100 Archers threads! We are truly overinfested. Whether you need some help from a therapist in a tabard, or want to move your wife in with your FWB, there’s something in Ambridge for you!

[PseudoBadger]

Well hasn’t it been a fun few years! Thank you all for supporting the threads and sharing in love and critique of The Archers.

I thought she had some fruit trees somewhere or did I just imagine this?
'Some' is the operative word here. I think her Dad's farm might have a few and she has marketed this for all it's worth. It's the same passing-off technique that Josh used when he featured Jill's photogenic pet chickens in his advertising material.

(suffering ...)

RadioCarter you've surprised me, I'd fully expected DDD to be the one to produce the stats on Jill's industrial flapjack-baking capabilities

I have no recollection of Helen and her nippers living at no. 1 The Green. It was Em&Ed.

I know, Flapjacks, I couldn't resist the temptation to beat him to it!

I have no recollection of Helen and her nippers living at no. 1 The Green.
Erm, they were at Bloody Hell Cottage. But moved out for some reason I can't remember ...

Surely Helen moved out because she went to prison. She, understandably, went back to her parents when she was released. She never lived at no. 1.

Before and after Henry, Helen lived in the flat above the village shop. She moved back to Bridge Farm when Henry was still quite little.
She met Rob and moved in with him at Blossom Hill Cottage.
She went to prison and moved back to Bridge farm.

Is Natasha from farming stock then? I thought the whole point was she had no farming background. Is it all being kept deliberately vague so the SWs aren’t too tied down at this stage. I’m still half expecting her to turn out to be the mysterious Home Farm purchaser using the pseudonym Gill who is saving the big reveal until she and Tom are married and ready to move out of the house share.

5000Flapjacks - the great thing about Maths is it democratic: you show your working and assumptions, and anyone can provide the answer. I liked Radio's calculation.

However, I am wondering how robust the assumption of baking flapjack 6 times a year is? I mean maybe Jill does a weekly flapjack bake, or maybe it's something she's not that fond of and rarely does? Unfortunately, that puts quite a wide confidence interval on the estimate.

And now I'm feeling hungry...

Hang on Dave I'll just throw you a flapjack

I'm not sure I'm going to get used to being called Dave. (only Kenton calls me that, I think). Just hoping we don't get to the 2001: A Space Odyssey quotes.

However, I am wondering how robust the assumption of baking flapjack 6 times a year is?
I must admit that I didn't factor in the Flower & Produce Show. Has Jill entered flapjacks there? because the numerous practice-runs would seriously skew calculations.

I think the assumption that Jill bakes her flapjack in batches of a dozen might be a conservative estimate - after all there are already six people living on the farm (her, Dave and Ruth and the three kids), but that takes no account of other regulars who might be around when flapjack is being consumed (Toby, Bert even Rex - to say nothing of Shula or Peggy popping in). 12 flapjacks wouldn’t go far - especially as some people might have more than one at a time. How many can reasonably be baked in an Aga in one go?

How many can reasonably be baked in an Aga in one go?
In my experience, it's the number of baking trays that are the limiting factor.

Don't forget that Jill doesn't only do flapjacks. She needs to allow time (and stomach capacity) for lemon drizzle cake, too. Speaking of which, can I offer you some home-made marmalade cake, D^3?

Natasha, on the other hand, used to market cosmetics but has now flitted over to marketing juice drinks

She used to sell cosmetics yes - which is probably where she learned about sales, customers and branding (all weak points in Tom's businesses). She also built up and runs a fruit farm and has built her own juice brand which is presumably why she became a Nuffield agriculture coach rather than a marketing coach.

She advised on the tree ideas and soil plans for Ambridge farm and rolled up her sleeves to help plant the trees.

Would you be so dismissive of a man who moved from car sales to build up an agricultural business running its own branded products successfully?

In terms of who brings what to the partnership I would say Natasha is bringing more as she has the land but also the business nous. Tom has a share in land and very mixed business success.

She also built up and runs a fruit farm You see this is what I don’t understand. If she has a fruit farm where is it and how can she move to aMbridge?

what the heck is all this sticky stuff coming out of my USB port...? ... eugh, oh, flipping heck, it's... oh, marmalade, mmm ... mmmm, ooh, that's good...

I was interviewing for graduate recruitment at work last week, and we had one of those "Estimate how many X there are in the UK" questions, for candidates to show their analytic / reasoning skills. Maybe we should update it to: "How many flapjacks does Jill Archer produce per annum?"

Isn't the problem with Natasha that Tom accepts her ideas (some of which clearly have merit) without further research or challenge? Compounding that, the pair of them then seem unaware of how their approach to introducing these ideas is getting the rest of the family's backs up. She should take more time to get to know Pat and Tony, to appreciate their wisdom and what they value in the business they have built over the years.

Yes, my discomfort regarding Natasha comes from an element of her seeming un-genuine somehow. I’m worried that she seems to have enveigled (sp?) herself too quickly into Bridge Farm, including making suggestions requiring massive investment, without too much scrutiny. I think Jonny is appropriately wary of her.

Hello!
I'm a regular name changer anyway so I might keep this one for a while.
Natasha is ok but clearly wrong for Tom. I don't understand why they are doing this silly teenage rushed marriage thing - Tom is immature enough for that but surely Natasha would have more sense?
Hannah is still a nasty piece of work and will probably try to sabotage Tom and Natasha.
I'm annoyed with the whole 'I was so stupid to try casual sex now I have feeeeelings' storyline as a person who enjoys the more casual/non monogamous side of relationships myself! It seems to be presented as if Hannah was completely stupid to think it might work.
Although the way Hannah approached it was horrible like the rest of her so 🤷🏼‍♀️

Maybe Hannah will fall for Roy. It is Ambridge after all.

And now I've name changed.

I've gone back to my name from Mustardland/BBC forum days. Lizzie is slightly older than me but we'd have been in the same school year and we had equally illustrious exam results. DH is not allowed on the roof of our house, let alone with my brother.

Very long time lurker here - name changed in your honour.

I dip in and out, miss a few weeks - but always manage to catch up.

Will carry on lurking with interest. wanders off to hunt down some flapjack

Wondering about the business situation at Bridge Farm when Tom and Natasha get married. I grew up among farming families and the bitterness and division caused by marriages, births, divorces, deaths etc had to be seen to be believed. Should Tom have a prenup?

Very long time lurker and Archers fan ..........

Shocked into revealing myself as someone has name changed themselves into me, and I now feel like I have been catapulted into Ambridge for real so once it stops raining I might venture out and pop into the Bull for a Scruff Gin and a chat

I see I've seriously underestimated on the flapjack front but, in my defence, my original name had a 5000 in front of it and I wanted to keep that for continuity's sake. 5000000FlapjacksofJillArcher just wouldn't have sounded right somehow, even if statistically more plausible

was considering 5000SausagesofFarmerTom but I probably dodged a bullet there