Sunday Comments, July 27 and a dedication

I started writing these comments over on the Corrie.net guestbook quite a few years ago. I started keeping about 5 or 6 weeks' worth on my website which i still do but this blog contains them all since i started writing the blog. That's not my point. I meant to tell you about a long time regular poster over on corrie.net. In the beginning he always signed his posts ". from here". Turns out his name was Eric. He was a senior citizen who seemed to enjoy winding up the regulars. Some would get upset with him, some found him funny. As time went on, he seemed to be less caustic and more sardonic and we all knew this was just the sense of humour of a self-titled "cranky old man". He made a post about 2 weeks ago, first as Dot saying he was not going to post anymore due to "Woodbine's coffin nails" and then later the same day, as Eric, daring God not to send Dot "down there" and a memo to "Old Nick" saying not to let Dot pop his clogs. Anyway, i had a feeling that he was ill and that's how he was telling us. He didn't elaborate on it after that. Today his wife posted to say he'd passed away. As much as he annoyed and upset people at times, i really think he will be missed. He certainly kept the posters over there on their toes. So with him in mind, i dedicate this post to him. Eric aka ". from here", wherever he may be.

Lines of the week:

• Eileen "Do you, Long John Grimshaw, Take this woman..."
  
• George (Ivor?) to Norris "Think of it as a Doreen sandwich!" Norris "I'd rather not"
  
• Doreen leering at Liam "If i were 10 years younger..." Rita "30 ... and i'm being kind!"
  
• Kayleigh "I'm not some stupid kid!" (and proceeds to stomp up the stairs like a stupid kid)
  
• Jason "That will never be me. I do what i want" (i.e. under a woman's thumb)
  
• Liam to Jamie who's casting aspersions about the dog "He *can* hear you know!"
  
• Sarah "This time, I win!"
  

Jason's ok, and upright! Sarah figures it will be even better, since he's hobbling on crutches he can't escape out the window. Everyone was smiling at David except Sarah who doesn't trust him as far as she could throw him. (maybe that's bad taste considering Jason's topple off the scaffold?) Anyway, Bill realizes that the bars were unhitched and the fingers point to David. As they should. There's more bad news, no Maid of Honour. Candice selling speedboats? I can't see it, myself. Pretty lame excuse. What happened to the gig with the band? Audrey and Gail seem to take turns being David's defender and Audrey always gets caught in the middle. See, if i was David and i wanted poeple to believe me innocent (even if i was guilty) i'd keep my head down and not protest quite so much and not snicker and make idle threats. David certainly knows all the buttons to push and he pushes every single one to make his family react so that when they do, he can say "See? You don't like me!" How is Gail supposed to help him when he just won't have it. She's helping him by trying to keep him away but he can't see that. The combined family dinner went fairly well with the lubrication of plenty of wine.

And Martin isn't coming to the wedding. David figured Martin wouldn't like his son being banned. I'm very surprised David hasn't called Martin to whinge! Anyway, it really let David down. He really hit bottom then. He's writing a suicide note. Do you think he means it? Sarah doesn't but she did look to have a moment of doubt in the ladies' loo before Maria came in. Sarah tore it up! Maria is horrified. In spite of it all, Maria still has a bit of a soft spot for young David. Sarah thinks it's just one more desparate attempt to stop the wedding. Personally, I think he probably did mean it at the time he wrote it but I don't think he'll do it. He's far too interested in seeing what effect his schemes have on people. Everyone else is oblivious and everyone is actually all very happy for them. Gail and Audrey have booked them a Lake District honeymoon and Maria is apparently maid of honor. I hope she's the same dress size as Candice because there wasn't any time to tailor the dress! So David's car is gone. Will that mean something? We'll find out this week. Fun little scene with Jason and Todd admiring Marcus and Sean's new suit modelling :)

Roy is really at loose ends without Hayley. Laughed at Liam talking about Hayley going away and getting carried away, talking about Paul getting out of control and Hayley getting a sexy tan and...where'd you go Roy? Maria is all gooey over Liam, (and who can blame her) but giving him a puppy is a bit much at this stage isn't it? Liam wasn't too keen either but... awwwww how could you not fall in love with that lickle black fuzzy face? I think Liam is starting to warm to the dog. He's even named him after Ozzy Osborne. Molly comes to the factory to tell Liam that "something's howling" and disturbing the pigeons. Hello? Former Kennel Maid? Surely she'd know it's a dog. I suppose she was being facetious but it didn't come across that way.

