Archers thread #114: Bull banished, Bali beaches beckon, bickering bullshitters burgeon

[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 Gavin 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 for all thread title suggestions! I've gone with a B theme which with a bit of luck will seem odd and irrelevant by the end of this thread. Here's hoping, anyway.

Haven't caught up with tonight's episode yet, so off to do that shortly.

I think kirsty was thinking back to being dumped by Tom, and the type of useless things people said to her.

Yes please R4 but I want the dopeys to well and truly scupper it first, before Josh sallies forth and saves the day

Why don't they just tell Vince to do one? If they accept his 20% cut in the fee then they deserve everything they get.

And I know Josh can be bloody annoying but I was reminded in this evening's episode that Ruth, David and Pip are always and have always been so disparaging and negative about him.

I assume they don't tell Vince to get lost because they want to be able to say that they have experience in doing successful weddings. But really they would be much more sensible to shelve the entire idea till the building works have finished.

I must say, if it were my wedding Brookfield is the last place I would choose as things are currently.

Something that has been concerning me is that did Lee say Helen had bought him membership of Grey Gables for Christmas gift - seems a little over generous ?

Agree BeaLola. I actually think it is in line with Helen's character as she is so all or nothing about things. I expect she doesn't pay rent at Bridge Farm but she can't make that much from her cheese, and she does have two children to support.

Re Ruth's money, it was actually nearer £750k as the insurance was £500k and Heather's house was worth £250k but weren't the Dopeys also thinking about getting a new milking parlour? Cue many tedious episodes with Pip trying to sound convincing about her knowledge. As the SWs are unaccountably keen on Pip, they forget we might remember these things. I suspect they want to have a double disaster with the Dopeys and Josh. Good idea to divert Josh into wedding planning R4. Where are Leonard and Jill in all this? At one point David was getting upset by Leonard's washing or something, now they are virtually invisible.

Am sad about poor Kirsty having to have nasty Gav move in. I like her and she has had enough bad Ambridge fairy events in her life, like the non wedding and miscarriage.

Mint from the garden - in February?

I still have some mint in my garden. I picked some on Saturday to sprinkle on a tagine. There's not much but it's survived the winter. I'm in the NE Midlands but my garden is sheltered.

Also, how old is Gav meant to be? We have only ever seen him portrayed as an irredeemable knob- the wonder is that a Kelly ever wanted to marry him in the first place. The SW are certainly going out of their way to portray Kirsty as being irreproachably patient, reasonable and tolerant - I’m not sure what they have in store for her, I was relieved to see lamb on the menu (turf not surf )

Dan occasionally spoke of his grandfather having farmed Brookfield (and how changes that Phil wanted to make would have had him spinning in his grave).

I once picked up from a church jumble three books about the early days of the Archers In that there were three brothers , Dan, Ben and someone else, I'll check it later. After WW1 there were fights etc and one went to Canada, one to New Zealand and the youngest, Dan, stayed. The NZ link was where the rich Auntie Laura(?) came from.

Was the NZ one Frank? I read in a history of TA that the links to Canada and NZ were suddenly mentioned for the first time after the BBC decided to have a big push marketing their programmes in the Commonwealth. They thought they'd have more chance of selling the rights to broadcast TA overseas if there was some kind of local link.

Hence the arrival of Aunt Laura from NZ and Lillian's first husband Lester Nicholson, who was Canadian.

Don't think it worked, though. As far as I'm aware TA is not widely listened to outside the UK, except by expats.

As far as I'm aware TA is not widely listened to outside the UK, except by expats.
Ministry of Ag information about specifically British legislation / farming practices must be of limited interest abroad.
I seem to recall hearing, years ago, a documentary by Felicity Finch about India's own version of TA.

I knew someone would pick up on the mint!

I remember being mightily pleased, years ago, to catch the odd TA episode in deepest Wyoming. But no, none of my million relatives spread across the Commonwealth have ever shown any awareness of this quaint British offering to the world.

OK, just skimmed the first few Chapters of To The Victor The Spoils.

John and Phoebe Archer of Brookfield had three sons, Dan the eldest, Ben and Frank. Dan and Ben are at the Front, Frank isn't yet old enough.
Frank decides he won't fight when the time comes and decamps to NZ.
John Archer dies and Dan is sent home to look after the farm and his mother. He is 'walking out' with Doris Forrest, Mrs Lawson Hope's lady's maid but he's a but indecisive, being rather shy.
Ben returns after the war and resents Dan digging the farm fields whilst he, Ben, was digging trenches, they don't get on.
Ben makes overtures to Doris, he's far more decisive than Dan, and after a Christmas party he, Ben. kisses Doris, she's not at all unwilling.
Dan and Ben have a massive fight, in The Barn, Ben decides that the winner gets Brookfield and Doris, Dan finds his inner man and wins, Ben disappears overnight, later found to be Canada (where else do second sons run off to?).

Hope David doesn't find out about the Rumble in the Hay, he'll be letting it out for boxing matches between the weddings!

I was once listening to TA catch-upat El Paso airport, finished up with a little ex-pat group, all we needed were some flags and a chorus of Jerusalem.

How glorious, MrsB!

TA is often recommended by english-as-foreign-language teachers for a wide range of accents and vocabulary.
plus 13 min is short enough to not let brains explode.

Nobody has answered my Brexit question

I reckon the building work to bring the Barn up to standard is going to overrun and there will be a huge panic before the wedding ...

The "plenty more fish in the sea" comment by Phillip was an homage by the SWs to the fishy puns on this thread, and an encouragement to trawl for more, obv.

Considering that (a) we had already had two Brexit deadlines that came and went without happening and (b) TA is recorded six weeks in advance, I'm not surprised that the editorial team decided to swerve the issue.

plus 13 min is short enough to not let brains explode it's true that episodes are short, but imagine filling in the background to give context

I saw your Brexit question @UntamedWisteria - I was more than happy not to hear it mentioned, just as Zoe Ball only mentioned it very much in passing on her breakfast show. Sometimes it’s nice to have a place of escape from the everyday.
In my real life vers few people mentioned it either, I think most people know each other’s opinions by now and there’s very little point re-opening old wounds or rubbing salt in them.

I also wonder how regional soap audiences are. I watched EE when I lived down south (England, not Hemisphere) and have never watched Corrie or Emmerdale.
Mind you I did watch Neighbours and Home and Away avidly as a teenager so that may be nonsense!

Lordy me, Gav is obnoxious. I hope he doesn't become a regular fixture.

Can't somebody introduce him to Hannah so they can be miserable together?

Ho, yesss, Hannah and Gav, a match made in Hell!

Kirsty was out of line. Philip chucked him off the tv, he's Philip's som. it's not for Kirsty to override that. He's an obnoxious piece of work, all that whining about Kelly - I got the feeling it was more to be trotted out every time he thought people should be being nicer to him.