News?

[Mike Ruddock]

I have just been listening to Charles Collingwood talking about recent
developments in TA. He was mostly talking about the death of Jennifer
but remearked that he had lost two wives recentlky since as well as
Angela Piper, his actual wife, who plays Shula, has also retired.

Did we know this? Shula has been absent, ostensibly because she is off
"up North". Were we told that the character will not reappear?

Mike Ruddock

[Hellerat]

Yes, I read about Judy Bennet wanting to retire a while back (as in last year, if not the
year before), and I had also understood that Charles Collingwood was intending to retire
at the same time as her, but Brian still seems to be going strong. You've made me wonder
if Shula's move up north is intended to go on long enough for her to return to Ambridge
reincarnated with another voice, as I think there's more life in her yet as Judy Bennet is
older than Shula, if you see what I mean?


--
Yassas,
Anne, Exceptionally Traditionally-built Hellerat

[Chris]

Yes we were. Her retirement was well flagged up when she left for ‘oop
north’. Which means some scenes which would have been better with Shula
are being portrayed in other ways.

Mrs McT

[Serena Blanchflower]

We were told that Judy Bennett had chosen to retire. A friend of mine
recently met a neighbour of theirs who said that it was because it was
becoming too much of a slog to keep travelling up to Birmingham from
Hampshire for recordings. She also reported that Charles and Judy give
exceptionally good parties!

--
Best wishes, Serena
I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.
(Jerome K. Jerome)

[Serena Blanchflower]

On 26/01/2023 09:32, Hellerat wrote:
> Yes, I read about Judy Bennet wanting to retire a while back (as in last
> year, if not the year before), and I had also understood that Charles
> Collingwood was intending to retire at the same time as her, but Brian
> still seems to be going strong. You've made me wonder if Shula's move up
> north is intended to go on long enough for her to return to Ambridge
> reincarnated with another voice, as I think there's more life in her yet
> as Judy Bennet is older than Shula, if you see what I mean?

The interview I heard with Charles, not long before Judy's retirement
was announced, said he intended to keep working for as long as he could.
I think a few people on Twitter have been assuming that, if one
partner chose to retire, that meant the other would automatically follow
suit.

I do hope they don't bring Shula back with a different voice. I'd far
prefer to hear that she'd met a gorgeous vicar (or whatever) and was
going to remarry and settle oop north.

--
Best wishes, Serena
This is life, this is my life, and no matter what I do I can't go back
to the way it used to be. It is about accepting the changes and rising
to the challenges.' (Doreen Lawrence)

[Hellerat]

On 26/01/2023 12:18, Serena Blanchflower wrote:
> On 26/01/2023 09:32, Hellerat wrote:
>> Yes, I read about Judy Bennet wanting to retire a while back (as in last year, if not
>> the year before), and I had also understood that Charles Collingwood was intending to
>> retire at the same time as her, but Brian still seems to be going strong. You've made me
>> wonder if Shula's move up north is intended to go on long enough for her to return to
>> Ambridge reincarnated with another voice, as I think there's more life in her yet as
>> Judy Bennet is older than Shula, if you see what I mean?
>
> The interview I  heard with Charles, not long before Judy's retirement was announced, said
> he intended to keep working for as long as he could.  I think a few people on Twitter have
> been assuming that, if one partner chose to retire, that meant the other would
> automatically follow suit.
>
> I do hope they don't bring Shula back with a different voice.  I'd far prefer to hear that
> she'd met a gorgeous vicar (or whatever) and was going to remarry and settle oop north.
>

I'm glad that Charles Collingwood intends to keep going as long as he can, Brian would be
a far greater loss to the programme than Shula, IMNSHO.

[Serena Blanchflower]

Yes, I agree.

--
Best wishes, Serena
You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from flying overhead, but you
can prevent them from nesting in your hair. (Chinese proverb)

[Vicky]

On Thu, 26 Jan 2023 10:59:05 +0000, Serena Blanchflower
<nos...@blanchflower.me.uk> wrote:

>On 26/01/2023 10:42, Hellerat wrote:
>> On 26/01/2023 12:18, Serena Blanchflower wrote:
>>> On 26/01/2023 09:32, Hellerat wrote:
>>>> Yes, I read about Judy Bennet wanting to retire a while back (as in
>>>> last year, if not the year before), and I had also understood that
>>>> Charles Collingwood was intending to retire at the same time as her,
>>>> but Brian still seems to be going strong. You've made me wonder if
>>>> Shula's move up north is intended to go on long enough for her to
>>>> return to Ambridge reincarnated with another voice, as I think
>>>> there's more life in her yet as Judy Bennet is older than Shula, if
>>>> you see what I mean?
>>>
>>> The interview I  heard with Charles, not long before Judy's retirement
>>> was announced, said he intended to keep working for as long as he
>>> could.  I think a few people on Twitter have been assuming that, if
>>> one partner chose to retire, that meant the other would automatically
>>> follow suit.
>>>
>>> I do hope they don't bring Shula back with a different voice.  I'd far
>>> prefer to hear that she'd met a gorgeous vicar (or whatever) and was
>>> going to remarry and settle oop north.
>>>
>>
>> I'm glad that Charles Collingwood intends to keep going as long as he
>> can, Brian would be a far greater loss to the programme than Shula, IMNSHO.
>>
>
>Yes, I agree.

