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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

977 replies

DadDadDad · 02/10/2017 17:07

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...

OP posts:
LassWiTheDelicateAir · 29/10/2017 22:30

I think you were right the first time Lass. Wasn't Elizabeth hosting the ball?

Why is Ian doing the catering at Lower Loxley then ?

viques · 29/10/2017 22:34

the taxi what done it But Rex is in Scotland "comforting" whatserface ( Fnarfnar) and there isn't another taxi in the entire county as far as I know, unless it was one of those dastardly foreign uber chaps. That must be it, explains why he took off, probably illegal, no insurance, bald tyres, no MOT, a real free spirit operating completely outside normal rules and regulations. Sigh. It's how Matt would have wanted to go

Vango · 29/10/2017 22:38

Let's not forget that Tom was in The Bull refusing a drink and giving Matt evil glances....

viques · 29/10/2017 22:41

So, yet another suspect, and one with a criminal past - and family- poor old Harrison is going to have to call out the smart city cops to work this one out.

Puremince · 29/10/2017 23:09

If Justin thought that Matt was just outside the Bull, surely he would have followed on foot, not in a car.

Matt was staggering drunk; most people would immediately phone for an ambulance unless they had a reason to avoid speaking to the police. If it was someone from the Hunt Ball (Adam, Alasdair) they might be driving over the limit. Or Freddie might be driving stoned.

Nic would have phoned an ambulance; she knew Matt was very drunk, and would have had no reason to think that she would be in trouble with the police.

Didn't Tom take the rap for Helen's drink driving? He wouldn't want a second conviction for a motoring offence.

The taxi is a possibility.

I think that it is someone who
a) has a reason to avoid an immediate interview with the police and
b) didn't know that Matt was so drunk that toxicology would prove that he was inebriated to the point of being unsteady on his feet. Anyone who knew that would be far less worried about phoning the ambulance / police.

Might it have been Lillian - driving off to phone for help, because Justin still had her phone?

campion · 29/10/2017 23:20

viques The prospect of Harrison bumbling about is not one I relish. Has he solved the mystery of the missing bunting yet?

I rest my case.

Puremince · 29/10/2017 23:31

Where was Matt knocked down? I assumed he was near the Bull, but a car wouldn't be driving fast on full beams in the triangle of roads round the Green (unless the driver was drunk or high).

(Forget previous comment about Lillian - we heard her still at the Ball after the accident.)

R4 · 29/10/2017 23:37

We started the episode with a discussion about how cold it was. Matt was alive enough to croak "help me" but if the driver didn't stop and nobody else will miss him (apart from the airline), will he lie undiscovered in the ditch all night and be frosted to death.

AuldHeathen · 29/10/2017 23:39

What’s the betting tomorrow will still be tonight? Or last night, as ball more likely to be Saturday night. I wonder if Tuesday will be Saturday too ......

Holliewantstobehot · 29/10/2017 23:54

Can I suggest Noli as a wildcard. Had enough of the ball, "borrowed" Freddie's car to drive home. Didn't stop to call police as no valid driving license. Very wild card I admit.

Gruach · 29/10/2017 23:56

I'm trying to avoid thinking of Matt slowly dying in a ditch - he doesn't deserve that.

However, if he is in a ditch then perhaps the person who knocked him down might be less culpable. They got out of the car and looked - and perhaps simply didn't see him if he wasn't lying in the road. Perhaps assumed they hit an animal that ran off. (Anisha would assume it was another deer ...)

AuldHeathen · 30/10/2017 00:03

I think we can blame Shula for everything - if it transpires that in all her arranging she forgot to book a bus to take them all home safely so that almost everyone brought their own cars. There should be lots of breast beating and upset from her.

WineAndTiramisu · 30/10/2017 05:39

It can't have been on purpose, no one would have known where he would be with enough certainty to decide to do it and be able to find him.
Also everyone thought he was leaving forever, too risky to try to kill him

mermaidsandunicorns · 30/10/2017 05:58

I listened to it again and there is the sound of a car door being opened and closed after the accident before Matt says “help me”
So
Either there were two people in the car and one got out and was standing over Matt when car drove off

Or

The driver got out and then got back in again.

birdsdestiny · 30/10/2017 06:45

I am a bit worried about Nic now. What was the point of the scene she was in if she is not somehow linked to the accident. We don't care if she has to leave her shift early unless ... She has no history with Matt unlike all the others mentioned, maybe she is the wild card.

