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?

Fair enough FinallyHere obviously you know of what you speak. I would venture to suggest however that my 'forrin' vet friend does not feel defined by her dual nationality, but it is part of who she is. She goes back to her home country a lot and so we talk about it a lot. In fact she's far more likely to be 'defined' by her career than her nationality.

We are all made up of lots of different things. Nationality is only part of it - my DH is half-German but has lived here all his life, but it's still part of who he is, and understood by his friends and family, but he does not feel defined by it.

I cringe remembering working with two friends who's names began with O, and I said oh you have quite similar names, and saw them flinch. We have so much to learn.

Can it be a coincidence that ads for the government's heinous "EU settlement scheme" are now appearing next to this thread!?

Nope, not a coincidence. The algorithms would have picked it up due to the discussion.

I use an adblocker, so don't see any ads.

What?

Yup.I knew that Motoko. An unpleasant reminder of Brexit.

I find the friendship between Elizabeth and CMR utterly unbelievable. I don't know any woman who would allow Russ in their house let alone develop a friendship with them. Sooo creepy.

I agree. Also creates a weird dynamic with her kids - Freddie who hates Russ, Lily who is supposed to be his 'partner'.

I'm so glad Lily is out of there working for some of the time at least.

Tom's a twat. Poor Jazzer. Toby's a twat. CMR is creepy.

To be fair if TA was realistic it would be pretty dull, wouldn't it? I would struggle to find as much drama in my extended family over a year as the Archers have in a week. They have to have weird dynamics and unlikely coincidences or there would just be people having normal days at work, watching telly in the evening and going to the shops for long stretches.

Although I had some drama last night when I went to see Fleetwood Mac and it had been cancelled. Had to go home again (even that wasn't that dramatic, we can literally see the venue from our living room window).

I'm worried about Tom thinking he's overreacted about the debt, and Roy's assertion that as long as she's paying the minimum amount and bailiffs aren't knocking at the door, that amount of debt is ok. Roy thinks she's earning a good wage, because she "looks" successful, but it's all on credit.

All it takes, is an accident, illness, or some disaster with the business, and she won't be able to afford to pay the debt off. Besides, it'll never get paid off if she's paying the minimum amount, as the interest will pile up, once she runs out of 0% cards to change to. You just have to read the debt forum on MSE to see how many people get bitten.

I hope the SW address this, and don't let people think it's ok.

All leading up to the pigs being more trouble than they’re worth and heading “down the road”

I don’ think it will be ok - this constant assumption that she is earn8ng a good wage is going to be just that, an assumption. Her trees are leased - she owns nothing. She could easily be left with nothing. And what concerned me tonight was Tom’s comment about it being the third time this week that the pigs have been a problem - he’s going to be persuaded to get ride of them because of Natasha’s lack of interest (nothing glamorous about pig farming - or any real farming as far as she is concerned for that matter)

Yes. Absolutely.

"It makes me wonder what else Natasha has chosen not to tell me." But Tom, you had that long period of engagement to discuss all these important topics...

What else she hasn't told?

Perhaps Tom will find he's a stepfather?

Or her previous relationship ended because of her financial issues.

Thinking of the whey gin - bleurgh🐄 +, I wonder about Toby's Scruff gin production. I saw a programme about a chap in Australia who produces botanical gin, very niche, and it's quite an operation, needing other people to be employed and the logistics of getting the right botanicals were demanding. I know TA is drama not RL, but it strains credibility at times. Who produces all this gin that's going :"gangbusters"? Also the bit where Toby had not thought through any the sensible questions Helen asked.

As for, "babysitting" his own child. Or had the strain of being a parent turned his "brain to mush" as he claimed, so he hadn't considered the pretty basic management of his scheme.

Yes, when he said "babysitting", I could sense a thousand MNetters gasp.

When my first child was born I was still studying evenings and weekends for my actuarial exams. Fortunately, my brain didn't turn to mush and I managed to qualify. But for Toby, it's a convenient excuse.

Is there also some big secret about Natasha's mother? She was planning to visit her and Tom was most certainly not included. Can't remember - did the parents ever make it to the wedding?

Yes, Natasha's parents were at the wedding. I thought the separate visits were purely because it was Mothers' Day, and Natasha assumed Tom would want to be with his mother.

Can it be a coincidence that ads for the government's heinous "EU settlement scheme" are now appearing next to this thread!?

Not on my page. I think the algorithms have more to do with the individual poster's search history than the content of the thread.

Yes- I’ve been getting live in carers for ages (I’ve had several falls recently but not quite at that stage

I dunno, i had a much older boygriend once and my family were appalled at first but came to like him over the next few years and we all kinda miss him now! (it just didnt work romantically between us long term)

He wasnt as creepy as CMR tho

Ha, I muttered to my husband that I bet Toby doesn't say Pip's "babysitting" when she has Rosie.

That's always been a pet peeve of mine.