Archers thread #140: Changing rooms at Brookfield with Leonard Llewellyn-Bowen, or saving souls with St Smugula in the heathen wastelands of the North? 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 think a stained glass window marking the birth of newborn twins is just what Ambridge needs, 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/4636789-the-archers-spoilers-thread-7-cant-wait-for-702pm-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.)

Title composed in haste, making use of @Octothorpe's lovely coinage of Leonard Llewellyn-Bowen and @TheLassWiADelicateAir's terrific description of St. Smugula's mission to the heathen wasteland of far flung Sunderland, both from the last thread

I've abandoned the use of an emoji in the title, having been alerted by another thread recently to the fact that it makes it difficult for people with visual problems to use assistive software.

I won't say much more about The Archers, as I'm still feeling extremely jaundiced about the programme at the moment. Fingers crossed it takes a turn for the better over the next few days. It was good to hear Helen, Lee and Joy again tonight. Less delighted to hear the loathsome George. What a numpty not to recognise pheasant chicks! His Dad would be far from impressed.

Over to you!

Had meant to welcome @iratepirate at the end of the last thread and demand a full breakdown of your Archers listening history .

Glad you’ve found your way here!

It's unfortunate the there are probably very few young men who listen intently enough to the Archers to learn that lesson. Their mothers can pass the message on though if they hadn't already.

Thanks @TottersBlankly

Have listened since being a kid as it was always on at teatime..so I guess about cough 30 years or so 😮

Just a beginner, then! Welcome, @iratepirate.

I was an occasional passive listener in childhood. My Mum and her family listened to TA when it first started in 1951, but lost interest later on after getting a TV. Mum did, however, continue to put Radio 4 on automatically in the kitchen when she was busy in there so I grew up with TA and many other fixtures of the R4 schedule. I started listening voluntarily as a student in the early 1980s. Hotel California, as somebody said on the last thread!

Welcome Iratepirate. I don't really remember R4 ever not being on in the family kitchen.

With Christmas being only 10 or 11 weeks away (and turkeys needing to be slaughtered a couple of weeks in advance), wouldn't they need to be hefty birds by now? I can't see how they could be confused with pheasant chicks. At least they didn't all have bird flu, I suppose.

I've just googled pheasant and turkey chicks. I can see how a layperson could be confused but I agree expecting us to believe George doesn't know the difference beggars belief somewhat.

Hold on - did George borrow the van to go and get the ’turkeys’??

George is 16 - he’s just done his GCSEs (as has my DC)- unless he’s turned 17 and passed his driving test in the last month he can’t be driving….?

George was born on 7 April 2005, so he is already 17

Who paid for his driving lessons?

@girlwhowearsglasses , George is at college, it was Brad and Mere who did their GCSEs

Probably Will. There's plenty of adults around who could take him out to practise as well. Just make sure they paid for the lessons directly and didn't give him the money to do it himself! I knew he was shaping up to be a bad'un when he didn't turn up to his own 16th birthday party and demanded money instead of presents.

He may have been driving off roadfor a while before turning 17.

Every farmer's son I know was driving off road prior to turning 17, had half a dozen lessons after turning 17, and then passed their test.

Sure, BonnieWeeJeannieMcColl - it’s just we don’t seem to have heard about any of it!

To be fair, it would be pretty dull listening if we had to sit through driving practice for all the Archers characters who come of age. I, for one, am glad that hasn't happened. The less I hear from George, the better.

Same year. My brother and my nephew passed first time on the first day they could get a test after their 17th birthday.

My nephew, despite having done all his driving off road and a handful of turns legally at 17 in our village - which has no traffic lights and 2 roundabouts, opted to sit his test in a much larger nearby town, which had earlier slots, and still passed first time.

Can someone remind me about the status of Helen's house? They rent it from Kirsty who got it when Philip went into prison. I know he said he was giving it to Kirsty but did he actually do that and are they actually divorced yet?

I wonder if he might have a change of heart in prison and decide he wants his marital half and sell it out from under them. He is Mr Gently Benevolent after all

Thanks Gasp0de

The 🔮 opines that, were anyone to play Henwee's music backwards, they would discover the satanic messages contained therein. Hell-born Henwee is moving towards his destiny...

I read the first one a few months ago, and immediately associated Joyce and Joy, such that I couldn't help hearing (in my head) the Joyce bits of the book in Joy's voice.

I understand it's possible to take a driving test on the island where my parents live, which has no roundabouts, no dual carriageways, no traffic lights and no pedestrian or zebra crossings. I am a non-driver but I can't see how that can be a good enough test to guarantee a new driver could cope with more usual conditions on the mainland.

In my head Joyce from the Thursday Murder Club books is quite an elderly lady with white hair. Joy is a fair bit younger, more robust in appearance and has a head of honey blonde hair.

Do we KNOW the polts (?right term?) don't have bird flu??

Lordy that was a waste of 13 minutes. Deary me.

I was stunningly uninterested in the Brookfield redecorations, but glad to hear Jolene twigging Eddie's scam. And they seem to be building up some sort of plot line around Jill taking a mad dislike to Beth, it could be quite interesting when she discovers (as she inevitably will) the reason for Beth's behaviour.

Wasn't it just. The Clarrie/ Kenton storyline is indescribably awful.

The Jill/ Borely Beth storyline is worse. My sympathy is actually with Beth. Jill's initial reaction to Borely Beth was OTT and Jill's taking against BB is equally OTT.

In other news Chelsea is now almost 17 weeks pregnant.