The Archers No. 94: Freddie’s doing porridge, Tom gets his oats, but will Home Farm be toast? We’ll have to wheat and see ... Serial production is in full swing in Ambridge

[witchmountain]

Thanks to LilG for the title, and DDD for starting the last thread and the tradition of the thread starter nominating the next thread starter

Lurkers are always welcome to unlurk and join in, including asking questions of the many very knowledgeable posters with a long Archers-listening history.

Don't post spoilers based on forthcoming plot synopses that you've read, there's another thread for that (and we'd love to see you over there). Once an episode has aired then it's fair game.

This may have been discussed already, but I am thinking that we are heading for a romance between Helen and the karate instructor, allowing Henry to have a reliable father figure in his life at last.

From the backing table here www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/713275/2017_Table_1_STI_diagnoses___rates_in_England_by_gender.xls
it's 764 new diagnoses per 100,000 in 2017. Given some are incurable, eg herpes, and others undiagnosed, actual incidence likely to be higher?

I don't know @cheminotte. I don't think they do really know how characters come across. I don't think the scriptwriters/editor saw Rob as a baddy until quite late on for example. I think they see Hannah as a "ladette" type. All beer and straight talking when actually she's just really unpleasant.

Thanks @dairyfarmerswife. I really enjoyed your assessment of the cow conundrum/dairy dilemma.

@Saker I'v been thinking this too!

Well I opened the link Kitchen and couldn't find anything like the rate you quote. Sorry, not doubting you, but simply can't read bazillions of figures on a spreadsheet.

But is my hunch correct that the likelihood of picking up an STD is quite low if you are a heterosexual man/woman with maybe 2 -3 new partners a year - which I think is the situation that Mystic Bore foresaw for Hannah and the men of Ambridge?

Have I gone completely mad? Sometimes this thread makes me wonder.

Listening to a R4 Women’s hour item earlier, the topic for discussion was the increase in STDs and how people were not using condoms or thinking safe sex, as much since incidence of HIVaids was lower these days. No hints of any protection being used by Hannah or requested even in their escapades.

At least Phoebe used a condom last summer when she had her ons with the picker. I can’t imagine anyone in Ambridge buys their condoms in the village shop. Susan would love it though!

Yes, although the message from that story seemed to be that condoms don’t work and the morning after pill makes you sick for days.

The Osamar story is shocking but it looks like he was done for possession. Freddie was dealing.

And possession is different again from possession with intent to supply. I’m guessing you could argue those quantities could be for personal consumption, providing there wasn’t also evidence of supply.

Coincidentally a friend had a visit from the police yesterday morning looking for her son (he wasn't there). Who has been supplying drugs at his 6th form college. Don't know the details. They told her he'd be going to prison. Life imitating art... although he's not posh like Freddie.

grumiosmum how awful ,that poor family ,poor mum .

Does anyone know the details of what and quantities that Freddie was charged with possessing . Wonder how it's decided whether drugs are for personal use v intention to supply ?

Sorry ,derailing thread .

Harrison caught Freddie trying to hand over a pill to Toby, so he'd have struggled to argue it was just for personal use.

I'd like an update on Ellis when he goes to court.

The Osamar story on Sky News:

Osamor admitted having up to £2,500 worth of drugs with intent to supply at Dorset's Bestival event in 2017, the Bournemouth Echo reported.

The 29-year-old was found with cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and cannabis, according to the newspaper.

He was given a two-month community order and 20 days of rehabilitation.

Since coke is about £40 a gram, and ecstasy is sold at around £5 a pill (don't know about the other stuff), he clearly had shitloads. And the charge is 'intent to supply'. So perhaps a combination of an effective legal strategy and a judge thinking, "Why put yet another young man in prison for drug dealing? He's already lost his career, his reputation and besmirched his mother's career and reputation." Also, perhaps he handed over good evidence leading to a bigger arrest?

Peridito - I'm very sorry about your friend and her boy. What a nightmare. It's one of my private horrors (along with all the others!)

Peridito posted the quantities further up thread: being found in possession of 30 grammes of ecstasy, 7.5 grammes of cocaine, 5.7 grammes of ketamine and a bit of cannabis with a total street value of between £1,690 and £2,500some £2,000 worth of Class A drugs"

Looking at the sentencing guidelines they must have treated him as having a “lesser role” in a Category 4 offence, even though the quantities are very slightly over some of the limits for Category 4.

www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/item/supplying-or-offering-to-supply-a-controlled-drug-possession-of-a-controlled-drug-with-intent-to-supply-it-to-another/

In terms of how they guess what it’s for it’s just logic I think. Are you carrying 30 pills on you on a night out or are they at home? Do you have scales and hundred of small plastic bags? Do you have unexplained wodges of cash? Etc etc.

In Freddie's case they had evidence of his previous supply to Noluthando plus his admission of dealing over a long period, mitigated by dobbing Ellis in. If I were the judge I'd be distinctly unimpressed by the fact that he carried on after he saw the danger he'd put his cousin in.

@AlecOrAlonzo Yes quite agree. Right up to the affair with the mauve dress the editor (don't know about the SWs) was thinking of Rob as the ideal man, considerate and "protective". Seem to remember at the time that the idea he was a controlling abuser came as a revelation; they then started writing him as an abuser and he became a pantomime baddy and just thoroughly tedious.

So maybe we have to hope that they don't realise Hannah is unpleasant - goodness knows what she'll become if they start deliberately writing her that way!

TA is always best when there's nothing much happening and the characters can just be themselves.

It's great fun listening out of order and catching up - I've just listened to the episode which opens with Justin saying to Jennifer "family will always come first with me", 5 mins after listening to the end of the previous episode when he made it clear to Lilian he opposed the Home Farm purchase by BL purely on financial grounds. It's great too to see the build-ups to scenes that you've already listened to in the future - little snippets become far more significant.

That’s an interesting idea Dint .
I’m currently 3 episodes behind (and unlikely to catch up before Sunday so may try that!

Aaaagghhh!! Please, please somebody shoot Pip. What a nasty baggage she is.

And do we think David is heading towards early onset Alzheimer's?

And do we think David is heading towards early onset Alzheimer's?

I was going to ask that! Two examples today of going doolally / losing his marbles but there have also been recent incidents of him being knocked off his feet by the sheep.

Pip is vile.

AIBU to think that Lee is a bit wet?