Archers thread #197: Runs, Ambridge, runs! 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 find it credible that Kate, who changed continents twice to get away from her own children, has now morphed into Grandmother of the 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 https://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.)

Well, Finlay may have made good his escape, but we're all still stuck inside the Borsetshire forcefield. The cricket team is rising phoenix-like from the ashes but will now be The Bull's team, not Ambridge's. Will Alice and Rex make a go of things? Will George cope with a month off the booze? Will the real Brian Aldridge re-appear? Will we hear a bit more about farming? We did get a lambing scene the other night, which was good.

Over to you!

P. S. The pointless new AI title generator MN has introduced in spite of absolutely nobody ever asking for it wanted to call this thread something like Discuss The Archers here, no spoilers. I won't be following its suggestions.

Whoops! That's so funny @FizzingAda don't think it would have occurred to me to take the battery out either!

Yes, I suspect Carol might not be with us much longer... although from her voice she does sound remarkably well! 😉

Could George and Amber afford the rent on Glebe Cottage?

Agree with the idea that George could be buttering up the Aldridges, he's even admitted to Ruairi he tends to play the victim, yet there he is playing the victim about his tough life.

I suspect that George and Amber couldn't afford the rent on one of Kate's yurts. Sorry, Poppy, you'll have to find somewhere else to live.

Wow what an episode, really felt for Ruairi breaking down and Lynda being her best, kind and supportive. I felt quite tearful.

To me Carol doesn't need to sound as old as Jill. She lives independently so I assume she's made of sturdier non-reedy stuff. Carol / Mia Soteriou's Spotlight page says 65 years to 72 years (presumably for on screen) https://app.spotlight.com/3874-6753-6183 which I assume is around her actual age. But you never know with actors! She was in Game of Thrones for a bit in 2011 and looked around 55-60. But she played a desert witch so that might have aged her. Here it says her first role was in 1983 https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0815420/

Usha / Souad Faress is 77 irl and her voice has started to age to my ears.

At least they're not forgetting about Carol altogether.

Brian channeling Jennifer: 'Good grief Jenny - I'm related to a prostitute!'

Apropos of nothing, how come Rex can now spare the time to play cricket? Is it just because Alice is going to play as well? Or because the pub team won’t be as intense training- and pressure-wise as the proper team?

How come?

Probably because the SWs have forgotten what they wrote last year …

Oh yes, silly me!

I'm with Lynda, don't bother messing about with a pub team, bring back the village team. They've got some decent players, they have a recruitment issue, need to spread the net further.

@echt , I didn't say they need to sound reedy, but Carol Tregorran would be roughly the same age as Judi Dench or Sheila Hancock, who while not sounding reedy, they don't sound middle-aged.

For radio it does help when people sound around they age they are meant to be especially when it's a character we haven't heard for years. She doesn't necessarily need to sound frail but our voices all age.

Brian sounds at least 70s, Tony 60-70
Lynda and Lillian 70s...
Carol Tregorran about 45 😆

I agree. If the potential players ar too pissed off with the previous management, they can surely carry on without them. Presumably also being the Ambridge team rather than the Bull team would open the door to George joining them.

Great episode. Loved Brian. And Justin chucking in Julienne. Was that her name?

Julianne, IIRC.

I'd suggest that it is time Lily, Freddie and Lynda all resigned, after the pig's ear they made of the team last season. I thought Lynda had.

And she does not own the cricket pitch, and should be made aware that it is not for her to decide to allow someone to use it for grazing his sheep on.

The Annual General Meeting ought to be about now, and all three of those wastes of space should be voted out if they lack the honour to resign. Then the club can decide how best to tell Ed to get orf their land...

What was that share buyer woman going on about? Did she say it was hard for 21 year olds because they had mental health problems? I wasn't aware that all 21 year olds suddenly had mental health problems, absolutely ridiculous statement.
No wonder people think they're snowflakes.

Neither do all 21 year olds find it difficult to get a job or pay rent. I have nieces and nephews that sort of age who have graduated, got good jobs and pay rent, seems to be usual amongst their friends too, and they're mentally absolutely fine.

She didn't say all 21yos had mental health problems, but she did imply that they are very prevalent, and they certainly seem to be much more out in the open than they were when I was growing up. Hard to know whether younger people really are more anxious and depressed than previous generations or just a lot more willing to admit it. She's right that the things older generations took for granted are not nearly as affordable now. So much has changed.

Yes I think it was a fair observation that many young people are struggling at the moment. The data on mental health certainly shows a declining picture for children and young adults. Recent ONS results showed that unemployment in young people is the highest it's been for 10 years. Graduate level jobs are becoming insanely competitive for salaries that are now barely above minimum wage due to wage stagnation. The number of basic jobs in retail and hospitality are falling so young people often can't even get themselves a job to tide them over while they are job hunting in their sector like people used to be able to do. Add in cost of living and sky high rents and it's no wonder they end up feeling bleak and disillusioned.

It's also a matter of pathologising normal emotions and behaviours. I agree it can be very tough for college/university leavers but when so much of their school years have been focused on tuning into their MH and being told they've got anxiety, depression, social anxiety it makes it hard to build resilience. Every other poster on MN claims to have ADHD or a child who is ND, it's no wonder that MH services are overloaded as Azra was saying and can't deliver.

What might be interesting would be her "call to arms" - did she say something about an allotment club?

Not everyone who is ND needs mental health support. You can need mental health support and not be ND, and vice versa.

FWIW, I’ve had treatment for depression on and off for 20 years, and I am also ND. Mental health treatments work, there’s just not enough publicly funded support, or awareness or understanding of either in my experience.

I’m glad there’s less stigma around mental health problems now. I’ve never had a day off sick due to MH as I worry about being labelled. I would think twice about calling in sick for a vomiting bug or tonsillitis.

Agreed about there being less stigma. Young people are far more aware than previous generations. Guess I am one those "claiming" to struggle with various issues then. Myself and at least one of my DC have ADHD. Trust me I don't need to sit on a waiting list for several years to know this. It all came crashing down for me when I hit severe burnout and needed several months off work. Years ago I wouldn't have had any support and ended up in a far worse situation, maybe unable to return to work at all.

I have been in the situation of being signed off for 3 months and eventually leaving work due to MH issues. All the more reason to help young people realise that not having a boy/girlfriend at 15 or falling out with your friends or being bored etc is not a mental health problem it is part and parcel of real life. Teenagers need help with resilience too.

Feel free to tell me I have low standards but I really enjoyed the Justin and Tracey scenes. I have high hopes the SWs are going to give us what we want… a success for Chelsea.

I wonder if there'll be something about fuel prices and fertiliser shortages as a result of the Gulf situation? Could be very serious for farms.

I found myself getting quite cross on Justin’s behalf for a moment there. Don’t worry, I copped on to myself eventually. I don’t believe Tracey would be that rude though.

No, she's polite in a direct way and certainly not insensitive.