Archers thread #164: AmbridgEnders! An Everyday Story of Soapy Folk. 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'd like to have your fortune told by Bartleby, 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.)

Thread thrown together in great haste in advance of tonight's episode. Who's in the Am? Is it George's fault? Is this the end for Alice? Over to you!

It’s true that George’s fingerprints in Alice’s car could be explained by his ‘tending to’ her - which Alistsir saw.

But if Alice was driving - how to explain his fingerprints inside the glove pocket?

kept thinking why don’t they ask if there was anyone else in the car, first thing to ask, it was obvious Mick was trying to tell them that, but they kept talking over him.

Mick was driving- Fallon said

would they really call soco out for a non fatal car accident?

Adding to my repercussions list

• Jakob feeling guilty
• brian feeling guilty
• chris feeling guilty and conflicted because he has to protect Martha

Would they bother? Why would they finger print Alice's car anyway? It's not stolen.

So Joy was in front passenger seat. So possibly even more likely she would have clocked the driver. I think the person driving would be too focused on reacting to notice details. She might have seen George at the last second.

If they’re preferring serious charges they might but I think it’s more measuring skid marks than dusting steering wheels.

No I don't think they would be fingerprinting the car. It's just going to seem too clear cut. Drunk driver causes accident. Case closed. Unless someone provides evidence otherwise. Joy? Will? Fallon?

Exactly. They need SOCO to check tyre marks and skids. Neither car was stolen so finger prints not hugely relevant.

If George had drifted into the middle of the road or even fully into the other lane, he’d have had to pull hard left to move back. In which case the driver would have been in clear view of Joy/Mick and, being side-on, his headlights wouldn’t be dazzling them.

My money is on George continuing with the cover-up and being the bashful hero…until Joy comes round/her memory comes back and/or the dash cam footage is looked at and it’s very clear that George is driving with Alice slumped in the passenger seat, at which point Alice is begrudgingly exonerated.

For all Alice’s drinking, it was George that caused all this. He had to be the cocky hero and wanted a go driving Alice’s car (as I bet it’s a nice one - my money would be on her having something like a Range Rover/Volvo XC or similar). He could have just taken her keys and called a member of her family.

Joy comes round and George puts a pillow over her face. Too far?

Would a dashcam see who was in an oncoming car in the dark, as opposed to the headlamps?

I do hope Joy wasn't injured by being hauled out of the car before the paramedics got there. I don't care at all about George shifting some of the blame onto Alice.

Did he say something like 'This is a nice sporty little car you've got here?' I definitely remember 'little'.

BBC Wales has a programme called The Crash Detectives, it's on iPlayer - these officers miss nothing when they investigate a crash I don't think George would get away with it if this kind of team is called in.

Aargh! As long as somebody walks in and finds him doing it and Joy is unscathed.

a dashcam or a person? In my experience you only really see who is in the front of a car in the dark if you're passing them quite slowly and can look in after you've passed the headlamps.

I don't see any point in a car locking automatically once the car is travelling at ten miles an hour or more (this is what my 2011-reg Mini does) in order to keep people out of the car: I have yet to be run after at speeds in excess of ten miles an hour by someone trying to break into the car as it goes along the road! What I also don't see is the point of such automatic locking if the door can still be opened from the inside, since that's the only place where there would be likely to be anyonetoopen it.
The door stays locked when the car is stationary but the engine is still running e.g. at traffic lights, if flagged down by a potentially dodgy person or waiting to pick someone up with engine running for heater.

Neither do I @DeanElderberry , I feel a bit conflicted about that but I'd have no issue with her taking the blame 🤣

Shocked that he moved her, you can't do that, it's not on

nifty he said.

Was it a ‘nice little motor’? Which is the sort of phrase my mum would have used not a teenage boy from Gen Z.

I can't help wondering if it is normal to be this excited ...

Alice is going to be locked up whatever, she'll be waking up in a police cell.

It might just be what she needs to give up the booze for good.

Alfie Moore reckons an RTC is the best way to murder someone as the investigations are usually relatively perfunctory, so it’s a battle of the Beebs!

Nifty little motor, I think