Discuss The Archers here. There's hut construction, new teen arrivals, pastured eggs, pining Pip and other fun Spring-like stories to choose from.

[PseudoBadger]

Maybe if we don't look directly at the other storyline it will disappear?

A pp made a good point earlier when they said Kirsty does not know what we know. She can see a difference in Helen since before she went away - finds it odd that she's stopped working, driving etc. She instinctively doesn't like Knob and that belief has never been shaken (indeed it has been reinforced recently by his behaviour towards her) but she doesn't know everything we know about Knob and his behaviour towards Helen. Helen appears to believe what Knob wants her to believe - that she is losing her mind. Now he's going to come home and tell Helen he's asked Ursula to leave and she'll think he's doing it for her. I'm not sure how I'd behave in Kirsty's position. I think I'd tentatively speak to Pat and Tom to try and sound them out.

Oh god it's a bloody bad sign if we are actually thinking it's better for H for Ursula to stay...

Slice - isn't it a bit of a problem to say "I'd get my friend to trust me - but I wouldn't see the need to keep the promise" - surely that's going to destroy any trust.

Maybe, as tough as it is, you should say "why do you want me to promise that?" or say straight up "I can't make that promise, but I'm not going to start going round telling people your personal information."

No because she wouldn't know I'd broken it, if all I did at first was googling / ringing a help line for advice, I wouldn't tell her I'd done that! Then try and see her again, get more info etc., once I'd got some advice on ow best to handle it.

Shula knows what Rob is capable of....

Re the RIDICULOUS school idea, they talked about the school being about to break up and so they'd bring Henwee to visit "early in the new term" so they do mean an autumn start not after Easter but as others have said that doesn't make much sense like the whole boarding school storyline then

But the promise was not to tell anyone, which I would understand to mean tell someone Helen knows in a way that it's obvious that it is Helen being talked about. I don't think phoning a helpline and explaining the situation of an unnamed friend would count as breaking that promise.

I see what you mean, no, I wouldn't tell someone she knows straight away e.g. not rushing round to her parents - so would keep the promise to that extent. I'd probably meet her again as soon as i could and try to convince her to tell someone else. If she still wouldn't.... I don't know, maybe I'd talk to the police then, or her family but only if I knew them well, I'd feel I had to do something to keep her safe, especially as her child is in the house. The problem is, not having any experience of abuse, if you're the friend of someone in that position, you just don't know what's the right thing to do or how to offer help without causing a risk to your friend.

I have fortunately very little experience of what h is going through, but when I was about 17 I had a boyfriend who got abusive at times (mostly not). Different motivations going on (depression/teenage angst), but I do remember feeling trapped, scared and very, very ashamed of how I got treated at times - I never told anyone what a total dick he could be at times, holding a knife to my throat on one occasion. I'd forgotten about it but when H pleaded with Kirsty not to tell anyone that feeling of dread and shame about came back.

Gah. This is stirring stuff up I had safely buried.

I think there are some situations when the seriousness of the situation trumps keeping promises between friends.

Helen is a proud woman who cares deeply what people think about her. Her desperation to keep up appearances is clouding her judgement on top of all the gas lighting and lies. Kirsty is feeling frantic with worry and just needs to get the truth asap. She needs Helen to fill in the blanks.

I also think Harrison could be key in putting the pieces together. Kirsty will report back to Fallon bout seeing H at the cottage and surely Fallon will be talking to Harrison about it all. He is another one who thinks Knob is a prize twat.

spiker the shame was his not yours

I'm loving everyone's faith in Harrison, the copper who has never solved anything. Actually, that's not totally true. He did for Wayne so he has previous for nicking those-related-to-villagers, it's all the other villains out there that he never catches.

He nicked fallon for being lairy.... And look how that ended!

To be fair, what crimes has he been tasked with tackling, apart from whacky baccy Wayne and Ed's rustled cows?

Didn't he look for a lost child once?

The school would want evidence - otherwise can you imagine all of 'those' parents trying to get their kid into eton by claiming the mother is psychotic...

Fortunately children have to get themselves into that particular school via at least two sets of exams (in yr 6 + interview, and yr 9) and (once they have a conditional offer) usually at least three interviews with different House Masters to decide on a house.

Rob's strategy really wouldn't work there. (Not that it would work anywhere in England in RL.)

It's very disappointing. They've made so much of the research undertaken for the abuse story -presumably with the intention of helping people to understand the issue. But at the same time they're prepared to spread this nonsense about boarding for five year olds. (I don't care about some school Google throws up that apparently offers such a thing - amongst decent schools it is not done. )

Aargh - sorry, mistyped. Yr 8 of course!

what crimes has he been tasked with tackling, apart from whacky baccy Wayne and Ed's rustled cows?

The stolen bunting. Now there's a storyline I'd like resolution on.

It would be classic soap writing though, the token public services professional who we have barely heard from recently suddenly becomes highly astute and saves the day

This was a frustrating episode. Rob will get rid of his mum, which will make Helen happy. 'He's finally seeing things from my point of view' she'll think. Then he'll drop the school bombshell. But how can she protest? She doesn't want arse around but can't cope on her own. Perfect solution is arse helping from a distance by paying for school. Any complaints will be met with accusations of being ungrateful.

I hope Kirsty will talk to Tom. Pat's too worried of driving Helen away to be of any use.

Boarding school is such a drastic solution to 'not coping' when H's family fairly litters the neighbourhood though, plenty of help about - it feels such an engineered red-line for Hellin.

And thank you ColdTea - my (very) mature self is aghast at teenage-me not telling anybody (DM would have been straight in there sorting him out!). I don't understand the psychology of that shame but it's horribly true. On two other occasions in my 20s I had to tell about worse experiences and it was very hard to do and excruciating - but I think if you're in a relationship telling somebody about ongoing abuse within it is much, much more difficult - it shouldn't feel shameful but it absolutely does. Even without all that backstory for h.

Ebearhug you are my new hero. Today I passed a shop with lots of bunting in the window and my immediate thoughts were Rob stole the bunting. . . .
and then tried to make this really bad for him in my head

If I were Kirsty I might have said - I can't promise you anything Helen - and then I would spend time just thinking . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . .

Thank you, redshoeblueshoe!

Did the bunting go missing at a similar time to stefan?

Ursula said she was missing her friends - not a word about her husband.

Do you think he's left her, leaving her with boundless time and 'energy' to spend elsewhere?

Or maybe he's already under the patio, back in wherever it is they come from. "He's happier there, Robert. You know how he always loved the garden."