🐠 Archers thread #135: An Everyday Story of Fishy Folk. Discuss The Archers 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 would be delighted to be given a goldfish named after your ex, 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/4197199--The-Archers-spoilers-thread-6-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.)

Apologies for ignoring the various title suggestions on the last thread. However, here they are, plus a couple of other pithy observations, to kickstart the new thread. I think it's fair to say nobody is looking on this as a Golden Era! Goldfish Era, though ...

@Roysnewshirt: Everyone wants more! Chris wants more Amy; Jazzer wants more Tracey; Alice wants more time with Martha and Amy wants more space… Very true. And now we know Kirsty wants more farming expertise in the rewilding project, but not Pip (thank the lord) so does that mean approaching Adam? Currently under-employed.

@LillianGish: I tune in to hear birdsong and bleating in the English countryside not hammy acting and suggestive grunting.

@stilldumdedumming: Archers is good at the dynamics of family, farming, what it means to have your job, your home and your inheritance so closely aligned etc etc not this nonsense!

@DoctorTwo: Like fuck would Pheobe buy her parents a goldfish each. The Ambridge character transplant fairy has been working overtime this past few weeks, it's been absolutely fucking appalling bar a couple of exceptions.

Can't disagree with any of that. I want to hear more about the pigs and any other effects of Brexit. A topical insert about the war in Ukraine must surely be on the way.

Any happy listeners out there? Any disgruntled listeners with even more grumbles? Over to you!

@ILoveShula

31March2022

Thanks!

Although Batasha's accent is south walian and her parents live in North Wales. No idea where Welsh Pat comes from, she came in to help her uncle, Haydn Evans

An unwelcome reminder this week of how utterly dreary and joyless Pat is. And Tony’s not much better. Expect we’re going to get more of them though.

An unwelcome reminder this week of how utterly dreary and joyless Pat is. And Tony’s not much better

Quite how anyone can even try to equate having an affair with going for afternoon tea and a cake with one’s wife without telling a family member is beyond me.

I am usually very fond of Tony and at least he was trying to be normal by suggesting Pat get the marmalade out once Gnasher had left the room - not that I think Gnasher would actually care a jot what her mother-in-law spreads on her toast.

@SparklingLime many thanks, listening now.

Thank you to everyone who tracked down and signposted the episode link. That was confusing.

I have to say I still don't exactly like Alice, but I thought her forgiving Amy was quite powerful. Is she set to become the zen guru of a orchestra? Boasting bigger, shinier singing bowls than Kate!

Alan really is a div isn't it? His entitled parenting is nausea inducing.

Alice as the Easter bunny is a good shout, that's one of the least weird Lily bum fondle scenarios Assuming the SW have any decency it's not going to be a close male relative ie most of Ambridge.

not that I think Gnasher would actually care a jot what her mother-in-law spreads on her toast

I don't warm to Gnasher but she doesn't strike me as the sort of person who would expect everyone else not to eat cakes and marmalade just because she can't.

Agree, @KimikosNightmare, but it gives Pat an excuse to be sanctimonious.

@LillianGish

What on Earth was she thinking asking Chris to move to bloody Nottingham She didn’t - she was suggesting she move away and they would then have somewhere to conduct their relationship far from Ambridge (presumably he would go over whenever he didn’t have Martha). Probably about an hour and a half away by car.

Ah, I stand corrected . She’s still bonkers though

@SparklingLime So dreary and So joyless.

It must be exhausting being so worthy all the time?

Speaking of being tired, I like how Adam is less shattered without the weight of the family business and management on his shoulders.

@ILoveShula

woolly pigs.

OMG that is so cute. Pigs are cute anyway but that takes the biscuit.

@ILoveShula

woolly pigs.

The original pigs in blankets?

Seemed a bit tone deaf to be buying in special fancy pigs when Berrow has a glut of them and people are losing their jobs as a result.

There was a similar British hairy breed that died out in 1974 because the very fatty meat was no longer valued. The mangalitza meat has been used for continental type charcuterie. Some people are using thme to try and recreate the British breed.

The original pigs in blankets?

One of the early episodes of series 2 of "Rick Stein's Cornwall" featured a breeder of them. It's still on the iPlayer.

Thanks to a PP for the link to Thursday's episode. It still isn't on the needlessly rebranded Sounds.

I guess the re-wilding management team mustn't have been able to find anyone who keeps pigs outdoors and get/borrow some from them. Better to use the project's resources to buy in an expensive non-native breed instead

They are ridiculously cute though

Doesn't Rex still have pigs?

I am sure that a few Gloucester Old Spots would have been up to the foraging task. There are also hundreds of feral wild boar just down the road in the Forest of Dean.

I am shocked that Kirsty and Rex failed to notice one of the Longhorns was lame. That’s pretty negligent. They don’t sound up to the job of keeping livestock if that slipped through the cracks.

Alice as the Easter bunny is a good shout

If it is, that's another reason to dislike Alice. From what has been heard so far the Easter Bunny is creepy and annoying.

Do you have a share token for the Telegraph article please @WhoppingBigBackside ?

What's a share token, @Taswama? I read the article in print, but added the link, sorry

You get them for the Times and FT as a way of sharing articles behind a paywall with non-subscribers. But if you read it in the paper you may not have an online subscription anyway.
No worries.

Thanks. It was in the colour supplement. Read it a few days ago but I think it was dated October 2021

It was discussing whether or not R4 was doing away with the things that attract listeners by trying to appeal to 30-somethings. It mentioned TA and the surrogate mother story

This might work @Taswama. Have put the link in the way back machine:

<a class="break-all" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20211027191914/www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/radio-presenters/has-radio-4-lost-way/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">web.archive.org/web/20211027191914/www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/radio-presenters/has-radio-4-lost-way/