Orange Is The New Black in Ambridge. Just ask Helen. But will anyone in The Archers ever ask her WHY?

[PseudoBadger]

I reckon this thread will see us through the Euros, both footy and referendum. Await the clunky topical inserts here.

Maggie is Pat and Tony's lawyer, Anna represents Helen and Rob has the male (but sounded Black - to up the racial diversity?) Lawyer. Henry is being represented by the Court, of course it would have been good to hear CAFCAS

Oh thanks mummy Yes I noticed that Rob's lawyer sounded black I wonder how the 'liberal' Rob likes that?

How does someone sound black? I didn't listen last night.

Oddly enough I too thought Rob's lawyer sounded black and am still struggling to put my finger on what it was about his voice that made me think this.

I'm not sure, I couldn't tell in a woman, but maybe a slight accent and a depth to the voice. More in a man though.

Same sort of timbre in the voice as Dianne Abbott and Paul Boateng. Possibly a London thing.

Yes. I for a moment allowed myself to imagine Idris Elba to be playing that role.

😋

I agree about the accent. But again - hard to pin down exactly why.

Given the cesspit that is British politics at the mo, I am looking for TA to do its job of being diverting. I am not after additional things to raise my blood pressure. GAH!

Or the guy who played Johnson in Peep Show?

Having LA I wondered when Abna saud I think it is happening again, she may have been involved in a case before where an abusive partner got custody of a child with dire consequences (which would be very topical) - which would make sense in terms of the script. But would not make sense ot terms of how detached she seems to be from the Henry issue when speaking about him.

Oh god are they going to have a "moment"?

Anything happen?

No, next to nothing happened, so it was quite a nice episode. Kate's yurts opened for business. She was worried that the catering would be late but it wasn't. Peggy put the tablecloths on the tables and said she needed to find something to weigh them down so they wouldn't blow away. Jennifer got the bonfire ready but said she would wait to light it till later so it was burning nicely when people arrived.

Meanwhile (yawnsville) Pip and Matthew drove to a farm for a purpose I can't remember and it turned out the farmer knew Matthew. Pip thought this was amazing and started singing Matthew's praises, which depressed Rex.

Roy came to Kate's bash for moral support and they told each other how well Phoebe had turned out. Kate uncharacteristically told Roy that this was largely down to him as she had not been a good mother. IIRC, neither of them mentioned Hayley, who is the one who deserves most of the credit, IMO.

Overnight character transplant for Kate there.

Pip and Rex drove to a farm for a purpose I can't remember. Something to do with heifers. Rex was starting to hope when ... the ghost of Matt reappeared.

Roy is an arse not to acknowledge Hayley, a huge arse.

Well Roy couldn't really mention someone the scriptwriters have forgotten

I'm back to being a lurker. I don't want to listen and want to shout at the radio. I have found better things to do. I am now disengaged, not that anyone cares about the ex listeners. I am disappointed and saddened that we are no longer being fed a tale of the ups and downs of rural life. Instead we are wondering what catastrophe is going to hit next. The HelRob story has become a circus and nothing to do with the very serious issue of domestic violence and the issues which affect those in isolated communities and the families and children involved. I would like to see, in the light of what has happened, other people starting to question the security of their relationships. I would like to see other stories unfold and for some people a solution or at least a way of coping with what goes well beyond the HelRob situation. But no. Listening now to the Archers is like being trapped in a cycle of hell and the only light at the end of the tunnel is that of the oncoming train on the circle line. It is with sadness that I have finally decided to leave this thread and all you wonderful posters. I hope to meet you all in another life. Much love and respect to all of you remaining listeners, and Thank You all for your insight. Easyx

Tiger, I haven't actually listened for weeks/months now, but I'm still following the SLs via Lowfield & these great threads, plus the brilliantly clever & funny Ambridge Observer, & less clever & funny but more informative Ha Archers

I find it sad that at 7pm I have to turn the radio off now, but I live in hope that one day it will be bearable again & if it is I will still know roughly what's gone on

Worth a try?

not listening atm.
have only been listening since november...

Hah! Yesterday my DM rang at 6.50pm and we chatted till 7.30. Today I was out. So I haven't officially given up - but I'm in no particular hurry for Sunday morning. Obviously all disappointing stories are - disappointing; but I find poorly executed legal stories intolerable. And now, in addition to Alice abandoning defence weapons in favour of chasing a Roomba around the farm, we're supposed to belief that the only other professionally qualified woman to come within a hundred miles of Ambridge this century is ... flakey and incompetent? Seriously?

Surely things are so bad they can only get better?

Pip and Rex went to sell some of Ruth's heifers.

Totally agree about Hayley, but it was probably wise of Roy not to mention that to Kate. I doubt her personality has changed completely!

If Roy had mentionec Hayley (much mutterjng at the radio from me) it would have spoilt SOC comparison Henry with Rob, Phoebe with Roy. See, listeners some men make good fathers find good stepmothers for their kids.

Again with the clunky.

My dcs have started asking "who is Tony that was mentioned? Is he an Archer? Are Pip and Helen related? (Took me a whille to explain that rs)

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g, I've just wandered back in to see whether anyone was still listening with continued suspension of disbelief, and feel I must thank you for your post of 23rd June at about 9.00pm. Spot on!
(My favourite of all TA thread titles is: "The Archers - we listen so you don't have to", and by the looks of this thread, it seems there are very few still listening!)

Yet another party that is described to listeners, alongside the interminable Pip/Rex/Toby/Matthew yawnfest.

I'm not making any effort to listen now. I listen if I'm in the car when it's on, but not bothering to catch up. I wanted to hear Rob's comeuppance but I really couldn't care less now. The Anna twist was almost the last straw.

Weak storylines I can cope with. After all, every drama has strong episodes and weak episodes and characters we don't think work. But this is just inept. Given I overthink everything, my take is that SOC's perceived success has gone to his head and he is massively interfering in scripts. That's the only reason to explain why previously competent scriptwriters are turning out this bilge. .