One Flue Over The Shepherd's Hut - Discuss The Archers Here

[PseudoBadger]

I do hope Lynda has a carbon monoxide monitor in there...

It doesn't make at sense that on one hand Helen is saying Henry isn't safe with Knob but then on the other is sounding like she's given up. If Henry was safely with his grandparents I could just about understand her feeling like giving up the fight after everything she's been through. But knowing Knob has Henry I just can't see her doing anything but fight.

Re. Helen's freetime yyy
And Pat's
And Tony's

After all the shop is shut.

They should be wracking their brains constantly. (Is it rack or wrack?)

Bits of the puzzle should be falling into place.

And yes it might be construed as victim blaming to say she should get a grip (but she is not real) but portraying her as quite so useless is also a form of victim blaming. Here! This is what victims of DV look like!

Only we all know lots of victims of DV and not one I know behaved like that. If their abuser was about to get their dc they'd fight. If they thought they were a lost cause they'd still tell anyone ad everyone he is DANGEROUS and do their best to make a case for the dc to be elsewhere.

Has she told the sol to contact Jess???

X post cold tea.
Exactly!!

It's also very unbelievable that the kids at Henry's school wouldn't have mentioned his mum being in prison for trying to kill his dad within half an hour of him arriving there.

2rebecca I imagined that was perhaps the situation Henry was trying to explain when he told Rob that he hadn't played with anyone at school. But Rob didn't pick up on it so nothing more was said.

I like the possibility of Rob and Ursula seriously getting on each other's nerves. Wherever there are two people in a house there's room for conflict so we can only pray that one of them murders the other.

I do hope Johnny's loyalty to Bridge Farm has not, inadvertently, made things worse. Despite what Tom said he might have responded differently if he'd met Jazzer himself - particularly since his mother berated him for driving Jazzer out. And while Jazzer might understand and forgive Tom he has no reason to be so forgiving towards Johnny (who has, after all, had a farm fall into his lap while Jazzer has nothing).

The BF Jazzer/pigs/no shop thing is just to heap misery on misery on misery. So of course johnny didn't tell Tom.

SOC mistakenly thinks that not making a horrible thing happen: route B, loss of BF, going to.prison for murder, losing your kids- is Not the same as a happy ending. It is return to the statis quo.

And just really, really teeth grindingly annoying. Like being patronised by a twelve year old who says "just kidding" after everything they say.

It crossed my mind that Rob ignored Henry saying he had no playmates because Rob saw that as normal. A scene from his own childhood perhaps?
Or he sees it as desirable, meaning Henry isn't mixing with those common village children.

"And yes it might be construed as victim blaming to say she should get a grip (but she is not real) but portraying her as quite so useless is also a form of victim blaming. Here! This is what victims of DV look like!"

Absolutely! They have created a scenario where victim blaming is unavoidable.

Fabulous delurk marilyn - you sum up my frustration perfectly. If Hellin was prepared to stab Knob to protect Henwee I would have thought news that Henwee was now living with Knob who is threatening to keep him forever would have prompted rather more than the pitiful blithering we heard tonight.

Helen has been emotionally and physically abused, yes, just a slap but raped too, twice. Knob has pretty much driven her to the brink of madness. I don't think her mental state and inability to connect is that unsurprising, not least because she is in an alien environment called prison and has had about two hours contact with a barrister since leaving the "normal" world. She was already fragile, already pregnant, already abused. I think most people would agree that prison is an extremely traumatic experience notwithstanding what went before.

Do barristers get unlimited time with the defendant when they are in prison. Probably not if the defendant has funds to pay; if they don't it's probably more in line with a six minute unit or small collection thereof. Pat would get what, on a visit - an hour? Barely enough to make someone feel comfortable.

Anna could have bloody well asked "why are you so afraid about Henry's safety Helen". She's supposed to be a shit hot family lawyer - she should know what's at stake - she should have done this rather a lot of times before. Pat hasn't, Helen hasn't, Tony hasn't. Actually the person I'm least impressed with tonight is Anna Fecking Tregorran.

And if this were a MNet thread in relationships would the responses be not just a little bit kinder for Helen, a little bit more empathetic, a little bit more understanding that she is probably not quite in her right mind and perhaps needs some help and possibly some specialist, psychiatric intervention at this stage. You know professional counselling, psychiatric assessment, love, kindness, help.

Reactions on here are just like what happens in real life. And why women are scared to leave abusive relationships, or even speak up about them.

Not buying that Bert.
Lillian has it spot on: "If Hellin was prepared to stab Knob to protect Henwee I would have thought news that Henwee was now living with Knob who is threatening to keep him forever would have prompted rather more than the pitiful blithering we heard tonight".

