Archers thread #156: Fireworks in Ambridge! Helen gave Lee a rocket, but Grey Gables is a damp squib. Is the writing on the (church) wall?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're irresistibly attracted to George Grundy, 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.)

Thanks to @OverArmour for the title suggestion, which I have tweaked a bit. I was strongly tempted by Less GGP (Grey Gables Peril) More GPP (Guinea Pig Plot), which was a plaintive cry from @PuppyPerson some days ago, but if Poppy has found new homes for the baby guinea pigs that may be the last we hear of them for some time, sadly.

Surely in the life of the next thread we must hear more from or of Rob, or Ron as some on this thread prefer to call him? <taps foot> Will Kirsty snap and tell Helen a few home truths? Will Pat's shotgun finally be brought into play? We can only hope ...

Also, will we ever find out who owns the other 60% of Grey Gables? Why is Adil AWOL (to use the other bit of OverArmour's title idea!)? Why aren't we hearing from Roy? Will GG ever re-open and will Emma get her Big Chance at last?

So many questions! Over to you.

Or how Freddie is getting on in the abattoir

That's a SL I'd be happy for them to forget. Animal cruelty and whiny Freddie. And the repulsive Vince.

I'd like more Kirsty, Roy and Rex. And always Brian. Oh and Rauri back but no more of his sex life - had enough of that with him snd Julianne.

Alice and Ruari made up after she rescued him from the Julianne/escort situation. I think she’s the only one in the family who knows what happened there.

I’m not sure a relationship with Paul would work. They went on a couple of dates but don’t think Paul was keen. Ruari is living student life in London and all that entails. He is still finding is way in the world. Paul just wants to settle down with someone after his last breakup which sounds as if it was fairly traumatic.

How long has Little Grange been there? Planning enforcement immunity is after 4 years for residential isn't it?

I mean so Emma needn't worry about that. I will be cross if they get that wrong as there's some really fun case law eg concealing dwellings in a haystack for 4 years!

Oliver was sensitive enough to understand Emma’s worry and it highlighted the difference between him and Eddie (who is just a selfish arse).

given their constant money worries why hasn’t Eddie already sold off the stuff in the barn?

I am imagining a developer buys the barn and does a conversion and the new owners have to put up with grumpy Grundies every time they drive in or out and peering in their windows. It would make a great MN thread

Need to include some parking wars

Clare Perkins is currently on A Good Read.

She's also in Bodies on Netflix. Blink and you miss her. But her voice is so distinctive I shouted 'That's Denise!', which really confused my husband in the midst of an already confusing storyline!

Little Grange has been there since 29th April 2020.

Lowfield, 30th April, 2020:
"Ed hesitantly asks about planning permission for the mobile home. Emma laughs that she did ask Eddie about that but he said it is traditional in this family to cut corners. Ed agrees they will worry about it later."

Nice of Eddie to cut corners on someone else’s land

Safe in the knowledge that when they come down on the lack of planning permission like a ton of bricks it won't be him being taken to court about it, but the owner of the land. Yes.

Such lovable rogues, the Grundys.

That was during the weird period when they just carried on broadcasting the episodes they'd already made before lockdown was announced with no attempt to acknowledge what was going on, which was very odd. Then we moved into the monologue period, with fewer episodes a week than normal, and suddenly Ambridge was in lockdown just like everybody else. All very odd. To me that whole period feels like a lifetime ago, not three and a half years.

Ah thank you @Asking - not out of the woods on that one yet then.

Ed and Emma and the caravan was during the last of the five-day-week episodes before they started running repeats, which they did from Sun 3/5/2020 (Repeat from May 22, 2015) until Thu 21/5/2020 (Repeat from 5th December, 2014). After that they went over to four-day weeks with two scriptwriters per week, and that was the monologues.

poor Oliver

At least the jazzer sl has ended realistically. Working in an office isn’t for everyone and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Jazzer's "Well I didn't expect that" when Hannah is re-homed is entirely his own as the whole SL was entirely predictable. Not least because at no point did Hannah appear truly concerned about possibly losing her job, never mind home. Very annoying SL.

So now we'll have more of Pip stropping off because Hannah’s sharing with Stella.

Oh joy 🙄

Pip not getting her own way will be a novel change!

It's outrageous that Oliver is returning to his own home after a day at work and going to his bedroom because Clarrie and Eddie are giving him the cold shoulder.

To be fair, Jazzer probably doesn't know as much of that story as we do.

Does Oliver live WITH the Grundys? What?

It was totally stupid to have Hannah training jazzer before she had even given notice. As if anyone would waste their time doing that, and before they even advertised the job let alone jazzer being offered it! Hannah and jazzer should both have been too busy with their own roles to waste time on that. If and when Hannah gave notice and the job was advertised, it would have been helpful for her to give jazzer some insight into how to conduct the interview and get him to shadow her doing some of her tasks but actually training him when she hasn't even quit yet? Stupid SL indeed!

Does Oliver live WITH the Grundys? What?

Indeed he does. In his house. The house that he owns and that he, inexplicably, allowed that bunch of freeloading ingrates to occupy on the basis of the sentimental b***ks spouted by Eddie and Joe (there's always been Grundys at Grange Farm, ooh arr) to make him feel guilty about denying them their birthright, or some such utter claptrap.

Honestly, when Eddie started going on the other night about 'what could happen to us if Oliver dies and we can’t stay in our home?' I was fit to be tied.

This whole SL is making me think of that infamous MN thread where someone had an outrageous CF who was renting their house but wouldn’t leave when requested (completely correctly and by the book) and another poster popped up to suggest that the OP should just GIVE them the house 🙇‍♀️ Eddie would be assuring the CF that they were NBU for sure.

much as i loathe the Grundys: even if it's a rental, especially a very long standing rental, it is still a home.