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!

Thanks for the new thread, Gasp.

That was quite possibly the weirdest episode EVER!

One that I know near hear is outside a hairdressing salon and barber's shop.

We have 3 defibrillators in our small village: one in the pub, one in the village hall and one attached to the wall of the public toilets next to the bus stop.

You don't need any training to use one - that's rather the point. You open it up and it instructs you on what to do.

Isn’t there some controversy about them though because people with no training don’t always know the right time to do it?

what a shame he didn't actually die!
but then maybe he needs to stay alive so his shenanigans can be unveiled

I feel like the sw are a bit squeamish about doing anything ‘bad’. So killing someone for comic effect would be verboten

and no doubt Alan will amaze everyone at the funeral and then crispin will admit to leave having been jealous of him and they will hug and Alan will say some banal stuff and crispin will change to be more Alan

Sorry, very off topic but I loved these books and wasn't sure if anyone else ever remembered them! Still have one rather old copy of Uncle cleans up, and another one maybe Uncle went walkabout - remember them being read on Jackanory by Spike Milligan back in the early 70s?

Hilarious and wonderful with brilliant names - the evil skewer-wielding Hitmouse and awful Jellytussle...and it was Noddy Ninety, the ancient schoolboy, not to mention Butterskin Mute.

And now, with apologies, back to the Archers, which I have completely lost track of...

Not read the new thread yet as I’m still listening to tonight’s but - am I the only one who keeps thinking Kate is talking to “Father Christmas”?

Soo disappointing.

I burst out laughing when Father Crispin "died".

Now I think of it, why the hell doesn't Kate know CPR, have a defibrillator on the premises. Oh and a brain.

At a minimum, why didn’t she try to find a pulse - which she would have done

i do think they are spitting on Peggy’s grave with this funeral sl

Well I have never had to use one in an emergency myself fortunately, but I used one at a paediatric first aid course last year and it seemed incredibly straightforward. The machine tells you whether or not to administer a shock and guides you through the whole process. In addition, you should also ring 999 and they tell you how to use it. I'm not medically qualified though so maybe I'm being over-optimistic. I do know one was used successfully in the village a few years ago by unqualified relatives and the person who had had the heart attack survived.

Oh fgs. What a load of nonsense. And that's both (not) killing the vicar and rewilding productive land.

Well I enjoyed that, very silly. I hope Father Christmas is up for the funeral and then keels over again midway through so Alan has to do his “the show must go on” thing and presumably the whole thing ends with community singing.

Peggy stuck the Archers for so many decades, I imagine she wouldn’t mind her funeral being the occasion for any amount of plot lines.

Defibs have saved loads of lives haven’t they? Really good stats.
Kate was ridiculous.
How long will this Justin rubbish go on for before he relents?

Also- Magdalene??

My thoughts too! BTW I’ve always wondered why it’s pronounced Maudlin, but Mary Magdalene is pronounced as you’d expect……

Apparently it had lost the G in the English spelling at the period the colleges (ending with a second E in Cambridge’s, only one e in Oxford’s) were founded. Hence the pronunciation. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I really want a scene where Alan and Jakub gossip about Fr Crispin.

I think Magdalena is pronounced Madalena in some European languages? and the conventional spelling in portuguese? Madeleine in French of course which is a lot closer to maudlin.

Excellent episode - I loved all the farming talk between Stella and Justin. And surely Stella is right - food security is now a much bigger issue than it was when the original rewilding site was established. Maybe we are due a PSA about that. Justin of course being required to do his usual shapeshifting character about-turn to move that particular plot on. I even found the death (or rather not) of Father Crispin amusing since I didn't see it coming at all (though I was wondering how Alan would wrest back control of Peggy's funeral).

Having said that, I am enjoying TA much more at the moment

Me too though I found last night a waste of the marvellous Hugh Dennis. Would have much preferred Kate's healing hands to have relaxed him so much that he started to let slip about his relationship with Peggy that caused some suspicion to form in Kate's dim mind.

Enjoyed the panic in Stella's voice!

Really enjoyed that.

An adult schoolboy always brings to mind the Krankies 😱

And Crispin rocking up in his running gear - was it the Brittas Empire.

Any road much better this week.

The actors they’ve used have been much better too

I think we are all so relieved not to have Joy and Rochelle inflicted on us this week that we have forgotten that we actually all used to quite enjoy TA. The last few months have been so painful that we’re happy and grateful with OFS and a bit of farm chit-chat. We even seem to have forgiven Justin’s PT/epiphany. Would he really end a lucrative contract with HF for the sake of rewilding?!? Unlikely….

I slightly feel we are in an abusive relationship with the show and put up with endless abuse for old time’s sake and the chance of a glimpse of the charmer we first fell in love with..