Tis the season to be jolly, Fallon, Alan, Helen, Lillian; Deck the Hall with boughs of Holly, Lily, Will and Jill, Tilly Button. Celebrate Christmas with The Archers!

[PseudoBadger]

Thanks to SmallLegsOrSmallEggs for this thread title way back in November!

Horsey person here.
There are two cheekpieces on a bridle, each one a leather strap that runs down the side of the horses face and holds the bit in place.
The cheekpiece does not carry any weight and is not under any stress. It is very, very unlikely to break.

That whole scene was complete rubbish. The storyline, the sound effects, the details. A more realistic scenario would have been For Shula to have been thrown off and taken home with suspected concussion. ( if only).

...and yes, Rob would pay to hunt, either paying £ several thousand a year as a member, or a up to a couple of hundred a day as a visitor. Depends how fashionable the hunt is !
If, as he claims he is acting as " Master" in Oliver's absence, he would definitely be a member of the hunt and would certainly be a lot more involved in the day to day running of the hunt, not just popping out for the odd day hunting.

It has never been clear to me, what Oliver's actual role in the hunt is.

How old are Molly & Tilly Button? Surely the oldest one should be in her teens by now? BBC website lists silents like Titcombe and Freda (now very silent), but no Buttons, yet they are mentioned comparatively frequently.

I thought Johnny was briefly linked to a Button so I was assuming oldest was about 17.

Maybe they decided to give the Buttons the push.... (sorry, couldn't resist).

It has never been clear to me, what Oliver's actual role in the hunt is.

He's the MFH, isn't he? So he's the man in charge, meant to coordinate with landowners, run the kennels and so on. Admittedly he has never seemed to do any of that; in fact, I think we've heard more of Rob doing it than Oliver.

I've no idea whether sabotage was involved or not but Rob was intensely and creepily envious of Shula's day out with Justin. Probably thinking that he was deliberately excluded because of his pauper status.

How much (setting aside shares of profit etc) would manning the till at Ambridge Organics pay? Surely not more than £1,000 per month for one full time position (or two job sharing)? So he's effectively taken out in cash twice their monthly income?

Well, if I were running a farm shop, I wouldn't expect till work to be far above minimum wage. However, Helen's job, and therefore Rob's as they're job-sharing, also includes management and ordering and so on, so that should push it up a bit, but it's till not going to be massive - wouldn't you pay yourself a low wage, and then take a share of the profits, if there are any?

DDD.
smalllegs nope, Johnny wasn't linked to a Button. Eldest is 13 at most I reckon.

Why on earth would the cheek piece being broken make a difference to her control? And why would Shula need rescuing and taking home after a horse went a bit skittish on her? Completely ridiculous.

And if Rob is acting master (when did that happen?) he wouldn't have been able to just drop the day's hunting on a whim. Did he do it to avoid paying his cap?

If Shula reacted like that, she shouldn't be running a livery and riding school.

She came across as knowing naff all about horses. And the simpering! Yuck

Basically, everyone involved in planning and scripting TA is a misogynist arsehole. And has never set foot in the country.

Stephen Moffit, perhaps?

Did anyone notice Smugula asking bout DocLocke? She is going to be LIVID when she finds out about him and Lizzie (I know nothing's happened between them yet but we all know it will)

Oooh though, Mystic Bore feels another prediction coming on - hang on while I consult the crystal...

... ah yes, the glass is clearing now and I see

Knob and St Smugula TOGETHER!

Hellin has finally seen the light or topped herself or Knob's bled her dry (crystal ball is a little murky at this point)

He's been cosying up to St Smugula as Plan B for some time

She's fallen for him after rebound from DocLocke rejection and has kicked Alistair to the kerb

He moves in and starts 'helping' her in the stables as horse whisperer extraordinaire , gradually taking more and more control of the business

It all makes sense!

Not heard tonights but Rob became master of the hunt when Oliver went away and he just stepped in and started contacting landowners before anyine had a chance to say wtf. Much loke he has done with the shop...the cricket ...etc. etc.

It all makes sense!

That's not necessarily a requirement for storylines these days anyway.

But where does he get his horses??

My thoughts exactly Bore...

Just listened. I don't think Rob orchestrated the cheekpiece incident, but he certainly exploited it.

Poor Helen sounding so wistful about how happy the Calendar Girls look in January. And 'missing' bedtime.

Is it at all likely that Rob would make a dessert involving Limoncella for his Babyvessel? I guess he planned for her to eat it then he could make an issue of it.

possibly small irrelevant point, but if Oliver and Caroline haven't been back to Grange Farm, how does anyone know what's missing?

Could Helen's expensive necklace actually be nicked from Grange farm in the "vandalism" in November?

Just wondering if Rob has a little earner on the side selling O&C's stolen TVs, Ed's cows, Tom's pigs, etc. O&C could come back & see Helen in the necklace and precipitate a downfall - though looking at the Lowfield spoilers for next week I think things may start moving sooner than that...

Rob is actually a master criminal - anyone seen spectre?

I hear Daniel Craig is available for cameos so that could be an exciting episode

mAM Ed showed Oliver and Caroline the rooms via FaceTime/Skype iirc.

Also as he was fairly familiar with the inside of Grange Farm (before and after the flood renovations) he was able to point out some of what was missing himself when the Ambridge Crime Squad arrived.

I'm sure grange farm wasn't anywhere near being a luxury des res when the grundys lived there - I know work was done but even so - it seems to have grown in size and stature

Re toms missing pigs - surely Tom or Neil would recognise them? I would have thought that they don't all look the same to them?

What's really irritating about the sw (other than the plot devices that are wholly inaccurate such as Shula and the horse, and the mysogyny which seems worse than ever) is the heavy signposting and predictable nature of future sl

They've really lost their way and I fear they won't be able to get back to a nice character driven show with good quality sw

Further evidence of TA's unique microclimate - JD's inability to find snowdrops and crocuses. Round here the daffodils are fully out.

I thought the same. Perhaps they were all washed away in the flood