🧚‍♀️ Archers thread #120: Magic time. Dialogue! Good Fairy Lilian made Lynda’s wish come true. Will Phil vanish in a puff of smoke? Join the Magic Circle in Alice’s shed, where time is never called!

[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 hear more about the Naughty Milkman, 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 @Roysnewshirt for the excellent title suggestion, which I tweaked a bit.

I wonder how much dialogue we're going to get in the coming weeks. They're back to normal recording, I believe, albeit socially distanced. Also, when will we get our Friday and Sunday episodes back? I know I'm not the only regular to miss TA a lot more on Friday than on Sunday. The Sunday episode is still an incomer, of course, having only been introduced some 20 years ago, of course.

(My parents retired to a village and some features of Ambridge life are very familiar from their experience, the 'incomer' label being one.)

that people would do well to eat less meat, but make it high welfare
This is what I think. I have nothing against people eating meat, just not MRM and factory reared. I hardly ever drink milk but do like cheese and eggs. I also quite like yoghurt and, dare I say it, kefir.

Bridge Farm and Brookfield both produce meat for market without cruelty, as far as one can tell. David's Herefords live out in the fields, and Tony's Anguses are like children to him. And as long as Pip is not entrusted with feeding them, I think the Hassett Hills Lambs do ok too, and the Home Farm sheep except if there is a flood..

Not sure about the Home Farm venison, but I think they are happy apart from being killed in the end, and that seems to be done on the farm with a gun rather than in a slaughterhouse so it's probably reasonably humane -- fast, anyway, and no horrible journeys in lorries.

Oh Good Lord.

I am beginning to think Kirsty's lovely neck is longing to be squeezed ...

It really is not any of her business if Gavin has the occasional flutter, is it? She just went in assuming he was in need of Gamblers Anonymous like Alistair.

Will Philip panic?

Also looks like Gavin is horrified at Philip selling Blake on.

Oh my... I'm a few minutes behind... eek

To be fair, by Phillips reaction anyone would conclude that it was a very serious problem.

Excellent episode! A welcome return to form.

I did hope the latest government edict for people to work from home won't result in the return of the Monologues.

That episode was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed Lynda and Robert's gardening fall out, in particular when he drew on her map.
And when Kirsty mentioned the horses; the misunderstanding was super.

I do hope this is a sign of more to come.

Lynda is taking revenge on Robert for his bird feeder disappointment. Notice she got him to do all the skilled and time consuming trellis work first.

In the hope of seeing a picture of the bird feeder I visited the BBC TA site. No luck with ironwork but I note that Alice has been given a big write-up. Nothing new - just cobbled together history (and photos!) up to a point sometime before she lay down at the side of a road.

Still don't know what Lynda and Robert objected to in Christopher's craftwork.

But a BOOP for the fantastic three person conversation at the Moss residence.

I find competition between a husband and wife very unappealing. Couples should generally work together and not put each other down. Lynda may think it’s a bit of fun but she is bordering on being a bully...

Especially while Robert has been so affected by what happened to her. The last thing he wants is to compete with her. However I think she needs him to realise she is strong enough to be treated as his equal.

I loved lynda & robert
lynda sounded so well

Tony's Anguses are like children to him
tbh that sounds really disturbing thinking of what you need to do to an animal to get to it's meat.

@Darker

Especially while Robert has been so affected by what happened to her. The last thing he wants is to compete with her. However I think she needs him to realise she is strong enough to be treated as his equal.

I don't read it that way at all. This is Lynda back to her normal self - I strongly suspect Robert is delighted.

I'm just glad I can settle back into not liking Lynda and her intellectual snobbery and superiority.

I'm just glad I can settle back into not liking Lynda and her intellectual snobbery and superiority

I’m with you on this @Darker. If the Snells were my neighbours I would feel very sad for Robert.

To me it seems like Robert is standing up to her more than he ever did before. Or am I just misremembering?

I thought Gavin was remarkably quick to catch on. For Gavin.

I loved Robert's "That's not a garden, it's a concept" or whatever the exact phrase was.

Gavin's accent was all over the place.

I'm with Pobblebonk here. Robert adores Lynda but he doesn't always do what she wants without complaint.

I'm intrigued by the bird feeder stand. Clean, simple lines, Chris said, also that he hadn't had time to do as much on it as he'd originally planned. Lynda and Robert clearly think it's dreadful. Something like this? oldsmithynorthlincs.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=102

I reckon Linda would love one of my flowerbeds. I have had daffodils in flower for the past few weeks! I can't picture the bird feeder OR all the trellis.

Clare Balding is off rambling with Ed Grundy at 3pm today.

I suspect that if Kirsty had left it at "I know about the horses" Philip would've spilled the beans. He namechecked them, then she introduced gambling and the relief in his voice was palpable. Great episode on my first week back listening.

Brilliant episode.