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!

The leaflets.

Justin is loathsome, I really don’t see what Lillian sees in him. I could not be doing with such a whining manchild. Mind, Matt was awful too so maybe she just has terrible taste in men.

Tbf, if I was wanting lunch and my DH was pissing about choosing a kitten name I wouldn’t be very happy either!

Yes; why couldn't she piss about choosing a kitten name after they'd eaten?

Are we also starting to see the beginning of jacks villain story?

this would be the second time victory is snatched from him (if we assume that’s what happens here and the kitten ends up with khalils name)

stupidly done sl

Justin was in The Bull for quite a while on his own while the others were faffing around with the kitten name. He could easily have got Brad's number from a number of people there, e.g. Bert.

Lilian gets the men she deserves.

None meat eater here.

When Justin kept mentioning ‘the beef’ I presumed a roast beef dinner. He then said “I’ll have the sirloin”. Isn’t that steak?

mine have all been named after hobbits. The last one (rest his dear departed furry soul), Pippin, was most often called shitforbrains. Because that suited him better.

Sirloin roast is a (very delicious) thing.

Oscar and Rosy not only get cross if I misname them, they get cross if I misnickname them. Heaven forbid I call Tiddles BooBoo by mistake. Specifically BooBoo does stinkeye if I call herself Tiddles - I think she's more relaxed about it.

Also, it made no difference what our cats were called (and they had very fine names) as I generally addressed them as "Catface". mine are all “kittencat”, and singularly unfussy about their pronouns (we’ve moved to an all female cat household after 25 years of all males)

Why would you give out someone’s mobile number without their permission?

he is a grown up man who could have, at ANY POINT, gone to the Bull and let Fagash catch him up. Then all the faffing? I would have left my DP to it and gone to eat.

Lilian is vile. Really utterly vile.

But if DH and I have agreed to have a nice lunch out together I wouldn’t expect to have to go and sit on my own!

they just introduce these stupid little bits of conflict that are just not believable - why on earth was naming the kitten so important that it couldn’t wait?

it was clearly a busy lunch time yet 2 members of staff were busy picking kitten names with their co owner?

and ultimately, why did they think we wanted those scenes inflicted on us?

would love it if Justin’s job offer to Brad is delivering contraband to the prison!!!

Because years ago, everyone with a landline was in the phone book, and people didn't think about data security and you did share phone numbers - and I suspect half the regulars in The Bull still think like that.

am going to assume that neither of our DHs would behave like Justin and Lilian though? with all the little power struggles.

They deserve each other. At least it's saving 2 other people from misery.

OK, fair point. (I've always been ex-directory as far as I can remember)

The discussion on Harrison working full time - I was surprised Kenton didn’t tell Jolene he’s worried Harrison will do something really stupid as Jolene’s arguments were strong but probably not against ‘he’s mentally in a bad place and likely to get himself sacked if he stays full time’.

when he said about not wanting to work full time it reminded me of posters in here who complain about their work and wish they could just stay home and do their hobbies. Have we as a society become so divorced from uunderstanding we have to provide for ourselves? I know that’s not harrisons issue but I do think it’s interesting how we have got to a place where everyone thinks they should be enjoying every second of their day and it’s unfair if they don’t!!

I have never pictured Bert with a mobile phone.

He doesn't necessarily have one to be able to pass on Brad's number. He could have a ragged piece of paper with important contacts on.

Because you live in Ambridge. Kirsty giving out Helen's when Helen had specifically NOT given it to someone was a serial offender, and in each case the results were bad from Helen's pov.

I think it would be plausible for Bert to be slightly more mobile savvy than my parents (few could be less savvy, tbh). When mobile phones came in they saw no need for them for the first few years, but eventually when most others of their own age succumbed they bought the cheapest possible pay as you go models and put a tiny bit of credit on them. They switched them only to make a call once or twice a year - 'Just letting you know I'm on the ferry, should be home by 4.45' being a typical example - and stood firm against smartphones. Never learned to text. All important numbers they might have wanted to call would be written in their pocket diaries, not programmed into the phone.

Since my Dad died, my Mum has learned, very slowly and painfully, how to make and receive calls on her mobile and we have put the key numbers in there for her. She carries it about with her if she goes away from home but not routinely otherwise. From what I've seen of her friends and neighbours they are mostly a lot more capable than she is in this respect. Most use WhatsApp, emails and Facebook routinely. Bert may well be similar.

Hmm. Too many Elliotts.

I'm not sure how old Bert is. I may imagine him older than he is and I see him like my father who never got to grips with a mobile. We bought him one of those giant idiot's phones and programmed all our numbers in, but he kept it switched off and only ever switched it on to let my mother know he was leaving his dialysis sessions and would be home soon. However my father was the least technically minded or practical person I have ever known.
My mother on the other hand became very adept at texting her grandchildren. She is now 95 and still uses her mobile although she struggles to text now. She is very practical and did all the DIY jobs - decorating, putting up shelves, demolishing walls, etc - that my father was so hopeless at. (He did have a lot of other talents though.)