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.

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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!

I don’t agree that all were ACEs, @UnintentionalArcher, but they happened to a greater or lesser degree

I don't think of George Grundy having a terrible childhood. His parents split up and his mum married his uncle, but he has always had a close relationship and been geographically close to both parents and also to two very involved sets of grandparents (and a great grandparent). Compared to Henry Archer for instance who doesn't have a father, had Knob as a step-father, watched his mother stab Knob, then saw her sent to prison while he was forced to live with Knob's evil parents, George Grundy's childhood was fairly unremarkable. It feels rather as if the SWs decided what George would be like when he became old enough to have a proper speaking role - I never felt his early years really justified what they turned him into.

Didn’t Nic smack him? What was that about?

Yes, sorry, that’s what I meant. Thanks

Oh is that what he looks like

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/1Vv5fLGFhfJ6rTw1dfjlj92/george-grundy

Not the picture in my head in any way! 😂

Many thanks for the confirmation about George's driving, @JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon. So he's legal in that way. Why did he do it, then? Just a kneejerk desire to push the blame onto someone else, especially given that nobody would have the slightest difficulty in believing that Alice was responsible for the crash, given the amount of vodka she'd drunk?

Early signs that George was going to be a wrong 'un: a long, long time ago Eddie's brother Alf arrived unexpectedly in Ambridge and the Grundy clan very reluctantly allowed him to stay with them. Alf went to prison as a young man and was in and out of clink thereafter, and even Joe and Eddie were wary of having much to do with him. While he was staying with the family a charity collecting box disappeared from St Stephen's and it was assumed Alf was responsible. I think he was challenged and denied it, but was not believed. However, he left Ambridge after that - did he even come back for Joe's funeral? Can't remember now. Nobody in Ambridge seems to have joined the dots and noticed that at exactly that time it was mentioned that George (non-speaking back then) had bought something quite expensive - a video game? The listeners noticed, though, and when George finally started speaking and did indeed prove to be dodgy I wasn't surprised at all.

Yes, she did. I can't remember why. Had he been nasty to Mia or Jake? He was very young at the time.

It's very odd that Henry's puberty hasn't been problematic.

Maybe the DEI experts at the BBC said it was mean to make him confused and angry.

Diito Xander, when he is old enough.

Henry just seems so unbelievable to me.

he doesn’t need to be vile but he has no nuance to him

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop with Henry.

I’m hoping he will find out who his biological father is and it will turn out he’s a serial killer

That really would be a soapy storyline!

George being a misogynist prick because he doesn’t get laid is proper nasty incel territory. Maybe if he wasn’t so dismissive and cruel to women he’d have more like getting his end away.

Yeah it's a bit 90s throwback. I thought he'd be a bit more like Kurtan from This Country

Hmm, so Will hadn’t heard the message George left when he was about to drive Alice home. And now it’s been deleted.

And the baby has been very short lived. Much as that must be a relief for Fallon…poor Harrison. And he’s going to blame Alice for the “death of my child”.

Oh dear 😕

Tick to deleting the message

tick to Harrison being really annoying about the pregnancy. The man united baby grow 🙄.

tick to Fallon being really annoyed about him being overexcited

tick to problem with the pregnancy and now he’s going to change the parameters of the relationship and want a baby. And of course Harrison is going to blame Alice (and then George)

not going to even comment on the politics

amd why was the a&e dr doing the scan

Poor Harrison.

A and E doctors don’t do appointment pregnancy scans…. He wouldn’t surely ever see them again. Silly.

I feel sorry for George. He WAS brave, and foolish too.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g i had forgotten the Alf and money going missing storyline. I think I was listening then. Yes, a bit chilling that there have been so many signs of concerning behaviour that haven’t really been addressed.

That doctor is shit, she shouldn't have told Fallon in front of Harrison in the first place and probably should have been more guarded given the coil. Then post scan he should have explained the rate of early miscarriage where there has been no trauma and that they may have lost the baby anyway. Especially when the Mother has an IUD. Chances are if she hadn't been in the accident she never would have known she was pregnant.

Now Harrison is going to blame the accident.

Urgh I hate this storyline

Listening to Harrison was toe-curling tonight. He knows Fallon doesn’t want children, surely he realised her next decision would most likely have been a termination.

Presumably he’s now going to go off half-cocked and ranting at Alice and upset everyone, while announcing the miscarriage to all and sundry. Then we’ll have Fallon shouting at him that she wouldn’t have wanted it anyway when he starts trying to pressure her into another pregnancy. And somehow even though she’s always been crystal clear, he’ll be the victim. I’m wound up just thinking about it.

The doctor, who I agree wouldn’t have been doing the scan in the first place, should have said that yes she was pregnant but that she would have had a positive test even if the baby already had no heartbeat.

So after my initial excitement on Sunday I am now feeling less well disposed to the sw

This isn’t a nice train of thought but the thought crossed my mind that Fallon may have taken an abortion pill. I don’t think it’s likely given the timescales involved but I’m not sure how many days post accident we are at present.