Archers thread #179: Beavers, livestock, ferrets, but nododo! 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 be happy sharing a hot tub with Mucky Mick, 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.)

The title started life with @JanglyBeads, whose autocorrect turned 'Oh no, nor do I!' into 'Oh no, nododo I!' on the last thread. For reasons of cowardice/prudence/lack of inspiration and the character limit, I haven't included @BeaLola's even more mysterious autocorrect - her phone had her asking Abdul if he'd always wanted children instead of Neil. Perhaps one of the mooted beavers can be Abdul.

For the first time ever I've added a poll to the OP. Over to you!

I think she is right and he wants a family again. Her getting on with his parents is attractive to him. But she (correctly imo) recognises that it’s not her as a person he is interested in

Chris sounds like a nice enough bloke but unless she's on for a lifetime of childcare and picking up the pieces after Alice, Hannah would do well to RUN, RUN, RUN!

Chris hadn't shown any interest in Hannah before now then suddenly, months later asks 'What about that drink?' So he can talk endlessly about himself and his daughter and then tries to kiss Hannah - too fast a move.
Did Chris at any point ask Hannah about herself before trying to kiss her? Hannah had more sense and was nice enough to suggest some beers to keep the friendship going without awkwardness.

I'd be the first to admit I am not an expert on beavers (rewilded or otherwise), but I would have thought that any rewilding schemes in the UK would be being very thoroughly monitored and someone would notice if two beavers suddenly went missing from a scheme somewhere else. Surely they'd all have electronic tags? And as others have said, would Kirsty and Rex really be contemplating acting illegally as employees of the Ambridge rewilding scheme? And do they honestly think no one will notice if a couple of beavers appear from nowhere and start building dams, especially after Kirsty has been singing their praises to anyone who will listen?

Only two explanations for this ludicrous SL occur to me. Either the SWs know this is all completely unbelievable and don't care because they believe deep in their cold, dead hearts that all TA listeners are stupid and don't deserve or need decent SLs. Or the SWs are stupid.

My favourite part of the episode was Kirsty (after shushing and being all cloak and dagger) shouting out Neo’s name like a honking goose!

I like Khalil, it's lovely to hear natural, daft enthusiasm for once, rather than 'look at this business plan I've drawn up' from youngsters.
I love Neil, and so peeved with the script writers totally changing his history. I wonder if this will be addressed in the podcast Emma Freud does?

Even if the beavers aren't tagged I'm sure their DNA profiles are being studied in order to ensure breeding populations are safe. The whole concept of this crime is very silly and betrays great ignorance of practically everything.

@Godesstobe Only two explanations for this ludicrous SL occur to me. Either the SWs know this is all completely unbelievable and don't care because they believe deep in their cold, dead hearts that all TA listeners are stupid and don't deserve or need decent SLs. Or the SWs are stupid.

Or they have been looking at Kirsty's back story and concluded that anyone who (a) agreed to marry Tom and (b) having been left at the altar, had sex with him without contraception and (c) then married Philip Moss might do anything.

Oh, I missed out (d) ... is Helen's "friend".

You're right @Gonners

What are the SWs thinking? Just joining this thread as I am a long-time Archers listener. I did have a break but started listening again about 18 months ago or so.

Some of the story lines continue to feel believable but not others.

The most annoying and unbelievable character - Joy! surely in real life everyone would be trying to hide from her….😁

Stupid, stupid, crass scripting yet again.

1. Loyalty cards - when Henry (I think) said " I love working on the farm". I don't consider implementing a loyalty scheme as being typical of working on a farm. It's back office work. And his sudden interest in 'working on the farm" - all very contrived.

1. Illegally introducing beavers - really! No way would Kirsty contemplate that or making a youngster complicit in it

Loyalty cards - when Henry (I think) said " I love working on the farm". I don't consider implementing a loyalty scheme as being typical of working on a farm. It's back office work. And his sudden interest in 'working on the farm" - all very contrived.

He has been keen on the goats, it seems.

