The Archers

Yes merlotgran they do have an agricultural advisor. Obviously, it changes from person to person over the years and I think their title isn't just agricultural advisor but has something to do with countryside management in the title -or that could be a separate person.

How old is Ben’s sheepdog? She must be old enough to have had a fair amount of training by now but Ben still be treats her like a puppy. How on earth can she be anything like ready for trialling without daily working contact with sheep?

The Brookfield sheep are all at Home Farm so he’s not involved in their husbandry at all. He can’t just turn up and play at being a shepherd when he feels like it.

Sorry but this storyline really annoys me. David and Ruth bought Ben a sheepdog puppy to give him something to focus on then got rid of the sheep.

Does TA still have an agricultural advisor? 🤔

TA is a national treasure

I enjoy jazzer, Tracy and agree, Chelsea is developing into a good Archers character.

I believe Ambridge lacks the generational posh folks like Nigel and Mrs Antrobus. Most villages still have the occasional landed gentry. They all have a Mrs Antrobus. Her girls were Afghan Hounds. It’s more likely a current Mrs A would breed working cocker spaniels or working labs. She’d show successfully, love her dogs n bitches and be active in the kennel club and pony club.

I remember listening to the Archers while I had my supper as a child. I am back doing just the same sixty five years later! I enjoyed Mrs Dales Diary and Waggoner Walk too.

Hymnbook

I have listened to it for many years. Also listened to Mrs Dales diary and Waggoners Walk.
The Archers isn't as good as it used to be. I must commend the acting in the Helen abuse story, Alice and her drinking and Ben and his mental health.

Hear hear, Hymnbook..some storylines "make a difference"

I actually dont know if it isnt as good as it used to be, or we have got older. its not as "cosy" as it was going back some time, although is that our imagination? do we just seek comfort more?

I have listened to it for many years. Also listened to Mrs Dales diary and Waggoners Walk.
The Archers isn't as good as it used to be. I must commend the acting in the Helen abuse story, Alice and her drinking and Ben and his mental health.

Love it. Listened less in my teens but never stopped. It's evolving nature is not possible in any other genre.

lixy that is when I stopped listening. It wasn't Nigels death so much as the fact that they were still running stories around Sid's sudden death, so their promise of epoch changing stories that night were actually frequent occurrences and utterly banal.

I have been listening for years since the mid 70s. I quite like the development of the Horrobins’ stories and are rooting for Jazzer and Tracy. I miss Nigel too!

I have been on-and-off wondering about Jennifer and Brian's old house, Gin.
Thought it was going to become a party-house airbnb originally and cause lots of problems but maybe it's just been quietly demolished!

I have also listened since it replaced Dick Barton. These days often turn it off as the story lines are so ridiculous. There seems to be a lot less content about farming issues than there used to be and many characters just fade away. Very strangely the newish residents in Jennifer and Brian’s house have rarely been mentioned, don’t even have names yet the cottages must be very near.f

My grandad used to listen to it soon after it started. I have listened to it on and off, with breaks of years and because it’s an ongoing family and village saga it’s easy to do.

It’s obviously changed in nature since it started as an agricultural information prog. and now features younger more dramatic story lines., in an effort to keep it relevant I suppose
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The longevity of the programme is quite amazing, and there is still an active fan club.
I sporadically listen, I suppose mostly for nostalgic reasons these days.

Its good timing, I cook my evening meal when its on.
The only TV soap I ever watched was Neighbours back in the day me and DS used to sit down after school and watch it together.

I'm OK with the younger characters. Pretty realistic. At first Chelsea annoyed me at first but she's developing and its been a poignant Story line with Ben getting ill. and Jazza getting married, who'd have thought it possible going back to the days of ketamine...

I remain very cross about Nigel being thrown off the roof. His character is much missed.

I'm certainly with you here Iam64. I can hear that episode in my head, no need to repeats. Such a waste of a good character.

I used to like Uncke Tom's intro to the omnibus edition.

I listened religiously for about 30years. My earliest memories were Shula's sheepshearing mate from NZ, David and Shula's 21st birthday party and (not sure about this one) Eddie's mum dying during the party.
I stopped listening about 2005 when I realised that Archers, Corrie and Eastenders were dominating every weekday evening. So I went cold turkey and never looked back.

Yes I’ve listened for years, usually the Omnibus.

Although I get irritated occasionally I don’t think I could give it up, I’d feel disloyal.

I’ve listened since 1968, with occasional breaks. I like the way story lines develop in real time. The best recent example being the Helen-Rob story.
I remain very cross about Nigel being thrown off the roof. His character is much missed.
I’m in a not listening much space in recent months. Tedious, badly written story lines, often with established characters acting out of character.
I’m fed up with the focus on younger people.

In the pandemic the episodes were re-arranged into individual monologues and dreary they were too.

I've never been able to get back into it - the younger characters all sound so similar it's tricky telling them apart.

I remember being very upset as a child when, at 7.45 pm on weekdays Dick Barton, Special Agent was replaced by the Archers., However the Archers have evolved which Dick, Jock and Snowy would not have been able to do!

My family listened to it religiously, and I remember the episode where Grace died, though I confess to being more concerned about the well-being of the horses rather than Grace herself. The episode was thought to be the BBC’s cunning plan to distract from the fact that ITV began that evening.

For years as an adult, I used to listen to the omnibus edition, but stopped also during/after Covid when I thought it became a bit tedious.

I do recall that Jennifer and Lillian had very whiney voices as children, and Tony was always given his full name of Antony William Daniel. These were the glorious days of Walter Gabriel with his catch phrase “Hello me old pals me old beauties” and Peggy’s mother, the irascible Mrs. P. Lately we have watched on tv, repeats of many programmes which we once enjoyed, and have been disappointed, so maybe if I heard the “old” Archers, I wouldn’t think it was better than the present version.

I gave up on the 60th anniversary of the programme, having, like Wyllow3 listened on and off since it started (my parents listened).

In the run up to the 60th anniversary there were trailes and teases suggesting ssomething really dramatic was going to happen, really life changing and what happened? They killed off a popular character, while still running the story of previous sudden death.

Then we were asked to believe that two female characters, both active feminists hadn't hear of pre-eclampsia. Not recognising it I could understand, but not knowing about it? I spoke to various friends and DDiL, and all of us said it was covered in pre-natalclasses and we knew about it. Several had had it.

I was so disillusioned by all the hype - and then the bathos of what was delivered, that I haven't listened since.

Mrs.Doyle's Dairy,as Jimmy Young used to call it.

Exactly the same mumofmadboys! A hundred years ago I ‘worried about Jim’ with Mrs Dale, anyone remember her?

Listening on and off forever. Off for the Helen Abuse story, off in Covid as it got tedious. It was always on in the background as a child and, unusually, started listening properly at uni, something familiar in anew place maybe.

Like Sally45, I’ve been listening forever, and remember Grace Archer dying in the fire.
I usually listen to the Sunday morning omnibus edition.