Her guide to ARCHERS A Country C A R O L E B O Y D Carole Boyd was born and brought up in London, considering herself a townie through and through until arriving in Ambridge to play Lynda Snell in 1986. She trained at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama before going on to win the Carleton Hobbs award for Radio Drama in 1966. Since then Carole has recorded many radio dramas and features, including Radio 2’s Waggoners9 Walk, in which she played Shirley Edwards for four years. Her voice is also well loved by thousands of children as she plays all the female roles in Postman Pat on television, video and tape. She writes a regular column as Lynda Snell for the Archers Addicts magazine, The Village Voice. This is her first book. Lynda Snell moved from Sunningdale to Ambridge in 1986. She is a vigorous champion of green issues and has crusaded for footpaths, community buses, the Countryside Commission, red phone boxes and hedgehogs. As part of her unstinting efforts to promote local culture and boost villagers’ pride in their community, she always plays an active role in organising plays, fetes and other functions, for which she often receives little thanks. She lives in Ambridge Hall with her husband Robert, her Afghan hound Hermes and her goats. Cover design: Slatter-Anderson Cover photographs: S. &C O. Mathers / © BBC LYNDA SNELL’S HERITAGE OF S n M B R ID G E Her History of ARCHERS Country CAROLE BOYD The Archers *%0/ alt Lyndas/ urith a/ cbf (you/ knows udio/ yaw a/ves) this/ hook is/ dedicated/ Acknowledgements I am grateful to Vanessa Whitburn, Editor of The Archers, and to Keri Davies and Camilla Fisher for their support and advice. My special thanks to Liz Rigbey for inventing Lynda Snell, to George Goodwin - guide and guru - for initiating the project, to Lorna Russell and Rod Green, my editors, for their untiring help, and to the Chief Executive of the Lynda Snell Society for her irrepressible enthusiasm. And to friends and family particularly my husband, Patrick, who gave up his study and a year of his life to enable this book to happen. First published in 1997 by Virgin Publishing Ltd 332 Ladbroke Grove London W10 5AH Text copyright © Carole Boyd 1997 The right of Carole Boyd to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Picture Credits Pages 4,63,86,87,88,101,103,139 © Image Bank Pages 6,10,11,12,15,18,21,25,26,28,29,30,38,51,58,59,68,76,79,82,95,118 © Chris Brown Pages 16,19,20,22,32,40,41,50,53,60,61,71,74,100,110,130,133,134,135 © Hulton Getty Pages 8,23,34,43,44,45,47,48,55,84,87,113,114,120,125,127,137,141 © BBC Pages 22,36,37,41,42,56,62,64,65,66,69,75,78,79,80,81,91,93,99,107,129,131 © Mary Evans Picture Library Pages 104,105,117 © Private Collection Pages 109,119 © Archers Addicts Pages 142 -159 © Christine Hart-Davies This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or other­ wise be circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed upon the subsequent purchaser. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 185227 658 4 Designed by Blackjacks Limited Reproduction by Scanners Printed in Italy ^ to la q u e /...................................................................................5 s 4 ^V illaqe; cW aIAaA(M d'..............................................7 ^ k e / C&fiecut/ fa m ilie s /o f s4m kudcf£/...........35 houlies/and/ c£?)faosUe&/........................................5 7 ISeuduv, <dic&&iw Sc S ^ -^ i^ A th v .....................7 7 <=U j2&tai/i&, ^o u m sta iA & .............................................91 ^ a e t/ Sc P ea sa n t/..........................................................105 *%h& S ten ch / <~& M necUan'......................................129 s 4 cW aM /an/tA& cW ild/ S id e'............................/4 3 ^ p ila y u e /............................................................................ H O f ello! and welcome to my version of all things rustic and rural. For some 1 ft'me now, I’ve been ruminating, in a Keatsian way, on the simple beauty S j m J of the countryside. How lucky we are to live in this land which is still V / ‘green and pleasant’, despite the ravages of developers and entrepre­ neurs, and yes, in some cases, farmers. Of course, much has been written on the subject over the years, and I would never dream of challenging immortals like Wordsworth et al., but I know from my postbag that I am not alone (although it sometimes seems so), and I feel the time has come to catalogue my thoughts for posterity. It is now ten years since Robert and I arrived in Ambridge from leafy Sunningdale. ‘Only ten years?’I hear you cry. ‘It seems so much longer!’But the time has flown by, crowded with excitement, good times and bad, happiness and heartache - and always with our mission to ‘give’, in a Green way, to the local inhabitants. Of course, there have been occasions when certain of those inhabitants harangued one with the question, ‘Whaddya wanna leave Sunningdale for,Missis?Eh?Tell me that?’And,yes, why on earth would Robert and I wish to leave a highly desirable oasis of privilege, surrounded by all the right scenery and most of the ‘right’people, with a full social life and