This informal FAQ relates to the usenet newsgroup uk.media.radio.archers (umra) which in turn relates to the long running BBC radio serial "The Archers".
For the official umra FAQ, click on the
graphic:
Umra is possibly the friendliest newsgroup you will ever find, a place where flame wars are non-existant and off-topic discussions positively encouraged! Sometimes we even discuss "The Archers" too.
It is maintained by: Andy Taylor (andyt@azande.demon.co.uk) All contributions for future versions are very welcome and will be acknowledged.
This is a quick update of the very old version 1.0 that was written in 1996!
Andy Taylor, Westfield, East Sussex, July 2000
"The Archers" is a fly-on-the-wall documentary^W^W^W the world's longest running radio serial, having been broadcast continuously since 1951. It recently clocked up an amazing 13,000 episodes. Initially proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture, as an educational tool, it has now taken on a near religious significance for its listeners. It is possibly^W the most popular programme on Radio 4. "The Archers" should never be referred to as a soap opera.
The Archers is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 19.02-19.15 every day except Saturday and repeated the following weekday at 14:02-14:15 except on Saturday. The omnibus of the previous week's evening broadcasts is broadcast at 10.00-11.15 every Sunday. On Sundays when there is a cricket match covered by "Test Match Special" the omnibus Long Wave broadcast time is changed to 09:15. On Remembrance Sunday, the omnibus may be broadcast at a different time.
Just in case you didn't get that, the episode broadcast on Sunday evening is repeated Monday lunchtime^W early afternoon, Monday's evening episode is repeated on Tuesday afternoon and so on. The Friday evening episode is not repeated on Saturday afternoon. The Sunday omnibus contains all the episodes from the previous week and then the whole thing starts again on Sunday evening!
No, much to the chagrin of its devoted followers, especially those overseas. The reasons given by the BBC for the decision not to broadcast it on the World Service range amongst: a) it would take up too much air-time; b) it would not be worth the expense; and c) most of the 'natives' would not understand, let alone appreciate, it given i) they don't speak much English, and ii) they have not experienced, and are not ever likely to experience, the British life portrayed in the serial.
The good news is that after months of harassment, the BBC recently began to broadcast The Archers on the Internet. See 3.1.1
"Barwick Green" - it comes from a suite by Sir Arthur Wood called "My Native Heath", where all the movements are named after places in Yorkshire. Yes, it was re-recorded recently, and yes, Billy Connolly did suggest that it would make a better National Anthem for the UK.
The "Doom Music" is a later portion of "Barwick Green" that used to be used as the closing signature tune after momentous events. Unfortunately, the Vanessa Whitburns of this world feel that it is too melodramatic for such a serious portrayal of English country life, and we are unlikely to hear it again. Indeed, Keri Davies (Senior Producer, The Archers) has been quoted on umra as writing "Vanessa hates it... and has vowed it will not be used while she is Editor of The Archers".
Vanessa Whitburn is the Editor of "The Archers", a position which can't be entirely comfortable. Controversies during her reign have included the re-recording of the theme tune, and her admission that she would be unlikely to choose "Barwick Green" if she was to choose the theme tune today. She also has an ongoing agenda to render "The Archers" more hard-hitting, which seems to consist chiefly of extending Caroline Pemberton and Eddy Grundy's vocabularies. However, her redeeming features include her determination to expunge Mark Hebden, despite the fact that she was in hospital as a result of a similar accident shortly before transmission.
uk.media.radio.archers, or umra to our friends, is a newsgroup loosely devoted to discussion of The Archers. However, like any good conversation, it veers off-topic occasionally - something that is frowned upon in most newsgroups, but only in extremis on umra. This is because umra is not like other newsgroups - we like to think that we're one of the friendliest in the country, where flaming is frowned on, and tolerance is valued above most other virtues. We have yet to discover a relationship developing out of umra, but we live in hope. People who post to umra are generally referred to as "umrats".
The Archers Addicts are an official fan-club run by members of the Archers cast. One would-be Addict has described it as a "money-making ploy", but it seems to provide a lot of services to its members. See 3.2.1 for the address, or the BBC Web Page (3.1.1).
The Archers Anarchists claims to defend the "real listeners" to The Archers, and campaigns for painful deaths for the sickliest characters. It might be seen as an antidote to the Archers Addicts. See 3.1.3. and 3.2.2. for more details.
THE BOOK is "The Book of The Archers"; see section 3.3. It is currently the most authoritative reference work.
Is it?.
Many Archers plots appear to be adumbrated on umra. For example, Nelson Gabriel's black satin sheets (as discovered by Mrs. Perkins and Piggy) were mentioned on umra shortly before they reappeared on the programme. Conspiracy theorists believe that BBC cuts have forced Radio 4 to cut down on researchers ^W scriptwriters so that they are forced to glean ideas from umra. Sceptics claim that these are mere coincidences. Huh. They'll learn the error of their ways. Remember you heard it here first!
Most episodes feature just seven characters, although occasionally there are eight or even more. One side-effect of knowing this is that storylines are spoilt: the mathematically adept listener *knows* that, if David, Pat, Phil, Shula, Nigel, Kate and Usha have already appeared in an episode, all of their partners will be unable to make it to any dinner parties before the end of the episode. The reason for the Rule appears to be that we listeners, poor stupid fools that we are, can only cope with distinguishing between about seven different voices. (It is unlikely to be for reasons of thrift since Archers episodes are recorded en bloc).
