Who let the cows out? Moo, moo, moo moo! Will Pip be caught out, and will Matt or Justin bowl a maiden over? Discuss The Archers here

[PseudoBadger]

'Ello pusscat!
I am eagerly anticipating Pip's downfall.

I don't think Hugh's doing a bad job. Pip, Toby and Ed all share part of the blame for keeping quiet. As Lass says above, the earlier the breakout was discovered and discussed the more chance the neighbouring farmers had of vaccinating their animals. The fact that they all kept quiet makes them all culpable to some degree.

I don't think there's anything to blame Huge Canoe for. I'm greatly enjoying the fact that the Dopeys are having to acknowledge that the sun does not shine out of Pip's arse, and she is having to recognise that having a strop and saying she can't cope with it, it's so unfair, isn't really an available reaction. She's also accepting that, whatever Toby said, no-one put a gun to her head and made her go along with him, particularly once she realised that David was going around saying that their cows never left the farm.

I'm also finding Pip's 'rabbit in the headlights' paralysis quite believable. She's not one for self doubt and I don't recall her making such a colossal mistake before.

you report it to mumsnet using the report button next to the post and they will delete it. Or you can just leave it there for our entertainment. Congratulations on your pregnancy!

Pip is the dullest most annoying character. But has anyone noticed that Ben doesn't exists? They have an imaginary son/brother. Why? All the other children in the archers have actors? Everytime anyone mentions Ben, he has just gone to lay the table/gone to his room.

Is DFW or other farmers around? Would it normally have been expected for Pip to have informed the other farm that her cattle went on their land at the time? Which would seem right as a matter of courtesy, and for bio-security reasons.
At the time i thought she wanted to keep quiet simply because she didn't want her parents to know she'd been lax in not mending the fence. I hadn't realised the bigger implications.
Congratulations on your pregnancy Anjelika*

I assume Ben never speaking is an in-joke amongst the scriptwriters at the moment. Presumably he'll gradually become more and more present while not actually saying a thing. Maybe he'll scream when Lily hits him after she's passed her driving test?

Lily was imaginary for a very long time, then she suddenly sprang into life. And I'm not sure Ruaraidh (or however it's spelt) actually exists.

Ruairi used to speak. Last time I heard him he still had a strong Irish accent. I thought at the time it seemed odd but now with some experience of a big move myself I no longer think it was implausible.

Except Ruaruaruarii had hardly lived in Ireland at all, had he? He was in Germany for his early years with Siobhan and her German boyfriend.

I think they then returned to I reland for a short timbe before S died and then R became Myson and lived in Ambridge.

I recall on the late lamented Mustardland his persistent accent was a source of bemusement.

www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/06_june/01/archers.shtml

I still look at old threads from time to time Francis. ML was my introduction to messageboards and I really miss the old community that existed there.

Thanks witchmountain and iamnot duly reported, as you were...

What an esoteric lot you posters are; solicitors , barristers etc… I'm proud to be among you highly educated types, we 're (i'm) not worthy .

I quite looking forward to Ben never speaking, going to a very good uni at 18, and later getting a "government" job in "security" in the Gloucester area - and leading a happy and successful life away from his toxic siblings. Often spoke of, never heard

But that's always been the way with children in TA - as I recall. If their conception and birth are dramatically exploitable we hear about that - and any immediate consequences while they're babies. Then they pretty much disappear until late teens - child actors being tricky an' all. They reappear, voiced by fresh-faced drama school grads, at exactly the time when burgeoning independence enables tales of unsuitable boy/girlfriends, drink, drugs and failed exams.

Ruairi and Ben are entirely following that editorial pattern. I've been pleased that they generally do remember that Ruairi is back and forth from school all the time - I'm not sure they've intended to arouse quite so much speculation about Ben!

Perhaps Ben is actually mute like the son in Little Miss Sunshine - he's taken a vow of silence and vowed not to speak until they give him his own cereal cupboard.

I miss mustardland....

George has to marry an Archer, doesn't he? To forge another axis of power.

Who's available? Frilly ... Ben ... (Josh will marry a financial institution.) Ideally a Snell/Archer - then the Grundys would have the village tied up good and proper.