Monday 22 December 2008

Middle Ditch Christmas Special



This episode features in order of appearance

With the financial crisis bearing down on Middle Ditch,
Christmas appears to be about to be cancelled.

Sorani Mkandawire as The Announcer
Jeremy Drake as Farmer Drake
David Caddy as Howard
Sue Tarrant as Susan
Monique Caddy as Barbara
Rowena Kitchen as Lady Annabel
Brian Hinton M.B.E. as Randolph Minton M.P.
Jay Ramsay as The Bishop
Keith Walton as Jim
Janine Caddy as Libby

Written and directed by David Caddy and Monique Caddy

78 comments:

Unknown said...

I'll come back later to listen when my eyelids aren't begging me to go sleep.

A very merry Christmas to all those who make Middle Ditch possible!

Reader Wil said...

Ah a new episode! Wonderful! Yes I am also on facebook but that's because my daughters want me there. In fact I don't know exacltly what I have to do. It's not so well organized as blogger. Anyway will you become my friend? LOL

jmsjoin said...

Excellent Monique and everyone! I even had my wife here listening to it and she thought it was great! She was reminiscing the way it used to be with the radio. I really hope this gets the recognition it deserves some day!

Anonymous said...

Thanks to all the Middleditch Team for all the wonderful entertainment this year. Merry Christmas everyone and wishing you a great 2009 with lots more fun to be had with the programme.

Middle Ditch said...

SJ, we are anxiously awaiting your return.

Reader Wil, I'm going there now. Thank you both for visiting and a very happy Christmas.

Middle Ditch said...

Jim and Aggie, thank you for those kind words.

We only wrote this Christmas special last week, recorded it this Sunday, edited and added the sound effects this morning.

Both of you have a lovely Christmas and a happy and peaceful new year.

Charles Gramlich said...

Excellent work all. a great episode.

jmsjoin said...

I am sure you have been busy during the season anyway! I was wondering when you were going to come out with this! Merry Christmas!

London Word Festival said...

Lovely stuff, really enjoyed this Christmas episode!

Ruela said...

Lovely, Merry xmas ;)


all the best for you.

Michelle said...

Oh well done everybody, you're all so good!

I loved "two randy ferrets in a bag". It'll have me grinning all day.

And Brian, you've outdone yourself.

Merry Christmas.

jed said...

Thank you for the laugh. It went down a treat.

Merry Christmas everyone and thank you for listening.

Anonymous said...

          *
        MERRY
      MERRY
    & HAPPY
  TO MONIQUE
@ MIDDLE DITCH

    ¤ ¤ ¤

        /t.

Middle Ditch said...

Charles, thank you.

Jim, yes, I'm pretty tired and all the hard work hasn't even started yet.

Tom, welcome to Middle Ditch, quirky tales of village life.

Ruela, a very happy Christmas to you too.

Middle Ditch said...

Michelle, thanks for commenting. They are always so much appreciated. I also love that line. We changed it several times but in the end Jed came up with this one and it stayed.

Jed, thank you for commenting and thank you again for doing such an excellent job.

/t, it's great to see you here. A very happy Christmas to you too.

Rick said...

Wonderful! Merry Christmas to you and yours, Monique. You and your crew are becoming internet icons!

Middle Ditch said...

Thank you Rick, you are too kind. A very merry Christmas to you and your family.

David Caddy said...

Great that listeners are enjoying this Christmas Special.

Looking forward to more episodes in the new year.

A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our listeners.

Devin said...

I can't put into words how much I have enjoyed Middle Ditch! I am going to have to listen to the Christmas special again I enjoyed it so much. Peace and blessings to all of you at Middle Ditch -I am wishing you all a joyous holiday and I hope you all have a beautiful and bright 2009!!!! :-)

Devin said...

The introduction alone-hahahahahaha! :-) love you all!

..................... said...

HO HO HO and a HA HAH AH AHA HA HAH AH HA ..
that was great fun to listen to....
hope you and your family and all the cast of middle ditch have a joyous christmas and a happy new year!

Middle Ditch said...

Devin and Foam, thank you for commenting and a very happy Christmas to you both.

fizzycat said...

Very festive, all the best to yourself and the rest of the cast for Christmas and the New Year.

Janice Thomson said...

Gosh another excellent episode! I love listening to these :)
A very Merry Christmas to you and your family Monique. May peace, joy and happiness be yours in 2009.
Season's greetings to all those involved with Middle Ditch too.

