Saturday 17 March 2012

The cows shall stay at Brookfield! 13.03.12

The Archers Tuesday 13th March 2012

  • Tom realising Farming isn’t just pigs playing footy?
  • Why does Pip get paid?
  • David’s perturbed it’s a young woman
  • Mike thinks Jim’s playing for his woman
  • The end of the beginning for Brookfield


Tom realising Farming isn’t just pigs playing footy?

The word on the fields is that Tom’s realising how much work it is to keep Bridge Farm bumbling along. The admin is especially getting to him.

He hasn’t had a clue the sheer volume of work Tony had to do.

[Ruth] “Well you don’t until you actually run a farm yourself”


Why does Pip get paid?

Tom’s insisted on paying Pip.

Why not David and Brian?

Bit unfair, I reckon.


David’s perturbed it’s a young woman

David and Ruth are waiting for their block calving consultant to arrive at Brookfield.

[Ruth] “It looks like a woman driving, not a bloke”

[David] “She’s probably lost”

Ruth started it, but David dug himself a whole. When she pulled him up on assuming that the woman couldn’t be the consultant (she’d assumed that the consultant wouldn’t be a woman because they were expecting someone called Rob), he started waffling on about women especially getting lost because of Sat Navs.

Turns out the woman is the Consultant. Rob couldn’t make it.

[Lisa] “And I’ll put my wellies on … tee hee Lisa Bradshaw”

(the ‘tee hee’ bit is because she was a bit giggly)

[David] “Ruth, do you think she’s going to be okay … she’s not my idea of a consultant. How old do you think she is?”

Hmm. He also meant that it’s not really a job for a woman …


Mike thinks Jim’s playing for his woman

[Mike] “I got a bone to pick with you … what do you mean by offending my wife? … how long you been eyeing her up?”

[Jim] “Vicky?!? I’m sorry Mike, but I have no idea what you mean”

[Mike] “Oh pull the other one. You must have been ogling her for months, just biding your time for the right moment you could make your sleazy remarks which, by the way, she ain't happy about and in case you hadn’t gathered, neither am I!”

As they’re at the Community Orchard, with Joe, all you can here for a bit is Jim trying to waffle on normally, with Mike angrily digging in the background (honestly, you could hear it was angry digging!).

But Jim can’t taker Mike’s sulk.

[Jim] “For the hundredth time, when I said that Vicky was looking very slim, I meant it as a compliment. Pure and simple.”

[Mike] “Oh did you/”

[Jim] “Yes, and hand on heart I promise you mike, I had not been eyeing her up over the preceding months … and by complimenting her on her appearance yesterday, I most certainly did not mean to imply nor ever would that she previously had been fat, overweight, stout, plump or even chubby …”

[Mike] “Chubby!”

[Jim] “I like and respect Vicky, and I’m very sorry if I've offended her”

[Mike] “Well you have, Insulted her even … she’s very upset …”

[Joe] “Come on Mike, the prof here would never insult a lady”

[Jim] “My remark was well intentioned and meant as a genuine compliment”

As Jim points out, even Susan has agreed that Jim wasn’t trying to have his wicked way with Vicky. Mike’s still not convinced.

[Mike] “I suppose I got no option but to take your word for it Jim”

And Joe makes them shake on it.

[Mike] “But I got to say this Jim, but for an educated bloke, you want to be a bit more careful with what you say, and weight your words better …”

Jim agrees. After Mike has left:

[Jim] “I have to say that in view of the supposed insult, the idea of weighting my words is perhaps not the best phrase he could have chosen, but I wasn’t going to say that to him!”

So an “innocent compliment” gone bad.

Surely more of this to come …


The end of the beginning for Brookfield

Lisa explains to David and Ruth that there’s a glut of milk late Spring and Summer – so their plan will mean milk ‘off season’. Potentially at a higher premium, I suppose.

They’ll need to expand their milking parlour and winter housing when they also expand their herd.

And Lisa says that their sheep can stay – they’ll be essential to income while their new milking system gets up and running, as will be their beef herd

(so they can please Pip and Josh at the same time)

All in all it’s good news.

[Lisa] “Workable and practical way forward”

And she’ll even do their cashflow for them.

[David] “How ol … hot about some coffee”

(he’s still obsessed!)

Once Lisa has left:

[David] “Okay, well I take back all I said, or managed not to say”

[Ruth] “That she was some dizzy girl straight out of college!”

Though she seemed a bit dizzy, Lisa is more than qualified to help Brookfield. Ruth and David reckons she is exactly what Pip will be like in a few years.

[Ruth] “Lovely and confident with it”

So it’s all systems go. And they need to look at reseeding again. This time cocksfoot, red and white clover, burnet, chicory, timothy and fescue.

[David] “What a relief “

[Ruth] “This isn’t the end David, you know we’ve got a long way to go”

[David] “Maybe this it’s the end of the beginning”

So all’s well.

BUT

Where’s the £20,000 coming from for the slurry tank?

And, forgive me, but isn’t Brookfield now going to be having more cows in their shed for longer?

Ruth = not a leg to stand on regarding the Super Dairy?

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