Archers thread #185: Some farming would be nice. Discuss The Archers here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

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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.)

Over to you!

Yes.

Usha can’t mislead the court. It’s too early to consider the ethics here. It’s just police station advice at the moment.

I thought her advice was good. Based on what we heard I think the best outcome would have been a statement read at the start of the interview limiting Rochelle’s involvement followed by no comment to questions. It seems Rochelle didn’t agree to that though.

Thanks, that sounds good!

Gnasher is just great. So many different facets to her character. She can be incredibly kind but also as hard as nails and a total bitch. I see a lot of myself in her…

The ‘tell her I’m on her side’ message sounded a bit cryptic to me 🤔.

‘Usha, thank you for calling
Mick- it’s Usha’ - how thick do they think Mick is? Or do we think the sw think we’re thick and need to know Mick is there 🙄

Surely Rochelle needs to blab to save herself. I think it would be rather odd if the sw let her off lightly if she doesn’t cooperate.

I’ll be honest that her little activist speech didn’t move me at all - are the sw trying to make the public believe that activists are immature weirdos? Nothing they’ve said is going to be at all shocking to a meat eater - legal abattoir kills animals and sells the meat to schools. Shocking. But no mention of how they are killed etc etc. it’s like they are doing activist lite because they don’t want to put listeners off their steak dinner

I'm always amazed at the breadth of Ushas legal practice

Are you obliged to give them your password etc or can you refer them to your employer as it’s not technically your device?

not that I’m expecting a visit from the police!!!

I still find the whole Joy/Rochelle dynamic a bit unsatisfactory because I feel like we don't really know what's gone on in the past. Was Joy really responsible for Rochelle running off to join a group in Borchester? Has she been involved in stunts like this before (presumably not because if based in Borchester we would have heard about it - wouldn't they have been targeting the mega dairy for instance?) Did Joy know what Rochelle was really up to? Is that why Joy told Rex to stay away from Rochelle - because he was a pig farmer? Without Rochelle there would have been no abattoir attack - she weaselled her way into a job there, did all the groundwork and let the the protesters in. Trying to now say she didn't know what was planned is a bit of a feeble excuse. Doesn't the fact that she was a trusted employee make it worse - like stealing from an employer, it's the breach of trust that exacerbates the crime? It all just feels a bit too vague and woolly - there are too many holes and I can't really care too much about her. I just want normal Ambridge service to resume

Rochelle deserves way more than a slap on the wrists. The whole thing is utterly unbelievable and v poorly-written though I thought the line about the trolley full of cows’ skulls was quite evocative.

Sorry to go back to the seizing of your devices but, a relative of mine is a type 1 diabetic and uses her phone to read the glucose monitor on her arm which then tells her insulin pump to give her some as needed.

How would that work with devices being seized? Surely they couldn't take her phone if it's helping keep her alive?

What I struggle to understand with animal activists is the illusory pastoral ideal they offer.

I stopped eating meat nearly 20 years ago. But I absolutely don’t imagine that without the meat and dairy industries the fields of Britain would be full of happy healthy cows and pigs and sheep, living peacefully with their young. Who would be feeding and caring for them? Which farmer would allow hungry wild animals to live literally rent free on incredibly expensive land? Farm animals surely only exist because farmers can make money from them.

What exactly is Saskia supposed to be advocating for?

I've always assumed animal activists want the breeding of farm animals to stop and then they would eventually die out.

just freeing all farm animals and expecting them to get on with it in the British countryside would be quite something

In a previous job, part of our company were tax advisors. Not only to companies but also to (very, extremely in some cases) high net worth individuals.
When WFH became A Thing (because of Covid) we all had to have training on what to do if the police, they usually turn up with dogs, turn up at your house as part of a tax investigation.

And the number one recommendation was "say nothing" and the number 2 (instruction rather than) recommendation was "take facial recognition off all devices. If they ask for your pin you will MOST LIKELY forget it in the stress of the situation".

(they also said if you have a dog get it locked in a room before you open the door and keep shouting that you have a dog that you are securing it and not to shout because it's reactive. Because the police just shoot them if they make any move in their direction! i am not in UK)

back to the protestors. (I have family experience of similar because of where i live). Yes, they advise actually writing the number on your arm. Also not to have your phone with you unless really necessary and if you want to film, use an old one with no sim card and no apps. Also no ID card or other identification on your person. And "no comment" all the way. And yes, they had experienced lawyers ready to jump in for you.

Personally - I'm ok with chaining yourself to things to slow down their operation to make your point. I am 100% against any kind of violence, intimidation or threats to anyone, especially the public. I just think that alienates people from your cause.

I thought Usha was excellent, calm, good advice and being very clear to her client what she's up against.

Thank goodness HMRC aren’t so aggressive!!!

I absolutely agree. She is one of my favourite characters. for this reason.

We're all looking forward to another Ambridge court hearing, aren't we?

Oh, thanks BB!
It is indeed a real gem and I'll be listening again.

Another Natasha fan here.

Natasha is a really good character because there is nuance there. Same for Helen, Tom, Brian etc etc

but not Joy, mick, Rochelle, Rex

I am an omnivore and my farming knowledge comes mostly from The Archers, so I can't claim to be well informed here. I would assume that if we all stopped eating meat there would be no farm animals except for a few kept in zoos or similar. I struggle to see the issues in eating eggs if the hens have a happy life with access to the outdoors, so maybe chicken farming could continue. Dairy farming can be done without separating mother and calf at birth and without culling male calves, so maybe that could continue too.

Where animal waste products are used to fertilise the land, the lack of that natural fertiliser could be an issue for growing crops.

The uplands of the UK where currently sheep graze would look very different - maybe revert to scrub and eventually forest? I think many of the lower level fields are not suitable for growing crops, so if there are no cows or sheeps grazing there they would need to be re-purposed and whatever that use was we'd see a change in the environment.

I did enjoy Rochelle and Usha. That was pretty realistic.

Good to hear Usha again, though not sure I'd want her to represent me!

She would check her blood the old fashioned way with a lancet and testing straps the same as if her phone malfunctioned or was stolen.

Diabetics should always have back up.

When my Mum first started on insulin she had to learn all the low tech methods as well just in case. So she could check her blood with a finger prick by looking at the colour of the testing strip and she could inject insulin from a vial with a syringe even though she had a CGM and used kwick pens for insulin.

Given how easy it is to dump all the information on a phone, i am quite outraged that they are allowed to keep them for longer than 2 hours

Ahem. What do you think happens to all the male chicks…?