this post is closed
Life in Ambridge
Life in Ambridge
Life outside Ambridge
Popular posts from this blog
Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments" - Episode 14 Life Outside Ambridge Have a seat and let's chat.
*** FROM PREVIOUS BLOG ***
ReplyDeleteMrsP Ambridge April 16, 2020 at 11:53 PM
Lynda should never have been put through tonight's scenario. What were you thinking of Robert Snell ?
If Lynda has not already lost her confidence then tonight's experience will certainly make sure she does.
What are our scriptwriters thinking of ?
How dare they put anyone through such a public performance.
Lynda needs gentle quiet time in her home with Robert giving her space and privacy to come to terms with her injuries and her changed abilities and appearance.
I am disgusted !
Lanjan April 17, 2020 at 8:25 AM
Hear hear ,Mrs P
stasia April 17, 2020 at 9:25 AM
Didn’t I tell you she has made a very, very speedy recovery. It is Ambridge for goodness sake. If houses has shift from large to small in an episode, increasing and decreasing bedrooms to accommodate all and sundry then miracles do indeed happen.
But only in Ambridge.
Oh, cruel, cruel picture Gary! She’s not as bad as that!
ReplyDeleteShe will be if Richard doesn't calm down.
DeleteI well remember being a little over solicitous when my late wife was first home from hospital She told me, "I am not a cabbage". Respect!
Oh! as for Lynda being a bit nowty I can tell you I would welcome a good nagging if only I had my wife still.
Ambridge is Ambridge but even so with such a medical storyline fact should be king I feel.
ReplyDeleteWith the severity of Lynda's burns she would I’m sure be a long long time in recovery and to arrive home and be out at an Easter event within a couple of days just doesn’t ring true. Plus she feels very conscious of her appearance right now.
Pierre 🌹 totally understand your comment regarding your wife as will others here on the blog- Ev for one and Sarnia (where are you? Hope all is well)
Still here. For some odd reason the Home Office seem to have lost interest in me for the time being, but I can't help but wonder if it will last. I suppose it's just possible that now the Government have had to import Romanian fruit pickers to save this year's crop they might have begun to see the error of their ways.
DeleteGary, feel free to delete where applicable.
Hello stranger! How are you? You've been missed you know...
Delete(And I am deleting NOTHING Sarnia!)
Hello Sarnia, nice you are still here. I think you would have been amused by my German friend's comments about the Home Office. She has been married to a British man for a good 40 years, but they told her there was no proof of her having lived in this country. She managed to convince them but her indignation was great. She has never sought British citizenship because she said she was born a German and will die a German (despite being part Italian and Austrian).
DeleteOh, there's been a letter addressed to my husband explaining how he can protect himself against dying from Covid-19, but nothing for me. Perhaps they think I've already been deported to Ambridge, where it won't be a problem!
DeleteLove it, GG! 🤣
ReplyDeletePierre & others ♥️🌹
I totally agree with Pierre! My husband was very organised and nagged me a lot “You never put anything away!” he used to say where for him everything had it’s place. I used to remark, Pierre, that he would be putting up Daily Orders on the notice board next. Yes we have a noticeboard next to the kitchen. I do use it but often find something pinned on there from 2 or three years ago!! 🤔. He would have been appalled that I have three dogs but hey, they have helped to get me through as of course has my lovely daughter!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ev, parsley 16 and Lady R for your kind sympathetc comments. I am lucky to have 2 wonderful daughters , both with lovely friendly husbands and grandchildren.
DeleteMy wife and used to listen and analyse ( criticise ) TA together, another splendid continuing connection to her..
I am surprised that Lynda allows Robert to call her Lindy.
ReplyDeleteIt makes her sound like one of those awful fashion type plastic dolls that fortunately I am too old to have had as a child.
Lanjan,
DeleteBarbie is awful, Sindy was great!
I had some Pippa dolls too - about half the height of Sindy.
Neither Sindy or Pippa would go anywhere near Barbie's 6" stilettos. (Although I gather modern Barbie wears flatter shoes and no long has to totter around on tiptoe.
I had a Cindy too and remember Pippa dolls! I also had the Cindy wardrobe. Cindy was a far better behaved doll, unlike that strumpet Barbie!!!
DeleteI also had Skipper, Cindy's little sister.
DeleteOh that picture, shocking !
ReplyDeleteIt brings to life painful memories.
When young I was very close to a woman who after a motorcycle accident was in a full body plaster.
She was with the Royal Ballet and of course her career was over.
Lanjan ..12.47..there is a kind of intimacy between couples who have pet names for each other that is for them alone to use. I personally think it's lovely..she is Lynda to everyone but she is Lyndy to her Robert.
DeleteAll I am saying is - that I really felt for Linda.
ReplyDeleteShe was not ready, for that exposure.
I am also surprised, that she is now, back home in Ambridge.
DeleteI’m astonished and amazed. If the burns were so severe and disfiguring that they required skin grafting! why wasn’t she referred to a specialist burns unit for rehabilitation?
ReplyDeleteUnless The Ward she was on was a specialist unit. Somehow I don’t think Borchester General is all that brilliant, she was being looked after by 25 yr old junior Dr who had a one night stand with the silly Ben. That says it all.
