The Ambridge Socialist
31st May
Reporting the class struggle in Borsetshire
Harrison Burns purged as Ambridge cricket captain
BBC reports from Ambridge are back and there could hardly be more dramatic news than the fact that Sgt Harrison Burns has been purged as Ambridge cricket captain and replaced by Tracy Horrobin via an on-line vote. It’s likely that Ambridge cricket will be back later in the summer as given the number of spectators it normally attracts social distancing will not be of concern.
We await news of Tracy’s new training regime.
Meanwhile of course a Guardian reader Richard Giles has complained that lockdown Archers is just as dull as usual, though he is perhaps not a regular listener. While the view that nothing ever happens in the Archers has been around for almost as long as the nearly 70 year old programme itself, it’s not true as readers of the Ambridge Socialist know well. The victory of quintessential proletarian rebel Tracy Horrobin over Ambridge’s police officer, Sergeant Burns to become captain of the village cricket team suggests anything but boredom. I doubt they thought that was boring at Lords.
The New Archers
With the Archers back there was a good deal of comment about the new temporary normal of a limited number of characters worked. Some, again, presumably not regular listeners, claimed David Archer was boring and Josh Archer had no discernible character at all. Neither of these points will come as any surprise to Ambridge Socialist readers.
Appearing on the Dum Tee Dum podcast on 29th May Archers veteran Keri Davies noted that the first voice we had heard was David Archer because after all it is The Archers, about the Dynasty of the same name. Indeed it is, which is why we back the alternative proletarian dynasty of the Grundys. After 70 years their time has come.
In Other News
Keri Davies has confessed to inventing the Borsetshire tradition of spile troshing. As those familiar with the work of Eric Hobsbawm will know all the best traditions are invented.
Stalker Burns only retained the captaincy of the team, because he forged a letter , supposedly from Darrington captain, in order to get the numbers up by admitting females (or as he derogatorily refers to them, ‘girls’ or ‘lasses’). Good he has been shot out!