Archers thread #186: Eavesdropping on a home for the terminally confused. 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, and of course we are always delighted to welcome back former or occasional listeners/posters. 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'd swipe right on Dane, the new Grey Gables manager, 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 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/radioaddicts/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/radioaddicts/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 @WitcheryDivine for the title inspiration. Over to you!

I suppose it works both ways but the teacher can only observe and comment on what they actually see. I can't imagine why a teacher would deliberately turn down the possibility of extra help for a child but its hard to diagnose dyslexia or dyspraxia in a child when they are very young and displaying behaviours which are 'normal' at that age. Even if the teacher has a hunch they've got to get through to the Senco, Ed Psych etc and that involves the teacher being asked to show all the strategies they've already tried. In my school the Senco had their own class and it was difficult to get any response. It can take ages even if the teacher agrees with you.

Obviously I can't comment on your own experiences.

How long ago was that? I can't imagine any teacher using those words.

I don't think Martha will have FSA in the end - we'll just have a huge load of worry and guilt about the possibility in the form of a PSA about the dangers of drinking during pregnancy. In the end Martha will be spared because while the SWs love the drama of a shock reveal, they can't really be arsed with the research and detail required to keep up the story over Martha's life span (see also Bethany who was shipped out once the point had been made). I'm seeing a pattern at the moment - Lillian's cliffhanger about leaving Ambridge, quickly and predictably knocked on the head, I suspect Harrison's 40th will go the same way.
Re. the village shop versus Underwoods Local, I don't have a proper sense of where they are in relation to one another. The village shop is not for profit surely (hence the volunteer workers) - the Underwoods outpost won't have the post office or the newspaper and magazine orders, the personal service that the village shop can offer. I don't imagine it selling basics, but rather upmarket versions of tea, coffee etc Bath Olivers rather than Jacobs crackers iyswim. Isn't it only competition in the sense that the Bridge Farm shop is competition. My greatest concern in all of this is that Jim is sounding so much older and I love Jim.

The Village Shop may not be for profit, but it presumably has to make enough money to cover costs.

She’s only 14. They didn’t use those words but that was the sentiment. I knew something wasn’t right and the head did tell me that my expectations of her were too high and perhaps we should consider our parenting. So along with my dd feeling shot about herself they also successfully made me feel like the worst mother in the world!!

the relief we all felt when her secondary suggested she had adhd and we had the assessment was huge!!

On the shop - it is obviously a useful device for getting characters together so I hope it stays for that but I still can’t see the point now!!

Over-familiar staff who know about my everyday life would put me off going to the village shop. Always happy to discuss the weather, the cricket or the Golden Jubilee (for instance), however, I don’t like it when it starts to take 20 mins to buy a pint of milk. When that starts to happen, unfortunately I tend to find somewhere else for my supplies.

It undercuts the theory that people always want personal service. I actually like being anonymous a lot of the time. Now Joy is in the shop all the time, I would be thrilled at the arrival of Underwoods Local. I wouldn’t see navigating Clarrie and the electronic check-out too socially onerous.

@LillianGish i agree. I think (apart from the complete rewriting of the past) thats why the Neil foundling story is so infuriating. It feels like much too big a SL to have been over and dealt with in a week.

I got the impression that someone had started off the Neil storyline, expecting it to be interesting, then when it wasn't they didn't know where to go with it and just let it peter out.

They didn't let it peter out, it just stopped. It went from first ever mention to finding and meeting in an unfeasibly quick time, and then never mentioned again.

"Bath Olivers rather than Jacobs crackers" I'd travel out of my way to find Bath Olivers.

Over-familiar staff who know about my everyday life would put me off going to the village shop

And over-familiar staff who throw a tantrum and refuse to sell you something on totally nonsensical grounds.

Little Underwoods' range of stock certainly sounds on the eccentric side, though, given that Fallon was cooing over the upmarket balloons they had for sale. I guess it’s possible EV drivers might intersect heavily with balloon-fans but it’s an odd choice of item in what’s essentially a motorway service pit stop. Unless the merchandising gurus thought everyone using it would be on the way to a party.

It’s the same with the shop though - that huge variety of sandwiches - how many do they actually sell? And where do they get them from?

