😱 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!

Christopher could be putting himself at great physical risk if he tried to carry on his business while knackered. He had a serious injury a while back when a horse kicked him
When he was hungover to buggery, let's not forget.

@Roysnewshirt

That's where Stella comes in

I think Stella would find Martha to be a great inconvenience if she went out with Chris. She didn’t strike me as the maternal type so I’d be surprised if she was interested in a single dad.

Someone has already said it but she struck me as Hannah Mk II (and that awful vet Mk II)

Who does live at Nightingale Farm these days?

I'm going to need a few more episodes before I make my mind up about Stella (which struck me as an unusual name for somebody in their 30's(?)).

As far as we hear these days Nightingale Farm is unoccupied. Last we heard, Matt was either planning to sell it or had sold it, and that was back before Matt left for the first time. If it it still has tenants, and Matt still owns it, they are living rent-free, I suppose: he won't have been in a position to collect rent from them for a while now. No wonder they never speak; it's in case anyone notices they are there.

@Madcats

Who does live at Nightingale Farm these days?

I'm going to need a few more episodes before I make my mind up about Stella (which struck me as an unusual name for somebody in their 30's(?)).

I know 2 Stellas. One is about 10 and the other is 7 days old.

Stella Maxwell is 30. Stella Banderas is mid 20s.

One Belgian-born, one Spanish-American. Neither of them, therefore, an English woman in her 30s. And Stella McCartney is pushing 50, for what that's worth.
Like Madcats, I made that assumption about character age and thought the name an unusual one.

Why on earth would you invest hundreds of thousands of pounds in a horse? Really didn’t understand tonight’s episode.

The only Stella I know is 40something.

I agree Chris seems to be doing less caring for his own daughter than most married dads.

No idea. There are racehorse owners amongst my ancestors, but I don’t seem to have inherited their enthusiasm.

Intrigued though, by the suggestion that Lilian may have been … exaggerating her sailing prowess. Even with the assistance of the Spoilers thread I can’t quite see the trajectory of this story beyond the coming week.

I don't think there was any suggestion of the ghastly pair actually sailing the thing themselves, any more than them riding the eventer in person. One does wonder what kind of money ratty old barns in Ambridge sell for.

I know a Stella who is 18.

"I am Spartacus know a Stella"

Presumably this week's YTS scriptwriters know nothing of Matt and Lillian's racehorse of some years back (Ambridge Flyer) or they wouldn't be recycling the horse-as-publicity storyline.

Getting rid of the archivist just as the editors entered a revolving door phase was a very poor decision.

@theThreeofWeevils

I don't think there was any suggestion of the ghastly pair actually sailing the thing themselves, any more than them riding the eventer in person. One does wonder what kind of money ratty old barns in Ambridge sell for.

What a pair of crashing bores they both are. One can only hope for a double tragedy at sea.

For once we find ourselves in complete agreement, KimikosNightmare. Lovely. Although 'tragedy' might be stretching it a bit

I taught a Stella (university) about 15 years ago.

The only Stella I can ever remember knowing will be in her 80s now if she's still alive.

Stella Creasy MP is 44, which strikes me as a plausible age for Stella [surname unknown], the new Home Farm manager.

There's a graph on this page (scroll down a bit) that shows its popularity over the last century. www.ukbabynames.com/girls/stella If this is reliable, it looks as if it's never been a huge favourite, but it's never dropped out of the stats altogether.

I knew one Stella, who would be in her late 50s now. Even when I knew her (about 45 years ago) it seemed a strange name to have given a child. Perhaps because the only other place I'd heard the name was a children's story about Stella the Seal.

I know aStellar but at least 60 years old. I love the name actually, but could not use it for my own children due to its lager connotations. I reckon that's why you don't hear it so much anymore.

So this is the most expensive horse Yacob has ever assessed but the prospective owners who are about to invest hundreds of thousands of pounds want to rush the inspection because they have a ferry booked to take them on a mini break to the Isle of Wight. Sure…

Wasn’t Justin strapped for cash not long ago? Now, just because he has sold the barn he is acting like a Russian oligarch. So weird.

It's the Latin word for star. You could have a family theme - Stella, Sol, Luna, Cosmo, maybe. I had a colleague whose son was a Cosmo. He'd be in his early 30s now. It was odd because his sister had a bog standard name like Emma or Sophie.

I know 2 Stellas, both in their 50s.

I’ve missed where Justin and Lilian have got all this money from?

They must be doing ok to be able to spaff it away like this.

Justin was unbelievably rude to Jakob.

So this is the most expensive horse Yacob has ever assessed but the prospective owners who are about to invest hundreds of thousands of pounds want to rush the inspection because they have a ferry booked to take them on a mini break to the Isle of Wight. Sure

That was my feeling throughout. Lillian isn't that bloody stupid, for goodness sake.

I’ve missed where Justin and Lilian have got all this money from?

Selling a barn. It must have been converted into pretty upmarket accommodation to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, and if that is the case the question still arises how they got the money to do that, and indeed when it happened. I thought all the property was held by Justin's businesses, anyway, not by him personally.