💥 Archers thread #119: Has the Bull reopened? Will Ambridge pull through? We’ve all dozed off and haven't a clue. Moan about the monologues 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 we should have monologues all the time from now on, 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.)

Thanks to PPE on the last thread for the title suggestion, which I tweaked a bit.

As for the current state of affairs: here's how it could have been done. www.youtube.com/channel/UCvRSVdfQWAjNhNu1AtABYjw Nigel Pargetter returns, albeit in spectral form. I loved these.

I don't love the current set up. Very, very hit and miss for me - but I am too much of an addict to give it up. Looking for a silver lining, maybe the rather clunky trot through the Aldridge family tree last night was helpful to newer listeners. It is rather convoluted. In 12.5 minutes they managed to explain that Adam and Debbie are Jennifer's children by different fathers, that Debbie's father Roger Travers-Macy adopted Adam, that after he and Jenny divorced she married Brian and that he (secretly) loves Adam and not nearly so secretly adores Debbie. I don't think they explicitly stated that Kate and Alice are Brian's children with Jenny, but they did manage to squeeze in a mention of Siobhan and Ruairi, and explain that Xander is Adam's son by a surrogate and has no genetic connection to either Brian or Xander's other father Ian. Phew!

His name is Blake, I have now remembered, and he is indisputably not quite 'zackerly as well as being a victim of slavery. He seems to believe whatever lie Philip and Gavin choose to tell him, anyhow.

Well, it's Friday and it's not TA.

It's a shame that Philip hadn't shacked up with Shula. Imagine the hand wringing.
Whereas yet again poor Kairsty will be left to pick up the pieces.

They are the Mosses not the Morrises.

Mood moss, plume moss, bog moss, shaggy moss, water screw moss, sphagnum moss, pincushion moss, elf-cap moss....

I wonder if the Robert actor, having been a GP until he recently retired, had anything to do with the ED storyline. I imagine that he has had a lot of conversations about it over the years. Probably feels less awkward to him than it would to many.

They're actors, I doubt that they find it embarrassing.
It is something that affects a lot of men, but we don't hear about it much.
I'm a bit old fashioned and don't really want to hear about people's ailments.

There wasn't any ED storyline. Robert allowed Lilian to assume he had it, when he had no evidence that it might be a problem: he hadn't tried to have sex with Lynda since 8th March. I rather suspect that if Lilian had not immediately leaped on his tentative not being sure if he could (have sex with someone he is terrified of hurting, as he might have finished the sentence she interrupted) and insisted on forcing on him a remedy she had no reason to be certain might not cause him damage she has no idea of his medical history, and you are supposed to discuss taking viagra with a qualified professional, not just take it because a mate gave you some Robert would not have thought he had any need to take drugs to enhance his performance. Not before he had even tried, in any case.

Would Lilian know what the contraindications are for taking viagra?

@PersephonePromotesEquanimity

But Roysnewshirt, (I checked Alice's age because I couldn't remember exactly.) She was born 29 September 1988 - so she's almost 32. IIRC life as a young professional in a big city morphs into 'fixing up a beautiful 17th century house in a village' at around that age - as a mark of professional / social / reproductive success.

She has missed out on city life, certainly. But wouldn't most people prefer a free house on their own land in rural bliss?

Phoebe, on the other hand ... Now, that's a ridiculous waste of a story.

Does anybody do the Ambridge Social quiz on Twitter? It's on every Friday at 7pm to make up for there being no actual The Archers episode.

twitter.com/kate_crichton/status/1304480329873453056?s=21

Anyway, thanks to PersephonePromotesEquinamity, I was immediately ready with my answer to the question about Alice's year of birth. Thank you

Wondered where you were going with that, nettie.

(Whenever I see my own name in TIO I hold my breath, wondering what on earth I've done now to offend someone.)

That quiz looks fun in theory - though the questions are way too easy. Apart from the first one - was that this week? I've listened to (or at least been in the same room as a functioning radio for) all the Kenton and Jolene stuff either once or twice, but have not one clue what they were wittering on about. My ears just tuned out of the appalling nonsense.

Wow, a couple of rather snippy responses to my comment!

