The Archers: Lynda and Elizabeth plating … Litter, Litter everywhere … Lamb Tagine
- Lynda and Elizabeth come out
- What’s all this litter?
- Bank Holiday weekend fun
- Lamb Tagine
- Eddie’s “professional development”
- Lily chooses her career path
- Hurrah! Ed get’s his artichokes!
Lynda and Elizabeth come out
Unlike their last planting foray together, this time Lynda and Elizabeth are plating during the day, out in public.
(seemingly, is the land is a bit dry – dig deeper and sprinkle it with water)
What’s all this litter?
A kebab? The horror!
First there’s litter in the playground, then another of David and Ruth’s cows get cut by a broken bottle.
Who’s the litter lout?
Bank Holiday weekend fun
Joe and Bartleby are out and about with signed advertising their campsite, while Lower Loxley has a steam rally.
Lashings of ginger beer it shall be!
Lamb Tagine
I think that’s what Susan said she’d decided to cook for Brian and Jennifer, but she did seem to pronounce it differently every time.
Whatever it is, even Lynda thinks it’s quite ambitious. Which doesn’t at all bode well.
Saving no expense, Susan’s determined to go ahead with cooking a recipe she hasn’t tried before.
Though her trial run didn’t go at all well.
“ is it supposed to taste like this?”
says Neil
“Oh it’s …. You can’t serve that … it’s the spices …can’t put my finger on it… just tastes all wrong”
says Emma.
Whatever Susan’s managed to do to the recipe (which she claims she followed step for step), she’s now in a panic that it’s wrong, but she doesn’t have time to try it again before the big night.
She should’ve stuck to Steak and Kidney pudding.
Eddie’s “professional development”
As much as “Eddie ‘Subtly is my middle name’ Grundy” often has cunning plans which cost him more than he earns, you got to hand it to him that he knows his way around David Archer.
Managing to persuade David that he needs to go to the diary event for he “professional development”, he also gets David to buy Ed’s ticket as well.
Every penny saved …
Lily chooses her career path
Whereas Freddie doesn’t like boarding school, Lily seems to be quite a robust young girl who takes everything in her stride.
She’s decided she wants to be a vet who writes in her spare time. Which will leave Freddie with Lower Loxley.
Let’s hope he’s grows into the gorilla costume well in time.
Hurrah! Ed get’s his artichokes!
I did say to try Underwoods, but Ed’s finally got his artichokes.
Apologetic because the hollandaise sauce was out of a packet, Ed surprises Emma with this most prized of vegetables.
Very sweet that Emma also didn’t know how to eat them
(“not in a quiche like last time”)
Ed’s already in the know after asking Alice and Jennifer.
And after all that effort, Emma really likes them.
“let me eat my artichokes in peace!”
she demanded of Susan.
If this was a pregnancy craving, let’s hope she finds something a bit more easy for Ed to find and deal with. The poor man will be run ragged.
The Archers: Tony gets his mower conditioner … Ed’s still on about Artichokes … The Girls’ night out … Jamie offers to do the shopping
- “Great conditioner to cut ratios”
- Why has no-one asked Ed about his artichoke obsession?
- Natural or high tech birth?
- Is this a permanent ceasefire between Kathy and Jamie?
- Surely The Bull isn’t shutting!
- Steady on there ‘Girls’!
- And in case you’d forgotten …
“Great conditioner to cut ratios”
Phew! I was worried there that the ratio would have been rubbish (!).
Tony has got his mower conditioner, Ed’s excited about it, but seemingly Tom just glanced at it and grunted about it being unnecessary.
Poor Tony.
Why has no-one asked Ed about his artichoke obsession?
As Ed’s now asked everyone and anyone abut artichokes, why has no-one thought to ask what this sudden obsession is all about?
It’s now quite ‘Ed’ now, is it?
Also trying Tony, Ed seems to be having no luck in the shops. It seems artichokes won’t be round again until March-May.
Helen suggest that Kirsty might have a supplier. Seemingly Jaxx has a
“more esoteric menu these days”
Natural or high tech birth?
Helen’s quite taken with the idea of having a natural birth (at the birthing centre Amy’s working at), whereas Tony seems to think she needs state of the art equipment.
Tony obviously wants his daughter to be safe, but there’s the undercurrent of Tony not letting go of how Helen got pregnant in the first place:
“the child wasn’t conceived natural – a high tech birth seems more appropriate”
How long will he keep this up for? He surely has to accept that despite how she got pregnant, Helen is going to have a baby - and that everything after the conception is as ‘natural and ‘normal’ as any other pregnancy?
Is this a permanent ceasefire between Kathy and Jamie?
It does all sound very civilised.
Jamie offered to do the shopping, is doing well at his job and actually mowed the lawn when only asked once.
Kathy also seems to be a lot calmer, which must make even having a conversation with her less fraught.
Talking to Pat later on, Kathy thinks it was the shock of how upset she was last week that has jolted Jamie back into being a nice chap.
Or, maybe he’s working through his grief.
Either way, I’m very grateful there’s no shouting.
