Archers thread #163: Too much aggro, not enough agri! 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, 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 to @LikeTalkingToLassie for the thread title idea! She and @LillianGish had fun with this theme on the last thread:

More farmer, less drama
More ploughing, less rowing
There's mileage in silage.
More sheds, fewer beds.

All good points. Fair to say nobody on the last thread was delighted to see the return of Harry. I think we all agree that Alice is a blithering idiot to get involved with him again. Most of us also think that Miranda is up to no good. Other storylines in play at the moment:

Alistair and Denise, with the massive complication of John and Paul
Ed and Emma - another doomed Grundy enterprise? Does Will still have the will to wang them some wonga?
Whither George - YouTube sensation or Borchester Magistrates' Court?
Will Markie cause mayhem at The Bull?
Will Harrison haul him in to Borchester nick?
Will Hannah get off with Chris?
Will we ever get used to the new Robert?
Will there ever be a new Roy?
Why do we hear so little from Brookfield now? (Although if we never heard Pip again, I for one would be delighted)
Will Stella dump Pip?

There are probably others I've missed. Over to you!

Ah, OK, I haven’t heard the last couple of episodes. The “Rex is at his father’s” was in response to a question about where he keeps his pigs so I thought it was referring to a permanent state.

Is dastardly Robin on his last legs then?

peripheral and almost incidental

Yes. That seems to be what farming has become in TA.

It’s not good. Not good at all.

If only I didn’t need to know what becomes of Brad and Chelsea, and Ruairi. And Freddie and Lily. (Maybe also the Starry Twins.) And whether Johnnie ever comes home from the sea …

Johnny is holed up in a Guarujá knocking shop, with no plans to return to Ambridge. Which is surprising, as we didn’t know he played the piano.

We used to have to carry ours in a specially purchased basket. Pretty obvious if you came home with a curry. And I thought it was just about keeping the food level and avoiding spills. (Bad luck to those that had both PE and HE on the same day, managing 3 bags/baskets on train and bus)

If only I didn’t need to know what becomes of Brad and Chelsea, and Ruairi. And Freddie and Lily. (Maybe also the Starry Twins.) And whether Johnnie ever comes home from the sea … I wrote a long and rambling post the other day on this very subject and then deleted it. More specifically that, with the exception of Johnny, the SWs didn’t seem to be lining up any of the younger generations for a farming future. That was the gist of it - and looking at it now I can see it needs no further detail!

(I thought my spelling of Pat and Tony’s grandson’s name seemed unfamiliar - but I was too distracted to ponder it!)

Thoughtful young lad. Impressive!

That’s the Malverns, isn’t it? In which case Ambridge is on the plain
in the distance on the right.

They turn over the soil for buried roots and tubers and whatever else they come across, but are quite happy to take things on the surface, hence acorn-fed pigs. And was it in Gentleman Jack that a body was disappeared in the pig pen?

Is Chelsea still at college? If so, I would have thought it was a no-brainer, she can't take the café job, at least till exams are over if she's coming up to final exams.

Also if she wants to build up a hairdressing business, most people would expect appointments during the day, which again makes the pub the better candidate.

He seems like a nice boy. When he says he goes through the scripts with his mum or his brother I can’t help picturing them all in Beechwood… not sure Helen or Jack would be v helpful though.

I’d like someone rich eg Justin to pop off and unexpectedly leave all his money to Chelsea so she can set up a chain of salons. God knows she has the self belief. With her as the new local hotshot that really would SATTC 😆

I know nothing about the hairdressing industry, but why isn't Chelsea employed in a salon in Borchester rather than working part-time as a waitress and/or barmaid? Wouldn't that be more beneficial to her future career prospects? I imagine the tips are better in salons even for juniors, so if the basic pay is all minimum wage she'd be better off in hairdressing as well.

In other news, I've just seen the very sad news that C. J. Sansom, author of the Shardlake books, has died, and learned that there's about to be an adaptation on Disney + starring Arthur Hughe as Shardlake. So we can expect to hear even less of Ruairi now. Looks like his career is really taking off. Well done him.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g , Chelsea can't drive so working in a salon might not be financially viable.
I'd have thought that as a mobile hairdresser evening appointments would be typical.
Is she still at college?
Are part time hairdressing jobs easy to come by?

I'd forgotten about the driving. Moped? I suppose I was thinking of a job where she would get day release to go to college. That may be a model that doesn't exist.

I know nothing about the hairdressing industry, but why isn't Chelsea employed in a salon in Borchester rather than working part-time as a waitress and/or barmaid?

The local college here has their own salon. You have to sign something to understand they are trainees, in case things go wrong, but it's cheap. I think you can go even cheaper if you don't want a say in what you end up with. Back in my student days, I sometimes went to the local tech for a cheap haircut, too, so I assume it's common practice.

But for Chelsea - she doesn't currently have a car, so I assume a Borchester salon is more challenging to get to than Ambridge places. Plus , probably plot needs will want her in Ambridge not Borchester.

there's about to be an adaptation on Disney + starring Arthur Hughe as Shardlake. So we can expect to hear even less of Ruairi now.

Oh dear - what’s good for the actor is rather bad news for TA. And while it probably would be natural for someone like Ruairi to spread his wings after uni (rather than loiter inexplicably in Ambridge as Phoebe did) I hope they won’t make things too melodramatic; I’d like to hear him as a mature adult coming into his inheritance.

It makes to recast. Like they did Emma

Which would be an awful shame as his voice and intonation are perfect!

Didn’t Chelsea say she was wanting the extra work to buy a car/learn to drive (can’t remember which but I feel like it was buy a car) to help her get hairdressing work.

can imagine the buses to borchester are of the once or twice a day variety designed for shoppers not workers. We know she cycles to work atLL.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g , I think you can become a hairdresser in different ways, the most usual would be to get a Saturday/holiday job then follow a day release scheme, or to do a vocational course.
You can, I think, set yourself up as a hairdresser with no qualifications.

Yes @WitcheryDivine that’s what I think she said she wanted the job for.

She did. Didn't she crash into Blake when she was learning? I don't think we heard about her passing her test, but most characters seem to morph from non-driver to driver without it ever being mentioned.

I suspect having lived on a leaky old houseboat in the Am throughout the wettest winter and spring in living memory Rex would be keen to go and visit his father even if he wasn’t at death’s door. He must be sick of the cold and damp!
Even if Ruairi is too busy to appear in person it would be good to have snippets from Brian and Kate about his final exams, his graduation, his trip to East Asia before settling into a dull but well paid job in the city and so on.

The near to Ambridge village I used to know had two buses a day to Felpersham for workers and presumably school children, then once a week there was a shoppers bus, leaving at about 10am for the town 3 miles away, returning at 3pm.

But I suppose nowadays all the workers will go by car, so the workers buses probably no longer exist.