Archers thread #152: The Dog Days of Summer in Ambridge! Rabid rants, tearoom dogfight, Bully Dog George gets it all on camera. Is Lone wolf Rob waiting in the woods? 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 love a son like George, 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.)

Starting this new thread a bit early, as we're near the end of the last thread and I'm out all day today. As last night's episode was a banger, I thought I'd better ensure discussion can continue seamlessly!

The original idea for a dog theme for this thread came from the death of poor Weaver. RIP. The Dog Days of summer are associated with storms and the silly season, so quite appropriate for The Archers at the moment! They may technically be over now, as it's all to do with the heliacal rising of the Dog Star, Sirius (no, me neither), but apparently the Anglo-Saxons considered they lasted into September (thank you, Wikipedia), so that will do for me.

So - what next for Helen, Henry and Jack? Surely even the Bridge Farm Archers will see that she needs professional help? After her outburst the other night they might finally grasp that Henry could do with some too. All very grim.

On the lighter side (perhaps), whither Pip and Stella?

Over to you!

I'd eat beef bourguignon any time. Mum and I had braised steak and kidney last night, and very delicious it was too. (Salad tonight.) I think the SWs deserve a BOOP for (a) not forgetting Helen's ED; (b) reintroducing this really quite subtly and slowly. Well done to the several people on this thread who spotted the early signs weeks ago. They've ramped it up a bit now, though. Poor Helen, poor Bridge Farm Archers. to @TickTickTock, I understand how tough this must be for you. We'll do our best to fill in the gaps.

I do hope that over the next few weeks we hear some realistic discussion from Brad and Mia about their UCAS applications. It would sadly be perfectly credible for a young man from Brad's background to be intimidated by the idea of applying to Oxford or Cambridge, even though they'd be particularly good for financial support, I believe. I wonder how he would feel about one of the other places that are particularly good for Maths, e.g. Imperial or Warwick. Warwick isn't far from Ambridge. London might be a bit of a stretch.

We don't even know what A levels Mia is doing, as far as I can recall, so no clue about what she might want to do next. Can you do a degree in Environmental Activism with Veganism?

New thread time approaches! Title thoughts? I do have something in mind, but am open to suggestions.

Mia’s A’Levels:

1. I Know Better.
2. No, Really, I Do.
3. Brad Is Perfect But I’m Going To Make Him Even More Perfect.

I paused my listening very soon after Rob's return was first signalled, and Helen was already refusing biscuits and finding excuses to do other things when there was food around.

I heard the bit when Rob fell, possibly after Lee touched him - so at that stage it had started.

Thank you @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g and I'm so sorry for your loss. Sending 💐to you too (couldn't find the right emoji!)

The SWs have painted a realistic picture of a relapse- it really does creep back in slowly, which is why Helen will still be mostly convinced that she's "fine". It's good that Pat is aware of the signs - the hard part though will be convincing Helen that a) she has a problem and b) she needs (and is worthy of) help.

I am looking forward to updates on Brad/Mia and Stella/Pip. Although I think Stella deserves a mature and less flaky partner, I am kind of keen to see what would happen if they got together!

Speak to somebody who went through the War.

They knew how to party.

Ruth knows that Pip is interested in someone of the same sex, and that Stella is single and also interested in women, and that Pip has been hanging out with Stella, and behaving strangely around her.
Ruth has suspicions that Pip had company early in the morning, but there is no car parked outside, and she would probably seen one driving away.

Ruth has been a dairy farmer for over 30 years and yet needs her daughter's opinion on whether a cow has mastitis or not. Despite having suggested to her adult daughter that she has a lie-in, she lets herself into her daughter's house, and then tries to hurry her daughter.

Why are the SW doing this to Ruth, and to us?

Given that Pip is 'The future of Brookfield', why has she always seemed to unlikeable?

I'm not looking forward to updates on Brad and Mia or Pip and Stella.

I really don't like the slurping noises - I don't think I can cope with TWO shagging storylines!!

Mia seemed very sexually confident which was a surprise. Has she had sex before?

I love BB but it’s a pretty heavy stew for summertime and all that searing and frying etc would get me very hot and bothered in this weather. I wonder if Pat added her secret stew ingredient (cinnamon)…

A bit of affectionate, deliberate and non baggage-laden sex was a pleasant change - quite brought me back to the heady 1970s with Shula and Caroline having fun with the Borsetshire menfolk.

