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Archers thread #146: They did fall apart. Can they put themselves together again? Discuss The Archers here.

992 replies

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 20/02/2023 22:33

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

ArchersAll views on The Archers welcome here! New blood welcomed, and of course we are always delighted to welcome back former or occasional listeners/posters. 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 like to donate your time as a guide at Lower Loxley to save the Pargetters paying someone else a living wage, or other unusual views. Grin

Archers 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!

Archers 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 @Impostersyndrome for the thread title suggestion Buses and trains are sorely lacking, canals might be nearby, but all roads lead to Ambridge, picking up on transport discussions in the last thread. In the end I didn't use it, having in mind the character limit. @TottersBlankly contributed an early draft title Wreathes, wrath, writhing (Jennifer, Lilian, Ruairi). Both good starting points for the new thread, which I hope will last till Jennifer's funeral, surely not too far off now. So, over to you - whither the Aldridges? Also, does anyone care if Lee goes to the US? Is anyone even slightly interested in the Brookfield B&B venture?

OP posts:
TottersBlankly · 27/02/2023 08:30

or am I still smarting from her calling her ‘urban’ all those years ago?

Glad it’s not just me … Angry

It did make me wonder though if Nolunthando might choose to stay in the UK and head up the new LL education department with specific provision for school visits

OMG, @Prestissimo - this would be perfect!!! (Have never stopped missing Hayley at LL.)

Though I’d still want Kate to export herself back to SA. Unfortunately it’s too soon for Sipho to produce a few grandchildren …

CaptainMyCaptain · 27/02/2023 08:35

I can't get over the entitlement of Freddie and Lily thinking young people will give up paid employment and work for them for free. As suggested above maybe school students (although would they be prepared to learn all the history?) or SAHPs wanting to do something different for a couple of hours while children are at school but not very likely or reliable. English Heritage, the NT and many organisations rely on retired people.

iratepirate · 27/02/2023 08:39

I’d also be concerned that F is hardly being subtle about not wanting the older volunteers. I can imagine cliff et al getting wind of what he’s been saying, and taking offence, thus leaving Freddie with no volunteers and Elizabeth with no option but to employ someone.

C8H10N4O2 · 27/02/2023 08:50

CaptainMyCaptain · 27/02/2023 08:35

I can't get over the entitlement of Freddie and Lily thinking young people will give up paid employment and work for them for free. As suggested above maybe school students (although would they be prepared to learn all the history?) or SAHPs wanting to do something different for a couple of hours while children are at school but not very likely or reliable. English Heritage, the NT and many organisations rely on retired people.

I got the impression it was more Freddie pushing the ageism. Lily was trying to make the point that they couldn't be that picky.

Mostly I found the whole scene faintly ridiculous although I dare say it happens. I'm surprised Neil didn't burst out laughing being grilled by three young 20 somethings before being permitted to provide free labour to subsidise Freddie's large home.

I'd like to see Noluthando back in a proper role but education officer for LL is likely to be paid even worse than classroom teaching and would mean stepping off the teaching ladder. As with Phoebe, better jobs must exist outside the Ambridge area.

LillianGish · 27/02/2023 09:02

Maybe Lower Loxley could approach the local school. Volunteering opportunity for Duke of Edinburgh award teenagers. I suppose this is a possibility - though wouldn't young people be more inclined to volunteer for a charity? Someone like Chelsea Horrobin already works at LL so I can't see her volunteering (even if this would be an way to engineer her spending more time with Freddie) - apart from anything else it would clash with her paid work in the tea room. Harrison is going to end up as some sort of lay reader/verger/sidesman isn't he? Eventually going the same way as Shula.

Xol · 27/02/2023 09:03

When it comes to people like Neil wanting to give back to the community, surely there are much more effective volunteering roles available than providing free labour to the local landed gentry?

I think Freddie's deluded thinking that younger guides are going to attract a younger clientele to LL. When I'm thinking about places to visit, it's the place I'm interested in, not the age of the staff.

UrsulaPandress · 27/02/2023 09:35

The volunteering malarkey is seriously annoying me.