Completely agree with what EsmesBees said. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Helen starts to believe she does deserve to go to prison

That is what I had been really hoping for Lillian, I wanted Helens head to clear and focus on the job in hand once she knew about Henry. Yet another episode with the potential for a really good turning point turns out a big disappointment. Suppose we do have to bare in mind Helen has always been an awkward sod but this is taking it to extremes surely! Its a good job we've got chickens and shepherds huts to keep us listening

Helen wouldn't even be posting on MN. She hasn't even realised she needs help yet.

I am just sick to the back teeth of them writing it in such a hopeless way.

I wish they'd start writing her as a survivor.

Exactly! I was fine with them making it all look bad for Helen in the immediate aftermath as realistically it probably would look that way. I really thought Knob would be loosing his upper hand by now though.

They better be careful or a lot of listeners will get bored waiting.

has had about two hours contact with a barrister since leaving the "normal" world

That at least can't be correct. She must have had quite a lot of contact with midwives/doctors, will have had people like a prison chaplain available, and will certainly have seen her solicitor. It does irritate me when radio and TV dramas airbrush out the involvement of a solicitor in courtroom dramas, it definitely is not the barrister doing all the legwork with finding and interviewing witnesses, organising medical reports, tracking down documents etc.

There's no way a barrister flogs off to a prison for a 6 minute visit! And I thought Anna was supposed to be a shit hot criminal lawyer, not family - hence the fact that Pat and Tone were referred to someone else for their application.

I'm not looking forward to hearing Knob in court tomorrow. Don't you just know he'll turn up in a wheelchair looking all pale and noble? This is where research into Knob's old boarding school definitely could pay off, with some cross examination about why Knob is so keen to have Henry when he was desperate to shunt a 5 year old off to boarding school only a few weeks ago.

Sooo annoying. Anna needs to tell Helen that she really is so worried about Henry, she needs to speak up and help Anna do her job.
Off-topic, but while in the park today, a crusty/unwashed, dodgy looking man passed by, on the phone, saying "...she had the knife in her hand so I said, 'if you're going to stab me, go on then'..." Very creepy, given TA taking up so much of my head space at the moment. (And no, I don't think he was a R4 listener).

sick of it all now

I want flower & produce show, stir up Sunday, single wicket - never really understood what that is, Chris & Peggy bickering, Kate being.........Kate, the Grundys with another money making scheme, I'm prepared to listen to more egg enterprises but I draw the line at flirty giggly Pip............

I think I may even be up for a whole episode of just Roooooooooth using her little quiet squeaky voice talking about New Zealand, missing Heatherpet, new ways with manure........or just about anything as long as there is no Helen-Rob content

I'm confused. We have been told this story is about coercive control; no one who listens to a radio can have avoided information about the new legislation over the past several months - so one would expect lawyers, police and even farmers to have some awareness of it. But all Helen is ever asked is "was he violent?" The only trigger for releasing any significant help and support seems to be the words "he beat me black and blue; look, here are the bruises and the broken bones" - which she obviously can't say. And in the absence of any obvious assault they all become impatient with her. No one has pursued any other possibility with any vigour. She must, surely, be plagued with intervention during this remand stage - a formerly blameless, pregnant woman at a moment of extreme crisis - yet it seems that no one is actually talking to her. And no one on the outside is asking why so many things changed for her before The Event. I slightly feel I've missed a memo - or been hoodwinked - we only pretended it was about coercive control so we could get Helen into prison and have Rob kidnap Henry. Now we're just going to do court and crying. Hee, hee, hee - fooled ya!

Exactly Beau! In-Hell keeps wittering that Henwee isn't safe but nobody is following this up. I don't think anybody has asked her why she thinks this. Also, she stabbed Titchyknob about 3 weeks ago so surely even In-Hell should be able to give some semblance of order of events by now. Granted she's traumatised, but if even Henwee's safety can't focus her mind....well, it's just going to drag on, lose momentum and lose listeners.

I'm bored of it all and I can't bear Ursula's tremulous tones. I want Helen to snap out of this fog, stop bleating my boy, and actually do something to help him. I want Pat, Tony and Tom to compare notes and talk to Kirsty. And yes, absolutely, Gruach, talk about emotional abuse and coercive control. All the times Helen opened her mouth but Rob was pulling her strings - the home birth, not driving, not working, dressing like a sister-wife, hairstyle like Ursula's - even going back to their 'romantic' elopement. Gah!

Hmm - do you think Anna will talk to Carol and the Chekhov's gun of Carol saying Rob wasn't her sort of person will be fired? And then Anna will go all Miss Marple on Ambridge?

Thank you for listening for me. Every morning I read this thread HOPING that something/anything meaningful has happened.......