Not only that Stasia and I'm not an expert , but I thought th biggest threat to burn victims was that of infection..but here we have all and sundry dropping in at the hospital and Robert exposing her to God knows what.
DeleteShe had full, deep facial burns, along with a broken pelvis.
DeleteI would have thought, that the skin grafts + cosmetic surgery, would have taken, much longer.
But then Ambridge seems to be a Magical Place, where all recover, so quickly.
Totally ridiculous that Lynda should be home so quickly.
DeleteAnd especially going up and down what we heard were steep stairs (know all about how difficult that is, still, after knee op) and getting in and out of bath unaided when still needing crutches to walk after having broken her pelvis.
I think the Editor/SW have decided to hurry her story along and have greatly telescoped her recovery.
It’s a bit of an insult to listeners who have suffered any similar injuries and have taken much, much longer to recover.
No Archers tonight - can I survive?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the rest of us are feeling it with you Miriam.
DeleteI feel great sympathy with Lynda's feelings & reactions, along with annoyance at Robert et al for being so b----y crass..
ReplyDeleteI had a Sindy doll. My younger sister had a Barbie. That says it all.
ReplyDeleteSarnia, good to hear from you again. Bon courage. ♥️ des bises.
ReplyDeleteAutumnleaves 3:45 pm -If Robert wants to call Lynda ,”Lindy” in private that is fine
ReplyDeleteHusbands and wives do have special names for each other I am sure but they are names for them alone.
I would hate it if Mr LJ called me Jansy or something similarly soppy but if he did it in front of somebody else I would certainly be much less happy -were that to be possible -and extremely embarrassed.
Back to dolls,Old Woman.
ReplyDeleteSurely dolls should be soft and are there to be cuddled.?
I was once given a doll with a china head .
I called her Angela but I could not take her to bed with me.
I haven’t a clue as to what the difference is between a Cindy or a Barbie doll.
They were after my time.
I can remember being so thrilled with my first Pedigree doll with a soft body but hard head. They were newly out I think and she was a Christmas present. Never to be forgotten. I'm too old to have had a Cindy or Barbie but my daughter enjoyed Barbies for a time.
DeleteI always preferred trains & cars. Dolls, yeuch generally. Apart from Sindy, Janet (beats me.. 😉) & the fashion dolls my Uncle Ken brought back from his travels.
ReplyDeleteI always found dolls creepy.
ReplyDeleteThen I read a book about doll parts found in the sea. It was set in Ireland and made the subject of dolls even creepier followed by being involved in the making of a film about yet again, sinister dolls.
I never bought either of my girls dolls but they had plenty, mostly from my mother.
I prefer dogs myself.
Back to life in Ambridge, did Kenton say who Keira and Co, judged to be the winner of Best Easter bonnet, or did I miss it? I can only remember Lilian being awarded the prize for funniest. It seemed to me to be a very muddled episode - but that could be due to lockdown-induced stultification of my brain!
ReplyDeleteNo, it’s not Maryellen - I found it an annoyingly dis-jointed episode. The switch between poor Lynda’s predicament and what was going on with the fete was difficult to follow.
DeleteAs it was something Shula cobbled up with only a few days notice, I wondered how they had managed to find a brass band free at short notice too.
Unless, of course, it was just a recording that Kenton was playing over the PA system. 🎺
Sorry to be picky, but shouldn’t all this discussion about dolls be on the other blog?
ReplyDeleteGary??
🤙🤙🤙
DeleteI have just enlarged Gary’s picture as I initially thought it was an Egyptian mummy.
DeleteIt is a person/dummy encased in plaster of Paris with just the toes, fingers and part of the face face showing. I could happily put one or two Ambridge residents in this position! But not poor Lindysticks.
Some might Ben efit from this drastic treatment.
You are correct Archerphile...😉
DeleteGreat idea Stasia but may I suggest one small improvement? Could the mouth be covered too? Please.
DeleteURGENT PRESS RELEASE!
ReplyDeleteHave just read, on Archers Official site, that from Sunday May 3rd the BBC will be broadcasting 3 weeks of classic Archers episodes, each week following a theme. The episodes will be taken from the last two decades and broadcast Sun - Thurs each week.
So those who have been asking to hear old episodes again have had their wish granted!
I assume that this 3 weeks is to allow further time for the in-home studios for the current actors to be finalised.
And the new-type episodes will start straight after that. I recommend reading the Archers announcement on the Archers Site A’s it gives more detail (and a photo of Barry Farrimond recording an episode at home)
DeleteGod the prospect of listening to old episodes doesn’t bear thinking about. I never listen back, once is enough.
DeleteIt was bad enough facing the prospect of monologues/soliloquies. I was dreading 13 minutes of Ed or Roy.
On second thoughts perhaps old episodes are preferable. If the repeats involve coercive control then I shall definitely switch off.📸
😬 oh no. Barry Thingy is Ed Grundy 👎Emma, Emma, sheep shearing, please Emma, sheep shearing, give us a job MATE.
DeleteAnd on he drones.
