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!

Very much liking Carly as a contender for the inheritance of Grange Farm.

Although these hopeless SWs will probably have Oliver donate it to a Dog Sanctuary charity.

Wasn't Shula mentioned in connection with daft games on Christmas afternoon? I'm probably wrong as Advent and Christmas are busy times in most churches.

Yes @muddyford - if Shula is coming or even planning to come how on earth has she got time off at this time of year - it’s our church’s busiest time! Or perhaps Alan’s on air checkup was foreboding a health issue and Shula steps in to save Christmas at St Stephen’s

Fuxache Joy. It's just a flippin' tractor run. Loads of lights, bit of loud music, some "hilarious" musical horns, job done.

It’s just grim listening to her …

And it really does seem as if the SWs think Esme can inherit her father’s tenancy … 🙇‍♀️

Have any of the scriptwriters ever stepped foot in the actual countryside, not just Surrey?!

Vicars don't get to go awol in December.
Tractor runs are just a load of lights and big, naff decorations, blaring music, horns and fun.
Farm tenancies don't just get inherited.

🙄

I'm also a bit worried about Pat/the actress. We didn't hear her for ages - this year it's been gaps of 82 and 98 episodes (if iMDb is to be trusted). Then suddenly lots of sentimental chats. Her delivery of lines sounds far more staccato than I remember her.

I suppose it's nice that she might be getting a proper farewell, compared to e.g. Roy.

Did she have a funny turn today - asking if they could finish the farm tour and go home then deciding to continue? Or is she depressed about John?

I thought she was going to keel over with a stroke!

Pat’s conversation with Clarrie was very stilted. It sounded very odd. Hope the actress is ok.

On 31st December this year, John Archer would have been fifty if he hadn't died under a tractor in his twenties. I think his parents can be allowed to be a bit distrait without it meaning they are going to die themselves.

I was thinking on those lines but then she carried on

Yes I was reading it that Pat and Tony are struggling more with their grief this year. Thanks @AskingQuestionsAllTheTime , I knew there was some sort of milestone this year but couldn't figure out what.

Tony is immersing himself in the tractor run as maybe a kind of tribute to John in a way. Pat is just struggling on I think trying to hold it together. Tom is an absolute insensitive arse.

Have they all conveniently forgotten that they haven't actually complied with the sainted Peggy's last wishes and had an Archers family holiday?

Pat's loss of appetite, apparently fleeting moment of confusion, all the sentimental summing up of her life by everyone else....I thought a stroke too but would that cause loss of appetite? Could it be a brain tumour? Though isn't that what Rob died from? She would hate to die of the same thing. I'll be sorry actually if they're writing her out.

The 🔮 says Pat is a red herring ...

I reckon (hope) that'll come up post Christmas...

I don't really think it matters about the holiday unless all the Archers and co have to repay the £250 they all inherited.

Tony was horrid to Tom and mean girl Helen couldn't resist joining in.

I don’t think Shula is vicaring in the traditional sense. I suspect that somebody in the SW team must have twigged that even vicars usually retire (well certainly in my experience), which would give her no reason to stay ‘up north’, rarely to return.

She provides some sort of outreach service to addicts in Sunderland., but they’ve kept it vague. Perhaps she works in a rehabilitation hostel (with board and lodgings).

She’s a bit young to be deaded. I appreciate that the actress is 15 years older than the character, but I’d rather that they recast her (or at least have her in the studio for an hour or two and have her record some inane phrases that they could pop into future events - are they allowed to do that/use AI?).

I think all of Pats behaviour is grief related. It doesn't matter that's it's been such a long time. It's her son and the loss of all that could have been.

When Joy said to Esme that John had died it made me muse on the wider use of the words died v killed. Saying he died sounded like he was a Victorian orphan with consumption. But would it have been over-sharing to have said he was killed in an accident. I don’t think so but any thoughts? May be the SEs were just saving airtime.

Yes, especially as it's Christmas. Sometimes it catches you at the oddest m9ments, like hearing a certain tune when going round the supermarket. Decorating the tractors, the instrument of his death, is like picking a scab. Poor Pat.

Joy! She’s like a sort of irritating narrator figure - outlining the background of the Bridge Farm Archers to Esme (presumably as a round up for any new listeners). Her Rochelle references are no longer intriguing now we all know the tedious truth. I thought Pat was just overwhelmed with a huge sadness when Esme talked about watching autumn turn to winter. I love Pat and I love all the background to the Bridge Farm Archers stretching back as long as I’ve been listening and beyond which has shaped each and every one of them. I loved the reference to their traditional Christmas Eve tree decorating. The Archers needs this continuity to make it worth keeping up with otherwise it’s just a series of random dramas (see Rochelle in the abattoir) with no consequence.