That's one thing I probably wouldn't buy in the village shop - you've got The Bull next door, the Terum, the farm shop all of which would probably have better sandwiches. I think having somewhere in the middle of your village where you can post a parcel, pick up a paper, buy an emergency bar of chocolate or packet of crisps and pick up a bag of sugar or any bits and bobs you forgot to buy/ran out of would be completely invaluable. Indeed I can't imagine living anywhere where that is not a possibility (which is probably why I live somewhere where I can buy absolutely everything I need on foot!) You would definitely have to drive to the charging station (wherever it is located - still not clear) - isn't that precisely the point of it? @Bruisername is right though - the village shop has become a bit of a fantasy location selling excellent wines etc It needs to go back to basics - tea bags and custard creams, cash only for change counting and definitely don't change the doorbell!

@Bruisername and not to mention that when they had the use by date muddle involving Rochelle there were at least 3 different types of chicken sandwiches alone. A broader selection than Pret.

The shop is on the Green, as far as I understand, making it walking distance for much of Ambridge. But I don't know if it's got much parking, which will limit passing trade, and if you can't easily park there to pick up a packet of biscuits as you go on to meet Kirstie for coffee or something, you might just think, ah, I'll just go over towards Hollowtree and pick something up at the charging station, because they definitely have parking.

My Mum's village doesn't have a post office, and it's a nuisance. There used to be a Crown post office but that closed years ago. The local bookshop then agreed to open a sub post office in its premises but some time back they announced that it wasn't profitable so they were going to give it up. Nobody has been found to take it over (with the adverse publicity in that period about The Post Office, this is hardly surprising). There are sub post offices in a couple of other villages on the island but that's not much good if you're housebound or have poor mobility. Fortunately for Mum, she has wonderful neighbours who will drive her to a post office or do the errand for her, but not everyone is in that position.

I'm surprised the Post Office doesn't have to send over a community postmaster, which is what the Bank of Scotland has done since closing the one and only branch on the island (that was a blow too). Ferries permitting, a bank employee comes over for a couple of hours once a week and sits in the village hall patiently assisting customers who refuse to do online banking or have run into problems. I can't imagine she often sees anyone under 70.

I wonder if the charging station will have a bank of lockers for parcels. Our local sub post office has one and so does a nearby pub. This would have been an obvious service and source of revenue for the community shop.

Most village greens you can park right next to them surely?

Found this, btw. The Archers - Omnibus 14 February 1982
Shula's voice is about an octave higher than in recent years.

That's a shame. My youngest grandson is the same age and has mild ADHD and dyslexia. At his Primary School he was subtly labelled as 'not academic' but good at football. My daughter (also a teacher at that time) wouldn't make him go to the suggested after school classes for SATs as they were for the school's benefit not his and he needed down time. At secondary they did their own tests and put him in the top groups for most things. His confidence rocketed and with a small amount of help he is a different child.
I blame that on the Primary School focusing on high SATs results rather than the individual child.

Oh my goodness. I'm pretty sure I've never heard that episode before. A very significant one.

It was lovely to hear Phil and Jill in their prime.

I don't eat tuna, ham or any other pig related produce, or chicken. My usual sandwich shop was closed this week. Pret's offerings were very limited for me.

I’m a vegetarian and find pret very limiting

but a tesco meal deal gives you less choice than the village shop!!

My Oh my goodness! relates to just how much content there is in even the first ten minutes of the 1982 Omnibus. Seasonal wildlife reflections from Tom Forrest, feminism and the patriarchy from Jill and Shula, darts at the pub. And Eddie calling Walter ‘Mr Gabriel’. Absolutely wonderful stuff.

(Though I will have to remind myself about Myra. And listen to the rest another time.)

Was there a link in your post @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g? If so it’s absent from the thread on my phone - using the app. I copied and pasted to google and found it on You Tube.

I'd expect Tracy to sell on Vinted and need a parcel locker/post office counter. I suppose nothing ever gets stolen in Ambridge beyond the bunting and livestock, so they don't really need a parcel collection point as the postie just leaves it at the door. My very rural parents have a big plastic storage box outside the front door for parcels.

@Cantsleepdontsleep was that stroop waffles in the Netherlands? I don't remember them being available in the UK before about 2015. When I lived in NL, C&A only sold clothes, de Bijenkorf is like Harvey Nichols with a café, V&D was meh beyond the café and went bust. De Hema is still mostly thriving though by no means luxury, nor selling local products - similar to M&S. They recently downgraded the quality of their tea towels, sad times.