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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.
*** FROM PREVIOUS BLOG ***
ReplyDeleteMiriam - November 3, 2020 at 4:50 PM
I am waiting; in eager anticipation, for Lynda to help Freddy.
Freddy will take the accolade for the Christmas LL event, as the producer. This will silence the trustees, but it will be another Lynda Ambridge Christmas production, again.
Lily (plus Russ) will try to muscle in, but it will be Freddy + Lynda who manage it.
They have a lovely bond together.
parsley16November 3, 2020 at 10:19 PM
👍👍GG!
Archerphile - November 3, 2020 at 10:37 PM
So David is still around and discussing the future of the farm after all! Thought he’d gone walkabout!
And Shula speaks once again. Good that some of the old characters are gradually being brought back.
Can’t help wondering if we’ll ever hear Peggy again though?
Lady R - November 4, 2020 at 12:06 AM
Had the same thought Archerphile! Also will the lockdown due to start this Thursday stop recording sessions 🤔 its been so good to hear our programme in its proper format once again (even when an occasional episode disappoints)
Money hidden underground!
ReplyDeleteI never even thought of that, Basia. I bet you and Gary are great at crossword puzzles.
DeleteHa! I can do the easy peasy ones, but I get so furious at difficult or even medium ones that I haven't looked at ANY in over 30 years! The cryptic ones might as well be written in Sanskrit as far as I'm concerned.
DeleteVery clever picture Gary.
ReplyDeleteYou just about have everything in there, from Josh’s hens, Tony ploughing, underground treasure, to Pip waving goodbye as she sets off for a lucrative job somewhere (well, I wish she would! 🤣)
Two devious fathers pushing their sons into something they don't want to do, go on Gavin and William, tell them you won't.
ReplyDeleteHello Old Fogey - where have you been hiding ?
ReplyDeleteLong time no see !
Hello and thanks, MrsP. I've been sorting out a few things but keeping an eye on the blog. I'm glad I did as Iwas able to keep abreast of Ambridge doings. I'm not back 100% but the Gavin and Phil s.l. has piqued my interest.
DeleteI really thought Gavin was going to tell Kirsty the truth. Then the dramatic pause before he hastily covers himself with another lie. The mix of lies, truths and half truths is fascinating. I think it will be Gavin who cracks first, Phillip will lose his temper and Kirsty will side with his son.
ReplyDeleteDoes Gavin know about his father fleeing to Wales?
Love the picture Gary!
ReplyDeleteOld Fogey I am with you there.
ReplyDeleteI don't give two hoots about the buried coins or the Christmas Show.
I don't care about Elizabeth's love life, Alice's pregnancy or whether Fallon will give in regarding not wanting children but I do want to know how the Phillip,Gavin,Kirsty situation works out.
I hope the script writers don't chicken out and allow Kirsty and Phillip to sneak off to Wales.
I don't think they will.
I agree with you Soz.
Gavin will crack ........
Soz - does Gavin know about his father fleeing to Wales ?
ReplyDeleteWe have been told in the past, that if we haven't heard it on air, then it never happened.
( Maryellen can correct if wrong )
I certainly haven't heard it, so I don't think Gavin does know...... yet !
OK, so probably when Gavin finds out that Philip wants "to give him more responsibility" as Kirsty calls it and say he wants to go to Wales, Gavin will burst out with the truth but I think Kirsty will stand by Philip.
ReplyDeleteIf Philip hasn’t told Gavin and is prepared to leave his son to pick up all the flack then he’s more of a monster than I thought. He is quite prepared to sacrifice his son to safe himself. Surely Kirsty would stand by Gavin.
DeleteDidn't Shula ask Kirsty if Gavin knew and Kirsty said no he didn't?
ReplyDeleteI think Kirsty will stand by Gavin too, Soz.
ReplyDeleteSurely she will never be able to trust Phillip again once she learns the truth.
My opinion of Eddie Grundy sank to a new low last night.
ReplyDeleteTalk about a compulsive lier!
And a bit like Philip with Gavin, he sought to involve Will in the déception about the metal detecting and what he’d been doing in David’s fields.
I know mental detecting on someone else’s land is miles away from slave labour, but it just struck me that last night was a tale of two fathers taking advantage of their sons, and trying to save their own skins by involving their offspring.
Despicable.
Wholeheartedly agree about both despicable dads, A'phile.
DeleteMy point from 7:19 last night confirmed.
DeleteIndeed it was , Basia
DeleteIsn't metal detecting illegal, if the person involved, doesn't have the landowners permission?
DeleteBasia - sorry, I didn’t scroll back far enough and missed your 7.19 post. Apologies for simply echoing your original point. But at least our minds had the same thought!
DeleteNo need - you developed my short hand comment but it struck us both, I wonder if it was intentional to portray them both as despicable.
DeleteIt occurs that even if Eddie found something he would have difficulty cashing in on it as he’d have to find someone who would buy it, prove it was genuine and explain how he was in possession of it. Katy mentioned nighthawks who sell things illegally but wonder whether Eddie would have these contacts? You do have to have permission if detecting on private land and any treasure has to be reported to the coroner but in essence belongs to the landowner.
DeleteI agree with you about Eddie Archerphile. He's always been a bit of a rogue but last night he was a bare faced liar and manipulator. He is not in the same league as Philip, as you referred to, but still he was so wrong.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the Philip, Gavin, the exploited workers and Kirsty, saga, will reach its conclusion, in the build-up to the time of the 70th Anniversary.
ReplyDeleteIf so, it won't be long.
But what will take its place - enter Vince Casey.
Has Josh had his winning scratch card returned, yet?
ReplyDeleteJohnny - not yet, I was going to ask the same.
DeleteA little warning for Miriam, and anyone else like us, who listens to the Omnibus (to pick things up we might have missed during the week)
ReplyDeleteSunday 8th November edition will start at 9am instead of 10am because of Remembrance Sunday coverage.
