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!

Btw I’m listening on catch up a bit behind

So - it appears Kirstie and Rex are responsible for the current inferno … (Sorry it’s the DM - saw the headline and had to read.)

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16048529/amp/Rewilding-record-wildfires-eco-blamed-tinderbox.html

Richard was Carol's son by Richard Granville, seven years older than her daughter Ann (Anna-Louise) by John Tregorran.

Why they chose to use for this century's reappearance in Ambridge a form of the daughter's name which had never been used before, I don't know.

Does Carol blame Anna for the breakdown in the relationship with Richard?

I rarely feel the SWs are being reasonable - but if I had the option of Anna, instead of Ann, I’d take it. Just sounds more contemporary.

(I have three forenames - not one of them entirely satisfactory …)

My experience has been that a child can change her name all she wants, her parents are not going to get it right and are going to forget. And it was through Carol, and even more through her godmother Jill Archer, that Ms Tregorran was re-introduced to Ambridge, so I would have expected them to get it wrong between themselves before they got in touch and she corrected them, probably peevishly.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g Yes,it is close to home. Has Anna ever asked Carol what she would find helpful, instead of trying to strongarm her into accepting what she thinks a woman in her 90s(?) would want? DF is the same age as Carol and the extra help he's accepted over the last two years has been entirely by negotiation, from a gardener to mow the lawns and trim the hedges, to a cleaner every couple of weeks to a fall alarm. Like Carol he has full capacity (so enacted PoA not happening) and would dig his heels in over anything perceived to be an imposition. Anna's help follows her agenda, not her mother's.

Carol moved back to Ambridge because she felt at home there and has friends there. I'm three decades younger and, after the demise of DH, am plotting my escape to somewhere I have always loved and felt at home, and know I can make friends. A tech savvy priest would be a welcome bonus!

(Am intrigued @muddyford , how tech savvy does he need to be, and do you mean a RC priest?)

Anna has tried going softly softly - remember how Carol managed to repurpose the cctv camera for watching bats in her attic?

Carol won’t admit to many needs at all, that’s the problem.

But Carol didn’t want the cameras.

And yes, a Catholic priest would be top choice, though our Catholic parish deacon is pretty good in the tech department. I'm not old enough to refuse to grasp these things and not young enough to have grown up with them.

So, they sent Freddie off to the abattoir to learn management,, and he's learnt management, and is questioning the hiring and recruitment practices and whether they're fair... Good for Freddie.

Hadn’t thought of it like that.

Thanks, @EBearhug!

I only found out a few months ago (not that it makes any difference to my life) that CofE vicars are also called priests. Until then, the word had always implied Catholic to me.

Elizabeth sounds a right pain. It seems to be a week for unpleasant parents to favour people outside the family over their own flesh and blood.

Elizabeth suffers from a bad case of being unskilled and unaware of it (my all-time favourite academic paper).

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10626367/

I don’t think Freddie is coming at this from the right angle. Surely there is no obligation for a fair interview process for non-public sector roles. Lizard is so self-serving - she wants to keep Freddie Forever Young because anything else will threaten her position as lady of the manor. I wish Monty had savaged her by the throat and not the sheep.

Freddie needs to cut out him mum and speak directly to the trustees. He’s never going to get his hands on the keys of LL otherwise. Lizard will be clutching them on her deathbed.

Elizabeth is a right one, isn't she?

Strangely when Anna was going off on one, she sounded like Carol. As infuriating as Carol can be, Anna's very free with her shoulds about Carol.

So Fallon doesn't want Harrison to move out and get on with his life because she needs him to keep paying most of the mortgage so she can leave her full time job to work part time at LL?

Man up, Harrison!

I am not happy about Fallon’s new job. I prefer the idea of her running her own cafe (though I don’t think it should be vegan) rather than have her mess about with workshops and falconry classes, propping up the Lizard’s ego. This new programme is the sort of project that thrived in the early-2000s when there was lots of ££ floating around the arts sector but those days have gone and the Lizard is bound to ‘have to let her go’ a year or so down the line.

Its early days but F needs to let H move on and if that means the house needs to be sold then that needs to happen. I never thought of her as being money-driven but she clearly liked the security his salary offered, and it allowed her the freedom to do what she wanted workwise. Being financially responsible for herself will be a bit of a wake up call- she will understand Emma a bit better now (remember the new coat?) May be the most attractive thing about PC Burns was actually his police pension…

All the Anna/Carol tension this week has been very boring.

I can’t help thinking that Fallon’s move to LL is more about Freddie than Fallon, plot-wise.

I thought that, for once a decent piece of acting. Apple not falling far from the tree . . .

She wants to keep Freddie Forever Young because anything else will threaten her position as lady of the manor. In a nutshell @JoelenesParrot. And also your observation re Fallon: Being financially responsible for herself will be a bit of a wake up call- she will understand Emma a bit better now (remember the new coat?)

It was ridiculous for Elizabeth to be telling Freddie that they couldn't have him in any employed capacity at LL because the budget wouldn't run to it, when the budget has suddenly expanded to allow them to employ Fallon.

It's also ridiculous that Fallon has suddenly developed expertise in fundraising and grant applications. I hope at the very least they follow the normal statistic of a tiny proportion of those applications actually being successful - around 10-15% at most of cold applications for new ventures actually result in grants being made, and a lot of grants are for relatively small sums.

I can't remember how long Harrison has been a sergeant, but if he's on - say - £55k a year then he'll be bringing home about £3,500 a month. If he moves out and they divorce, Fallon's going to struggle unless she can nab herself a spare Fairbrother or someone similar.

Fallon's going to struggle unless she can nab herself a spare Fairbrother or someone similar

Chris Carter watch out.