Who let the cows out? Moo, moo, moo moo! Will Pip be caught out, and will Matt or Justin bowl a maiden over? Discuss The Archers here

[PseudoBadger]

'Ello pusscat!
I am eagerly anticipating Pip's downfall.

And on another topic: go, everybody, on these threads - 24 April is the anniversary: celebrating 4 glorious years of pseudo's threads!

C8 It was a farm investment which is all the more reason why Ruth should have kept David in the loop.

Oooh, well done us on our 4th anniversary.
(hopes this is the 75,000th post)

You know I loathe pip but Ruth is worse! Urgh - the cows visiting the neighbours only mattered because Ruth and David hadn't checked hers certification. Had they done that then there was nothing to guard against - once the cattle were viral vectors then it was always more likely to get out one way or another.

And I do remember Ruth's most purposeful mendacity when she planned to run off with the herd manager.

That's why she colludes with Pip - and now she is pissed off with Pip that she trash talked the neighbours - she was horrid and should take responsibility for what she said - horrid pair really.

Stigina, Pip's crime wasn't letting the cows get out, it was keeping quiet about it. The effects would have been much less dire if she'd come clean from the outset, because as soon as the Brookfield cattle started going down with the lurgy the other herds could have been vaccinated. Plus she let David and Ruth go round making tits of themselves by swearing blind that their cows had never been off their land.

Stigina you make a good point re Ruth. I think that's part of her problem with Pip - she sees a lot of herself in her daughter and not in a good way. She wants Pip to be better than her - it looked like she had the makings of a good farmer, especially when Pip kept everything going with David when she was spending all that time in Prudhoe and then disappeared off to New Zealand. Now with her carelessness, lies and poor judgement in men the halo is starting to slip. It seems from last night's episode that Toby is going to pull the gin business off - are we all supposed to be coming round to him gradually? I still don't think Brighton has been satisfactorily explained - I'm in Jill's camp (even though I hate the way she has been portrayed). Pip sounded as if her eyes had been opened at the start of the episode - I hope Toby is not going to worm his way back into her good books again.

I suppose one of the other problems is that Pip didn't really think through lending Toby £5K. She assumed the gin enterprise would be successful, like her cow business & she'd be repaid. The closing down the still etc must be very upsetting to her - she's lost more than him. Since she let him move into the cottage she's fallen out with her grandmother, lost £5K, deceived her whole community about the IBR & the cows getting out & had a major fallout with her mother. He hasn't supported her at all and has shown serious errors in judgement. Time to give him the boot.

Before we get too sorry for Pip losing her £5k, we need to remember that she practically forced the money on him. Toby didn't want to take it but she dressed it up in such a way that he had to take it. Jill et al were anti-Tobes so Pip gave him the money as an up-yours to them and a I-have-faith-in-you-as evidenced-by-my-investment.
There is a similarity to the way in which Pip was (slightly, no excuse really) forced into a position by her parents' blind idolatry.

Congratulations US !!!!!!!!! I cannot believe it's been 4 years!!!!!!!!!

Ref. Toby's gin business; Didn't Lil actually request his gin on her engagement evening? Why are Kenton and him playing silly games?

It's one way for Pip to get back into good books if she can repay some of the loan.

I've just been refreshing my memory with a quick skip through Lowfield, and it's reminded me of what a complete pisstaker and chancer Toby is.

He was being bankrolled by his father while Reliable Rex seemed to do most of the hard work on the goose business - 'Tobes' just wanted to flit from one crackpot idea to another, swearing that each would make their fortune. Then Pip came along and he seized his chance to leech off her instead. He's not paying any rent to her, and she gave him her £5000 because he was 'depressed'. He could have refused it but he didn't. He's got the moral compass of a gnat (although gnats may be more moral for all I know).

He's not really supposed to have that still at Hollowtree but he read the lease and basically stuck 2 fingers up at Deeeevid and told him there was nothing he could do, so tough.

I'm not sure whether we're supposed to be warming to him with his latest bout of contrition towards Pip but personally I can't abide him in any way. Gawd forbid Huge Canoe's working his way round to a massive character rehabilitation SL.

I could understand why Toby did not want Kenton to re brand his gin. I was quite pleased when he told him to get stuffed. However, I am no business person, maybe accepting Kenton's investment is just doing what is necessary in order to make the gin business a success.

I apologize if I am boring, but I would like to add another of my random memories from about 20 years ago when I used to listen with my Mum. When Pip was a toddler and Shula's Daniel had been born, I remember Ruth complaining to David that Jill was giving Daniel preferential treatment because he was a boy and Pip was a girl. In response David told her that it was nonsense and Jill thought the sun shone out of Pip's behind. Nothing has really changed over the last two decades.

Four years!!! Four years and nary* a cross word spoken!!

Well done all of us!

But where is our patron, President Olivia MN? Haven't seen her for ages.

