Culvert operations in Ambridge - discuss The Archers here. It's not his baby by the way.

[PseudoBadger]

Is Ed's wedding very soon?

Brilliant post Squeaver.

BYOS, I was thinking the same thing re a Fairbrether and Lily. They may need to wait a year or so but, given that Lizzie had a relationship with much older (and married) FairFather, and given how we know just how much SOC likes to revisit history...?

Well!

The first two minutes were pretty conclusive.

There'll be a rush on hats ...

Was that a simper from Pip?

A simper?

If poor Otto were still alive she'd have crushed him in her rush.

Wonder how Jill will feel at the wedding. (Pip's.)

So who was pip simpering over?

Darn it, does that mean she here for good?

Which of the brethren is Pip smitten with?

Was exactly as you predicted BYOS.

Toby likes Pip. Pip likes Toby.

It wasn't subtle.

(David was wary.)

How can the SWs be so cruel? They got all our hopes up at the possibility that Pip was going to disappear for a few years, only to dash them by producing a love interest for her which will not only mean her staying in Ambridge but that she'll have a prominent storyline for months on end. I may well have to go cold turkey.

Months?

Are you kidding? A Fairbrother finally gets their hands on Brookfied. This is SOC's forever storyline.

(Although I would counsel Toby to wear a hard hat and carry a fire extinguisher at all times. He doesn't want to go the way of his poor Aunt ...)

I'm still hoping that Freddie is radicalising himself in his bedroom. He will take a charter flight to Turkey and disappear over the Syrian border to join ISIS.

But oh - the irony. Just minutes after David assures Ruth that Pip will soon be back "out there" after the break up from Spencer. And now she's irretrievably bound to the son of a bounder who made a fool of his sister.

The Fairbrethren aren't on the who's who page yet. How old are they supposed to be? Someone needs to curate those pages, Spencer is still on there.

That meeting was all wrong.

David and the brethren would have been exchanging reminiscences passed down by their old folks. Did you ever hear about and My dad said etc. I'm guessing the writer just isn't familiar enough with the ancient tale to bring it naturally into conversation. NOT ONE WORD ABOUT GRACE.

Rex was before.

But zero, I'm not sure how much Grace got discussed in the family - I can't remember her being mentioned - and David is such a mummy's boy (probably not entirely coincidental that he wanted to praise her biccies and let these interlopers know that Jill's feet are still firmly under the Brookfield table).

grace is not a subject that Jill would have discussed

why is it all so bloody predictable. And I hope Pip dumps Brookfield for poultry and Josh gets his hands on it.

Do poultry farms have slurry pits? Or could Pip be pecked to death by an army of geese who realise Christmas is coming? Please?

So Liz had her affair in the early 80's. Unclear if the fairbrethren were born by then but if so they are over 30. Given their Dad's age and the assumption the cheated on wife is their mother they can't be any younger than 30

Re Fred being radicalised -yes that would be great. What better teenage rebellion. And not at all unlikely given where else the stories are going

I think in keeping with Enderisation the most likely twist would be for Elizabeth to take up with a toy boy in the shape of one of the Fairbrethern (even more EEish would be if the brother in question was already married to Pip). Alternatively Pip could play one brother off against the other in a sort of upmarket replay of the Grundy saga. And who knows, after the ghost of Phil, perhaps we might get the ghost of Grace.

Pip for the duff. Ehr ner

BBC blog post about the Fairbrethren here. Elizabeth's affair was in 1987, it would seem. Don't know whether the boys were tiny then or still a twinkle in their father's eye.

Thanks for the new thread, Pseudo!

The silver lining is that this should generate some epic "Oh!" noises from Jill. Especially when she finds out that Pip has gone into oestrus for one of the Fairbrethren and is banging her head repeatedly on the kitchen door, trying to get out and get rutting.

Of course if there's a couple of hunks somewhere in the 25-35ish range, Kate is likely to be interested (despite them raising poultry rather than weaving lentils).

bluestocking

I'm so confused! It's only thanks to this thread I have a clue about what's happening and who's who.
Was there any retribution from the man who was going to buy Brookfield before David changed his mind?

Thanks for the new thread Pseudo