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.)

I am developing a serious crush on Johnny....

Top Bloke made me laugh out loud too (on London bus), but more with ridicule. The BBC's determination to avoid the use of any brand names often results in ludicrous, unrealistic dialogue and this was a corker. Like when the characters go on about their 'tablets' (said no one EVER).

I'm sorry but even Johnny is annoying me now

He's very 'one note'

Maybe it's because we are supposed to like him a lot that I am suspicious of him

Some more clothing brand ideas:

Lizzie Bennett
CAP
Bulgarian Connection
Ambridge Apparel
Skylark

I'm hoping that Lee is just a way for Helen to get back on the horse, as't'were. They'll have a fun fling, her confidence will have a good boost and eventually they'll amicably decide they're unsuited and go their separate ways.

Hoping.....

Looking forward to meeting Jill’s man. My ex MIL was engaged twice in her 70s, so could be fun.

Surely it’s not just immigration but cost to the NHS ?

I don't think entering the country pregnant will be the issue. I think she will either have the baby in Bulgaria or just not come back.

"There's a school bus. Not sure if there's a regular bus."

I think there must be, because Peggy caught it that time she went into town to have a fight with a serve-yourself till for no apparent reason. (I mean the whole trip was weird, not that having the fight with the till was. That's utterly understandable.)

"The other day Emma was complaining to Joe about Jennifer standing in the doorway with a knife covered in blood."

Which made me wonder whether anyone in the world who is cutting something up in the kitchen hears the doorbell ring and doesn't put down the knife and give her hands a wipe before going and answering the door. Wouldn't you not want to get blood all over the place?

If we're talking about strange names for shops, there is a gentlemen's outfitters, either Belgian or French, I remember seeing a branch in Paris years ago called.....Phist.

I couldn't think what Dad3 meant by FatThighs, then clicked - FatFace, yes?

Does anyone think Lexi will simply not go full-term? I know we've had horribly sad miscarriage already, but it's such a tricky storyline. I quite enjoyed Kirsty's 'There's a lot to tell' riposte to Natasha (who is, obviously, horrible. Why is Tom so brainless?)

Twice Minimammoth?

There's hope for me yet!

Yes, Cromer. I was waiting for someone to come and accuse me of fat-shaming, but they started it...

Unlikely as the story seems (not the surrogacy itself but the local/international complications) I suspect there will actually be a baby at the end. So far only Kate has children - there need to be more Aldridge offspring of that generation to weave a satisfyingly knotty path into the future. (IMVHO ...)

Hurrah, I'm back in the room. I got shut out during the MN log-in debacle.

I quite enjoyed Kirsty's 'There's a lot to tell' riposte to Natasha
Really? I thought that she was an absolute cow.
Considering that she had just had a heart-to-heart with Helen where Helen explained that she wanted her new bf to think of her as simply 'Helen Archer' and not 'that knife-wielding maniac and/or EA victim' it was bang out of order for Kirsty to tell Tom's new gf that he was 'that bloke wot did criminal damage'. Especially when it was about a quarter of a century ago.

There's no way Tom wouldn't have offered up the crop sabotage to Natasha during their first few days together! It's the most exciting thing he's ever done - apart from jilting his bride at the altar.

R4 - maybe we need a bit of a roll-call to see if anyone else of our number has been locked out?

Phew just made it back in but only on one device

We say tablet in our house because OH hates apple and insists our toddlers don't sully his by confusing it with my iPad
Yeah I know.

Came here to say I feel obliged to defend Lee's fart anecdote on their date. I don't know why?
He only said it to put Helen at her ease after she burped. I think it was very kind of him in the circs and just what she needed. I adore a bit of love levelling ranks even if I don't like Helen or Lee. (May have mentioned this once in twice.)

whether anyone in the world who is cutting something up in the kitchen hears the doorbell ring and doesn't put down the knife and give her hands a wipe before going and answering the door.

The front door in the house I grew up (a 250 year old farmhouse) opened into the kitchen, though usually if we were in the middle of something, we'd shout, "it's open!" It would only be the postman or strangers who wouldn't let themselves in. So we'd quite possibly be found with a bloody knife.

Like when the characters go on about their 'tablets' (said no one EVER).
Electronic or medical?

The Jonny / Alistair thing is nonsense. Tony is retired (i.e. has time on his hands) but is still overinfested in cows - why would Jonny be reluctant to bother him. Tony would love it!
What vet is going to 'mentor' one of his clients? You can imagine the likes of Joe Grundy would be there like a shot, "I hear that you are giving your time free to Bridge farm. I take it that extends to Grange Farm, too."

Electronic or medical?
or wax? (for the very late adopters ).

or stone? For Shula, obvs.

I know loads of people who say tablet for their electronic device.
And for tablets.
I'm not in Scotland.

Is Leonard Tom thingy's Dad?