I first came across the Archers in my boyhood and I have been a regular follower, with few breaks, of the world’s longest running soap opera since the late 1970’s. I recently had an experience as a result of posting on the Facebook page that brings together fellow Archer’s followers and it provided a salutary lesson I want to share.

The first post was in response to someone asking the question when they became an Archers listener and what their memories of Archers story lines were at the time. My response was: “Sometime in the late 1970’s and no I can’t remember the storylines at that time. But I do remember my all time favourite character: Nelson Gabriel – him who owned a wine bar and an antiques business, had scrapes with the law, e.g. Ambridge’s own Sergeant Barry, a lovable rogue, world weary and wise, a confidant and friend to the disaffected, e.g. a wayward Elizabeth, with a great dad, country yokel, Walter. Yes, I remember all that and more – now much missed”. What followed was a pleasant exchange with those who shared their own agreeable memories, particularly concerning some of the same old favourites that I could remember, such a dear Marjorie Antrobus.

I also posted something concerning the latest stand out story line featuring a car accident that involved 19-year-old George Grundy, had been trying to cover up his own involvement and shift the blame onto others. I recognised the storyline was veering toward “corny” but I found it compelling nonetheless. I also made mention that I had only returned recently to regularly listening to The Archers and the reason I had stayed away in the first place was that I found the storylines unconvincing and added that I did not like it pandering to political correctness and wokeism. It was my reference to wokeism that proved to be the equivalent of waving a red rag to a bull to at least two responders, one making the point when anyone mentions their opposition to woke they would from then on ignore anything else they said. Rather than cause further upset or get sidetracked, and wanting a quiet life, I decided it best I’d take my post down.

But it got me thinking about the need to be careful when I post anything on social media and that if I were to bring up anything that could upset someone I should at least define terms such as wokeism. According to Wikipedia: “Woke is an adjective derived from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) originally meaning alertness to racial prejudice and discrimination. Beginning in the 2010s, it came to be used as slang for a broader awareness of social inequalities such as racial injustice, sexism, and denial of LGBT rights. Woke has also been used as shorthand for some ideas of the American Left involving identity politics and social justice, such as white privilege and reparations for slavery in the United States”. As a result of Google search concerning the pros and cons of wokeism (wokism) I found the following statement (I agreed with): “On the positive side, wokism has helped to raise awareness of social inequalities and to challenge systems of oppression. It has also inspired many people to work for social justice. On the negative side, wokism has been criticized for being too focused on identity politics and intolerant of opposing viewpoints”.

I suppose, like many who follow soap operas on TV, or in this case radio (and The Archers is the only one I do follow), it is a form of escapism and a pleasant distraction from the harder realities of life. From its earliest days, the Archers, which began on 1 January 1951 (a few months before I was born), was presented as “an everyday story of country folk” and I daresay it was this that will have attracted long-time listeners such as myself. I liked, for example, its farming focus, centered around the Archers dynasty, led these days by David and Ruth along with other farming families, including one that contrasted well, given their outlook on life: the Grundys.

In this everyday story of country folk two-minute clip (see here) we are reminded of the time Nigel fell off a roof to his death and of Helen stabbing her abusive husband. The pertinent point here is, while I miss stories such as those concerning the latest rivalries at the flower and produce show, in order to present reality it needed storylines such as these two (and there are many others I could cite) that were brought out in the clip. My gripe and that which was alluded to in the Facebook post I decided to take down was that in order to attract a modern audience it went too far from what had once drew me in to being an avid Archers listener in the first place.  

I have written previously on Archers relating topics, including here concerning My top ten favourite Archers’ characters. I dare say, wokeism or no, I will continue to be a fan, until my dying day.