John Doe <john.doe@myemail.invalid> writes:

> On Dec 23, 2023 at 8:12:44 AM EST, "Serena Blanchflower"
> <nospam@blanchflower.me.uk> wrote:
>
>> I've just heard that Roy Tucker's good friend, Ian Pepperell, died last
>> night, which is sad news. It's been announced on the FB page for the
>> pub he ran, when not running GG.
>> https://www.facebook.com/thestarinnringwood
>
> Dreadfully sad. I didn't like Roy's character much (boring), but I really
> appreciated how Ian played him.
>
>> I wonder what they will decide to do about Roy. I hope he's allowed to
>> get a really good job, managing a country house hotel somewhere a bit
>> nearer Birmingham and to move away to a bright future.
>
> There's another question here for the scriptwriters. They have an urgent
> demographic needs to solve. They've got Peggy, Chris and Jill who are all
> around a hundred. Then there are a ton in their 70s and 80s (Brian, Oliver,
> Justin,Shula, Kenton, Tony, Jim, Eddie, Linda, Robert). This is a crisis,
> because some of the actors have already died and had to be written out, some
> had had traumatic medical events and have had to be written out. It feels very
> much like they are shy of killing off characters. But for those knocking on
> 100, that seems unfair on the listener and the actor.

Peggy's best friend is 104 and still going.

Jill's best friend was born in 1931 according to WP, so will turn 93
sometime in 2024.

Christine's bestie is similarly about to turn 90.

Other besties:
Brian: b 30 June 1943 so will be a sprightly 81
Shula: b 22 October 1943 (same).
Tony: a Time Lord on his father's side so immortal. Tom is also a Time
Lord in the same line.
David: Count of Waldeck-Limpburg so also immortal as long as he keeps out
of the light and stays out of the way when there's fencing being erected.
Eddie: Younger than me, what you on about?

Rosie
(who is 70 next year, where did it all go?)

Mike McMillan <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> writes:

> Paul Herber <paul@paulherber.co.uk> wrote:
>> On Sat, 23 Dec 2023 18:58:26 -0000 (UTC), John Doe <john.doe@myemail.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> On Dec 23, 2023 at 8:12:44 AM EST, "Serena Blanchflower"
>>> <nospam@blanchflower.me.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I've just heard that Roy Tucker's good friend, Ian Pepperell, died last
>>>> night, which is sad news. It's been announced on the FB page for the
>>>> pub he ran, when not running GG.
>>>> https://www.facebook.com/thestarinnringwood
>>>
>>> Dreadfully sad. I didn't like Roy's character much (boring), but I really
>>> appreciated how Ian played him.
>>>
>>>> I wonder what they will decide to do about Roy. I hope he's allowed to
>>>> get a really good job, managing a country house hotel somewhere a bit
>>>> nearer Birmingham and to move away to a bright future.
>>>
>>> There's another question here for the scriptwriters. They have an urgent
>>> demographic needs to solve. They've got Peggy, Chris and Jill who are all
>>> around a hundred. Then there are a ton in their 70s and 80s (Brian, Oliver,
>>> Justin,Shula, Kenton, Tony, Jim, Eddie, Linda, Robert). This is a crisis,
>>> because some of the actors have already died and had to be written out, some
>>> had had traumatic medical events and have had to be written out. It feels very
>>> much like they are shy of killing off characters. But for those knocking on
>>> 100, that seems unfair on the listener and the actor.
>>>
>>> And now we're at a point where people in the prime of their lives, like poor
>>> Ian Pepperell are shuffling off this mortal coil
>>
>> Very appropriate as I once saw Ian play Hamlet at a theatre in Oxford.
>>
>>
>>
>
> You went twice?!

The first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.

