Archers thread #176: In which Ian puts the I in PTA. 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'd like to hear more from Wesley the ashtray collector, 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 https://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 @DeanElderberry for the pithy phrase in the thread title and @CaptainMyCaptain for suggesting it should go in there. At least we've got the spooky disco out of the way for now. Plenty of wooden dialogue in the last few episodes that could go on the village bonfire next week. It's all been too dispiriting to discuss in greater depth. I'll just say that I don't hold out any great hopes that the production team will make a good job of reflecting concern in the farming community about the changes announced in the Budget to inheritance tax for farms. So often they get an expert to talk them through stuff like this but instead of ending up with a realistic storyline they pick out the bits they like the sound of and cobble them together in a totally unrealistic way. Maybe I'll be proved wrong this time. I hope so.

Over to you!

😂

I actually enjoyed that episode <faints>

Loathe Justin and the Scrooge SL but was pleased to hear the re-wilding get a reprieve and for Kirsty to get some security. I like Kirsty and Rex and I miss Toby.

BOOP for Rex sounding like his old stroppy self when Justin first arrived.

BOOP for Emma putting her troubles to one side to make up with Fallon, remember the good times and show some gratitude.

BOOP for Fallon not signing the contract. Think things will work out between her and Harrison and they'll buy out Lillian and have a tearoom at the Bull.

BOOP for Justin not getting any credit in the village!

My normal moaning will no doubt resume on Sunday.

I've been listening to the podcast too @Nettleteaser101, enjoying it more than the actual episode atm 😆

Have they accepted the batshit craziness of the Justin sl on the podcast?

@Fink , the voice was an AI-generated Rex. The beta virtual tour was created for an audience of 1, so VirtualRex knew that the viewer was Justin. Robert had a good idea of what Justin would ask.
I found it fun. it's not that difficult. The bits I'd struggle with the drone bit because I don't have a drone. We create similar videos at work.

They are talking to Simon (Justin) next week.

I have a feeling we won't hear anything remotely critical of the writing on the podcast 😆 as a relatively new listener of TA (coming on for 15 years) it's nice hearing some clips from the archives though. They played the robbery scene with Clive the other day.

So if Justin couldn’t get the AI thing to work the second time, was the first time imagined? Or some kind of magical rip in reality? Is he going to wake up in a shower and realise it’s all been a dream?

Well, it's going to be fun when Justin boasts to Martyn about how sophisticated the AI is on the Rewilding site, and Martyn puts him straight on the actual limitations of AI, questions him closely and works out what's likely to have happened with Robert as the Wizard of Oz working to a precise timetable and an audience of one. Justin's teasing of Kirsty and Rex about the contract shows he hasn't really changed much at all, still getting pleasure from putting people down. His fury will be something to behold, particularly if they've already signed the contract. (But has he?)

No, I mean 'if', not 'when'.

We did hear Rex telling Kiraty the beta version would only be available for a couple of days.

I assumed Kirsty had it in stock normally and just had to replace it after her mum's visit.

I assumed the AI was imagined, yes. Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. It's all a bit of silly fun I suppose 😆

Not sure that's correct. They were quite critical of George's sentencing and quite strongly suggested that it was unlikely someone in his circumstances would get a custodial sentence in real life.

Sadly sensible of Fallon to back out of the utterly predictable disaster of sinking all her money and energy into a concrete box in the middle of nowhere serving stuff nobody want to consume to customers with nowhere to sit down.

What will we do for fun now?

What other businesses does the Charging Station have that are so desperate to sign up that it results in Fallon being shunted to the less desirable corner space?

A Subway or Costa. Something sensible.

It’s served its purpose so Robert’s taken it down

It’s just all a bit too much for Robert to have planned the whole thing though

If it enabled him to shut his office door and hide away from Lyndypops, though ...

I am still cross with Harrison for somehow convincing everyone including his own wife that despite being a fit and well person in his thirties (?) he shouldn’t have to work full time as it’s too much for him.

My first thought when I listened to the over the top F leaving party was that she’d have to come crawling back asking for her job. I really REALLY hope that doesn’t happen.

Just thinking how lovely it’s been not hearing much or any of Pip recently.

Oh as much as Im not that keen on Fallen, I hope she doesn't have to go cap in hand to Natasha, nobody deserves that. Her life will be a misery as she refused Natasha's offer and she couldnt help help having a dig at Fallen at the leaving do.

Out of interest, why would it be unlikely? On the sentencing guidelines there were several factors which would have aggravated the offences. Was the suggestion that it would have been a custodial sentence but suspended?

To be fair to Harrison (I know, I know) there's full-time and there's full-time. 9-5 in a straightforward white collar job is a very different kettle of fish from 3 or 4 long shifts a week dealing with the flotsam and jetsam of society and always having at the back of your mind that this incident could be the one that takes an unexpected turn and ends with your or a colleague in hospital or worse. We often watch Ambulance, the series that follows paramedics, and some of the stuff they have to contend with is horrific. I imagine it's a lot worse for the police.

I do agree that policing is a much more mentally taxing job than many but IMO (and I don't work in the emergency services, the nearest I've got is a close family member who's a paramedic) I don't think it would become exponentially worse with more hours worked. It's kind of just permanently a stressful job and there's always the chance of a really tough shift, but doing it full-time doesn't seem like it would be 20% more stressful than doing 4 days, for example.

Of course, it's also a job that mixes night and day shifts, which is a sure fire way to mess with one's physical and mental health.

Jobs like that do become somewhat exponentially worse, because more minutes in the job is literally more risk. Plus more minutes working is less down time.

That's a good point about down time. I moved from a full-time job that for various reasons had become pretty draining to a far more relaxed part-time job many years ago and it made an enormous difference to my wellbeing. I was very lucky to be able to do that. Even simple things make a difference, like not having so much coffee, or the sort of food you eat when you're taking a rushed break on a busy day at work vs having something healthier and having plenty of time to eat it on a day off.