The Archers Anarchists' Survival Guide: Ambridge the Truth Revealed Book

Readers, this is an odd book. It's very entertaining, certainly, but even so, The Archers Anarchists' Survival Guide is strange indeed. Written by Ian Sanderson--who has already penned The Archers Anarchists' A-Z--this guide is aimed at a distinct sub grouping of the BBC radio 4 audience (ie not many folks at all). This is a shame because the writing is actually very good. Not only must readers be fans of the long-running radio soap, they should also have a sense of humour, a dislike of green wellies and an unflinching belief that Ambridge is in fact real life. Rather like a particularly bitter Terry Wogan phone-in, or a vitriolic Tony Hawks (Round Ireland With A Fridge, etc) appearance on I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue, Sanderson rails against his beloved home from home with abandon, sneering at its chinless residents, laughing at its production shortfalls (twigs underfoot? It must be winter!), and basically performing a thorough assassination of the whole shebang (it's probably even funnier if you know who he's talking about). Slapped in to fill up the pages are various quizzes and crosswords, as well as investigations into the Sausage war, and all sorts of murder and mayhem including research into the mysterious ranks of The Ambridge Disappeared. There are uneatable recipes and a few scoffing paragraphs about the official fanclub and its members, The Ambridge Anoraks, alternative endings to key Archers scenes, plus abuse for people called Trevor. Of course, Sanderson would not stand to hear such an attack from anyone else. Like many a fan, he'll criticise happily, until someone does it for real. So instead, safe in his public schoolboy's club 'in-jokes' he invites other true fans to poke fun at the little things, safe in the knowledge that the big world of Ambridge is keeping its fans. At the back of the book there is actually an address to join the club! Who knows? If you didn't listen to the Archers before, perhaps you will now. Of course, you'll only ever know the characters by their irreverent Anarchist names... --Helen Lamont.Read More