25 Years Ago - The Way Things Were - Gossip From Beckindale 1983 - Part 2...

TV Times, 19-25 February 1983. The synopsis for the episode of Emmerdale Farm broadcast on 22/2/ reads:

Jackie Merrick seems keen to settle in at Emmerdale. But he soon realises he has much to learn.

What were the details of this storyline?

When Jackie found an old butter churn in one of the outbuildings at Emmerdale Farm, he thought it might make a nice ornament. But Dolly, who was already making her own wool, was fired with the ambition to use it...

Annie exclaimed at the find "It's Granny Sugden's old churn! Where'd you find that?"

She pointed out that if the churn was to be used, it would need a stand.

Jackie set to work without consulting Matt, who happened upon the lad working on the stand some time later. He expressed concern at the lack of proper carpentry joints, and the use of nails instead of screws. But Jackie shrugged Matt's doubts off.

That night at the farmhouse, Pat, Dolly and Matt assembled...

... for the grand entrance of the butter churn, complete with Jackie's new stand.

Jackie gave his audience a brief demonstration...

... and the stand fell apart.

Jackie was furious - after all his work! - but Matt offered to help him make a new stand.

And the following day that's just that what they did.

Unknown to Jackie and Matt, Jack happened upon the scene and was glad to see his son was finally settling in at the farm.

1980-1985 - Changes At Emmerdale Farm...

The folks at Emmerdale Farm in the summer of 1984.

The first half of the '80s saw tremendous change at Emmerdale Farm, with Jack returning from his travels in 1980, and then marrying Pat Merrick in 1982. This meant that Pat and her daughter Sandie moved into the farmhouse. Young Jackie Merrick rebelled against the notion that Jack was his biological father and didn't settle at the farm. The hot-headed lad landed himself in quite a lot of bother, finally ending up living under the watchful eye of the Reverend Donald Hinton at St Mary's Vicarage.

When sister Sandie announced she was pregnant in 1983, Jackie moved into Emmerdale to keep an eye on her - but shortly afterwards she decamped, joining her father Tom in Aberdeen.

Andy Longthorn, the father of Sandie's baby, was beaten up by Jackie Merrick.

Jackie stayed on, working out his difficulties with Jack.

Sandie returned to the farm after the birth of her baby daughter, which she had had adopted.

Seth Armstrong became a very good friend to young Jackie.

Pat found it difficult to settle to a farming way of life at first, but she was soon wading in, helping out in the fields and keeping a pet goat, Annabelle, which wreaked havoc at the farm and in the village.

Jack was getting into a bit of a muddle with the financial side of things, so Annie asked Henry Wilks to take on the role he'd originally envisaged for himself when Emmerdale Farm Ltd was formed - financial manager. Henry agreed.

Why Jack strayed with Karen Moore from Hotten Market was not easy to explain. He'd set himself against the family with an extragavant purchase of cattle to upgrade his Freisian herd, and Karen lent a sympathetic ear to his problems. And one thing led to another...

Finally, Pat followed Jack to Karen's flat and told him: go home with her or never see her again.

Jack went home with Pat.

Joe meanwhile took up a new career at NY Estates in 1980. But life became increasingly fraught under boss Alan Turner, who arrived in 1982. Romance with vicar's daughter Barbara Peters in 1983 brightened things for Joe, but the problems with Alan were not going away. Finally, Joe took up an offer from NY's managing director, Christopher Meadows, to work at the company's beef operation in France. He hoped to make a fresh start there with Barbara, but she broke off their relationship and went to London. Joe left England but would return to live in Beckindale later in the decade.

Poor Joe - romantic good fortune was never his.

For the Skilbecks, there was one tragedy and two happy events: Dolly suffered a miscarriage in 1980, but, happily, a son, Samuel David, was born to the couple in 1982. The Skilbeck family moved into a two-bedroomed extension at Emmerdale.

The Christening of Samuel David Skilbeck in 1983.

Sam Pearson was aging but agile for almost half of the 1980s. His vegetable plot continued to flourish, he enjoyed a gossip with Amos or a spot of competition with Seth and continued to uphold his Christian way of life.

The era held its sorrows and upsets for Sam - he was greatly distressed by Sandie's pregnancy "out of wedlock", and his grandson Joe's affair with Barbara Peters, the Reverend Hinton's married daughter. Sam and the modern world had been at odds for a long time.

But there were many happy times - including a luxury cruise with daughter Annie which he won in a competition.

Sam died in late November 1984. He retired to bed after a very happy evening - an evening of triumph, which saw his pumpkin win first prize at the annual village show.

The next morning, Annie took him a cup of tea up to his bedroom to find he'd passed away in the night. Sam's loss was keenly felt at Emmerdale Farm and in the village of Beckindale.

