Archers thread #183: The Scorekeeper's Apprentice. 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 like to share 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.)

Credit for the title goes to @TottersBlankly who suggested it and @BeatriceBatchelor who coined this lovely phrase. (It's led me to take a look at the Wikipedia page for The Sorcerer's Apprentice. I had not known before that the animation in Fantasia that goes with the Dukas symphonic tone poem is more or less unadulterated Goethe, and the story goes back to ancient times. You learn something every day.)

At the end of the last thread, there was an apocalyptic tone as we were all bemoaning the lack of continuity and farming storylines (especially lambing, which used to be a big theme at this time of year). Are there any reasons to be cheerful? (Not just Part 3 - another reference for the older listeners here. ) Over to you!

Bruisername
Joy was awful to mick when he found Rochelle’s address that time and the mask definitely slipped

She objected strongly to someone, a visitor to her house but not living there, poking through her private papers without her permission, certainly. So would I! Would you be happy about it?

it was more the way she reacted though - it was a complete difference in personality and she was really vicious

I do think that activism was mentioned regarding Rochelle. Or at least she was living in some kind of commune was it? I may have made that up

Fairly certain you've made that up.

@IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle😁😁😁

I'd have been furious. The relationship would have ended there and then.

I don’t see an address book as personal papers tbh. Would it have been better if he’d looked her up online?

I think Joy was hoist by her own petard there though because of the way she had gone on about Rochelle and everyone involved in the ridiculous party (what was it for again?) were going on about her being there

at the time I thought the whole thing was a rather stupid way to get someone to discover the truth. He obviously figured something out when he knocked on the door but never pushed it. And then they dragged it out even longer

Maybe Joy needs another heart to heart with Elizabeth

speaking of looking things up online- do the archers live in apprentice world where internet access is banned unless you’re George? Why didn’t Lizzie look Rochelle up online, why did no one pop on their phone to google the board members (other search engines are available). Do they only have access to the village website?

Yes, the idea that Neil wouldn't know how to find out whether Martin G was a Board member of a public utlity is absurd.

Agree the shop doesn’t make sense. If there’s not enough business potential for someone to own it then how come it’s selling a wide range of fresh food and ingredients (saffron?). It wouldn’t just be a case of having a volunteer there (that’s the kind of thing that works for a youth club kiosk with chocolate bars and cups of tea with UHT milk) it’s a relentless business to run that people leave due to the hours, stress and lack of profitability. Inventory management, cleaning, staffing, food regulations etc etc.

On the shop - am I right that Susan is running the post office in it on a part time basis?

agree that the way they talk about the shop suggests someone could run it as a business. Perhaps a little waitrose in the charging station will be tough competition

We have some "community" shops in nearby villages. I think you would struggle to get a tin of beans, but hand baked cakes and biscuits and artisan olive oils, local honey and posh ready meals would be no problem at all. TBF I don't think poor people could afford to live in the villages, so I suppose that the shops do cater for the locals.

I think the SWs have probably forgotten that Susan is also supposed to be holding down a full-time job at the dairy as well as running the post office (I seem to remember that you can't sub-contract a postmaster role).

This is so true, but I am prepared to suspend my disbelief so we can continue to have change counting in Ambridge in the same way that I am happy to suspend my disbelief over Susan being entirely unaffected by the Horizon scandal. The shop and post office is an essential venue for the show. I love the ding of bell on the door that immediately indicates the action has moved there (I can picture it so clearly in my mind) and the SWs can effortlessly bring any combination of characters together inside. Having voluntary staff opens the possibility to characters working there who wouldn't work anywhere else. And who could ever forget Susan's therapist in a tabard comment (certainly not @TherapistInATabard!) I love the fact that it's the sort of idealised village shop you'd be delighted to have in your village (indeed I couldn't imagine living a village that didn't have such a shop which is part of the reason I don't live in a village). In reality most people would have supermarket deliveries, but that would make for terrible radio.