That’s your choice Stasia, but I think a lot of us will be pleased to have any Archers to listen to at all over the coming months and I applaud the BBC for trying to keep the Ambrídge flag flying.
DeleteDoes Ed know how to iron?
DeleteI thought he relied on Clarrie or Emma to do it.
Barry's got an impressively organised clothes rail - all those matching hangers!
(Shame we're in lockdown or I'd invite Barry or Ed to come and tackle my ironing avalanche ..)
Thanks for The Archers alert, AP - immediately switched from here to the site !
ReplyDeleteYou know, I think they've planned it all rather well, Stasia ( though the proof's in the pudding, of course), trying to please all listener tastes, harking back to the past, reshaping the present to reflect lockdown.
Not so keen on loads of nostalgia either, but quite interested to hear those much earlier key episodes, such as Grace's demise & John Archer's, which I didn't at the time (I suppose that paints me as a ghoul 😗)
Also, comparing voices, then & now, & assessing past performances.
Carolyn, the episodes are only going to be taken from the past 2 decades so no chance of hearing Grace’s death or the Gabriels or the hold-up at the Post Office, I’m afraid.
DeleteOh goody, if it’s to be episodes from the past two decades, that’s when Vanessa Whitburn and Sean O’Connor were the editors, so it won’t be ye olde world’s TA!
ReplyDeleteYou are correct Archerphile 8:54 am .
DeleteMy fault.
I said that calling Lynda Lindy made her sound like a plastic doll.
I think we have moved on to Archers nostalgia now.
Like Carolyn I think I would prefer the earlier episodes rather than the more recent ones.
Sorry to be a tell-tale-tit Lanjan!! Just got a bit irritated this am, had a bad night!
DeleteDidn't pick that bit up, AP - thanks !
DeleteI presume that we will have old episodes until the Corona Virus epidemic is completely over and the moment that happens we will hear the episodes recorded by the actors in their homes which will be a continuation of what we are hearing at the moment.
ReplyDeleteNo mention will be made of the virus and Ambridge will have been a Corona Virus free zone .
Am I correct in my thinking?
Lanjan, as I understood it on the site it says the old episodes will finish on 24/5, & then we will get 4 episodes a week, characters talking (in life & fiction) from their own homes, internal monologue style, till whenever. Presumably that means covid 19 & lockdown will be incorporated for the foreseeable.
DeleteI was complicit in the (pointless?) discussion on dolls on the wrong thread, and thought to apologise at the time.
ReplyDeleteApologising now to any others as well as Archerphile who may have been irritated by this intrusion.
I chimed in on the doll topic too. Sorry.
DeleteI'm pleased to hear that more Archers will be available and I think they're trying hard to please fans so thank you.
I am pleased that TA will continue in any form, but I must say that Jill Archer's monologue at Christmas, making mince pies, was, imo, appalling, and I hope they can do better than that. She sounded quite barmy.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the idea of 13 mins of Barry Farrimond. Heaven.
I will be very happy if Tracy does the lot. I enjoyed her internal thoughts.😺👩🏻🦳
DeleteDitto T❤️O❤️B❤️Y!
DeleteAgree about Tracy, but does Toby have self reflectivre thoughts, or any thoughts worth listening to ? 😉
DeleteOnly if they involve himself and sex.🧑🦲👎
DeleteTruer of Tracy than T❤️O❤️B❤️Y!!!
DeleteI gave up half-way through the mince pies!
DeletePerhaps it was recorded in real time so we could bake along with her. Shame she forgot to give the recipe at the beginning ; )
The three weeks to start on 3rd May are to be themed including housing, departures etc over the last two decades. The next batch of episodes will not be performed by one single actor for the duration, it states that there will be fewer involved, so if now the average is six characters then 3/4 are imagine and because of less interaction they'll fill the time with their own reflections.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds a very good solution, Basia. I never could see why there would only be one person in an episode - should be easy for them to rehearse and record with less actors when they get their home studios up and running. After all, it's radio, so really no need for them to be in the same studio - radio can paint it's own pictures, unlike television.
DeletePerhaps the Parish Council should buy all Ambridge residents loud hailers.
DeleteThen they can obey lockdown but continue to interact by shouting at each other acroos the green.
As it happens, I have a job lot here that I picked up from someone called Tim. They seem fine, but one has a faulty loud speaker - nominations please for which resident should have that one.
Kathy...
DeletePerhaps I didn't make myself clear: the loud speaker doesn't work, no sound comes out. It would be pretty unfair to mute Kathy twice over, Gary. I was thinking of giving it to Susan, or possibly Kate. 'Though I suspect several bloggers would vote to give it to Joy.
DeleteI was trying (and failing!) to be clever!!!
DeleteJazzer gets my vote.
DeleteI am one, who is pleased to hear again, episodes from 20years ago.
ReplyDeleteI bet that I will be surprised, how much I have forgotten, about both, the residents + their lives.
I am looking forward to, not only, re-listening but re-learning, how Life in Ambridge, was then, in comparison to 2020.
PS - Dolls are OK, but clowns? This, is not on the right page - but I am not going to talk about, nor mention, this phobia again, neither here nor there.
