This may take a while, but here are all eleven series of this fabulous comedy. Each series is zipped. Most fit into a single zip, but several of the larger ones required a split zip. As always, just open either of the two and it should combine them. I've tested all of them.
Ladies of Letters by Lou Wakefield & Carole Hayman
All eleven series of barking mad misadventures for those two elderly ladies behaving badly.
Starring Prunella Scales & Patricia Routledge as Irene Spencer & Vera Small.
The ladies of letters first bond whilst tipsy and tangoing at Irene Spencer's daughter's wedding reception. Thereafter, their fiercely competitive correspondence charts the ups and downs of their daily lives, from Vera Small's home at Far Shores Trailer Park to Irene's trip 'down under' to visit her daughter Lesley.
Combining domestic disaster with acerbic put-downs, absurdist observation with humorous exclamations, these letters offer a candid communication that only the closest of friends (or should that be 'enemies'?) could sustain!
Irresistibly funny in its depiction of the foibles of female friendship, Ladies of Letters is a sparkling collection of letters full of humour and vitriol in equal measure.
Vera and Irene reveal their exploits and adventures to each other in their letters and e-mails, but sometimes their correspondence becomes fractious when one accuses the other of being an alcoholic or engages in too much one-upmanship. Nevertheless, when the chips are down and the going gets tough, each is instantly there for the other, like a charge of the cavalry albeit with a rather sarcastic bugle call.
Other recurring characters include people we occasionally hear, as well as some we only hear about:
Howard Small ("Howie"), Vera's gay son, who runs a sheep farm near the village of Great Shagthorn with his business and personal partner, Anthony Flowers ("Ants"). Howie and Ants have a daughter, "Small-Flowers" currently known as "Flo".
Karen, Vera's daughter, with whom she has a difficult relationship. Karen's second husband, St. John (pronounced "sin-john"), is a veterinarian with whom Vera has an excellent relationship. St. John is also revealed to be the biological father of Baby Small-Flowers; They have two children together - Nelson (who has unusually long legs) and Millie (so-named after her premature arrival around the time of the new "Minnellium" [sic])
Sabrina Small, Karen's daughter from her first marriage;
Lesley, Irene's daughter, who lives in Australia with her second husband Brian and their two children, Cheryl-Marie (from Lesley's first marriage; 'Cheryl' pronounced "CHAIR-ull") and Bubbles. Brian has noticeably had a hair transplant, and he has a squint that Lesley finds embarrassing;
Christopher Thoroughgood, Irene's long-lost son, elder half-brother of Lesley, who was born of an "illicit and unwanted infringement" of Irene's maidenhood and, thus, was put up for adoption. Christopher's first wife was Margaret and they had two sons, "Little Christopher" and Tommy. Christopher's second wife is Michaela, who appears, with their baby daughter Sophie-Irene, out of the blue in Ladies of Letters Crunch Credit;
Youssou, Vera's "adoptive grandson" a former child soldier in an un-named African country and brought back to the UK with her after her 'Global' adventure.
Beryl "next door", who was Irene's neighbour and has recurrent medical problems with her bottom.
Nelly Thoroughgood, Christopher's adoptive mother.
Vera and Irene always strive to outdo each other, whether with their recipes, holiday destinations or who has the best grandchildren. The humour is mostly derived from the lack of insight of the two main protagonists, but there is also a somewhat melancholic theme that lurks just beneath the surface at the way these two women are taken for granted by their respective families. By the end of 2004's "Ladies of Letters Spring Clean", it is implied that there has been something of a parting of the ways between the women and their kinfolk. Later series tend to heavily use malapropisms for comic effect.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ladies of Letters"...and More
Series 1 and 2
The ladies of letters first bond whilst tipsy and tangoing at Irene Spencer's daughter's wedding reception. Thereafter, their regular correspondence charts the ups and downs of their daily lives, from Vera Small's home at Far Shores Trailer Park to Irene's trip 'down under' to visit her daughter Lesley. Happily widowed, but perpetually preoccupied by errant offspring, the lives of Irene and Vera are punctuated by church fetes and amateur dramatics, and perpetuated through the pen pot and postal system. Combining domestic disaster with acerbic put-downs, absurdist observation with humorous exclamations, these letters offer a candid communication that only the closest of friends (or should that be 'enemies'?) could sustain!
Irresistible in its depiction of the foibles of female friendship, Ladies of Letters .. and More is a sparkling collection of letters full of humour and vitriol in equal measure.
Series 3 - Ladies of Letters Dot Com
Vera Small and her bosom buddy Irene Spencer keep up a regular correspondence and now, with the advent of email, the ladies of letters can communicate daily. There are the usual domestic mishaps to fret about: Irene's daughter Lesley is refusing to marry the worthy but boring Brian; Vera's exhausted daughter Karen has abandoned her third baby at the hospital and eloped with a male nurse; and Vera's gay son Howard and his partner Anthony are trying for a baby- with the help of a surrogate mother and a television crew.
As Irene and Vera fall in and out of friendship they accuse each other of everything from alcoholism to mental illness (but only in a loving, caring way, of course). Their hilarious put-downs and gossip give a wonderful insight into the trials of modern family life.
