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.

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 https://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.)

Over to you!

Was anyone else wondering if they’re going to do a girl with autism story with Keira? Just wondered from her feeling out of place, and not being sure why what she’s said doesn’t come across the same as other people. Just rang a few bells re people I know.

girl with autism story I hope not.

It's as if the SWs suddenly woke up to having to account for... It was an indication of what George is like.

There's never been a hint of autism-typical behaviour in any of the Grundy or Larkin or Horrobin or Carter families as far as we know, and it does normally run in families. Also, we already have two characters that we speculate are on the spectrum but undiagnosed: Jakob and Brad. Not that any of that would stop the SWs, of course, if they decided to go down that road. I heard it more as a teenage girl struggling with being a teenage girl story. Friendship issues, things blowing up on social media, not enjoying school much. She sounded very like Emma at the same age, actually, so kudos to the team for that.

I agree with you. She was just getting a quote. Perfectly normal business behaviour.

Can I rudely barge in and ask (and apologies if you’ve discussed this) but is Jim about to cark it?

Hello, BOOP! There was a lot of speculation here that he was heading for Dignitas when he got onto the Eurostar, but I think if he had been he'd have gone straight there and Alistair would have heard by now. Maybe he's making one last trip to Greece and Rome first. I rather hope not but on the other hand the production team have not really planned well for having an extremely elderly cast. Rather like successive governments, they seem to have been burying their heads in the sand about the problems that arise as life expectancy goes up and up (but healthy life expectancy doesn't).

is Jim about to cark it? Please 😦
@BitOutOfPractice , he's gone on a year long adventure. From The Archers Podcast with Emma Freud, it's assumed highly unlikely he'll return.
I hope the actor is OK and will miss Jim.

Adam’s last line was a bit contradictory to his complaints over Brian dismissing him as NotMySon. I think.

If Adam were my child, I'd disinherit him ... just because I could.

Will Adam never learn? Ruairi is even less his brother than Brian is his father. At least Brian was married to Adam’s mother. And if the gratitude he ought to feel towards her doesn’t translate into love for her son, there’s absolutely no guarantee that Ruairi’s love for her will translate into loyalty to Adam.

If I were Brian I would flog off the equipment owned by the partnership, split the proceeds and then rent out the land.

I would give it a month or so and accidentally run Adam over with the combine. But I am a practical woman.

You’ve lost me there - altho I get the first bit yes!

I’d reverse back over him too just to make sure.

Basically, Jenny put it about a bit (as they used to say), with children by three different fathers.

Brian ditto, though he only managed two different mothers.

Adam needs to go stick his head in a pig. (Thank you, Douglas Adams, for that.)

If so, then they'd have been better trailing it.

only managed two different mothers

that we know about. Men can get away with unacknowledged (even unknown to them) children. Women can't.

There used to be speculation about India Beesborough.

I agree helen is just running a business normally

Keira might have adhd - didnt want to work in an office, didnt fill her forms in...

Keira might have adhd

Well every other person on MN either has it or their kid does. God it's tiresome enough for a TA SL.

What an odious scrote Ian is, threatening "Bottlegate." And I think it's cruel he and Adam stopping Brian from seeing Xander.

Let's dead Ian. Adam is too good a character to be dedded.

Thank you @BeatriceBatchelor for saving me from posting all of the above! (Except that I would weight Adam down with his own self-importance, throw him into the Am and sell tickets to watch him drown.)

I think they are entirely right to seek to protect Xander from Brian’s unpredictable cruelty. Otherwise he might be offering and withdrawing all sorts of things to the poor child for the next twenty years. As well as cutting Xander off the minute he expresses any view that Brian doesn’t agree with. It’s an awful prospect.

BeatriceBachelor "Well every other person on MN either has it or their kid does. God it's tiresome enough for TA SL"

You have no idea, lucky you🙄

@echt, If so, then they'd have been better trailing it. There was nothing to trail. It was a flippant comment by someone we already know is likely to have misogynistic tendencies. Just a slow drip that will eventually come to light.

@BeatriceBatchelor , Well every other person on MN either has it or their kid does. God it's tiresome enough for a TA SL. Indeed. About 12 years ago, I knew of 1 person with autism (undisputable) and 1 person with ADHD (and thought it was suspect), now it seems that it's unusual to be NT.

@BikeRide , I don't think we're dismissing the condition but implying that people might be looking for it (a bit like saying being crap at spelling is dyslexia).

@DeanElderberry , that we know about. Men can get away with unacknowledged (even unknown to them) children. Women can't. it's a soap. Offspring you had no idea you'd fathered can appear out of the blue.

Jack is potentially an interesting character, because he has his father's genes without having had his father's abusive upbringing, so it's in no way a foregone conclusion that he will go the same way. He could, indeed, go in a diametrically opposite direction once he realises what a shit his father was.

Oh give over!