Archers thread #200: Trouble in Ambridge! (All 200 threads could have had this title.) 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, and of course we are always delighted to welcome back former or occasional listeners/posters. 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 be Brian's child or stepchild, or other unusual views.

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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.)

Over to you!

Yes, unless she walks everywhere in Ambridge, there must be a fair amount of driving involved

I picture Lilian as wearing 4-inch heels (minimum) at all times. Including to her marabou-trimmed slippers ('mules, dahling') and wellies when mucking out. Basically an upmarket Bet Lynch.

Did Jack move into his own room yet?

So now we have Americans writing TA?

You can always trust tony to tell it like it is

Loved Tony at the end there. Helen really is insufferable.

Second character this week commenting on how the weather is going to turn, typical summer etc. They really need to record any weather comments nearer to broadcast date otherwise it can be ridiculous. Ambridge is presumably in the red warning area, they should insert a few comments about how unbearable it is given most of them are working outside, or how lucky they are to have aircon( assume the dairy does).

Helen wanting a gate in the fence between Tracy’s house and hers … 😲 Poor Tracy will be running away to live with Clive and her dad soon.

I know! The cheek of her. She’ll be popping over for favours every day as it is.

And she seems to be expecting Tracey and Susan to jump at the opportunity of more hours despite many, many hints that they are already doing quite enough.

These family farm stories are all good but why are they happening all at once? There is the Pip inheritance story, which felt quite rushed and undercooked; the Brian vs Adam story, which has gone a bit soap opera; and the disagreements between Tom and Helen, which I think is the most realistic and entertaining of the three (Helen is so vile but in real life that is how selfish people get their way). They are such fundamental stories, I wonder why the scriptwriters decided to plot them all together?

The joy of the Tom/Helen wars is that some of us want them both to lose!

Was I listening properly and is Henry doing his work experience at Tom and Ruth's? I'd have thought the H&S and insurance compliance would piss them off, or will this, and Tom's overworking of Henry will result in a new SL?

Thoughts on the farm multi-thread stories - the SWs do love compare and contrast, but possibly it's about the age of older characters. Still doesn't explain why Freddie isn't running Lower Loxley, how old is he now, nearly 25?

Freddie is nearly 27, @echt

Henry is doing his work experience on his family's farm. (Which defeats a lot of the object of it imo.)

(Assume Tom and Ruth was an abberation)

Oops! Skipped that bit or have I missed a major Archer wife-swapping SL?

Helen really is a piece of work. A gate!!!

‘Why are they happening all at once?’@MeadowPumpkin?

2026 is the 75th Anniversary year of The Archers. They’ve clearly decided on a year long SATTC extravaganza.

I think we can all agree that Helen is a Mumsnet CF.

As if the idea of Helen buying a former council house with Grundys and Horrobins for neighbours were not enough!

Lots of references to Jack this week. I wasn’t really listening as it’s a bit like Grange Hill at the moment with so many teens all over the place but a few include Jack sharing Henry’s room, Jack and the ball and Brad, Jack having a sense of humour when no one else in his family has…something is up. Big Jack SL being signposted…

I absolutely loved Helen's behaviour all through that episode. She is the CF's CF. Clarrie irritated me a lot less than she normally does. Nice to hear her with Keira and Henry. And finally, I got my wish and we had a ridiculously wrong weather comment! Kids outside running around playing football yesterday lunchtime - no. However, we all know Ambridge is in a parallel universe.

Jack should have been having therapy all this time.
Born of rape.
Mum in prison accused of trying to murder father.
Abusive father.
Father absent, returned and then died.
Has disaster written all over it.

Jack is 8. He won't remember his mother being in prison.
He'll barely remember Rob's return.
What would therapy at this age achieve?

You could argue that most of the under-30s in Ambridge need therapy. What they have in common is that their existence is for the sake of drama.

I'm not so sure. He may not remember explicitly but these things run very deep.

Henry and Jack are a case study waiting to happen. Henry doesn't know who his father is - something he must now be at the point of questioning. I thought the Father's Day episode was hinting at that. In contrast, he knows only too well who Jack's father is. Even if Jack was too young/not born, Henry lived through the horror of Rob - who at first must have seemed like the perfect step-father until he wasn't. Then he had to watch his mother being sent to prison, was forced to live with Knob's dreadful parents, and then live with the knowledge that Jack/Gideon/Myson was the son of Knob. Is it it possible that Jack and Henry have never discussed any of this? I cannot see how either of them can come out of it unscathed. Is it better not to know who your father is or is it better to know your father was psychopath? (Henry's father could easily be a psychopath too, we have know way of knowing). Throw in the fact that your mother has to control everything to within an inch of her life and you have a recipe for disaster. Surely Henry is now getting to an age where Helen is going to start to lose control of the narrative. Henry is also talking to Keira - someone outside the family. It feels as if she has finally been voiced for this purpose. I thought it was quite telling he said he was happy to be no longer living with Tom - the only real hint that all was not sunshine and flowers at Beechwood. It has the potential to be an excellent story - I just hope the SWs are up to it!

@TeenToTwenties , What would it achieve? I think it would probably be worse for him than none.

Not read it properly but agree with @LillianGish .

Speaking of Lilians, Lilian Bellamy does not wear wellies. She wears expensive yard boots or riding boots, as does Alice.

I'm not sure what it would achieve.

Letting sleeping dogs lie is good, but if there is some trauma there it is better discovered and dealt with than buried.

@TeenToTwenties , how would the therapist discover the trauma? Can't you see that he's probably not been traumatised by it and the therapy would probably create problems. He's had a loving home and family around him and as yet isn't showing signs of trauma.

Henry is a different kettle of fish. He's aware that, unlike his brother, he doesn't have a father, he was there when Rob was with Helen...
He seems well-adjusted and level-headed and is more likely to have problems.
Neither Henry nor Jack show signs of challenges such as anxiety, depression, trauma, behavioural disorders, learning difficulties or family conflicts yet.

Sharing a bedroom seems to be a problem but Henry is 15 and Jack 8 so it's not likely to be plain sailing.