😱 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!

The products are by Unilever

Ah I clearly think in terms of spelling and rhymes! Of course Lever is a surname

So I was thinking "Leaver" (as can be seen in my previous post)

Pre-Am-Ex?

I think I will skip tonight.

I don't think @TheSilveryPussycat was saying "Lever" or "Leaver" is not a plausible surname, just that it's unlikely you would mis-remember it as Weaver. I think the point is that the initial letter of a word is normally a strong anchor.

Funnily enough, last week I was trying to remember the name of a teacher when I was at a school and could only recall a first syllable. In the process of writing this post, the whole name came to me, and that first syllable was right!

Actually, small correction, I didn't quite remember the first syllable correctly, but I certainly had the initial letter right.

Ambridge Extra on Radio 4 Extra. Was a dreadful, ill-conceived spin-off with alternately outlandish or cringeworthy plots. Gone but hard to forget ...

@WhoppingBigBackside

The products are by Unilever

Formed by a merger with Lever brothers originally. Port Sunlight etc. I once had to sit through a demonstration of Unilever products by Marguerite Patten. Very tedious and no mention of food!

Jackie Weaver was easily the most convincing and least wooden of all the 'celeb' inserts. Princess Margaret was particularly excruciating, and she was supposed to fancy her thespian skills.

Any chance JW could replace Pip somehow?

Nice little promo from The Archers for this episode. She is a genuine fan, by the sound of it. twitter.com/BBCTheArchers/status/1426972489587036164?s=20

Nice to hear Usha reminding people she’s a criminal lawyer and can’t be expected to know everything. BOOP for the Ambridge middle aged woman mafia sorting things out. Only unBOOP for Alan talking to Usha like she is someone who does the flowers rather than his wife of many years. Never heard the word darling sound so awkward. He should leave it to Jenny.

I had a teacher at school called Miss Leaver, spelt with an a.

I do hope the delinquent members of the Handforth council were listening, if only because it would have annoyed them so much.

D^3 you're my knight in shining armour

I like Ruari too. He comes across like a decent human I might actually know, which you'd think wouldn't be that unusual in a decent quality drama but...

This is why he had to leave Ambridge. Though I predict he will be back when Brian dies (possibly accidentally at the hands of Adam or Alice,) and it's found he updated his will to leave the farm to Ruairi.

I found it refreshing that Usha, whom I would happy never to hear from again with her nauseating lithping ickle gurly voice ( the woman is purportedly a professional, ffs), was revealed as NOT being the fount of all wisdom.
And she's not a good criminal solicitor either. If Lizzie the Widow had used a competent firm, Freddie wouldn't have done time at all.

In real life the Lower Loxley family wouldn't use the local solicitors for anything. Private client work would be done by a discreet but expensive city firm. That firm wouldn't itself do criminal law but would have been immediately consulted to put Elizabeth in touch with an expert criminal firm.

But do pray tell me what a "professional " is supposed to sound like? There's nothing wrong with Usha's voice. I know a very senior employment law judge you'd probably rubbish too because of her voice.

One of my bugbears is how often female friendships are just dumped because a character becomes designated as silent. Usha and Ruth used to celebrate their birthdays together. Before Pat went silent there were loads of occasions where she would have needed Cathy. Shula has never replaced Caroline but doesn't seem to mind. And why isn't Susan currently confiding in Carrie?

Indeed, Faceicle - is it because most of the SWs feel their position is too precarious to protest? They’re writers - they must care about character portrayal ...

And I woke up worrying about how lonely Ben might be without Ruairi. Though they have FaceTime and whatever else they might use to stay in touch.

It does seem callous to apparently split them up so definitively. Of course they’d have been separated by their different study locations, and I can imagine that they might meet up outside Ambridge, - but I don’t get the impression they gave that aspect of Ruairi’s exit any thought at all.

Was it a salsa class Usha and Ruth used to attend together?

One of the rubbish things with Brookfield over the past few years is how separated from the rest of the world, and Ambridge, Ruth and David seem to have become. It’s part of what makes them boring. Most of the time we get village residents interacting with the world, then we switch to Brookfield and it’s Just Them, juggling their money around and talking about themselves.

@TheSilveryPussycat

D^3 you're my knight in shining armour

Err, blimey, don't say that, @TheSilveryPussycat - I was worried enough already that my comment would be read by some as a slightly patronising "what the lady was trying to say..." interruption. (Not my intention).

I know you can speak for yourself, but I'm glad I could be helpful.

But do pray tell me what a "professional " is supposed to sound like? There's nothing wrong with Usha's voice. I know a very senior employment law judge you'd probably rubbish too because of her voice.
Male I expect, and if you're not male you're supposed to lower your tone a la Margaret Thatcher; and wear "business" suits which approximate to men's traditional clothing -so navy blue pin stripes good, pink bad. That was the advice I was given at the beginning of my professional career, which I have made a point of ignoring, not to my detriment.

Just caught up.
Yes blink hard and move on.
I still find the JW love weird. They were twats and she was doing her job. It is not remarkable and PCs are like this. Often.
And yes the Usha darling was very awkward and shoe horned. Absolutely stood out.

That all did I shall claim my prize for guessing Jackie Weaver as the sleb 🏆

@Edmontine

Was it a salsa class Usha and Ruth used to attend together?

One of the rubbish things with Brookfield over the past few years is how separated from the rest of the world, and Ambridge, Ruth and David seem to have become. It’s part of what makes them boring. Most of the time we get village residents interacting with the world, then we switch to Brookfield and it’s Just Them, juggling their money around and talking about themselves.

This is really true! And whenever someone else invites them to be part of something they just whine about it.

And I woke up worrying about how lonely Ben might be without Ruairi. Though they have FaceTime and whatever else they might use to stay in touch
Which is why Ben is second on my list of suspects after Alice herself on the Alice scarecrow question. He's not a horrible spiteful person, but will have been very hurt on Ruaraidh's behalf by the things Alice said, and he's just lost his best friend because of her.