SOC reveals he's a quitter whilst Keri sews up plot holes on Twitter about the wicked wife-sitter! Discuss the Archers here.

[PseudoBadger]

Not long until our thread's 3 year birthday!

I haven't listened tonigt but get the jist of it from the thread. It all sounds more of Knobs plan to weaken the bond between Henry and both Helen and Pat&Tone.
He wants SOK to be the golden child. Henry must be seen as the difficult, naughty one

Will this never end? Will I never be able to listen to TA again?

I was on the EA thread too, although my abuser was not like Knob. But I was depressed and subject to mood swings and head completely spaghetti-ed and therefore unable to act for far too long. But just from reading this thread it's reminding me of that helpless puzzled miserable feeling.

Enough! Enough! Enough!

They're turning Henry against her now. I bet one of them has mentioned the bed-wetting at school so it's all round the class, hence the name calling. Rob & U have told everyone with ears about it.
The U has told Henry that mummy will be angry that he hit a little girl but to take no notice, mummy's crackers. Then Henry smirks and Helen loses it. Very clever.
Ursula reminds me of my late MIL's sweet little old lady act.

Silvery

It will end. Fairly soon I hope! Am trying to keep optimistic that SOC has got something planned that means all this comes to a big finale, Knob leaves the building, Henry and Helen are magically ok again, Helen sees how much Kirsty really cared all along and Pat sees how she has been tricked. Peggy will probably smugly state that she knew everything
I really hope SOK will be ok but I wouldn't like to bet on it....

Why are the school reporting to Ursula? She's not actually related to Henry.

I'm lurking here because I want to keep up with what's happening but I've been turning off the radio. I have been shouting at it and it's not a good idea whilst you're driving. The storyline has been useful when my son (15) has been in the car, I'm not sure that otherwise we'd have been discussing that abuse isn't always a black eye and split lip.

Gherkin - this is irrationally totally pissing me off. Ursula varies from being excited about the arrival of her first grandson (SOK) then wanting a for being GM of the year.

Also I was collecting my GD from school (when she was Henwee's age) and any issues at home or school were not discussed between the teacher and I because I am not her mother

I haven't listened to tonight yet and based on the reaction on here I'm not looking forwards to it.

R4 - we're in East Anglia. A self employed contractor is a fairly skilled job. Ed Grundy can drive a combine for example - that's over 100k of responsibility. A farm worker with less skills would be on less. Also the self employed often only get seasonal work. There's a lot of firemen/builder type people around here that do farm work on top of their day jobs.

'Good girl'. FUCK RIGHT OFF!

Sorry. He brings out the fishwife in me.

Something unspeakable and really really slow needs to happen to him asap or I am going to have some sort of seizure….

Poor, poor Henry. Thinking about what's happening to him just makes me feel sick. Helen is the author of her own own misfortune to a degree - in that she stuck pig-headedly with Knob when everyone was trying to warn her off, she didn't care about Jess or pay any attention when Jess told her she didn't know what she was getting into, she pushed everyone away who tried to tell her Knob was bad news to the extent of flouncing out of Bridge Farm and telling Pat and Tony they'd never see Henry again if they didn't back off. But Henry is wholly innocent and at the moment it feels like his mum is handing him over to his tormentors and has signed over parental rights to her own abuser. I keep wondering what will happen if something happens to Helen - with Knob's parental rights over Henry no to mention the new baby. Henry is destined to play second fiddle. Where are Pat and Tony - they used to be like his surrogate father when Helen was a single mum? Why have they completely forgotten the dinner party no-show and Knob's story about his parents? How has Helen forgotten this? Why is she letting Ursula take over?

Ursula will have to return home sooner than expected, and she and Rob will decide it is best if Henry goes with her - it's all for the best darling

I hope Henry runs away to Bridge Farm.

I hope Henry runs away too - and tells everyone at Bridge Farm what's happening at Blossom Hill.

Mostly what they do to Henry is undermine Helen - yes Henwee come hunting with me, yes Henwee mummy is a liar, yes Henwee you can have chocolate. So he probably won't runaway unless he is left with horrible mummy

DDD you asked what Kirsty could say to make Helen see. I'd say play it the other way.
K : Helen I am really sorry for getting it totally wrong. I thought you seemed really unhappy and jumped to the wrong conclusion. I see now Rob is really good to you isn't he?
H well...yes
K: the way he looks after you it must be great not working. Feet up.all day...
H well...I'd quite like to work.

K you know we should do something.
H that would be nice
K wouldn't it be great if Rob came too. It's time we buried that hatchet.
H ...oh Rob's far too busy maybe just the two of us...this time.

Etc. Just let it all tumble out.

If people push her about her eating or his behaviour she will go on defensive and stuck up for him/ go into denial. But she now finds it hard to agree with people who are praising him.

Minimising is second nature if you are confronted. Personally I felt I had to defend my choice to get into the rs in the first place. If he was an irrideemable shit then I must be a fool.
But if I was left to moan I could bitch about things he'd done all day and always expected friends to say oh yes mine does that too...only they never did...they just looked shocked. Except on the EA thread where pretty much everyone said oh yes they all do that as if (boaky tongue for starters) as if they all went to the same course in fuckwittery. (Not a course I'd recoomend for Ed)

Kirsty needs Helen time to tell herself he's a shithead.

Just to reassure you that my story turned out very happily in the end

I think I know who OvertheCliff was/is, but not you, SmallLegs. I myself spent some time as Rudolph, whose nose was pink...

Have just been away for a bit, so spent considerable time catching up on this and the previous thread. The only thing I have to contribute was prompted by the mention of Wayne. (Seriously? He's a gastro-chef now?) I have to say that as a dealer he was incredibly inept. No dealer would wait while an unknown potential buyer went off to get their wallet! They wouldn't be seen for dust...

Great post, small, and it had previously occurred to me that the most effective strategy would be to talk positively about romantic Rob who whisked you away for a quiet wedding, who dotes on you, so much to look forward to with a baby on the way... Too cruel or the only way she'll crack?

Mr Davies writes (sews? patches? darns?) on Twitter that they are aiming to show the 'psychopath' personality type in Rob.
"They have an unshakeable world view. If they say something is so, then it is so."
"They also take huge risks, supremely confident in their abilities to survive anything."

Is that Rob or the scriptwriters?

He also says that he has experience of this personality type, 'having worked for a couple of them'....

Not SOC, he hastens to add.

Keri was in the army at one point, so that wouldn't surprise me at all. I'veals worked with someone like that, except they didn't even have any charisma.

FFS is she ever going to open her eyes! Can't bear to listen anyone, someone tell me when it's all over

• anymore

Imo the rob hel dynamic is still completely believable, even her family's reactions. The ursula dimension is what makes it really silly, for the fact that rob types don't recruit their mothers usually and also the back story making it absurd. Get rid of ursula and get it back in the realms of the realistic

Is that Rob or the scriptwriters?

I agree Ursula is silly but entirely necessary if Rob is going to keep control of Helen, given her close relationship to her family.

Ursula is the reason Pat isn't visiting and allows Rob to keep control of the shop.

I imagine to him, it's the least bad scenario.