The Archers #93: The Flower and Produce show - who's going to get their just desserts. Freddie? Ellis? Russ? Pass judgement here.

[DadDadDad]

No, that's not a jokey exaggeration, this is really the 93rd thread in a series started by PseudoBadger five years ago! In fact, post number 90,000 in the "official" count will be made on this thread.

Lovers of The Archers welcome (along with the rest of us who have a more complicated relationship with the "TA" ).

One rule we try to stick to: No mentioning of future episode plotlines published in the Radio Times etc. However, once an episode has aired, say what you like!

What is going to happen to Freddie? And are we ever going to hear from Lily again?
I also am wondering what it will take for Kenton to apologise to Fallon...

I've just looked up the calendar of Health Events to see if there was a forthcoming week to tie into a storyline. Take your pick for Chris from osteoporosis, arthritis, thrombosis and infection prevention all of which have their special day in October.

I think David was right in what he said to Elizabeth but as we all know, criticising someone's child, even when justified, never goes down well.

Am I being thick? Who's this new BL board person?

Peter is Intendant (or Managing Director) of a German orchestra which I have always assumed to be the Berlin Phil. I absolutely love the fact that you have given so much thought to Peter who, to my knowledge, has never made an appearance (though fully prepared to be corrected). Out of interest, why did you settle on the Berlin Phil? If this is the case - and I am now fully persuaded that it is - it is surely unthinkable that he would popping back to Ambridge to nurse his mum back to health. I actually have a cartoon of the Berlin Phil hanging above my piano - every time I look at it from now on I shall wonder if Peter is lurking there somewhere.

Lil’G I think I vaguely remember the actual Berlin Phil Intendant saying something very dry and witty during a R3 programme on Simon Rattle. (Good few years ago!)

It may have been “All hope is permitted.” But it was the way he said it.

it feels a bit clunky the way Christine's fall provided a way to bludgeon Kenton with Fallon's heart of gold. He was effectively cornered.
I felt it was a bit more reciprocal than that. Fallon-with-the-heart-of-gold was at the hospital but then so was Kenton, unlike any of Chris's other nephews/nieces. I felt that she accepted the apology (could have snubbed him) because she recognised a bit of golden-heartedness in him, too.

I worry about Lizzie. Remember how she turned on David after Nigel's death? Is she going to have some similar outraged fury against David & Kenton for their lack of belief in Freddie's appeal prospects.

So glad to hear reports of Christine sounding well in herself. I was worried she'd have a dementia episode from the shock of the fall. So horrid.

I was very impressed with how much Elizabeth sounded like Lily at the end there, the voice was uncanny for a moment whilst burying head in the sand and isolating herself. Families aye? Kenton & David were right to be upfront but it's a bitter pill.

Isn’t karate man a physiotherapist or something similar? Will he be drafted in to get Christine back on her hotters?

I’m glad they have introduced karate man. We never hear much about how the village hall is used, and my observation is that most halls are full of Yoga,Pilates, Zumba, Brownies, WI meetings pretty much every night. Lots of opportunities for social interaction.

I think Elizabeth is only just realising the extent of the public awareness of Freddie’s dealing. If people didn’t know, they do now. Ultimately this includes all of the people who visit LoLo and all of her commercial contacts.

I wanna know how Lily is getting on.

back on her hotters

Not sure if that meant Hotters the shoes, or a typo for trotters but both made me chuckle. The sort of thing Gazzer would say, too.

So sad to hear this will be Lynda’s last theatrical production (how many times have we heard that?)

Chris isn't young, but she is fit and well and active. She should recover quite quickly from a hip replacement surely?

By coincidence an elderly relative of mine had a fall resulting in a broken ball joint just a couple of weeks back. She is generally very fit and able for her age (late 80s) so they recommended going straight to hip replacement.

If she progresses well then she will hopefully be back to full independence in a couple of months but there is no certainty at that age - one more fall or another illness could change that. She also needs a lot of help for a few weeks. My main concern is that she loses confidence (she lives alone and was alone after the fall for several hours).

Peter is Intendant (or Managing Director) of a German orchestra which I have always assumed to be the Berlin Phil.

Me too although I don't know why I assumed it was the Phil. But Peter has looked like Simon Rattle in my head for some years.

I thought David was being an even bigger twat than usual last night. As he ages he develops more Smugula tendencies.