Stape is *really* **seriously** creeping me out. See him holding a CD in a judicious position when Sally nearly caught them snogging? Eurgh! Since Rosie had checked Carla's flat last time, why wouldn't she still have the keys? yet she picked up the keys off a desk in the office. Rosie's going to be in his class and you can well imagine how *that's* going to go over.

Jodie and Lloyd made another attempt at a date with Eileen babysitting but Kayleigh didn't take kindly to it and kicked off, ruining Jodie's evening. Granada must have to have a stock of Freshco bags made up. Eileen drives! That's something you don't see very often. Leanne paid off Roger with Paul's investment and she's now got a partner. If he's as good a chef as seems to be, it could work.

Sean is starting to turn into DadZilla! But then him wittering on about where all the socks go in the laundry. That is a question that's puzzled the mind of many over the decades. Anyway, Violet wants to be surprised about the sex of the baby and Sean wants to know and what did he do? trick Marcus into revealing it's a boy! But Sean is right, a crystal, or a needle or a ring hanging on a string very often will predict the sex of a baby. I've seen it happen a lot! Marcus can't figure out if Sean is thick or selfish. He doesn't know Sean as well as we do. Selfish it is then. He must really care for Sean though if he was willing to forgive him.

Rosie has packed in her job and going to stalk John at Weatherfield high! So it looks like Doreen has a crush on George and Ivor, they're enjoying her attentions but think that it's actually Norris she wants. And Norris is acting jealous. I think that's only because she's taking his friends away and he doesn't want to share now that he's actually got some. Now with Doreen flattering him, he's going to think Doreen has a crush on him and finding out that Rita thinks that Doreen thinks that Norris likes her, makes him think that at least *somebody* does. Oh this is starting to sound like high school, isn't it? Never mind, Even though it's a storyline with Norris, at least it's also featuring Rita and Doreen!

Liz is turning 50 and now everyone has to come up with a surprise party for her. Well, Vernon's doing the organizing. Should be interesting to see what he comes up with. And one odd look from Michelle and Dev is worried everyone thinks he looks like he could be 50 as well. Well he doesn't look 30 if that's what he thinks and no amount of chin wagging and temple rubbing is going to make any difference.

Sunday Comments, July 20

Lines of the week:

• Todd to David "It's only kids that feel the need to compensate"
  
• Eileen to David for managing the happy Grimshaw family reunion albeit unwittingly "You're my little ray of sunshine!" (*snork*)
  
• Maria to Rosie "What did you think he was going to do? Come round to your house and play with your Barbies?" Rosie "He might have. He's going out with one" (right on both sides!)
  
• Rosie (after a private tutoring "session") "Liam who?" John to Fiz "Sally is the last woman you have to worry about"
  
• Gail to David "After what 'you' did today, I think you deserve to be in there." (Ya figure?)
  

Can't let David win. I can understand Sarah freaking out. There's been an awful lot of stuff going wrong and weddings are fraught with stress at the best of times. David isn't helping matters so letting him win is the wrong thing to do. Thus, Nice to see Todd standing up to Sarah and pointing out the home truths. Someone's got to. Todd was able to make Sarah smile and see the error of her ways. Jason gets to have his brother at the wedding. David gets made to feel left out yet again. Sarah's acting just as childish to him as he is but her pushing him isn't helping.They need to just ignore him without pushing his face in it. They're going to pay for it, big time. Now that the Todd problem has been breached, Sarah's back to being Bridezilla again. Wasn't it a hoot when Doreen related the story...to Sarah... that her friend told her about one bloke being so scared of the wedding he climbed out the window. Doh. Holy crap. Gail inviting Todd and the Grimshaws out for a meal? She was never that nice to him when Sarah and he were together!

