Archers thread #141: The nights are drawing in. Can we turn the clocks back to a time when The Archers was fun? Cackle or carp about 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, although we do mostly try to be civil about it. Most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you're hoping Ambridge has a pantomime again this year, 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/4636789-the-archers-spoilers-thread-7-cant-wait-for-702pm-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.)

Many thanks to @TottersBlankly and @GoldenCupidon for the title suggestions.

Too much to hope, I suppose, that by the time we get to the end of this thread Chelsea's pregnancy is a distant memory and the Horrobins can gear up for a cheap and cheerful Christmas. I really, really hope she doesn't change her mind about the termination. It's a horrible and unrealistic storyline, as most of us have agreed over the past few weeks, but now I just want it to end and be forgotten about.

I do like the idea of Lilian taking on the role of witch in the woods. Much more fun to listen to than Mia sabotaging the Hunt Ball, which is surely bound to go horribly wrong, or the odd wrangling over the stained glass window which we know Peggy won't be contributing to on air , given June Spencer's retirement.

Not a peep out of anybody in Ambridge about all the recent political shenanigans, but that's hardly surprising. Nobody fretting about fuel bills or rampant inflation either.

Also, where's Jenny? I hope Angela Piper's OK.

Over to you!

I wonder what is going on with Ruairí, and where in the timeline of the Ben SL that will come to the fore.

@TottersBlankly It isn't so much that baby adoption 'isn't a thing', it is just much much less of a thing than in the 60s & 70s. Partly because of the MAP and abortion being more socially acceptable, but also because being an unmarried single mum doesn't carry quite the social stigma it used to so women keep their babies rather than often being forced to give them up.

Jenny was very brave back in the day with Adam.

I don't think it's just these threads that have become snippy, I think actually the whole country (world?) has gone that way in the last couple of years. Interacting with people in a number of roles I've observed that people are less tolerant and more irritable than they were (as groups and individuals) in the past. I think people were frightened and isolated by covid, since then we've had perpetual news-gloom and financial strain and uncertainty. If you don't look hard for positives it can easily feel as if the world is falling apart without anyone half-sensible at the helm to fix it. I think that has an impact on our ability to take a breath and respond appropriately to others. Im sure I'm guilty of it - we're all tired and fed up for various reasons, it's like snapping at your children for something minor because you've had a busy day.

I think here we're often already in moan mode because of the crappy storylines. Maybe we should go back to routinely awarding BOOP points where we can - maybe focusing on the positives would help to rebalance the mood? There's such camaraderie to be found here in loyalty to the Archers (despite all its flaws) and I would hate to lose that.

Just my twopenn'orth

I'm amazed you deduced all of that from my one, off the cuff line, about cheese and milk.

Though it was in reference to the frothing coffee post actually, and a reminder to self to read the cheese link.

I might stick to the spoilers thread for a while, with others no longer here, if there's many more threads like the last few! Anyway...

Nice suggestions @Prestissimo.

The other, and some would even say, most important factor which has made adoption far far less common is that single parents are supported by the benefits /housing system.

being an unmarried single mum doesn't carry quite the social stigma it used to so women keep their babies rather than often being forced to give them up

Thanks @TeenDivided , that hadn't occurred to me. So for some of the adopted children on Long Lost Family, it's not necessarily the case that they would have been terminated if that had been available, but that they would have been kept by their birth mother and not adopted.

Wasn’t there some talk of buffalo mozzarella not so long ago?

I'm all for more cheese talk; the only hitch is that we’d probably have to hear more of Helen. Hmmm. Bit of a dilemma there.

I think so definitely. There are often harrowing stories of women from those times talking about how their parents made them give up their baby, or even being forcably removed from their arms.

Whereas with modern adoption the vast majority are sadly children who need to be removed via the care system.

In contrast in the US where as we know abortion is getting less legal by the day and social security is less, there are still apparently a large number of baby adoptions, often arranged through private agencies (illegal here).

A distant member of my family (a well-educated professional woman) did not realise she was pregnant until she went into labour. The baby was adopted straight away as the couple had already firmly decided against having kids.

This was not all that long ago - she would have been about my age and I am mid-50s.

(Oops, sorry - I didn’t notice there was a new page - didn’t see the discussion had moved away from cheese…)

Very well said, @Prestissimo. Am I right in thinking you're a GP? If so, I imagine you must have had a particularly difficult time since lockdown.

Social media is a tricky medium for communication because you can't see or hear how you're being received (to state the blindingly obvious). I used to be very sniffy about emojis when I first came across them, but now I think they may help a little with replacing tone/body language/facial expression.

No need to apologise for talking about cheese, @Octomore! I love the stuff.

Yup these days adoption varies a lot depending on which side of the North Atlantic you're on.
(Not sure what Canada is like!)

I generally find cheese a better topic for conversation than abortion.

Would an Indian takeaway have an adverse effect that Indian home cooking wouldn’t?

Great post @Prestissimo. I haven't commented for a while but lurked and noticed the (hopefully unintentional) sniping.

I don't think the portrayal of the ONS is really unrealistic. Its the sort of thing I'd have done in my early 20s . We have to remember that we don't all think and act the same. Just because you would have done something different, doesn't mean Chelsea would/will.

Re BF my second couldn't cope with any garlic at all. We worked it out within 2 weeks. I had to check EVERYTHING.

A quick Google search shows there's no reason at all to avoid spicy food- if anything if that was what the mother ate whilst pregnant, continuing with the same food might help breastfeeding.

Drags conversation back to cheese....
Yes, i believe Ian was persuading Helen that Buffalo would be perfect animals for Bridge Farm. He wanted artisan Mozarella for his odd flavoured pizzas.

Maybe Rex and Kirsty could have a few at their rewilding to add a bit more excitement to getting to a yoga session!

It was me droning on about cheese, @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g - there are two of us Octo-somethings on MN. I don’t know whether the other one’s an Archers listener, though!

Wasn't the buffalo mozzarella Adil's bright idea, or at least prompted by his "vision" for Lower Loxley v.2?

I'm as open to buffalo as the next person (not a patch on Highland cattle for prettiness, but pleasant enough in their own way) but what I'd really like to see in Ambridge is a herd of goats. I love goats. Whatever happened to Pat's? And where are Lynda's llamas?

Gosh, I'm so sorry, @Octothorpe! My post-menopausal memory is extremely erratic. Yet another reminder that I need to check, not just rely on what may be a false memory.

I don't think the portrayal of the ONS is really unrealistic. Its the sort of thing I'd have done in my early 20s

Slightly afraid I might be contradicting myself but have to say this is true. A rave is certainly not the most bizarre situation for unexpected pairing up. Particularly as in normal life Ben would have been considerably out of Chelsea’s league. High / drunk / whatever all bets were off. Maybe he was more attractive to her all sad and hopeless? And Ben just needed someone to be nice to him and provide a moment’s distraction.

@Prestissimo is spot on.

Right, I am going to pull myself together and find the good bits in the next episode.

I actually enjoyed that!

That was a good move from Ruth.