Archers thread #197: Runs, Ambridge, runs! 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 find it credible that Kate, who changed continents twice to get away from her own children, has now morphed into Grandmother of the Year, 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.)

Well, Finlay may have made good his escape, but we're all still stuck inside the Borsetshire forcefield. The cricket team is rising phoenix-like from the ashes but will now be The Bull's team, not Ambridge's. Will Alice and Rex make a go of things? Will George cope with a month off the booze? Will the real Brian Aldridge re-appear? Will we hear a bit more about farming? We did get a lambing scene the other night, which was good.

Over to you!

P. S. The pointless new AI title generator MN has introduced in spite of absolutely nobody ever asking for it wanted to call this thread something like Discuss The Archers here, no spoilers. I won't be following its suggestions.

At this time of year, can I recommend the addition of a few finely chopped wild garlic leaves into the mix. (Perhaps not such a great suggestion for urban-dwellers, but there’s acres of the stuff near me).

Many earth orbits ago, we visited Cheddar Gorge and I had a "gentleman's cream tea" in a cafe. Leaving aside the obvious sexism, it was lovely - apple chutney, proper cream cheese and a cheese and chive scone. Which I also buttered.

Did they have a lady's cream tea?

No, just a "cream tea"! Or I'd have removed and burned my bra on the spot.

I'd expect a "gentleman's cream tea" to have gentleman's relish.

Brian is correct. After receiving (and blowing) the initial £1300, George will almost certainly be back for more. And how will George explain the funding behind this new venture? If he doesn’t have a plausible explanation everyone will assume he stole the money.

I was very taken aback by that conversation between George and Brian because it came from nowhere. Did George just walk into the house? I suppose Ambridge is the type of place where people do just leave their doors unlocked so people can knock and walk straight in.

Do you have a recipe for cheese scones, @DeanElderberry? I love them but have rarely attempted to make any. For plain scones I use this recipe which is excellent: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/classic-scones-jam-clotted-cream but it doesn't give any advice on how to turn them into cheese scones.

To be honest, though, my next baking project is likely to be Soda Bread made with Guinness (https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/stout_bread_36368) after seeing some on Masterchef (made by a chef from Dublin - it looked delicious). That might have made a good basis for a gentleman's afternoon tea, were I given to sexist stereotypes, which on the whole I'm not.

Just leave the sugar out of your usual recipe and put cheese and a bit of mustard in instead.

George knocked on the door. He was quite rude in the way he spoke to Brian IMO.
Buttermilk Scones with Cheshire Cheese and Chives recipe | Delia Smith
Mary Berry Cheese Scones - Mary Berry Recipes
Cheese scones recipe - BBC Food

I loathe Miranda. Flabbergasted by her conversation with Brian. And also by his insouciant suggestion that she pulls out of buying Home Farm after exchanging contracts. Where's he getting thousands from to compensate her?

Well, that was fun!

My cheese scones are method, not recipe.

Start with low-fat Greek yogurt (about a cupful if I'm aiming to make 6 or 7 scones) and stir in a beaten egg and a teaspoonful of mustard.

Then add flour, baking powder, soda bicarb, a little mild chili powder.

Then add grated cheese. Lots and lots of grated cheese. Mature cheddar is good, so is mixed cheddar and mozzarella, why not use both? And a little grana padano, just for luck.

Once it has all combined into a suitable doughish texture pat it to the right depth, cut it into scones, put a little milk in the cup you beat the egg in and dab the milk and egg mixture on the tops. Place them on your baking tray and leave them to sit for half an hour.

Then bake them.

It sounds weird but it works.

I was influenced by making porridge bread, which starts with 500 g of yogurt.

I make scones so rarely that I can't even remember what recipe I use. I haven't made them for years. Possibly Delia? Always cheese scones, though, with copious amounts of unsalted butter!

It must have been a shock for her to hear him say he didn't want to move in. I do understand his point of view though but he should have summoned up the courage to tell her before.

What I don't understand is why she's wailing about what to do with Home Farm. She lives alone at the moment wherever she lives, presumably in a large house, so why can't she live alone at Home Farm and carry on seeing Brian in the way she does already? I can't see the problem myself.

I'm not familiar with house prices in that part of the country, but surely Home Farm must be at least £1.5 million? That would mean if she lost her 10% deposit he would have to pay her 150k. Assume he's got substantial savings but that's a lot to lose.

And all because he doesn't want Miranda to overhear Ruairi blubbing about bottling George.

Thank God for that! It was a ludicrous proposition that Brian would want to move back to Home Farm with Miranda (to say nothing of the fact she would have wanted to buy his former marital home in the first place!) I also loathe Miranda - she has the most irritating voice and delivery, which was particularly pronounced tonight. I cannot for the life of me imagine why Brian would want to spend his remaining years with her.

Sad for Tony being bullied into giving up his Anguses.

“Nothing you’re saying is making any sense to me.” Amen Miranda.

What a foolish and poorly acted scene!

Did anyone watch beyond paradise tonight?
Oliver was the author who was killed and his publisher was Lawrence the racist bloke

I thought I’d missed something as I also didn’t understand why she seemed to be saying she couldn’t move in without him? Why was Brian suggesting she should pull out, forfeit her deposit and move in ‘later’? She can just move in without him!

None of this makes sense really as surely Miranda, who has no children, would be downsizing at her time of life rather than buying a big house to rattle around in with her aged partner.

Yes! Enjoyable tosh, as ever. Good to see Michael Cochrane (Oliver), but the publisher was not Rupert Vansittart, but the sublime Alex Macqueen, Julius from The Thick Of It and the trainer in my favourite Cabin Pressure episode, Ipswich (Hey, chief!).

I like Miranda's voice, sufficiently different from other people's that I know who is talking, overtly mannered and controlled which in turn tells us things about her life choices.

I wouldn't blame her for killing Brian, but maybe if she waits for a day or two he'll recover his senses.

I wonder if she bought it because she not only wanted Brian there but his children and grandchildren and great grandchildren too. Not to live but a gathering place. A family to fill her old age.

George and Brian - I took was on George's side. £1300 seemed a small price to pay for his son's freedom (as rhauri wouldn't be able to let his dad go to jail). And George seemed to have thought this through. I can see why he wouldn't want the same sheep as his step dad. I could only put it down to Brian having some sort of cognitive decline. But more likely Brian wanting to keep the serfs down.

The whole thing's mad. He's making plans to buy before he's even asked if he can have the free grazing that the whole scheme is dependent on, and hasn't factored in that Esme may well say no or require rent. After all, it sounds like she will need to maximise profit from every acre of Meadow Farm. He certainly hasn't factored in things like vet's fees. He seems to have done to close to zero research and the whole things is dependent on the typical Grundy trope of meeting a bloke offering a deal. And from all of that he thinks he's going to accumulate enough money to have a farm of his own. You can guarantee that every time an invoice came in he'd be back blackmailing Brian again.

Brian is horrible at the moment. He should tell R to go to the police and confess, but no he'd rather make Miranda look like a fool. He should have told Miranda he didn't want to move in. I too would strangle Brian. I hope she finishes with him and has a good life without him. Im really angry for Miranda.