😱 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!

God that was shite.

At least the Trazza bit was ok and I have a soft spot for Alistair and Jakob.

Maybe Lillian wasn't so wrong after all
Wally the walrus

Dire.

That is all.

I thought it was good that Lilian confessed to Justin - I was relieved she didn't try to bluff her way through her sailing past. These episodes do seem to be filler, nothing about the other plot lines at all.

@Notanotherusernamenow

As an event rider this story line is annoying me.

It’s an event horse not an eventing horse. And hundreds of thousands?? Ha! Only a horse with a badminton or Kentucky qualification maybe, or one that would make the Olympic team.

Most top level event horses would be in the £50k-120k. Not saying they’re cheap, but this story line is stupid.

My own I bought for £6k as a 4 yr old and was offered £30k for her at one point but as she’s a super mare and very well bred but then I couldn’t part with her as she’s the best horse I’ve ever owned. She promptly had a series of injuries and is worth about £5k now 😂. But I love the mad mare so I don’t mind.

They’ve spliced race horse prices with event horses.

Good to get this price info Notanotherusernamenow. Another hole in this plot is that Justin's ex wife Miranda was meant to be a top event rider so neither he nor Lilian are likely to skimp over the horse's health check.

I am looking forward to hearing Tracy sorting out the veterinary practice!

It is a bit rubbish this week. I don’t care about or even believe any of the stories - despite Tracy and Lilian being two of my favourite characters.

My only hope is that Lovell James might terminate Alistair, giving him a reason, finally, to leave Ambridge.

Don’t even get me started on the vetting process. Ridiculous. If you were going to spend tens of thousands, you’d get a top specialist equine vet to do it (best ones are in Newmarket, lambourn, Bristol, liphook, etc etc) not your local vet who seems to do farm, equine and small animal who is stressing out about a few scans! Also, the bloods and scans wouldn’t be valid for insurance purposes if they weren’t submitted within a few days (bloods within hours etc).

looking forward to hearing Tracy sorting out the veterinary practice

I'm not. Sick of Tracy, and finding her personality rehabilitation from stroppy, vulgar gobshite to goodhearted, feet-on-the-ground, friend of Oliver and pillar of the community a bit sick-making.
I read a book once ('green, it was') in which someone was fascinated by a Brazilian soap. One of the characters 'started out as a grasping and rapacious tart, became a tart with a heart and is now a modest and maidenly tart'.
If anyone recognises that, I'd be ever so grateful for a reminder of where it is from. I expect the scripties have a copy...

I know you are right Weevils and that Tracy has had some ridiculous plot lines - eg taking over as cricket coach - but Jakob, Lilian, Justin and Nancy have been so irritating this week that Tracy looks like a masterpiece in characterisation. Even the dog Mousse/Moose or whatever the name is can't behave properly.

I think they got scotties and westies mixed up, people do all the time.

I loathed everything about Justin and Lillian’s storyline if you can call it back. They seem very bored with each other and I can’t see why they bother. The delivery of the walrus bit smacked of intense Shame from the actor.

I really like Tracy and Jazzer though, and I’ve been quite moved by T worrying about Chelsea’s education and future.

I think they got scotties and westies mixed up, people do all the time.

Except tonight they mentioned its white face.

So presumably is named for a white chocolate mousse

@theThreeofWeevils

looking forward to hearing Tracy sorting out the veterinary practice

I'm not. Sick of Tracy, and finding her personality rehabilitation from stroppy, vulgar gobshite to goodhearted, feet-on-the-ground, friend of Oliver and pillar of the community a bit sick-making.
I read a book once ('green, it was') in which someone was fascinated by a Brazilian soap. One of the characters 'started out as a grasping and rapacious tart, became a tart with a heart and is now a modest and maidenly tart'.
If anyone recognises that, I'd be ever so grateful for a reminder of where it is from. I expect the scripties have a copy...