OK, so Kirsty says ‘lets go off to Wales straight away’, Philip is cock-a- hoop and no doubt, greatly relieved.
ReplyDeleteBut I do hope the SWs are going to be realistic about this story.
In light of Covid restrictions, both here and in Wales, they is no way they could find, view, buy or move into a cottage in Wales in the immediate, or even near future. Let alone sell the Ambridge house to raise the funds required.
The concept is ridiculous in the present circumstances.
So I predict that things are going to come to a head pretty soon. Gavin is going to blow a gasket when he hears about the Wales plans, will refuse to be left holding the ‘horses’ hands (should that be hooves?) and confess all.
But will that be to Kirsty, Alice, Alistair or even Harrison?
Whoever, I imagine Philip, at least, will be moving into a police cell rather than a Welsh cottage.
I think it's possible that Shula might be the link to a denouement.
ReplyDeleteWhy Shula ?
Shula = Alistair
Alistair = Gavin
Shula = Kirsty
Kirst =Gavin
I picked this up last week and still think it's likely.
Archerphile, the concept is ridiculous in any circumstances. We're fed up with the life here, let's drop everything and go off to Wales.
ReplyDeleteWhen Kirsty first mentioned the horses Philip nearly came clean but he quickly backtracked when he realised that she misunderstood. At that time, she might have stood by him, but now that he covered himself with more manure I don't think she will. I'm repeating what I'd already said and forgot and I agree with Soz, Lanjan and whoever else.
Also, if even if they did make it to Wales, Kirsty would want to keep in contact with Gavin, she wouldn’t abandon him however persuasive Phillip might be.
ReplyDeleteIsn’t it strange that Felpersham students are remarkably Covid free unlike most other university students in the UK?
I am liking that TA is a relatively Covid19 free zone. I just like hearing, a type of normality, in the village of Ambridge.
DeleteWho needs, yet another reference to this pandemic?
I prefer my 12mins of TA, to try + forget it.
I won't be impressed if Philip and Gavin get away with their criminal activity.
ReplyDeleteThey can't.
DeleteRob escaped, so this time Juatice has to be done.
The "workers" need to get the help + support, they so deserve.
The one person who will not benefit from this, is Kirsty.
DeleteShe will no longer have a partner nor a home.
She does have lots of friends, to support her, yet again.
Re-enter Roy.
Thanks Archerphile, about the TA omnibus being an hour earlier, on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteThis hadn't yet been realised by me..
It is very appreciated that you have pointed this out. ✔✔🤗
Happy to have been of help, Miriam.
DeleteI know I should have been annoyed to tune in and find I’d missed it.
I enjoyed Thursday's episode and in particular Lynda and Freddie's conversations about the Christmas show. Sounded like old times and I hope that Freddie can make it a big success.
ReplyDeleteI agree with others that Gavin will spill the truth at some point, maybe to Kirsty or both Kirsty and Philip. The game will be up for both of them and poor Kirsty left devastated again.
ReplyDeleteAaaaa
Well I don't know what was going on there.
ReplyDeleteI am google account but then zi became myself again and now I am back to google account
I am still down as google account
ReplyDeleteWhat I see is just my picture of mackerel with no name next to it. Then when I start typing
ReplyDelete‘Comment as: Archerphile (Google)’ appears.
I somehow got booted out completely the other day and had to go all through the signing in palava again.
I think Google are doing some updating and it’s messing with the blogs.
I log in anew every Sunday because of wiping out browsing history, let's see how it goes today.
ReplyDeleteGoodness Basia, that’s brave of you! I clear my Safari history weekly, but haven’t dared to clear Chrome. But then the only thing I use Chrome for is these blogs, so perhaps it doesn’t matter.
DeleteTesting
DeleteInteresting conversation, because I've just been sitting with daughter giving me a tutorial on bookmarking, editing and erasing..... stuff !
DeleteMrsP - you've made it then; I still don't know how to use bookmarks.
DeleteArcherphile, I only use chrome and it leaves me the BBC but I have to log in back here. I've stopped questioning the system, it has a mind of its own.
I like the poppy.
Thank you Basia. I thought it was topical for today (think it has to be a bluette in France, a cornflower for Remembrance?). But the particular reason I chose it today is on the other blog.
DeleteAfter the Omnibus this morning, I have to ask this.
ReplyDeleteWhy has the character of Kirsty become so weak + naive?
She always seemed someone, who knew what she wanted, and then went with her Eco thoughts, loving the wildlife and what it could acheive - didn't she help with the reed beds at Home Farm, a while ago. Now, she is disollusioned, not enjoying her garden at Beechwood, her home, her jobs etc.
I want the feisty Kirsty back.
Another personality change to suit the storyline Miriam
DeleteHas anyone been watching Countryfile this evening.
ReplyDeleteThere was a long piece on the use of illegal pesticides and fake chemicals being brought into the country and killing wildlife, doing untold damage to crops. Apparently it is an easy way to make money, very few people are caught or prosecuted. It has become very big business. Some farmers are happy to buy illegal stuff and don’t report to the police when their crops are damaged.
It reminded me exactly of what Tim was up to and managed to involve Ed in. Was that story ever wound up properly? Did we hear if Tim or his big boss were caught and prosecuted? If not, I hope it is re-visited and the culprits are prosecuted. Perhaps Ed would be let off if he gave evidence against the organisers.
I think that the feisty Kirsty is still there,Miriam.
ReplyDeleteIt won't be too long before she has a go at Phillip when Gavin eventually breaks down and tells her about the "horses".
On the other hand I could not see her wanting to give up her life in Ambridge (to where she returned even after she was dumped by Tom) so she possibly has had a personality change as Cheshire Cheese suggested without wondering what they will do when they get to the cottage .
Archerphile, Tim was arrested for fly-tipping during the monologues, he broke into a Grundy field but it ended there, possibly because they didn't want to involve Ed.
ReplyDeleteThank you Basia. Yes I remember now, I think Joy was the one who called the police?
