Surprise surprise - Kirsty has a Mini Sausage Roll in the oven! Discuss the Archers here

[PseudoBadger]

Happy New Year to you all.

If it was not Peggy's money could it account for the discrepancy in the books at Berrow that Charlie was investigating before be was banished to the fish farm in Scotland?

Maybe Rob will want a bigger/open ended Bridge Farm Cash "settlement" to pay off Stefan.

can't believe ... that she never mentioned it again to anyone after stab night when so many people were saying "I can't believe it he seems such a nice chap" or when he got the job at Berrow - she and David or she and Lillian would have had the conversation - I can't believe Justin's employing him again when you think of what happened during the flood, do you think we should mention it?

Wasn't that sort of explained away? She and David passed the message on to Charlie who investigated and got nowhere. Therefore Stefan mis-identified or was lying or something like that. Case closed, they assumed.

If someone made allegations about their boss and then disappeared would you think (a) the boss did him in or (b) the employee was spinning malicious yarns and slunk away when found out. The latter is more likely.

I agree it was sort of explained away, but fairly unsatisfactorily for those listening at the time. Totally see that Huge Canoe is mopping up after SOC - just hoping the Stefan/Knob blackmailing story isn't going to be even harder to swallow than Jenny and David's collective amnesia was at the time.

Lenina - I like the idea of that but I guess Rob needs money now, and anything he gets from Bridge Farm would be months down the line. But he could well think Bridge Farm is a way of replenishing his depleted coffers.

I need to catch up. But regarding money- what about the beautiful expensive necklace that R gave H. Has she pawned it to pay legal fees.
Amazing how many men in TA spend their partners or someone else's money. rob, Tobes, Kenton.

I know there was an explanation of sorts for the fact that JD and David did nothing further. But what does seem wildly improbable is that, once the information about his true character began to come out and their relative was in danger of long term imprisoment, one of them didn't once think "Hang on - that business with the culvert - shouldn't we check with Charlie in case he has any information Helen's lawyers can use?" After all, even Shula worked out that information about his general nastiness could be relevant.

If Helen has any sense she's sold the necklace. I doubt she seriously wants to wear it.

even harder to swallow than Jenny and David's collective amnesia was at the time.

Yes. We needed the "case closed" conversation at the time, not reported long afterwards.
But thumbs-up to Huge Canoe for trying to sort out the inconsistencies and loose ends.

Delurking to say -

Isn't it a bit strange that Jenny is so disinterested in who may be responsible for the blocked culvert given that Charlie and Adam nearly died because of it?? Well, Charlie anyway - but it would have been risky for Adam to rescue him, presumably.

Not sure about that glowfrog. Although JD knew about Adam and Charlie (?long after the culvert?), I think that her loyalty would be to Ian not Charlie.
Also, if she believes Justin, then Charlie was the cause of the end of Berrow - remember that Berrow was Brine's baby so, again, no reason to feel well-disposed towards Charlie.
Also (again!) if Charlie (who was the victim, remember, and had authority within Damara) couldn't sort it with an investigation, then who could/would?

I think we should allow Huge Canoe some leeway here. He's trying to drag the whole thing round to something more acceptable and he's got a lot to overcome. I'm happy to allow him some minor improbabilities so that he can smooth over some massive ones he's been lumbered with.
It was so frustrating that the whole culvert thing seemed to be swept under the carpet and now some sort of resolution is in the offing at last.

Charlie spoke with Brian about his concerns re rob though. So Brian at least should have twigged

If Helen has any sense she's sold the necklace. I doubt she seriously wants to wear it.

I assume that she wasn't wearing it on stab night, and I reckon Rob would have taken anything of value before dumping the rest of her stuff into the bin bags she avoided going through at Bridge Farm. So I doubt she'd have had it to sell. He'd have seen it as his anyway.

Isn't it a bit strange that Jenny is so disinterested in who may be responsible for the blocked culvert given that Charlie and Adam nearly died because of it?

Yes.

I also agree with giving the new editor some leeway, particularly if he's tying up some loose ends which have been around for far too long.

Where has this idea of a dingy café come from? It was the market café. Nothing to suggest that's dingy. Quite the opposite I think. And I don't think Jenny is the kind to forget a face at all.

R4 sorry, I'm not sure what their affair has to do with the culvert and near-drowning? Can you clarify? I can see she may not care about Charlie but surely she does about her son?!

The culvert blocking is a bit of a non-story, on its own. Rob has no reason to fear Stefan's return. But given his state of mind right now, it's not difficult to see why he's nervous.

The only witnesses to the extent of the blockage were Charlie, Adam and Ed. Charlie presumably believed, at the time, that Berrow was responsible. Which is why he organised the swift, emergency clear up, hiring Ed at a premium rate to remove the debris and to say nothing about what he'd found.

David and Jenny were investigating a number of probable causes. The culvert was only one element and, by the time Stefan came forward, there was no evidence left to prove that it had been deliberately blocked.

There was so much going on in Ambridge back then (Freda's death, the on/off Great North Move etc) that no-one realised the significance. As hero-of-the-flood and general all-round Mr Nice Guy (at the time) it's not unrealistic that no-one (other than Charlie) thought to look into the allegation a bit further.

I agree that Rob must have fiddled the Berrow Farm accounts in order to pay off Stefan. Charlie was looking into this when he was relocated to Scotland. Unless he's brought back to investigate further then Rob has no reason to panic.

But I think that Rob's so angry right now that he will panic and do something to Stefan that will seal his fate.

I had the impression of a nondescript and possibly dingy too. Jenny complained at the time about the quality of the coffee so I assumed it was the sort of place that serves weak, instant coffee at Formica tables rather than a skinny double caramel latte at mismatched wooden tables. Bridge Cafe Apprentice-style rather than Bridge Cafe Fallon style.
Plus Stefan was very keen for the meeting to be somewhere out of the way, I think Jenny had trouble finding it.

It's implausible that the irregularities in records (I believe Charlie noticed the records according to yields were off?) weren't picked up on closure of Berrow. These places aren't just closed and everyone shrugs 'never mind' about the economics

I'm sure he took cash from Berrow but it was probably a few grand he paid stefan so he probably wouldn't have had trouble hiding it and getting it from other sources

Someone earlier - Mega? - mentioned there was a lot of emphasis on Stefan's blonde hair - and that he had probably dyed it which made it harder for Jenny to recognise him.
My facial recognition is rubbish - thinking of people I met in work meetings once a couple of years ago - I doubt I'd recognise them now.

The culvert thing isn't entirely Stefan's word against Rob's; there is the fact that it was undoubtedly blocked, though I guess that depends on whether Charlie, Ed and and Adam are prepared to say how it was blocked. There is also the salient difference that a number of courts have now found Rob to be an abusive liar and there's going to be an awful lot of willingness to believe Stefan.

I wonder if it could result in Damara getting prosecuted? If so that might finally push Rob out of his job.

I wonder if it could result in Damara getting prosecuted?

Would it not be Borchester Land? Which would have implications for Brian (as a shareholder).

there's going to be an awful lot of willingness to believe Stefan.

For that to happen, Stefan's going to have to admit that he took a bribe to disappear. I suspect that's not his intention so if Rob can keep his cool then there's nothing Stefan can really do. Obviously, in RadioLand, Rob's going to do the complete opposite.