Archers thread #194: Bottled on the Bridle Path! Discuss 75 years of 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 wishthat we'd heard the Reverend Shula preach over the festive period, 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 am all Archered out after the excitement of the 75th anniversary yesterday, the special drama (Truth and Lies), the podcast, you name it. Now it looks as if George is going to pull through, the hype seems a bit overdone. So it's over to you!

It is. And it's the way such things are thrown together at the last minute. Every every time.
I used to like Joy, but the way she's lobbed into so many episodes and situations makes her unbearable and devalues the function of her character, less slack for her to step up and show another side, some nuance and complexity.

Is she on a lower rate than other actors?

Indeed

Already failing miserably at the "Less Joy in 2026" goal.

They have had haggis piped in before. Possibly by Jazzer.

I also do not wish to contemplate Jazzer piping his haggis.

Big fan of Highland Games, and strongest man competitions here. Just imagining Chris throwing his blacksmith’s hammer………

Right at Joy, hopefully...

And with any luck ricochet off and get Mick as well. Two for one.

The SWs must have been delighted that for once weather conditions in Ambridge precisely mirrored what is going on in the rest of the country.

Yes. I noticed that, too.

The Highland Games....am I on my own in thinking of the man on the Scott's Porage Oats packet - 60s vintage.

Hmm. Buff men in kilts... What's not to like?!

I am not Scottish (though accusations used to be cast at my great-grandfather) but surely the country is not entirely populated by mad people, and Highland Games happen in summer. Or early autumn.

Also, could someone advise Joy that Burns' fame does not derive from his prowess at tossing the caber.

Have checked Wiki. Definitely not something done in January. Joy has picked the wrong random stereotype. At least Lynda would have done some research (she'd also know what poets do).

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_games

Welcome @Sc00byDont - what made you start listening in 2024? I'm a relative newbie - about 12 years, I think.

Enjoyed hearing Pa Malik make a twit of himself last night. Wittering on instead of focussing on the job he had no right doing.

Agree with echt's remarks on Joy. Also, I'm not very community minded so I'm bemused why some people put so much effort into organising events. Good job not everyone's like me!

Soo much and yet so little joy….sigh…

Joelene seems to have caught Joy’s crass stupidity. Hearing her say it’s going to be the ‘best Highland Games ever’ made her sound like a six-year-old. Who writes this stuff? And why was she confiding her worries about Markey and the washing up gloves to Joy when she has any number of other potential - and more suitable - confidants. I would love to hear one of the SWs speak to the sycophant on her podcast about Joy and the role she plays in the script. It would be intriguing to hear how they justify her omnipresence…

I hope Will finds love again eventually. He is a bit of a Neanderthal but not a bad person. Would be better for the lady if she waits until Eddie has died though as it would be v annoying to have him as an in-law.

I happened to stumble across a fan-site interview with the Joy actress, and she seems to think the character was annoying ‘to start with’ but now everyone loves her, and she’d be a wonderful person to have around in any community 🤨

Joy reminds me of Miss Rabbit in Peppa pig… always popping up as an expert for whatever job is needed. Except I quite like Miss Rabbit.

the way she's lobbed into so many episodes and situations makes her unbearable and devalues the function of her character

Same can be applied to Pa Malik lately. Helen sounded suitably annoyed with him.

Reader, I married him .

No, there aren't Highland Games in January. Someone explain that to Joy.

IRL Helen would be avoiding Pa Malik from now on. She would be beyond irritated with him.

Jazzer has piped in the haggis before (though there was never any suggestion of him so much as owning a set of bagpipes let alone playing them before or since), he has also recited Burns’ Address to a Haggis - both of which activities at least have some bearing on Burns’ Night. The Highland Games plan is unfathomable in January - last night, purely by chance I imagine, the high winds around the poly tunnel matched the real storm outside. It’s as if the SWs have brainstormed Scottish cliches and come up with this - can we expect Fallon to put deep fried Mars bars on the menu and Lilian to stock up on Irn Bru? Really? It’s not even funny.

Yes! Why isn't Jazzer telling her to not be so ridiculous. Burns night has nothing to do with Highland games 🤦‍♀️

Ryan Kelly who plays Jazzer moved to Corby in the Midlands with his family at the age of three, apparently. There is a substantial expat Scottish community there because it used to be a steel town and workers moved there in the boom years after the war. I have read that the second and third generation Scots there sound Scottish even though they have lived in Corby all their lives. I can believe this. I have worked hard at holding on to at least some vestiges of my accent even though I've lived in England for well over half a century.

Anyway. There are quite a number of Highland Games within easy striking distance of Glasgow, which Jazzer could have seen during his summer holidays as a boy. Gaspmother Island has a very popular Games every July. Extra ferries are laid on and hundreds come over for the day from Glasgow and Ayrshire. There are at least three pipe bands and a great many buff and not so buff men (and these days women too) in kilts taking part in the heavy events, which is what they cal the traditional events such as tossing the caber, throwing the hammer etc. But as others have already pointed out they are always held in the summer months to reduce (slightly) the chance of rain, howling winds and so on.

The Bull's effort will be pitiful as well as inauthentic, obviously. How we will all laugh.

I really miss Lynda organising the village events. Joy is so one dimensional and the whole ‘that’s the right attitude’ nonsense makes me cringe.

I agree. The SW are trying to make Joy into the new Lynda Snell but it isn't working. Joy is ghastly. She isn't a patch on Lynda. She has no depth and despite the SW trying to make out that she can turn her hand to anything, she comes across as dense, uneducated and stupid. I wish she would be killed off.

Longtime lurker here... just popping up to say that there was an Archers anniversary special Bargain Hunt on BBC1 at lunchtime today! Tracey & Jazzer vs Lillian & Justin. Plus a bit of behind-the-scenes at the studios.