#102: Fatted calf is off the menu - will the Easter Bunny save Lower Loxley's bacon, or will there be egg on Russ's face? Will Tom's sausage business get the chop? Join us here to discuss The Archers!

[GabrielleNelson]

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, principally Dumdedumdedum and MikeUniformMike on this occasion.

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 this thread, where spoilers are positively welcomed!

So, to business: will Helen's new cheese be a success? Will Kate succeed in keeping her visiting Brummies under control? Will Pip, Toby, Tom and Natasha fall into the slurry pit, leaving Rosie to be brought up by Anthony Head Robin Fairbrother? Will we ever hear Lee again, and will he casually drop in a mention of his fine collection of framed Bruce Lee posters?

I thought it'd be Lavinia Rafferty, the lady Alastair had a ons with.

Lynda did try to take over, in her normal fashion. Shula fielded well I thought. CMR and Lynda were at loggerheads, both egotistical and fancying themselves as 'artistic'. I'm team Jim.

A holographic Jesus does seem like a good idea.

@GabrielleNelson - are you happy to start the next thread? Looks like we'll need one in the next day or so. Thread #103 will witness the 100,000th post!! (sometime next week) - that's exciting for maths geeks (just me then ).

Title suggestions?...

Goodness me, that time already! Yes, I'm happy to do it. Exciting times!

I'm excited too. Reminds me of the thrill of watching an old fashioned car odometer change to a large round number. I never saw one turning over to zero, though

No carrots, rabbits or boxes please.
Bye Joe Grundy, we loved you.

Shula feeling guilty?

I was shouting at my radio....

ABOUT BLOODY TIME!!!!

Do you think in Sheila's mind the conversation goes...

S: I'm sorry about how this whole process had gone.
A: Yes, it was a terrible mistake. Do you think you would have me back and we could try again?
S: Oh, yes, I agree.

But instead, A is all chilled with "it's all behind us now, pity I couldn't make you happy, but glad we've moved on..." and S just has to grit her teeth and smile. He just needs to introduce S to his new girlfriend now...

Autocorrect fail: Shula not Sheila

That was exactly what I was thinking: Shula wants Alistair back and his obvious lack of interest wasn't at all what she was after. Where can she go from there in her pursuit of him?

I am not sure that's the case and I will be dissappointed if they go down that route. Shula has been very clear in recent conversations with Alan that the divorce was the right thing as she no longer loved Alistair.

Alistair! Run for the hills!

Never go back to Shula.

She was bad for you.

BAD BAD BAD

Yes, I may have exaggerated Shula's disappointment, but it definitely felt like she was hoping her moment of sadness that the divorce has now been confirmed in black-and-white would be shared by Alistair, but he was quite breezy.

I never saw one turning over to zero, though

I did, my first boyfriend's first car, a Forf Fiesta, by the Baker's Arms roundabout west of Poole/Wimborne. We stopped in the lay-by and took a photo with a film camera that you needed to take the film into Boots and get developed. It was a bit blurry.

Yonks later, said car went to a dealer when it was replaced. The police later got in touch to ask the mileage when it had been sold, as it was being sold at 87,000. Boyfriend reported that we'd seen it go past 100,000. I assume the dealer ended up in court. (Can't remember.)

Not that this is relevant.

Did Jazzer just say briefcase ?

Aaaah what's going on? I've just heard the last five minutes. I assume that per our predictions, whatever-his-name-was, the guy giving Ed work, was too good to be true and is getting Ed into trouble. What was he making him do? I can't bear it if it all goes wrong for Ed again.

Ed will end up in prison unlike Brian.

It was another driving job, at night, but they were parked near houses, and Ed was worried they'd be seen.

I get that impression too D3. She was certainly disappointed when Alistair was all breezy, saying it was definitely the right thing to do. Shula wants him to still be missing her and wishing they were still together, but he's moved on.

She's really not going to like it when he does get a girlfriend.

I had a car whose odometer turned over to zero only 6 or 7 years ago, but I didn't notice it happen at the time. It was already a few hundred miles up by the time I realised it had gone full circle.

Isn't Alastair pretending to be breezy though? Or is he definitely over it?

I will be so disappointed if Ed gets caught up in crime. It just seems an easy target for the SW, like the easy comedy.

I'm lagging behind as usual but if my DH had suggested a self catering honeymoon to me I would have told him that's not all the self catering he could be looking forward to!

The poor old Grundies. I hate this happening again to Ed, and the whole lead-up to it came over as contrived.
I have listened to TA for donkeys years, and have cringed so many times when a money making wheeze from Eddie and Joe has foundered thanks to their ineptitude or corner-cutting. Sometimes this played out over several weeks, and subtly spoilt my listening for all that time

Myimaginarycat

I also don't think Shula wants to be back with Alistair. She was feeling guilty and the decree absolute amplified her feelings about having gone about things the wrong way. It is a fairly sobering document to receive, even when one very much wants to get divorced!