Thread #105: Curtains for Emma, Hilda - Joe? Red carpet for June Spencer on her 100th birthday, we hope! Discuss the rich tapestry of Ambridge life here.

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Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads and @DadDadDad for being our resident statistician and keeping the ball rolling when Pseudo stepped back a bit.

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For newer listeners, lurkers or those who just have no idea what we're talking about, DadDadDad has created this useful thread: 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 BOOP point for him! (See thread for explanation.)

Thanks to LillianGish and BuckingFrolics for ideas for this thread title. I went with the less Rabelaisian of LG's ideas!

On 14th June it will be the 100th birthday of June Spencer, who has played Peggy Woolley since 1951. I hope the BBC has a lot of special tributes lined up to celebrate this remarkable achievement.

It’s not her children. It’s descendants of her in-laws (Doris and Dan?) who are still farming the Archers Farm that are invited. It’s a bit odd to include Home Farm which was Brian’s initial investment, so an incomer, though farmed now by Adam, a descendant. All a bit weird. I wonder what Lilian really thinks.

None of these people or properties you’re all mentioning stem from Dan or Jack Archer. Those are the only farms Peggy is interested in. Lower Loxley is a Pargetter inheritance. (Although Home Farm is equally an Aldridge thing ... )

@OatyMcOatface, thanks for that info about the pesticides, most interesting. I'd been assuming it was something like the Home Farm toxic waste that was buried rather than being properly disposed of.

Odd scheme of Peggy's, but having just listened to most of the week in one hit it was lovely to hear Brian, Jennifer, Lilian, Tony, Pat, Jill and even David and Ruth. Enjoyed the bit with Ben earlier in the week too. The text thing seemed very lame to me.

Must now catch up with all the tributes to June Spencer. What a woman!

I liked the theme of Peggy's announcement, it was very appropriate for June Spencer. It isn't that long ago (3 or 4 years) that she was on a local picket line either against fracking or drilling of some kind in the local countryside.

But yes lots of great dramatic opportunities.

I haven’t listened to tonight yet.

And I’m a bit behind on the thread (Sozza). Has anyone suggested that the Jim storyline might be historical abuse? What was his education? And he is fervently anti- religion (not that they have the monopoly on abuse obviously)

I'm really pleased that they've made the Climate Emergency a key plot line. It's significant, especially as this week the UK made the 2050 net zero target legally binding. It feels like an appropriate legacy for Peggy to leave for future generations, and a great way to mark June Spencer's 100th birthday.

Are there inheritance tax implications stemming from her setting up the trust? And poor Tony, seeing his future inheritance dwindling (his siblings are well off)

Plus Bridge Farm has been doing its bit for decades, what with being organic.

I was just going to say the same thing silvery !
Tony will not be best pleased, but a good divisive story line going forward

Although BF presumably has some dosh left over from the sale of land to Justin?

Although BF presumably has some dosh left over from the sale of land to Justin?

Probably not, once Natasha''s OFS bills come in...

I'm with Tony, Peggy's idea seems incredibly divisive. I hate to think how competitive types like Tom and Pip will react, and imagine the resentment if Brine and JD win given Brine's history.

It’s a great idea for The Archers as a programme. By having a competition, they’ll be lots of ideas and there merits discussed. Hopefully inspiring some real world farmers (if they can afford it), real world philanthropists, or even the government to do the same.

And maybe some ideas that don’t need half a million will be discussed too..

Might not be best idea for the Archers as a family though. And I do feel for Tony and Pat who’ve been “saving the planet” without help for years.

I haven't heard it yet but was it mentioned why Tom and Helen weren't there when Adam was. Aren't pat and Tony supposed to have stepped back and left decision making to them hence cheese making, French cows etc.

I did wonder that, StillDumDeDumming, a couple of pages back. It's not something I want to hear the SWs make a hash of, so hopefully I'm wrong.

And I do feel for Tony and Pat who’ve been “saving the planet” without help for years

Not only that but being routinely sneered at by Brian and sometimes from Brookfield. Now he is on the same footing as Brian whose money making activities polluted the whole area.

This struck me as a good idea initially but then if its a registered charity named "Ambridge Conservation" why is it being restricted to three farms? What about other farms or organisations in the area who contribute? Surely it makes more sense to support a range of activites and projects rather than use it to gift money to a couple of the wealthier landowners and one more recent landowner.

I think I agree with Tony.

I think it's great.
by it being a competition they all have to do something.

I’m with Tony too. It’s a shocking idea and I don’t understand why either her financial advisor or her solicitor didn’t tell her so-particularly in the light of Home Farm’s recent track record.

by it being a competition they all have to do something

But Pat and Tony have been doing something for conservation for over 40 yrs. They have never done anything else and have innovated as they were working, constantly taken on new ideas around conservation.

Brian has not only done bugger all but consistently tried to block any ideas Adam has.

It would be outrageous if Brian now copped some fancy scheme just for the money in the way he manipulated cropping to exploiting conservation studies before.

The whole point is that doing something for conservation for over 40 yrs and being organic just isn't enough to deal with the Climate Emergency.

That's what's brilliant about this plot line - as Randomly says.

We need radical and inventive solutions, which thesis designed to do.

And I loved Peggy's speech. Although it sounded a bit contrived.

But it's more of an effort than Brian's made, and to be fair more of an effort than the vast majority of the population.

We need radical and inventive solutions, which thesis designed to do.

Pat and Tony's ideas have all been radical at the time they implemented them. The fact that they subsequently became mainstream is a testament to 40 yrs of innovation and conservation.

It isn't Pat and Tony's fault that agribusiness and much of the population at large took the opposite approach and contributed to the wider problems. For Brian to get any of the money would be a joke - he has consistently paid enough lip service to get conservation grants whilst actively undermining the spirit of them even before you get to his polluting for profit sideline.

Yup. But we haven't got 40 years now.

We've got 10 at best.

even though pat and tony farm organically, they still farm with conventional methods, using machinery that uses shit tons of fuel. and contribute to soils erosion.
toms's tree thing is a bit better. adams aquaponics seem promising, alice' robots, pips herbals...

I'm almost afraid to say it ... but I really do not like the Peggy character and never have. I find her a bully - all that quasi Eastenders "tough matriarch" is just manipulation and a refusal to value other people's feelings while being utterly self-centred in a grandiose manner.

Not inviting Lilian was hurtful and unnecessary. Then letting her in to the "meeting" (family gathering) as she did , without acknowledging the hurt she had done her daughter, was just mean and nasty.

Her idea is divisive and has herself in the centre as some kind of righteous guru when she's simply someone who has married into wealth and hung into it.

All credit to the actor of course - but the character? No thanks.