💀 Archers thread #132: The Grim Reaper joined the cast; The Bard of Ambridge breathed his last. 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 think Shula will make an excellent vicar, 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.)

Thanks to many of you for title suggestions. @JanglyBeads said that this thread had to be a Bert tribute so needed a rhyming title. From an excellent field, I chose the suggestion from @BorsetshireBanality (who also has a cracking username).

Check out the last thread for the other suggestions and various poetic offerings inspired by Bert Fry's passing. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/4349822--Archers-thread-131-A-time-to-plant-a-time-to-reap-Discuss-The-Archers-here

So, who'll get the bungalow? Rex, Stella, Pip? If Rex has to move, will he doss down beside his pigs at Lower Loxley? Or will Rex be a resident at Her Majesty's pleasure, having bumped off Trevor for being the world's most boring man? Now Freddie's on the case, are Russ's days at LL numbered? Will we ever hear Jill again, or was Bert just the first of many older cast members to be dedded?

Over to you!

It’s true - Jennifer’s audible pain yesterday was wrenching to hear (particularly if one has lived through any remotely similar rejection). Maybe you’re right, Lil’G - I just want him to come back for Jenny’s sake - or at least welcome her into his new life. Perhaps in years to come she’ll see him elsewhere. Would be awful if he agreed to see Brian, but not her. Yes, the unexploded bomb is well signposted and could be exciting in the fullness of time - but the current hurt is almost unbearable.

The Alice thing is weird - divorce seems a bit pointless if she’s still living down the road. (As it already does with Shula and Alistair.)

Ben: "I don't know how, but he's doing a lot better than me on a student loan". Was it significant that Ruari "paid for everything" when they met up in London?

I smiled when they mentioned the Tango Society (are we to assume that the SWs are trying to tell us he was inspired by John and Johannes on Strictly).

Poor Jennifer, 2021 has been another sub-optimal year for her!

Would he really leave Ambridge for good because of one drunken rant from Alice? I know he’s young - but he had years of evidence that Jenny loved him, that his half siblings cared about him. People quarrel in families. Then they get over whatever it was. I find it hard to believe the context was such that he would walk away and never call Ambridge ‘home’ again.

I don't suppose shipping the poor sod off to boarding school when still a nipper really helps cement your sense of home. I feel to R "home" has always been Jenny, and now that the farmhouse is gone and his sister is being a dreadful arsehole and J spends all her time fretting about that, it must be a miserable time and not surprising he's seeking out the other half of his family. I'm sure he will be back though, it would be rude if he didn't come to see Ben for example.

Laughed out loud at Elizabeth saying to Ben "couldn't miss the chance to see you while I'm here"! You've never spoken to him before love, why start now?

I liked the sound of Ben's holiday. Was also curious about how R is managing, but I expect him being bunged guilt money by all sides of his family is more likely than him becoming a gigolo.

FoxgloveSummers - we’ve probably had this argument before but whatever Ruairi’s feeling it shouldn’t have anything to do with having attended a boarding school. There is no ‘shipping off’ these days in England - at least not where normally decent parents are making careful decisions about their children. If there are evil parents emotionally abandoning their children - they would do the same regardless of school structure. But there’s no point expending energy on this - we all have different experiences and perceptions. And the SWs certainly haven’t written anything to prepare the ground for later revelations of trauma.

I wondered about Ruairi’s riches … Jenny and Brian sent him money. Perhaps his Irish family did the same. But I can’t forget that he did tell Ben he wanted to get into something … lucrative. Really hope he hasn’t taken a shortcut.

I hate the horrible certainty of knowing that, in a few weeks' time, we are going to have to listen to Kirsty moaning on about how she regrets ever deciding to visit Philip in prison, it was utterly disastrous and he's still going after Bleak, oh dear it's dropped Harrison in the shit even more, why is her life such a mess.

Laughed out loud at Elizabeth saying to Ben "couldn't miss the chance to see you while I'm here"! You've never spoken to him before love, why start now?

I was so thrown by that I lost track of who was speaking.