Delete🤡 🙈
IF some episodes from 20 years ago, are actually broadcast again, then the wonderful Nigel Pargetter, will be heard again.
ReplyDeleteThis I, personally, look forward to.
👍💖
DeleteThey’ll be able to record conversations between Shula & Brian fairly easily.
ReplyDeleteQuite a lot of the cast presumably are self isolating being age 70+
Clever!
DeleteHaving read the editor’s plans for TA on the BBC News home page this morning - a diet of weddings and flower shows during the prolonged delay while they are conquering the problems of producing the show which other outfits seem to be conquering Immediately - I feel it’s a particular shame that this crisis has occurred when we have such a feeble editor in post.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Just heard this on BBC news. Apparently Lady GaGa? Was able to organise a virtual concert of lots singers and groups. It was all prerecorded and broadcast like a live aid type thing.
DeleteThis Ed is a bit like the government slow to catch on.
I also detected a patronising approach to TA listeners on the editor’s part, which I didn’t like.
DeleteOh come on! How can you compare something like the multi-millionaire pop industry and its highly influential stars being able to concoct an online concert with the cash-strapped BBC desperately trying to satisfy its radio audience with daily soap epusodes during the lockdown.
DeleteUnfair comparison and criticism in my view
Personally I shall be glad to have anything Archers-related to listen to each evening.
When such high profile (and presumably much higher budget) TV soaps such as Eastenders and Coronation Street have had to cut their episode to the bone, it is to be applauded that TA can carry on at all.
Sorry, Archerphile, I know we agreed that I wouldn’t disagree with you, but I have to here. I have been sent or come across lots of examples from the BBC itself and much smaller outfits of shows recorde with performers in their own homes - multiple performers in the case of orchestral/choral works. So not an unfair criticism at all. I suspect the current editor is banking on listeners reacting with the ‘anything is better than nothing’ reaction. Well, not this.listener!
DeleteI am one of those who will accept what I'm given in the Archers and can always switch off.
DeleteOn the other hand other programmes have adapted: The Now Show, The News Quiz, The Kitchen Cabinet, Any Questions, GQT - they all broadcast live in front of an audience and some from different locations. I don't know the logistics of recording a drama with multiple characters.
I should think some editing would be required in the case of a drama but in the case of GQT etc they are having a conversation just like phoning someone and are not bound by a script.
DeleteMoving on to Gary’s picture, I’ve just had a eureka moment about the Plaster of Paris figure, it is absolutely not LindyPops.
ReplyDeleteThe only person with the extraordinary talent to create this artistic piece is of course Ambridge’s local gallery curator. RUSS.
He has created his own art installation by being wrapped in POP and put on display in the Orangery. When lockdown is over he will put himself on the the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.
Audience participation will be encouraged, Bridge farm has donated eggs and tomatoes to add some Pollock style colour to the plaster.
Let’s hope his stay will be permanent.🧑🏼🎨🥚🍅
Love it!
DeleteBut 'he will put himself' - surely he will need someone else to move him to the plinth. What a shame if they forget to collect him afterwards.
Or perhaps a particularly strong gust of wind will blow him off the plinth.
Eggs and tomatoes won't be needed - just leave it to the pigeons : )
I like that Stasia, I’ll be in line with my “paints” 😈
ReplyDeleteInspired ! Regularly replenished bowls of egg & tomato at the feet of the plinth... what a great example of interactive art for our times - the opportunity to vent, & release the tensions following lockdown. There could be a ceremonious burning of Russ eventually, cleansing the world of all chancers & poseurs !
ReplyDeleteLove it, Stasia! Tomatoes at the ready.. 🍅🍅🍅🥚🥚🥚
ReplyDeleteMe too please! “Them what’s keen gets fell in previous!”😜
ReplyDeleteThere is no way I'm going to waste food and especially not on R. I've always used every last scrap and will continue do so lockdown or not.
ReplyDelete👍👍 Basia
DeleteI thought it was maybe Freddie's "effort" but wrong material.
Autumnleaves - so did I but refrained from comment for the reason stated.
DeleteMaryellen 10.22
ReplyDeleteI don’t mind at all that you disagreed with me, please don’t feel the need to apologise, and for goodness sake, don’t hold back!
We are all entitled to different views and that is the essence of healthy debate n’est pas? 🥰
And Basia, 11.37
Most of the programmes you mentioned are question and answer type shows. I’m not sure how easy it is to produce drama by online links. I suppose it depends if the actors have screens on which they can see the other actors face, or just a microphone and a script. It must be difficult to pick up cues without seeing ones fellow actor(s).
Then there is the sound time-delay which is very obvious sometimes, as seen when the journalists question the Minister at the daily Covind briefings. The voice just doesn’t match the mouth movements which could be very difficult when acting.
I know nothing about the technicalities, just trying to imagine how the difficulties could arise and need to be addressed before the new-type episodes begin.
Well, I think the best thing to to do is wait and see..I'm sure everyone in every field is doing their absolute best to provide as close to the services they had before. It may not be perfect but everyone doing their best in this terrible situation and i appreciate everyones efforts. The alternatives are job losses..take your pick!!!
