The Archers - Freddie is getting OUT: will Russ hop it? Helen is falling DOWN: is Lee still in the frame? Tom is heading UP: will Natasha be the boost his sausage needs? (Thread no. 101

[DadDadDad]

We're still here and still discussing TA (The Archers). We welcome newcomers and old hands, so if you have a question or a point of view, please dive in. No spoilers - if you've seen info on future storylines, there's a separate Radio Addicts thread for that.

I loved all the name changes on the last thread. Don't forget to change back! (If you want to).

Who's going to get Russ out of LL? Freddie? Lily? Elizabeth? Or is it Freddie who will head off?

Did anyone notice lily advising Elizabeth to take 'deep breaths'. Pretty sure this is not advised for anxious overbreathing.

impostersyndrome I get the emails too, otherwise I'd probably forget to check it every week.

It's good for a chuckle.

Take a deep breath is pretty rubbish advice. What you should do is breathe out.

Enjoyed Ben calling out Pip on the utter hypocrisy of having a Christening when you are an atheist.

In fact my brother didn't come to my DS's Christening he said because he was an atheist although really he couldn't be arsed. I'm still cross about it & that was 17 years ago.

So I'm a proud hypocritical atheist.

I think it's a bit weird asking uncles to be godparents, & you don't have to have 2 of each these days.

Good grief ... turned on the radio for some relief from a stroppy teen - only to hear Ben being exactly the same ...

He's shaping up nicely.

I totally agree daffodil , surely a godparent is like an honary aunt or uncle anyway?

I thought Ben was excellent tonight. Plenty of comedy moments overall too re: CMR and Freddie. Even a mention of the fatted calf!

Good to see someone with principles. Well done Ben.

At first I was at the way his well-reasoned objections were pushed aside, balanced against a nice faaaamily event, but then thought that's exactly what would happen in RL.

I totally agree daffodil , surely a godparent is like an honary aunt or uncle anyway? Well that's what Toby thinks.

Ben was excellent. I loved Pip's incoherent spluttering.

Can I just say I really hate Pip.

And Ruth is vile and stupid too. It is perfectly reasonable to refuse to be a god parent if you aren't religious.

Go Freddy and Ben- maximum Boop points.

I wondered in the last ep but one, why Lily was whinging about being sidelined in favour of Freddie, but the the spat over CMR is going to allow some nicely simmering tension between the two for quite a while, as I can't see CMR doing anything that would change Freddie's mind.

Especially not if the "ancient boyfriend" makes a play for Elizabeth.:o

Just listening now (was out at church earlier while you heathens were listening ). I think Ben's doing a better job than Alan of making Pip think about what it means to bring a child for baptism, and the truths the church is asking you to assent you. They are arguing at right angles: Ben is along the axis of whether it is morally right to bring a child to Christian baptism, Pip on whether it's a nice honour to be asked to be someone's godparent.

After our discussion of the prodigal son on the previous thread, Lily's jibe about fatted calf sandwiches is very sharp. Luke 15: the stay-at-home brother says "Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes drug-dealing leading to the suspension of your alcohol licence comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!"

Although, biblically I wonder if they are closer to the twins Jacob and Esau, with hard feelings over the inheritance from their father.

I warmed to Leonard tonight after just moaning about him. The presence of him as the outsider highlighted the fact that the entire Archers clan are utterly dysfunctional

Another Christian here who is totally on Ben's side, he even had no problem with attending the service just isn't going to make promises he doesn't mean.

I think we might see a Freddie with more of a back bone, and a ruthless streak now...

Dont see the problem with having an aunt or uncle as godparent

DB was DD's godfather and he's the only one of the 4 godparents who is still involved in her life 14 years later.

I'm confused by Ben. First he was doing bad-boy stuff with Ruairi, then he went goody-two-shoes and sappy about the dog, now he's being awkward and rude (to both Pip and Freddie). He's all over the place.
Pip thrashing about, trying to find anyone to play a key part in her Big Day, is reminiscent of Tom and his Best Man.
Interestingly, the CofE website is a bit cautious about godparents who aren't yet 18.

Mr Toad had plans last summer to go travelling. I think he'll still want to be off. So, just when Lizzie is happy because the nasty legal system has allowed Freddie home, it will be Freddie himself that instigates the next disappearance.

Loved the fatted calf sandwiches line.....

now he's being awkward and rude (to both Pip and Freddie). He's all over the place

He wasn't in the least bit rude to Pip. Pip was rude to him by dismissing what he was saying.

He was a bit rude to Pip. But not in sibling terms.

And she needs to have second thoughts abyway. She was basically bullied into this christening and Toby and Toby’s dad and especially Alan should be properly ashamed of themselves.

I was cheering Ben on. He was absolutely right, and I hope he's made Pip reconsider. She only went along with it, because she was steam rollered by Alan and Toby. She should have the courage of her convictions.

I can't see the point in Godparents. Mine disappeared from my life when I was still small, and I don't know anybody who still sees their Godparents.

I'm in my 40s and still in touch with all 3 of my godparents. Might be catching up with my godfather when I am in Yorkshire in a couple of weeks. My sister is still in touch with hers, too (at least the ones which are still alive.)

I don’t even know who my godparents are! My dad’s family are not nice so if it’s any of them I’m not interested in learning values from them!

I'm confused by Ben. First he was doing bad-boy stuff with Ruairi, then he went goody-two-shoes and sappy about the dog, now he's being awkward and rude (to both Pip and Freddie). He's all over the place

Doesn’t that make him a typical teenage boy?