Is that a ferret in your (Gr)undies or are you just pleased to see me? Discuss The Archers vermin (so many possibilities!) here.

[PseudoBadger]

I'm not sure that ferrets cannot through a thumb sized hole - rats can, and mice can fit through a pen sized hole. But I know the SWs will have researched such a statement carefully

Jill's having no more funny turns because Carol hasn't been giving her funny drinks. Carol has been blissfully absent and I begin to wonder if she's run off with Matt.

Until now I hadn't noticed she'd been silent which only goes to show she was superfluous all along.

I'm hoping Kirsty is coming back. That should annoy Rob in some way.

What was that nonsense from Kenton about David "proposing to hand over our family home to Justin Elliott"? Most of the time he's complaining like hell because David didn't do just that.

And he really was stupid to get so much into debt that he's unable to make repayments at this stage. If the sale had gone through it wouldn't have been till May at the earliest, and there could have been all sorts of unforeseen glitches that would delay it yet further.

I've said it before and I'll probably say it again: any shortfall in The Bull's earnings should be covered by Business Interruption insurance so they shouldn't be in the state that they can't pay ordinary bills of a few hundred pounds.

If SOC wants new characters then we should have had an insurance bod wandering around for a couple of years. Actually several insurance bods but we know that in TAland, when it comes to professionals, everyone has the same, only-one-in-the-county eg Usha does everyone's soliciting, no matter what the area of law.

Aaah R4 unless it's a posh bloke in an expensive suit hired by Hazel to put the wind up Susan and all in Amb.

Do we know what the 350 quid that Kenton couldn't pay was for?

I'd imagine that Business Interruption insurance is a nice-to-have but not standard for all publicans. Was surprised that they were at this level of cashflow crisis though.

I think that Kenny boy's complaint about "Dave" having thrown himself back into SAVE activities so wholeheartedly was making the point that for Kenton/Jolene the U-turn has had ongoing consequences that can't be fixed quite so easily.

Yes, I had no idea that Kenton and Jolene were so close to the edge-

The Australian trip was a personal expense so, that aside, I would have thought The Bull had better reserves to fall back on and it is still functioning so there is money coming in over the bar.

Were they not insured at all? How have they managed to pay a dividend to Lillian all these years if they are so close to ruin so quickly?

I'd imagine that Business Interruption insurance is a nice-to-have but not standard for all publicans.

I'd imagine that BI (in amongst all sorts of other insurances) is a have-to-have if you are beholden to the bank with an overdraft!

Their slide into almost counting pennies for the meter is a little surprising. Although I guess the Bull might be extremely quiet at the moment. (How many people are still living at GG?)

Jolene was a bit vague about the still usable credit card - wonder if that will prove to be merely lazy writing or the thing that pushes them over the edge?

lt was odd that they weren't telling Fallon (as if she's 10 yrs old).

Usha does everyone's soliciting
and her a vicar's wife!

This points up even more the insanity of not pursuing Jolene's suggestion of consolidating their debts. If they're planning on juggling credit cards they will pay out insane amounts of interest and will never get them paid off. Really Jolene needs to tell Kenton to stop being stupid and just get on with getting and following some decent debt advice.

Mind you, you have to wonder whether such a thing exists in Borsetshire, given that EdnEmmur don't seem to have heard of tax credits.

As the demand for Fallon's catering business seems to be endless in an area recently devastated by floods - where even the vet is on his uppers - why don't they ask her for some financial support?

Pubs do struggle nowadays, though, don't they? It's so cheap to buy alcohol in the supermarket and drink at home while watching a huge TV, and for some there's the attraction that you can smoke at home too.

The Bull was probably making a large proportion of its income from Freda's food (and drinks sold with it) and another sizeable chunk from special events (like quiz nights, parties, Bull Upstairs band nights), coach parties etc, rather than the steady trade of people who come in for a half of Shires once or twice a week. At present they are using maybe less than half the floor space of the pub as downstairs is unusable and the kitchen is completely out of commission. The food is microwaved pasties and a few sandwiches. Half the village is living elsewhere and there won't be any coach parties stopping till the clear up's over.

Kenton and Jolene clearly spared no expense on that holiday and probably have sod all in savings, so it doesn't surprise me in the least that they are on their uppers now.

Yes, they should consolidate that credit card debt. Yes, they should talk to Fallon (although she's not a partner or shareholder).

Jolene came into the pub trade when she married Sid. Sid was fairly astute when it came to running a business and might have had a better handle on the insurance. Kenton has flair in some ways but he isn't a detail man. It wouldn't surprise me if he and Jolene had cut corners on the insurance.

Yay!

I was right!

Kate's a ray of light isn't she!! Love the insensitivity. Not sure she's the right person to help at a wedding.....

Fallon would be sensible to give her the sack quick smart. (Though she could keep Phoebe who will presumably want a summer job.)

Yes, fallon should keep phoebe (though as she said, she should be revising as presumably has AS exams soon) and ditch Kate. I admired the way f handled Kate's various attempts to interfere but her sour self-obsessed rant was unstoppable. Ugh.

Although Kate working for Fallon is a bit of a shoe-horn, I do like its comedy value, particularly the way F slapped down her cloth napkins intervention.

Loved the collective "Whaaat?" from Jenny, Brian and Pheobe when she announced it. I quite like the whole Living with the Aldridges strand at the moment (possibly because you can actually distinguish who's who by the voices unlike Charlie/Tom/Adam/Alistair/new geese boys).

I wish I had more confidence in the writing team (and the editorial direction). The comedy villainess routine with Kate is hardly sustainable in the long term - however they have quite subtly indicated that she might grow into a proper character. The tiny snippets of conversation she sometimes has with Adam on environmental issues might evolve into her becoming a real force for good at Home Farm. But it's just as likely they'll go down the route of ever increasing slapstick.

I think it utterly preposterous that the Kate we hear seems to have regressed to teenagerhood and expresses not a jot of interest in her two younger (and still quite young) children.

BBC Mustardland board users, was there not once an epic thread about paper vs cloth napkins? I wonder if the script was a nod to that, is this a Keri Davies week?

I like Lynda's hurt pride in her dealings with much more light hearted Jenny; a BOOP point there IMO, oh and the 'off white' paint used on the May Pole

I can foretell a real cat fight between Kate and Fallon. Kate is not the diplomatic type, there are people like that in RL

Good point about Kate never mentioning her other offspring. She may be ghastly, but the idea that she never thinks about them or talks about them stretches the bounds of credibility….

Y'all do know it's make-believe, right, and we only get a 12.5 minute snapshot per day?

I like the panto villain Hazel & blindly self-centred Kate. She's always more selfish when under stress; her personal life situation would be pretty stressful now.