DeleteI’ll take whatever Archers content the BBC are able to provide, with gratitude!
DeleteIf they have to stop altogether I always have my Archers books, maps and jigsaw to entertain me. 😉
Archerphile - we are talking about professional actors, aren’t we? Today’s actors work in a wide variety of conditions and develop the versatility to match. I can see home recording might be physically and mentally more demanding for some of the senior members of the cast, apart from self-isolation issues - but let’s be imaginative, Mister Editor, and bring back some of the ‘disappeared’ younger characters who listeners regularly enquire after.
DeleteI've read all the points of view above and Autumn Leaves has answered for me, word for word.
DeleteThank you A L
We are back again to whatever theBBCcan provide and sympathetic understanding of finances. Well, how come they can afford to station sone hapless "journalist" on the pavement outside St Thomas's Hospital for the duration of the Prime Minister's sojourn. To what effect? Do they really expect those inside to rush out with information to the reporter? It is a constant ploy used for any story with idiots in the City of London on a Sunday evening or reporting at 10 p.m."Live" from outside the courts repeating a story that was first broken before lunch e.t.c.
ReplyDeleteSuch outside broadcasts must be more expensive than from a studio and the "Live" aspect adds nothing of value.
Totally agree Pierre, maybe the BBC is, like the rest of us, saving money. No travelling here, there and everywhere. The Archers has got to be one of the cheapest show they produce. Soaps like EE and Casualty must cost a lot. Especially the latter, what with explosions, train crashes, and other catastrophes requiring lots of actors.
DeleteBasia.11.29am
I failed to say that the tomatoes and eggs would be rotten. Unsold and left to rot in favour of fruit juice. They wouldn’t even be fit for 🐷 pigs but there aren’t any at abridge farm.
Because it's cheap Pierre. Pureand simple.they don't have to pay actors, scriptwriters, editors ,sound technicians etc....how many times have we seen some poor sod from every imaginable news station out in the middle of a hurricane or storm telling us thers a friggin storm!!. We dont need you we can look out the window...but for the stations this costs nothing and they're providing a service at the lowest possible cost
DeleteEntirely agree re weather reports although I find it insults the intelligence to have it pointed out that weather occurs out of doors.
DeleteHowever, how is it cheap to send a so called “star reporter” (some ludicrous salaries there) to repeat what a local reporter has covered or to return reporters to the scene of a story when an update occurs in a different place some months/years later.
If BBC management is ever challenged on this subject they always revert to their belief that they know what is best for the audience.
I am so old that I have had a free licence for almost 5 years which is now to stop. I can well afford the cost of the licence but I object to the spurious reasoning re financial stringency behind the change when so much money is needlessly expended as above.
I am keeping, my post, as simple as I can tonight. I just want to give my TA thoughts.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I so enjoyed STASIA'S post at 9.22 am. ✔✔
I really enjoyed my listen to "The Omnibus" this morning.
I thought Philip, in his 1st, interview with Harrison - was too good to be true.
I say this, as he was away for the weekend, with Kirsty - so how does he know Gavin drove Blake to Grey Gables, where Blake got his supplie from..etc.
It was just supposition.
I will listen to, and enjoy, whatever TA episodes, will be broadcast, in the coming weeks.
ReplyDeleteI know, I will either remember, or earn, a lot, about Ambridge + it's residents.
It will be different, but enjoyable.
Keep Safe All. 🤗🤗
obviously -I meant "learn about Ambridge" etc...
DeleteI was enthralled with the Helen + Rob storyline, at the time.
ReplyDeleteThis is one story, I personally, don't want to listen to again 🤞
Roy is in a difficult position, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteHe is having thoughts + suspicions/doubts about Philip.
He is also, one of "the few", who know about the imminent wedding of Philip + Kirsty.
What does he do or talk to.
Does he raise his thoughts, or let Kirsty marry Philip?
I don't envy Roy's choice, whatever he decides to do and will it be Good or Bad.
Perhaps I am "over thinking" this situation, but I am just intrigued, as to how it ends.
DeleteAll I know, Kirsty will be heartbroken, yet again. 😢😭
....unless Philip comes out totally OK, and it is Gavin who is found responsible and pays the consequences.
DeleteI believe, Philip would not support his son - what a horrible idea, but...could he?
To be honest with you Miriam, Roy's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed is he? Even if his tiny little brain gears worked out that there WAS something not quite right about the situation, I would wager that he'd make the wrong decision & try to confront Philip rather than go straight to the police - probably resulting in him being badly beaten up at the least.
DeleteRoy's life is somewhat littered with really, really atrocious choices!
Miriam - You cannot possibly think that Philip is 'OK!' We have heard him threatening Blake in hospital, we have heard his conversations with Gavin about the 'horses' and we have heard him threatening and bullying Gavin alone and in front of Kirsty! He is one of the nastiest pieces of work we have had appear in The Archers ever!
ReplyDeleteI thought that Miriam meant that if Philip gets away with it and Gavin is left with all the fallout!
DeletePierre 2:49pm.and 3:54 pm.
