🏏Archers thread #136: Howzat! Oliver’s bowled a googly, Kathy’s out, Grey Gables left with nightwatchman. Tracy knocked for six. Is Ambridge on a sticky wicket? 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 are entranced by new character Adil, 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 if anybody made a thread title suggestion and I missed it. I decided to mark the start of the cricket season in the hope that things will take a turn for the better for poor Tracy.

It feels like months since the last new thread, which was just after Phoebe departed for Scotland. Has she been mentioned since? I can't recall. Not greatly missed, by me, at any rate. Her fish gifts didn't last long.

I can't shake off the feeling that The Archers is going through a long dull patch. I don't feel greatly engaged by anything that's happening at the moment other than Tracy's plight. Such a good actor, which helps, of course.

What's keeping you listening? Habit? Genuinely enjoying it? Over to you!

(PS In the process of starting this thread, I've discovered that our custom-made Archers emoji has gone. You used to get it by typing . Not any more.)

why is the dog called Weaver when we’ve already got an inhabitant called Webster which is v similar and means the same thing?

Wasn't she named after Sigourney because of Stella's favourite film or something? I think there was some binding moment with Mia over it, ages ago, when Mia was telling her to get a dog and work with Will in training it or something, when Mia was trying to get Will and Stella together.

Though now I'm waiting for the day when Webster escapes and is found by Jazzer just to see Weaver chase her down and kill her. Which us a bit of a gruesome idea, sorry.

The mysterious farmhouse is a step too far - Home Farm has disappeared off the map, GG is going the same way. It feels like the SWs are destroying the map as we know it and putting up new buildings where none existed before. Surely the Home Farm set up is complicated enough with inventing stuff?

I deal with older teenagers all the time and they do usually find it much easier to talk to people outside their families about problems. Mine are university students but they feel the same burden of expectation that Mia was expressing.

Brian is understandably angry, he’s potentially losing what he has worked all his life on to someone who has made literally no contribution to it. It might be legally correct but, combined with Chris’s obvious greed, it would be galling. Also Brian can do no wrong. It’s hard to see any interpretation other than gold digging in Chris’s attitude.

I think Chris is just standing up to the rich and powerful. Good for him.

The farmhouse IIRC is the Berrow Farm house and has been mentioned in the past

Home Farm is owned by Brian, Debbie, Adam, Kate, Ruari and Alice- does Jenny have a share? Paying Chris what he is entitled out of Alice's share is not going to lose Home Farm. If they can't come up with that payment the alternative is Alice's share is split with Chris and Chris gets ongoing payments from her drawings.

A am surprised Brian didn't keep a lid on his anger in front of the accountant

B I don't think Chris is gold-digging at all!

Am I being naive to think that if Home Farm is a business they must have to do accounts that indicate its value?

One would have thought so …

The children had a cottage each (so there were 4?). In trust?
When Alice and then Kate (or the other way round) wanted to move into there it stopped Jenny's holiday rental business. There was some fuss about it being 'hers' ie Alices.

I am sure they are recreating history!

Any of the partners in Home Farm can resign or die at any time. The resigning or deceased partner's share has to be paid out. That's basic partnership law. The partnership might allow for this to be paid over a number of years- but anything longer than 3-5 years would be exceptional.

If Alice had died in child birth Chris would almost certainly have inherited her share in the partnership. The options then would have been to pay out her share or if everyone was agreed, Chris could have been assumed as a partner without her share being paid out.

This story line that paying out Chris will be the end of Home Farm is nonsense.

No, annual accounts don't include a capital valuation- or certainly not at the level needed here.

Lily is obnoxious.

She's vile to Freddie
I hope that Kristiffur gets a personality transplant or is dedded

Lily was really horrible last night. As if selling kitchens is some high-flying career path that she got into through brilliance as opposed to desperation when she dropped out of uni.

The Chris/Alice thing is also really unpleasant. I know it's the law, but I can really understand Brian's dismay at Home Farm being on the table for the divorce. It's not like Alice really had anything to do with that accumulation of (not even marital) assets, Chris did nothing to support anyone in building the business etc. The fact that he's now bringing in random cottages and Kate's business is bound to stick in the craw. Meanwhile Chris' business is to remain untouched? I hope now the SWs have demonstrated the fall-out of the divorce that the rest of it can happen quietly off-air. I don't need all this angst in my life.

Home Farm isn't "on the table" . It's Chris' entitlement to share in Alice's interest in it. The storyline is utter nonsense. On the one hand , Ian's redundancy payment would save it, which is also nonsense, given the cap on redundancy pay and on the other hand the entire farm is at risk to pay out Christopher. Both scenarios are ridiculous.

I would hope that Chris's business does come into the calculations. Alice has a strong case for arguing that not having to pay rent or a mortgage must have been a massive help in taking over the business and building it up.

I must admit to some sympathy with Lily. Freddie's sudden claim to expertise in management on the basis of experience as a hotel minion really isn't convincing, and he would never have rescued the situation with the booking if she hadn't pointed out the problem quickly - by the time he realised he didn't have a contact number it would have been too late to do last number redial.

Alice has a strong case for arguing that not having to pay rent or a mortgage must have been a massive help in taking over the business and building it up.

Yes … They don’t seem to have addressed Chris’ business yet. I don’t remember it properly but my impression was that Alice and Chris as a married couple made a huge financial leap when he bought out his former boss /apprentice master. So she must retain some investment in that?

It’s true that Brian is far too financially canny and lawyered-up to have left Home Farm open to destruction from one single offspring divorce.

It’s true that Brian is far too financially canny and lawyered-up to have left Home Farm open to destruction from one single offspring divorce

It's nothing to do with how canny he is. Alice only has a sixth or a seventh share (if Jenny is also a partner). In any case why would Chris want the farm sold off? He'd be looking to preserve it for Martha.

Brian was anything but canny in that outburst- or indeed in any of the handling of this. My sympathy is with Chris , because I can't stand Alice and the sheer stupidity her family are showing in this.

I've completely gone off Chris, and like pp am wondering what Chris' business is worth and wanting Alice to claim half.

My sympathies for Chris became diluted when he announced that of course if there was any dispute about decisions for Martha then it would be his wishes that were followed.

It's nothing to do with how canny he is. Alice only has a sixth or a seventh share

Yes … Actually, what I meant was, given that he had ensured that each person only owned a small share, it seems ridiculous that the SWs are now putting words into his mouth suggesting he fears potential loss of the whole farm.

Yes I agree that it seems unlikely that Home Farm would be destroyed by the divorce. Ludicrous in fact, given the scale of it. And any proper Partnership agreement would protect against the departure of a single partner. But it does make Chris look 'grabby', for want of a better word, to be bringing up all these extra things that he wants considered when actually they have nothing to do with him or his marriage. It's the very worst aspects of human nature that do this in a divorce scenario. Horrible.