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 predict if Chelsea has an abortion there will be a story in 10-15 years that Ben 'n' Bore aren't able to have children and it'll all be terribly traumatic.

I also had that thought.

Also agree on the paucity of the Ambridge lesbian population. I had hopes for Stella but seems not.

Just as I’ve never properly grasped the severance of Home Farm house from Home Farm I’m finding it difficult to visualise how things are run at the Stables now. Where is the office? Presumably not in the house - so some sort of outbuilding? Like a barn, or an extension of a stables block or a little lean-to at the side of the house?? It’s hard to imagine the youthful ones going in and out of the house, but having little or no contact with the riding enterprise. And Alice coming and going but not using the house.

And I don’t understand about Beth’s former accommodation. There was no indication that she owned the flat she previously shared. Do the SWs not know any wealthy people? Why would she have been renting? Her father would have bought her a flat the minute she graduated (???) or started a proper job. (He doesn’t strike me as someone who’d have set up trust funds for his daughters unprompted, but their mothers might have made sure that happened.)

I dunno - I do wish there was a bit more … granularity, sometimes. But maybe I wasn’t paying attention at the right moments?

Beth and Mince were estranged weren't they? She also has a tantrum every time he gets his wallet out.

I've always adored the Horrobins but I can't get the thought out of my head that if the situation was reversed and a lad found a girl a hot drunken mess weeping over their ex and pity shagged them, there'd be a lot more talk about consent and taking advantage.

I don't think there would re: the ex part, but maaybe re: the alcohol part.

However if people really worried/policed teenagers shagging when one or more of them is drunk (but capable of consent) the number of teenage shags would be reduced by about 50% at least.

@TottersBlankly , a big farm like Home Farm would probably have the farmhouse separate from the outbuildings and yard.

Rented accommodation makes things easier for the SWs.

Will Leonard leave?

Sorry, @ILoveShula , I meant the recent severance after the house was sold. I know they didn’t have deer skipping through the garden, it’s just conceptually it’s hard to imagine how the people in the house now have nothing to do with the farm. Although at least there’s a farm office I can picture in my head.

Jill seems to have pretty much moved her squeeze in by stealth already. He can hardly spend any time at all in his own home.

I ride occasionally (usually when on holiday, I'm a just a 'casual' rider and like an occasional hack), so I've been to quite a few establishments. Quite often the office is a converted stable, sometimes a converted outbuilding or a portakabin, but never the house on premises (if there is one)!

I loathe Ruth. She's a gibbering idiot.

And Jazzer gives me the creeps.

And was that Rex and Ben boring on about Bert ? Or Josh and Rex?

Dull, dull ,dull.

What was with all the product placement from Jazzer for non-BBC shows?! Instead of Gogglebox and X Factor he could have gone for Strictly and Masterchef/ old Bake Off 😆probably ages better than Gogglebox anyway, which is vaguely topical.

Agree. All it made me think of was the need to kill off Piggoi instead of her ghostly presence polluting the SLs.

But @Fink , the Horrobins are working class.

Aw I've always been a Jazzer fan. I thought he was lovely tonight.

I enjoyed Rex and Ben too. Although I thought it mean to suggest a nursing student pays for lunch, though clever how they revealed how much Ben 'Brookfield' Archer's life and privilege appears to Rex.

@GoldenCupidon sorry I didn't mean about the ex at all, just that I thought these days people were more acutely aware that it is improper to shag out pissed people, and the crying only makes it worse. There have been numerous mentions of Ben as being "pretty out of it" by Chelsea and Josh. Not judging Chelsea particularly, I was a benevolent bestower of the pity shag myself. I just think it would have been more of a talking point if if the sex of the characters were reversed.

I don't think so. She'll win the riding lessons in the raffle though.

Why does Chelsea constantly sniff?

Or that horrible 'aww' noise she ends every sentence with. I can't bear to listen to her sometimes. It reminds me of Harry Enfield's teen character, Kevin.

I agree @suzyscat - have thought that a few times during this storyline

It would have been far more of a talking point and I think most posters would have been very censorious of Ben if it had been the other way round.

I'm really bored of the Horrobins now. Chelsea is unlikeable and Tracey has been ineffectual and really quite stupid over the "I'm pregnant" nonsense.

I think the reason it would have been more of an issue the other way around is because there's a limit to how much a man can drink and still physically be capable of piv sex & ejaculation (which is what we assume happened), whereas a woman could have been very very drunk. It's not ideal, but it's more likely that a man would be sober enough to have the capacity for consent if he's sober enough to do it.

the need to kill off Piggoi instead of her ghostly presence polluting the SLs I agree - the whole Piggoi's boycotting St Stephens is just grating when she's actually boycotting everything. Now June Spencer has retired she needs to be incidental to the plot, not central to it (like other silent characters over the years - TA has a protocol for this sort of thing surely?) - otherwise every mention just reminds us that its not real (which obviously we all know, but it's nice to be able to pretend otherwise).

Good to hear Rex again. I would be happy never to hear Jazzer again.

I wonder what will become of Russ. Mid 40s, career ruined (his fault), job gone, not financially able to buy his own place. Or rent for that matter. Is he back with mum and dad? Wonder what his Tinder profile will be ...

And I don't understand why Leonard and Gill need to create a love nest in the B&B room. Surely he's been staying over in Gill's room for a while now.

I'm sure there was a brief storyline early in Jill & Leonard's storyline about her stay at his but not sharing a bedroom. Given how they highlighted that at the time, and haven't mentioned it since, therefore need to assume things have changed.

I need to relisten as was distracted at the time, but I think the point is that things haven't changed between Jill and Leonard, which is as I'd expect it for their generation and beliefs given that they haven't got married (nor even engaged).