麻豆约拍

Following and break up, the agony aunts an uncles of Ambridge have been out in force and have out done themselves in offering advice to each half of the former couple.

Four examples stand out from a week of musings on finding love, making a commitment and what to do if it all goes pear-shaped.

At the start of the week, when heard from Pip that she had split from Toby he was sympathetic.

Why bother? Why not give up and stay single?

Tom Archer

He recalled some advice that had given him when

In Maurice's opinion, Tom is better off forgetting all about searching for Miss Right and instead focusing on becoming a confirmed bachelor.

Becoming more and more impassioned, Tom laid out his philosophy “Why bother? Why not give up and stay single?”

A rather stunned Pip must have been backing away slowly!

The next day quizzed Pip on how she was feeling since parting from Toby. Pip squirmed at the questioning from her younger cousin but Lily pressed on. Lily prides herself on being a good listener and person that people gravitate to when they have problems.

When Pip worried about her track record when it came to boyfriends, Lily tried to lift the mood by telling Pip she was a good person and her life was going to be just fine.

Meanwhile in the Bungalow, had a moping Toby to deal with.

Struggling to find the motivation to get dressed and clear up after himself, Bert tried to lift Toby’s spirits. “Brooding’s no use. You’ve got to keep busy.” But that didn’t shake Toby’s depression.

Bert recounted one of his and Freda’s worst falling outs. It started with Bert saying the wrong thing about her hat and escalated to Freda telling Bert he wasn't the man she wanted to marry.

What helped Bert get through this ordeal was getting all his feelings down on paper in a poem. It was one of the saddest he ever wrote. When Bert suggested that Toby did the same, Toby wined that he was no good at that kind of thing. Well in that case, why not listen to Bert recite the one he composed?!

But Toby didn’t heed Bert’s words. Instead he kept a low profile, pulling sickies for his shifts at The Bull to wallow in his heartache while laid out on his bed listening to music.

Who knows how long he would have been there if it wasn’t for his brother, . Thanks to him, Toby got out of the house and back to making gin. Though, he still pined for Pip...