Archers thread #155: Cold Comfort Farms! The rural sagas continue. Discuss The Archers here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

FILL THE OLD THREAD UP FIRST! https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/4902507-archers-thread-154-cider-with-fat-rosie-meadow-rise-to-candleford-or-the-darling-horrobins-of-september-get-your-rural-saga-fix-discuss-the-archers-here?page=10

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 hear more scenes in the abattoir, 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.)

Lots of lively discussion about Brad's university aspirations and the Open Day on the last thread. Do you want him to end up at Felpersham or do you want him to spread his wings and go further afield? Where will Mia go?

Will this thread see the end of Rob, or do we have many weeks more before his long overdue demise?

What's going on at Grey Gables? Are they running into financial trouble? Will we hear from Roy, who I had forgotten was working there until he was mentioned the other day? Who are the mysterious 'Owners'? Will the locum GP turn out to be Adil's sister, as we have been surmising since she first spoke? Why's she been conjured up?

Talking of the GP, I'm hoping against hope we're not in for bad news about Jim's mole.

Praying that we're going to get a long and much-needed break from hearing P*p. Not praying that we hear Rob being christened. Who would be his sponsor, as someone commented on the last thread? Harrison? Surely that would be a conflict of interest. Can't see who else would do it locally.

I wonder how Ben is getting on now he's back on his nursing degree? Will we ever hear anything about Lily's course, or how Freddie's getting on at the abattoir?

So many questions! Over to you for some answers and boundless speculation.

To my ear, Emma says something more like ’munnay’.

oooh yes very fitting
that happened in a film I saw but I can't remember what it was- northern, remote farm, olden days and Maxine Peake was in it I think

Hahahaha

Agree - "munnay" is more like it to me too.

Pigs got an unexpected role reversal in Gentleman Jack too.

Dream scenario - Rob snatches Jack and drives off. He passes out/has a seizure and ploughs into some people on their way to the bonfire - pip dies and I don’t really care about anyone else. Jack can also be fine.

the sad thing is - pip is with us forever due to being the future.

Pip COULD run off to Chile or something, people in the Archers often do bugger off abroad.

John was The Future, once.

(Though I can’t see any SW inclination to ded Pip. And there’s no chance of her ever leaving the farm.)

hmmm, maybe it was Gentleman Jack

You're right, there's an "ay" sound at the end, but there is also something odd she does with the first vowel which shades towards an "min" sound.

The ay is replicating a black country/birmingham accent which they may have bits of in Borsetshire. (how do you spell that, mine isn't right).

The start doesn't sound too odd to my East Birmingham yokel accent, though it sounds more Coventry like which is further away from Ambridge. I don't know much about Worcestershire accents which would be closest perhaps.

She sounds like she has the same accent as her parents so whilst I can’t understand the difference between hands and hounds I don't mind it.

Lynda was totally out of order tbh. this is supposed to be a business - why aren’t grey gables going to try to make money on the booze? Adil has gone local and every scene he is in convinces me even more that there is no hotel chain behind this. And honestly, if that was considered a tirade. Anyway

so after the village has discovered a love of literature they are now all going to develop an interest in the supernatural?

love how Neil is rubbish at keeping secrets!! Reminds me of Prince Albert in Blackadder.

I’m surprised it wasn’t George - it sounded like him when he howled!

As long as they make the witless ghost business stop, I don’t mind what else they do, quite frankly…

I like to think of it being the equivalent of Royal Tunbridge Wells, whose residents do often like to insist on the Royal! Or Bognor Regis. Used to live near TW. Those of us who lived near but not in would never have dreamt of using the “royal”.

Why do they have to conform to stereotypes and make the women, especially the working class women, the ones who are scared of ghosts and such? No way would they have written that story with Neil or Jazzer instead of Susan, and probably not with Ruth or even Lilian (although I could see Lilian in it at a stretch). But apparently it's ok to portray working class women as gullibile idiots who literally get scared at the sound of an owl in the woods at night (not as though she even has the excuse of being a recent incomer from some place that doesn't have owls, like Antarctica).

An abusive father/husband got eaten by pigs in Gentlemen Jack, - sorry, someone’s already said that

I have family from Tonbridge, they always insist on the Royal as a pisstake of how up themselves the TW folk are perceived to be.

I wouldn’t say it’s because they’re working class - but definitely because they are women. In reality I don’t know which other female character they could have realistically used for the scene given it was eddie

i’m sure there will be some hilarious turn of events which leads to Eddie shitting himself and we all get a good belly laugh that the silly little man got his comeuppance🙄

Why is TW Royal? I only know the reason for wootton Bassett

Basically because various nobs liked visiting it for the spa, most notably Queen Victoria.

Oh ok. Fair enough.

The villagers make an effigy of Rob and throw it on the fire but in their glee they don’t realise they’ve thrown the real Rob on the flames?

The exception is Helen, who not only realises but cracks out the marshmallows while he toasts…

You can get the text free from Gutenberg Canada: http://www.gutenbergcanada.ca/ebooks/thompsonf-larktrilogy/thompsonf-larktrilogy-00-h.html

A noticeable proportion of working class and lower middle-class women (I am one of the latter) I have met at or through work, take fortune telling very seriously. As I said, I think it's just a sign of people with little science education keeping an open mind.

In the early 70s I went to the cinema with a friend to see Don't Look Now. Shaken by the ending, we watched the next film. It had Edward Woodward in it, who I greatly admire as Callan. As the film went on, I remained confident that the good Christian would be saved in the nick of time...

After the film, we repaired as quickly as we could to the nearest pub, where I had 2 whiskies in quick succession. It's a great film, and I still remember that evening with huge enjoyment

Also, I have to confess that, scientific education or not, if I'd gone out with Eddie I'd have got the creeps, and would have jumped out of my skin and screamed when Will jumped out. One reason I am doubtful about guided ghost walks - are they going to be factual, or a sort of scary street play?

Of course this does not mean I am a wuss, Oh no. I have a hair-trigger startle response, that's all...

Also thought it should have been George. Maybe it will be next time.

if there was witch burning to be done George would be first in the queue with his little box of matches

Tickets have just been released.