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.

Rainingsincenovember
Wasn't there a storyline in which Elizabeth went to meet Vince at the airport on his way home from the Phillipines?

There was; it was the start of the "Vince gives Ben a nervous breakdown" story, because during his absence in Manila Beth and Ben had broken up over Beth having chucked Ben and left him forever and then been unable to forgive him for having been comforted about it by Chelsea. So Beth went back to him in order not-to-forgive-him really, really thoroughly, and Vince got involved after she had left Ben again and ran to Daddy for comfort giving him a completely biased view of the matter. He assumed his little girl could not possibly be to blame in any way for anything, and went for Ben about it in The Bull.

(This row fomented through Vince's ignorance of actual events also led to the sale of the field near Hollowtree in order to pay Vince back the loan he made to David and Ruth, and that has led to the completely silent EV charging station that has had no effect on the village in spite of having been "nearly finished" more than a year ago now.)

Add the ev station to my list of ongoing SL!!

Fink
Anglicanism doesn't offer the possibility of praying for the dead

but the CofE church we went to for many years (at least in part for the choir) ignored this, and on the anniversaries of the deaths of people in the congregation they were mentioned in the list of people "we also pray for" after the Queen and the leaders of countries and the people in wars here and there across the globe and anyone who was ill or dying. That list was provided by the vicar; the person reading out the we also pray fors could add anyone they felt needed it, as well as cuddly kittens if that happened to take their fancy – though I suspect that if cuddly kittens were on someone's list they might not have been asked to do the prayers again for a while until the congregation had mostly got over it.

And at least in the diocese of Gloucester it is suggested that "You might include prayers for those being baptised or confirmed, the sick and those who have died—generally or by name."

I remember the rustle that went round when someone we all liked had died suddenly in the middle of a week and most of us didn't know it until that prayer for her the following Sunday.

I'm reading that in your custom sarcasm font again!

Add me to the list of those utterly fed up with Harrison's endless maundering on.

Harrison is behaving like an idiot.

Fallon had the coil fitted. That contraception “killed” his baby. And his wife had it fitted! On purpose!

I predict the next storyline will be a bust up over her going to have another re-fitted.

He has shown Fallon zero sympathy or understanding for what it feels like to fall pregnant when you’re adamant you want to be child-free. It’s awful for her. He’s being v selfish.

It’s my channelling the sw font!!

I wasn’t listening during the wren sl and only found out last night that Tom was his father!!

I did have one question for you - did Rex and Harrison join at similar times?

This has reminded me of a lovely old lady my parents became friends with through the church. We used to visit her regularly when I was growing up and she would make us a high tea. One of the first times we did this she made a dish called Lemon Haze, which I think might have been made from whipped evaporated milk and a lemon jelly - nicer than that sounds, but a bit sickly. My brother politely said he liked it and she was very pleased. Unfortunately, though, every single time we went there for many years thereafter dear old Mrs A would say 'Now, I've made Lemon Haze, because I know it's your favourite'. It very definitely wasn't by then! Standing family joke, though, so not all bad.

I think I must have missed the episode when Mick or whoever it was found Rochelle’s address. Or did that happen ‘off Radio’?

Since she allegedly lives so close to Joy, why doesn’t anyone appear to think it odd that they’ve never seen her popping round to see her mother in the 4 years Joy has been in Ambridge. You’d think that alone would give Mick and Kirsty pause for thought and maybe consider that the relationship might be fractured or something is amiss.

Bruisername
I did have one question for you - did Rex and Harrison join at similar times?

I am not Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g, but Harrison first appeared in January 2014 and Rex in May 2015. Booth were selected and introduced by Sean O'Connor.

Oh I meant ‘you’ as in anyone reading!

quite close then. I just can’t hear their names without thinking of the actor and wondering if (soc I know now) was thinking of him too!

I was going to refer that one to you, Asking, as my memory is not great at all on details and chronology, and I often find I have misremembered or outright forgetten key things!

Is Joy perhaps a volunteer at LL? I can't otherwise think why she and Elizabeth and Lily are all so chummy now, as others have already said.

If I were Joy, I'd be extremely miffed to think that Mick had been going through my address book behind my back.

(Does anybody else who's read the Thursday Murder Club books hear Joy as though she's Joyce? I don't know why, probably largely because of the similarity of the names and ages, but I do. Joyce is going to be played by Celia Imrie in the film adaptation. A tenuous Archers connection there, as her son Angus is Josh Archer.)

Joy stepped into the breach when back in the CMR days they needed a life model.

I can't remember who was the life model who she stood in for, but it was when Shula was exploring other interest having got bored of the then Alistair.

I hope Tracey’s tigresses thrash Harrison’s team

Listening again

when Liz says of Rochelle ‘she’ll call tomorrow though won’t she’ he responds with a doubtful ‘hmm, maybe’ which suggests he may have deduced something from his visit

I went to a funeral for a miscarried baby led by a local CofE vicar. The Co-op Funeral Directors offered their services for free.

I hope Pat bowls him out.

One of the first times we did this she made a dish called Lemon Haze, which I think might have been made from whipped evaporated milk and a lemon jelly - nicer than that sounds, but a bit sickly. Googling got me to page after page of cannabis! Adding “dessert” to the search terms - not as bad as you thought - egg white, sugar, lemon and gelatine. Subtract the gelatine and add white wine and you have a syllabub.

Can I introduce you to Lemon Solid? Double cream warmed to blood heat with a bit of sugar, then add zest and juice of a lemon and leave. It sets solid hence the name. It’s delicious (though very rich) - the name does it no favours.

Yes, and maybe even a new stained glass window at St Stephens.

That sounds exactly like lemon posset, which sounds nicer than solid! There may be differences in the proportion of each ingredient.

Hello, thanks for all the threads which I always read although I don't believe I have posted since Tom left Kirsty at the altar.

Just wanted to ask if anyone else thinks that Rochelle must be in a psychiatric hospital due to Joy's expert handling of Ben in crisis? It was clear then that she has relevant experience in this situation. Or maybe it is Joy who has suffered mental illness due to grief? Anyway I am enjoying the slow burn of this storyline. Much more than my inner fury at Harrison and his grief, which is driving me mad.

I was going to say that sounds like lemon possett, a favourite of mine.

For an easy, lazy, syllabub-esque treat I recommend whipping a mixture of double cream, good quality lemon curd, and sweet sherry or brandy as you prefer.

I’m going to make myself deeply unpopular but I can’t stand lemon desserts or cakes (I can cope with lemon ice lollies and sorbet but that’s it!)

That's all right @bruisername, you slip me your lemony stuff and I'll pass you everything with coffee and most things with chocolate.

See, Lemon posset sounds nicer than lemon solid only so long as you don't associate the posset with its original meaning - baby sick.

Knowing the meaning of words can sometimes be unhelpful!

makes me think of killer whales as how we’re not allowed to call them that because it makes people think negatively but then we use orca which is from the Latin name which means ‘whale from hell’.