Discuss The Archers #107: Beware of the Dragon! Peggy's in her den awaiting bids - who gets the hoard and who gets flamed?

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads and @DadDadDad for being our resident statistician and keeping the ball rolling when Pseudo stepped back a bit.

All views on The Archers welcome here! New blood welcomed. We don't all agree on all points and most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you'd like to be Susan's best friend 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 www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3439443-keep-it-to-yourself-the-archers-spoilers-thread-4, 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.)

Thanks to @MrsGrindah for inspiration for the title of this thread. I was hoping to find a way to combine it with @C8H10N4O2's inspired suggestion of '"The Assumption of the Ambridge Angel' and @chemenger's comment 'I hope she gets kicked in the head by a horse and wakes up an atheist', but it all got a bit too lengthy.

Odds on Joe shuffling off this mortal coil before this thread ends? We've been marking/anticipating his passing for a while now.

DD looked at DH and me with disapproval after we'd both cheered after Tracey H volunteered to key Justin's car.

I do wish I could remember what the continuity announcer said about Tracey and Moneybox, it was very funny (and they've cropped it on the BBC website).

Sorry to hear what a stressful time you had, Painting.

FWIW I wiped a tear from my eye too. It is all very well acted, but I don't want so much angst at 7pm.

Oh Painting - it’s the line between ‘just surviving’ and not that frightens me ...

It is being brilliantly acted - even though the script makes not much sense.

Being brought to tears (often, over decades) is probably one of the things that keeps me listening - but usually it’s death - Polly, John, Mark - that elicits such strong emotion. This story is unusual in being centred around pure despair. Amazing how it’s the Grundys who rise to the level of epic tragedy. Again.

There isn't very much fairness in life is there Painting ? And the bankers are it it all over again apparently.

Tracey H seems to be the only character making any sense at the moment!

No! She was the one who suggested a loan shark, which would not end well (I would not be surprised to find Emma scrabbling around in the dirt to piece together the phone number Ed tore up).

It was kind of her to offer to key Justin's car and very exceptionally kind to scrape together the £300 and whatever it was from her and her kids (who knows what she told them!), but the rest of her ideas (begging from Peggy and borrowing from a loan shark) have not been the best.

Fink
Thank you. That's sounds exactly like what I've done (whilst brushing my teeth and trying to listen) 😂

I must say it made a painful episode much quicker and easier to bear 😂

I was brought to tears by Tracey giving the £300 or so from her family, I don't get the idea that they can afford it.

I 'm not sure, it isn't clear, but is Em trying to 'crowdfund' the whole of her mortgage?

Madcats - I think the CA said something along the lines of Tracey being ideal as a new expert / presenter on Moneybox.

I loved Tracey offering to key Justin’s car!

I agree about the poor grundies, even will, the least sympathetic one, and the one who seems to have his shit together the most, lost nic then jake and mia. He’s a right rotter and he doesn’t do himself many favours with his manner, but gosh i have felt sorry for him this last while. His relationship with ed is beautifully written, it’s so complicated with their history and the way sometimes they have each other’s backs and sometimes they’re at each other’s throats, but they’re always believable. Their moments of bonding are heartwarming and their ding dongs are always FANTASTIC listening, will’s normally righter than ed but way less sympathetic as a person so it’s impossible to pick a side, the only row of theirs I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed was the one at home farm that kicked this disaster off because you could see what was coming after a mile off 😢

I do wish I could remember what the continuity announcer said about Tracey and Moneybox, it was very funny

It was along the lines of, "Someone let Paul Lewis know Tracey Horrobin's giving the advice on Moneybox Live next week."

Thanks EBearhug that's priceless. I never hear the continuity bits as I listen to the podcast.

Tracey is fast becoming one of my favourite characters.

...But not for her financial acumen.

I think it’s due to the fab actress that I used to hate Emma and now my heart goes out to her. Either way she makes her so believable.

Yes, Tracey is a breath of fresh air! WRT my on - going worry about the chemicals.... could Ed deliver them to the police station in the dead of night? Or Will? Surely he’s stealthy? I think the housing thing will somehow be resolved with the demise of Joe.

A two hour meeting with the bank manager to arrange a £15,000 loan? I haven't taken out a loan recently, but Neil would have seen an adviser, surely? (This is what happened when I applied for an arranged overdraft a few years ago, so it's probably changed.. She typed my figures into the computer, and the computer said Yes)

Agree with birds and all the others who have commented that Radio 4 listeners are not the audience to whom you want to be presenting a badly-researched/over-dramatised financial storyline. The idea of Justin being involved in the detail of the sale of the houses is ludicrous. Annoying distraction from a fundamentally good and well-acted storyline.

Tbf we didn’t actually hear Justin’s side of the conversation with Emma. He may just have said it was nothing to do with him and completely out of his hands.

I’m off alcohol for August. Supposedly. But this is all so stressful I’ve had to resort to wine ...

Blimey.

De-lurking to say that.

Well done Ed!!

Emmur asked for that - she deserves all she is never going to get. Obnoxious entitled cow.

That was flawless.

BOOP for the SW Liz John. And Ed and Emma.

So Emmur and Will then....

I'm intrigued to hear everyone's responses - that was quite emotionally draining. It's hard to call her entitled when she works SO hard. It's echoing so much of present society where young people find it so hard to get on the housing ladder - how old are MeandEd?

Also de-lurking (after years and years) in shock!

Don’t agree that Emma ‘deserves’ it in that sense - but can understand things from Ed’s point of view, I think.

Brilliant script writing that deftly explored the different traps of capitalism - particularly for people of Ed and Emma’s (and my own) generation. Rental insecurity vs mortgage commitment and ultimate insecurity, for those on low wages - financial stress is one of the top causes of relationship breakdown - v realistic and sad.

@4SimpleWords - mid thirties I think, so older end of ‘millenial’