Archers thread #197: Runs, Ambridge, runs! 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 find it credible that Kate, who changed continents twice to get away from her own children, has now morphed into Grandmother of the Year, 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.)

Well, Finlay may have made good his escape, but we're all still stuck inside the Borsetshire forcefield. The cricket team is rising phoenix-like from the ashes but will now be The Bull's team, not Ambridge's. Will Alice and Rex make a go of things? Will George cope with a month off the booze? Will the real Brian Aldridge re-appear? Will we hear a bit more about farming? We did get a lambing scene the other night, which was good.

Over to you!

P. S. The pointless new AI title generator MN has introduced in spite of absolutely nobody ever asking for it wanted to call this thread something like Discuss The Archers here, no spoilers. I won't be following its suggestions.

I'm Team Tony too. Perhaps he should remind Helen how much healthier the figures would look if they hadn't had to shell out tens of thousands for her legal representation over the years.

My ex Welsh mil used to make Welsh cakes which didnt have sugar on top but with butter and jam. They taste like flat sultanas scones. Ive always had butter on me cream tea😋.
So David and Ruth were worried about Josh. I thought as soon as he said bye they would have forgotten all about him.

I wonder if Josh has even gone to Patagonia. I think he's shacked up in Borchester.

The Devon way with cream teas is clotted cream first, jam on top. Having tried the Cornish way, (many times...) which is the other way round, I can confirm that the Devon method enables far more of both cream and jam than that in Cornwall. In Cornwall the cream slides off the jam. In Devon you can make a well in the cream for the jam.

Credit where it’s due, we had an episode with George being all contrite and grateful with Esme followed by the bad attitude with Brian. It’s good to see he’s not had a magical transformation.

I'm foreign, I like butter and whipped cream (proper double cream, not squirty stuff) and jam with my scones. No clotted cream round these parts anyway. Though just butter and jam is fine.

Lately I've been all about cheese scones, and am gradually perfecting my method.

Why on earth should Esme give George a big chunk of land for free?

Brian's absolutely right, George's plans are bonkers. But it would be quite good if he would sit down with him and make a viable and realistic plan that involves farming, if that is what George wants to do.

I could see George's point of view a bit last night. It was Brian who had brought up the subject of giving him money in the first place so what difference does it make to him if George invests in drones or sheep? He's from a farming family albeit not landowners like Brian.

I too was on George’s side.

To me, Brian’s outrage was at the thought of a Grundy serf even having aspirations, never mind actually achieving them.

Also, why, with a father who has had some success with sheep breeding and showing, does he have to choose a different breed rather than building on that? Ed would probably be delighted to help and advise.

Though I'm not sure I'd trust George on biosecurity, he still seems driven by impulse and reaction, and all the farmers who have known him since childhood will be wary.

I agree, why does it matter to Brian what George uses the money for. If it all comes to nothing, that's on George.

But George assuming Esme will let him use her land 🤨 doesn't take long for his ego and entitlement to recover does it? And what happens if she said no, he doesn't like not getting his way. At some point the scales will fall off her eyes. George hasn't changed at all.

I keep remembering that business not not knowing the difference between turkey chicks and pheasant chicks, and not bothering to ask any older,experienced relatives for advice, thereby scuppering his get-rich-quick scheme.

Exactly.

Well, that was typical Grundy but hopefully he's older and a little bit wiser now. He's currently working on a farm and should be able to get good advice from Ed. I couldn't really understand Brian's outrage.

@DeanElderberry

Lately I've been all about cheese scones, and am gradually perfecting my method.

Cheese scones make a lovely savoury cream tea with chilli jam and cream cheese.

get thee behind me @LaMarschallin

Though come to think of it, I have a few left over from Wednesday and that would be a nice lunch.

😃

Eta:
G'wan.
G'wan, g'wan, g'wan, g'wan... Mrs Doyle stylee.

We came across a real-life George Grundy in the local corner-shop/post office yesterday, having a loud conversation with someone called "Mate", his phone on speaker at high volume. We left just after he did and as we followed him down the street I noticed that he was wearing an ankle tag. The combination of that with shorts and ankle socks must have been intentional! 😆

With Ben in the cereal cupboard for all those years followed by the silence of Josh it feels like like the SWs are only capable of writing for two children at a time. This got me thinking that but for the death of John, Bridge Farm would have been having a similar dilemma (and as it is they’ve sent Johnny to sea!). Bridge Farm can easily support Helen and Tom (with a division of roles) so I’m sure Pip and Josh could have worked Brookfield together. Josh’s selfie and Ruth’s reply felt like the end to any discussion, with Ben moving out to the Stables as the start of a new chapter. Very unsatisfactory. These complex family relationships are potentially far more gripping than the melodramatic George and Brian blackmail plot. George’s redemption through working at the newly-invented Meadow Farm (which I must confess is now starting to feel part of the Ambridge landscape) could be a great story, but instead we’ve got all this over-dramatic nonsense involving Brian and Ruairi who, let’s face it, already have a much more interesting story arc of their own.

I was confused on several counts this morning after I'd listened to last night's episode.

1. George and Brian - I took was on George's side. £1300 seemed a small price to pay for his son's freedom (as rhauri wouldn't be able to let his dad go to jail). And George seemed to have thought this through. I can see why he wouldn't want the same sheep as his step dad. I could only put it down to Brian having some sort of cognitive decline. But more likely Brian wanting to keep the serfs down.
2. Ruth said they'd have the house to themselves. Had she forgotten about her MIL and Lenard? Have they moved out? Don't count ?

Jill hasn't spoken for so long that I suspect Laughing Len has buried her under the patio, with Ruth's full consent and encouragement. And wasn't there some lost post-it note nonsense about him moving to Singapore (?) to live with his son?

Also, why, with a father who has had some success with sheep breeding and showing, does he have to choose a different breed rather than building on that?
Step-father

not knowing the difference between turkey chicks and pheasant chicks, and not bothering to ask any older,experienced relatives for advice
Yes. He'd probably buy castrated male sheep hoping to lamb from them.

Well, that was typical Grundy but hopefully he's older and a little bit wiser now.
Older yes but not wiser.

He's currently working on a farm
With a novice farmer.

and should be able to get good advice from Ed. He won't seek it. It's yet another get-rich-quick scheme.

I couldn't really understand Brian's outrage. I can. He can see through George.
George thinks he can breed a flock with no land, and his plan was to get free grazing from Esme, and potentially Brian.

My ex Welsh mil used to make Welsh cakes which didnt have sugar on top but with butter and jam. They taste like flat sultanas scones.
If they tasted like scones they weren't the real thing. The picau ar y maen/cacen gri ones have a certain texture and taste. I don't think I've ever managed to eat a whole one.
They're griddled not baked.

“and should be able to get good advice from Ed.He won't seek it. It's yet another get-rich-quick scheme”.

I’m sure the placement of Ed’s conversation with Eddie about losing tree business because Eddie has upset his loyal customers was deliberate.

DeanElderberry
why, with a father who has had some success with sheep breeding and showing, does he have to choose a different breed rather than building on that?

Because a plausible fellow he met for the first time at a market did the hard-sell about some lambs he "just happened" to have for sale at a "very reasonable" price, and because George is a complete sucker.

Cotswold Sheep Society (I have something unpleasant I need to do and am procrastinating)

Because a plausible fellow he met for the first time at a market did the hard-sell about some lambs he "just happened" to have for sale at a "very reasonable" price, and because George is a complete sucker.
'quite a character' says it all.