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Life in Ambridge
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Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments" - Episode 14 Life Outside Ambridge Have a seat and let's chat.
Brookfield Bungalow - home to the debonair, highly successful businessmen Rex & Toby Fairbrother.
ReplyDeleteThe dream bachelor pad. Go get 'em boys!
Is it the Am at the bottom or is there a pond?
ReplyDeleteI've just listened to 'Costing the Earth' from last night, rewilding on a much smaller scale than the PRP venture.
In response to several comments about family allowance aka child benefit, I believe it is now for the first 2 children in a family and for non or basic rate taxpayers only.
ReplyDeleteStasia, re scrap cakes: 😂😂
ReplyDeleteWith Jill as a judge, Leonard should heed your advice so as not to poison Jill and end a beautiful relationship.
There was a time when I quite liked Toby and thought he was being hard done by.
ReplyDeleteThat was when he was really nice to Jill although she was particularly rude to him just because his dead aunt was her husband’s first wife and when she fell off a stool or ladder when she was fixing decorations or something and he took her to hospital .
I think he has got more about him than his brother who I think is a bit wet .
I am pleased he didn’t decide to follow Alesia because she would have just walked all over him
I used to think he would end up with Pip but the poor lad doesn’t deserve that.
I was referring to Rex not Toby in my final two sentences.
ReplyDeleteLanjan Jill's antagonism towards Toby wasn't about Jill's supposed jealously about Grace until back story was significantly changed.
ReplyDeleteJill disliked both brothers because of their father's treatment of Elizabeth when she was very young and a little naive. Robin Fairbrother hung around with the wine bar set and dated Elizabeth for a while and she fell in love with him.
He then turned out to be married, which he omitted to tell Elizabeth, although the marriage was supposedly 'rocky.' Not rocky enough to stop him getting his wife pregnant with Rex and abandoning Elizabeth telling her he wanted to work on his marriage.
Elizabeth was heartbroken then started on several damaging relationships including the one with Cameron Fraser (owner of the Bellamy estateI think) where he got her pregnant and left her at a motorway service station. She then went on to have an abortion much to Shula's dismay who was undergoing IVF with her first husband.
When the Fairbrothers arrived in Ambridge Jill's dislike was then altered to fixate on Grace.
Hope I haven't been teaching my grandmother to suck eggs but that is how I remember the past 30 odd years!
Yes of course ,Spicycushion
ReplyDeleteI recall now that Jill didn’t like the Fairbrother boys because her daughter had had an Affair with her daughter before they were born.
How unfair is that?
They could hardly be blamed .
I can’t remember anything at all about Elizabeth's relationship with Robin Fairbrother..
I know there was a period when I didn’t listen to the programme so it might have been then.
I do remember what I was doing when she told Jill about the abortion she wanted to have .
I was driving on the M62 and I was hoping that Jill would persuade her not to go ahead with it.
Jill can’t have it all ways.
Elizabeth was the one to ruin the marriage between Hayley and Roy.
She is hardly Goody two shoes.
Hang on, LanJan, it was Roy who ruined his marriage to Hayley - we heard him say he would junk Hayley and the children . It was Elizabeth who was concerned about both them and her own children and brought the affair to an end. Roy is no saint.
DeleteForgot to say earlier - hello Nigeria...!
ReplyDeleteThis blog seems to have a lot of people lurking in the ether. Very international.
DeleteHello 👋 the 🌎 world.
To me the Fairbrother circle was squared when Rosie Ruth Grace Archer was christened and Jill accepted it.
ReplyDeleteBoth Toby as the dad, and Rex as the uncle, dote on Rosie.
ReplyDeleteSadly this is only + when Pip wants this, to suit herself.
Personally, I would like an appearance of Robin F. coming to Ambridge, to visit his grand-daughter + his sons. Is this wishful thinking only?
To be honest Stasia I thought that was a rather tactless idea of Pip and Toby.
ReplyDeleteGrace is a lovely name but a second middle name is unlikely to be used by Rosie.
Grace Fairbrother would have been Toby’s aunt had she lived .
It wasn’t as if she would have been her grandmother.
I thought Jill behaved particularly well when she heard .
I wrote a post about the Fairbros earlier, actually at 1.48 pm.
ReplyDeleteInstead of publishing, I got a notice of an ' internal error '
Never seen this before !
Two minutes later I realised that I had posted at precisely the moment GG was setting up the new blog.
But my post had disappeared and I needed to get out.
Lanjan 5:59 - I agree, it was Toby's idea, which instead of clearing with Jill beforehand he attempted to cover up by clearing his throat. That was my point, that it had come full circle and Jill accepted it gracefully.
ReplyDeleteA very positive episode tonight - three resolutions: the abattoir, Freddie's job with Tracy being quick off the mark to take credit for it and *I think* Lynda may have made some useful observations...
ReplyDeleteBasia(7.39) Spot on summary !
ReplyDeleteBrian joined in too, after initial reservations, & as for Lynda & Tracey ! Another developing odd couple - female equivalent of Jim & Jazzer.
Reckon there’ll be a new cricket umpire next season.......and SHE won’t be very popular.
ReplyDeleteTracey.....anything but celery. Is she the only other person i know of who is allergic to celery like me!! I think we’d be kindred spirits....apart from the love of cricket of course.
Also.....where has David suddenly found all this time for running? Normally he’s too busy for anything, except a flask and some lemon drizzle cake. 🏃♂️🍰😉
Can only stomach celery in soup.. 😝celeriac however is quite delicious roasted, in a gratin.. etc etc, anything except rémoulade... yeuch! Tracy ❤️
ReplyDeleteSpicycushion - I read your posts about the goose usiness on the previous blog.You say Rex was part of the business and it failed, so how does that not make Rex a business failure? In fact , responsibility had passed to Rex when his brother became immersed in his gin business (and yes,we were told how hard he worked at it ( both at getting the barn suitable for inspection, and more recently when he was juggling childcare as well). He still helped Rex out with preparing the birds for the market. The ultimate reason the business failed was that Rex deserted it and Ambridge to swan off (maybe trail off would be better) to Scotland in Anisha’s wake to support her (when did strong woman Anisha need anyone’s, let alone Rex’s, help?) in the aftermath of her father’s death. This was in the run up to Christmas. He was away for weeks, if not months, apart from a flying visit one weekend. Bloggers wondered at the time what arrangements he had made for the geese’s welfare and marketing.
ReplyDeleteSo after Christmas he admitted that the business had done so poorly, he was packing it up.
Anyway, I’m with that sociable baby, Rosie Archer, who adores her daddy and inherits her sociability from him. Neither of us can wait for his return!
Maryellen 4.19am(!)
ReplyDeleteRex did not have the goose business when he was with Anisha and went to Scotland to 'support' her.
The 'Goose Business' was in October to December 2016 when the brothers arrived in Ambridge, soon followed by the arrival of Anisha. At that time Toby was definitely playing the field and making a particular play for Pip. "After all she has a farm" or some such comment and the brothers had decided they wanted to be 'farmers.'
During the Autumn of 2016 the goose business was going down the pan as I said in my original post because of Toby's unreliable behaviour.
The comments etc about who was looking after the hens was a year later when Rex was working with Ben.
The failed 'business man' is true obviously, literally, but the only blame I can see to be attributed to Rex is that he is just too nice a person. He relied on his brother and his later business partner, Ben, as well as keeping quiet about being attracted to Pip (except to Josh and Alice) and then getting involved with such a bossy person like Anisha.