Not so far from where I live beavers were introduced, and the farmers were not happy. They complain about agricultural,fields being destroyed or flooded, trees chewed down, and some of the beavers have been shot or 'disappeared'. David was quite happy to shoot a badger, so him or Eddie won't baulk at a beaver. Kirsty is old enough to know this is a totally bonkers idea, and of course Khalil is going to blab. She won't be popular in the village. Pity the SWs aren't old enough to know it's bonkers.

When beavers appeared on the River Otter in Devon, their presence became very obvious very quickly. All the smal trees along the banks were gnawed down (messing up the stabilisation scheme of the banks). Huge teeth marks in the stumps. They were trapped, tagged and released but a close eye is kept. They may be a native species but so are wolves, bears and lynx. Landscape exchange and the population of these islands is probably ten times what it was when they became extinct here.

I think David is confusing beavers with coypu though, in terms of damage - coypus did burrow into banks. When I worked on the Norfolk Broads Coypu Control was still active.

Landscape use!

Hell's teeth. Landscape use changes. Sorry, team!

Welcome Newmeagain!
Joy irritates me but she has, at times, given some very kind advice and support to people who were suffering, like Ben with his mental breakdown and recently Emma who was feeling she'd failed as a mother regarding George.
Just wish the SW would get on with the story behind Rochelle!

Khalil is an unpleasant spoilt brat, and devious too - all that scheming about borrowing Hilda Ogden. The borrowing of Hilda was an unpleasant episode.

When we first met him he was so tied to his mother's apron strings he wasn't allowed out on his own in daylight. And as with the borrowing of Hilda he clearly has no empathy with animals if he genuinely was galumphing around looking for , and disturbing, sleeping dormice.

muddyford
the population of these islands is probably ten times what it was when they became extinct here

Sounds about right. The population is now over sixty million; in 1600 it was a bit over six million (including Scotland but not the overseas territories).

A fairly high proportion of the land then was not cultivated. It had no need of rewilding because it was still wild.

Or they have been looking at Kirsty's back story and concluded that anyone who (a) agreed to marry Tom and (b) having been left at the altar, had sex with him without contraception and (c) then married Philip Moss might do anything.

Surely they’re referring to her more distant history as an eco-warrior, @Gonners? That’s what makes her probably the only adult in Ambridge who would have taken Rex’s beaver scheme and fashioned it as an invitation to the police to lock her up.

Kirsty history for any new listeners. Caution! Actor photos!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1jLbNcdxs9DCJfsw0rG4fnR/the-ill-fated-tale-of-tom-and-kirsty

(And don’t blame me for ‘creeped’.)

Joy! surely in real life everyone would be trying to hide from her…

You’d imagine so, @Newmeagain, but bear in mind this is a community which has signally failed to bludgeon Lynda Snell to death…

I rather fear the beavers storyline is our fault. Many of us have been calling for more farming/ rural storylines and some idiot SW has just taken that as a green light to throw some random animal stuff into the mix.

No way would Kirsty support this- she’d be actively against it.

I also hate the way they are trying to tease out a romance between her and Rex like they did with Roy I.e ooh are they just friends or not??? It’s tedious.

her husband
and there's an SL timebomb if ever there was one. He's supposedly in Pakistan 'sorting out family business' but I don't believe we've ever actually heard from him, or any more about the background. Either the SWs have something planned, or they've just put him in the kitchen drawer because he's bound to come in useful later.

And yes, the beaver smuggling story is bonkers.

Adil went to visit him so that ruled out my idea he had a second family.

he seems to have been away for a very long time and I can’t imagine what this family business would be that he couldn’t come back to see his family for a week

maybe he’s a political prisoner!

By 1600 we had broadly the patterns of agriculture, woodland and settlement we have now. Clearance of 'wild wood' happened in pre-history. It is more the number of people we expect to sustain, and the intensification of housing, farming, leisure activities (in 1600 the majority wouldn't know what leisure was) and transport infrastructure, that go with the huge increase in population, which has pushed wildlife to the edges. And there isn't the space to do everything.