Life in Ambridge
Let’s hope Fallon’s plan is up to snuff.
Life in Ambridge
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Nothing to do with the current story-line but rather cute
maryellenOctober 19, 2024 at 5:39 PM
ReplyDeleteThe Tea Room was a Bridge Farm concession. Fallon ran her cafe business there on a fixed term rental basis. (I believe she ran the business on a similar footing elsewhere before moving to Bridge Farm.) The expiry of the rental period gave both sides a legitimate opportunity to reconsider their options.
Fallon prepared a business plan in the expectation of the concession being renewed (but apparently had no contingency plan for non-renewal, which she must have known was always a possibility. Bridge Farm did indeed decide to drop the concessionary approach in favour of the same model as the Farm Shop, run directly by Bridge Farm with the addition of a paid manager.
Fallon was offered the manager's post, to retain her baking and day-to-day management skills and soften the blow. She took the post because she and Harrison needed the regular income, and temporarily put her business on hold. Fallon is now doing the obvious thing and restarting her business in rented accommodation elsewhere.
It all sounds perfectly logical and legitimate to me. The Farm had every right to alter the way it ran its tearoom operation when the opportunity presented. So what have Natasha and the Bridge Farm directors done that's so wrong?
AmbridgesMrsPOctober 19, 2024 at 7:37 PM
ReplyDeleteSo what have Natasha and the Bridge Farm directors done that’s so wrong?
IMO Maryellen they have failed to take any account of the emotional aspect of the individuals concerned.
You will say, I presume, that it is a business arrangement and any emotional content is immaterial.
In my memory- I’m willing to be corrected if wrong - Fallon was part of the wider Bridge farm ‘ family ‘ before Natasha came along and pretty soon took over as queen of business at Bridge Farm Enterprises.
I would never deny that Natasha is an effective business woman.
She sometimes allows a little of her heart to be illuminated, but as far as I am concerned she is a hard headed manipulative nasty piece of work.
I’ve never liked her and doubt I ever would.
Logic and legitimacy is I am sure what is required in business, and as you say Bridge farm has every right alter it’s business model as it sees fit, but it seems to me that in a village setting, and with Pat and Tony at the helm, a little humanity might be evident.
But I imagine that you will counter that Pat and Tony have not been at the helm for a number of years now.
In addition to all the above, it is without doubt Fallons ability and vision and damned hard graft that has made the tearoom such a success as Natasha has made it clear she and the company understands.
I’m sure they will find someone to take over but I will not be surprised if the BF Tearoom starts to become less popular.
maryellenOctober 20, 2024 at 9:03 AM
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing nasty about Natasha that I've detected. (My definition of nasty is Mat Crawford!)
Two points: I suspect that, consciously or not, Fallon was becoming stuck a cosy rut at Bridge Farm. Admittedly, with the concession renewal looming, she had prepared a plan for her business, based on bringing in her previous business interest in outside catering.
That didn't happen, and Fallon is now excitedly anticipating the rebirth of her business in a new venue with an equally new and trendy cafe cuisine. It has the potential to bring her to the attention of a new and hopefully influential clientele. Not forgetting the local clientele too. One could say Natasha had done her a favour. Unless it turns out to be a venture too far for Fallon.
As for the Bridge Farm tearoom, yes, it will continue to be a success, if only because TA runs on dialogue and characters need places to meet people to talk to other than in their own homes or workplaces. The teashop is one of them. The changes made since Bridge Farm ended the concession (including Tony's interference with the decor) have not been the deterrent other bloggers predicted. Bridge Farm should have no difficulty in finding a competent manager/baker, even if it means looking outside Ambridge!
DELETE
MiriamOctober 19, 2024 at 5:32 PM
Natasha + Tom did not renew Fallons lease of the Tea Room.
At that time Fallon could not set up her own business so her best option was to become the Manager.
Now Fallon is moving on, it is up to Natasha to organise things to suit her thoughts and ideas, as to the future of the Tea Room. It is her project after all.
BTW Can Natasha cook cakes, make bread/quiches and provide food for group bookings?
Probably not Miriam, which is why she tried to hang on to Fallon. She'll now have to find someone who can.
DeleteOr negotiate a deal with a local artisan bakery.
DeleteOr deal with Fallon as a supplier?
DeleteFallon’s father Wayne was a baker (obviously where she gets it from!) Time for him to emerge from his kitchen at The Bull?