Oh I think it would be hard not to feel a bit smug if you’re David at the moment. He’s not getting divorced, none of his children have been confined (other than at their own pleasure) and he’s not Kenton. He’s completely winning right now.

Peter in my head looks as I imagine the Berlin man to look (obvs vague conjecture as he was on the radio). Quite plain and serious - nothing like as glamorous as Maestro Rattle!

He’s completely winning right now.

He has plenty to be ashamed about in his own history. I thought the comment about "Peter should be helping" was a bit rich coming from someone who routinely assumes the women in the family will cover his own family responsibilities.

The reality is that Peter can do precious little whilst she is in hospital. The options after hospital depend on the practicalities of the house.

My relative is now out and at home after having a number of temporary adaptations put in place (extra hand rails/grab rails etc. I was surprised at how little support there is for an old person living alone in an isolated area. A drop in for the first weeks in the mornings and evenings to help dressing/undressing but not a time allocation for helping meal prep/cleaning let alone someone to simply be in the house at night.

We have managed to cover the nights/fill the freezer etc between relatives but I'd worry about people who don't have family to help them.

Isn’t it highly likely, going on past, that karate man will turn out to be the only physio in Borsetshire?

I like Christine. She’s kind and gentle and isn’t bitchy. Unlike some other elders of Ambridge. I hope she’ll be okay. She coul have a minor hiccup in her recovery, but one that can be overcome.

In my mind’s eye peter is fair and pasty, nothing like le Rattle,

I like Christine. She’s kind and gentle and isn’t bitchy.

Yes, she’s a sweetheart. I really enjoyed her chat with fallon when they were talking about being married to coppers.

Going back a couple of pages, can anyone tell me what all that talk of sheds was about?

My dad recovered well after his first broken hip but the second time it was smashed in so many places it wasn't possible to operate and required 8 weeks on a rehab Ward (in a very nice small hospital ). He tottered on for a couple of years after that but was never quite the same.

trotters/Hotters I wondered about that. I love Hotters and have several pairs.

Going back a couple of pages, can anyone tell me what all that talk of sheds was about? Long ago, when there were only about 100 people on the internet (or so it seemed as you kept bumping into the same people everywhere), before forums like mumsnet, there were "newsgroups" (which required special newsreader programs to be able to receive them), one of which was uk.rec.sheds. Sheddi were people who had proper sheds, full of things that "might come in useful", and encompassed, eg "bonsai sheds" (aka the kitchen drawer where you keep "useful bits of string" etc).

In those days, the internet seemed a much friendly place, and people in different newsgroups might get together for real life meets - so various sheddi would announce a "shedmoot" at their home and any of the regular posters could turn up. So friends made on-line in those days very easily turned into enduring real life friends. Hence great excitement when you realise a MN poster is an ex-sheddi.

Christine had been having incidents of 'clumsiness' before the fall - there was one in the tearoom. I guess there can be a variety of causes in older people. The other question is, as alluded to, osteoporosis. My understanding is that the problem with poor recovery from falls in older people is the reason for the fall - some falls are the result of a break in a weak bone, not the cause. Or presumably TIAs may cause a fall etc.

Christine had an earlier episode of confusion due to a UTI. This is quite common in older people (probably especially if they have to be catheterised for some reason). And another problem can be pain relief ... we had no idea at the time when MIL was declining what exactly those Fentanyl patches were. Peggy is quite possibly wiser, and still sharp as a knife (I had a quiet BOOP the other day when she so casually mentioned selling some shares - a capable nonagenarian woman)

I wish they could bottle whatever Peggy and Joe Grundy are on.

It just caught my eye that in the OP I said:

What is going to happen to Freddie? And are we ever going to hear from Lily again?
I also am wondering what it will take for Kenton to apologise to Fallon...

I guess we have answers for two of those. Meanwhile, what is going behind the veil of silence in Manchester?

Hopefully lily is getting properly stuck into her course - from her A levels presumably geography or German, unlikely though not impossible biology. Hopefully her evident doubts about Russ will continue to grow - but I think I'd expect her to try to hide these from Lily, partly from pride but also not wanting to add her own troubles on top of the Freddie situation.

I bet she had a staid freshers week (quite some time ago iirc when our neighbours DC left for manc uni) and didn't get to join many interesting societies.