Archers thread #150: For whom the sausage rolls: George over a Berrow, Fallon & Harrison seek new lease on life, is it all a Fête Accompli? Discuss The Snivelling Simpletons, sorry, The Archers, here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

All views on The Archers welcome here! New blood welcomed, and of course we are always delighted to welcome back former or occasional listeners/posters. We don't all agree on all points, although we do mostly try to be civil about it. Most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you think people frequently miss their own weddings because of a morning quickie while in a plaster cast, or other unusual views.

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For newer listeners, lurkers or those who just have no idea what we're talking about, @DadDadDad has created this useful thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3557323-For-Archers-fans-a-guide-to-acronyms-on-the-long-running-discussion-threads-and-any-other-meta-thread-questions-you-may-have - BOOP point for him! (See thread for explanation.)

Thanks for title suggestions. I basically took @OverArmour's excellent suggestion and managed to shoehorn in snivelling simpleton, gloriously coined by @Eastie77Returns to refer to Lee in the first instance.

@WitcheryDivine suggested Recharging, Red Kites and The Man They Call Ron, is Ambridge becoming an earthly paradise or a hell on earth? which seems as good a place as any to kick off our discussions! Ron = Rob, a fortuitous typo on a previous thread. It does feel a bit as if we're marking time before he turns up again. Odd to do what could be a high profile storyline over the summer holidays when a lot of people will be away, but depending on your point of view, maybe that's a blessing!

Whither George? Is he shaping up to be Andrew Tate mark 2?

Everybody looking forward to Ferret Fun at the Fête? Me neither.

Over to you!

Emma is insufferable. So entitled all the time. Don't really understand why she is the way she is but she always has it in for the women around her. Is it any wonder George has no respect.

Ha! I've just listened. I take it back about Emma!

Oh Emma you absolute pillock!

Cringed listening to Emma tonight!

The Tom-Tony row about Rob irritated me, but ended up feeling bad for Tony in the end. He sounded utterly broken.

she always has it in for the women around her. Is it any wonder George has no respect.

Oh - I’m not sure I can let that pass. Surely you’re not truly blaming mothers for their incel sons?

I knew someone would say something like that. Bit of an extreme generalisation 😂 Emma is awful.

Surely just blaming Emma, specifically, for George, specifically. Mind you, Ed knows what George is and ignores it, and Will knows what George is but apparently went round "fuming" to be nasty to Susan about Neil sacking the little horror, so I think they need to take a share in any blame that is going.

Emma is spectacularly unhelpful to George and if things go forward as they must, will be the MIL from hell.

Brilliant stuff from Tony. Such passion. It was good to see the complex responses to the prospect of getting shut of such an oxygen thief as Ron the rapist.

Yes that Tony speech was very good.

Tom just doesn't have any depth of insight, ever, does he?

Oh Emma you absolute pillock!

My thoughts exactly, she was infuriating and I thought Hannah remained remarkably calm and handled it well. Emmur was behaving like a child.

How long will George last working for Tony do we reckon? I would just love George to get sacked after one day.

I thought that was a well-written episode. It was good to hear someone specifically calling George out for being a raging misogynist. With any luck now the truth has been pointed out to Emma she might just begin to notice every time he treats her as his slave. It was also very in-character for Tom to think he knows it all after a year of parenthood. And brilliant acting from Tony.

Yes, I think Emma will gradually start to notice it now.

Tony made me cry. I was actually listening in the car and had to stop...

Will George be so crass as to make a snarky comment about Helen trying to kill Ron? That should do it

I am still slightly on Emma's side. Ever so slightly. Parenting isn't black and white. She said it was crucial he gets back out there. She said she was worried about his confidence. Maybe deep down she sees this as a cross roads in his life. If he gets shunned now he will dig down deeper into it. Far right and the whole works. Her way is to come out fighting - it always has been.

She is still incredibly immature - but not a panto villain.

Tom: "I'm a Dad now..."
The entire world: "you're a smug clueless pillock"

🙄

Emmur is sooooo annoying and George is a product of appallingly entitled parenting. Cannot wait for him to get his comeuppance...

Well put. I think my DDs call internalised misogyny! Sadly I've worked with a few women like this.

Emma really tries for George, you can give her that, as Will/Ed are pretty lazy most of the time when it comes to parenting. But she does him no favours in never making him take responsibility for himself. Would be nice to see George turn himself around but suspect he will eventually do something that even Emma can't blame somebody else for.

He’ll certainly be one of those annoying drivers who mistake dexterity with a machine for being a good driver

I completely agree with Tony - a short terminal illness with nurses pandering to Ron’s every need is not the way it should end!

(Semi regular poster, frequent name changer. Can’t remember what name I had last time I posted on here!)

Having lost a family member to the same type of cancer, I’m considering backing away from The Archers for a bit. I thought yesterdays episode was really good and Tony was great, his perspective all very understandable, but it’s hard to hear this type of cancer perceived as an easy end or that it will somehow be an undeservedly pleasant end for Ron (nurses pandering to him etc). I know I’m sensitive and the problem is mine.

I do wish it wasn’t going to end like this though, as someone said upthread, other outcomes showing the unlimited effect he can have on Helen and her children would be realistic (popping up every now and again to make life extremely hard).

I’m enjoying the George developments. That is keeping me listening at the moment!

Oh I’m so sorry @CompaniesHouse , I didn’t mean to downplay the awfulness of the cancer. It’s the escape from justice that for Rob that really rankles and i should have expressed it better. I apologise x

Emma is at least partly to blame for how George has turned out, but I have long argued (on these threads a few years back) that Will has a hugely problematic attitude to women. George is old enough to sort himself out now (I loved how Emma called him a child last night, and Hannah very reasonably pointed out that he's 18), but the parenting hasn't helped.

Maybe Emma could talk to Fallon, who might remind her how her son came on to her with no encouragement, and how he wouldn't even own up to it. Emma still won't believe her, but now she's heard someone actually tell her that he's a misogynist, she could be encouraged to look back on some of his past behaviour with a more critical eye. I don't hold out much hope. I still think George will attack Hannah, which may or may not finally convince Emma that he's more than just a misunderstood teenager.

@Fink yes, the vitriol with which George has been slagging Hannah off has been notable - I agree he might attack her and then all hell will break lose...

I still think George will attack Hannah

Gosh- do you think he will actually physically attack her? That would be dreadful. Yes, you’re right he might do something like tie her up and taunt her. I can see him enjoying sadistically restraining her. This could all get very dark indeed. He’s a very good character- he makes my skin crawl whenever he is on air.

I hope he's a good actor @FallonsNewCoat rather than just a mysogynistic shit playing himself! 😆

I thought the Tony scene was very good. It feels to me like they are increasingly demonstrating an alienation between Tom and the rest of his family. What an unsufferable plonker he is. Is there a parallel here with George - two awful men whose parents are finally realising they are awful? Or maybe George will redeem himself...?
I wish the whole Ron storyline would just go away, if he dies maybe it will?