Yes, especially with the current story line.

[Jenny M Benson]

On 26/01/2023 10:18, Serena Blanchflower wrote:
>
> I do hope they don't bring Shula back with a different voice.

I am no longer a TA listener, but it always annoys me when TV and radio
serials do this. As we all know only too well, "real" people do develop
long-term illnesses or pass away at an earlier-than-expected age so why
can't this be covered in dramas which are supposed to be depicting real
life. In Dangerfield, the eponymous Dr suddenly had his 2 children
whisked away and replaced with substitutes. It put me right off the
program.

--
Jenny M Benson
Wrexham, UK

[Mike McMillan]

Well yes, Judy Bennet, as an adult, was playing voice parts of children in
BBC Schools programmes in the late fifties - early sixties very
extensively.

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

[Mike McMillan]

Serena Blanchflower <nos...@blanchflower.me.uk> wrote:
> On 26/01/2023 09:32, Hellerat wrote:
>> Yes, I read about Judy Bennet wanting to retire a while back (as in last
>> year, if not the year before), and I had also understood that Charles
>> Collingwood was intending to retire at the same time as her, but Brian
>> still seems to be going strong. You've made me wonder if Shula's move up
>> north is intended to go on long enough for her to return to Ambridge
>> reincarnated with another voice, as I think there's more life in her yet
>> as Judy Bennet is older than Shula, if you see what I mean?
>
> The interview I heard with Charles, not long before Judy's retirement
> was announced, said he intended to keep working for as long as he could.
> I think a few people on Twitter have been assuming that, if one
> partner chose to retire, that meant the other would automatically follow
> suit.
>
> I do hope they don't bring Shula back with a different voice. I'd far
> prefer to hear that she'd met a gorgeous vicar (or whatever) and was
> going to remarry and settle oop north.
>

Of course, she could do worse than to marry the newly bereaved Brian
Aldridge….

[Nick Odell]

On Thu, 26 Jan 2023 10:59:05 +0000, Serena Blanchflower
<nos...@blanchflower.me.uk> wrote:

>On 26/01/2023 10:42, Hellerat wrote:
>> On 26/01/2023 12:18, Serena Blanchflower wrote:
>>> On 26/01/2023 09:32, Hellerat wrote:
>>>> Yes, I read about Judy Bennet wanting to retire a while back (as in
>>>> last year, if not the year before), and I had also understood that
>>>> Charles Collingwood was intending to retire at the same time as her,
>>>> but Brian still seems to be going strong. You've made me wonder if
>>>> Shula's move up north is intended to go on long enough for her to
>>>> return to Ambridge reincarnated with another voice, as I think
>>>> there's more life in her yet as Judy Bennet is older than Shula, if
>>>> you see what I mean?
>>>
>>> The interview I  heard with Charles, not long before Judy's retirement
>>> was announced, said he intended to keep working for as long as he
>>> could.  I think a few people on Twitter have been assuming that, if
>>> one partner chose to retire, that meant the other would automatically
>>> follow suit.
>>>
>>> I do hope they don't bring Shula back with a different voice.  I'd far
>>> prefer to hear that she'd met a gorgeous vicar (or whatever) and was
>>> going to remarry and settle oop north.
>>>
>>
>> I'm glad that Charles Collingwood intends to keep going as long as he
>> can, Brian would be a far greater loss to the programme than Shula, IMNSHO.
>>
>
>Yes, I agree.

As long as that's what Brian's best friend really want's then it's
fine with me: I've already had my say about old performers missing out
on a gentle and well-deserved retirement over misplaced loyalty to
their public.

As for Shula well: after a spate of nepokids filling up the TA cast
list, in my opinion we've been getting some really first class actors
coming onto the programme. As a case in point, and as I know I've said
before, Colin Skip was Tony Archer and I couldn't see how anybody
could have replaced him but I hadn't reckoned with David Troughton.
Even though he's a nepokid himself (though more of a nepograndad these
days) I think he is an excellent actor and even though he didn't sound
like Colin Skip I felt that, right from the start, he inhabited the
part of Tony Archer. If an actor of equal calibre wants to play the
part of Shula then that's okay by me.

Nick

[Nick Odell]

I agree that they ought to consider living more dangerously and let
the scripts follow real life. But I can see two reasons against.

If you were an actor playing the part of an unpopular character,
wouldn't you feel obliged to check the brake pipes on your car each
night before you drove home from the studio?

And remember this is the cash-strapped BBC. Who is going to scrap
thousands, maybe tens of thousands of pounds worth of storylining,
scripting and recording when things like that happen?

Nick

[Chris]

And the current Clarrielurve! She’sctotally erased the previous one now.

OTOH, Jennifer is of an age to pass away naturally. Oh, and Brian deserves
to reflect deeply. He should talk to Oliver too.

Mrs McT

[krw]

On 26.1.23 20:36, Nick Odell wrote:
> If an actor of equal calibre wants to play the
> part of Shula then that's okay by me.

Yes - I really hope that is a route which JB has agreed. I understand
her wish to step down but Shula was much of my hearing when I started
listening regularly and I feel the character has been poorly treated by
TPTB over recent years. To lose the character permanently is disappointing.
--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics