Archers thread #154: Cider with Fat Rosie, Meadow Rise to Candleford or The Darling Horrobins of September? Get your rural saga fix – Discuss The Archers here!

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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'd be euphoric about getting a job in an abattoir, 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 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/4888492-the-archers-spoilers-thread-8-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 the thread title suggestions. @HumanWetWipe came up with Cider with Fat Rosie and @BeardieWeirdie thought up Meadow Rise to Candleford. I wish I could have put in the Line of Duty mashups from the end of the last thread. Another time.

Heading for a ferry shortly, so nothing more from me for now. Over to you!

Or if not to Harisson then to Pat, who is active in the church community is she not?

Not that I have ever heard. Which is why the Rogation Sunday extravaganza at Bridge Farm was so odd.

And, by extension, her being in favour of the twindow ( or at least not telling them not to be so bleedin’ ridiculous).

I don't think Pat is a regular churchgoer, but Peggy certainly is, or was. Awkward for the SWs that they can't make her speak any more. Agree this is another nonsense way of moving this storyline forward. Of course he would have been christened as a child! Unless his parents were militant atheists, I suppose, which I would find surprising, given what we heard of them before.

Is being christened that common that it’s assumed more likely than not? genuine question

Just because he went to a private school doesn’t mean any religion rubbed off either ime

How old is Rob supposed to be? Pushing 50?

also, for those who know, are his symptoms in line with what would be expected?

I’d be very surprised indeed if Ron hadn’t been christened as a child. His whole (carefully constructed?) persona reeks of a certain type of tweedy English tradition, doing things the 'right' way, going to the 'right' schools, men playing cricket, women in the kitchen making custard His ghastly parents, Ursula and Bruce, were also very much of that mindset iirc.

Surely if someone is attending hospital for appointments relating to a glioblastoma, even if the treatment is primarily palliative, it makes no sense to move to a different area, to a different hospital? Wouldn't continuity of care be important?
Also - Rob continued to drive after he started having seizures. Is he still driving now? Wouldn't Penny Hasset be rather isolated for a non-driver?

A friend died of this kind of tumour a few years ago. She was only in her thirties.

From what I understand from seeing my friend living with it and hearing her talk about it, it makes sense that Rob is having seizures and that he is seeing limitations to his mobility. My understanding is that the various bodily functions would begin to shut down - so slurred speech, memory loss, loss of mobility etc. He seems very active and with it given he is supposedly in the end stages of it.

My friend died before she reached that stage, as she had a massive heart attack or stroke - I don’t know the difference really and didn’t want to ask her mum, but apparently it was brought on my the tumour.

And absolutely @Buttercupsdaisiesdandelions, it makes absolutely no sense that he would move when being treated or even just under observation for such an aggressive medical condition.

I’m sorry to hear about your friend. I hope this sl isn’t bringing up too much for you.

I'm not so sure. Jack is his only legacy and he has only a limited time to insert himself into that narrative. It might not happen in RL but I think it's reasonable and consistent with the character for the SWs to get away with it.

That’s very kind. As I say, it was a few years ago. What was shocking was the speed at which it progressed.

It is indeed incredibly sad to read, @AngryBirdsNoMore. All the more reason for the SWs to get the story right.

What must Miles think of Rob moving house in this state? He must know he’s doing it purely to inflict more (potentially lifelong) punishment on Helen.

Agree about the driving, Borsetshire must have an incredible rural bus service judging by his ability to get around

Miles won’t see it that way though because he will view Rob as Helen’s victim. Right or wrong, he is his brother and spent very little time with him so wouldn’t have seen how he treated Helen. All he would have seen was the stabbing and heard robs side of things And would be biased towards him.

Not for children born now. But for white British middle-class Gen Xers I would say yes. I would be surprised to find someone of Rob's background not baptised. IMO it would be the default option; not having a child baptised would be more of a deliberate rejection: perhaps standard for parents who had been part of the societal changes of the 1960s, but Rob's parents come across as very deliberately 'traditional' and conservative.

I guess I am near his age and not christened so I don’t really think about it!

Given Rob's personality, I wouldn't be surprised if he refused to attend/ cooperate with hospital appointments if it's only end of life palliative care. He wouldn't see the point. He would demand all the drugs he can get but not bother with anything else. From his pov there's nothing they can do so why play along with their little games and waste the only time he has left.

But private schools do - or at least did - tend to encourage churchgoing, many having chapels on the premises. And indeed it does tend to be the norm for everyone who is C of E to go through confirmation. Of course there is no certainty about it, but as someone else has commented, it seems highly likely that Rob went to exactly that sort of traditional boarding school.

My experience of private schools is different.

But it may well make sense to him, particularly given that he's only getting palliative care as I understand it. He might well feel that taking his last chance to try to see Jack or get back at Helen was worth the disruption.

It would have been unthinkable for me as a middle class child in the 50s not to have been Christened, for my DCs in the 80s it was still a bit of a statement not to Christen them. Rob is a bit older, of conventionally middle class parents, so he would have been Christened.

My experience of rural living is it can be very hard to avoid gossip or not be 'spotted' buying a pint of milk by someone who knows who you are? I volunteer in a rural location. Occasionally I visit the area just for fun. Even when I think I’ve met no-one all day, my volunteer supervisor knows I’ve been there. It’s nice being part of a community but there’s also such a thing as privacy! Small rural town could be nice to live in, village or isolated house, definitely not!

I have a sister-in-law (and her siblings) who are slightly younger and not baptised. [I don't think we know Rob's exact age but I'm assuming born mid-1970s] But, knowing her parents and family background it fits the picture, and they definitely made a conscious decision to defy tradition and family expectations. I don't think the Titcheners would do that.

Unless Bruce had had a major falling out with the local vicar/ was Taking a Stand against the decline into liberalism of the Church of England. That would fit better than the thought that they just weren't fussed about it.

Interesting - my upbringing is obviously more unusual than I thought!!

agree that he will prioritise seeing Jack over his healthcare

Wouldn't continuity of care be important? Not sure how much continuity of care is a thing in the NHS today. DH was introduced to a nurse “who will be there for you through your whole journey “. Next appointment same thing happened, but new nurse. Then again a third time. Not sure he’s ever seen the same doctor twice running. Rob probably feels that if he’s dying anyway, his Grand Plan is more important.