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Original poster

Archers thread #148: Unseasonably, it's panto time in Ambridge. He's behind you, Pat! BANG. Discuss the Archers here.

978 replies

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 18/04/2023 10:48

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

Archers 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 think George Grundy isn't a psychopath, or other unusual views. Grin

Archers 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!

Archers 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.)

Will Rob return, or are they playing with us? Will Pat run amok with her shotgun and wipe out half the village? (We can but hope ...) Will Oliver come to his senses and turf the Grundy clan out of Grange Farm? So many questions, so much time.

Over to you!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
17
Hercisback · 14/05/2023 18:21

@suzyscat What a good parallel to draw between Freddie and the King. I totally agree with your analysis.

The line about Joy having beds made for her family 😢.

noodlezoodle · 14/05/2023 19:11

I'm really enjoying some of the lighter stories at the moment. The Paul and Lynda partnership was fabulous and I hope they keep it up, and Rylan really was fantastic.

booksandbrooks · 14/05/2023 20:50

This reply has been withdrawn

This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

AskingQuestionsAllTheTime · 14/05/2023 21:03

But we heard the entire phone call, and Rob didn't speak; nobody did except Helen. Is she losing it?

JanglyBeads · 14/05/2023 21:08

Just LA, it's not completely clear whether we heard the other side of the call - we thought we were hearing heavy breathing at the other end, but was it her terrified breath?

WitcheryDivine · 14/05/2023 22:56

@Bubbylana they definitely heard you re mooing! Right into a good bit of lowing at the beginning.

LillianGish · 14/05/2023 22:59

Lots of drama tonight, but I’m ignoring all of it to say that Johnny was helping with the clearing up!

echt · 14/05/2023 23:05

God, Helen is annoying. Simultaneously wanting all the updates about the police, wanting more, yet systematically keeping her family in the dark. I suppose the requirements of the SL are causing this. Still.

WitcheryDivine · 14/05/2023 23:08

LillianGish · 14/05/2023 22:59

Lots of drama tonight, but I’m ignoring all of it to say that Johnny was helping with the clearing up!

Haha that was my takeaway too! He did the catering with Pat too, I think they said.

I think if I were Harrison I’d be more worried about Mrs Stabby as much as saying that she plans to take the law into her own hands.

LillianGish · 14/05/2023 23:15

I suppose the requirements of the SL are causing this my feelings exactly. Helen needs to be at odds with Pat and Tony so that she can continue to not mention the Knob situation and therefore not alert them to the possibility he might be back. Johnny is clearly there, but very much in a background role. Tom and Natasha will now have to lie low for a bit giving Knob the perfect opportunity to strike.

Bubbylana · 15/05/2023 04:20

Nice to hear one cow ha ha.
Glad Tom and Tasha are found out for thier money grabby greediness. Helen is really having a go at dopey Harrison mind you Id be the same he never has any good news for anyone.
Why would a courier deliver a parcel in a middle of a field on a sunday morning during a church service.?

JanglyBeads · 15/05/2023 07:33

Couriers are like babies - they come when they come and the field could have been in front of the farmhouse?

I get H being desperate not to tell her parents - she can't bear the thought of weighing them down with such worry again.

And we've all questioned what the police are actually doing now he's returned to the country.

Ambridge · 15/05/2023 09:13

I can’t stand the whingeing man-baby that is Freddie but I also can’t stand smug Lizzie who has infantilised him and openly favoured Lily, so I feel he isn’t to blame for the painting debacle. There was a doc about the National Trust the other week and they were moving a gigantic painting in a stately pile which I imagine might be similar to the one in question - there was an army of specialist movers, almost literally acres of bubble-wrap and hawk-like attention being paid to its every move (the curator virtually had a nervous breakdown during the process). So why on earth Elizabeth thought their local removals firm could do the job is a mystery.

As for the mysterious phone call to Doggedly Independent Helen, it wouldn’t be hard for Knob to record himself saying her name then get someone else to ring and play the recording in after the appropriate nerve-jangling wait. It’s hardly a difficult thing to achieve for a manipulative stalker.

CaptainMyCaptain · 15/05/2023 10:02

He wouldn't have to be in this country to do it himself either.

stilldumdedumming · 15/05/2023 10:25

What kind of alibi would be cast iron tho? In custody, on an operating table during surgery. There can't be many scenarios you couldn't whip out your phone and make a quick call.

