Things To Do in Ambridge When Rob's Dead. Can The Archers get Home Deliverance for Helen?

[PseudoBadger]

No, we had some lovely conversations between Lynda and Robert, the most convincing and endearing married couple in Ambridge. They are planning their new garden.

Eddie hits 65 next week and there is going to be a barn dance at Brookfield, which of course will be a surprise.

Lynda is dubious about Eddie's shepherd's hut-building skills (quelle surprise) but is still going to get him to do some of the work in the garden.

Not a word from the Bridge Farm/Blossom Hill mob. What a blessed relief.

I was thinking maybe on the subject og home birtn and boarding school Rob is actually counting on Helen to stand up to his mum because he cannot and ubfortu ately he has shot himself in the foot as she in incapable of standing up to anything anymore

Sorry if this is a very stupid question, but why do Knob and Ursula want Hellin to have the baby at home? Presumably their aim is to get their hands on the child and have total influence over it; why would they put it at risk?

(The added risk being Hellin's previous history of pre-eclampsia etc not the risk of home birth per se.)

It's not a stupid question at all! Lots of heads have been scratched. Perhaps because they're worried that H will be out of their influence and able to confide in midwives overnight.

Knob didn't before Ursula stick her oar in. Ursula thinks HB is superior purely based on her own experience and completely disregarding individual medical history and risk factors. What Ursula says goes, so a home birth it will be.

Knob goes along with it because it's another convenient way to take any choice or control away from Helen. And if it goes tits up he can blame the women.

Thanks both. Keeping Hellin away from (in their eyes) "interfering" midwives of course makes sense. The more isolated she is the better I suppose .

I caught up with all of last weeks plus yesterday's episodes this morning...Its just got so depressing now, Pat and Tony's characters are beyond frustrating. They hardly see Henry and Helen anymore, why don't they invite her round for a cup of tea or something fgs?

I don't care how it all ends anymore as long as all the Titcheners FOTTFSOF.

I have stopped minding the SL now as it has moved away from anything plausible

I'm coming round to this pov now

I thought Rob didn't sound that keen on Henry getting send away to bs

oops sent away

my kids used to shout at each other 'you'll get sendaway'

it was the worst thing they could think of

mind you if I were Henry I wouldn't mind so much. As long as the sw stretched already ridic storyline even further and sent me to Bedales or the like

There's a chance that Eddie could have been quietly paying his class 2 NIC for years. I shall write to Keri & SOC to ask if they would like to bring a (shock, horror) female accountant into the storyline who sorts out Eddie's missing tax returns, gets lost in the village and stops at Blossom Hill Cottage to ask for directions. I'll offer Helen some advice on the salary/dividend situation at Bridge Farm in exchange for a cup of that dodgy tea she's been drinking for months, tell her that pregnancy isn't an illness and she can get behind the wheel again and drive herself & Henry to safety at Tom's before Henry is sent to Hogwarts never to be seen again. Sorted.

We paid Ex's class 2 contribs for years (the amount was tiny) while he pretended to be working was self-employed. I think he'll get his pension in a couple of years time. (Also, I seem to recall that some while ago they changed the number of qualifying years from 44 to 33 - I presume that otherwise there would now be more people claiming Pension Credit if they hadn't?) How old is Eddie? Is it worth me Listening Again?

He'll be 65 next week, Pussycat

They did change the number of qualifying years because a few years ago, due to time spent studying I was predicted to have a shortfall but since the QYs went down and the pension age went up I will now have more than enough. Thank goodness I didn't pay voluntary top up (couldn't afford it anyway).

The Ambridge Pensions fairy will sort clearly there is no Ambridge benefits fairy

Huge BOOP for Robert and Lynda - I want to go to their garden open day.

I've been meaning to post this for ages, but I always spend so much time reading all your posts and then run out of time to post myself.

Anyway, I would really, really like to see Lynda have a pivotal role in saving Helen (hear me out!):
She's great character and they have been going on about her 30year anniversary and giving us the silly, but very 'Lynda', shepherd's hut story but it would be great to have this counterbalanced by a storyline to show the other side of her.

