Well that didn't ring true at all Are the Archers that removed from reality to NOT cancel the joint account immediately after Helen's arrest? How is Helen to pay the new divorce lawyer, let alone Anna?

I agree it's unwise, but it rings true. I know someone who didn't cancel her joint account quickly enough and lost a great deal in the gap between splitting and divorcing, and found it impossible to prove or get it back. It's easy to be distracted whilst thinking about other things in the mess.
If people always behaved wisely the world would be a radically different place.

Helen could name the date of separation as the day she was arrested on the divorce papers, then later in the financial proceedings she will be able to take Rob to account on any withdrawals/large expenditure after this date as shown on the bank statements. It is a joint account so he is entitled to 50% of the funds anyway - even Peggy's money gift. (Was that not £10k? Why would they have that amount of money in a current account?)

I agree though, her solicitor should have advised her re finances - freezing accounts etc whilst they were in dispute at court.

Anne I get more interest from my current account than any of my savings.

I'm loving this storyline, and I find it totally rings true. It happened to my sister – she was in an awful state when her husband walked out (out of the blue, on their 10th wedding anniversary, the g!t). He left her with nothing in the bank, ran up credit card bills, they had joint debts in her name and he even went to the house while she was out and took anything valuable for his new 'love nest' (she was still paying for most of it, he always wanted the best but couldn't afford it himself). By the time I found out what was going on and stepped in (telling him I'd call the police and/or break his kneecaps) it was way too late.

My sister isn't stupid, she's a paralegal and 'should' have known better, but until it happens to you, you can't know how you'll react. I would have just gone for the kneecaps, but my sister is way too nice for that.

I am surprised that no one thought of advising Helen on her joint account. It is one of the first things I did even before getting divorced.

Good point!

I'm bitterly disappointed that we never got to hear Susan giving Rob a piece of her mind. I feel cheated.

I'm not surprised about the joint account, and it's hard to see what Helen could have done about it while she was in prison. I can't work out what Rob has done with all the money though, he wasn't well enough to go on a spending spree. Hopefully, he'll have squirrelled it away somewhere and she'll get half of it back in the divorce.

I wonder if they've stopped paying him sick pay yet?

Yes, I know what you mean about Susan. Maybe they thought that after the fracas in the Bull and him being dumped by the cricket team, we'd get Rob-bashing fatigue? Ha, I think there is an inexhaustable appetitie for that

Exactly how much money has he pilfered? Did they say that?

Susan's monologue re, Helen was a bit OTT as per usual.

I think it is of the order of £10K+ as that is the amount of the wedding gift from Peggy which was the main input. Plus maxing out the credit cards?

She did say that she'd refused to serve him in the shop.

Pip had no business inviting Toby without asking if it was ok. A family tea is just that, family. Just because Toby is Pip's current horizontal jogging partner doesn't make him family.

Plus whatever their overdraft limit is. That could easily be another couple of grand.

I am inclined to agree with you. I wouldn't bring a guest to a party given in honour of someone, without asking if they would extent the invitation to my plus 1. I think Pip was unacceptably presumptious.

I know it flies in the face of orthodoxy but my sympathy is with Jill. I think she is perfectly within her rights to choose who she wants to share her special day with. And I liked that she expressed her misgivings rather than adopting a silent, powerless, martydom to keep others happy, as I suspect older people often do.

What I would critisice her for is not talking about her concerns about Toby and her history with the Fairbrother's with Pip and indeed the others in the family. They aren't to know that she always felt she lived in the shadow of Grace's ghost (assume this is the root of the problem - before my time so I don't really know) and may not have remembered that another generation of Fairbrothers treated Jill's daughter shabbily.

If she articulated her concerns it may help her to come to terms with the past as well. So for that reason she would be wise to do so. However she can be forgiven for having her blind spots, as do we all.

Wise and balanced words. Have you ever considered being a counsellor?

I don't know how Roy can say that Phoebe is enjoying her course. Last week was Freshers Week at Oxford, and term only starts today, so her lectures won't be starting until tomorrow! The writers could have found that out easily because the term dates are fixed for years ahead.

Haha Oliver casually mentioning 4-figure sums as if that was a trivial bail-out!

Yeah that did jar a bit. Cambridge full term also only started last Tuesday.
Methinks they just lazily assumed that Oxbridge start their terms in September like the lower order universities!

Is the fall-back Hunt Master the dreaded Rob if Shula declines?

Oh yes send him out with the blood hounds. Only fitting.

So Shula's flaky conscience about lying about Rob after last year's hunt is not pricking her at all when it comes to deciding if she should become a Master and how that would affect the hunt's reputation when the truth comes out?

I've never understood Shula and her muddle-headed ways.

They do start so much later than other universities, and their terms are shorter, but they pack the work in while they're there. My daughter has a friend who is just starting her third year at Cambridge, and even though she's naturally clever and passes exams easily, she's finding it quite pressurised. I bet she'll still get a double first though (she got a first in her second year)

I know - went through the rigours myself.
Full term is absolutely bonkers. Full-blown essay every week, with associated supervisions, not to mention general tripos studies.
I liked the two weeks bookended at either ends of 'full term' (this longer period being known as simply 'term') as it did give you a breather and time just to 'be'.

Happy happy times... if mostly chaotic!