💥 Archers thread #119: Has the Bull reopened? Will Ambridge pull through? We’ve all dozed off and haven't a clue. Moan about the monologues here!

[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 think we should have monologues all the time from now on, 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/3853783--The-Archers-spoilers-thread-5-Cant-wait-for-7-02pm-Join-us-here, 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 PPE on the last thread for the title suggestion, which I tweaked a bit.

As for the current state of affairs: here's how it could have been done. www.youtube.com/channel/UCvRSVdfQWAjNhNu1AtABYjw Nigel Pargetter returns, albeit in spectral form. I loved these.

I don't love the current set up. Very, very hit and miss for me - but I am too much of an addict to give it up. Looking for a silver lining, maybe the rather clunky trot through the Aldridge family tree last night was helpful to newer listeners. It is rather convoluted. In 12.5 minutes they managed to explain that Adam and Debbie are Jennifer's children by different fathers, that Debbie's father Roger Travers-Macy adopted Adam, that after he and Jenny divorced she married Brian and that he (secretly) loves Adam and not nearly so secretly adores Debbie. I don't think they explicitly stated that Kate and Alice are Brian's children with Jenny, but they did manage to squeeze in a mention of Siobhan and Ruairi, and explain that Xander is Adam's son by a surrogate and has no genetic connection to either Brian or Xander's other father Ian. Phew!

Alice surely hides her empties in the magic shed.

All my jam jars get reused for more jam.

I don't make enough jam! Last time I had one of those "this kitchen is IMPOSSIBLE I have got to have a clear-out!" fits, there was a cupboard almost full of jam-jars, and in the end, after offering them to everyone I could think of as well as Freecycle, I threw 78 into recycling. Since then I have managed to keep it down to only two boxes full of jars, and thrown away any that were not perfect.

We don't even eat all that much jam. I think they breed.

I give mine to friends who make jam, marmalade and chutney and get the odd jar back, its a good system.

I’m so suggestible! I rarely eat jam (probably use about a quarter of a jar per year if that) but now ALL I can think about is making hot buttery sourdough toast and lavishly spreading it with thick raspberry jam!

During lockdown I had a virtual afternoon tea with colleagues. I made sultana scones and ate them with clotted cream and jam (bought, I've never made jam). It was absolutely delicious.

I have made chutney in the past, but as I'm the only person who eats it here it doesn't really seem worthwhile this year.

I bet they have no trouble finding people to take jam jars in Ambridge.

I'm quite particular about my jam-jars. Damson jam (my favourite) and mincemeat go in Bonne Maman jars, marmalade goes in hexagonal ones and chutney & such-like go in square jars.

It's decades since I made jam, but I might give it a go this year. In my childhood every year DF made blackberry and apple jam and jelly. Wonderful stuff!

I now have his sugar thermometer, also a jam pan which I've had longer but have only used for poaching a whole chicken. No excuse then!

I think it's probably a good year for blackberries, can anyone confirm?

*No excuse - I also have jam jars, I find it very hard to throw them out...

I think it's probably a good year for blackberries, can anyone confirm?
We spent the summer eyeing up how fruit was doing and thinking it would be A Very Good Year. However, when we went blackberry picking the other weekend we found that there seemed to be a strange mixture of either not-quite-there-yet or totally-gone-over-and-spoilt. But we did find enough to make 10lb of apple & blackberry jam.

I’ve seen people drink home-brew out of jam jars, just sayin’

Has anyone in Ambridge this century ever been blackberrying, I wonder? If they have, I haven't noticed -- even Jill, or Lynda for her B&B guests, or Clarrie, doesn't seem to have been mentioned as making jam or marmalade.

Oh, no, hang on: it was suggested that Jill did back when Phil was alive, because she kicked up a fuss about Heather giving him a jar of marmalade. But we never heard that she was doing it, as far as I remember.

I picked several kg of blackberries in mid-August from the end of our pub's car-park with the landlord's permission! and put most of them into the freezer to make blackberry crumble in mid-winter when we might want to have puddings to keep out the cold. And some went for raspberry vodka which will be ready at Christmas, and some more for an apple-and-blackberry loaf (with orange zest, and an apple off a tree by the road near where I go to walk) which was a new recipe to me and turned out to be amazingly delicious. www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1967/blackberry-and-apple-loaf if anyone wants it.

However, when we went blackberry picking the other weekend we found that there seemed to be a strange mixture of either not-quite-there-yet or totally-gone-over-and-spoilt. Somebody got there before you.

Thanks. I might try that. Which means more blackberry picking!

I hardly ever eat jam either, but I had a jar and after forgetting to take it to a food bin, I decided to have some and it was delicious.

Jars and bottles are from things like chilli sauce, olives, gherkins etc. -And the odd wine bottle

Try to find an apple tree that isn't in someone's garden, too.

Mind you, I think there may be an apple glut again; I have seen more than one box outside a house with an apple tree which has a "help yourself" notice on it and apples in it, since I found the tree by the road.

@Roysnewshirt, you want to try fig jam.

I like damson jam, but damson cheese is even better.
Marmalade is wonderful every now and then. I've still got the odd strawberry in the garden. The alpine ones are good.

Blackberries have been early around here, I ate lots of them while out walking a few weeks ago, but I've noticed that it seems a good year for elderberries.

My cox's orange pippin tree has a good crop this year. It's a young tree and the first decent crop.
The courgettes are turning into marrows unless I pick them, tomatoes still green and despite many plants, the beans are refusing to appear, but lots of flowers so might get a glut before long..
Had some home grown potatoes today and they were so tasty.

You can make marrow jam (or even courgette jam)

I remember coming down to breakfast in Portugal - 3 jams on the table - carrot, tomato, and pumpkin.

@R4

Did anyone get Borsetshire Radio's number? I did. I didn't recognise it as a RL local code so I idly noted it down so I could google it later. Just googled it, so here you go ... 01632

I was amazed there are fictional phone codes and postcodes. Thanks R4 & EBearhug

I remember coming down to breakfast in Portugal - 3 jams on the table - carrot, tomato, and pumpkin

Gosh! I actually don’t know what I would have done confronted with that choice. Probably would have skipped breakfast or dugout the pot of marmite I usually travel with. Along with the Yorkshire tea!

@mumuniformmum Fig jam sounds v exotic! I could be tempted....

@MikeUniformMike
WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!? Soooo sorry for getting name wrong AGAIN! What is wrong with me?!?

(Probably half a bottle of white burgundy- turning into Alice quietly...)

It's just meta-confusion, since MikeUniformMike's name intentionally spells mum in the phonetic alphabet

The name was inspired by my pet, who was named after the feline in Breakfast at Tiffany's, but this being MN, he needed a sunday best name in case he became a Mouse Master at a boys' public school.

Local 99p shop sells fig jam. I can recommend it.
What I can't seem to find is pear jam that doesn't have cinnamon in.
I wanted a recipe (try searching for pear jam) as I used to have a lovely pear tree that produced lots of fruit, but I removed the tree as it was in the wrong place, so won't be making any now.

Blackberries are almost over around here too.

I thought Emma and Chris' argument was very realistic.