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!

And I thought Alice was going to be the child to worry about.....

Well, he was being so obstreperous - there was no room for gentleness. She had to get it out quickly in case he threw them out.

That was horrible.

But impressive. Another BOOP.

And also, of course, they weren’t words she actually wanted to say. Awful to have to pass on such news when you’ve scarcely grasped it yourself.

I found Julianne enquiring into how many siblings there were and where they lived really uncomfortable. She wasn’t pretending to be polite (she couldn’t care less), but it felt like she was building a blackmail list should Ruairi dare back out of their grim engagement.

OK, not quite how it turned out, but to my ears there was definitely a hint of 'I'll just have to get X, the boy I use when you're not available' about that exchange when she said she could find somebody else to go with. Eurgh.

'After all, she wasn't your real mother, was she? You told me about the real one. This one seems to have left plenty of other children to sort out the funeral and look after your father ...'

I'm sure/not-sure that I read somewhere that June Spencer, on retiring from the programme, said she had recorded a swansong that hasn't yet been broadcast. I wonder whether it will coincide with her being told of Jenny-Darling's death, in which case the latter has probably been planned for a while.

The answer to Chris's "how old is she!!!!" could only be "rather a lot younger than his dad was when he up-duffed his mum".

For a while I've wondered about the Ruairi/Julianne arrangement. Do these things really go on and am I just being naive? I mean I can just about believe the bed aspect if the woman is into younger (very much younger!) men but for heavens sake what does she get out of it for the rest of the time? How old is Ruairi? 20? A country lad. And she's maybe early 40's? An intelligent, worldly, high-flying, jet-setting, city-based experienced woman.

What do they talk about for the rest of the time? And when they are out at "functions" together what does she think other people think? I would imagine either that he's her son or she's just a bit odd. It's a bit toe-curling to be honest and not entirely convincing.

I thought Alice was spot-on, put in a corner and very direct. I probably feel this way because it's almost exactly what I said when telling a sibling our mother had died, but actually, I truly feel direct is best. The ensuing messy exchange worked well, Ruairi getting an avalanche of info. His voice sounds older. He's really going to be bit of a one further down the track, that hitting out at Chris and the divorce.

Julianne was very odd indeed, I would have expected someone in her position to back off a little, even in her own home, make conventional and sincere condolences, not quizzing them as if it were a cocktail party. Agree with others that this bodes ill.

I almost didn't recognise Kate, her voice for once not honking with outrage about some imagined slight. Well done though for getting in some back story on JD and her.

Mmm … Julianne is usually quite possessive about Ruairi - hates not having his complete attention trained on her. When she asked about his siblings it felt to me as if her eyes were being opened to the fact Ruairi had a whole world of real claims on him - and she was assessing the strength of this unanticipated competition.

So I’m guessing she’ll either want rid of him (“I can find someone else to go to the Barbican with.”) or she’ll be rolling up her sleeves to battle for possession of his soul.

Yes I was thinking I'm wrong to feel they've done the deaths in the wrong order: I may have only just learnt about angle piper's incapacity but the SWs probably factored it in well before Rpbert's actor's (forgotten his name sorry) demise, and possibly even before they knew of June Spencer's retirement.

I think Julianne is going to turn out to be not quite as self assured / self contained as we thought.
Or alternatively, rather more than Ruari thought?

Maybe she'll toss him aside inc paying rent etc and he'll feel doubly abandoned?

I felt for him tonight - the second time he's been informed that his mother has died.

I guess, reading further comments and thinking on a bit, I'm realising Julianne is not a normal, well balanced person at all but something much more scary.... Look out poor old Ruairi!

I wondered if Julienne was doing all that digging in an attempt to find out where Ruari stood in relation to inheriting the farm. Where does he stand in the event of Brian's demise ?

Exactly @Iloveabaconbutty

I felt for him tonight - the second time he's been informed that his mother has died.

oh gosh, yes, i hadn't thought about that. I wonder if Julianne is now just going to end their arrangement as abruptly as possible and he moves back home and makes it up with Brian.

another well-done episode today, I didn't loathe Kate quite as much as usual.

I almost didn't recognise Kate

Me neither, echt. That was very touching. I’ve had those same heart-wrenching dialogues with myself just after my beloved mum's death and genuinely welled up with recognition. All that finality and hopelessness of not being able to talk to her again.

Hello my Archers people, knew I could rely on you all for intelligent conversation on this most shocking subject! Like so many others: how did I not notice that Jenny Darling hadn’t spoken for nearly a year? I knew Peggy’s actress had retired but did not know about Robert either. So sad! And I really feel we’re at the end of an era; I’m of an age with Adam/KAte but I feel like we’re seeing the deaths of the proper grown ups and now the kids are in charge… 😭😢

I thought Alice handled the situation well and I’m fairly sure she quickly worked out exactly what is going on with Julianne. I think she’ll help Ruari extricate himself from this situation.

Adam's 55! I was astounded to see that. In my mind he's still the whingey young whippersnapper who came back from Africa, surely just a couple of years ago? <gulp>

I wonder if Julianne is going to just jettison him if he’s got too many inconvenient real life emotions going on. Then he will have lost three mother figures in short succession (as ick as the third one is!). I also was shocked at the sudden re-writing of how bad the Ruairi family situation is, it seemed as though recently his relationship with Jenny was somewhat repaired and with Alice that it was maybe neutral vs still at its worst?

I'm always amazed at how old some the characters are and wonder if it's an effect of the parents of so many being in their lives so much; infantilising is a bit strong, but heading that way.

Had a think about Julianne while I was walking the dog -a possible bunny-boiler?

Alarm bells rang for me when someone casually mentioned he didn't come home for Christmas. What?!

For what it’s worth I think julianne will turn out to be very emotionally vulnerable and needy of Ruairi. With him it could go either way, he could go into a tailspin or just turn on the steely side and concentrate on his personal advancement.

I rather like Alice there days she handled that situation very well especially as she is grieving. Ruairi is dreadful.

Jakob seemed somewhat more emotionally literate than his usual ASD portrayal today as well!