🧱 Archers thread #128: Alice lobs a brick, Emma hurls brickbats, Neil is a brick. Cement your relationship with 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 collect superhero figures, or other unusual things.

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/4197199--The-Archers-spoilers-thread-6-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.)

Apologies for not using any of the suggestions offered for this thread's title. I'll paste them in here instead to get us started.

I like the leeway pun here from @ThePawtriarchy: Bacon, Bores and Booze. Elizabeth needs convincing, Helen needs some leeway and Alice is in crisis.

@nettie434 gets to the nub of what's been happening recently: Beechwood, Batman and Booze: Rex's pigs and Helen and Lee have new homes but will Lee's collection of action figures plant the apple of discord in their sylvan idyll? Alice's alcohol problems continue to cause friction between the Aldridges and Carters. Has anyone warned Borsetshire Children's Services what awaits them?

Great one liner from @PseudoBadger - ‘Nobody puts Captain America in the corner’.

And a timely bit of advice from @JanFebAnyMonth: If this evening’s episode has raised any issues for you, please call the BBC Helpline post on this MN thread for details of organisations which might help you.

So, off we go again! We may get back to five episodes a week before the next thread. Here's hoping that it's Friday we get back, not Sunday.

@RandomCatGenerator

Do we have any idea when 5 or 6 episodes a week will resume? I’m not sure what the justification for 4 is any more and it means there’s no episodes for almost half the week!

Keri Davies has announced on Twitter that he has recently written a five-episode week, I think. So probably some time in the next couple of months, because they don't write all that far in advance as far as I know.

This is one thing I'm determined to be disgruntled about
Quite right, MereDint, you stick to your guns and be as disgruntled as you want
I find TA not being on on a Sunday odd, still. Have adapted to Fridays, though. And I'm never gruntled in the first place anyway.

I oddly find it a lot more difficult to keep up-to-date now that there aren't episodes almost every day. I used to listen daily and miss it on Saturdays; now if I listen to the week's episodes on a Thursday or Friday I'm doing well!

Why are Brine and JD suddenly so "poor"? They sold Home Farm for presumably not less than £500k, probably more, they still have Farm income and Brine won't be on the BL Board for the love of it. I know they had a massive fine to pay but hey must have had a fair bit in the bank anyway given the life they were living before they sold the house and they are renting somewhere reasonably small and cheap(ish).

I have no clue how much rehab is but I wouldn't have thought it too much of a stretch for them

It's about £1000/day, unless you're actually in a private psychiatric hospital, which is more.

And since they were talking about six weeks minimum, that's £42,000 minimum.

Boop Shula.

But as for Adam and Ian....

Thanks for the link @FreezerBird .

Brine and JD should have a stash of cash, even without the capital that the SW's conveniently forgot that they were going to use to buy a new home.

They no longer pay for Ruari's boarding fees (so about £30-£50k pa). The rates, utility and food bills on a "3 up 2 down" semi detached/terraced cottage will be inconsequential now they can't/won't entertain. They can walk to the village shop and pub....

Peggy has been suddenly gifted with unimaginable wealth, despite shelling out £500k for the rewilders and Aunty Cardboard's £1-2k/week nursing home fees for a good few months.

I wonder what Banjo would fetch? Maybe that would cover a few days' costs.

Wasn't Shula a hunt master in the past? Surely then she should be the last person to be pious about people riding when three sheets to the wind?

Are we to assume that anyone who rides to hounds only does so because they are drunk, or something?

soooooooG back in 2019 (probably earlier) somebody in scripting declared that country sports (e.g. Shula being Joint Master of the Hunt with Oliver and there being a stonking great Shoot business run by Home Farm/Borchester Land) should never be mentioned again.

Maybe Ambridge is a bit like that "Predator vs Prey" simulation game there used to be for school computers in the 80's. A build up of foxes dealt with the pheasants...and then the foxes ran out of pheasants...
I can't even remember that last time that David mentioned badgers.

