Archers thread #113: Who’ll find some Magic Time this Christmas in Ambridge? Share the glad tidings (and bad writing) in The Archers! Election-free zone so far ...

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

All views on The Archers welcome here! New blood welcomed. We don't all agree on all points and most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you'd like Hannah to stay around, or other unusual views.

Spoilers: not on this thread, please. We don't wait for the omnibus to discuss the weeknight episodes, but we do try our best to avoid cross-contamination from www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3439443-keep-it-to-yourself-the-archers-spoilers-thread-4, where spoilers are positively welcomed!

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 @SurpriseSparDay for the title. I haven't heard 12/12 yet so must catch up now, seeking relief from the outside world.

I noted that it was suggested that the Rewilding Three has read the contract and asked for clarification on the “consultation” bit because Rex said “oh yes, Justin explained that, it was just about BL keeping us informed” and then I think David asked if they had thought about changing the wording to make that clear. So maybe u fair to say they hadn’t even read it. That said, anyone with half an ounce of common sense would think about negotiating or at the very least asking for clarifications to be documented. Also, even lawyer-drafted agreements these days tend to be written in fairly plain English that is sufficiently intelligible to the educated layperson to at least allow them to identify areas that could be unfavourable to them.

Is it possible the three idiots’ contract with Peggy’s trust (which they obviously won’t have read) has a clause requiring them to take legal advice before entering into other contracts?

Unlikely. Contracts where the party drawing it up expects that it is unlikely the other party will take legal advice often have a warning clause saying "this is legally binding contract, it is in your interest to seek advice". This is more likely in pro forma contracts where the other party has little, if any, input to the drafting.

This contract will be a bespoke document and in the real world the witless trio and the "trust's" solicitors should have reviewed it and advised so the "health warning " isn't needed in the document.

But, BL's solicitors have committed a professional breach if they drew up the contract on BL's instructions and issued it for signing without a very clear health warning. The one I use in these situations ( sometimes people are determined they won't use a solicitor) emphasises the contract was drawn up on the instructions of my clients, for their benefit and signing it creates a legally binding contract on which they are advised to seek independent advice . It refers to my obligation to comply with Law Society rules in mentioning this.

I'm wondering if they are going for some build up to making Justin very very unpopular, (maybe with Martin involved too) - to end up with some denouement where Justin has a heart attack or similar. And dies alone because even Lilian has realised he just isn't "fun" anymore, maybe with Ruby barking over his body?

Vince Cassey is a much more realistic Archers villain, and Justin has had too many contradictions and rewrites.

About the greenwashing - it just seemed odd to me that when Rex and Pip heard about it they suddenly went “oh no! Not greenwashing! We could never do such a thing” but they’ve just signed a contract with Damara Capital. Presumably if they were so keen not to be associated with an outfit whose actions or policies need greenwashing in the first place, they would at least have checked out what Damara was doing. If being associated with an otherwise polluting/otherwise environmentally unfriendly firm which needs to greenwash their actions was such a huge problem, why did someone have to tell them it was happening? You don’t even need to see the contract for that.

This is diabolical.

I'm going to ignore the twattery and get back to the important stuff, by resurrecting this username

Yep I think Peggy will Save The Day.
Who will Save The Archers I cannot say.

Maybe Phoebe used to snaffle as much as she could while a student, at any event providing food. (I may or may not have done this years ago.) Or maybe with no income this is her food intake for the week.

Where is she living at the moment? I assume she's being fed by Roy or Jenny'n'Brine.

A lot of Oxbridge colleges have subsidised meals, don't they? And again I suspect Phoebe wasn't solely dependent on her student loan when she was there.

Oh, don’t ...

So many ways they could have exploited the theme of ‘Phoebe Goes to Oxford’. Of course we want to know how her many relatives divvied up financial support for her during her degree. And now. And we never got to enjoy hearing Abbie and Hayley’s grand weekend. Or Mike and Vicky overawed. (Or not.) Did Kate buy her a fancy kettle? Did Debbie fly over to take her to lunch at Quod? And, more importantly, to offer career advice.