PBS said...

Thank you for all of the great entertainment, I am really enjoying it all! Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!

Unknown said...

Will come back to listen but for now just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas!

sparringK9 said...

merry christmas to Lady M of MD!

David Caddy said...

Thanks for your Seasonal comments. Greatly appreciated.

Middle Ditch said...

Fizz, Janice, PBS, Absolute Vanilla and K9 thank you for your Christmas greetings and commenting. It's always so great to read them.

tut-tut said...

Great! Looking forward to following all these characters' antics in 2009. Love the sound effects.

Middle Ditch said...

tut-tut, thank you for visiting. The antics in the village will continue throughout 2009. I'm looking forward to seeing you then.

Emery Roth said...

Happy holiday and thanks for the visit to my blog. May the year ahead bring new triumphs to Middle Ditch.

Unknown said...

Another great episode and some really good bad singing at the end. To quote Monique "lol".

goatman said...

The best of the new year to you and your family and friends (I guess I may be one of those).
I really enjoy listening to your presentations. Reminds me of a US group from the 70's called Firesign Theater. But they did mainly humorous takeoffs on Sherlock Holmes' stories and such. I think they may still be around in some form or other.

Middle Ditch said...

Ted, I will be working hard on the new triumphs, script wise at least.

SJ, David came up with the idea of the singing at the end and Jed thought it would be fun to do the last line solo. We rehearsed it only once and It seems to work.

Happy new year to you both.

Middle Ditch said...

Goatman you are definitely one of my friends, it is always a pleasure to see you here. David knows about the Firesign Theater and if they are still around I shall google them to find out what they were (are) like.

A happy and creative new year to you and yours.

Hello Piggy said...

Hiiiiiiii :D
I am here and am going to listen to it, just let you know:)

Middle Ditch said...

Thanks Doreen, I can find you again now.

laughingwolf said...

season's blessings to you and yours, monique :D

Middle Ditch said...

Thank you Laughingwolf, I hope that you have a peaceful and creative new year.

Unknown said...

This was wonderful and I did not detect any rush to get it together at all. All in all it was another fun episode with a Christmas twist. Looking forward to your season in 2009.

Middle Ditch said...

Ricardo, you are very kind. I'm so glad that it sounds good. I can be, at times, too critical. Have a happy and creative new year.

KB said...

Hope you had a Merry Christmas. See you in the New Year :)

Middle Ditch said...

KB, thanks. A happy new year to you and yours and see you then.

Tina said...

yet again my noisy house wont let me listen lol. one day matey!

thought i wud leave you a courtessy comment anyway. have a great new year x

Middle Ditch said...

Thanks Tina, much appreciated courtesy comment. A happy new year to you and yours too.

Devin said...

I just wanted to take this time to wish the whole crew at Middle Ditch a wonderful and happy 2009 as we are getting so close! If connection holds will listen to the Christmas special again-thanks also so much for the heads up to David Caddy's wonderful blog-I could spend 2 hours there at a time and get more education and helpful information than I have got over a lifetime of American style 'Cliff-notes' education-I also want to wish everyone that comments here a wonderful 2009 also-MD is a treasure and I can't wait to hear the next episode!

David Caddy said...

Hi Devin,

Thank you for your good wishes. I am also looking forward to the new season of Middle Ditch episodes. Until then, enjoy some of the older ones!

laughingwolf said...

happy new year to you and yours, m'dear :D

Monique said...

Devin, a happy and creative new year to you and yours. The next episode will follow the story again and should be online in a few weeks time, if not before.

Thanks David.

Laughing Wolf thank you for your support. A happy new year to you too.

David John Caswell said...

Dear Middle Ditch,
Thanks for a good episode. The credit crunch effects everyone doesn't it! Have a great New Year and keep up the hard work providing us all with such entertainment!
David.

Monique said...

David, the credit crunch even seems to affect Father Christmas. The poor man had to cancel his visits and Brian, dressed as him, to the consternation of farmer Drake, had to face the angry mob.

Thanks for visiting and a happy new year to you and yours.

Ruela said...

HAPPY NEW YEAR MONIQUE!

Monique said...

A very happy new year to you Ruela and may it be a very creative one.

Chris Benjamin said...

the final scream was straight out of a horror flick. fun episode. we got quite the holiday storm here too. poor cats were stuck inside two days.

flyinamber said...

dear Monique,I wish you all the best in the new year!

