Archers thread #171: Harvest's nearly over – but will George ever reap what he has sown? 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 have been delighted with a hand-painted squirrel tray for your 40th, as shown below, 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 https://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.)

All I have to say about current storylines for now is that I want the George Alice crash stuff to come to a resolution, sooner rather than later, and I also want to hear very little indeed of Alistair, Denise and Paul maundering on. More of Jakob would be very welcome. His brother can come back any time too.

I now declare this thread open for business!

I agree. Conversely it's possible for very serious road accidents not to be serious crimes, or even crimes at all.

What will George do? Run away?

I was pleased our litter predictions were correct.

Yes, @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g did that, so we don’t get fed up of it by the end of the thread. If you click on it you can still see it.

(Thanks for the thread @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g )

So, is that it? Is that the point of all the litter? A really awkwardly acted PSA?

I wonder how Lovell and/or James have found out about Alistair and Denise - John? Paul? Jakob???

Whatever the SWs do with it, whatever twists and turns it takes, the Denistair plot has never succeeded in gripping me. I don’t care about Alistair's relationship with Paul, Denise’s relationship with her ex, or what Lovell James might have to say. Let Alistair get on with being a vet - crisp packets, colic, dead cats - and a bit of cricket coaching or banter with Jim. He (and Paul and Denise for that matter) have effortlessly defined roles in Ambridge without dragging out this other tedium.

Couldn’t agree more!

The writer/editor of that episode needs to me forced to listen back and count just how often the Dopeys referred to the heifer as 'High Heels'. Yes, if we didn't get it first time we got it the third time. You can start referring to her as 'her' now, we'll be able to work it out.

The only litter-related animal fatality in this household was the time I was sitting in the garden and Oscar came up the path carefully carrying a crisp packet. He put it down a couple of metres away from me, whereupon a vole emerged. Slaughter ensued. Poor little beastly probably thought it was so lucky, finding a weatherproof shelter full of lovely greasy crumbs.

I did find the dead cat upsetting. I wish Ambridge could be an animal suffering and fatality free zone.

@LillianGish He (and Paul and Denise for that matter) have effortlessly defined roles in Ambridge without dragging out this other tedium.

I would quite like Paul and Denise to have their roles effortlessly "redefined" to those of people who used to be involved in the village but have gone away, nobody knows where, never to be heard of again. Within a month, someone could ask "Whatever happened to Denise?" which would prompt the reply "Who?"

Is it likely that Alastair (and Denise) are subject to non-fraternisation rules? I don’t think I’ve ever had that in a contract of employment. I expect there’s a general clause about not besmirching the good name of Lovell James but it’s not as if they’ve been shagging on the reception counter. (Or indeed, shagging anywhere at all as far as I can make out!).

Thinking about the number of office affairs I have known, some of them definitely involving an imbalance of power, I think HR would have been run off their feet.

Is it likely that Alastair (and Denise) are subject to non-fraternisation rules? the thing is, I just don’t care. I realise the SW are looking for something to fill time with while they drag out the bridge drama, but why not have a veterinary emergency (the heifer being primped and polished and then chewing a crisp packet was fair enough) or have Alistair (who if my memory serves me correctly were both in the shop when the cider was purchased) and Jim (who works in the shop and knows about cider discounts) put their heads together for some reminiscence on that evening, or have Alistair and Denise remember something that seemed a bit off about George’s river rescue. A level results could have provided a short distraction last night - anything rather than dragging out the Denistaire story still further.

Where I work relationships have to be declared and they will be separated if there is a reporting relationship.

they are very keen to avoid any accusations of harassment or sex discrimination claims. Very different to when I started work 20 odd years ago

At the risk of starting a civil war on the thread, I do find the contrast between your two posts here about cats quite mind-boggling, Dean! I have nothing against cats, but I am immune to their charms. The idea of giving houseroom to an apex predator who specialises in killing harmless little songbirds and voles is quite alien to me. Also, they make me itch and sneeze.

