🏘️ 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!

Neil suddenly seems very wet. Highly unattractive, although I do like a practical man at home on a stepladder as a rule.

Yesterday a thin shelled egg, today I find my village is having a scarecrow competition. Have I accidentally moved to Ambridge?

The SWs don’t even know how to play Cluedo. Both Ruari and Brian show Jenny a card in the same round. Which totally distracted me from the big revaluation. Otherwise I quite enjoyed the Aldridge evening in.

Confession time! I have never played Cluedo so cannot comment on whether the rules were observed last night but yes, I too very much enjoyed being en famille with the Aldridges. Not sure about lemon in a cassoulet but that must just be a new twist…

Revelation not revaluation! Brian is still my favourite. It pains me to say it but I thought Shula was quite convincing in her frustration with Neil’s fussing over her.

@Chemenger

The SWs don’t even know how to play Cluedo. Both Ruari and Brian show Jenny a card in the same round. Which totally distracted me from the big revaluation. Otherwise I quite enjoyed the Aldridge evening in.

Haha! My exact thought re Cluedo too!

WheresThatCatGoneNow
Please can someone furnish me with a synopsis?!

ambridgereporter.org.uk/synopses/ has one each day. It is searchable within each year using cntrl+f

I really enjoyed the Aldridges game night. I’ve missed them at home! JD and Brian actually talk to each other like a long married couple, unlike Roooth and Deevid who barely seem aware of each other. Brian is probably the most rounded character in the Archers and has excellent comic delivery. “One out of four” bit made me chuckle.

As for Neil, I’m surprised Shula didn’t break her other arm decking him. PISS OFF. Was he trying to remove her wet clothing at one point?

Was anyone else waiting for the awkwardness of Mrs White in the Kitchen with the Dagger (starring Rob as Dr Black)?

Chemenger if you happen to see a lady in her 60's (with a fat bottom, if we are believe Susan Carter) riding past on a Thelwell-like pony, it is your mission to dash out and demand her mobile phone! How disturbing!

I am quite impressed that a post menopausal Shula simply broke her arm falling off a horse. I am much less impressed that none of the writers/editor know how to play Cluedo (though I do concede that we did have "family rules" to speed up a game of Monopoly).

The Neil and Shula thing is just plain weird.

Neil is starting to sound quite creepy.

Oh @Madcats! ROFL.

Especially for you.

Madcats The lady who runs the stables down the road from here is a skinny woman of a certain age with dyed black hair and the look of a chain smoking gin drinker. I would try shouting “hey Shula” at her but she’s actually quite scary so I’d have to be certain she couldn’t hear. I’ve never seen her in anything other than wellies and a gilet, I don’t see her donning a taupe cardigan.

never seen her in anything other than wellies and a gilet
Another day, another niche porn genre...

Ecru, darling, ecru.

Bless you, Whopping. Hayfever?

@Chemenger

Madcats The lady who runs the stables down the road from here is a skinny woman of a certain age with dyed black hair and the look of a chain smoking gin drinker. I would try shouting “hey Shula” at her but she’s actually quite scary so I’d have to be certain she couldn’t hear. I’ve never seen her in anything other than wellies and a gilet, I don’t see her donning a taupe cardigan.

That is rather how I imagined Lillian on her "not meeting anyone for lunch" days

@WhoppingBigBackside
I now have that song stuck in my head (which is rather unfortunate because I have two long Zoom meetings to get through this afternoon)!

I came on to say the same thing about Cluedo - both showing a card in the same round, and not following order of play either. Shame they couldn't get it right, but it was nice to hear them 'en famille' anyway.

Surely everyone has 'family rules' for Monopoly?
It's ridiculously complicated otherwise.

I knew Ruari wasn't 'straight'.

It's so obvious that he's in love with Ben.

I just hope that when Ben finds out, he doesn't react badly, and make Ruari feel like he is the lowest form of life on earth.

I've been there. I know.

@WheresThatCatGoneNow

I knew Ruari wasn't 'straight'.

It's so obvious that he's in love with Ben.

I just hope that when Ben finds out, he doesn't react badly, and make Ruari feel like he is the lowest form of life on earth.

I've been there. I know.

I knew Ruairi wasn't 'straight' since 1st June, because he had told Adam and Ian so when they decided the best way to discuss the matter would be to confront him about it on the first day that he was staying with them. Only they assumed he was gay, because Ian had eavesdropped on him and another young man having what Ian described as a flirty conversation on FaceTime.

Oh, and he told Ben he was bisexual back on 11th November last year, and there was no suggestion he fancied Ben then.

Ruari & Ben are sort of something cousins aren't they? I mean they aren't because Jenny isn't his birth Mum.
Was Phil Archer Peggy's brother in law?
That would make Jennifer and David cousins, and Ruari and Ben sort of second cousins.

We've know about Ruari for some time haven't we?
Since he turned 18?
And I think Ben knows already, doesn't he? Or am I making that up?

@TeenMinusTests

Ruari & Ben are sort of something cousins aren't they? I mean they aren't because Jenny isn't his birth Mum. Was Phil Archer Peggy's brother in law? That would make Jennifer and David cousins, and Ruari and Ben sort of second cousins.

We've know about Ruari for some time haven't we?
Since he turned 18?
And I think Ben knows already, doesn't he? Or am I making that up?

Not by blood, as you say; Ruairi is the son of Brian, who is married to Jennifer, and of Siobhán Donovan. Jennifer is Dan and Doris Archer's grand-daughter, and Ben is Dan and Doris's great-grandson, so I think he is Jennifer's first cousin once removed.