The Archers #109: Pulp Fiction! Hammer Horror (Tracy), Carry On (Brian & Neil), Call the Midwife (Adam, Ian, Lexi) - but no political thrillers, Ambridge remains Brexit-free. Nitpick 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. 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. grin

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 Bucking Frolics and LillianGish for the title ideas, which I had to edit down a bit to get under the character limit.

I wonder if Lily will have gone back to Manchester by the time we've filled this thread.

did Brian once come on to Clarry or am I dreaming that?

I think he tried it on with Betty?

He was quite kind to Ed after Adam sacked him.

Betty, when she was cleaning at Home Farm, StillWeRise?

Not friendship Asking, more feudal allegiance. Eddie is always likely to think (despite evidence to the contrary) that, in a difficult situation, Brian would ‘know what to do’. (‘Active dislike’ isn’t what I hear from Brian to the not-Will Grundys ...)

Kate could have invented her story - but I’d say it’s marginally more likely that Joy would have met Jakob than Kate.

ah, that's right, Betty
sorry everyone!

Sorry to be thick! Is Joy a known character- I can’t place her. Oh I did miss a bit when I popped to get a sarnie.

She's the woman who has moved in next door to Kirsty and Philip, and goes rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit-rabbit

well, you get the idea.

Of course! Thank you. From the parish council meeting! ‘She has a daughter’ Oh blimey. Poor Peggy. That’ll be a fun exchange.

Has anyone else already suggested that Hugh handing in his notice must mean he's Ian's paternity cover? Ian won't like that at all. It might mean a brighter future for Freddie, though, as he has presumably known Hugh for years at LL.

I don't find it hard to believe that Lynda is still working. I know an academic who carried on working full-time in a pretty demanding job running a popular degree programme well into his 70s and only finally retired with extreme reluctance when pressure was applied by his wife. I also know a woman approaching 70 who loves working part-time in a relatively low stress job and feels it adds a lot to her life, not least financially. Gives her a role, a structure to her week, gets her out of the house and meeting people etc etc. I see Lynda as being a combination of those two.

LL is going to have a no-chef emergency and CMR will step into the breach. Not sure where that will leave Lily, but maybe she'll insist that she can't face going back to Manchester without him.

Oh goodness - Hugh going to GG would be amazing! Presumably he’d be doing it with the intention of somehow stealing Ian’s job permanently?

Funnily enough Gasp0 it was the academic world I was thinking of, primarily, and the various employment kerfuffles arising over the question of forced retirement. Though I’m slightly torn in this area. I’d certainly like to feel people of my age will find a welcome over the next few decades, but on the other hand I suspect far too many senior university figures remain ensconced long after they have anything newly valuable to say. (Or where their outdated theorising might actually being doing harm.)

In the creative world however - I’m increasingly thrilled at the imaginative vigour displayed by artists (particularly female artists in all fields) well into their eighties or nineties. Obviously, being self-employed, there isn’t the same question of being pushed out of employment for artists, but getting one’s work produced or shown is horribly dependent on industry and public attitudes towards age.

So Lynda at GG is wonderful in my eyes - but the changing of the guard should be very entertaining to hear.

(‘be doing’ not ‘being doing’!)

Gasp0de the state pension age is 67 (at least that's when I'll get mine) so working until almost 70 is pretty normal these days.

In a sense it’s a reflection of Lynda’s class-based good fortune in the way of health and strength that she is still happily working post-70. Although many of us will need to be working till then it will be hardest for those with the least cushy, least rewarding jobs. Female Jazzers (not running their own business) might be less able or keen to turn out on freezing mornings.

Surely CMR is far too busy running LL's art gallery to be available as an emergency chef?

Yes, state pension age is obviously much higher for women now than it used to be, but Lynda reached pensionable age on 29 May 2007 (yes, saddo here went off and looked it up ). My friend who's 70 next year qualified for her state pension in 2010 and has an occupational pension too. Role models for the rest of us, who won't be working through choice alone if we follow their example and keep on working till 70+!

2028 for me - if there still is a state pension by then. < used here to indicate glass half empty rather than just the contents of the glass!

Don’t chefs providing food for public consumption have to have recognised qualifications? I have no knowledge about this - but I’d be worried if any random person could roll into a restaurant kitchen and cook my food.

So I hope that doesn’t happen!

And yes, one size does not fit all when it comes to retirement age. My mum retired from full-time primary school teaching when she was in her mid 50s (I think she was able to take advantage of a redundancy scheme aimed at cutting costs) and she was immensely relieved as she'd been find it very tiring. My dad carried on to 65 in a busy but much more sedentary job and was fine (but also delighted to stop when the time finally came).

My hazy impression is you only need a hygiene qualification, which can be obtained by doing a short online course in a couple of hours.

Yeah, you only need to take the hygiene course.

Last night's episode was captioned "Kate exacts her revenge" on listen again.

Is it wise to get "revenge" on the only person who stands between you and homelessness?

So any fool who wants to offer me fried rubber gloves and seared carpet fluff can set up shop as a purveyor of fine dining?

Yum.

Budge up on the sofa Gasp0 ...

Hugh is obviously going to be the Paternity cover for Ian. I predict Ian will have a huge crisis over it, and maybe will decide to forego some of his paternity leave to try to get his job back at east on a part time basis.

The drug thing sounds a bit fake - or Ian runs the only drug free kitchen in the country. According to my DC the use of drugs is rife in kitchens their friends work in. And it is a bit unbelievable that an Head Chef like Ian could be bothered over a kitchen porter, as long as there is one. Again lots of my DC's friends have worked as one and it mainly involves a lot of washing up.

I think that was Ians point, that drugs are a problem in kitchens so he didn't want to add to it.

Surely what with changeovers, breakfasts, admin and meet & greets, Lynda would have more than enough work running a B&B without going to GG. Has David bought Ed's ram for peanuts?