In honour of how The Archers threads began: Why are the SWs allowing this to happen?

[PseudoBadger]

The very first thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/a1740045-Why-is-Lillian-allowing-this-to-happen

40k posts later....

Afaik the Rob trajectory went like this.

Rob arrives in Ambridge.
Heads turn
He seems quite charming.
He spots Helen in the park.
Makes a play for her.
They commence a rs.
It then becomes apparent he is married but his wife doesn't understand him. It's all but over. That's why she's not there.

He visuts Jess.
Helen is a bit non plussed.
Then Jess is coming to Ambridge.

Rob absolutely savages Helen in the shop. He is shouty, aggressive and horrible. Helen v upset. Kirsty was either there or Helen confides in her.

She is then in panto with him
Helen is distraught at being dumped.
Jess arrives and loves Ambridge and everything in it oarticularly the deli in Ambridge organics.
Jess has party
H doesn't want to go as she is embarrassed by how nice J is and by being dumped by Knob.
Knob gaslights Jess etc. Salmon gate.

Jess and knob split.
Hel moves in having forgotten Rob is a cunt. Kirsty is not impressed.
The horror begins.
Rob shags Jess.
Rob shags unknown man/woman.
Jess visits Helen.

Etc.

That's right, except that the reason Jess didn't come to Ambridge with Rob when they first came back from Canada for Rob to take up the Berrow Farm job was that Jess's father was seriously ill so she went home to help her mother look after him. (This is what Rob told everyone, anyway.) He got involved with Helen and then he got a call from Jess to say that her father had died. He went down to Dorset, or was it Hampshire, and when he came back after the funeral he told Helen it was all over. Shortly after that Jess arrived in Ambridge.

The all but over bit was iirc the bullshit he fed Helen.
Then he told her he was only visiting because FIL.had died etc.

So it was very apparent he was a wrong un before Jess even turned up.
The savaging on the shop was actually one of his most horrible incidents.

I know that SOC has been controversial but I have to say that I've enjoyed TA a lot in recent years particularly how we are led to believe a story is going a certain way and then it doesn't. Ie. Jess and the paternity test, scruff, Ruth in NZ etc. The unpredictability is great and makes the Helen/Rob storyline so compelling.

Another lurker delurking to moan about the Shula,rob,horsegate episode, a " harness" seriously gr!!!!!!
They can be bothered to research bloody dairy cows milk yields and Spring,Autumn calving details but not a single person in the cast or writing room said " um excuse me I think you will find that's called a bridle "
Spoiled my Monday morning cleaning whilst listening to omnibus session !

What happened in the savaging of Helen in the shop, what was the general gist? I don't think I was listening regularly then.

He could get the statements (and who still gets paper ones anyway?)

Me.

I cannot remember exactly what was said but it was along the lines of its over. Don't be needy. It didn't mean anything. Don't speak to me in public again. I think.
Done on the nastiest way possible.

It was the aggression and unneccessary cruelty that stuck in my mind.

It seemed bizarre that Helen didn't remember it.

He seems quite charming.
He spots Helen in the park.
Makes a play for her.
They commence a rs.

see now I thought H threw self at made a play for him

it was excruciating

I must've missed the park ep

I think we all missed the park ep. There wasn't one! Recently he spun her some line about seeing her in the park before he knew her and wanting to kill whatever man was in her life.

I don't think she was shocked at him savaging Jess in the shop. She wanted him and his treatment of Jess seemed to show her the marriage was over and she was in with a chance.

I should say I don't remember a park ep. I don't remember their first meeting at all.
It might have happened as he described but my default position is to disbelieve him.

Am I the only person who heard Shula call it a bridle first and THEN later call it a harness.? `Also many many very experienced riders have accidents, bad ones. It's one of the most dangerous sports statistically apparently.

It was Helen he savaged in the shop, not Jess. Jess's savaging was in the house after the disastrous party. I think I do vaguely remember the park episode. However it started, she was just as keen as he was to begin with, as I heard it, anyway.

Ppeat, yes, many riders do have accidents (veteran of cracked jaw and broken bone in hand myself) so I'm not disputing the fact that it could all have gone seriously wrong for Shula. What I find difficult to credit is the way that the SWs had Shula dealing with what was going wrong. Shouting at a horse is the sort of thing you (might) do if you're a learner, but not if you have any degree of experience because shouting at a frightened horse will only make it worse. They're prey animals and programmed to bolt if scared, so the last thing you want to do is encourage that reaction more if things are already going wrong.

