Archers thread #166: Choppy waters in Ambridge! Look out for the red flags and 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 love to be married to Harrison, 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.)

Another thread started in great haste, mid-packing! Over to you.

Lord Woolton Pie: The Official Recipe - Bromley Historical Times

Chelsea and Ben wasn't so much a fling as a one-off drunken encounter. Personally, I think Chelsea should never have told him she was pregnant. She's far too good for him.

She’s becoming quite a force in the village. Literally three jobs means global influence in Ambridge. Though in truth there aren’t many non-Archer young women around to carry off the young Archer men or women.

Yes does seem likely Ben and Chelsea are being lined up for the future 😁

Also agree about the bullying. People like Lynda have absolutely no concept of how busy younger people are. And seems rather hard to believe you'd have people like Ben and Chelsea hanging out with the Snell's discussing history. Usually I like her but her constant haranguing of the locals does get tedious. But on the other hand, these things are what many people like about village life and so without the Lynda's of the world it would all disappear.

Pretty annoyed about all the drama with Harrison and now we are supposed to think he's suddenly got over it because of a poem he read on Facebook? Honestly, how did Fallon end up with such a dope?

Lime marmalade cake - i took an orange marmalade recipe and adapted it. So instead of one large orange, I had 3 limes. Less sugar because of the marmalade. I used Rose's lemon & lime marmalade because Waitrose didn't have just lime. Zest of all limes, juice of two - slices of the last on the base. The recipe I was using included milk, but with all the lime juice, that would have been too liquid, so I didn't bother.

I put lime slices on the bottom, then half the batter in the tin, then added an extra layer of marmalade, then the rest of the batter.

First slice is good - sharpness of limes, sweetness of the rest, nice moist cake.

To be fair, the indications today from Fallon's conversation with Lynda were that Harrison isn't magically over it, though at least he's stopped being horrible to people.

The last 2 episodes were dreadful. Schmaltzy and implausible.

I have to disagree about Harrison stopping being horrible. Making Fallon read that horrible poem was pretty horrible. It's more wallowing in self- pity.

Oh please no.

I think Sainsburys do their own lime marmalade and also Tesco's. Can you still get those big tins of Marmade to make your own marmalade?

Sorry whats Brexit got to do with marmalade. ?

Lots of UK manufacturers won't do the paperwork now required to export their produce to the EU, so it's been goodbye to old familiar foodstuffs like Primula cheese and Colman's mustard powder. And possibly lime marmalade, but I'll have a look around the next time I'm in town.

The upside for Irish food producers is they have been doing boom business exporting UK-similar food to the suppliers on the continent.

I didn't mean Harrison has stopped being horrible, just that it feels like the SW are planning to brush it all under the carpet pretty swiftly and move on.

You can still buy Coleman's mustard powder and Primula cheese with no difficulty. Ocado sell them for example. And there are lots of varieties of lime marmalade available.
I think mustard powder is dying out because anyone under the age of 40 thinks it's ludicrous to make your own mustard from.powder when you can but it in a jar.

I thought Fallon was saying it wasn't all over. They're not talking and he's sleeping on the sofa.

How long do we think it will be before it becomes known that it was George, not Alice, who was driving - days, weeks, months, years?
Years would be interesting. George could become rich, respectable and beloved for his charitable good deeds in the meantime and we could have a whole Mayor of Casterbridge type vibe going on.

I havent notice many things dissappearing in the shops because of Brexit. The shelves are still piled high. I recently brought colmans mustard powder. I still cant understand why Brexit was brought up on this thread.
I like it because it is not political and talks of bus routes and country life, not this country going to the dogs because of Brexit no need to mention it at all imho.

Oh I missed that bit then!

I am not in the UK. There is no Ocado, no Sainsbury's, no Co-Op, no Asda, no Waitrose in this country.

There are many of other excellent supermarkets. None of them can stock imported UK produce if the UK producers are not prepared to do the necessary paperwork. So some things are now off the menu that used to be carried because they were produced in the EU single market area. Now they are not. The UK was entirely entitled to choose to reduce its export capability, but I'm allowed to feel a little regret for the narrowed choice.

Iceland closed down here earlier this year for that reason.

I'm also allowed to prefer to use my mustard unmixed if I'm making a stew, marinade, toad in the hole batter, or salad dressing. I find it a little hard to believe no one under 40 knows how to cook using basis ingredients.

I would also quite like to try making the version of the lime marmalade cake that includes parsnips.

And back to last night's TA, Lord Woolton is one my Great Heroes of History.

I'm well over 40 and I still buy and use mustard powder but in my experience young people don't. I read recently that lots of young people don't buy oranges because they are too much trouble to peel.
But then I have never darned a sock or turned a cuff in my life. Things change.

Can you buy mustard seeds in the country you’re in?

yes Harrison has clearly not had a complete turn around but pretty quickly went from jerk to nice guy again. I suppose that hedgehog didn’t die in vain

What they need is one of these - the perfect low-tech tool that really does what it says. Every Christmas stocking should have one. (Only available in the UK btw, just saying).

https://www.horncarver.co.uk/product/orange-peeler/

We have a similar tool (made from plastic though and more like a ring you can wear while unpeeling) which mil brought us from Germany. It’s very handy.

she also brought us an egg pricker which I have never used!

@Alwaysdieting
Can you still get those big tins of Marmade to make your own marmalade? Yes
Sorry whats Brexit got to do with marmalade. ? Oranges are imported.
I still cant understand why Brexit was brought up on this thread. The poster who mentioned it is not in the UK.

FWIW, I use mustard seeds. Powder and ready-made mustard tends to have gone off too quickly.

I've never turned a cuff or collar but my mother used to when young.

Still cant see what Brexit has to do with The Archers even David hasnt mentioned it for ages.
Hope we dont get a lot of election talk on here either. This thread is a bit of escapism. There plenty of threads on mumsnet for that.

Agree - listening to various politicians on the radio this morning leaves me dreading the next 5 weeks so an election free zone would be appreciated!!