Sunday Comments, March 9

Lines of the week:

• Gail to Sarah "Good, i hope you go!" (get her own place)
  
• Carla "Why did he have to make me hate him before he died?" (but she didn't, did she?)
  
• The ladies "To the single life" (and not one of them seem too enthused)
  
• Ken "The things you think you want and the things you actually do" (story of his life, innit?)
  
• Audrey "Is that all you've got to say for yourself?" David "Whoops."
  
  

Well they said prepare yourself so it was no suprise that Paul died of his injuries. The feline was let out of the sack by Carla and now everyone knows Leanne was no property developer and half the street weren't even all that surprised that she had resorted to escorting. Not only is everyone shocked at Paul's death but at the news about Leanne who has lost everything yet again. I didn't remember that Michelle didn't go to the hospital initially but i am glad Steve persuaded her to go in the end. She would have regretted it if she hadn't. As angry as Carla was with him, she did still love him and in spite of all their ups and downs, she's devastated. Liam is in bits too and feeling like it was punishment for the Dean thing. Didn't i just say that last week?

Some nice scenes with Jamie and Liam. The gossip has hit the cobbles and the grapevines are fair burning up with the excitement. Must have been so hard fo Liam to go into the office at the factory and see Paul's empty chair. Excellent girlfight on the cobbles. Janice always does hold her own even though Kelly was almost twice as tall. Loved Steve and Lloyd watching and snickering. Also liked Leanne standing right up to Kelly and Kelly basically having nothing more to say. Steve is developing a nice rapport with Ryan, isn't he?

Sue and Jerry seem to be really good friends, not just to Claire and Ashley for donating their services cleaning up the house, but to each other too. Looks like Jerry may be more interested than just friendship. Kirk is still heartbroken about Fiz and Chesney's the spy, trying to find out if there's anyone else. And Roy! Imagine him being the one that actually bluffed Ashley and Claire into the house to see the redecoration! Didn't think he'd have it in him!

I think Sarah *should* go and get her own place with Jason. She makes a wage and he does as well. Surely they could afford something a bit better than a dump between them. David only wrote one exam because Amber dared him to, more or less. Saving face, really. Looks like he's not planning on writing any of the rest. David basically put words in Gail's mouth as an excuse so that he could dig his heels in and not do the exams so she's decided to bribe him to take the exams. That really is a stupid idea. At least he didn't drag it out or scam it out of her. Gail isn't willing to accept it though. So much for Gail thinking she's been to soft. Threatening and promising to make David take the exams? So let's see, David did a biology exam and a geography exam and then burned the geography one. Well he never told his mother he wouldn't write it, he just never said what he'd do with it after that. Gail thinks he's turned a corner? SOPOD alert! Talk about going down in flames! Gail keeps threatening to wash her hands of David but she never does. What he really needs is to be chucked out. Tough love. Odd that Jason would defend David. Maybe he's right. Give David the space he needs and the harder you push, the harder he'll push back. They probably think thick Jason couldn't possibly have advice worth taking but he's the only one that's really talking sense. But it's the reason Gail is going to let Jason move in. Jason will get to be a big brother sort of mentor to David, or try to. Maybe it could do David some good. Maybe it's too late.

Looks like Chesney is going to be the eco warrior for the 21st century! Not getting much support from Cilla as per usual. Fiz really needs to be honest with Kirk but by the time he finds out, he's going to find out the wrong way, especially now that Chesney has seen them kiss. Eileen seems to be having a flirtation with a customer over the phone. Bethany's turning 7! You may not realize that the date in the UK for the birthday party episodes was June 11. Bethany's birthday always used to be June 4. I wonder if they'll make any mention of the death of Kevin's baby boy. Nope.

Ken seems to be wearing out his welcome with Daniel who doesn't seem to inclined or interested in getting to know his father. The little lad playing Daniel is quite good though, isn't he? Also looks like Ken's starting to really miss Deirdre. He wasn't too pleased when he saw Deirdre apparently having a laugh and just getting on with things without him. Bit of an "ouch" when Daniel called Ken his granddad in front of his mate. Denise kept trying to encourage him to get back with Deirdre but when it seemed he just wasn't interested, she decided to make a pass, which really seemed to come out of the blue, didn't it? But that's red wine for you! Still, it was nice to see her apologize for how she treated him when the baby was born. I always laugh at Ken when he gets into situations like this. He really does have that "deer caught in the headlights" look.

