Roll up roll up! It's nearly Apple Day in Ambridge. Grab a slice of Borset apple cake and see who's got the longest peel in The Archers.

[PseudoBadger]

I'm so happy with the return to the little things. Enjoy the new thread!

Yes, Cecile. I don't think I've ever heard a scene where Shula pulls up to chat to somebody where the horse just stands still and doesn't give the impression that she's having her arms pulled out of their sockets.

I am stunned that Lillian was so lost for words.

Yes! Thats mad isnt it that it could cime across on radio. You can hear her almost jiggling around in her seat sawing away at his mouth with all that huffing and puffing! Its not real tho - is it? Is it....too much malteser vodka I think - hic
Re Rob rental - his references go before him right? casting doubt on his character as a dangerous bully? Right. That is perfectly fine surely

She wont do it...

Me too Bertrand. well it would be if I had the will power

The fact that she has even hesitated is bad enough. I'm very worried Justin will tell her to "stop being so unreasonable, MY estate manager needs a befitting residence".

Would Usha have to give a reference as the most recent landlady?

It's fine acting from Rob tho. The pleasure in his voice as he knows how uncomfortable people are as he just pushes them that little bit extra

Bertrand I will be joining you - particularly as the call came immediately after her chat with Helen so it can't be argued Knob caught her at a weak moment, quite the reverse in fact. And please don't let anyone say she needs the money.

Thanks Mootsie! I've had a horse with a very very hard mouth who would maybe get that much effort out of me on a cross-country course while she was carting me with a running martingale. Any of the others I've ridden would have had me on the floor if I had done that from a halt.

How does Rob suddenly have enough money to pay a deposit and rent up front when he's been working all of a week? If he really does, maybe Lillian needs to tip Helen the wink that now's a good time to go after him to repay the money he nicked, and for maintenance for Jack.

I do hope Lillian remembers what she said about Jack's family being there to protect him from Rob.

Of course Rob will have some money. He'll have had savings from when he worked at Berrow which he never shared with Helen, plus whatever had been left in the joint account he cleaned out.

Hope Lillians flustered response was because she was thinking along the lines Serendipity said - that she can get some info on his finances and also maybe take a closer look at his references.

Oooo.... That would be interesting line to take. Lets hope she's planningto use this oppprtunity to scupper him!!! Yes!

"Yes of course Rob, shall we do the viewing on the twelfth of .......never".

Why can't we have late night Archers so we can hear Lil tell him to go fuck himself and call him a spudcunt.

I think Lilian''s response was because initially she didn't believe he was actually asking her if he could rent from her. I do hope her next words were, "do fuck off, Rob, you must be joking, Helen's my niece," as we heard Barwick Green.

Justin made it quite clear that Lillian wasn't to tell him how to run his business- I hope she'll say the same!

This is a blackmail set-up, I reckon. Lilian will be blackmailed into renting it to him for free when Rob finds out about Justin. Or does he know already?

Where is amside these days? I thought the office was at the dower house with the inimitable Angela. I never bought it that Justin would rent a house with a business operating in part of it.

And how come rob knew the property was on the market within 15 minutes? What was that flagging?

Film-listener and delurker here
Bit behind but as a vet I Just had to comment on the bloody ridiculous Anisha saga.

I think Shula has mentioned (once or twice) that's Anisha is an equine orthopaedic specialist. Then why the bloody hell is she buying a partnership in a 2-bit mixed practice with no equine surgical or anaesthesia facilities or staff??

It's hardly a dream opportunity for an orthopaedic specialist who's dissatisfied with her current 'small animal focussed' practice? How on earth did she even get the 3-5 years of dedicated equine surgical experience needed to be an equine orthopaedic specialist at this small animal practice?? And why on earth would she now want to buy in with Alistair? It makes no sense and us bloody lazy scriptwriting.

Even worse was her response to Alistair being called out to Bartleby with colic - no he's not bloody dedicated and going beyond the call of duty because he's leaving his lunch - he's been called out to a sodding emergency and has a professional duty of care to attend! I'm assuming as an equine orthopaedic specialist, she might show a bit more commitment to her work rather than be surprised Alistair would leave his lunch for an emergency call

Are they jamming her in as a character to 'save' Bartleby from arthritis?!? Whatever her role is it's clunky, clumsy and smacks of 'widening participation' (yes she probably is the only Scottish Sri Lankan vet in the U.K. - it's not a common demographic for the profession)

I hadn't realised how irritating it was when the SW are clumsy with an area a listener knows about! I expect that almost no farmers listen for this reason!

I was expecting Alistair to invite her along to see how she was with his client and the pony.

And was deeply shocked that she would even consider not attending an emergency visit to a pony with a potentially fatal condition.

Ah veterinari, you combine my two favourite things in your name (animals and Pratchett). Yes, I had the same rant about Shula and Alastair asking about Vanisha's "prizes" and the fact that her PART thoroughbred had point to pointed when it was supposed to be an eventer.
And yes to shula's total incompetence as a rider. Diaryfarmerswife used to post on here about farming inaccuracies, but I think they were fewer and subtler as they do have an agricultural advisor. I think if they are going to keep on mentioning horses, they should employ one of us as an equine advisor before I punch the radio!

Rob may think that Lillian will feel obligated to let the property to him because she's employed by Justin. It would be good if this plays out on the basis that he doesn't know the relationship is closer, and that Justin appreciates that Lill just can't have any sort of business relationship with the man who repeatedly raped and abused her niece and who has been found to constitute a danger to her great-nephew. With any luck he will find out about the relationship, try to blackmail Lill and Justin, and get sacked.

But if he tries to blackmail lil we can expect the usual nonsense of her not actually discussing it with Justin. Because, you know, two people sleeping together wouldn't discuss if one was being blackmailed for that sleeping together.

Angela disappeared soon after Matt but with a throw away line from lil about not being able to keep her on. She now runs am side on her own from home farm.

The vet thing is interesting- I know very little about vets etc but I did feel there was something not quite right going on - good to have the full explanation so thank you! The same with Shula and the horses - she always sounds like she can't control them to me.

It's true about only realising how annoying press/drama can be once your area of expertise becomes a 'story'. Mine is quite dull but has been in the press a lot for the past 8 years and it drives me mad!!

I thought all the "Woah, Victor!" Stuff was just to make sure us plebs realised there was a horse about, rather than to show Shula as incompetent? And if she's exercising hunters they probably wouldn't take kindly to being kept
standing for ages while she coffeehouses...........

Plus she was probably having to fight the horse's and her own urges to let the horse rear up and strike a heavy hoof across Rob's forehead.

You should be able to eat your lunch on a hunter (old fashioned training method - people used to get a lad to sit on a young horse in the yard for an age, eating his lunch on it). A mannerly hunter is a major requirement! You should just hear a shifting of feet and maybe a little clink of a bit.

If riders in TA didn't say things like 'whoa victor' we wouldn't know which horse they were riding - surely you want to know that to get the proper mental image?

Shula does struggle with her horses, remember she had no idea that the cheek piece had broken on her "harness" whilst out hunting and it took experienced Rob to save her. I wish they'd get an equestrian advisor as it does get so irritating listening to so much being wrong. The colic bit really jarred with me; if an old stockman such as Jo Grundy was calling the vet out on a Sunday it would definitely be an emergency, I imagine Bartleby had had plenty of liquid paraffin poured down his throat before Alistair was phoned.