He is pretty much too good for any of the present females in Ambridge. Are there any 'nice, pleasant' females living there I wonder?
Rex is the 'grafter' of the brothers and Toby the 'sponger.' Rex often said that he felt responsible towards his younger brother due to their parents having got divorced when the boys were young.
Miriam Sept 12 5.49pm
I most certainly do not want to see the re-appearance of Robin Fairbrother! He was introduced, I am thinking, just to introduce a little bit of a frisson between him and Elizabeth and Jill. He was certainly portrayed as yet another OTT character even though it could be expected that he would be introduced to his granddaughter. It certainly went to confirm why Toby turned out to be the person he is! Eyes on land, marrying into a family who had land and using others for his own purposes.
Still if they manage to raise a well balanced baby between them Good on them! 😀
Sorry to say, Spicycushion, that I think your categorical statement about the grafter/sponger brothers is entirely opinion- and not fact-based. You can not deny that Rex almost entirely sponges on other people’s initiative, whereas Toby has both the initiative and the ability to graft, as Ambridge’s have commented. Rex’s ‘niceness’ is mostly wetness, and he certainly doesn't apply to his brother. Wheras Toby very nicely arrannged the birthday surprise for Rex. That’s ‘end of’ for me. As I said, I’m with Rosie!
DeleteBTW I loved Tracey's comeback to Elizabeth 'I'm free on the 29th and I eat anything except celery! ' Completely wrong footing Elizabeth at the same time. Loved it!
ReplyDeleteMe too Spicycushion: (8:29 am 13th September.)
ReplyDeleteTracy is a breath of fresh air.
I think the programme has looked up recently because of her.
PtbY 9:17 pm -I can’t stand celery either and since I love cricket,I reckon Tracy and I would get on like a house on fire.
When the three of us meet up to discus our dislike of celery ,she and I won’t talk about cricket though.
The scriptwriters must be chortling for once - New Tracy is having the desired effect!
DeleteFor goodness sake, too much information given on 🏏 between Lynda and Tracy. Even though I love Tracy I mentally switched off, hence nothing about the sport entered my brain.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cunning plan Tracy has hatched, dinner with Elizabeth at LL! Is something significant going to happen, I can’t wait??
Cooked celery is horrible, more tolerable if eaten uncooked with lots of dips. The word I’m looking for is crudité.
Is Vince Casy related to Tim Oaty?
ReplyDeleteWhy in TA do dodgy characters sound like spivvy Londoners.
Matt Crawford comes to mind.
I like celery, celeriac cooked or raw and fennel in any shape or form - I'm always full of wonder that nature has invented such intricate design.
ReplyDeleteAccents are certainly used as a short cut to character (a pretty lazy device). Matt is a London wide boy OK, but Vince is Brummie, make of that what you will...
ReplyDelete'Twas ever thus......
DeleteI seem to remember that Sid was used in the same way when he came to Ambridge.
On the subject of Celery....
ReplyDeleteI’m with Basia
I use lots of it in cooking, as one if the basic ingredients in sauces for curries, Italian tomato sauces and casseroles. But I always ‘string’ it first with a potato peeler so as not to get those nasty bits if string stuck in your teeth,
Also love it raw, de-strung, with goats cheese or French garlic cheese or hummus plastered down the length and chopped into bite size pieces. Yum! (Oh, pity, no emoji for celery!)
🥬🥬🥬Are these celery heads ?
Delete🤔, looks a bit more like chard, spinach or cos lettuce to me Spicy, but near enough!
DeleteI like celery & also like Tracey - not inconsistent, I hope. Paid no attention to her cricket wisdom either, but liked the burgeoning relationship between her & Lynda, &, also, the way she hi hacked self styled posh Elizabeth, as Spicy & Stasia have said !
ReplyDeleteDon't usually give much thought to characters who haven't been heard in a while, but am curious about what is going on with the repellent Russ & busy Lily. Too many threads left dangling there.
Tch, tch, 'hi jacked'
Deletecarolyn. Isn’t Lily supposed to be going back to university? I’ll bet rancid Russ won’t be returning with her. He has his new Arty farty thing and free food and lodging. I predict he will find a reason not to live in the posh, couldn’t pay the rent, 👩🎨 garret.
DeleteLily will find independence wore enjoyable and dump the aged geezer a sitting in the stately pile.
I do hope Tracy doesn’t fall for him. 😱😱
Stasia( 2.03)Didn't think it was a foregone conclusion, as she seemed to be enjoying herself selling bathrooms or whatever it was.
DeleteSpicycushion 12.22pm.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think they are celery. Look more like a Duncan cabbage or Kos lettuce. When I put in lettuce 🥬 that came up. So lettuce it must be. 🥬
Sorry to disappoint.
Same thoughts as me, Stasia , above !
Delete😥
DeleteI am another fan of Tracy adding spice and fun to the story lines. I hope we do get an invitation to the lunch party with the whole family present so we can hear how it’s going at LL. We have been starved of news there...and please, absolutely no celery in any guise...can’t stand the smell of the stuff. Bad experience cooking it at school. Hated it ever since.😝
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten about Lily.
ReplyDeleteI always get her mixed up with Phoebe when I hear her voice.
I think perhaps Phoebe’s is more Sloaney though.
Well of course being brought up by the lovely Hayloiy that is exactly how she would speak.
I think she did plan to return to Manchester and we don’t hear a lot about her selling of kitchens now if indeed she is still doing that.
Still amazed that Elizabeth can make ends meet at LL .
Maybe Tracey can give her some advice when she goes for lunch.
I would love to know how LL is doing, and whether Russ is making a difference, or is still a "limpit" and leaching funds from Lizzie.
DeleteI second that!
DeleteMiriam - Russ is doing the job that Lewis did at Lower Loxley. Lewis wasn’t called a limpet when he did the job, though I suppose he may be one now. Or maybe he has finally disappeared into the ether leaving scarcely a memory behind.
DeleteHey, suppose Rat Russ is exposed for what he is by Heroine Tracey at this refined LL dinner ?
ReplyDeleteThe ideal scenario. I agree 😀
DeleteI would just like to know what Lily + Russ have been up to over the many months they have been absent and also how is LL doing....no mention from Bert either, as he volunteers there.
ReplyDeletePerhaps with Joe's demise + departure, which surely must happen soon, Lizzie will do the after funeral food at LL, as a kindness to the Grundy's.
After all, Joe provided Gem + Bartlebly with their cart, as part of the LL wedding package.
We know Russ has been swanning around managing the LL art gallery & that Lily is in sales, which she enjoys.
ReplyDeleteI'm not curious about Joe's funeral arrangements, but do wonder if his demise will bring Ed & Emma together again. She was fond of the old boy, & he had nothing to do with her current unhappiness & disappointment.
I was just thinking that as one life ends, another one starts.
DeleteMy thoughts are Joe goes as Lexi gives birth...
And yes, it will unite Ed, Emma, Will + George.
Time will tell.
I don’t like Jennifer when she gets all shrill and bad tempered as she did tonight.
ReplyDeleteWhat a tedious episode, vegan cooking in the Aldridge’s kitchen. The recipies sounded dreadful - give me some of Jill’s full-fat, high cholesterol, sticky, sweet delicious normal cooking any day instead of Kate’s vegan bake!
Or slurry as Brian so aptly called it.
