Thread #105: Curtains for Emma, Hilda - Joe? Red carpet for June Spencer on her 100th birthday, we hope! Discuss the rich tapestry of Ambridge life here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads and @DadDadDad for being our resident statistician and keeping the ball rolling when Pseudo stepped back a bit.

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 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 www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3439443-keep-it-to-yourself-the-archers-spoilers-thread-4, where spoilers are positively welcomed!

For newer listeners, lurkers or those who just have no idea what we're talking about, DadDadDad has created this useful thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3557323-For-Archers-fans-a-guide-to-acronyms-on-the-long-running-discussion-threads-and-any-other-meta-thread-questions-you-may-have BOOP point for him! (See thread for explanation.)

Thanks to LillianGish and BuckingFrolics for ideas for this thread title. I went with the less Rabelaisian of LG's ideas!

On 14th June it will be the 100th birthday of June Spencer, who has played Peggy Woolley since 1951. I hope the BBC has a lot of special tributes lined up to celebrate this remarkable achievement.

What time was Peggy on Today, roughly? I can't be bothered listening to all 3 hours of it to find her but I'd like to catch up if anyone knows when it was, more or less.

I've been abroad for the past few days with very little time or internet access so hearing yesterday's ep was weird - I wasn't sure if these were all events which had had some lead up. But checking in here it seems that the Peggy, Brian, and Lilian thing was as much a weird interlude for everyone else as for me!

peggy - did she pick one of Kate's challenges?

7.45 Fink. (I was excited so posted while listening.) Maybe start a minute or two earlier.

Thanks George I'll head over there now.

Here is Mystic Mike's prediction:
Ben runs a hospitality barn based business with his new girlfiend Liberty doing the catering, putting Josh's nose out of joint. It is Ambridge, so brothers are not allowed to be friends, and a woman's place is in the kitchen. Peggy has found a toyboy.

Thanks D3, you know, I never understood mansplaining until your lucid and succinct explanation. Thank you!

I too had the "Shula and Fiona" thought.

The big meeting is surely about Peggy's will? She's handing it all out now on the beneficial tax grounds of no tax on gifts if you live 7 years. She has clearly recognised she's no spring chicken.

She's handing it all out now on the beneficial tax grounds of no tax on gifts if you live 7 years

Even though Peggy (as opposed to June Spencer) is only, iirc, 94 - I do think the ‘definitely got another seven years in me’ ship has probably sailed.

I wonder if she was planning, as a surprise, to ask Lilian to accompany her on the world trip - and that’s why Lilian hasn’t been invited to the summit meeting.

I wonder if she was planning, as a surprise, to ask Lilian to accompany her on the world trip - and that’s why Lilian hasn’t been invited to the summit meeting.

I wondered the same, although it seems a funny way ting about it.

To go

Here’s a video excerpt of this morning’s Today interview. There’s a recording of the whole conversation beneath it.

There has just been another piece on June Spenser on PM as well. At about 6.25 pm.

She looks younger than me.

What did the continuity announcer say? I was just closing iplayer, and heard "Just make sure you-"

..."take your phone to bed with you,Jill. Otherwise Ben will be phoning (texting?) all your contacts"

or words to that effect!

George thank you so much for that link. I just listened and was completely captivated - I didn't want it to end. An amazing woman - impossible to believe she is going to be 100. Looks amazing and sounds amazing!

Hang on, Jill and Leonard have been 'friends' for months now, he's always at Brookfield but yet this was the first time she's seen his house? How strange.

I thought it was strange that she'd never been to his house too. It just seems too implausible. Mind you, it is TA.

Thanks for that link George, the whole clip was really worth listening to, although the scenes with Jack were painful.

Nice to hear them enjoying themselves together. I suppose Jill always has things to do so it makes sense for Leonard to come to her - and he was coming to Ambridge anyway.

Thanks for the link, George.

She hadn't been there because the scriptwriters hadn't felt the need to discuss sleeping arrangements before. Now that Ambridge is Borsetshire's very own Love Island (thanks lunchtime CA) they needed to start discussing any possibility of nudge nudge wink wink.

Talking of which, I heard Jill proposing to 'move on to the sweet trolley', I think. Is this a euphemism of some kind or had they actually moved on from Leonard!s house to a restaurant?

Nudge nudge wink wink, I tell you.
And to think that we used to be horrified at tickling in the hay shed.

Just catching up...from way upthread
'Thing is, not many Ambridge residents advertise themselves as clever'

Well, no, because the clever ones are women. Phoebe, Alice, Usha...
Obviously that should have been 'Male ambridge residents not related to Fiona'.
Though for all we know she's gay.

I liked that OFS barely mentioned Bridge Farm, and centred on Brookfield plus a bit of Alice & Brian instead. Natasha's efforts probably all appeared to go well but then the bills will come in but the veg box orders won't.

I’m trying to work out what significance the combination of Pat and Tony, Jennifer and Brian and Adam has for Peggy’s meeting. What is it that they have in common and why would Lillian and the rest of the grandchildren be excluded?

Long time lurker on TA threads (since The Trial). For those that are confused about the pesticides. I was too until DH told me that a 1 litre bottle of pesticide spray he uses is £220 . A lot of products are banned in the UK / EU and food producers need products that work but that still allow fruit & veg to be harvested for human consumption within a short period after application. I imagine it's a bit like medicines where a patent owner can charge a lot more for a new product that they have developed to get around restrictions. So he's probably transporting products from overseas for the black market or alternatively counterfeit versions of licensed brands.

And why were Ruth and David asked, Ruth makes sense in terms of Ruairi, but why David unless she needs an independent witness.