Archers thread #113: Who’ll find some Magic Time this Christmas in Ambridge? Share the glad tidings (and bad writing) in The Archers! Election-free zone so far ...

[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 Hannah 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 @SurpriseSparDay for the title. I haven't heard 12/12 yet so must catch up now, seeking relief from the outside world.

TA gave the message to women that behaving badly in the way he did was the way to woo a woman you fancied and they ought to go along with it

Yes I find the reinforcement of that hideous old trope "when a woman says 'No' she means 'Maybe'" extremely unpleasant. Obviously the uberwoke at the Beeb missed out the module on attitudes and bias regarding women when they did their diversity training.

if Josh's company decides to loan a digger to Josh's mate at a reduced rate then I can't see what the problem is

I don't get this either. I can quite see a small business like Josh lending the digger on the basis that they would sort out the paperwork when he returnd from hols. He mentioned to Rex before he went that it was going to be borrowed. The only issue I'd have thought might be with his business insurance?

It’s such a shame there’s no way of communicating with people on the other side of the world in written form isn’t it? You just have to rely on phone signals.

Trigger warning:

The trigger warning is nothing to do with current storylines. It's because it shows cast members.

Hang on -- Vanessa Whitburn said that she had to make an impact? It was Nigel who made the impact! Like you do when you fall off a tall building, really.

Well, from those posts, I'm not sure I'm going to bother with catching up on last night's episode.

I wish people would not say impact when they mean affect (looking at you Jenni Murray)

One impact affected me [wail!]

I adored Nigel.

If it was driven on the road, which it clearly was, see attached. It needs insurance and road tax and the driver needs a licence.

Josh presumably knows if the equipment was driven direct off-site or loaded onto a delivery lorry. The absence of any invoice tends to show he hasn't even considered this.

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/engineering-plant-vehicleswww.gov.uk/government/publications/engineering-plant-vehicles" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/engineering-plant-vehicleswww.gov.uk/government/publications/engineering-plant-vehicles

Surely both Rex and Josh know that it's child's play to check when a document was created on a computer?

And if Josh was so keen on Rex doing this idiotic thing, surely he'd have bust a gut to phone him back?

Thinking of Jim's terrifying performance, I've spent this afternoon wrapping presents, decorating the tree and putting up deckers to Michael Hordern's reading of M. R. James's "Whistle and I'll come to you". It's an excellent getting-in-the-mood-for-Christmas ghost story, though slightly moderated by it's being so hot and dry here, and the northerly wind blowing in the smell of bushfires from NSW.

Hope you're safe, echt.

I enjoyed last night's episode and am hugely looking forward to 'Jim' reading the stories on R4. Good to hear Auntie Cardboard again - well done, Jazzer!

That was my immediate thought Equanimitas, on my laptop, right next to the list of files it gives the date when it was last modified. Unless Rex is a talented computer hacker it can't be altered without it being obvious even to Harrison.

I think most of the issues with communication with Josh in Thailand is not the method (phone, messaging, etc,) but Josh choosing not to respond, call back,reply to messages etc. Hadn't Ben said he had updated Instagram?

Thanks for the kind thought. Gasp0de.

I'm 450 miles away for Sydney, it's just the wind blowing the smell our way. Objectively though, if a fire started (or was started as a number are deliberately set) I could be in trouble as my suburb has lots of trees and my house is made of wood. On the other hand it is suburban Melbourne so the firies would be all over it. I hope.

Surely both Rex and Josh know that it's child's play to check when a document was created on a computer?

The invoice is completely irrelevant. There's no reason why Josh can't offer a freebie to a friend if he wants to.

The important point is -
Who is the friend?
How can the police contact the friend?
Did Josh have any reason to suspect what the use would be?

What struck me was that Josh was immediately concerned about paperwork and not about his ‘friend’.

Josh knows more than he’s letting on.

If they used a tracked excavator then everybody in Darrington must be chronically deaf as they generate a lot of noise and rarely go above walking pace. So this would've been robbery in slow motion, something even Harrison could've got to had a resident heard it and made a call to the police. QBL.

Boop for Jazzer getting a crowd for Jim. Hasn't Elizabeth done any promotion? [Puts in a request to Father Christmas for something really nice to happen for Jazzer in 2020].

I thought it was odd Josh didn't immediately say "yes, I loaned it to x" when Rex told him, that's the first thing you'd say. I agree Josh knows more than he's letting on.

Surely Rex isn't stupid enough to get wrapped up in this. Oh hang on, I forgot, it's the SW we're talking about.

on another note: listened to a couple of episodes of 'the whisperer in the darkness' last night.
that's creepy.

The problem with Josh and contact, is that he's able to post on Instagram alright, so it's because he hasn't tried to get back to anyone. Nothing to do with phone signal or patchy internet.

I agree, he knows more than he's letting on, otherwise he'd have told Rex straight away who it was.

It certainly sounded like Rex was going to give in, regarding the invoice.

How horrible it was to hear Helen humouring Jazzer

So bloody patronising 😠

I wonder what the access to the LL attic is like.

I did like the episode though, and Jazzer is a star

It was a good episode. It was nice to hear Christine again. I've always liked her