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!

Just listening

so the GG stuff was just stupid. Who books a restaurant like that and then shares a table

this whole Scrooge thing is stupid (although didn’t totally disagree with Justin’s description of Kirsty and Rex)

the stalking the mp stuff was stupid.

the sw clearly think we’re stupid

what have they done to will?

As a fairly new Archers listener can someone please explain who funds the rewilding project and if it's a commercial venture? It seems very amateur and I'm unclear on why people would visit/ what the public aims are (beyond changing the land use)

How can I put this: I book a particular table at a restaurant for a particular time, and when I arrive I discover not only that my table has been double-booked, but that the person already sitting at it is someone I dislike very much.

Do I
a] turn round and walk back out, and go and eat elsewhere both then and in future
b] decline to go into the restaurant and ask to speak with the manager
c] arrange to eat at a different table as soon as one becomes vacant
or d] meekly go and sit down at the double-booked table with the person I heartily dislike?

Bearing in mind that you don't pay in advance for a meal at a caff....

I would if I could, but I doubt that anyone actually can explain these things, and I include in that the editor, the editorial team and the scriptwriters.

bearing in mind you like to cultivate the reputation as a "takes no prisoners" cutthroat businessman?

It is totally ridiculous. The quicker we are shot of Justin the better.

Asking's answer is spot on, but the little I can recall about it is as follows:

Peggy Woolley, now a silent character and living in The Laurels, a local retirement home, is very wealthy. She is the mother of Jennifer (Brian's wife, sadly now deceased), Lilian and Tony. A few years back she announced she wanted to leave some sort of legacy to the area and there was a competition to get hold of some of her money to start up new community ventures. Her great-grand-daughter Phoebe, daughter of Kate Madikane (Brian's daughter) and Roy Tucker (now resident in Bulgaria, previously Assistant Manager at Grey Gables), won the competition with a rewilding scheme. Initially Rex Farebrother and Pip Archer were in it with her. Rex is still there, Pip dropped out. Phoebe now works in Scotland. Kirsty was appointed manager to take over from her.

From what we're hearing now, it seems that the land for the rewilding was leased from various local farms and businesses, including Borchester Land. It would have been easy for Phoebe to get a lease back then because her grandfather, Brian, was then the Chairman (I think). Unfortunately Justin has taken over in the interim.

Other than that, I'm a bit at sea. There are various paid events there. There are visits from schools. They do a bit of work on paths. That's all I've got.

You might find some of this worth reading, @RadioBaBa - came up on Google and I’ve only skimmed bits:

https://abarbararich.medium.com/the-ambridge-conservation-trust-c7f44f7a79c8

I see the National Trust has decided that half of all the food in its cafés should be vegan in future. It will be interesting to see if this affects their profits or not.
Are there any NT properties near Ambridge (with attractive cafés in converted barns with comfortable, warm indoor seating) that might attract vegan customers in the area away from Fallon's concrete box in the charging station I wonder?

Every scene with Justin is unbearable. In my job I meet some pretty ruthless business people and they don't have the time or the inclination for this stuff. In reality this is what would happen

Rewilding - a mid-level manager would be deputed to deal with it
GG Restaurant - he would walk out or ask for his food to be served in the lounge
Charging Station Publicity - a mid-level manager would be deputed to deal with it
Partner's Stables Business - "Are you sure Alice can cope? Yes? Good."

Totally - he is such a stereotype of what people who know nothing about big business think big business is like. I think it’s so people in the ‘arts’ can feel morally superior but we all know they’re not!!

I was wondering the same give Helen told Harrison that they would be giving Fallon a hamper of Home Farm goodies including her cheese as a leaving gift. Terrible gift if she is vegan.

If she isn't vegan then the vegan cafe idea is even more bizarre.

It's not vegan; it's meat and dairy free. Not exactly the same. She could use honey to sweeten the oat- or soya-milk lattes, for example.

Really, if she cares about the planet, she might be in the wrong business and perhaps ought to stick to her recycling, because both tea and coffee are not very environment-friendly, and a café offering neither of those as well as no milk might be a bit difficult to sell to potential customers.

So she will use egg? An egg breakfast roll for the morning crowd

She might or might not count eggs as dairy; she has said nothing on the subject.

Well at this rate, I think Harrison may get his behbeh. Possibly an immaculate conception with Harrison himself carrying the baby to term. Possibly a little more far fetched than the current storylines, but just as believable.

She's not vegan. We'd definitely know about if she was.

Whilst I wholeheartedly agree with making environmentally conscious choices I can't help wonder what the soya production is doing to the planet globally. Deforestation is a massive driver of climate change. People thinking they are helping save the planet with a vegan latte in "recyclable" cups are deluded. Really, the answer is reduce our dairy consumption to a more sustainable level and use local/UK produce, not create an alternative that comes with its own problems. Milk of course should be far more expensive and not something that gets poured down the sink because people bought too much and it's gone out of date. Nearly 500 million pints were wasted last year. That's what happens when you make a product practically worthless.

And now we have to hear about it the day after because obviously he wouldn’t have mentioned it and discussed it when he got home. Felpersham very busy on a Monday?

as soon as the phone rang it was pretty obviously going to be the MP. Amazing how much time she has - clearly not labour to have that much time on her hands. And Ed did say his wife didn’t know so MP was unsubtle

as for our mystery visitor - I wondered if it was Rochelle at first but the accent didn’t fit. I wouldn’t have put her as Kirsty’s mum tbh. The whole scene with Justin was so contrived.

martyn - ghost of future
megan - ghost of present
Miranda - ghost of past

the gcse drama dept is really going for it

Oh god, I fear they're turning Ambridge into some sort of mystical/mythical/whimsical place. Sort of a mash-up between Brigadoon and that fictional village in Wales that was the subject of the interminable Curious Under The Stars series on R4

the gcse drama dept is really going for it
Quite. I said to DH the other day, it feels like they've let the work experience kids take over.

They really, really milked the attempted "suspense" about the phone call, didn't they.

Martyn might be the ghost of Marley so Christmas Future still to come.

Where does Kirsty's mum fit into it? I haven't read A Christmas Carol since about 1962 - not a fan of Dickens, apart from A Tale of Two Cities.

I can, however, explain the mysterious presence of both Justin and Miranda at the same table for one. Given the general absence of staff at GG, I assume Miranda phoned, spoke to (for the sake of argument) Mucky Mick and booked a table for one under her name which is still Elliott. Some time later, when Shirlene (perhaps a passing cleaner) answered the phone, Justin did the same. Noting that there was already a booking in the name Elliott, she sensibly assumed it was for the same person. Thus hilarity ensued, if you are easily amused.

could be worse, could be An Inspector Calls.

Why was Miranda dining on her own at GG?

Don't give them ideas.