Can anybody suggest what/who Adam is spending his money on?

Dutch courage, supplied by a hip flask, used to be a frequent feature of hunting and meets (this is purely from reading, I've done a couple of drag hunts post-ban but was far too young to be hunting when live foxes were involved). Some of the things that are jumped require you to be insane, drunk or both, and the horse too.
We don't have much information on Banjo but Alice hasn't competed him to a high standard, he's almost certainly fat and unfit at the moment and he's recently had veterinary issues. If you could find a buyer, I doubt he would fetch more than £3-4,000 at the absolute most. We have no evidence that he is well bred or anything more than a hack, so even that might be an overestimate.
I know I'm overthinking this slightly. Competitions aren't happening, I don't hunt so I have no clue about hunting, but I can imagine the bottom has fallen out of the horse market. They would be ridding themselves of a liability if they sold Banjo but who is buying unsound hacks right now?

Oh well, she could always distill him.

Do I gather that Adam thinks that he was sacked on Thursday and has therefore downed tools?
He normally works a 40 hour day (which is why he is Tired All The Time) so has Home Farm / BL ground to a halt (pun not intended) due to his absence or has nobody noticed that he has gone?

Can anyone (OK, I’m looking at you of course, @AskingQuestionsAllTheTime) give an brief history of Alice’s horse ownership. There was Chandler the pony who got laminitis frequently, then did she upgrade directly to Spearmint? I remember lots of Veruca Salt-style “Daddy I want a horse” goings-on when she got Spearmint, who was presumably swiftly abandoned when she went to University. When did Banjo appear? When did Debbie’s horse Tolly kick the bucket? How does Alice justify having her horse kept at livery and only ridden once in a blue moon when her parents have a farm- who pays for that? Or is it framed as some sort of largesse giving Shula a good horse to use for lessons? In fact, does Alice’s attitude to horses reflect her attitude to her child?

I have been on hunts in the past - hip flasks we’re quite a big part of it. Odd for Shula to be so sanctimonious about it. But then again, it is Shula…(sorry @ILoveShula)

I agree @HaveringWavering it does seem inconsistent and quite unjustifiable. I feel quite bad for poor Banjo - hopefully he is getting ridden a lot in lessons but not sure how much those would have been going ahead with Covid.

Adam was so wholly unlikeable in this episode. I really do like Ian but he’s a bit of a wet blanket when it comes to standing up to his husband - who appears to have no redeeming qualities…?

Yes, Adam was utterly vile to Ian, and badly-acted to boot. I did enjoy Lee being caught in the crossfire and whimpering “I’m a physiotherapist” though .

Adam is behaving so badly I'm just ignoring it. I can't mentally grapple with this random leap to insanity. He may be many things but he's not the type to squirrel 5k and lie.

That said, if he got to interview at another job given his reason for leaving as 'working with stepfather' and 'step brother now coming of age' should suffice surely? Whilst the world is full of fabulous step parents the fairy tale trope says enough. People know that family businesses are tough too. I just don't think Brian can fire a shareholder anyway and as if Jenny would let him even if he could. It's ludicrous.

Adam is a horrible human people. I hate the way he sneers and talks down to Lee. He is awful to Ian and barely has any time for or interest in Xander. It seems Ian does all the hands on parenting.

I wish he would disappear but JD will never let her precious firstborn leave.

..horrible human being!

Shula's suddenly become quite sensible. I feel she's being retrofitted to try to make it credible that she could become a vicar.

I know I'm overthinking this slightly - well you are definitely on the right thread then @CeciledeVolanges

@Zzelda

Shula's suddenly become quite sensible. I feel she's being retrofitted to try to make it credible that she could become a vicar.

Or the vicar-training has changed her? I'm sure the CofE would love that to be the reason but I think it is more likely to be the work of the Character Transplant Fairy.

I still have a soft spot for Shula. I'm sure that she wasn't so awful when we were she was younger so perhaps it is that the CTF's original spell is wearing away.