Come and play Grand Theft Combine through the quiet Ambridge streets. And by the way, ROB IS STILL MARRIED.

[PseudoBadger]

Bolloxfest is imminent. Will this thread make it to the big day?

AIBU to me MEGA looking forward to the cocktail party this evening!

Yes I know...life, get one, etc...

I clearly am . Still, I have hopes of something resembling Abigail's Party..

Oh Jazzer....

That's a bit out of character for him...he has a senstive side, it seems

That was all rather muted....

Well done, Carol! Peggy sounding a bit more like her old self there. Rather disappointed not to hear from Brian, though.

Carol is fab.

Yes.... but they missed an opportunity to parade the upper 500 80 in drunken splendour. Where was the Lord Lieutenant of Borsetshire? Or the Editor of the Echo? Or the Bishop? No fights, no scandal!

And no gossip!
The kitchen where people should have been whispering about Rob's marital status and Jeckyl & Hyde characteristics was made a no-go area by Jennifer's culinary antics.
Where were Lizzie and Roy who should have been studiously but noticeably avoiding each other?
Has the whole Hell/Rob story been dropped? Surely they were invited?

Good for Carol for not joining in with mocking susan

After all the build up to this great event I'm wondering exactly what they wanted the episode to achieve.

Surely not just another dreary evening of non courtship between Fallon and the policeman.

And we didn't need a cocktail party to tell us that Rupert Snellamy would soon be in the world.

Was it all to set the scene for a future confrontation between Carol and Hazel? The forces of good and evil...

From the sound of it ( i love the way JD boasted about her glass fronted wine cooler) that kitchen would've cost nearer £200.000. We have multi millionaire friends in L.A. who have a wall of glass fronted coolers\fridges in their kitchen. I nearly swooned with . They need help to keep them tidy though .

Aaah sweet of Jazzer to play match maker

I will be most disappointed if the HellRob story has been dropped.

And yes, I feel a sense of rather embarrassing anti-climax about the cocktail party. So many missed opportunities!

I think they're just playing the long game with Helen and rob. Please let us hear Carol ask about rob's divorce though! She's going to be spending some time with Peggy next week so there may be more opportunity

Long game = fair enough. I'm all for that but last night's episode was an opportunity to show them out and about together mingling with people who would ask when the Big Day is and their respective reactions. Or perhaps one stayed at home to baby sit so which one would be allowed to go mingling? All sorts of interesting scenarios missed.

Also we have no idea how Helen is filling her time now she isn't full time in the shop and isn't allowed to do the ironing!

All in all the party was a bit of a damp squib.

Yy perfect opportunity missed I agree! There are loads more juicy things we could have earwigged on

To go against the grain, I find carol a bit of a smart Alec and the character not very rounded. Almost like she's there to hold up a mirror to ambridge folk so that us dumb listeners understand the writers (not so) subtle points. Next they'll be introducing a Describer to tell us what we should be imagining we are looking at.

I reckon the kitchen was £30k. A glass fronted wine fridge of the fancy pants variety would be about £2k.

Also agree that the party was a missed opportunity. Was Charlie there? I'm still sticking to te theory that Charlie will be murdered and it will be a year long whodunit only to find out it was pc plot for some reason none if us could have figured out anyway.

Maybe on Sunday there will be loads of gossip about the party - maybe the bishop got wasted and made a pass at Susan?

Kitchen in excess of 75 grand before VAT I think with the labour cost. There was flooring as well.
I bet Brian claims the VAT back as a business expense though because of the lunches for the shoot!

They don't do parties well. Partly it's the restriction on numbers of speaking actors. And they can't suddenly add several new voices, I suppose. It would be played better if they just had the parties, and then we heard a sort of 'review' of them. Though 'stuff' happened at jess's party, it was a bit one-sided - Brian waiting in the car FOR AGES, for example.

Isn't the Helen actor taking mat leave shortly? I wonder how they will deal with her absence. It's possible already she is off, and that's why we have had recent scenes of Knob and other people talking about Helen.

You're probably right on cost because Jenny kept changing her mid which set the clock back

So if Helen is off for a year a guess that delays the wedding. Although I guess recording the archers is quite a good job to have when having a young baby! Maybe she will be back a lot earlier and we will hear from er again in the run up to Christmas.

Right. Am working tomorrow so spending my Saturday night catching up with TA - rock n roll...

I love Jazzer. He has done a heroic and selfless thing. And he was hilarious about the riots.

Someone mentioned in passing above Roy's spell as a teenage fascist - wtaf ??? Can someone please explain?Really?!

And yes the party was deeply underwhelming but looking on the bright side hopefully that's the last we'll hear of that boring bloody kitchen.

I'm shocked, Jenny is throwing a 'more the merrier' cocktail party and no Lillian?? Lol is she busy with her knitting.

Also i think we've lost the deeper side to Jenny's character :-( there seems a hasty quickness about the present story lines - and yes i'm including 'Rob' in that. Currently there's a frivolous which makes me hhmmm

Is Usha still alive?

Roy as a teenage fascist was him getting involved with some ne'er dowells and attacking or scaring Usha. I can't remember the details; I think there was a dark lane and a motorbike involved. Or perhaps that was Marks death- it was over 20 years ago!