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.

she will run off with half Tom's share.
What's the betting that her Nuffield business is safely ring-fenced, away from predatory ex-spouses.

Brine and JD would be so horrified at the concept that Susan thinks of them as the poor relations. I love it!

Does Natasha come from a farming background - if so how did she make the leap from lippy to fruit-juice entrepreneur - does she just bottle and market it or did she acquire up-and-running fruit farms along the way? What is she planning on doing with the nut from the nut trees planted on Bridge Farm? Is she doing it to get some acres, after all land is finite!

I know of a farming family where from an early age the children were encouraged to marry people with land, which they did to make their father happy, but the marriages didn't work (one had to flee for their life, the other married someone very odd) and meanwhile the family farm has shrunk in size to pay legal fees etc.

Quater I seem to remember Lily insisted on buying new sheets when she went, possibly at Russ's behest, despite Elizabeth saying they had cupboards full of sheets she could take. So it's probably those that have come back. Presumably the fancy kettle has returned too.

Why have they not got their alcohol licence back?

Elizabeth couldn’t handle the appeal and legal admin so they didn’t reapply.

How ironic that alcohol, one of the worst, most addictive and most abused drugs is not allowed to be sold in a place because an idiot gave away a couple of e's or whatever.

Oh and I partake of neither btw.

ppeatfruit - but isn't that actually logical rather than ironic? as alcohol is a dangerous drug, isn't is good that the strict laws around it are operating (crudely, but effectively) to ban its sale in a location where there appears to be a risk of criminality / threats to public safety?

I say crudely, because of course the fact that Lizzie didn't spot that her son was dealing drugs on the premises probably bears little relation to the likelihood of her being irresponsible in selling bottles of wine in LL restaurant, but I guess the authorities are taking a risk-averse approach.

Well yes Dad Crudely being the operative word ; there would be no very few inner city pubs with licences if the law was correctly applied

I thought the bringing their own sheets was because they have actually brought everything, as you do in a midnight flit.

I just assumed Lily had the sheets because they've had to clear out all their stuff from the flat they were living in, and she was telling Liz she had them, in case Liz tried to stop them from staying by saying they didn't have any clean sheets.

I'd forgotten about Lily being offered some of the LL ones when she moved out.

I was decidedly hmm a few days ago when the SW had Lily say that she and Russ had brought their own sheets with them. I think Lizzie just said there weren't sheets on the bed, not that she didn't have any. Lily had sheets with her because they've had to pack up all their belongings from the flat.

there would be no very few inner city pubs with licences if the law was correctly applied In the 70s there was a large country house hotel not so far from Felpersham which was known far around for alleged drug dealing activity. Mothers of "nice girls" wouldn't let them anywhere near it. It didn't have any trouble with its license. Nowadays it's an upmarket hotel and wedding venue - very LL in fact

Yes ... I get the midnight flit issue. But in Lily's shoes, returning to her particular parental home (the one with an entire floor devoted to storage of ancestral bed-linen) - I'd have kept very quiet about bringing sheets home, for fear of giving the game away!

MereDint - I'm a bit confused. You reference Felpersham (which only exists in TA) but seem to be talking about a real place.

Pardon Dad ?Wash your mouth out Felpersham not real indeed!!!!!

Felpersham is a real place (), somewhere in the West Midlands.

I knew I'd get stick for my terminology.

Are you talking about Evesham in the 70's @meredintofpandiculation
?

I had a nosy at the Assistant Producer job description from upthread.

Interestingly this says "We are currently developing a podcast which it is envisaged would form part of the APs’ duties".

Now, surely the existing podcast has been going for a good long while and can hardly be called "in development". So could this mean we will be getting some brand new content?

Maybe a weekly discussion podcast?

I seem to remember something dodgy out at the Lenches - Mps involved?

@Bouncebacker
Alice must be pregnant 🤰 and isn’t happy about it. preoccupied, turning down tea, and that marked comment from Jenny about babies being lovely....

Either that or she really does not want children and it's an ongoing point of contention between her and Chris.

I think it could have contributed to her (possible) drinking problem. I feel like her alcoholic storyline is going to come back into focus at some point...

gully I wondered the same about the podcast and about Alice - I hope its the latter, more interesting in my opinion.

I wonder if Alice's baby will have complications from her drinking?

OMG! WTF is all that about?

So, Toby's been caught lying. Yet again. How old is Bert? It's a bit much expecting him to look after a baby (who's probably at the crawling stage now) for hours. At Bert's age, he could have a fall, or drop dead.
So irresponsible. I hope Pip gets herself some proper childcare, and stops letting Toby have Rosie. Toby can have supervised access.

And the news that Freddie might not be allowed to live at home isn't good. If that happens, I can see Lizzie really losing it. Perhaps she will burn down LL.

Freddie should go and live at the stables with Shula and she can train him up as her replacement.