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!

I don't think George is anywhere near as popular with girls as he's pretending. Mia will end up asking Brad out as she clearly likes him and is confident enough to take the initiative.

World at One is in Sunderland today, reporting on cost of living crisis.

Is it too much of a stretch to think that the Editor grabs a beverage at 1:45 and the. Settles sown to listen to The Archers?!

Intelligent but not academically minded. Brad and probably Mia you can imagine following an academic pursuit for leisure purposes.

Wasn't it Lee who made a monumental hash of decorating the boy(s)' room(s) and pleaded with Ian and Adam to help fix things?

Brad sounds lovely lad.

Yes it’s too much of a stretch - but I expect they regularly hear the first minute or so!

Has Ambridge been completely bypassed by the current government shenanigans?

You'd think the threat to ELMs would be relevant?

Energy cost crisis?

I've missed a few episodes lately so not sure.

They would never keep up with all the changes. As soon as they had written the script for an insert it would be out of date.

Well, who will blab. Chelsea or Gnasha?

Talking of missing episodes, I missed where Denise left. Can anyone explain what reason she gave, whether it's permanent etc., please?

Didn’t she get ‘moved on’ by the powers that be (I’ve forgotten the name of the faceless vets)

The Denise/Paul story is rubbish, but I did enjoy Alistair and Paul’s last conversation

Maybe George will be gay, he seems so
unlikely to be that I wonder if he is.

Hilarious. Though puzzled as to why Alistair said Ken Dodd instead of Julian Clary, when JC would have been more accurate and reflect his generation's experience of camp.
Also annoying SL Who on earth requires laughter as an attribute of a colleague? Such a shoe horning of what laughter can mean. Though I did laugh.

I enjoyed that episode, both the serious and "the Archers does comedy" (for a change)!

The comedy bit was for once actually funny.

Not quite up to date but have to say I really had hoped that Mia at least would have clocked that George should be assessed for dyslexia.

I don't want anything bad to happen to Joy ever. I am wary of Mick but strangely overprotective of Joy. No bleak Rochelle business please.

Gosh Helen is awful isn't she? She didn't thjnk her secondary school aged child was safe unsupervised but then did anyway and laughed when he trashed the neighbours hot tub.

I liked the Lee / Joy conversation last night. They're both nice people- no side to them, no snideness, both capable of thinking of other people's feelings.

I don't want anything bad to happen to Joy.

I don’t think she went for good I think she got some kind of secondment

I’ve forgotten the name of the faceless vets

Lovell James. Yes, they sent her to another practice for 6 months because... plot reasons, presumably.

I'm surprised that Emma with all her thwarted ambition hasn't drummed into George the importance of education to avoid ending up raising your family in a trailer on someone else's land.

raising your family in a trailer on someone else's land

Doesn’t sound a bad life to me!

I’ve always had a longing to live in a big silver Airstream tourer on the edge of a forest. That was pretty much the best bit of the streamed series Halt and Catch Fire. And Vinnie has a less luxurious but equally magical trailer in a wood in Brassic.

Emma’s family has pretty much free rein over Grange Farm - with none of the crippling responsibility for fixing the roof. Fresh air, outside space for children to hang out with their friends, home grown food, a benevolent landlord … I know she wanted her own house - but she and Ed have such unreliable incomes the monthly mortgage payments would have been immensely stressful. Five adults (presumably) share the rent for Grange Farm - a much more relaxing situation to be in.

It would be nice to hear Emma say in passing how glad she is now she didn't get the house what with interest rates rising. Just a passing comment to indicate sometimes things turn out for the best.

Someone on a previous thread (was it you @TottersBlankly posted a fabulous link to a family living in a spruced up caravan on someone else's land. It looked highly desirable.
Thinking about Joy again, I'm now wondering if she moved to Ambridge as part of a police protection scheme - it would explain her random relocation to area where she knew no-one and Rochelle and the kids could be part of her new, fictitious identity which is why they feel so...fictitious.

I've suggested long term witness protection several times !

Joy in witness protection? Oh, I like that! But wait, only Harrison to save her from the mob? Nah … Although, Gangs of London re-starts today - the BBC could arrange a mash-up. Sure to be plenty of terrified characters needing an anonymous executive new build in the country to hide out in.

(Might have been, @LillianGish …)