David is clearly on the slippery slope to disaster, both social and personal. That lad is heading for a breakdown, he really is. Right now he's so selfish that he can't see how upset his mother is over the fact that her family is falling apart. All he cares about is causing as much trouble as he can. He even resorted to damaging the scaffolding in the building yard which caused Jason to have a serious fall. That's criminal intent, that is, though judging from his face, i don't think he really thought anything serious was going to happen. That's another one of David's problems. He doesn't think. Even calling 999 wasn't really enough to make it up for what he did and did you notice he told his mother it was *him* that made sure nobody moved him? They all said in the hospital David was first on the scene but Hayley was, wasn't she?

Roy and Hayley are back and Hayley's all smiles but did you hear what she said? Something about the two of them thinking of going to help starving children in Africa. Yet Roy insisted they come back from their little holiday early because he missed the cafe. What's he going to do from another continent? Roy also seems to have seen the error of his ways as well. He's thinking of making amends with Christian but Becky, remembering the thumping she's put on him, is a bit reluctant. Hayley said to Roy that she didn't blame him for what happened but she did at the time. I Laughed at Becky, giving Todd the wink and nod. But then she does that with Jason too and any other fit bloke! Anyway Roy has decided to make amends, as i said. Guess he ended up going on his own with out Becky. Just as well. Seeing Christian cower in the corner behind the record stacks might give Roy the idea that something's up. Doesn't matter. Roy found out anyway and Christian is nowhere to be seen. Well instead, Roy and Hayley got an offer to go to Mozambique to do missionary/charity work at the very last minute possible. In the end, there was only room for one and Roy realized that Hayley really needed to get away and she's gone to Africa on her own. Jason's accident made her realize that she really could get a lot out of helping people. (In "real" life, Julie H. had asked to have a leave of absence for the better part of a year to spend time with her family. She *will* be back.) Ken was going to be Becky's right hand man in the cafe but he doesn't need to now. I can just hear Blanche's dripping tone if he had.

Rosie got a bit bolder. She figured Liam could kiss her and she wouldn't tell. I think that's the thing that made him realize what she feels about him. Then finding out that she stitched up Maria on her date with Liam, he really tore into her. And who did he pick for his "witness"? Kelly, who was all over him when he first arrived at the factory. One bad day at work and Rosie is already thinking she won't make a career of the factory. See? She didn't want to go back to school because of her crush on Liam! Sally figured she'd be just the person to help Rosie over the humiliation of being rejected by an older man but only succeeded in making Rosie resent her more. It turned out to be the object of Sally's affections that helped her. I can't believe how fast John Stape caved into temptation. "No... no.. oh ... don't tell anyone ok?" Well you shouldn't have been surprised. Fiz couldn't have been more than 16 when she first went out with John and he'd have been in his mid 20s then. It has to have been. She was Roy and Hayley's foster while she was at school. She came back to the Street a few months after she left school at 16 with qualifications and we've seen her entire love life on screen ever since. Clearly John likes his women young and barely legal.

So Sally figures it's ok if Rosie keeps her private life to herself. Most people do have to keep some things to themselves. (Speaking about anyone we know, Sal?) Stape's already scheming and lying so his quick bonk with Rosie wasn't a one-off. She's using Carla's flat! Talk about taking advantage! Now. They kept going on about how it was a kiss the other night but why would John have taken a shower when he got back home if that's all it was? Well it's more than that now and there's Rosie, with her chest spilling out of her bra and promising not to tell anyone about a little secret or even a bigger secret. If they hadn't done anything before, they certainly have done now. The man is made of jelly and Rosie has now got the idea in her head about going back to school and be taught ... by John! Rosie is also pursuing him with a vengeance. It's not going to end well, that's a given.