See also Bet Lynch and Pat Butcher - it's definitely a soap thing.

When Tracey offering to fix a printer is a highlight we know things have reached rock bottom. Shame to have wasted Frances Barber on such a rubbish subplot and putting ‘hon’ at the end of everything she said to Lilian showed poor writing again. Actually I think even FB failed to rise to the occasion and strangely over-acted her role.

It feels like I am moaning an awful lot on this thread for which I apologise but the shine is definitely wearing off TA for me. I don’t want to stop listening but there are too many caricatures and weak SLs (eg Roy and friends with benefits, Eddie and the limo, the scarecrow competition, now the yachting/event horse) around for me. Brian, Alice and Susan are single-handedly keeping me in the game at the moment.

@BoreOfWhabylon

I think they got scotties and westies mixed up, people do all the time.

Except tonight they mentioned its white face.

So presumably is named for a white chocolate mousse

Oh - probably a bad sign that I forgot to even listen yesterday.

It is harder to care when storylines are left hanging. They only seem able to do one long one at a time and everything else is two or three episodes or - much more often - just stops dead. How did Ian and adam resolve their row? What happened with lily and her ex colleague she shagged? What was the point of him? Why do Brian and Jenny live in a small rented house? Has Pip finally eaten Toby?

Have they got rid of Denise in order to bring in new nurse as love interest for Alistair ?

Yes, Frances Barber has been sadly disappointing. There does seem to be a thing with stage or TV actors being persuaded that a radio audience requires the sort of loud, over-emphasised 1 2 3! A B C! delivery one might employ for nursery school children, outside, in a hurricane. Who tells them to do this?

Surely it would have made more sense for Alistair to develop a sudden passion for Denise - who is clearly a splendid person? Far more likely than Shula becoming mad for Neil.

I imagine Denise has a well-organised home with a husband and her university aged daughter.

Maybe they’ll fail the inspection/review.

I’m sure she’s well organised - but she may be single.

I’m certain they will fail the review … (It’s time.)

Criminal waste of Frances Barber. Could they have crammed 'Hun' in any more times?

Perhaps Alistair will be able to persuade Denise to return. She sounded like a good character, and she's been mentioned as a silent on and off for nearly 20 years, as I recall. One of the regulars on the BBC Archers messageboard was convinced Denise was named after her, can't now remember why.

I feel for Jim losing his mug. I'm very attached to my favourite mugs - one for tea, one for coffee - and would be despondent if either got broken.

How long do tarantulas live? Webster has been a fixture of Jazzer's life for some years now.

How long do tarantulas live?

15-20 years, apparently, and up yo 35 years in the case of Mexican red-legged tarantulas. I wonder if Jazzer knew what a commitment he was taking on?

So disappointing when there are so many more interesting seams to explore. I would be quite happy for both Lillian and Justin to drown in a sinking of the Isle of Wight ferry - they have clearly reached the end of their shelf-life if this is the best the SWs can manage. I’m praying they don’t acquire either a yacht or a horse since either would doubtless lead to further out-of-Ambridge tedium. Dire. I used to like Lillian, but she has gradually turned into a caricature while Justin has always been too shape-shifting for me to believe in him - big businessman, bullying boss, affable country gent, pig farm manager and now moneybags dilettante looking for a way to flash his cash - changing personality and background to suit the latest storyline. Please move these two into the background - they don’t even need to die, just silence them and let’s move on to some character driven action in Ambridge.

I’m another listener here disappointed with the changes in Lilian’s character. She used to be fun. I never liked Justin though and rather miss Matt.

Fun fact: I once saw an Aston Martin in the car park of the Stirling branch of Waitrose with the registration number T1 GER and my first thought was ‘he’s back!’

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g
How long do tarantulas live? Webster has been a fixture of Jazzer's life for some years now.

Webster arrived in The Archers on 31st May 2019.

Thanks, Asking. It seems longer, but so do many storylines nowadays.