Archers thread #160: Ram a lamb a ding dong! To rate the mass wisteria in Ambridge, tap the feedback tablet 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 have given a home to Hilda the Hellcat, 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 @MerryChristmasToYou, @OverArmour and @LillianGish for the thread title ideas.

This week is a bit better than last week, but the Brad/Adil/Lily stuff is very odd. Coming up to the anniversary of Jennifer's death (22nd January last year). We need a new matriarch - could that be Natasha? I find her quite an interesting character. Sometimes she's awful and then she has moments as last night where she utterly redeems herself.

Over to you!

It's not even an issue affecting a character but it probably will be

In what way has it gone nuts? Well, any more nuts than usual ...

Or even any more nuts than The Archers.

True!

I loved the scene with Brian and Susan. And Brian and Hilda. The actor elevates every episode he's in.

He does. The Hilda actor isn't great though.

That’d be a Staffordshire oatcake. Are they available outside Staffordshire or do you have to make your own?

Ah, you can get them online

Of course. Bought fresh from a hole in the wall.
You can sometimes get them elsewhere I think some supermarkets in Shropshire and Cheshire sell them. You could probably get them mail order.

cross-posted.
If you buy the mail-order ones, they need heating up. The ones I got from the supermarket did anyway, they weren't nice cold.

I'm listening to an Arnold Bennett play and could quite go an oatcake

I rest my case…

The Mercury retrograde has just ended but there’s a shadow phase afterwards, where the effects continue but tail off 🙂

I love Brian and his new found friendship with Hilda. My heart melted a bit when he was talking to her.

And I do think Brad has come into his own. He sounds like such a decent chap now.

As for Ed, why on earth hasn’t he offloaded last year’s lambs if a)he knew this year’s lot were imminent and b) he was restricted on dry land access? Eddie thinking to make Helen contact Miles was such a bloody awful thing to do (you can bet he’d have tried to guilt trip her if ClarrieLove hadn’t stepped in) so crass and utterly self-absorbed of him - nothing matters more than a Grundy’s entitlement, does it? And I agree with the PP; no local landowner will give Ed a bit of land (not that farms tend to have spare land but there must be a corner that could be lent if someone was desperate) because they KNOW that it will immediately be designated Grundy Land and they’ll never get rid of them.

They are their own worst enemies and the endless hand-wringing over their lack of “luck” drives me crackers.

@BrightYellowDaffodil , If they are pure-bred texels, he'll be breeding them as hoggets and some rams in the hope of making more money that way.

I didn't start it. It was the Chorley cakes wot did it? Can I be arsed to walk to M&S to get some Eccles cakes? I am tempted.

I’ve listened twice now. Did Brad say he’d made £150 in tips????

Staffordshire oatcakes are wonderful. I never understand why they're not available everywhere. We always stock up whenever in the vicinity of Staffs.

It was some very large sum. I blinked, I remember.

The Mercury retrograde has just ended but there’s a shadow phase afterwards, where the effects continue but tail off 🙂

Are you my sister?

Staffordshire oatcakes are wonderful. Oh yes.
They aren't generally available because they are often made to secret recipes.
Like pancakes, they are best fresh and warm and the off-the-shelves ones aren't that great.

Talking of cakes, has anyone tried those Real Lancashire Eccles Cakes - ASDA Groceries. As much as I like an 'eccle', I have never eaten one. I have eaten M&S Handcrafted Eccles Cakes | Ocado and hope to do so again despite them having been gritted. ** other shops are available. gritting is the unnecessary addition of sugar. I never, ever call the aforementioned delicacies an 'eccle' IRL.

PS. can't be arsed to walk to M&S as I am stuck in the Bermuda Triangle/up my own backside/down my own navel (delete as appropriate)

BrightYellowDaffodil
no local landowner will give Ed a bit of land (not that farms tend to have spare land but there must be a corner that could be lent if someone was desperate) because they KNOW that it will immediately be designated Grundy Land and they’ll never get rid of them.

I wonder whether the Grundys have ever paid the peppercorn rent David was going to charge them for the land he rented to them so they would have enough to be allowed to keep their barn on Grundys Field as an agricultural building? They were on the point of being forced by the planning authorities to pull it down when David stepped in and rented I think it was two acres to them.

I love Staffordshire oatcakes. I used to visit my Grandma in Staffordshire and she'd make us oatcakes for tea, so I feel very nostalgic every time we have them. I can usually find them for sale in Sainsbury's (in the bread/flatbread/wraps section) and I'm in Surrey. My children enjoy them warmed in the pan with butter and grated cheddar cheese (I like them as they were served by Grandma - warmed in the pan with butter and eaten on their own).

(Edit to add... I agree that fresh is best, if you can manage it!)

Yes, I've eaten those before and buy them every so often. They're not the best I've ever tasted, but they are still rather delicious and really quite moreish! ...they aren't "gritted" - which is also a plus as far as I'm concerned!

guessing the article won’t be to Natasha’s taste

and Rebecca sniffs a story…

I listened to the episode and thought:

"What Kenton needs is the combined expertise of @AskingQuestionsAllTheTime and @DadDadDad."

Kenton is crazy to be adjudicating this competition himself. Why on earth didn’t he hand it over to Lynda to deal with? Of course, they need a neutral judge.

No, sorry! I’m just an old hippy 🙂

And it will be about Helen Titchener…

Thanks for the callout, @SequentialAnalyst - I've missed this storyline and was just listening now to make sense of it. What is it that Kenton is trying to adjudicate?