Archers thread #147: Spring is sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder how old Ambridge is. Discuss The Archers here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Many thanks to @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 have the general public watching you work and asking questions, 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 comes from this poem, with which I drive my family to distraction at this time of year.

Spring is sprung, the grass is riz
I wonder where the birdies is.
The bird is on the wing.
But that’s absurd, the wing is on the bird.
Or so I’ve heard.

Ogden Nash

Apologies to @TeenDivided for ignoring her good ideas for the thread title. Here they are to kickstart our ruminations:
'window on the world of cheesemaking'
'how long until the intercom is fatal'
'will Brian settle in new pastures'
'Springing towards Easter with Widowers, Windows, and wails'

Over to you!

I think it was at time of a Uk sperm shortage and think it was said or implied?

If it was, I didn't hear it. I could go and listen to every one of her maunderings between 17th February, 2010, and 11th May, 2010, but honestly I would prefer not to.

So the fact that she was told on 24th March that she would have to wait six months and then she could have her treatment sooner might I suppose mean they'd got in some sperm from another country rather than just that there had been a cancellation because the clinic realised she was An Archer. The latter was certainly what I assumed at the time, in fact I think we may actually have been told that someone who had been booked in didn't want the treatment at that point.

It was at the time of the shortage that never was, and I've managed to find a Guardian article about it: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/sep/19/sperm-donors-shortage-market-forces

😆

I think Alice is being lovely, coping with her grief and resisting the lure of alcohol whilst caring about her dad. Seems perfectly believable to me.

I do hope Brian makes a success of Sunday lunch for his family.

i really hope that Tom and Gnasher totally selling out the Bridge Farm brand results in them having to bugger off to Wales and stay there for evermore as silents, and Peggy cancels the suddenly-forgotten-about-saintly-twins-window

I really wish we knew how much the twins were getting paid? £5k £25k £50k. We need to know!

I really wish we knew how much the twins were getting paid? £5k £25k £50k

I agree that this would be very good to know. How much do Tom and Gnasher think is a life-changing sum? It surely can’t be less than enough to cover Sell-en and Nova’s uni tuition fees would be ie a minimum of 3 x 9,000 = 27,000 x 2 = £54,000 but the SWs always gloss over actual figures, don’t they? We don’t know how much B and J sold Home Farmhouse for. Neither do we know how much deposit Emma and Ed lost when they failed to buy the house of their dreams. There must be a reason why they don’t give us these details but I agree it’s very irritating.

but the SWs always gloss over actual figures, don’t they?

So much so @FallonsNewCoat that I was quite shocked when Oliver said ooh how about £5000 for George.

Is it because the SWs want to avoid an avalanche of scornful complaints insisting they’ve done no research and got all their figures wrong?

Anyway we’ve now had a £5k and a £15k. Longing to hear the explanation for the latter sum.

But getting into a flap because he chooses to go out for the day is just a bit OTT, isn't it? Let alone demanding to know what he was doing when she sees him subsequently.

So what do we think the motivation behind Jenny's legacy was? My money's on her assuming that Martha will need it because her mother will fall off the wagon sooner or later.

Was Alice divorced from Chris when it was written?
If not probably making sure he didn't get half in a divorce.

We dont know if Alice is also in ?

The whole thing is very odd. It’s not an insignificant amount of money but not sure how £15k will help Martha in the future if Alice goes back on the booze. Perhaps it is connected though. I’m wondering if she left all of her children some money but chose to also include Martha in case Alice drank her share away. She presumably thought the other grandchildren would be fine and provided for by their sober parents.

Ah, that must have been guilt because she realised that she hadn't noticed he had been out for the day more than once last week; well, if it was a week's cookery lessons, as she said tonight, he must have been, and she wasn't presented at any point as doing a wet hen impersonation at all and sundry about him not being at home when she went round uninvited and unexpected to check up on him on say Tuesday.

The flaw with this week-long course bit of hers is that she started to suspect him on Thursday and doorstepped him on Friday, so it was not more than four days long.

I think Alice and everyone will believe her drinking is the reason but it'll turn out to be something else entirely.

I think the £15k to Martha is strange especially as Brian was in the dark too - I think Jenny would either have discussed with Brian or included a note to Alice or something with the will & tbh it's not like Christopher wouldn't look out fir his own daughter and Jenny thought a lot of him - it's a tad strange

How can they not know when the will was made (unless I missed a bit where they worked it out)? Surely it would be signed/dated/witnessed.

I had a feeling it would be cookery classes.

I think the will situation is very odd. It feels like drama for the sake of it which is irritating after we've had a reasonably good run.

alice will be earen alive by kate.

it's already started.

freeloading kate got help with her half hearted ventures.

adam?

I've been listening to an audiobook so I'm behind and catching up. Just wanted to say how stupid the cheese window storyline is. How unreasonable of Helen to expect them to provide a running commentary when they are working!

Helen unreasonable? Never. Next you'll be telling me Tom is a self absorbed prick!

IRL Clarrie and Susan would be raising a grievance!!

If Martha got £15k and that was Jenny's entire legacy (which seems unlikely) surely cut between 5 grandchildren it's not going to secure many futures is it?

I'm still catching up too but just wanted to chip in and say - I often enjoy this too. Although it's quite scholarly (rather than fun).