• She has form for showing great empathy to younger, 'difficult' women (Kate, Leonie) and Helen fits this template.

• She knows Helen from village plays, knows she backed out of Calendar Girls, but is not a friend or relation who has anything particularly at stake in her relationship with her.

• she works at Grey Gables so is in a position to talk in a natural way to Kirsty, Roy (Tom's best friend) and Ian.

• with both Coriander and Leonie she has recent experience of pregnant women so probably can't be fobbed off by the 'it's this pregnancy' line. I'd imagine she'd also be up to date with current maternity care and guidelines etc (I imagine she and Robert googling anything they hear from his daughters).

• she is keenly aware of being a step-grandparent so might think more about Ursula and Helen and Henry than others and see through Ursula.

• unlike most of the others who should be able to see what's happening, she knows what a strong a loving relationship is like. I think all the Valentine's card rubbish was there to remind us that Kirsty, Tom, Roy and Ian may all have the nagging feeling of 'who am I to comment on someone else's marriage?'

• uniquely among the residents of ambridge, she can invite herself into any house in the village without it seeming strange. She's organising this pageant so why wouldn't she be at Bridge Farm trying to get Tom involved, dropping into the cafe to persuade Fallon and Emma and at Blossom Hill to cajole Rob and Henry? And her visits are always unannounced so she could easily arrive at the wrong moment.

I also feel it would be great to bring someone firmly part of the village but not part of Bridge Farm into the story to bring back more of a sense of the importance of the village community as recently (as in a previous thread title) it has seemed very much like stories of separate houses within a village rather than Am bridge as a community.

Sorry, that was long. I like Lynda and always like hearing from Robert.

That benefited me too, SmallLegs. I was sent a few letters, never got around to paying the extra, so ended up very relieved (as those who did pay extra didn't get any extra benefits or the option to reclaim the extra, which was very unfair; but not as unfair as the way they keep pushing back the qualifying age )

By reaching 65 before April, Eddie actually only needs 30 years contributions? But I still doubt enormously he'll have been paying Class 2 contributions. He never ever does the sensible thing!

Ruth is irritating because she stews and expects everyone else to figure it out. She is the ultimate in passive aggressive sighing

This! She's just the type to sit there saying "I'm fine" in that tone of voice which demonstrates that she expects you to demand to know what's wrong before telling her how brave she's being. As for whether David said anything supportive to her, we only heard approximately 3 minutes of their Mother's Day, for all we know he's spent hours consoling her.

I reckon Arseula was Head of Slytherin in her day

swirlingasong - yes I like your theory. I reckon Lynda could be pivotal in saving Helen, as you say, she could walk in unannounced and witness the way that Nob is treating Helen. Then Lynda will whisk Helen and the new baby away to her new Shepherd's hut to escape the Nob and Nobmummy,....but what would happen to Henwee?

You forgot to add, swirling, ... in a head-to-head clash of personalities between a Tichener and Lynda, I'd back Lynda any day of the week.

Swirlingasong your post has made me think of an indomitable Lynda (having discovered all of Ursula's and Knob's wrong-doings) luring them in to her shepherd's hut, barricading the door, and then wheeling them both in to a very deep spot in the River Am Agree she has good access to all the pivotal players but is aloof enough to look at situation with a bit more objectivity than Hellin's nearest and dearest.

Oh no though, have just had another thought! What if somehow the sws somehow manipulate the story so that Knob is exposed and almost gets his come-uppance but somehow manages to turn everything around so that Ursula gets all the blame , leaving Knob to get away scot free and wreak more havoc ... .

x post Scrumpy (see we are thinking along the same lines )

Love your theory Swirling - especially the it about her being able to walk into any house in the village unannounced.

swirlingasong that would be ace. I hated the way Lynda was written when she first arrived - the implication seemed to be that her childlessness had led to her being bossy and interfering - there seemed to be no empathy for her somehow. So I too loved it when she helped Kate and Leonie. And Robert is swoonworthy

A head to head Tichener Snell clash would be mega boopworthy.