Roll up roll up! It's nearly Apple Day in Ambridge. Grab a slice of Borset apple cake and see who's got the longest peel in The Archers.

[PseudoBadger]

I'm so happy with the return to the little things. Enjoy the new thread!

Yes have been feeling slightly uneasy about all the time Kirsty and Roy are spending together. Sincerely hope it isn't going lead to a horrible cringey radio kiss as seems to be implausible in TA that a man and a woman can just be friends and that's all it ever is (unless one of them is gay of course ) But Roy. And Kirsty. She wouldn't. Just no SW's. Are you listening? NO.

No, Olympia, it's only listener speculation. SO FAR! Did you hear about the ONS? It was after that.

I did wonder if Roy's date had been sent by Hayley who found him online when she was doing her own search? They conveniently had the same interests and then she dropped the bombshell about cheating men. It felt a bit set-up.

Wtf did Rob want to achieve by the beater comment to Brine? I can't imagine the latter thinking anything other than 'tosser'. And then the bit about rumours... pity brine didn't retort, 'yes, which you started and fanned the flames of, you little shit'.

As to the stuff with shula - if the bridle path is a public right of way then wouldn't the onus be on the shoot to ensure its safe, and certainly couldn't be closed on the whim of an estate manager.

Is Kirsty pregnant? I missed that if so

It is only speculation after she sampled some organic sausage from the Tom Archer brand a few weeks back. Chipolata I reckon, hence no repeat order.

I would've loved it if Brine had replied that at least Ian hadn't stabbed Adam or vice versa.

You can get bridle paths and footpaths rerouted - we had one moved to the edge of a field, rather than right across the middle. But you can't just do it because you're bitter and throwing your weight around. I think you have to get permission from the council and so on, and it won't happen overnight.

Rob used to be quite keen on getting in with Brian. Has he now turned against him because he thinks he's superior to Brian with the new job and being close to Justin, or is Brian tainted by being married to an Archer and treating adult like a normal human being and family member?

Haven't listened to last night's episode yet, but one of things that really annoying me is that before the trial people were civil to Knob because either they didn't realise he was a Knob or they were giving him the benefit of the doubt. Post trial - now everyone is aware of what Helen was subjected to, how he operates and what a nasty piece of work he is all round - it is just not credible that more people would not stand up to him. Especially Brian - Helen is is niece for goodness sake. Likewise Justin - Lillian is Helen's aunt and has been very supposrtive to Helen post trial - it is inconceivable that she and Justin wouldn't have talked about this yet Justin is behaving as he did when he was the distant boss of Berrow Farm. He can't be having an affair with the Lillian and continue to be as clueless as he was when he lived miles away and never came to Ambridge - he just comes across as being rather dim. It was frustrating enough the first time round that no one was onto Knob, I just can't bring myself to listen to it happening for a second time.

Just listened. Rob is a horror. And yes, ridiculous that everyone is stepping round him and what happened.

Like Puppet I was willing Brian to question Rob's relationships too when Rob was attacking Adam's and presuming that issues at home made Adam unable to do his job effectively.

I don't remember Brian being so lily livered. I was expecting him to make some cutting remarks back. Fed up of rob now. He makes me switch off.

Justin's always been obsessed with local PR. He punished Charlie because he said Charlie had handled the PR aspect of the botulism outbreak badly. How can the SWs justify him appointing such a toxic man to represent his company?
I can feel my blood pressure rising again.

I agree avocado - having been almost stabbed to death by his wife, branded a rapist, banned from seeing his son and evicted from his home Knob is hardly in a position to make comments on other people's home lives and I feel sure Brian would have lost no time in pointing this out to him.

Lillian has discussed it with Justin and was pretty much told to keep out of estate business.

Justin does seem to have some enormous blinkers on where rob is concerned.

Brine needs to stay civil with rob simply because Justin has hired him and given him all this power and brine needs to keep the farm contracts intact. I'm sure he would be thinking what a tosser.

Lillian is going against character then IMO. Based on her behaviour so far - going to prison for the birth of the baby, helping Helen sort out her stuff, I think her loyalty would lie with Helen. She's also outspoken enough to tell Justin that having been hired to polish his reputation he would do well to listen to her. Really, really tedious that having ignored all the holes in the plot to get this far reaction to Knob is continuing to stretch incredulity. Just had a week away and went to the trouble of catching up, but seriously thinking of switching off now.

I don't think it is ridiculous that people are stepping around him. when a woman in my circle of friends left her husband and said that he was abusive, he was still invited to some of the same social events that I was at, and I just avoided him as much as possible. His ex-wife wasn't a close friend, and the fear of making a fuss on public is pretty deeply ingrained.

As far as Brian is concerned, I think that he, unlike Rob, has a very healthy self-esteem. He is aware of his faults and will generally be happy enough to admit to them to people he trusts. Rob's jibes about Brian's social status revealed far more about Rob's sense of inadequacy than they hurt Brian, who loves his position as gentleman farmer/big fish in a small village/paterfamilias of a successful farming family business. Brian is, in many ways, what Rob would love to be, and Brian knows it, although I don't think that he's keen enough on introspection to have actually counsciously thought of it.

So the insults are more or less water off a duck's back, although he's probably a bit concerned about what Rob will do in terms of souring his relationship with Justin. So being calm and polite isn't a hard thing to do, I think.

I didn't realize that was Rob suggesting that Brian was beating- I thought it was the other way round and I thought it was quite a good splat. There's no way even mega deluded Rob would have said that!

Brian et al had to tip-toe round Charlie for fear of losing the contract so I can accept that part of this sl. It's the falseness of Justin risking alienating so many locals and his company's image to support a man whose reputation is so tarnished that I can't get my head round.

I'd lost this thread.. About to catch up.

Also, Justin and Brian are quite pally aren't they? Why would Brian not say anything? This 'fear of authority' is very odd and not something that gets you very far in business either- which Brian would know. They lost the contract once and survived - I'd be laying it on the line to Justin rather than cap doffing to knob

Brian says he's going to talk to Justin about the wheat thing but Rob seems sure he's already got Justin wrapped round his finger so he's effectively taken the rug out from under Brian by innuendo - the very technique he used on Helen.

Well, that was short but sweet. I've stopped listening, again, can't bear the way Rob is being allowed to behave.

I said ages ago that no men in the Archers had outright condemned Rob. And I think that's still true. I think that very deep down they all think he's a bit hard done by.

It's actually quite shocking.g

I just hope they're not going for an Enders like Xmas sl