I agree @DeanElderberry we lost our senior rescue dog last month and it brought it all flooding back 😢 Luckily our vets did not demand payment at the time as I was quite incapable of remembering my own name let alone my pin.

I was surprised bereaved cat owner had to pay there and then. We recently had to have our cat put down. We’d only just transferred to a new vet because our original one was closed down by head office. New vet didn’t really know us from Adam and still didn’t post out the invoice until over a month later. They also sent a really lovely card the day after she died, and some paw prints they’d taken from her. Really top notch customer service.

Paul's abrupt volte-face with Alistair is bizarre.

What do they do if it transpires that you have no money?

Resurrect the cat?

Awful way to provide such a service.

I totally take your point, and no longer let my cats outside specifically because of the songbirds (of course, now feral cats have moved into the unpatrolled garden, but hey) but voles are not harmless littles, the rotters ate all my tulip bulbs a few years back, followed a few months later by all my cucumbers, and I no longer see them as my friends.

Also if they, or white-toothed shrews, or mice, or, as on one dramatic occasion, a rat, actually enter the house, the cats can do what cats do.

Where I work relationships have to be declared and they will be separated if there is a reporting relationship.

Yes, I've had contracts which banned relationships between people at different levels in the same reporting line. Also audit roles had a lot of restrictions, but I'm not an auditor, so didn't pay attention to the details.

I think most workplaces would be unhappy about personal relationships causing workplace tensions, especially if noticed by customers.

This has long been the case in the Civil Service.

Is it too much to hope that the ghastly threesome of Alistair, Denise and Paul all get the sack and disappear forever, leaving the lovely Jakob in charge until he is joined by an equally lovely new young vet and a couple of nurses of either sex to provide some love interest for one of the many characters in need of that very thing (Hannah, Kirsty, Chelsea, Stella, Fallon, Freddie, Rhuari, Ben, Josh, Azra, etc.) Even George might eventually turn his life around with the help of the love of a good woman - though he will probably have to spend time in prison/redeeming himself at Meg's first.

every time I’ve had to have a cat PTS (sadly many times over forty years of cat-owning) the vet has never asked for payment at the time. They usher you off the premises, sometimes by a side door so you don’t upset the people in the waiting room, and send you a bill.

Maybe that’s changed. My vet now charges £20 upfront for appointments because so many people book them and don’t turn up.

The World Service today has been saying that a list of common eggcorns/malapropisms has been published, and "tenderhooks" is in the top ten, as is "escape goat". There was also the mute point, and the damp squid. To which I would add passing mustard, another thing coming, biting my time, very close veins, rebel rouser, towing the line, platemats.... I wonder that they never turn up in The Archers, there are so many of them. Though in fact of course they do if the scriptwriter happens to have fallen for them and puts them into a character's mouth however unlikely it may be. Which characters would be likely to think that daring-do or nip it in the butt were the original sayings, and use their misheard variation? My money would be on Susan...

I think it was probably either George or Ringo.

In the absence of a Ringo, I think Mungo will have to do

Last time we had a cat PTS we came out to find a candle burning on the counter. Next visit spotted a sign “if this candle is lit, it means someone is saying goodbye to their pet. Please be mindful …” Not sure how I feel. The intention is good, but I’d rather not come out knowing everyone knows what’s happening.

My guess is not Jakob. He seems too straightforward and I think would have told Alistair if he was definitely going to report it or had done so. I agree with others that Paul’s volte face is odd. I suppose it could come from some reflection after buying his housemates a ‘sorry’ dinner and realising he hasn’t generally been behaving brilliantly. But maybe that’s a red herring to make us think he hasn’t done it and he’s actually being really sly… I feel like he would be capable of doing it but that he wouldn’t hide it well and would quickly come to regret it. Still, my money isn’t really on him, but then who? John is obvious … maybe too obvious? I love/hate it when TA does something random or unexpected. Could it be someone quite peripheral?

I haven’t read most of the recent threads so this question might already have been asked, but is Paul meant to be about 27? Not sure where I got that number from and his age isn’t given on the BBC TA character page, but all I could think about his response to Denistair was ‘how immature’.