🧦 Archers thread #133: Woolley socks it to them! Discuss The Archers and its Woolley thinking and plotting 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 would love to take part in the Mysteries, 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/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.)

Thanks to @ButtonSister and @BorsetshireBanality for title suggestions. I went with their idea in the interests of keeping the title fairly short.

@LillianGish and @FoxgloveSummers made cracking but longer suggestions, which (mashed up) will do a great job of kicking off our new thread.

Evictions (Tom and Tash), depictions (Bridge Farm Christmas card), conniptions (entire cast and crew of the Mysteries), convictions (Philip) and addictions (Alice) - what are our predictions for 2022 in Ambridge? All sure to make this the Best Ambridge Christmas Evah!

This thread should take us through to early January unless something very exciting happens (ha ha, fat chance). My predictions: this is a bit left field, but I wonder if Peggy will offer to buy the shop and flat so Tom and Gnasher (great coinage, whose was it?) can stay put. I don't believe Hazel is sincere about wanting to live in/regularly visit Ambridge. She's always been utterly two-faced and rotten to the core, why would she change now?

The Mysteries will, of course be a triumph and briefly borrowing the🔮 (sorry, Bore!) I expect we are going to hear them at some point over the New Year period.

Over to you!

on twins - a friend had twins and it turned out that they were from different dads. all came out after separation and contested paternity.
I didn't even know that was possible in humans. I've heard about this with cats or dogs.

I think she will want more from life than Eddie Grundy as a father-in-law.

I think Stella sounds sufficiently her own person not to worry about acquiring status from, or being defined by, her partner’s parent.

Besides which, the senior Grundys are generally lovely to their DILs - which is about as much as anyone can hope for!

@purplesequins

on twins - a friend had twins and it turned out that they were from different dads. all came out after separation and contested paternity. I didn't even know that was possible in humans. I've heard about this with cats or dogs.

Two eggs can be fertilised on different days during the cycle.

I think Stella sounds sufficiently her own person not to worry about acquiring status from, or being defined by, her partner’s parent

It’s more the scams and lies I would be put off by.

It’s more that the whole family is sexist and expect women to be pushovers while the men constantly mess up that would put me off.

Trying to remember now why I felt Will was sexist towards Nic, can anyone recall?

Stella might be catnip to Chris though, he likes a high flyer.

I actually do think Pat and Tony are walkovers for their children. They have always given Helen her own way in everything and indulged Tom somewhat too.

Said it before but ungrateful brat children are a real theme in Ambridge which makes me wonder what the scriptwriters kids are like - Pip, Josh, Phoebe, Kate, Alice. I enjoy the occasional break when the parents are the difficult ones eg Kate to Phoebe , fairbrotherfather.

Just caught up on last night - I thought the scene where they discussed miscarriage was rather sweet. Being anxious and guilty isn’t exactly surprising in a surviving relative, and emotions come to the fore with huge family events like pregnancy. So many people I know have reassessed their birth families when pregnant (either for the better or the worse!)

Said it before but ungrateful brat children are a real theme in Ambridge which makes me wonder what the scriptwriters kids are like - Pip, Josh, Phoebe, Kate, Alice.

Have you not seen ‘Succession’?

@FoxgloveSummers I agree on both counts. I actually thought the part about Him being older than his older brother was poignant and quite realistic Id imagine.

The pushover parents is also realistic. I've known it my whole life, been determined not to repeat it, and have failed at that, as my urge to meet their every need until I am bone tired outweighs my self preservation, and even reason at times!

I am not proud of that by the way. It is most certainly not a badge of honour!

[quote stilldumdedumming]@FoxgloveSummers I agree on both counts. I actually thought the part about Him being older than his older brother was poignant and quite realistic Id imagine.

The pushover parents is also realistic. I've known it my whole life, been determined not to repeat it, and have failed at that, as my urge to meet their every need until I am bone tired outweighs my self preservation, and even reason at times![/quote]
Yes thanks for reminding me of that bit, I've heard e.g. my mother talk about being older than her own mother ever was. It's a strange thing.