(Yes, it works)

Rosie

In message <um9squ$2h3qh$1@dont-email.me> at Sun, 24 Dec 2023 18:21:18,
Serena Blanchflower <nospam@blanchflower.me.uk> writes
[]
>My guess is that Shula is going to remain generally silent (and in
>Sunderland) but may return on the occasional visit to Ambridge and if
>her friend, Judy Bennett, is happy to make a matching visit to
>Birmingham, we'll hear her but, if she's not feeling up to it - or just
>doesn't want to - we'll only hear about her, rather than actually
>hearing her.
>
Remember she is married to Charles Collingwood, alias Brian. I remember
quite a few years (decades is it now?) going to a something featuring
the two of them (I think it was in outer London somewhere?), with
another of this parish (I think she bought the tickets and I paid her,
or something like that), which we enjoyed.

Though he's backed off a bit, Brian still seems fairly prominent. Though
of course there's no reason to assume their characters will remain of
similar prominence, just because their BFs are connected.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Radio 4 is the civilising influence in this country ... I think it is the most
important institution in this country. - John Humphrys, Radio Times
7-13/06/2003

In message <87cyuv752n.fsf@golgonooza.co.uk> at Sun, 24 Dec 2023
19:50:40, Rosie Mitchell <rcmitchell@golgonooza.co.uk> writes
[]
>David: Count of Waldeck-Limpburg so also immortal as long as he keeps out
>of the light and stays out of the way when there's fencing

At first IRTA meaning the sort of fencing that (especially German)
aristocracy do! Until

> being erected.

(-:

>Eddie: Younger than me, what you on about?
>
>Rosie
>(who is 70 next year, where did it all go?)
>
I'll be 64, though don't think anyone will need me, let alone feed me!
>
>
>
>
>
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Radio 4 is the civilising influence in this country ... I think it is the most
important institution in this country. - John Humphrys, Radio Times
7-13/06/2003

On Sat, 23 Dec 2023 19:59:34 +0000, Serena Blanchflower
<nospam@blanchflower.me.uk> wrote:

>On 23/12/2023 18:58, John Doe wrote:
>> There's another question here for the scriptwriters. They have an urgent
>> demographic needs to solve. They've got Peggy, Chris and Jill who are all
>> around a hundred. Then there are a ton in their 70s and 80s (Brian, Oliver,
>> Justin,Shula, Kenton, Tony, Jim, Eddie, Linda, Robert). This is a crisis,
>> because some of the actors have already died and had to be written out, some
>> had had traumatic medical events and have had to be written out. It feels very
>> much like they are shy of killing off characters. But for those knocking on
>> 100, that seems unfair on the listener and the actor.
>
>One thing which aggravates the problem is that several of the actors are
>significantly older than the characters they play. For example, Shula's
>only in her mid sixties, but her close friend, Judy Bennett, is eighty.
>
>> And now we're at a point where people in the prime of their lives, like poor
>> Ian Pepperell are shuffling off this mortal coil (which, as a matter of sheer
>> tragic probability, you have to expect once in a while), and now there's a
>> compounded problem.
>>
>> I appreciate the introduction of a new younger set of characters (Chelsea,
>> Brad, Paul, Rex, Toby, Harrison), but they really need to think this through
>> and unfortunately I think Ambridge will have to have a lot of funerals in the
>> next couple of years.
>
>There will certainly be a few, but I suspect there will also be a few
>more characters following Shula's example, and moving away from Ambridge
>(and I hope Roy will be amongst this number), or becoming long term
>silent characters like Robert.
>
>They are certainly moving the focus onto the younger generation, with
>the previous younger generation, moving into retirement and becoming
>less prominent.

I was listening to The Archers at 70 - Farming Today the other night
and, yes I really am that far behind with some of my listening.
Anyway, Jeremy Howe was explaining how(e) they plot storylines far
into the future - his example was that Brexit (sorry to use the
B-word) was not just an event but will a five-year arc for the show.

My preference, which I believe I have expressed before, many years
ago, would be to have art as an imitation of life. In real life,
people drop dead from a heart attack or fall under a bus; they come in
to work one morning and suddenly explode with "take this job and shove
it - I don't work here any more"; they become victims of crime or
illness and everything around them changes instantly and irrevocably.