That’s good point, and actually I 100% agree, I’d rather have it there, especially as a lot of the other community venues seem to have been forgotten about!

Not that I think I’ve been in, but this place is the sort of thing that inspired the SW’s (I think one must have family in Bath, judging by the ideas they come up with). Were the pub in that village not temporarily closed, I would pop down to assess the demographic manning the shop (I note that they happily have DofE volunteers): https://galleriesshop.co.uk/about/

havent listened for a week or so, but what the.... Are we meant to be amused by Freddie/Lily/Rex and their blundering through to accidentally sacking Tracey via the most terrible strategic mismanagement of an established cricket team?

This could have such a a great SL about the newer generation slowly taking over the team, yeah there could have been some bumps in the road with new methods v old (has anyone seen Dear England? that's the kind of vibe I have in mind), but what on earth are they thinking having them abruptly sack all of the older team and then messing it up so badly? Feels like bad omens for our hopes for the younger generation starting to take over in general tbh - the cricket team seemed to be a testing ground for how they might manage that whole process overall, could have been a good analogue for the future but its just annoyed the life out of me.

The SW seem to be unable to do anything slowly and with any depth of late, its all knee jerk moves and curveballs, and it makes for very unsatisfactory listening.

Lambing!

I do wish it were Lily who would face the consequences of it all though. I’m hoping this whole sl is being set up to make Freddie grow a backbone and stand up for what he believes

clarrie working for Fallon after being sacked by bridge farm would be great.

the realisation scene with Rex was dire

rex version of his thing with Rochelle was odd as he left out her mother warning him off and then him avoiding Rochelle

and he is a lot younger than her

That was dreadful.

I agree with @Yardbird about how the cricket team nonsense could have been handled better halfway competently. Presumably there'll be some short-term solution when it all goes tits-up and Freddie has to crawl on his belly to the crumblies to muster a team. Then The SLs will cook up some other barking scenario.

God, Lil's horrible, but I expect she'll have a personality transplant next week.

Lily is ridiculous and entitled and I would love it Freddie stood up for how he wants to do it. He needs a Lyndy pep talk!

Defo Clarrie proving she’s still got it and nabbing the job would be great too.

Well we know she does stunning interviews

Well this hasn’t disappointed- unlike the programme itself… was delighted to have somewhere to read while debating which of the odd and occasionally/frequently unpleasantly acerbic women are the biggest fibber. Never had much of an opinion on Mick before but I hope he runs.

The house price and what Joy lives on irritates me so much. And why she is there. And what’s the point but mostly her lifestyle versus her past. Surely good writing deals with such issues to imbue credibility upon characters?

[Twirls]

I'm puzzled by the reference to the lambs being separated from their mothers. That's not my experience.

I enjoyed that episode. Freddy ballsing it up was quite funny. I enjoyed the conversation with Rex.

The conversation between Fallon, Jolene and Lilian was great- it sounded so natural. I usually can't stand Fagash and Jolene but the 3 of them were good together. I liked Jolene teasing Lilian. And no Snell or Khalil.

Rex is 38 - Rochelle could be 42 or 43- so not a lot younger.

Rochelle is 45

i thought Rex was younger. He didn’t sound much older than Freddy tbh

i guess they’re trying to push him with Kirsty who must be 45 too?

So no one in the village seems to bat an eyelid at a woman in her mid 40s, who comes and goes to her mother's house after being completely AWOL during the first few years they knew of her existence. Has no apparent form of income or house of her own. Doesn't seem to see or even call her own children regularly. But she wants to have a go at cricket, so that's alright then.

It's really starting to annoy me how the village seems to have fallen into some sort of state of disinterest. The fact that Rochelle and her circumstances doesn't seem strange to anyone?! Where is the village gossip these days? Even Rex doesn't seem to be wondering where Rochelle went or why she she is even in Ambridge in the first place.

Well Rex forgot that he had blanked Rochelle after joys warning so maybe there’s something that induces memory loss in the water