DeleteI agree that tonight was a tedious episode. Kate is such a bad advertisement for veganism. I'm enjoying Tracey and like that she adds something different and unexpected to the cast.
DeleteI have a feeling the scriptwriters may be so chuffed by New Tracy’s success with listeners that they will be tempted to overexpose her.Like Jazzer, I think she may
ReplyDeletebe best in small doses (in Jazzer’s case, very small!}
So Kate guilt tripped Jennifer into not entering the vegan cookery class at the show so she has less competition, pretty pathetic behaviour for a 40+ year old. At least we can expect her to be defeated by Kirsty which might help Jennifer/Kirsty relations.
ReplyDeleteKate does still sound and act like an irritating teenager, I enjoy listening to her in an aghast and disbelieving manner begins am very thankful not t know anyone like that in the real world.
Totally agree KP 👏🏻
DeleteNote to self. Do not try to post before the first cup of coffee, last sentence should conclude “but I am very thankful not to know....
DeleteDisagree with you Maryellen each dose of Tracey and Jazzer is but a few minutes before it is interposed with two or three boring ,often badly acted characters like the nauseating Kate
ReplyDeleteIf we had a bit of Johnny tgvrown In too that would be fine by me.
I think the script writers have found a winner in Tracey.
Re your last sentence, LanJan - that’s what I’m afraid of! She’s all on one note, which has the appeal of familiarity, but gradually becomes yawn-making.
DeleteShe has some great one liners though!
DeleteI like the new Tracy but they already went too far by putting her on the ghost quest, she's supposed to be down to earth and not flighty.
ReplyDeleteKate is so presumptuous that she will win because there'll be no one else entering in the vegan class, as KP says we know she has a surprise in store.
ReplyDeletePeople have lived on a vegan diet for centuries, all it takes is to put in other ingredients less the animal protein. It's this fashion to make foods that pretend to be meat. On the packaging of my washing powder it says vegan, the same as with the £5 note. And Jennifer wore wool!
I try to move away from leather goods but should the vegans stop touching each other? We all contain animal fat.
I just don’t get the extremity of vegan belief. Hens constantly lay eggs and as long as the hens are kept humanely no harm is done by eating the eggs. Sheep need to be sheared so why not utilise the wool?
DeleteOh, here here Ev! If we never consumed meat or milk the animals that produce them would gradually die out and one or two centuries hence there would be very few, or no cows, sheep and pigs left.
DeleteAs you say, sheep must be shorn for health and comfort so what do we do with the fleeces - just throw them away? Cows do not live for ever, so even if they die naturally of old age, what is wrong with using their hides? It is nothing to do with animal cruelty or animal rights, it is making use of commodities that would otherwise be discarded. The ultimate recycling, if you like.
What really worries me is William's attitude. He's putting on a brave face, just like Elizabeth did. Emma was sworn to secrecy. Eddie's trying to be tactful but his words: I don't want him to hold a gun again are ringing in my ears.
ReplyDeleteMaryellen 8:48 am .
ReplyDeleteYou may well be proved right but at the moment I far prefer to hear the voices of the plebs rather than the Patricians .
Ev 14/09 10.07
ReplyDeleteIndeed! If anyone has seen videos various sheep who have managed to escape annual shearing for several years they would totally disagree with PETA's attitude (that it is cruel ,) which is ridiculous in the extreme. Once sheared a particular ram (Shrek) was so wasted he was obviously slowly starving. As a vegetarian myself, totally because of cruelty and stress in raising and slaughtering animals, I would not see a single animal suffer in any way. If it takes turning a sheep upside down for five minutes and giving it a haircut, that it is much more humane than leaving it struggling for a year!
Sorry, my post above should have been headed with:
ReplyDeleteEv, 10.07 instead of being put as a ‘reply’
Trying to remember the new scheme which is very sensible, but forgot this time!
Basia, 9:48am - I wonder if Eddie will block his son’s return to work by reporting him to the gun licence people. I can imagine him doing it as he must have got a terrible scare when he had to talk him down. I wonder where the gun has been since the incident.
ReplyDeleteAgree with the various comments regarding vegan issues and animal husbandry.
ReplyDeleteIt is a fashion, becoming widely spread. As other fashions before !
Eddie Grundy has been a tear away in the past but has matured at last into a caring and responsible adult.
I do hope that his current concerns for the well being of his son, and the safety of all who might encounter that son in the environs of his position as a gamekeeper, are followed through by the SW in a serious manner and do not become lost in the mists of time.
Special Message for Maryellen
ReplyDelete(Please scroll past if not interested)
The results of this year’s big butterfly count have just been published and as you mentioned the expected Painted Lady Summer, earlier in the year, you might be interested to hear that the increase in the number of these butterflies, over last year, was an amazing 2498% !!
The Red Admiral was up by 138% and Peacock up by 239%
But there have been significant drops in both the Small White and Large White (erroneously called the ‘cabbage white’ by many people) That is good for me because they can devastate crops of cabbage, lettuce and my nasturtiums, so I am glad there are not so many!
So very interesting. I have only seen an occaisional Red Admiral and virtually no Cabbage Whites. I have seen virtually no "flutterbies" this year, as well as nearly no slugs nor snails.
DeleteI wonder if anyone in Ambridge did the butterfly watch? I the likes of Bert + Robert might have.
That’s really interesting. I just saw a Red Admiral and a Painted Lady sitting side by side on a buddleia flower, very striking, but the butterflies I have seen most this summer have been the ones I call cabbage white (because I always mean to look up the difference and forget!) which seems to buck the trend.
DeleteI saw many peacock and painted ladies in Yorkshire and the odd yellow and blue specimens? holly blue/ not sure what the yellow ones are, but in my London garden the white are the most prevalent. Many wasps? hover flies? all over my asters this afternoon. Saw Gardeners World yesterday talking about mason bees. I am wondering if that’s what they are in my garden. They’re very busy.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Leonard will help Jill with her bees.
Anneveggie September 13, 2019 at 11:26 PM. "Kate is such a bad advertisement for veganism".
ReplyDeleteNo, no - she did fine. The more people put off veganism the better IMO. The vegans I have known have all looked truly unwell - thin and wan. One such I know wants to change his mind but has backed himself into a corner and can't extricate himself without, as he sees it, losing face. My advice to him? Get yourself a medium rare filet mignon and half a bottle of a good red; join the club of the robust and healthy and you will feel so much better. I'm with Brian on this.
I agree to a point.
DeleteI understand why vegans choose this way of life, but to me, many think that is what all should be doing and try to say that this is the best way.
However, many do not get all the vitamins + minerals needed for life, via their diet.
It is not clear cut, however, so I sit on the fence with this.
Vegetarians - this I can relate to more easily.
Me I am a true meat eater. These days it's turkey, chicken + fish, interspered with lamb, beef, pork etc. I cannot give these up.
It's sensible eating with loads of veg.
In other words - a well balanced + healthy diet.
My sister in law was a vegetarian for years and ended up with pancreatitis. She had existed on a diet of mainly cheese and eggs. It is important if you are a vegetarian to have a wide range of vegetables making sure you have the full balance of vitamins and nutrients. Meat does give us protein and vitamins such as B12 so these need to be looked at if not eating meat. We all need to look at some veg meals whilst enjoying our meat and fish!
DeleteSeasider, 5.51
ReplyDeleteThe blue butterfly you saw was probably the Common Blue which is the most often seen blue in Britain, or could possibly have been the Chalkhill Blue which is prevalent down here in Hampshire as we have a lot of chalk downland
The yellow would probably have been a Brimstone, usually the first butterfly we see each spring.
