🌟 ⭐ Archers thread #138: Two new stars on the Ambridge firmament, but will Peggy’s retirement leave a black hole? 🕳️ Join us here for a window on The Archers.

[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 think commissioning a stained glass window for two of your great-grandchildren and nothing for all the others is a sensible thing to do, 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.)

Thanks to @LillianGish and @MuddlerInLaw for title ideas, which I have played around with a bit. I'm sad to have heard the last of Peggy. An era starts to draw to a close.

What a relief to be out of the Steph Casey phase, which I hope was an unfortunate blip, not to be repeated. [Triumph of hope over experience there ... ]

@BoreofWhabylon has asked the 🔮 about Adil and it predicts that he is actually the Mysterious New Owner of Grey Gables but won't be revealed as such until he has won Kirsty's heart (or some similar Mills & Boon level tosh - apols to the 🔮 but it does seem to have a mushy side). I still cling to the idea that the mysterious silent and invisible Gills who now own Home Farm may have some role at GG, but why not name them?

No mention of the heatwave in Ambridge, but budget constraints probably severely limit their scope for topical inserts these days. IRL I believe this has been a tricky time for farmers. Perhaps the SWs will catch up with this over the winter and start putting in some farming chat about diversification away from oats to olives, or similar. We already have at least one vineyard in the Ambridge area, at LL. (I understand there was another, in the heart of the village, decades ago, but the SWs have now forgotten all about it, sadly.)

Over to you!

Analysts said the UK was suffering a chronic shortage of workers after about 500,000 quit the labour market during the Covid-19 pandemic and many continental European workers left Britain following Brexit. The unemployment rate fell to 3.7%, the lowest since 1974.

from an article in The Guardian in May. Unemployment rate is 3.8 %

Tracey and Jazzer - working age adults
Chelsea & Brad - still in education
Bert - retired
Rent would be much lower than if owned by a private landlord

Gary moved out before Jazzer moved in.

@TheLassWiADelicateAir , and a fair bit of back-slapping too probably, banter about his pulling power and life in the old dog yet.

At 16 and 18 Brad and Chelsea should have part time jobs that will cover most of what they need.

Surely just most of what they want? Not the inescapable and regular expenses of living as an independent adult.

Is that equally spread across the country? A flourishing services sector needs a certain amount of comfortably off people to sustain it. Has Tracey got transport at the moment? If you’re not living in a city centre, work opportunities are constrained if you don’t have your own wheels. Tracey’s work opportunities may be confined to Grey Gables, LL, Bull, tea shop, and that disreputable peripatetic pub we haven't heard about in the last 10 years or so.

Though the Laurels will be crying out for care workers.

Chelsea is about to turn 18 and is working part time. She could contribute to the household or at the very least pay her own expenses. Brad would still attract child benefit and the child element of UC.

Clothes, travel and leisure expenses should be covered by Chelsea's job at this point. Food and shelter not necessarily, but it depends how many hours she works. She could probably put £20 a week into the pot.
I guess it's quibbling but honestly the situation for the horrobin house shouldn't be as dire as it is. It's being presented as that dire to make a topical storyline which is fine - the situation genuinely IS that awful for many families, and people care about Tracey so it makes sense for her to be the subject of this storyline but it also doesn't make actual real life sense.

Brad’s about to start sixth form college, yes?

I’m praying there’ll be some useful mentor on his Christmas maths course who’ll encourage him to look further afield than Felpersham for university.

But they don't live as independent adults. Their expenses are clothes, games, makeup, hobbies etc. even sanitary protection. A 16 and an 18 year is capable of paying for all of that.

I've never been in a situation where my family was hard up but at that age my part time job paid for everything and my son's part time job paid for everything except big ticket things like school uniform/ school lunches.

If your family were never hard up then the "family shop" probably included more of the things you needed or you could chuck them in the trolley. When I was a teenager I was lucky because most things like deodorant, shampoo, tights for school, pens, bus tickets, textbooks, etc would be covered by my parents - some of my friends with very tight budgets (or just tight parents) had to buy all of those things themselves and they do rack up very quickly. Especially when you're working part time around school - and Brad and Chelsea's minimum wage would be £4.81 an hour and they're only allowed to work 12 hours a week in termtime.

We already know the kids are contributing what they can to the household.

Jazzer needs to get a better job as he has his motorbike (I think still) and can get about.

There aren't that many jobs within villages (chelsea is cycling to LL) and we don't know how far away other villages and towns are. Conceivably there are washing up shifts at the pub and cafe, but what really surprises me is that there isn't more seasonal work available nearby on the farms that Tracey can do.

Interesting that they’ve chosen a woman to be abusing a position of power with Ruairi vs a man, given he could be seeing either.

Maybe Julianne was once Julian? ( not a serious remark)

She is almost certainly WASP ,straight and born female. cf Rob Titchener.
If she was to be a joke character, she could be welsh/scottish/lower orders/catholic.

I've just caught up with yesterday's episode. There were definitely tears in my eyes - very well acted.

I don't think so. To his face perhaps, but behind his back, I think there would be a fair amount of mockery / eugh. And bear in mind his professional contemporaries are just as likely to be women.

@TheLassWiADelicateAir , of course some will be women, but I think generally people would be more surprised by a woman with a much younger boyfriend.

Is anyone still wondering whether Chelsea could be pregnant? She’s been very volatile and emotional (even more so than usual?). Someone upthread mentioned sanpro from the food bank but when she ran out of loo roll and Brad taunted “Time of the month?” (Which is a “joke” synonymous with mood swings as opposed to him actually being privy to her cycle) she snapped at him to shut up. Something happened between Russ and Chelsea at the rave that he can’t remember, and they’ve spent time together since- he took on a role taking her to the police station after the car scratching and making her write an apology letter…

Crikey @Bernadinetta , I think you've got it.

I just wonder if it’s too “soapy” for TA but these days anything goes. PPs have often ruminated on Russ moving onto a younger model (ick) and the bringing together of their two characters.

Oooh interesting thought!

Is anyone still wondering whether Chelsea could be pregnant?

Yes - I am.

Didn’t want to raise the subject again because everyone poo pooed the idea on the last couple of occasions I mentioned the possibility …

No Shula, for how long?

I really don't like Jazzer.

I don't think Chelsea is pregnant.

And Ben, Beth and Josh are so dreary.

They are. All are better than their ghastly sisters though.

Very true.

I'm a bit annoyed that the Ben/Ruari conversation hasn't been followed up.