Archers thread #155: Cold Comfort Farms! The rural sagas continue. Discuss The Archers here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

FILL THE OLD THREAD UP FIRST! https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/4902507-archers-thread-154-cider-with-fat-rosie-meadow-rise-to-candleford-or-the-darling-horrobins-of-september-get-your-rural-saga-fix-discuss-the-archers-here?page=10

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'd like to hear more scenes in the abattoir, 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.)

Lots of lively discussion about Brad's university aspirations and the Open Day on the last thread. Do you want him to end up at Felpersham or do you want him to spread his wings and go further afield? Where will Mia go?

Will this thread see the end of Rob, or do we have many weeks more before his long overdue demise?

What's going on at Grey Gables? Are they running into financial trouble? Will we hear from Roy, who I had forgotten was working there until he was mentioned the other day? Who are the mysterious 'Owners'? Will the locum GP turn out to be Adil's sister, as we have been surmising since she first spoke? Why's she been conjured up?

Talking of the GP, I'm hoping against hope we're not in for bad news about Jim's mole.

Praying that we're going to get a long and much-needed break from hearing P*p. Not praying that we hear Rob being christened. Who would be his sponsor, as someone commented on the last thread? Harrison? Surely that would be a conflict of interest. Can't see who else would do it locally.

I wonder how Ben is getting on now he's back on his nursing degree? Will we ever hear anything about Lily's course, or how Freddie's getting on at the abattoir?

So many questions! Over to you for some answers and boundless speculation.

I loved Lynda’s reverie about how she met and fell in love with Robert. A lovely tribute to the character and thus the actor, too ❤️

Yes, I wondered if it might herald Eobert's demise in whatever form that might take, however? Not necessarily death but a sudden crisis necessitating his move to a more specialist home than The Laurels or something?

*Robert - although I could go for the Nordic sounding Eobert

My point is that the locations are as important as the characters (if not more important in some ways). Ambridge should feel like a real place that you inhabit in your imagination - so that you feel as if you are sitting at the next table in The Bull, or standing in the queue at the village shop, peeping over a milking stall or through the new window at the dairy. I can accept that characters might come and go, but I need Ambridge to remain recognisable so that I can continue to situate the action in a familiar environment. I don’t want farmhouses to suddenly disappear (or acquire extra rooms for that matter). I feel the loss of Grey Gables and the Royal Garden suite.

Very true

I was thrown for a long time when Nightingale Farm ceased to be of any importance, and Home Farm is the same now.

Kirsty and Stella would be great! It would be a brilliant storyline, if that actually happened and Pip got ousted.

‘Adil or no deal, that’s the £250,000 question’

Also, I don’t entirely understand why Oliver would have to find so much money, as the minority shareholder. If he needs to put in that much wouldn’t the owner’s percentage be much more? Which seems a huge amount of money than just delays would cause. If it’s a loan from them, it makes no sense.

And nobody goes to Underwoods anymore.

As I’ve reiterated a million times:

I miss Underwoods awfully.

And Home Farm.

And the seasonal rhythms of the shoot.

Home Farm seemed such a stupid loss. They (SWs) just threw away a key location with years of history for a story which became irrelevant.

But I think we can safely assume Underwoods still exists - it hasn’t gone into receivership or closed down after the pandemic (or been blown up like GG!) I’d like to think Lillian still goes there - though perhaps it reminds her too much of Jenny.

I also miss the shoot @TottersBlanklyIntoBimboCore And the hunt for that matter.

Tbh I have no right to miss Underwoods - I haven’t stepped into our local city equivalent in fifteen years. All the things I used to do there; buying gloves with my mother, braving the fancy glassware department for wedding or christening gifts, following a toddler around the top floor toy shop at Christmas time - all just scrolling on my phone now. So I shouldn’t be surprised that a once smart department store is no longer a focus of Ambridge shopping and social life.

I doubt Lillian frequents Underwoods these days. If it isn’t boarded up it will be renting out space to horribly low-grade commercial entities. I’d like to think Lillian and Justin hop on Eurostar to do their Christmas shopping - but they probably just curl up on the sofa with Ruby and an iPad, like sensible people.

I miss Home Farm's kitchen and also the interactions that used to take place in Underwoods between (mainly) Jenny and Lilian and Peggy.

I suppose we now have the (soon to be rebranded) tea room and perhaps the charging station will become a vehicle for exchanges. Not the same tho...

Are we in for another Grundies face being homeless storyline?

Where will Emma put Little Grange?

At least we haven’t got Joe’s awful sound effects this time. I couldn’t stand him.

I miss Home Farm and Underwood's too. I can't even remember who is supposed to live at Nightingale Farm now. Matt Crawford used to own it but the BBC says he lost it when he was convicted of fraud. Where did Lilian go at that point? How quickly one forgets.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00w47v9/p00w1tyb

Me neither. But we will have to endure Clarrie's warbling.

Surely if Oliver wants to raise £250k the easiest thing is to sell some land? It might upset Ed but would be a much quicker sale than a house. I’m not sure how much land Grange Farm has but 25 acres at a minimum of £10k/acre would solve his problem. Although I acknowledge there might be CGT to pay, but if rolling it over perhaps not, I’m sure there’s someone more knowledgeable than me who can advise?

I’ve never forgiven the sw for
killing off nigel
nics death scene
brian losing the house

That’s all absolutely true - but Christmas shopping is in a way more difficult. You used to hit the local shopping town, spend an exhausting day , and get something suitable for everyone- not a lot of choice so you did the best you could. Now you go online and quickly find something that’s perfect except for one thing, then something else that is still not perfect but has an added extra that you hadn’t thought of, and two hours and two dozen items later you are still undecided between two that are almost perfect but not quite.

I couldn't stand Walter Gabriel

Just listening to the film, at great cost to my blood pressure.

‘I’ve talked to the partners….'

Yes, Oliver, but WHO ARE THE PARTNERS and how come it isn’t THEIR problem that THEIR representative, Adil, has effed it all up?

Why do YOU have to cough up 250k??!!!

FFS!

And breathe…..

I should have switched it off. Pip is nauseating. Hope Stella breaks her heart into a billion bits and that Pip gets dedded.