Archers thread #162: ‘This is like talking to Lassie’ – how right you are, Fallon! 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 cowhide-covered walls are a great idea for a cafe with vegan and vegetarian customers, 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.)

Title comes from one of the better scripted conversations of recent weeks, when Fallon said ”Harrison, this is like talking to Lassie! Just TELL ME”. So true of so many conversations on TA where you just want to shake them and yell 'Just TELL US, and quickly, so you don't get interrupted before you can say the important bit', but of course they rarely do and days pass before the conversation resumes. @TheBell suggested putting it in the title, so thanks for that.

@OverArmour had a great if more obscure idea, paying tribute to a Peter Greenaway film: The Policeman, The Drunk, The Vet and his Lover. That will do very well as a starting point for the new thread. Will Alistair leave? Will Denise tell John she's leaving him? Will Paul learn to be less noisy? Do any of us care?

I do care a little about Harrison and Fallon. I want Harrison to get a grip and realise he needs a paying job more than the captaincy of the cricket team. I don't care at all about Harry but I think he's been brought in purely as a plot device so with any luck we can all forget about him very soon.

Over to you!

Cool. Two of them even have the same parents: Jenny was evidently slowing down with approaching middle age.

Of that list of mums, I think Tracey is at the top.

Why can't Ed do the training then work for an established company for a while? Rather than going in all guns blazing and buying expensive equipment when neither Ed or Emma have a clue about establishing a successful business.

@BeatriceBatchelor because of Grundy blood!

Ed and Eddie can never work in employee capacity. Just because.

so Justin needed multiple bailings out - sorry but this is all sounding like even more bullshit. Bullshit, maybe, but it explains the Justin we know.

With his global anxiety he seems more like Jakob. He was an IT guy, wasn’t he? Got to keep the stereotypes going

That conversation between Brian and Miranda was remarkably gauche for two mature and more or less wealthy English people. I guess, given 12 and a half minutes, the SW felt they needed to spell things out in words of few syllables - but if, in my 70s or 80s, I should find myself in a similar situation, I would judge my date to be alarmingly unsophisticated if they immediately launched into My family money and what a rubbish human being their ex was and is.

Yes - and the whole ‘oh there’s so much more but it would break my divorce conditions to tell you’

I'm wondering if she’s a con artist and hasn’t realised Brian isn’t super wealthy

yes, she did seem awfully keen

Think he might be worried about ED? Hope we're spared the details!

Maybe feeling more faithful to Jenny in death than he was in life

Bruisername
Yes - and the whole ‘oh there’s so much more but it would break my divorce conditions to tell you’

I didn't understand about these "divorce conditions": how does that work? If you mention something it was agreed you wouldn't talk about he takes back your settlement under the terms of the divorce?

Well indeed. He’s wealthy enough to require an NDA? Doesn’t seem that wealthy to me!!

That's exactly how it works in principle @AskingQuestionsAllTheTime and is pretty common in any formal settlement agreement, but in practice very difficult to enforce and probably only enforced by the super wealthy.

@Mumblechum0 I totally agree. She's brilliant! Has really grown on me in recent years. She's definitely one of my favourite characters.

God, Pip is laying it on thick! Poor Stella - she’ll be looking for a job on another continent soon …

Do mobile phones not have caller display in ambridge?

stella sounded completely fed up with pip. Pressure of being step mum getting to her? Another reason not to introduce kids too early - it can get in the way of actually developing an adult relationship

robert still isn’t sounding right to me - character I mean

i cant bear the gravellyness of Justin and Miranda’s voices

I remain convinced that Miranda, Julianne and Hazel Wooley are in fact, one and the same. Has anyone ever seen any of them in the same room together?

Yes they have the same droney Eeyore style voice and delivery. Also like Alan’s daughter Amy and any other PSA style bit part character that needs to inform us of, for example, medical or mental health type information.

Stella sounds incredibly bored of Pip and her PFB doesn’t she. Nothing more annoying than when a friend tried to get you to do lots of things for their kid under the guise that “X loves you! They will want you to do it.” So much worse when it’s your girlfriend I imagine.

Particularly when pip mentioned lower loxley and how she likes the help with Rosie.

hardly a fun new relationship when you are left to the whims of a 5yo

Will Stella and Hannah get together?

Ah but it is fun to be presented with new ways in which Pip is awful!

These horse thieves, were they also into starting saloon fights at country and western gigs, back in the day?

I do wonder whether, if Pip were with a bloke, she would expect him to worship at the shrine of Rosie in the way she expects it of Stella.

Perhaps he was actually rustled in 1880 and is in fact 140 years old