Archers thread #181: Panto Week's behind you! Was that the nadir? 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'd enjoy playing badminton with Derek Fletcher, 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.)

Will it be onwards and upwards for TA now, or do we fear even more of these special weeks (Martin and a Christmas Carol, Scam Week, Panto Week) and sudden reinventions of long-established characters (Neil)? I for one have had enough of all that. I want a quiet period of change counting in the village shop, farming talk with suitable sound effects and village gossip over coffee at Terum or a pint in The Bull. Slowly developing storylines featuring the full cast, not a subset for a few weeks with no mention of the others, and all behaving in character. Not holding my breath we'll get any of that, though!

Over to you.

Usha's attack was 1995, because I stayed with a boyfriend for a couple of months before going back to uni for my MSc, and I remember listening to it in bed with him.

It's half-term here, so maybe it is in Ambridge too? Mind you, Aspen is quite a trip for just a week/10 days!

I live coastal-rurally where 2 of the GPs are from India and one is French ... and best avoided as he (a) is incomprehensible and (b) has a tendency to weep when delivering bad news. The dentists are mostly South Asian, and all the small shops are run by South Asians whose kids grew up here and went to the local primary. Which reminds me, I greeted a small girl who must now be about 6 by name the other day and she replied "I'm not called that any more, I'm called <something polysyllabic beginning with A> because it's my Tamil name!" I must remember to ask her dad so I can get it right next time.

@Gonners if you have dentists and gp’s in the plural that doesn’t sound like a village the size of Ambridge?

Arf ... no, but they do cover a much larger surrounding area of very small places. So they will all be familiar with damned forriners too!

Oh, and three hearty cheers for Celia, eh? It's just a shame that Tom wasn't doing the negotiating, because he'd have struck a much better bargain which involved them paying Celia to take the milk.

Well that was satisfying.

Helen was pathetic tonight. Hasn't she won businesswoman of Borcestershire(?) or some such award in the past?!

That was a weird episode but at least Helen realised she deserved it. Not quite sure what the point of it all was though, feel like it's going to lead to something else somehow but no idea what. I hadn't expected Celia to be a speaking character.

Also eating out for pancake Pancake Day? Who would bother with that? Is that even a thing?

Oh and surprise, surprise Wayne isn't coming back.

Goodness, how we listeners will miss his dulcet tones and ready wit.

And homespun wisdom.

Mind you, he wasn't always silent; Clive Wood played him. Not sure about dulcet tones, he did an awful lot of phlegmy coughing for a while when he first appeared back in 2014.

Am on holiday so catching up with the synopsis when I can

unsurprised to hear Wayne isn’t coming back - what ridiculous reason did they come up with?

They didn't bother.

They couldn't be bothered to think of one.

Snap!

Quite the non event.
Guess that paves the way for Fallon to take over the kitchen then? Is The Bull going up market? Will Ambridge become the foodie destination of Borsetshire? Will Helen and Celia join forces to create the ultimate cheese? With a hint of something no one can quite identify....(it's bleach). Which Fallon then crafts into a Michelin star grade souffle forming the signature piece on the all new fine dining menu?

Probably not.

I presume he’s gone off to forge a sordid age gap romance on a boat with poor Jonny who went away for 6 weeks about 3 years ago and has never (???) even popped home to get more socks

Souffle pancakes, induction hobs, bearded dragons, Helen eating humble pie. Oh I’m very happy this week.

I know M and S puff pastry price is taking the piss. It's about £1.50 - £2.00 else where. Mind you I find most stuff in M and S very over priced.

There was no time to explain why Wayne isn't coming back because that was the last line of the episode. There will probably be a sentence or two tomorrow about his band getting lots of bookings on cruises, or how he's marrying a wealthy holidaymaker he's met on the cruise, or similar.

I'd heard of Japanese souffle pancakes before for some reason. They do sound nice. https://iamafoodblog.com/fluffy-japanese-pancakes-souffle-pancake-recipe/

I was childishly amused by the headline halfway down the article: Japanese pancakes: with or without mold? Not that sort of mould, apparently.

There’s some soufflé pancake shops in London - I tried one when they had just opened and there were queues and I was a little disappointed as they were very eggy

It's made with butter isn't it?
My chef makes his own. It's not eventhat time consuming. (Still not listening.l, is it safe to return to the fold?

Two wonderfully Ambridge pertinent photos in the Times gallery today. A farrier and a sinkhole. Last night I caught a comment on the R4 news about how residents close to the sinkhole were having to find their own accommodation after getting no response from their insurers …

This week is much better, not that that's saying much. Keri Davies is the SW and I generally enjoy his weeks more than most. There's a nice bit in last night's where Helen has to eat humble pie.

The sinkhole story is awful! However, who on earth thought it was a good idea to build a housing estate on the site of a former quarry in an area with underground caves? (Assuming the local reports that that's what's happened there is true.) It seems as mad as building on a known flood plain.