Archers thread #149: This is not a drill, it’s a plot device. Here’s hoping for Stella-r rows in Ambridge. 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, 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 think George Grundy's bantz make him a great laugh and totally harmless to women, 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.)

Thanks for title suggestions - @FallonsNewCoat started us off with Drilling down OR What’s the drill?: So many jobs hanging in the balance - what’s planned for Adam, Stella, Freddie and horrible George?, @OverArmour's suggestion was ‘Drilling down on less than Stella-r performances and who will be a pig in muck’ and @TeenDivided contributed the laserdrill focussed Lets drill into plot holes and hope George gets his comeuppance. I went for a bit of all of that. The phrase at the back of my head, which I am very pleased to have tracked down, was from one of my favourite film franchises where the character Conklin says in Jason Bourne's memory This is not a drill, soldier. We clear on that? This is a live project. You are go. Training is over. Training is over. Well, that's us, troops. Training is over, discussing The Archers is a live project, and it's our job to drill down into all aspects of what we hear.

On the last thread, people were discussing how unrealistic the portrayal of mental health problems is on TA. I wholeheartedly agree, but I suppose they don't feel they can tackle long-running slow burn storylines that often. They made a great effort with Jack Woolley's Alzheimer's. Other than that, I don't recall anybody having a recurring illness that's been portrayed realistically (and actually that goes for physical conditions as well). Most things clear up and are hardly mentioned again. Sticking just to mental illness, Pat had depression after John died, Mike Tucker had a bad bout of depression, so did Elizabeth. Helen's ED may or may not be about to re-appear, but nobody's mentioning it. Ben's rapid-onset depresssion recently led to a psychotic episode but now he's fine, not least because he got prompt, skilled and appropriate treatment on the NHS, unlike most of the UK. This is one area where I feel they shouldn't even attempt it if they can't do it in a way that reflects the reality of what most of us experience, for ourselves and our loved ones.

Anyway, with that off my chest - over to you!

And, it’s probably too much Love Island watching, but I was definitely anticipating a post dinner lunge last night … Such a grim prospect.

Glad Ed had fun with the new bit of Home Farm kit.

Rob may have just" asked for a meeting in public so he can claim he's now scared of violent man Lee.

The opposite of foolish Helen going to see him alone after she'd taken out a restraining order against him.

The charging station will happen and Fallon will open a cafe there. Whether her business is viable is not Harrison's responsibility! Unless he wants it to be. But you can't prop up someone's business forever!

Good point. She will complain to Justin and he'll buy her off by giving her the cafe to manage. People in the village will have to make their own tea.

That sounds horribly plausible, @CountryCousin.

Never mind TA itself, I’m absolutely loving this thread at the moment: badgericidal 🤣 @WhatWouldLIfeBe’s analysis of the Tom/Lee intervention and the cafe collapse, @FallonsNewCoat with the drill almost has a character of its own and Fallon as the voice of the hospitality industry (absolutely!) and @CountryCousin’s plot speculation (I like it!). One thing’s for sure, Friday’s encounter will not go well for Lee - I can’t believe he or Helen have any belief it will. It’s like watching (or rather listening) to a car crash. I’m surprised Harrison didn’t advise more forcefully against it and that the solicitor (whose name I have forgotten) was not consulted.

Dominic's probably had to seek emergency counselling to deal with having a client like Helen. Either that or he's been struck off for accepting a bill payment from U. N. Owen against all money laundering regulations, as helpfully explained upthread.

WitcheryDivine
I always wonder how far the tearoom is from the centre of Ambridge. AskingQuestionsAllTheTime will know. People always seem to arrive by car though.

The tea-room is at Bridge Farm, which according to the Magnetic North map of Ambridge is along a lane uphill from the river past Brookfield, about 900 yards from the village green.

People probably arrive by car because walking up a narrow lane also used by cars going to the small businesses at Sawyers Farm, to Beechwood estate, and to the tea-shop and Ambridge Organics, wouldn't be all that much fun.

