🐠 Archers thread #135: An Everyday Story of Fishy Folk. Discuss 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 would be delighted to be given a goldfish named after your ex, 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.)

Apologies for ignoring the various title suggestions on the last thread. However, here they are, plus a couple of other pithy observations, to kickstart the new thread. I think it's fair to say nobody is looking on this as a Golden Era! Goldfish Era, though ...

@Roysnewshirt: Everyone wants more! Chris wants more Amy; Jazzer wants more Tracey; Alice wants more time with Martha and Amy wants more space… Very true. And now we know Kirsty wants more farming expertise in the rewilding project, but not Pip (thank the lord) so does that mean approaching Adam? Currently under-employed.

@LillianGish: I tune in to hear birdsong and bleating in the English countryside not hammy acting and suggestive grunting.

@stilldumdedumming: Archers is good at the dynamics of family, farming, what it means to have your job, your home and your inheritance so closely aligned etc etc not this nonsense!

@DoctorTwo: Like fuck would Pheobe buy her parents a goldfish each. The Ambridge character transplant fairy has been working overtime this past few weeks, it's been absolutely fucking appalling bar a couple of exceptions.

Can't disagree with any of that. I want to hear more about the pigs and any other effects of Brexit. A topical insert about the war in Ukraine must surely be on the way.

Any happy listeners out there? Any disgruntled listeners with even more grumbles? Over to you!

• the baby

Chris is loathsome, his problem is he thinks with his cock. Alice quite rightly told him no when he tried it on with her so he switched to Amy. Alice was right tonight, Chris wanted her to be passed out drunk so he could run to mummy (and probably show Marthyr what a loser her mum is). I'm glad the scales have fallen from Alice's eyes.

Roysnewshirt Perhaps you’re right, I don’t know. But I could sort of understand Kirsty being an employee, as she wasn’t one of the founding members, while Pip, Rex and Phoebe were engaged on different terms. (I certainly never had the impression that either Pip or Rex were receiving ‘compensation’ sufficient to enable them to give up other paid work.)

Or is it very hilly in Ambridge? I have no idea…

I suspect they have always been deliberately vague about this. Lakey Hill apparently has great views everywhere. The rest of it I imagine as mostly flattish valley by the Am, with gentle rolling hills around that.

@DoctorTwo

Chris is loathsome, his problem is he thinks with his cock. Alice quite rightly told him no when he tried it on with her so he switched to Amy. Alice was right tonight, Chris wanted her to be passed out drunk so he could run to mummy (and probably show Marthyr what a loser her mum is). I'm glad the scales have fallen from Alice's eyes.

I really loathe Alice. She's a spoilt, selfish brat.

Listening to Alice clambering on to the moral high ground is painful.

What a load of twaddle- she ended their marriage.

I hope Chris goes for The Nest.

I hope Alice knows that however painful the Amy/Chris business is, it happened after she ended the marriage, and will count for nothing in the division of custody time. Agree that Chris's work will make 50:50 most likely.

I liked Alice’s cold, controlled determination, rather than the messy disappearance into a bottle that Chris etc expected. She genuinely seemed like someone who has been through hell and will not be thrown by some shenanigans, however hurtful. I don’t like her generally, and she has obviously put others through hell, but I found tonight’s performance convincing.

She didn't have to clamber, Chris let himself in without ringing and started apologising.

He only tried to claw some high ground for himself by having the temerity to later claim he'd done nothing wrong.

He's definitely entitled to move on, but was shagging the person who is providing the most support to Alice really in Martha's best interests? Does he fancy Amy or was he subconsciously punishing Alice?

@DoctorTwo when Chris tried to kiss her my skin was crawling. That wound me up, possibly disproportionately. I hate that feeling of finally being relaxed and then some man thinking with his pants ruining it.

In other news, do we think Brian's leak is going to get back to Justin now Tracey knows?

@SparklingLime

I liked Alice’s cold, controlled determination, rather than the messy disappearance into a bottle that Chris etc expected. She genuinely seemed like someone who has been through hell and will not be thrown by some shenanigans, however hurtful. I don’t like her generally, and she has obviously put others through hell, but I found tonight’s performance convincing.

Me too - I thought it was a good episode tonight, partly because the Alice actor is so good. She also hit the nail on the head pointing out that Chris half wanted to find her in a drunken coma, not least in the hope of putting to bed any chance of her getting full residents rights for Martha.

residence, not residents.

@KimikosNightmare Chris left the nest voluntarily to move into the flat almost before Hazel had left. He more or less told Sausage Boy to bog off when he tried to persude him him and Tasha's need was greater than his.

@suzyscat yeah Chris was awful that night, he assumed Alice was up for sex when she wasn't. Alice has been well acted throughout this SL, she's a terrific radio actor.

[quote DoctorTwo]@KimikosNightmare Chris left the nest voluntarily to move into the flat almost before Hazel had left. He more or less told Sausage Boy to bog off when he tried to persude him him and Tasha's need was greater than his.

