The Archers: The Crook, the Vet, His Wife & Her Lodger - discussion #80

[DadDadDad]

In full acknowledgement of PseudoBadger's great achievement in providing the previous 79 threads over the past 4 years (and credit to R4 for this thread's title)...

Discuss TA (The Archers). New posters encouraged - it's not (too) cliquey here and plenty of regulars are happy to answer questions.

One rule: no spoilers (ie no mentioning future plot teasers from Radio Times listings etc) - there's a separate thread for that.

So, is Phoebe pregnant? will Anisha dob in (dobbin - geddit?) Alistair?

PS I don't presume to take on PB's role permanently - hopefully the job of starting new threads will rotate among regulars until she returns

Wise words TeenTimesTwo

ceto I suppose that in farming, parents DO have a different interest in their offspring especially if the grown up child wants to continue farming their farm. Rather than moving away to work in an unrelated office in a town!.

It's sad when the children don't want to inherit the farm with the land.

Wot - no comments on anything tonight? Are you all listening to The Firebird with me?

I was. Not very keen on this Mussorgsky though...........

I've got a comment.
Ian is rushing headlong without thinking through longer term implications and not considering whether Adam is really on board. Adam isn't on board and he needs to speak up.

Plus, I wonder whether Brian and Jenny really will give Kate what she has asked for, for her birthday. If so, I hope they broadcast both the present and her reaction.

I've got a comment.

Brian is right - Kate shouldn't destroy her accounting records; she needs to keep them for six years. However, Kate can achieve her desire of de-cluttering - she needs to digitise i.e. scan. Win / win.
Do I get the prize for the most boring and missing-the-big-stories post?

not considering whether Adam is really on board.

Ian did ask him the other day. He did a sort of "if you're not happy, now is the time to say" and Adam bottled it. He is so pathetic and spineless.

I thought the most interesting aspect of tonight was the bit about a surrogate babies parents. Wouldn't that be sorted by adoption?

I think Kate's present from Brian and Jenny will be her children visiting.

I think Kate's present from Brian and Jenny will be her children visiting. oh I do hope so. I feel so sad for Nolly and Sipho.

Of course Kate should keep her financial records for 6 year. What surprised me was Brin said 5 years, and wouldn't Kate have now this already? I know she's been abroad for years but she has been back in UK for a while now, and it's not like the rules have changed on that. It sounded to me like they were shoe-horning in for public education.

l feel almost sorry for Kate. She's doing her best to declutter and her mother's putting the kibosh on her efforts. It reminds me of my mum. But at least l didn't live under her roof so wasn't tripping over my own discarded crap every day. And l knew to keep financial stuff.

Funny line from Brine. Can't we just write a cheque?

tbh, Kate is so flaky I'm surprised she's got any financial records at all! I think it is just the kind of worldly knowledge that would have passed her hippy self actualised self by.

I'm finding the speed at which Ian is moving towards surrogacy hard to take, he has kept quiet (ha! Scriptwriters) about wanting a child for years & now he's meeting potential surrogate mothers within weeks of them starting to discuss this massive change. This could break Adam.

I thought the most interesting aspect of tonight was the bit about a surrogate babies parents. Wouldn't that be sorted by adoption?

They could go somewhere really interesting with this. The parents have to get a Parental Order (it's kind of a fast track adoption) but, a) that's done after birth and the surrogate mother/her partner have to consent and b) legally only a couple can do that. So if they were to 'commission' (horrible word!) a baby, then Adam backed out (which my money is on), Ian could be left with no legal right over the child.

Interesting that we never heard (or maybe I missed it) Kate cleaning out the yurts. Caravans yes, her room yes, her yurts no. They must stink!!!

Thinking about Adam and Ian, didn't Ian say to Adam that he didn't want to talk about the thing he most wanted as he knew Adam didn't and he didn't want to break them as a couple (paraphrasing here)? But Adam pushed him into admitting he wanted a child, Ian is now desperate for a baby, Adam doesn't want a baby and of course they will end up splitting up over it - which is why Ian didn't want to "go there" in the first place. They are a terribly non-communicative couple really and on that basis I would have thought a great bet for adoption or surrogacy at all.

not a great bet!

Apart from the question of whether lan and Adam's relationship is strong enough for them to parent a child anyway, there are a few other things l've been pondering. If they are in for the long haul and get the go-ahead for a surrogate, then using Adam 's sperm might be a better move psychologically as Adam will have more of a genetic tie. lan is capable of loving the child anyway. Ignore the fact Adam is older - so risks of developmental problems in the baby are higher. But this being Ambridge they can make it an issue or not.

But this being Ambridge the writers do need to consider the first family, I.e. The various Archers twigs. Jenny shows no sign of flagging - so could they land her with yet another child that is not actually hers? At some point JD could be the oldest wife in the village. Will she always be so energetic? Mind you, her mother (and the actress too) areI very spry at well over 90.

Thinking of Kate's birthday present request, I can't think of anyone less able to handle the truth. Should be interesting.:o

Dear Archers connoisseurs,
the Archers is often playing in the background in my home, and I tend to listen absent-mindedly to the familiar voices without following a storyline or knowing who is who. But once a particular storyline did capture my interest, and then I never found out what happened.. perhaps one of you could enlighten me? It was in the summer of 2012, and a woman in the show had just found out that the child she was expecting had Down's syndrome. She was deliberating with her partner whether to keep the baby or whether to have an abortion. The theme resonated with me as I was pregnant myself at the time. What happened? Who were the characters? Did they keep the baby?

So the woman was Vicky who was the second wife of widowed Mike who was the dad of Roy and his sister. She had the baby and then try moved back to Brum way I think because partly there were better school options there and have never been heard of since - well not exacatly but pretty much!

Thanks Stigina

And lots of Archers listeners would like Bethany (the Down's syndrome girl) to return to Ambridge. It even has a twitter hashtag #BringBackBethany

One of the most frustrating things about illnesses and disabilities in the Archers is that they are either magically fixed or they disappear from the cast - or in the case of Daniel's juvenile arthritis apparently both!

I'd like to see Bethany back, I'm wondering if we will ever see Bethany back.

I'm not so sure Auld because Adam showed great interest in adopting a needy older child.

The Ambridge health fairy is amazing, I know quite a few 80\ 90 year olds and not one is as together mentally and physically as (we are supposed to believe) the oldies in TA. But of course the actors are probably sitting down and have a script to follow!

I don't disagree, ppeat. It was just some idle musing over whether Adam providing the stem would keep the baby in Ambridge. And of course that is the easy bit of creating a life as women have been pointing out for a long time.

It's true about the sprightly oldies. And l imagine the very elderly actors areprovided with a BBC driver if they need it. And their episodes are probably planned carefully so they aren't hanging round too long.