Watching, waiting, listening

I don’t think I’m the only Archers listener around here, am I?  If not, then perhaps I’m not the only one to be amused at the latest storyline and the way the BBC has taken a multimedia approach to the story.

Firstly, there was this.

Messages from Ruth appeared on Mumsnet and a whole conversation followed.

Then, last night, there were weather reports for Borsetshire on the BBC.  I even watched a weather forecast for the area.

Then, just now, I had an email with a live update and a flood warning for the Am vale area.

I love it!  So clever to embrace all the social media, round out the programme with other strands of information and background details to enrich the story.  After every programme, The Archers FB page hums with thoughts, opinions and general chatter.  Even if the current storyline is raising eyebrows and receiving a fair bit of negative feedback, you’ve got to hand it to the producers for creating a stir.

So in a couple of hours, we’ll drop in and see what’s what, learn how the flood is progressing – except, is it Tuesday lunchtime in Ambridge, or is it Monday evening?  I’m never very sure…

Meanwhile, we’re watching another website with regular updates of water levels.  This one’s measuring the current depth of the Areyarwady River (formerly known as the Irrawaddy) in Myanmar.  We’re especially interested in the stretch between Bagan and Mandalay, because in just a couple of weeks from now, we’ll get on board and look forward to spending three lovely days on the Sanctuary Ananda as part of our adventures.

But our travel agent has warned us that the Areyarwady isn’t flowing quite so fast as the Am right now and there’s a chance that we might not be able to sail the whole way and might have to reach Mandalay by alternative means. So, I’m watching weather forecasts and wondering what to pack.

Myanmar Daily Weather Report

(Issued at 7:00 pm on Monday 2nd March, 2015)

BAY INFERENCE: Weather is partly cloudy in the Andaman Sea and South Bay and generally fair elsewhere in the Bay of Bengal.

FORECAST VALID UNTIL EVENING OF THE 3rd March, 2015: Light rain or thundershowers are likely to be isolated in Taninthayi Region and Kachin State, weather will be partly cloudy in Upper Sagaing, Yangon and Ayeyarwady Regions, Kayin and Mon States and generally fair in the remaining Regions and States. Degree of certainty is (60%).

STATE OF THE SEA: Seas will bemoderate in Myanmar waters.

OUTLOOK FOR SUBSEQUENT TWO DAYS: Likelihood of isolated light rain or thundershowers in the Northern Myanmar areas.

FORECAST FOR NAYPYITAW AND NEIGHBOURING AREA FOR 3rd March, 2015: Generally fair weather.

FORECAST FOR YANGON AND NEIGHBOURING AREA FOR 3rd March, 2015: Partly cloudy.

FORECAST FOR MANDALAY AND NEIGHBOURING AREA FOR 3rd March, 2015: Generally fair weather.

Friends have suggested a pair of wellies.