🍾 Archers thread 123: Goodbye & good riddance to 2020 – to Philip too? The Archers is 70 on New Year’s Day – celebrate or vent about it 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 wish we heard more from Shula, 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.)

So! 2021 beckons. Big anniversary next Friday, 1.1.21 (and to mark that we have episodes Tuesday-Friday next week). What would we like to see happen? I may be in a minority of one, but I'd like a nice gentle character-driven episode. I don't think we'll get that, but I really, really hope they don't kill someone else off, just for the headlines.

[Title edited by MNHQ at OP'S request]

Spouses or civil partners of a person charged in proceedings are generally competent to give evidence for the prosecution. The only exception is if the spouse or civil partner is jointly charged. If they are, neither is competent or compellable to give evidence, on behalf of the prosecution, against the other, unless the spouse or civil partner witness has already pleaded guilty, or the proceedings in respect of the spouse or civil partner witness have been discontinued.

If I understand what that's saying ... if the police charge Kirsty she is no longer competent to (ie can no longer) give evidence against Philip. So unless they have convincing evidence from the paperwork, charging Kirsty would get rid of their only witness.

And if that's so, then presumably they haven't got enough to get them both convicted. So both will be released without charge; or case will be dropped at a later stage.

Unless, that is, they can find Gavin and/or the horses. I can't imagine Blake being willing to act as witness against Gavin or Philip but the other two might.

Is this going to be a lesson on how difficult it is to get a successful prosecution in this sort of case? Or will the Ambridge legal fairy race to the rescue? (dragging Usha behind her)

I liked Lynda getting the MBE.

I find her too spiky and bossy for my tastes but she deserves this recognition.

I, too, couldn't understand why Kenton was wasting valuable airtime but maybe it was a bit of foreshadowing.
Will the community come together to crowd-fund Kirsty's defence and go sleuthing (a bit like the Quiz) to find evidence to clear her name and send down Philip instead? Who will be the first to find Blake?

she deserves this recognition.

Damn.
The previous post should read "what the hell for?"

I was disappointed and ranting "IS THAT IT?"

But surely the arrest was so that Roy could show how devoted he is to Kirsty and get her through etc as a way for her to realise he's been the man for her all along. Then they'll have a baby and Kirsty will get the Ambridge Happily Ever AfterTM that's evaded her.

Lynda Snell MBE - I'm happy for her, I love Lynda, but hardly a 70th anniversary edition shocker.

The most shocking thing was the Jazzer & Tracy "69" joke. Oo-er.

if the police charge Kirsty she is no longer competent to (ie can no longer) give evidence against Philip. So unless they have convincing evidence from the paperwork, charging Kirsty would get rid of their only witness.

She can still give evidence against Philip in her own defence, she just can't do it for the prosecution. But of course for all the prosecution knows she will not give evidence at all, her lawyers will simply argue that the case against her isn't proved, so it would be very risky to rely on this.

However, I suspect the paperwork may well show a good case, if only in respect of the fictional accounts into which wages are paid and then siphoned back or however the scam is worked.

Then again, a lot will depend on which way Gavin goes if or when he is caught.

I too was a bit under-whelmed by the life-changing crisis.

Roy knew she wasn't meant to discuss anything about the case, to avoid compromising the investigation so now he's blurted it out round the whole village.

I don't think Kirsty knew an awful lot anyway, and Philip's just going to lie, so unless they get Gavin or the lads, there's not that much to go on anyway.

Yes and wasn't there a later awful joke which I thought was a pair to the 69 comment? But can't remember now.

The most shocking thing was the Jazzer & Tracy "69" joke. Oo-er.
The most shocking thing was that the BBC didn't do its research properly. The joke seemed to depend on the phone box being a K2 but, according to the first website I googled (by amazing coincidence, it features Avoncroft Museum which is just down the road from Ambridge) "there were some isolated examples of it across the country [but] most were installed in London". Ambridge probably has a K6, which has 96 panes of glass.

Totally missed the 69 joke. I normally listen over breakfast the following day but listened this evening specially and was disappointed.

Lynda's MBE is presumably for her community am dram work?

Lynda's MBE is presumably for her community am dram work
A short custodial sentence would be more appropriate.

Avoncroft museum is a nice day out (in good weather) and their phone box collection is impressive. They even have a police phone box.

We heard more than one clue, didn't we. Did anyone collect them?

I have

• a date on the bridge?
• the Lawson-Hope memorial bench
• something to do with the glass in the phone-box
• whatever it was that Roy and Kirsty were looking for just before she was arrested.

Were there any others, and was I right about the ones I did get, and did anyone catch what was being looked for in the scene when Tanners turned up?

Which bridge, anyway? There are two in the village and two others within about half a mile of the green, as well as two fords. (It's a most peculiar river in many ways: so big and deep it needs a three-arch bridge across it, and yet shallow enough for a toddler to walk through the ford with Emma, as well as flowing both "down to Hollerton" according to Adam and "into Borchester" according to Lynda -- one of those being south-west from Ambridge and the other being north-east.)

I can’t understand why no one has mentioned Alcoholics Anonymous for Alice, isn’t it the most obvious suggestion for support - I don’t get it?

I think I might be alone in finding tonight's episode quite satisfying, for a couple of reasons. First, I love the idea of Lynda getting an MBE and think it's quite realistic for her to be recognised for services to the community. And secondly, we finally got to hear some realistic reactions to the slavery news.

I'd like to see Kirsty going down if only to belie the predictable ending to this storyline.

@theThreeofWeevils

she deserves this recognition.

I was very surprised at this, coming from you, Three

then I saw the correction in your in your nextpost.

You had me worried there for a moment.

I laughed out loud at the 69 joke.

@R4

The most shocking thing was the Jazzer & Tracy "69" joke. Oo-er. The most shocking thing was that the BBC didn't do its research properly. The joke seemed to depend on the phone box being a K2 but, according to the first website I googled (by amazing coincidence, it features Avoncroft Museum which is just down the road from Ambridge) "there were some isolated examples of it across the country [but] most were installed in London". Ambridge probably has a K6, which has 96 panes of glass.

Now you've spoiled it for me. But I applaud your accuracy

You had me worried there for a moment
Sorry, @TheSilveryPussycat. Have a glass of something restorative for your shattered nerves. I'll raise one with you, to the abolition of the honours list, la Snell, and ideally the whole of Ambridge while we're at it.

Surely the real shocker in that episode was David saying something nice to Kenton.

I laughed out loud at the 69 line. Archers does smut really well on the odd occasion it goes there, i still recall Lillian cooing re the flower and produce show ‘i’m entering my gentleman’s buttonhole’ and justin saying ‘yes it’s quite breathtaking’ or some such

I rather enjoyed the 69 joke and was pleased that my prescience about the book-keeping by Kirsty has come to pass, though rather more explosively than I had imagined.

What is different this time is the very public nature of her arrest, enforced by Roy's telling everyone in sight means it won't have the tedious secrecy that so often surrounds TA SLs.

Sorry but a K6 has 72 panes (8 rows x 3 columns x 3sides). A K2 has. 18 panes on each of 3 sides.