Archers thread #158: Te Rum? You numpty, numpty, Tom! Empty tearoom follows. Christmas coming, farmers’ stand up, will it make us LOL? No! 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 think Tom Archer is a great businessman, 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 @LillianGish for the title idea, which may plant an earworm if my scansion just about holds up. @BeatriceBatchelor wanted 'plebby coffee' inserted in reference to my Bolivian coffee anecdote on the last thread, so I'll mention it here instead. Here's hoping Fallon and Emma decamp to the charging station or Grey Gables, or both, to run the type of coffee shop/tearoom people actually enjoy spending time in. Tom's cauliflower eclairs and kale criossants approach sounds more likely to drive the casual trade away from the farm shop and cheese window as well as the Google Translate-named Te Rum.

Feeling very uninspired by TA at the moment, so I have nothing more to say for now. Over to you!

He's doing well to sound 30!

Eddie’s not unreasonable. He’s only 72, isn’t he?

I could easily imagine Graham being in semi retirement but popping out to do auctions at important local land sales (and charity auctions). There will be staff for all the admin stuff, he's just the public face.

our local auctioneers does this @MollyButton - emerges from retirement to do the grandstanding big events or fun charity auctions. I think auctioneers must miss the limelight when they retire! Won't be bothered with the weekly livestock sales though.

72 is pretty old to be doing manual work with a pickaxe.

that was to @MereDintofPandiculation

Thanks. I had in mind he was Shula’s much older boss back in the day

I feel we knew Mr Rodway, but I doubt he ever spoke, just was spoken of, frequently and with feeling, by Shula.

Norman Rodway has an entry in TBoTA: he was played by Michael Bilton. When Cameron Fraser did his runner, Mr Rodway was informed but Shula was off somewhere and he rang Jill to get her to break it to Shula gently, so he must have been vaguely pleasant as well as making Shula do her job properly.

He spoke on air in March 1984, and he is in the BBC Genome's weeks' cast-lists twice: once then, and once in April 1987.

Can’t muster up much to say about tonight’s episode tbh. All a bit meh. Can’t really muster much interest in Alice or Lillian’s love life

Pip and Alice sounded so immature talking about their love lives. The teenage tittering was misplaced given their age and relationship histories.

Poor Brian. It’s still very early days…

I'm glad Justin's seen the error of his ways, maybe this will make him less of an arse.

And poor Brian

Brian is a grown-up. Justin, Lilian, Alice and especially Pip are not.

So, what’s Justin intending to do to re-ingratiate himself with Lilian?

Too late for a Christmas / New Year wedding …

Brian was eloquently lovely. Tiny BOOP for the detail of the annual search for Christmas cards Jenny had bought in the last January sales.

Brian is such a well-drawn and -acted character.

Dammit Linda, I used to find you annoying now I love you! ❤️

I'm still not sure why this was the hill for Lillian to die on. It was underhand and wrong for Justin to go behind her back to tell on her for his own financial gain, but she SHOULD have involved Shula in the decision. If it was to be set up as a seperate entity... well it wasn't put that way in the episode. She shouldn't have bought the horse walker without talking to Shula, let alone some half-brained idea of a competition centre addition to a smallish livery yard.

@Grimchmas Agree. It's a bit rich Lilian saying that a fundamental trust has been broken by Justin by merely phoning Shula (admittedly for his own advantage) to inform her about something Lilian should have been totally upfront about with Shula in the first place!

Why do women's voices in TA always take on that "nudge nudge, wink wink" tone when talking about their love lives? Helen and Kirsty do it with each other, ditto Pip and Ruth, today it was Pip and Alice. Can't they just have a normal grown up conversation that doesn't sound as if they're telling dirty stories to each other?

@Passepartoute I think it's the actors totally unnecessarily emphasising the nature of their "secret/exciting" conversation for effect. Yes, I wish they would talk normally too.

Another bugbear of mine is when characters WILL talk with their mouths full when eating. Yes, we know they are having a meal or whatever but it just sounds horrible (not to say very impolite) when they are chomping away and chattering simultaneously.

How old are Lillian and Justin? I don’t know any over 65s who are like this.

Sad episode for Brian but also Lynda taking the role Jennifer would have taken with Lillian

Farmers seem to go on into their 70s. I have pickaxe wielding friends in their late 70s. Though landscape architects seem to do their backs in at an early age from moving slabs around.

If you are in a physical job, losing your physical ability is a really obvious sign of going downhill. So some of them view it as a source of pride that they are still able to carry on

Lynda taking the role Jennifer would have taken with Lillian

Jenny would have been far more acerbic, I feel. Particularly regarding the ownership of the Dower House. (Can’t recall if she was cognisant of that troublesome detail?)

Oh, yes, this! A thousand times, this.

I thought Lilian and Brian were both rather good last night. I disagree with some on here, I totally understood what Lil meant about Justin, they are both slight cowboys and they sometimes sneak around doing things without telling the other, but he's gone behind her back to her own family member (I'm assuming she's somehow related to Shula as everyone is) and created a huge fuss about it for his own hoped-for gain. Yeah she was wrong to do things without telling Shula but he's supposed to be her partner and she's covered for him doing dodgy stuff before, so this feels against their "code".

Less said about Pip and Alice the better - although it was a good idea to put them together given they both have small kids. The Archers is so unbelievably shite at romance isn't it. I don't know if I'm more grossed out by Harry and Alice or Pip and Stella - as I've said umpteen times before it's the SPEED at which people go from first meeting/dating to basically being in a Serious Relationship. The only "romance" I can remember finding remotely believable was Adam and his attempted affair with... Charlie was it? They actually sounded like they liked each other.