*A couple of instances of peevishness, perhaps, but I discount those as minor aberrations.

Has Kenton repaid his debts to David? If not, David is surely going to be furious about him investing in Towbee, particularly if he has to pay hefty compensation to Tony and Brine.

I'll be annoyed at David if he gets sniffy about Kenton's possible smallish investment in Toby Ceto! Where's Heather's £300+K?

I say 'nary' Bore .

Congrats all

Maybe it would be better if Lillian invested in Toby's gin, she does have a soft spot for him.
I don't understand why people think Pip is too good for Toby, Pip is horrible. I always hope that couples where both parties are horrid should stay together, so no one else has to put up with them.
Rex was also being bankrolled by his DF.
4 years

Yes Vango Where IS Roof's inheritance? One would imagine that it's in her and Dave's joint account which would make their moaning about having to pay a bit of compensation to their fellow farmers a little odd.

I mean it was a mistake that the cattle were infected and got out. The family were to blame so should pay up and stop carrying on.

sorry one episode behind everyone else at moment but ruth....so so so awful....misery personified....and a shit mother and a shit over dramatic pessimist, really screaming at the radio when she was talking to Pip at the party.
Oh FFS get a grip you silly woman...the kid made a mistake, actually your other child ( josh the ghastly as he is known in the jellybean house) should have fixed the fence as asked in the firstplace. Why does Ruth never ever ever critisie Josh who is the rudest, vilest adolescent / young adult i have ever heard. I presume he is also paid a wage to work on the family farm ? never hear him doing much work...do you think we could have old whats him name from eastenders back to just knock up some great soap opera style story line ending in a 'duff,duff' type ending to bloody Ruth....and maybe josh and pip too....and then david could get together with Anousah ( sp ????) and have some joy and optimisim in his life, the poor bloke surely deserves it

My recollection is that Dabid was rather alarmed that Josh wasn't going to university as that farm couldn't support another employee in addition to Pip and Josh said not to worry as he planned to be self supporting. That being the case, whilst expected to help out in return for bed and board it should really be David and Ruth as owners who take responsibility for ensuring maintenance is done by doing it themselves or delegating it to their employees.

I'm looking forward to Ambridge FM's analysis of Elizabeth's party playlist - I've loved their recent posts and have been following them since their masterful dissection of stab night soundtrack at Academic Archers...

Happy 4th anniversary Archers threads!

So I think Pip is a waged employee of Brookfield living in a cottage rent free.

David and Ruth are the part owners and managers of Brookfield paying themselves a salary from the profits of the various farm enterprises.

Josh is an adult child with his own business living at home and occasionally helping out without pay as he's not paying rent.

Ben is an under 18 living at home getting pocket money for helping out with farm chores?

Toby is a complete free loader!

Lilian It was a farm investment which is all the more reason why Ruth should have kept David in the loop.

If it was a farm investment then David and Ruth should have been involved in all decisions around the business and the returns. If its a farm personal loan to Pip then the only interest they have is ensuring its return. They seem to be fudging the two.

Having been between adult children and partner when they have similarly requested I hold fire until they can do the telling my sympathy is with Ruth on this one. Plus of course if Ruth went running to David then Pip would no longer confide in the one family member who doesn't slag off Toby at every possible opportunity. They speed with which David and Jill started to blame Toby for Pip's behaviour would seem to validate both Pip and Ruth's silence.

Pip was an adult who made a stupid decision. Toby didn't coerce her into making the loan. He did encourage her to keep quiet about the cows but it wasn't his bad husbandry and as an adult who is trained and paid to understand the implications of bad husbandry she should have confessed a lot earlier.

Toby may be a pillock, Ruth may have been too trusting but the cause of the immediate problem is Pip, the cause of the biosecurity breach was David.

Considering how furious David and & Ruth were about Pip's slowness to confess all, they are being slow themselves in telling the rest of the village - it's at least 9 days so far!

Nods wholeheartedly at R4's point. Yes, I think they are being very underhand, but hoping it's going to bite them on the arse as Adam, Brine, Tom and Tony realise their tardiness and decide to ratchet up the pressure accordingly. David's efforts to draw Tom's sting by waylaying him at the party an example of their strategic slyness. Hoiks up bosom, Les-Dawson-matron-like. MIght even manage a Lynda Snell-like sniff.

Oh FFS get a grip you silly woman...the kid made a mistake, actually your other child ( josh the ghastly as he is known in the jellybean house) should have fixed the fence as asked in the firstplace

Once again, the mistake about the fence isn't really the issue - the issue is lying and keeping quiet about it at a time when, if everyone had known that infected cows had got in amongst other herds, they could have vaccinated and prevented a lot of the damage; and carrying on keeping quiet so that David and Ruth didn't know the whole picture and were therefore going around swearing blind that the cows had never left their land. None of that was Josh's fault, and it's a bit more than one mistake.