Out, damned SOC! Out I say! When will Ambridge be free? Discuss The Archers here

[PseudoBadger]

A once-great soap is going down the Beverley drain.

Loved that episode! I love the fact that I now know all about no till drilling - as a city dweller, gaining an understanding of agriculture is an essential part of Archers listening for me and Ruairi lives (silently of course!).

Only just catching the minibus now, but why exactly does Helen have to work in the mother and baby unit? I think Jack is only 3 months old , if that. So who looks after the babies if Helen is in the garden for 3 months and Cockernee Caz is in the salon? Shades of magdalene laundries for me....

Not even 3 months as he arrived at the end of May. Legally you only have to take 2 weeks off work & she is living at the taxpayers expense!

Meanwhile SHFB has a face and profile on TA website. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/5r1x0wTZVh2LMX939bfMPDw/anna-tregorran?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=the_archers&ns_source=facebook&ns_linkname=radio_and_music

Oh no my eyes - the pictures! Harrison Burns is NOT sandy haired. Caroline has blonde shiny hair, an alice band and a turned up collar and pearls. Its all wrong.....

So glad we agree Lil'G! Wish we could have more like that.

I'll put in a teeny, tiny BOOP for the careful SWs who make sure we keep up with Ruairi's holiday schedule. It's astonishing that they've managed his boarding school life so faultlessly but still managed to present us with the sheer, utter balderdash of Henry about to be sent off at five.

Yes, the SHFB stuff was interesting ...

I agree about Helen working. There's no way I would have passed my baby over to anyone else to look after at that stage.

If you were in prison, selsigfach, you wouldn't get the choice.

But I don't understand why they'd make them, even if you are in prison. Sure, have an option for those who would want to do it, but to forcibly separate new, breastfeeding mothers from their babies is shocking.

Who was getting engaged? I missed the start of the conversation.

If they're working at the MBU I assume they can break stop to breastfeed quite easily.

So ... Sounds like Susan and Neil will be off to Rio! (Mere speculation, but ...)

Willing suspension of disbelief can only go so far: organic baby food idea from Helen, really?! She's got baby led weaning evangelist written all over her!

Quite, fink, I thought the same. Seeing how you can get organic baby slop in Lidl and Aldi, and all the rich farm shop mummies wouldn't dream of giving their PFBs processed food, that idea is dead in the water.

Helen could easily be forcibly separated from Jack in September if they don't hurry up & get her to talk.

It is Anya, Gruach. Fallon is making them a cake in the shape of a tropical island. No idea who Anya's OH is.

My blinkin' DD1 talked through the entire episode. She was really excited about something at school so I didn't like to tell her to shut up. But I bloody well thought it!

Ah, thanks R4 - I thought I heard her name. Not Patrick?

BOOP she was probably telling you that her teacher is leaving to become the new Archers editor.

Goodness, BOOP, we were trained from a very young age not to speak for that quarter of an hour. What sort of parenting is going on that she speaks at all during TA?

Ebearhug I am ashamed. Usually she's quite well trained with a Pavlovian response of shutting up when she hears the theme tune but tonight, well, as I say, I'm ashamed

Is it less than 6 weeks since her caesarean? Manual work not advised - even for prisoners.

But re- prisoners, work is quite normal. After all what was Porridge all about, and who sewed all the mail bags of yesteryear? I imagine there is medical advice about how soon any prisoner can begin/resume manual work after major abdominal surgery. Whether the script team has read this is another matter.

I don't think that women on MBU would work, for the simple reason - who would look after the babies ? No way would an overstretched prison service pay people to look after them.
But apart from that I'm quite enjoying TA

According to this article the norm is for mothers in MBU to be expected to work or attend classes. It was in 2012 but I can't seriously see that the regime would have become more liberal since then.

That is so sad. Can't be good for breastfeeding.

Mmm ... But one might feel even more sad with no organised activity at all.

I can't comment on the quality of the work/classes provided - but simply being at the MBU, knowing the situation you're in, must be unbelievably depressing. Since they can't have a member of staff sitting with each woman all day, I guess overseeing inmates in groups is the next best thing. Entertainment and supervision/suicide prevention combined.