I would so love it if The Archers were bold enough to follow that sort
of path. When an actor dies, leaves, is changed in someway, the
storyline swerves in response. But I suppose that the juggernaut that
is the five-year plan will just keep chugging remorselessly on.

Nick

On 26/12/2023 03:15, Nick Odell wrote:
>
> I was listening to The Archers at 70 - Farming Today the other night
> and, yes I really am that far behind with some of my listening.
> Anyway, Jeremy Howe was explaining how(e) they plot storylines far
> into the future - his example was that Brexit (sorry to use the
> B-word) was not just an event but will a five-year arc for the show.
>
How can they have a 5 year story arc for Brexit when nobody knew (and
still doesn't) how it will end up ?
This is not to do with whether it was right or wrong (although we can
guess what the Beeb's view of that is). None of the dire predictions of
collapse of sterling, mass unemployment etc happened. Neither did we cut
immigration (far from it) or do anything else that was claimed as a
benefit.
There are some irritations which affect some people more than others,
but overall life has pretty much gone on as before and we are not doing
much worse GDP wise than the rest of the EU.
We bounced back out of lockdown faster, have had a disastrous recent
period thanks to Truss, OBR, BoE, QE etc, but today's forecast in the
times starts as follows:

The UK economy is set to grow more quickly than France in coming years,
making it almost 20 per cent larger by 2038, and narrowing the gap with
Germany.

According to this year’s world economic league table from the Centre for
Economics and Business Research, the UK is likely to maintain its
position as the sixth-largest global economy.

The UK economy is expected to be 10.2 per cent larger than France in
2033, this is forecast to increase to 19.9 per cent by 2038. In that
same period, the gap between the UK and Germany — which is nearly a
third larger than the UK — is expected to narrow slightly to 28.8 per cent.

BrritSki <rtilburyTAKEOUT@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 26/12/2023 03:15, Nick Odell wrote:
>>
>> I was listening to The Archers at 70 - Farming Today the other night
>> and, yes I really am that far behind with some of my listening.
>> Anyway, Jeremy Howe was explaining how(e) they plot storylines far
>> into the future - his example was that Brexit (sorry to use the
>> B-word) was not just an event but will a five-year arc for the show.
>>
> How can they have a 5 year story arc for Brexit when nobody knew (and
> still doesn't) how it will end up ?
> This is not to do with whether it was right or wrong (although we can
> guess what the Beeb's view of that is). None of the dire predictions of
> collapse of sterling, mass unemployment etc happened. Neither did we cut
> immigration (far from it) or do anything else that was claimed as a
> benefit.
> There are some irritations which affect some people more than others,
> but overall life has pretty much gone on as before and we are not doing
> much worse GDP wise than the rest of the EU.
> We bounced back out of lockdown faster, have had a disastrous recent
> period thanks to Truss, OBR, BoE, QE etc, but today's forecast in the
> times starts as follows:
>
> The UK economy is set to grow more quickly than France in coming years,
> making it almost 20 per cent larger by 2038, and narrowing the gap with
> Germany.
>
> According to this year’s world economic league table from the Centre for
> Economics and Business Research, the UK is likely to maintain its
> position as the sixth-largest global economy.
>
> The UK economy is expected to be 10.2 per cent larger than France in
> 2033, this is forecast to increase to 19.9 per cent by 2038. In that
> same period, the gap between the UK and Germany — which is nearly a
> third larger than the UK — is expected to narrow slightly to 28.8 per cent.
>
>

Didn’t you also tell us that energy prices were dropping?

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

On 26/12/2023 16:20, Mike McMillan wrote:
> BrritSki <rtilburyTAKEOUT@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>... today's forecast in the >> times starts as follows:
>>
>> The UK economy is set to grow more quickly than France in coming years,
>> making it almost 20 per cent larger by 2038, and narrowing the gap with
>> Germany.
>
> Didn’t you also tell us that energy prices were dropping?
>
If you're referring to the post below, I did, but to be precise I was
reporting what was in the DT.

