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Original poster

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

984 replies

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 05/10/2023 12:48

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.

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'd like to hear more scenes in the abattoir, 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.)

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.

Page 10 | 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! | Mumsnet

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads. [archers] All views on The Archers welcome here! New blood welco...

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

OP posts:
Thread gallery
15
OverArmour · 15/10/2023 15:52

SequentialAnalyst · 15/10/2023 12:06

@OverArmour siad
This thread could win an award for the most pointless arguments

There is no such thing as a pointless argument on the TA thread ArchersWink

The rest of your post is excellent. May I ask, have you ever worked as an intern on TA?

Edited

There is no such thing as a pointless argument on the TA thread

You’re probably right Grin

Original poster
Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 15/10/2023 16:14

SequentialAnalyst · 15/10/2023 12:22

Helen has had much much longer to process her time with Rob, and it's her own first-hand experiences and memories she has been processing. No other person in Ambridge, or anywhere else, has thought so long and so hard about what actually happened during Helen's involvement with Rob. More than that, recently Rob drew her in again, but this time she worked it out, though it took a bit of time. I do hope the ED goes away.

As a survivor of an emotionally abusive marriage, which I escaped just over a decade ago thanks to the Power of MN, I have done a lot of thinking about incidents of abuse by Ex that nobody else (except Ex) even knows about. And Helen has had a lot of time to think about it, starting when she was banged up awaiting trial.

I know quite a few people who think my Ex is great, and that I'm a bit of a loony. They don't know the truth of the matter, and I'm certainly not going to explain it to themAngry I too have done a huge amount of thinking, and I'm still remembering the odd thing which proves yet again that Ex is a see-you-next-Tuesday.

Edited

Flowers That must be very tough.

OP posts:
SequentialAnalyst · 15/10/2023 16:39

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g
No, it's really not anymore, and it means I can pay it back on MN by utilising my own experience. I have reached the same clear-minded state that I hope and believe Helen has. I do appreciate the flowers though (especially as I don't have to find a vase, cut the ends off, pick off the leaves, and add the little packet of stuff to the water Wink)

It may not seem like it, but many threads on MN, including this one, have kept me relatively saneGrin. Plus, of course, Brew and Cake

AnneWhittle · 15/10/2023 18:17

I can’t think of any word that would cause Neil to be so horrified. That reaction to me would be more akin to a secret being spilled but I don’t think there’s anything new to be discovered

I agree- I'm sure there are plenty of words neither Neil or Alan would use, but I can't imagine them being so coy as not to say them (especially when there are no 'ladies' or children present)....but surely it wouldn't surprise either of them to read that R was a rapist? Maybe it accused him of being a devil worshipper?

AnneWhittle · 15/10/2023 18:19

@Fink thanks for the GP info....fuel for my cunning GP plan....

Bruisername · 15/10/2023 19:15

Clarrie sounds permanently discombobulated.

was it Henry!! He sounded a bit worried when Lee mentioned the police!!

sounds like Lee may not last much longer. Helen seems to be getting fed up with him

Eastie77Returns · 15/10/2023 19:19

It was Henry. Or he knows who did it.

Bruisername · 15/10/2023 19:22

Makes the unknown word even more intriguing!!

CaptainMyCaptain · 15/10/2023 19:23

Eastie77Returns · 15/10/2023 19:19

It was Henry. Or he knows who did it.

This. Definitely.

BrightYellowDaffodil · 15/10/2023 19:36

SequentialAnalyst · 15/10/2023 12:22

Helen has had much much longer to process her time with Rob, and it's her own first-hand experiences and memories she has been processing. No other person in Ambridge, or anywhere else, has thought so long and so hard about what actually happened during Helen's involvement with Rob. More than that, recently Rob drew her in again, but this time she worked it out, though it took a bit of time. I do hope the ED goes away.

As a survivor of an emotionally abusive marriage, which I escaped just over a decade ago thanks to the Power of MN, I have done a lot of thinking about incidents of abuse by Ex that nobody else (except Ex) even knows about. And Helen has had a lot of time to think about it, starting when she was banged up awaiting trial.

I know quite a few people who think my Ex is great, and that I'm a bit of a loony. They don't know the truth of the matter, and I'm certainly not going to explain it to themAngry I too have done a huge amount of thinking, and I'm still remembering the odd thing which proves yet again that Ex is a see-you-next-Tuesday.