My broken bone incident was on a similarly young, green horse, who tanked off with me. Absolutely the last thing I was going to do was shout at him - I sat there quietly until we parted company. And then I swore.

enoch I think you are right, he mentioned recently that he first saw her in the park in a yellow dress. The way he said it was chilling. In fact it was because it was so chilling that I remembered the colour of the dress.

Wasn't the 'park' episode actually the 'village green' episode, with Henwee feeding ducks.

Am I the only person who heard Shula call it a bridle first and THEN later call it a harness?

Saddo here went to Listen Again. It was first called a bridle by Rob. Then Shula called it a harness in the re-telling of the story. So Rob knows more about tack than Shula, apparently.

Many thanks for summary Smalllegs.

I particularly remember how cruel Knob was to Jess after salmon gate - & also in the lead up to the party, as he really resented having it in the first place. As for the scene in the shop when Knob dumped Hellin, I'm pretty sure Kirsty heard it from the back room.

Liked the references to Jill and her tea & cake obsession last night 😀😀

So Brookfield are stuck with the fairbrethren because pip was thinking hubba hubba when she saw Toby

Will they also be stuck finding another salary for Matthew now?

Talk about being way too involved in your kids love life

When he described first seeing her with Henwee I got the impression that she didn't recall it and he was making it up. I think he was persuading her about something or other. The chilling bit was him saying he wanted to kill the man in her life.

enoch - that's what I meant, not that the dress was scary, but he had said he wanted to kill her imaginary partner. At the time of him recalling it she appeared not to remember, so like you I thought he had made that up.

I know, red. It sounded so pretty and idyllic a scene that the 'kill' bit jarred terribly.
She's given him no cause for jealousy so far but it makes you wonder what he'd do if he really was jealous, of Henry for instance.

It was striking that she sounded like her old self after a bit of time with Kirsty and stood up to his demands for her prompt return when he rang. Perhaps she'll find some backbone yet.

I only have a vague recollection of the salmon incident - can someone enlighten me? Also - is Kathy still in The Archers? I don't think I have heard her for years.

Yes, Kathy is there. Working in the spa/gym at GG IIRC. Still moaning away in that dreadful distinctive voice of hers…..

Jess finally arrived in Ambridge. Jennifer befriended her. I think it was Jennifer's suggestion that Jess and Rob should have a drinks party to get to know more people. Jess very ill-advisedly allowed herself to be railroaded into this without consulting Rob who was furious. She had met Helen in Ambridge Organics and didn't know about the affair (who knows what she might have suspected). She asked Helen to provide cheese and deli stuff for the party, so Helen ended up delivering food to Blossom Hill Cottage and I think she may have stayed for the party.

Jennifer suggested that a dressed salmon would make a lovely centrepiece for the buffet, so Jess slaved over that.

Here's the Lowfield summary for the night of the party - more detail than my memory!

Thursday 19th December, 2013
Helen feels apprehensive and Jennifer makes things worse.
Jess, Rob, Jennifer, Helen, Kirsty, Caroline

It's the night of the Titcheners' party and as they prepare for it, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. Jennifer arrives early to help which causes Rob to switch from uncooperative nastiness to full-on smarminess. Through gritted teeth he agrees to try to have a nice evening.

Meanwhile Helen and Kirsty are preparing to deliver the food; they are planning to get away as soon as possible and go for a drink at The Bull. Already Caroline has noticed that something is amiss with the hosts but is very complimentary about Jess's beautifully dressed salmon - too perfect to touch. On Oliver's behalf she asks if Rob will be joining the hunt; his smarmy response is positive. Jennifer too has sensed the atmosphere and assumes that Jess is under pressure and is in need of help with the food, so when Helen and Kirsty arrive she dragoons them into helping to serve it.
Rob is surprised to be offered a top-up by Helen and he immediately seeks out his wife for a row about it. There is more friction evident when the guests start to leave prematurely and need their coats; Caroline thinks Jess is crying. As they drive away, Kirsty is critical of Rob but Helen points the finger at Jess for the tension in the household.
At the end of the evening, the beautiful salmon has proved as untouchable universally as it was to Caroline earlier. On the way to the freezer Jess manages to drop it; Rob's outburst at this sight sends Jennifer scurrying away. Rob pours himself an extremely large whisky and makes it plain that clearing away from her party is entirely down to Jess.