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[PseudoBadger]

Chocolate Chip cookie anyone?

I must admit, I quite enjoyed Hazel arguing with Piggoi yesterday. The rest of them treat her as some sort of infallible matriarch whereas the reality is that she is an interfering bat who is constantly using her money to manipulate the family, usually to do something that is the opposite of what they should do. So despite the fact that Hazel is Eeevil it was good to hear someone failing to treat Piggoi with ridiculously exaggerated reverence.

I was gobsmacked at the ending yesterday where it's a seemingly now a pet accompli that HP is moving down and they're only now going to evict Jill (to where?).

I worked out another thing that is bugging me about the whole HP storyline and that is no-one considering the impact on Josh and Ben of a never ending carousel of elderly folk going through the house. I really hope that if HP survives the journey (wtf was that about, a week ago she got a taxi to her own home now she might not manage 4 hours in a car!) they do explore the impact on the boys. My northern Granny was moved down to ours when I was a teenager and it was not a great experience. She was utterly lovely to the very end but the change in dynamic in the house - always someone there for starters - was something I struggled to handle. It also was difficult to deal with the whole switch from fun granny I saw 3 or 4 times a year to someone living with us full time.

I don't think I was particularly horrid genearlly but it's in the nature of teenagers to fall out with everyone they live with and just because they are a sweet little old lady doesn't mean they're immune to being caught in the cross fire of teenage strops.

Does Peggy even have that much money - apart from the Lodge and the coven she shares with Christine isn't all her money technically inherited from her husband and therefore presumably passes to Hazel when she dies in any case, assuming Jack and her did their wills in such a way as to take account of children from previous marriages?

Hazel Woolley !
Yes very Eeevil indeed.

The shop meeting had Rob drawing lines in the sand with regards to his power over Helen. He is just such a prick about everything: your ideas are tacky, dated and backward; your friends will cause you to fail; you haven't told your family my news and now have embarrassed me. Tom was quite firm on "Helen and I will" about the next meeting.

Poor Helen, that money is going to vanish whilst Knob cocklodges with no intentions of getting a job.

R&RN - until quite recently (and now, in other cultures) having several generations under the same roof would have been the norm. (and 'teenagers' didn't exist of course).

Our shop/PO closed a couple of years ago, there's basic PO facilities in the pub a couple of hours a week. No shop unfortunately - that'd be really handy.

Wonder if there would be any scope for the village hall being rebuilt with space for a community shop?

Does Peggy even have that much money?

Surely you didn't miss the Fondant Fancy episode? No idea of the exact source of Peggy's seemingly inexhaustible wealth (either sale of the Bull or later investments) but she saw her accountant before she did the first, ill fated, divvying up and definitely had money to leave, in addition to the Lodge.

AFAIK Hazel won't be reaping any benefit from Peggy's death.

Your point about the teenage pov is interesting. It hasn't occured to me that they'd be anything other than mildly pleased to have the olds come to live with them. But I'm imagining sufficient space for everyone ...

It is completely ridiculous that they haven't initiated a family meeting, with grannies, to sort it all out.

I know Peggy did divvy it all up over the fondant fancies and the interminable aftermath but I'm still not convinced of where it all came from in reality - I think the ever increasing wealth is just another plot device that has been ramped up over the years with its growth far outstripping actual financial growth.

That's exactly it Gruach - the impact on teenagers in that kind of thing is something I suspect gets overlooked a lot. I know that like Errol says it used to be the norm, but in my family my parents left their folks in the North to go to college and never went back to live after that. It's a completely different family dynamic thrusting together generations who haven't lived together for 30 years, throwing teenagers into the mix just adds even more potential strife in my experience. Exploring that from all sides would be interesting but I fear it will get lost and ignored in amongst the Archers vs Non-Archer angle.

Rob sort of insinuated something about helping Tom out in the past. This must have been the Canada thing. I think he was implying to Tom that he's seen him when he was desperate and weak so still has top dog status.

Charlie, Tom. Time to show you both have backbone.

And Shula! Tom, Shula and Charlie need a conversation!

"Poor old Kathy"

You utter arse, Kenton

And Harrison, though he is bound by confidentiality I suppose.

Oops...the sun was just blotted out there by the sight of St Jill of the Sponges rising to heaven with her halo blinding all around her.....

He Who Must Now Be Named Kenton ...

Jill rally can't win, can she? Earlier in somebody was suggesting she'd be manipulating David to let her stay- now she's getting grief for leaving without a fuss!

And I have rarely heard such self serving bollocks as Kenton was spouting tonight. Talk about rewriting history!

The enquiry into why The Flood happened and was so bad seems to be going the way of the Chilcott enquiry. Jennifer seems to have forgotten that she heard Stefan state that Rob blocked the culvert.

And can anyone explain to me why Jill has to move out and Bert stays.

HeatherPet is going to move in to be fed a dodgy diet of burnt fish fingers, try to cook a tasty meal and set the place alight. Brookfield goes up in smoke.

pet accompli

very good RnRN.

I've forgotten the Harrison thing- was that to do with the sab?

I felt for Jill- surely she can return once Bert has gone?

Jennifer does seem to have forgotten- perhaps she isn't allowed to tell Brine? Would she have to keep it quiet? David and Brine might be having a chat soon...

scary yes, the sab assault but Harrison also saw Rob being a Knob on the night of the flood, refusing to help and racing away.

Is anyone else looking forward to Lily's mime act at Mungo's birthday party?

I had totally forgotten Jennifer and David and the assignation in the cafe.

Mime on the radio is absolutely the best. I'm going to download the podcast so I can have it on repeat.

selsigfach In years to come, when she's being interviewed on some chat show, she'll say that Mungo's party was her breakthrough gig. One review in the Borchester Echo and she'll be Hollywood bound.

Nigel must have landed on her and squished her without anyone noticing, she's been gone so long. Freddie's been absent too since being a little gobshite circa the Liz/Roy shenanigans.
My baby is almost 9 months and I've been thinking that it would be nice to have a birthday tea party. I'll be listening out in order to find out what not to do!

Jill will have to get Carol to cast one of her spells

Heatherpet will sotmc in the back of the Landrover on the A1(M)

Lily and Freddie were mentioned at Shula's birthday thing that no one came to - they were off at a pony club gymkhana or something.