The Archers: Tally-Ho for the Hunt Ball! Will Justin return from Scotland with the Gay Gordons? Will Adam feel a right Charlie? Discussion #81

[DadDadDad]

Thanks, R4, for the title (again!).

I'm your temporary host while PseudoBadger is on her sabbatical / prison term / secret mission.

Old hands and complete newbies all welcome.

Spoilers (eg Radio Times descriptions of future programmes) not welcome.

When will Matt reappear? Before / during / after the wedding?

The floor is yours...

I bet they are going to The Daffodil. It's been very trendy since a scene from Sherlock was filmed there a few years ago.
www.thedaffodil.com/

Queens Hotel will be their style too......

The village don't look down on her and I don't know why she has come up with this 'outsider' nonsense

If I had sat in a hall full of people supposed to be my family, friends and neighbours and listened to them call me riff raff and the 'wrong sort' to live in the village I'd probably develop a chip on my shoulder. Especially if I'd been born in the village, worked my arse off in it and the complainants were more recent arrivals some of whom will have pushed up the cost of accommodation.

WTF is wrong with David and Ruth? All woe is me that their mid-twenties daughter might go and work somewhere other than the family farm? Brilliant. Let her go and give Ed some work. Everyone's a winner, not least the listeners.

WTF is wrong with David and Ruth?

Remind me, how many characters can we fit in one comment??

Well I’m waiting for David and Ruth to realise they have another child. One who is the same kind of age as his big siblings when they started helping on the farm.
Actually Ben is just the right age to do a teenage depression storyline. Which in my experience if they don’t do one soon, questions should be asked about why the mental health is so good in Ambridge. And it could nicely tie in with Ben’s blossoming sexuality and coming out as pansexual or something.

Team Emma over here. I like that she's a rounded character, good and bad. And if I was married to Ed and living with the Grundy's I'm sure I would do a fair bit of moaning too...

David and Ruth are utterly irksome. The favouritism they show Pip is awful. They don't seem remotely interested in Josh (or Ben).

Playing the If I Were Editor game - Eddie and Pip would be for the chop. And possibly Shula.

Mental health in Ambridge isn't that good. There's Helen's eating disorder, Greg's suicide, Alistair's gambling addiction, the depression of a character I won't name, along with Mike and Pat, and Jack Archer and Julia Pargitter were both alcoholics.

Not much in the way of living with a mental illness long term, though. Most people get better and forget about it, although they were better with Alistair needing extra support when he was stressed.

Is Ben a similar age to Noluthando, or is he younger?

Not much in the way of living with a mental illness long term, though
I think that Lilian has undiagnosed, and therefore untreated, BiPolar Disorder.

Nolu was born Jan 2001; Ben Mar 2002.

Yes Alistair's gambling addiction is on going; even though Helen's eating disorder seems to cause her less problems than my friends struggle with.

The teens though breeze through school and exams, with little more than feeling a "bit down" over bad results or Phoebe worrying if to give up on Uni and get a job just before results. But then I guess they do all have jobs to go to in the family businesses.

Of course it could well be that all the silent characters have mental health problems - you know, never going out, no chitchatting, heads under duvets all day and night. l agree however it can be unrealistic as people in TA tend to have brief acute episodes, then it’s gone and hardly mentioned again. None of the year in year out chronic stuff, with effect on relationships, life choices, earning capacity, back and forward to doctors, and all the rest.

Well I’m waiting for David and Ruth to realise they have another child

According to my DM, Jill'n'Phil used to opine in the same way about David as the 'future of Brookfield' despite having a land manager daughter (who used to run the estate day to day) and other children.

She cites the time when David was bought a flashy car because they were worried about him taking a job off the farm. So in the spirit of recycling I'm predicting something equally unreasonable for Pipl

Haven't listened to the whole episode as yet, but I did hear a rare, back-handed compliment to Josh from Ruth - something about wishing some of his drive would rub off on Pip. Not that she would ever say anything nice to Josh. Even her praise of her children is passive-aggressive and whiny. Push her in't slurry pit!

That was helpful of Lily!

Urban?

Effing urban????

Couldn't bear Pip's sexual harassment of Toebee.

And the slowly dawning realisation that I have an awful lot in common with Kate ...

Lynda was vile about Emma, who I really rate.

Toby-the latest Ambridge personality transplant.

Nolly & Freddie?

Love trust it was carefully pointed out that they aren't proper cousins, just in case Disguated of Tonbridge Wells writes in.....

So how are they related?

Nollys gran is the niece of Freddie's grandad?

Yup.
Nolly's Gran is Jennifer, daughter of Jack Archer and Peggy (now Woolley).
Freddie's Grandad was Phil Archer.

Phil & alcoholic Jack were brothers (with sister Christine)
So Elizabeth and Jennifer are first cousins
So Freddie and Kate are second cousins
Freddie and Nolly are thus second cousins once removed

The family tree discussion seems pertinant.

I also have quite a lot in common with Kate.

I was trying to ignore Pipsqueak and Toebee- but where were they when this happened? Why was Pip bearing sandwiches ?

At Hollowtree in the still room, I think.

Haven't caught up yet and haven't posted in ages.
Can't wait to get rid of Justin, I quite like that Lillian and are back to old habits, as you were. And yes we should be hearing far more of Ben even if silent, most farmers kids are running their own sidelines by 12.