though all it seems to offer her (and others) is a lifetime of broken dreams, broken love affairs & never delivered promises all washed down with a side order of disappointment & regret.
ReplyDeleteFollowed by a twilight of bitterness & anger...
Either you mean 'settle for Philip' or I really *haven't* been paying attention these last few weeks : )
DeleteA grim picture indeed, Gary ! Not without a grain of truth, though....
DeleteHa! Well spotted OWIAS - I'm so sleepy after my dinner that my brain has decided to just not pay attenton....
DeleteHa! Just realised I spelt attention wrongly. What a shitter of a day....
DeleteG'niiiiiiiiiiight.............
I caught up just now, fully expecting to be bored, but apart from the Three Amateurs( can't take their rewilding project seriously), it was all rather gripping. Two young men, one privileged, the other not at all, both being treated rottenly. Adam is being a pompous prig, & Brian is showing an unexpected streak of humanity these days : coming to Roy's rescue, trying to advise Adam sensibly, & giving Josh a chance of work at the same time. I thought Adam was vindictive too - shoving the past in Brian's face.
ReplyDeleteAs for poor, intimidated Blake, Philip is an utterly vile bully, but as for your question, Owias, it''s hard to know, isn't it ? Is he really an ace at compartmentalizing, & has genuine feelings for Kirsty or is he using her also, as a respectable front to his nefarious activities ? That uncertainty is one of the things that makes this a good story.
When he gets his comeuppance as hopefully he will, I hope he doesn’t appeal to her better nature and ask her to wait for him. Come on, Kirsty at your age don’t completely throw away your life chances!
ReplyDeleteI can’t believe I was so completely taken in by that vile man.
ReplyDeleteCredit to the SWs and the actor for totally duping me (though not everyone here!)
The scene at the hospital was chilling and left me feeling quite sick with disgust.
Especially coming after the anodyne twittering of the 3 rewilders who sounded so juvenile and oblivious to the wily Justin.
Agree with what's been said. I felt so sorry for Blake who sounds terrified and he was really hungry for goodness sake. How can people be so horrible.
ReplyDeleteNo doubts now. Phillip is definitely a mark 6 arsehole of the highest water.
DeletePoor Kirsty indeed, however, she makes herself vulnerable. Maybe I an too old but I found it distasteful when she offered one off comforting sex to Tom.
No Pierre , not too old, definitely distasteful.
DeleteKirsty initiated the unprotected sex with Tom, much to his and our surprise, just as she initiated the first kiss with Philip. She needs locking up for her own protection!
DeleteI agree with you both, Pierre and P tbY.
ReplyDeleteI also found the Pip/Toby situation distasteful too
I am a romantic as you will see from my taste in my Desert Island Disc choices.
Ladies
Prepare to reach for your handkerchiefs when my turn comes along.
Just about to try out P tbY’s choices whilst I do the ironing!
Pierre, your language choices are so Naval! Well said! Ex - Wren!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Bravo Zulu, Ev.
DeleteThanks to this blog I now know that "Bravo Zulu" means well done!
DeleteBravo Zulu this blog!
BZ to you GG.
DeleteDoes anyone remember the innocent times in Ambridge, when all we had to worry about was if Lynda Snell survived a massive explosion....?
ReplyDeleteI really would prefer the episodes to run Monday to Friday, I have my week-night routine, 6pm Simpson’s on Ch4, then Radio 4 6.30-7.15 then dinner at 7.30, I have never really got used to the Sunday evening episode, and quite often miss it and listen the next morning. Just me being peevish.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Pierre, PtbY and LJ, as well as Maryellen have each illustrated my point about Kirsty made yesterday regarding her low self esteem.
ReplyDeleteKirsty needs to please, and also believes that it is her responsibility to rescue others.
She makes herself open to emotional danger by doing so. But of course at the time of rescue or pleasing she gains the emotional gratification of being needed.
Then follows the fallout.
Wow Mre P! You have stated my thoughts to the ldtter.
DeleteOr even letter
DeleteI hope Helen will be there for her as she was for Helen back you know when!
ReplyDeleteI have found the character Philip to have a superficial charm. He is manipulative and a con artist who clearly doesn’t recognise the rights of others, and perceive his own behaviour as self serving.
ReplyDeleteHe has an inflated sense of self, hence the grandiose manner in which entered the social structure of Ambridge society.
He is a lying monster and we don’t know as yet the extent of his pathology, the mea culpa in the Bull was an indication of his inability to show remorse shame or guilt. That was definitely demonstrated more clearly in his manipulation of the vulnerable worker Blake.
He is smart and adept at playing mind games and all the business with Kirsty was a way of being accepted in order to benefit himself. His generosity towards others was an example of his encouraging reliance and that feeds into his self importance.
He will project himself as a do gooder who rescues young men off the street and gives a purpose in life. He has been very smart in the way he has engaged with the community and he is a control freak.
He will have a massive downfall and it will come from the highly unstable man child Gavin.
I wonder if he abused Gavin as a child. Not sexually, I mean but by bullying him and hitting him? Phil certainly to be handy with his fists and might explain some if Gavin’s traits.
DeleteHe has grabbed a Gavin aggressively a few times as means of controlling the unstable outburst.
DeleteTim displayed similar traits of character when he repaired a church fence pointing out to Ed how charitable he was and indicating that he could trust him. Many have asked if the two are linked.
ReplyDelete*** DEAR BLOGGERS - AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE ***
ReplyDeleteEarlier today I reached out to some of the cast & producers of The Archers to ask if they could send us any little messages of support in these strange & trying times - something to cheer us up a bit. Here's the first response...
Dear Archers blogspot fans,
I hope you are all keeping well, keeping occupied and staying safe at this difficult time... rest assured we will do our best to keep creating the show, so that you can keep on enjoying it!
Best,
Nick Barber (Rex Fairbrother)
Thanks Gary and Rex.
DeleteYou most certainly do Gary 😇 and it is SO much appreciated.
DeleteWhat a brilliant idea, Gary - no shortage of inventiveness & imagination where you're concerned 😊
ReplyDeleteAND what a darling 'Rex' is to respond ! If only he could distance himself from those 2 silly women, JE & rewilding. Couldn't he get a job with one of the supermarket chains, delivering food to a needy population ! Whoops, forgetting that Borsetshire has total immunity from any virus.
Come on, Lynda, stop languishing, & send us a line or four....
Orange - great, it wouldn't put me off, nor a man ferrying his granny around, it means he's caring.
ReplyDeleteI thought the three siblings sounded good together, still don't understand why Josh couldn't help out on his own farm?
Gary, how lovely, there seems to be no end to your industry on our behalf. Do you know if any of the cast or crew read this blog?
ReplyDeleteDo you know what Mistral, I do believe that one or two of them do...!!
DeleteI am going to do my best to get through to Kirsty!
ReplyDeleteThanks for that brilliant idea Gary and to ‘Rex’ for being kind enough to respond.
ReplyDeleteWe haven’t heard from his ‘brother’ for a while, I’m sure Maryellen would be thrilled to get a message from her
T❤️O❤️B❤️Y!
Gosh, yes!!
DeleteThank you, Gary and Rex, dear of him!😊
ReplyDeleteThank you Gary and Rex.
ReplyDeleteI thought Kirsty was going to find something incriminating when searching through the invoices. From Philip’s reaction so did he!
ReplyDeleteJust what I thought Ev. Kirsty's in for a ghastly shock.
ReplyDeleteNow we know why Gavin was searching Philip's his wardrobe to locate his secret laptop.
ReplyDeleteBasia......ooh. Maybe. Wonder what’s on the laptop? I’d forgotten about that.
ReplyDeleteIf Kirsty keeps on pestering as she is I reckon she’s going to find out about Philips evil side sooner than we think! He was getting a bit short with her last night.
Orange eh!! Well all I’ve seen lately are orange minis. So I would say Ben is the height of fashion! I’m glad he’s grateful for his car and not whinging about the colour. He’s the nicest of the 3 Brookfield children.
Our local self employed builder has a bright orange van. He apparently got it at at a knock down price because of the colour.
ReplyDelete