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.

I wonder what will happen about the pickers coming this year?

Maybe Adam will have to do it all himself, and will sound even more exhausted than usual....

To get strikethrough on iphone and ipad:
General
Settings
Keyboard
Turn off smart punctuation

Bore - thank you!

Finally it works!

I had it for a while then it seemed to switch itself off and I couldn't find the right place in Settings to fix things. I'd thought the solution was something to do with Cookies.

Why does Adam always sound so knackered?

Even before Xander came along he was the same.

I feel sorry for Ian. I bet their sex life is pretty one-sided.

And why haven't we heard from Ian yet?

Surely he would have had something to say about his kitchen at GG being blown up to smithereeens by now.

I think Auntie Cardboard 's days might be numbered
As Gasp0de said, "It's the longest running soap opera in the world in any medium. They wouldn't want to risk losing that record." On the same basis, they can't do away with the world's longest serving soap actor.

Well remembered, @R4!

Adam has stopped growing strawberries for the pickers to pick, last we heard: it meant the drone Alice was trying to sell him would be no use, or some such, which annoyed her a lot. What he will do about the orchard of cherry trees he planted in 2010 or so, who knows.

What would a drone be able to do, AQAAT, picking strawberries?

Would it actually be physically picking them?

This is news to me!

Probably too much

Oh! I've done it again!

Why do I always put AQAAT, when I mean AQATT?

GRRR!

Sorry!

Brian would be good. At least you'd have some excellent wine. Wine suppresses the immune system, according to one set of advice I read.

Is that a good thing, Meredint?

Why is it taking so long to get to 7pm?

(Possibly lack of chez moi. Tempting as it might be to spend the next few months in an alcohol infused haze of unknowing - I'm vaguely aware of the immune system issue, so am holding back a bit.)

But yes, apart from any unavoidable centenarian withdrawals I'd guess any C19 casualties will be peripheral characters rather than important cast.

As long as they leave Maurice alone!

Please, no private thoughts from Alistair.

Exactly what I thought. I am mentally scarred by that series of AmEx.

We've sprung forward, so 7pm BST was 6pm GMT and it's actually an hour earlier than normal before we get to 7pm. It feels longer because we've already had to wait a whole 24 hours longer than normal for our fix another episode of TA.

it meant the drone Alice was trying to sell him would be no use, or some such, which annoyed her a lot.

Is it a drone as in your ni flying machine? I think it was a non-flying robot - I have seen video of one which can crawl along and detect ripe fruit and then pick them, which was quite impressive.

I feel we’re nearly there when Pick of the Week starts. So not long now! I do hope they don’t have lots of telephone conversations in the soon to be made episodes. The crackliness makes it quite difficult for hearing impaired people to hear what’s being said. A few phone calls are inevitable but, please, no more than usual. I’m sure, if the lockdown rules remain the same as we’re doing currently, there can be scenes of people meeting up incidentally at Bridge Farm shop or on the Green and loud conversations with speakers standing 6 ft apart can go ahead. And there’s scope for Alan to call on elderly parishioners and likewise have conversations round slightly open doors or summat. We’ll also need to have Kenton and Jolene worrying about their business.

I was just saying to DH that I still think Lynda might die. There’s lots of talk of her being on the mend - but in reality she’s barely out of the woods so far. I know, I know, nobody wants her to leave Ambridge but it’s going to happen to everyone eventually- and they can’t have all of them living into their 90s. Sorry, people, for my thoughts about Lynda.

poor Lynda, this doesn't sound like her

Goodness.

This is nothing like TA ...

Is a BOOP too frivolous?

I wondered if this was how it was going to turn. Nevertheless wonderfully acted, Freddie did a great job of not really knowing what to say and Lynda was brilliantly acted, she sounds so different. Difficult to listen to nonetheless.

It wasn't at all like Lynda to be so incredibly cruel to Freddie! She simply wouldn't. She has always cared for and been caring of young people, so unless she was still punishing him for some reason, why would she set out to destroy him like that?

De lurking to say thank you for such a fascinating thread - all the more important in these times of restricted TA episodes. Bit dismayed by tonight’s episode as it doesn’t move the Phil/ Gav story forward. Hope they don’t stretch it out too long and have Kirsty putting up with what is clearly becoming a stressful home life.