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.

Spoilers: not on this thread, please! We don't wait for the omnibus to discuss the weeknight episodes, but we do try our best to avoid cross-contamination from www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/4636789-the-archers-spoilers-thread-7-cant-wait-for-702pm-join-us-here, where spoilers are positively welcomed!

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!

Hell's bells George is horrible. Glad he gave it away a bit, pissing and moaning about Poppy (coming up for 10).

Yes, suppose the Grundies to an extent represent the way it's been for working class families for centuries. The men did their day of labour but were then taken care of. No cooking, cleaning or childcare for them. The women however, never stop working and usually on less hours of sleep as well. Emma at least seems to have a more equal relationship with Ed in comparison.

This "men go out to work and women stop 'ome and cook for them" stuff would hold more water for the Grundys if it were not that Clarrie has generally gone out to work in at least two jobs while Eddie went out to work for one morning a week, plus occasionally laying a patio for someone and making a real meal of how hard he was working.

I would PM you but it have never worked since the great update.
Can you clarify what you were trying to say?

CurlewKate · Today 06:39

@Bubbylana Please don't call Helen "nutty". It's an insult to abused women, and contributes to an insidious narrative that they are somehow responsible for their own abuse.

To me calling someone "nutty" an insult to MH service users, as well as abused women. Like Helen, I am both.

In my circle, the word "nutty" can be used to someone's face, but crucially only if both the person speaking and the person being described have first-hand experience of mental health. We all support each other.

I'm all better now, thanks to MN, and this thread

I think Eddie has put a lot of hours and work in over the years - I didn't think he was a shirker. His sons put a lot of store in providing for their families, which came from him as male role model.

When I used to advise as a CAB worker, I often had clients in their forties whose jobs as tilers and other very physical trades had taken a severe toll on their joints.

Eddie seems to be pretty physically fit for his age, which in the light of my last para may suggest he has been a skiver and I am wrong?

@TheUsualChaos I don't it's that equal - didn't Ed buy a shiny big tractor and Emma had to pay it off by working 3 jobs? Wasn't that part of why they could't buy a house on the new estate?

OK let's forget what I said about it being sweet that George wanted to share a house with his dad ...

The Johnny thing is surely … unlikely. I have in the past hung around with sailing types - there’s no way on earth a sailing crew would pick up someone entirely and completely unqualified, for such an expensive venture, when they would have dozens of back up crew just waiting for such an opportunity. Someone with no sailing experience would be an enormous hindrance to the smooth and efficient running of the boat. And I don’t see how it would play to all their sponsors, either.

It’s also such a kick in the teeth for all the not-Archer youth of the village. Why do Grundys never stumble over such unfathomable good luck?

George is just one horrible bloke. I hope he gets found out but then again his mum and Nanna will stick up for him.
Brad is always too nervous it cant be good for someone who is scared of his own shadow. Its funny how Chelsea is the dead opposite to him.
The Grundys are awful too.
Is Eddie suppose to be the light relief?, because thats not working for me. All the ducking and diving Eddie does Im surprised if he has ever had a goodnights sleep with his brain going ten to the dozen working out the next scam.

I actually can't cope with George's vileness right now so had to abandon the last episode half way through! Hats off to the actor though because he's really playing it well. I'm questioning how realistic it is that so few people close to George can actually see what he's like....

I know. I couldn't quite believe that Will would be taken in quite so easily by George's rubbish.

I hope he gets his comeuppance soon!

Perhaps it's more the case that the family have (finally) begun to realise the extent of George's nastiness, but are appalled that he's one of their own/only they are responsible for his upbringing, thus are in major collective denial mode?

Burying their heads in the sand, rather than do some hard reflection and nip his behaviour in the bud.

Yes this sounds very plausible! I can imagine Emma posting on Mumsnet. "I can't believe what my DS has become..." 😂
I doubt she'd be brave enough to share the details of the complex parenting dynamic though!

I always seem to be alone in thinking Lilian is insufferable and poorly acted. I never got the Matt love either.

she's like a cariacature of an actress from the 70s (who was at least elderly then) with bouffant hair, lots of make up, dripping in jewels and overdressed. I can't think of who it is though. maybe she thinks she's Zaza Gabor?

George is awful. And while i really want him to get his come-uppance immediately because i can't stand the story line, i fear it is going to be this for years and years. (He wants Hannah to move away because he thinks he'll get her job. But Jazzer will get her job, surely?)

And he is possibly going to facilitate some awful Miles/Rob thing but that might drag out before the Sainted Bridge Farm Archers find out. Urgh.