DeleteI wonder if he was ever charged with the illegal chemicals business, a far more serious and dangerous crime. I don’t suppose he’d have been licked up for fly tipping.
Oh lord! Just seen typo! Not what I meant at all!
DeleteLOCKED up, was what I thought I had typed 🤭
That made me laugh a LOT AP!
DeleteOh, I found that really disturbing, what a terrible idea.
ReplyDeleteCOMMENT BELOW NOT TO BE READ BY OMNIBUS ONLY LISTENERS REALISED AFTER POSTING IT COULD BE “A SPOILER ALERT” SITUATION.🤭
DeleteRuairi 18yrs which I realised he was due to be but then it hit me that it is 18yrs since the storyline that culminated in his actual birth and I just cannot believe it!!! I assume we were told of the CD at that time but what a plot line to have to remember that in 2020 it must “come to life again” as it were. I’m all agog now as in the good old days 🤗👏🏻
ReplyDeleteOne has to feel for the SW and give them poetic licence for “The Bull” being open a nightmare situation for them keeping up with all the changes and obviously there has to be a point of no return.
I don’t believe we were told of a CD at the time but it’s an interesting storyline. Like you Lady R, it brought back memories of Ruairi’s birth, where have 18 years gone! What remains with me of that period in TAs is Jennifer’s amazing kindness in her acceptance of the little boy. I think she could be the one to help Ruairi now. It’s a difficult thing to listen to the voice of someone you loved after their death, particularly in this case I would think.
DeleteRuairhi was four years old when he came to live with Brian in 2006. I don't believe Jennifer was completely altruistic in her acceptance of him because Brian said that he was prepared to bring up the boy alone , as I recall.
ReplyDeleteShe said she would accept the boy. However Brian had to make provision for 'her' eldest two children. Remember that Adam had only just returned to Ambridge in 2003 and had not worked 'for ages' on his step-father's farm.
Jennifer was worried that Brian would favour Ruairi over Adam and the other children. Of course there was also the fact that if Brian left/divorced her she would lose her status and lifestyle!
All true of course Spicy what a cracking memory you have 👏🏻 Although R was 4yrs old when he came to Ambridge we still were involved in his actual birth (🤔) which is why it being 18 yrs since that SL is unbelievable 😱 and frankly quite a scary thought.
DeleteI don't like the idea of a CD at all.
ReplyDeleteI actually hope we don't hear it.
What could Siobham have said that would make Ruari feel good on his 18th birthday?
Was is that to which you were referring ,Basia 7:21 pm last night?
I think his aunt would have been better to have held it back and sent him £25 or euros
I find the idea of a CD with messages from either of my long deceased parents creepy to say the least!
DeleteAlthough not 100% sure regarding the making of a CD for R I’m sure I remember S making a memory box so as not to be forgotten maybe this was done at the time as well.....
ReplyDeleteYes I remember that too. That's quite a common activity for terminally ill mums. I suppose it would be natural for a child to want know about their mother and what she was like? Sometimes I think I'd love to hear my mum's voice again, it is a very faint and distant memory but I can clearly 'hear' my Dad's voice, in my memory.
DeleteI haven't read any comments and still find it disturbing. What is she going to tell him, that Brian is not his father, he'll have to listen to authenticate it because how could Ruairi remember Siobhan's voice, what a dreadful idea.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it would remind him of his own very Irish accent that he had when he first came to live with the Aldridges. Or make him want to go and visit those relatives across the Irish Sea.
DeleteDread to think what the scriptwriters might be going to do with this story. A very disturbing development I think.
So that is what is going to happen is it?
ReplyDeleteWe are going to be kept dangling regarding the Phillip affair.
When did Kirsty go to see the cottage?
Whereabouts in Wales is it?
Is Phillip able to buy the cottage outright?
What will happen?
I will suggest the obvious.
Helen buys Phillip and Kirsty's house quickly.
P and K move to Wales .
When the truth comes out ,Kirsty moves back and has to lodge with Helen in her former home
To be honest I have lost the plot as to who is living where.
Where are Hannah and Johnnie living ?
Are they living at Roy's house now or is he there by himself?
I am right with you on this one LJ!
DeleteI do wish the SWs had not introduced another storyline. We did get the resolution of the scratchcard conundrum yesterday but on the same night 'Ruairi and the CD' is introduced, and tonight Helen buying her own place! So we have, apart from the massive 'slave' issue; a move to Wales proposed, Alice and her addiction / pregnancy, the Brookfield treasure, (perhaps finished 'treasurewise' but now with a trespasser problem;) Freddie's fitness to inherit; the Xmas show of Ambridge being held in another village; Lizzie and Vince, and Trex being evicted- the list probably goes on!
ReplyDeleteHannah and Johnnie are at No 1 The Green aren't they? I think!
ReplyDeleteKirsty probably 'viewed' the cottage online. How long have she and Phillip lived at Beechwood? I would think, if they took out a mortgage only a couple of years ago, they might have negative equity? Perhaps Phillip bought the Beechwood house outright (not a sensible move financially I am told.) .
Not sure why not a sensible move. No interest to pay going forward and with a mortgage nowadays no tax relief! Not sure that Philip would have wherewithal to buy outright!
DeleteI don't remember exactly why but it came up many years ago when I queried with a financially astute person why very rich people still take out mortgages instead of buying outright, but come to think of it, with tax relief on mortgage repayments having been abolished I suppose it must have changed. The calculation also included interest on retained capital which of course at the moment in darn all! So maybe better to invest in bricks and mortar, hopefully increasing in value at a rate larger than the interest charged on the loan!
DeleteI am so thankful my mortgage is now paid off and it's all mine!
I thought Jenny handled the situation very well. Brian didn't handle it well at all, and his reaction was far more to do with his own feelings about Siobhan's cd than concern for Ruairi.
ReplyDeleteJenny - deep respect to you!
