Archers thread #174: God it's lame! But it still limps on. 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 think Ben-meets-Zainab is on a par with Elizabeth-meets-Darcy, 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.)

Thanks to @Bruisername for the title inspiration. She said God it's lame and that seemed to strike a chord with many, for some reason.

I am terrified of wasps and live in fear of encountering a hornet, so that was a tricky episode. I hope that's the last we're going to hear of them, except for confirmation that they've been nuked. [shudder]

So what do we reckon - custodial or suspended sentence for George? Will Clarrie return from Great Yarmouth or will she realise that actually life as a carer for her (presumably disabled) sister is easier than the endless and thankless drudgery at Grange Farm? Will any more tables collapse at the Village Hall?

Over to you!

“being shown pics of others’ cats and dogs is only of marginal more interest than pics of people’s children.” Videos of cats, on the other hand, are considerably more interesting than videos of other people’s children.

No cat we've ever had has been known by its official name for more than a couple of months before a nickname occurred and stuck. Having carefully chosen aspirational and dignified names for our three, we ended up with Idiot Cat, Dustbin and Fluffles.

What were her poor actions as a mother long before she had been found out drinking, perhaps I missed them? Presume you are not going back to when Martha was born, because as far as I understand she was long past that and had remained sober and seemed to have a good relationship with both Martha and Chris.

As described by Asking she was going out with Harry, but that did not seem excessive and I certainly wouldn’t describe it as farming Martha out especially when she asked Martha’s dad and shared carer to mind her when going on a odd date. It’s not the 1940s after all. Didn’t Harry come to the house and read Martha stories.

It didn’t even last long as she gave Harry up when she discovered he was an alcoholic. She had not been drinking when they were out together.

She turned Harry away when he later begged her for help as I recall, but in the end he was so desperate and his family said they could no longer help him, so she gave in. I would see that as an act of kindness and support. She did have to get help with Martha on occasions and was not getting proper sleep because of it (think it was mostly phone support though). Obviously it was not the best for her because the stress started up her drinking. But she seemed to be generally separating it from her time with Martha and was still effective at work.

Chris didn’t even think she should give Martha up after the accident so he did not seem to have concerns. Were there any particular incidents when Martha was put in danger, I recall someone having to pick her up once when Alice should have. The fact she immediately gave Martha up after the accident because she felt she was no longer responsible for her (actually Gorges) actions clearly suggests concern for Martha, and also suggest she would have done it before if feared for Alice’s safety.

Sure Asking will put me straight on any inconsistency

VoxPop
Sure Asking will put me straight on any inconsistency

On the whole, no, I can't be bothered. Sorry, but there seems to me to be no earthly point in trying to show you anything except your chosen view, and on the occasion I did try you were pretty unpleasant about it.

only made in response to being informed by that I was overinvested in this, which I took to be telling me to keep my trap shut from pointing out when comments in pile ons against certain characters, far from appeared to reflect the actuality of the words in the script.

I wasn't telling you to keep your trap shut at all.

However, you're so intense in your defence of Alice the Alcoholic that personally I'm finding your posts weird, especially when you compare what happened to Alice with sexual assaults on women and accuse some of us of victim blaming. It's nonsense. However, I'd defend your right to contribute and I will do what I advise others to do when they're not interested in posts on Mumsnet ... scroll on by.

It is a little intense, and we’re quite used to being intense around here, so it does take quite a bit to notice.

She can't literally be beside herself, it isn't possible.

Whilst he won't be treated as a little boy, he will presumably be treated as a young offender rather than an adult offender as he is in a YO unit.

I bet they're going to name it after the valuable ashtray, or whatever the ashtray was advertising.

I quite like Alice as a character, and it's a definite plus that she's well acted. My issue with her victim statement is the allegation that "All that she (Martha) knew was that her Mummy, a near-constant presence in her life up to then, became only an occasional visitor, and when I was there I was a hollow shell of my true self, struggling to act as a mother should. Martha and I can never get back those missing weeks and even now, we have still to rebuild our mother-daughter relationship."

That was at best quite an economy with the truth. Mummy hadn't been a near-constant presence in Martha's life - there was the period when Chris left and took her with him because he thought Alice was too unsafe to look after her, and a longish period of rehab. As she had started drinking again seriously, it was virtually inevitable that another period of rehab was going to be necessary, and indeed that she might have had to send Martha to live with Chris permanently again anyway, because a woman who is capable of necking a full bottle of vodka in one go is arguably wholly unfit to be in charge of a small child. That's an awful lot of "missing weeks" that had nothing whatsoever to do with George.