That just leaves Kenton and Kathy to sort themselves out, or split up (the latter I think is most likely).
Kenton’s agreed to go to Kathy’s golf club dinner dance. Which Kathy is delighted about.
But hold on a minute … Kenton’s seemingly been moaning to Kirsty about how the dance will be full or bores. So he doesn’t seem happy to be going.
Does this mean Kenton is finally putting Kathy’s needs before all of his own – or is he doing it out of duty, to stop Kathy moaning? If so, I would have thought shouting shall resume quick hence …
Surely The Bull isn’t shutting!
That’d be ridiculous.
Even if Jolene does want to sell her shares, surely they’d keep it going while everything gets sorted out?
Or will we see Ambridge residents having to go to Borchester for their pints?
Village riot ahoy!
Steady on there ‘Girls’!
Helen can’t stop yawning, Brenda’s picking up bathroom catalogues for Lillian, Fallon can only talk about The Bull.
Party time indeed!
It might have been better to avoid The Bull altogether to give Fallon a proper break (and started out in Borchester), but Kirsty doesn’t seem to be having much fun with her friends these days.
Where else could she find a distraction … ?
And in case you’d forgotten …
Will doesn’t like Ed.
Not even able to give more than a monosyllabic answer to Ed when they cross paths in the pub, Will is hardly going to be pleased when he hears about Emma’s pregnancy.
I’d lock him up now. Will is quite simply a violent nutter.
The Archers: the kids are getting kitted out for school … Helen’s organising a cookery demo … Susan’s trying to find a recipe … Nigel has a cunning plan
- Is boarding school less expensive than patent shoes?
- A female Jamie Olive in Ambridge!
- Antique furniture should not house vegetables
- Steak and kidney is alright for Clarrie and Eddie
- Allotments at Lower Loxley?
- Ed’s still on the artichoke hunt
- Is Helen fine?
Is boarding school less expensive than patent shoes?
I was a bit confused about Elizabeth saying that she couldn’t buy patent shoes for her kids (as she didn’t have money to burn), but that her and Nigel had put both Lilly and Freddie down for private school the moment they were born.
Maybe the cost of patent shoes have gone up since I was a kid (and had to stand in that strange foot measuring machine at Clarks).
And, maybe Nigel and Elizabeth have just decided that the kids away at boarding school is a good way to have them, but not have them in the house.
Kind of like having a dog but keeping it in an outside kennel …
A female Jamie Olive in Ambridge!
Who’d have thought it!
Helen’s very excited about this Shelly Brazil. Seemingly she’s a local chef with her own book, and is doing a demo to boost takings at Ambridge Organics.
To make sure they have an audience, Helen is calling everyone she (and Kirsty) knows.
Antique furniture should not house vegetables
Especially when the said vegetables are wrapped in yesterday’s newspaper.
Was Nigel having a go at Bert about the entire vegetable situation, or was he merely offended that Bert hadn’t made the effort to at least get the most recent newspaper?
God help us if it’d been The Sun.
Steak and kidney is alright for Clarrie and Eddie
But not for Brian and Jennifer.
According to Susan.
So it’s farce ahoy! Despite Pat’s advice to stick to a recipe she knows, Susan’s determined to try something new and exotic.
Oh dear.
Allotments at Lower Loxley?
Nigel is quite good at ignoring Elizabeth’s complete lack of enthusiasm for any of his ideas.
So shall we see hordes of keen amateur gardeners descending on Lower Loxley to grow their veg?
It’s a good idea. Maybe Nigel should speak to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall about his landshare scheme.
Ed’s still on the artichoke hunt
Now he’s been trying Bert.
Is it just me, or shouldn’t Underwood’s have them?
Is Helen fine?
As I said yesterday, it’s all a bit suspicious that Emma’s pregnant at the same time as Helen.
It could mean one of them is in for a heartbreaker.
Pat thinks Helen looks tired, but Helen’s determined to be the epitome of healthy motherhood.
As much as I hope both Emma and Helen are okay, I really (muchly) hope that Helen doesn’t get yet another disappointment.
It’s be too much for any of us to cope with.
The Archers: The Carter’s invite the Aldridges to supper … Jennifer’s in a panic again … Ed’s still on about artichokes
- “Oh flipping eck”
- “Will he expect my cleaner to clean for him?”
- Amy’s going to regret moving back to Ambridge
- “What sort of sauce is that then?”
“Oh flipping eck”
Was Neil’s response to Susan deciding that Brian and Jennifer should be invited to supper.
Susan feels that, despite Neil’s rather uncouth comparison of Alice and Chris’ marriage to pig breeding, they need to “cement the bond” with the Aldridges sooner rather than later.
She really does seem to feel that Chris’ marriage is a new opportunity for her and Neil – and that they should be the best of friends with Jennifer and Brian to make sure that their passage into the upper classes is as smooth as possible.