A list of computer-related abbreviations can be found at: http://www.ucc.ie/info/net/acronyms/acro.html
Some common abbreviations that have grown up on umra are:
Umrat: Active member of umra
LSW: Lurking Script Writer
NAF: Non-Archers Fan
And some common names:
Jeck: Jack Woolley
Piggy: Peggy Woolley
St. S (or St. Shula): Shula Hebden-Lloyd, nee Archer
The Beetle: Vanessa Whitburn (VW = Beetle)
More can be found on Penny's nickname site: http://www.bigwig.net/umra/nicks.html
This section has been removed for 2 reasons:
1. It gives me less work to do
2. I'm not sure it is a particularly sensible idea
Al's list of umrat web pages can be found at: http://www.betterwords.u-net.com/umrat_home_pages.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers
This is also the link to follow for webcasts. Remember to check your timezone.
http://www.lowfield.co.uk/archers
http://www.folkcorp.co.uk/archers/
Their website is: http://www.thearchers.co.uk
The only sensible (?) alternative to the Addicts: http://www.folkcorp.co.uk/archers/
Still in existence? Anyone?
The Book of the Archers by Patricia Greene, Charles Collingwood and Hedli Niklaus
(Michael Joseph, 1994)
Jennifer Aldridge's Archers Cookbook by Angela Piper
(David and Charles, 1994)
The Archers Addicts Official Map of Ambridge
(Old House Books, Sutton Mead, Moretonhamstead, Devon, TQ13 8PW, 1994)
Who's Who In Ambridge
(Send GBP 1.95 incl. post and packaging payable to 'BBC' to: Who's Who in Ambridge, PO Box 534, Erdington, Birmingham)
Audio Cassettes from the BBC Radio Collection:
Vintage Archers; Vintage Archers 2; The Archers - The Wedding.
(BBC Enterprises, Woodlands, 80 Wood Lane, London, W12 0TT)
The Archers Omnibus by Jock Gallacher (BBC Books, 1990)
The Archers Book of Farming and The Countryside by Anthony Parkin (BBC Books, 1989)
The Archers Official Companion by William Smethurst (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1987)
The Archers, The First Thirty Years by William Smethurst (Eyre Methuen, 1980)
The Archers Quiz Book by Liz Rigby (BBC Books, 1988)
Forever Ambridge by Norman Painting (Michael Joseph, 1975)
The Ambridge Book of Country Cooking by William Smethurst (Eyre Methuen)
The Archers Country Cookbook by Mollie Harris (Hutchison, 1977)
The Archers - A Slice of My Life by Godfrey Baseley (Sidgwick and Jackson, 1971)
To the Victor the Spoils by Jock Gallagher (BBC Books, 1988)
Return to Ambridge by Jock Gallagher (BBC Books, 1988)
Borchester Echoes by Jock Gallagher (BBC Books, 1988)
Ambridge: An english village through the ages by Jennifer Aldridge John Tregorran (William Smethurst), Borchester Press (in association with Methuen, 1981)
The Ambridge Years by Dan Archer (William Smethurst Anthony Parkin) (Michael Joseph/Rainbird, 1984)
The Archers Intervene by Geoffrey Webb Edward J Mason (Heinemann, 1956)
Map of Ambridge: Map by Robert Jones, Accompanying text by John Williams (David Charles 1986)
Unheard of Ambridge by Merrily Harpur (Penguin, 1989) - strips from the Listener, 1988-9
Ambridge Summer, Keith Miles (Tandem, 1975)
Doris Archer's Ambridge Diary (BBC, 1972)
Spring at Brookfield by Brian Hayles (Tandem, 1975)
Rural class struggles in Ambridge by Fred Borage, illustrated by Tintoretto Sheepdip (November Books, 1982)
The Archers of Ambridge by Geoffrey Webb Edward J Mason (Newnes, 1954)
Doris Archer's Diary (exists according to Robin Fairbairns)
Twenty-Five years of The Archers
"The Bowmen" - A Hancock skit on The Archers. (Available on video)
Graham Allsopp, Malcolm Austen, Tim Biller, John Bray, Rosie Burroughs, John Clegg, Chris Cook, Owen Dunn, Robin Fairbairns, Malcolm Farmer, Martin Fiddler, Alan Fitch, Iain Fleming, J. P. Gilliver, Pat Hanby, Richard Herring, Sarah Hill, Michael Hopkins, Andy Howard, Ian, Timothy Lee, Jim Leeder, Paul McAuley, Glyn Pollington, Tim Reid, Steve Riddle, Andy Seagroatt, Brenda Selwyn, Sal Spring, Stephen Turner, Will Stevens, Chris Walshaw, John Whalley, Morrells' brewery.
Chris McMillan, Robin Fairbairns, Peter Hesketh, Penny Mayes, Nick Odell, Ian Wilson, Rachael Reynolds, Stephen Bowden. If there's anyone missing, please let me know.
Last updated: 07/09/2000