Wednesday 31 August 2011

The Archers Wednesday 31st August 2011: Even the Village Shop’s volunteers are turning

(against Bridge Farm)

  • The Young Farmers rummage sale
  • It’s fine. The Wetlands article will sort it
  • Isn’t there a guinea pig rescue centre nearby?
  • “Blind prejudice”
  • Someone who natters even more than Vicky?
  • Redundancy and Retraining is big business
  • Tom, the educator
  • Joe 90
  • Badgerwatch (with Bert)
  • Roy doesn’t want Phoebe to go



The Young Farmers rummage sale

Is ahoy!

So Pip is collecting jumble.

Though she should have thought before bothering Pat for some. Hardly the best of times.

But, Pat said it was fine. She has spare time on her hands these days.


It’s fine. The Wetlands article will sort it

So thinks Pip, Tom and Brenda.

While I agree that keeping positive, and doing what they can to push the Bridge Farm website, makes sense – it’s small efforts that will add up over the years, rather than bring sales in here and now.

Which is what Bridge Farm needs.

No here and now – no future.

[Pat] “I’m not sure how much good that sort of thing’s going to for us”


Isn’t there a guinea pig rescue centre nearby?

If so, Bridge Farm should take their surplus lettuces there, instead of composting.


“Blind prejudice”

Mike’s been in telling Pat that Jazzer and Harry have been taking more cancelled orders when on their rounds – and it’s not just yoghurt. It’s everything.

Pat’s appalled at ignorance of folks – that one E. coli batch of ice cream makes them think that everything from Bridge Farm is infected.

Worse still – the Village Shop sales are slow, which is nothing new these days, but customers weren’t buying even when Susan marked the Bridge Farm products well down.

BUT even worse than that:

[Tom] “I suppose if people don’t want it, they don’t want it at any price”

The example of which is the fact that even the shop volunteers wouldn’t take the Bridge Farm products home when they were completely free!

[Tom] “Someone’s got to tell them”

[Pat] “What’s the point? It’s just blind prejudice. Even our friends and neighbours are turning on us”

[Tom] “That’s a bit strong mum”

[Pat] “Well, that’s how it feels”

[Tom] “New customers elsewhere won’t have the same prejudice, will they … Brenda and I have been working on our website … Brenda’s been tweaking the keywords on the site …”

And off Tom goes again – blah, blah, blah about making the website better.

Brenda such know that it’s a marketing MIX that works best.


Someone who natters even more than Vicky?

Surely impossible?

But Mike reckons not (hello Mike! Welcome back to the microphones).

Vicky will likely be late home in the evening as her mate Tina is even worse when it comes to nattering.

Mike’s none too bothered.

He gets a steak pie at Roy and Hayley’s, and a beer with Roy in the garden beforehand.

Happy chappy.


Redundancy and Retraining is big business

Which Lower Loxley can attest to.

Elizabeth’s away, leaving Roy in charge.

He had a Redundancy and Retraining seminar which had to be moved to a smaller room.

Roy reckons Elizabeth made a mistake in giving them such a small room in the first place, but he sorted it.

Ah. Heady times at Lower Loxley!


Tom, the educator

Oh be scared, very scared …

Pip meets Tom out the village shop.

[Tom] “I wasn’t shopping. I was just trying to do a bit of education, explaining to the volunteers about E. coli"


Seems “Aunty Jill” understood – but Neville Booth has started bringing how own gloves to the shop, so that he doesn’t have to handle Bridge Farm produce.

Bad Neville.

But I don’t think Tom muttering away at him will really change minds.

Neither will his, Brenda and Pip’s obsession with bloomin’ websites!

Though one did have to chuckle when Pip informed Tom (through knowledge he gained from Jude … so he wasn’t a complete waste of time, after all?) that him and Brenda spending so much time clicking on their website was a waste of time.

He didn’t know that he was supposed to delete his internet browser’s history so that it made any difference. But being Tom, he didn’t let Pip know that he didn’t know …


Joe 90

Mike on Joe’s birthday:

[Mike] “We’ll have to call him Joe 90, eh?”

[Roy] “You what?”

Come on Roy! You may not be that old, but even folks my age would get that one!


Badgerwatch (with Bert)

[Roy] “Is Bert still on badger watch?”

[Mike] “No. Stayed up one night, felt so bad the next day he got a bit clever, he borrowed an electric fence from David”


Roy doesn’t want Phoebe to go

Roy and Mike are having a beer.

And a bit of a father son chat.

Roy isn’t looking forward to Phoebe going to South Africa.

In fact, he really wishes she wasn’t going at all.

Roy’s remembering when Phoebe and his mum Betty won a certificate for their silkies – Blossom, Snowdrop and Alfred.

[Roy] “How many moments like that am I going to miss over the next year … I’m dreading it, dad … It’s like cutting a piece of yourself off”

Roy’s now questioning whether he agreed to Phoebe leaving for her sake – or whether Kat has managed to get him to do her bidding yet again.

But Mike reckons it is a great opportunity for Phoebe, and:

[Mike] “She’ll always be your daughter Roy, wherever she is, whatever she’s doing, and she’ll always love you”
Aw. Nice words Mike.

Welcome back indeed, you nice man.

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