Sorry that sounds a tough pattern to break. As someone with the opposite of indulgent parents it's hard to imagine - what is it that makes you do it, even if they're being a pain?

It's like falling down the stairs. I just can't stop myself. I imagine it's learned. Which means it can be unlearned. I cannot seem to live with the consequences of putting my foot down. It causes problems. Luckily not everyone takes the piss.

yeah I can see that, I think it's really common actually. Must be hard to "watch yourself" doing it though.

I worry I've been raised the opposite way and am zero tolerance of everything. My friends' kids certainly do what I say as I always follow through, I just hope they're not scared of me

@FoxgloveSummers

It’s more that the whole family is sexist and expect women to be pushovers while the men constantly mess up that would put me off.

Trying to remember now why I felt Will was sexist towards Nic, can anyone recall?

Stella might be catnip to Chris though, he likes a high flyer.

I vaguely recall Will didn’t want Nic to work in the Bull as her ‘place’ was at home with the children and working in a pub was inappropriate. I think he was also paranoid about her talking to male customers.

I’d forgotten about Chris. I think he’s destined to have a fling with Amy unfortunately.

Where IS Alice currently?

Will was told by someone, in a fairly salacious way, that Nic "got on very well" with the male customers at the pub, so he went along unexpectedly that lunchtime to see for himself. Nic tore him off an almighty strip for it, told him she wasn't Emma, and continued to do as she wanted.

If it is sexist to have been mentally scarred by a partner cheating on you and betraying you, then it's sexist, I suppose.

Miscarriage fears or not, I do think Tom's behaviour was just ridiculous. He can't seriously believe that leaving the move for a few days would cause Gnasher any extra stress; in fact, in her shoes I'd be much more stressed by being told my husband had just decided unilaterally that we had moved and packed everything up in a frantic hurry so I had no clue where anything was. And Pat and Tony should certainly have said no, they weren't going to drop everything and clear out his old room, they presumably had their own stuff to do on the farm etc.

Also, all this hassle over storage: aren't the rooms Helen and the boys used available for shoving boxes into?

I can see Natasha thinking she should have Pat and Tony's room or something similar. She's going to hate it.

I know @GoodPrincessWenceslas - I'd be stressed as fuck if I came home and my husband had moved house without me, even if it was a move planned for a few days or weeks time. I'm sure she won't be thanking him.

@AskingQuestionsAllTheTime

Will was told by someone, in a fairly salacious way, that Nic "got on very well" with the male customers at the pub, so he went along unexpectedly that lunchtime to see for himself. Nic tore him off an almighty strip for it, told him she wasn't Emma, and continued to do as she wanted.

If it is sexist to have been mentally scarred by a partner cheating on you and betraying you, then it's sexist, I suppose.

I appreciate Will was still scarred by the whole Emma debacle, hence his paranoia about Nic meeting another man, but I'm sure there was an element of "no wife of moine needs to work.." and he wanted her to remain a full time SAHM (I can't remember if they were actually married at this point).

My impression is he has very fixed ideas about the role of women in general. When Nic died, Emma and eventually poor Mia were saddled with all the wife-work and Clarrie was expected to drop everything to care for Poppy.

Tom’s urgent removal was rather strange. I’d anticipated a few weeks of architect engagement, massive reshuffling of the limitless Bridge Farm funds, and a private flat carved (by Blake) out of the innards of the house, for the happy couple’s residence. Not an adult couple living in one bedroom and getting under Pat and Tony’s feet.

a few weeks of architect engagement, massive reshuffling of the limitless Bridge Farm funds, and a private flat carved (by Blake) out of the innards of the house

yep.
tbh I suppose that's what tom tries to avoid.
I expect gnasher to return and explode in rage.

I mean!

They’d surely need at least a little galley kitchen and their own sitting room? It’s ridiculous to think they just have one room, and spend every evening fighting over hob space and bickering about how to stack the dishwasher. It’s not as if any of them are poor.

yes and poor pat and tony giving up their TV preferences because their son hates Park and Rec (Tom - try skipping to series 2)