Archers thread #143: In the Bleak Midwinter, Ambridge Folk Make Moan. Best Christmas ever? Probably not! 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, although we do mostly try to be civil about it. Most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you'd love to be in Jolene's choir , 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.)

Well, we made it through Stir Up Sunday without bloodshed, but poor Ben is now in the grip of psychotic depression. Not going to be a happy Christmas at Brookfield, sadly. When will Jill swallow her pride and go and give him the abject apology he deserves? Would it be a good idea anyway for Ben to see his gran at the moment?

Will Jazzer say yes? I hope so. We could do with a Horrobin wedding to look forward to.

Will Emma and Ed end up in court if they go ahead with this idiotic scheme to nick the logs from Peggy's Folly?

Will the two choirs put on a joint concert at Christmas? I assume so, and also that the BBC will continue to fool nobody by using recordings of what is clearly a really good well-rehearsed established choir, not a scratch choir of half a dozen novices.

Over to you!

Yes, junior employee at Brookfield David failed to stop elderly Jethro (who was determined he knew more about everything than Master David the whipper-snapper) from refusing to wear any safety gear when going out to cut back trees, and Jethro was hit on the unprotected head by a falling branch. David was exonerated by the enquiry, but sent on a safety course anyway even though he had just been on one before the accident and had tended to go on about it a bit, which was why Jethro had come over stubborn about safety precautions and the lack of need for them.

Thanks @AskingQuestionsAllTheTime

Yes. It was a long time ago, but didn't David kill Jethro by smiting him (in a non-biblical sense, obviously) with a tree-branch he was cutting? But he got away with a slap on the wrist.

Arf! I was too slow and @AskingQuestionsAllTheTime has a much better memory/spreadsheet than I do!

For Rex to recognise the coat, I'm imagining something with quite a distinctive design, e.g. this one.

I didn’t realise David was so much The Angel of Death. I mean I could see him boring people to death I suppose but this is more violent than I’d imagine.

Naaa in sex tape world there's a market for everything. There's probably a whole knee-length-puffy-jacket corner of the Internet.

So when's the big reveal and Tex sees both women wearing the same coat?

Sex tapes and threesomes? Can we soon expect a package on these issues on Farming Today? May be they are a feature of village life more than I think…

Emma so quick to blame Ed. The script writers must really dislike her to give her such unsympathetic storylines.

ben’s recovery is entirely unrealistic. The effect of antipsychotic drugs are being totally glossed over. A rushed storyline. Again.

Thanks @TottersBlankly I obviously did mean <types carefully> Charles Collingwood. No idea who Colin whasname is.

My heart sank when I heard the oh so humerous identity confusion between Tony and Rex. Apart from the credibility issue with either of them being so observant of coats worn by the local women, its clearly going to be dragged on until the entire audience is so bored we don't notice Ben's miraculous recovery.

I actually think the sex tape SL is better than having to listen to Linda Snell bullying the cast at endless rehearsals for the Christmas production.

Incidentally, my friend who lives in a village has countless salacious tales of villagers behaving inappropriately- I think she considers the threesome/sex tape SL as being relatively tame.

I am no expert in mental health and nobody would accuse the script writers of that either. But why make Ben have a psychotic breakdown with suicidal ideation and depression/anxiety for him to be miraculously on the mend. I suspect his interaction with mental health services is very unlikely and it is not helpful for those who may experience this.

Why now make it all about David? Aargh! I loathe David (probably irrational but there you go).

Agree with you on both points.

I used to live in a village where two mums had the same name, so one was always prefixed "shag in the hedge" after an incident after a school ball....I do hope she's not on here.

Can someone remind me about Mike Tucker lost his eye please? Was that David too?

Yes, Ben appears to be recovering surprisingly well, though maybe a quick decline triggered by specific events can have a quick recovery once appropriate help is provided??

I think is was when Mike worked for “the estate” and it was from hydraulic fluid, and Simon Pemberton tried to do him out of his compo.

I am going to differ here and suggest Ben actually sounds like he's still suffering. Even people with severe MH problems sometimes go outside and help move a table or something. He sounds out of it to me, maybe some strong prescriptions?

But I suspect others around him may also make the mistake of thinking he's "over it".

If my kid was feeling suicidal the last thing I'd want to talk to him about would be the effective deading qualities of falls from a great height/his cousin's roof.

On a related note, I see they've tried to widen out the scope of "what drove Ben to being suicidal". I think this is probably because of the Samaritans guidelines for reporting, which specifically warns against attributing it to a single cause: "Oversimplification of the causes or perceived ‘triggers’ for a suicide can be misleading...the suggestion that a single circumstance or incident, such as bullying, job loss, relationship breakdown or a bereavement, was the cause increases the risk of contagion. Vulnerable people experiencing similar issues are more likely to over-identify with the deceased when a single reason is given."

If my kid was feeling suicidal the last thing I'd want to talk to him about would be the effective deading qualities of falls from a great height/his cousin's roof.

True. And you've now given me an earworm of Dudley Moore's song, "Jump". Warning: it's quite vulgar and extremely heartless, so those of a sensitive disposition should not listen to it.

It sounds as though Ben may also have been struggling with his course, moving out the the family home and goodness knows what else.

When I think of the slurred speech and delayed reactions that lasted for months and months when my brother took anti psychotics…and the grip his delusions held over him - and the others in his hospital ward - it makes me wonder how much research has gone into this storyline.

True hallucinations (not drug or sleep deprivation triggered) aren’t common and are v serious. The writing started so well, but it’s only been a few weeks and it’s as if Ben has got past his delusions already. It just doesn’t ring true to me.

Yes, ScaryD. At the time of the outburst on the Green, I assumed that Ben had raided the meds cupboard. The only time (fortunately!) I've ever known anyone behave like that was someone in hospital, after a major op, ranting and raving that he'd been there for HOURS and that nobody even had been NEAR him, all the while being hooked up to stuff and settled into his bed in a new ward by two very calm nurses who just took it in their stride. They explained it was the meds that were doing it and sent me home with instructions not to come back for 48 hours. When the meds wore off he was fine, with absolutely no memory of what had happened. Very distressing to witness, though.

thank goodness thats the end of the coat/sex/logs confusion

Amen to that.

Bloody silly storyline, and I absolutely don't get Rex's moral outrage and high dudgeon. Not in character.

Apologies if I've overlooked a previous discussion, but has the Jennifer actress taken a sabbatical or been seconded to another project? It was nice to hear Brian feeling nostalgic for Home Farm days, but it did make Jennifer's absence more poignant. I hope she isn't unwell. I also hope if she's written out, it won't be alongside Brian!

I couldn’t be less interested in sex in the woods and coat confusion, but Brian was looking longingly at Home Farm - it’s still there, it looks neglected, no one is living there (or the owners are away. Jenny has got used to living in a little cottage we are being told. Now that is an update I want to hear more about.

I for once found myself in complete agreement with Susan - it wasn’t appropriate to invite/expect Chris to leave his family for an Aldridge Christmas.