As ever just over 50 minutes of original radio output takes over an hour for our podcast hosts to dissect, analyse, digest and recapitulate.  I nearly said regurgitate there, but morning sickness finished a while ago.   Secrets and lies are essential for any ongoing fly on the wall documentary.  Keeping Alice’s problem from a mother-in-law who spills the family secrets on county wide radio is one level of endeavour.   Treating a village production to even higher levels of security must be counter productive in terms of ticket sales to say the least!   New callers keep joining the clan, […]

DTD: 375 - Alan Franks the philosopher and rock of Ambridge Play Now | Download

The guest host chair is occupied by Philippa Hall this week as it continues the perambulation around the country.   I don’t quite understand why the pink pound seems to have dropped in value.  I realise that Ian is either furloughed or still on paternity leave and has had lower earnings – but no-one engages an electrician for a full re-wiring of a house without having the money in the bank so I think the plot has been lost.  I assume Adam went to a payday lender for the cash to pay the bill and the interest will be enormous! […]

DTD: 374 - Where did Adam get the money, is something up? Play Now | Download

Technology is wonderful – mobile phones, computers, broadband, podcasts, database systems, Windows – when it works.  But when you are a DumTeeDum summariser and a whole week of DTD goes missing it throws your schedule out completely and alongside that you are trying to drive a new database system live, re-write bits of a website plus work out how to use Microsoft Teams the week just goes from bad to worse.   So the database – handed over the data to do a test upload and looked at the results.  Turns out that every time data was saved you “deceased” […]

DTD 373 - The missing Dumteedum Play Now | Download

Poor Tony – what has he done to be blessed with a mother like Peggy, a wife like Pat (who oddly does not converse in Welsh with her daughter-in-law – why not? – there could be subtitles for the rest of us like when watching Icelandic Noir), a daughter like Helen and ye gods a son like Tom?  To be honest you can understand why Tony has followed in the footsteps of Pete Waterman and Rod Stewart and built himself a model railway so that he at least one world where he is control.  (You wonder where Rod found the […]

DTD: 371 - What's the story with Tony Archer and more Ambridge musings Play Now | Download

Trazzer may be no more; short term, short lived intercourse and tragically sussed by Johnny in record time (you can argue too much for your own cover story).  Disappointing as I was looking forward to the Cricket Team Sunday teas as Jazzer takes up the role of caterer delivering those wonderful Scottish staples – cullen skink to start followed by haggis, neeps and tatties washed down with gallons of whisky, but only for the away team!   Meanwhile Neil and Soosan were setup for an incredible fall.  I am convinced that the entire slavery story has been given a prominence […]

DTD: 370 - Susan talks to the press and Peggy's thoughts on Tony Play Now | Download

Sometimes I do not identify the absurdity of the week until Roifield and his rotating hosts (this week – Keri and Pete) commence their discussions.  On this podcast when it came it was like being thwacked over the head with a heavy book.    In common with most of the legal arrangements in Ambridge we have no idea if the Three Weird Wilders who have taken on tenancies of about 400 acres of prime Ambridge land are a partnership or a limited company.  If they have taken any legal guidance at all (doubtful) then they will have formed a company […]

DTD: 369 - A Ménage à abattoir - Who are Ambridge's swingers? Play Now | Download

Picture an editorial meeting, somewhere near Birmingham.  The Editor has had a great idea for a storyline; it is so good he tells everyone that we can get the new nasty Mr Big in a corner and then for weeks on end someone in the village can give him a good kicking.  One week Jim can do it on behalf of the atheists; the next week Shula can do it on behalf of the Christians and so the listeners will know just how bad Mr Big is as everyone is against him.  Plus the editor adds that we can have […]

DTD: 368 - David gets a gold star and Shula is given the clap twice Play Now | Download

Charlotte wrote a long-form article about the Archers last month entitled “A peculiarly English epic’: the weird genius of The Archers. Here she speaks to Roifield about it and her love affair with Ambridge.

Charlotte Higgins Guardian Journalist and Archers super fan! Play Now | Download

This week was ever more absurd as Brian decided to attack Kirsty one moment over her husband’s activities and the next is hail fellow well met supporting Neil.  No meat processor would send in an auditor to go through the records on the basis of an allegation of a contractor having used unpaid labour – so far out to lunch.  They might want a meeting to understand what happened – but a full audit?   Philip’s appearance at Greenacre’s also beggared belief – he knew Jim did not like him so he simply would not go there, all for dramatic […]

DTD: 367 - Rex turns on Brookfield, Brian loses it and what biscuits do we serve builders? Play Now | Download