🏘️ 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!

Bear in mind Neil raised concerns, to which Susan would not listen, about the toll caring for Christopher's child would take. I don't blame him for absenting himself, although there have to be better options than Shula. The Bull, for instance (oops, alcohol, sorrynotsorry). It's mutton-headed Chris's problem to sort out, which he shows no sign of doing.

I was glad to hear Josh standing up for himself against David. He still has this tendency to jump on Josh at every opportunity whilst continuing to treat Pip as the wunderkind.

@theThreeofWeevils

"Pip caused a nasty outbreak all round the village" Doesn't surprise me at all...

Haha this did occur to me too. I did enjoy Josh recounting the Archers’ many fuckups.

@Terhou

I was glad to hear Josh standing up for himself against David. He still has this tendency to jump on Josh at every opportunity whilst continuing to treat Pip as the wunderkind.

Josh is twenty-four. I think it is time he left home. And since he will now have to replace all the hens which had bronchitis, and won't be able to be sure which in the two houses had it and have to replace them all, which will mean he has to buy in eggs for several months, he's going to go bust again; he might as well give up and go elsewhere now as later.

@JanFebAnyMonth

Maybe it will cause him to realise quite what his feelings are for Shula? She really isn’t bothered about him though!

Five episodes from 15 August?? Why has this not been R4 headlines???

It was fairly well publicised on Facebook and Twitter, but the announcement coincided with "the worst episodes in memory" and listeners piled on to complain about them.

I've missed a few episodes.

Why was Susan apologising to Shula today? What happened when Shula visited last week?

Please can someone furnish me with a synopsis?!

There's something in the air, isn't there, though? With Neil and Shula 🤔

And Susan is definitely aware of it.

Such intrigue!

What is it with these posh women hankering after working-class men?

Elizabeth with Roy at the music festival.
Lilian (and Elizabeth) with Vince.
Shula and Neil?

What next? Lynda having a fling with Eddie Grundy😲

No, sorry! Got mixed up about Lilian!

Who was her 'bit of rough'? The one who she called 'Tiger' and tried to tempt her away from Justin? Can't remember his name!

Just as a random afterthought!

Was The Mystery of the Stolen Bunting ever solved?

I don't remember hearing a conclusion to the story!

I bet Harrison has many sleepless nights gnashing his teeth about it.

Speaking of which! Have we heard from Gnasher and Tom recently? They seem to have gone very quiet 🤔

Lilian's bit of rough was Matt Crawford.

I wouldn't say that Roy was working class, and Vince probably isn't either..

Roy was born on a farm, so probably lower middle. He has a university degree and is a manager in a hotel. His elder daughter is a Moxbridge graduate.

Vince working class by birth but self-made.

That's the name! Matt Crawford!

Thanks for that 👍🏻

Did he run over someone? Can't remember her name, either! Or didn't he?

And what was in the suitcase he left behind the bar in The Bull that fateful night?

So many questions - sorry!

Where are you AQATT? I need your encyclopaedic knowledge!

I had boiled eggs for lunch and the shells were unusually thin. Spooky.

Matt was run over by Little Saint Nic.

I have a feeling the Great Bunting Robbery was solved, but I can't remember the details.

Oh God - Neil has gone completely bonkers.

I'm a few minutes behind, Ruairi is looking at Brian's cards.

I

Could live Cluedo be the new change counting? Discuss.

My money is on Reverend Grey in the Conservatory with a pie dish.

The Neil scene was excruciating.

Thank goodness for the 20 second advance on BBC Sounds when Neil/Shula got too toe-curling!

What on earth are the scriptwriters thinking of ???

So ... What are they saying? That Neil has taken all his anxiety and emotional upset over the breakdown of his son’s marriage, the revelation of his beautiful DIL’s alcoholism, her abandonment of his new granddaughter and the domestic stress that has caused - and translated it all into an unreasonable fixation on his former crush?

Goodness ...

It's the sort of thing that happens IRL.
Seen it happen.

I have a feeling the Great Bunting Robbery was solved, but I can't remember the details.

They found bits of bunting about the village, but I don't think we ever learned who the culprit was.

And what was in the suitcase he left behind the bar in The Bull that fateful night?

Don't think we ever found that out, did we?

@EBearhug

And what was in the suitcase he left behind the bar in The Bull that fateful night?

Don't think we ever found that out, did we?

Just like the end of Pulp Fiction...