Original poster
Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 15/05/2023 11:45

Ambridge · 15/05/2023 09:13

I can’t stand the whingeing man-baby that is Freddie but I also can’t stand smug Lizzie who has infantilised him and openly favoured Lily, so I feel he isn’t to blame for the painting debacle. There was a doc about the National Trust the other week and they were moving a gigantic painting in a stately pile which I imagine might be similar to the one in question - there was an army of specialist movers, almost literally acres of bubble-wrap and hawk-like attention being paid to its every move (the curator virtually had a nervous breakdown during the process). So why on earth Elizabeth thought their local removals firm could do the job is a mystery.

As for the mysterious phone call to Doggedly Independent Helen, it wouldn’t be hard for Knob to record himself saying her name then get someone else to ring and play the recording in after the appropriate nerve-jangling wait. It’s hardly a difficult thing to achieve for a manipulative stalker.

We saw that! Agree in principle, but it was a hugely valuable painting, on its way to a major exhibition in the US, and it was the National Trust, which is awash with specialist curators, so I would have expected nothing less. LL is a privately owned home looking to cut corners at every point. I could see someone in Elizabeth's position thinking this is just a tiresome old painting, not worth very much, which is being put in storage and probably never put back - pretty clear that once Freddie is finally allowed to run the place he will get rid of it.

Do we have any lawyers on the thread who can comment on the terms of the trust? Would it really have been written in such a way that the trustees can decide it will carry on until they can be sure that Freddie is responsible enough to inherit? I know nothing about trusts but I had always assumed if a will or trust or whatever it was said the heir would come into his property at age X, that was set in stone, and nothing could stop it.

OP posts:
JanglyBeads · 15/05/2023 11:45

I'm disappointed in this portrayal of an abuser, it's silly drama (like how it all ended last time, the attempted abduction followed by her chasing him, giving an 'I've found my strength' speech and him fleeing).

What most survivor mothers face post-separation (court cases or no court cases) is the terrible realisation that you'll never be free because of mandated child contact, and continued manipulation around that contact.

FallonsNewCoat · 15/05/2023 11:55

What most survivor mothers face post-separation (court cases or no court cases) is the terrible realisation that you'll never be free because of mandated child contact, and continued manipulation around that contact.

Yes, I think you nail it here. Sadly, also, Helen’s experience of no updates from the police leading to endless uncertainty about Rob’s whereabouts and what his next move might be is also par for the course. Anyone hoping for a fast resolution to this one is going to be disappointed. IRL this could drag on for months/years.

AskingQuestionsAllTheTime · 15/05/2023 13:08

Bubbylana
Why would a courier deliver a parcel in a middle of a field on a sunday morning during a church service.?

And to an address that would not be the one they had for Mr T and Mrs N Archer, who live in April Cottage, Ambridge?

Minimammoth · 15/05/2023 14:21

Wonder when we will get Joy’s story?

WitcheryDivine · 15/05/2023 14:26

I did wonder about that, was trying to work out if they could possibly have signed up for this when they were living with Pat and Tony but they can’t have, the twins weren’t even born then.

a good example of the often given advice about not giving your kid the same initial as you, although I guess Tony is really an A Archer?

Fink · 15/05/2023 15:16

WitcheryDivine · 15/05/2023 14:26

I did wonder about that, was trying to work out if they could possibly have signed up for this when they were living with Pat and Tony but they can’t have, the twins weren’t even born then.

a good example of the often given advice about not giving your kid the same initial as you, although I guess Tony is really an A Archer?

Since the topography of Ambridge appears endlessly flexible, I suppose it's possible that Tom has Bridge Farm listed as his 'deliver to this neighbour if I'm not in' address.

Who are their nearest neighbours, actually? Is there anyone in Keeper's Cottage now? I assume there's a silent, resident keeper who took over from Will?

JanglyBeads · 15/05/2023 16:54

🤷🏻‍♀️

Rosula · 15/05/2023 17:06

As they were so careful to mention that Jack's birthday is imminent, could that be when Rob finally turns up?

ArseMenagerie · 15/05/2023 17:22

Catching up and another comment about how fantastic Rylan was - he sounded way more natural and at ease than some of the regulars (ahem Mick) and even some long term-ers (hello Adam!)