Thread 98 - Discuss The Archers here! If you don’t give a ha’porthfor Pip come and add your two penn’orth - we do enjoy a bit of change counting (especially if it’s in old money)

[Bittermints]

Many thanks to @LilianGish for the title (again - she has real gift for this!). Further thanks due to @PseudoBadger for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads and to @DadDadDad for being our resident statistician and keeping the ball rolling when Pseudo stepped back a bit.

All views on The Archers welcome here! New blood welcomed. We don't all agree on all points and most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you'd like to be Susan's best friend or other odd unusual views.

Spoilers: not on this thread, please. We don't wait for the omnibus to discuss the weeknight episodes, but we do try our best to avoid cross-contamination from //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3439443-keep-it-to-yourself-the-archers-spoilers-thread-4, where spoilers are positively welcomed!

(Change counting references arose specifically out of a nostalgic discussion on the previous thread, if anyone is intrigued.)

[Fink]

Thanks for the new thread.

I'm still not sure what we're supposed to think about Helen and Lee. It sounds increasingly obvious that they haven't got anything in common. But they seem to like each other. Are we meant to think it's going well for now (apart from the aforementioned, on the last thread, heavy signposting of 'I hate it when people conceal who they really are'), or are we supposed to realise that they're blindly oblivious to the clear - to everyone else - incompatibility?

[DadDadDad]

Did anyone else finish that episode feeling paranoid. Tim obviously sketchy but the way Helen said she "felt like Lee had always known her," or something to that effect, really set me off.

I know what you mean, Inky. In real life, someone like Tim would be taken to be just be a decent, hard-working bloke, but in the heightened drama of a soap, he must be softening Ed up for some financial scam that will ruin his ability to get a mortgage (or similar).

And, in real life, it would just be a question of Helen and Lee steadily getting to like each other or else one of them letting it quietly fizzle out, but again there's that lurking feeling that something disastrous is going to happen.

[LillianGish]

I think the “deception” is going to come back and bite Helen on the bum - that’s why the SWs keep dropping these heavy hints and reminders. I still can’t work out why he hasn’t heard mention of it from some other source by now - when Henry was playing up at Karate for instance (am I remembering that right?) someone might have said - well he’s had a difficult time, abusive step-father, saw his mum stab him, she went to prison, forced to live with abuser’s family, new brother born in,prison blah blah blah. I know we’ve discussed this before, but I find it incredible that he wouldn’t have heard a peep and been curious - who is the father of Helen’s children? He spends enough time moaning about his own ex. It makes me think that for the purposes of the plot it is necessary that he knows nothing which makes me think the SW are planning a dramatic reveal.

[BoreOfWhabylon]

Thanks to all involved for the new thread.

The 🔮 confirms that Tim Is Evil - it fears Emma may have her head turned when she meets him...

[LillianGish]

in the heightened drama of a soap, he must be softening Ed up for some financial scam that will ruin his ability to get a mortgage (or similar) I think the fact he has been given a voice (in spite of being an otherwise fairly peripheral character) is what is ringing alarm bells for me - I believe I commented to that effect after his first appearance. (Hope this isn’t distracting you from your stats DDD )

[birdsdestiny]

For some reason I am more worried about Lee than Tim, I have got it into my head that Rob has sent him

[DadDadDad]

Stats simmering nicely, Lil.

That's maybe a bit too paranoid, birds, but I do wonder what Rob is doing now and where?

[Waitrosenkavelier]

Surely Lee would have Googled Helen? If so, he must know about her time in the slammer.

[FraxinusExcelsior]

Good point about the googling of Helen.

[witchmountain]

Thanks bittermints and LilG for the title.

The 🔮 is in a portentous frame of mind.

[MargueritaPink]

Where did Tim come from?

[witchmountain]

also at statnip, only slightly marred by image of actuaries rolling on the office carpet, beside themselves with joy and licking their spreadsheets.

[witchmountain]

The Dark Side

[DadDadDad]

Gasp! witch - have you been spying on my office?

Some people LillianGish are interested in pointless thread stats, some aren't. I try not to do this too often. If you'd rather discuss The Archers, just skip this post and I promise to keep my peace for a while.

