Archers thread #172: Come on, Clive! Spill the beans and put us all out of our misery. 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 Clive sounds deeply misunderstood, 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.)

Fete over, cricket season over - can the Flower and Produce show be far behind? I don't think I've heard a mention of it this year. Have I not been paying attention?

In any real village, preparations for the Christmas show would already be under way, but not in Ambridge, of course. I am probably in a minority of one in regretting this.

With any luck, though, by Christmas this incredibly protracted tale of Alice, George and the crash will be behind us at last. Do we think Clive's really gone? I don't believe it. We won't be rid of him that easily. Will he go to the police himself? Will he attempt to blackmail his family or extort money from the Aldridges in return for information that would secure Alice's acquittal? Do we care? I find I don't really, unfortunately. I did enjoy hearing Clive for those few brief exchanges but I've had enough now. Unrelieved nastiness is not really what I want from TA.

Over to you!

Yes, they were in Will's car, taken without his consent. The police became involved and Emma got some compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board because she ended up in hospital with a leg injury (from which she seems to have made a complete recovery). She blew the lot on her wedding to Will.

It really happened. She got compensation, or an insurance payout or something which IIRC paid for her honeymoon with Will.

Yes I thought she had a lifelong injury from it so was curious about the tree surgery

Sounds like Ed and Emma can’t really throw stones at George for the accident part!!

Lots of info here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/bvX3vgWhPVjvd5ZS85Y2N7/a-history-of-emma-and-ed-two-decades-of-ups-and-downs

Actor photos too, as the BBC is addicted to them.

Thanks all! I really wasn't sure if I'd imagined it

@HotCrossBunplease I do apologise - I was actually making a kind of joke, but also a genuine question, and also maybe misinterpreted your earlier post. You’ve been listening slightly longer than me, so very much respect! Sorry again.

Why don’t the Beeb run old episodes, I’d absolutely love to hear the whole Emma/ Ed/ Will story again, maybe as a podcast or on live radio? Good enough (with judicious editing plus maybe slight narration, maybe from Emma or perhaps Clarrie) for non TA fans too. A modern Wuthering Heights!

I think the reason they don't is all about who would need to be paid what in the way of repeat fees.

chris will figure out Emma knew

I’m surprised that Susan hasn’t been fretting about Christaffur finding out. It was noteable that no one mentioned him last night as he’s going to be absolutely livid.

I rarely sympathise with Ed but on this occasion he was right to be angry. I would find weeks of deception on this scale hard to forgive and will be surprised if he doesn’t suggest Emma reunites with Will so they can have more cosy chats about their delinquent son.

That really would be the most immature response ever!!

@Fink , I talk to my female second cousins regularly. I can't say what about as I am sworn to secrecy, but Suze and Trace are great.

@Everlore , ignore the Alice haters, she's lovely.

Why don't the Beeb do features on the various characters, with highlights from over the years? It could go on 4Extra or as a Podcast.

I think any fees would be worth it!

What student "rings home" in 2024? Surely Mia would say "video call" you?

I think Mia may have noticed that Will doesn't do that funny newfangled tech stuff, remembering his incompetence with his phone.

And for all we are suddenly supposed to believe they are great mates and she will throw up her university place because he's in trouble, she has never actually liked George all that much, certainly not enough to want to stay in touch with him.

Yes, make it available as a “paid for” download, each one a year’s worth. I’d bloody pay for that!

How were Emma and Will living at the Dower House? I thought it was quite large and therefore expensive to rent?

There was/is a flat upstairs. Caroline Bone was Will’s godmother and let it to him cheaply I think?

Caroline was his godmother, and made a little flat in the attic for him. Not sure how she cane to be living there, maybe with Guy Pemberton, her first(?) husband.

It was Caroline’s home at the time, @BrightYellowDaffodil. She had been living there with her husband Guy before he died.

When the Grundys were evicted from Grange Farm (which they had worked as tenant farmers) the rest of the family were moved away from Ambridge to a flat in Meadow Rise. (Borchester.) <Shudders> But Will had a job, or was training for a job, in Ambridge (gamekeeping for the Home Farm shoot iirc). So Caroline - who was his godmother - offered him her attic, which was converted into a cosy little flat for him.

Apologies if any of my details are hazy or even plain wrong! That’s what I remember.

Hmm not sure I could bear to listen to the Meadow Rise episode again, actually…

Did you mean to be so patronising? (Or rude as they say on Mumsnet)?

I’d LOVE to be able to listen to the really old ones! Happy days that would be

There seem to be quite a few on YouTube, but I don't generally bother.

Genuine question: in real life, would you actually remember that level of detail (other than wedding date & your child's DoB) 19 years later? My life is way less complicated than this and I'm still not 100% on my mum or partner's date of birth (ok on month, year and ball park date just not actual date) let alone my anniversary! And that's without tactically forgetting inconvenient details like which brother I shagged when

@WhitegreeNcandle From what I remember (thankfully very little) of my inadvertent listening during the mid-to-late 60s, it was mostly incredibly dull. Though they did at least do some farming. 😄