Archers thread #198: Josh sent to Patagonia, Pip stays put. Wrong way round! Discuss The Archers here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

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 also confide only in your budgie, 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.)

Not feeling greatly enthused about what's going on in Ambridge at the moment, tbh. I'm annoyed at Brian's hypocrisy about Ruairi given the furore over George's attempt to frame Alice as the cause of the accident. I do hope we don't have a slow drip drip drip now as one after another the members of the Aldridge/Archer clan find out what really happened and endlessly agonise over what to do. Frankly I don't care. There! I've said it.

Pip's OK. Well, good, but what was the point of that story, I wonder?

I suspect I'm in a minority of one in rather enjoying hearing (a) from Bert Horobin and (b) about Fletcher. I surmise Bert is here to stay for a while because the BBC has (amazingly) updated his character page: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/1wQP3mKR6yr9LVs05jddxcY/bert-horrobin (prominent actor photo warning). Given how out of date a lot of the other character pages are, this seems odd, but there we are.

That's all I can be bothered to say! Over to you.

Dear me!

Maybe she realised she identified more with Chris Carter than Auntie Chris or Philip Moss not Philippa Rose Archer.

No, wait! It was Peppa Pig the Ram wot did it. 🐷

Glad Kirsty turned Erik down. He’d make a dreadful husband.

George is still a vile misogynist then.

Kirsty has assets, Erik doesn't.

George is still a vile misogynist then. We ain't seen nothin' yet.

Ditto the first part. When I began to hear mac and cheese a few years ago, I try thought it was an option at Macca's. As I haven't been there for aeons I'd no way of verifying this. Only last year did I find out what it really was.

And Amber seems to be getting more confidently feminist. HOW she can be with such a neanderthal is baffling.

Erik = walking ick. Sounds slimy as. I was cheering for kirsty, way to go making him prove himself as a dad before he gets his hands on her money!

Pip is unhinged. Combining season is just weeks away, this could be the year stella mows her down

Amber is going to be on mumsnet in a couple of years, asking if she's unreasonable to expect something entirely normal from her husband. By page 5, she will have added a long list of absolutely horrifying things DH has done and said, and will be wondering if maybe she should have seen it coming back when he said something like "ew, you sound like a feminist" or perhaps when he said he wouldn't mind a tradwife... or maybe when he kept referring to DC as "Hisname junior", or maybe when he lost his shit during an argument and called his mum a slut...
Mumsnet will tell her to LTB, obviously.

I thought George's "Hey! You're not trying flattering me into doing the worst jobs?" sounded as thought it was lifted straight from some Andrew Tate-y part of the manosphere. Wonder where that conversation would have gone had Lilian not interrupted?

That bit at the end when Kirsty asked "Are you going to tell the baby's dad then?" followed by Amber's "Er...yes. Yes. I'll go and tell George" had me bleating to DH "She and Brad definitely only kissed, didn't they!"?
Or perhaps that was Amber feeling it hit home again that George really is the baby's father and she's stuck with him (from that point of view, at least) after he'd had been such an arse for a lot of the episode...

That's the first time I've heard much of Erik's voice as I've only relatively recently started listening to TA again.
Gives me the absolute shudders - ugh!
Sounds like Terry-Thomas at his most "Ding-dong!" but devoid of any of T-T's charm and humour.

PS Just read your post, @PuggyPuggyPuggy
Absolutely spot on!

I wondered if the church bells sounding odd was a symptom of something or other.

They were slightly uneven, but that isn't at all unusual - it could have been due to a learner ringer, or one of them having a bit of an off day or something. But as it was specifically highlighted, I wondered if we're going to get a SL about needing to fundraise for a defective bell, or Neil worrying about a lack of competent ringers, or losing his skills as ringing master, or whatever.

I’m also puzzled by Amber having to explain to George how social media algorithms work and the fact that his video would get more views if he posted it later in the day. These are very basic rules that he should surely already know since he has been running social media accounts for years (my 12 year old who isn’t allowed on SM knows this!)

When was his ban on stepping inside the Bull lifted? I’ve missed several episodes and was completely thrown by Lilian exchanging pleasantries with him.

I doubt that George actually does know those basic social media principles. Essentially he got a bit lucky with the videos of Bartleby and decided he knows it all as a result. He's exactly the sort of person who wouldn't bother to do any research around algorithms etc.

The Bull ban was lifted fairly recently, I think because Lillian decided to keep him sweet on Brian's behalf.

What's happened to Fallon and her awful husband Harrison?

Did they separate?

Or has he died in his undercover job? I'm hoping.

No separation. He comes back occasionally.

Fallon still has Chris as a lodger. In addition to the SWs’ dislike of having any resident living alone, this affords plenty of opportunity for tension as it means Alice and her new squeeze Rex will inevitably bump into Chris at Alice’s best friend’s house.

No, they'll tell her she's the problem because she slapped him when he called his mother a slut. She'll be told she needs councilling [sic].

The comment on the bells was For A Reason.

... and decided he knows it all as a result. He'd think it anyway.

How old is Kirsty?

I really hope her pregnancy goes well and she has had a healthy baby.

Brad's dad - last I heard him he was absolutely awful. Or was that Chelsea's dad. Can't remember if they have the same father or not. Anyway Brad's dad sounds ok, at the moment.

44

If Kirsty was on MN she would also be vilified for not marrying Erik. MN is obsessed with women getting ‘financial protection’ if they have a child by ensuring they get married, even if the man is the opposite of marriage material. The idea that a woman might be better off than a man (and therefore potentially at a disadvantage if she marries and then divorces her poorer husband) never seems to land on MN.

I don't think so because she has a house and he doesn't. Half the posters would have missed that bit and would say she needs to be married.

If it's a boy, he could be Keir Miller. His father's name being in the first name.
It is close to Keira though.

Kirsty would have been vilified for not treating Gavin like royalty.

Keri is also an anagram of Erik.
If the baby is a girl, she could be Wendy.

If the baby is a girl she could be given another bird name like her late brother, Wren. Thrush maybe, or Swallow, or Great tit.

Beaver?

Yes, I'm a bit puzzled about current Den as my memory of the last time we came across him is that his only interest in his kids lay in how he could get money out of them or Tracy. I hope we're not supposed to forget about that and assume NuDen is a lovely bloke who just loves his kids.

If it's a boy it could be Shag.

I worked as warden on a vast seabird colony and treasure the memory of a keen birdwatcher rushing up to me to announce "I've just had a good shag by the chalk arch".

Robin?