He's not a pheasant poacher, he's a pheasant poacher's grandson. Join us for trials, tribulations and tipsy tractor trips in Ambridge.

[PseudoBadger]

Will this thread see the end of The Trial? And SOC?

[theredjellybean]

help...please...been away on holiday for 9 days, and at work so havent been able to listen to omnibus and can't be arsed really...so can someone give me a very brief , succinct catch up, sort of archer's lite !

[Gumpendorf]

Telegraph

Also posted on spoilers but there are no spoilers in the article. Only potential misdirections and a huge piece of boasting from you know who.

[EBearhug]

Erm, Alice got drunk and crashed a new tractor at the pickers' leaving party. Adam is not happy.

Pip went to clear the air with Toby who was wearing ancient, holey undies or something. She wanted to go back to FWB, but he said they needed to go steady and exclusive or something. Rex is still off nursemaiding their heart-attacked father.

Josh got his A-level results, which were better than Pip's, but he still doesn't want to go to uni, but wants to do a year out to get farming experience.

Phoebe's off to Oxford.

Lily's GCSEs were great. Freddy's less so, but Elizabeth asked Richard to have a chat to him, and it's all going to be sorted out, by him going to Borchester Green to do resits or something.

There was the opera at Lower Loxley, which had some amusing comments, although nothing of consequence, AFAIR.

Eddie took George poaching, with the "Danny the Champion of the World" method of getting them drunk, but it doesn't count as real poaching, because they're only taking a brace, and really that's compensation for having to dodge them in the road. Will discovered the alcoholic grain just before Brian and he were going to show Justin how things were shaping up for the new season (which will start 1st October) - Brian covered while Will tidied up, and Justin is jolly impressed with it all. Will later went and blew his top at Eddie. Clarrie is also unimpressed with Eddie. Will doesn't yet know that his own son is involved.

Tom's got an interview for the Nuffield scholarship.

Rob's been coaching at the cricket, but still no one will go for a drink with him. Shula turned up at the last match with a load of sandwiches to help out Fallon, except no one ate any, and it was all a bit weird. Rob tried threatening Ian as he's being a character witness for Helen. Ian basically told him to fuck off, although not in exactly those words.

Anna had a dinner with pronoun-less Max - Anna hoped it would be to say let's try again; Max actually told her they should divorce, and the new girlfriend didn't spend all her time on work.

Helen has continued to be a bit useless on providing useful evidence. She had a long chat with Kaz, where Kaz was really down because her ex has just taken the children from Kaz's mother, who is ill, despite what the residency order says (or something). Helen was all upbeat, saying, there must be something which can be done, but Kaz is not so naive and was really down about it, to the point that she tried to top herself, only to be discovered by Helen. Kaz is recovering in hospital, but will probably not be allowed back to the MBU, but go to normal prison, so won't have Jayden with her. This has not, so far, inspired Helen to realise what Rob is also like, and that she has to throw all she's got at him. No doubt that will be the cliffhanger at the end of next week.

[mummytime]

I really liked Ian, he sound very realistic and as if he's totally got Rob's number. Rob and Ian were very well acted.

[mummytime]

Oh and I meant to say Shula was good too I thought (at least if they follow through). She was trying to sound brightly cheerful even though he sandwiches were being rejected. Ideally I'd like this to build until you get a breakdown like Hannah in "Hannah and her Sisters".
It could be (lots of fingers crossed) that they are going to write something interesting for Shula (husband neglecting her, lover interested in her sister, her role usurped by a younger woman etc. Etc.).

[PresidentOliviaMumsnet]

@Eastpoint

The jobs at Vogue, Sotheby's & Christie's didn't pay enough to live on - .

I can confirm this as someone who worked there around the turn of the century straight from a Classics degree.


Quite right Eastpoint - NO SPOILERS please

[PresidentOliviaMumsnet]

Shula usually annoys the be-jesus out of me but my heart broke for her and her meat-paste sandwiches.

[ErrolTheDragon]

Weren't the sandwiches a result of Richard suggesting to Shula that she should engage with the cricket (Alistairs one nonwork activity at the moment) by helping with the teas?(which iirc she used to be lumbered with in the past). But you'd have thought she'd have checked with Fallon what she could add, bet cakes wouldn't have been spurned.

I've forgotten - did anyone other than Usha know about Richard and Shula's fling? I thought Alistair did, but if so would she be inviting R to meals etc quite so readily?

[CheesyWeez]

Alistair definitely knew about Shula and Richard, I remember David blabbing it as he assumed Alistair already knew. Alistair said "You mean RICHARD LOCKE is my rival?" all stunned. David was mortified.
I don't know who else knew, and Shula went on to marry Alistair anyway, God knows why, I think he's a most unsympathetic character

[JudyCoolibar]

I'm still pissed off that Pip seems to have escaped yet again with no blame for the tractor incident. I'd have thought that on any interpretation the whole idea of the challenge was utterly irresponsible, and it was totally predictable that a driver who had little or no experience of the vehicle in question and who was pissed was going to have an accident.

[SeekEveryEveryKnownHidingPlace]

Place marking - thank you for the new thread! We're going to be whizzing through them in the coming weeks, I suspect...

[BoreOfWhabylon]

Think it might be time for DadDadDad to flex his spreadshitting muscles - the threads are going to get busy again, though don't think we will crack through them at quite the rate we did around the time of The Stabbing.

[BoreOfWhabylon]

X post Seek

[Gruach]

I do think the BBC could have shown more consideration and wrapped it all up in the next two weeks.

I'll be busy after that.

[theredjellybean]

thankyou...saved me at least an hr and half of listening ! great service EB

[TopazRocks]

I think 'everyone' knew about Shula and the doc. Radio Carter knew, as did Jill. And Shula's sibs.

[TopazRocks]

BTW thanks for the great synopsis above, EBearhug, I've been away for most of the last 10 days, and not able to hear radio ...

[BoreOfWhabylon]

Just listened to the repeat - I missed first time round that Kaz may be able to go back to the MBA with baby J (currently in foster care) - depends on her 'reassessment'.

[CeciledeVolanges]

Senorita I wish Pip wouldn't bare the Fairbrothers either

[LowDudgeon]

Gumpendorf, I just came specifically to post this bit from that Telegraph piece

It's ALL ABOUT SOC AGAIN

He's wrong anyway, but he'll never see it. (& when it comes to 'moments', Nigel's was much sharper, & will last longer. Is that what this is ultimately about? Trying to top VW?)

[EBearhug]

Does anyone else sigh heavily and feel a sense of doom when they hear trailers?

But at least they have learnt to use clips from what's already been broadcast, rather than spoilers.

[JudyCoolibar]

I'm just hoping that the references to the trial being THE climax are a good sign. If the plan is for Helen to be convicted and the misery to drag on through an appeal and a lost custody hearing, I don't think the trial would be any sort of climax.

[OhTheRoses]

So is quote saying that alongside a verdict Helen will be found dead then?

Is Henry still bedwetting? Will Rob lamp him for it before the trial so it all starts unravelling?

[JudyCoolibar]

I don't read that quote as saying Helen will die, simply that it is possible to produce a climax that is as dramatic as a death - and SOC thinks he has achieved that. We shall see.

[SenoritaViva]

I know they've had a tractor accident previously but I could have forgiven them for unoriginality and an eastenders style plot if only Alice had run over pip and Toby. That would've certainly improved things.