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!

They referred to Garlic Mushrooms so perhaps they were pre packaged (ready meal type thing) as opposed to plain mushrooms, which do cost around £1 in the supermarket, with garlic. If they buy from the local village shop then fruit and veg will cost more. Did Tracey ever fix or replace her car? I imagine the cost of travelling to the closet supermarket would be prohibitive if you are on a low income. I’m used to paying London prices on public transport and am always a bit taken aback at how much a bus costs when I visit my (non driving) cousin who loves in a rural area.

Susan is an excellent and adventurous cook, but Susan has more money and freedom to experiment than Tracy. I could believe that Tracy wouldn't have garlic in the house and would never consider making garlic mushrooms, so yes, probably bought ready-made, but what an odd choice for breakfast, or even brunch.

I think the garlic mushrooms will have been either pre- bought or include more ingredients than just garlic and mushrooms, e.g. cream, wine ... Brad said they will like the ones at LL, so I presume a bit posh.

Who wants garlic mushrooms for breakfast?

I’ve woken up cross and slightly disgusted that the SW made Tracy celebrate the prospect of her daughter having an at least eighteenth week termination.

It’s so very unlikely, either in Ambridge or in RL. Any sensible mother would have been raging at such needless delay.

Everytime I suggest that Tracey should be firmer with Chelsea about this, and should have pushed her to a decision earlier, I’m reminded that she’s on eggshells in case C runs away again, but I still think she should have done more.
I can’t think of any mother who would be so passive in a similar situation. Can you imagine the responses should she post for advice on AIBU board?!

Well … The running away and being firmly escorted back did tie Tracy’s hands a bit. But the fancy meal to celebrate decision was just a step too far.

I think Denise is remote flirting with Alistair

Once and for all…..means she will change her mind

Do you think that Paul has been briefed by Denise that Alistair has a crush on her? She must have known!

The other way round, Paul has noticed that Denise talks about Alastair a lot.

My assumption was that Paul will work out Alistair has a crush on Denise (because gay men are so intuitive about these things) and perhaps act as a conduit to the two of them getting together. Perhaps after Denise discovers her husband is having an affair. I can’t think why else he was introduced. I have never heard Denise mention Paul and had no idea she had a child.

Anyone else hate the way Paul calls his patients ‘beasties’? 🙄

I can barely listen to him.

Why does Paul have to be so overtly and stereotypically gay? It’s not necessary, he could just be gay full-stop without the SWs crowbarring it into a SL. He could still be annoying but doesn’t have to be so cliched. It just feels very dated to make an issue out of it in this way and making Martin Gibson apologise was farcical - he’d be fast looking for the number of Lovell James’ biggest rival and horrified by Alistair’s insubordination.

The SLs seem to have lost the art of subtlety.

Totally cringe-worthy. Trust the BBC to make an story about homophobia. Given it's Black History month, why didn't they have MG make some comment about the rarity of Black vets in the countryside? No need for the vanishingly unlikely demand for an apology, yet point still made.

I was struggling to know what he was apologising for exactly.

Listening to the omnibus I realised why I dislike the Ben/Chelsea story
The actor who plays Ben is much older than his character and the Chelsea actor has a silly little girl voice

So Ben just sounds like a creepy paedophile. Ben sounds rather like Alistair in age.

Oh - I don’t hear him like that! He sounds exactly like a sensitive, highly principled but very young person to me. His “What do I do? Tell me what to do, Pip,” was one of the most believable things I’ve heard out of Brookfield in years.

He does sustained shock and emotional terror really well - it’s just distressing to listen to over and over again. I’ll be sorry if he opts for a life in New Zealand.

And Chelsea’s know-it-all ignorance about the world is horribly true to life.

I don't hear him like that- he's just dull.

Although his mister nice guy , I'll be here for you schtick fell apart into whining self- pity rather quickly in that scene in the car.

If he stays with Bore I hope he and Bore bore off to NZ; if he ditches Bore he can stay in Ambridge- he's very dull but mainly inoffensive.

His “What do I do? Tell me what to do, Pip,” was one of the most believable things I’ve heard out of Brookfield in years.

Was that when he couldn't decide whether or not to dump the love of his life Evie after meeting Bore once?

That was pathetic and why would anyone who has half a working brain ask Pip for relationship advice?

No one said anything the storyline being "part of some sinister plot to shoe horn a Roe-v-Wade situation into UK law". That's just silly exaggeration. What another poster said I think was that depicting late term abortions to the 4 or 5 million listeners as something done by silly teens who "don't knooooow" and can't make up their minds, is irresponsible because it doesn't reflect the usual reality. There are constantly legislative efforts to roll back abortion rights in the UK, for example by significantly lowering the max number of weeks at which an abortion can be carried out. The fact that they've not been successful (in fact the opposite) is largely down to the fact that public opinion is against those changes.

The Archers isn't going to change people's mind overnight, but it does seep in to the conversation. Look at Helen/Rob storyline. Next time someone kicks off an effort to lower the max weeks for abortion, many people will think - oh yes people really need to make up their mind quickly and not dither for months. Whereas the reality is rarely about dithering and much more often about not realising they're pregnant (it does happen) and terrible news about the baby's development.

Well we will have to disagree on what the point of referencing Roe-v- Wade was.

There aren't by the way "constant legislative attempts to roll back abortion rights in the UK"

The part I enjoyed was the scales falling from Lily’s eyes and the gone-ness of Russ.

But the scales didn't really fall, did they? She was practically begging him not to go. I would have enjoyed it much more if they had split up because she finally realised what a sleazy cocklodger he was and that she had wasted far too much of her life as a direct result of getting together with him.

Yes - it’s true Lily only drew the curtain back for the briefest moment to stare into the foetid chasm, but she did, and it was worth the wait. She backed away swiftly - but things could never be the same afterwards. (Even if the SWs ever dared to bring him back.)