Call #111 for Archers advice: Is Hilda breathing? Should Joy be breathing? Could Nelson Gabriel be in cryogenic suspension? Discuss The Archers here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

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 Joy'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 for all the input on title suggestions. I'd missed the significance of 111, but @R4 and DDD, our resident numerologist, were right on to it. Strongly tempted by Bore's suggestion but couldn't resist the chance to mention my favourite ever Archers character, Nelson Gabriel. Have not managed to incorporate a cricket reference, so you'll have to read up on that for yourselves. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_(cricket)

I wonder if this thread will last till Joe's funeral.

Is it about 2 years they've been together?

Ambridge does have the internet but only in The Bull.

Massive catch-up here, as I've also been in the land of no interweb, AKA the Victorian rainforest.

CMR has been consistent in claiming Lara's delicate mental state, her unpredictability. Possibly she was carrying an axe. I agree the pregnancy would be repeating the Knob SL, but the SWs have never been averse to barrel-scraping.

Freddy would not have said "I'd be surprised" just because the woman wasn't white. To me that suggests she is much younger or much older than Russ.

If she had been pregnant wouldn't he have said so? Whoever she is regardless of taking the bus she must have enough money to live on without relying on Russ.

Russ and Lily have been living together for over a year, and for the past few months Russ has also been working at LL. I can't envisage Lara being pregnant - she knows that she and Russ are no longer together, why have a baby with him?

I think Lara's much younger than expected (hence Freddie's surprise), and they weren't married. The house is hers; she bought it with a massive inheritance, and he moved in. As far as Lara is concerned, the relationship ended a year ago and she is over him.

He does have an (ex?) wife but that was a couple of relationships ago.

Talking of relationships, did anybody else find it weird that, once Kate and Jakob were back together, the whole village seems to have gone into overdrive and not merely accepted them as "official" but as "they're practically married now".

Yes. It’s been about 2 months, they've been on a few dates, they've spent a lot of time not speaking because Jakob went away and Kate refused to respond. It's barely long enough to decide whether to be exclusive (not that I can imagine Jakob as out dating different women all the time,) but it shouldn't be more than, "Do you think Jakob knows what Kate is really like?" and, "it's nice it seems to be going well."

Also, Russ can't have been living a double life, telling Lara that he was working away from home etc. She must know he's with Lily. All his former colleagues and quite a few of the students at college knew; people will have seen him at LL etc etc. His relationship with Lily may have started as cloak-and-dagger but has been anything but for the last year.

Freddie got wind of Lily and Russ in May 2018, possibly earlier. Johnnie Phoebe and Freddie's response to Lily's affair was always, "but he is married", which rather implies that Russ had a load of photos of his wife in his office or Mrs James showed up for social events once in a while.

I can't face listening again to check, but did Lily simply decide to visit the house on spec? Couldn't the lady walking into the house just as easily be a pet-sitter/cleaner/guest visiting?

The 'Anisha is getting married' storyline is a bit weird too. The lady has only been gone for just over a year (wasn't it August '18?). Based solely on MN AIBU threads, I thought weddings with fairly large guest-lists take months and months to organise, aside from the challenges of wooing a prospective husband in a new town. It seems pretty tactless to imagine that Rex would be clamouring to go to the wedding.

Am I the only one hoping that Mr Cheese doesn't want to buy Helen's Borsetshire Blue (did Ian ever start serving it again)? We've already had "big buyers crucify naive Bridge Farm folk" storyline a few years ago with Tom, so that can't be the plan.

If I were Helen I'd get on the phone to Natasha, who presumably knows a few things about cutting a deal, not listen to Kirsty (but presumably the doors to the cereal cupboard are firmly padlocked).

@r4 - they always do this in the Archers! I remember Rex and vet lady had one shag and suddenly it was like they’d been together for years! Absolutely ridiculous. One of the times the Archers editors show their age or cluelessness most IMO.

“One of the times the Archers editors show their age or cluelessness most IMO.“
Cluelessness yes- but age? Why age?