DeleteFollowing that train of thought, it's interesting that The Bull is doing the catering for Home Farm's ploughing event. I don't know if that's a one off for The Bull or a regular catering service, but if the latter, then had Fallon been able to introduce outside catering at Bridge Farm, she (and they) would have been in direct competition with her parents. As it is, it opens up some intriguing possibilities for future collaboration, especially if the EV venture falters and Fallon needs a bolthole.
DeleteLike Miriam in an earlier post, I have some doubts about it, not so much finance as the apparent lack of market research. Just offering Harrison a sandwich to try doesn't quite cut the mustard! Maybe Fallon has indeed researched the likely effects of the EV charging station setting, and the behaviour and preferences of its customers, and just not mentioned it in my hearing. I can think of relevant questions and would like to hear the answers as my knowledge of EV stations and their clientele is zero.
(Congrats to KPnuts on the adroitly-chosen header!)
Great header KP.
ReplyDeleteHaving listened to yesterday’s podcast a new SL is about to start that will go through until I think it was said 2027 anyone 🤔
It would be nice if it wasn't a miserable one, but I'm not holding my breath.
DeleteI am loving the podcast and the gasps from Tracy + Kirsty, when the producer said he was working on something for as far ahead as 2027.
DeleteIt is a great listen in so many ways.
My guess, for what it's worth. Freddie + Lily reach 25yrs in November, so will Freddie finally inherit Lower Loxley, but with conditions. Could this then lead onto a low burning but continuing S/L?
DeleteSorry that should be 25yrs in December.
DeleteThe big birthday in November is of course, Peggy reaching 100yrs. I hope this will be acknowledged and celebrated, in the way it should be.
That's a really convincing theory, Miriam! Mine is that Henry turns 16 on 2 January 2027 (the producer was specific about the month) and will be entitled to non-identifying information about his sperm donor father, such ethnicity, marital status and medical history, also number of donor-conceived siblings if known. (Identifying information isn't available until age 18). Parents can request non-identifying information on behalf of a child under 16.
DeleteI'm not sure if that would make January 2027 the beginning or end of a storyline for Henry. Will he even be interested in finding out about his father, who I reckon must be a good bloke. I think Miriam's idea s more likely!
Didn't Nigel die in January, but then 2027 is not a specific anniversary as such..🤷♀️
DeleteI just hope that I am still here to find out!
Actually Nigel died on the day Henry was born, 2 January 2011. I 'd forgotten that.
DeleteBoth good theories Miriam and Maryellen.
DeleteI wonder how many other theories might appear now that this information has become public property.
The profile of TA is definitely rising at the moment.
On the whole I am reasonably comfortable with the changes that seem to be aimed at a younger and more diverse listener base.
I thoroughly enjoyed this weeks podcast, full of very interesting information of how storylines are conceived.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there is a two page article in this week’s Radio Times about Angus Stobie who takes the role of George. How he was recruited into the cast, and the way he sees the character and decided how to play him. A rather handsome photo of Angus/George too!
I thought it was nice that with Alice's help the breach between Chris and Emma seems to be healing. I wondered if Chris's change of mood was helped by the fact that Alice's apple peel fell in the shape of a C.
ReplyDeleteI couldn’t work out who Ian was talking to about the school’s PTA. at the beginning of last nights episode.
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought it was Alice, then when Rosie was mentioned I guessed it was Pip or Stella but the voice wasn’t quite right. So who the …… was it?
I think the women’s voices are becoming as difficult to determine as the young men’s these days.
Appart from Kirsty and Ruth of course.
It was Pip's friend Lottie Summers who is also Ian's best buddy on the PTA. Her daughter Madison is Rosie's school friend. Ian did call Lottie by name but quite a way into the episode, sooner would have been better.
DeleteYou were not alone AP.
DeleteI do not seem to be able to ever recognise Lottie when she appears, and like you, often feel that some of the female voices are not at all distinctive.
Thank you Maryellen. I had totally forgotten about Lottie.
DeleteI read recently that public health officials are concerned about the drop in take up for the flu vaccine. Listening to TA tonight, I wondered if that had inspired the programme’s plug for the flu jab?
ReplyDeleteI imagine George wants to see Brad to discuss his media business in the relative calm and privacy of a prison visit. Remember him saying to Brad that he needed something to focus his mind on, and look forward to resuming when he comes back? It sounds as if he needs it as a morale booster even more than anyone thought. So please go, Brad! This is George's road to a positive future and you are the only one who can travel it with him.