In fact there is always a bit of competition in our family for who will be first to spot one each year.
Re the ‘Cabbage White’ butterfly - there is actually no such thing! The Large and Small Whites have become known by that popular name simply because of their habit of living on plants in the brassica family i.e. cabbages. They both have white wings with a black margin on the tips of the forewings and the females have a single black spot on the forewings too. I’m afraid entomologists (like Mr A) get very annoyed at references to ‘cabbage whites’ as they like to insist on accurate terminology!! 🦋
Thanks Archerphile, that’s interesting. I saw your comment earlier about ‘cabbage’ whites and I was careful not to call them that!🤭😊. I am a fussy linguist so I can understand Mr A’s frustration.
ReplyDeleteI rather like the country names for flowers and birds and insects, which I grew up with, like cabbage white and daddy long legs, which I’m sure I apply equally indiscriminately!
ReplyDeleteYour not alone n that Maryellen.
DeleteRe all previous comments on veganism and vegetarianism, I can say that neither diet need be an unhealthy one just as long as they are carefully balanced. I have been a vegetarian for over 40 years, and I am still hale and hearty, thank goodness, and am usually taken to be at least ten years younger than I actually am. My children were also raised on a vegetarian diet (although, I provided them with meat if they wanted it), and they were happy, healthy children. Now that they are grown up, my son eats meat, one daughter is still a vegetarian and the other daughter has changed to a vegan diet which suits her husband who has auto-immune disease. All still doing well, but we do balance our meals carefully to make sure that we get all the minerals and vitamins that we need. I do think that Kate is being ridiculous in telling Jennifer that she shouldn't wear wool though - I don't think that a poor sheep, laden down with wool in the summer heat would agree with her at all. Just because sheep and hens provide us with eggs and wool, we don't have to eat them as well. I have never eaten any of my hens - just their eggs.
ReplyDeleteMaryellen, I can’t disagree with you there. The country names convey a lot about the plants, birds etc and I love all the regional variations. That’s another aspect of the Archers we haven’t heard much of recently. We have the bird hide, but not so much on wild flowers. I wonder how much Phoebe et al know about it. Is there anyone else in the village who does? Jim and Robert of course, and Kirsty, but few local folk who absorbed it growing up. Nothing wrong with the aforementioned and their approach, rather the way they are portrayed hasn’t always been positive - crusty academic or competitive twitcher or zealous campaigner. Hopefully that’s set to change with Kirsty’s new job.
ReplyDeleteSorry I will stop rambling.....
Regarding the Archers I would like to comment on Will’s ‘sick note’ they not called this any longer.
ReplyDeleteThese are now referred to as FIT notes.
I have a friend who has been vegan 🌱 for many years and is frequently ill he had a stroke in his early fifties. Another friend fractured her arm and then discovered she had osteoporosis, she had been vegetarian since she eighteen. She is now eating fish as a result. What I find annoying Is The language used to describe vegetables as food, so a cauliflower becomes a steak and so on.
The first time I had vegetarian loaf it went through my system like a heavy brick. Very unpleasant.
Kate’s food must be finger licking awful
The person who did the butterfly 🦋 research didn’t take any measurements on my allotment, so I can confirm the Cabbage White in all its incarnations is well and thriving.
The butterfly count was done by well over a million observers throughout the country so not down to just one! I expect most allotments attract many white butterflies due to the abundance of food for them, my nasturtiums were certainly well shredded this summer! But over the whole of the UK the numbers were down over previous years.
DeleteA most interesting thing was the distribution map published after the count was completed. It showed by far the highest number of Painted Ladies were found along the eastern Scottish and north-east England coasts, then spreading inland over the whole of northern England/Scotland. They think this was due to the high numbers of butterflies flying south from Scandinavia for our summer. And I thought most butterflies headed north towards us from Africa!
stasiaSeptember 15, 2019 at 9:36 AM
ReplyDelete"The first time I had vegetarian loaf it went through my system like a heavy brick. Very unpleasant.
Kate’s food must be finger licking awful"
✔️✔️✔️ 🤮
🤣🤣
DeleteSir Ron and all you other 'veggie-scoffers', I shall be baking myself a nice nut roast for my Sunday tea, and I'm sure that it will be infinitely more delicious than anything Kate could produce. Of course, it will contain an egg and will be packed with protein, vitamins and minerals, so I shan't have to worry about taking any supplements to boost my nutritional requirements, as I probably should if I were a vegan. I think that in recent years people have become very confused about the difference between vegetarianism and veganism and think that they are one and the same thing. I eat everything (including dairy produce), apart from meat and animal fats derived from meat. Can't understand why people get so cross about us veggies - afraid of something perhaps?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, just because a 'veggie' or a vegan have a stroke or develop osteoporosis, it's not necessarily down to their diet. No need for osteoporosis can be developed by anyone who doesn't include enough dairy in their diet (and it is in a veggie diet, hence the term 'lacto-vegetarian'). And anyone can have a stroke, whatever diet they follow.
Hello Suz, I'm not vegetarian ( unless my daughter is away and my son at home, anything for easier cooking!)) but my son has been for years. Don't know if you know this but it used to be known as the Pythagorean diet because Pythagoras was quoted by Ovid as having said: " it is evil to swallow flesh into our own flesh, to fatten our greedy bodies by cramming in other bodies, to have one living creature fed by the death of another". I found it quite thought provoking and thought you and Anneveggie and Spicycushion and maybe others might like the quote.
DeleteFortunately I feel able to pass by all this vegan nonsense. And I use that word advisedly, because for many it is a fad. A fashion. And will pass.
ReplyDeleteI live in a 'foody' town and vegan is writ large, but we still have a butcher and a fishmonger at our Friday market as well as all the purveyors of vegan and vegetarian food at our famous Farmers Market on Saturday along with at least two high quality meat stalls.
Like Stasia, what really annoys me is the pretence of making vegetables into meat.
Why ?
I simply do not understand it.
If it's cauliflower mashed by some method into fine crumbs why call it rice. What is wrong with cauliflower crumble. Sounds ok to me.
But then, i do not like artifice of any kind.
I accept Suz in her rationale, and know very well that many people live healthy balanced lives as vegetarians, but am also aware of the rise in ' vegan' for political reasons.
MrsP - crone of Ambridge September 15, 2019 at 11:49 AM
ReplyDeleteWell said, MrsP ma'am (dear old Walter; I still miss him). My main beef (pun intended) is against the fashion of veganism and those who so loudly declare it. Nothing wrong with vegetables. The produce from the garden at present is astounding - so much fruit and and so many vegetables. Lovely!
Back to mowing the lawns now - such a beautiful day.
I'm not entirely comfortable with veganism either, Mrs. P and Sir Ron - that's why I'm not one! - and I do get very irritated by the current fad when vegan and veggie are correlated. But, when I think about it, some of my food IS vegan if it doesn't contain any dairy produce. Can be very tasty too when the 'umami' flavourings are right which is probably why Brian isn't exactly enjoying the offerings foisted on him by Kate!
ReplyDeleteMy understanding of Kate's comment about Jennifer wearing wool was that she shouldn't during strictly vegan food preparation, which is taking it too far, her fingers contain fat and blood.
ReplyDeleteThe ultimate test is supposed to be a visit to an abattoir and still being able to eat meat.
