Archers thread #203: It's Affair Cop! 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 would love to attend Pip's wedding with Natasha and the starry twins, 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-12-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.)

Starting the new thread a bit early as I'm not sure I'll have much internet access for the next few days. Fill up the old one first. And then - over to you!

(Credit for the thread title goes to @TripleSulko.)

I agree.

I started listening to the archers when my first child was born - I’d had second hand exposure of the Rob and Helen storyline via my aunt endlessly posting about it on facebook and a would occasionally tune in with a close friend who was a regular listener back in 6th form. I only a few months or weeks past where Amber is now all part of the circle - that being said there’s many other aspects of Ambridge life i’d prefer to hear about.

So all the storylines should be for those over 55? I think the Amber stuff is really well done - it’s realistic to have her being surprised at how hard it is, and I’ve enjoyed hearing the family’s reactions to it. This thread complains when things get too ‘public information’ - let’s just enjoy this for an interesting storyline.

Not at all. I have been listening for 50 years on and off.
But having thought the episode where amber gave birth was very good, I now think the SW are unnecessarily overegging it. We know she had stitches, why do we now have to hear about the midwife closing the curtains so she can check them? We know she's finding breastfeeding hard, why do we have to hear about her toes curling as the baby latches on and her cracked nipples? We know she's cried a few times. It's not like these things are remotely unusual, many of us have experienced them, so it's not an interesting storyline in my opinion.

Because someone would complain if they didn't.

I don't mind it at all, an added touch of appropriate realism.

I'm finding it interesting - we adopted so I missed out all the early baby stuff, and most TV programmes don't talk about it.

I'm finding the post birth stuff very realistic and believable, unlike many of the story lines of late.

If it helps even a few women, it's worth it. It's a counternarrative to all the influencer stuff that younger women might encounter. I think it's a really good thing. Archers storylines are better when they are relatable imo.

Its better than having a Birth Fairy where everything is miraculously quick, or if there is a problem it goes away instantly ( see Money Fairy, Job Fairy, Accommodation Fairy etc.)

If they could just stop mentioning the stitches.

Speaking of other things I'd rather not hear about, Paul continues to be mentioned but thankfully not heard. Why mention him at all? I miss Alistair but not Denise.

It’s clearly an editorial decision to highlight the realities of being a new mum. You can almost hear the editors patting themselves on the back at a senior exec meeting as they talk about how they have been trailblazers in this way. Where else have you ever heard stitches referenced ao heavily? Don’t we have our fingers on the pulse of what real women want? It’s so empowering etc etc. Blah blah.

Keira is so poorly acted that it’s hard to find her endearing or remotely of interest. I idly started to speculate on why she wanted to skip school and hang out with Eddie but it wasn’t long before I moved on. Any ideas? Either she really wanted to see the baybee (but then why not go back to school after the appointment) or she is being bullied. I can see voicing her for the future of the show is important but I wish they had cast a better actress.

I would have rather been at the stables last night- drinking White Russians with H and L…

I started listening to The Archers on maternity leave over 30 years ago. I'm really enjoying the Amber storyline.

I like the Archers best when it does feel like real-life.

I like the Amber as a new mum storyline. I've never found her job as an influencer in any way convincing. I think this whole experience has brought her down to earth with a bump - she may have been managing to portray an enviable lifestyle on Insta pre-baby, but now reality bites as a new mum sharing a small house with her in-laws. She might have been sent loads of stuff, but she has nowhere to put it and her life has now shrunk to having her stitches examined in a Grundy living room. It's hard to put a glossy spin on that. Amber has given birth to the Grundy heir - his destiny (and hers to a certain extent) is now fixed. It's significant that she has not yet named the baby - she doesn't want Joe and her mum counselled against Bill for similar reasons. But calling her child Bear, Wolf or River won't change much - he'll still be a Grundy however much she tries to rose-tint things on her Instagram feed. This is what The Archers is all about.

My inner pedant couldn't leave it dangling...

Same here. There's too much of it IMO. I think the PND has been flagged.
If people want to hear about the realities of giving birth and the physical after-effects, it could be covered by Woman's Hour.

I think it is to do with where the SL is going.

The Keira bits aren't great.

...he'll still be a Grundy however much she tries to rose-tint things on her Instagram feed. This is what The Archers is all about.
Funny that; I thought it was about the Archers..

Funny that; I thought it was about the Archers.

May I draw your attention to the definitive argument on this, @Every1ElseInKnowsley:

https://www.emerald.com/books/edited-volume/10910/chapter-abstract/80603481/The-Grundys-and-Their-Oppressors?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Thanks but no thanks. John Peel always gave me the creeps.

I want to hear about the Archers and rural life. Amber's only been in it about a year. Why did Amber's mother assume the baby would be called Grundy?

Pip, heir to Brookfield is getting married in a few days. As much as I dislike Pip, why are we hearing so little about that?

Why are the midwives always so sweetly-spoken?

here's an idea
the PSA re stitches is actually aimed at Keira

I have to say, I was in my mid 20s before I heard about episiotomies, stitches etc and I bet there are loads of men who have managed to escape this info

I imagine Keira is avoiding the girl at school who she thinks has been side eyeing her lately? (Even though Khalil tried to jolly her out of that particular worry.)

@slughater , it's something you learn about when sisters, close friends or partners have babies, isn't it, and would men who have not known about them really take it in?

People are more open about things now. All I remember from before my peers started families were comments like 'Jessica was a big baby and I don't think Lisa and Paul will be having any more'. Even friends and sisters didn't talk about stitches or cracked nipples. Parts of the body were referred to by euphemisms.

Might be me, might be them.

Is Keira's being bullied? Very surprised she got the emergency dental appointment.

Maybe it is the way I listen to the Archers. Some weeks I’ll just catch a bit of the omnibus and occasionally I’ll listen to it twice a day.

It feels to me that they are “doing” Keira the same way the introduced Khalil (introduced a couple of times then shoehorning her to far too many storylines). Unless you own one, teenagers are best experienced in small quantities. I bet Amber was delighted to have her rock up just before the midwife.

With it being Prime Day, the Mumsnet algorithms have suggested that I might like a breastpump (I’ve not needed one for nearly 20 years)!

They seem to do that with the new characters @Madcats . We get an overdose of a character we don't know or care about.

I'd love to hear the wedding preparations. I bet Pip will be an epic bridezilla.

@Every1ElseInKnowsley I worked in an all female workplace at the time and one coffee break (it was sooo long ago people had coffee breaks) everyone else was outdoing each other with tales of awful labours- its some wierd female machismo I think. After the woman I worked most closely with must have noticed how shocked I was and tried to reassure me. Must have worked as I had my firstborn about 4 years later.

I’m enjoying the Amber storyline - well not enjoying but you know what I mean. One thing I love about the Archers is not everything is a PSA or DRAMA, some of it is just the pains and pleasures of day to day life.

I appreciate the changing culture that means that people (especially men) aren’t seen as deserving to be “protected” from the basic realities of women’s lives any more that keep our species going. Periods existing/sometimes causing pain. Post birth having some painful and difficult elements (I really felt that bit where she said everything hurt). Etc etc.

As for the idea that Archers listeners are mainly over 55, maybe, but I’ve been told it’s also one of their very top downloads/listens with people under 35.

@slughater , I've always worked in mainly male environments,
weird female machismo - we need a word for that

@WitcheryDivine I don't really want details of other people's bodily functions.