Eddie helping Clarrie in the kitchen to butter her up to make the ferrets didn't last long (but I'M guessing they are all done which is why he reverted to type).

What do they want with poor Brad?

Ah yes has forgotten all about the tractor. People on here have such good memories! I can remember Emma's desperation to get one of the new builds and her losing the plot a bit over it, didn't she practically go begging to people at one point? That was all a bit of a weird time.

Yes she did, and that was around the time I first started listening so my first impressions of Emma were.... Confusing! She had placed so much on the thought of having their own house. I think she felt it would make her "someone" and that she'd have some status rather than being looked down on as another Grundy...
I thought the house falling through was to do with Ed's dodgy dealings and losing his job though... I don't remember the tractor

@TheUsualChaos she did indeed go round the village begging, didn't get any, then eventually used the money she did have to buy the trailer.
I only remember because I was so appalled at Ed's selfishness and (strategic) incompetence at the time - somehow he couldn't get any work despite the tractor, and I think Brian banned him working at Home Farm.

Wasn’t that the Tim o’Tay dodgy dealings? Brian sacked him because Home Farm couldn’t have another criminal embroilment

Wasn’t it Adam who did the actual sacking?

It was an outstandingly horrible episode. Will found out about Ed’s dodgy work for the evil Tim (was it that Ed had used Will’s van for transporting stuff?) and Will confronted him at Home Farm - in Adam’s hearing. Ed losing his job and thus the mortgage was utterly nightmare-ish.

I can’t stand Lilian.

I don’t remember the tractor- just Tim-otei. Ed was the master of his own Emma’s downfall. He was lucky she forgave him. There is a lot of love for Ed on this thread which baffles me. I didn’t know him in his younger days which is perhaps why.

Such an silly plot to get rid of Johnny just do they can get Griggs etc into Bridge Farm

Perhaps Henry will contact Rob and tell him to stay away from his Mum ? We don't know how he recalls Rob but are probably about to find out

Eh? They were feeling very bad about evicting Hannah, both of them, each in a different way. The person glorying in it, and producing a good thing for them to think of it as being, was the slimy George.

I'm not sure that Will feels that bad about it, to be honest. He seemed to be quite surprised that Hannah was so upset.

But it's just infuriating that he's going along with the whole idea anyway. George behaves absolutely appallingly, and William thinks the answer is to give him free board and lodging whilst simultaneously giving up a big chunk of his own income, and goodness me what a coincidence that that also involves evicting the woman that George loathes? He should have made it clear to George that he was totally deluded if he thought he was going to get rewarded for being a misogynistic little shit.

Will is going to start to regret it when he not only doesn't have the income from renting out the house, but the added expense of housing, clothing and feeding George.

I hope. I really hope he comes a huge cropper over his blind-love for that little scrote.

I never understood why they didn't just let the house purchase complete - the mortgage company would never have known that Ed had lost his job just days before. Emma begging from everyone, including Jim, was absolutely excruciating.

Perhaps it's more the case that the family have(finally) begun to realise the extent of George's nastiness, but are appalled that he's one of their own/only they are responsible for his upbringing, thus are in major collective denial mode?

I think that's a lot of it: they just can't comprehend what a monster they've raised and George is very good at turning on a combination of victimhood and charm when he feels like it, plus a dose of Eddie's ability to bulldoze his own way has clearly made its way into the Grundy gene puddle pool.

Yes this sounds very plausible! I can imagine Emma posting on Mumsnet. "I can't believe what my DS has become..."

Can you imagine?

"I know my son isn't perfect, but he's a good lad really and he's had a difficult upbringing. He's just been fired from his job - he's a hard worker but the manager there had it in for him, so she trumped up a load of nonsense to get him sacked. I know biosecurity is important and technically he did breach the rules but they should have made allowances for him. He IS only 18!

His dad and stepdad (who is also his uncle, don't you DARE judge me) want us to crack down harder on him but I think we should all cut him some slack. I know there's been issues before - he broke into a hotel and damaged a bench (it was only a laugh, the sort of thing kids do - OK the bench was a memorial but how was he expected to know?) and he said some horrible things to us all recently but I think he's just lashing out because he's unhappy.

AIBU?"

She'd get her arse handed to her and would NOT take it well

and he's had a difficult upbringing and I know biosecurity is important and technically he did breach the rules but they should have made allowances for him.'
wouldn't be in the post. She'd have posted that Hannah planted the sausage roll wrapper just to get George sacked.