@suzyscat yeah Chris was awful that night, he assumed Alice was up for sex when she wasn't. Alice has been well acted throughout this SL, she's a terrific radio actor.[/quote]
We don't know the backstory of Chris leaving The Nest and whether it was truly voluntary or whether he felt he had to. He didn't have to leave as it is the matrimonial home. I hope he has the sense to go for it now.

Chris was insistent that he wanted to move on and that he couldn’t do that at The Nest or at any Aldridge property offered by Brian.

Thinking about it, I’m surprised Chris has enough spare cash to be able to rent the flat at all. I suppose The Nest has no mortgage but is his business really booming sufficiently to allow him to cover the rent and other expenses alone? Hazel is pretty ruthless and will certainly expect market rates for the property.

Alice’s finances have been a mystery since she went on maternity leave. She is spending less now she doesn’t need to buy vodka each day but still has spare cAsh for an electric dance floor…

Chris has had the benefit of living rent and mortgage free for a long time, so presumably has some savings. If his business isn't making enough to cover basic living costs I would have thought he would have packed it in a long time ago.

Sometimes I feel like I'm listening to a different show

Chris was adamant he had to leave the nest and iirc Alice previously offered to leave as he and Martha should have it.

Brian also offered him the cottage next door, suggesting it would make coparenting easier (although his motivations were actually to do with preserving his farm in the divorce settlement.)

When Alice was hitting the bottle she was neglectful it's true, though during her recovery she was always saying Martha is better off with Chris. I'm no good for her. She only developed confidence in her role as mother when Jenny wisely left her to it on the first day of Chris' shingles. She realised she could be a mother and she did have a view on Martha's best interests. Yes it was awful when she kept herself apart from Martha, but to me it sounded like she was trying to what she thought was in her best interests.

Has Chris considered recently what is actually in Martha's best interests. Being bonded with both parents is, surely?

I think it's actually quite a clever flip, Alice started out as the irresponsible horror but now it's the reverse.

A full time working farrier who has paid rent or mortgage in donkeys years should definitely be able to afford a pokey (albeit varying in dimensions) flat in the village.

Why am I so over-infested in this? 🐞

@EthelTheAardvark

Chris has had the benefit of living rent and mortgage free for a long time, so presumably has some savings. If his business isn't making enough to cover basic living costs I would have thought he would have packed it in a long time ago.

Imagine if it were the other way round and Chris owned the house- I doubt you'd be denying Alice the right to claim it.

All that drama last night merely bored me.

So that's twice a member of Alan and Usha's household has hidden away in the house. And at least twice that Alan has lied about it .

Agree, @suzyscat.

Also, you’ve provided an excellent next thread title:

Why am I so over-infested in this?

@BoreOfWhabylon

They need a new version of Barwick Green that goes

Doof Doof
Doof doof doof doof doof doofdoofdoofdoof
Dumdi dumdi dumdi dum...

Been AWOL from the thread for a while, as have only just got round to listening to Monday's and Tuesday's episodes. Bore is spot on. So soapy!

What I would really like to hear is the details of what's going wrong at Berrow and in the pig industry generally. This could be an excellent farming storyline and at the moment it's just being used as another excuse to pit characters against each other and argue.

See also: why I'm still clueless about what's actually going on in the rewilding project, in addition to wild camping; how things are going for the various farms since Brexit; whether BridgeFresh has continued to do well since lockdown; will Bridge Farm suffer from people deciding they can't afford organic food as well as huge fuel bills; are all the homeworkers using the Bridge Farm cafe? and so on and so forth.

Oh, and how lovely to see you here on the thread again, @DadDadDad!

@SparklingLime 
Glad it's not just me.

Although I was pondering why I was infested and remembered one of my BFFs from school was in a very similar position, except it was the partner was an alcoholic. They'd planned kids, and everyone thought he would be the most natural father but he hit the bottle hard during the pregnancy and had a huge soap style ongoing series of chaos. They split after the DS was born and he eventually went to residential rehab.

He had a period of supervised visits with DS until he was eventually deemed well enough to do it solo. (He's 8 years sober now.)

Throughout that whole time, at personal cost the mother put a lot of time, effort and money to try and facilitate safe contact and nurture their relationship. Travelling out of town at weekends and paying for him to accompany them on trips. Organising visits with dreadful ex mil, because even if they were no longer her family they were her child's family. They still don't have 50/50 split because of work/ school issues but she would agree.

The thing is the priority was always their child. When it wasn't in his interests to see his dad he didn't, but as soon as it was efforts were made to facilitate their relationship for the benefit of the child.

@KimikosNightmare LOL despite the fact that Chris said outright he didn't want the nest, nor the cottage next door you persist. We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

Agree, @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g, there's so much more I want to know about. And surely to goodness the impact of recent world events on farming is worthy of a topical insert?

I've just listened to the last 2 episodes.
Tracey seemed to over react to Susan. I know her and Jazzer can both be quick to speak before fully thinking. I'm not sure Susan did much wrong this time.

Alice does seem to have recovered and gone from zero to hero very quickly. Is this sustainable?