I saw animals being killed on a farm in my childhood, I still eat them occasionally. What disturbed me most during one episode of The Food Programme was that the chickens are gassed before slaughter. We now eat meat from an organic farm which we had visited. I don't think my family are much concerned when eating out.
Suz 11.47am.
ReplyDeleteI am not against vegetarianism I spent two years not eating meat, I was young and it was a fad at the time, so I became a follower of fashion. I tend to have a vegetable diet about three a week, all of which I grow myself. The friends I mentioned were told by nutritionists that their diet was a problem.
I think Kate delights in being an oddity, different because she is an insecure individual and needs attention. She is also written to be silly and superficial, and not well informed in her so called passions. Jakob didn’t think she was up to much as a masseur. Didn’t she leave Phoebe to administer some dreadful therapy involving hot stones???
Chicken curry with my own spiced vegetables 🌶🍆🥕🥦🥒🥬🥔 😋.
Sounds delicious..
DeleteI am having home made chicken + vegetable pie (even the pastry!).
Probably not as good as Jills or Jennifers, but it will be edible and cooked in one of my favourite enamel pie dishes.
Can someone clarify something I picked up in the Omnibus this morning. Will was going to the Drs and Eddie said he could borrow the van.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Tim take it away along with chemicals??
It puzzled me.
PS Will was again seen by a GP on the same day (a cancellation - how lucky!) and a sick note attained so easily.
DeleteWhere is the surgery - Felpersham?
I'm listening to The Canterbury Tales again. Justin: It is in Chaucer, Lynda: But not in Snell!
ReplyDeleteIt's good to recognise the well known voices but sometimes not straight away.
I am downloading it all, to listen + enjoy it again, in the next few weeks.
DeleteIt was great to hear the Ambridge regulars, acting out of thier TA characters.
Miriam 3.23pm.
ReplyDeleteI think Eddie got another one.
The annual produce show must be next weekend. I recall that Joe usually enters something. Didn’t he steal some from Carole’s garden a couple of years ago?
Imagine if he slyly eats some of Kate’s concoction and suddenly drops dead from anaphylactic shock because she has cooked in a weird botanical In the recipe. White snake root, black nightshade, Indian pea, hemlock the list is endless. She might decorate said concoction with lovely red poinsettia leaves.
Thanks Stasia. I was confused about the van.
DeleteAs to Joe, well who knows what his eventual demise will be. It is about time it happened. This sounds harsh but it is known that Oliver is letting the Grundy's stay on at Grange Farm.
I want a simple end for Joe, with his family around him, at Grange Farm, as Joe wished.
Basis 3.36
ReplyDeleteI listened to The Canterbury Tales last Sunday and today because I missed it the first time around.
I absolutely hated Chaucer when we did it at school, in the original olde English. I couldn’t get my head around it at all and have never bothered to try re-reading it since - hence I approached the Archers version with some trepidation.
But I loved it! I never realised the stories were so funny (or bawdy) and it was great hearing actors, playing actors, in a play. Very clever and very entertaining. So thank you to TA for re-educating me!
Yes, wasn't it fun, I liked it as much the second time around.
DeleteI was worried for a bit that Tracy might not get her lunch at Lower Loxley, let's hope Freddie doesn't let her down and so she'll get another treat, a night out with Oliver, I hope he drops this idea later.
ReplyDeleteGlad Oliver decided to give Freddie a chance, despite Iain's understandable misgivings.I think he's learnt his lesson about the drugs, now it's more about punctuality, reliability, learning about a relatively straightforward job.
ReplyDeleteI so agree. Freddie needs to be given a chance of a better life, if he really has learnt from his past misdemeanors.
DeleteHa......told you ....Linda being an umpire. I must be psychic!
ReplyDeleteOh to be a fly on the wall at the Oliver and Tracey dinner. 🤣
Wonder if Lynda knows just how long and difficult it is to become a qualified cricket Umpire?
DeleteAttendance at an instruction course for several months, two written exams and an oral exam, all requiring a very high percentage to achieve a pass?
Still, once Lynda sets her sights on something she usually achieves it, but will she be willing to stand on Sats and Sundays throughout the whole summer or does she just want to officiate at Ambridge matches? We shall see.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThat’s interesting too - I thought village cricket umpires tended to be self-selected, older knowledgeable players like Bert Fry. I could be wrong but I don’t somehow think Bert would have done exams etc. It might explain why he made the mistake.
DeleteMuch as I now like Tracey, a breath of fresh air in the programme, I do feel we are getting just a little too much of her lately.
ReplyDeleteCan the woman do no wrong? Sorting out Emma, friend to Freddie, source of amusement (?) at Grey Gables, Oliver’s new best friend and now saviour of ACC’s cricket match into the bargain. It’s all a bit too much of the same person, over egging the Tracey pudding.
I think the SWs know they are on to a good thing with Tracey but are in danger of using her too much.
Just like the BBC did with Clare Balding and more recently Fiona Bruce. You like them at first but they get so much exposure you eventually get fed up with seeing/hearing them.
After having trouble getting my blogs to stay put, I feel I have missed something. Have
ReplyDeletethe two blogs been combined? Going online this morning I find the comments are about
butterflies or vegan/vegetarian diets. There are very few posts regarding the storyline.
I realise the connection with Kate/Jennifer cooking for the flower and produce show but
must have missed something regarding butterflies. After the initial points being made,
perhaps the longer discussion could be continued on the other blog ? Perhaps this post
should also be on the other blog ?! Guidance please.
Suz at 11.47
ReplyDeleteAgree with you 100%. Well made points.
😊😊😊
DeletePeggy Kay (11.50pm, Sunday)
ReplyDeleteStrictly speaking, you're right, but, in this case, whilst springing from TA farce with Kate, it clearly touched a nerve with some bloggers who are knowledgeable & interested in vegetarian & vegan matters. It would have been odd & confusing, I think, if the discussion had suddenly switched to the other blog ! I guess sometimes chat takes off in that way, as in life.
In principle, yes, you're right, but we tend not to be too rigid, I find.
Sorry, Peggy Kay, the butterfly thread was probably my fault as I rarely look at the other
ReplyDeleteblog and for anyone who wants to catch my attention on a non-Archers topic, this one is the best bet. I should have transferred my answer to the other blog. Will do better!
I know what you mean, Archerphile re being over exposed (10:42 pm 15/9 )especially with regard to the two women mentioned but at the moment I am happy listening to Tracey and it will probably only be for this 5week stint .
ReplyDeleteQuestions.
ReplyDeleteWho is paying for Lexi to stay at ‘Lynda’s ?
Does anybody else think there will be trouble when she doesn’t want
to give her son up?
Is Lexi actually the mother of this baby or were eggs implanted?
Does she intend to leave Ambridge after the birth?
How are Ian and Adam intending working all hours and at the same time being able to look after a baby?
Will both of them get paternity leave?
Lanjan 8.50 am.
ReplyDeleteSo many questions, but I shall do my best to answer them. It might be a good idea to number them for easy responses.
No. 1.its got to be Adam and Ian. I can’t see Lynda providing B&B free, gratis and for nothing. If the normal charge is £100 per night then it is costing a lot of money.
No. 2 there is always trouble of some sort in Ambridge. I think Lexie has become
very possessive of the pregnancy and will find it difficult to let go. The clue was there when she said her daughter had become attached. You are possibly jumping to conclusions about the future gender.
