Archers thread #200: Trouble in Ambridge! (All 200 threads could have had this title.) 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 love to be Brian's child or stepchild, 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.)

Over to you!

Oh and moving your new boyfriend into your child’s home after a few months of dating is revolting. Won’t anyone give that poor child some stability?

Don't know if Im a bit grumpy, but I find most of the characters very self centered lately. Fallon not wanting to go to the do because she will feel left out. Well you go to support your DH and be proud of him getting some recognition for his good work, even if you dont fancy it.
Don't start me on Alice she has always been self centered and I feel Rex is sounding very much like Helens ex who lived with her and the boys, he seemed to be there just to please Helen all the time and Rex is sounding just like him. Its as if he is scared to be himself and always
appeasing Alice.

I'm amazed that Harrison's colleagues are "dying" to catch up with him. He's only been gone a week!

Surely its much to soon for Rex to be moving in with Alice? I feel like they have only been together 5 minutes. I feel this is somehow going to be the catalyst to Chris and Fallon having an affair for some reason.

Rex moving in with Alice seems very premature. I don’t really know about these things as don’t have children but I think Chris was right to be flawed by the news given Martha lives with Alice.

Spaghetti carbonara and garlic bread seems a very carb-heavy dinner nowadays. It felt a bit circa 1990. Jamie calls his recipe for Gennaro’s classic SC ‘a thing of great beauty’ not ‘lovely jubbly’. There was no reference to veg/salad last night. Harrison and Chris should be thinking of their 5-a-day. And surely they would have been having a nice cold beer/glass of wine with their dinner. Just saying.

When it’s a stranger you picked off the Internet I’d agree - you’d probably want to know them for years and years, and still not move them into your children’s home.

But in this instance - what more is there for Alice to learn about Rex? They have lived in the same community for years; they have shared friends and acquaintances and activities. She knows his brother - and how he has turned out as a father. Presumably the meeting with Pa Fairbrother will now have to happen offscreen - unless they revoice him for juicy future storylines? She knows how he earns a living, what his passions and priorities are, who his recent relationships were with. She trusts him enough to be open about her own greatest challenges, and knows his reactions are always based on wanting to support her.

Also, Martha’s father is right there. It’s not as if she’ll ever be isolated and alone and at the mercy of someone intent on harming her child.

And if they’re living in her house, she can boot him out if he puts a step wrong.

Floored, not flawed- sorry about that…

Rex and Alice seem so stilted with each other - pussy footing around.

It seems ... awkward?

I wonder what will happen to Rex’s canal boat if he and Alice move in together. Perhaps Chris and (occasionally) Martha could move in since there seem to be no signs that Hazel is ever going to bother to sort out the flat.

Or perhaps Harrison will be exiled there after the “Bit Of A Do” in Leeds?!

Maybe Kate will go there after Kirsty boots her out?

I think the length of time Alice and Rex have known each other is neither here nor there tbh. Alice and Chris knew each other from childhood and it took him years to realise she was an alcoholic.

Personally I think the main issue is they’ve only been romantically involved for a few months and it will be very unsettling for Martha to see Mummy’s special friend move in and then possibly move out again if the relationship flounders, which is highly likely because there is zero chemistry between the two of them. They make for an extremely dull couple. Rex is like a docile puppy, desperate to do whatever is needed to keep Alice happy. I agree with the PP who compared him to gormless Lee.

Martha has already seen Harry come and go, swiftly followed by her mother’s relapse. This is another mismatch that will inevitably end in tears (and I suspect Alice realising/confessing that she still loves Chris🙄)

Surely Chris is going to kick up a fuss?

Especially if he finds out they are planning a baby, which will surely be the next mess Alice creates.

I don't think Alice has considered how she would feel if it was someone moving in with Chris. It's far too soon IMO when there's a child involved.

I don't see Rex and Alice lasting either. It reminds me of Lee and Helen too.

They - Chris, Harrison, Fallon - don't have sedentary jobs. They are all on their feet a lot and Chris's job is very physical. Harrison ought to be keeping fit. Fallon had just been playing padel. Having a slice of garlic bread didn't seem such a huge deal to me and I expect there was a salad there - fruit afterwards at a minimum.

If I mention that we're having salmon en croûte for supper, I don't feel the need to mention that there will also be vegetables. 😁

We rarely hear of named silent staff working anywhere. We don't even get told about the Buttons or Booths these days. Agree with both of you. I'll add:

Shane at Nelson's Wine Bar
The man who owned the diner that Kenton managed before Jack Woolley bought it
Jean-Paul the Grey Gables chef - not silent, but not a central character
Maurice - ditto
Denise was often mentioned over the years and then they ruined it by giving her a voice and now we never hear a word about her

Nowadays we get new characters who are really prominent for a while, we all get sick of them, and then they disappear without even being mentioned for ages. (We all know who I'm thinking of here.) Or we have people who pop up for an episode or two and then vanish, which seems hardly worth the bother of casting them.

Harrison cooked the meal. It sounded a bit stodgy for the weather.
I don't like pasta but garlic bread is good any time.

Yes, I'd probably only mention it if it was something like, homegrown asparagus, or my first carrots of the year.

Pasta is Italian. It's hot in Italy. It's like saying it's too hot for curry.

I expect there was a salad there - fruit afterwards at a minimum

In real life, people eat a carby meal without angsting about salad or ensuring they've had their 5 a day. I can't imagine Harrison offering Chris a slice of melon or an apple as a reward for clearing his plate.

Thank you. I thought I was going mad

Oh well, in that case it was "endive, actually"! Thank you, Morrisons. Your chiller cabinets may have been broken for weeks, but your fruit & veg section remains the best in town and your staff are really helpful.

@CaptainMyCaptain , I said the meal sounded stodgy for the weather. Not all of Italy is hot all year round.
Indian food isn't particularly stodgy.

Adults don’t implode if they have the odd carby meal. I’ve been glued to salads for weeks in the heat and today polished off some lovely stodgy pasta and felt all the better for it 😁

Why did you glue yourself to salads? You're meant to eat them.