This post is just for fun and I hope it doesn't break any forum rules, but sat relaxing watching 'Corrie' after a fairly busy day in health and safety world.

Poor Roy Cropper attempts to buy some strawberries for his terminally ill wife. Alas, the store are out of stock, but Roy's persistence pays off when his aide Fizz finds some. fantastic! Roy's problem resolved until he gets to the till and the automated stock control system, 'the till', won't allow the purchase because the said strawberries are past their sell by date!

Poor Roy, totally distraught, enter store manager, who flatly refuses to sell or even give the strawberries to Roy! The excuse........,, yes you've guessed it ' 'elf and safety', you couldn't make it up could you! Perhaps food regulations are'nt as interesting!

HSE myth busters, any comment?

The worst part is watching corrie in the first place!! That would be an elf n safety issue in my house as things would probably be flying towards the tv at speed.

And I´m not referring to Roy, exclusively!

If you watch Corrie like I do, never miss an episode thanks to Sky, you will have noted there was a pre alert to this story line a few episodes earlier. Roy owns the greasy spoon and is extremely meticulous in as much as he will not allow any foodstuffs with the sell/use by date expired. There was examples of this in the earlier episode.

On this occasion his wife is dying with cancer and will only eat certain strawbarries and they were date up.

As this was a matter of life and death he was prepared to purchase the date up strawberries for his dying wife.

A humerous interlude in a very serious and sad storyline, and well done to the scriptwriters for doing so.

Another was Hayley telling Roy about the time she dropped a rasher of bacon onto the floor then served it up to Tracey Barlow in a barm. Roy's face was a picture but he then saw the funny side, he has mellowed due to his wife's terminal condition.

I like Corrie.

A few years ago there was a scene in Corrie where the window cleaner was stood on the window ledge and somebody moved his ladder. He was left hanging there while his ladder was retrieved.

I raised this on another forum and was lambasted for taking it to serious by people saying Corrie has no remit to promote H&S.

I think the window cleaner was Graeme and was it Norris who moved the ladder?

You shouldn't take these shows too seriously but haven't you seen or heard of a ladder user who fell off his ladder?

I suppose you'd like to see the factory girls carrying out their risk assessments and Carla reading out the H&Safety Policy to all employees.

Get real, TV is for off work hours and for entertainment, H&Safety is for employees at work.

Chill pill required methinks.

Not really, if a programme like Cutting edge: The fun police (remember that?) can't put H&S across in a serious manner then you can't expect Corrie to.

It's fiction --you know -- escapism. A chance to get away from reality for a while.

I've tried to avoid commenting on this thread - obviously unsuccessfully!

I'm rather like Paul Allaway [sorry Paul]; I'm always picking out what I perceive as the critical [HSF&E] points on which the story-line will develop and complaining incessantly when it's portrayed inappropriately - my partner is constantly telling me to that "it's only a TV programme so relax"!!!

My thoughts on this are:-
TV [together with the generally pervasive media] has a disproportionate influence on how we as individuals and as a group within general society perceive things.

If the programme provides example of poor or socially unacceptable behaviour but fails to provide a countering message of what could go wrong or what should be done to correct the problem; then the subliminal message is that it's probably not as bad as "people" say; or worse, it's actually OK.

It's almost impossible to successfully separate fiction from reality in the media for much of the time - there are a substantial number of recorded instances where the actor is actually perceived as their character [sad but true] and many of the HSF&E myths that get circulated can be traced in part to media input.

If we in the Health, Safety, Fire & Environmental prfessions could harness that media power as well as those who wish to reduce or remove "H&S", or portray "elf & saifetee" as ridiculous or intrusive [the unacceptable burden on business that the business owners don't wish to bear] have; we could dramatically reduce workplace harm and simultaneously reduce the NHS and societal burdens proportionately. It would be a win all round!!

Frank Hallett

Oh yes, I forgot to mention Roy admitted he stole a jar from a hotel, he made a special jar of jam for Hayley. Will someone please dial 999 to call the Police. :-))