Archers thread #188: New Order, please! 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 love to spend time with Martyn Gibson, 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.)

In some haste as we are going out for the day. I was asked weeks ago to put I've Killed the Vicar in as the new title but I agree with more recent comments that Peggy's funeral feels like old news now. Great line, though. Sorry not to have used Markie Malarkey, though. I've settled on something that will only make sense to people who were also youngish in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Here's a clue. If a certain person appears in tomorrow's episode the title will be relevant.

Over to you!

I wish someone would tell Lynda to shove her fetes/pantos etc. She’s such a bully.

I wish someone would tell Lynda to shove her fetes/pantos etc. She’s such a bully.

I think a realistic SL would be someone like Azra or Emma letting loose and telling her how annoying and lacking in self-awareness she has become. May be she started off as a good egg/pillar of the community etc but now she is just the sort of person you would cross the street to avoid. A SL in which she is given a wake-up call would be very welcome. I suppose Azra won’t do it as she feels beholden to her after the sewage incident so someone else is going to have to pony up.

I am facing losing The Archers completely when the BBC turns off BBC Sounds for those living abroad on Monday (or certainly making it more difficult to access - we shall see!), but having had almost a three week pause for various reasons and having just indulged in an Archers marathon while I caught up with all my chores, I'm wondering if the universe is trying to tell me something. DH, who was not really listening, but couldn't avoid it while it was on for the best part of three hours said: "Who is that bloody woman and why does she appear in every scene?" with reference to Joy. "And why is there no farming?" We'd had a few days with his brother and family who live in splendid rural isolation in the Trough of Bowland where I was easily able to keep up with all the references to long horns, mob grazing, herbal leys, rewilding (a long discussion about the pros and cons thereof), deer management, the raising of pheasant poults, ash die-back, silaging, slurry spreading etc etc - DH was in awe of my knowledge, all gleaned from listening to The Archers. But aside from a bit of token haymaking the SWs appear to have abandoned agricultural content altogether. Instead we seem destined to have George as the new Clive Horrobin, Amber (I still don't really understand where she came from or why she has set her cap at George) and a return of the improbably named Marky, who has it in for Kenton after an incident in Wolverhampton many moons ago when Jolene looked at him the wrong way (or something!). Nigel's fall was one thing, but at least that actually happened, the rewriting of Neil as foundling is much more devastating because that actually chipped away at what we all thought we knew. Now it just feels as if they are making it up as they go along so nothing that happens actually matters anymore.

<Sighs>

I can see David offering to do the door at The Bull to help out his brother.

I doubt he would conceivably have the time mid-harvest. Plus he's 65.

Poor Susan. And I thought it was brilliantly acted.

I don’t understand why the fete has to have a theme - surely the theme is ‘village fete’

ime annual events such as this tend to organise themselves as suppliers/volunteers tend to fall into the same roles

the suggestion they have to start afresh every year is weird

It was by both. George is vile.

Surely Mick must be about that age too or older. Joy must be mid to late 60s too.

I had to turn off the afternoon repeat - it was just too painful to listen to. The Susan and George actors are both brilliant.

my experience of (non British to be fair) British life is that people moan when asked to help set up something, but moan like World Champion Moaners if the event doesn't take place. To be fair to my village: we are in Germany, the tennis & football clubs along with the 2 bands mostly do all the work anyway, and a few farmers lend a hand where needed. All events run like clockwork.

as for Susan and George: NO NO NO NO NO. Gawd. NO.

Amber was actually quite sweet when she realised it was something for her.

ETA: blimey, tho, i got my VPN to work so have seen the Sewing Bee (yaayy) and i listen to The Archers one day late on Spotify, is that an option for overseas? (Or is that going off too?)

If you have a Podcasts app you can just listen to the podcast - appears very soon after the live broadcast.

Knew Neil would be furious

George will be the death of poor Neil. All this stress cannot be good for him …

Go Neil! Someone had to tell the truth about George. Poor deluded Susan.

So what will be the options for those of us not in the UK? VPN? Will it be on the website?

Slay Neil 💪🏻

The long weeks I have hated every minute listening. This interaction has cheered me up no end .

Go Neil !

And actually to be fair- go Justin; talking sense for once.

Susan is really deluding herself isn't she. Poor Amber 🤔. She really doesn't know what she's letting herself in for. There's been sparks of decency in her over the last couple of weeks but the pair of them together - toxicity personified. Romeo and Julie, Bonnie and Clyde - they really do think it's them against the world.

The trouble is that Neil didn't actually tell her what George did that was wrong, and that he could not be allowed to frame a single mum for his crime, so she will never hear that side of things; all she has is George's version, which is clearly half-truths and lies.

Yes, this is what I do.

I just use the Apple podcast app, it appears there shortly after it’s been broadcast. I’m sure it’s on other podcast apps too.

The BBC appears to me to be shooting itself in the foot by making it so difficult for people outside the UK to hear its radio output. If they can't afford to go on with the current arrangement, why not charge? If I were in that position, I'd pay. I am in the UK and I would pay a reasonable annual charge for access to their huge archives! They put a few things on Radio 4 Extra, but they don't stay there very long. Fortunately there are many assiduous people who get them onto YouTube and archive sites and the BBC appears to turn a blind eye.

Anyway. Well done, Neil! Stop being such a wet lettuce, Susan. Ditto Jazzer. Tell Martyn Gibson the party's cancelled if you can't say straight out he's not welcome!

I don't mind the Maliks finding themselves drawn into the fete horror. Decades ago when Lynda was new in the village and overstepped the mark in some way there was a horribly uncomfortable scene where Jill Archer told her so - in the village shop? Somewhere public, anyway. Jill was very smug about it and Lynda was cut to the quick. It was well done because I was on Jill's side in finding Lynda very irritating until she actually voiced her feelings and made Lynda upset. Cut to the present - the Maliks are finding as so many others have discovered before them that once Lynda gets her claws into a hapless volunteer there is no escape.

Grr!. Well done Neil, and Susan needs to open her eyes. Why can't she see what a nasty piece of work George is like Neil can. Amber is not going to have it easy if she does marry George, he has got nothing to give, but he is Mr Take Take Take and also dosnt like or respect anyone especially women.

I realise it's Susan's mother's ring and, as such, has great sentimental value but I'm getting the impression there's something else going on that makes it even more special.
Does anyone know if that's the case or am I reading too much into things like "You don't know what it means to her" and so on?