ReplyDeleteMany times you drive me mad but not tonight so much ❤️ concern and common sense shown to Ruairi.
I am not a Jennifer fan but I agree with you 100% on this Lady R.
DeleteI was quite touched by the interaction between Ruairi and Jennifer. Brian annoyed me a bit.
DeleteI think you are a little hard on Jennifer, Spicy. Yes she was concerned about the effect on Adam and Debbie but her decision to accept Ruairi was not taken lightly. It is not every day that you are presented with your husband’s love child. In the episode when Jennifer met Ruairi for probably the first time, the way she softened felt sincere - her maternal instincts overcame any prejudice. I can remember thinking I’m not sure that I would have reacted in the same way.
ReplyDeleteSince then I feel that Jennifer’s faults have been exaggerated, sometimes to the point of caricature. IMO she is a kind, caring person underneath the snobbish, sometimes prickly exterior. My impression is that she and Ruairi have a loving relationship and respect one another.
Indeed. I was just thinking of the situation when she made it clear that Brian would get nothing from her unless he favoured Adam equally as he did the three girls. Probably because I really dislike Adam, mostly not because of his character per se but the acting and voice! Totally irrational I know!
DeleteAlso because of the fact that Jennifer invariably sides with the children against her husband, whereas he has provided ALL the wherewithal for them all to enjoy the priviliged life they have.
I agree whole-heartedly that Jenny is very maternal and the bond between Ruairi and her is very natural and deep. She did indeed show respect to Ruairi last night and much love, so good for her!
Yes, Ruairi when speaking to Ben made it clear he didn’t want Jenny to be upset and he wanted to keep the CD from her. Brian as usual steamrollered over R’s feelings in wanting to berate S’s family for sending the CD. Hard for them as this was S’s wish. I think R will play it after the initial shock and it may inspire him hopefully. If he didn’t play it he would always wonder about the contents.
ReplyDeleteJennifer threatened Brian with a divorce if he didn't make provision for all of her children. Yes, she is understanding towards Ruairi, but it is very far removed from any sort of reality.
ReplyDeleteHelen moving to Beechwood is a pie in the sky, where will the money come from for a start and besides, Philip will be stopped in his tracks before long. All Kirsty's ideas end up biting the dust, so this one might just as well.
I have just listened to last night’s broadcast. That was the Jennifer I remember from all those years ago.
ReplyDeleteI have just realised that, Ruairi was only 4 1/2 when Siobhan sadly, died. I wonder just how much he remembers about his mother. Perhaps this is why he is unsure about listening to the CD.
ReplyDeleteHe might appreciate it, or then, find it upsetting, that he didn't have his life with her.
Whatever happens, I admire Siobhan, for doing this.
I know, if we actually hear it, I will need a tissue - but then I cry at anything.
As for Helen buying Beechwood, this will take time. She will have to arrange her finances, Philip + Kirsty need to have their offer on the cottage in Monmouthshire (only seen so far on-line) accepted, subject to survey. The latter pair need to work out removation costs and factor that in, plus will they be able to live in it, whilst doing it up?
ReplyDeleteThen there are the soliciters costs for the conveyancing, on buying + selling, which normally takes a 6-8 weeks.
I doubt all this will happen, before Gareth tells all.
But then this is Ambridge - where things happen quickly - so who knows.
Little Sis, is still waiting for completion on her holiday cottage, 5 months after accepting their buyers offer...but then it is not in Ambridge.
Oh I hope I haven't put Archerphile off, as to her, prospective move.
DeleteOh, whatever next, Siobhan was hardly a fervent Catholic, having an adulterous affair and a child outside marriage, so I wouldn't worry about that. As for 'slagging off' it might do Jennifer some good, death does not exonerate, she's far too lenient for her own good.
ReplyDeleteWell that was a surprise! Ruairi letting Ben know he is bisexual.
ReplyDeleteMind you, Ben was behaving like a jealous boyfriend over Troy so perhaps Ruairi thought this was a good time to ‘spill the beans’
Is this TA trying to be all-encompassing and politically correct I wonder? O
I wondered that too Archerphile (as though being any sexuality other than Hetro a new phenomenon and look how all encompassing we at the BBC are these days 🙃)
DeleteBen was persistently and pathetically downright nauseating in his childish jealousy. What a pillock!
DeleteWell said Pierre
DeleteExactly my thoughts.
The Ruairi revelation does feel a bit like the writers ticking boxes in order to be including everyone. No-one's going to be aghast as it's just part of life's rich pattern.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many Troys there are around? It does sound unusual to me.
As you can se from above post ✔️✔️✔️ Anneveggie.
DeleteI was wondering if that particular box might be ticked by Helen and Kirsty! I enjoyed the Rory/Ben episode, which I thought was well-written and acted and introduced a rarely-visited topic. It was a welcome change to yet another Grundys Get Rich storyline. We’ve been there so often and the only difference now is that it’s become more like Only Fools and Horses with Will in the Nicholas Lyndhurst role. I am still annoyed that the archaeological find I had such high hopes of, has degenerated into this lame duck!
DeleteTo me it was Oh, so we're not in the same line of business, Ah no, I can pick and choose which side I'm on, but they are only 18.
ReplyDeleteStrange that Jennifer chose to take Alice to a nail bar full of formaldehyde.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like to be too close to anyone dyeing their hair in a salon.
Well, I'm not glad to have listened, but I don't care AND she answered his question about having a boyfriend, so she is OK about it, how touching to be considering your child's sexual orientation. They managed to fill most of the episode with the stuff but at least it's over.
ReplyDeleteMaybe a bit corny but it still made me sniff ( I am a most lacrimose individual)
ReplyDeleteIt was preferable to Johnny and Jazzer talking women.
DeleteNot to me it wasn't,Maryellen.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like it at all.
Sentimental drivel!
ReplyDeleteBBC ticked another box eh....a bisexual.
It's all a bit predictable now isn't it?
DeleteActually it's sad that people are now playing the game of 'What issue next?'
