Archers thread #193: Christmas in Ambridge! Don't expect any wise men (or women). 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 a couple of acquaintances to clean and tidy your house without your permission, or other unusual views.

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What do we think - best Christmas ever followed by a nice quiet New Year? No, me neither. We have the tractor run to look forward to , and then whatever they've got lined up for the 75th anniversary of the first ever episode - New Year's Day 1951. I can't imagine that anybody involved with the programme then expected it would still be on the air 75 years later. I wonder what they would make of the current direction. The lack of farming content would be a surprise, given that was the whole reason for devising the programme in the first place.

Over to you!

They clearly need a Pub Consultant as well as a Farming Consultant.

There is no way that Jolene and Kenton would have handed over to Fallon and her policeman on Xmas Day, when their dining room is fully booked.

And there is also no way that one of the owners of the pub would sit down for Xmas lunch in her own pub when everything was going on around her.

Fallon was left in charge of The Bull when Kenton and Jolene went off to New Zealand. She roped in Harry to help her, I think. And she also had to run the pub after Sid's death. when Jolene fell apart comprehensively and contemplated selling up because she was unable to cope.

But on this occasion she was meant to be in charge of the kitchen, so she would not have been available to serve in the bars (they have more than one); Harrison taking over for both Jolene and Kenton, when he's never worked behind a bar before, was decidedly unrealistic.

I'm going to be charitable and assume that Harrison worked in a pub in his younger days, before he joined the Force. Didn't Jolene say they'd got a chef in so that Fallon could have the day off? So the kitchen was covered.

It's Christmas Day. They're fully booked. The bar would also be heaving.

The only busier day of the year I can think of for pubs that serve food is Mother's Day.

You'd think that if Harrison worked in a pub at any time, he would have mentioned it now his mother-in-law is a publican.

Yes, the chef was mentioned, you're right. So they had one person to serve in each bar.

I'm not a great frequenter of pubs. It would never occur to me to go to one on Christmas Day. While waiting for the Call the Midwife Christmas special travesty I saw a few moments of Eastenders with the sound off. They didn't seem to be having a happy Christmas there, surprisingly, but yes, the pub was rammed.

Yes that’s what I had heard too - food was sorted, so mainly just the bar to deal with.

That's the other thing you don't do on Christmas Day if you are serving lunch - give your usual chef a day off and get a different one in. Xmas Day lunch is really important to people, you have large parties, families, etc, all expecting a lovely meal - and you're giving your usual chef the day off?!! The chef who has been helping you plan the Christmas menu, who has been totting up the pre-orders and ordering the ingredients, who eeds to cook the meat, roast the potatoes, etc - and you get some random chef in?! (Who doesn't exist by the way, in rural areas. Chefs are hard to come by.)

In Ambridge, you can either find someone to work for you at no notice or at a truly inconvenient time, or you can't find anyone no matter how hard you try.

It depends what the plot requires, really.

Ha ha, so true.

But even so - no pub is going to get a new/different chef in for Christmas Day service!

No normal pub. But this one is run by Jolene and Kenton!

I know, I know. I should stop flogging this exhausted horse. But it was the main part of the Xmas Day episode, and it was insane!! Like a farmer or vet deciding to go on holiday in lambing season, or something.

I think looking for any sort of reality in TA never ends well.

Recently, aside from the pub, we have Esme who apparently didn’t know anyone from Ambridge despite growing up there, (was she home schooled?) Ian wanted to combine the village shop with a pizza van, and cook lunch for people while Susan drove around delivering Cornflakes and Leonard pretended to be a swinger for the LOLs.

I presume there will be some big anniversary storyline, but I suspect it will not be George murdering Joy so i’ll be disappointed.

I think something will happen to George and everybody will feel bad for him as he narrowly avoids death.

Or it could be that Esme is outed as an intruder but this is less likely.

SPOILER ALERT

I've just caught up on a week’s worth of Corrie, and dedding came there none.

#confused

Rather like the early Eastenders" years when stallholders were constantly asking nearby stallholders to watch the stall while they nipped off to the Vic. Ceratinly more achievable than running a pub for the day, but still milking the realism.

Do you think they'll dead Jill for the 75th? One last speech before she falls asleep in her chair by the fire?

Sadly , I don’t, although it’s high time they did.

I think Jill will probably live on as the BBC will want the 75th to be a celebration / happy event and some listeners will be upset otherwise.

I’ve not listened to the omnibus, but surely Joy would normally have dashed to the Bull to rescue them from imminent chaos?

It’s hard to guess what they have planned for 75th episode. The norovirus at the Bungalow seems a distant memory…..

So, Wayne is back from his international travels?

🧐🧐🧐

They don't necessarily seem to insist on a happy event for a big anniversary and may well prefer to opt for high drama instead, along the lines of the famous Nigel plummet. But, to be fair, Jill's death probably wouldn't count as high drama unless someone does her in with one of her own kitchen utensils.

George?

ThatFlightyTemptressAdventure · Yesterday 21:29
I think something will happen to George and everybody will feel bad for him as he narrowly avoids death. survival.

"fixed that for you" which is a mumsnet trope I never thought I'd use.

I think George will attempt to kill himself.
Emma will blame anyone and everyone, perhaps delivering an emotive speech in the Bull decrying the way he has been treated. This will lead to a wave of introspection in the village and the decision that he should be given a second chance when he recovers.

George will weep from his hospital bed, declare his life is worthless and he wishes he’d died. Someone from the village, probably one of his biggest opponents like Lilian, will visit and tell him he has to turn his life around.

Thus begins the Redemption of George Grundy.