low-stress drive away from Bracknell’s Silicon Valley for Robert. The answer is simple - Doreen Purefoy! I am well aware that Ambridge has had its share of bossy, interfering, social-climbing females - they know who they are - but they pale into insignificance beside the overwhelming impertinence of that woman. Thankfully, by coming out of denial and owning the fact that there was no room for both of us, and that I was never going to ‘arrive’in Sunningdale while she was around, I ‘escaped’ from a semi­ suburban Green Belt of pretension and privilege to the truly rural, grass-roots environment of Ambridge, where simple values count and one can really call a pig a pig! For the visitor to Ambridge and Borsetshire who seeks to know more than the usual guidebook can afford, I intend to reveal what lies between the lines, under the carpets and down the backs of the sofas, as it were, of the customs, history, folklore, wildlife and social mores of this delightful area of England. - ' - irf am always intrigued to discover that most visitors to Grey Gables see me as the fount of all local knowledge, while most locals seem to consider that it is Jennifer Aldridge who holds that title. I put it down to the years of conditioning these same villagers had to endure prior to my arrival in Ambridge, plus their reluctance to look more ... imaginatively at their surroundings. But the fact remains that I have a pivotal position on Reception - I am the first human being the visitors set eyes on after leaving their car and crossing the threshold. (Unless they are unlucky enough to be accosted by Higgs in portering mode when there is always the danger that they might never make it up the steps.) Anyway assuming they do, they are rewarded by my well-groomed pres­ ence and warm, knowing (in the sense of informed, that is) smile, as they approach my desk. So I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that I am, indeed, one of the sights of Ambridge. Certainly, it is in that first moment of bonding that guests realise that they can trust me to enhance their visit by advising them to explore those parts of Ambridge which other sources of information may not have reached (NB J.Aldridge et a/!). I always make a point of basing my recommendations on tried and tested personal experiences - it is the only way - but I am sorry to say that this has led to the occasional... misunderstanding.Take the case of the trav­ elling salesman who thought that my innocent arrangement to meet him one evening in Felpersham, to show him the cathedral, meant - well, something Grey Gables offers four- star accommodation, quite different! (Robert was very understanding about the whole sordid busi­ and, thanks to me, all ness and was able to reassure me that my general demeanour and appear­ visitors receive a warm ance couldn’t possibly have encouraged such a degrading misinterpretation.) welcome to Ambridge. Sdiynda/ Snell S' S afi S^mlvad^e' But, by and large, 1 think guests are quite entertained by my little tuto­ rials on the history of Ambridge as they stand waiting to check in, tired and travel-stained and surrounded by luggage. The only problem is that they often seem so energised by my commentary that they rush off when I’m only halfway through, eager to get to the nearest interesting sight asap. Caroline once hinted that maybe they were eager to get to a hot bath and a stiff drink to recover - from the journey I assumed, but she merely smiled and moved discreetly away. I’m very fond of Caroline, but I do think she misses the point sometimes. However, I digress - in fact, I plan to explore the Art of Digression throughout this book (as you will have realised by now), since I feel that some of one’s most inspired work is often surrounded by brackets, dots and dashes. So do look out for these - maybe younger visitors might like to keep score - I believe they add a weight and texture to one’s style, akin to that of Dickens,Trollope and Georgette Heyer. To continue - much has been written about the significant history and architecture of the area and, frankly, I don’t intend to repeat any of it - not to a living soul! If I can possibly help it. Instead, let me take you on a leisurely stroll - post hot bath and stiff G&T - to peek behind the scenes, as it were, of this delightful Victorian-Gothic country house hotel. Caroline and Jean-Paul having a bilingual You will already have sampled the delights of your en suite bathroom conversation on matters and mini-bar, gazed out across the country park from your mullioned window, culinary. and glanced at the enticing menu, in anticipation of dinner later on. But, may I suggest that you refrain from ordering prawn cocktail - yes, I know it’s on the menu! Suffice it to say that our (genuine) French chef,Jean-Paul, has an irrational fear of this dish, and has been known to throw a crise de nerfs at its mere mention. I have advised Mr Woolley the owner, to withdraw it from the menu, but he refuses, point blank, saying it reminds him of the good old days in Stirchley, before he became a sophisticate! You should, however, be quite safe with crevettes or langoustines - served naked, as Nature intended. 8