On 19/05/2023 21:44, Sam Plusnet wrote:
> On 19-May-23 11:08, BrritSki wrote:
>>
>> I wouldn't be too sure about that - a lot of electricity is generated
>> from gas and the price of that has dropped considerably. Diesel also -
>> now back to prices from a couple of years ago round here.
>
> Diesel prices, as found at service stations, seem to be much higher than
> petrol prices.

That was certainly the case until recently. Our local Tesco has petrol
at £1.379 and diesel is only 5p more. Just a few weeks ago it was £1.80ish.

And DT thinks household fuel bills will fall by £500
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/05/19/ftse-100-markets-news-live-uk-semiconductor-strategy-japan/

Household energy bills are expected to fall by an average £500 from July
in a sign that Vladimir Putin's attempt to "weaponise" Russia's gas
supplies has failed.

A typical household's energy bill will drop to the annual equivalent of
£2,053 between July and September, according to a closely-watched
forecast by Cornwall Insight. The forecast is based on a predicted
change to the energy price cap.

It will mark the first time energy bills have fallen in almost three
years, as European gas prices continue to tumble from the highs reached
last year following Putin's attack on Ukraine.

Regulator Ofgem set the price cap at £3,280 for March to June, down from
a high of £4,279 in the previous three months.

Interestingly, petrol at our local Tesco is once again down to 1.379 and
the current typical household is currently £1834 increasing to £1928, so
they were wrong because they were too pessimistic.

We are currently paying £130/month which covers our annual Gas and
Electricity even before you consider our FIT payments.

https://www.smartenergygb.org/smart-living/smart-energy-tips/what-is-the-price-cap-and-will-it-affect-your-energy-bills?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkKqsBhC3ARIsAEEjuJhkScuhTV3NU5lApM_B5-4e-o2GNCxprL1vtSvr6xhcsgQNQe4-dRIaAhnHEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Uswitch shows different numbers for Octopus, but there is still a big
drop from May when I posted that.
Octopus
Price Std
Cap Variable
Level Price
April 2023 - July 2023 £3,280 £2,500 N/A (SVT capped at £2,500
under EPG)
July 2023 - October 2023 £2,074 £3,000 £2,488
October 2023 - January 2024 £1,834 £3,000 £1,819

https://www.uswitch.com/gas-electricity/guides/octopus-price-changes/

On Mon, 25 Dec 2023 01:11:14 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

>Remember she is married to Charles Collingwood, alias Brian. I remember
>quite a few years (decades is it now?) going to a something featuring
>the two of them (I think it was in outer London somewhere?), with
>another of this parish (I think she bought the tickets and I paid her,
>or something like that), which we enjoyed.

Harrow, IIRC, I stayed with another umra household nearby.
I recall John Otway wandered into the bar (where we were waiting for other
umrats), looking a bit lost, and said "John Otway?" to me. I refrained from
making the obvious remark, and told him where he was performing that night
while pointing at a poster on the wall.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On Mon, 25 Dec 2023 01:13:25 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

>In message <87cyuv752n.fsf@golgonooza.co.uk> at Sun, 24 Dec 2023
>19:50:40, Rosie Mitchell <rcmitchell@golgonooza.co.uk> writes
>[]
>>David: Count of Waldeck-Limpburg so also immortal as long as he keeps out
>>of the light and stays out of the way when there's fencing
>
>At first IRTA meaning the sort of fencing that (especially German)
>aristocracy do!

Having watched several of his show reels recently, he's done his share of
fencing over the years. I suppose he learnt it at school. My father did,
and was called in to fence for a film, when he was at college. The fight
was cut from the film.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On 26/12/2023 03:15, Nick Odell wrote:
> My preference, which I believe I have expressed before, many years
> ago, would be to have art as an imitation of life. In real life,
> people drop dead from a heart attack or fall under a bus; they come in
> to work one morning and suddenly explode with "take this job and shove
> it - I don't work here any more"; they become victims of crime or
> illness and everything around them changes instantly and irrevocably.
>
> I would so love it if The Archers were bold enough to follow that sort
> of path. When an actor dies, leaves, is changed in someway, the
> storyline swerves in response. But I suppose that the juggernaut that
> is the five-year plan will just keep chugging remorselessly on.

They did that, after Julia Pargetter's friend, Mary Wimbush, died. Mary
died suddenly, immediately after recording an episode of TA and, the
following morning, Julia was found dead in her bed. IIRC, Julia had
been in the middle of directing (or, possibly, starring in) the
Christmas show, so they allowed Ambridge to share the shock and chaos of
reorganising it, rather than absorbing all the problems off stage.

--
Best wishes, Serena
Friends, meet together and know one another in that which is eternal,
which was before the world was (George Fox)

On 25/12/2023 01:11, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <um9squ$2h3qh$1@dont-email.me> at Sun, 24 Dec 2023 18:21:18,
> Serena Blanchflower <nospam@blanchflower.me.uk> writes
> []
>> My guess is that Shula is going to remain generally silent (and in
>> Sunderland)  but may return on the occasional visit to Ambridge and if
>> her friend, Judy Bennett, is happy to make a matching visit to
>> Birmingham, we'll hear her but, if she's not feeling up to it - or
>> just doesn't want to - we'll only hear about her, rather than actually
>> hearing her.
>>
> Remember she is married to Charles Collingwood, alias Brian. I remember
> quite a few years (decades is it now?) going to a something featuring
> the two of them (I think it was in outer London somewhere?), with
> another of this parish (I think she bought the tickets and I paid her,
> or something like that), which we enjoyed.
>
> Though he's backed off a bit, Brian still seems fairly prominent. Though
> of course there's no reason to assume their characters will remain of
> similar prominence, just because their BFs are connected.

Yes, they live in a small village in Hampshire. Apparently Judy Bennett
was starting to find the trek up to Birmingham was a bit more than she
wanted to do[1], especially as it's not that often that Shula and Brian
are involved in the same storylines, so Judy and Charles's trips to
Birmingham didn't often coincide.

Although being much the same age as Judy, Brian is clearly happy to keep
going. I have no idea whether this is because he's in better physical
shape than she is, or simply that he enjoys it more than she does.

[1] Given recent events in Ambridge, it may be that she's decided she's
happy to visit occasionally.

--
Best wishes, Serena
Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional. (Carroll Bryant)

In message <umn5dl$pog3$3@dont-email.me> at Fri, 29 Dec 2023 19:07:32,
Serena Blanchflower <nospam@blanchflower.me.uk> writes
[]
>They did that, after Julia Pargetter's friend, Mary Wimbush, died. Mary
>died suddenly, immediately after recording an episode of TA and,

More or less in Lizbuff's (Alison's) arms, IIR reading about it R.
[]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Where [other presenters] tackle the world with a box of watercolours, he
takes a spanner. - David Butcher (on Guy Martin), RT 2015/1/31-2/6

On 29/12/2023 19:58, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <umn5dl$pog3$3@dont-email.me> at Fri, 29 Dec 2023 19:07:32,
> Serena Blanchflower <nospam@blanchflower.me.uk> writes
> []
>> They did that, after Julia Pargetter's friend, Mary Wimbush, died.
>> Mary died suddenly, immediately after recording an episode of TA and,
>
> More or less in Lizbuff's (Alison's) arms, IIR reading about it R.
> []

Yes, that's what I remember, as well.

--
Best wishes, Serena
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the
airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. (Henry Ford)

Serena Blanchflower <nospam@blanchflower.me.uk> wrote:

> Although being much the same age as Judy, Brian is clearly happy to keep
> going. I have no idea whether this is because he's in better physical
> shape than she is, or simply that he enjoys it more than she does.

CC has been quoted on more than one occasion saying that the two things he
most enjoys in life are watching cricket and playing Brian Aldridge, so I
suspect it’s the latter.