ReplyDeleteIgnore whatever your mother or stepfather tell you and do what you know you should!
George hasn't been a good friend of Brad in the past yet now expects him to help him in his hour of need. I hope that he isn't going to treat him in the same way again.
ReplyDeleteI wish that Brad had gone away to university and gained independence from all that's going on in Ambridge.
I agree that Borsetshire isn't the best place to broaden your horizons, and Ambridge itself can feel quite claustrophobic. Still, Brad may go to a major and more distant university for his further degrees, and only return to Felpersham as Chancellor!
DeleteWhat a wonderful wish for Brad’s future ME.
DeleteSomewhat longer than 2027 to come to fruition though.
CC - I take your point re the unequal relationship between George and Brad, but in recent times that dynamic has changed, by George taking seriously much of what Brad has said to him, as well as Brad coming into himself far more in recent months. And George has also treated Brad with far greater respect than he used to, finally realising that any hope he might have for his own future, his media business, would be best placed in the hands of his friend with the steady outlook on life, Brad.
I reckon Chelsea-could specialise in period hairstyles.....
ReplyDeleteI admit I am squeamish but I have never been able to bear reading about, or listening to, accounts of bullying or torture. Probably comes from learning about what happened to family members in the Holocaust.
ReplyDeleteSo I really do not want to hear about what’s happening to George in prison.
This is too much reality for me and if it continues I shall have to curtail listening.
This may well be the SL that was eluded to on the bbc podcast last week that is due to run until 2027 - George’s sentencing period 🤔.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow’s (today now of course) “All about The Archers “ podcast or visual version on YouTube is an interview with Jeremy Howe chatting and answering questions posed by their Facebook members should be worth a watch - or listen if preferred.
You may be correct Lady R in what was said about the SL going into 2027, but I thought he said in that interview that TA team were currently formulating a SL that would extend into 2027. As I understood his remark, that would be in addition to the current George SL.
DeleteWe all hear differently, so I’m not disputing your theory.
According to the pundits on other blogs, George could serve only 40% of his sentence inside prison and be outside next summer. I think and hope something like that will happen. As things are, George stands to be the last of the male Grundys (I’m not counting Jake whose Grundy surname is only adoptive) so I guess George is with us for the duration!
Delete..but for George to get an early release, he has to do what he says, and that is to keep his head down + not get involved in anything.
DeleteHopefully he can do this.
Goodness, Lilian is such a hypocrite! She has helped criminals in the past, including Matt and Justin too. I can’t bear her when she is in that self-righteous mode.
ReplyDeleteRemind me what criminal offences Justin has committed - I can’t recall any.at the moment! Lilian has certainly turned a blind eye to Alice’s lawless behaviour, eg. chucking a brick through the shop window.
DeleteARCHERPHILE - I can’t bear Lilian at any time or in any mode.
ReplyDeleteAnd she has always been a hypocrite.
Oh, for goodness sake! Why don't they just call the kitten Queen which is the traditional name for a female cat and, like Tom, has the advantage of telling the uninitiated what sex it is. Please can we move on!
ReplyDeleteI do agree ME, though I must say I’ve never heard of a cat being called Queen.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteYes, I should have said traditional word for a cat instead of traditional name. Apparently, a female cat is a Queen, like a male cat is a Tom, and if it is spayed is a Molly. Both Queen(ie) and Molly would sound good as a name too (imho).
DeleteI am puzzling over why Ian was at Grey Gables interviewing an applicant for the job of patisserie chef. I thought Ian had stopped working at Grey Gables and set up his own mobile food business. Something must have passed me by.
ReplyDeleteThat makes two of us, Janice!
DeleteI vaguely remember something about Ian being called in to project manage the refitting of the new kitchen at Grey Gables when a mess was made of the first one. Maybe he stayed on in some advisory capacity.
ReplyDeleteAfter all the hype of Grey Gables closing and Adil overseeing the project of the revamp, I am surprised that nothing more has been heard about it. All there's been is Mick as a security person, Lily now working there in some capacity, but not sure im what position,and Brad doing portering and that fiasco of the suitcases.
ReplyDeleteI thought more would have been heard, hence the confusion with Ian.
The other thing which was quickly swept away, was the selling of The Lodge, when Peggy moved into The Laurels. Again the last thing heard was the mix-up of the black bags so Kate lost her clothes.
It must have been sold, but like The Gills who purchased Home Farm, the new owners are not known nor heard from.
