Archers thread #182: The Shit hits the Am! 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 be delighted to oblige your employer by cleaning up sewage spills without proper training or equipment in place of your normal duties, 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.)

Credit for the title goes to @echt. Can't think of anything much to say about current storylines. Credulity is strained to its limit on many fronts, unfortunately, but there are a few nuggets in the slurry. I did enjoy hearing Natasha's outrage that Fallon is doing obvious, sensible things at The Bull even though it might hit Terum. I thought Natasha was supposed to be an entrepreneur!

Over to you!

Couldn't agree more! All the nit picking about spellings and catching people out for not knowing everything about a culture that isn't their own is tedious.

Definitely Team Fallon. Natasha and Tom only have their selves to blame if people vote with their feet.

@stilldumdedumming " If you do it 3 times at midnight at the dark moon time, you have to don a tabard and do a stint in the shop."

I'm happy to do a stint in the shop. Just don't make me play cricket or perform on the stage.

Well you can get Elephant statues in Pakistan so I'm not that ignorant. Your quite rude and you should remove the "passive" from your user name.

Yes I was aware of that.

As usual, I am confused about what's going on.

Has Akram simply turned up by taxi(?), unannounced to all except Azra, expecting to stay at the guesthouse without thinking to warn Lynda and Robert?

Was he planning to return for Ramadan, anyway, or has he arrived to cheer his wife up after the poonami?

FWIW my religious inlaws say grace for the main meal of the day.

His prolonged absence is very odd tbh and the explanation didn’t seem believable

Sorry for misspelling/ hearing

@Madcats basically yes.
I noticed he has a fairly strong Pakistani accent whereas Azra and the children's voices sound British so I wondered if that is going to be significant in terms of their backgrounds being different.

I’m sorry but it was all soo worthy. It’s meant to be a soap and therefore entertaining ie a bit of a fun distraction to everyday life. I found last night very boring indeed. The sooner the Maliks are written out the better. They are being used as an educational device and it is detrimental to the presumed overall goal of inclusion. Every time they open their mouths the cultural learning points come tumbling out. The SWs are such amateurs- they are really overdoing it.

Yup akram’s surprise appearance yesterday was very odd. (Altho on the “relative suddenly turns up by taxi “ front, not as odd as Rochelle on 25th December!)

And putting 13yo khalil as suddenly best friends with all the old ladies of the village is quite tiresome too

Mr Malik’s sudden appearance isn’t such a huge inconvenience surely? Presumably he won’t require an extra room, or bed, since his wife is already staying there? (I’m not clear how many rooms the Maliks are paying for?)

@TheUsualChaos , Lynda is so not a Linda.
I couldn't get worked up about Tracy being spelt Tracey or Lilian with 2 Ls. Bryan for Brian would also seem wrong.

The comment was in regards to comments relating to a religion not a culture.

@Nettleteaser101 , your post was critical of the RE nature of the episode when you seemed to say things that could have been interpreted as ignorance.
Several posters have agreed or thanked me.
Your first reply to me was PA, but the subsequent one was downright rude.

I don't wish to derail the thread but please think before posting negatively about religious matters.

Honestly - I am an atheist and while I am respectful of religion I’m also unwilling to put it on a pedestal and tip toe around it

that episode was like an RE compare and contrast lesson and it was patronising

Maybe Mr Malik is besties with the Gills and we are about to see Mick and Joy evicted. That would be nice.

i can’t think what other option they would have that would involve them staying in the village though. We’re clearly not going to lose them so soon. Unless mr Malik is actually besties with Brenda and they’re going to steal Roy’s house from Kirsty.

as renters they have a lot more choice than Joy who will have to wait for pooey house to destink. How long would that take?

Several posters have agreed or thanked me

I knew the daft reacticons were a mistake. No one can see if someone's been clapped or got the thumbs up and what does it matter?

I don't respect any religion as it's usually a force for bad. I don't want it rammed down my throat whilst listening to TA or chatting on this thread.

Now c'mom, surely I can't be the only one who thinks Khalil sounds exactly like Ben?

They are laying it on a bit thick with the Maiks, but it does balance out all the Christianity we’ve had in the past - nativities, baptisms, conversions, various sermons from Alan, the tedious an never-again-mentioned starry window and assorted giving up stuff for Lent. The Gills are Sikhs so wondering if we’re in for lots of exposition there if they are finally brought into play. Personally I would prefer it if the religion was purely incidental rather than front and centre of the plot. We should be grateful for small mercies, at least Shula has gone North to fo her vicarring..

Sorry what has Deliveroo got to do with what I posted?

Yes, he does and they're both dull, although Ben isn't rude.

@IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle , sorry, it was in response to a different poster.

Maybe I should try some of the eateries - there's one that looks very good, but I've not checked if it does take-aways. It is far too near to order a 'deliveroo'.

@BeatriceBatchelor , a 'Daft' reaction would be great.

I've just listened to today's and yesterday's episodes back to back, the Ramadan stuff is just so excessive, preachy and boring. What's the purpose, is it to try to encourage more Muslim listeners? The writers are making such a thing about it.
Have to say my heart absolutely sank when it was decided the Maliks would be staying in the village instead of buggering off back to Solihull, they are simply not an engaging family at all. I'm sure we're going to have an eventual mixed marriage storyline, although they already did that decades ago with Usha so they'd be reinventing the wheel, especially as Usha was marrying an actual vicar so it was much more of an an important story.

Why hasn't Vince started a halal range?

Do we know that he hasn't?

So where are they going to live?

So far, I would have thought it would put Muslim listeners off if anything.

I suppose we just have to hope that, if the Malik's are to be long term characters, then the sw will calm down and stop trying to treat us all like primary school children. It would work fine if the writing was more subtle...and of decent quality.

Nice to hear Jazzer today. DD laughed when he said numpty and said she likes him.