And it sent him running back to Deirdre. Deirdre and Eileen didn't want to be along with Blanche so ended up sitting with Doreen and Rita. Kind of makes a bit more of a buffer for all of Blanche's barbs about Ken's absence. Blanche seems to go back and forth between defending Ken and then Deirdre. Must be whichever way the wind blows. Now Ken decides to move back in with out talking to her, assuming she'll take him back and will the flowers help? She's out getting drunk and flirting with waiters. Yep, the flowers helped. For all her vitriol, Blanche really was worried about the two of them. She just can't seem to help herself. It's good to see them back together again.

Laughed at Blanche losing on the scratch ticket and Wilf winning the one she would have bought if he'd bought his first. That's so typical isn't it, with lotteries?

I very likely won't be posting comments next week as i may not have puter access on Saturday and then i'm away for a couple of weeks after that so the next time you will hear from me will probably be the end of the month.

Meeting Steven

Right. So this was the week that I met Steven Arnold. I've written a lot about the event itself over here so i won't repeat too much of that. I met him on Monday night when the board members were going out to dinner with him. Some of them had met him the day before when he arrived in Halifax. A few people had stayed in the hotel the whole time, i didn't check in until Monday. Maybe next time i'll do all three days. Anyway no matter.

We were first going to the bar in the hotel before we went to the restaurant but when i got there, nobody else was there except Steven and his dad and his dad's long time friend so i didn't want to just go up to him and introduce myself cold like that. I waited for the others during which time Steven ducked out of the pub, not sure if for a smoke or to go to his room or both. When he finally came back, the others were there and i was introduced as another committee member. He came forward to shake my hand and then leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Ooh i said, that's a lovely birthday present! Because it was. My birthday, i mean. :D

Over at the dinner, we had photos taken and got some autographs. I brought my 40th anniversary book that all the others that have been to Halifax have signed plus i had my ticket to the event signed and one of the cast cards. I later got to sit beside him at dinner since all agreed i should, it being my birthday. I didn't get much one on one conversation, mainly because i can never think of anything to say to start one and also because there was a lot of stuff going on from one end of the table to the other. We all enjoyed it though and he's a lovely man.

He brought his dad with him, who is Steven Sr. (whom we referred to as Senior when we were distinguishing the two) and his dad brought his long time friend Jimmy. They've been friends since they were children so i expect he's as much family as anyone to Steven. Senior seemed a bit quieter but also very nice and Jimmy was a laugh. They all liked a laugh as it happens. And the two seniors loved their pints of Guinness. Steven likes a lighter beer, a Bud or a lager of some sort. All three smoke so they'd duck out for a quick fag, usually all together and every time they'd return, Steven would say how cold it was outside. Really, though, it wasn't cold to us!

After that a few of us accompanied Steven to a pub next door to the hotel where the band was too loud for conversation but they were quite good. Most of us left by about 10:30 and left Steven and his dad and Jimmy to have some time on their own.

The event was great. You can read that through the link above. I was busy running about wrangling the volunteers some of the time but i did make time to sit and listen for awhile and make notes. Steven really wowed the crowd, especially the women! At one point someone asked him to show his abs and he did! Through it all he was professional and congenial and patient. Never minded giving an autograph and went through the line of 100 people that paid for an autograph and photo at the end which takes about an hour and a half. That's signing, posing *flash*, over and over plus flashes from other people's cameras but he did it all good naturedly. I'm sure he was a bit tired by the end but was still raring to go.

Most of the committee and a few of the volunteers repaired to the bar in the hotel with Steven, dad and Jimmy for a couple of drinks. Even there, Steven didn't mind posing for a few more photos from us and from other bar patrons who recognized him. Steven's dad was saying over and over how really nice everyone was and what a fantastic job we'd done putting it all together. He was hugely proud of his son and told him so, a man of few words, it isn't something he says a lot but really means it when he does. I don't think Steven had ever participated in an event like this before and probably his Dad hasn't seen him deal with the public on such a scale. I'm not surprised he was bursting his buttons with pride. Both Dad and Jimmy kept saying they loved it here in Halifax and didn't want to leave.

The next morning in the hotel restaurant, Steven had breakfast with two raffle winners. We chatted a few minutes with Steven Sr. and Jimmy before they went and moved up to a table near where Steven was but I and one of the other committee members who was there presented those two with a little gift each, maple leaf bottles of maple syrup. They were very moved and pleased. It wasn't even a matter of keeping the father and friend happy so that Steven would be happy, we all really genuinely liked them both. It stands to reason, though, if the companions are treated well, then the actor will be happy too. They all three went away promising to recommend Halifax as a stopover for any future actor that's going to the Toronto British Isles show as well. With any luck we'll be doing it again next year.

