Archers thread #190: Carry on, Cleo! Best new character for ages. 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 have your wedding reception across the lawn from the local Flower & Produce Show, 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.)

Charlotte Smith must have been delighted to get back to Countryfile and Farming Today. What a pile of piffle tonight. Ah well.

When is George expected back? It can't be long now, surely. It occurs to me that I can't recall whether he's ever spoken on air to Ruairi. As their actors are currently the best (IMO) amongst the younger members of the cast, I hope they will cross swords in some way.

And finally, I can't mention Carry on Cleo without squeezing in one of the best lines ever written (Denis Norden and Frank Muir have the credit): Infamy, infamy! They've all got it in for me! Currently, Lily probably feels this way.

https://youtube.com/shorts/eRnd48yTC5A?si=N05njp3uLfpSjAmI

Over to you!

How does the thick paste interact with toast?

Kalathma.
If they'd explained to other players that Rex couldn't afford to play otherwise, or they'd reframed it as a bursary, it could have worked out.

I know I probably should have cared about Ruairi and Alice being totes emosh tonight, but eh.

I don’t think I have had baked beans since I was a student. I graduated in 1995.

I thought the Alice and Ruairi bit was at least acknowledging that Alice is still dealing with an addiction, because it's rarely mentioned these days. I also thought it was somewhat realistic in that it gave her an idea of how much her behaviour impacted on other people, although I think they should have had Ruairi tell her many more home truths.

Addicts are extraordinarily selfish and when in both the throes of addiction and in recovery they only ever think about themselves and not the devastating effect on their loved ones. When in recovery they also never want to look back and reflect on what their behaviour did to others and the pain it caused, even though it can often permanently change and break families.

So I was glad they put that bit in because the other affected characters seem to have swept it under the carpet.

Thanks for the name! The trouble was, once I had it as "Kamala", which I knew perfectly well it wasn't, I was never going to get it right.

I thought it was 'Kalamata' but knew that was wrong in some way.

Now olive tapenade on toast, that's something I can get behind.

Gentleman's Relish...

I found the scene with Alice and Ruiari rather moving which rarely happens on The Archers.

And I actually enjoyed the Lillian and Justin scenes which must be a first.

Isn't that anchovies?

Think it has olives in too, though I could be wrong, but still delicious on toast!

Patum Peperium - the Secret is out - Gentleman's Relish
Ingredients
Anchovies (drained & coarsely chopped
Fresh White Breadcrumbs
Butter
Cayenne Pepper
Ground Cinnamon
Nutmeg (freshly ground)
Ground Mace
Ground Ginger
Black Pepper (fresh ground, good twist)

• Read full directions

I think it says it all that after last night’s episode we are still discussing beans, olives and anchovies! I think Gentleman’s Relish might be available at the Underwood’s outpost, but not at the farm shop (and definitely not in the village shop).

I have come to realise, after many years, that the secret to all the amazing things on toast is the liberal spread of butter separating the two… similarly jacket potatoes….

obviously you still have the get the toast/potato right, but none of it works without the butter.

I thought the Alice Rauri (sp?) stuff was good, i like the dawning on Alice that she has been an utter nightmare to live with.

To be fair to recovering addicts on the 12 step, it is all about them till they get to the apology/reparations bit. And then they can go too far the other way. The one in my life had to be told that i never ever wanted to see them again, recovery or not, because the addiction phase was so damaging (I supported them as much as poss with a lot of tough love, and got them into rehab eventually). But when they were apologising it was just as bad for me and brought it all back. And i know that people in their life told them best to stay away from me because i was being toxic and hindering their recovery by not being all "oh, it's ok I'm over it, you get better"

Can do without Justin. But i like the idea that this might be Brian's final push to retire.

Ruairí, @Brefugee . Sorry about your experience. With recovery, it is all about them, isn't it.

thanks, i am past it all now, at the time it was draining and unfair. (a few people have tried to explain away their saying that i was a meanie as supporting our friend/relative. To which i have told them that they stay away from me too please. it has definitely shown me who my friends are)

Alice rushed about apologising wildly to everyone she had ever met, and was shocked and horrified when, instead of being all sweetness about it, Ruairi declined to accept her telling him how glad she was that he had forgiven her (which she assumed he had done because he came to his own home to see his parents at Christmas) and told her that he had not done so. So she skipped the intervening steps and went straight to the apology/reparations bit, only without the reparations and still with the absolute self-absorption.

He doesn't seem to have the accent on the final i; it doesn't appear in anything published about him by the BBC, and since they invented him I think we have to accept they probably know how he spells it.

@AskingQuestionsAllTheTime , Siobhán would have used the fada. The Beeb isn't always accurate.

I have a pot of Gentleman’s Relish in my larder that I have never fathomed how to open 🤔

Siobhán may have done, but the question is whether Ruairi would; he might easily have got tired of having to explain it every single time he gave his name. And would she have, for him? His birth and name were registered in Borsetshire, where it might easily not have been added – if they even had the necessary key on their typewriter. Not all the Irish boys registered with the name in Ireland have the fada, after all. (And she spared her son the d, which would have confused matters further, didn't she.)

Send it to me! I'll open it for you and send you back the empty pot.

<on edit ... out of kindness> You need to peel the label off (the one that goes round the side of the pot) and then you can take the lid off and peel the label off the top of the contents>

if they even had the necessary key on their typewriter
Ruairí isn't that old.

he might easily have got tired of having to explain it every single time he gave his name.
I have an accented letter in my name. It's not on my birth certificate because I am that old. I'm not bothered if people use the accent or not.

We don't even know whether Ruairi has a fada in his name or not, do we. I wouldn't assume that he does.

(Borsetshire having got stuck some time in the 1960s, I think they probably did still use typewriters on paper birth certificates in 2002. Personally I am so ancient my birth certificate is hand-written, but luckily my name is quite standard and no mistake was made. I have a cousin called Phillys because of a confused registrar, though.)