“They’re actors” “There was no “ED storyline””

I was only mentioning that it was interesting to have a former GP playing a man with “issues in the bedroom” and wondered if the actor had brought any of his life experience to bear on that. I think I might take my thoughts on TA elsewhere...

That was the latest quiz PersephonePromotesEquinamity. I think the questions need to be fairly easy as lots of people do it live. If you have to think a bit before replying, you start seeing other people's answers on the hashtag. Plus, not everyone has listened for a long time so there are not too many questions about more recent Ambridge events/people. I think there is quite an art to Twitter quizzes. Most people (or at least those who tweet their scores) get around 7-9 which means honour is satisfied all round.

Hope you do keep posting on here CheetasOnFajitas. Since the Peggy/Jack storyline, lots of us have wondered how much discussion goes on between the actors and scriptwriters and if real experiences are woven into plots so I personally thought it was fine to muse about this. I expect he would never admit publicly if he ever used real life experiences, in case any former patients complained.

I read the other comment as being more about how the scriptwriters often seem to bring in new plots without any attention to previous events or characters.

Plus, not everyone has listened for a long time so there are not too many questions about more recent Ambridge events/people.

Aaargh - should have proof read before posting. I meant most questions are about comparatively recent events/people

Hang on in there, @CheetasOnFajitas! I didn't read those responses as snippiness, not aimed at you, anyway. New thread looming now. Let's see how many posts we get today.

But Cheetas, it is compulsory to air all Archers thoughts on this thread. Trust me, you haven't seen snippy until I spot someone daring to engage in Ambridge talk ... elsewhere on MN.

Not everyone's as keen on the current Robert and Linda story as I am. And as Gasp0de indicates, there are often discussions here about the relationship (if any) between actors' day jobs and their Archer roles.

They are the Mosses not the Morrises.
D'oh. Of course they are! As I was typing, I had a niggle that something was wrong, couldn't put my finger on it and carried on spouting away anyway.
Note to self: never ignore your instincts.

I enjoyed Tracy's comment to Susan:

'I forgot you had insider knowledge'

Hope their plan to catch the culprit works.

Whatever is this ‘Naughty Milkman’ subplot? I missed how it all started but it sounds a bit too Carry on Ambridge for me. It’s so ill-judged in this post-#metoo climate.

The Naughty Milkman is some sort of marketing plot, based on the MilkTray Man, which is bound to go wrong with hilarious results. (Or not.) I think my brain has removed details of exactly how it's meant to work. Also, it's already going wrong with Susan calling it the Wicked Milkman.

The Naughty Milkman is some sort of marketing plot

Joelene is one of those annoying landlords who thinks you need a new gimmick on a regular basis to generate business and bring in the punters. In fact, these schemes usually do little more than irritate the locals. Why can’t she see that ordinary punters just want their favourite drinks combined with tasty, good-value pub food (doesn’t have to be particularly cheap but affordable enough on a regular basis). May be the odd pub quiz thrown in if you have to (though I actually can’t bear quiz nights).

Any non-locals will simply be looking for an olde English country pub vibe, which the Bull should be able to provide - not crass, unfunny and over-contrived marketing ploys.

The Bull and its locals deserve a new landlord.

@R4

They are the Mosses not the Morrises. D'oh. Of course they are! As I was typing, I had a niggle that something was wrong, couldn't put my finger on it and carried on spouting away anyway. Note to self: never ignore your instincts.

You were obviously thinking about fags.

@CheetasOnFajitas, my comment was not intended as snippy.

Our local publican is "bringing the punters in" because he has a great team and, at the start of lockdown, they went out of their way to organise veg boxes from their veg usual suppliers. After things calmed down a bit, and the volunteer network was sorted, they moved on to takeaway food and beer. No gimmicks, just a nice team that keeps a look out for people.

I imagine that at least half of The Bull's target clientele have never had a milkman. Has Wayne been furloughed/sacked? Did I miss that?

Do I remember hearing that the Grundys had bought extra baby turkeys this year (I thought I heard them mention pullets, but can't be bothered to listen again)?

Ed complained that Eddie was keeping turkey pullets in his sheep-pens. I think Clarrie had told him they were extra ones.

Just waiting to see if there's a burst of activity on the thread when people hear the omnibus ... or not. New thread is ready to go once we're a bit nearer 1000 posts on this one.