No. 3 When I was listening it was clear that eggs 🥚 had been implanted and Ian’s spermatozoa fertilised them. I say them as it is not uncommon for a woman to produce more than one 👶. Under these conditions. Image the noise that produces at feeding time.
No 4. The midwife’s advice will be to hightail it out of Ambridge as soon as possible. But I suspect she will remain as permanent help/nanny.
No 5.last night we were told that Ian is taking 12 months maternity leave to play at being mummy. Listen up please.
No6. Adam is a very important 👩🌾 farmer so he will be out fretting over cows, herbal lays, fishy things etc, and now setting up an new abattoir. He may be the sperm contributor, but he will become an old fashioned father, five minutes in the nursery at the end of a working day.
I do hope I’ve answered all your questions.
Lanjan - I only assume Adam and Ian are paying.
ReplyDeleteYes, I foresee trouble ahead (how else for drama's sake).
How do *you* know it's a son?
Lexi specified that she wouldn't use her own eggs. The two ingredients were combined in vitro and then transferred into her womb. This would happen in any IVF procedure.
Don't know.
Ian and Oliver agreed there'd be a 12 month stand-in not 'replacement' for his job at Grey Gables.
We don't know about Adam and whether he'll have a midwife as well.
The egg donor seems to be anonymous. As I said - In Vitro Fertilization, it takes place outside the body and the foetus is transferred into the womb. Shula and her husband Mark went through this procedure and Daniel is the result.
DeleteHelen had artificial insemination and she used and anonymous sperm donor from a sperm bank. If it's too much detail, well that's how it is, I'd better stop before my grandmothers etc
Maryellen 6.15 am
ReplyDeleteYou are quite right about umpires at non-league friendly Village matches usually being one of the older, experienced players, supplied by one or other of the teams taking part - same with scorers, usually a players wife or one of the young lads.
But when you get into the official County leagues it is expected to have a properly qualified umpire and scorer. Mr A decided to take the course when he was no longer able to play a whole match for health reasons but wanted to stay connected to the team and club. As said, it took a considerable amount of course attendance and study. ( the book of official Cricket Laws is umpteen pages long) and difficult exams to be passed before being registered and allowed to wear the official tie - which had a little owl on a green background in Mr A’s day.
There are now lots of different levels of umpiring courses, for those who just want to stand in village games or league games or up to international standard games. And also for the different types of cricket now played, red ball, white ball and the new competition being launched next year.
Stasia 9.15
ReplyDeleteI think your answer to point no. 3 is wrong - sorry!
I think I am right in remembering that it was Ian who desperately wanted to father a child but when his sperm were tested it was found he wouldn’t be able to, to his very great disappointment.
It was then that Adam stepped in and offered to be the father. I don’t think he was as keen as Ian at the time to have a child but couldn’t bear to see Ian so upset.
So it was Adam’s sperm that were used.
Absolutely right I hadn’t intended to write Ian. Adam is the spermatozoon father.
DeleteAnd also stasia, in your point #5 you say that Ian will be "playing at being mummy" - erm, won't he just be being daddy?
DeleteGary, since Ian has his own midwife I assume he wants to be both.
DeleteArcherphile 9.31
ReplyDeleteYes I distinctly remember Jennifer announcing to everyone at a dinner party that "Adam has exceedingly fertile sperm!" Bit of a conversation stopper!
The whole of this ridiculous storyline has chopped and changed throughout ,since it started in 2017 in an attempt to patch up the marriage.
Reading through old synopses A&I went through a very rough patch. Then Ian declared he wanted to father a child to prove to his father "he was a man" because his father had not fully accepted that Ian was gay.
After semi exploring routes to becoming parents they settled on surrogacy. The first 'transfer' took place on April 8th 2018, which is why this blasted pregnancy has gone on forever!
The first and second transfers were not successful. There has to be a few months between attempts as they were using 'freshly harvested' eggs and not frozen, because of Adam's age and the fact that the success rate is better. The gaps between transfers allows the donor and recipient's menstrual cycles to line up so right hormones etc are in sync! (I obviously had nothing better to do with my time! 😀)
The final attempt was in January this year.
BTW On fb someone said that actually Ian would not qualify for 12 months paternity leave or adoption leave anyway until the day the child is born. Oliver is already being very generous with Ian's wishes.
Will Lexi have a booked Caesarian so the child is delivered on the 26th? What is Ian going to be doing in the days leading up to the 26th?
As far as I can remember only the Grundy babies arrived without fuss. Pip and Helen's sprogs all had drama attached to the delivery. Will Lexi's drama be when the child is born or afterwards I wonder?
Lynda and Tracy are clearly destined to become a formidable duo on both cricket pitch and reception desk. What’s the betting that,in one of those reversals beloved by scriptwriters, Lynda outclasses Tracy on the principles and practice of cricket,, and Tracy outclasses Lynda at hotel management?
ReplyDeleteHi Suz I have left a comment re vegetarianism at yours of 15th 11.47 a.m.
ReplyDeleteThanks Janice. That's really interesting. I didn't know about Pythagoras :)
DeleteAll very interesting.
ReplyDeleteAt a risk of being shouted down I can never understand why a father is given paternity leave.
We didn’t even get maternity leave of course but had to give up our jobs .
I wouldn’t have wanted a man about the house .
I was perfectly capable of looking after a baby on my own.
I really feel for owners of small firms who have to allow paternity leave and then have to pay someone else to do the father’s work.
12 months paternity leave?
Ridiculous.
Thanks for answering my questions Stasia.
I don’t know of course the baby will be a boy but it is bound to be.
She has two daughters who will want a little brother so..........
I am amazed that anybody of my age or even my sons’ age ever made it beyond the cradle.
How did we survive without having our own personal midwives?
Oh I am so sick and tired of this storyline.
I am tired of Ian’s rudeness as well.
He doesn’t exactly treat his employer with respect.
And if there is no mother available OR capable of looking after the baby Lanjan? Are you saying that women are the best placed in ALL circumstances to look after children? What if there is no mother? I genuinely find your view depressing.
DeleteBelieve it or not, many men LOVE being parents - every single one of my male friends took on an equal share of bringing up their children from birth. Maybe it's a generational thing...
You're so right GG. My wife was seriously ill after giving birth and I had to do most of the baby care. I love looking after babies and don't want anyone saying it's not my place!
DeleteI’m sure many men are wonderful with babies but like Lanjan I would never have wanted my husband around all day when my daughter was a baby! He was not into babies and the one occasion I had to leave her with him he put her to bed in a dress as he couldn’t find a nightie even though these were at the front of the airing cupboard! He did make a reasonable job of changing her nappy though! I can see why paternity leave is a good idea though to enable the bonding although a full year seems a bit excessive. I did say some time ago that I couldn’t see Ian and Adam having a good balance between work and childcare. It is hard to foresee the demands on time made by a small child.
DeleteGary 10. 27am
ReplyDeleteMy reply to Lanjan was tongue 👅 in cheek. Daddy and Daddy are themselves pretentious. They have a midwife and Lexie has a midwife. It begs the question WHY? Everyone I know who’s had babies called the room a bed room. They call said room a nursery.
However, what I want to know is, what is the procedure for registering the birth, Will Lexie be recorded as the mother, or will that section be left blank?
Lexie we know is the womb of availability, but she is biologically carrying the foetus and will certainly experience the pain and discomfort that entails. It developed in her womb. Can she claim to be the mother in the same way that Aidan wants to be called daddy. Or will he simply be Ian?