Well I was very moved and even though “recorded” 14 yrs ago S allowed for R to know that even though she would not be around for him never to feel held back by trying to second guess how / what she would have expected him to be - just be yourself R. When I heard S voice the years fell away! Once again I admired Jenny and R obviously thinks the world of her as a step mother.
ReplyDeleteLast night Alice supported Jenny for once and showed some maturity, all in all for me a relief from all the current angst of Kirsty, Phillip, Gavin etc etc.
Was that the original Siobhan I wonder?
ReplyDeleteI wondered that Archerphile but she did sound the same to me. They surely didn’t record it 14yrs ago 🤣
DeleteYes it is Archerphile I’ve just googled the question -what a role revival after all those years!
ReplyDeleteI don't think it is box ticking.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't think it was sentimental at all.
I have known of at least two women who have left letters and or recordings for their children before they died.
Today's youngsters are well informed about each other's sexuality, be it real or imagined.
I am proud to have been a pioneer, carrying flags and placards to pave the way for today's young people to feel free to express their sexual preferences as they emerge into adulthood.
For some it will be for ever, for others a fluidity as it has been for me.
There is much less need for the lesbian and gay telephone helplines that I covered for a number of years in the eighties and nineties, and in part that is because of parents like Siobhan who gave their children freedom and permission to be who they needed to be.
And thats not new. My daughters were born in '66 and '69 and were always aware that their parents would love them whatever their sexuality turned out to be.
But I do not forget that there are those for whom such freedom will be forbidden because of parental disapproval.
Well done the TA team
This subject still needs as much air time as Helen's coercive control humiliation.
I don't think it is box ticking.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't think it was sentimental at all.
I have known of at least two women who have left letters and or recordings for their children before they died.
Today's youngsters are well informed about each other's sexuality, be it real or imagined.
I am proud to have been a pioneer, carrying flags and placards to pave the way for today's young people to feel free to express their sexual preferences as they emerge into adulthood.
For some it will be for ever, for others a fluidity as it has been for me.
There is much less need for the lesbian and gay telephone helplines that I covered for a number of years in the eighties and nineties, and in part that is because of parents like Siobhan who gave their children freedom and permission to be who they needed to be.
And thats not new. My daughters were born in '66 and '69 and were always aware that their parents would love them whatever their sexuality turned out to be.
But I do not forget that there are those for whom such freedom will be forbidden because of parental disapproval.
Well done the TA team
This subject still needs as much air time as Helen's coercive control humiliation.
Well said, Mrs P! I remember years ago a work colleague who volunteered on a gay switchboard saying a large number of their calls came from married women. So where fluidity is.concerned, I think ‘there’s more of it about’ than is generally realised (and in that respect, the comparison with coercive control is a good one).
DeleteThank you Maryellen for recognising the point I was making.
ReplyDeleteYour friend, and you, is / are correct, there is far more fluidity amongst the populace than is ever imagined, and I think more amongst women than men.
Almost all of my lesbian friends have been married, and when I was married with my young family two of my female friends, both married and with children, were visiting each other every couple of days, and although nothing was ever said or revealed I certainly understood what was going on between them.
When I was in the WRNS I met quite a few lesbians and one of them said to me that just as I couldn’t understand her attraction for women, she could no more understand my attraction for men. This has stayed with me all these years. However, at the time I saw died in the wool lesbians approaching the young and more vulnerable girls and I didn’t like that. So often they seek comfort on their first experience away from home and were quickly enveloped in what they saw as love!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Ruari is actually bi sexual .
ReplyDeleteI think that he probably thought he was because when he was at Boarding School he formed close bonds with other boys because there was a lack of female company.
I doubt that it will become a major storyline
As you will realise I know absolutely nothing about this subject and therefore will not comment on it any more.
I hope it doesn’t become a storyline. I’m sick of it being rammed down our throats on every tv program and advert at the moment. I object to showing 2 women in bed on an advert before the watershed. As with transgender stuff, I think a lot of young, impressionable kids see it and think it’s trendy.
ReplyDeleteI’m not against gay/lesbians but as I say object to having it rammed down my throat all the time.
A white couple, with 2 white children.....now that’s the minority on tv today
I’m sure everyone on here will object to my view. I make no apologies for my opinion. Each to his own.
I most certainly agree with every word you say PtbY. Nowadays I mostly watch old films or tv programmes on TV. So sick of the feminist and woke propaganda being forced on us.
DeleteProbably because I have lived in the countryside all my life and have very rarely seen a non-white face in all my 72 years until the last ten years or so, since moving into a more urban area!
On the other hand, you could say that we’ve been having white, middle class, non-disabled, heterosexual couples and their white middle class non-disabled children rammed down our throats for generations!
DeleteMaryellen....that’s maybe because that was the majority of people in this country for a long time!
DeleteAnd still is?
Delete👍
DeleteI don’t know how the term middle class became so offensive. Without their input in taxation we would be in a sorry state!
DeleteProud to be Yorkshire - a person might like to think that , but actually the majority of adult people in this country have never been white and middle class and non- disabled and heterosexual and had children. For a start, look at the difference between the middle class and working class population. The ‘cornflake box family’ - a personable, youngish white middle clas couple with two children (older boy and younger girl) all glowing with health - is a bit of a myth.
DeleteI am with you too P tbY
ReplyDeleteI too am with you P tb Y. I have great friends of both persuasions who just get on with their lives. They are not the prosetylising types almost compulsorily shown in tv shows where heterosexual behaviour is almost taboo.
Delete(Ev, during my service in the R.N. I didn't come across any lesbian WRNS ).
That’s because they kept below the parapet! When you live with them you know! I had one each side of me at Culdrose but made it clear what my persuasion was. Nevertheless got on well with them! I think sexuality is unimportant, it’s what the person is like.
