Archers thread #148: Unseasonably, it's panto time in Ambridge. He's behind you, Pat! BANG. Discuss the Archers here.

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

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Will Rob return, or are they playing with us? Will Pat run amok with her shotgun and wipe out half the village? (We can but hope ...) Will Oliver come to his senses and turf the Grundy clan out of Grange Farm? So many questions, so much time.

Over to you!

On Sunday 21st May, 2023. Before that the idea had never been mentioned.

Can anyone explain why Tom wanted to swap one good player for another, and thereby offend both of them, Chris because No is a complete sentence and Adam because he's being treated as second-best?

Is it about just demonstrating how stubborn and pig headed (no pun intended 🤣) Tom can be? He's decided he should have Chris on his team and he's not interested in anything other than just getting his way and seeing the world his way? I was really surprised when Tom said to Adam about how Tony was upset with him because the twins had done some modelling which was 'nothing to do with the farm' ...
I agree it really doesn't make any sense and it's obvious Adam will be either pissed off or actually a bit hurt, what with having recently had to cope with Erin's rejection?

I think perhaps the combination of Brian being effusively nice to Adam immediately after Erin smacked him in the metaphorical teeth, and Tom being his usual self-absorbed self and thus causing Adam annoyance, may be setting us up for Adam to move back to Home Farm – as also heavily signalled last night when Adam was talking to Tom about how he would like to run Home Farm if only Brian would die or at least retire and let him have a free hand there.

There is also Brian apparently not having noticed that Stella has spent £150,000 of Home Farm's on a machine Brian had not made up his moind about and definitely had not given her the go-ahead to buy; that is not going to please him when he does find out, and might make him happier to get rid of her and have Adam back, not realising that Adam (on no authority whatever) had okayed the purchase.

I thought Alice made a good attempt at trying to tell Adam to stop speculating on what will happen after her father’s death but she should have gone harder. She should have pointed out that while Brian may not be Adam’s father, he is hers, and there will be time enough to wonder about the future of Home Farm when he actually dies. Adam is sounding horribly avaricious to me- it is very unattractive.

It may be that my inability to understand Ambridge farm ownership explains the relative brevity of my long ago legal career - but I thought Home Farm was a partnership these days. In which case I don’t understand why the farm is a mysterious issue in Brian’s Will. Surely what happens when a partner in the business dies is part and parcel of a partnership agreement? Why don’t they all know already exactly what will become of the farm?

That is a very good point, Totters. If they all have a share in the farm they have to know it’s intended Future.

Brain, Adam, Debbie, Kate, Alice and Ruairi are partners in the business that runs the farm, but the farm land belongs to Brian: not only was that clear from what Adam has been saying, we also know it because Brian, not the farm partnership, was solely responsible for paying for the clean-up of the pollution and for the fine over it having happened.

If Brian left the land to the cats' home, the business would have to be wound up; similarly if he decided to sell it to an investment farmer as Adam suggested last night he might plan to do.

Yes that is a good point! But I do wonder if Adam is wondering whether Brian's will might contain 'other' things in it, (much like Jennifer's did), and whilst Adam's delivery can very often sound quite lacking in tone or emotion, he is I would imagine going through some degree of turmoil internally - he has recently lost his mum very suddenly, he tried to find his dad but has learnt he 'just missed him', and whilst Brian isn't his biological father, he has been his step dad for a long time so Adam will definitely be affected on his death. I'm also minded to remember Brian and Debbie's recent conversation where Brian asked her to come back and head up Home Farm - her saying no to that is a way for us to all know Debbie doesn't want it should the opportunity arise.
Which makes the partnership thing all the more interesting - do partnerships go by 'shares' or similar, and if Brian gives all of his to one person in his will, that would make a difference? Is Adam in the partnership already, or not at all?
This does all make me worry that they are working towards writing Brian out, which would be a great shame I think, I know the actor may want to retire but his character will be really missed I think.

It’s what Adam said that I’m questioning, @AskingQuestionsAllTheTime - it’s a staggeringly stupid way to run a farm.

Oh I like this. 2000 words on this thesis, go!

My thesis entitled: "Tom Archer is, always has been, and always will be a selfish plonker, much to the enjoyment/annoyance (delete as appropriate) of the devoted listener. Often his selfish plonkerness aids more interesting storylines, thus removing him from most listeners 'Archers characters we'd like to go away permanently' lists. He selflessly gives that role to his sister Helen". Discuss 😜

PuppyPerson,

On the advice of his financial advisor, Brian arranged to give Jennifer's and his children "shares in the business" back in 2017. He discussed it with Jennifer, explaining how the shares would be divided up: "Brian and Jennifer would have 3 shares each, one share each for the children and one extra share each for Debbie and Adam as long as they are still working on the farm." (Lowfield, 28th April, 2017) Strangely, Debbie and Adam, who until that point had expected to inherit one-third of the farm each (Ruairi to get the other third) and who were being paid managers' saleries plus one third each of the farm's profits, did not question this arrangement nor complain about it at all.

In spite of neither Debbie not Adam working on the farm any more (in Debbie's case not for some years now) they still seem to have two shares each to the others' one each.

The land belongs to Brian, though. The partnership is the business that is run on the land. And I agree with TottersBlanky, the whole thing is cockeyed.

How is Oliver, who sold Grey Gables to Adil's employer, in a position to offer it to Tracey for her cock-and-hen party?

He still owns forty per cent of it.

I wonder whether he consulted Adil? I'd have thought he would be less than enthusiastic about a load of pissed-up hens living it up in his newly refurbished lounge.

So did Brian inherit Jennifer's 3 shares?

Exactly, @ChocChipHandbag! After her death Jenny was turned into ‘a woman with lots of scarves’ when in fact she was a significant shareholder in a prosperous business. I don’t think her shares have been mentioned at all? There should have been a shift in the power balance of the partnership, surely - and at least some discussion …

And her Will was desperately disappointingly covered. We heard nothing except the bequest to Martha. They could have done so much more - I would have liked to hear of little personal things she left to friends, more distant relatives, unexpected people.

This has not been revealed by the editorial team.

This is really interesting, so Adam and Debbie both have more shares in the partnership than Alice, Kate or Ruaridh?
Agree that it's odd they've not discussed where Jennifer's shares went as this would surely have been in her will or already recorded with the partnership? Maybe she left all 3 to Brian?!

I had thought Adam's currently state was related to him feeling insecure about his position at the farm but I guess not...

I think he feels insecure because Brian caught him with his hand in the till.

roundcork
The very fact Brian refuses to talk about it should be ringing mahoosive alarm bells to all the children

Oh, it is. For one thing, each of them wants to be favoured, or at least not to do worse from their father's (or mother's husband's) death than anyone else; for another, each thinks he or she has an absolute right to know exactly what Brian has decided before he has decided it himself. He has said that he will let them know when he does, but that is not good enough for them.

Oh, except Debbie who may genuinely not really care.

I think Brian is being a bit daft if he thinks burying his head in the sand will help.

better say now: I'm leaving it all to the local cats' home and have done with it.

He has said, load and clear, that he has not yet finalised his will. What more is he expected to do?