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?

The whole hating Toby because of grace and his dad is a big flaming pile of horseshit tbh

If they just left it at her hating him because he's a twat it would be much more realistic

Thing is there was something after Phil died, about Grace, & Jill feeling second best - I can't remember when or why, so I can't look it up, but this hasn't come from nowhere.

Combination of Grace/Phil, Fairbrother father/Elizabeth, & Toby/Pip, is behind Jill losing it now. (Have forgotten father's name, sorry)

But I prefer the scenario that Pip and Josh go rogue and Ben inherits Brookfield and turns it into a survivalist commune.

Made me snort! The cannabis reference was funny too.

The whole hating Toby because of grace and his dad is a big flaming pile of horseshit tbh

If they just left it at her hating him because he's a twat it would be much more realistic

We all hate him and none of us is Grace Fairbrother's husband's second wife.

The writing hasn't been very subtle recently so Rob asking Alan for details about the nativity and wanting to sneak in to see Henry is presumably a big signpost that something will happen there ..............or maybe they are toying with us and that's a red herring and he'll do something else instead

There must be something to do with Rob at Christmas, after all he thought he was going to get a few hours with Giddyjack on Christmas Day and now the rug's been pulled from under his feet - I don't feel at all sorry for him but I can see that he might be a bit miffed about it

Pip seems incapable of realising that being right legally doesn't necessarily equate to being right morally. Toby's living for free (so far as we can tell) in a house provided by David and Ruth, he knows they don't want him making gin on their property, but he insists on going ahead, and Pip insists on helping him. She also thinks it's absolutely fine to lend out David's equipment to him without bothering to ask for permission first.

The one comfort is that Toby is bound to dump Pip and we'll all be cheering him on.

Blimey, out for the evening, and 4 pages plus a bit of the previous thread to catch up on.

Jill is right that David and Ruth are being too soft.

They should call Pip's bluff. And stuff Christmas. Ruth wasn't so bothered last year.

This may have been noted previously but was it just me or did Kirsty sound like she was actively trying to put the kaboosh on a Roy/Tracy romance when talking to Susan the other day?

I think that was just because kirsty knows that roy isn't remotely interested in Tracy and had probably deliberately evaded her.

If Ruth has a go at Jill about Xmas I hope Jill does point out that she had to hold the fort last Xmas while Ruth was swanning about

Toby won't dump pip. She's his meal ticket. He will treat her badly and possibly cheat though

I agree that having Jill dredge up Grace makes her look unhinged. She can dislike him because he is a twat and a charmer - exactly like his father. I'm trying hard to picture him the sort of irresistible charmer who can wrap women round his little finger which is hard because he didn't start out like that (at least not in my mind). His relationship with Pip only makes sense if I think of him like this as everything else about him - particularly his hopelessness as a farmer - would make her run a mile.
Not sure whether Knob was OTT or not. I felt Alan's reaction was a definite signpost that he is a psychopath so expecting a suitably dramatic conclusion at some stage. Reading on here that some people have a grain of sympathy for him makes me wonder if Helen is feeling that too - especially with Henwee pushing her. It's not going to end well is it?

Lowfield interpretation of last nights episode is spot on

Thanks for the new thread

I really hope Henry's school are under strict instructions not to let Rob anywhere near him and that Alan has warned the family about Rob's planned present giving.

Alan's not going to think he has to keep it confidential, is he?

Why should he? It was a chat, not a confession.

I hope Alan tells someone. Aren't vicars allowed to share things told in confidence if they think a crime is about to be committed?

I hope Jill moves to Lower Loxley. It's always been a bit weird I think that she's got one child who's been widowed in tragic circumstances and is trying to run a business and raise her grieving children all on her own and yet she feels she's more use chez Dopeys when there are 2 parents and 2 of the 3 kids are (vaguely) grown up.

And I forgot to thank Pseudo for the shiny new thread and R4 for the splendid title. Thank you!

Vicars follow the same procedure as anyone else to whom a disclosure is made.

Except if they're very high church and do confession, which is a separate thing, then everything else falls under 'potential harm to self or others', which has to be reported. They have (reasonably) good training in that sort of thing, including quite specific examples of what needs to be passed on and what can be kept confidential.

Tbh I'm kind of sick of hearing about grace

Josh and pup are developing into quite unpleasant and entitled people. Ben has to be better and be the future surely?

Out of the young ones only Phoebe seems decent

I hope Jill moves to Lower Loxley. It's always been a bit weird I think that she's got one child who's been widowed in tragic circumstances and is trying to run a business and raise her grieving children all on her own and yet she feels she's more use chez Dopeys when there are 2 parents and 2 of the 3 kids are (vaguely) grown up.

This ^^. Absolutely this!

Oi, MysticBore, chuck the crystal ball over 'ere.....

Right, Knob will indeed go postal at the nativity, complete with shotgun. He will miss Hellin but aim towards the Brookfield Archers and...... Toby will throw himself heroically in front of Jill. Toby gets deaded, Pip may get wounded a bit. Jill takes it all back and declares Toby a hero. Rex is sitting with Kirsty while all this is going on and throws himself on her to protect her. They faaalllll in luuuurve.... OK I need to stop. Apart from the deading of Toebee the other good result of this is that Henwee sees Daddy for who he really is. Yes, Knob will go down for moider but also, Hellin will wake up and report his abuse and rape to the filth.

Although I would rather she just wake up on her own and report to the police and he goes down for coercive control and rape.

The previous scenario deading Toebee was irresistible!

Made the mistake of listening to the last episode of the women's hour drama. What a load of tosh. Makes me feel slightly warmer towards the crappy writing on the archers

If we were going to have a massive Rob-centred drama on Christmas Day, I would have thought the publicity people would have started the build-up to it weeks ago, given that it would be another SATTC event.