Thread 99 (yes, 99!): Join us for spirited discussions of The Archers and its Top Blokes, whether you're Team Elizabeth (low spirits), Team Kate (Spiritual Home) or Team Toby (spirits =gin)

[Bittermints]

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. Thanks also to all those who contributed to the thread title.

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!

So, to business. What a fantastic two-hander. Massive BOOP points to Alison Dowling, the scriptwriter and director (and the therapist). I had more than a small tear in my eye listening to that.

I'm another one with a vote of thanks to chemenger for all that information on the last thread about distilling. I should know some of that because I went on a tour of the whisky distillery near where my parents live but I've forgotten most of it except how delicious the end product is.

I missed a little bit, but was Pip talking about doing night duty while Toby takes over with Rosie? How's that going to work given that he has a job that he has an evening job?

Sorry, that should be -

How's that going to work given that he has an evening job?

• far as I remember the Cathedral School is selective. Probably even more so for sixth form. So how can Ruairi be certain of a place before he's taken his GCSEs?

It may not be eyewateringly selective. Some schools are a bit less selective in the sixth form, which larger numbers per year than lower down - probably helps if they want to provide more subject choices. He may well have good enough gcse predictions for him to be reasonably sure of a place.

She's agreeing to take on shifts on the assumption he will cover childcare without actually discussing it with him first......... they have already had some childcare miscommunications so that will work out well.

I assume they are heading towards a big row about it when they are both double booked & it ends up with sheep dying in the lambing shed as Pip had to leave to fetch Rosie, or Lillian or Alice not being served their drinks promptly in the Bull as Toebeeeee had to fetch Rosie

Long time lurker and archers addict since first pregnancy and listened to the podcasts to help sleep , just found this thread via the AIbU thread...

Anyway! Am I mistaken that I was sure Elizabeth was paying Lily’s rent on the flat? And if she was why would they be in arrears??

Lizzie maybe helped with the deposit, and bought household goods (the fancy kettle and sheets etc), but I think lily was paying for the flat from her maintenance loan - but that (obviously) wasn't enough to finance something more expensive than halls plus have Russ sponging off her.

I can’t understand why they’ve got into rent arrears so soon. It’s only been 4 months-Lily’s loan wouldn’t be used up yet, would it?

They're half way through the undergrad year so you'd have thought she wouldn't have run out quite yet - but Russ is fussy about his food (and everything else) and it was meant to be a nice flat... maybe her burn rate could be 2x normal.

There's an AIBU Archers thread?!

I can well believe they've chewed through Lily's student loan so quickly. If they're still parent-wealth related, she could have been awarded comparatively little, and a private flat in a naice area, council tax (thanks to Russ living there), all bills, transport, expensive food, and you just know Russ had it heated all day long that lily wasn't there....

AIBU thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3511241-to-think-it-hasnt-really-been-a-year-since-Nick-died-on-the-Archers

far as I remember the Cathedral School is selective. Probably even more so for sixth form Wasn’t that the reason Freddie had to leave (and Lily left in support for her twin). Maybe he won’t get in and that’s how he’ll end up with Ben in Borchester.

It had a low enough bar that Freddie got into year 7, but it was a struggle for him and yes, he didn't do well enough at gcse to stay. Ruari sounds sharper.

I wonder how Russ’s wife is paying for her home, whether she’s had to move? As he’s 40 or so wouldn’t he have managed to co-own somewhere with his wife? Is that now in mortgage arrears? Having no income from September should have made him look for work. The Pargeters have always struck me as land rich cash poor, Lizzie & co don’t live frugally but nor do they live extravagantly, no holidays in the sun during the winter or villas in the South of France in the summer.

Oh Eastpoint ... D'you think there's any hope at all that the SWs will address these questions?

I'm still waiting to hear about the financial outcomes from Tom and Kirsty's non-wedding. Did anyone ever say a word about the presumed loss of what must have been a huge deposit on their new-build away-from-Ambridge mansion?

I’m sure we won’t hear a thing but I’d like Russ to suffer the consequences of running out on his wife & having an affair with a student. He could be an example of what happens to unfaithful dreamers in the same way that Lizzie is showing how people cope with depression. Public service announcement to would be philandering husbands.

I'm still waiting for Russ to have secret children to really nail the 'he's an arse element. I worry Lilys fussing won't help Elizabeth at all, she had a proper plan in place and now Lilly is babying her again

Shula is the Public Service Announcement to the would-be / dreamers out there!

now Lily is babying her again
The whole family baby each other. Lizzie -> twins. Lily -> Lizzie. Jill -> David. David&Kenton -> Jill. Everyone -> Pip.

If Lily really wanted to help Elizabeth she would kick Russ into touch. Then the pair of them could get LL back in shape and support Freddie on his release ready for Lily to return to halls in Manchester (or should that be Felpersham?) in the autumn. Russ is now surplus to requirements plot-wise - he guaranteed Lily’s silence so Freddie could carry on dealing drugs and go to prison then removed her from the scene so LL could go into freefall and Lizzie could have a breakdown. He’s served his purpose and can now be safely despatched.

If the SWs send Lily to Felpersham instead of her returning to Manchester (in halls, sans Russ) I'm sure we'll be furious. A discussion of the concept might be permitted, perhaps with Phoebe, and firmly nipped in the bud.

When Lily was communicating through the medium of mime, Manchester might have been a reasonable option. Now she has found her voice (like Ruari) all bets are off.

He’s served his purpose and can now be safely despatched.
Harsh, but fair.

I actually like the Mia young carer storyline (in reply to QuaterMiss). As long as it doesn't go down the having a crush on Will route. I'll be interested to see how they resolve it.

IMO, the least realistic would be Will somehow coming to his senses and realising (obviously with external prompting, there's no way he's going to realise by himself) that it's completely unacceptable for a 13 year old to be running his household and that he needs to pull his finger out and do it himself. Improbable because of his well-documented chauvinism and cluelessness.

It could be that someone like Clarrie will realise and then everyone else (i.e his Mum and ex-wife) will have to rally round even more and do his work for him to save Mia.

He could completely break down and have the kids taken away. Mia could go to Andrew. I don't know about Poppy, maybe she'd move in with Clarrie. This also seems quite unlikely given the strong family support network available to him.

Or he could get a new partner and the situation would be magically resolved by him having a new skivvy to do everything for him. Or possibly hire a housekeeper and have exactly the same deal without the sex.

I really hope it is resolved in some way that Will actually has to take responsibility as the adult in his household. It will clearly require a complete personality transplant, but that's long been overdue anyway.

On a completely different topic - just been re-listening to the counselling episode - Elizabeth referred to Phil going ape-shit when David failed the 11-plus. Is that true? If you buy in to the ethos that the 11-plus is to select children according to their aptitude or otherwise for an academic education, why would you be cross with your child for failing? Maybe be annoyed that the school hadn't prepared them well enough, but with the child? I can't imagine Phil being annoyed. Disappointed, yes, but not annoyed.

Depends on the child - if they've done their best but don't pass, that's fine, though disappointing. If they failed because they pissed about and didn't make an effort, and otherwise should have easily passed, that would be more likely to induce anger.

I don't know if that was the case with David, though - he's never struck me as the most academic, though I am too young to know of his 11+ days.