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!

Thanks for pointing that out who ever you are.

You're welcome, @Nettleteaser101 .

There are no elephants in Pakistan, and figurative depictions of animals including humans are not encouraged in Islam.
It is Ramadan not Ramadam, but I hope that was a typo.
We say grace before eating, if nothing else, it indicates that the meal is starting, and when breaking the fast it is more significant.

What was the gift for Robert? Some sort of hat?

It was an embroidered SIndhi hat ... not to be confused with a Sindy hat.

@PassivAggressivHaus my relatives say ramzan instead of Ramadan- it's more common where they live but I have never asked why.

There used to be elephants in Pakistan (now sadly wiped out) and I have a carved wooden one I bought in Lahore many years ago.

This site has a couple of elephant items: pakistanicrafts.com/?post_type=product&s=elephant

Those would be an unusual gift for a devout Muslim to give. I'd have thought that something cricket-related would have been the obvious choice.

i loved the gift from Adil. I would like him back, tbh.

I quite enjoyed all the Iftar (sp?) stuff, i have never really thought about what happens, and have never been invited. It was interesting.

I liked Adil too.
Presumably, the religious info is of relevance to the general SL.

Maybe Ben will convert to Islam, and be the one farming Brookfield.

have now caught up with the thread. Felicity thingy looked great at the Oscars.

I went to a very traditional all girls boarding school. We sang grace in Latin at every meal. Every. Meal. And on high days and holidays there was a long version. And there was an after meal bit too.

I'm an atheist so the idea of grace, as such, is weird to me. But. I do like the idea of being thankful that there is food to eat, people to share it with - and thanking the providers of the meal. I just don't need to do it in Latin. Or song. Or both.

The religious aspect of the Maliks is their only aspect other than the late addition about Khalil's health.

Without it Azra is ok but not terribly interesting. Her children are boring and rude.

There are elephants in Pakistan.

https://www.four-paws.org/campaigns-topics/topics/rapid-response/pakistans-last-captive-elephants

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/30/cher-greets-worlds-loneliest-elephant-in-cambodia

I’m very envious of your sung grace! At my own ‘very traditional all girls boarding school’ we only said grace at every meal. It was Latin, but I’ve completely forgotten what.

At home it largely depended on how performatively Christian my parents were feeling on any given day - though we did generally say it at Sunday lunch and Easter / Christmas. Or whenever we had guests.

(I can’t imagine saying grace over a Saturday evening Deliveroo pizza - but it would seem quite natural before a big family meal where even the non-believers amongst us feel gratitude for the gathering.)

DS was at a school where all the boys had to lead Grace at some point. As atheists, DS was a bit worried and ended up thanking those who produce the food and those who cook and serve it. Afterwards the teacher told him he needed to thank God next time. But he did get an extra big helping of pudding after that and the dinner ladies knew his favourite ls and made sure they held some back for him if he was last in for lunch!

Sadly, they were all in captivity. The ones in the first link were African elephants and at least two of them died fairly recently.

The Asian elephant was also in captivity and has been re-homed to Cambodia.

@IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle , they are non-native ones in a zoo. There are probably more elephants in the UK.

I can't imagine ordering anything from Deliveroo, but I can walk to lots of food outlets, between them offering a variety of cuisines.

How long did Ardil stay at Lynda’s, and did it include Ramadan? Did he ever exhibit any religious inclinations? I can’t think.

Oof, it’s taken me a while to catch up both listening and reading these threads!

I cannot fathom for the life of me why no one seems have any insurance, let alone business interruption insurance which would cover loss of profits, alternative premises etc. And residential insurance would cover alternative accommodation. Either way, everyone would be knee-deep in loss adjusters and insurer-appointed cleanup operations.

I'm not 100% sure of this, but I think Ramadan is from the Arabic word (and Arabic is an Afro-Asiatic language) whereas Ramzan is from Persian. So people who speak an Indo-European language - or more specifically an Indo-Iranian one - would be more likely to say Ramzan. There's a nice map here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Iranian_languages

I have no idea why it's called Ramadan in English, unless it's an attempt to placate the Arabic-speakers. 😉

I’ve hugely enjoyed the Fallon/Natasha storyline, I get that Natasha is worried about money (how the hell has she managed to spank though all her credit limits so soon after The Great Poonami?) but her snide comments to Fallon are pure CF territory. And what’s all that “…and as an ex-employee!” nonsense about?

If I was Fallon I’d say the (oven) gloves are right off. Brunch, lunch and dinner service, afternoon tea, I’d be doing it all. And I hope The Bull’s soufflé pancakes are a success, although I don’t think the pancake eating competition was ever going to fly. It’s hardly the sort of thing most people want to do, and it’s hugely tone deaf when some people struggle to afford food.

Adil
Adil
Not Ardil
I'm sorry to be petty but the anglicised incorrect spelling of Adil makes me itch.

I wanted to link the BBC Archers entry for him (to underline the spelling issue) - but none exists.

Shame. It might have been helpful.

Honestly I can’t get het up about the spelling of names we only hear (I never go on the website). So if it’s Linda when it should be Lynda, or Tracy when it should be Tracey - does it matter if we know who the person means?

the whole fiancé dying back story was so thoroughly bizarre I struggle to take him seriously.

Oh @Gonners superb! Thank you. A great map!

I noticed it because Azta said ramzan at one point. My family are actually Turkish but I'm not (and I'm not Muslim). I speak a small amount of Arabic but I'm learning on Duolingo which is frankly rubbish.

We used to say an atheist 'grace' with our kids. A thank you for having food and people to share it with. Not every meal though but when it seemed we needed reminding!!

@Bruisername. I'm quite frankly shocked! 😁 You can spell Lynda with an 'I' if you want but be careful. If you do it 3 times at midnight at the dark moon time, you have to don a tabard and do a stint in the shop.