Archers thread #144: Window pains again! Light relief or dark times ahead for Ambridge in 2023? 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, although we do mostly try to be civil about it. Most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you’d love to volunteer in the shop with Susan, 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/4636789-the-archers-spoilers-thread-7-cant-wait-for-702pm-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.)

New year, new thread. Many thanks to @LillianGish for the window pains pun! Hoping to hear a lot less from the Caseys this year and a good deal more about farming and how Ambridge is coping with Brexit, cost of living crisis, ageing population and all sorts of credible character-based storylines. Yes, I know, but one can only hope.

Over to you!

Just caught up with last nights episode. Poor Brian, I don't think he is going to cope very well is he.

I thought the scene with Chris and Alice was lovely, after everything she clearing still really cares for Ruairi and Chris really cares about Alice. A part of me would still like to see them fall in love again eventually.

I hadn't realised Ruairi had gone so AWOL. I remember him telling Alice what he thought of her but didn't know even Jennifer had barely heard from him. What's going on there then? Is Julianne controlling him? I seem to remember he was starting to have feelings for her. Suppose Ben has had too much of his own problems going on to keep tabs on Ruairi and just assumed he's busy enjoying uni.

Ruairi’s lack of response put up my blood pressure yesterday, even though we know why. We have an undergraduate in the family - and while we obviously don’t expect them to check in every day, if they ignored countless urgent texts, WhatsApp messages, emails (for no apparent reason) we would be mildly frantic about their welfare.

so glad other people enjoyed the clips of Jennifer. I just found this one of one of their more memorable moments! www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p015vfs2

I didn't know about Peggy. Why don't they dead them at the time of retirement? It seems silly to make them silent, and have to resolve their departure at some point.

Or maybe not dead them. Can they not go somewhere (tho I suppose where would Peggy go?!)

But I'm sad to realise Peggy is gone, I hadn't known.

No me neither re Robert. It's strange, I feel really sad hearing that 😢

Jennifer and Brian were my favourite storylines. It wasn’t the same when they had to sell up but this … 😢

I had thought there had been hints for Jill's demise. Now the family has reconciled she can pass away (I hope).

(Apologies, not a fan of Jill). So sad about Jenny, same age as my mum it's all rather close to home

I still miss Jenny’s Albion kitchen 😞.

Thanks for that, so good to hear her voice one last time on TA.

There's this as well. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/s6TrgP0xHM0nSn5qmlnrBC/the-story-of-brian-and-jennifer

Enjoyed this but sad they missed off Jennifer saying "oh Brian, I'm related to a Horrobin" 😂

That was classic, the rather snobbish side of Jennifer but very funny!

Have none of the Aldridge's thought of picking up the phone to Ben to see if he can get hold of Ruari to say "for god's sake call home"

His least favourite person showing up on his doorstep isn't the way to break the news

Plus they are going to arrive in the middle of the night and they don’t know where he lives - how’s that going to work out? They could have waited till the morning and called in at the LSE surely.

I've been assuming he's at LSE, but we've never been told. Just 'London'. There are many, many places of higher education in London. We don't even know what course he's on, do we?

I know universities have to be very hot on data protection but surely if a relative turned up and said 'We can't get hold of X and we need to let him know his mother's died' the university could email or message or even phone the student directly and tell him he needs to contact his family urgently. Presumably Ruairi is still on the course ...

I think phoning the university in general would have been the more obvious approach, but I suppose they have an alternate need for the storyline.

Yes, I'm expecting some sort of confrontation between Julianne and Alice. 'Well, of course I'm very sorry your mother's died, Ruairi, but it could have hardly happened at a less convenient time. I need you to come with me to that event tomorrow. Surely you can wait to go home until the weekend? And don't forget I'll need you back here on Sunday afternoon ... What, more time off for the funeral? Is that really necessary?'

I think arriving in the middle of the night will be the whole point of the plot.

I thought Alice said she had an address for him?

Just double checked. She said she doesn't have an address but she's sure she can find it, How?

Jenny would have Ruairi’s address in her handwritten address book … Cards and presents went back and forth, I think? So she must have had his current details.

If Alice thinks the university security staff can provide the address in the middle of the night, she's in for a nasty surprise, but that would just be silly. Maybe there will be an off air conversation with Ben.

I too assumed Alice meant she could get Ruairi's address from Jenny's address book. This is all penance for her telling him he wasn't really part of the family - by making all this effort to inform him she's demonstrating that she knows he is really. And hopefully she'll rescue him from Julianne on the side.

Oh, @LillianGish .....

I think with Peggy they want to be quite sensitive about it given that the actor is still around. Therefore it needs to be at a time when it won't be overshadowed by other planned storylines and when they will have time for the rest of the family to express themselves - maybe also finding a time when they are all available, particularly Tamsin Greig.

Well, there’s being direct about telling someone of a death … and then there’s Alice.