As the new year of 1985 dawned, the Sugdens and Skilbecks could only wonder what the second half of the decade held in store for them...

The '80s Were Best!

1983: Annie advises Sandie to tell her mother that she is pregnant.

I've had several e-mails since starting this blog. Thanks to those who have got in touch and for the good wishes. Brian from the Wirral has written:

I'm so glad you're covering Emmerdale Farm from the 1980's. The show was in its prime and it was ceasing to live in the past like it did in the 70's. The 70's soaps got off on nostalgia too much. In the 80's, Sandie's pregnancy storyline reflected the plight of a couple of girls I knew at my comp. school and there were other great storylines. The Jack and Karen scenario was commonplace in the 1970's, let alone the 1980's, so RESPECT to Kevin Laffan's memory, but I don't know why he hated the story so much.

The other side of the coin was the introduction of Al Dixon who took on Walter's role. I always thought he looked sort of striking sitting there at the pub in his cap, but also really funny. Classic! Then there was Caroline Bates and Alan Turner and my hero ERIC POLLARD! the dashing anti hero of Emmerdale. And Amos and Henry were great, as was Seth. And Annie was still cooking on that old fashioned "Aga" stove thing! "Annie's Aga Saga" we called it!

I like reading this because it makes me remember so much. I shall keep reading!

Thanks, Brian. The blog basically covers the 1980s because I have material from that decade, but I am particularly fond of the Emmerdale Farm era from 1980-1987!

25 Years Ago - The Way Things Were - Gossip From Beckindale 1983 - Part 1...

When Grandad Pearson was presented with fish fingers for dinner, he was not impressed. "I never thought I'd ever see them served up in this house!"

"Now you have," said Annie, rather sternly. "So eat up and stop blethering!"

"To tell you the truth, Annie, I don't know how to start eating 'em," said Grandad.

Jackie stuck in his four penn'orth: "Oh, that's easy - you just pick 'em up and put 'em in your mouth."

Sam was most unhappy: "This is not the way the Lord made fish, lad - that's all I'm saying. I know how to eat fish."

Pat had bought the fish fingers because Sandie liked them, but Sam was adamant...

... fresh fish - and indeed fresh food in general - was best. "That's nowt like fresh food, is there, Annie, eh? It's got a kind of life to it."

Annie made a balancing comment - pointing out that the freezer did have its uses. But Sam was not convinced.

Emmerdale Farm 15th Anniversary Special, 1987

A 15th anniversary magazine published by Associated Magazines Ltd in 1987. Lots to read - including a "Who's Who", a farming year review, a range of recipes and even a Beckindale characters' astrology section. This is a great investment for all fans of 1980s Emmerdale Farm, or those interested in finding out more. Copies regularly turn up on eBay.

Relive some '80s storylines - remember the birth of Sam Skilbeck in 1982?

Enjoy some (now) nostalgic photographs...

Old scandal - Joe Sugden and Barbara Peters had the village agog in 1983 and caused much distress for Barbara's father, the Reverend Donald Hinton, vicar of Beckindale.

Joe helped Beckindale win in 1986!

Jackie Merrick fell down a disused mine shaft in 1987. The fall gave him time to ponder the recent past and prepare for his end. This time he survived, however fate decreed that he wouldn't make it out of the 1980s.

Make Seth's cap!

Ian Sharrock

Back to the '70s - far grimmer and far more stagnant than recent chortlings and hype would have you believe. Thinking back, and reading through '70s newspapers, I always wonder what on earth the BBC was playing at with their I Love 1970s series, as quite a lot of the pop culture featured crops up in the wrong years and, on about eight separate occasions, in the wrong decade! The series mercilessly plundered the 1960s and 1980s. Anyway, here's Ian Sharrock featured in the Sun, December 13, 1975 - about to appear on BBC1 in the pop operetta Smike - previously shown on BBC2.

And here's Ian as Jackie Merrick, at home on the farm, in the 1980s.

1985: Farm Favourite

Daily Mirror, 23 May, 1985:

EastEnders is challenging Emmerdale Farm in the TV ratings. The latest viewing figures reveal that both programmes have between the 12 and 13 million mark, but in the week ending May 12 EastEnders leapt by 200,000. As the cockney soap has been going for only three months compared to the 12 years of their rustic rivals, it's not surprising the BBC are celebrating.

Well, yes. But it should be pointed out that Emmerdale Farm had not had the advantages of the Albert Square drama - loads of costly publicity and a peak viewing time slot across the nation from the outset!

The article also picks up on old Walter - four years after Al Dixon stepped into the role, and the real-life romance and marriage of Clive Hornby and Helen Weir, Pat and Jack Sugden in the serial.

The Emmerdale '80s Quiz Part 2

Here we go again, folks. Chuck away that ipod and fancy computer, get out your Nik Kershaw cassettes, your Walkman, your ZX Spectrum, your Rubik's Cube and your brick mobile, gel your hair, slam on your shoulder pads, and you're ready for the Emmerdale '80s Quiz, round 2!

