#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?

“Just because Freddie is posh and went to "good schools" doesn't make him magically more mature than his age.”
Did I say it did?

I think Freddie has a point about the cardboard cutout that is Wayne

I thought so too.

Johnny is always easy to identify so an extra BOOP for him.

Do you think that the whole Sharon disappearing while pregnant was a very very long game from the 80s to make sure that they could justify one of the next generation having a different accent?

I was torn between liking Freddy for apologising and groaning at his repeated assertion of “I didn’t mean anything by it” which is such nonsense- he meant to make money selling drugs and he knew that taking drugs was not going to be a good thing for his customers, and he was also too stupid/in denial to think about the ripple effect of that on those around him. Had he said “I know why I did was wrong and thoughtless and I am sorry to have behaved that way.”. All this minimising is not doing him any favours.

And I do wish Elizabeth would say “sorry prison was shit but that’s what you get when you deal drugs” instead of making like he was Helen and in prison through no fault of his own.

No-but he went straight on to Fallon. He knew he had no hope there if he didn’t square Harrison first.......

No, the reason he went to Fallon, was because Harrison had told him that one of the staff was leaving, therefore there would be a job going.

I don't like Freddie, but you're being unfair to him, in this instance.

Surely Harrison could work out that the pub couldn't conceivably risk employing someone with Freddie's record?

In fact, I suspect it's something Freddie should be able to work out for himself. His offender manager would surely have had a chat with him about the sort of jobs he should be going for.

He was asking after a job at Fallon's tearoom, I don't think we heard him asking for work at The Bull, did we?

Maybe I'm missing something but now that Freddie's living at LL and Elizabeth has decided that's more important than getting LL's licence back, why isn't she putting him to work on the estate? There must be any amount of seasonal work he could be doing there. It doesn't have to be public-facing if they're worried about people being nasty to him if he's recognised. He could work with Jessica or the rare breeds person or tend the vines or go round at the start and end of the day emptying bins and cleaning the loos.

Good point Gabrielle.

Game of Farms

Do you think that the whole Sharon disappearing while pregnant was a very very long game from the 80s to make sure that they could justify one of the next generation having a different accent? It's just a good thing they did! The class distinctions are much less clear vocally these days - Nigel was always slightly aristocratic, Tim nice but dim, Brian has an entitled, public school tone while David sounds well-bred (as opposed to rural poor), but not as posh as the other two. Their sons - quite realistically in my opinion - all affect to sound the same (it's like the difference between Prince Charles and his sons). It's not ideal for radio drama when you can't see who is speaking. One of things which I've always loved about TA is the huge variety of distinctive tones. Maybe a pp is right - I just need hear more of the boys together so I can learn to sort them out.

Maybe that will occur to Elizabeth at some point Gabrielle . I think she’s just so glad to have him home she’s treating it like he’s on holiday,

Surely Freddie needs to realise that no local business is going to employ a convicted drug dealer in a public facing role because it would lose them custom. Even his own extended family are wary about their teens mixing with him because they see him as a bad influence. Tea room customers wold feel the same. He needs to get a back room job, a job mucking out, or to move elsewhere where he is not known.

And that applies even if he is the Lord of the Manor.

I wanted Lily to point out today that, if anyone had to get the bus, it should be Freddie, given that he doesn't have anything else to do prior to his appointment with the Offender Manager.

I'm guessing he's going to end up applying to Lily's employers for a job, which probably won't do her prospects any good.

Why won't Will take any time off? He's being really out of order, getting rid of the bloke (can't remember his name) he works with.

Yes I am not sure what's going on there. Is it about control? He had no control over what happened to Nic but can control work, am grasping at straws here I think.

Did we know will had sacked what’s his name- Pete?

I don't think so, but I may have missed it.

He said to Clarrie a couple of weeks back that he didn’t want to stop because work kept him going - basically he doesn’t want to stop and think. He might not have been quite that explicit but that seemed to be the gist of it.

Well they were really labouring the point about Will making Pete redundant - first I’ve heard of it, or even of Pete for that matter. It’s clearly going to be of some significance, but I couldn’t find myself caring much about it one way or the other. I wondered about Lily possibly recruiting Freddie - no reason why his drug dealing conviction should stop him selling kitchens I suppose. Not the most thrilling episode.

He mentioned Pete saying he (Will) should take some time off which annoyed him, then said Martin Gibson had asked him to look at costs and he implied that he would so so by getting rid of Pete. Good for Eddie calling him out.

(Has no one in Ambridge heard of employment rights?).

What's the new editor up to? - first Em, then Jazzer, now Pete. Who's next to lose their job?

Maybe they'll all end up selling kitchens! Lily did say they're always looking for more staff, if she got them all to apply, she could get promoted!

I would pay good money to hear Jazzer selling kitchens.....