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!

They might always refer to it as vege. rennet so that when there is an audience they don't say rennet out of habit.

I doubt that given how stilted and over prepared Susan was the last time she was practicing for it!

Whatever.

Haven’t commented for a while, and can’t say I have any opinion on rennet….

My only take out from tonight is how much I love Neil, as a character and an actor. I work in comms and policy so I recognise the enthusiasm to ‘make it a jingle’ etc. I also, as I suppose we are meant to feel as listeners, am much more on the side of the protests in principle, and I think he was being too conservative in his response, but I also think whoever wrote tonight did do a good job (albeit in a very contained space in Neil’s dialogue) of presenting the beaurocratic side of the issue as well, from his perspective as someone engaging with multiple stakeholders across the region as a councillor.

but ffs, if I was accosted in that nature, and then I had to hear Helen saying ‘Oh, poor Neil…he doesn’t understand’ in that way, I would absolutely told her to do one, probably regardless of my actual stance. As other posters have said above, she is incredibly entitled and a huge snob. My entry point back into the Archers as an adult was the tuna/stabbing/court era, so I do have a large amount of empathy and tolerance for her as a character... but that was something else. As Neil said: ‘is this a proper use of church bells, as a jingle?’

My main issue was Pat though - what a shocking use of emotional blackmail. Surely that’s out of character for her? Others will know better than I do.

adding my usual thanks to all of you for this thread - I don’t often add my thoughts but I love reading yours ♥️

Agree on Pat - I thought she was being really manipulative

I don’t really get the jingle thing tbh. How many people can hear the bells realistically?

I thought a lot of tonight was badly written but I have high hopes for a Poppy/Keira double act in future

i just hope they don’t have them falling out over a boy

I thought church bells were supposed to be about, well, God. Not pollution. Unfortunately there are far too many terrible things happening in the world to be able to ring the bells for all of them and direct attention to them in any meaningful way.

Neil’s befuddlement did make me giggle.

Which almost never happens.

And yes - definite BOOP for George’s half-sisters knowing exactly how to manage him!

What I liked about the prison visit bit was the way it allowed a wide range of emotions and reactions to be packed in: the sense of constraint, the misunderstanding, humour.

There were some clumsy bits, as George's smile was noted - we could hear his smile - but I suppose it was meant to be his understandably doting, and relieved, mother, so forgiven.

It was a ridiculous idea.

And why doesn't Pat understand constantly reminding everyone about the poonami is the last thing Bridge Farm needs.

Er if George doesn’t blot his copybook - what about all the fights?

Is it true that the waterboard is not responsible for the sewage overflow that has cause all these problems for Bridgefarm and the houses on the estate.
So who is liable?, and how come Tony and Neil and Helen all think nothing is to be done and you just have to get on with it , though dont know what Neil was sticking up for the waterboard for 🤷‍♀️.
Also didn't they use church bells as warnings and news telling and calling people to church in the old days. So why can't they use it for telling people about the unfairness of it all. Neil doesn't own the Church bells either.

I'm confused. Has Pat emotionally blackmailed Neil into ringing a jingle on the church bells because his wife might be being made redundant? Hope Alan says no.

I find it hard to believe they're struggling to generate media interest. The local paper in our nearest city is so desperate for news, they'll cover the closure of a cafe or arguments over the price of a bacon cob.

@Nettleteaser101 yes agreed, we did use bells in that way historically, but I think our collective eye rolling is about the fact that church bells don’t have that kind of meaning anymore, and indeed wouldn’t even be heard so far as to make the activity viable for the purposes of this specific protest, so an odd choice from the SW - I personally can’t see Helen or Pat seriously thinking it was a good plan. Surely the only people who would hear the bells are all people who we know? And so would either be pro-protest by default or not even realise it was a political statement? I’m not sure what kind of behaviour change they intended. But I’ll admit I’ve never considered the breadth of sound from the bells to the surrounding area… I’m sure others will know the logistics and be able to help!

