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.

“ I spend all year getting back towards thinking she’s ok really and then November comes and I want her to meet David on a dark night. ”

This made me lol

Elizabeth must be heading for some sort of breakdown or crisis or something - maybe one of the core Archers going totally off the rails is the endgame that SATTC was referring to? Altho Roy was being an officious twerp tbh.

I did have some slight sumpathy fpr her plight (if not her handling of it); i was peripherally involved in helping run a big and much anticipated bonfire night event this time last year and there were a fee hiccups on opening night, and the facebook comments, my god, the facebook comments!!! Someone was ‘literally devastated’ that she had to wait half an hour for a pizza, and someone else complained that it was dark. It.was.a.fireworks.display. Hilarious.

Didn’t a certain Grace die in a fire a few years back? Anyone called Grace currently around? (I really hope not).

We think alike! Grace was Jill's predecessor, Phil's first wife, she was Toby and thingy's half aunt, their father's half sister. On the night that ITV started The Archers had a well promoted fire and Grace died in the barn! Baby Rosie's middle name is Grace, didn't her father persuade Pip to include it but no-one knows? That, another barn fire fatality would be a step too far, it's not Emmerdale or Ostenders after all!

Saffkat

I am a bit worried about Neil, not sure where this bad back storyline is heading.
It meant that Hannah was deputising for him. She appears to have sacked someone on the spur of the moment which sounds like unfair dismissal to me. So I hope that means that Hannah is now started on the disciplinary route. Hurrah!
Neil will be better for Armistice bell-ringing. Hopefully. Fingers crossed.

The Elizabeth storyline is beyond ridiculous now.

Complaining that it was dark on a November evening is like the complaint I saw mentioned here a few years back from someone with a holiday cottage. One of the families she'd rented it to complained that the tide went out (or possibly came in) - so the beach didn't always look like the picture in the brochure.

Elizabeth has completely lost the plot. I don't know how Geraldine puts up with it.

What did Neil do to incapacitate himself? We're 2pm listeners and there must have been a longer q than usual at the supermarket one day!

Agree that Elizabeth is being set up by the SWs for a breakdown, not least of trust between herself and Geraldine who is the only with her eye on the business.

Thinking of the entirely unreasonable, a while ago there was a letter on our local rag complaining about seaweed being allowed to pile up on the beach, where it smells and looks untidy. Pesky tidal dumping.

If Neil can get up the tower stairs, he could direct the bellringing without doing any ringing himself.

It occurred to me that the bad back was a cancer symptom...

Neil has had a bad back before, hasn’t he?

It occurred to me that the bad back was a cancer symptom...

I wondered if it was one of our regular health items rather than the beginning of Hannah's reign as Pig Queen.

Low back pain was an early symptom of prostate cancer in a relative of mine - no idea how commonly its an early symptom but it got him to the doctor and a diagnosis.

I am a bit worried about Neil, not sure where this bad back storyline is heading.

It meant that Hannah was deputising for him. She appears to have sacked someone on the spur of the moment ...

That was my first thought too. But wasn't Neil struck down with some vague cold-lurgy quite recently? Couldn't shake it off - Susan and Emma both worried about him ... And now his back.

Could this be one of those rare occasions where the SW team have been very clever - combining Neil's decline with Hannah's inveiglement into the village?

Altho Roy was being an officious twerp tbh

Yes I agree. He had no business deciding that people should get refunds and collecting their names for those refunds.

I usually like Roy - or at least I like the way he was developed from a moderately unpleasant young man into a hard working and responsible adult who sometimes is stupid. I'd put this act in the occasional stupid category.

I think they said he'd been moving pallets? From the way he was wincing it sounded quite acute, which would be consistent with a muscle in spasm.

There's definitely some firey foreshadowing going on at Brookfield. My money is on the death of a Fairbrother (rather than a Grace) - probably Toby so Pip can get together with Rex.
I also found it totally unbelievable that Geraldine would not know Emma Grundy - at least by sight.

Roy was trying to help Elizabeth with some damage limitation - the trouble is no-one can tell Elizabeth anything at the moment unless it is: "Your poor, fatherless, misguided son has been harshly judged and I am going to immediately move heaven and earth to get him released from his overly-long and entirely unjustified prison sentence."

I also found it totally unbelievable that Geraldine would not know Emma Grundy

Why would she? Geraldine works at Lower Loxley Hall which is near ... Lower Loxley. It's a few miles from Ambridge. Why would Geraldine and Emma's paths cross?

If I were Geraldine, my notice would be on Elizabeth's desk faster than she could say "Oh, Freddie would have loved watching a lynching....."

Caffeine - I was tickled by Pig Queen for Hannah. Especially, when the thought immediately popped into my head that such a person would be addressed Her Royal Swineness

Last 4 comments are all brilliant. You guys rock. Gold stars and cake for all.

DadDadDad - I was even more tickled by your new aftershave fragrance

Emma worked at LL before George was born. Geraldine didn't but if she lives locally and knows Roy it is a bit surprising that she doesn't know Emma.

Geraldine mentioned having a partner, didn't she?

I wonder if that is going to have any significance

Roy has, at GG, the equivalent role to Geraldine. LL sent business to Ambridge - deffo The Bull but also GG? - so Geraldine knows people in hospitality management in Ambridge and she knows The First Family but I don't think that she would have cause to know the Carters/Grundys.

The woodsmoke after-shave? Yep, I'm already on to the marketing - we're going to call it Vanity of the Bonfires.