🧦 Archers thread #133: Woolley socks it to them! Discuss The Archers and its Woolley thinking and plotting 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 would love to take part in the Mysteries, or other unusual views.

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 @ButtonSister and @BorsetshireBanality for title suggestions. I went with their idea in the interests of keeping the title fairly short.

@LillianGish and @FoxgloveSummers made cracking but longer suggestions, which (mashed up) will do a great job of kicking off our new thread.

Evictions (Tom and Tash), depictions (Bridge Farm Christmas card), conniptions (entire cast and crew of the Mysteries), convictions (Philip) and addictions (Alice) - what are our predictions for 2022 in Ambridge? All sure to make this the Best Ambridge Christmas Evah!

This thread should take us through to early January unless something very exciting happens (ha ha, fat chance). My predictions: this is a bit left field, but I wonder if Peggy will offer to buy the shop and flat so Tom and Gnasher (great coinage, whose was it?) can stay put. I don't believe Hazel is sincere about wanting to live in/regularly visit Ambridge. She's always been utterly two-faced and rotten to the core, why would she change now?

The Mysteries will, of course be a triumph and briefly borrowing the🔮 (sorry, Bore!) I expect we are going to hear them at some point over the New Year period.

Over to you!

Alcoholism may be a mental disease but it doesn't exonerate people from responsibility or entitle them to forgiveness. Alice was unforgivable IMO.

My feeling about Alice is that she made the nastiest possible attack on Ruairi, at a time when he had literally given her a roof over her head to his own detriment, for nothing whatever that he had said or done to offend her apart from ask her not to be unpleasant to Jennifer. So he left: Willow Cottage where Alice continued her tirade aimed at Jennifer, and the country. He needed time to get his head round Alice's (lying) assertions.

Then when she next saw him (because he came to see their mother at Christmas: Alice had made no effort to do anything to reach out to him about her vile attack or admit she'd done something horrible) she said "I am so sorry!" (And he said he was worrying about important things like his mushroom omelette: did she not take that as not actually forgiving her?)

Then two days later she had the unmitigated cheek to tell him she was so glad he had forgiven her, and that was a bit much for him to take and he told her, in no uncertain terms, that he had not forgiven her and was not likely to.

He is the person who has been injured in the worst way she could think of, telling him that everything in his whole life had just been lies and everyone he had thought liked him had been lying about it and I feel he is entitled to point out to her that it is not something she can expect to have him forget and forgive because she says "sorry" in passing.

Ruarhi is 18. Of course he holds a grudge. Why shouldn’t he?

@Roysnewshirt

Ruarhi is 18. Of course he holds a grudge. Why shouldn’t he?

Given what she said to him, I think it would be unsurprising if Ruairi held a grudge against Alice at 19 (which is what he is, he had that birthday in November) or 29 or 39 or 49...

I have known someone who didn't speak to a sibling for the rest of their lives on less provocation.

Did Ruari inherit money from Siobhan at 18?

Usha really is quite horrible.

No sympathy from me for Alice.

Never mind that: Lynda's llamas to the rescue?

Home alone watching the RI Christmas lectures with Jonathan Van T. It's all about viruses/vaccines/antibodies

Apparently llamas have teeny tiny antibodies,compared to humans so they are doing research to see whether that makes them wonderful, or a bit hopeless, vs Covid.

What a gamechanger for Ambridge: Move aside for Constanza and Salieri!

Usha really is irritating, I wish she’d stayed in Coventry. I thought Stella sounded very frosty when she was introduced to her but perhaps I misheard.

What Ruauri did to Alice was evil, it's going to affect her for the rest of her life. No wonder she said nothing to JD, she can't without it sounding like sour (unfermented) grapes. Clever.

@Madcats

Never mind that: Lynda's llamas to the rescue?

Home alone watching the RI Christmas lectures with Jonathan Van T. It's all about viruses/vaccines/antibodies

Apparently llamas have teeny tiny antibodies,compared to humans so they are doing research to see whether that makes them wonderful, or a bit hopeless, vs Covid.

What a gamechanger for Ambridge: Move aside for Constanza and Salieri!

Thanks for the tip off, Madcats, I might watch that myself. I could do with a beginner's guide to virology. O level Biology was a long time ago!

No sympathy for Alice here either.

I like Stella's voice, not least because I know immediately who she is when I hear her.

It will be 2022 when we are next in Ambridge! Happy New Year to one and all.

What Alice did to Ruauri was evil. And with less provocation

@Eastie77Returns

Usha really is irritating, I wish she’d stayed in Coventry. I thought Stella sounded very frosty when she was introduced to her but perhaps I misheard.