Series 4 - Ladies of Letters Log On
On/off bosom pals Vera Small and Irene Spencer are battling valiantly to keep up with technology. Having long tidied away their pens and paper in favour of email correspondence, they now find themselves entering another sphere of New media: cable TV. Vera's recent success, in the fly-on-the-wall documentary A Life With Sheep, has led to her bagging the host's seat on new morning chat show Dales Diaries. Needless to say, the enterprise isn't without teething troubles - not least of which is the search for an ideal co-host...
Meanwhile, Irene's joyful reunion with her long-lost offspring Christopher- and his succession of flashy motor cars- looks set to be soured by one overseas trip too may whilst, over at Sheepdippers Shed, Vera's own beloved son and his partner Anthony are expecting the patter of tiny surrogate feet any time now. But when the big day arrives, who will be on hand to oversee delivery?
Series 5 - Ladies of Letters Make Mincemeat (Christmas Special)
A special seasonal instalment of the ongoing correspondence between sparring pen-pals Vera and Irene. With a supporting cast including Vera's son Howard and his partner Anthony, chaos looks set to descend once again upon Little Shagthorne and Hethergreen.
Series 6 - Ladies of Letters Spring Clean
The proud grandmothers Irene Spencer and Vera Small return with their correspondence, once again brightening the airwaves with their often-dubious wit and wisdom. In this latest collection of missives they offer Springtime recipes as well as tips for a long and healthy life.
Series 7 - Ladies of Letters Go Global
The intrepid grandmothers are back - and at loggerheads with their respective families. Vera decides to take a break in Ibiza, and invites Irene to join her. But, a simple holiday soon becomes a big adventure as the two quickly and inevitably fall out, get into separate scrapes in different countries, appeal to each other for help, and end up chasing round the world from Moscow to the Maldives. Short of cash, forced to take casual work, and having to sort out family crises back home, on the hoofand from a distance - nothing dampens their spirits. Grappling with unfamiliar accents and unusual foods, the indomitable ladies find themselves launching into battle with everyone from hotel owners to Transylvanian separatist rebels. In fact, they're coping admirably with foreign travel, but how will the rest of the world cope with the Ladies of Letters?
Series 8 - Ladies of Letters Say No
Fundraising for her ancient local hospital, Irene organises a charity dinner, which Vera attends on the arm of her new beau, local millionaire Alan Trumper. Unfortunately, Vera has a choking incisdent and is admitted to that very hospital. Visitng her, Irene then has a mishap with a trolley and ends up stuck in the same ward. Soon the Ladies are sniping at one another, vying for Alan's attention and complaining about the struggling hospital's standard of cleanliness - superbubs are taking over and rats running rampant on the wards.
Series 9 - Ladies of Letters Go Green
The thoughts of the indomitable Ladies turn to all things Green in this latest collection of Letters. When Irene hears that her Aunty Doris has died and she must sort out her personal effects, she is filled with a sense of personal and global doom. Finding out that Doris was a fervent campaigner, and aware that Vera is a keen recycler, Irene decides to send Doris' clothes to Vera - with explosive results. Meanwhile, Vera has thrown herself into environmental causes. Soon both Ladies are eco-enthusiasts. With familial chaos on the horizon, the Ladies find that saving the planet is the least of their worries.
Series 10 - Ladies of Letters Crunch Credit
This is the fiscally chaotic tenth series of the popular BBC Radio 4 comedy. The Ladies are having to tighten their belts in this latest collection of Letters. Karen and St John have put the Bothy up for sale, and together with their children, have invaded Vera's Coach House. But very soon things become totally intolerable, and Vera is forced to take up residence in the shed on her allotment. Meanwhile Irene is feeling the pinch after having to entirely rewire the upper floor of her eco-house, thanks to Vera's wanton destruction of a solar panel. And after she takes in an old acquaintance she finds begging in a shop doorway, her financial straits become even more dire - especially since Aunty Doris has come home from the hospital and must be nursed back to health with tempting and expensive titbits. With friends and families causing friction, and appliances running amok, the Ladies find that the global economic crisis fades into the background as they deal with their own domestic crises...
Series 11 - Ladies of Letters Go Crackers
Prunella Scales and Anne Reid star in this fractious festive 11th series of the Radio 4 comedy favourite Ladies of Letters. It's Christmas and the Ladies of Letters are busy stuffing home made turkey sausages, adding hot pepper to their mulled wine and giving each other totally unsuitable Christmas presents. As family descend on them both, pressure mounts dangerously and the inevitable Christmas chaos ensues.
Note that Anne Reid (who played the part on television) subs for Patricia Routledge in this series.
Replies
This worked SO WELL on the Wireless, much better than it has been on the TV.
I'd not heard this til recently - I'd heard of it, but not the program itself. I'm in love with it now.
Superb work Mr Anson (Bob) (Sherlock) Roberts!
8 Ladies of Letters Say No.zip
9 Ladies of Letters Go Green.zip
10 Ladies of Letters Crunch Credit.zip
11 Ladies of Letters Go Crackers.zip
And, now I'm off to a NYE celebration
Happy New Year to all!
Wonderful series.
and a happy and prosperous New Year to you.
Victor
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next