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[cymbaline]

Their drama was more low-key than later on but things did happen. Alf's supermarket went under in 1991 which shattered his self-confidence for a while. Then Karen went off the rails and he was knocked out in his shop. Ailsa went through a tough time when she was attacked in the diner and that brought on the infamous "Bobby in the fridge" incident. There wasn't anybody particularly wild living under his roof during those years. Blake mellowed out after Karen was sent to prison. Simon wasn't a rabble rouser, nor was Roxy or Sarah.

[Bobby Forever Missed]

  On 27/05/2024 at 14:09, cymbaline said:

Their drama was more low-key than later on but things did happen. Alf's supermarket went under in 1991 which shattered his self-confidence for a while. Then Karen went off the rails and he was knocked out in his shop. Ailsa went through a tough time when she was attacked in the diner and that brought on the infamous "Bobby in the fridge" incident. There wasn't anybody particularly wild living under his roof during those years. Blake mellowed out after Karen was sent to prison. Simon wasn't a rabble rouser, nor was Roxy or Sarah.

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The last “wild” teenager they fostered was Curtis but he was fairly tame compared to Karen and Laura 

[nenehcherry2]

  On 27/05/2024 at 15:30, Bobby Forever Missed said:

The last “wild” teenager they fostered was Curtis but he was fairly tame compared to Karen and Laura 

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Them fostering Curtis was the biggest suspension of belief for me and I think a major contib to their later 90s moodiness. With the others, they'd either had some kind of previous link (Emma, Blake & Karen) or already knew them without formerly fostering them (Simon, Sarah). Curtis was their first "cold case", sent by the department and had no history with either Alf or Ailsa. So it was all the more unpredictable for them, hence her reluctance and how poorly she dealt with Curtis and Laura. Alf and Ailsa didn't self-identify as "career foster parents" in the same way that Pippa did so weren't ready with the patience and the hugs, only the irritation, breakdowns and snappiness. 

Edited May 27, 2024 by nenehcherry2

[CaptainHulk]

  On 27/05/2024 at 17:03, nenehcherry2 said:

Them fostering Curtis was the biggest suspension of belief for me and I think a major contib to their later 90s moodiness. With the others, they'd either had some kind of previous link (Emma, Blake & Karen) or already knew them without formerly fostering them (Simon, Sarah). Curtis was their first "cold case", sent by the department and had no history with either Alf or Ailsa. So it was all the more unpredictable for them, hence her reluctance and how poorly she dealt with Curtis and Laura. Alf and Ailsa didn't self-identify as "career foster parents" in the same way that Pippa did so weren't ready with the patience and the hugs, only the irritation, breakdowns and snappiness. 

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In Ailsa's defence, Alf was off playing Captain Cook in Fiji and a 5yo, two businesses and two teens getting buck wild would have made *anyone* go round the bend.

[nenehcherry2]

  On 27/05/2024 at 19:43, CaptainHulk said:

 

In Ailsa's defence, Alf was off playing Captain Cook in Fiji and a 5yo, two businesses and two teens getting buck wild would have made *anyone* go round the bend.

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Absolutely... "what, with Aoulf away... Two businesses, Duncan, Curtis, this place, Irene, the babysitter, the hairdresser... (Rolls hands)... Oh, really, Pip... There's just so much to do!"

[cymbaline]

I'd forgotten about Curtis. He was mostly a good kid apart from all the drama surrounding Laura. It would've been entertaining if they'd sent Shannon to Alf's house instead. She really could get up his nose at times. 

[adam436]

  On 27/05/2024 at 17:03, nenehcherry2 said:

With the others, they'd either had some kind of previous link (Emma, Blake & Karen) or already knew them without formerly fostering them (Simon, Sarah). Curtis was their first "cold case", sent by the department and had no history with either Alf or Ailsa. 

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Aaron and Mitch came after Curtis too! Do you remember if they were sent by the department too? I vaguely remember Mitch being a street kid, but I can't remember if Alf and Ailsa made the connection first before they fostered. 

By the time Mitch came along, Duncan had been SORASed to a teenager so he was their own "wild child". 

  

  On 27/05/2024 at 20:04, nenehcherry2 said:

Absolutely... "what, with Aoulf away... Two businesses, Duncan, Curtis, this place, Irene, the babysitter, the hairdresser... (Rolls hands)... Oh, really, Pip... There's just so much to do!"

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All while trying to write her novels

Edited May 27, 2024 by adam436

[CaptainHulk]

  On 27/05/2024 at 20:25, adam436 said:

Aaron and Mitch came after Curtis too! Do you remember if they were sent by the department too? I vaguely remember Mitch being a street kid, but I can't remember if Alf and Ailsa made the connection first before they fostered. 

By the time Mitch came along, Duncan had been SORASed to a teenager so he was their own "wild child". 

  

All while trying to write her novels

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Mitch and Aaron were both Street kids. They hid out on Travis' Yacht and in Alf's bait shop respectively.

[nenehcherry2]

  On 27/05/2024 at 19:43, CaptainHulk said:

 

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All of those street kids who just happened to rock up in Summer Bay, the fostering capital of Australia of all places in the World... Beginning with Dodge and culminating in THAT Pig Latin speaker in the mid 00s...

Even them taking in Curtis was "reactive" to an extent. DOCS had originally approached Pip for both kids and it was Sally's (perhaps not so) bright idea for the Stewarts to take in one. They were likely still registered foster parents following their brief stint with Bobby 6 years before (Emma was "kinship care" as opposed to fostering in the legal sense). 

After Curtis, DOCS presumably didn't keep the Stewarts on their list of suitable foster parents for future "cold cases". That and / or Ailsa & Alf decided that "true fostering" wasn't really their vocation in life, especially after the "ageification" of Duncan. But that they didn't mind taking in more well-behaved, older kids without the formal responsibilities nor the long term obligations. 

[cymbaline]

Did Donald ever formally foster anybody?