🏘️ Archers thread #129: Casey, Macy, Lily, Alice – Decent types or full of malice? Discuss The Archers here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads, which has now passed 125,000 posts! (See below for further details.)

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 lust after Russ, or other unusual things.

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/4197199--The-Archers-spoilers-thread-6-Cant-wait-for-7-02pm-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.)

For the thread title I was very tempted to go with @R4's title suggestion of Come follow the exploits of Brine, Lily, Elizabeth, Usha, Ruari, George and Helen. Know collectively as bleurgh. because on the last thread @DadDadDad, our invaluable statistician, identified a post from @ILoveShula as the 125,000th. Many of us felt it was fitting that the post simply said Bleurgh!.

However, feeling that was a bit niche for the casual listener, I adapted @MayIDestroyYou's title suggestion in the end. Thanks, MIDY!

Back to Ambridge this week, after our enjoyable sojourn at Lower Loxley last week! Will we go with Alice to rehab? (Hope not.) Will the petulant Adam make good his threat to leave Home Farm? (Hope so.) What will Jennifer say? (Lots, I hope, and preferably to Brian.) Will the fete be a triumph? (Of course it will.) Will we ever return to Brookfield, or have they all fallen unnoticed into the slurry pit? (Let's hope Pip did, anyway.) WHERE IS PAT? (Can't answer this one.)

Over to you!

@ILoveShula

How long befor Koyle gets barred from The Bull?

Yes, I would have thought one word from Helen to the landlord would sort it.

Actually, I've just been staring at a family tree to work out what relation Kenton is to Helen - I think it's cousin once-removed. (Helen's grandfather and Kenton's father were brothers, have I got that right?)

I think so, DDD!

Helen's grandfather and Kenton's father were brothers, have I got that right?

Yes, Jack and Phil.

Good to see Helen keeping up her maniulative tendencies even under attack - agreeing that Lee could go with to the pub but insisting she would do the taking was a masterly way of enhancing his reputation as a bit of a drip.

Oh, and wasn't 'odious' slightly sophisticated vocabulary to put into that intellectually stunted dolly-botherer's mouth?

• ILoveShula

  How long befor Koyle gets barred from The Bull?*

I kept thinking Jolene or Kenton would step in. They are usually on the ball with this kind of thing. But, y'know, Drama.

@ILoveShula

I was uncomfortable with the Pretty Woman story when the film came out. I thought it was creepy.

I would have told Koyle to sling 'is 'ook and that he'd probably find something to eat in the budget supermarket off the bypass.

As far as I could ever make out (I didn't see it) Pretty Woman seemed to be pre-50 Shades but the same sort of plot: totally unequal relationship with the cards stacked in favour of patronising rich git. I may be doing it an injustice, of course. I never really enjoyed the Cinderella story even as a child.

@TheSilveryPussycat

* ILoveShula

How long befor Koyle gets barred from The Bull?*

I kept thinking Jolene or Kenton would step in. They are usually on the ball with this kind of thing. But, y'know, Drama.

If the pub was crowded enough for Kyle to be appealing to onlookers to witness his being harassed, it is very surprising that Lee was not thrown out by Kenton (K getting hold of the wrong end of the stick and pulling on it would be quite NFK).

@AskingQuestionsAllTheTime, imagine a film called Good-looking Man

Good-looking Man is working as an escort. Attractive rich woman pulls us in a flash car...
She buys him the right clothes so he fits in ...
They fall in love...

@TheSilveryPussycat

* ILoveShula

How long befor Koyle gets barred from The Bull?*

I kept thinking Jolene or Kenton would step in. They are usually on the ball with this kind of thing. But, y'know, Drama.

It was all a bit soap opera/ Eastenders wasn't it. Going to the pub to confront someone ('have it out with')

But I thoroughly enjoyed the reappearance of Alice to disrupt the growing rapprochement of Brian and Adam

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

Kyle - belligerent Brummie or yobbish Yam Yam? R4 will have been able to place the accent, I can't.

Will Alice actually leave? She's right, of course, that nobody in the village will ever forget her drink troubles. Kyle seems to have been brought in to give us a long overdue reminder that small villages can be claustrophobic and full of gossip.

