Discuss The Archers #108: Has Ed & Emma’s ship sailed? Will Alice stick her oar into Kate's love life? Can Shula walk on water? Come and discuss whatever floats your boat in The Archers.

[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 @QuaterMiss for the title of this thread. For reasons of space had to cut out the bit speculating about Oliver and Tracy pairing off. Surely not!

Off now to give blood, something nobody in Ambridge ever does. See you all later.

Motoko Yes, it really does hit home.

I agree notmuchmore It seems that The SW's have wrenched up the level of Susan's gossip, she's inventing facts. Clarrie only got personal with her in their row AFTER she had been.

Nobody mess with Motoko!

I was usually the quiet one. One teacher hadn't even noticed I hadn't been to school for 6 weeks once. She had a go at me for not handing in homework for weeks, so I had to point out that I'd been off sick with glandular fever! Bit embarrassing for her, because she called me out on it, in front of the whole class!

I have only been half listening this week.

Please could someone kindly tell me:

1. Did the rewilding make it onto Peggy's shortlist?
2. How did Kate's 'blind' date with Jakob go - I only heard the first 5 seconds.

Thanks!

*1. Did the rewilding make it onto Peggy's shortlist?

1. How did Kate's 'blind' date with Jakob go - I only heard the first 5 seconds.*

1. We don't know. The only ones we heard about were Adam's and the Brookfield plan. We didn't hear the whole shortlist (unless I zoned out).

1. Awful. Cringey, fake, predictable. But Jacob and Kate seemed to enjoy it in the end, in a kind of enjoying winding each other up/ verbal sparring type way. Kate tried to portray herself as a selfless carer and Jacob didn't buy it. The scenes were mercifully short. They got as far as a second bottle of wine, which Kate made Jacob pay for.

Thanks Fink you're a star!

Josh didn’t make the shortlist either.

Well said Neil! (Just catching up).

So sorry, @OverInfestedBadger - I didn’t finish the summary.

Ed had phoned their mortgage provider. The mortgage offer was revoked. Emma was distraught and vituperative. Terrible things were said. Ed couldn’t take any more of her fury and walked away

Fade ...

Later that day they talked. He pointed out how often he had sought her support when the whole Tim thing was getting too much for him - and how she had invariably batted his concerns away, too focused on buying stuff for the house. Essentially more in love with home ownership than she was with him.

The nation held its breath.

He told her their relationship was over.

She did this face

He was implacable. They’re done.

Now you can listen to the film!

@quatermiss... you should be on the SW team! Love your précis!

Thanks so much! I must say that Ed leaving Emma sounds.... out of character and a bit contrived

Mmm ... Actually, thinking about it, it seems like a moment of revelation for Ed. As if he has suddenly grown up and gained self-awareness. Hearing him recall how he finally got home in the early hours of the morning after a nightmare night going backwards and forwards with illicit products - and how she did nothing (she may have been asleep, can’t remember) ... Really, no matter how much he loves her, Emma just wasn’t being the wife he needed. And she appeared to despise him.

He was right to say “enough”. I really, really want them to be reconciled and to go forward together. But I hope the SWs can show their relationship evolving into something more healthy and mutually supportive.

Belatedly checking in to add my BOOP for Neil.

There have been far, far too many scenes recently that end with that maddening trope of characters dropping minor bombshells and then walking blithely away while the other person calls after them to no avail (Tom making Johnny look after the pigs, Ed leaving Keira (?) with Tracey, others I can't remember now), so AT LAST there's been a proper, satisfying resolution to a scene.

Susan was behaving appallingly. Go Neil.

Ed leaving Emma sounds.... out of character and a bit contrived
A bit contrived, yes, but not totally out of character. Ed has realised that he will never satisfy Emma's insatiable materialism - he has neither the temperament nor the ability. He is happy to pootle along, preferably with his loved ones, but he has realised that the-one-he-loves loves other things (note: things not people) more than him.
Ed is happy to do the farming that he loves, despite it not paying, whereas Emma will work the chicken factory, despite hating it, for the financial reward. Talking of which ... have the Grundys lost both their turkey dressers for this Christmas.

Grumio We haven't heard the whole list yet, just bits of course! The blind date seemed to go well after the 'trick' that Chris and Alice had played on them. Jacob seemed much more 'normal' than he has been written previously.

Am I making this up, but didn't Oliver endorse Tim right at the beginning when he first arrived. I seem to recall Oliver saying he worked well and he'd done work for Oliver previously, to a good standard.

BOOP for Neil. He certainly told Susan a fee home truths.

I'm very disappointed that yet again things go wrong for the Grundys. Why couldn't EdnEmmur finally get some security? Why does that family very often draw the short straw? I know that some things are the consequences of their bad choices, but I'm not enjoying this storyline at all.

Ilove You're not making it up, I said a while ago that Ed should have talked to Oliver about his problems with Tim.

Hearing him recall how he finally got home in the early hours of the morning after a nightmare night going backwards and forwards with illicit products - and how she did nothing (she may have been asleep, can’t remember)

Didn't he say she just kept whiterring about the furniture? And I think she accepted that that was what happened.

whiterring= whittering

I've obviously missed more episodes than I'd realised. What did Emma tell Susan about what had happened? Is Susan aware that actually Emma knew that Timotei was dodge and gladly took the money?

(Can you still get Timotei? I'd entirely forgotten its existence until these threads.)

Emma hasn’t admitted any culpability. Certainly not to Susan, though I think she conceded to Ed that she pressed him to take work so that they could furnish the house, downplaying the totally out of character buying on tick frenzy she got into recently, saying it was nothing next to her slaving in a chicken factory.

I thought the Ed home truths from Neil were brilliantly played. And so satisfying to hear.

QuaterMiss, if you aren't a professional writer IRL, you jolly well should be!

I've thoroughly enjoyed your recent synopses of current SLs.

Thanks so much 😊

Freezer We didn't hear Emma saying anything to Susan. We just heard Ed saying he thought they should split (not those words) then it was Da de da de da de da. The next ep. began with Susan saying to Neil that Emm was in her room , back at Amb View saying nothing to her.

Of course because there'll be another scene of 'drama' with Emm telling her mum to shut up, probably.

Just saw this on Twitter, and it made me chuckle.

I think it's referring to when Kirstie and Philip were relaxing in the garden of their new house

Definite BOOP for Neil on Friday, it was definitely needed!

Can I mention the "swab for sepsis" that doesn't exist? When Will was in the hospital with Poppy. I don't know where they get their information on anything from!