As the Archers threads age like a fine wine, or a cheese, come and join us - it's nearly time for the Ambridge Flower and Produce show

[PseudoBadger]

Hopefully we can go back to an ordinary tale of country folk?

Spoilers are frowned upon.... There's a thread for that.

Given it's radio, how did you know it was inner monologue rather than him flipping and saying these things out loud?

There was a different quality to it - no background sounds or anything. Can't remember exactly - it was about 5 years back - but it was obvious.

I too was a Young Farmer, back in the mid- late-'80s.

Urg, I had a Rob Titchener dream last night in which I was Henry and he was trying to take my savings book and he hit me!

Does anyone think Helen is going to go back to being a twat ever? Because at the moment, it's almost as though being abused has somehow cleansed her character, like being paralysed in What Katy Did. I get that this is probably because the subtle complexities of a dreadful character who's also recovering from something awful are too much for TA to take on. But as a pp said, the old Helen, even pre-Rob, wouldn't have been so tolerant of Emma. It's as though she's a sadder and a wiser woman for being abused ....

But as a pp said, the old Helen, even pre-Rob, wouldn't have been so tolerant of Emma.

Really? I remember them as friends! Didn't they go to the park together with the children regularly? Weren't they having fun in the kitchen of BHC once when Rob came home and later lectured Helen for having such undesirables around? I always assumed that they had become friendly because of the children although I wouldn't describe them as close before. I thought last night's conversation was very natural.

They were sort of friends, though being friends with someone never used to make H particularly tolerant or kind to them!

If I were Helen, I too would be hugely grateful to know that Emma had looked after George from time to time. It must have been such a relief to her to find out that he'd had some 'normal' interaction with his friends while she was in prison. I think Helen reserves any impatience and unkindness for her close friends and family.

@GypsyFl0ss

Not the current one Fiderer . She started doing some work exp in the surgery and as far as I remember it was a one off. Can't even remember whether St Shula found out.

There was loads of Paul and Lils Tuktuktaker , it was quite an abusive relationships towards the end which Lil seems to have conveniently forgotten, both in relation to Helen and when she reminisces fondly about him, unnamed , to Jenny.

No. St Shula didn't find out
Was all the Russian stuff with Brenda on AmBex too?
Where is BRENDA in helen's trial????

I never thought H was that bad. I've always liked her.

I became much more chilled out after leaving my abusive ex. But it was partly being with him that had made me so prickly and unhappy.

"AmBex" sounds like a dodgy Brazilian bank.

Continuing the chat about what people look like, I realised during the trial that Helen looks like Susan Tully (Michelle from EE a long time ago) and, unfortunately, Knob looks like my next door neighbour (similarities i really don't want to think about )

Rex, quite randomly, looks like a young David Milliband! Not sure about Pip.

Helen doesn't look like Susan Tully!

Was all the Russian stuff with Brenda on AmBex too?
Yes.

Where is BRENDA in helen's trial????
Very good point. Isn't she meant to be working in London these days? You'd have thought Roy might have mentioned something, even if she somehow managed to miss it all in the news.

Scary :- I've never found Helen that bad either. I know many on here cannot stand her, but I think she's OK. She does get annoyed with close family & friends but a lot of us do ( I do anyway from time to time!).

I thought the conversation with Emma was very natural. As Emma testified in court they used to be close friends, brought about through having children of similar ages, before Rob came along and made her unwelcome at BH Cottage.

Is there some subtle joke in calling it Am Bex? I thought it was short for Ambridge Extra, so surely Amb Ex (which is what I see earlier in this thread).

I thought it was generally known as Amex at the time?

AmEx definitely.
Didn't the first of these threads start from someone (Pseudo?) recounting the whole of one of them for someone who couldn't listen? Or am I misremembering? (Longtime lurker!)

Helen so is Susan Tullly! If not, then who?

It was RocknRollNerd who gave stupendous synopses of AmEx for those who couldn't bear to listen.

My ref to AmBex was a typo sorry DDD >

Been away and, day before yesterday, caught up last week's episodes on Lowfield - easing myself in gently.

Now Lowfield doesnt seem to be working.

btw, and v late I know, but as a Londoner I used to say "scoan" but recall the pronunciation has always been a bone of contention. Since coming to the NE decades ago, I have adopted "scone/gone" and can be jarred if DM calls them "scoans". I bet this controversy is centuries old!

Helen was foul to her father when she was pregnant with Henry, and was equally foul to both parents when they dared to question the association with Rob. She also has a history of being particularly unpleasant to Hayley. That's the sort of thing that makes people dislike her.

Yes she was vile to Hayley.

But Tony was pretty foul to her about Henry. 50:50 I reckon.There was a sweet reconciliation scene over the Moses basket if I remember correctly.

And most people would object to their parents having a go at a new man.

I wonder if Pat's words to Jazzer about Rob going unpunished is a cue for Jazzer to take matters into his own hands.

amelie - no need to apologise - I just thought an in-joke had passed me by!

Actually if you search this thread for "ambex", you see it started as AmbEx, then AMBEX and Ambex crept in before you changed the course of history, amelie, and everyone copied you.

AmEx is surely American Express.

I don't think he was foul to her about Henry. He was the only person who dared to voice some reservations about her decision to go for donor insemination and have a child as a single person, and she reacted with fury and the cold shoulder treatment.

As I recall, what he said was very mild indeed compared with what many parents would have said, and indeed what he could have said. Helen's mental health wasn't great. She had a long history of making dreadful decisions about personal relationships. She was a key member of the family business so her decision to have Henry was not just personal, it affected the family finances and everybody else's workload, not to mention (eventually) life at Bridge Farm, after she gave up the flat she'd been renting from Peggy.

It always makes me laugh when the BBC describes Helen as fiercely independent, by the way - she's never lived and worked outside the family except for the few years she was at college. Nothing wrong with that, but she's had a far more cushioned life than most people in many respects (obviously not this last couple of years with Rob).