Kevin comes back from Italy draped in football colours and he looks to have had a very good time. Jerry had even better time, getting so drunk he jumped into a fountain...naked. Left Jodi for even longer and with the added hassle of bailing him out from a different country. He's going to pay for that when he finally gets home. Meanwhile has Eileen noticed how selfish Jerry really is, yet? Doreen seems to be taking a fancy to Norris' friends. Having crushes isn't just limited to the young. This is good, we get to see more of the Delectable Doreen! She's a smashing character! Violet's baby is starting to kick! It's going to seem a lot more real now! And Sean is getting more and more drawn in when Violet only wanted him to be at arms' length in the whole process.

I think it's finally dawning on Kirk that taking care of things isn't as easy as it seemed. As bad a housekeeper as Cilla was, at least it didn't smell (other than of booze and fags). John is the only one that can't see that Sally has a crush on him. Darryl does have a point. David does look pretty daft just sitting in a car listening to music all the time. So just prove that he *can* drive and the car *does* go! Odd that, it never worked and David was supposed to be working on it with Kevin's occasional help. Yet we've never seen him do anything except listen to the stereo. I may remember it managing to start once. There was a reason we saw the car magically able to not just start, but go and it will become evident in a couple of weeks.

Sunday Comments, July 13

Lines of the week:

• Cilla "Waste good money on a pile of old bricks?"
  
• Cilla to Chesney "From now on i want you in bed by half 11!" (erm, he's 13, isn't that a bit late?)
  
• sally about John "He can reach out to the most ordinary person and not sound patronizing" (Take a few lessons there, Sal.
  
• Kevin "I promised Sal I'd stay off the booze" Jerry "And I'm starting ballet lessons next week"
  
• Molly to Paul's face "WHACK" (Yay!)
  
• Doreen "Problem is, i still think i'm 25" (as do we all, luv)
  
• Sarah "Great. The happiest day of my life and the catering will be done by a hooker!"
  
• Maria "I keep waiting for him to find out there's a lot less to me than meets the eye" (um, that's about the size of it sweetie!)
  

Chesney wonders how he's going to feed Schmeichel? Why should *he* have to? I laughed at Cilla, celebrating with beer. Man i'd have the champers popped in a New York (or Vegas) minute! Fiz really thinks Cilla will throw it all away but she's sat there trying to figure out what to spend it all on! Surprise, surprise! She decided to move to Las Vegas, and with Chesney's blessing. He probably will be better off with Kirk and Fiz though i'm not sure Kirk will be much good at being a parent stand in, even if Cilla is the worst mother ever. She didn't even think about taking Chesney to Vegas before Kirk reminded her of his existence. What a little prince is Chesney. And ttey even think Les will be back soon. I got news for them. Cilla didn't waste any time, did she! seemed like it was the very next day she was off! In spite of her being not much of a mother, I think Cilla does have a soft spot for her baby. I'm very surprised she even bothered asking people for a good bye party in the pub. They only went for the free drinks. They didn't realize she was going for good. It's too bad they didn't show the softer side of Cilla before, at least regarding how she felt about being a terrible mother. It was still all about her in the end, though. And hell, she didn't even give him a last hug goodbye. As a result, nobody's going to be sad she's gone though i must say, she was a fun character in her obnoxiousness.

I don't know why Fiz would want any of Cilla's money. Is it very realistic that teeny tiny Gail would have bought nearly the same outfit as tall curvy Eileen? And they'd just finished having a planning session a few days ago. Surely Gail would have told Eileen what she'd bought to wear so they wouldn't clash. Looks like Kirk started as he means to go on. Serving Chesney cold beef curry from a tin for breakfast. Fiz nearly went through the roof at the state of the place. She's going to give them a chance but i can't help thinking it's not going to go well. Funny little exchange in the cafe between Becky and Stape over Becky's gossiping!