1) The opening scenes of this 1989 episode showed an apparently deserted road vehicle (with the radio belting out the Pet Shop Boys and Dusty Springfield's hit What Have I Done To Deserve This?), and a pair of feet. What on earth was going on?

2) Here's Eric Pollard making mischief in the '80s. In which year did he arrive?






3) Seth and pal. Name that donkey!





4) Al Dixon was hugely popular as the Woolpack's silent regular Walter in the early-to-mid 1980s. But Walter wasn't Mr Dixon's first silent role in the show. What was it?




5) 1987: gale force winds wreaked havoc, Nokia released its first hand-held mobile phone - the Cityman, and the yuppie dream came unstuck as the Stock Market crashed. The spirit of protest was so strong in Beckindale in 1987 that Jack Sugden got himself arrested! What was going on?

6) All sorts of news in 1989, including the Fall of the Berlin Wall. In Beckindale, this poor woman had a wandering husband that year. What was her name and what was the name of her husband's lover?


7) What was the occasion being celebrated here?




8) Amos Brearly founded a short-lived local newspaper in 1981. What was it called?




9) The Reverend Donald Hinton's daughter had an affair with Joe Sugden in 1983. What was the character's name?


10) Jackie Merrick married Kathy Bates in which year?


11) Yes, it's Ross Kemp pre-Grant Mitchell, playing a role in Emmerdale Farm. What was his character's name - and why was he interested in Dolly?


12) In which year did Mrs Bates begin work as Alan Turner's secretary?


13) Who played Doreen the barmaid?











14) A young Emmerdale Farm actor of the '80s pictured in 1987. Who is he, and which character did he play?


15) Joe Sugden's pal and much more to Sandie Merrick. Name the character and the actor.






ANSWERS

1) Jackie Merrick, waiting to shoot a troublesome fox for a bet, had accidentally shot and killed himself. 2) 1986 3) Jenny 4) He appeared in a props photograph as Jacob Sugden, (alongside Sheila Mercier as Annie Sugden). The photograph stood on the farmhouse mantelpiece in the show’s early days. 5) Protests against a proposed nuclear dump near Beckindale. 6) Lynn Whiteley/Rachel Hughes 7) The show’s tenth anniversary in 1982. 8) “The Beckindale Bugle” 9) Barbara Peters 10) 1988 11) Graham Lodsworth - he was Dolly’s son. 12) 1984 13) Sandra Gough 14) Cy Chadwick who played Nick Bates. 15) Phil Pearce, played by Peter Alexander.

The Emmerdale '80s Quiz Part 1

Stuffed full of turkey, mince pies and nuts? Filled with Christmas cheer or having an attack of the "bah humbugs"? Whatever your state this festive season, whether you've celebrated too much, just enough, or not at all, the first of my Emmerdale '80s quiz sessions is just the breath of good olde English air - from the glorious county of Yorkshire - that you need to shake off that festive fatigue! No prizes, this is just for fun.

1) 1983 - drop that ghetto blaster, stop gawping at the unveiling of the first hand-held mobile phone and answer me this: why was Seth Armstrong demanding money from silent Walter this year?

2) 1982 - deelyboppers, leggings and pixie boots were the fashions, the ZX Spectrum arrived and a long-awaited baby for Matt and Dolly Skilbeck. Can you name him?

3) Annabelle the goat wreaked havoc in 1983 - she even ate Amos' cap. Which central character of the time did she belong to?

4) The World Wide Web, which brought the Internet into all our homes in the 1990s, was invented by Tim Berners Lee in 1989, and over at Emmerdale Farm the man pictured on the right caused a lot of trouble for the Sugdens. Can you name him and the actor who played him?

5) Drama at the vicarage as the Reverend Donald Hinton is held captive by a man with a shotgun. What was the name of the character with the gun?



6) Amos Brearly's new hobby set the village buzzing in 1985. What was it?

7) Meg Armstrong, wife of the legendary Seth, had a pet name for him. What?




8) In which year did Mr Turner first appear?







9) 1985 was the year of the first mobile phone call in England, indeed the whole of Britain, and Eammon Andrews claimed a This Is Your Life victim down on the farm. Who was the person in the limelight?



10) Sam Pearson won a competition prize in 1983 which he shared with his daughter Annie. What was it?





ANSWERS

1) Seth left his spectacles on the bar and Walter put his pint pot down on them - smashing them. Seth demanded recompense! 2) Samuel David Skilbeck 3) Pat Sugden 4) Denis Rigg, played by Richard K Franklin. 5) Derek Warner 6) Bee keeping 7) “Poppet” 8) 1982 9) Sheila Mercier 10) A luxury cruise.