Discuss The Archers - yes, this really is Thread 103. Are you going to vote for feet, stations of the cross, or a hologram? Will Natasha ever return? Will Russ ever leave?

[DadDadDad]

Exciting times - this thread will witness our 100,000th post in this long-running unbroken chain of threads.

New and old posters welcome. Don't spoil with any future plotlines.

And if you need a beginners' guide see here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3557323-For-Archers-fans-a-guide-to-acronyms-on-the-long-running-discussion-threads-and-any-other-meta-thread-questions-you-may-have

Carry on...

[Freddie's] sweeping aside of Kenton's Elf and Safety comments bodes ill, the entire point of his knowing LL like the back of his hand ignores the fact that the visitors won't.
I get a horrible feeling every time Freddie says that. Didn't Nigel say something similar about the number of times he had scampered over the roof in his youth ... just before The Longest Scream.

Yes! I agree, Asking! It was a damp squib of an episode! I read that and thought back to how badly those scenes went down on here, despite the cast. But I’m not sure SOC quite had his finger in the pulse of the listeners for much of his tenure (or since, going on his reflections of it).

I know so many people who gave up listening over the Rob/Helen storyline because they hated it that I got quite upset thinking I'd have nobody left to talk about it with!

DDD but... but... don’t you wonder, is he leaving? Why is he leaving? Where’s he going? Does Kenton/Lily/Russ say/do something drastic?! Does Russ make a move on Lizzie? Is Freddie being bravely altruistic for the sake of LL’s licence? Has something gone wrong with his parole?...

Surely these are just like statistical permutations that any Archerite (?) could crunch in the mere blink of an eye?

Your measured interpretation does sound a little more sane, but now I’m imagining your pared-down version with the CA just saying ‘And next, it’s The Archers. Jill and Brian are in this one. But not necessarily together’ in a strangely Finnemore-esque accent...

I am slightly surprised at Lizzie allowing the attic to be part of the tour - doesn't this run the risk of some punter ghoulishly wanting to see where Nigel met his end, and saying something? And where else will the tour go, I presume not in the family living quarters.

Freddie dried his mushrooms in the attic, didn’t he? Hope there’s no remnants for some curious kid to find and end up under the influence whilst touring...

Sorry for the excess of comments. Once you take the plunge and post, this place is like crack* isn’t it!
*(I don’t know what crack is like. My vices are gin and chocolate, but that’s not as snappy in a sentence)

That episode was heartbreaking but brilliant acting from both the Mia and Will actors.

Makes me wonder if the Bunting Thief has been so wracked with guilt these past four years that now they’re committing Acts of Pennants.

Brilliant!

Yes, Bore, I did notice those times and it reminded me that the five minutes gap between the end of TA and the hour was filled with the Shipping Forecast and possibly a weather forecast. I love the Shipping Forecast but rarely hear it now. On another note, yes, Matt aka Tiger did go to prison, which is why he was on my list. [smug pedant who never lets anything go emoticon goes HERE]

Will is dreadful. Thank goodness Mia's got away, but yes, poor little Poppy.

Asking, thanks for the detail about Jethro - I think that was something that happened not long after I started actively listening (I was a passive listener in childhood as my mum always had R4 on in the kitchen when she was working in there so I absorbed a lot of TA but not through conscious choice). That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! They must have still had the brief to disseminate good farming practice at that time, or perhaps old habits just die hard. They do a lot less of that now and I miss it.

Thank you for that link, GabrielleNelson. For some reason, Nelson's black silk sheets popped into my mind as I wrote that.. It was strange hearing the voices of the characters when they were younger.
As a result of listening to that episode, I went on searching for older episodes on Youtube and enjoyed this one which I didn't hear as I was busy being a student at the time:

I have absolutely no memory of Richard Tregorran, does anyone know what happened to him? Also, the barmaid Nora? I know I've heard her name, but nothing more than that. Will was dreadful, just dreadful. Clarrie will be furious when she realizes what happened. Agree with everything everyone else has said about Mia - particularly what a good actress plays her.

I am a bit confused as to where they are going with Will. With a long term character they have to have some or even just one redeeming quality or it just doesn't work. I can't think of a single positive characteristic.
Rob was different as he was always going to get his comeuppance.

Hello you two.

I’m resurfacing after an attempt at delurking about 2 months ago when I started maternity leave... something’s been keeping me busy since then and I’ve been ridiculously behind with TA but I think I’m only missing the last ep now!

Re timings of TA etc - was it at some point (late 80s, probably) either followed or preceded by a children’s story? I have memories of getting very cross with my DM as I had to remain silent through “her story” while she used the blender/hoover/waste disposal unit with gay abandon through “my story”.

I feel very sorry for Ed. I predicted Timotei was a baddy. Anyone know what they’re actually doing? (I fear this will have been discussed on a previous thread, sorry.)

I'll be spitting if they resolve the Will story by finding him another compliant wife.

Just chipping in to agree that the intros to the episodes have become increasingly ridiculous just lately - I've really noticed this. Full of impending drama, if not doom, and then.....nothing happens.

The other day it was something along the lines of '......and flames rage out of control at the tearooms.'

Which turned out to be Jim's toasted panini getting a bit scorched

I suspect someone's having a laugh.

