The Archers - What’s your poison? Alice is legless, the fish are lifeless and Pip is clueless (Discussion #85)

[DadDadDad]

Even if you don't have a leg(?), a life or a clue, Welcome to the first ever 85th Archers thread!

Wild speculation and sensible questions always welcome - especially any newcomers.

A little game for the weekend, inspired by Timetogetup0630 and Gruach on the last thread:

Invent an explanation for how your username was the inspiration for an Archers storyline, character, etc - be creative!

My username is telling the story of Toby, Adam and Ian, although it probably needs some punctuation: Dad! Dad/Dad?

dairyfarmerswife - bit too easy for you, but as professional country folk maybe you could judge the winner?

Credit to MrsGrindah for the clever thread title

Am I the only one who feels a bit sorry for shula.

Shula has always been a bit of a dog in the manger. She has a fairly successful business and professional life, a fairly decent husband and a good reputation in the village plus a son who’s doing well. A generally supportive extended family in the area.

Perhaps she’s missing the friendship of Caroline? Or is it a midlife sense of purposelessness?

I think many of the actors are older IRL.
Shula is, and Lily (who was also the girl-voiced midwife Ellie).

Yes Abraid She needs to chill out and have CBT or just count her blessings

I’m not sure what the actors ages have to do with anything though as it’s common everywhere for young uns to be a lot older irl (Lily for instance) and then the other end older to be younger irl (Joe Grundy). It’s befter in the radio though as you can’t see that the person meant to be 16 is 25 or the 45 year old is meant to be a grandparent to teenagers.

Although I’ve just realised my last point is legally possible

Very true Middleclass That's one of the reasons I love radio.

Some of the actors go on tour. Shula and Brian, for example.

Now I know Annabelle Dowler is from Formby I realise I can hear it in her voice (entirely useless observation that can only be made on this thread so to all of you lovely lot)

Cottage confusion - I am here to help!

Long, long ago there were two shoots in Ambridge, one run by Home Farm and one run by Grey Gables. Eventually the two shoots were merged and Home Farm took over the management.

Gamekeepers I can recall in Ambridge:

Tom Forrest, who was Doris Archer's brother and therefore uncle to Jack, Phil and Christine - he worked for Grey Gables, which was owned by Peggy's second husband Jack Woolley. He used to introduce the omnibus.
George Barford, Christine's second husband - I'm pretty sure he worked for Brian and then took over the merged shoot, possibly after Tom retired.
Greg, Helen's ex, who took over when George retired. He was a very morose man and killed himself in the shepherd's hut (Helen doesn't have much luck with men).
Will Grundy, who was George's protégé and then Greg's assistant in the early naughties, promoted to Gamekeeper after Greg's death.

Tom lived in Keeper's Cottage with his silent wife Prue. After they both died, Jack Woolley let it out and that came in handy when the Grundy clan was evicted from Grange Farm and exiled to Meadow Rise in Borchester. They moved to Keeper's but were eventually evicted again when Hazel Woolley inherited the cottage. I can't remember who lives there now but it may well be Doc Locke.

George lived with Christine at the Stables, so didn't need a cottage from Brian. (Then she sold the Stables to Shula and they bought Woodbine Cottage from Brookfield, Bert and Freda moved from Woodbine to the Bungalow, Shula and Alistair moved from Glebe to the Stables, Phil and Jill moved from Brookfield to Glebe and David and Ruth moved from the Bungalow into Brookfield. And then Clive Horrobin burned Woodbine down and Christine couldn't face going back there so now she lives with Peggy, and Harrison and Fallon are in Woodbine.)

Will was given the one in the woods - when he and Emma got married? Can't remember now whether that was before or after Greg died. Prior to that he lived at the Dower House when Caroline and Oliver were there, in an implausible bedsit on the top floor that Caroline, as his godmother, felt obliged to create for him so he didn't have to go Meadow Rise with the rest of the family, given that he was working in Ambridge and needed to be very near the thickets and coverts or whatever else it is he ceaselessly patrols.

Brava Gasp0!

Only ... wasn't there a gap between the torching of Woodbine and Christine moving in with Peggy? Where did Christine live betweentimes? (And why am I saying 'The Police House' in my head?)

Also, I don't recall (this isn't unusual) Oliver living at the Dower House. I'm sure Caroline was rattling around alone and rather glad to convert the attic and have someone there. But this only strikes me because eventually, when she needed capital to buy GG it made sense to sell the Dower House because she was pretty much living at Grange Farm with Oliver by then.

Honestly, I have no idea why I have felt the need to divert my energies from the thing I'm supposed to be doing ... Ignore me.

I'm sure you're right, Gruach! I may well have been confusing Oliver with the other posh rich older man she was married to - that's it, Guy Pemberton, Simon's dad. (After a bit they all run together in my head, I find. )

Oh yes, the Police House. That rings a bell. I wonder where that was and who lives there now? George had been a police officer before he became a gamekeeper, IIRC, but not in Ambridge. When I am at home I will look all this up. I'm in the middle of a very boring task at the moment, hence the procrastination!

On the old BBC Archers messageboard (Mustardland) there were many obsessives like me and we whiled away many a happy hour trying to work out where the various dwelllings were and how big they were. This is massively complicated by the BBC's own inability to keep track of them, of course.

Jim lives in the Police House, I think, and Jazzer was his lodger. Maybe he still is. I think it's called Greenacres or something now.

I have the two TA books I bought in the BBC sale within fairly easy reach. I cannot love them - they take the fun out of guesswork!

A-ha! ...

Standing ovation for Gaspode.

All I can say is that I like to imagine Philip looking like Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

The BBC books aren't always right

Of course! Jim is in the Police House. Thanks, MUM!

The books are indeed not always right and it's hardly surprising as the BBC doesn't seem to be as obsessively bothered about these details as the listeners are.

I think they have forgotten/written off Manor Court, which I believe was where the Tregorrans lived in the 60s and 70s. It must have been quite a big house, in the village itself or just outside, with enough land around it for a vineyard. Nobody ever mentions it now, not even Carol Tregorran herself. Odd. I'd like to believe it now houses a cult whose members are studiously ignored by the rest of the village.

[Shhh, everyone's listening to TA]

Place yer bets.

Neil?

Or Joe?

Killing off Neil would be depressing

Oh dear. Are they dedding Neyull?

That was quite a touching Valentine's episode. I did wonder when Joe started reminiscing about his youth whether that was a prelude to him popping his clogs.

Thanks, GaspOde. I think I'll print off your post and stick it on the fridge door. Is there such a thing as an Ambridge fridge magnet?

I had exactly the same feeling re Joe Gruach - DH told me not to be ridiculous (but he has no true feeling for TA) then came on here and saw your post Hope we are wrong - he had some cracking lines tonight - “Just boiling up some giblets for the ferrets” and “I don’t care which Channel Island they comes from.” Irreplaceable.