I thought Stella was extremely frosty to the point of wondering ifthere was some back story of their having previously met, and not liked , each other

@DoctorTwo

What Ruauri did to Alice was evil, it's going to affect her for the rest of her life. No wonder she said nothing to JD, she can't without it sounding like sour (unfermented) grapes. Clever.

No it wasn't evil. Ruairi was being honest about the consequences of Alice's behaviour.

Was the Alan/Harrison chat about Christ's humanity and complexity meant to be in stark contrast to Ruairi's rigidity and self righteousness?

This is obviously set up to fester and cause more problems, especially for Alice. She'll be off the wagon pretty soon, I guess.
I'm not too sure what Ruairi will gain from twisting the knife, apart from revenge of course.

It's hard to tell which is the real Ruairi now. Was it all an act towards Jennifer too? Adam? Where was Brian? And why didn't anyone wonder where all the money came from for the presents?
Questions, questions.

@DoctorTwo

What Ruauri did to Alice was evil, it's going to affect her for the rest of her life. No wonder she said nothing to JD, she can't without it sounding like sour (unfermented) grapes. Clever.

What ruari did to alice was evil??

@KimikosNightmare ok, Stella’s hostile reaction wasn’t just my imagination. Really odd. I also thought perhaps she knew Usha from a previous life and Usha didn’t recognise or remember her (which wouldn’t surprise me as she’s so self involved).

Perhaps she has become obsessed with Ruth and was put out at discovering she has another friend!

I agree Stella did not sound pleased to meet Usha. She warmed up pretty quickly, but I wonder if there’s more to be revealed there - although struggling to think what.

Ruairi obviously has quite an interesting set-up now, which makes me hopeful that we haven’t just completely lost him to London. I don’t have much sympathy for Alice apart from that she is obviously regretting things she did ‘in drink’ and there’s no way she can undo them now - she is reliant on others’ forgiveness or otherwise. I think she did very well to not be sloshed last night tbh - I also had suspected she’d have gone for vodka with the mushrooms, and to not dissolve into drink after Ruairi’s home truths will have taken considerable self-control.

Will be interesting to see what the new year brings. Happy and healthy 2022 everyone

[quote Eastie77Returns]@KimikosNightmare ok, Stella’s hostile reaction wasn’t just my imagination. Really odd. I also thought perhaps she knew Usha from a previous life and Usha didn’t recognise or remember her (which wouldn’t surprise me as she’s so self involved).

Perhaps she has become obsessed with Ruth and was put out at discovering she has another friend![/quote]
I wondered if she was upset at Ruth actually having another friend. But Stella seems too normal to behave like that. Unless she’s planning some kind of deception or scam on Ruth and was hoping for no witnesses

And there I was feeling snippy about the SWs long-standing failure to remember Ruth and Usha’s salsa dancing friendship!

Total BOOP for Keri Davies. Though I worry he may be the only person left on the creative team who has any awareness of Ambridge history. (Even recent history.)

I’ve enjoyed the fresh mixes of voices over the past few days, new connections and relationships being formed … Bodes well for 2022!

I am surprised Stella joined R and U at salsa night although I can see her as a mojito-drinker.

Stella seems normal. However I keep thinking Adam must end up back up at the farm eventually so there is a bound to be a backstory and big reveal that ends with her leaving.

She seems to have latched onto Ruth extremely quickly.

She seems to have latched onto Ruth extremely quickly.

It seems logical! Villages can be tremendously clique-y irl, so as a newcomer one is inclined to cleave to anyone who seems friendly and … like you.

And who else could the writers choose to put her with? She’s professionally occupied with land but isn’t an Ambridge heiress - so none of those. It sounds as if she has education and qualifications - so that cuts out another group of potential ‘first female friend’ possibilities.

And I’m pleased with any story that turns Ruth into a person who steps outside Brookfield.

I enjoyed Stella getting friendly with Ruth purely because it must have annoyed Pip.

Isn't it lovely to hear Mike again! I hope his reappearance is permanent, rather than a "we're doing you a storyline before we give you a big send off".

I'm less bothered about Usha, who always seems to sound slightly drunk to my ears.

Isn't it lovely to hear Mike again! I hope his reappearance is permanent, rather than a "we're doing you a storyline before we give you a big send off

As a (relatively) new listener of about five or six years, I have gained no knowledge of Mike, Vicky etc apart from what I have gleaned on here. A SL involving Roy’s Dad, who offers to decorate the bungalow for nothing seems very random to an outsider. I can only assume Mike is going to end up living there himself as otherwise, why introduce him. We have just had Bert’s death to deal with so writing Mike in, only to write him out again, would simply be gratuitous.

I was thinking of giving up listening as my NY resolution but the Alice SL has lured me back in for now. The SWs should know that they are on a final warning though…