Archers thread #194: Bottled on the Bridle Path! Discuss 75 years of 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 wishthat we'd heard the Reverend Shula preach over the festive period, 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.)

I am all Archered out after the excitement of the 75th anniversary yesterday, the special drama (Truth and Lies), the podcast, you name it. Now it looks as if George is going to pull through, the hype seems a bit overdone. So it's over to you!

Things I'd like to happen:
Romance between Esme & Josh (all snogging off air though) and then they work her farm together, maybe end up with rare breeds or a petting zoo kids thing to make money

A Grundy to get a job with an employer, PAYE & a pension &/or Poppy/Keira to get to uni/ have a normal, non-chaotic universal credit based life.

Some realistic conversations about making ends meet/subsidies/benefits. The Grundys must be on the bread line & living in a caravan permanently would be rubbish but it's never mentioned.

Allotments - great point and a very logical place for Akram. Kalial (?sp) could have chickens! Then a cross over episode where they send a video of their amazing plot to Gardener's World, and a GW presenter comes to Flower & Produce. I bet there is a significant ven diagram crossover of TA & GW fans.

Henry continues to be bright & independent but after super A level results declares he won't go to uni but stay in Ambridge and breed goats on his field. Helen has a prolonged mardy about this but is proved wrong by Henry winning a goat based prize & making a living, plus being a next gen farmer and staying on radio till he's 85. I like Henry.

Would they be growing Sugar Snaps in Borsetshire in the winter?! What a palaver over casual fam work.

Unless they’ve branched out into a cutting garden and sell flowers in the shop, the mention of starting off sweet peas made no sense. I’ve never encountered sugar snap/mangetout peas being called 'sweet peas' (but have grown both).

I think you could only grow trays of pea shoots this time of year. The ground is still far too cold even in a polytunnel.

@BeatriceBatchelor it was obviously very different for Adam to strop over to Bridge Farm for a break, when he’s due to inherit a slice of Home Farm. (Obviously nothing’s guaranteed.) That was a long running story. Doing this to Akram Malik is … frankly outrageous.

@EricTheHalfASleeve - the Grundys (assuming you mean Ed and Emma) shouldn’t be on the breadline right now as their tree surgery work should pay reasonably well. And they live in a mobile home, not an ordinary tiny caravan. Mobile homes have separate rooms, and we know Emma has decorated it nicely. Given that they’re living on Grange Farm, in the midst of largely supportive family, I don’t think their lives would be awful - were it not for the George issue.

Man get out? 😂 I've never noticed that mangetout spells that before. 🤣

I don't know but I got mangetout in my veg box last week. They might have been imported, as they do import surplusses from elsewhere, but last week they changed their in-box leaflet and it no longer shows place of origin. Also the new style leaflet is printed in orange on white which is harder to read.

Could be worse: could be white on orange.

Does George really think that everybody is going to forgive and forget?

at the risk of banging my "Alice recovery way too easy" drum yet again - he has seen it work almost instantaneously for her.

George is still trying to control the situation by insisting that everyone forgives him.

No thought at all to how Kenton might be terrified by being approached in the dark, or how Alice would feel being doorstepped and pressurised.

As soon as he feels that people are not going to yield he’ll be angry George again, and angry George is a danger to himself and others.

Yeah, I think George is probably sincere in his own limited way in being sorry. But when people don't instantly accept an apology he is completely graceless.

Thankfully the actor is good enough to carry all that off!

George is still a teenager, who has had some poor role models in his life, so I am prepared to cut him some slack.

Should he ever get to his counselling they’ll probably diagnose him with ADHD.

The “let’s halve our income so you can pack veg boxes and work in poly tunnels that will either be freezing cold or boiling hot” is ridiculous. It’s insulting to plumbers and market gardeners in equal measure. I’d have thought that Tom/Tash would go ballistic, but seemingly it is the dairymaid’s decision.

@CustardySergeant

Me neither! And I didn’t notice until you pointed it out.

George is 21 soon.
But I agree that ADHD could be a strong possibility and that would mean he is likely to behind for his age in aspects of emotional/social development. Whether sw are heading in that way, who knows.

That would be such a cop out though, especially as there's never been any indication. His family would be unbearable if he was given an excuse for his behaviour.

Can't anyone just be an intrinsically foul person these days without hiding behind an excuse for terrible behaviour?

There has always been a tendency for people being foul to be diagnosed away, and it has generally been a mistake because excusing terrible behaviour does nobody any favours, neither those doing it nor those it is done to.

"Excusing" means "making excuses for", after all.

I agree it would be massive cop out! I hope they don't go there. As a parent of two ADHD DC (and probably undiagnosed myself) it's s bloody annoying when it's used as an excuse for being a shit person!

Yes, this. I know people who have this diagnosis who are not horrible little gitwits, nor petty criminals, nor misogynist horrors, and I feel resentment on their behalf when "oh well he's probably ADHD" is used to explain away someone being all the above.

At one point we were wondering if Brad was ND because he was quiet and liked maths. Not really any other evidence, just shows how strong stereotyping is 🙈

All George's apologies are on the basis of "I've apologised to you. You have to accept that immediately and wholeheartedly. Now we're all friends and everything is forgiven and forgotten, there's something I want you to do for me...".
He reminded me of Columbo last night (except I like Columbo) with his persistent "Right, I've apologised so that's okay. Err...there's just one more thing I wanted to ask you...".
I presume if Kenton speaks to Jolene and she grudgingly says she accepts George's apology, G will assume everything is water under the bridge and he's welcome back in the Bull.
Getting back in there seems to be his main mission in life.

It'll be convenient for Marky's lot if he (i.e. George) does return to the Bull, because they'll be able take him out at the same time as Ken'n and J'leeeen.

Why? Because he's Pakistani? Because he's Muslim?

It's a daft SL whether it involves Akram or Adam but race doesn't come into it.

Exactly.
I mean, it could explain some of his personality, the quick temper, he constantly flits from one thing to the next, struggled with friendships, underachieved at school (although, we don't actually know if this is because he struggled or just couldn't be bothered, I tend to think the latter!).
But it certainly wouldn't explain his lying, manipulating, nastiness and misogyny. That's all on him.

Yes @LaMarschallin. It's like "there I've said sorry now so you can't be mad with me anymore".
Same as the constant bleating "I've done my time!" as if everyone should just forget all about it. It was only about 18 months ago!