No-one's blaming Alice for her alcoholism, what I for one blame her for is lying about the reality of what was going on with Martha in a statement to the court. Ironically, in a way, the fact that George was a major factor into precipitating her back into rehab relatively quickly probably did her and Martha a favour.

Ironically, in a way, the fact that George was a major factor into precipitating her back into rehab relatively quickly probably did her and Martha a favour.

Her, maybe. Martha, not so much.

They're going to put 'Sheru' and the ashtray together and call the poor little animal Shire-oo aren't they? Run away little cat and sit on the Malik's windowsill until they let you it.

Alice was a notably mean drunk for many years - her attack on Ruairi was not out of character - and I'm inclined to believe in vino veritas. George should have left his drunk auntie alone (though maybe then she'd have ended drowning in her vomit), but his failure to do so doesn't make her Saint Alice.

Was this in Norway? That’s where the prison my sister visited is located (and the point I was agreeing with made by a PP that the system over there is so much more humane).

I know prisons over here are pretty horrific. You’d think that would act as a deterrent but so many young men emerge from those places as hardened criminals or addicted to drugs and just end up back inside. A vicious circle.

Im sorry to say when I see #Voxpop. I always scroll past as I dont need a lecture on Alice.
This is a great thread and its a shame when someone is always trying to spoil it.
Why would you be rude to #Asking? who is so helpful and what she dosnt know about The Archers isnt worth knowing.

I hardly think we can accuse one poster of always trying to spoil it?
I’d say Alice is probably the character that I have most mixed feelings about.
We are all inconsistent at times.

I'm part way through the podcast. Anyone else shouting at the radio when they said this SL brought out the best in Eddie? Did they really not hear all that stuff when he blamed Emma for "grassing"?

I wonder if it's bravado - going to prison seen as a rite of passage every real criminal has to go through? It's a conundrum. So many people who end up in prison have had a very bad start in life, have never managed to hold down a normal job and have messed up every relationship in adult life. In those circumstances maybe being removed from your home, your family, friends and job and locked up with others of the same stamp is not such a catastrophe as it would be for most of us, including George.

Anyway, looks like we'll be needing a new thread today. Any title ideas?

I think it will be best for my blood pressure not to listen to the podcast.

I just listened to my first Cider Shed podcast, the most recent one. Very much enjoyed it, though (as I suspect newbies to this thread feel) there were a fair few in-jokes I didn’t get. Anyway, they made a good point on the subject of the weirdness of the Grey Gables SL and Adil leaving seemingly out of the blue. They reckon that it was likely down to Ian Pepperell being ill for such a long time. Roy would have been integral to that SL (I remember us repeatedly asking where Roy was) and they must have had to rewrite big chunks of it. It’s very unfortunate that what they ended up with was so unrealistic. But that might explain not just the Adil weirdness, but Oliver’s continued involvement.

I’m sure someone here has said similar but I don’t recall, so when I heard that on the podcast it all made sense.

Yes, this was bizarre. But, on the whole I kind of enjoyed it, and will give it a chance. I thought it was interesting having Tracey and Emma on, and Rob Rinder to talk about George’s sentencing.

There was a report a year or so ago that the OED had accepted that literal also meant metaphorical

Emma Freud is such a know-all. I’m not sure her arch delivery will work for me long-term but I am prepared to give the podcast a probationary period. It was great to hear Emerald.

Im sorry to say when I see #Voxpop. I always scroll past as I dont need a lecture on Alice.
This is a great thread and it’s a shame when someone is always trying to spoil it.

You really didn’t need to post this @Devilsadvocat It’s horrible being picked on on this thread and even if you don’t agree with @VoxPop his/her contributions are certainly not spoiling this thread in the way you imply. I’m no Pollyanna but can we perhaps move on from the sniping please.

New kittens can be very stressful. I think Kenton would have been better off with a two or three-year-old rescue cat.

Kittens can be a pain in the arse because they don't know how to stop. I used a dog crate containing a cardboard cat cavern when Roisin Dubh was little and put her in it when she'd got too much for me or Oscar. She'd go from manic buzz monster to fast asleep instantly.

Note use of her full name!

Rob Rinder was actually quite interesting about real life court procedure. I agree the comment about Eddie was just silly.

Yes, the Tracey and Emma actors were interesting particularly 'Tracey' having previously been 'Kate'.

My daughter has acquired two kittens and they amuse themselves leaving everyone else alone until they want to curl up and sleep on a lap. It's much easier than having one.

I liked the name Reggie for the kitten, short for Regina.