Ambridge is in the doldrums. When will Pip pop? Does anybody even care? And Anisha’s off, leaving Rex in the (pig) trough? Discuss the Archers here.

[PseudoBadger]

Sorry about the title, nothing particularly inspiring in the storylines currently

No spoilers please, there’s a thread for that.

ADAM SOUNDED LIKE BRIAN BLESSED LAST NIGHT!!!

R4 - it’s coming back to me now. Thanks so much for jogging my memory - I think I’d switched off a bit with all the dog sitting. Happy to now have a firm picture of Monty in my mind - will enjoy this storyline so much more.

ADAM SOUNDED LIKE BRIAN BLESSED LAST NIGHT!!! Yes, he definitely wasn’t reclining on a couch for his delivery which seems to be his favoured position. Have visions of the director saying: “Why don’t you try this bit standing up?”

Gasp0de It's been illegal for some time in this country to dock and crop dogs (although there are, unfortunately, still some exceptions).

Hopefully, Monty is in his beautiful natural state

Thanks, Bore! I'm pleased to hear that.

Off topic, but I saw a very good joke about BB on Twitter.

Brian Blessed - his business is booming.

Gobsmacked at Brian to Ruth re Jenny "you started her thinking in a very unhelpful direction". Wives are to be controlled not just in action but in thought. Spirit of Rob Titchenor lives again in Brian Aldridge.

Gasp0

Brian is being quite clever about the house. He's trying to make out that it is JD who would be devastated to leave but, in reality, it's him. JD would happily put family above bricks and mortar. Sure, she has put a lot of effort into getting the house the way she likes it but she wouldn't sacrifice family for it.

Actually, my interpretation is that Brian not only does feel that Jenny’s heart would break if she had to leave Home Farm but also knows that he would be totally emasculated by the failure to keep her in the manner to which ...

Surely those would be natural things to feel? (As well as absolute resistance to being pushed out by his own child.)

I do wonder whether Kate has factored into her calculations that if they have to sell the house she's back having to pay for her accommodation, to say nothing of no longer having JD cooking for her.

What happens if Brian gets done for the cleanup (prison-wise) - could he be fined/sued/whatever the correct legal position is for his personal share of the partnership? It seems unfair that the entire partnership would go under due to criminal acts by one party.

I do wonder whether Kate has factored into her calculations that if they have to sell the house she's back having to pay for her accommodation

But she's not. She's going to lose the income from renting out her holiday cottage - and that's another thing. It's a partnership. If they're looking at selling the main farmhouse, shouldn't they at least consider selling the cottages? It would leave Chris and Alice homeless, but if the big house could have Brian & Jenny, Lilian, Kate, Nolly and in the hols, Ruari, there could probably be some shuffling at least on a temporary basis (or the Bull boxroom...) They should at least be thinking about it. (Never been quite sure how many cottages there are.)

I thought Debbie had invested in Kate's business; was that what David was meaning when Debbie said she wasn't worried for herself?

Listening last night it occurred to me that Spiritual Home couldn’t be that difficult to move - they are yurts after all. Couldn’t Kate just pitch camp somewhere else? I know she loved that spot and it had great vibes etc etc, but that’s all gone with the contamination. Can’t she have a wander round and find another spot - Home Farm is not short of room?

I always think of the rooms of Ambridge being rather like the Room of Requirement in Harry Potter; you need it and it is conjured up.

It should be fairly easy to move the yurts apart from things like electricity, water and so on.

Right. So we need Debbie to help Kate to move SH to another (probably even better) location and make a success of it. Kate will then realise that, just as the location of SH isn't sacrosanct, so all the locations that she has been running away from all these years aren't important. It wasn't the situations she was running away from, it was her demons. As she makes peace with herself, and the family rallies round, everything will fall into place.
Here endeth the homily.

She needs to find inner peace. Was Lower Loxely mentioned as an option or did I dream that?

lower Loxley would surely be a better fit, synergy-wise. Don't guests already receive treatments and use gym and pool facilities there? SH could expand that offering. A pool of therapists to draw upon, a kitchen that could perhaps produce ayurvedic , vegan food for guests - hell, I might go! Kate would have to pay rent, but perhaps the compensation that Debbie mentioned could take this into account? Of course, Elizabeth would need to agree! (small detail). Inner peace is all very well, but perhaps Kate needs to be won over via a robust business proposition. So far, it's all been about getting her to roll over and be paid off. No-one has really treated her decision/business with any sort of respect.

Does anyone still think Brian has the house mortgaged to the hilt?

Oh goodness I'm just listening to Sunday's episode online with jim encouraging Emma to kick up a fuss online. I am a town councillor and we are bound by code of conduct rules that apparently don't apply to Ambridge we could never ever "kick up a fuss" and especially not on the recommendation of our clerk we have to act as a united council not a one wolf 🙈

Goodness - mention of the Button girls and Maurice in a single episode!

This whole storyline is a perfect example of why farming families don't let younger generations into the partnership. It was a complete muppet of an idea to let Debbie, Alice, Ruaridi and Kate have a share.

I think that if Brian was sued if he went to Jail it could break the partnership.

I wasn't aware that LL had guests other than in the Old Dairy(?). Not heard of there being a pool or gym there. I think PP is thinking of GG.

Oh, you're completely right MUM. My mental Ambridge geography has become utterly scrambled. I take it all back. There is no solution: flog the house!

Topical insert alert! And I love the idea of Neil in a waistcoat