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.

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/5457344-the-archers-spoilers-thread-11-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.)

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!

PS massive let down if it’s Markie. That has to be the least interesting plotting option.

If anyone i would guess Harrison.
Not family.

Whist I'm between Keira and Harrison and more likely the latter as I can't see Keira just whacking George over the head without a confrontation whereas I think Harrison could with his pent up fury it was a bit underwhelming and I'm thinking about the scriptwriters building up the Joy/Rochelle storyline last year and that all went nowhere

(Also whatever happened to Joy last year wanting g to propose to Mick, interrupted by Richelle arriving and completely forgotten about)

I think the Keira disappearance is just to have the Grundys looking for her in the streets and so finding George. It beggars belief that some backstory of abuse of a silent character by George would be developed by the SLs, though not much is beyond them.

My money's on Poppy, who has to live with him.

Wouldn't it be great if he'd been hit by a falling branch left hanging by a thread when he clobbered Ed by accident and they stopped early?

I'm thinking Jolene's curse to him might be about to come back to haunt her

It would! 😂

It would certainly be very elegant, though I think you missed the sarcastic quotation marks around "by accident".

I think smacking Ed in the face with a branch genuinely wasn't deliberate. That would be why he felt so aggrieved about it having led to his actual misdeeds being brought into the open.

I'm no Amber fan but with the way George has been behaving lately I don't think she owes him any loyalty. She pretty much broke up with him when she said she doesn't know why she ever wanted to marry him. I think George knows it's over.

Where was George when we heard the bottle smash? I wonder if someone in a garden threw a bottle over the hedge/fence and it hit him square on the head then smashed on the ground. A freak accident but people will think someone did it on purpose since he has so many enemies.

Kiera will be fine and just gone to a friend's house.

@TheUsualChaos I wonder if someone in a garden threw a bottle over the hedge/fence

Arf! As you do, eh?

I thought maybe he had stumbled over the fireworks and therefore would have been killed by them

well NYE, lots of people around getting drunk and careless... they've done less plausible storylines 😆

I hope George isn't dedded, he's too good a character to kill off!

I’m dreading the drama being the wailing of Emma tomorrow, whether it’s by a hospital bed or a grave.

That'll be 3 deaths David has been involved in then

Haven’t listened yet but I really hope this isn’t another storyline that leads to a good person facing a trial and imprisonment.. eg Susan, Helen

Actually.. was it Tilly Button?!She usually gets the blame

Its a bit meh really, especially for the 75th anniversary - George gets drunk, feels sorry for himself and trips over whilst holding a bottle, at least Nigel fell from the roof of a stately home. The Keira runaway storyline would be more interesting. Also as TA is meant to be the everyday tales of country farming folk, could we have some farming related story lines, raw milk side hustle from Josh or Tom perhaps? also could Chelsea get her hairdressing business off the ground - after all she has Lillian and Linda as clients there should be an upmarket salon in Borcester by now and speaking of Chelsea how has she never had a boyfriend?

Certainly disappointing execution - that storyline has so much scope for excuciating menace and tension.

George was drunk enough to just wobble into a ditch and get cut by glass from whatever bottle he was holding. A few hours bleeding in a cold ditch could do a lot of damage. Perhaps he’ll be found by people out searching for Kiera?

Maybe it might be newer and more expendable character like Esme

Don’t get my hopes up …

So he was shambling from the Bull in the direction of “home” to see his mum - so presumably the farm. What’s that route like?

And happy new year all! 🍾