FallonsNewCoat · 27/02/2023 10:13

I would probably complain to Elizabeth if her children spoke to me like that. I hope Cliff overheard Freddie whining about his elderly volunteers.

GoldenCupidon · 27/02/2023 11:51

LillianGish · 27/02/2023 09:02

Maybe Lower Loxley could approach the local school. Volunteering opportunity for Duke of Edinburgh award teenagers. I suppose this is a possibility - though wouldn't young people be more inclined to volunteer for a charity? Someone like Chelsea Horrobin already works at LL so I can't see her volunteering (even if this would be an way to engineer her spending more time with Freddie) - apart from anything else it would clash with her paid work in the tea room. Harrison is going to end up as some sort of lay reader/verger/sidesman isn't he? Eventually going the same way as Shula.

oh my goodness you're right! They must have sanctified Christianised Harrison in order to fill the upcoming Shula shaped gap.

I was relieved when Alan remembered the funeral wasn't all about him, somewhat belatedly. I'd have thought it would have been an honour not a worry to do the funeral for a devoted churchgoer you'd known for years, even though I'd understand him being a bit scared of the family.

Freddie was horribly rude about the volunteers - he really doesn't understand his privilege at all does he. And I'm amazed that he and Lily did their volunteer finding in some kind of out of the way room in LL. It's the way of thinking of someone Cliff's age, not F&L's, that you put an ad in the paper and people just turn up. If it's a busy Sunday, which mostly they are at places like that, why not dish out flyers to the people who are visiting??? They could put posters up at the university or even invite local students (history? architecture? horticulture?) around for a free special open day and target them then.

ILoveShula · 27/02/2023 12:22

Nobody could fill the Shula-shaped gap.

I thought Freddie was ageist, but if I was a teenager or slightly younger, I'd probably find a stately home visit less boring if someone youngish was the guide. Not that I ever went to stately homes as a child.

I had a look at the Activity Pack for a 'Lower Loxley' that I have heard of, and it seems to have a bit of focus on recycling and nature, and what the staff would have been using to work in the house. It's owned by the NT, unlike LL.

CaptainMyCaptain · 27/02/2023 12:37

The NT is a charity, though, LL is a business. Why would anyone work for them for nothing?

TeenDivided · 27/02/2023 12:40

CaptainMyCaptain · 27/02/2023 12:37

The NT is a charity, though, LL is a business. Why would anyone work for them for nothing?

To spend time in nice surroundings
To mix with other people, to be social.
Routine but with flexibility
Perks

For youngsters, good work experience, depending on career choices.
Or, as mentioned, DofE.

ILoveShula · 27/02/2023 12:42

Work experience, because it takes the out of their home and gets them interacting with people, because they think they might enjoy it...
Maybe they get fed, maybe it's not cold there...

I had the singing swede. I had a slice not the whole swede, and it didn't sing much. The cooked swede was quite nice, very sweet, but would probably have benefited from having something added to it.

CaptainMyCaptain · 27/02/2023 12:43

I have done voluntary work but for a charity and for the NHS vaccination programme. I wouldn't do it to line someone else's pockets especially for people as superior snd condescending as the Pargetters.

GoldenCupidon · 27/02/2023 12:53

I know someone who volunteers at a stately home, I think she enjoys spending a day or so a week hanging out in a beautiful house/garden and the camaraderie with the other volunteers. It also gets you out of the house and the work isn't hard like it can be if you're lugging things around in a charity shop for example. If you're a history buff then somewhere like LL is more than just "that woman Lizzy's business", it's a place with (presumably) a fascinating long past and a multitude of stories of the people who have lived and worked there, events that happened there, maybe famous people who visited etc.

I can think of far worse things to do in your retirement quite honestly! But as a working person I'd be buggered if I'd give up half my weekends to go there.

Freddie needs to go on a course in volunteer management, they do exist. I heard it on Radio 4 so it must be true.

Dillydallydilly · 27/02/2023 13:44

CaptainMyCaptain · 27/02/2023 12:43

I have done voluntary work but for a charity and for the NHS vaccination programme. I wouldn't do it to line someone else's pockets especially for people as superior snd condescending as the Pargetters.

