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

[PseudoBadger]

Is Ed's wedding very soon?

Agree, the scene of the Fairbrethren and Manpip (© Bluestocking) clocking each other for the first time was buttock-clenchingly awful. All they needed was the comedy BOIIIIIIIIINNNNGGGGG sound-effect as their eyes came out on stalks.

I feel an immense weariness at the prospect of one, two or all of them mollocking in the sukebind in the all-too-near future.

Btw, did anyone else notice Ian as one of the walk-ons in 'The Vote' on More4 last night?

@JessieMcJessie

* I am utterly bemused as to why the BBC thought it worthwhile putting in material supposedly designed to encourage young people to vote into THE ARCHERS.....Radio 1, maybe, buut I'm pretty sure that any Young Person who actually listens to Radio 4 is already likely to be politically aware.

Presumably this programming adds to a box ticking and it's easier to add in there than put in the middle of EE...

I am boaking at crutching too - though I knew what a dag was from home and away days

There must be something wrong with me. I find it immensely jolly to think the inheritors of Brookfield will be little Fairbrothers and sisters - just as Phil originally intended.

I'm not generally pleased with SOC but this appeals to my SOH.

I couldn't face iplaying The Vote; was it as lame as reviewed?

Eastenders - you cah, you shagged my husband. You're my sister you bitch. And I know you didn't go and vote so I now respect you even less. Cah!

Or the SL could have been a regular character being rundown on their way to vote by their mothers brothers cousins wife who is also their husbands sisters mistress because she vote ukip and the regular was voting snp (yes in London)

I watched The Vote and enjoyed it. Early on there were gobbets of Public Information dropped in, as seamlessly as they do it in TA. I did wonder, in advance, if I would manage to stay the whole hour-and-a-half but it turned out to be quite an amusing farce with plot twists a-plenty.

Jessie - so agree re Jazzer's accent. One of my long-running yells at TA is "NO ONE IN SCOTLAND SPEAKS LIKE THAT!!" It particularly annoys me when he uses phrases that aren't consistent with one area e.g. last night "dinnae let it go, hen" - hen is east coast - then, "can of pop" - pop is west coast. I do realise that this is a somewhat niche gripe, btw.

Although the shearing-based flirting was cringesome, the Ed actor was - once again - so impressive in his beautifully paused responses.

And as for Knob....

I missed Ian in The Vote as I didn't see all of it - i will definitely watch it on catch up as the parts I saw were very good.

Jessie Jazzer has ALWAYS had a cod Scotman's accent. I think it's there to signal the real working classness of his character and to make his voice totally recognisable.

Olivia IIRC Betty gave Brian a really humiliating brush off.

When you think he can't get any worse, Knob just pulls one out of the bag every time, doesn't he? Icimoi - I am also a regular one yelling 'fuck off' at the radio when he speaks almost as often as I yell it at those stupid automated checkouts in supermarkets . He is beyond unspeakable.

And as for Pip's cringe-worthy innuendo…. I fear the SWs are really on a roll here (maybe some tragic form of vicarious fun). Makes me worry we aren't going to see the back of her for some time although one of those shirtless hotties might

I had thought of something to say but have forgotten it...so will settle for place marking...

Long night RnRN?

I seem to have put all my despairing energy into TA posting ...

I should perhaps clarify that when I find myself telling Knob to fuck off, it's not a criticism of either the storyline or the actor - if anything, it's a validation of both. It's Knob and his vile manipulative ways that I want to fuck off, but not before the storyline has played out properly and preferably not before something truly horrible happens to Knob. I'm hoping someone finds conclusive proof that he blocked the culvert at the same time that some film emerges of the hunt sab incident, which will also have the side benefit of revealing Shula as a lying hypocrite. And if it turns out that someone messed up the DNA test and he really is Ethan's father, so much the better.

Definitely despairing, also got tonsillitis, which I've never had before in my life - I'd just assumed I was feeling a bit below par and stressed - the doc this morning was a bit bemused I'd not noticed a load of swollen glands and a temperature

That was terrible. The horrid clunky flirting,the dropping in of the voting bit,but worst of all from my POV was the shearing. No one would ever 'leave a few for tomorrow',your keep going until they are done. The shearers are on a tight schedule and you can't shear wet sheep,so if rain is forecast any still to be done have to be kept under cover. Also, no one would EVER knock off from either shearing or fleece rolling and go straight to the pub. You stink,absolutely honk and are covered in grease and sheep shit. I don't walk into my own house after rolling fleeces,never mind into somewhere where people are eating and drinking.

Ah. I was rather about the "straight to the pub, swerving the hosing down" thing ...

Love the many plagues you're wishing on his house Ici!

And if it turns out that someone messed up the DNA test and he really is Ethan's father, so much the better.

Nah, I wouldn't wish Knob as a father on anyone (he'd turn round and join F4D and demand his rights), not even a fictional child.

Sorry did I read correctly Errol? Did you say FICTIONAL child?????

Maybe they are going to torture us over the Rob storyline and have him sound sweetness and light, avoiding any come-uppance, for a long, long time.

Maybe Knob was buying new riding gloves to strangle someone...

What on earth was that rubbish tonight about the massed ranks of the Grundys telling Ed to have Willyum as his best man. No one - never mind feuding brothers - would have the bride's ex as their BM.
The best the family should hope for is usher.

Rocknroll I often think if things to post as I'm listening, last thing at night, then I have forgotten by morning. But here goes...

Zero I am confused by that blog post because I'm pretty sure Pip was catching, not crutching. Crutching happens at a different time of year and there would be little point in Pip shearing the bums of the sheep before End or Jazzer shore them . it's Toby's job to pull any muck, or dags, off the fleece when he is rolling it (or wrapping it, we would say) I did quite like their representation of a shearing shed though. It brought back memories of shearing on my parents' farm, when the shearing shed was a cool place to be ogling fit young shearers helping out. The one odd thing was D & R not being there- its all hands on deck at shearing time with groups of sheep to be moved around, lambs to be temporarily separated from their mothers (amazing how quickly they recognise them after their fleeces have been removed, when they are reunited!), and tea, coffee and lunch to be provided. The flirting was cringe worthy though, written by someone who has no idea how to flirt...

And I have just realised I've been thinking it's Saturday all day today, and no archers. Pleasantly surprised to realise it's Friday and there is!

"I don't suppose we'll ever know what happened with that culvert, just one of those things."

"Of course we're going to bloody find out!" I shouted at the radio, while navigating round one of Basingstoke's busier roundabouts. "We'd better had, after all this signposting and fuss about it!" (Apology to any other road users in the vicinity; it wasn't road rage, or swearing at fellow drivers, but Archers-rage. I'm sure you understand.)

And as I drove down my street, and then passed by the one parking space I spotted, as I was again shouting at the radio - Will may be Ed's brother, but more than that, he's Emma's ex-husband! You don't usually have the ex-husband as the best man!

(Having said that, last week I was on holiday and met a woman who sometime after splitting with her husband, got together with his best mate, as they still went around in the same social circles - and she ended up with her ex being her new husband's best man. There was some confusion in the telling of this, while we worked out which terms we meant in English and German. But still, mates are one thing, but brother and ex...)