Archers thread #143: In the Bleak Midwinter, Ambridge Folk Make Moan. Best Christmas ever? Probably not! 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, although we do mostly try to be civil about it. Most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you'd love to be in Jolene's choir , 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/4636789-the-archers-spoilers-thread-7-cant-wait-for-702pm-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.)

Well, we made it through Stir Up Sunday without bloodshed, but poor Ben is now in the grip of psychotic depression. Not going to be a happy Christmas at Brookfield, sadly. When will Jill swallow her pride and go and give him the abject apology he deserves? Would it be a good idea anyway for Ben to see his gran at the moment?

Will Jazzer say yes? I hope so. We could do with a Horrobin wedding to look forward to.

Will Emma and Ed end up in court if they go ahead with this idiotic scheme to nick the logs from Peggy's Folly?

Will the two choirs put on a joint concert at Christmas? I assume so, and also that the BBC will continue to fool nobody by using recordings of what is clearly a really good well-rehearsed established choir, not a scratch choir of half a dozen novices.

Over to you!

They had secured a mortgage for a house on Beechwood and had a deposit as Emma had saved up after working at the chicken factory on top of her other job(s). But then Ed lost his job after getting caught up in a criminal scheme (I’ve forgotten the details but Adam was forced to sack him) and they lost the mortgage. Emma then went around the village asking all and sundry for money in a desperate bid to keep the house. That was a pretty excruciating episode. I felt very sorry for her.

They broke up for a while but got back together as Emma decided love was morning important than owning a home. Or something like that. I was disappointed really as hoped she’d take the opportunity to find someone with a bit more ambition than Ed but here we are.

But then Ed lost his job after getting caught up in a criminal scheme (I’ve forgotten the details but Adam was forced to sack him) and they lost the mortgage. Emma then went around the village asking all and sundry for money in a desperate bid to keep the house

That was a grim time, and a truly hard listen. And now Emma thinks it’s a good idea to prove how non-boring they are by….getting caught up in a criminal scheme.

Has she learned nothing? (I know the answer really, but I’ve just got my head in my hands at this point)

I’ve got a question, when David goes to “see to the Herefords” and then the ewes, is he doing much or just having a look at them?

He will be counting them, checking food and water is okay (many a frozen water trough in this weather,) checking for any problems in fencing, and checking them over - any limping, weeping eyes, noticeable cuts, any odd behaviour such as keeping away from the rest of the herd, etc. You won't necessarily see them all close enough to notice all problems, but you can probably notice signs of foot problems and general malaise.

That's hardly surprising given he was brought up by Clarrie and Eddie.

Here in my bit of Australia, most areas forbid wood-collecting for fuel because they're for the insects if I lived in Australia I think the prospect of them being full of insects (or spiders!) would be enough to keep me well away.

Thanks @EBearhug - so could he, as I suspect, have waited til the tables were set up and gone and done it half an hour later?

Oh I've no doubt Will was an arse but I still say you don't steal your brother's wife!

Why didn't Ruth turf Ben out of bed to help with the table setting up. It might have done him good or perhaps he's too medicated.

The events barn is starting to seriously annoy me. They appear to host ‘fabulous’ events with barely any experience or forward planning. And if the yard is so small that a milk tanker blocks it, where do the guests park?

I presumed they just provided the space while the hirers sorted the catering and decoration and stuff. But if that’s the case what was Ruth doing?

It did seem odd that they might have an event happening and David’s knowledge of it amounted to “Oh, yeah … that thing?” As a client / customer (?) I’d be expecting considerably more engagement and enthusiasm from the hosts.

But in all honesty I’ve struggled to understand what David and Ruth actually offer.

Oops- just realised I'd only listened to half an episode and Ben did help out 😊

Yes there was an episode where George somehow managed to wangle this - it makes sense though as Will lives there and it's fairly common for children of divorced couples to have a room in each house. He probably had one at Greenwood Cottage where Will used to live with Nic (excruciatingly named "Casa Nostra" after Ed n' Em's honeymoon to Mexico).

Will n'Em'a honeymoon to Mexico I meant!

He didn't steal his brother's wife. She is a sentient being, not a piece of property.

I agree, @TottersBlankly , Running a venue for events like that is a full-time job, Shirley? Who manages their marketing, their social media? Who takes enquiries and tours and butters up local caterers and florists and waiting staff and table hire and glass hire and wine merchants and bar staff? Flooring, lighting, heating, public liability insurance, DJ, sound system...or is it literally a barn to hire? It just annoys me that these businesses are portrayed as effortless! It would annoy me even more if it were my field. Wasn't Ruth additionally planning on opening a Bed and Breakfast?

I think it is just venue hire, but that must involve liaising with a lot of people hired by the partygiver/bridal pair/whatever.

She is a sentient being ...

Well, up to a point, Lord Copper.

@GoldenCupidon , it depends on the time of day. He'd be much better off doing it in daylight, and see to them is headcount, feeding, watering, any husbandry, and any repairs.
@Fink , his parents set the template. Clarrie does all the house stuff but also works

@TerraNostra , it was Casa Nueva not Casa Nostra. Renamed Greenwood Cottage by Nic, the green coming from Nic&Will's honeymoon destination of Cape Verde

WhoppingBigBackside
his parents set the template. Clarrie does all the house stuff but also works

I got the distinct impression from what Will said at the time that he wanted Emma not to have have to be a slave the way Clarrie was, and himself to be a more reliable and honest husband than Eddie was.

He also said that he didn't want Emma to have to go back to work while George was a small baby, which didn't seem to me to be entirely unreasonable.

You have a better memory than I have Asking. He wasn't that bad, nothing like Eddie. He definitely didn't want Nic to work in The Bull, but she did have two young children at the time. IIRC, he was concerned that her clothes were a bit revealing, but that might be me misremembering.

The venue hire business has never rung true to me. Two FT farmers with no event management experience suddenly able to spin up a viable business and hire out the barn for high end wedding receptions. They cobble together help from whoever is around whenever there is an event yet it is a money-spinner helping to keep the farm afloat.

Yes, high-end wedding receptions suggest quite a lot of guests, i.e. a fair bit of parking space required. Perhaps they all park at the previously unmentioned Ambridge Park & Ride, conveniently located off the bypass, and are shuttled in by charabanc. And as someone said, all sorts of people have been roped in to serve drinks, which suggests very little (if any) professional organisation is involved, except presumably for the food. Or did Jill serve up casseroles and a tiered lemon drizzle cake?