Archers thread #189: Brian reaps what he sows, in spite of himself. Discuss The Archers here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

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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.)

Over to you!

I was taken to a lake, probably much like those @Brefugee describes, by my German penfriend when I was 16. I can swim, but am not a strong swimmer and not fit or sporty, and I didn't feel safe at all attempting to swim across. Too deep to put my feet down! That's what I'm thinking Jazzer may be like.

i went to a mountain lake in Austria once, totally clear water, and i got vertigo half way across and had a panic attack. weird

DD (a club swimmer, so used to regularly swim a couple of km in a training session) took up Open Water swimming during lockdown in a quarry used by divers/paddleboarders and swimmers (she only swam between May-end of October, but some swam all year). She had to be supervised in the water at all times as an under-18 (instructor was in a canoe).
Below 16 degrees (which is about the temperature of Buttermere at the moment) she was in a swim wetsuit (hard to swim in a normal wetsuit).

It is quite common for people to become unnerved in clear, deep water. Hopefully Jazzer & Co will have a motorboat alongside them for the duration.

JudyCoolibar
I'm not necessarily convinced we've seen the last of that stolen bunting from all those years ago

I'm sure we have, because it was found but in bad condition and in pieces. So it was thrown away, and some new bunting made for the next occasion some was needed.

Off topic but it’s my annual announcement about the Academic Archers conference.
Which next year will be in person at the University of Warwick (you can also book accommodation there). They are very close to the break even point (only need 35 more weekend tickets) but may be able to stretch this. And the call for papers is out soon.
The special guests haven’t been announced yet but are likely to include people from the programme and production team
https://www.academicarchers.net/

Thanks @MollyButton. (Trying to avoid my annual Maybe I’ll go this year musing.)

Anyway - who’s going to buy Ambridge Hall when the Snells up sticks?

Where are they expected to go?

Helen and Dane?

The Maliks? (I would love that! And it would be wonderfully poetic.)

Vince the Mince?

NuMartyn?

I doubt that either a former life as a male escort or a new farm manager’s job at a smaller farm than your last would pay enough to fund such a purchase, so … 🤷‍♀️

Oh, anywhere that’s not All your attention is on Ambridge, Lyndy.

I will be very sad indeed if the prince in waiting doesn’t make his long awaited (by me) return to the ancestral village - but it sounds as if Robert wants to be near his daughter, and wants his wife away from Ambridge.

TottersBlankly
Oh, anywhere that’s not All your attention is on Ambridge, Lyndy.

Upping sticks and starting a new life in a completely different place at the age of eighty-two is quite unusual, unless you have to (like Brian, and he moved less than a mile). And Lynda is only four years younger than Robert.

Sure, but she isn’t going to change her ways if they continue to live in the place that’s sucking up all her attention. And she’s sworn she cares more about Robert than anything else …

And Robert wants to pack up everything in their house and go through massive upheaval in order to go and live near his daughter, in London where they will have trouble buying somewhere to live anything like as pleasant as the place they are in, so that he can be used as a dogsbody and child-minder by his daughter and son-in-law?

He's a sucker, isn't he.

I was just delighted to hear Robert finally lose patience with the ghastly woman. She really was appalling in that phone call the other day, wittering on about MeMeMe and totally failing to engage with his situation babysitting for the spawn of the ghastly Lay-oh-Knee and her useless husband. Whatever happened to Coriander, I wonder? No, actually I don't want to know.

I hope this bodes well for Robert and that he runs off and joins the circus to get away from the lot of them.

I was a little concerned that Robert wouldn’t wake up from his “nap”

Yes, there was a moment when I was half-expecting that. But it was interesting to hear him openly pissed-off with Lynda's self-obsessed crap. The worm turns?

Same here.

And is this a body line bowling issue brewing?

Please could someone remind me how old Henry is?

He's 14.

Thanks @Buxusmortus

There seems to be a lot of pressure being helped on a young lad.

The Henry stuff is surely to do with Rob hurting his mother, and his determination not to be like that.

well there's another slow-burn storyline emerging, hopefully it is not going to be done and dusted within a week. The efffects of DV on the children seeing it needs to be talked out and dealt with a lot more.

Is Chelsea going to turn out to be the Saviour of Cricket, or is she going to tell Zayneb to get down there? Girl power against Sexist Henry or something? even while his not liking hurting anyone storyline gets developed?

Perhaps Robert is not long for this world. I think having an open conversation with Lynda often leads to introspection on her part, and a change in behaviours. Hopefully nuRobert is on his way out. I loved oldRobert, but the bot version isn't doing it for me.

Yes and I seem to remember Rob playing cricket with him and he was probably quite rough.

I noticed that Robert wasn’t calling Lynda ‘Lyndy’ (not until they’d talked things out and were heading home anyway). Portent of doom?

Yes Rob made him play with a hard, real cricket ball rather than something more child friendly.

Rob's father probably made his children play cricket with hand-grenades.

Might be as simple as Henry doesn't want to play cricket/be good when he plays mean, because that's what Rob did.

I've been watching Andor (the Star Wars series for adults) and David Archer makes a brief appearance as a hospital director. The hospital gets blown up. Maybe the Aga could blow up at Brookfield to finish off Jill.

I heard on the official podcast that there's going to be a June Spencer celebration event at the Radio theatre on 17 September (I think) but you have to email to get the link to ticket ballot (can't find any further details in writing online- seem unnecessarily complicated). Is anyone else applying?