🏘️ 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!

Adam went to Newcastle, Lucy Perks to Nottingham. They were coy about specifying where Brenda went before Betty died, but from the details given about the course it had to be Bournemouth.

At least they got a bit of realism into Ruairi's grades. It would have stretched credulity to have him miss his grades this year, coming out 2 points up sounds about right.

However, in real life they sign onto UCAS first thing, to find out if they are accepted, then they get the actual grades later.

Debbie went to Exeter
Alice to Southampton
Roy, Pip, & Ben went to Felpersham

I don’t think that there is necessarily much difference after graduation/in the workplace between graduates of Oxbridge and similarly academic London Universities. However there is a big difference between small town, college-based life and living in London as a student, even if you do live in halls. I remember going down to London from Cambridge in my second year with my friend to visit her sister, who had just started at UCL. Her living and social experience were extremely different to what we had experienced in Cambridge. I had friends at Cambridge who wished they had the whole of grown-up London at their feet. I was content to stay in the Cambridge bubble and experience all that later.

I remember when JD inherited the money from John Treggoran (not confident about my spelling there) and she insisted on splitting it five ways between all the children and Brine being very touched that she included Ruari.

@HaveringWavering

I don’t think that there is necessarily much difference after graduation/in the workplace between graduates of Oxbridge and similarly academic London Universities. However there is a big difference between small town, college-based life and living in London as a student, even if you do live in halls. I remember going down to London from Cambridge in my second year with my friend to visit her sister, who had just started at UCL. Her living and social experience were extremely different to what we had experienced in Cambridge. I had friends at Cambridge who wished they had the whole of grown-up London at their feet. I was content to stay in the Cambridge bubble and experience all that later.

Yes indeed. I loved the fact that when I walked out into Gower Street nobody knew I was a student or anything about me. I was just another Londoner. Loved London so much, in fact, that I've never left. Well over 40 years here now.

From what we know of Ruairi so far, I suppose Economics or Law are the likely degree subjects, or just possibly Maths, all with a view to making a lot of money from a London-based corporate job or profession. I feel we'd have been told if he was going to do a science subject (no idea why I feel this, though, given the SWs' track record).

Lily went to Manchester and dropped out very quickly, as Ambridge women have a tendency to do. I suppose Ben's just evened things up there, but he's going straight onto a vocational course which (I hope) will lead to a good career.

Remember when Lily got her A’Level results, on the same day Freddie was in court? And her mother didn’t even remember it was Results Day. I thought that was bad - but Ruairi’s day was even worse.

I was amazed to hear Jennifer saying she remembered Kate's results day. Did Kate pass anything at all?

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

I was amazed to hear Jennifer saying she remembered Kate's results day. Did Kate pass anything at all?

Probably not, which would be why JD remembered it so well Gasp0de

When did Kate run off with the day's takings from the fishing lake? I thought that was not long before her GCSE results were due, but I may be misremembering that. Was she expelled from her boarding school and had to go to Borchester Green? Did she put in time at Borchester FE college, during which period she got involved with Roy and had Phoebe? All so long ago I can't remember now.

I don't remember any of that Gasp0de. Was during my decades-long hiatus when I was busy enjoying myself in forrin parts.

Changed my name for this because: why wouldn’t I… but I worked in a certain University’s marketing department when Alice joined it. At the time I was only vaguely aware of TA in a “if it’s on in the background” sort of way. But a person quite senior in the department wanted to participate more in the online conversations.

Anyway. Caught up after a hiatus.
Ian’s stomp in the pub?
St Smugula and the lasagne? (Has anything in her and Alistair’s relationship changed since divorce)
There are some weird personality changes.
Have we heard anything from Lily since her night with someone her own age or have I missed it?

I'm only half listening, but who do we think Usha's contact is?

Rob Rinder?!

I could see him being a fan.

Oh dear. Listening to it now and am welling up. Oh Jenny.

Jackie Weaver (except I'm not sure that would be encrypted her employer

@stilldumdedumming

Jackie Weaver (except I'm not sure that would be encrypted her employer

Oh that would be awesome. I rescind my Rinder suggestion (partly because on reflection I don't think Lynda would be so impressed with him).

BOOP for Jenny and Ruairi.

Scary though. Doesn’t sound like we’ll be hearing from him again in several lifetimes ...

I welled up too. But thought afterwards that Jenny rather made it All About Her.

It's always about her. Ruairi's great. ILoveRuairi.

We haven't got a new thread yet and we need one quickly.

It sounded like he was going away for a Very Long Time.... 😢

It's always about her
An ostentatious pelican. Which sounds like a bad pub-renaming from 25+ years ago: The Ostentatious Pelican, all shabby chic + fake ormolu with quite a lot of nose-to-tail eating on the menu snd an unfortunate stuffed Pelecanus onocrotalus in a glass case at the end of the bar.

Did JD really make it all about her? Not sure I agree, loath though I am to give her any credit. She was trying v hard not to snivel and was desperate to convey to Puair Roori that he is loved and that she is sorry for his going away.

@Edmontine

BOOP for Jenny and Ruairi.

Scary though. Doesn’t sound like we’ll be hearing from him again in several lifetimes ...

Yes to both of these.

I loved this episode. JD did great, I felt so sorry for her. Bloody Alice & her poison.

ILoveJennyDarling. She's so consistent. Brine and JD and now Ruairi are my favourites. Shula is out of favour

And I still hate Pip.