Regarding afternoon TA listening - the most important thing was Listen With Mother - Are you sitting comfortably?

Nothing in life will ever compare to that ...

How many times will the SW use the ‘feckless man makes disastrous holiday choice” device? Perhaps “ let’s go camping!” means “ this relationship is over”.

What riches this thread offers.

Those old episodes dragged me back to the Formica kitchen table and homework, and my mum and dad washing up... and my adolescent feeling of horror that anyone could enjoy listening to this life-sapping pointless rubbish.

I mean no disrespect to the actors back then, and perhaps my ears deceive me, but aren't today's actors so much better? Jack Woolly sounds wooden beyond belief. How do actors get better? One sees the same in things like The Avengers or old Dr Who, which today seem terribly acted.

Will has always struck me as emotionally illiterate rather than consciously horrible - he isn't someone who means to hurt others. I have felt for him in the past, the way he can't control his emotional responses and how rapidly he attacks to protect his vulnerability. It seems a disaster all round, to me, and dare I say that I feel pity for him now? I do.

Of course I see how thoughtless and hurtful he is to Mia (and everyone he knows).

BOOP for Clarrie thinking Helen's cheese tastes of Joe's socks.

Will has always struck me as emotionally illiterate rather than consciously horrible - he isn't someone who means to hurt others

I agree. I felt sorry for Will too in that scene. He really has no emotional literacy. Rob actually had it in buckets but chose to apply it in a warped and twisted way.

Welcome back, @pasbeaucoupdegendarme .

Presumably there's a new Archers listener in your home now. Congratulations!

I'm not sure I know either what Timotei is actually shifting and what happens to it next - I might have missed that explanation too.

Will was pretty horrible when he decided to get rid of Pete. And his attitude to Mia is disturbing.

Brian, re environmental disaster (I've forgotten where we are with that) - yes, at one time there was a hearing date fixed, wasn't there? Has it happened yet?

I can't feel any sympathy for Will and I think that's the problem for me. Helen was never the most sympathetic character and not one I particularly liked but during the Rob storyline I forgot that. I can't do that with Will. I am now imagining that on her deathbed Nic must have been thinking I am leaving my children is the care of this numpty.

With regards to Jazzer's legal claim, I'm not a practicing employment lawyer but I do have some experience of employment law.

I think Jazzer and Jim are on thin ice with a constructive dismissal claim. CD is phenomenally difficult to prove which is why I find it surprising that an employment lawyer would have said he had a strong case as in my experience they tend to steer away from CD unless it is open and shut.

In order to prove CD you have to demonstrate that it would be untenable for you to continue working for your employer in circumstances engineered by the employer to effectively manoeuvre you into leaving. This might be something like transferring you to an office at the other end of the Country at a moment's notice or making you work with someone who has bullied you etc. You also have to demonstrate that the employer took no reasonable steps to mitigate the situation. Jazzer does have it in his favour that he walked immediately but Tom will argue that he offered alternative work on the farm. It will probably also depend what it says in his employment contract if he is employed as "Pig Herdsman" then he might have a case because it is a fundamental change. However, if he is employed as a "Farm Hand" then Tom would have a strong defence.

Jazzer might have a case around unfair dismissal for the above reasons but he would have to demonstrate that there is still a requirement for the job - difficult if there are no pigs and again he was offered an alternative.

Where he would have had a case is if he had stuck it out and Tom had screwed up the redundancy process (which, it's Tom, so let's face it highly likely) if there had been no formal consultation, notice etc that's when Jazzer could have a case. However, Jazzer may well have screwed that up by walking out.

Jazzer will be entitled to holiday pay etc and Jim may be able to negotiate a redundancy package but I fear Jazzer would lose if he went to court.

My knowledge may be a bit out of date though, a practicing employment lawyer might have a different perspective.

I also think Bridge Farm is likely to have a legal insurance package in place either through their farm insurance or the NFU. The NFU will certainly have a legal helpline. Jazzer won't have any insurance which will have legal expenses cover (unless his car insurance does but it is unlikely to cover employment)

However, someone on one side or the other will probably end up rummaging in the cereal cupboard for Usha.

I'm hoping that Freddie has a long term plan to lure Russ up into the attic and onto the roof to push him off.

Painting - thanks for that. The only thing you've missed of course is that Jazzer's case doesn't depend on what English law is but on what the SWs think English law is, which may not be the same thing...

Painting, I was going to post something similar. I think he could have argued for redundancy as my (slightly sketchy) understanding is that it would hinge on whether he was offered a ‘suitable alternative’ and packing veg is a very different job to rearing pigs. Constructive dismissal and unfair dismissal, no.

Not heard last night yet but I agree Will has no emotional literacy - he said himself quite recently that he’d never been any good at talking about feelings because he’d never seen the point. I can’t remember ever liking his character but having done some work with people experiencing ‘complicated grief’ I can muster some understanding, if not quite sympathy. His treatment of Pete was awful (still not sure what Martin Gibson’s decision was?) but he needs him gone so he can hide in his work. It’s a really common reaction.

Did the Are you sitting comfortably thing transfer to TV? I can hear the phrase so clearly but I don’t think it can be from the radio as I would have been 2 when it stopped broadcasting. Wikipedia mentions Watch with Mother and its derivatives but the place of that phrase at the start isn’t clear.