Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat, please put a penny in Joe Grundy's hat. Discuss The Archers here.

[PseudoBadger]

Ho ho ho! Will this thread last until Christmas?

I also find it tiresome when people get pregnant accidentally in stories like this because it's so easy not to (I don't mean contraceptive failures, just that many people would simply not have sex if they didn't have a condom). However, I can also see that if Kirsty is at a point in her life when getting pregnant wouldn't be the end of the world then she might well be prepared to take the chance.

If anyone was consciously engineering it, surely we'd be looking at Tom! He's the one who wanted them to get back together!

I really don't like Ruth or Pip, and I have actually generally liked Jill. (Think I'm slightly influenced by her dislike of hunting and private education!) But recently she has been totally unreasonable and her constant nasty moaning about Toby has been out of character, no matter how much she disapproves of him. I agree that The Dopeys reliance on her housekeeping skills is ridiculous but it's not right that she should dictate who comes to Brookfield.

On a lighter note, HNY to all my fellow Archers listeners, and a big thank you to Pseudo for keeping these threads going. They've been a lot more fun than actually listening for a lot of SOC's reignl

I thought both Kirsty and Tom handled the whole thing in a very adult way. A contrast to the non wedding.
Kirsty has obviously known for a while - had a scan, decided what she wanted to do and sorted it with her family.
Tom said all the right things and recognised that Kirsty didn't want togetherness or a proposal.

If they do manage a good partnership, of whatever ilk, through the pregnancy, will it send Helen back to Rob? Helen wants a good father for her boys, and I think she wants to believe Rob has reformed.

I'm still thinking Roy and Elizabeth . Parallel storylines about their unhappy quests for lurve...

Also meant to say, what an absolute piece of work Ruth was in last night's episode. Jill should go and live with Shula. The box room is better than being treated like a recalcitrant servant.

Thanks TinyfTroon i agree with your sentiments about Psuedo HNY to us all

Just caught up ... well, predictable, down to Tom's reaction (wanting to coparent in some way).

So my BOOP line in that one was 'Brad and Millwall'. ..'Chelsea'.

'The bloke I fancy doesn't like the names of my DS and DD. IABU to rename them Aston and Villa? '

Gumpendorf I reckon that Hell has grown up a lot, it seemed like she was listening to Caz's experience and taking it on board.

Your idea about the possible revival of Lizzie and Roy's relationship is an interesting one, her children might be a stumbling block again though.

I suspect that when the Dopeys find out what happened to proceeds of sale of Pip's cows, they may become less keen on welcoming ToeBee.

So my BOOP line in that one was 'Brad and Millwall'. ..'Chelsea'.

Yes that was good.

Mature sensible women like Kirsty have unprotected sex quite enough to get them pregnant. Especially when in their thirties

Me aged 30. Only time I ever had sex without using contraception.

Nobody - I'm with you, I think Jill is out of order, creating such a dreadful atmosphere with her sulking and passive aggression. And yes, she absolutely does need to hang around the stove, perpetually turning out food. No-one is demanding lemon drizzle cake in such quantities. And Jiggly, as for Ruth's departure to NZ: she was prompted by David's high-handedness in reversing the decision to sell and move without even consulting her. Anger further fuelled by the suspicion (correct, IIRC) that he was influenced by Jill. Not unreasonably, she wondered whether there was a future for a marriage in which one partner took such an important decision unilaterally, and fucked off to chew it over. And make a point.

Not that I like any of the Brookfield women. In David's shoes, I'd slit my throat in the milking parlour sooner than spend a holiday weekend with that bunch of harpies.

Cromwell [grim] glad someone has the sense to agree with me!

Oops! i meant though I do agree that David's lot is rather grim!

Poor old HeatherPet's final months and demise en route south would have been incredibly grim for Ruth, not surprising she needed to get away after that TBH.

I also agree with you, Nobody and Cromwell!

Me too. I think Ruth was off to tell Jill who she should have had at her birthday party, but other than that I think it was fair enough.

I really like the way they portray Ruth and Jill's relationship actually. It strikes me as very realistic given the situation, which is that they live in very close quarters in a house that has been both of their marital homes. That can't be easy. My impression is always that Ruth genuinely loves Jill, but equally sometimes finds her exasperating- and she doesn't have the backdrop of parental/child love to cushion it.

The clever thing about the Jill/Pip storyline is that you can't really side with either of them - they are both in the wrong.

Happy New Year to all.

I know plenty of people who'very had at least one unplanned pregnancy. Some have used contraception which failed. One was taking a gamble having been sick while on the pill. Most were in committed relationships, quite a few were married, just not planning children yet. All educated women. I know I've mentally weighed up the chances of getting pregnant (or an STI) when there's been the likelihood of unexpected sex, so no condoms around. People don't often say no to sex when they're really into it, from what I've seen.

Francis, no it's a nickname my mother (from Largs) gave me when I was little. She and my Dad used to joke with each other when they were first married, saying, "Shall we have an early night, or shall we stay up and listen to The Archers?" It was on at 7.05pm in the 50s!

I liked Roy's speech about parenthood. Which acknowledged that Phoebe still needs him even though she's at Uni, he still has responsibility for Abby and eventually will have Bethany to be concerned for (and I hope she comes back to Ambridge).

ppeatfruit Interesting that we've picked up different things from the Kaz/ Helen conversation. Helen has matured so much since the stabbing but I was worried that she was so hesitant about Rob. I hope she and Katz stay in touch.

I love the way we are all looking at Jill/Pip/Ruth through our own lens. I'm older with no surviving parents or pil. I experienced sulky behaviour as they got older and sometimes behaved like Ruth; not because of DC but just lacking in time and patience. I wish I hadn't.

Is there a word for men like Doc Locke, constantly sniffing after a bit of muff - lurching from one possibility to the next? Used to like him, but now I think he's just a bit of a sleaze.

When I was 18 our male friends would go out "sharking". The rationale was, if you asked 99 women to sleep with you, at least one of them would say yes. Locke reminds me of 18 year old students.