Archers thread #182: The Shit hits the Am! 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 delighted to oblige your employer by cleaning up sewage spills without proper training or equipment in place of your normal duties, 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.)

Credit for the title goes to @echt. Can't think of anything much to say about current storylines. Credulity is strained to its limit on many fronts, unfortunately, but there are a few nuggets in the slurry. I did enjoy hearing Natasha's outrage that Fallon is doing obvious, sensible things at The Bull even though it might hit Terum. I thought Natasha was supposed to be an entrepreneur!

Over to you!

I concur in the general observation that we seem to be seeing the transformation of Freddie before our very eyes. The lovely thing is that he doesn’t see just how capable and creative he’s becoming. Every time he’s stressed over some new challenge, he thinks it’s because he is at fault in some way, when in fact the new challenge is evidence that he has gained the confidence to persuade people to his way of thinking and, as a result, is being trusted with bigger things than he’s done before. Eventually, I hope, his claim on his inheritance will become unarguable …

Given they killed Nigel off when he was such a good character I am glad Freddie is going to be a chip off the old block. fed up of negative characters!!

That's because he has been working for someone who isn't Elizabeth. She and Lily treat him like a muppet.

I defence of Eddie (and I do not love him, but he is what he is) he is just trying to do whatever he can for his grandson. He hasn't seen George in prison (I think noone has aside from Brad?), he remembers the scared boy who went in and genuinely thinks his best chance is to have a a viable and legitimate business to come out to. He hasn't got the skills to take on the drone business himself as he would have done if George had been set up in something like patio construction or garden design, he sees Brad as having the good fortune to be intelligent and educated (but has no idea what sort of a commitment this involves) and has not been privy to the change in George in the way we have and the suggestion that he is coming under the influence of some real criminals. He's probably looking at Freddie who seemed to have come out of prison relatively unscathed and is now rebuilding his life albeit with a silver spoon in his mouth. I think Eddie's intervention is well meant, but entirely misguided. Everyone wants the best for George - he has a loving family waiting for him, but it seems unlikely this will be enough to save him.

I think Neil and Susan visited him? Not successfully. (And it was particularly hard on poor Susan.)

But yes, I guess Eddie’s not deliberately trying to wreck Brad’s entire life …

(Although … Subconsciously perhaps he feels the sting of George and Brad’s very different paths?)

but really his problem is poor organisation and a belief that illegitimate ventures offer more...
He wants to get rich be doing the minimum of work and by cutting corners. He gets others to do the graft. George is the same. Will and Ed are more like their mother.

His behaviour towards Brad was vile.

Oh wise ones of R4. I’m trying to find a programme I listened to recently about The Great Emu War. I’ve googled unsuccessfully (I can find info about the ‘war’ but not the R4 programme). It was on a regular slot I think. Anyone listen to it?

Ta.

@ExitPursuedByABare, is this it? https://archive.org/details/Episode3TheEmuWar

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

Thanks. ⭐️

It's a pleasure! It irks me that the BBC makes so little of its archive material available on Sounds. There is soooooo much of it. They repeat stuff on R4 Extra and take it off Sounds within days.

Forgot!

In case TA survives until the point where we need a new thread - I would like to draw attention to the exceptional title possibility contained within the first and second line of this excellent post …

I’m surprised they are going after water companies and parish councils but not anything about the IHT

helen being strong and resilient again. How is their business so precarious? And won’t their insurance cover some of this? Bit odd the whole thing. So will it be clarrie or Susan?

Clarrie is over 70, well past retirement age, I presume she has a pension. Presumably she's going out to work because scrubbing sewage out of the dairy is less drudgery than picking up after Eddie, but why doesn't she grab the money and head for the hills?

I wonder how much redundancy pay she will get.

she will be getting the state pension and I would assume pension credit and winter fuel allowance? Or has she not made enough NI contributions?

Given that Clarrie is 70 (71 in a couple of months) while Susan is a mere spring chicken of 61, it would make sense for Clarrie to go. So I guess it will be Susan!

I suspect losing her job will be the end of Clarrie sadly

@TottersBlithely and @BeatriceBatchelor seconded!

O no! Cue much warbling!

To be honest, I would rather employ Clarrie than Susan. They are both irritating in their separate ways, but if Susan worked for me, she'd have ended up drowned in a vat of yoghurt long, long ago.

I know we haven't had much beaver content recently but I thought this thread might enjoy this cartoon:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/picture/2025/mar/14/reintroducing-not-so-eager-beavers-into-the-wild-the-stephen-collins-cartoon

How annoying. In order to look at The Grauniad I would now have to subscribe. Oh well, their loss.... Advertisers like to see plenty of hits for their money.

If you have a library card you should be able to read the Guardian free online via the Pressreader app.

You don't have pay anything. It's voluntary. Click on the x and close it and then continue.

No, you don’t, but if you don’t want to sign up for an account and don’t want cookies and ads either, reading through the library is an easy alternative.

<makes another note>
<sighs with relief that we might not need to refer to human waste in next title>