Archers thread #112: Quelle beau de lollox! And yet we stick with it. 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 Alf to stay around, 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 @DoctorTwo for the thread title! I was strongly tempted by R4's suggestion of Wildlife on Four: Jonneh is wild at Lily, Phoebe rewilds by Occam, Joy is in the wilderness and David is bewildered by a marriage proposal.

So we did make it past Joe's funeral at last. Are we heading for a Christmas octogenarian wedding now?

Who currently farms the BL land that Phoebe has her eye on?
It is part of the Home Farm contract work. Brine says it's not terribly profitable but it does make a small, positive contribution to BL and HF.

If you're an experienced, competent and confident cook and your family are all on good terms and accommodating, no, it's not that difficult, especially if you have help that's actually helpful. Pretty clear that for a lot of people, though, and most of them women, it's a challenge. There can be huge expectations to live up to - massive hype in the media, family memories of past Christmas dinners leading to comparisons with other cooks in the family, and it's an expensive meal by most people's standards, which also ramps up the anxiety.

So the rewilding would involve BL cancelling the Home Farm contract? Can they do that at any time, or would they have to wait until the current contract ends?

Plus the main beneficiary of Peggy's money would be BL, who would receive the largest portion in rent?

So the rewilding would involve BL cancelling the Home Farm contract?
Only a small portion of it, they aren't rewilding all the BL acreage. The rewilded land probably still needs management of some sort and I would have thought that that would be right up Adam's street.

Yes - surely the purpose of Peggy’s money was to fund an actual project, not just to rent some land (particularly as all the other applicants were landowners). The whole thing is... well, see the thread title.

What do we make of Lee's return?

It's almost a year since they split isn't it?

Is Rosie going to be an infant prodigy (she’s trying to write her name!!) while Henry sounds like he is going to need some serious tutoring to keep him out of the lowest stream of Borchester Comp.

Re the re-wilding if Peggy had thought of this a year earlier the money could have been paid to rent land from Brian to pay off the clean-up bill, a cunning way of reducing IHT on Peggy’s estate, and helping the (family) charity at the same time!

Rather Lee then Henry being snatched by Rob.

Come on Helen needs a break - give her a nice fella!!

The whole peggy’s benevolent fund storyline can get in the bin, it’s been nothing but an irritation from its inception imo. Really badly thought out both as a storyline and as a real life concept.

How old is Rosie? I think around 16 months. Do babies that age draw people in any way shape or form?

And how old is Henry? I want to say 10 or 11. A bit old to be snatched in Underwoods?

Ok no Henry is 8, 9 in January. But he’s such a sulky surly child I can’t imagine anyone wanting to kidnap him really.

Do babies that age draw people in any way shape or form?

No. If they have developed the necessary fine motor skills they might, conceivably, scribble a bit, but they are more likely simply to eat the crayon. Or poke it in an eye, either theirs or someone else's.

“ And how old is Henry? I want to say 10 or 11. ”
I think he’s 9? But anyway- to old to be taken to see Santa in Underwoods!

but Jack was going.
Won't be long before Rosie hands in her thesis at Felpersham uni, before returning to Ambridge. She is even more gifted than Perfect Pip.

But anyway- to old to be taken to see Santa in Underwoods!

To be fair to Henry he was underwhelmed by the prospect.

I don't actually see Helen as being someone who would be terribly interested in taking children to an in-store Santa. Presumably this is just a very obvious plot device to re-introduce Lee.

Did anyone else cringe when Ruth said that Pip is the perfect mother?

I'm not saying Pip isn't passably competent by now - it was just the awful, adoringly soppy way that Ruth said it 🤢🤮

I don't actually see Helen as being someone who would be terribly interested in taking children to an in-store Santa. My thoughts exactly - for the same reasons she didn’t like Trick or Treating at Halloween. The whole Underwoods episode was entirely unconvincing. 😂😂😂 At Rosie being even more of a wonderchild than her sainted mother.

I don't actually see Helen as being someone who would be terribly interested in taking children to an in-store Santa. My thoughts exactly - and certainly not in November. This is a family who don’t put their tree up until Christmas Eve. The whole Underwoods episode was entirely unconvincing. 😂😂😂 At Rosie being even more of a wonderchild than her sainted mother.

Was it Josh or Ben that was a great cook for a while?

Ben - wasn’t he the Christmas sous chef last year and he made poncey onion jam.

Maybe CRM will step in and save the day, he’s obsessed with dinners.

CMR!!!

and certainly not in November

Yes, I meant to mention that- completely unconvincing.