Archers thread #192: Village of the Dammed. Discuss the beavers here. Throw in the odd word about the Archers if you must.

[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 have Kate present as you give birth, 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.)

I'm more excited about the arrival of the beavers than anything else going on in Ambridge at the moment. I hope there will be a webcam.

Bets on how much of next week is set in the castle or on the way there/back? I'm bracing myself for at least 50%.

And Ruairi but not Debbie. Am I missing something (or are the happy holidaymakers...) or is there a massive bedroom deficit?

Why is Kate not sharing with Jakob and Lillian with Justin? Lilian and Justin fighting over who gets the bottom bunk would be fun.

They didn't really mean actual bunk beds, surely? Will they kill Ruairi when he arrives, and if not why not?

Ruairi deserves it for messing the whole thing up.

Ruairi’s already there isn’t he? He and Kate were sleeping in the car when Lilian was shrieking at Justin still being in Blackpool. It’s all too stupid for words.

I assume it's a hostel style bunkhouse, 3 or 4 bunk beds (so 6 or 8 beds) in a room. Which is fine if it's what you expect...

Didn't Finlay say it had happened to other groups? So it may be the website is not as clear as it could be, but even GG has a TripAdvisor review.

Ok, the Incident of the Pony and the Pipe Band: we were at Mar Lodge with a group for several days of hacking. The riders were staying in the bunk house, and the horses were corralled in a field next to the Lodge. The pony and his friend were in the two corrals closest to the main entrance of the lodge, which has a big courtyard. There was a wedding at the lodge, and there was a pipe band marching around in the courtyard. A pretty big pipe band. When we left the ponies to go to the bunkhouse, they were both standing like statues staring at the pipe band, but it seemed like the band was staying over there, and the ponies looked like they were interested, but not freaked out. A few minutes later, someone came to tell us that the ponies had broken out of the corrals, because the pipe band for some reason had decided to march out of the courtyard around the lodge, directly past the corrals! We raced back, and found that the ponies were trotting in huge, very excited circles at the opposite end of the field. My friend first had to reassemble her electric fence, because her pony had demolished it when escaping, but my pony, who is really worried about jumping and electric fences, was apparently more worried about the pipe band, and had jumped cleanly over his fence before buggering off! We did manage to retrieve them, and all was well...but not a word of apology from the wedding/pipe band!

The sw obviously are still channeling scam week

No doubt they’ll get a refund and then another holiday will be organised!!

I can't believe what i just listened to.
First the stupid broken down car
Then the batshit luggage arrangements
Then the utterly daft Blackpool thing
Total lack of Lilian beating Rauri (Sybil Fawlty style) with her handbag for the booking cock-up

If i were in the 2nd car? I would just go home. I wouldn't even wait, i'd just get the train.

And i want at least one, but preferably more, of them to actually come out and use the words: Peggy/granny/oldbat stipulated that it should be EVERYONE and there to be a big falling out.

I stopped listening for a few years, what is going on with Leonie (and yes, why is she there) and James??

Oh, I agree that Natasha deserved the hoiday more than Tom, but this is supposed to be an Archer family holiday attended by all Peggy's descendants, FFS. It's bonkers that there are so many people going who are unrelated to her whilst so many of her family are left out of it.

Surely if Justin has any sense, he'll take one look at the bunk beds and book into the nearest hotel?

No one seems to have agency to make their own decisions - even when they have the money to do it

this is really bad. Even worse than scam week.

(as i have mentioned elsewhere on the interwebz: never mind Tim Davie, the Archers SW should ALL get the push)

What are the odds of Jakob, who is a rural vet driving distances through countryside to reach clients, often in bad/poor weather conditions, not having the world's most reliable and non-breakdown-able car anyway?

I mean, he’s Swedish so it’s probably a Volvo, which is an indestructible tank; he’s….er…very particular, so he probably had it serviced before they went away, and let’s not forget he owns the world’s best coffee machine, so I refuse to believe his car isn’t similarly top-of-the-range.

This whole SL is pants to the nth degree.

ETA to add: he'd probably have had a super-duper SPECIAL car service just for this very occasion because he’d have been worried about breaking down in the first place, knowing his previous form for worrying.

Is Jakob driving the borrowed people carrier? Or was that the one that broke down?

Bit disappointed I’m the only one betting on Baby Jesus Aldridge being born in the stable 🌟

but it's a hire car, @Ambridge

ETA: @WitcheryDivine nope - i thought we were all agreed the child would be born in the castle? now it's a stable it is doubly probably. The bookies have probably stopped taking bets on that.

You see I've lost the will to live over this whole thing so much that I just can’t even take in these minor details 🤪

I think the bunk beds finished me off

If Justin sets his privileged bottom down on a bunk bed I think it’ll have finally jumped the shark. They’re not even his bloody family! He would be out of there and at the nearest 5 star with a golf course before you could say och aye.

tbh while I would be generally ok with this, if i knew this is what we'd booked, i would be hugely miffed.

But i would also be telling Raiuri at every opportunity.

ETA for clarity. If i knew that is what was booked, i would be ok. If not, i would be hugely miffed but probably make the best of it.

I’d honestly just go home. I wouldn’t want to waste precious holiday on that!!

My money's on that being what happens - Lillian finds a nice luxury hotel nearby and books into that with Justin.

Making Lillian the traitor?

@Brefugee re James / Leonie. Leonie had hurt her back over the summer. Robert went to stay with her for a good while as James was in New Zealand (for work...or should that be 'work'). Sounds like he's been a generally shit husband and divorce is on the cards. Your standard MN Relationships board fare.

I think James & Leonie mostly happened before I became a loyal listener in about 2012ish (casual listener since 2009), shall read their pages as a quick primer.

WitcheryDivine
Trying to think what the Traitors thing will be - I reckon they’ll all vote on who gets to share a room with Hazel ie a fate worse than death and it’ll be Ruairi.

I think the only Traitors thing is that someone who has a part in that alsp has a part in this week's Archerss.

Loved that Lillian scuppered Toms chances .

I would never let Ruari hear the end of it.

It was lovely to hear Mark Bonnar - my money is that he is the Castle owner.