No. None of that. Sheer idiocy and squandered opportunity.

Checking in to the new thread.

I'm wondering where they are going to get the other 20% of the land from? They've scrounged it from everyone else. Are they going to be wandering around Ambridge trying to persuade people to let them have a bit of garden?

I also don't recall them having had a single conversation with Oliver about Grange Farm land, surely that would have been an obvious place to look when they had their first target to meet.

Maybe Phoebe used to snaffle as much as she could while a student, at any event providing food. (I may or may not have done this years ago.) Or maybe with no income this is her food intake for the week

She is presumably living with her father who lives next door to her grandparents. I doubt very much Roy and Jennifer aren't feeding her.

My comment was meant light heartedly. Of course Roy is feeding her.

Phoeble lives with Roy, next-door to her grandparents.

I have tried for some time to make any sense at all out of this rewilding storyline, and I can't.

The last bit about the contract with BL (Justin, except it isn't) is completely inexplicable, though one thing is for sure: he is not getting his hands on any of Peggy's money by share-unfarming with them and charging them no rent. Nor will he get a bent ha'penny of profit so long as they don't make any profit for him to take 75% of.

Unless the land BL is letting them have is immediately to the north of Oakey Bank in Brookfield which David and Ruth have decided to make a gesture of goodwill to Pip with, and joins that to whatever the land at Home Farm is that Adam has decided to waste on them, they do not have a continuous piece of land -- and I don't think it is likely that a further however many acres it is that they need will miraculously appear joined on to what they already have, even if what they already have does now somehow join up.

The whole thing being so ill-thought-through suggests to me that it ain't going to happen, in the end, like moving a dairy farm to a farm in Northumberland that didn't have a milking parlour was never going to happen.

If anyone is interested share farming is a relatively new concept which allows 2 businesses to work the same bit of land.

The contract should make clear from the outset who is contributing what and who is responsible for what.

So far BL has contributed bare land. Agricultural land needs what is called "fixed equipment" to make it work. This means fences, drains, water supply and irrigation systems, buildings for animal shelter and storage of machinery and harvested crops.

A share farming contract should make clear which party, could be one or both, is providing that.

Land also needs livestock and possibly crops- who is providing that?

I assume BL assume all of these elements will be paid out of Peggy's money.

If one party party intends claiming subsidies (and there may well be subsidy available) that needs to be covered too. Only 1 of them will be able to claim.

What a crap episode

Wasn't it just? Absolutely nothing anyone said sounded believable.

Loved when Pip said "we're not stupid". 😂😂😂

And Lilian described Phoeble as 'a smart cookie'

Loved when Pip said "we're not stupid".

Yes, I snorted at that.

What was Lilian going on about? Have Lil and Peggy realised Justin's pulled a fast one?

This rewilding storyline is getting dafter and dafter. I had assumed that it would be kicked into the long rewilded grass by now.

I don't have a particular problem with the idea of a 75% profit share as I can't imagine that there will be much profit and £500k wouldn't have gone anywhere if they'd had to rent land. It is more that everybody, apart from Brian, seems to have left everything to an unemployed 21 year old whose sole work experience has been picking a few strawberries one summer.

Phoebe? A sharp cookie?

🤣😂 🤣😂 🤣😂 🤣😂

What was Lilian going on about?

Goodness knows. Lilian has a clear conflict of interest here. She should be bowing out.

Of course Roy is feeding her

I'm thinking it's a pity that Kate did.

Pierrettelasanguinaire, Kate dumped Phoebe when the child was about eighteen months old and legged it for Africa, not really coming back for anything more than a couple of weeks at a time at the most until Phoebe was thirteen (I think it averaged out at nine days a year), so she can't really be said to have fed her for all that long.