Archers thread #173: The Fall of the House of Grundy? 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 wish we were hearing more of Pip, 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.)

I chose the thread title to echo one I used three years ago, which is here if anyone fancies a trip down Memory Lane: www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/4320618--Archers-thread-130-The-Fall-of-the-House-of-Aldridge-Discuss-The-Archers-here. That was the thread where I caused all sorts of confusion at the start by not starting it before the old thread filled up, but others stepped in, fortunately.

At that point I see Ruairi was heading off to London to start his degree, which he has now finished, with none of us any the wiser about what he studied or where. Perhaps this will finally be mentioned now he's graduating.

And now, over to you!

Nice convo between Ed and George. All the scenes between them were good. And nice to see mother and son reconcile.

nice the criminal justice system is working so quickly

Harrison going ‘mwah’ about the food made me feel a bit queasy. I really can’t bear him anymore!!

Lynda seems to have turned up the annoyingness since new Robert has appeared. And the whole pie sl is so unnecessary. Why on earth she felt anyone needs to hear about it during the cricket dinner is beyond me. And nice to see Kenton fully recovered🙄

Emma, Ed and George were excellent.

Kenton too- he deserves an apology.

Just listening again - why does anyone give Lynda the time of day?

I quite agree. And some of those claiming to be women are sex offenders so it skews the figures to make it look like there’s a rising number of female sex offenders, when that isn’t true at all 😡 The most recent one was Isla Bryson - if he’s a woman then I’m a banana.

That’s not to say that there are never female offenders but they are almost always involved with a man to whom they are in thrall or by whom they are controlled (Myra Hindley, Rose West come to mind)

There have been some recent cases of female teachers - well publicised because so rare I am sure - are these cases rising or just being taken more seriously?

back to the archers - still should have cancelled the pie contest no matter how table collapsed. And if all the tables were put up the same way then was it just luck only one collapsed or did it get a nudge?

She's (i.e. Lynda) getting worse, isn't she? I didn't think that was possible. She increasingly reminds me of a local woman (called Pat!) who was a pillar of the CofE until the new lady vicaress dealt with her endless interference by simply ignoring her. She then joined the United Reformed Church about 100 metres away and persecuted them instead. She also started "God-bless"-ing everyone in the street, causing them to rush into the nearest shop when they saw her coming. I think she's dead now.

I couldn’t fathom why there was such general rejoicing that Lynda failed to succumb to her injuries (sustained because she was interfering where she had no business to be) from the Grey-Gables-pocalypse. Or why no one, ever, tells her to eff off.

There have been some recent cases of female teachers - well publicised because so rare I am sure - are these cases rising or just being taken more seriously?

That is true, I’d forgotten those. I think it’s taken a lot more seriously today, years ago a female teacher sleeping with a teenage boy would have just been seen as funny and the boy would have come in for comments about how lucky he was, regardless of how he felt about it. It might not be young children but it’s still abuse.

Times have changed, thankfully. A girl in my sixth form in the 90s was in a “relationship” with a much older male teacher, everyone knew (including teachers) and nothing happened.

I admit to a fondness for Lynda. She means well and she is the only one who takes on all the stuff that people appreciate but don’t want to organise themselves (F&P, the fete, Christmas pantos…)

Yes - i don’t know how common older women grooming teenage boys was but I certainly knew of a couple when I was at school and it was very much dressed up as the boys being ‘lucky’. But then we also had a teacher that left and then began a relationship with a sixth former and everyone thought she was lucky too. Glad attitudes have changed!!!

I think the problem with Lynda is the sw tbh.

I don’t mind her most of the time but then they insert her into these ridiculous sl

I'm very fond of Lynda and was sorry for her years ago when Jill told her to eff off. Famously, Maeve Binchy (married to Gordon Snell) gave up listening to TA when everyone (including the sws) started being horrid to and about 'Mrs Snell'.

IF (and I find it very hard to believe) Lynda permitted to Hall committee to buy or hire new tables with elaborate non-intuitive safety features she would have drilled everyone on the protocols before the tables were unleashed.

I think the hall where I go for craft group has five different sorts of table, three of them foldable, and none of them could collapse once they've been set up, they lock in place automatically.

I think the hall where I go for craft group has five different sorts of table, three of them foldable, and none of them could collapse once they've been set up, they lock in place automatically.

Getting them to collapse without injury is more my experience, too,, whereas putting them up is usually straightforward.

Turn them upside down, get Margaret to push those legs and Anne to push those ones while I deliver a targetted kick to the exact spot in the middle of the struts.

Names picked at random but we do have more of those that of anything else.

Fortunately except on bank holiday Mondays there are men who do the clear-up after we've finished.

the vicar pp mentioned who ignored their local Lynda was very rude bordering o bullying. Not good and i would have addressed that were i one of the congregation.

The SW are doing Lynda a dirty. She really is the one who gets things done and people really would moan if there were no fete, F&P, play etc etc.

And i simply refuse - REFUSE - to believe she wouldn't have had a test protocol for all the trestle tables, based on her years of experience.

#TeamLynda

Trust me, @Brefugee ... any bullying was all in the opposite direction.

people really would moan if there were no fete, F&P, play etc etc.

Would they? I’m not convinced. Ok, Ambridge needs these banalityfests because Characters must Interact, but IRL, whoever actually wants a village panto [shudder]?

I like Lynda. She can be very perspicacious and kind. And she is a Woman Who Gets Things Done. She has grown on me over the years. The SWs are making her sound a bit too hectoring at the moment though - maybe nuRobert is rubbing off on her.

People in the village where my mother lived never seemed to miss the panto, which in their case they had not got and as far as I know never had had.

I’m TeamLynda. And TeamSamGamgee

Village Hall dramatics, panto or otherwise, are a godsend in winter when otherwise people can go months without seeing their neighbours. A few hours together in a warm bright space, all ages from toddlers to extremely old and doddery, a nice tea afterwards with excellent home-made sandwiches and cakes, all the catch-up news (including how the calving has gone round here when the drama is usually in February or March), a raffle in the interval with prizes donated by local businesses, and a critique of the content, actors, production, sets, etc etc.

Best thing ever.

Didn't they say something about this being a new table, so maybe with a different mechanism from the others?

Yes. But as pp said I would expect Lynda to be fully up to speed on its operation and have arranged a training session for those about to put them up. Lynda is the opposite of slapdash

If I lived in a village like Ambridge, I would totally support the village panto, harvest festival etc. If these things die out, villages themselves become dead.

Edit: But maybe I'd give Lark Rise to Candleford a miss.

I expect that it helps to have a village hall; the scouts' hut somehow doesn't quite fill that gap. (The village hall, like the school and the library, had been sold and converted for housing.)