Archers thread #171: Harvest's nearly over – but will George ever reap what he has sown? 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'd have been delighted with a hand-painted squirrel tray for your 40th, as shown below, 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/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.)

All I have to say about current storylines for now is that I want the George Alice crash stuff to come to a resolution, sooner rather than later, and I also want to hear very little indeed of Alistair, Denise and Paul maundering on. More of Jakob would be very welcome. His brother can come back any time too.

I now declare this thread open for business!

No, Chelsea is the elder of the two - though her BBC TA character entry doesn’t give her date of birth.

Brad’s does. (Caution - actor photo!)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/4pY65xgC8vsjYB6zCLP16Jk/brad-horrobin

Chelsea sounds like a 15 year old to me. The constant sniffing doesn’t help.

If she is older then yes her course will be finished.
Why don't they let women have careers in The Archers?

I’m not sure they let the men either

It's unclear to me why Bridge Farm are struggling so much without George I think it’s just so William and Emma can be seen to be lying for/covering up for George - first the dental appointment, now the holiday. They are becoming more and more implicated in his deception.

Who was looking after the twins? I assume they either go to a day nursery or have a nanny/childminder, but we've never been told, have we?

Well it is like that game where you take turns at telling the story, in fact it is worse because they are telling several stories at the same time.
Why don't they have one scriptwriter for each main theme? So they would be credited with writing a third to a half of an episode.

I believe they have a childminder

I imagine all the sw in a room with a whiteboard and drawing out the sl and getting increasingly excited about more and more outlandish sl. Unfortunately the editor or whoever didn’t put their hand up and say ‘hang on, I know this is exciting but can we all calm down a bit’

Um - Shula worked at the land agents for years.
Pip, Ruth and Pat are farmers
Lizzie runs a stately home, activity centre and catering outlet
Jolene runs a pub
Lilian had a property investment business (although she seems to have parked that since she took over the stables)
Natasha and the juice business
Helen and the health food shop
Alice worked in engineering
… I could go on!

Does it not count as a career if it’s a family business or based in a rural village?

@MerelyPlaying You are right, but I was thinking I guess of the youngsters growing up and spreading their wings using their education/qualifications:

Phoebe: PPE at Oxford, came back and hung around not using degree then got eco job up North, never to be heard of again
Alice: Engineering, but career ground to a halt due to alcoholism
Chelsea: Seemed to be doing well at hairdressing, but as pp pointed out doesn't seem to be getting a job as one / setting up as a mobile one herself, at least yet
Fallon: Seems to have a lot of drive (though less business acument) but allowed herself to be shafted by Natasha

Good examples
Usha, incomer, good career
Shula: worked for Rodway & Watson, now a vicar
Caroline: clear well respected professional career
Natasha: Yes, clearly driven, another incomer

The ones who have fallen into family businesses clearly yes have careers but have been given a hand up. Ruth was a farmer before but married into the business, The health food shop had parental capital behind it, Pip born into the business, Lilian's money came originally from Ralph Bellamy.

Jolene and Pat i will give you.

Clarrie, Emma, Susan all have jobs rather than careers.

Jolene and Pat both married into their businesses. And Kenton.

I’ve never forgiven them for taking wills career away so it’s the men too

Thinking about it a bit more, the Dairy was Pat's business, albeit located on the farm and using Farm milk. (off and on, depending on the cows coming and going)

Pat and Tony built their business together, they used to be tenant farmers.

Lizzie has built Lower Loxley into a successful business, but she married into LL and is only managing it on behalf of Freddie right now.

Lily? Her independent uni path was shafted. She is now following in hotel management, to what end I'm not sure. (Can't work out if she is undercover at Grey Gables or what. Is she still there anyway, I've lost touch.)

.

Roy was successful, worked his way up.
Ben is setting out on nursing.
Daniel (is he still in the Army?)
Josh is building an independent business (helped by the farm resources and land)
Will Brad be allowed to succeed?
Less said about the Grundy's in this area the better.

Debbie has done well for herself.

Stella has done well for herself. If we've been told anything about her background I've forgotten it.

Hannah - ditto. Not as high up in management as Stella, but she definitely has a career, not just a job.

Everyone who has come into the village as a GP, vet or lawyer has a career, of course. Alan's daughter Amy is a midwife but only briefly lived in Ambridge after qualifying. Lee, who now seems to have gone, is a physio. Have we ever had a dentist or optician or pharmacist? No civil servants, social workers or tax inspectors either. Also, off the top of my head, I can't think of a single character who's an accountant, unless Martin Gibson is, and we mostly hear him throwing his weight around at Borsetshire Land or the golf club.

Kathy Perks was a teacher before she gave it all up to run the pub with Sid. That's credible. Many teachers get fed up after a few years. Russ, of course, jumped before he was pushed after his affair with Lily became known.

Chelsea was talking about doing things for her course v recently, so it must be a longer programme of study, and she constantly speaks about wanting to work in a salon…she really needs to go and work in one!

I know diddlysquat about training as a hairdresser and/or beautician, but I thought the route used to be: get a job as a Saturday girl, or go straight in as a junior, and start by washing and sweeping up lots of hair, make coffee, mix up dye under supervision. Go to college on day release. Slowly but surely work up to being trusted to cut, style, dye etc. Chelsea seems to be attending college and doing a bit of freelance work but not working in a salon under supervision. I do think this is odd, but maybe I'm massively out of touch and this is how things are now.

The college near me I believe runs its own salon with reduced prices due to them being students. So probably something like at college 4 days per week, one day effectively English & maths resits, 2 days theory, 1 day practical moving as quickly as possible to real customers.

Similarly the hospitality kids run a restaurant, and DD's animal care course looks after all the college animals. her favourite lesson used to be 'dog walking' as they have a kennels for dogs of staff and externals.

What you describe would be a traditional apprenticeship route.

I wonder if Chelsea is caught by not being able to drive / run a car and thus limited in work to where she can get to on the very limited rural buses.

My DD has only been able to do work experience because we drive her as kennels tend to be in the middle of nowhere and not served by public transport.

No comment on Tom doing the ultimate male thing of pretending to be asleep to steal the lie in!

He popped up playing Anthony Eden in some sort of history documentary a while back.

Such callow youth

(Would rather Ian Ogilvy NGL)

I would have kicked and shouted at him until he got up. then I'd have stayed in bed all day. I'd have probably said something to Pat like "he must have been dragged up to think that's ok" 😉

When mine were tiny I frequently ‘didn’t hear’ them when they woke up. Those were the nights when exhaustion just got the better of me. I couldn’t move my head. Their dad was pretty good at dealing with them.