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[PseudoBadger]

Chocolate Chip cookie anyone?

"Little Miss Giggly"

Yuck

I left and had to come back.

That was wonderfully acted and I quite like the ambiguity of what actually happened. I hope she gets some morning after contraception asap but I have a feeling Knob will be stalking her every move.

Indeed Bertrand what a tosser he is.

If she says anything at all now he is just going to say you made poor Greg kill himself and now you are starting on me.

She is well and truly stuck.

Until and unless she realises he is fundamentally an arse and she does not have to listen to his bollocks.

I reckon its a long time and several threads on MN where she is told to ltb before that day comes.

So grim.

I foresee a conversation, after a few weeks of gloom, where Pat exclaims that Helen is never satisfied - shes got exactly what she wanted and she's still not happy.

And the awful thing is that Pat's new Rob-love means Helen's work life is screwed too. He'll be lording it over her in the shop, making her look stupid in front of her family ...

Jess would certainly be the obvious person to come to her aid - but I guess they'll kill two birds by making it the route by which Kirstie is drawn back into the BF fold.

Yes to all of those Gruach.

Whatever he did she didn't like it at all. I suspect he got all masterful with his horsewhip - but we're never going to know.
She's trapped now. Pat and even Tom have warmed to him. There's no sign of Kirsty and she's alienated Emma. Soc's got rid of Jess. This is going to run and run.
Jim is an enemy now though. He HAS to talk to Shula and uncover the SAB incident. The only way out for Helen is if Rob is gaoled for that or the culvert blockage.

Is it still the case that a wife can't testify against her husband?

Is it still the case that a wife can't testify against her husband?
Dunno about general cases but she certainly can for rape.

Pip is pathetic:
(a) she didn't research the High Wycombe/ Brazil job properly
(b) there are other opportunities out there apart from HW/B and Brookfield

No. My friend testified against her husband when the CPS prosecuted him for assaulting her.

I think the demure at the front, backless dress is significant. "Just the way you like it, Rob..."

Very disappointed in Pat. I'm certain my mum would have spotted something was up (and I'd hope I would with my dd too). Plus, he was just plain insulting to Jim. But I did like the way Jim was being a pain in the arse with all the bloody Italian, then 2 minutes later you were feeling sorry for him.

And as for Pip - GAH!!!!

I hope she gets some morning after contraception asap but I have a feeling Knob will be stalking her every move.

Lightbulb moment - was that why he needed to know whether she was out? He was worried she might have nipped out to the chemist?

And how long before Charlie offers her Knob's old job?

I could be wrong but I think the thing about wives and husbands is that a wife can't be compelled to give testimony against her husband. Presumably it also applies the other way.

You are correct gaspode. It was that wices could not be compelled ( that may have changed now as it was based on the idea that wives were property).
I think Rob just doesn't like her going out. I think the cobtrolling jealousy is going to ramp up.

I was thinking more along the lines of her being a witness to the SAB attack.
Though Shula saw more, of course.

I didn't think she had seen much other than him 'talking' to the sab. My memory is going though.

I think we are more heading for an eaatenders style whack on the head with the iron in self defence, house burns down with him in it ....or is he? style ending rather than him getting his cumupprnce at the hands of the law. Although it woukd be nice if PC Burns and the dv unit and WA stepped in and showed it is possible just to ltb, get a restraining order and move on.

She seems pretty aware that she has been raped at the moment but Rob will persuade her otherwise and she'll want to believe him. Acting has been v. good.

I don't really think he needed to rape her- he could have persuaded her to have his child. He just enjoyed it. Eugh.

Just wanted to thank everyone for your comments and analysis - I read these threads first to keep up and see if I can face actually listening to any episodes. I thought things couldn't get any worse after Nigel's scream and stopped listening for about a year afterwards (though listened to Ambridge Extra, which was running concurrently some of the time). I can't remember what was going on when I started listening again, but I've stopped since the advent of Sean O'C (particularly since Kirsty as Bridezilla) as I can't stand the way he treats the listeners as stupid and runs preposterous story-lines which really wouldn't happen given what we know about the characters and Ambridge. Also, as someone said earlier in the thread, they seem to have dispensed with the archivist/continuity person as there is a lot of history, as well as some characters, which has/have conveniently been forgotten.
Hope you don't mind my commenting without listening to the programme, but you are listeners after my own heart!

Fucking hell. I'm really angry/disappointed at the couple of posters on here who are saying that it wasn't rape.
Helen had been plied with more alcohol than she is used to. She wasn't lucid enough to give consent.

Establishing the illegality of rape within marriage was a very hard won legal battle exactly because of similar woolly arguments by rape apologists.

Until you have been in that situation, you can't possibly know how confusing and demoralising it is.

Come on, Cutted, that was at the point when we didn't know what had happened and the SWs had deliberately left it ambiguous. I haven't seen anyone suggesting that since last night's episode.

Of course she was lucid enough to give consent! They'd been conversing normally and were about to have sex, she mentioned going upstairs.

From the content of last night's episode we can now assume that something happened to make her withdraw that consent but it's hysterical to call people 'rape apologists' because it was unclear what Helen might have meant when she said 'Rob?'

I've only been listening for 18 months or so and have only known Helen to be insufferably smug. It was chilling to hear her sound so vulnerable and confused.