🌟 ⭐ 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!

Pretty sure Chelsea had a change of clothes with her in a bag? That's what I did in my raving days of yore.

I don't think so. I'm pretty sure she was wearing Russ' jacket.

It couldn't have been Josh.... could it?

I want to hear the tones of voices etc, ie Listen Again!

Can you post the following day's summary too , when people ((Lily and Russ) discussed the night?

I really hope it IS Russ, so that Lily can tell him to fuck right off, then go to university and have a proper life. Chelsea will get a termination. Jazzer will knock him out with one blow. Russ's past will catch up with him in the form of a complaint made by a former student.

I hope it isn't Russ because he is one of the few characters who isn't tedious.

Jazzer, I would put money on, will do his best to persuade Chelsea not to have an abortion.

Gosh @TheLassWiADelicateAir for a horrifying second I thought you were suggesting Jazzer was the father!!!

No but I'm sure Jazzer will stick his oar in.

As long as he hasn't already!

I'm not in a position to listen to this at the moment, but it looks like a recording of the omnibus for the week ending with the rave, or possibly the aftermath. Anyway, this YouTube channel appears to have all the recent omnibuses.

Thanks, I can't listen at the moment either but looking forward to it.

Brilliant, thanks Gasp0de

I've a nasty feeling that Lily will put all the blame on Chelsea.

Lily, like most of the 'first' families in Ambridge is a crashing snob.

To her, Chelsea is common as muck and will have got herself pregnant (!) on purpose to try and snare Russ in an attempt to move up the Borcestshire social ladder.

Girls like Chelsea were groomed for years in places like Rochdale and nobody gave a shit. I really don't see the village rallying around her and giving her the sympathy she deserves.

Having listened to that week (incl the awful Casey sisters' bust up! etc) I'm pretty sure it was Russ. Although Josh was allegedly about to hook up with someone when Ben reappeared in tears, he said he had her number and that was fine - he wouldn't have said that about Chelsea.

Unless it's a complete random from the rave.

The 3rd July omnibus doesn't throw any light. I misremembered the beer spilling incident- Chelsea had a spare t-shirt dress with her but did end up with Russ' jacket on top of it.

Here's the w/e 10th July

There's very little post event discussion beyond Jim mentioning the mess and Tracey saying Chelsea was home, sober,before Tracey and Jazzer.

Felt the need to check the end of Friday’s episode - given all the reported nay-saying elsewhere. But Tracy’s only other nuclear option was “scratched another car” and we have no reason to think Chelsea has taken any such action.

Of course she might have revealed she’d lost her job or dropped out of her course. (About which I’m a bit hazy, tbh.) We know she felt desperate about keeping the job. But she said “I think things are about to get worse …” If it were something to do with work or college she would know the full extent of the trouble.

And anyway, the rhythm and intonation of the final question and answer were surely incontrovertibly clear.

🤔

And … Listening to the rave episode again - it’s clear Lily’s conversation with Sol was just tiiiiiime expended when she wasn’t with Russ. It didn’t have any other purpose.

It’s true Ben disappeared for a while but he didn’t come back off his head, unlike Russ. And Josh was quite open about how his night had gone.

I like Bore’s suggestion that Russ will believe it’s him when it’s actually someone else - that would be wonderfully convoluted. But I want him to be ‘guilty’.

I think we need to delisted to the episodes when Russ jumps in to help Tracy/Chelsea re the keying too. Hmm

Aha she did have a change of clothes I didn't misremember, phew!

The BBC’s Archers FB page have chosen this image as a backdrop for a clip of Tracey and Chelsea’s chat, so I think it’s pretty clear she is pregnant.

I hope it is Russ, and that he and Lily split up but he doesn’t leave (because he’s wonderfully awful and well acted).

I hope Chelsea terminates the pregnancy and lives happily ever after.

Could he stay in these circumstances?

I don't understand Chelsea's comment "things are going to get worse".

It's so fatalistic. She's well within the time limits for an abortion- or is that so unthinkable?

Maybe I'm an awful , insensitive person but if it had happened to me at 18 or if I had a pregnant daughter of 18 a termination would be the obvious solution.

I don't understand Chelsea's comment "things are going to get worse".

Soap, innit. They always catastrophise.

Although, oddly enough, I don’t think a baby would be such a terrible disaster for the Horrobin household. It might be quite fun. Obviously money and childcare would need miraculous intervention - but just imagine Jazzer as a grandpa! Parenthood needn’t necessarily prevent Chelsea from progressing with her hairdressing career - it’s not as if she’s contemplating years of quiet study and a Fellowship at All Souls.

But she didn’t sound thrilled about the prospect so I hope the SWs won’t make it all ridiculously and unrealistically stressful for her and her family.

Well I've said it several times but the opinions and wisdom of the comedy scotsperson should be, but probably unfortunately won't be, 100% irrelevant.

I know am in a minority of 1 but Jazzer makes my skin crawl.

What would be really interesting is if Tracey got pregnant at the same time... I don't think that's been done before (on the Archers).

Poppins2016 - I was thinking of it a little while back because of the potential similarity (as far as I remember it) with Debbie and Jennifer both dealing with the discovery of unfaithful husbands at around the same time. Golden era in TA history …