Archers thread #146: They did fall apart. Can they put themselves together again? 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, and of course we are always delighted to welcome back former or occasional listeners/posters. 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 like to donate your time as a guide at Lower Loxley to save the Pargetters paying someone else a living wage, 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.)

Thanks to @Impostersyndrome for the thread title suggestion Buses and trains are sorely lacking, canals might be nearby, but all roads lead to Ambridge, picking up on transport discussions in the last thread. In the end I didn't use it, having in mind the character limit. @TottersBlankly contributed an early draft title Wreathes, wrath, writhing (Jennifer, Lilian, Ruairi). Both good starting points for the new thread, which I hope will last till Jennifer's funeral, surely not too far off now. So, over to you - whither the Aldridges? Also, does anyone care if Lee goes to the US? Is anyone even slightly interested in the Brookfield B&B venture?

We didn't hear Debbie but they did mention her being there.

True, but I had hoped they might magic her in unannounced.

Tamsin Greig had perhaps seen the script and remembered a subsequent engagement. I'm sorry, but apart from Brian I thought that was utter mawkish crap.

To be fair, gelatine can be temperamental. I always avoid using it. What was the other recipe? Susan told an anecdote about a cake she’d liked so much that Jenny had given her the recipe, but when Susan made it it had the texture of pâte

Lamb and prune sounds lovely, not sure about the addition of leek.

I also thought that lamb, leek and prune pie sounded pretty horrible, but also true to that generation maybe? Why do you say that? Far too exotic for anyone I know of that age.

For once I was right, Lillian and Tony did do it together.

East Anglia claims to grow asparagus, but yes, Vale of Borchester is the centre of asparagus growing, and there’s a “Round of gras”pub at Badsey. My mother, despite her humble origins, was used to eating it several times a week in season, and was incredulous when my northerner father told her he’d never tasted it.

Far too exotic for anyone I know of that age.

The started cooking at the height of the Elizabeth David, Jane Grigson, Robert Carrier, Claudia Roden, Madhur Jaffrey age?

Very good cooks, many of that generation, with a broad repertoire.

Was Ruairi there? At one point they were looking for him

Indeed, @DeanVolecapeAKAelderberry. And the problem with that dish is very much not the leeks! That combo sounds like something picked up at a local cookery class, run by a lunatic.

I assume Ruairi was there, but hiding. The lad is not a complete fool.

Maybe not so much a lunatic local cookery class, rather a local cookery competition 'a new and original recipe incorporating Hassett Hills lamb and local vegetables'. Remembering the hilarious (1) and gripping (2) novelty marmalade saga a few decades back. I think Phil and Jill both took part, producing ever more horrific concoctions?

(1) not hilarious

(2) not gripping

though the fact that I remember it means something I suppose

I like the sound of it. Lamb and leek is a classic combo. Lamb and fruit ditto. Lamb tagine would contain onion and gar.ic, so why not leek as well?

Yes, I'm prepared to be open minded about it - it's a combination of ingredients that could have been put together any time these last 500 years.

I thought that was a bit meh until the last couple of minutes. Oh, Brine 🙁

@TottersBlankly I assumed that Brian forgetting Noluthando and Sipho's names was not to educate the uninitiated audience but to show that Brine was losing it just a little bit. I thought it was an interesting contrast with the way Jenny always VERY carefully pronounced both grandchildren's names in her approximation of a S African accent.

Overall quite nice and definitely what funerals are like, HOWEVER

• Lilian and Tony's dialogue-style recitation sounded quite weird to me, much too professional and rehearsed.

• I didn't buy Brian's bit at the end, he needed to be crying at least a little.

I thought it was well done.
I think Brian would have been cried out by the end of the day, and he's had his 'closure' with the funeral. There's no one 'right' way that people respond.

Only just back but yes to all of this! That's why I mentioned it. I wouldn't know about eating it but there was a point where I was pushing the oil on quite a few injured parents on the school run

How funny I thought the exact opposite. Lillian and Tony sounded really hammy and unrehearsed and inexperienced, like a school assembly - which I thought was perfect!

Belated boop for Chelsea.

I liked Brian at the end. I think that's exactly what death of a loved one is like - the tie, the pie, the conviviality of the funeral - you want to ask them a question, but you find you already know the answer, something turns up they've left behind which is exactly what you need, there's a certain therapy in the ritual of organising a funeral and bringing everyone together. It's hard when everyone has gone home, but I know my own mum was the same after my dad died - she felt there was a certain comforting presence that she carried with her(admittedly that's much easier when you have no money worries, but Brian definitely falls into that category). I think also in Brian's case he is in the fortunate position of being surrounded by close family - dare I say he might almost have been happy to close the door and get a bit of peace safe in the knowledge that someone would be calling round to check up on him before too long.

I liked Brian’s bit at the end but I couldn’t help slightly thinking he’d had a visit from the Personality Transplant Fairy. He’s not really an enlightened new man in touch with his feelings and so I kind of expected him to say something slightly crass to Jenny along the lines of ‘even if I do remarry, then you’ll always be number one’. You can’t really take the Brian out of Brian…

It would certainly have been jarring IRL but this is a drama and it would have given us something to be a little bit outraged about on a day that otherwise was a bit predictable….

Even if you found it "unrehearsed",would anyone really choose to do it like Lillian and Tony did?

My teenage grandsons read a poem sharing the lines at my Dad's funeral.

I liked Brian saying he didn't feel he'd been able to have a proper conversation with Debbie. Bit of an in joke for us there from Mr Keri 😂

Definitely, @ElegantPuma !

(I wonder what sort of conversations happened around the Mailbox - given that the entire creative team would have known the listeners wanted to hear from her …)