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The Archers - Freddie is getting OUT: will Russ hop it? Helen is falling DOWN: is Lee still in the frame? Tom is heading UP: will Natasha be the boost his sausage needs? (Thread no. 101

999 replies

DadDadDad · 23/03/2019 11:51

Archers

We're still here and still discussing TA (The Archers). We welcome newcomers and old hands, so if you have a question or a point of view, please dive in. No spoilers - if you've seen info on future storylines, there's a separate Radio Addicts thread for that.

I loved all the name changes on the last thread. Don't forget to change back! (If you want to).

Who's going to get Russ out of LL? Freddie? Lily? Elizabeth? Or is it Freddie who will head off?

OP posts:
ADarkandStormyKnight · 08/04/2019 17:44

I so wish I'd been at the conference. I was there in year 1 and 3. Just caught up on the item on Woman's Hour.

AskingQuestionsAllTheTime · 08/04/2019 18:39

I feel the need to protest on behalf of her aunt! Surely she must have counted as family, if she brought Jill up?

I've got a feeling she was mentioned as having died not long after. But maybe she did just get forgotten forever like Pat's family or Neil's mother or come to that RichJohnny's parents. It's the Ambridge air that does it.

GeorgeTheBleeder · 08/04/2019 18:56

Well, to be fair - Johnny does visit his mother and stepfather and half-sister (yes? Somewhere near Leeds?) in a vaguely normal way. I don’t know if that indicates that the SWs have long term Ambridge plans for Sharon and Kylie and Sharon’s partner, whose name I forget.

They’ve certainly forgotten all the other connections.

Also an awful long time since we’ve heard anything of Mungo and his warring parents. And he’s an Archer ... Shock

JessieMcJessie · 08/04/2019 19:10

Eamonn Richards.

MikeUniformMike · 08/04/2019 19:17

Go Jazzer!

GeorgeTheBleeder · 08/04/2019 19:18

That’s the one - thanks Jessie!

Angry How rude is that woman? How rude? If I were Jazzer ... Angry

LizziesTwin · 08/04/2019 19:28

What is Natasha’s goal? To bankrupt Tom?

thislido · 08/04/2019 19:43

How rude was Tom?! I hope Jazzer’s not going to lose his job or have to go and work for Hannah. But I do think Tom needs to find his way and of getting rid of the pigs is part of that then it would be a step forward.

BertrandRussell · 08/04/2019 20:09

Jazzer’ll join up with Rex and keep the pigs.

Where will Tom’s income come from if he doesn’t have the pigs? Where does anyone’’s income come from on that farm?

MikeUniformMike · 08/04/2019 20:15

The shop.
The dairy.

thislido · 08/04/2019 20:20

Jazzer and Rex could be a good team.

I’d be interested in how they split the income/pay each other on all the farms!

echt · 08/04/2019 21:50

I don't see why Tom can't say he's concerned about costs and wants all pig feed measured out now. Silly me, that would be normal, better to pile in with an onslaught of questions (not gentle, as Natasha suggested), and get up Jazzer's nose. Surely books are kept on feed purchased.

LassOfFyvie · 08/04/2019 21:56

Can I just say I really hate Natasha?

Did anyone else spot her tinkly, little laugh? I have heard of tinkly, little laughs on MN but not sure I'd heard one.

LassOfFyvie · 08/04/2019 21:57

Freddy has a point. He is out on a Monday night with Johnny. He couldn't be in safer company. There was no need to keep checking on him.

BertrandRussell · 08/04/2019 22:11

Any other farmer/manager with over 20 years of experience would just say to Jazzer “We seem to be getting through a lot of feed at the moment- please can you measure it carefully for a while and see if we can get the consumption down”
But any other farmer/manager with over 20 years experience wouldn’t have bullshitted Jazzer about the field move last week.

LillianGish · 08/04/2019 22:11

There’s no way Tom should get rid of his pigs. Tom Archer is his pigs - what about his sausage empire? He’s built up the pigs since John died - they are his life’s work. Surely he’s not going to jack them in to set up an app - on Natasha’s say so. The trouble is he’s married someone who is not really into farming - she’s all make-overs and marketing. He should have the courage of his convictions and tell her he loves his pigs and he’s proud of the business he’s built up, but he’s so busy trying to be someone else to fit in with what he thinks Natasha wants him to be he’s losing sight of who he actually is. Johnny with the cows was a brilliant juxtaposition - he is the true heir to Bridge Farm. He is what Tom used to be.

thislido · 08/04/2019 22:33

I’m not sure he does love his pigs though. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard him say something along the lines of trying to fill in for his brother.