Edited

I completely agree. I know some people cannot understand how I can have made my peace with my ex, about whom the Rob/Helen storyline brought back some extremely unpleasant memories to the point that I thought I’d have to stop the car to be sick one evening while listening.

But I have and it seems better than holding onto the anger and fear.

BrightYellowDaffodil · 15/10/2023 19:38

I also think it was Henry - hanging around with George would no doubt have widened his vocabulary. I’d bet the contents of the church collection bowl on it rhyming with an Oxbridge-based boating system.

Why is Carrie collecting crab apples now? All of ours have usually started to rot by mid-September.

AskingQuestionsAllTheTime · 15/10/2023 20:10

It has been signposted so thoroughly that I feel the graffiti artist can't be Henry. I think maybe he knows who it is, or has made a guess at least, without having done it himself or even seen it done.

The meeting was to be at seven thirty and I assume the writing on the door must have been done after Neil arrived; I am not sure Henry would be blatting about the village in the dark, would he? Not with Helen in charge of him.

SequentialAnalyst · 15/10/2023 20:16

@BrightYellowDaffodil

According to this, you may be able to pick them as late as December.

Can You Eat Crab Apples? 3 Easy Recipes - Woodland Trust

And remember, Worcestershire Borsetshire is famous for fruit growing.
In the neighbouring countyWink, there is even an annual plum festival.

Home (pershoreplumfestival.org.uk)

Can you eat crab apples? 3 crab apple recipes

They may be small and sour, but you can make some amazing things with crab apples. Try these 3 recipe ideas.

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2018/10/crab-apple-recipes/

SequentialAnalyst · 15/10/2023 20:19

Does anyone know anything about the Brackcake(?) fortune telling tokens?

Bruisername · 15/10/2023 20:26

Google tells me it’s an Irish barmbrack cake. A fruitcake that is nice with cheese apparently. Some charms I copied

  • A Pea: You will not marry that year
  • Stick: An unhappy marriage or continual disputes
  • Rag: Bad luck
  • Coin: Good fortune or wealth
  • Ring: You will be wed within the year!
Bruisername · 15/10/2023 20:27

Seems to be a lot about marriage

CaptainMyCaptain · 15/10/2023 20:30

Who will get the stick though?

Bruisername · 15/10/2023 20:37

No doubt pip will get the ring

Poppins2016 · 15/10/2023 20:47

BrightYellowDaffodil · 15/10/2023 19:38

I also think it was Henry - hanging around with George would no doubt have widened his vocabulary. I’d bet the contents of the church collection bowl on it rhyming with an Oxbridge-based boating system.

Why is Carrie collecting crab apples now? All of ours have usually started to rot by mid-September.

Edited

I can't figure out a word based on an Oxbridge based boating system and it's driving me mad... please help me out!

BrightYellowDaffodil · 15/10/2023 20:50

Poppins2016 · 15/10/2023 20:47

I can't figure out a word based on an Oxbridge based boating system and it's driving me mad... please help me out!

Show quote history

A boat that you steer with a big stick - a punt!

Fink · 15/10/2023 20:51

Poppins2016 · 15/10/2023 20:47

I can't figure out a word based on an Oxbridge based boating system and it's driving me mad... please help me out!

Show quote history

In Oxford and Cambridge we use punts. Does that help?

Sorry, cross post and can't delete

Poppins2016 · 15/10/2023 20:53

Ahhh, yes, for some reason I'd got stuck on the Oxbridge boat race rather than the boats that are used in both places (I've been punting more than once, good fun)!

Thanks for helping me out! 😁

Fink · 15/10/2023 21:00

Bruisername · 15/10/2023 20:26

Google tells me it’s an Irish barmbrack cake. A fruitcake that is nice with cheese apparently. Some charms I copied

  • A Pea: You will not marry that year
  • Stick: An unhappy marriage or continual disputes
  • Rag: Bad luck
  • Coin: Good fortune or wealth
  • Ring: You will be wed within the year!

Bracks like that were made by my Granny. Nowadays people often buy them in the shops around Halloween in Ireland and they only have a ring, so they're much more like an Epiphany cake, or a Christmas pudding - only one person gets the charm and they rule/win. Some families still make the traditional style, the other charms are Catholic things like Our Lady and St Antony. There's some variation between families as to what's included.

BrightYellowDaffodil · 15/10/2023 21:02

Thanks @SequentialAnalyst , maybe it differs by variety or area. I’ve always picked mine around the August Bank Holiday - much later and they’re rotten or shrivelled.