#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?

Whose van (whose registration plates) were Ed and Timotei in? What it the one that T got for Eddie, so it will be traced back to Eddie not Ed.

No, I'm pretty sure it was Ed's vehicle. There was that conversation at the beginning of the relationship when Timotei remarked on Ed having his own van. And then when Eddie's broke down, Ed was sorry he couldn't lend his but he needed it for work.

Obviously there's nothing mathematically special about powers of 10, but they do hold that fascination. Naturally, I documented the moment in my car a few years ago.

Tim said, "Be in the usual place at seven, I'll pick you up." So I assume it was Tim's van.

He would have been interested in Ed having a van for when Ed has done a pick-up by himself.

Naturally

I assumed that ed would end up in prison but after the baseball bat reference I am worried they are going to kill him off.

There a real live farmer on the AMA board if anyone wants to ask them anything: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/AMA/3573723-I-m-a-farmer-ask-me-anything?msgid=86717752

If Ed dies, I fear the SW will reunite Emma with Will.

If Ed dies, I fear the SW will reunite Emma with Will.

Oh please no.

BOOP for Fallon being a good friend to Jazzer.

I suspect we're going to go down the route of Ed wanting to pack in the job with Tim, Emma hearing that he's in physical danger and telling him he must pack it in, closely followed by Tim blackmailing him into carrying on.

What annoyed me was that reference by Ed to having had too much on to sort out decent quality sheep shearing jobs. Seriously? He's allegedly been desperate for work and left high and dry when Timotei stopped passing work his way, but he couldn't do anything to build up his sheep shearing clientele or even just to contact previous clients? WTF?

I think when Shula left Alistair she had visions of how life would be without him but it has all turned out quite disappointing. She does not want him back, but this wasn't quite what she wanted either.

What annoyed me was that reference by Ed to having had too much on to sort out decent quality sheep shearing jobs
But why hasn't under-Jim's-feet Jazzer been sorting it out either?

Presumably it's Ed who has the contacts with their previous employers?

I thought that Emmer was going to be pressurised into making parish council decisions (big woo) based on Timotei giving Ed work. Meanwhile the signposting of the dodginess of the driving job has been cringe-inducingly clumsy IMO.

I'm just baffled by Ed's utter stupidity. What did he think this 'dodgy' driving job was all about? He knew it was to do with 'things that didn't have permits' which = illegal. I seem to recall chemicals were mentioned. HELLO? Remember Brian Aldridge and the dumping of prohibited substances?

Ed's a country boy for heaven's sake. How could he be so dense? I know he's a Grundy but surely he's supposed to be the slightly more aspirational one. And then to come over all wibbly when the baseball bat was produced....oh, come off it!

Really quite annoyed about this stupid SL. And it's Ed'n'Emma, the everlasting scapegoats, getting it in the neck yet again.

I'm really quite moved by Shulas reflections and growing pains. I like her far far more now, as a somewhat humbled and more self aware person, who has stopped blaming others.

If Ed dies, I'm out. He has the worlds sexiest voice.

So is the van that Tim 'gave' to Eddie dodgy? Would Harrison have noticed and checked it out? If Ed gives Tim the brush off would there be trouble of some kind? It also looks like George is a tealeaf. Oh S.W.'s couldn't you at least give the Grundies a break from misery that lasts ?
Will isn't happy either, might he be forced out of Gamekeeper's cottage and have to move into his own place? Oh dear.

Reading over the posts since yesterday evening I’m feeling an unaccustomed and powerful reluctance to turn on my radio at 2pm.

Just do not think I can listen to Ed and Emma stumbling into life-changing disaster. (And I cant really ask the praying people I know to pray for not-quite-real characters. Not with all the trouble in the world.) Please let the SWs be planning to surprise us.

Hmmmm.... looks like Archers is going all Breaking Bad on us.

Imagine at a creative writing workshop. “I see what you’re doing with the baseball bat- but I wonder whether something a bit subtler........

Timotei groomed Ed. Psychologically put him in his debt - the work, the van. And because he zeroed in so unerringly on his victim and Ed is fundamentally good and ‘nice’ (though stupid and terrible at thinking through the consequences of his decisions), he’s got him right where he wants him.
Also: Emma. Equally clueless. Honestly, they’re being portrayed like babes in the wood when all us lot knew immediately that Tim Oatey was a bad’un!

LOL Bertrand!
At least it wasn’t a gun...

I'm just baffled by Ed's utter stupidity

I'm not. He's dim and feels the world owes him something.

To be fair, Ed did recognise that Timotei was a bad'un. He originally turned down the 'driving' work. It was only when Emma encouraged him that he went crawling back.

I wonder how Peggy's getting on with only Kate to clean for her.