Follow the subtle trail towards the Christmas storyline climaxes in Ambridge - discuss The Archers here

[PseudoBadger]

So many possibilities.... A visit from the Titcheners Snr? Baby of the wrong gender? A ruined wedding? Re-housed Grundys? RuthRex?

Go Tony!

I am alternating between annoyance and sympathy with Ruth. I can imagine she must be feeling pushed out of decision making and I can't believe the issue of the AI hadn't been discussed before. It's a vital to get it right in block calving herd because it is curtains for the cow if she doesn't get in calf. But if Ruth was going to be caring for Heather she would have struggled to do it since even without Heather she can't manage to do her ordinary work and the housework.

As I said though I can understand her frustration at not being able to do 'her thing' ( is it her thing or is that a line to fit the story?) and it's frustrating when you feel you can't cope with things you should be coping with. And she is grieving and not realising how much it is affecting her. My DM has just lost her mother but didn't realised how the illness in the run up had been affecting her. We don't always behave rationally at times like that.

Seisigfach I picked up on it, IMO knob must have an outsize inferiority complex to sneer [not just at Jazzer] at almost everyone.

That's true dairyfarmers.

It is her thing. She always does it.

Benefit of the doubt- peoplw in moyrning can feel sidelined by what other people think is kindness.

On BF issue. It would be in keeping if thete were discussions. They were always moaning hand wringing debating issues at table at BF. The endless Hellon baby issue, the Johnny (Rich) issue, the sausages, the food poisoning, the brand, the name and then all Kathy's assorted isdues that she liked to pop in to moan talk about .

Thing is though if you are going to kove from character driven to plot driven, you have to be able to actually write a plot!!!

All the plots bar one have been implausible, transparent and pointless. There was only 1 where we couldn't see how it ended when it started. Move- won't happen. Road- won't happen. HP- will die. Jill- will move back. Even the Carol plot - it will turn out to be assisted suicide. Grundy's - they won't get house back.

The only things I have been truly surprised by for years - paul dying and Matt leaving

Yes, I heard the sneering at Jazzer too. Rob is the most appalling snob - he is particularly venomous towards those he thinks are too far beneath him on the social ladder to be worth bothering with. He's vile about Susan, Emma and the Grundys.

move not kove.

Got a bit overexcited in that post

The thing about Rob's snobbery though is that people like that usually have people they think are at their level so you might expect him to hob Knob with Justin or Brian but he pretty much has contempt for everyone.

Well, of course he does - they all 'try to undermine him', don't they, Darling? Including Darling herself. Any disagreement is clearly an Attempt to Undermine.

Can we have the sinkhole back, please, and undermine him with that?

Lancelottie

Loved Tony's input there. Brook farm is an organic farm, something they have worked hard for, Pat and To. Should be standing up more too,as they always have in the past. I'll be interested to hear how Rob views the prospective job at .... Wasn't it Green something farm services.

They're having the Cathedral choir at the Ambridge carol service on Christmas Eve?

Who writes this rubbish?!

All the plots bar one have been implausible, transparent and pointless.

Totally agree, but you forgot unremittingly depressing.

Haven't listened for weeks, but caught last night's episode in the car. I was appalled, it brought back all my grief for my beloved Archers .

Yes, quite, Campion - I sing in a (non Cathedral) choir and do about 8 hours' rehearsal and services on Christmas Eve and there's no way we could fit anything else in!

Listened again this after. Robknob was really having to put a bung in it not to explode at To' . Go To'!

Maybe it's the 'b' choir...

BYOS... could be.

More likely it's some proper professional choir that one of SOCs friends and relations is in, and they will use all their budget on them, meaning Alastair etc. continue as mime artists.

It must be rea really irritating as an actor to have your character constantly mentioned but never get any work.

Does soc have kids?

Choccy - probably not professional. Probably one of those social choirs that sprung up after the military wives program. And socs mum is probably in it. And they'll do 'alternative' hymns

Does SOC know anything about cathedral choirs?

Actually, I'll answer that.

No.

I'm not really sure how anyone thought he was suitably qualified for the job tbh. He's done nothing to disabuse of this notion.

It is usually Worcester Cathedral Choir who pretend to be the Ambridge choir, at least for the last couple of years. And it's all recorded, so is just a bit of practice really.

DD is not grumpy at being expected to do an extra service this year, oh no... (Not Worcester.)

The thing is, we all know the so called cathedral choir is actually a recorded segment edited in, just like the very young children. Unfortunately, when that suspension of disbelief goes, you do start to ask yourself why you spend so much time listening to this nonsense.... or at any rate I do.

mummytime, you know the one vague hope I had for my children before they were born is that they would do what I couldn't, because I was a gel and no cathedral choir had them (and not actually the parish church either), and love singing and get into a cathedral choir. I have to say that my DC are about as far from that dream as it is possible to get, and think the fact that I even harboured the dream is hilarious.

Agree gas

Although I now have visions of a tiny recording studio with a full choir crammed in and the actors having to squeeze through to get to the microphone to make their token appearance at the church