DeleteMy daughter arrived home and I didn’t go on to follow up my earlier remarks! I think it completely wrong that gays and lesbians were persecuted in the past and of course in the military it meant instant dismissal. As a result they had to hide their sexuality and live miserable lives sometimes as a result. However, I agree it is all being rammed down our throats nowadays and we don’t need another revelation like Rhuari‘s. It would be good to keep TA out of it!
ReplyDeleteI’m saying nowt, except that I’m fed up with all the campaigns that are so prevalent on TV these days, whatever the cause is.
ReplyDeleteI’m not really anti-anything or pro- anything I just get fed up with ‘seasons’ of plays, documentaries, interviews all on one subject because I prefer a bit of variety.
However, I did admire the documentary by Robert Rinder, on Monday, about him and others going to find out what happened to their families in concentration camps during the war. It was absolutely heartbreaking and I shall watch the second programme when he visits Treblinka with his mother. But a ‘season’ of such programmes would be too much.
Well hopefully, they're satisfied with what they've done. In the old days it was Shane, a token gay and a silent character who worked at Nelson's wine bar. Now we have a resident gay couple with a baby, Anna Tregorran and her past lover in passing and Ruairi who likes the idea of sitting on a fence as for his sexuality. Apparently there is a growing number of teenagers questioning their sexuality and enquiring about sex change, I find it disturbing. As well as people who change their birth gender and then back again. Anything goes these days. We are all sexual as by-products of reproductive organs. People who don't practice sex are abnormal, I'm glad I'm closer to the end.
ReplyDeleteAs for the growing number of teenagers questioning their sexuality it doesn't surprise me at all. The way the 'gender question' is here, there and everywhere nowadays. When I was teaching in a girls' high school we had a weekly visit by the local vicar. He was actually the 'exorcist' for the Rochester diocese! Always in Year 9 he made part of his talk to the girls about the dangers of Ouija boards. We Form Tutors used to mentally throw up our hands as we absolutely knew that within the next couple of weeks three or four girls would come to their form tutor and ask advice, because they were now frightened having tried said boards! Of course teenagers are susceptible to inference, persuasion and curiosity! Ruairi is no different try as he and Ben might, to seem so grown up.
DeleteBTW I thought the script for Ben's 'jealousy' was really infantile and utterly unconvincing, as if an 18 year old would behave like that!
A pop star was on the radio the other day saying he was gender neutral and should be addressed in the third person. I thought you’re a bloke! Man up! Hope Rhuari sorts himself out as to what side of the fence he is on. You can’t have your cake and eat it!
ReplyDeleteI listened to the CD today and thought it very moving when she was saying what he was doing and saying at the age of four and imagining what he might be like at 18, reassuring him about how much she loved him. It is so sad when a mother dies without seeing her child grow up.
I thought the Ruairi story about his mother and how he feels was beautifully handled and I found it moving to hear the CD.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it can feel like we are being banged on the head with a blunt instrument when the BBC feature an issue for a whole month. I think with Ruairi’s sexuality it’s been introduced much more naturally and responsibly and a contrast to the Jazzer and Johnny conversation about a one night stand.
I thought Johnny and Jazzer’s conversation about their heterosexual conquests (or lack of, in Jazzer’s case) was more pathetic and juvenile than Ben’s jealousy. No wonder Jazzer has never had a steady girlfriend and Johnny’s ditched him. (It’s interesting that Hannah attracted a lot of criticism for her brief liaisons, but these two don’t.)
DeleteHas Johnny embraced his baldness, by the way? It might have happened when I wasn’t listening!
Completely with you there, Mary Ellen.
DeleteMany years ago when Jazzer was a milkman for Mike he was often told off by Mike for being late on his round because of his 'liasons' with the bored housewives. It was strange that he should be so smitten with Fallon after such behaviour and expect the feelings to be returned.
ReplyDeleteJohnny, I think, just wants a regular girlfriend to commit to.
How old is Jazzer meant to be? His ‘character’ entry doesn’t say but I think of him as being in his early 40s.
ReplyDeleteYou must be about right, Maryellen. He has been in Ambridge for a long time. I find these one night stands a bit distasteful whoever is involved!
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed reading all the varying opinions on the latest s/l's. I do agree with PtbY that I'm very tired of having stuff rammed down my throat about whatever is the latest fad. I remember my dear Mum saying that 'sexy' was the most over-used word and society does seem obsessed with sexuality/gender/orientation etc etc.
DeleteI found Siobhan's cd very sad and Ruari acted well with his emotional reaction. Jenny is a very loving mother despite any failings she may have. To take on the care of him and love him as she does is quite something IMHO.
So slave labour could be described as the latest fad.to be rammed down our throats with the Philip Moss story? And before that we had historic sexual abuse with the Jim Lloyd story - that was the latest fad to be rammed down our throats too? Rory”s revelation, to Ben, in a few sentences, was delicately done (as Seasider said) and hardly counts as ramming it down our throats, compared with those storylines.
DeleteThe failure to acknowledge the daily impact of coronavirus (when was it last mentioned?) is taking The Archers further and further away from reality as we know it, the reality it claims to reflect. To me, anything that suggests Ambridge exists in 2020, not decades earlier, is welcome.
We know why the corona virus is not mentioned much (or at all.) It is because the situation concerning the efforts to fight and contain it is so fluid, that instructions and recommendations change from week to week. We know that it takes almost three months to write, produce and record one episode. So by the time the TA team has included a reference, even in passing, it is more than likely to be out of date.
DeleteMuch better, in my opinion, to steer clear so it will not be ridiculously wrong.
We don't know yet how the storyline of Ruairi is going to go but the other plots mentioned (and previous ones) have taken weeks, sometimes months, to resolve and I could see Ruairi's worries and concerns taking ages too; especially remembering Brian's reaction to Adam's news!
Anneveggie, re latest fads ,I am surprised that we haven't had one involving race and or feminist issues.
ReplyDeleteI don't want either though.
Re Corona virus ,Maryellen,I think we have all got so used to it that it is rarely mentioned now and I expect the Ambridge residents feel the same.
