Archers thread #151: A Fête worse than death or a reverse ferret? Helen’s got the Borsetshire Blues, Tom’s talking shiitake, George is a rotten apple. Discuss 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 Helen and Tom would do well on Dragons' Den, 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 to @OverArmour for various title ideas! I would have liked to incorporate the suggestion from @Fleetress, which was

‘Do do one Ron, Ron, do do one Ron’

(Rob is Ron for many on this thread now)

Possibly a bit obscure for newer posters, though!

Anyway: we got through that last thread in no time at all. Combined effect of Rob and George, I suspect. I wonder if Rob will have made it to Ambridge by the time we need a new thread. I'm still waiting for Pat's shotgun to feature. That can't have been mentioned for the first time ever for no reason at all.

Over to you!

Or a contract with a farm relief service who would do the networking for them - including knowing how many qualified and willing teenagers are available during the school and college holidays .

I’m sure that’s true in real life, @TheSausageRollWrapper. But to make things interesting they’d have to invest as much time and energy into the casual workers’ backstories as they have in George.

I’m actually pretty impressed that a couple of decades of planning is coming to fruition with him, so I don’t mind a little stretching of reality.

Which college course has George signed up for? Was it sone form of Farm Management?

Yes, George has got onto a Farm Management course, so for sure he'll be asking Brine if he can do some hands-on management at Home Farm.

He won't take having another woman ordering him about, so he's bound to clash with Stella one way or the other.

It would be common to use teenage village boys as casual labour in the summer, but not in positions of trust.

My dad would have fired someone like George about a day in.

He was so vile to Neil in that conversation. At some (future) point Susan's going to have to have a conversation with her deluded daughter about how sympathising with her brother Clive never did any good and ultimately landed her in prison!

Neil is a very good judge of character.

Is he, though? Then why is he married to Susan? (I know, I know, he hadn’t much choice since the wretched woman was conveniently pregnant).
And despite the way she spoke to him at the time of the mortgage drama, he doesn’t seem to realise how vile his daughter is, either.

@Reggieismycat I agree - bliss to have a break from the Bridge Farm whining...

YY to Neil being a consistently sound character, and likeable too. And I think Susan, for all her foibles and judgy gossip, is actually quite soft-hearted underneath... although I would HATE to live in the same village as her!

And Susan cooks a mean chili and is a bit of a tigress when they're alone. In the best possible way...

Neil was in love with Shula for years. Not sure how great a judge of character he is with that track record…

I have to say that I really don’t miss her…

Oh come on! Even Neil (and I) were young once! He was a love-lorn teen with a crush on the boss's daughter.

And when he got together with Susan, they seemed good together.

I think I can remember Neil "seducing" her. Of course, even then, no listener was surprised when she became pregnant. Plus ca change!

For what benefit to him, though? There is no way even the deluded George would think that he could replace her.

Or would it just be because she is a woman and they ought to know their place?

I think he is deluded enough to think he could replace her. After all, if a mere woman can do it...

One thing I like about Neil's character is that he often has a quiet steady way of dealing with difficult people (he has had practice) - and he also gets all emotional. Sounds real!

I do agree that Neil is one of the most likeable characters. I'm quite fond of him!

Doesn’t every village have a Susan?

Neil is lovely and its a shame he is married to Susan as she is a nasty piece of work. I will never forgive her for hiding the profs glasses even though she knew he was desperate to find them. Mind you like Weaver that was the talk of the village at the time.
Didnt Shula leave because she was falling in love with Neil ?.

I don't think he has delusions about what his wife and daughter are capable of. But he always tries to see the best in them (as he said to Oliver re George last night.

After Weaver, the other main topic of conversation is apparently Eddie's missing ferret?!?!

Nah - I’m confused … (Exhaustion is my excuse.) Exactly whose job is George trying steal? Replacing his stepfather sounds more likely than replacing Stella - but I’ve lost track of who does what.

And we’ve already heard him sotto voce admit that all the charity money he’s raised will be going directly to the George Grundy Charity … Horrobin blood. Let’s hope the nearest jail will soon be opening its gates to welcome him.

Is it realistic for an 18yo with extremely limited work experience and no high level maths or literacy skills to get onto a farm management course? Was the course he's just finished a BTEC or whatever the current equivalent is, and is that considered equivalent to A levels? Was it graded?

Maybe it's meant to be something like this, which is designed to follow on from two years of post-GCSE study in agriculture. https://www.myerscough.ac.uk/courses/agriculture/city-guilds-level-3-advanced-technical-diploma-in-agriculture/

That looks possible, @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g, assuming he achieved at least 4 in English, Maths and Science at GCSE.

I got all excited as both of those locations (Preston and Penrith) are far enough away to require him to live at college. But of course this is TA - so I won’t be surprised to hear there’s a relevant course in Borchester.