😱 Archers thread #130: The Fall of the House of Aldridge. Discuss The Archers here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

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 look forward to Shula's first sermon, 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.)

I went for the obvious thread title this time. Poor Ruairi! We've had a good go on the last thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/a4289334--Archers-thread-129-Casey-Macy-Lily-Alice-Decent-types-or-full-of-malice-Discuss-The-Archers-here?msgid=109858475#109858475 at trying to work out where he's going and what he might be studying, as the SWs have not seen fit to tell us.

Whither now for Alice? Will Jennifer talk to Peggy soon? Good hint from Lilian the other day that at Peggy's age it's not wise to leave feuds bubbling on.

It's been a long time since we last heard from a certain Archer whose name I am not going to mention in case it acts as a summoning charm. Long may she remain unheard in the dairy or out in the fields, or better still somewhere near a sinkhole. That was a storyline that looked promising years ago and wasn't exploited as it could have been. Pah.

Over to you!

I have a soft spot for Brian. He’s got his flaws but his desperately cheery “Bye, darling!” while Alice screamed obscenities at him as she went into rehab was just heart rending. And who doesn’t love Lynda?

And I know Shula gets a bit of a pasting but she’s a gentle soul, if sometimes a rather daft one. Generally I love most of the Archers characters. Well, perhaps not Tom and Natasha, Borsetshire’s own self-appointed power couple. And Joy would get right on my wick, well meaning as she is.

No, it’s Kate that really grinds my gears. I still chortle at the time she asked everyone to tell her the truth about herself as a birthday present, only to flounce in horror when…they did

Ooh I agree with ThreeofWeevils. Justin is revolting but then I never imagine Lilian being able to manage on her own without a man. It's like that quote - possibly by George Bernard Shaw about Sidney and Beatrice Webb - saying that it was just as well they married each other, otherwise it would make 4 people unhappy if they'd married someone else. Not having much luck finding the actual quotation.

Hello BrightYellowDaffodil!

"It was very good of God to let Carlyle and Mrs Carlyle marry one another and so make only two people miserable instead of four."

Samuel Butler (Letter to Miss E M A Savage, 21st November 1884)

Just don't ask me who I like.

In case you didn't know ILoveShula (or I did until recently) and I can't stand Pip.

Welcome Bright yellow daffodil . What made you start (and keep on) listening?

Your garden sounds lovely asking . We have a wild flower patch at the end of our garden but DP likes things neat and tidy so it's unlikely to get any bigger.

@Taswama

IIRC it was around the time of Matt going to prison for fraud - I used to leave the radio on for the 6.30 comedy on R4 and started catching The Archers if I didn’t remember to turn it off in time. Slowly I got hooked and I haven’t missed an episode since…

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Oh superb, AskingAnsweringQuestionsAllTheTime. I must try not to forget it this time!

I forgot it so often that I eventually put it into a file of "things I always forget" -- the one of which I have lost for the moment (as happens all the time) is who the woman was in Dickens about whom it was said everyone felt it, but she felt it worst. But I have a friend who remembers that for me, and next time I remember that I have forgotten it and she is around, I shall ask her...

Do come back and tell us when you know it, Asking, because I need to know too, now.

Enjoying the fact that that whole episode passed without comment

Do we reckon Casey Jr specifically uninvited Lizzy or was it Casey Sr?

Who’s writing this week?

Can’t have been Steph, otherwise why invite Lily and Russ, and have Freddie as her DJ? There will be some weird reason for Vince lying. Maybe to do with his ex wife? Or he was too nervous to deal with introducing Lizzie and giving away his daughter?

who the woman was in Dickens about whom it was said everyone felt it, but she felt it worst
Mrs Gummidge? Whom I often confuse with Mrs Gamp but it's definitely not her.
here you go, Asking. Feels weird to be giving you info...

en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:David_Copperfield_(1850).djvu/57

Could it not be as simple as that Vince’s ex-wife will be there and he’s worried she’ll be cruelly outshone by the glamorous Mrs Pargetter? (She is still alive isn’t she?)

It’s a bit rubbish though. He’s supposed to be some sort of skilled wheeler dealer isn’t he? A gossamer thin lie that could be exposed in one phone call doesn’t really bolster his character portrayal. But then, he was also hopelessly transparent when trying to besozzle Lillian into giving away Justin’s secrets. Perhaps he’s just really not very bright?

Perhaps he’s just really not very bright?
Standard TA, innit? Big, powerful men are introduced to us as big and powerful but a few lungfuls of Ambridge air turns them pathetic and inept. Especially if they have a Brummie accent.

Why would Vince tell Liz in front of Lily?

Aha - this is TA seeking to distinguish itself from EastEnders. I recall from decades ago when I used to watch it, the preferred downfall was material rather than intellectual. People (men) would arrive from West End penthouses in expensive suits, driving powerful sports cars, offering to buy up everything in the Square. Within eighteen months they’d be shivering in a second-hand anorak, minding a market stall and cadging a room from the previously most despised character in the area.

But there’s surely no future for Elizabeth with anyone so daft?

[quote theThreeofWeevils]who the woman was in Dickens about whom it was said everyone felt it, but she felt it worst
Mrs Gummidge? Whom I often confuse with Mrs Gamp but it's definitely not her.
here you go, Asking. Feels weird to be giving you info...

en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:David_Copperfield_(1850).djvu/57[/quote]
Thank you, Weevils! Now I shall add that to my Notebook, and then probably lose the notebook. Such is life.

I wonder if the Delightful Steph, she of the bridezilla tendencies, has done this deliberately to snub Lizzie. Invite her son to be DJ, invite her daughter and the ghastly Fuss because “there’s plenty of spaces” but pointedly uninvite Lizzie, knowing full well she’ll find out that it was meant personally.

Hello!

Didn't know there was an Archers thread! Have been listening properly since the late 90s but have fond memories of being listening with my gran back in the 70s.

Favourites are Fag-ash Lilian, Lynda and I have a soft spot for Brian. Loathe Pip and Russ and I'm none too keen on Helen the Cheesemaiden. I miss Matt Crawford.

Welcome Toast!

Terrible manners by Lily interfering like that & her paying for her & Russ to go away as it was his idea?!! What a sucker.

You have excellent taste, BurningTheToast!

Eurrrgh ... I wonder if this night away at Grey Gables will be the venue for the conception of Russ Minor / Russella? Who will probably keep the Pargetter surname as Russ doesn’t want to get married. Can’t see any other reason for such a pointless exercise being given airtime.

(Yes, ok Junior rather than Minor - but it sounds so American ...)

The Disinviting of Widderbeth would be news to Steph: she Lily didn't even get around to mentioning that before she and Dauber were added to the list. Nah, Slaughterhouse Vince is all overcome with nerves, big girl's blouse that he is, and is terrified of cocking up his Father of the Bride speech in front of his sophisticated and refained current squeeze. It will either be Hilarious Consequences or Touching Reconciliation. (not envy) either way.

I am rather bored with the btb having someone behaving well out of character in order to Surprise The Listeners And Make Them Guess Stuff -- in my case the result is not so much surprise as a weary sigh when this is done.

I do love the portrayals of Lily’s snobbishness!

(Though the thing with Noli’s ‘urban’ outfit made me feel murderous.)

I don’t love the exaggerated way Steph has been portrayed so far.