Middle Ditch said...

Hey Ben, thanks for commenting. It's freezing here and talking about cats, mine is so lazy I have to forcibly put her outside otherwise she would stay indoors for ever. And even then she will scratch on the glass within minutes to come back in, only to walk straight to her cat box.

Middle Ditch said...

Fly! It's great to see you here again. You have been missed. Thanks for the visit.

Reader Wil said...

Hi Monique thanks for your comment. We were skating on New Year's day ( I was taking pictures) ,but it was already dark. About Facebook: It's a bit complicated I think. Too much information on one page. I only go there to show my photos to Karien, my daughter in Australia. Anyway I wish you and the entire team a very happy new year!

Middle Ditch said...

Reader Wil you have no idea how jealous I am. Ice skating! I do miss that so much! I used to ice skate loads when I lived there, on the lakes.

Happy new year.

Akasha Savage. said...

Happy New Year Middle Ditch, and I am going to start off 2009 by catching up with the episodes I've missed.
xx

Middle Ditch said...

Akasha, you have been missed. Happy new year.

Devin said...

Cant tell you how much I appreciate the comment under the post today-hehe I actually thought of turning the computer back on in the wee hours this morn and taking it down! I also so appreciate your sharing your stories over there-This was a fantastic episode-have listened to it 5 times now-cant wait for the next-love you all and happy new year!

Unknown said...

happy new year, Middle Ditch!

Leon1234 said...

Great episode!

Middle Ditch said...

Devin, thanks for being such a fan. It is wonderful to read your comments.

Hillblogger, happy new year to you and yours. I'll be over at you soon.

Leon, thank you.

Xeevo said...

Sorry for lackluster comment count, Monique! Kicking myself for being remiss. I've just this past few weeks started to see a light at the end of the tunnel where I could give something my full and undivided attention!

You are a writing and production inspiration to the likes of myself! Why is the show not of Radio 4 yet?! The Archers has had its chance by now...surely?

Loving "The Ditch".

TopChamp said...

ha! Merry Christmas is a bit late but Happy New Year's ok still I think!

(p.s. I'd comment on the content but I'm still listening).

David Caddy said...

Hi Rik and TopChamp,

Thank you for your comments. Monique has the flu and has been resting for the past few days. Hopefully, she will be back in a few day's time.

X. Dell said...

Well, a "Ho, ho, ho," or an "Oh, oh, oh," or a "Tee, hee, hee [Micahel Jackson Santa]," this was a fun expisode. I'm hoping that none of your visits or holiday stops were triple-booked:-)

Funny. I could picture Drake in the Santa suit too.

X. Dell said...

David, thanks for the 411.

Monique, get well soon.

Middle Ditch said...

X Dell, still very rough. Thanks for visiting and commenting.

The Boz said...

Well,Well Monique and David. What a blast from the past that was. So glorious to hear your dulcets and those of Jed and young Janine as well as the esteemed Mr Hinton MBE.

You have captured the Radio Drama aura well enough I fancy. Would love to say I've been following all along but my humble technology has only just learned to access. Now I'm faced with the immense backtrack - a task I feel well primed for after spending Xmas re-reading Dickens' Little Dorrit.

Is the credit crunch really biting your way? As one of the irascible journos who help fan the flames of such, I've yet to meet anyone up here truly aware of it as a reality. Life in the lakes trundles much as ever.

In fond and rural spirit, have a splendid 2009.

Much Love

Gary 'The Boz' Boswell

Middle Ditch said...

Well hello Gary The Boz Boswell. This is a surprise. Good to see you here and welcome to Middle Ditch quirky tales of village life.

This episode was fun writing specially with Brian having to take on the role of Father Christmas who had to cancel his visits due to the credit crunch.

All fiction of course but then again I have been told that sometimes this really happens.

Happy 2009 to you and yours Gary.

David Caddy said...

Welcome to the Boz. I hope that you enjoy the earlier episodes.

dan said...

love it well done jan

Middle Ditch said...

So good to see you here Dan, supporting Janine. Thank you for visiting

bestoffrm said...

I'll come back later to listen when my eyelids aren't begging me to go sleep.
A very merry Christmas to all those who make Middle Ditch possible!
Yazılı Soruları
Aşk Flashları
Cilt Bakımı