If Fallon gets a café "just the other side of Hollowtree" it will be rather closer to the village green than her present tea-room is, and not up a hill. On foot to Hollowtree from the village green there is a convenient ginnel (snicket, tenfoot, gulley, twitten, loaning, whatever) from the other end of The Green (where the Horrobins live), and the distance is about two hundred yards.

The only trouble might be that there is no road on the other side of Hollowtree, so both her customers and the cars to be charged might have difficulty getting there.

I think what people may missing is how very close to the middle of the village this charging station is going to be, even though traffic to it will have absolutely no reason to go through the village since it will be off a road which goes round the backs of houses facing onto the village green.

Thanks so much Asking, I love that you also know that Bridge Farm is up a hill. I always imagine Ambridge and surroundings to be entirely flat since they all gomp on so much about the excitements of Lakey Hill (+ I always wonder just how lakey a hill can be).

I don't like whingey Fallon, she used to be so proactive - what happened to her furniture business? Wasn't the tearoom also supposed to be like a showroom for that stuff, that must be a second source of income and most of her sales would be done online. Do you think she's the eventual Heir to the Bull?

Lucky they'll all be nice and quiet then... <awaits thumping from Jim>

I have to say I'm finding Jim and Oliver and even Justin's voices are becoming harder to distinguish for me, which is confusing when they're on opposing sides of this planning thing.

WitcheryDivine
Thanks so much Asking, I love that you also know that Bridge Farm is up a hill. I always imagine Ambridge and surroundings to be entirely flat since they all gomp on so much about the excitements of Lakey Hill (+ I always wonder just how lakey a hill can be).

I think it must be uphill if not actually up a hill: Brookfield and the Stables were flooded when the Am burst its banks, but Bridge Farm, a little further up that road, was not. The BBC published a map at the time which showed where had been low enough to flood, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to have been part of the Blog proper and I can't find it.

The end of the green furthest from the Am (Manorfield Close) seems to have escaped dry-shod, too, so the land must slope up a fair bit in that direction as well. Not all of it, because the Village Hall was flooded and that is further from the river than Manorfield Close, but certainly Grey Gables, in that direction, was a refugee centre.

I’m surprised the Bridge Farm lot haven’t suggested having a couple of charging points outside the shop/cafe.

Brian was pretty loathsome in his day

That episode was so dull it's sent me into a stupor.

Agreed. It seemed to go on and on and on and on and on... and on...

I suppose tomorrow's episode will feel like a stark (too stark?) contrast!

I have to say I'm finding Jim and Oliver and even Justin's voices are becoming harder to distinguish for me, which is confusing when they're on opposing sides of this planning thing.

@WitcheryDivine - I was just thinking that this morning when I listened.

I'm finding it all completely tedious. We know from experience that a chain will get the café franchise.
Wasn't there talk of a hairdresser too?

I'm afraid (as a village dweller) that any increase in traffic for any reason can kill it off. And placing something not actually in the village but outside (so parking no issue) can kill the remaining one business you have.

I'm also having problems distinguishing between Oliver, Justin and Jim.

Also: "professor" I thought in the UK that once you leave the job that gives you the title, the title goes too? unlike the UK when you are Professor for life

Amusing myself picturing Brian, alone in his kitchen, smugly singing "I've got a brand new brill-eee-ant seed drill" to himself. 🎵

(even a tad Eddie Grundy on the original vocals here)

Me too re the voices.

So was the meeting meant to indicate that most are happy with the proposed development?

So glad it's not just me and the voices, I thought I was going deaf. All the actors have the proper old "BBC pronunciation" and all aged within about 5 years of each other.

I think Fallon will get the contract, I think this is supposed to be a story about how village NIMBYs can be wrong about green projects/maybe also a nod to the Tory listeners that "big business" can do The Right Thing at times. (Just a hunch)

Dreading tonight!

I thought the woman from the Eco-business was Stella at first.

Me too

I was laughing because if they said her full name once they must have said it 4 times, do you think there's a reason for that e.g. she's going to be back?