Two days of flood annoyed me enough to make me skip the rest of natural disaster week. That's the first time I've had a break like that. But I did follow this thread and enjoyed the updates, they were a laugh.
I've now realised that after a lifetime of listening (passive listening as a kid changing into a proper addiction) it's time to knock it on the head and stop listening. My very own Archers flounce!
Here's how I see it:
The shift from character-focused to event-driven means I get the Eastenders/Emmerdale vibe while the characters I've known for a long time, and in some cases have grown up with, are fading away before my ears.
Swapping dearly beloved characters for event-delivery mechanisms is a swizz. A perma-cycle of character X heads toward drama, character Y is in crisis, and character Z is in aftermath is tiring and disheartening. (And I really don't fancy listening to post flood!/what flood?)
I can see why other people will want to listen but these days it doesn't give me the 7pm wander through characters' lives of mundanity, eccentricity, and humour I've enjoyed in the past. A bit of drama every now and then is one thing but being made anxious round about teatime is not what I'm after. It's why I never warmed to Eastenders and how I lost my love of Corrie.
Time for me to be off. Good listening to you all! Special thanks to BuildYourOwnSnowman whose Bah-Humbug-ing over the week has made me realise some of my views are shared by others.