If I didn’t know better, I’d have though Susan pushed Chris to marry Alice for her own gain. Of course, that didn’t happen at all …
Unhappy about having to lose his Friday night in the Bull to supper with the Aldridges (which is seemingly more than just cheese on toast!), Neil isn’t looking forward to any of it:
“In my best bib and tucker … best behaviour … dredging up something from the news to keep the conversation going”
Caught on the hop, Jennifer’s said yes to Susan’s invitation, but was then desperately hoping that Brian had already made other plans. Which he hadn’t:
“With any luck, it’s be bangers and mash and pudding. We’ll be out of there by 9”
Told not to joke like that on the big night itself, at least Brian can see the funny side of it.
Unlike Jennifer:
“It’s the thin end of the wedge”
Yes indeed. What fun!
“Will he expect my cleaner to clean for him?”
Now that just wouldn’t be on at all, would it Jennifer!
The very thought of one’s new son-in-law expecting to use one’s hired help simply is unthinkable!
Quite right.
Isn’t it amazing how a rich and successful husband has made Jennifer into such an awful snob!
After Jennifer panicked about their announcement that they’d been married … the next panic over the party … Jennifer’s now panicking about more practical issues (now that the party dust has settled).
I can see why she’s a bit annoyed at losing one of their holiday cottages, but it’s it Alice’s to use?
But that’s not the real reason. It’s all about Jennifer being worried that she’ll have to cook and clean for Chris when Alice goes back to university.
Whereas Brian
“expects him to look after himself”
Jennifer has a vision of washing Chris’ smalls.
Couldn’t she just leave him to get on with it?
Alice and Chris’ plan is to stay in her cottage while they save money for a larger house, then rent out the cottage to get an extra income.
Brian’s impressed, and is happy that Chris seems to have some “business sense”
Amy’s going to regret moving back to Ambridge
It’ll all be good experience, but she won’t be able to move for expectant mothers (and over enthusiastic fathers) asking for her advice.
While I'm on that - can we foresee that one pregnancy will go well, but the other horribly wrong?
Will it be joy or pain for Helen or Emma/Ed???
“What sort of sauce is that then?”
It’s easy to laugh at Ed’s lack of culinary experience, and it wouldn’t be fair to.
Still on about artichokes, Chris corners Alice to find out more about where he can get them, and what to do with them.
It’s all very sweet, and I do like his lack of embarrassment. He’s a good chap for asking what something is when he doesn’t know.
The Archers: Ed’s taking care of Emma … Alice and Chris return from Grey Gables … Debbie’s gone home … the Millennium Wood Picnic
- Why was Ed surprised that the baby had a heart?
- Boys will be boys
- What the feuck was Ruairi ‘s accent?
- Lynda’s current projects
- Artichokes
- Ah – it’s “Aldridge Millennium wood”
- Vicky was very quiet about her cake
Why was Ed surprised that the baby had a heart?
You’d think that a chap who’s been around cattle all his life would know a bit more about pregnancy.
Anyway, it’s nice to hear a genuinely happy couple.
They’re keeping Emma’s pregnancy a secret. I wonderful if that’s anything to do with Will?
Just how will he react? Especially if Ed and Emma’s baby just happens to be born on George’s birthday.
If there was ever a candidate for the murder rumoured to be happening in early 2011, I think Will murdering Ed has to be the top contender.
“Hello tiny Grundy … I’m your daddy”
Here’s hoping Ed and Emma are left alone to enjoy their baby, that Will keeps well away, and that wee George doesn’t get left to one side …
Boys will be boys
Ah, bless Chris. He may now be a married man (to an Aldridge, no less), but he still gets excited by a big plasma TV, with all the sports channels.
It sounded like he was sensible enough not to sit and watch it the entire time he and Alice were in their luxury suite at Grey Gables.
So he may be a boy, but at least he’s a boy who knows when it’s time for sports, and time for romance.
What the feuck was Ruairi ‘s accent?
As warming as it is to see the teeny tots starting to have their friendships (George and Ruairi), what on earth was going on with Ruairi’s accent?
I know he’s bound to have a bit of a Irish hint, but it sounded like he was a bloke down the pub trying to do a Father Ted.
Most decidedly odd.
Lynda’s current projects
As well as a leading light of the Millennium Wood picnic, Lynda’s also now going to be planting around the village, is going to encourage the Peregrines to return, and will still have time to enter the flower and produce show.
Artichokes
First Ed is being a bit over enthusiastic about helping Emma over fences, then he gets obsessed with artichokes.
Which is fair enough, as Emma was very over excited about Jennifer’s quiche. Which seemingly had artichokes. Which Ed has never had before, but wants to get hold of.
We can only assume he thinks Emma has an artichoke craving.
What a sweet man he is. The baby is only the size of a fingernail, yet he’s already well and truly committed to making sure Emma is properly looked after.
Bless.
The only slight concern I have is that we’re now in for 9 months of loved up Ed and Emma. That could be a very nice thing, or we could be the ones with nausea …
Could there also be wedding bells?
Ah – it’s “Aldridge Millennium wood”
Thanks for the clarification, Jennifer.
Is there nothing they don’t own?
Vicky was very quiet about her cake
Infact, she didn’t even utter a peep.
How odd.
