Archers thread #187: Send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for Peggy. 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 like Harrison to hasten home, 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 John Donne for the title inspiration. The funeral of the century beckons. How much of it do we think we will hear? Kate confirmed tonight that Shula, Debbie, Noli and Sipho are all coming. If we hear one peep from any of them I'll be amazed. Bets on Hazel turning up?

Over to you!

And poor Jakob - I know very few step parents who have a ‘grandparent’ name when they met the child as an adult!
My husband is a step grandad, the oldest grandchildren were babies when we got together . They all call him by name but when speaking about him to their friends refer to him as their grandad. That was their own choice.

Quite.
Jakob has never been involved in any type of parental role, so it seems really wrong to me that he should be able to be called a grandfather. To me that's a title you earn either by blood or by your actions eg being an involved step-parent, it isn't something that a grandmother's boyfriend should be called.

He should be called Jakob as he suggested, that would be perfectly normal.

Who wouldn’t? <smugly fletches arrow>

can

well

believe

it

  🏹

I guess if the programme was called The Scorpions things might be different.

I want the laugh emoji back

Brian was brilliant tonight!

Blimey, even by her own exacting standards, Kate was unbearable this evening.

I mean, I was getting annoyed at Pip and the wonder child, but Kate knocked them into a cocked hat, which takes some doing.

This joy free period has been lovely though - really reminds me why I listen

amd can’t believe I’m saying this but I would prefer an episode with pip than joy!

I wonder why we had to endure that prolonged Joy-ful period when all the usual characters disappeared off the face of the earth? Where did they all go? And why? Were they off recording something special (like the big family jamboree)?

Jakob is easily my favourite character (as in person I think I would get in with IRL, rather than complex fictional character who is enjoyable to listen to). I used to like Neil a lot but I am afraid he is now irrevocably tainted for me by the ridiculous Neil the Foundling SL.

But Jakob has changed over time. He was introduced to us as someone who didn't understand how other people worked. Now he has somehow morphed into the most empathetic person in Ambridge with an instinctive understanding of human relationships. I like the new Jakob but I don't think his development is realistic.

Is it odd? I would think if Rosie has sworn at and intimidated the other child so much that the other girl doesn't want to go to school, it's right that Pip has to go to the school to discuss. Typical of Pip to think that her child would never do or say anything wrong, but not uncommon. I thought it was ironic that she criticised the mother for not being "warm"( ridiculous criticism), when "warm" is the last word I'd use to describe Pip, she's abrasive!

Edited as I somehow lost the quote, it was to @Bruisername about the school thing.

Ime you call up and tell the school what happened and they deal with it! Other parent only gets called in if it’s repeat behaviour and there was no suggestion of that. Maybe a phone call to explain what happened so they can talk to Rosie at home.

I do have an image of Rosie, bursting out of her summer dress and chocolate all round her mouth, holding a girl in a headlock while calling her a bleep of your choice

Schools have different ways of doing things I suppose. I know when my children were at primary school decades ago, if any child had done something which has so upset another child the parent would be spoken to straight away after that one thing.
I wonder which word Rosie called the girl, is it on the level of say "stupid moron", or has she told the poor girl to fuck off!

Poo poo head?

I can never remember how old she’s supposed to be. 7?

I liked the way Pip reacted to fat Rosie's alleged misdemeanour - exactly like so many threads on MN. Is that where the SWs picked up the storyline?

I really enjoyed Jakob and Brian, I thought Brian was sounding his age though

Kate acting completely in character! And Pip. Poor Stella and her picnic.

Not during the school week, presumably?

We have step grandchildren whose own paternal grandparents never see them, very sadly - apparently their choice. They call us by our first names, though the youngest has started calling us Granny and Grandpa.

Enjoying the fact that Fat Rosie has now become Sweary Fat Rosie. I bet it'll turn out that Stella taught her the language in question.

I am also enjoying the Joy-free episodes. I don’t know why but I just find her character really annoying and the fact that everyone supposedly likes her so much is rather unbelievable as she is so annoying!

Like no Joy a lot or her awful daughter.
Poor Jakob, what on earth is he doing with Kate, is he able to just switch off?.
Pip is not a good choice for Stella, she will always have to step aside for Rosie,
That story line with Rosie reminds me of a couple I used to know who swore like troopers, then one day the school said that their child was swearing in class, the mum said to me, " I don't know where he gets it from".
I'm sure farmers do their share of swearing and it would be easy for Rosie to pick it up by accident.

After being a completely useless/absent parent, is Kate about to turn into the performative granny from hell? Is Justin's latest character about-turn so that Phoebe and her partner can come back and oversee the rewilding of Borchester Land? I think more realistically Phoebe would be giving Ambridge a wide berth in favour of visiting her dad in Bulgaria or even Hayley in Brum and Kate - the least self-aware person ever despite the fact she has made a career of teaching all that bunkum to others - would feel extremely hurt and wonder where she had gone wrong.
I thought the whole Rosie business was less about what Rosie had or hadn't done and more about the fact that Pip's attention is entirely taken up by her daughter and it's starting to grate on Stella - half an empty pot of hummus versus Stella's home made sandwiches and brownies and no time to listen or even remember to ask about the very important issue (presumably the rewilding bombshell) Stella wanted to discuss.

Ohh - that’s a fascinating idea, @LillianGish! Justin is very much Team Phoebe, so that may well be a thing. Would Borchester Land rewilding be in some way a rival to the Preservation Trust, or … ?

And yes - I’d forgotten Poor Stella had her own issue to discuss. She must feel awfully neglected in that relationship.

Great episode. I love Brian and Jakob together.

And no Joy 🎉🎉🎉