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.

I was sitting there listening and hoping that the episode would end soon, it was that excruciating.
(Note that I couldn't bring myself to turn it off before the end, being as I am addicted and overinfested.)

Bucking yes, I kept pointing it out to my couldn't-have-cared-less DH

(I've reverted to my old username after Christmas btw. Back to Jill's flapjacks after the surfeit of seasonal mince pies)

Gavin's a right charmer isn't he.

Well the quiet word with Gavin went exactly as badly as could have been expected. Belated BOOP to Roy for the good advice.

I wonder if Pat 'n' Tone were warned the Black Widow was having a stop-out? I can imagine Henwee getting in a right tizzy if Helen wasn't there in the morning.

Although to be fair to Henry he now sounds less "Henwee" and more Damian from The Omen

What an entitled prat. Poor Kirsty. It was risky to interfere though.

Good to hear Kirsty summed up so accurately as a sponging waste of skin & organs, even if Gavin is an obnoxious little git.

God, I loathe bloody Kirsty.

A tad harsh there, I feel, @theThreeofWeevils. Pip and Phoebe are both direct spawn of the Devil, more so than outsider Kirsty, surely?

I really like Kirsty, and although I can see Gavin's point of view, he came across as a spoilt brat.
Imagine the threads we could get if Kelly was on MN.

I tend towards the 'the bigger the wedding, the shorter the marriage' mentality.

Kirsty's wedding being a case in point.

Oh Kirsty what a silly way to do it.

I really like Kirsty, and although I can see Gavin's point of view, he came across as a spoilt brat

Imagine the threads we could get if Kelly was on MN Brilliant- especially if Gavin and Kirsty had their own threads too.

I'm indifferent to Kirsty. She is "mostly harmless".

From Gavin's point of view Kirsty would have to be exceptionally unimaginative not to realise what her situation looks like from the outside in the context of that conversation.

Gavin is however still a vile, grasping toad.

It would be the wedding in Maui thread all over again.

Does Jenny still have her problem page?

We could have an 'I've got a crush on someone who's married'
and lots of others.

We need to know about the blue tack.

Pip and Phoebe are both direct spawn of the Devil

oh, not to worry, jccfdn, I loathe them as well. Loathing is an infinitely renewable resource, so I see no reason to be niggardly with it.

And wasn't Phoebe pathetic tonight? Snivelling little brat.

Kirsty has only been going out with Philip for eighteen months or so and living with him for five months.

The question is, how long does she have to be with Philip before Gavin accepts that sheis Philip's partner? What is the usual length of time required? Five years? ten?

I think calling anyone a gold-digger is about as offensive as anyone need ever be if they want to have a major row with that person's partner.... Has Gavin considered what happens if she does tell Philip about Gavin's little outbreak of nastiness?

I think calling anyone a gold-digger is about as offensive as anyone need ever be if they want to have a major row with that person's partner.... Has Gavin considered what happens if she does tell Philip about Gavin's little outbreak of nastiness?

It is offensive- but equally telling your new partner's son he is greedy and grasping to the point his greedy and grasping behaviour is making his father ill is possibly not going to go down well either.

I predict huge row between Kirsty and Philip, break-up, huge family row over the wedding, reconciliation and arrival of miracle baby Phirsty Killip.

One of Kirsty's main functions in life is 'serial dumpee', so I very much doubt it will get to the five-, let alone the ten-year mark.

Nor have there been any indications that Gavin is a deep or strategic thinker. But it would be nice if there were to be a gaping great rift in the Miller-Moss lute and no money for the bally Bali spendfest.

A mixed episode for me. Getting so tired of Phone apologising.

The Kirsty and Gavin convo went well :o and unusually for TA for once someone spoke their mind, didn't flounce or get interrupted. I don't get why Gavin thinks Kirsty has no interest in Phil's business/money affairs. They live together, though she was a fool to start this.

Hang on - Philip and Kirsty?
Maybe Phillip will dump Kirsty and move Holly in. Or would Holly-person and Holly-dog be too much? It's bad enough having Kristiffer and Aunty Cardboard.

Kirsty is a catalyst character.
The Phil and Kirsty match doesn't ring true to me.

Kirsty was a nitwit, but Gavin was vile. Phoebe was feeble and wimpy. Maybe we didn't hear about her graduation because there wasn't one - maybe she failed and nobody is mentioning it from embarrassment. She certainly doesn't sound like she should have got a degree in PPE from Oxford.

Some weeks ago Roy mentioned, very much in passing, that he had been to Phoebe's graduation in Oxford the weekend before. So I had to assume that contrary to all the evidence (I am unsure she can actually read, which would explain why she didn't read the contract before signing it) she hadn't failed to get a degree.

"Gavin will be the new Hazel" discuss.

Or, maybe Philip will pop his clogs/get hospitalized before the wedding (I'd like to think there would be a spat about wills, but I think that would stretch the SW's too far).

I don't think Jim can have Noro if he can get through a storytelling the next evening. Food poisoning?

Philip is highly competent at his job and is generous and kind. He supports Kirsty in what she wants to do. They enjoy each others company. They are OK.

Philip sounded a bit deranged and frantic when he tried to get the work for Jim's "no plans that you have seen" extension.

I suspect he and Natasha could form a "support group" with their impending cash-flow disasters.

Phoebe!!