My dad used to listen to The Archers on the radio at the garage he owned when i was there sometimes. Sadly it was a radio that broadcast all over the garage he owned which meant I got to listen to it too even though i didn't want to!
Back then it was very annoying; all this talk about sheep & milking cows & the rural life, I didn't get it. Then about 5 years ago I started listening to odd episodes just because it was on Radio 4 when i was driving to or from a meeting.
I started downloading the previous weeks episodes as an omnibus episode podcast to my Ipod which meant that I slowly got to know the characters & the area & didnt have to miss anything in Ambridge, & now I am hooked.
I have just finished listening to last Sunday's omnibus episode this morning while driving, & I know this makes me really sad & uncool, but to be honest i dont care, I love the Archers! I am worried that if Kate takes Phoebe to South Africa she wont want to come back; I do want to know whether Kenton & Joleen will be able to last as a couple, & I cant stand Matt or Lillian - I'm hooked!
One of the big story lines on the show is just now is grief & loss, all stemming from the death on 2nd January 2011 of Nigel Pargetter, a long standing character who fell to his death from the roof of his house. His death caused a great storm of protest with regular listeners saying they would stop listening - very odd! - but the way the story has played out since has been really good.
The portrayal of grief & the dreadful impact a sudden death has the family of the deceased, & the wider community has been sensitive & I think quite real to life. Nigel's wife Elizabeth has not coped well & I am glad that they are showing how death / grief does indeed rumble on & can wreck day after day, month after month, year after year.
She is trapped like so many people I have seen in the 'if only' trap & because she cannot face the terrible truth that life sometimes is terribly unfair & accidents do happen is blaming her brother for her husbands death. It is of course also easier than blaming Nigel himself.
Death, especially sudden death always brings out a wide array of emotions, & anger / rage at people close to you as portrayed on The Archers is common.
As a Minister I obviously have a lot of contact with people coping with grief, & often I have advised people to get some counselling or at least find someone they can talk things through with. Children in particular often need to have someone outside their circle of friends & parents fiends who they can share their fears with.
In The Archers Elizabeth has reacted very badly to being advised to do just that. People have reacted badly to me too, & in one case I can think of the parent involved has never spoken to me since even though I have seen her. I think she must think that her child needs only her.
The problem is it is all too easy to get trapped in the vicious grief merry go round because to get off would mean dealing with reality. It is sometimes easy too to even quite like being trapped. I hope Elizabeth's family don't give up on her & keep trying to get her some help.