Sunday Comments, March 2

Lines of the week:

• Carla about Paul regarding Leanne "I think he's scared you're going to lead me astray"
  
• Leanne to Paul "You've got a beautiful wife and an agency on speed dial"
  
• Leanne "I wasn't stood on street corners wearing bright red shoes!"
  
• Paul, after being caught out being a regular escort service user "what can I say? I'm Sorry!"
  
• Carla to Janice "If you do see him (Paul), tell him to drop dead" (um.)
  
• Carla to Michelle "You're sleepin with the boss!" Michelle "that doesn't make any difference"
  

Paul is right. Carla and Leanne know nothing about running a restaurant. And Leanne is even less of a business woman than Carla who at least has half a chance. Forget the hooker side of things. Now that they've signed a contract, what happens if Leanne doesn't make the full investment amount? We didn't find out how much she needed to make up the difference. Surely she has some money? She was going to buy Jamie's house! Uh oh, one of Leanne's clients has rumbled her to Carla, thinking Carla was a hooker too! Something tells me Carla won't be long in exposing Leanne to everyone and everything and tearing up the contract to the restaurant. She didn't believe Leanne when she said she didn't know the guy. Now she's set her up for a spectacular fall and the cat is out of the bag and the business deal is off. Carla even figured out that Paul knew Leanne's secret life, and she figured out how he knew and she was determined to prove it. Which she does and then doesn't believe that Paul didn't actually have sex with Leanne. Well, would you? Besides, she had other credit card bills with other charges for "secretarial skills" and even though he didn't have sex with Leanne, he did with others. He was a regular customer!

Rob James-Collier is sure cute but he's lousy at trying to act drunk. Liam, however, uttered a classic SOPOD, admitting the search (for Ms. Right) is over. i.e. he's found her, and she's Leanne. Meanwhile, Paul admits he's been seeing escorts for 3 years and Carla throws him out for good. He doesn't take that well (but he doesn't get any sympathy from me) and he flips out completely. I wondered why he thought it was so important to answer his mobile when it was out of reach. He was on his way to take Leanne to Liam to expose her. Uh oh, through a red light and onto the front of a lorry! And this, boys and girls, is why you should never use your mobile while driving and why you should always wear your seatbelt! At least Leanne seems relatively unharmed but Paul is another matter altogether. Just as Paul is rushed into surgery, Carla lets the cat out of the bag to everyone. And isn't it a bit of karma, Paul was the one that was drinking and driving the night Dean was killed and now he's driving drunk again and smashed himself up.

Fiz was away? or just waiting for John to call since the last time they saw each other. Liam's middle name is Barrington? We have a street in Halifax called Barrington! Must be a family name. Violet is all over the map with this new guy. He's going to think she's playing games and she should be careful. But who does she call when she's scared on the street? Turns out Vi just wants to have a baby even though she's already been told it's not likely she'd find it easy to get pregnant after her miscarraige over New Year's.

Oh the Platts are back. Did you miss them? Me either. Betty put in an appearance, though and she always lights up the place! David isn't concerned with his exams. I'm not concerned about David. Sarah wants Jason to move in. David doesn't. Does anyone care? Ken is lurking around the street but still staying with Denise. He said he wasn't walking away from any of his families. So what is he doing kipping on Denise's sofa? You mean to tell me that Liam could see Paul's crashed car clearly enough to read the license plate when he got out of his own car and couldn't tell there'd been an accident before that while sitting in the car? Paul's car was flat across the road, should have been able to see it from the car even a little way back.

Violet has a nice looking fellow interested. Let's hope she manages not to scare him off. Kirk doesn't want to lose face in front of Fiz so lied about all the job offers. In return, she got him the job at the butcher shop while Ashley and Claire are away for a few days. How does that work? Doesn't a butcher have to know how to cut meat as well as sell it? Maybe Ashley will precut it all for Kirk. While the Peacocks are away, the neighbours will play, or paint as it happens. The urban equivalent of raising the barn?

Pretty clear from what Becky said that the gossips are burning up the wires about Claire and the fire. You wouldn't think that a beer delivery guy would get invited to the Licensed Victuallers' Association do, would you? Or able to finagle a ticket. He must have pull. Or he must have pulled someone (else). Seems odd that it's on a Sunday afternoon rather than a Saturday night, though. Apparently, the wronged wife is not only being cheated on but she's a glutton for punishment. She told Liz that Derek had been fooling around most of their marraige. And what are the odds that Derek's wife would seek out Liz, virtually a stranger, to cry on her shoulder about her wayward husband when she'd already said she was used to him straying. Very contrived if you ask me.