Archers thread #163: Too much aggro, not enough agri! 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, 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 @LikeTalkingToLassie for the thread title idea! She and @LillianGish had fun with this theme on the last thread:

More farmer, less drama
More ploughing, less rowing
There's mileage in silage.
More sheds, fewer beds.

All good points. Fair to say nobody on the last thread was delighted to see the return of Harry. I think we all agree that Alice is a blithering idiot to get involved with him again. Most of us also think that Miranda is up to no good. Other storylines in play at the moment:

Alistair and Denise, with the massive complication of John and Paul
Ed and Emma - another doomed Grundy enterprise? Does Will still have the will to wang them some wonga?
Whither George - YouTube sensation or Borchester Magistrates' Court?
Will Markie cause mayhem at The Bull?
Will Harrison haul him in to Borchester nick?
Will Hannah get off with Chris?
Will we ever get used to the new Robert?
Will there ever be a new Roy?
Why do we hear so little from Brookfield now? (Although if we never heard Pip again, I for one would be delighted)
Will Stella dump Pip?

There are probably others I've missed. Over to you!

Bruisername
I would feel more generous towards that if they hadn’t messed the whole thing up.

They were doing well until they had Helen stabbing Rob; after that, even the DV charities who had been all in favour of the SL washed their hands of it, abruptly.

Yes. I stopped listening for a long while after the stabbing. I felt they put sensationalism over realism

As someone with a son around Henry's age, I can't help being quite jealous of just how much Henry communicates.

well tbf it is supposed to be entertainment

I think its good to remind us that children suffer too and for a long time
Henry is also a victim after all

Oh yes, completely unrealistic!

I was staggered by Helen offering to accompany him to cricket practice. He’s into the age when the last thing you do is be seen with a mother in public, or even admit to having one

Helen is quite controlling when it comes to her boys and always wants to meddle in whatever Henry is doing. She didn’t sound pleased when Harrison told her Henry was interested in Cricket and I thought she was going to object on the grounds that it’s dangerous.

I agree it's quite unrealistic, but he has a lovely voice.

As for Alice......deary me.

IMHO it's a very important aspect of educating the public about the lasting effects of DV on children. There'll hopefully be lots more to come.

I hope not. I want the Archers to entertain me, not educate me.

Oh Alice.

I do hope not. I don't think I can take another decade of Emmur whinging about how life is just so unfair to us Grundies.

Urgh please don’t come back Harry!! Alice is being a complete twerp, how hard is it to delete someone’s number and tell them to bugger off? Not invite them in to bond with your child ffs.

I thought Harry turned up aiming to guilt-trip Alice into going with him to the meeting. When she was daft enough to invite him in and then sleep with him, he must have thought Christmas had come early.

I know it’s too much to hope for, but I cannot help anticipating with glee the arrival of little Arthur Chilcott …

Alice is her mother’s daughter / Kate’s sister after all. And having the Chilcotts permanently in her life (and Chris and Martha’s lives) would be utterly splendid listening. Poor Chris would be apoplectic.

ALICE! what the feck! Im so fed up with this tooing and frowing with Harry. Harry my advice is if you dont stop drinking your gonna die. I think the Dr already sort of implied that.
How old is Henry? He is very intense and also sensible not that I care but Helan has made his life awful she has been really selfish when it comes to her or her boys. Why do they have to keep bringing up Rob. Im sorry if that upsets anyone who is a victim of DV. Surley she should pay for him to see a therapist not just a teacher he was talking too a few weeks ago. Another boring episode but cant help myself.

If she didn’t go along, how would she make it All About Her?
Oh, silly me, we’re talking about Helen: she’d find a way whatever, but you take my point.

She’s not going to end up going out with the teacher is she?

I know it’s too much to hope for, but I cannot help anticipating with glee the arrival of little Arthur Chilcott … This was my feeling too. I'm not really sure what Alice is up to, my feeling is that she is lonely and helping Harry reminds her that she's not the most useless person in the village when it comes to alcohol. Interesting that the spectre of Knob should appear again in that episode, I couldn't help thinking there were shades of Knob with Harry getting to Alice through her child. I've given up on hearing anything about farming ever again

Once the latest events come to light I’m sure everyone will accuse Harry of manipulating Alice but I don’t see it that way. In the episodes I’ve listened to recently she has insisted on visiting him, calling and refusing to take no for an answer when he has repeatedly told her she is risking her own sobriety by keeping in contact with him. I do understand that he has made the unsubtle “I couldn’t do this without you” type comments which were designed to tug at her heartstrings but it’s Alice who has been badgering him, choosing to turn up at his house unannounced and attend his AA meetings.

She knew he was on his way to rehab yet decided the best course of action would be to sleep with him (an action she initiated) and then boot him out of the house because it was all too much for her. As a recovering alcoholic I wonder if she stopped to think that might send him straight back to the bottle.

I think it would be seeing her so upset after sex which would send him (and possibly her) back to drink, rather than just sex per se.

Lololol @TottersBlankly that's an excellent shout!

Ambridge really is unplanned pregnancy central isn’t it?

@TottersBlankly Arthur 😂

Arthur and Martha. Perfect.

Would be a really irritating prolonged SL if Harry’s parents wanting custody etc after he dies