BertrandRussell · 30/10/2017 06:53

It's more bloody character transplants, isn't it? Matt just wouldn't have got that drunk, Ian just wouldn't have had that conversation with Justin. And as for all that bollocks about "defending Lillian's honour".......words fail me!

Puremince · 30/10/2017 07:43

I don't find Ian's conversation with Lilian or Justin unbelievable, because the whole Matt / Lilian / Justin situation caused Adam to have an altercation with Matt which might have endangered Ian's hopes of presenting as the sort of couple a surrogate would want to help.

Ian has a vested interest in sorting out the Matt / Lilian / Justin thing before Adam gets further embroiled.

C8H10N4O2 · 30/10/2017 07:50

Matt just wouldn't have got that drunk

Have we not seen Matt legless before? I think part of my dislike of his character at the moment is that his desire for Lilian is more about winning a competition with Justin than about Lilian.

Ian just wouldn't have had that conversation with Justin

That was a very odd conversation. I presume we are supposed to think its displaced/misplaced unresolved anger at Adam but it just didn't work for me.

I'm guessing Nic's be "I'm driving a car" flag was because she might find him in the middle of the road.

Or perhaps its a new character entirely which might be quite welcome.

birdsdestiny · 30/10/2017 07:57

I am a bit confused about the Adam/Matt confrontation the other day. Adam did hit Matt didn't he? and then lied to Ian about it. Now that Matt has been mown down, that incident will surely come to light. Even if Adam wasn't the driver, a violent attack will now be on record, not so good for their hopes for children.

Puremince · 30/10/2017 08:02

Presumably there would have been quite a few cars on the road as people started to drift away from the Hunt Ball? Many of whom might have considered themselves below the drink drinking limit, but perhaps weren't?

If it was either Adam or Justin it will be obvious because their car will be dented. Even Harrison could solve that quickly.

viques · 30/10/2017 08:02

holliewantstobehot I have been thinking about this overnight , at first I wondered if old Badger Killer himself might be involved, but since he is in Portugal I can't pin in on him no matter how much I want to (Justice for Jethro!) I think you are right, the whole shroom story makes sense if it leads up to a folie a deux Froli catastrophe and charges of causing death by drug driving .

Noli as you say driving, but I fear Freddie is involved as it is his car and they both left the scene. I guess he never will get to take that maths resit unless the Borsetshire Home for Naice but Bad Boys has a decent education department. Elizabeth will be extremely peeved what with all the time and effort getting him coached.

Justin is therefore innocent, so if Matt does the decent thing and expires ( Christmas Eve is my bet) the wedding, albeit a bit later than planned, can go ahead in the New Year. Dress code sombre, wedding colours muted. Wedding flowers lilies.

BertrandRussell · 30/10/2017 08:03

I can't remember Matt ever getting that drunk before-and he's far too calculating to do it then.

And Ian thumped someone once too, didn't he? Or am I imagining that?

Puremince · 30/10/2017 08:09

Ian thumped Rob.

Original poster
DadDadDad · 30/10/2017 08:35

I haven't heard last night's episode, but I'm getting the impression it got a bit busy towards the end. Shock

In other news, this is quickly taking us to the end of this thread in the next few days. I shall be flying to Switzerland for work (sounds much more glamorous than it really is Blush ), so someone else will need to start #82.

Start the ball (geddit?) rolling on new thread titles. It's an important MATTer. Will you think of something JUST IN time? It would be good to have A LIST AIRdeas. I'll stop now.

OP posts:
R4 · 30/10/2017 08:39

Matt supposedly wanted Lilian to fly with him to South America but wouldn't they have refused him if he was that drunk?
Can somebody confirm dates/timelines for me. I thought that the Ball would be on the Saturday night with Matt flying out the next day. But he was sat in The Bull waiting for his taxi that was due at 9:30 IIRC. Was the Ball on Sunday night? Or did he book a taxi to leave Ambridge at 9:30pm Sat so that he would get to the airport, do boarding and all that malarky to fly at 00:01am Sun?

I wondered if old Badger Killer himself might be involved

You never know. Tim Bentinck is promoting a book (called Being David Archer. Subtle, huh?) that he has just happened to release when all this came to a head. I listened to the interview on Saturday Live and it wasn't too bad apart from the point where he felt compelled to tell us that he is nothing like David Archer. I don't think that I've heard another actor do that - I've never heard Dame Judi telling us that she is not, after all, Queen Victoria.