Maybe someone here can explain why Ian is on 12 months ‘maternity’ leave when the legal entitlement for employees is much shorter. 56 days? Did he negotiate with Oliver leave without pay for the rest of the time?
I watched a film last week and the individual concerned had transitioned from female to male but kept the womb so that he could have a child. He wasn’t allowed legally to register as the father. It is still a complex area. Apologies for deviating.
Grrrr. Ian although Aidan is a nicer name. Maybe the child will be given a nice name.
DeleteGary3.30pm. I agree parenthood is mostly a learned social and psychological endeavour. So many parents are awful [including women) in how they interact with their children, these things are not instinctively acquired.
Lan Jan2.31pm and Stasia re maternity/paternity leave. My female pregnant colleagues all took a year’s maternity leave and then their annual leave which had accrued during those 12 months. The employees were also entitled to return part time if they wished. I think they may have been on reduced pay in the latter part of the 12 months but I don’t know the full details. We have friends with children whose father reduced his hours to look after them whilst the mother returned to work full time.
ReplyDeleteSpicy, you were asking this morning about what Ian is going to do before the baby arrives. Were we told the date he is leaving work? I thought they said he is about to go on paternity leave for a year, but perhaps I missed something.
LanJan re the baby being a sibling to Lexi’s daughters: if Lexi didn’t provide the eggs the baby won’t be related to Lexi or her daughters. Baby will be the same as Helen’s Henry with one known biological parent - Adam, but unlike Henry brought up by two parental figures from birth - Ian and Adam.
All we know is that Adam is the biological father and it was a donor "egg", and Lexi is the surrogate.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do feel that Lexi will not give the Bubba up.
As Stasia said, there are are already clues - one of Lexis daughters, bonded with the baby, and also Lexi moved out of Honeysuckle Cottage. This is where the nursery is ready + waiting.
Perhaps Lexi, doesn't want to leave the baby she is carrying, there. It's not as she thought...
Oh the mind boggles, there are so many possible outcomes, that's why they've made it this way. Does the donor 'mother' have any more say or has she signed a confidentiality clause?
ReplyDeleteGary (3.30pm), I agree, it is a generational thing. Times & attitudes have changed over the last few generations, in childcare, work & domestic balance, for the better. For instance, in my generation, & Lanjan's, quite a few people here, our fathers weren't expected to be present at the birth, & middle class mums tended not to go to work, or only part time after the child(ren) started school. When we were breeding, dads did sometimes attend the birth, & that became more common, alongside, & far more importantly, women had careers & joint child care was worked out, often with difficulty. Before the next generation started producing, it was far more common. I totally welcome paternity leave, for the whole family's sake.Men often missed out on that early bonding with their child.
ReplyDeleteIn Adam & Iain's case, it's developing on pretty conventional lines. Adam is the biological father, & Iain will be taking the old fashioned maternal role, during that first year, though I imagine Adam will be far more hands on when he's at home - not a '50' or even a '70s dad !
Oh, I think it's a complete red herring about Lexi's daughter becoming attached to the baby. What baby ? It's not born yet, & they're not related. It is weird, though, that a woman who has children, gives birth by surrogacy, to a child who has no connection to her own family, such as helping out a sibling or cousin, not done for reasons of poverty, apparently altruistic, who will probably never meet them. It is a complete non event for her daughters, except the disconcerting experience of seeing their mum's girth widen by the week, & then....nothing.
ReplyDeleteI am loving the differing thoughts.
DeleteIt's certainly wait + listen as to what happens next, after Lexi gives birth.
I just, only hope Jennifer "dahling" doesn't try to interfere + take over too much.
I have just come across a definition of mother that states “ women are considered mothers by virtue of giving birth” supplying their ovum for fertilisation or other combinations to produce a child. The word doesn’t necessarily have to indicate a biological attachment. So in theory Lexie could consider herself to be the mother even though she may not parent the child. Parenting is a process that comes after the birth and sociologically a distinction has prevailed that devides the roles into maternal and paternal.
ReplyDeleteThere has always also been a political, economic and Religious motivation to keep these roles distinct especially when we have some sort of unrest. Women are usually the target of many ideologies delivered by politicians and others ( Mary Whitehouse, Hitler etc) to control social structures. Unfortunately many individuals accept these beliefs as truth.
Will is the sort of character who would epitomise some of these beliefs about roles and gender.
Sorry Stasia - you have lost me, in what has to be, a well thought out, and informative post.
DeleteWell Done for it - regardless of my response.
Gary ,when you say if there is no mother then do you mean that the mother died in childbirth or do you mean that as in the case of Adam and Ian there are two fathers?
ReplyDeleteWhat I should have said was that I do not think both parents should be given maternity or paternity leave.
I never said nor do I think that a woman is the best placed in all circumstances.
Obviously as in the case of Ex Londoner the father is obviously needed to be the main carer.
What I will say is that it is definitely a generational thing as you suggest,Gary.
My son was far more hands on with his children than his father but that was how it was then.
I believe I am the oldest regular blogger.
I think mine was possibly the last generation where women like me brought up the children and sometimes ,as in my case ,also went out to work
That is what happened then.
Coincidently ,my son when telephoning me last night was talking about exactly what you mentioned.
It isn’t just in the case of child birth that things are different.
Times have changed.
Perhaps I have not moved with them.
Ian has gone down in my thoughts. He needs to decide where his priorities lie - looking after the new babe, or his kitchen in GG.
ReplyDeleteHe can't do both.
Miriam - I don’t think Ian is alone. A lot of modern working parents must have exactly the same problem. At least the fears of bloggers who thought it was unwise of Addams and Ian to have a baby when both have demanding full time jobs, are now allayed.
DeleteAdam and Ian
DeletePoor Eddie, no wonder he's desperately worried & is panicking.Thank goodness he did break down with Brian who gave sound advice. Getting the sack, not being a gamekeeper ever again is not the answer, & such a move would only compound the problem, as Brian said. Anyway, if someone is determined to take their own life, they will find the means.
ReplyDeleteWill is in a very bad place, but I'm not sure he is suicidal any more. Deeply unhappy, yes, but he doesn't want Poppy to be an orphan, Bev is not making a move to have the child removed from his care, he does have family support. Of course he should have spoken properly to the Dr. But the man is obstinate & proud, very hard to help. I have a feeling that George seeing him again, & maybe Emma forgiving him could make a difference. Perhaps wishful thinking.
On a lighter note, Jennifer continues to be a pain. She isn't always at all, but when she is, her voice becomes so silly & precious ! Rather well played.
Why has Iain such a down on Freddie ? If Oliver is satisfied the boy has learnt his lesson ? I assume because he's feeling insecure about his job, so anything sends him into a flat spin.
Ian has a valid point. Oliver has already made one dubious staffing decision, knows nothing about how restaurant kitchens work at staffing level, and doesn’t know if Freddie is now a truly reformed character, or just hasn’t been exposed to temptation again, and what will happen when he is? It seems to me, and possibly to Ian too, which is why he is so worried, that Oliver is a bit of a liability .
DeleteAs a woman who fought and pioneered to have fathers present at the birth of THEIR child ( present at conception, why not at birth ) I take exception to the suggestion, here today, that fathers need have nothing to do with ' birthing', if indeed that has been implied. I may have misinterpreted what I have read and apologise if that is so.
ReplyDeleteI agree with GG that it is a point of view held by certain members of an older generation but wish it to be known, not all.
