Helen is drowning in the Cow Pat of Destiny. Please SWs - when will it be curtains for Rob?

[PseudoBadger]

Come on Kirsty!

Oh yes - well remembered. But Rob was busy killing so many birds with that manly steak. I'm not sure whether it negates the theory or not - we really need SOC to accept an invitation to MNHQ.

I know Lilian is dreadful really (although I don't believe in the temptress trope) but I do so love her cackle. It's been sadly lacking. I also think Charles Collingwood is a great comedy actor so I'm loving the Home Farm storyline. Did anyone notice the Brief Encounter Congo between Adam and Brian? Loved that! Many BOOPs yesterday

By the way - MrsCB - congratulations. Can you ask him to spend less time on the Internet and more time persuading SOC to hire a new archivist?

Convo, not congo

I feel so sorry for Brian, but I was laughing so much.

I think Lillian will tell him he got the Charlie/Rob thing wrong; Adam and Brian will concur.

Gruach - if you are killing birds to make steak then you are doing it wrong. (Actually, we did have a family meal where we had ostrich burgers - they were revolting).

Surely, the steak was, as you say, the "manly" thing to underpin his heterosexual status in front of the dinner guests.

Yes, that's what I meant. Not only did he use it to undermine Helen but also to mock Adam and Ian (in his own head).

And actually, thinking about it, his habit of running off to the supermarket every time he's in charge of dinner is bloody insulting when pretty much everything necessary could be sourced within half a mile of his front door.

When I moved in farming circles people always had meat from their own stock butchered and stored in bulk in the freezer. And I used to be almost self sufficient in growable food. Rob's menus are rubbish.

Meat is for men and fish is for weak women in Rob's universe.

He objected to her feeding him tuna and Jess wasted her time with the salmon but when he wants to make a point about manliness he rubbishes her tuna bake or whatever and rushes out to buy steaks.
When he asks her what she's cooked for supper she's been slaving over steak diane or a beef casserole for him but to feed her up he does cod.

I hope someone presents a paper on this at that seminar!

Ii find the kept woman so uncomfortable and that she accepts the money (to buy clothes etc) as he is basically paying her to look good on his arm. Also the implication that a woman is happy to look after a man as long as she can go shopping with his credit card

Where is Bertrandrussell!!

I wonder what is on his valentines menu. Oysters probably, with a liver sauce.

I agree with the meat-men, fish-women Rob view, but I do also think that his rejection of locally sourced meat is partly to do with him being too superior to get his hands dirty with anything that looks like an actual animal. He's happy to go out hunting and shooting because that's manly and socially aspirational, but you wouldn't find him actually getting stuck in skinning or gutting something ... much better to get a nice pre-packaged piece of meat from the supermarket, not this dirty local stuff farmed by peasants.

You read my mind BYOS.

But I'm torn. On the one hand the idea of accepting money from a man to pay for my clothes fills me with actual horror. Cannot imagine waiting apprehensively for a glance that says "I don't like it - and I paid for it ..." On the other hand Lillian will be back where she belongs - socially at the top of the tree spreading glamour and fun. And it's still kind of stupendous that all this bright future is opening up in front of an elderly woman. Partly, it's true, because of what she has inherited, but also partly because of her own character and personality.

But why can't she go to the races/get him into the county without the money bit? I know she's a bit skint after the Matt thing, but she's still got Amside and JD's not exactly going to let her become destitute.

He needs an excuse to spend so much time with her, as he's married, so he's calling it a job. But as they're already friends (and because they both know the true nature of the relationship) he can't actually pay her. So she gets expenses.

It's complicated ...

Socially at the top of the tree because she is being paid by a man. Bleurgh.

Listening to r4 now - there's a right twat on

I wonder if we are heading for a brief encounters valentines dinner for adam and ian... Adam again mentioning doing the right thing, like he did with Charlie.

Courtesan. I wonder what Justin's long term plans are re Ambridge. BYOS was that the single bloke... ' the chase is on' no wonder he's still single.

Yes - he wasn't looking for a girlfriend really! He came across as incredibly self centred.

I've started another thread in radio addicts on woman's hour today if anyone is interested

Doesn't Lillian remember when she started in her very own Brief Encounter?!

DYAC - *starred in

Thanks for clarifying Gruach, I get it more now.

Agree BYOS to the guy on before TA. I only caught the last 5 mins or so but still...

He was really bad at the start and then halfway through revealed he was schizophrenic- so I kind of felt bad then for thinking he was a twat but I'm sure being arrogant and judgemental of others isn't necessarily part of the illness. Maybe he just needs a reality check

• Other people might hear it differently though Dentist.

Brief Encounter is surely an allusion to Adam and Charlie - with Adam as Celia Johnson. Ian's going to say: "You've been a long way away - thank you for coming back to me" and we shall know that all is well.

Do we gather that Kate is planning to take the income from holiday lets of the cottage she's been borrowing? If so, can we not be treated a scene with Brian telling her that if his and JD's cottage is going to be used for holiday lets whilst she stays rent free in his and JD's house, then all the income from the holiday let is going to come to him and JD?