🏏Archers thread #136: Howzat! Oliver’s bowled a googly, Kathy’s out, Grey Gables left with nightwatchman. Tracy knocked for six. Is Ambridge on a sticky wicket? Discuss The Archers 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 are entranced by new character Adil, 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/4197199--The-Archers-spoilers-thread-6-Cant-wait-for-7-02pm-Join-us-here, 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.)

Apologies if anybody made a thread title suggestion and I missed it. I decided to mark the start of the cricket season in the hope that things will take a turn for the better for poor Tracy.

It feels like months since the last new thread, which was just after Phoebe departed for Scotland. Has she been mentioned since? I can't recall. Not greatly missed, by me, at any rate. Her fish gifts didn't last long.

I can't shake off the feeling that The Archers is going through a long dull patch. I don't feel greatly engaged by anything that's happening at the moment other than Tracy's plight. Such a good actor, which helps, of course.

What's keeping you listening? Habit? Genuinely enjoying it? Over to you!

(PS In the process of starting this thread, I've discovered that our custom-made Archers emoji has gone. You used to get it by typing . Not any more.)

No, but I'm predicting that Pinky and Perky will be a girl and a boy.
I'm basing this on TA twins - Shula and Kenton and Frilly.

Pat'n'Moany already have 3 grandsons so perhaps they will be girl twins, and it would be a nice touch for them to be identical so that we'd struggle to know which one is which

Names will be Archie Anthony and Lilibet Patricia

or Antonia and Patrick
or if both girls, Carys and Anwen, because these are the go-to Welsh girl's names on R4

Perhaps one girl twin will be called Peggy.

I can't remember the due date. I think they told Pat and Tony on their anniversary (Pat and Tony's) around Christmastime. So I'd imagine she must be 7-9 months now and ready to go any time.

BOOP for them finally mentioning how high bills are at the moment, and for the country show. I really like Ed and Jazzer's dynamic, they're both good lads really who love hard and fuck up an average amount. I'd love it if one of them hit on an actually good scheme to put them both in reliable work.

When did we last hear from Emma? She's been amazingly quiet.

Glad I'm not the only one thinking a wedding barn would be on crack to host a very well publicised divorce party of a recent wedding client. They're not that desperate.

Of course if the Dopeys weren't so dopey they could have marketed the barn for any function- not just weddings.

When did we last hear from Emma? She's been amazingly quiet

Ditto Helen, Johnny, Joy and the Fairbrethren.

it's incredible that neither Helen nor Johnny had anything to say about the imminent arrival of Pinky and Perky.

Joy was pointlessly parachuted in with no backstory and no explanation why a single woman with no connection to Ambridge would buy a largeish new build house. They then built up her character as someone who actually tried hard to fit in with village life and is a kind and likeable character. Now gone without a trace.

Fairbrethren not heard of since the boat warming party.

Lynda was completely silent throughout the Fall of Grey Gables, although has at least been mentioned in passing unlike the other missing in action characters.

June Spencer is 103 tomorrow. Happy birthday June!

Joy was mentioned re. the bank holiday picnic. Then again, Kathy was occasionally mentioned for years

I realised while watching 'The Outlaws' last night that the actress playing Myrna is Clare Perkins, aka Denise.

Did anyone else titter at Lazarus the dog/ horse having made a remarkable recovery?

Bloody hell, the MN server is slow today.

Anyway, big bombshell from Brian with the stepping down from Berrow, but what caught my attention was his saying the board wouldn't rule future changes, inside and out.
Two words: animal welfare.

Eerily prescient considering the news right now about the watering down of post-Brexit food standards, making UK farmer uncompetitive against cheaper and nastier imports.

Bloody hell, the MN server is slow today.

Anyway, big bombshell from Brian with the stepping down from Berrow, but what caught my attention was
his saying the board wouldn't rule future changes, inside and out.
Two words: animal welfare.

Eerily prescient
considering the news right now about the watering down of post-Brexit food standards, making UK farmer uncompetitive against cheaper and nastier imports.

So now it does it twice!!!!

Helen won’t be happy about the arrival of Pinky and Perky. She’ll lose Pat and Tony’s on tap babysitting service as they’ll be busy fussing over the newborns.

Oh yes and maybe it'll be "the girls" v "the boys".

Although surely Helen who has a flexible job, a live-in partner and two school age children - isn't Henry practically at secondary school - doesn't need that much parental help??

Been away for a bit but @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g has summed up my thoughts perfectly with this:

"As many have already said, Chelsea is a trainee hairdresser. She doesn't need to look for a waitressing job to make extra money, she has a profitable marketable skill which she could be plying in people's homes.

Tracy is the only person in the UK struggling to get a job in the service sector.

Steph is insultingly bad on every level. She has no redeeming features and no points of interest whatsoever. Why was she introduced when there are so many speaking characters we haven't heard from in months?"

Such fun to see Justin hoisted by his own petard. Not only did he not know a grower from a finisher, he now has to advise the new boy on the best management of them.

I'm not expecting Martyn Gibson to be any better...

I'm enjoying this week a lot more than last. Nice to have a bit of farming. I suppose the focus on Natasha means the birth is imminent. The chat with Tony where she talked about Tom's anxiety because of Wren was very well done.

Of course they are wriggling, they're piglets Pinky and Perky

At least the sonographer said "sex" rather than "gender" like Tony. No farmer ever talks about the gender of piglets!

Maybe Tony hasn't realised that they are piglets?

When farmers talk about one of their livestock losing an unborn foetus, they say the animal has aborted, yet when a medic refers to a miscarriage as (spontaneous?) abortion they are upset.

chemenger, can you ask the intern to tell them that the Caseys need to be binned, please?

Not Vince. I like him.