Excellent description of the difference. I am having flashbacks to the long-ago start of my teaching career in Stourbridge with all of these Black Country accents. If the kids lost their place in the book they would plaintively enquire, "Where am we?"

Hands up who'd be happy for their alcoholic mate to come and stay with them for an indefinite period then?

Just caught up with tonight's episode – so Alice won't be on her own as she is going to stay with Amy- the Amy who she lost touch with for years and who is now a midwife - therefore I assume Amy will be working quite long shifts several days a week - leaving Alice on her own but with complete freedom to buy alcohol and get wasted - what part of this is a good idea ?

Poor Amy.

Once again posted on the wrong thread ...

Tardy C&P:

At last!!!

Although ... My life would have been very different if there'd been a friendly vicar and countless open-doored (and long abandoned) friends to lift me out of every hole ...

what part of this is a good idea ?
All of it. She's out of Ambridge, unencumbered by sprog, and will have plenty of opportunity to do a proper runner to get away from the person who will be sending regular intelligence reports back 'home' and to somewhere Chris, JD, etc, won't easily be able to find her. Pretty much ideal, really.

If Layla really is a beautiful as Sissy Spacek in Carrie, Roy will be a very lucky man. What a mean comment from Phoebe and Kirsty.

Here's a curiosity. As I wrote above, I walked away from The Archers in 2015 and didn't look back. Maybe a handful of google searches since then over 6 years.

However, I made my post on this thread, making a very brief return to Ambridge, and since then half of the notifications I've been getting on twitter are pointing me to tweets about The Archers. That's either a remarkable coincidence or there's some data leakage going on.

Such a shame that Gareth is locked up as I think he would have been an excellent support to Alice. He seemed to understand her in a way no one else does - not least her own hopelessly imperceptive husband. I don’t know if it’s a good idea for her to end up with a convicted (albeit reluctant) slave master but once he’s released perhaps they could find a little house somewhere and rehabilitate each other?

Perhaps I have been watching too much Pretty Woman! Neat segue…By the way, I know the plot line is a bit suspect in places, but you’ve got to have a heart of stone not to enjoy that film. Many of my life’s references can be traced back to it. Not many weeks pass by without me saying ‘Big mistake! Huge…) while brandishing a shopping bag. Surely we all hope to find our Richard Gere one day…

Anyway…(shakes herself out of a moment’s reverie)…Have Kirsty and Phoeble really tracked down Layla? I think ‘Layla’ is smarter than that and someone is actually only using the identity of a south London teacher to hook in Roy. Mind you the catfisher is really putting the work in if they are doing puzzles with Roy online…

I think you mean Gavin @Roysnewshirt.

@Roysnewshirt, all you need are good looks. Have a dodgy occupation, Some filthy rich man will drive past and hire you, buy you pretty frocks and stuff and you'll fall in love.

I'd prefer a I was hugely successful in an understated way and had my own means. I am rescued by the Duke of Right/Mr Knightley and we fall in love and live happily ever after at Pemberley.

@TheSilveryPussycat

* ILoveShula

How long befor Koyle gets barred from The Bull?*

I kept thinking Jolene or Kenton would step in. They are usually on the ball with this kind of thing. But, y'know, Drama.

I was thinking, y'know, Budget.

Poor, poor Amy. That 'friendship' won't last long once Alice hits the vodka.

Indeed @CaptainMyCaptain poor Amy. Addict friend (so difficult to confront) comes to stay indefinitely… sits around all day drinking, helps herself to whatever alcohol you have in the house, spends all her allowance/own savings and so nicks your money or sells your stuff to get more alcohol. Brings random blokes home regardless of whether you’re on night shifts or anything else. And when you are at home together she’ll mumble on about how hard it all is and your supposed to be sympathetic because ‘friends’ and also you’re ‘used to dealing with new mums in difficult situations at work’. Key words there Alan: at work - not 24/7 in her own flat.

I mean, Alice clearly needs help and support working through this but making Amy 100% responsible feels like a mistake to me. I’ll be interested to see if we get to witness any of it or if this is a SW tactic to not have to write any difficult things for a while.

BOOP for Brian though - it really felt as though the penny had dropped for him last night and he realised what an almighty mess they’re all in.

you’re supposed. Stupid edit

Poor silent Amy, presumably?

I've spent so many years wondering when and how they would bring her back ...