These are not important as such, but I just get irritated as to the lack of continuity at times. Rant Over 🙄
You and me both Miriam
DeleteAdd me to your list of Ambridge Irritations.
DeleteAnd me!
DeleteI was interested in the buffalo cheese storyline, discussed by Helen (potential producer) and Adil (potential buyer), which went nowhere. And what’s happened to the Edible Garden? Adam seems to do anything at Farm except tend it.
Delete✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️agree with all
DeleteI can’t quite work out what’s happening or who does what at Bridge Farm.
DeleteAs Maryellen says, is the edible garden still up and running? If so, who looks after it daily?
The yogurts occupy Clarrie & Susan but does Helen still do the cheese? Presumably the cows are milked by Tony, but who overseas the growing and harvesting of the vegetables, packs them for the boxes and delivers them? Tom?
Natasha doesn’t work full time in the shop/cafe but does she still supervise her fruit drink business? And where does Pat fit in these days, filling in wherever there is a gap, babysitting or does she just make soup for everyone’s lunches?
It’s become very confusing.
What does Pat do with the goats milk?
DeleteDon't worry Archerfile, Natasha will come up with a plan
Delete😂😂😂
DeleteI share Jolene's misgivings about her daughter's new business venture. Fallon's lack of attention as to which unit she'd been offered was ominous. And unless there is a conventional cafe on the site as well as Fallon's, EV drivers who want a 'proper' flat white (as I would) will be sorely disappointed and react accordingly. For Fallon's sake, let's hope the EV station's future clientele contains more vegan sandwich addicts than coffeeholics like me!
ReplyDelete✔️✔️✔️
DeleteIf everything goes pearshaped maybe there might still be a vacancy for a patisserie chef at Grey Gables.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I used to like about The Archers was that you knew where everyone lived and worked, every character had their place and you recognised where they were, what they were talking about, and to whom they were talking. You knew their relationships and backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteNowadays the programme seems to have become fragmented. Family members live all over the place and it’s difficult to remember who lives with whom, and where. There are so many different locations and combinations of people living in those locations I get confused, e.g. The Stables - which youngsters live there now? Where are Alistair and his new love both living, are they at Jim’s together or does she still live at her husbands home?
I also find it difficult to identify who is speaking when there are several girls/women together whereas I always knew exactly which character was in the scene e.g. Lottie, Stella, often confuse me.
Oh well, maybe I should accept the fact that I am getting old and can’t keep up with things!
I’m with you AP 🙃
DeleteI have precisely the same problems ARCHERPHILE- and I don’t think it is our age, but is rather that the style of TA has changed and is now very fragmented.
DeleteI will back that up with the following.
I am not confused when I hear Jolene and Kenton because I know they are in poor at The Bull.
When I hear Pats voice, or Tony’s, I know that they are at the farm just as if Clarrie and Susan are talking then they are at the dairy making the yoghurts.if it’s David or Ruth then we are at Brookfield on the farm somewhere.
Most of the other characters seem to ‘ float ‘ around Ambridge, without belonging anywhere.
Others that seem to belong in my head and have a proper home are ….. Fallon and Harrison, Jim, Linda and husband, Helen I suppose. Joy does seem to be fairly fixed and of course Susan at the shop and Susan and Neil at home, as well as the Grundys and Emma and Ed in the caravan.
I noticed this week the very realistic sound of the caravan ( mobile home ! ) door being opened.
But as you say, most of the younger members of the village seem to be floating.
Perhaps Kirsty worrying about not being settled has brought this to the front of our minds.
Lady ROctober 31, 2024 at 2:04 PM
ReplyDeleteMajor budget news for farmers I wonder if a topical insert will be the order of the day or at the very least will have to be written in before too long imo….
Thanks KP 🤗
DeleteMy immediate reaction when I heard this in the news was Brian won’t be happy, although he’s probably in regular contact with financial advisers, David & Tony will certainly be unhappy
ReplyDeleteToo true, KP, and I am so grateful that we no longer have a farm to pass down the family and that they are all occupied in different professions now.
DeleteWell I don't know how Ambridge in fantasy land will fare but in reality it will be the destruction of small family farms who will have to sell land to pay the tax leaving not enough for their children to inherit a viable farm.
DeleteHopefully the Archers will do what they traditionally did and give farmers some useful advice.
DeleteI don’t know any farmers or any farming folk, but what I do know is that farms and farming are of the utmost importance to this country and this is indeed a terrible blow to most of the farming community.
DeleteIt is a very small minority who buy farms as a tax asset.