Tom ought to know how much feed they are getting through based on what is bought. If their current model isn’t viable they would need to change the ration, as we’ve heard for the Brookfield cattle. And to be fair to jazzer, when you dispense something daily you can do it accurately by eye. And he will be watching the pigs’ condition too. Assuming the pig feed is bought in bulk he will be transporting it to the pigs in some kind of container which he will know the size of.

echt · 09/04/2019 06:21

Jazzer made me laugh when he said his mother would measure by eye for cooking. My dear old dad said exactly the same thing about his mother.Smile

LillianGish · 09/04/2019 07:42

The feed thing is a bit silly - he must know how much feed they are getting through and whether it is more than before. This is the man who was once disastrously persuaded to buy non-organic feed (I think that was for the cows) so saving money on feed costs is something that is on his radar. The thing is, he’s just not interested in his pigs at the moment - leaving pretty much everything to Jazzer (who will be the one out of a job if he decides to ditch them). Natasha has zero interest - not remotely glamorous enough and who wants to be married to a pig farmer (shades of Susan wanting Neil to be a feed rep all those years ago)? She has her eye on the shop in my opinion. Helen just hasn’t noticed yet - she too distracted by the new cows.

Acis · 09/04/2019 07:54

I will be seriously irritated if Tom packs in the pigs. He seems to be constantly running after the next novelty idea - currently anything Natasha comes up with, but he was doing it even before she turned up when he pursued the kefir thing. At his age he needs to realise that there comes a time when you stop looking for exciting new shiny things and make a go of what you've already got.

birdsdestiny · 09/04/2019 08:01

I think giving up the pigs would be entirely in character for Tom, he doesn't have a clue who he is, what he likes, what he believes. Quite an achievement for his age.

BertrandRussell · 09/04/2019 08:06

The number of child middle aged men in Ambridge is so depressing. Maybe it’s something in the water. Oh, wait........,,,.

EBearhug · 09/04/2019 08:06

I will be seriously irritated if Tom packs in the pigs.

Yes, although if it means Jazzer and Rex go into business together, I could live with that. Jazzer deserves better than he''s currently getting.

If Tom does decide to ditch the pigs, I hope he will discuss it with the rest of the family first, not just Natasha. There will be the whole emotional side of it, with them having been John's.

Actually, I have no issue with Tom going his own way, if he was ever clear about it, rather than just following the latest whim, whether his or Natasha's.

GabrielleNelson · 09/04/2019 08:14

I'd be annoyed too, but in the long run pleased if it led to the following:

  1. Rex buys the pig business with help from Robin, who comes to Ambridge regularly to check how things are going and talks ... a lot. i adore Anthony Head.
  1. Jazzer's future is thus secured, perhaps even improved, as Rex would rely heavily on Jazzer's expertise and would treat him better than Tom does.
  1. Tom goes after shiny new project. It fails disastrously as does his marriage. Natasha disappears and is never heard in Ambridge again. Tom goes off to Canada again to find himself. If he ever comes back, a sadder and a wiser Tom, he has had another mysterious voice change and sounds just like he did several years ago. It would not break my heart if he never came back.
  1. Tom renounces all chance of inheriting Bridge Farm because it's clear he can't be trusted with the business. Johnny and Helen run it jointly and in due course inherit jointly. For all her faults, Helen takes the farming and food production seriously and sticks to a project. Johnny is a natural farmer and will do a good job. Tony and Pat can die happy, but not for a good long time, I hope, as they're both good characters - irritating in many ways, but that makes them interesting.
LillianGish · 09/04/2019 08:19

I think the storyline is actually a very interesting way of exploring how a family business can continue to support all the family as the family starts to expand and what happens when new people join the family who may not share the family ethos (Natasha is clearly a woman who likes the good things in life - not someone who turns worn trousers into shorts and makes lentil casseroles). I’d half imagined Bridge Farm would divide along the lines of Tom pigs and veg, Helen shop and cheese and Johnny cows (though as true heir I imagine somewhere along the line he’ll get the lot). If Tom gets rid of his pigs to concentrate on marketing with Natasha (who by her own admission knows nothing about farming) they’ll soon be treading on Helen’s toes.