Re Neil @Nettleteaser101 i know what you mean, but he has got a longstanding position as a bell ringer ( I think I remember him being in charge at one point, and is a church warden I think?) and has a prominent position in both the church and the parish council, so I think of anyone he really does have the right to make a stand about their use for political statements. And as I said earlier, I found Pat really awful in her appeal to him.

Also agreed that I think we all think on this thread (and the listeners are meant to feel!) that the water board is so blame - it’s difficult to look at what’s happening across the country on that matter and come to any other conclusion. The issues on this thread are around bridge farm not acting like a viable business and having any kind of clear crisis plan or even checking their insurance, which is ludicrous for a business owner. A bit of flapping and panic I think we can all digest but the divorce from reality with making Clarrie and Susan clean up, and the weeks of discussion before anyone thought about checking the paperwork is just nonsense.

@BeatriceBatchelor you’d be surprised…. Often local media is more tricky as there are more immediate political interests to consider, and the bankroll is much closer, if you get what I mean. Hence why your local might be covering stories about the price of a bacon sandwich as opposed to issues you might be more interested in, as an intelligent person who wants to be aware of what’s happening in their local area.

Which makes me want a bacon sarnie now!

I think local media would definitely be covering the sewage spill. It's a pretty horrific thing to happen - houses and businesses swimming in raw effluent and very visual so good for local TV too. In fact I think it's something the national media (thinking Daily Mail or similar) would be interested in since the uselessness of water companies is very much on the news agenda at the moment. Didn't really understand Pat's jingle idea (unless she thinks a jingle needs to involve an actual jingling of bells) - how would people know that's what the bells were signalling?

The daily mail would love a sad face photo and Helen would be so good at it

For the sewage spill: what there needs to be (and there is no indication from anyone in authority, have any been asked?) if there is going to be an inspection, and a "lessons learned/corrective action" if blame can't be apportioned?

Seems to me, as a lay person, that there are several things that need to be looked at, and Neil wasn't wrong with his climate change comment, because if there are going to be more storms and increased rainfall, the local authority need to put in measures to mitigate the chances of more disasters like this. So culverts, drains, run offs, beavers and planting more trees all come into it.

I live in a village that was flooded badly about 30 years ago (before i came her) and we now have excellent flood mitigation. (there is even a sewage treatment place on one side of the village, just outside the boundary). IIRC nothing has flooded since, despite several heavy storms/deluges.

Loved hearing George, his actor is excellent. You actually heard that smile. More of him. Less of Helen. Please.

I agree; I find it weird that there doesn't seem to be more involvement of the council, the Environment Agency, the Canals and Rivers Trust, and who knows who else! It seems like another missed opportunity to do some actual PSA about how these things work, rather than patronising lectures about over-feeding ponies presented in an unrealistic way.

As for the bells, as others have mentioned, they very much could be used traditionally for signalling things like floods. But I think the path to that would be more direct, so rather than Pat sounding like she's a 2nd-year media studies student parroting things she's just learned about advertising in her lectures, it would be much more natural for one of these "Country Folk" to suggest e.g. ringing a sponsored peal to help people affected by the sewage flood or to raise money/awareness for the construction of better environmental defenses.

Sorry to bring it up again but Pat’s pronunciation of sewage continues to surprise me- I can’t get over it every time she says it. And she says it all the time atm! It’s just so affected. I have never heard anyone say it like that IRL. The jingle bells thing was just crazy but as long as we aren’t having another lecture on Ramadan, or hearing about Scam Week, then I can live with it.

Eid can’t be far off now…

Have you considered counselling @JoelenesParrot ?

Listened at lunch time today. I was raging with Pat’s manipulation of Neil over Susan’s job.

I honestly cannot stand any of that family. Helen saying they would both have to apply for the one new job. She’s such an uncaring person. Did strike out another word.

On a positive note perhaps this is where the storyline is going, to help cheer us all up.

It was the Helen switched from ‘concerned’ employer offering voluntary redundancy to irritated owner telling them they’d need to apply for the new job and they’d better get their act together.

It seems short sighted

I can’t remember how they got on without clarrie when she disappeared off to look after a relative but I seem to recall Helen found it hard