🏘️ 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!

@theThreeofWeevils

...and who calls those 'service stations', anyway?

I would. I'm particularly fond of the Harthill Services Station.

( that's an in- joke for listeners in Scotland)

Has anyone posted the latest Charlotte Higgins TA review from the Guardian yet? I may have missed it. Anyway, only sharing out of habit - it lacks substance or analysis.

@theThreeofWeevils

I'm not a driver and not au fait with modern driving parlance It's probably me who is out of touch, in fact, as I'd call that kind of thing a garage or petrol station.

Petrol station? You don't drive in diesel cars, then.

And a garage, to me, is where they mend a car, not where they allow you to put fuel into one.

(Actually, I think the American "fuel stop" makes most sense, if it is as opposed to a Motorway Services which will also sell you expensive clothing, and tat to be last-minute presents for Auntie May whom you are going to visit, and food, but no spare bits for your car.)

Bloody hell - one enormous BOOP for Susan. (And for the writing.)

And Brian ...

BOOP for Brian and Eddie.

Shula really is an irritant. She must have heard the raised voices but decided to stroll into the house anyway.

Were there 3 instances of people saying "I didn't mean it like that" tonight?

No recent chilli in the Carter household, I think, and none forthcoming (if you'll excuse the phrase!)

The Relationship board should play clips from that episode to illustrate how the therapist in a tabard sets boundaries in her marriage.

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@Eastie77

BOOP for Brian and Eddie.

Shula really is an irritant. She must have heard the raised voices but decided to stroll into the house anyway.

That was my first though! Nosy mare.

Enormous Susan BOOP. Wonderful.

The last two episodes have had some really excellent dialogue and acting. More of this please!

Susan needs to lighten up and let Jenny have some time with Martha, though. In fact, Chris should be sorting that out not her.

Nasty shrew is nasty and shrewish; self-absorbed parson person is self-absorbed. So far, so believable.
Normally sensible Grundy-sceptic spills guts to a Grundy for no good reason? Nah.

Why hasn’t Neil told Susan about Shula? Yes, I know they’ve hardly had a moment to exchange two words, but this is a village. His weeding Shula’s garden would be common knowledge within 24 hours. Radio Carter may be the best channel for disseminating gossip but it won’t be the only one.

I think he tried to tell her about the gardening but Susan interrupted and ordered him to the supermarket.

Agree that Martha should spend more time with her mother's family. Susan running herself into the ground when the Aldridges are available to help (what does Kate do all day?) is silly and controlling.

@theThreeofWeevils

Nasty shrew is nasty and shrewish; self-absorbed parson person is self-absorbed. So far, so believable. Normally sensible Grundy-sceptic spills guts to a Grundy for no good reason? Nah.

Brian and Eddie talked about how Brian is the only person in whom Eddie confused about Will’s attempted suicide. Brian referred to finding Greg’s body in a way that suggested to me that Eddie experienced Brian’s distress about that first hand. Those two are closer than their social status might at first suggest.

Eddie and Brian were barely on speaking terms when Greg blew his scanty brains out, I don't think. Eddie was embroiled in his dodgy meat scam at the time and far from flavour of the month.

Will Grundy was underkeeper when Greg was gamekeeper. He was with Brian when they became concerned about Greg and went looking for him. Greg had killed himself in a shepherd's hut on Home Farm land. Brian looked in there and IIRC told Will not to go in. It would be natural if Will had talked to his family about it. Brian was always on very good terms with Will, as I recall.

Normally sensible Grundy-sceptic spills guts to a Grundy for no good reason? Nah

Well we needed Brian to be able to confide in someone and the only other possible alternative would be Debbie on Zoom but Tamsin is probably too busy to record. I think it worked fine to have Eddie as the confidante given the history. That’s the second time the Aldridges have sought support from the Grundies over Alice.

Huge Boop for Susan and her incisive analysis of the state of her marriage and then subsequent revelation about the secateurs. Perfect combination of rage and hurt. Agree it should be used in Relate training materials.

Ok Shula lovers, put her in a good light now. She knocks on the door, nobody answers. A normal person might assume that was a hint that the people inside don’t want to see them. But no, she wanders round to the back door, where she must hear that a row is in full swing. A normal person would creep off and come back later, never mentioning that they had been there at all. But no, she simply walks in, without, it would seem, knocking. Who does that? A normal person might just have texted Neil to tell him he’d forgotten his secateurs too rather than barging in on a household that they know is under a lot of stress.

Nailed it, @Chemenger! You could almost see her nose twitching with excitement at having the opportunity to butt in at that exquisitely inopportune moment. What a piece of work she is.

As for Brian and Eddy my feeling is that they have often talked. Eddy used to work at Home Farm regularly and Brian and Jenny always had a soft spot for William if I recall correctly. Their scene in this episode was very convincing. It’s been a good week all round. Susan and Neil’s bickering was also well done. The script and acting have been elevated this week.

Yes! And last week at LL was good too. Will it last?

@Chemenger, well, it's like this, MN lore has it that it is perfectlly OK for men and women to be best friends and that it never ever means that the man fancies the woman.

some of us believe that this is utter tosh and have seen enough affairs or emotional affairs happen between Oh We're Just Good Friends and the mess it creates

The other theory is that it wos the SW wot made her do it.

I would be furious if someone walked into my house.

I seem to recall that Brian was with someone when he found Greg? But I haven't looked it up and it was obviously a long time ago.

Eddie and Lillian used to be mates in the olden times as well.

Ok Shula lovers, put her in a good light now.
I almost posted about this last night but restrained myself.
Shula has kindly given Kiera free lessons. Shula kindly went out of her way to return Neil's secateurs.
People in Ambridge often let themselves in the house/garden or go round the back door.
However, Shula was sent there because Plot. The SW needed someone to stir up the Carters and Judy Bennett is on this week's acting rota.
It's the same reason that we had the unlikely pairing of Brine and Eddie.

Raise your game, SW! We can see the cogs going round and it doesn't help suspension of disbelief.

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