LilG asked if more people posting had driven up the post rate. If we look at unique usernames posting:

thread 95 had 94 posters
thread 96 had 120 posters
thread 97 had 115 posters

but strangely

thread 95 ran at 48 posts per day
thread 96 dropped to 33 posts per day
thread 97 was back up at 50 posts per day

So sheer numbers of posters don't explain it. This is where it gets interesting (I know, who'd've thought stats could get even more interesting than this ).

So the top three posters on 95 (ppeatfruit, TheEfficientBaxter, DadDadDad if you must know), averaged a combined 11 posts per day. But those three dropped to a combined 2 posts per day on thread 96. It must have been a Christmas effect, as the other posters on 95 who contributed the remaining 37 posts per day, dropped to 25 posts per day. To offset that, newcomers (ie those who had not been on thread 95) brought in 6 posts per day.

Strangely, on thread 97, those former top three did not make much of a return - only back up to 4 posts per day (where is Baxter?), but a lot of the others from thread 95 did return to a large extent (34 posts per day), along with some more newcomers - those who had not been on 95 or 96 brought in 6.5 posts per day to 97. The newcomers of thread 96 more or less stuck around to provide around 5 posts per day on 97. So, LilG, it was newcomers plus a post-Christmas return that boosted the rate in the last thread.

On thread 96, only two posters managed to each average over 2 posts per day: R4 and witchmountain.

Thread 97 had a gang of four that stick out at the top of the table producing in total 11 posts per day: ppeatfruit, MikeUniformMike, QuaterMiss and ErrolTheDragon.

So a lot of variability, with only one poster managing an average rate of more than 2 posts per day across the three threads: R4.

One other thing I'm now wondering: will we get to Thread 100 before or after Brexit happens? It looks like it's going to be close (unless Brexit gets delayed).

[MargueritaPink]

So a lot of variability, with only one poster managing an average rate of more than 2 posts per day across the three threads: R4

I had to change my name as another Lass appeared on FWR. I am LassWiADelicateAir (and hope to change back as the other (non) Lass seems to have gone/name- changed)

[buckingfrolicks]

Thanks for the new thread. Sterling work.

[InkySplatter]

Oooh I love a dabble of statnip. Thanks DDD for the roundup.

I'm a former Tiger but there were 2 of us (both with and then suddenly none.

Whilst I'm in the confessional, I had a momentary flash of 'sent by Rob?' I think it's practically impossible and I may have to renounce green tea as well now.

[SaturdayNext]

Waitrosenkavalier, Lee wouldn't necessarily find out about Helen's history if he googles Helen Archer, as she was tried as Helen Titchenor.

[FiveShelties]

I wonder if someone at The Laurels will update Lee on the gossip? Or perhaps they already have.......

[Travelledtheworld]

What sort of accent is Tim supposed to have, and where did he pop up from ?

[Comfortablylow]

Yes I'm interested to know more of Tim 'matey' Oakley giving dear Ed a full day's pay and a lift was very kind....
DDD your vital stats were engrossing, thanks!

[Cromercrab]

If Ed is going to be suckered into a financial scam (please no - perhaps the writers will pull back thinking, we already did that with Christine), I shall have to wait it out until it's over. I can't bear it. Maybe Emma will intervene? Ed wouldn't take money out of the account without talking to her, would he?

[QuaterMiss]

Oh! I meant to respond to people who asked about Mr Oatey (not that they've given much info) but I was so taken with Waitrosenkavalier I may have fallen asleep trying to come up with other operatic nicknames. (But couldn't make even one. Useless!)

Tim Oatey was introduced to Ed by Oliver (?). Couple of months ago? He's a small farmer who picks up contract work locally. (Feel free to correct me.) And was doing some work for Grey Gables - I think - when Ed was moaning to Oliver about lack of work. He has been able to provide Ed with a bit of casual labour. As Lil'G said - he's suspect because he's been given a voice. And he's far, far too interested in Ed's life ...

But yes, accent. What is it with the casting director? Every single new man in their 30s has a high, whiney, weirdly Australian accent. Lee and Tim both have these vocal characteristics. It's highly annoying!

[R4]

Gosh. I'd better get going if I am to keep my Consistent-Poster crown! Fanks for the fred, Bittermints et al.

I'm not sure where they are going with Tim. Ed has been pulled into dodgy work before - the dog fighters - and I thought that Em tore him off a strip he learned his lesson and won't get sucked in again.

[QuaterMiss]

I don't remember Ed being involved with that - only HWMNBN.