Archers thread #175: Crime, punishment and kittens. 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 your current highlight is the kitten naming, 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.)

As I am posting this on Sunday morning at a point where some omnibus listeners won't have caught up with this week's events, I've kept the title less spoilerish than I might have done. Below this point, everything broadcast to date is of course fair game, so be warned!

Of course the main interest for most us at the moment is indeed the kitten naming competition. Isn't it? No?

Oh well, since you insist ...

How do we think George is going to cope now? Whither the Grundy and Horrobin clan? Will Lilian choke on her G&T (please)? Will Kenton get septicaemia from a kitten scratch? Will Alice die of sanctimoniousness? Will Fallon spend the rest of her life with the appalling Harrison and his unfulfulled longing for a behbeh? Will Adam and Will come to blows in the Bridge Farm packing shed?

Over to you!

Ha! I remember being Brad’s age, or a little older. His behaviour seems quite staggeringly natural to me.

It didn't sound natural for Brad at all! But maybe having his first gf has given him confidence.

It’s the siren lure of the roadkill eyebrows…

(Has all the hornet-related swelling/discolouration dispersed?)

Speaking of personality transplant, wtf happened to Adam lately?

I think he's had a vitamin B12 shot or something to cure his exhaustion. He's positively perky these days.

I'm sure Natasha arrived doing the kind of pyramid-selling beauty products scheme where you invite friends to "pamper" parties and embarrass them into buying something. She did makeovers too I think, it was part of her glamour.

I'm glad they are expanding the young population and giving us a few distinguishable voices. I agree that it's a bit clunky, but will live in hope.

I’m glad it’s not just me that thought (hoped?) that! He’d ordered from the equivalent of Temu, by the sounds of it, and I was expecting some kind of random substitution at best.

”What on Earth are we going to do with 20 kitchen whisks, four dog beds and a welder’s helmet?!”

Chelsea has definitely grown on me as she’s grown up. As has Brad, it really rather lovely to see him growing in confidence.

Have they decided Brad isn’t ND for good now?

I've been to a few outside catering events recently that were all vegan. I'm sure the thinking is that everyone can eat vegan so it's one-size-fits-all, and if the food is tasty enough no-one will complain.

The trouble in my experience is that tasty tends to mean liberal use of sesame, leaving sesame allergics like me short-changed. 😠

I’m confused as to why Hallowe’en is an unacceptable name for a

Hallowe’en party 🤔. Have I missed something?

Some protestant churches have odd ideas around Hallowe'en. Discussed at length on this thread.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/5179823-navigating-halloween?page=1

Another reason for avoiding the word Halloween: many English people erroneously believe that Halloween is an American invention and turn up their noses at it for that reason. It's true it's become very Americanised in recent years, but it was exported to the US from Europe, especially by Irish and Scottish emigrants. It's Celtic in origin.

When we moved to England in the early 70s Halloween was little mentioned. Guy Fawkes Night was the big thing, and in Yorkshire there was also Mischief Night on 4th November. We used to celebrate both Halloween and GFN in Scotland at that time. It must have been celebrated to some extent in England, though, as Agatha Christie wrote a book called Halloween Party, published in 1969. (Not one of her best, to be fair. I wonder if she was influenced by the US market.)

The school where I used to teach had all Hallowe'en activities banned, we weren't even supposed to chat to the children about Trick or Treating the next day. My colleague in Reception had to scrap a maths lesson making cone shaped witches hats at short notice. This was all because one set of parents involved with an evangelical church one of whom happened to be a governor complained about the cone hats and everything related was banned. We wouldn't even have been able to have a Spooky party just a half-term disco.

Our school won't do Halloween but our area is more diverse than Ambridge even with the newbies.

I thought Adam was characteristically childish last night. The largely thankless work PTAs put into running school events and he goes off and randomly orders a load of decor and because he did it without consultation is so annoyed he got it wrong he will never help again.

Zanib is too rude for me to warm to. I would imagine she would have dark eyebrows that wouldn't need or indeed be noticeably dye-able.
I trust Chelsea's super beauty powers over some of the trained professional experiences I've had though.

Re Brad, sometimes shy people do transform after freshers week but I usually they have to be more involved in uni life and probably away from home for the magic to do its trick.

Our local church holds a superhero dress up party on Halloween

I suppose we are frowned upon as we decorate the house and I love getting the little trick or treaters.

Zainab wanted her eyebrows threading (a way of plucking originating in the Middle East I think) not dyeing. Lots of beauty places do it..

Dangerous though - had it done in the run up to my wedding and ended up with a big cut!!

so Brad is interested in Zainab?

Has it really never occurred to Helen that she could buy Beechwood? She might need Pat and Tony to act as guarantors but I am sure they would be happy to do that.

There’s probably a few years to go before Tom and Helen start scrapping over who will take over the farmhouse. It will only need either P or T to die for one of the pair to decide to back in. It will be harder for Helen to do it if she has bought a place of her own so may be that’s what has been holding her back.

I realise it's not logical, but it would really grate on me to have to pay for a house built on land I used to own.

I’ve had mine threaded - terrifyingly quick so I’m not surprised Chelsea was apologising for being a bit slow about it! It is a really good technique IMO. I think Zainab has been invented to be a friend for Chelsea, maybe the scriptwriters realised she hasn’t got any girls to talk to. I don’t think Z will want any of Brad! Maybe she’s also going to be a sort of George style bad influence on Chelsea - or at least they can get into scrapes together. That would be good. What are they, 18? Speaking of which, how long is Chelsea training for? It feels like she’s at least in her third year of college?

Yeah I’m not at all sure why you wouldn’t just try to get planning permission for an additional house and build it

The story of Helen renting a house built by others on land she used to own has never made the slightest bit of sense.

In my family I’m famously profligate and reckless with £ - but even I would never have done something so utterly stupid and wasteful.

And she was ready to buy a house a few years ago, and excited about it. I recall Tony encouraging her, I think. Can’t remember exactly why the plan changed.

Did they need all the money from the land for something? Why not do a deal where they build 2 houses for her and Tom

Why doesn’t it make sense? If they needed the money from the land then they don’t have the money to build a house and it just so happens she found a house to rent there. Not sure why previous ownership of the land should cause resentment when they were paid for it

if you sold your car would you resent the new owner not letting you use it for the weekly shop?

I seem to remember vaguely in the dim and distant past, Peggy announcing that she would be leaving The Lodge to Helen when she died (I realise she's not dead yet!), but I wonder if this is what stopped Helen buying. Is Kate still living there since Peggy moved into The Laurels?