I Am A Swede

R.I.P Ms Rigg We've lost both Cathy Gale and Emma Peel this year......

Thank you. Zoe was a wonderful character, and it's so tragic that Leah isn't here anymore.

Things are heating up in Belarus.... Opposition leaders Maxim Znak and Maria Kolesnikova have been detained by security forces, and Nobel Prize laureate Svetlana Alexievich is being protected by foreign diplomats in her home to prevent the same thing happening to her. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54079337

I guess that's because we care about these characters in a way that TPTB don't. We invite them into our homes on a regular basis and we grow to love them over the years. Longtime characters on long-running shows stay with us through the years while other people come and go in our lives. I was only around 4-5 years old when I watched Emmerdale Farm for the first time in the late 1970s and I grew up with Annie Sugden in my life, so I naturally have a very strong connection with her, which is why her death means so much to me. I seriously doubt that anyone in charge at Emmerdale now has that kind of connection to the character of Annie that I, and other longtime viewers, have. Correct me if I'm wrong, my knowledge of the history of Guiding Light is somewhat limited, but wasn't the character of Bert Bauer killed off much closer in time to the death of her portrayer? That makes it even worse that they could mishandle the tribute to her. In comparison, Annie Sugden has been absent from Emmerdale for more than 25 years, and very few (hardly any really) characters with ties to her remain on the canvas. This makes it a little more understandable that the show failed so miserable to pay tribute to her. It's still inexcusable mind you, considering Annie's importance to the show.

Aren't we lucky. Look at this marvelous tribute they put together for Annie..... They put so much time and effort into this. (This is from the official Emmerdale Youtube channel.)

A military laboratory in Germany has apparently found proof that Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who fell ill during a flight last month, was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent. It's the same poison that was used against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury 2018. Germany now demands answers from Russia over this. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54002880

I didn't even think of the Skilbecks! Technically none of them are Sugdens of course, but Annie would think of them as family all the same. I don't recall any mention of any other relatives on the Sugden side of the family before, and for some reason I always pictured Jacob as an only child. The Pearson side of the family tree had a few representatives on the show during the early years though, like Rosemary Kendall and the Crossthwaites.

That quote looks worse than it actually was. It was even Victoria who said it: Nobody picked a fight with Annie Sugden and got away with it. What I'm most amazed about is that they actually acknowledged what's happened to the Sugdens... I do wish that this scene could have had Eric or even Kim with Victoria instead of Marlon. You know, people who actually had a history with Annie. Since Victoria is leaving Emmerdale for a while to visit never-before-mentioned relatives I think it's quite obvious that this scene with her and Marlon at Jack's grave is all we're gonna get. I can't say I'm surprised. I wouldn't put it past the people in charge to have deliberately picked this moment in time to kill off Annie to escape having to put on any kind of tribute. *bitter*

Would you like a slightly more realistic answer or the dream scenario? One thing I would absolutely do, in both cases, would be to return to Esholt, the village where they filmed the show for 20 years. Annie deserves a send-off in the "real" Emmerdale. It goes without saying of course that it would be completely and utterly Dingle-free. The old, classic theme song would naturally be used, for the opening and over the end credits. Maybe even the classic opening and end titles that were used from 1975 to 1989. Realistically the best we could hope for in terms of guest appearances would be Ryan Hawley (Robert), Kelvin Fletcher (Andy) and maybe Malandra Burrows (Kathy) and Luke Tittensor (Daz) In my dream scenario we would also get Frederick Pyne (Matt), Jean Rogers (Dolly), Diana Davies (Caroline Bates), Jane Hutcheson (Sandie) and Gail Harrison (Marian Wilks). Since Leah Bracknell has sadly passed away, Zoe would be unable to attend, but would send flowers. Same with Betty. It's so frustrating that so many characters who were important to Annie over the years has been unnecessarily killed off. Not only all her children, but also grandchildren (Jackie, Sam and Sally) and other relatives like Sarah, Kate, Pat, Mark and Rachel. I would make it a special double episode, and show tons of flashbacks of Annie with grandad Sam, Jack, Peggy, Joe, Henry and Amos. Of the current cast the only characters who would be prominently featured would be Victoria, Diane, Eric and Kim, with appearances from Laurel, Pearl, Bob, Leyla, Brenda, David and Harriet. I'm sure more ideas will come up, but this is a start.

It is sad. However, I don't think they would have done justice to Annie or Sheila even under the best of circumstances. Celebrating and honouring this shows past is not high on the agenda for the people in charge, and hasn't been for a very, very long time.

And so it has happened.....

Funny what you find on Youtube when you're not even looking..... Like this, the delightfully cheerful theme song to an old 1990s favourite; "The House of Eliott". Created by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, who also created "Upstairs, Downstairs"

The only person to umpire a Wimbledon men's singles final and also commentated on them for both radio and tv. I remember him well as a commentator on Eurosport in the late 1990s when I used to watch a lot of tennis.

That is too often the case, isn't it? People who have no interest in what the demonstration is really about use the opportunity to start trouble.