LanJan - I think about it every time I reach for my mask, and I expect Ambridge residents to do the same!
ReplyDeletePeople are talking about their sexuality more because it has become more acceptable. I worked in sexual health for over forty years. All the sexuality issues that are talked about these days existed then, they weren't talked about, apart from with people like us, because it wasn't socially acceptable, you could lose your job, your friends and even your family if you did.
ReplyDeleteWish it was still like that, for everyone. Some things should stay private. You’d think there was nothing else but sex nowadays.
DeleteThat programme naked dating, or whatever it’s called, that regularly features on gogglebox is just too much. It’s disgusting. Their parents must be so proud!!!! Not.
Not to mention how they dress to go on a night out...,or not dress really.
What about those deaths, not much Love on the Island! Where in the past it was virtuous not to have sex, now it's shameful!
DeleteI'm glad I was able to try and help some of the people whose lives were made a misery because of the attitude of society towards them.
DeleteI don’t get how it is offensive to say coloured but person of colour is OK. A few years ago you couldn’t say black but coloured was used instead. Maybe like the song we will eventually all be coffee coloured and the problem will go away! Thinking about it, there are no persons of colour in TA. Maybe they should have made the new occupants of Jenny’s kitchen an ethnic minority! I experienced being one of these in a Chinese market in HK. Wherever I looked they were all Chinese and it gave me a new concept of what it must be like to be in a racial minority. Not very comfortable!
ReplyDeleteUsha, wherever she is, and her racial attack story was done a long time ago. Amy, whom Alice once wanted as her midwife and called black to her face, was it because of riding, please remind me. There was Anisha, briefly. Kate's husband Lucas and two of her children but they've all left.
DeleteYes, of course! Thank you!
DeleteI suspect 'Leroy' the fitness instructor at GG was also coloured/black.
DeleteA woman listening alongside her husband's love child to his former lover's voice from the past and extolling her virtues! If we had to hear it than it should have been Brian with him, who was sampling Jazzer's brew instead. Illness, death, nothing cancels out the past, it was not remotely realistic and utterly sickening!
ReplyDeleteNot even God can change the past, said Aristotle - but listening to the CD episode, I got the distinct impression that Jenny wouldn’t want to change the past if it meant no Rory.
DeleteI think the editor? said that ambridge would stay C19 free as much as possible?
ReplyDeleteIt is mentioned at times, lately with the wedding booking.
I agree Basia 9:35 am.
ReplyDeleteI pressed publish before I had finished.
ReplyDeleteI agree also with P tb Y 9:15 am and Ev 9:33 am .
Perhaps because I rarely venture out even before lockdown I think less about COVID Maryellen than other folk.
You can’t get away from the fact a mother who has fallen short in a lot of ways loves her child who she will not see grow up and left a message for him. It’s not his fault he is a love-child, the product of adultery. Jenny has a big heart where it comes to her children and after all she has brought Rhuari up for 14 years. Maybe she was hiding her deepest feelings when she had heard Siobhan’s voice but he has bonded to her in the absence of his own mother and it was right, as he wanted it, that she was by his side. I know it isn’t easy being a stepmother and for her it is a double whammy given what happened but it is so rewarding when you get some sort of bond between you.
ReplyDeleteI have seen/experienced at least three different variations of the above scenario in my own life and for all want of trying it didn't work, as I said, to me it's the sugary Archers fairy story.
DeleteI dont think that the slave labour story, or Jim’s abuse stories were being ‘rammed down our
ReplyDeleteThroats’. As far as I remember they were/are *almost* exclusively carried in TA.
What I think of as an issue being rammed down our throats is when the BBC decides to have a month long series of programmes on one particular topic, covered by plays, documentaries, interview programmes etc. etc. Recently there have been ‘black lives matter’ series and sexual orientalisation series. These, thankfully have not been echoed in TA to any great extent.
As I said somewhere previously, I prefer to have my ‘entertainment’ varied and not repetitive.
I think the Archers manages to do that with a variety of stories, serious, amusing, annoying and interesting, all mixed up together. My only complaint is that some are allowed to continue for too long.
As much I would like some storylines concluded by now, it is understandable with the delay. The reasons are so obvious so should not be questioned, as they will happen.
ReplyDeleteI am just appreciating TA in its current form, and that it still has some wonderful episodes, to listen to...Ruairi's CD and hearing Siobhan again, is just one example.
I also like that TA is a relatively "covid" free. This is in our lives and affecting so many, 24/7.
It is just nice to not to be reminded, yet again, in my TA fix.
I think this is an unresolvable issue which we keep coming back to: on the one hand,listeners who want a temporary escape into a world which resembles the real one but without its pressing problems or uncomfortable aspects, and on the other hand, listeners who want a convincing portrayal of the real world, problems and all! The present editor is catering for the first group, I reckon.
DeleteI agree with those who disliked the message from the dead Siobhan. I thought it dreadful and mawkish, in a truly Victorian melodrama way!
ReplyDeleteI know mothers who make memory boxes but to record a message on a CD? Frankly I don't think that is possible even today, so I am tending to think the whole situation very silly. Now if it had been a cassette tape it would have been much more realistic!
Would a letter have been more acceptable, read aloud as it’s radio?
DeleteWhy did we have to hear anything?
ReplyDeleteA short letter would have been much better in my opinion .
Ruari could have been given the letter ,read it privately and we could have moved on..
I agree with all you said , Spicycushion 9:52.pm yesterday.
We didn’t have to hear anything. Playing the CD was very well signalled in advance so anyone who disapproved had ample time to switch off.
DeleteI don't think we needed to hear the CD but it did resolve one thing. We have often felt that it is difficult to distinguish who is speaking when Ruairi and Ben are involved.
DeleteSimple, Ruairi is the one who can act!
✔️✔️✔️Pierre
DeleteBen has a deeper voice. Deeper even than that if his older brother.
