He's behind you! Rob's not the messiah - he's a very naughty boy! Watch The Archers pantomime here.

[PseudoBadger]

Oh no he isn't! Oh yes he is!

In the old days I would be wondering what will happen to the Grundy's, or when will Helen see the light. Nowadays I am wondering what nonsense will the SWs dream up next.

We could kind of believe in it, like you are supposed to with fiction, now it is totally unrealistic.

Not customer facing BYOS but will need to tell the office to pipe down whilst it's on.

I have tissues prepped for the clarrie / Eddie / joe scene - I've read it's a tear jerker.

Apparently
"BBC Writersroomis sponsoring a six month part time residency for a produced Birmingham writer, sharing their time between BBC Television Drama, BBC Radio Drama, and Birmingham Repertory Theatre (The REP).

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to work on major dramasThe Archers,Home FrontandDoctors, as well as withBirmingham REPon their attachment scheme."

Let's hope they hire someone who can tell when the Emperor has no clothes.

Pah, it would be a tearjerker if you weren't trying to suppress the urge to give clarrie a good shake when she waivers 'but theeeeres no other waaay'

Maybe they have a string of 6 month interns - hence the nonsense

So is all this Joe nonsense a really clumsy tie in to the Archers being involved in the r4 Christmas appeal for St-Martin-in-the-fields?

If so, badly done SOC.
For one it plays into a ridiculous stereotype of who the homeless are.

More plausible homeless characters... well HWMNBN for starters, Jazzer, even Kirsty. One of the Berrow workers.
One of the far younger cast is surely more likely than the patriarch of a very close knit family with ties to the area going back decades.

Or a family. Like Ed and Emmur are more likely to have housing problems. Not that I am wishing that on them.

So what about the flat over the village shop, couldn't Evil Hazel put the Grundys in there? It cant be very expensive, Fallon rented it on the proceeds of doing a couple of childrens parties a week

This is nice ...

The thing is, I'm sure I've seen Shelter tweeting about the Grundys' homelessness. So I don't quite understand why it's all gone so wrong.

I've been wondering about the little flat above the shop. If Hazel was planning to turn the whole building into another Canary Wharf ... Having relented on the shop does the flat now have marble walls and solid gold floors?

Wonder if Oliver will have phoned by the end of the week ...

Someone upthread mentioned Lizzy's abusive ex. I think it was Cameron Fraser who abandoned her, pregnant, at a service station. But there was also Simon Pemberton who was abusive to both Shula and Debbie, I think. (Memory a bit hazy and can't be bothered to look it up.)

Bert should move in with Carol (he'd hate being on his own) and leave the Bungalow for the Grundy's. Any reason that wouldn't work? Is it big enough?

Yep, the Grundies homeless plot is terrible. Surely by now Ed & Emmur would have offered to go back to Ambridge View and Willyum would have gifted 1, The Green to the Eddie, Clarrrie & Joe?

Just listened again. Have to agree with dipandkrisp - another plot clearly going nowhere (great north move, HP's move south, route B). Totally unthinkable that the Grundies would do this to Joe. They are not a family suddenly obliged to find a home for an elderly relative - Joe has always lived them (or you could say they have always lived with Joe). Forcing them to live outside the village would have been heartbreaking enough (Meadowrise plot - one of most hard-hitting stories in recent memory) there really is no need to ladle it on by banishing Joe to a homeless hostel - are you listing SOC - WE DON'T BELIEVE YOU. The happy ending (which I assume we'll be getting in time for Christmas) is only heartwarming when you don't see it coming a mile off. Perhaps DDD could open a book - house sitting for Caroline and Oliver, with Bert at the bungalow, Rickyard Cottage, a room at the vicarage or St Smugula to offer him HWMNBN's old room.

DadDad Yes, you clever person prepare for an avalanche of homemade naice,advent calendars. Also tasteless chocolate and booby ones

Just listened to last night's episode.
Oh, Joe....you can come and stay with me....sob, sob...

Other unbelievable / not true to real life situations - Helen's speeding fine. She wouldn't have been told points and a fine in the first letter, it would have been notification that the car was caught speeding, please verify if you or someone else was driving then we will let you know if a speed awareness course is an option. I have no recent experience of this myself, oh no

Also the play - when's it being performed? Surely it is all very last minute, Lynda only finished casting last week now she's working out sight lines with the cast but it'll be performed in under 3 weeks, would it really be ready in that time?

Ah, but didn't Rob say "I see you haven't been offered a speed awareness course", suggesting to me at least that she'd done a speed awareness course within the past however many years it is, either three or five, and thus didn't have that option this time

ARGH I do have a bee in my bonnet about this but why didn't "the council" say - your landlord needs to provide accommodation for you until the notice period is up???? who cares if the flat isn't ready and GG have chucked them out - Hazel is obligated to give them some accommodation isn't she?

STUPID. And I agree with pp saying that Eddie wouldn't push Joe into a HOSTEL. Never in the world.
FFS

Eddie didn't know what sort of place it was till they got there - he thought it was going to be sheltered accommodation.

Only just caught up on last night's episode. Relieved to hear that Joe storyline is utterly implausible (from a council POV), but still….. just AWFUL to listen to. All that putting on a brave face. Of course, clearly nonsense in that it's a no brainer Eddie & Clarrie would go down the sofa route.

What has happened to Lilian's gaff, incidentally? Can't remember why she had to move in with Brine & JD. Flood damage or couldn't bear to look at bare walls after Tiger stripped them of paintings etc.?

So miss the pusscat/tiger banter….

Surely by now Ed & Emmur would have offered to go back to Ambridge View and Willyum would have gifted 1, The Green to the Eddie, Clarrrie & Joe?

Ed & family are still at Ambridge view, 1 the Green isn't ready yet.

Susan thought they would be wearing body stockings

Lil has let Lynda live there (I think because she wanted to stay with Jen)

Lynda confirmed she would be back home by Christmas so therefore lil will have an empty house

Thank you BYOS

Ed or emmur did offer to stay at ambridge view and let the old folks take one the green as it was almost ready

Now it's turned out to not be nearly ready (convenient)

Will must have a spare bed for George - would it really be too much to let joe use that?

Eddies reaction to it being a hostel was nonsense - like he wouldn't have turned round and said 'you're not staying here - we will all share the one bed together'

There are so many options

Tans how many of us all squeeze in together over Xmas anyway - as if this has to turn into 'old man alone at Xmas sl' - it's not like they'll just leave him there all day

It is so badly thought through

They just want to stick us on the misery train that is soaps. I listen to the archers to cheer me up not to depress me even further!!

I listen to the archers to cheer me up not to depress me even further!!

I'm finding it quite cheering at the moment. It's so rubbish that it's laughable. I don't care about any of the characters any more so I go along with the attitude of "what's today's fun: another instalment of unlikely hogwash?"

That's true r4. But it has disrupted the flow of my daily life as I don't look forward to it in the same way. And have stopped listening if I can help it