User:Ξανθὴ
User page for Catherine Cowie
I’m a slightly deranged contributor to the wiki, she/her or they pronouns are fine. In particular, for the chapters beyond chapter 13, I’ve added an extremely concise scene-by-scene description of what purports to be the plot, one line per scene.
These were never intended to be made public, and were only written down as an aide-mémoire for my reread of Dorley, so that if I tried remembering where or when some event happened, I would stand something of a small chance of being able to find it (short of grepping the entire text file). Some of the scene-by-scene breakdown probably misses the point completely, or is incredibly flippant or superficial.
Anyone who wants to blow them away and replace them with proper plot summaries is therefore more than welcome to do so, but it’s a big job.
Like other contributors to this wiki I’ve also tried my hand at fan fiction by way of trying to minimise the psychological assault on my mind from having read Dorley in the first place with writing therapy.
A short apocryphal/non-canonical note on kickstarting Bea’s Dorley
By the time of Stephanie Middlename Riley turning up in cell number 1, there are about 100 or so who have passed through the programme under Aunt Bea. Seeing the programme fifteen years after its inception is a rather different exercise to how the programme would have run in the first five or six iterations.
In the scene set in December 2004, Aunt Bea convenes a meeting of the likely sponsors for what will eventually become the 2005 intake, which potentially includes, among Bea’s circle of friends: Ashley, Barbara, Maria, Natalie, Sarah, Teri, and Trish. Teri strenuously objects to the nature of the programme and persuades Natalie to leave with her[ch. 31], however a later conversation at the 2019 Christmas party between Ashley and Jane reveals that Natalie did return later to be a sponsor[ch. 31]. The first intake was a rough affair, with the first ‘year’ extending from the last week of 2004[ch. 40], well into 2006[ch. 19] by Edy’s description of having been in the basement for eighteen months.
In the following table, I’ve assumed every year from 2005 onwards had an intake of no less than 6 inducted, including a slightly higher rate of wash outs in the first few years; from 2008 onwards a single washout per year is probably close to the average (some years have none, others having multiple wash outs).
I’ve also assumed that some of the initial group of sponsors, once their initial intake reached third-year and sponsoring duties become much less arduous, could go into a co-sponsoring arrangement, or swap sponsoring duties to allow them to take on a fresh intake before the end of the three-year cycle. I’ve also assumed that Aunt Bea herself takes on some sponsoring duties initially, and then becomes a “third-year co-ordinator” to be a bit more hands-on at sponsoring the third-years to make it easier for the full-time sponsors to push larger intakes through.
Finally, I’ve populated the various intakes with names — anything in italics is entirely speculative on my part.
| Year | Inductees | Sponsors | Size of sponsor pool | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 intake | Edy, five others: 🟥,🔴,❤️, and two washouts | Ashley, Barbara, Bea, Maria, Sarah, Trish | 6 | assume Bea and Trish’s intakes wash out |
| 2006 intake | Monica, five others: 🟧, 🟠, 🧡, 🔶, and one washout | Bea, Natalie, Trish, 3 others (Peckinville?) | 10 | Elle perhaps provides some contract staff from Peckinville Associates to help Bea if Bea can’t find sponsors |
| 2007 intake | Harmony, Tabitha, four others: 🟨, 🟡, 💛, and one washout: |
Barbara, Maria, Sarah, sponsor of 2006 washout, 2 others (Peckinville?) | 12 | Bea/Ashley as third-year co-ordinators/sponsors, frees up other sponsors |
| 2008 intake | Angela, Bella, Gillian, Rabia, two others: 🟩, 🟢 | Ashley, Edy, Natalie, Trish, 🟥, 🔴 | 14 | Bea drops out as sponsor, manages third-years full-time |
| 2009 intake | Abby, Emma, Jan, four others | Barbara, Maria, Monica, Sarah, three sponsors among 2005/06 intakes | 16 | extra 2006 sponsors (Peckinville?) drop out |
| 2010 intake | Jane, Pamela, Tanya, four others | Edy, Harmony, Natalie, Tabitha, three sponsors among 2005–2007 intakes | 20 | extra 2007 sponsors (Peckinville?) drop out |
| 2011 intake | Charlie, Indira, Leanne, Nadine, three others | Barbara, Maria, Sarah, four sponsors among 2005–2008 intakes | > 24 | larger pool allows some junior sponsors to drop out of 2-year rotation; Ashley retires from sponsoring |
| 2012 intake | Autumn, Melissa, Nell, Tash, three others | Abby, Bella, Trish, 4 others | > 30 | Sarah retires from sponsoring |
| 2013 intake | Atiena, Ellie, Margaret, Selena, three others | Harmony, Jane, Maria, Tabitha, others | > 30 | Natalie, Edy retire from sponsoring |
| 2014 intake | Donna, Fran, Lisa, Sally, three others | Indira, Monica, others | > 40 | |
| 2015 intake | Amethyst, Daisy, Farah, Jenna, three others | Bella, Charlie, Nadine, Nell, others | > 40 | Trish retires from sponsoring |
| 2016 intake | Cally, Meredith, Pippa, Siobhan, Veronica, Willow, three washouts | Ellie, Harmony, Jane, Maria, Pamela, Tabitha, three other recent graduates | > 40 | |
| 2017 intake | Christine, |
Donna, Fran, Indira, Lisa, Monica, Sally, 1 other sponsor | > 25 | major staff shortage after somewhat disastrous 2016 intake |
| 2018 intake | Aisha, Anne, Faye, Fiona, Mia, Rebecca | Bella, Charlie, Nadine, Nell, 2 other sponsors | > 30 | |
| 2019 intake | Adam, Bethany, |
Edy, Harmony, Jane, Maria, Monica, Pamela, Pippa, Tabitha | > 30 |
... and so on.