Archers thread #181: Panto Week's behind you! Was that the nadir? 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 enjoy playing badminton with Derek Fletcher, or other unusual views.

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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.)

Will it be onwards and upwards for TA now, or do we fear even more of these special weeks (Martin and a Christmas Carol, Scam Week, Panto Week) and sudden reinventions of long-established characters (Neil)? I for one have had enough of all that. I want a quiet period of change counting in the village shop, farming talk with suitable sound effects and village gossip over coffee at Terum or a pint in The Bull. Slowly developing storylines featuring the full cast, not a subset for a few weeks with no mention of the others, and all behaving in character. Not holding my breath we'll get any of that, though!

Over to you.

Goodness, Zainab is teeth-grindingly irritating, isn’t she? Just unpleasant to everyone…

I think Khalil is going to be inspired to be a vet.

Natasha's tactless little dig about Clarrie's age was very ... Natasha.

He'll have to pull up his socks academically then; vet school is very tough to get into!

@Trivium4all yes, inconceivable that anyone with livestock doesn’t have the appropriate kit to hand (and knowledge) to deal with grazes and stop infection.

I remember the statue and general mess in the glorious garden, but I have no recollection of the kitchen being ripped out

I think there was just endless speculation on here about whether the Gills were going to keep the kitchen. And also on how poor J might see it in a skip- but actual on-air refs to HF were sadly v thin at that time and so I think it was all in our heads!

How was it ok to open the Terum even though everywhere else is contaminated? I’m not sure that was a good decision- even from just a marketing point of view. Perception is everything…Going from Fallon’s beautiful cakes to Clarrie’s lemon drizzle feels like a bridge too far. And it was strange that Susan’s cake-baking prowess was highlighted on Sunday with the almond VS and then she gets put on planting rather than in the cafe kitchen- I hope we hear her outrage on that poor decision later this week.

Yes. He's been directionless so far and I think this is the point of the llama drama. I don't expect 100% realism.

But I’m nit-picking. I’m fine with the fall-out of the sewage spillage and very happy to be back talking about cakes and kitchens rather than Justin’s hallucinations, scam week and panto dames!

Susan and Clarrie have spent days doing work which is unsafe and bears no resemblance to what is in their job contract.

They are employed by Helen to work in the dairy. They were not employed to do field work for Tom Tit or bake for the café. That's way beyond doing "other duties". Helen is not entitled to stop paying them just because their place of work isn't available.

How old is Khalil ... 15-ish? Plenty of time to knuckle down and Just Get On With It before A-levels. if something gives him the motivation.

If my employer had said 'Sorry, the office is out of action because of a broken sewer. Instead of your normal duties we require you to come in and clean it up' I would have said no. I can't believe that's within the normal scope of anybody's duties except someone properly trained and equipped to deal with such stuff. I am not a laywer but that would be an open and shut case at an employment tribunal, wouldn't it?

I wonder if Gnasher will refuse to pay Kirsty unless Kirsty can show her house was cleaned by a specialist bio- hazard firm. She surely wouldn't want any risk to the starry twins.

Yes, it would.

Thanks! Why does nobody in Ambridge behave as if they've ever heard of employment rights? We know they are ignorant about the benefits system too. These tiny details would be pretty easy to get right and would add such a lot of verisimilitude. It all annoys me as much as people behaving out of character.

Another thing, while I'm ranting away - why are there no carers in Ambridge? The residents of the village seem to be immune to all the issues that so often afflict older people until suddenly they decide they can't cope at home any more and must go into an eye-wateringly expensive nursing home - funding this is never an issue. The vast majority of the population stay at home nowadays, even when very frail, and have carers coming in. I know lots of women and a few men my own age (60s) who are, or were until recently, doing a lot to support their elderly parents with all sorts of problems and day to day living. Never, ever mentioned in TA, not even in passing. Given the extremely high average age of the cast, this is ludicrous.

(I may be projecting here - currently staying with my Mum whose health has taken a nosedive. Wonderful carers are keeping us going.)

Sorry to hear about your mum’s health Gasp xx

Sorry to hear this, @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g. Been through this myself last year and it is tough.

Everything about Ambridge is a little odd; it must be like living in a Borchester version of the Truman Show.

Nobody seems to leave the village to work/works from home
Robert is the only gardener remaining (I demand some box blight and slug talk)
Lee aside (and look what happened to him), nobody does any DIY
Hardly anybody has a dog (Stella's was deaded)
Even the poor appear able to heat their homes and go to the pub for meals
Nobody has had cancer since Ruth in 2000...

Sorry to hear about your mum, Gaspode.

People who move to Ambridge usually lose touch with everyone they knew before, including their own family. Very rarely a relative comes to Ambridge to visit (e.g. Kirsty's Mum, Jakob's brother, Amy's grandmother) but mostly they not only don't visit, but aren't even mentioned.

My mother is on her end of life journey too, though in hospital at present, then to a specialist care home for the last few weeks. I'm in my early 60s. Mum went from living independently with Dad to this in two months.

Have we heard that he isn't an A* student already? I'm sure Azra would be on his case if he were doing badly, and probably organising out-of-school tutoring in any subject he was weak in. He may not actually need to pull his socks up.

On a different subject: if the massive clean-up at Bridge Farm has been being done using Dettol I do hope they are keeping Hilda well out of the way (as if this were possible); it can be fatal to cats.

He said (in the conversation with Robert and Alistair) that he's not really keen on school, iirc.

Not keen on and not good at are not necessarily the same.

"On a different subject: if the massive clean-up at Bridge Farm has been being done using Dettol I do hope they are keeping Hilda well out of the way (as if this were possible); it can be fatal to cats."

I don't have a cat at the moment, but never knew Dettol was a problem. Thanks for the warning.

It's not that widely known and I have never come across a case of a cat suffering from Dettol poisoning, but it's worth taking care. The risk is if you use it, and they walk across a still-wet floor and get it on their paws, and then they lick their paws, because it doesn't take much to be toxic. Once the floor is dry the risk is minimal. But if a whole farm area is being doused in the stuff I'd imagine it takes it a while to dry.

It's not just Dettol: some other cleaners are also bad for cats, so it's worth having a google-about to check on whatever one uses.

Usually contracts say 'any other duties as reasonably required'. I don't think sewage cleaning or working outdoors can be considered reasonable when you make cheese. Baking seems acceptable to me, similar food hygiene environment.

Maybe Khalil can be a vet nurse together with Paul? Maybe they'll make a lovely couple (with a controversial 10 year age gap...). We could have a gay Muslim storyline!

@TheUsualChaos @Nettleteaser101 Khalil not Kahil. From Arabic خليل
KHa خ, L ل, EE/ii ي, L ل

@Gonners They said he's 13. He sounds like 15-16 to me too, though. The actor is 18.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g Isn't Tracy a carer? Didn't she get Susan to look after their dad while they went on honeymoon?