Aldridges Assemble! Await the return of the prodigal daughter to Ambridge with the rest of The Archers audience

[PseudoBadger]

I can't resist alliteration

Neil and Susan had a shotgun wedding, and Emma was pregnant when she married Will, so I thought that was an odd remark of Susan's.

There's never enough gossip in Ambridge. When Brian was regularly visiting Siobhan while Dr Tim was at work, presumably parking near her house, nobody ever noticed, or at least nobody ever said anything. Really?!

Rob and Helen have been trying to 'position' the wedding. They are comparing it to T&K's no-show, saying that it was all the fuss and pother that did for that match.
Emma, OTOH, is comparing it to her wedding. She is pointing out that you don't need fuss and pother and expense. It can be done on a shoestring if you have enough people who love and support you. Unfortunately though Emma seems a bit green-eyed for cash and doesn't appreciate family enough.
I don't agree with 'secret' / elopement type weddings. They are a public declaration. It's not all about the couple, it is also a joining of two families. If Helen had done it the usual way she might have realised that Rob has no family, no friends from the past, no current friends, no Best Man ...

However, family support can go too far. Jill trying to organise a birthday tea for her 57 year old children is just weird.

My mom still organises a birthday tea for me each year with my Dsis and BiL and aunts and things. I'm 48. I'll tell her to cease and desist forthwith as it's clearly weird

Aw, that's sweet BOOP, no wonder you have such a sunny outlook on life.
If it's a family tradition that's one thing. Trying to artificially orchestrate a gathering (Jill doesn't normally do a Shula/Kenton thing) as if there is no underlying problem - because no-one has the b@alls to confront Kenton and call him out for his bad behaviour - is another.

For once I felt Susan's remarks were based more on bitter experience than random cattiness.

I do wish the SWs had a smidgeon more time to establish background. Rob must surely have old school / university friends as well as Canadian colleagues. And his brother. But it seems that outside the parental dinner party débâcle Helen never asks about these people and they never meet up with any of them. They clearly spend a lot of time in bed - other than declarations of everlasting love what on earth do they talk about there?

I would imagine there's a lot of talk about how wonderful Rob is and how nasty Charlie is and how important it is for Helen always to listen to Rob and do as he says because nobody understands her or cares about her as much as he does...

Rob is probably the sort who doesn't keep friends. Keeping touch with school/uni friends wasn't so easy in the pre-FB days and I can't imagine him trying to hunt people down with Friends Reunited or vv.

And Helen probably figured out quickly that he doesn't like talking about family or his past.

Hello everyone, you're not abandoned i've just been busy in England. I've sort of caught up and did notice that Hell mentioned she AND knob arranged the wedding in secret before they left for the IOW. Silly mare

Gasp0de - When Brian was regularly visiting Siobhan while Dr Tim was at work, presumably parking near her house, nobody ever noticed, or at least nobody ever said anything. Really?!

Brine visiting Siobhan was for the purposes of Hungarian translations, iirc.

Which I've always thought was a wonderful euphemism, as is 'batting for Darrington'.

Maybe the SWs read that we were complaining about the dearth of gossip in TA, come on now, it's great to hear a bit of goss.

Yes! Very like Private Eye's Ugandan discussions.

They probably talk about how busy Helen us what wirh everything she has got going on run ragged she is making lunch and....and....?

Tbf Ithink a lot of Emmur peeve was that Helen hadn't told her. As bridesmaid she'd expect to be on on the gossip beforehand but failing that at least to get told afterwardz.

BOOP point for Susan's opinion on the use of English in Italian opera and the use of Italian as one upmanship by Lynda and Jim, very Mapp and Lucia

Oh, I knew it reminded me of something!

Errol I love Mapp and Lucia.

So Jim is taking Christine to the opera and is going to teach her "some basics in Italian" I'm not sure how far she'd get in her comprehension of Cosi Fan Tutti with that.

Hands up who hoped HP had carked it.

Oh God, Ruth is so annoying!!!!

Pipe down, for goodness sake....

Hopes dashed again. I thought Heather had died and that would have been an end of this rather tedious storyline.

Hand waving here, R4!

Dunno what all the fus is about - Heather can move into the caravan with the brethren.

Nah, she'll be bunking up with Carol and Hester on the Blasted Heath.

Ach, they found John Noakes and he is real and much less annoying. Surely they'll find HP.

Rex is too sensible to have allowed them to be evicted from wherever they're staying - perhaps Trouble has hired the caravan so he can partake in conveyor belt shagging without having to face his brother's raised eyebrow every morning?

Just think, the next Brookfield heir will probably be conceived there.

How many eees in Daveeeeeeeeeeeed?