I also know for sure that children raised in families where both parents are hands on turn out to be rounded, generous and caring people themselves.
Paternity leave was yet again fought for by people who wanted and could appreciate the benefits to child, father and wider society of an early bonding of father and child as equally important as that of mother and child.
Various comments above. Just looked up on government website. When the child is born Lexi and Adam will be the legal parents a) because she has carried the child (called gestational surragacy even with a donor egg) and b) Adam, as the biological father.
ReplyDeleteIan can apply for Adoption Leave, which starts the day the child is born and will have to apply for a Parental order or adoption as spouse of one of the legal parents.
Haven't listened yet but am really worried about Ian's personality and behaviour. He sulks and carries grudges, remember how he behaved towards Helen for months? Not a very likable man in my opinion.
Mrs P., don't think anyone implied that fathers shouldn't be allowed to be present at the birth. There were divergent views on paternity leave. Personally, I think that's civilized & should have been granted long since. The birth itself, surely that's down to the preference of the couples involved. Interesting what you say that it needed campaigning for ! Do you know when it was allowed in hospitals ? I thought it was, in the '70s, but don't know.
ReplyDeleteMy husband was present at our daughter’s birth and afterwards looked more shattered and pale than I did! It was good to have him there though!
DeleteThat was 1976 and I think it was commonplace then and not unusual.
DeleteThanks for the information, Spicy. What a to-do ! So Iain has to apply for adoption.
ReplyDeleteAgree that Iain can get unreasonably shirty, but I didn't particularly blame him about Helen. He felt betrayed by her, & she's so wet anyway, I tend to judge her negatively about pretty much anything she does or says or fails to say....
Thanks, Ev,(10.03) I'd guess '60s, then. I had my son in '71, & don't think it wasn't allowed then. Do remember quite a lot of discussion around the subject, but it was a matter of choice then.
ReplyDeleteRe husbands allowed at birth - our first baby was born in 1970 and we specially checked with the hospital if he could be present because different maternity units seemed to have different policies back then. He was there with me throughout most of labour (I was fortunate to be in a teaching hospital in Oxford where they were training anaesthetists to administer the first epidurals) and he was asked to leave when they carried out various procedures, then came back in again for the actual birth. Three years later in 1974, it was accepted practice for father’s to be present for the whole thing and positively encouraged.
ReplyDeleteI was very moved by Eddie this evening but do wonder if he has done the right thing, confiding in Brian about Will. Like others I think it very unlikely that Will would try to shoot himself - or anyone else, for that matter - but loosing his job and home could be devastating for him. I hope Brian is capable of keeping the news to himself, and certainly will not confide in Jennifer.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn 8.21 p.m. I agree with all the points you make. Bloggers here make such insightful comments that I don't need to add anything - just agree 100%.
ReplyDeleteFathers at birth :
ReplyDeleteMy first born in St Mary's Paddington was in 1966. In the event I had a C section, so it didn't apply.
Very close friends had their first, same bed, same ward a couple of months ahead.
We were all campaigning, led by NCT and in my case Erna Wright.
The male half of friends sneaked a green gown and managed to get in to be there behind a mask.
He went on to become a famous film director in Canada. Plenty of hutspa !
My second, again C section in Charing Cross, 1969, one of the very last babies born in the old buildings, so again husband not with me, but at least by this time at the door of theatre as I emerged.
By the early seventies it was becoming regularised.
I might add that During this period we were discouraged from breast feeding and had to fight to get that recognised as normal too.
Sorry if I was a bit sharp in previous post.
A subject dear to my heart.
Which leads me to wonder about the new baby, will Lexi stay on to ' wet nurse ' her baby.
DeleteWell, Mrs P, that’s something Ian can’t do! Suspect babe will go straight to a bottle!
ReplyDeleteSpicycushion 9.15pm
ReplyDeleteThank you for that information, it confirms my previous statement. Here we have a dilemma, if Lexie is legally recorded as the mother albeit through surrogacy, what are her rights to access? Her body will be geared up to produce milk, so she either expresses milk and give it to Ian, or breast feeds the baby herself. The risk with the last option could result in her bonding emotionally with the baby. Personally I think she has already bonded.
Maybe they won’t use Lexie’s milk, hence the other midwife? From my experience midwifes are pretty clear about their expertise and I can’t see one midwife contradicting another professional. The role of the midwife in the baby’s life is very short unless Adam and Ian employ one on a private basis.
The current theory is that breast milk is best, certainly for developing the immune system. Therefore, I can’t see a midwife recommending a bottle when the mother’s milk is available. Lexie won’t be heading back to Bulgaria soon.
DeleteMrs P and Ev
ReplyDeleteThat’s an interesting point - about feeding the new baby, which I don’t think has been mentioned in the programme.
I suppose it depends on how generous Lexi is. Would she be willing to wet-nurse a baby she is about to give up; wouldn't it make it much harder to hand over a baby she had started to breast feed and possibly started to bond with? Or she might be willing to express milk to be given to the baby by Ian, Adam or a nanny, but that would require her to stay in Ambridge for several weeks or longer, a truly generous act if she wants to return to her girls in Bulgaria.
On the other hand it may have been decided to put the baby straight (or almost straight) onto formula milk, I don’t think we know yet. But I hope that if that does happen we don’t have to listen to Jennifer agonising about her grandchild being denied breast milk and having to be brought up
‘on the bottle’ as though it is inferior and negligent. Both my children were raised that way (due to a physical problem I had at the time) and grew into perfectly healthy, normal children with no problems.
Stasia 9.19
ReplyDeleteSorry for repeating some of what you said in your post. I must have been typing my thoughts at the same time you were publishing. It takes me ages to type on my tiny keyboard and I have to make loads of corrections.
Re ‘bottle feeding’ - I get quite sensitive about thé constant cry of ‘breast is better than bottle.’ I am sure most mothers know that breast milk contains all the antibodies and helps with bonding etc etc. But for those of us that physically cannot breast feed (for perfectly legitimate medical reasons) it increases the feelings of guilt, of having failed one’s baby and not been a proper Mummy. In fact, as I said above, my two were given the best formula on the market at the time and never had any health, growth or developmental problems. We all want the best for our children and should not be made to feel we have failed because of having to resort to a bottle.
Rant over ! ☺️
Archerphile. You are entitled to your rant. That is why I used the word theory. Midwifes hold a powerful position in relation to new parents, and there are many theories out there masquerading as science telling mothers/fathers what and how they should be interacting with their babies. Many professionals, including midwifes hold fast to approaches that can sometimes cause harm. The current rise in childhood infections is a prime example. Dr Spock and his approach to parenting is another.
DeleteI have some doubts about surrogacy although admittedly it is a wonderful option for people who want but cannot have children. I thought that the hormonal changes during pregnancy were at least partially geared towards enabling bonding with the baby before birth, and in that case Lexi will be already be emotionally attached to the baby and it will be traumatic for her to give her/him away. Also despite her daughters not being related to the baby they will have bonded through seeing their mother get bigger and feeling the baby moving in her tummy, so they will have a sense of loss too. I wonder if any longterm studies have been done re. the surrogate mother and her family. I think that Lexi has a rocky road ahead, particularly with Jenny hovering just waiting to take over that baby!
ReplyDeleteP.s. and I think Lexi acted with her heart rather than her head, and maybe didn't really think things through in the first place, and she certainly wasn't thinking of poor Roy.
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