Archers thread #116: Pandemic fears, markets crash but it's BOOM 💥 time for Ambridge. 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 employ Philip Moss & Son to fix your soil pipe, 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! (New thread likely to be replacing that one very soon, in the current circumstances.)

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 thread title idea, which I tweaked, and @springydaff for the 💥 emoticon, which I hope is in the title! (Can't preview the title). Welcome, lurkers and lapsed listeners, drawn out of the shadows by the current crisis in Ambridge. In the OP of the last thread I said I didn't think we'd get to Easter on that thread. We certainly didn't!

I am very worried indeed about Lynda and concerned about Oliver too. Don't care about Gavin unless it means Kirsty is cheated out of yet another wedding. Freddie's redemption is now assured, though, surely? Roll on the return of the Lower Loxley crew.

Well said SparklingLime.

Also Gasp0de, I agree that Kirsty will eventually end up with Roy (although it might be a permanently disabled Roy).

Brian is consistently believeable

I know what you mean, but I didn't believe a word of it when he said to that twittering fool his wife (about Adam) "I'm as worried about him as you are".

Oh! No wonder Philip could afford the nicest kitchen worktops. Urgh. Poor Kirsty. Hasn't she suffered enough? Is she going for some sort of martyrdom and sainthood?

Well done Brian, lovely scene.

Didn't Freddie give some sort ofindication that he recognised Blake. Are the Moss's using ex young offenders, possibly from the streets?

I was particularly pleased they picked up on what somebody here astutely mentioned the other day - that medical staff would not have given updates to Philip just because he was Blake's employer.

Me miss! Me miss! It was me who said that! I’m amazed after years of nitpicking that the nit I picked was actually deliberate this time!

That said, while I think modern slavery is an interesting storyline, I’d rather they had done it with Adam finding a remote bunker full of Vietnamese teenagers growing cannabis, this feels shoehorned in and too out of character for Phillip. And bloody hell, how much more can Kirsty take?!

Logistical question- surely there would not just have been a loaf of bread sitting out for the taking on the counter in the disused kitchen? And if Blake was so hungry why not just eat bread, why bother faffing about toasting it?

And is petrol really cheaper than bargain basement solvent?

And finally, as someone else pointed out, how can you be a gang master while living in a suburban house, would the slaves not escape unless you had them in a caravan on your rural farm/in the basement?

*Brian is consistently believeable

I know what you mean, but I didn't believe a word of it when he said to that twittering fool his wife (about Adam) "I'm as worried about him as you are".

But that's exactly why Brian is so believable. We know it was just a perfectly in character platitude to placate Jenny.

When did Philip arrive in Ambridge? I know there was a fairly recent time when there wasn't a Philip character but was he always there in the background or was he a new arrival?

So disappointed with Philip. And poor Kirsty!

He appeared when he did some work for someone didnt he, who was it?

Philip was employed to mend the roof of the Hunt Kennels when it collapsed, and wittered on about some bird nesting in it. Owls? anyway, that was in March 2017, and he was one-man business then. He turned up again as a one-man business when Lilian was let down over the building work at the Dower House in June that year, when he knew a plumber who owed him a favour and so was able to get her bath properly fitted for her.

In October he laid some concrete at The Stables, again working on his own, and wormed his way into Alistair's friendship at that point.

We were never told where he had come from, and I don't remember who recommended him for the Hunt Kennels job. I think Shula may just have rung round in a despairing way. In any case, he was able to take the job on one day's notice: not usually the sign of a large successful firm, that.

Yes, good for Brian: his having had that tumour caused by being kicked by Joe's BSE cow meant he was able to convince Roy very handily. Though I think Brian was taken straight to hospital and collapsed there, rather than wandering around for several days being confused and unable to think straight.

Hear hear SparklingLime although I just skip the more vitriolic posters.

Oh poor Kirsty. It makes sense why Gavin is so ridiculously foul. Could it be a trafficking thing?

If I didn't know better I would have thought Jenny was the step parent and BrIan the parent. She was almost asking permission to talk to Adam there.

Oh what are we going to do? Only a matter of weeks left.

Very good point that Freddie seemed to recognise Blake btw

That explains why Philip wouldn't take Ed on.

Was just going to reply to questions about Phillip but AskingQuestionsAllTheTime has already done it properly wiv dates and everythink. I could only date it by Shula being initially rather keen on him and being very icy when Phillip told her he fancied Kirsty. He first arrived about the time Shula wanted to be Master of the Hunt and Phillip came to The Ball, along with Charlie.

OhTheRoses
Didn't Freddie give some sort of indication that he recognised Blake. Are the Moss's using ex young offenders, possibly from the streets?

He did, didn’t he! Good remembering. He said something like ‘so that’s Blake’ as he was being taken to hospital.

Some great plots and acting at the moment.

Yes, Philip was always a lone operator to start with. He seemed like a foil in the Shula / Alistair disintegration; someone to interact with aloud. Then seemed to settle in as a 'decent bloke'.

I was suprised when he had lots of money to splash on marble worktops. I wonder what changed - and whether it was Gav who provided the opportunity. I think it is ex-offenders, the most vulnerable and estranged from their families. Is anyone a probation or prison officer?

But that's really interesting that he went to the Hunt Ball. I wonder if he was never a lone operator but does client liaison and first-time jobs himself, to establish relationships. He spotted a rich seam of work in Ambridge (Lilian a prime target with Amside) and went in for some high grade hob-nobbing to establish himself locally?

He went to the Hunt Ball and he hunts as Kirsty was initially very disapproving of him.

Ed was complaining (only yesterday, admittedly) about Eddie's work drying up because Philip is undercutting him

The Grundys have mentioned that several times in the past.

Also, you'd think that the GG kitchen would have a toaster, wouldn't you? I haven't made toast under the grill for years!

I assume the toasters were in the dining room with the hotplates for the guests' breakfasts.

Realistically, Lynda should NOT be sitting up and talking

Absolutely. In what universe would this be happening? Bloody ridiculous.

I thought it sounded like Phillip knew about the petrol too and it was standard practice for them, vs Blake going rogue?

I wonder what changed - and whether it was Gav who provided the opportunity.

Gavin told us/Kirsty that Philip’s business had hit a very rough patch some years ago. (Philip hadn’t shared this with her.) It may be that that was the moment when he took a turn down the wrong path.

Cant believe they’re doing this to her! Really don’t like the thought of more global humiliation for her if he ends up incarcerated. So I’m hoping he’ll do a Matt and disappear with a suitcase; leaving a long apologetic note and possession of the house. (Though lack of flights and everything I’ve forgotten about proceeds of crime might scupper this fantasy.)

Phillip!!! I've defended you on here when everyone said you were dull and you and Kirsty's relationship lacked passion! Gone on about your decency and trustworthiness. I'm taking this personally!

During and after Custardgate we were cheated of long, cosy chats between Pat and her erstwhile best friend Kathy. So I’m already reminding myself to limit my expectations regarding the lifetime of heart to heart conversations being set up for Kirsty and Helen once Philip is found out and appropriately dealt with ...