Butteries/rowies are like deformed croissants made with lard. Vegetarian one are available but croissant are much, much nicer. People in Aberdeen call the rolls which is Wrong as rolls are crispy, slightly chewy topped thing as sold by coop in central Scotland

I briefly thought Elizabeth had popped into the stables and gone to see Freddy (even though he no longer lives there).
Was struggling to remember a connection between Ben and Elizabeth when I realised.

Are both Ben's girlfriend and dog called Beth?

Not quite. Beth and Bess.

I thought she said Beth. Had visions of Beth doing the herding

It would be utterly cruel for Ruairi to reject Jennifer's unselfish love and care, and it doesn't ring true at all. He was shaping up into a kind and thoughtful person, so unlike his sisters.

I hope Alice is pickled in a barrel of rum somewhere and never reappears. Her redemption is going to have to be pretty spectacular to win me over.

@EdmontinaTiresofNameFlipping I knew I wouldn't find much agreement on MN, but I guess my point is, he's spent long chunks of time away from Ambridge for many years. When many people go to uni, they might not have left their parents side for more than a sleepover, he's already got used to having two lives, two locations. Does that make sense?

(I actually tried to post this twice earlier but Things kept Happening)

Yes I thought she was asking if Beth was getting bored and he said that waiting/being patient was part of being a good sheepdog. Seemed a bit harsh.

Can't wait for Ben/Beth/Bess to move in together and confuse us all mightily.

I'm another one baffled by the Elizabeth/ Ben conversations - a connection we've not heard before.

But poor Jenny

And Ruairi suddenly flush with money? I'm expecting an outrageous reveal soon

Might Elizabeth's turtle dove brooch (?) Turn out to be the genuine article rather than fake stones? I'm not sure what its function will be in the plot otherwise.

I always thought Ruari was closer to JD than his father. Brian didn’t bat an eyelid when he left while JD was in bits waving him off at the station. I doubt he’d exclude her and refuse to visit ever again. When he told her he loved her before he left I think he meant it and I’m sure Alice’s demented rant won’t erase the affection that has developed over 14(?) years.

I was also confused by Ben/Elizabeth. The Archer cousins, aunts and uncles seem strangely distant given they all live in a small village. I had never heard Adam interact with Tony and Tom before he became a potato picker and remember being momentarily thrown when he told someone Helen is his cousin a while ago. I had forgotten as she only ever speaks to Ian.

Elizabeth was certainly hinting at permanency with Vince wasn’t she?

Poor Jenny. It’s horrible when you discover that someone has heard much more from a moved-away loved one than you have, in any circumstance.

@FlosCampi

Might Elizabeth's turtle dove brooch (?) Turn out to be the genuine article rather than fake stones? I'm not sure what its function will be in the plot otherwise.

That was absurd.

Well observed, FlosCampi; you may very well be right! There was no discernible reason for Elizabeth to mention it otherwise.

Clarrie sounded as if she was birthing a full grown turkey in response to Elizabeth, though. Was it because of the hated event, or just because the brooch might overwhelm the rest of her outfit?

FlosCampi to be clear, I meant the plot line is absurd- not your suggestion.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

I think it arose from speculation about what Oliver and Eddie have for breakfast at Grange Farm and whether Clarrie cooks it.

It was all my fault, and I wasn't even near my computer!

(As in, I have been away from it since Thursday.)

FoxgloveSummers
Laughed out loud at Elizabeth saying to Ben "couldn't miss the chance to see you while I'm here"! You've never spoken to him before love, why start now?

Except for all the days and afternoons that Ruairi spent at Lower Loxley Hall when he was younger; I expect Elizabeth spoke to him quite a lot then.

You probably missed it because he was a silent for much of that time, but it was frequently given as the excuse for his not being around at Home Farm. A bit like Ben being either out on his bicycle or playing computer games in his room for several years to get round his not having an actor.

Why did I write "Ruairi" in that post? I meant Ben! The excuses Ruth came up with for never apparently spending any time with any of her children until suddenly Pip could do no wrong were amazing.