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 quite liked Tracy's response to the Loud and common feedback.

Are we seriously expected to believe that Fruit Juice Girl really maintains all her trees, all by herself?

Piffle!

Are we seriously expected to believe that Fruit Juice Girl really maintains all her trees, all by herself? Was she wearing her clicky high heels?

Yes it’s ridiculous that she’s getting fazed by a bit of admin but somehow has managed to become whatever the proper term is for a professional fruit tree wrangler without so much as breaking a sweat

I too found the whole tree maintenance by the expert Hannah entirely unconvincing. It's as if the SWs just realised that there's a venture in growing already happening before the re-wilding..... and as for the nauseatingly uxorious Tom, what's that all about?

Predictable that Kate would be as sniping in the conduct of her business as she is out of it.

I went on one of those team building things. Took days. The strengths and weaknesses activity was done, though the person being described was named, and the comments anonymous. Without exception the strengths were very specific, based on things done, while the weaknesses were all expressed metaphorically, so a waste of time when it came to improvement.

I've been on a team building thing. It was a team that was toxic and was a waste of time.

What does work is giving tasks that need working out how to do something manual. It brings out the introverts .

Not an expert. The toxic team needed splitting, the manual tasks had the know-it-alls let the ones who could solve things shine.

I've done a blindfolded obstacle course, a long time ago. It was quite a lot of fun, but then it was in the Spring and it wasn't raining.

Am awarding a BOOP for Lynda saving face for everyone, including Kate.

And another thing, what about pruning all those fruit trees that Natasha and Tom planted at Bridge Farm last year?

Escape rooms are the big team building buzz in my city atm. Brookfield should do that instead of weddings, they could hire their cereal cupboard out.

Escape rooms would be amazing. Perhaps Liz and Russ could get working on that.

I posted about the unlikelihood of Batasha and the fruit trees a couple of days ago but just to add, we had a professional tree pruner to renovate our two trees (one small, one large and admittedly in need of a fairly hefty cutting-back) and it took him the best part of TWO DAYS. We needed someone who knew exactly what he was doing. He was also working on an orchard nearby and that was going to take him....a lot longer.

How big is Batasha's orchard? A few dozen trees? A hundred? More?

Am awarding a BOOP for Lynda saving face for everyone, including Kate

Actually BOOP for everyone on the Grey Gables team building exercise, including Kate.

I posted about the unlikelihood of Batasha and the fruit trees a couple of days ago

So did I. This storyline is nonsense.

I suppose that New Tony and Fake Tom do actually sound like they might be father and son.

Askingquestionsallthetime has already posted what I was going to. At least Colin Skipp chose to retire and wasn’t replaced by the editor, like Fake Tom. Sadly he died at the end of last year.

I also get irritated at the way that Ed and Will don’t sound as if they are related. As Meredintetc says, its not as if they weren't brought up together. Mind you, I get even grumpier when all the actors sound the same - like Ruari and Ben. I generally listen while I am doing something else and it helps when the actors have distinctive voices.

Have also been wondering if the SWs will be called to task over anti Welsh scriptwriting. Now I know why they need Hannah. It’s so they can offer her up as a nasty English character. I was going to call her a pig abuser too but I don’t want to cause any confusion with unverified reports about former politicians.

MikeUniformMike
Oh, are they related in real life. Asking? I think that NewTony is great considering how he had to take over from Colin Skipp, but I loved the Real Tom, even though his character was annoying.

It was a bit of a scandal at the time. Tom Graham finished recording the wedding and the fleeing to Canada, assuming he would be back when Tom Archer was, and the next he heard seems to have been a friend in the cast getting in touch to say "I didn't realise you'd decided to leave" or something of the sort.

He went on social media on 2nd November to say that he had had no idea he was being replaced for the 27th November episode. He seemed to be a bit hurt by the whole thing.

On Twitter he now describes himself as

"Tom Graham @ TomArcherNo1
"Official account for Tom Graham, voice of Tom Archer 1997-2014, deposed sausage king."

I think he is possibly still a bit unhappy about it; he certainly didn't leave voluntarily. The tweet is still up at twitter.com/TomArcherNo1

I think that NewTony is great considering how he had to take over from Colin Skipp, but I loved the Real Tom, even though his character was annoying.

I agree with both parts of that.

Radio 4 this morning, You and Yours possibly? had an item where they went and chatted to a pigfarmer, and we were treated to tail docking of piglets on air, and a gruesome exposition of what tail biting involves. This farmer certainly didn't share Neil's views; he was adamant that tail docking was a blessing for the pigs. Wasn't too pleased when the interviewer suggested that it was the confined space and indoor rearing that led to the need for tail docking.

Meredintetc That's an abbreviation I haven't seen before!

That's an abbreviation I haven't seen before!

Sorry MereDintofPandiculation! I was being lazy. Is there an official The Archers thread abbreviation, like MUM for MikeUniformMike?

Calling all Posters on this thread - yes, I mean YOU (pointy finger)!!!

Please attend Bucking Surgery as an emergency outpatient, as we have reason to believe you are due your injection of Suspension of Disbelief.

Aww old Tom Archer is now a “ Counselling Psychologist & CBT Therapist at the Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma“. I hope not triggered by the trauma of being replaced in his own life.

I think The Original Tom Archer had qualified as a psychologist before his forced departure from Ambridge. At the time, he was clearly extremely upset by the manner he was replaced, without any warning, and with the ridiculous justification for what seemed on the face of it to be a spurious excuse for simple nepotism, ie that TA needed properly trained actors who'd been to Drama School, when he'd been doing the job perfectly well for 17 years beforehand. I haven't checked to see the whole current cast's credentials, but I'd be surprised if every single one of them had been to drama school.

as for the nauseatingly uxorious Tom, what's that all about? It can mean only one thing...
Natasha’s trees are one of the least believable things in TA at the mo. Where are they? How many does she have? It’s inconceivable she doesn’t have someone to look after them - when does she get time to do all the marketing, juicing and admin? QBL - or even tosh.

Ah yes, Def, The Ferryhill Philosophers. Thanks!

In fact they should rename the character Natosha

We needed someone who knew exactly what he was doing

Gnasher runs a fruit farm and has done for some years and was Nuffield advisor. I don't find it odd that she knows how to prune a fruit tree (which is a very different task from renovating an old unmanaged tree).

I've known a few fruit growers and whilst they contract in extra tree people to help with pruning they always do quite a bit themselves. Partly because they like it, partly to keep a close eye on the general state and health of the trees. I don't find the idea of Gnasher wanting time to do this work odd.

Yes it’s ridiculous that she’s getting fazed by a bit of admin

But its not a "bit of admin" is it? Its the business she built up successfully with diversification which she is trying to run from Ambridge whilst also building up a new business for Bridge Farm. If her local manager has left that leaves her with all the day to day running of the fruit farm and associated businesses as well as commitments in Ambridge.

I dont' see why a fruit farm is automatically less admin than Brookfield (which doesn't even diversify into retail much) or Bridge Farm. And Gnasher doesn't have handy farming parents/siblings to pick up her load.