ReplyDeleteHEAR HEAR.
We say exactly the same as you.
How often is there some reporter standing outside the Old Bailey reporting on the result of a trial?
Why can not the person reading the news -Sylvia Peters ,Mary Malcolm or Robert Dougall or whoever tell us the result?
To get back to The Archers.
Miriam ,we know Phillip is a wrong un.
I am with Gary on this one.
The best thing for Roy to do is to go to Harrison and tell him what he had learnt from the bloke with what sounded like a genuine Warwickshire/Staffordshire accent.
I thought, at the beginning of the episode, that Roy had totally got hold of the wrong end of the stick concerning Blake and Philip.
ReplyDeleteBut his conversation with the hospital patient about Blake being whisked out of hospital by his ‘Uncle’ has set Roy on the right trail at last.
I just hope he takes this information straight to Harrison and does not try to confront Philip himself. That could be dangerous. I also wonder if he will tell Kirsty what he has heard?
And it was good to hear Lynda laughing again after her humiliating outing yesterday. Lilian obviously has the knack of cheering her up after poor Roberts somewhat smothering attention. Sending him out for a walk was the perfect solution to restore Lynda’s sanity!
Yes Lilian was just the tonic that Lynda needed and it was indeed good to hear her having a laugh. I'm not a fan of Lilian but just lately she's been sensitive and very helpful to both Lynda and Robert.
ReplyDeleteI can only hope that Roy goes straight to Harrison. If he doesn't he could be getting into a whole lot of trouble of the GBH type or, if not that, intimidation with threats of violence.
I think the only unexpected information Roy picked up during his hospital visit was the man in the next bed’s reference to Philip as Blake’s uncle - which, as far as Roy knows, could be true, a courtesy title, or the MITNB getting it wrong. Not a lot to take to Harrison.....
ReplyDeleteRoy found out that the "uncle" discharged Blake from hospital against their advice. I reckon he'll talk to Phoebe/Oliver first.
ReplyDeleteBasia in the real world of a hospital the uncle would not have been able to discharge an adult patient. That is unless he had some sort of legal guardianship control. Philip probably bullied and coerced Blake to discharge himself and he (Blake) would have had to sign paperwork saying he was doing so against medical advice.
DeleteGiven Blake’s emotional fragility, never mind his physical condition, I’m surprised he has not been referred to a psychologist/psychiatrist for assessment. I was left with impression on the few occasions he was vocal that Blake possibly had a learning disability?
Has he suddenly found his legs.
Did he walk out of the ,ward unaided?
Lots of unanswered questions about Blake’s discharge Stasia.
DeleteAnother telescoping of events re illness/recovery.
First Lynda miraculously coping with steep stairs & being able to bathe unaided with a broken pelvis and serious burns only a very few weeks ago.
Now Blake apparently able to leave hospital after a broken back and in what must have been psychological distress.
Borchester Hospital may have performed miracles in the past (sadly not with Nic) but I cannot believe how quickly Lynda & Blake seem to have recovered, courtesy of the SWs.
Pierre 9.56 yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI have been pondering on your comment.
“Them what’s keen gets fell in previous!”
I have never heard this before, is it a navy saying?
I’m racking my brains, the few I’ve got, to translate the meaning.
I think it Forces in general. I have certainly heard it used by "Pongos"
DeleteHad to google ‘Pongos’.
DeleteLike Seasider I don’t understand the saying.
Stasia, I also thought Blake might have a learning disability. I thought it was said that Blake had discharged himself, when Roy expressed surprise that Blake was well enough to leave. Agree re real world procedures and lack of referrals to psych and social worker.
ReplyDeleteI hope Roy does smell a rat, but he might just say to Philip that he didn’t realise Blake was a relative, without suspecting anything sinister. He thinks of Philip as a friend, and Philip is very good at the nice guy facade.
Pierre/Stasia: My Mum sometimes used to say “get fell in” at the start of a meal in a jokey way. Don’t understand the rest of Pierre’s phrase though.
It means that when volunteers are required there should be no need to ask. (or for them to need to be told that they are volunteering)
DeleteI was volunteering to join in the pelting of Russ.
ReplyDeleteCan I join in please, Pierre? I have a good supply of rotten apples at the bottom of my compost bin.
DeleteThank you Pierre for the explanation. I had never heard it before either, and didn't understand it.
ReplyDeleteI felt Roy was surprised and intrigued about the ' uncle' reference and in Roy's way will ponder on the information. He might of course ask Kirsty ?
Then there would be two of them pondering !
And where will that lead to ?
At the end Geoff said that Blake did a runner, his Welsh uncle came to pick him up and Roy could ask at the desk as to his identity, make of that what you will.
ReplyDeleteWell remembered, Basia, it makes sense of his departure, though, rather like Lynda, discharged legitimately from hospital, one marvels at how they can do this so soon after sustaining such serious injuries as we were led to believe they had.
DeleteSure, Roy's cause of unease was way off target before that patient spoke to him, but he now has information that is, potentially, far more disturbing. I doubt he'll start by telling Kirsty about the 'Welsh uncle', for obvious reasons but he might speak to Pheobe in the first instance, & together, TA style, after much deliberation, they just might come to the conclusion that the police should know about this.....
ReplyDeleteOR, Harrison will be alerted anyway by Blake's abrupt disappearance - I think he was already suspicious during his first interview with Philip - & will investigate further into where the boy had gone. Roy's evidence could come in further down the line.
I think you are right,Carolyn.
ReplyDeleteRoy will speak to Phoebe who may of course mention it to Pip and Rex and then what?
Or ....if he does mention it to Phillip ,the latter will probably say that the only way for Blake to be able to leave the hospital was to have a family member who could take care of him and so Phillip thinking of his poor worker decided to bend the rules slightly by pretending to be the caring Uncle.
Then of course Roy should ask whether he is living with him and Kirsty.
If Phillip says “yes”then at some point Roy will mention it to Kirsty .
What then?
If he says “no” Roy might want to find out just where Blake is living.
Whatever happens ,when Harrison finds out that Blake is living in squalor and that Phillip was the one who managed to get him released from hospital by lying ,I think the game might be up.
Lanjan. Blake would have to leave hospital of own volition, yes caring Uncle Philip would be giving the medics all sorts of lies about making sure he is will be looked after. However it sounds like Blake will do whatever Mr Moss tells him.
DeleteThe “Welsh 🧙🏽♂️ Wizard” will have worked the poor man up to say anything.
Blake had a "broken" back, or something similar. How could he be fit enough, to be discharged from the hospital, in any form??
ReplyDeleteIs Gavin now caring for all of Blake's needs, in the flat, where the so-called workforce, reside?
This is similar to Linda returning to "Ambridge Hall", which proved problematic.
PS Where is this flat?
In my opinion, Roy needs to talk to Oliver, Harrison, Kirsty, or AN Other - but please, not Pheobe.
ReplyDeleteWe are led to believe that the hospital has been convinced by Philip’s story about being his uncle, so Philip has probably convinced them that he will take care of Blake at home. As Stasia says, if Blake isn’t medically fit, and insists on leaving against the hospital advice he would sign papers to say he is self discharging. However with Uncle Philip’s support he wouldn’t need to be fully mobile to leave hospital. A great pity though that no one in the hospital seems to have picked up on the situation. If Roy had spoken to the staff about his concerns after his first visit then a safeguarding meeting might have been organised, but I suppose that’s just too dull and undramatic. Or perhaps it serves to show how people like Philip pull the wool over folk’s eyes. Shame that Kirsty has to go through yet another heartbreak.
ReplyDeleteSurely with Blake's injuries, there would have been a home assesment, as to his needs, and what would be required, for his ongoing health + welfare.
ReplyDeleteTA does not seem, to have researched this situation...
well in my opinion, but others might disagree.
For once, and this is a 1st for me, TA has not been "true for life"..😣😨❌
Sorry..
DeleteMiriam, one of the main reasons I enjoy the Archers is that about 95% of it is unbelievable bat-shit crazy nonsense to me and never comes anywhere close to my real life!
DeleteI don't really know a single soul that's like any of the characters, everyone seems to lurch from one "crisis" to another and they all bounce back from adversity (with no real mental or physical after effects) in about 5 minutes flat!
And I don't really mind....
I love TA and the village of Ambridge.
DeleteLong may it continue, in whatever form, in the future.
Note to self - don't analyse things so much and then over think things...😄
Very sage advice Miriam - I often have to remind myself to do the same!!
DeleteWhen will I learn???
DeleteO what a tangled web + bristling Shula.
ReplyDeleteWell now I really have lost the plot.
ReplyDeleteHow come that Kirsty didn’t notice that Phillip had been away for several hours when he took Blake to Norfolk?
Also why would he say that he didn’t want to worry her?
Had he told her that he was taking Blake back to his parents to help him recuperate perhaps she might have thought what a nice kind bloke she was marrying.
Think that's the point Lanjan Phillip has never been gone long enough to get to Norfolk & back.
ReplyDeleteIf she thought he was working a full working day on a local job I expect she wouldn't have missed him for all the hours a round trip to Norfolk would take. She trusts the man.
DeleteBlimey, quick thinking, Philip - master of deception !
Can't argue with your reasoning there, Esscee ! Mind you, the script has always been rather vague on the actual extent of the injuries sustained by both Blake & Lynda.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the scenes between Kenton & Shula ! It'll give her thought for thought & maybe lead to some honest self reflection. Kenton did rather well, I thought. He was astute about his twin on positive & negative aspects of her character but where's the evidence of Shula's imagination ? Church activities ? Easter bunnies ? Dunno.
ReplyDeleteShula says she's very organised - definitely a trait to flag up at her Bishops' panel. It's not universal among vicars.
DeleteIf I ever have a serious accident I shall demand to be taken to Borsetshire General poste haste. If all their patients recover as quickly as Lynda and blake they must be the best hospital in the country! And probably miracle workers to boot.
ReplyDelete(Perhaps the brother of Ambridge's magic bedroom builder is in charge.)
Roy, you muppet!
