Follow the subtle trail towards the Christmas storyline climaxes in Ambridge - discuss The Archers here

[PseudoBadger]

So many possibilities.... A visit from the Titcheners Snr? Baby of the wrong gender? A ruined wedding? Re-housed Grundys? RuthRex?

Just listened to this - I wonder if it could turn out that the crash wasn't H's fault anyway, but Rob takes the call? (I might be borrowing from a Malcolm in the Middle plot there)

I also wonder if at any point Pat will replay that phone call in her head and wonder why Helen said 'don't tell Rob yet'?

No wonder the Knob storyline has been so well executed so far (and no wonder SOC couldn't understand at the beginning what people were seeing in Knob

Oh, I love the idea that SOC thought he was writing a strong, manly, romantic sort of chap and had no idea what a jerk he was really.

Bet you're right, too.

I wonder whether there are couples listening to this and thinking 'I don't know what all the fuss is about, Rob seems like a very sensible, protective, loving husband'?

I suppose his temper tantrums with Jim, Lynda, Ian & Jess were to show us how nasty he is if we hadn't already twigged his controlling behaviour towards Helen.

And, yes, SOC and Knob have become conflated in my mind even though SOC didn't invent him.

I'm putting money on Tony being the one who unmasks Rob. He has seen him being hideous at cricket and he must be worried about his influence over Johnny.........

People whom Rob has now offended, hit, shown his unpleasant side to or been unpleasant to:
Adam
Charlie
Shula
Jim
Lynda
(Kirsty, Fallon, and Emma: pending)
Tony
Susan
the hunt sab
the builders
Ian?
Jess

Are there more? And why don't any of them share with each other? And why has he decided Pat must be coaxed but Tony not? Because she's a woman?

Harrison
Christine ...

And half the village saw him punch Ian, surely?

Pat changing personality is because soc can only do plot driven sl

I listen to the archers for character driven sl. So that's why I hate it at the moment!

Kirsty has never liked knob

enochroot lol "Fairbrethren"

Flirting Phoebe makes me heave.

Rob is being presented as a kind of psychopath so he sees his affair with Helen as entirely justified as Jess was a Monster.

Pat is like my dear m when she was "Trying to support the marriage" of my ds and my huge, stinking, walking, BS-talking, column of schiese that is my ex BIL. People do see what they want to see after all. Pat being an eejit doesn't surprise me. The scriptwriters can't be women, surely, the young women are so mono faceted. The young men are a little better but you'd let them all go down the sinkhole after Wooth and Wob.

I would save Adam ( I love Adam )
Charlie (growing on me)
Brian (the best actor since Matt left)
Lilian when she doesn't do that awful panto laugh.
Susan is a good actress but is given such irritating material
Hate all the other women, moany, prissy false.

I wonder if Hellin will contact Jess - remember J saying to her something to the effect of "You'll find out what he's like"

Hellin is going to be too scared to leave the house soon, she'll be locked in a cupboard soon...... He is a total loon but she does deserve him in my umble opinion for being a badly written wittering bore.

Where's TOM?????

Why don't Roof and Dave get together and offer the empty house at Hollowtree to the Grundy's ? They could do it up and be right in place to sabotage the Fairbrethren goose business!

Long time lurker crawling out of the (non painted with white gloss) woodwork.
Don't know if it's a coincidence but on our Now TV telly box they've just added Calendar Girls. Perhaps there's a helpful fan of TA working for Sky...

Also, does anyone else imagine Toby to have an 'ironic' hipster beard/braces combo?

I thought I heard Tom last night but it turned out to be a Fairbrother.

The question of why no one who has had a tongue lashing from Rob actually talks to each other has been raised here many times. The most obvious is Shula and Jim.

I have a feeling it was Ian who punched Rob after much provocation.

Good!

I seem to only come on here to mention Amside in the hope that the script writers might recall it, perhaps, maybe? Why haven't the Grundys asked Lillian about properties? Even if we're supposed to have surmised she has had to offload the whole lot without it ever being mentioned, she knew a lot about the local rental market. She had a lot of properties, including in Ambridge, as well as that big development at Asbestos/Mood Board Cross or whatever it was called. It was all in her name too. Gah.

Soc only seems to have expertise in dysfunctional relationships. All the other bits (like am side) probably hurt his brain.

I wonder what his childhood was like. Maybe he sees himself in Henry and this is like therapy for him?

Oddly enough I also was wondering about Amside this morning. As someone pointed out a while ago, Lillian, Matt and Brenda/Anthea used to have too much to do, what with checking references, chasing rental payments, arranging builders and plumbers and lord knows what else. And now Lillian, working alone in the aftermath of a flood, can take weeks off to meditate and spends the rest of her time drinking at Home Farm.

I must have misunderstood something, somewhere.

Dunno if any of the properties would have been affordable for the Grundys, but I thought she was a friend of Eddie's. The SWs seem to have completely forgotten this.

I thought Amside had a lot of affordable properties, conversions into flats and the like. HWMNBN and his wife had one, didn't they? And there was an SL about Matt cutting corners on a repair needed for an elderly couple.

Didn't Peggy help them with the money to secure a house in the village? Can't remember who owned it.

Anyone who says I'm overinfested is damn right ...

It's painful but I'll try to stick with it until SOC treats us to a murder.

It's all so unrelenting at the moment, without any of the everyday stuff.

Yes, Peggy did help HWMNBN, or more to the point his wife, who was her cleaner, by not charging market rent.

Ok, so after 3 yrs of lurking and 46yrs a dedicated TA addict I feel compelled to put into words how I am about Pat having a complete personality transplant. I have tried really really hard to cope with the 'eastenders' sl's , but this really is the final straw.

Pat suggesting Helen doesn't drive while she is pregnant ! Pat would rather pull her own tongue out of her head than utter such complete tosh... This may be the last straw....