Thread #105: Curtains for Emma, Hilda - Joe? Red carpet for June Spencer on her 100th birthday, we hope! Discuss the rich tapestry of Ambridge life here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads and @DadDadDad for being our resident statistician and keeping the ball rolling when Pseudo stepped back a bit.

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'd like to be Susan's best friend 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/3439443-keep-it-to-yourself-the-archers-spoilers-thread-4, 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 BuckingFrolics for ideas for this thread title. I went with the less Rabelaisian of LG's ideas!

On 14th June it will be the 100th birthday of June Spencer, who has played Peggy Woolley since 1951. I hope the BBC has a lot of special tributes lined up to celebrate this remarkable achievement.

Checking in - thank you!

Thanks, Gasp0de. How old is Peggy the character? I have a feeling she's quite young compared to June - 95 or so.

Does anyone think the Jimposium (did I come up with that or did I subconsciously absorb it from someone else?) will be a disaster? Hey, SW, in real life, people plan surprises and they actually turn out all right. We could just have a nice untroubled moment celebrating Jim perhaps - such is the everyday drama of normal people's lives.

Yes, 95 this November. 13th November 1924 is Peggy's birthdate.

Re Jimposium (I like that too) - it could be a calm, happy occasion, but as this is a soap I think that's unlikely. Jim is a prickly character so it's plausible that there will be some tension about whether everybody will be nice to him.

Why would anyone think Jim would enjoy this shindig they’re planning for him?

I think Jim will love it.

I'd hate it but I'm not a party animal. Jim is not a self-effacing person and I think he will enjoy having people tell him how wonderful he is in front of an audience.

Yes, I think you're right. Even if he is initially grumpy about it ("I said no party"), the attention will please him, and he also seems to have grown mellow about showing his fondness for Alistair and will be (hopefully) touched by the effort he made.

When is it happening? Is it this coming Friday?

Yes, I think so.

There are 2 parties coming up- the Jimposium and Gnasher's Cuban Salsa. The chances of both going smoothly and everyone having a jolly good time are slim.

The chances of both ending with tears before bedtime /blood on the carpet are improbable.

One of them has to be a disaster. Faites vos jeux. My money is on Gnasher's.

I'm curious as to where the housewarming party will be. Jim's party sound awful.

A whole evening of people telling him how wonderful he is.
My FinL would love something like this.
(So I’m not going to organise one for him...)

Thanks Gaspode for the thread.

Surely the Jimposium is doomed because of Harrison's threat to get his revenge. He won't realise (because not involved) that it's a special day for Jim and will somehow ruin it.

Alistair's party sounded awful but turned out OK. I think its all part of Alistair and Jim finding themselves and therefore predict it will be ok.

Gnasher on the other hand...

My bet is that there will be some sort of sticky moment during the Jimposium but it will end happily.

Gnashers ... ok, pausing briefly to note that my autocorrect wants to turn that into 'banshees', so if that appears blame Apple - negligible chance of it going well. And somehow, whatever befalls it will be Tom's fault. Even though actually it isn't (well, apart from having married in haste)

The bit that I found most implausible in the bunting "tidy up", was Jazzer bribing Tilly with Cigarettes. In my experience young people don't smoke tobacco that much, and are actually more likely to Vape. I could imagine the Button girls being far more creative in their demands.

Why would anyone think Jim would enjoy this shindig they’re planning for him?

If he's already said he doesn't want a party, it's arrogant for anyone to embarrass him with a 'secret' event, if it were me, I'd walk out.

I am not sure that Jims party will go well. He has recently made a few references to his previous working life and not in a good way. It was something to do with it preparing him for the difficulties of negotiating with Tom.

Thanks for keeping the ball rolling Gaspode and may I congratulate you for getting the word Rabelaisian into the intro - good work

He has recently made a few references to his previous working life and not in a good way. Oh, is some former colleague going to turn up and out-Jim Jim with some erudition delivered with a touch of arrogance?

Thanks Gasp0

Did anyone hear Weekend Woman's Hour? They reeled off a list of women conscious of keeping up the appearance of class - Margot in the Good Life, Hyacinth Bucket ... and Lynda Snell. Whatever you may feel about Lynda, she's no Hyacinth Bucket. Susan Carter would have been nearer the mark.

I claim full credit for Jimposium!

He has recently made a few references to his previous working life and not in a good way

I wonder if there is some sort of hushed up scandal.

Can you prove that claim, @BeardieWeirdies, because I did a search and couldn't find it before I used it on the last thread. I did then wonder if it had actually been used by a character in TA (Alistair?), but for now I'm contesting authorship!

Thank you for the new thread Gasp0de.