ReplyDeleteIs there any hope that one of the Three Muppeteers will start to wonder why Blake's loving parents never made the journey up to visit their poor broken-backed son in hospital?
One thing that's bothering me, quite apart from Blake's miraculous recovery, how did Philip manage to have his gentle chats with him without the man in the next bed over-hearing? Given his desperation for any form of conversation with Mr Silent, I can't imagine he'd simply tune out whenever Philip appeared. Or did Uncle Phil wait until TMITNB had gone to the loo before making his appearances?
Good point - also applies to Roy’s first visit when Blake threw a wobbly that the whole ward must have herd. At the time, I assumed Blake was in a separate room but today Roy went straight to find his bed on the ward. Hmmm...
DeleteI think it’s probably skimped continuity checking. I blame the editor.
DeleteMe too maryellen.
DeleteDespite the holes in the plot, I'm eagerly awaiting the next episodes to see how it all works out. Philip is good at thinking on his feet and coming up with plausible answers. In life we do tend to trust what people say; I find it horrible when I come to realise that someone has lied to me. Nevertheless, I had to go on the RAC web site and find how long it takes to drive from Worcester to Norwich - three and a half hours. With the handover to Blake's loving (?) parents, that's a whole working day for the round trip! Who will eventually see through the edifice of lies?
ReplyDeleteNot to mention the need for rest stops - Blake could hardly sit comfortably in a car for three and a half hours non-stop.
DeleteBut then, most of the residents of Ambridge have never been past Felpersham so perhaps have no idea how long such excursions should take.
Or perhaps Philip mistakenly filled his car with rocket fuel instead of solvent, sorry, petrol.
The drive would take longer than the RAC website says because Ambridge residents would have the extra miles of Borsetshire to cover. (Is Borsetshire large like Yorkshire or tiny like Rutland was?)
DeleteBut surely the point is that Philip didn’t take Blake to his parents in Norfolk st all. He probably just took him back to the flat the poor lad shares with the other ‘horses’.
ReplyDeleteThreatened to keep his mouth shut, the others told to look after him and keep their mouths shut too. Hopefully they were left food and/or cash to buy some and perhaps Gavin has been charged with keeping an eye on all three of them.
I'm sure he didn't go anywhere ear Norfolk. The point we're making is that none of the Three Muppeteers questionned how he'd managed to make such a long journey without anyone noticing his absence. Let alone how a seriously injured Blake would cope with the trip.
DeleteI can't think he would be with the other 'horses', though. Philip was anxious to avoid letting them see him in hospital. Even with his miraculous recovery, he couldn't risk them asking questions and discussing events.
So Gavin has got two 'stables' to run. I hope he remembers the hay for his mules, sorry, food for his workers.
I'm sure you're right that he never went anywhere near Norfolk and, almost certainly, Blake doesn't have any supportive family. Who's going to be the first to put two and two together?
DeleteIt's a horrible scenario to imagine: injured, possibly mentally challenged, man managing on his own with considerable injuries when he'd rather be in hospital being looked after properly. Imagine having to rely on Gavin to bring food and any dressings needed.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Kirsty will suggest making a call to Blake's parents to check that he's doing OK just so that her beloved Philip can stop worrying about him. How would Philip the liar get out of that one?
Kirsty.,;Ex- .Londoner.
ReplyDeleteKirsty has gone into denial and is defending Philip quite angrily. Probably a sign that she knows something isn’t adding up. I think Roy knows it as well, but was uncomfortable in the context of the dinner party to keep pushing in the face of Philip’s smooth answers. It’s heading in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteRe the holes in the plot: It’s not a new phenomenon for TA to have dramatic story lines that are then resolved all of a sudden with all living happily ever after, stretching credulity. It’s been happening for decades. That’s part of its escapist charm.
What with explosions and modern day slavery Ambridge has enough to cope with so I hope with no one travelling in or out of the area they can remain covid free.
Philip, you lie like a N.A.A.F.I. menu. The other 3, "Thumb up bum, mind spring loaded to neutral."
ReplyDeleteThe outstanding exception was Sean O’Connor’s real time/real life treatment of the Rob and Helen storyline which (some) listeners complained took too long and was too realistic, just as (some) listeners deplore the fact that other storyline timescales are too short and not realistic enough.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, what was last night’s Alastair/Kenton swap all about? I think Shula was entitled to a bit more of an explanation than Kenton’s breezy “change of plan”. Was ‘Alistair’ stuck in the lift and some furious ad libbing going on? I did think Alastair sounded strangely animated when he made the offer, but didn’t think it worth commenting on at the time.
I think I’m going to refrain from commenting on the Philip/Gavin/Slavery story.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I put post an opinion it seems I have misunderstood the plot and/or misinterpreted comments others have made here.
So I’ll just shut up about this particular story and keep my thoughts to myself.
However, on another thread, I too couldn’t understand the sudden change of ‘interviewer’ for Shula and agreed with Kenton when he said she was too sensitive. Her strop at the end of the evening just proved him right.
She is going to have to grow a thicker skin if she is going to be a successful minister - they get an awful lot of flack these days, even physical attacks I have heard. Man up Shula!