Archers thread #168: Near to the Maddening Crowd? 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 hear more of Harrison's strange little moaning noises, 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.)

Thanks to @OverArmour for the title suggestion!

Over to you.

They explained that. He had leave owing.

VoxPop
there is the adrianbeal website, that ‘Always’ recently kindly pointed me to.

I think you may mean that I did. Because I did, but that is not my name.

I’m still not buying it because
a) I doubt very much he had that much leave outstanding
b) it is out of character - Roy would come back and sort the rotas and the house etc. he would not drop Oliver in it (and reliant on Lily fgs - they must have some experienced reception staff who are more than capable of filling Roy’s shoes)

I don’t want them to recast Roy and I’m glad they’ve given him a happy ending but I would have preferred him to do his notice silently and have heard from Kirsty about how much fun Roy’s leaving drinks were

A rose by any other name …

Sorry ‘Asking’ , my apologies. I had morphed your username into AlwaysAskingQuestions. I did of course want to credit the help you gave.

Thanks for pointing it out, otherwise you might have always been always to me.

Perhaps Roy also had accrued flexi time, time off in lieu and carried forward Annual leave, let’s not forget Maundy Thursday, Silly me, not the civil service.

I agree about the crazy apparent sparseness of staff and the disappointment that he was presented as just waltzing off, against his character, giving a bit of an unsatisfactory abrupt feeling to it.

VoxPop
Thanks for pointing it out, otherwise you might have always been always to me.

Complicated by the presence of Alwaysdieting on the thread, which might have meant you became Seriously Confused at some point.

Agree @Bruisername, they could have written Roy's exit so much better. He would never have left Oliver on the lurch like this.

‘Are you Always?
’Who’s Asking?’

I’ll get my coat

"Behave!"

"I am being hayve."

Roy would come back and sort the rotas and the house etc.

Hmm … Rotas are a work from home job, surely - so he could easily have done them sitting on Lexi’s balcony if necessary. They wouldn’t have been worth a trip back. And as for his house - the fact that he has a lodger who is also a capable and trusted friend of long standing does make that easier. He can arrange anything - estate agents, whatever, at a distance and liaise with Kirsty.

Obviously the writers have to write around the loss of the actor - but I can easily imagine a situation where Roy might be reluctant to come home in case he gets sucked back into Ambridge stuff and loses the courage to make such a huge change.

I imagine he’s on top of all this:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-bulgaria#visas-and-residency

and I doubt the SWs will want to spend much airtime on it.

Or thought. They had people from Ambridge buying property in Hungary at a time when nobody who was not a Hungarian national could own property there, and Darrell met his beloved Elona on holiday in Albania at a time at which he simply would not have been going on holiday there because nobody with any sense would have.

I'm pretty sure Darrell didn't have much sense, though, did he? That said, a perfectly sensible (to the point of dullness) couple I know went to Albania on holiday some time in the late 70s. There were package holidays with tours of the country by bus: "On your left, a collective farm. And on your right, another one."

Yes, he was indeed a bit of a gorm-free zone; but between Communist-then and Democratic-now there was a civil war followed by UN intervention, and the ages of Darrell and Elona's children made it apparent that they would have needed to have met smack dab in the middle of that, when the Foreign Office advice about travel to Albania could be summed up in the word "don't", and package holidays accordingly didn't. And Darrell, or possibly Elona, was absolutely clear that they had met in Albania when he was there with his mates on a package tour.

Rochelle definitely is or has been detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure. Joy is advising Susan from experience.

Some election talk. Susan and Joy together makes total sense!!! Why has Joy just meekly accepted she will be arranging the fete?

how the hell does Martha remember Harry - how inappropriate of Alice to have introduced them. honestly. Her errors of judgement are countless

Jim is a man after my own heart - can’t bear the mamils - although mine are city ones

Meg is a weird one. Bartleby would definitely have become sausages if he’d gone with her. Hope Oliver still has the money.

@Bruisername

Meg is a weird one. Bartleby would definitely have become sausages if he’d gone with her. Hope Oliver still has the money.

It is resting in his account.😉

No, it was Joy, having killed Rochelle when she was very tiny. She’s regretted ever since, and has been able to cope only by living a fantasy life in which Rochelle has grown up and had children of her own

Wouldn’t it be great if Oliver just said ‘sod it, I’m not getting stuck running a hotel I only part own and having to spend every day with bloody Lily, I’m taking the bartleby money and going to brazil’

i don’t get Oliver and the hotel. I hope he’s being paid as he’s basically working a full time job

and sorry but top hotels like that have management teams and there is always someone on duty - night or day. If they want to portray GG as some sort of 6* hotel then at least make it realistic.

Joy had an address for Rochelle in her address book. That suggests Rochelle isn't a complete fantasy and has existed as an adult at some stage, even if she doesn't now.

Yes, where are the majority owners in all this GG nonsense? Never mind where, who are they? Does Oliver even know?

They were at the opening event in the polytunnel with the pizza van. Nothing says luxury hotel more…

They were at the opening event in the polytunnel with the pizza van.

Silent, and unnamed - you'd think someone would have mentioned them by name, or even just said "Oh, I see the Borchester Mafia/Felpersham Hedge Fund people are here."

Yep. It’s almost like they’re a plot device

surely a plot device that will bear fruit at some point
have we ruled out Hazel Wooley?
Given the address book, am liking the Rochelle in prison story- what do we know about her father? could he have been abusive, and she killed him?

and on mnemonics-
Never Eat Cheese, Eat Salmon Sandwiches and Remain Young
also, for the points of the compass, Never Eat Shredded Wheat -although I can't imagine not knowing where the points of the compass are

It's Rochelle, isn't it!