🍾 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]

Maybe an outcome of this episode will be Shula realising she’s not cut out for the ministry. Unfortunately that can probably only come about after hours of dull hand wringing to anyone she can force to listen and give her the sympathy she thinks she deserves. Whining on about how the boys’ terrible ordeal has really affected her. Then we’ll have them all having to talk about how upset she. Intolerable. My only hope is that she’ll go on an extended silent retreat to come to terms with her own inadequacy.

Thanks, PPE, I like that.

One final word about Latin before I go off and start the new thread. My grandfather was born into a very poor family in the early 1900s. His Dad was an agricultural labourer. Grandpa and his siblings went to the nearest school, which was probably a long walk away, and left at 12 or 13 to start work. He wasn't much of a reader but he was brilliant at spelling, and he always credited the lessons he'd had at school on Latin Roots, which were probably aimed at vocabulary building as much as spelling. In his case, that early learning may have been reinforced by constant exposure to Latin names during his long working life as a gardener. I bet Bert Fry is similar. (He's another one we've not heard talking for a long, long time. I miss him.)

As for last night - Pip has gone even further down in my estimation, which I hardly believed possible. David has gone up a touch, Rex ditto. Good for Gavin. I hope he's told the police about Victoria.

Shula was utterly pathetic. Surely she will be told she's unsuitable for the priesthood? It's my impression that since women were allowed to be ordained the numbers of clergy have gone up, but as I believe there was a huge shortfall before, are they still so desperate for new recruits that they'd feel obliged to take Shula?

New thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/4141289--Archers-thread-124-And-theyre-off-Pip-on-a-high-horse-Kirsty-champing-at-the-bit-to-find-the-lost-horses-Alice-on-the-wagon-or-is-she-riding-for-a-fall-Discuss-The-Archers-here?watched=1

Majestic improvement!

Pip’s new intonation is very grating. Her speech was very jerky and clipped as she tried to convince us she was angry.

It was awful. I thought it was a different actress!

I didn't get why Philip has suddenly been locked up. Normally that would only happen if there'd been a breach of bail conditions, and surely he's bright enough to avoid that?

Hoping that Rex will give Pip an earful about her hypocrisy. Also that it's an end to the rewilding bollocks, at least insofar as it involves them.

Gav has handed himself in and spilled the beans, so I imagine he's been charged now

No one shouted “slavery” about the Home Farm strawberry pickers paying a proportion of their wages to live in manky caravans, but it was close to that IMO.

Agree that Shula not cut out to be a vicar, but desperately hoping for off-air handwringing and a silent retreat too ChemEng!

@Lardycake4me

No one shouted “slavery” about the Home Farm strawberry pickers paying a proportion of their wages to live in manky caravans, but it was close to that IMO.

But they were free to come and go, surely. The caravans were cleaned, we heard about it, they might not have been manky. I don't remember hearing about them being charged or how much they were paid but I could easily have missed that. They, presumably, applied for the jobs, they weren't bought and sold.

Lexi and the others earned money for whatever they needed it for and went home at the end of the season.

I always imagined that the caravans were provided free on top of the pickers’ wages. Appreciate that wages would have been set to take accommodation into account, but not so that they dipped below the legal minimum.

Fair points

I think there are lots of jobs that come with housing (park keeper?) Not sure if im thinking about this too much but I wonder if there were 2 fruit picker wadges, with and without accomadation (so for locals) so you got less if you stayed in the caravan but it was your choise what you spent the money you got paid on,

Peeps - there's a new thread. (Link above.)

Just sayin ...

Pip really is an insufferable little toad. Can't agree with this. Toads are my favourite amphibian.

They were always throwing moles into harbours, which I never understood. LOL!
We did Georgics IV which I loved. As good as Christopher Lloyd.

When I referred to 'dropping the Alice storyline' it was a poor choice of words. I know they will come back to it but what they do is entirely focus on one too much (Kirsty) and the implication is that she's been sober and fine for well over a month (I think). I don't think that's particularly realistic after two weeks of detox and no real commitment to AA / telling family etc.

@MereDintofPandiculation I apologise profusely and to all toads.

Is this thread finished?

Surely not already?

Moving along at a good pace these days.

Time to go to the new thread.

Good night.

Fin