Archers thread #201: Tempting fête in Ambridge? Free entry to 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 administer Bert's mucus medicine, 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/5538836-the-archers-spoilers-thread-12-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.)

There's a fair amount of stuff going on at the moment but I don't feel inspired to say anything more about any of it for now. Over to you - I hope you all have more enthusiasm than I do!

I know people here generally resent NuRobert, but I think he's actually doing a very good job of sounding reasonably like the old one. It's a very difficult ask, and I've thought the past 2 episodes very well acted by him.

All could have been so different if she was a greengrocers daughter from grantham.

Still in shock that Scruff was an Alsatian. I thought he was something like the little terrier from Woof.

Good grief, Lewisham! (I've never been to Lewisham, but imagine it as rather like Croydon, but slightly worse.)

<Off-topic alert> I memorably failed my first driving test in Croydon, having reversed round a corner and somehow ended up diagonally across the corner, with a lamppost between the car and the road. I have no idea how this was even possible, especially because about 15 minutes earlier my instructor had taken me to the same corner and I had done a perfect job. My instructor was very, very cross with me for thinking it was funny. (I passed next time around, despite having to reverse around THE SAME CORNER!)* *

Old Robert was a much-loved character and actor, and a New Robert could never compare. I think the actor is fine

New Tony did well to take over from Old Tony.

It took a long time for me to get used to New Tom but I adored Old Tom.

New Kate did well when Old Kate went to run a pub in Walford. Old Old Kate is now Tracy Horrobin.

New Clarrie is Old Old Clarrie. I preferred Old Clarrie.

New Emma managed to sound quite similar to Old Emma and has been doing a grand job.

<Lynda Snell sniff>

I live in Lewisham! The borough, not the area. It's much better than Croydon.

Harrumph.

Arf! I will pray for you. (I live perilously close to Margate!)

There were several Joes and Dans, I think. We won't talk about another big re-cast as it would have been much more to most of our tastes if that character had taken up the offer of work in South America instead of deciding to stay on the family farm and annoy us all.

Aha. My parents-in-law were similarly afflicted. I loathed it, although that might not just have been the place.

I do feel I have become much more poisonous since moving here.

Old Robert was the inanely chuckling enabler of his repellent wife. I really couldn’t understand why he was so popular.

Because he was lovely.

Old Robert was a lovely man, but I would say misguided in his apparent adoration of The Lyndster.

He was an utter love, Old Robert. As was Old Clarrie. And old Pip (Helen Monks) was not an annoying twerp like New Pip - and she was good in Raised By Wolves.

Real Hayley - the wonderful Lucy Davis who played her for 10 years and was marvellous - has said today that she has metastasised breast cancer in her bones now and is facing the end of her life at just 53.

U I think we can predict what David (and Ruth?) are going to say.
i thought it was rather irresponsible of Harrison to make it sound quite possible that the Snells could have Monty back shortly when he hadn’t even informed Brookfield of the DNA test results yet let alone floated the idea of community resolution.

And still no clue as to why the hound was ‘off’ on Sunday! Apart from the idea of the PP re him knowing he was about to get his comeuppance!

Oh, that's terrible news.

Oh no! How very sad.

Only an Alsatian cross; we were never told what the other half was. But he was big. The Stables adopted him as a rescue in order to guard them from the person who was slashing their horses.

Clive was caught; Scruff remained.

Then a couple of years down the line he ran into the yard when returning from a walk, frightened a horse by jumping up at it, and caused its rider to fall off, so he had to be re-homed because of the insurance no longer covering them if he stayed. Lynda took him on so that Daniel could still see him every day if he wanted and take him for walks.

Harrison saying, you must not have any contact with the Brookfied Archers until I have spoken to them, and I'll pop round and see them in a few days... This is Ambridge. If he doesn't go and see them now, they're bound to hear from Lilian or someone, or bump into Lynda somewhere. And Harrison should be aware of all this, though obviously it's being set up for a Dreadful Confrontation and Misunderstanding.

Scruff was always lurcher-like to me.

We were told he was an Alsatian cross, but that doesn't mean he couldn't be a lurcher; that's just a greyhound crossed with something, isn't it? Though I am not sure how good a guard-dog a lurcher would be.

I dunno, really. I was always brought up with the idea thst lurchers are poachers' dogs.

Well, so was I, but they are not a fixed breed as far as I know, they just have to have greyhound in there somewhere. Or some such definition. There's a bit about it at Wikipedia (I just looked, which I should have done before) and from that I don't see why the "herd" dog part of their ancestry shouldn't be an Alsatian.

I used to live in Lewisham and even then it was way better than Croydon. Still see friends there when back in the UK. Still a perfectly good place to live.

I echo @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g's harrumph.

Thanks @AskingQuestionsAllTheTime I don't remember that at all.