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!

Just heard it before 12o'clock news but don't know if they've been running it all morning. See spoiler thread ---->

Wonder how judgy the bridge farm archers will be about it all …

Don't know about the Bridge Farmers but if Joy's been hurt/dedded David will be raging. He really rates her since she was so good with Ben.

@IHaveNeverLivedintheCastle during the Today programme and again just now

Lurker on these threads but a longtime listener and have remained committed in spite of rather than because of recent storylines. Find the threads more enjoyable than the episodes on many occasions.

Have found Alice’s relapse realistic and a hard listen. I haven’t listened to last night’s- about to. Am glad I’m prepared having caught up on this thread!

BBC Sounds has everything except trailers. Just now must (?) have mean inbetween the 1145 Miners Strike programme and the midday news - the link is not included. Def not between end of news and You and Yours as I was listening.

Might have to try bits of Today!

Bingo!

Today prog at 58:49.

Not actually very well done, IMHO, but certainly does the job!

Aha! I’d only heard the start of that one.

Interesting …

Thanks, @JanglyBeads, I'd heard the short version of that before, but not that one. Oh dear.

@JanglyBeads yup.

I've not found the spoiler thread yet so I'll not mention further

Just caught up. Goodness quite a lot to unpick there!

Brian was really harsh. Saying JD would be ashamed was a low blow, he really should have been able to bite his tongue there.

As far I could tell with DC chatting away in background it sounded like George bailed and then was helpless to watch the car go careering down a bank into the river with Alice still inside.

Joy is going to be wracked with guilt over selling the alcohol. She should have refused but was caught off guard and I think she just froze. Alistair too could have done more to step in and been back up for Joy up to refuse to serve her.

Would George have third party insurance? Does he need to drive farm vehicles etc as part of his job?

They really are going all out in showing how one alcoholic can cause shockwaves of chaos all around them aren't they? 😕 Poor Martha and Chris.

Spoilers thread is here. https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/4636789-the-archers-spoilers-thread-7-cant-wait-for-702pm-join-us-here

I always put a link to it in the OP of this thread (over on spoilers we call this 'the main thread') and it's easy to find even without that, as they're in the same topic, i.e. Radio Addicts, and they're usually the top two threads.

Ha sorry to butt in (been reading thread for ages) but listed to end again
made a big deal of fastening Alice’s seatbelt, do not hear it being undone
Alice seems to be repeatedly rattling the door release to get out and think she is still doing that at time of accident and also still groaning so think still in car
Thought sound of water before creaking was other car going into water.
Thought creaking and car going over was Alice’s car but listening to George’s final no no no’s after the car falls probably do not seem panicked enough for it to be happening to the car he is in.

George mentioned before they started something about the car being a nice little motor or something along those lines and asking if he could borrow it again for doing her a favour. So I suspect he was enjoying driving a nice car a bit too much and going pretty fast on country roads. Then as he was trying to stop Alice open the door he veered into path of an oncoming car and looses control. It didn't sound like they hit the other car so I wonder if they will be ok and call 999.

DC gone out in the garden now, just listen to the ending again. And now I'm not sure. Was it the other car that went in and George watched it happen from the driving seat? I think that seems more likely?! So will he do the right thing and call 999 or just drive off?

Welcome, @VoxPop! I think we're all in the dark about exactly what happened. The omnibus listeners will probably find it less confusing than us daily listeners.

True. Also dangerous in a crash or fire.

Really hoping the other vehicle was a minibus containing Helen, Ruth, Pip and Alistair and Denise and that it crushed Bartleby when it fell off the bridge.
I have been struggling to listen recently but this SL has definitely reawakened my interest. Mind you, if Jakob has died I shall stop listening for good.
I live in a small village with a village shop btw and I was in there a few days ago when our village alcoholic bought a bottle of vodka even though he could barely stand up. (It was a small bottle as he is not as well off as Alice.) After he had staggered out of the shop I raised an eyebrow at the woman who works there, who said, "What am I supposed to do. If I refuse to serve him he's going to kick off and there's just you and me in the shop." I thought this was a very valid point as he is a lot bigger than both of us and I certainly wouldn't fancy trying to restrain him. Joy and Alistair could probably have restrained Alice though. Alistair is used to wrestling with large farm animals. When I left the shop some kindly locals were trying to help the man with the vodka home as he showed every sign of either staggering into the road or dropping his bottle and potentially injuring himself. One of the few occasions recently when events in TA have actually seemed to bear any relation to real village life.

Really hoping the other vehicle was a minibus containing Helen, Ruth, Pip and Alistair and Denise and that it crushed Bartleby when it fell off the bridge.

Goddesstobe: Really hoping the other vehicle was a minibus containing Helen, Ruth, Pip and Alistair and Denise and that it crushed Bartleby when it fell off the bridge.

Reminiscent of Tony Hancock's episode about "The Bowmans" radio serial.

I like Alastair and Denise. Brad and Jazzer can be in the minibus. And Fagash. I'd spare Ruth.

I'll put Justin in the bus.

I hope the other car contained Helen. And she is deaded.

Many, many years ago I met Nigel Pargetter at a party. (It was back in the days of the ice-cream van and the gorilla suit.) He said they only got paid when they were actually in an episode - I don't know how it works these days - and that it was nerve-wracking reading the new scripts and finding out that you were going to be away travelling for the summer and then wondering how on earth you were going to pay your mortgage. It sounded stressful - but reminded me so much if the Tony Hancock episode and it was all I could think of when Nigel fell off the roof years later. (Although it may have been a different actor by then.)