I got the feeling, they were imagining Lara as looking like an ill person, perhaps rather plain looking, etc, and instead, she's a very attractive, confident looking woman.

Perhaps she takes the bus for environmental reasons, or because her car is in the garage, or the bus is quicker during rush hour, any number of reasons really.

I do think she's been over Russ for ages though, and doesn't have a problem with getting divorced. I also do think they were married, because everyone seemed to know he'd left his wife for Lily.

But I find it hard to believe that Lily hasn't googled her in all this time. I'm pretty sure that when she first started getting a crush on Russ, she would have done lots of googling then.
Back in the day, I found out Sting's phone number and home address, by looking in the telephone directory! I rang, and spoke to Frances Tomalty, and had a nice little chat, and she sent me a signed photo from Sting! So with the internet, it's much easier to find out about people.

I suspect Lara told Lily that she's been itching to divorce Russ for ages and he's the one dragging his feet. Or maybe even that they have actually been divorced for ages.

Yes, I'd like to think so too, Beveren . And that she burst out laughing and told Lily she was welcome to the pathetic manchild but if she could just tell him to get a move on with the divorce she'd be doing her a big favour.

Perhaps she takes the bus for environmental reasons, or because her car is in the garage, or the bus is quicker during rush hour, any number of reasons really

I agree the taking a bus=poor /downtrodden/elderly line is very odd.

I got the feeling, they were imagining Lara as looking like an ill person, perhaps rather plain looking, etc, and instead, she's a very attractive, confident looking woman

That makes sense. The reality is most people tend to pair up with people like themselves. I would have assumed Mrs CMR was also in teaching or a profession. I've said it before but Mrs CMR must have enough money to support herself (and pay a mortgage?) with no help from CMR. Russ has been painting her as this desperately vulnerable person but as far as we know she hasn't even been in touch with him.

@BertrandRussell age because I associate the “ah you have been on one date, therefore he is your boyfriend” attitude with (some) much older people. Do you not?

I do suspect the woman formerly known as Mrs Russ is now living her best life.

Perhaps she takes the bus for environmental reasons, or because her car is in the garage, or the bus is quicker during rush hour, any number of reasons really

Yes. But given 12 and a half minutes to build a character I’d like to think that every decision the SW makes is of some relevance to the plot.

All we know about Russ’s wife from yesterday’s episode is that something in her appearance surprised Freddie, that she travelled home by bus and that Lily left their encounter either shocked, humiliated or both. I’ll find it very unsatisfactory if one third of that information turns out to be irrelevant to the story.

I agree the taking a bus=poor /downtrodden/elderly line is very odd.
Not in the countryside it's not.
I've listened again: Lily asks Freddie to get her from Felpersham to ??? and says "I really need a lift. I'll have to get a cab otherwise."

Not in the countryside it's not

Is CMR and Mrs CMR's house in the countryside?

Just popped on to say Rob’s ex was called Jess. (Begins with listening)

I'm in the Russ was never married camp simply because we've had zero evidence of Lara's existence. Not credible in such a tight knit locality.
I think the bus bit was to signify either elderly or disabled,sadly.

Is CMR and Mrs CMR's house in the countryside?
The script deliberately didn't tell us where Mrs CMR lives.
I use 'countryside' to mean non-urban. I live on the edge of town, so not strictly 'country', and could not live as I do (i.e. have real choices about e.g. where I work, where I shop. where the DC went to school etc) unless I had a car.

Maybe she has a disability.

Perhaps her getting off the bus, was to give Lily and Freddie plenty of time, while she walked from the bus stop, to observe her. If she had a car, she could have been out of the car, and into the house, in a very short time, and possibly with her back towards them for most of it.

That’s another possibility Motoko!

Anyway, why isn’t Anisha getting married in Scotland? Presumably her dad (and maybe some other relatives?) is still there. No doubt Newmarket is more professionally useful than Glasgow.

I can’t imagine why anyone would expect Rex to attend.

Bus-lady is the house-sitter. Mrs Russ is a flight away getting in some early ski-ing with her lover. She couldn’t give a toss about CMR. / They’ve been divorced for months.