Given that Pip is 'The future of Brookfield', why has she always seemed so unlikeable?

The present of Brookfield isn’t particularly likeable, though, so perhaps they’re going for consistency (there being a first time for everything). They seem to have thrown in the towel with Ruth and accepted that she is widely loathed and so are playing up her unpleasant traits to the max.

Speak to somebody who went through the War.

They knew how to party.

Some of them did. My family who lived through the war were not in the dinner party giving class, or any sort of partygoing class except for the occasional church event. Money was exceptionally tight even before the war. Then when my grandpa was called up he lost his job and his tied cottage, and the whole family had to move to the town where he worked as a firefighter and find new accommodation. He was a gardener and they had always been able to rely on the fruit and vegetables he grew for his employers, so that all stopped too.

I do take the point that rationing was a lot easier to cope with for those who could take potshots at rabbits and game birds, or keep hens, and it must have been a huge help to be a farmer on a mixed farm.

Thanks for correcting my typo, I forgot that we can edit posts now.
I like David and Ruth normally and don't like it when they act out of character.

@harriethoyle , me neither.
I'd prefer to hear Brad and Mia discussing their plans for university. Definitely didn't need to hear them discuss having sex.

Cinnamon in beef bourguignon! [clutches pearls] I like cinnamon, but in moderation, and in its own place. It's very good in moussaka.

Some of them did

That's all that's required, for parties to take place.

I had the impression Bead would have been Oxbridge material. No one has said it, but being selected for that residential earlier in the year gave me the impression. In the no h case he needs his application in by mid October. I would have thought the SWs knew this tho - there must be some Oxbridge educated among them.

That said there's no reason they shouldn't also be having a healthy physical relationship at the same time. And it does seem they are - that they're sensible and respectful and are having fun.
I just hope the serious side of life isn't forgotten for them. I can a story line where they'd apply for the same universities, when that mightn't be the best

there's no reason they shouldn't also be having a healthy physical relationship at the same time.
It could have been implied rather than discussed.

there must be some Oxbridge educated among them

If so it wasn’t terribly apparent when they sent Phoebe to Oxford …

I’m sure part of the problem is that they’re desperate not to portray anything that might seem ‘elitist’ (). Even though probably the entire listenership would cheer if Brad got into Cambridge. Or pretty much anywhere that isn’t Felpersham and living at home …

I like David and Ruth normally and don't like it when they act out of character.

What is it about them, and about Ruth in particular, that is likeable, @MiniHector?

David’s not too bad - pompous, dim and touchy but basically well meaning. But Ruth? Prurient, overbearing, monumentally selfish, and a ghastly way of speaking as the icing on the cake. Nursey Ben: a neurotic, sheepdog-fixated prig. Pip: a sexually and emotionally thuggish prig and bore (also with a weird way of speaking).

Josh is the only tolerable one of the whole boiling, imo, and that’s probably only because we haven’t heard him for ages.

Don’t get me started on Jill and ruddy Leonard.

David seems quite a pleasant chap and has been there for others when they needed a friend. There's nothing malicious in him or Ruth. Ruth is hardworking and has been as much of a farmer as David.
I don't like them treating the children differently. They notice if Pip yawns but failed to spot that their younger son was having serious issues with his mental health.

Jill is wonderful - in her 90s and managing to rustle up cakes and until recently act as a free childminder for her great-granddaughter.
Leonard is like a breath of fresh air as he has a different background and a set of skills that the others at Brookfield don't have.

Brad is at a disadvantage because of his background. Emma did have supportive parents, but they hadn't been through higher education. They were probably like mine, in that as long as I seemed to be doing my homework and not getting into any trouble, they left me to it.

Was it Will or Brian who suggested Ruairi to help Mia with her Maths a couple of years ago? Obviously it wasn’t helpful that she fell hopelessly in love with him - but one would think that in this ‘close knit community’ someone cognisant of Brad’s academic abilities might have put him in touch with Phoebe.

I know his school might have offered (people to give) advice - but as we’re not hearing about it I think the SWs should be giving us something we can hear. Even just - That phone call with Phoebe was helpful; I understand how it all works now …

The Brad and Mia scene was sweet, but I’m not buying that the stammering stumbling insecure and unsure Brad we’ve been sold of late would have taken losing his virginity with such aplomb!