Indeed

TottersBlankly · 27/02/2023 14:14

Laughed at Lily’s suppressed “Mmm … Blush” when Noluthando remarked that after living independently she wouldn’t want to go back to living with her father and brother.

It’s true they’ll want to replace the religious person in Ambridge who has a semi-official relationship with St Stephen’s - otherwise Alan will have no one to converse with on church matters. Though I do think it was a bit off for him to gossip about the Aldridges with Harrison.

And I don’t remember him being close friends with either Jenny or Brian? Hmm

MereDintofPandiculation · 27/02/2023 14:49

TonightMatthewIamgoingtobecher · 27/02/2023 08:26

Maybe Lower Loxley could approach the local school. Volunteering opportunity for Duke of Edinburgh award teenagers. I remember we needed to volunteer as part of the scheme for community service.

  1. DofE 2)unpaid internship (are they still allowed?) 3) work experience for people on the dole. Those are the main thing that get youngsters carrying out work for free. Trouble us, although they work well in towns, LL is out in the sticks. You need your own car to get there.

So maybe he’s looking for the slightly older generation, the one whose time is completely taken up with work and kids. Good luck with that one.

MereDintofPandiculation · 27/02/2023 15:00

Freddie and Noli sounded so ageist and condescending. Unpleasant, wasn’t it? I thought I’d wandered into an audio version of MN.

I’d also be concerned that F is hardly being subtle about not wanting the older volunteers. If the people that I volunteer for showed anything other than complete gratitude, I’d be out of there like a shot. F needs to sort out his attitudes.

Gonners · 27/02/2023 15:20

We hear a lot about the volunteers but very little (if anything) about the visitors. Does anyone actually visit the place, unless there's some organised event? Even these usually seem to take place out of doors rather than in the house.

NeverApologiseNeverExplain · 27/02/2023 15:23

Some disparate points as I catch up:

  1. Swede (which is called turnip where I come from) works best when diced into 1cm cubes and added to soup like Scotch broth, cooked in the pressure cooker for about 20 mins at high pressure. It is also nice mashed with butter and black pepper, cut small and boiled for at least 20 mins before mashing.
  1. I fully endorse the @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g approach to scrambled egg and avoid it like the plague when out as it is never done properly. For poaching, the single most important thing is to use as fresh an egg as possible, otherwise the white will not surround the yolk evenly, no matter how much vinegar you add to the water. I wouldn't even try if my eggs were more than a couple of days post-purchase.
  1. Helen has spent years perfecting boiled eggs with dippy soldiers for Henry and Jack and still offers them even though He Ty thinks they're childish. Lee often asks for one too. However she can't bring herself to make egg custard as it gives her PTSD.
NeverApologiseNeverExplain · 27/02/2023 15:24

TottersBlankly · 27/02/2023 14:14

Laughed at Lily’s suppressed “Mmm … Blush” when Noluthando remarked that after living independently she wouldn’t want to go back to living with her father and brother.

It’s true they’ll want to replace the religious person in Ambridge who has a semi-official relationship with St Stephen’s - otherwise Alan will have no one to converse with on church matters. Though I do think it was a bit off for him to gossip about the Aldridges with Harrison.

And I don’t remember him being close friends with either Jenny or Brian? Hmm

Isn't Neil a church elder or something?

GoldenCupidon · 27/02/2023 15:45

I poach my eggs with the magical cling film method I saw on the internet last year. It's magic and I have further perfected it but can't reveal how as - like my hobbies - it's too outing. 😂

Lynda does her eggs en cocotte.

Fallon makes a lovely shakshuka and puts up with Harrison calling it "baked eggs". Truly that man must have a golden penis.

GoldenCupidon · 27/02/2023 15:46

NeverApologiseNeverExplain · 27/02/2023 15:24

Isn't Neil a church elder or something?

Show quote history

Neil being a secret Mormon is the twist I'm here for.

TeenDivided · 27/02/2023 15:58

Neil's a church warden isn't he?