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.

If Alan dies, he will almost certainly be replaced by a lady vicar given we now have a female Arch of Cant.

George must be baffled by Brian’s offer of investment in his drones. We haven’t heard a single mention of them since he came out of prison.

Would hardly be revolutionary @JoelenesParrot, given we had the Reverend Janet Fisher serving in Ambridge from 1996!

I do hope so! He is long past due to move on.

According to Lowfield on Sunday 3rd August, 2003
"By ringing the bell eight times, Alan the new vicar signifies that he will be around for eight years" and he has now been in the village for more than twenty-two years, which is far too long to remain in one parish.

St Stephens has had a female vicar before, and hasn't there been some controversy about the current AoC's appointment?

How old is Alan meant to be? Is Usha (age 63) likely to be near retirement?

I think vicars used to be able to stay in their parishes until they are seventy, but that might now be out of date.

Retirement age for archbishops and other clergy | Thinking Anglicans

In the Church of England there is a compulsory retirement age of 70 for all clergy (with just a few exceptions, none relevant to archbishops or bishops) in the following categories:

• Archbishop
• Diocesan Bishop
• Suffragan bishop
• Dean of a cathedral church
• Residentiary canon in a cathedral church
• Archdeacon
• Incumbent of a benefice
• Vicar in a team ministry
• Vicar of a guild church

I liked Janet. She was played by Moir Leslie, who had previously played Sophie Barlow with a very different voice. (Sophie nearly married David. Phil and Jill were greatly relieved when she broke things off as they did not think she would make a good farmer's wife. Then they got Ruth ...)

'...they did not think she would make a good farmer's wife. Then they got Ruth...
Ruth is a farmer not a 'farmer's wife'.

Exactly.

Everyone (including David) expected a farmer’s wife. They were confused and horrified when the reality hit.

I think David was hoping for a partner rather than a rival – a rival who would supplant him and edge him out of the core business of the farm he had inherited, and tell him what cows he was and was not to farm with no disagreement with her dictats allowed.

She's both. David is both a farmer and a farmer's husband.

... and they are both parents to farmers.

Anyway, the point about Sophie was that she was not remotely interested in farming. She was going to be a fashion designer. If the marriage had failed, she would have been entitled to a big chunk of the farm in spite of having never lifted a finger to keep it going. That was how Phil and Jill saw it, anyway.

And Will Grundy is not a pheasant plucker, he's a pheasant plucker's son.

Yes but she isn't a 'farmer's wife' as in the traditional sense.
My mother married a farmer and was a farmer. My aunt married a farmer and was a farmer's wife.

Could you say what programme it was so I can possibly catch up?

To be fair, Alan Bennett has always sounded ancient. I think it's just the timbre of his voice.

On 'Today', @echt , at about 1 hour 20 minutes into the programme (ie 08:20 on Saturday the 21st).

He sounds very fragile now, alas.

I very much enjoyed this Alan Bennett diary extract in the Guardian recently, he is very frank about his health in it
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/mar/08/enough-said-alan-bennett-new-diaries-exclusive-extract-90th-year?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

He sounded really ancient when I heard him on R4 on Saturday I could hardly believe it was him.

Thanks for that Guardian link. Much there that is familiar. AB was born a few weeks after my Dad, who died about seven months before his 90th birthday. For seven years I used to pass what had been Mr Bennett Sr's butcher's shop (with flat above where the young Alan grew up) twice a day on the way to and from school on the 93 or 96 bus. My brother went to the successor to Leeds Modern School, which AB attended. The health side of things, the frailty - all very close to home for me at the moment. I'm glad he's so well looked after. Still able to move between Yorkshire and London, which is a good sign.

On another note, am I alone in still picturing Elizabeth II when anyone says the Queen? I'm not sure I'll ever get used to anyone else having that title.

You’re definitely not alone re the Queen, Gasp. After all, she was queen for a very long time!

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

On another note, am I alone in still picturing Elizabeth II when anyone says the Queen? I'm not sure I'll ever get used to anyone else having that title.

You're obviously not alone and I suspect I'm in the minority in that I got used to "Queen Camilla" quite quickly.
Surprised myself - I thought it would take ages.

I only ever refer to the current Queen as Camilla, although I completely accept that she is The Queen. I would never have referred to the late Queen as Elizabeth.

Yes! I caught up with the final two series of The Crown recently, which certainly hasn't helped me get used to Camilla being HMQ and not Mrs Parker-Bowles. (I like her, actually. Always did. She seems very no nonsense with an empathetic side, and of course she is a big fan of TA. Who knows, she may be one of us ...)