DeleteBecause they could fill half the episode with it Lanjan. I thought that a CD was unrealistic, but who would find a cassette player, mine's slowing down and I've got quite a few tapes. Even CDs are inserted into computers and most listen to the music on their phones.
ReplyDeleteI don't even mind the content, Ruairi got his mother's blessing as to his sexual orientation, OK.
What I do object to is the set up, if Brian had been there they could have discussed Ruairi's sexuality. R thinks B will be OK because of Adam, but Adam is not Brian's son, so it may fall to the long suffering Jennifer and Ruairi to bond even further. As I said, I find the set up disturbing and I won't change my mind.
Neither will I Basia.
ReplyDeleteI know I get confused very often, and this is one of those times. I cannot recall how a CD was recorded 14 years ago, was there such a thing as a CD recorder, who was it done by computer?
DeleteSorry LJ. I thought I was replying to Basia.
DeleteAs per usual, I picked up an extra, listening to the Omnibus.
ReplyDeleteThis weeks is:-
Kirsty getting emotional and tearful, whilst talking to Helen, about selling her Beechwood home, and leaving her friends - even Joy.
Today I listened to Wednesday and Thursday episodes. I thought it was good to hear Alice being such a caring and understanding daughter for once. Also I don’t mind the ‘set up’ of Ruairi listening to the cd with Jennifer. Brian would have been hopeless hearing Siobhan’s voice. He would have found it impossible to concentrate on anyone else’s feelings but his own. Jennifer’s genuine, unselfish love for Ruairi firstly gave him the confidence to play it and then gave him the space to really listen closely to a voice he had known and loved so well. I can understand that some might find that melodramatic. However it worked for me and am glad we heard Siobhan’s voice. I find sounds can recreate a place and time more effectively than what we see. To me it didn’t matter a jot whether it was on a cd, disc or reel to reel as long as we heard her voice: a reported version would not have the same impact.
ReplyDeleteI agree with every word, Soz!
DeleteI have been taking my time thinking about the CD episode and reading the different views on here before commenting.
DeleteIt didn’t strike me as being mawkish at all. And I thought it was very fitting that Ruairi listened to it with Jennifer. It was a moment of reassuring closeness for each of them.
It neatly brought the Siobhan story to a sort of conclusion and, for Ruairi, assured him that he is, and was, deeply loved by both of his mothers.
In fact, it made me realise how much I should have loved to been able to hear a recording, or read a letter from my birth mother. Ruairi was very fortunate to have had that opportunity.
I hope we can move on to something else this week, not that my memories leave me for an instant.
ReplyDeleteFirstly for those who praise Thursday's episode I am glad you found it entertaining and enjoyable. We all have different tastes and ideas.
ReplyDeleteTo me it brought to mind the phrase, "Dead and never called me mother!" familiar to me but not known from where it came. So I then looked it up and it according to a definition and origin of the phrase (from a Victorian play based on the novel 'East Lynne') it "is used to characterise ... sensational drama with exaggerated characters and exciting events intended to appeal to the emotions."
As to the manner of the delivery of the message - - Well, I just can't stand sloppy workmanship! If someone is writing a scene they might give a bit of thought as to the history! Would you all accept a scene ,say, of the Battle of Hastings, where the Normans are shooting with rifles?
It is just a pet hate of mine along with poor grammar etc. I go by the saying 'If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well!!!'
Just to add I have bought the advertised first volume of a trilogy of novels about Ambridge beginning with Ambridge at War (1940)
I am very much NOT impressed. I am halfway through the book , not enjoying it, and then this morning came across an incident where one character is addressing another by the completely incorrect name! Whether it is a mistake , bad grammar, bad syntax and punctuation I haven't yet fathomed.
It gives hardly any background to even the 'old' characters we all know or know of. Of the thirty or so characters (yes 30!) that have featured in the first half of the book only the Brookfield Archers and just three others have ever been mentioned on air as far as I am aware.
I will plod on because I refuse to be beaten by a book and must finish it before putting away or getting rid!
Imo, the scene rose above the anachronism (what was it?) and took this listener with it.
DeleteAs I said I'm glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteThe anachronism is that even today you cannot record a voice onto a CD at home. As Siobhan was in Ireland at her mother's house when she recorded it it was unlikely they had any other technical ability!
Perhaps nowadays there is a way using a home computer to record a voice then burning a CD but often the latest computers which may have that ability do not have disk drives.
It would have been much more realistic to have it recorded onto a caassette tape although those were coming to an end in general use by that time.
I have admitted often before that I am a pedant when it comes to History!
It’s true you couldn’t really record voice to CD direct but you could record on hard drive and create a CD from that, back in the mid-2000s. So I reckon it would be technically possible for Siobhan to have done it, but whether she had the IT skills do it is another question. A lot of my colleagues could, but not me!
ReplyDeleteNor me!
DeleteOh well, as some predicted. Siobhan lost her first baby, so if Alice does, like Jennifer she can bond with her too. David knows Eddie too well, did he also guess it was his detector?
ReplyDeleteAs some of us suggested I think Alice will probably have a miscarriage which will I think the best thing in the circumstances.
ReplyDeleteI whole heartedly agree with Spiceycushion re the anachronisms and poor grammar of modern day writers. I was horrified to hear Miss Marple refer to a "Train Station" They were always Railway Stations at the supposed time and during WW2 men in uniform wore their hair in short back and sides.
ReplyDeleteI also hate the creeping use of Americanisms which some writers think make them seem slick. "Momentarily" means FOR not IN a moment. Removal of the appendix is an appendicectomy not an appendectomy and to hear a supposedly newly qualified doctor whose father was the Dean of her medical school refer to an anaesthesiologist rather than anaesthetist ruins suspension of belief and spoils a programme for me.
Pierre, you have picked up on one of my most hated expressions ‘Train Station”.
DeleteAs far as I am concerned they were always Railway Stations when I was a dedicated train spotter with my little Ian Allen books .....and they always will be Railway Stations!