Archers thread #199: Kaboom! The Aldridges are self-destructing, and it's GLORIOUS. 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 drop everything to help Helen create a new cheese on national minimum wage, 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.)

If you haven't heard last night's episode (Friday 22nd May) you really must. It's episodes like that that keep me addicted. Funny how often they involve the Aldridges, the most dysfunctional and also by far the most interesting family in Ambridge. Also very well acted on the whole. How lovely to hear Tamsin Greig in TA, but I wonder if we ever will again.

Some cracking posts towards the end of the last thread, which is here: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/5518503-archers-thread-198-josh-sent-to-patagonia-pip-stays-put-wrong-way-round-discuss-the-archers-here

Over to you!

The way stories are wrapped up and dealt with largely within the space of a few weeks - following very heavy-handed PSAs - makes it hard to think they expect to retain listeners for any length of time, even though they know that many listeners have been listening for decades and enjoy the long-running SLs most. It’s a strange contradiction.

Anyway, this week I am more content than I have been for a while. No Joy, no Akram, lots of Brian and not much from Brookfield. Granted Carol and Anna are tedious in the extreme and as I have only been listening about 12/13 years they feel like new characters but I can just about live with it. Oh, also Kristy’s trip to the midwife was the radio equivalent of watching paint dry. I’m hoping Carol falls down the stairs and breaks her neck- at least it would give Anna something to see when she plays back the footage on her security camera app.

When my dad was asked who the Prime Minister was ( Theresa May) he replied “Bloody hell… I don’t think she even knows who the Prime Minister is!”

Funnily enough, when I was on a neurology ward after a stroke and burr hole surgery in early 2023, who the Prime Minister was was not one of the questions I was asked when they did ward rounds and were assessing my cognition - I wondered whether it was no longer deemed to be a fair question, given how often we were changing them...!

The question "Who is the Prime Minister?" was frankly unfair during the Truss weeks.

My sympathies, @ThingsAreNotWhatTheyWere - that must have been tough.

Thank you, it was certainly life-changing...!

I read hospital notes a lot for my job and there was definitely a period around the time of Liz Truss where there were many jocular notes on the MOCA forms about whether the failure to answer the prime minister question actually had any bearing on the patient's capacity.

I'd struggle to do that. I'm also old and never had to do it at school.

I went to army primary schools in Germany and Singapore, where arithmetic was treated as fun and we were taught those tricks. In the latter, aged 8-11, we started every morning with a quick, competitive mental arithmetic test. It woke everyone up!

I read a long time ago that the 'Who is the Prime Minister?' question was of limited value once Mrs T had been in power for many years. Same applied to Blair, I assume. So there can't be all that many periods in recent British history when it was useful!

My mother was asked that question in about 2007, so quite late in Blair's time as PM. She said it was Margaret Thatcher.

My mother was most annoyed by a TV news report on a prime minister 's visit somewhere and it was Rishi Sunak. She was convinced Boris was still PM so had completely bypassed Truss. But, despite getting 2 newspapers a day. also couldn't understand why people were going on about Ukraine 6 months after Russia invaded as that had also been bypassed. And yet she has only just been assessed as not having capacity.

This had made me laugh 🤣.

It was pretty firmly established that Anna was gay around the time when she was heavily involved with Helen's case. I vaguely remember a storyline around a relationship that wasn't working or something?

No competent lawyer could have advised Adam that he had a very good case based on Brian's alleged incapacity. Simply making farming decisions someone else disagrees with doesn't get you past first base with that sort of claim.

Yes, there was a sub-storyline where she kept ringing Max and talking about Max to keep us on tenterhooks, and no one was surprised that Max turned out to be a woman. And then they broke up.

The thought of having to listen to Kirsty worrying about her pregnancy for another 29 weeks doesn’t fill me with joy.

I wonder how they will tackle Rewilding if Kirsty is on maternity leave?

Why is Lilian running the pub? Are Kenton/Jolene/Fallon on holiday?

Listened to the omnibus. Realised I fell asleep (I listen when I go to bed) during the Brian/Kate conversations but was awake for the Anna/Carol tedium.

Must try harder.

We haven't had a maternal death in childbirth yet. Leaving wide boy Eric to bring up the sprog.

I've just been watching Downton Abbey again from the very beginning so all this talk of Anna being gay and a major character dying in childbirth is a bit confusing for me. At least we haven't had a visiting Turk dying of heart failure during a bit of how's your father and his corpse having to be carried through the corridors of Lower Loxley by Lily and Elizabeth aided by Mrs Pugsley!

I had completely misremembered this and had attributed that storyline to Alistairs sister who we met a few times a few years ago.
Speaking of which where are Jim and Alistair? They were mentioned at the cricket last Sunday I think. I love Jim and the actor - I hope he hasn’t disappeared forever.

axtually - a dementia/caring for elderly parents SL could have been really well done with Jim and his children - perhaps a little beartbreakring but the actor is so wonderful I think he’d excel. Although after everything he has already gone through I want him to love happily every after for ever!

Wow Stella, talk about sticking it to the man.

(Or sniffing around, depending upon one’s interpretation.)

I’m off to the Spoilers thread!

How long a notice period is Adam entitled to, and has Brian sent him x weeks wages in lieu?

No need. I expect Adam has already "borrowed" 6 months worth of salary from the account.

why did they steal our 😁

very sneaky. I like it.