💥 Archers thread #117: Welcome to the only C19-free area in the world! 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 think Phoebe is a genius, 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/3853783--The-Archers-spoilers-thread-5-Cant-wait-for-7-02pm-Join-us-here, 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.)

I put the BOOM! emoticon in the title as I thought it could transition into a vague likeness of a virus if we're still going by early May, when we expect some wild contortions from the production team to get Ambridge back in synch with the rest of the world. I think I would have preferred them to ignore it altogether but I suppose they couldn't.

Yes. Friday's episode is the most important in my week. Sunday's, some trivial arriviste that I rarely catch on time anyway. Boo.

Beekeeping and shagging are slightly different things I feel.

I’m assuming Friday was cut as it is only one that isn’t repeated.
I loved the scene with Kate and Lynda. I don’t remember them having history. Trying to work out what year she would have been 15 and realised it’s the year I was 15 as we are about the same age! Probably not my peak Archers listening period!

I can't say because I haven't tried one of them. The honey's delicious though.

Langsdestiny
Beekeeping and shagging are slightly different things I feel.

You know that and I know that, but I am by no means so sure that the editorial team are clear on it.

Josh's story does seem to echo Kenton's deficiencies there somewhat.

They have to find a way to get rid of the "spares'.

Kenton is older than me but my parents recalled Kenton being clever at school, therefore GoldenHeir. Shula, merely a girl, would not be heir. However when Kenton clearly wasn't interested in farming he queered his pitch and whilst he was baled out more than once he was far from Golden.

Once David moved into the role of Heir (couldn't be TheGirl) he was GoldenChild much as Pip is now. He was the "future of Brookfield" and inherited the farm but has retained the petty minded rivalry attitude to Kenton. Mind you David is petty minded about a great many things.

I can understand Jill's attitude to Elizabeth. She isn't just the late arriving youngest, Jill nearly lost her. That is bound to make her over protective.

. I find all attempts by the scriptwriters to deal with sex excruciating, the scene with Ben and Chloe was unpleasant, there was one not too long ago with David and Ruth, I suppose writing about sex without turning into farce is tricky.

re Memory Aids Lowfield from 1997, recorded episodes from November 2009 onwards, and a memory going back to the beginning about some things

I have a lot of recordings going back a good many years. However whilst Lowfield and recordings are brilliant for fact checking dates, events and point information such as the value of Brookfield they are written by listeners like us and have some degree of interpretation.

I recall some pretty vigorous discussion about those summaries on UMRA in the early days of the group, exactly as we have here when we have all heard the same episode.

Take the Ed/Emma chemicals situation. Views here range from "Emma is evil witch who forced innocent Ed to commit crime" to "Ed is a thirty something adult who needs to take responsibility and Emma had no idea how serious things were".

My opinion is closer to the latter and that would inevitably be reflected a bit in a summary. The summaries are gold but not gospel IYSWIM.

I do hope that we're going to be treated to Lynda organising the ward and indeed the entire hospital as she gets better.

I find it quite amusing (maybe that's not the right word) that the continuity announcer has obviously been told to remind us that Ambridge is CV free.

As if we hadn't cottoned on to that fact yet

Maybe he's trying to say that they know it's CV free, and intended it to go out like that? Rather like those legal documents you get with a page with nothing on it except "this page is intentionally blank"?

It's not even been two weeks of lockdown but when I hear plans to go to a cafe or the pub I think "Nooo, you can't do that".

You mean they're not in lockdown?

@UrsulaPandress, I have the same feeling...

Dh and I are binge watching old episodes of Silent Witness and Leonard just rocked up!

What did the announcer say - ‘please be aware Ambridge is not currently in lockdown. Government advice to stay at home does not apply.’ ??
What are other 🧼 s doing?

It implies they think people use TA as a guide for how to act IRL...

I think the announcement is a good idea. I expect they have had outraged emails from people who don’t understand that these episodes were recorded pre lock down. I have noticed a few announcements before TV programmes recorded BC too.

Listening to the omnibus although I heard most episodes this week. Justin is extra slimy on repeat. BOOP for Lynda and Robert who have captured the stresses of a relationship changed by illness very well.

Hmm ... Jenny's not sounding too fit ...

And Robert will soon find himself divorced if he's not more careful.

Excellent episode.

Thing is, PPE, it could be that when this epi was recorded, some of the cast were already suffering from COVID-19, all unawares..

Accidentally topical? Adam should have quarantined the sheep he bought to add to the flock. And the rot can be passed on from sheep to cows.

Very good episode with the tensions between Lynda and Robert caught so well. I too thought the sheep-hoofy thing was a COVID- 19 metaphor.

Thinking of Adam's objections to employing Freddie, shouldn't he be crawling nine miles over broken glass to get anyone, what with RL concerns about not having enough workers to pick food crops?

It's Josh that Adam doesn't want to employ.

And he stopped growing strawberries, so he doesn't need anyone to pick them.

Ha! No attention span.:o

How come Freddie's been staying at LL? Surely the concerns for licensing purposes about having a convicted drug dealer on the premises still exist?

Surely the concerns for licensing purposes about having a convicted drug dealer on the premises still exist?

Since the concerns kicked remarkably rapidly (over a weekend, I think) when Little Fred was an unconvicted drug dealer, and since they bear no relation to licensing reality, then it is fine for him to be at LL, apart from the fact that being in proximity to his foul mother and rancid sister won't be doing him a great deal of good.

Come on Freddie, do something useful: get the supply line up and running again. (And smother Lynda. The kindest thing, really, so long as a non-stick pillow)