Roger's getting on my nerves whinging about the money he lent Leanne and whining about money in general. It seems like she's making regular payments so what's the problem? Ooh Yay Doreen's back! Did you notice Rita was browsing the same Cheshire magazine that Cilla was looking at? Ah, so Todd has passed his uni degree. David's too young to be going bar hopping with the stag do crowd anyway! You know i really don't understand why Kelly seems to have an ongoing nasty on for Vicki but at least Vicki stands right up to her. I am intrigued by Vicky, too. We keep hearing all these little vignettes about her past life. Affair with a married teacher and having to change colleges was this week's little gem.

Did you see the look Jack gave Paul after he scuppered the nice tea and toast that Tyrone made for Vera? I wonder if he is starting to realize how manipulative Paul is. Hmmm maybe not. Now that Vera and Jack are going to have a little break in Blackpool, i'm not sure Ty and Paul are going to be able to live in the same house without one of them killing the other one! At least Molly is on Tyrone's side now. I don't know why Ty and Molly are having so much trouble finding a flat. I'm sure both of the flats over the bookies are empty. Well, one anyway, if the current owner is in one. And isn't there still a flat over Jerry's that's empty? Or one of them. There's three there, Janice has one, Roy and Hayley have one and there was another one that Martin lived in. Seems like they've decided to stay and be as much a thorn in Paul's side as he is in theirs. He didn't like it much when he found out they weren't taking the flat they saw. None too soon either. It seems Paul has been keeping some very dodgey company in his past. Money from the till and shagging the owner's wife! Well, Tyrone has him right where he wants him. The tables are turned and Paul owes Tyrone now.

Lloyd and Jodie finally managed to get together for a drink, even if it's at the Rovers, and Jerry and Eileen still horned in on it. I wondered if Jerry was going to wait until the last minute to tell Jodie he was going away the weekend. I wonder if Eileen is going to start realizing how selfish Jerry really is. Rosie doesn't think school can teach her about talking to clients, working with databases etc. Well it can if it's the right school.

John Stape seems to be changing his image. No shaggy hair. No specs. He cleans up quite nicely and it looks like Sally appreciates it too! She's hoping he's going to persuade Rosie into going back to school. Sally's crush is getting pretty obvious. So is Rosie's on Liam to the point where she foolishly didn't pass on a message from Maria and hid Liam's phone. She's going to get a rollocking for that!

So the wedding of the year gets closer. Todd has been in touch and arrives just in time for the stag do!
What a shock for Sarah and there's David chuckling across the road waiting for the fireworks. As much as Sarah's really ticking me off with her attitude which is just as childish as David's, she did the right thing and made out like it was all ok and thus David's plan was foiled. Candice isn't coming after all and Sarah's nearly having a nervous breakdown. And really, there was no need to be so mean to Eileen was there? At least they were all civil during the dress-refitting, which was also a disaster. I laughed at the wine spilled on it and Eileen just chucked another glass at it too. And Sally is getting more and more insufferable and i just love it! Things just went from bad to worse when Gail tore the dress and then Jason came back and saw her in it. You know what? I think she's right. The wedding *is* jinxed! Stay tuned next week and see if more disaster strikes.

Sunday Comments, July 6

Lines of the week:

• Cilla "I need my beauty sleep" Frank "You're telling me!"
  
• Violet "So, no plans for the weekend then?" Eileen "Apart from boarding the Good Ship Morton, no" (ooo errr!)
  
• Fiz "I thought you said he didn't like yer?" (Frank) Cilla "What's not to like!" (let me count the ways)
  
• Gail to David "Grow up"
  
• Jerry "Know why pirates are called pirates? Cause they Arrrrrrrrrr!!!"
  
• Liam "Think of me as a sounding board" Carla "Can i think of you as a punch bag?"
  
• Cilla "A dear friend croaked it recently" Norris "And how did he pass away?" Cilla "Filthy rich" ... and later "People mourn in different ways"
  
• Cilla "500 quid? I've gone through that in rubber gloves!"
  

Liam is still going around with a knot in his face over Carla. I think if Paul's sister is ok with Carla moving on, then his brother should too. It's ok for some. Liam seems to be spending more time with Maria. They make a nice couple actually. Why shouldn't carla get on with Tony? I hope Liam isn't using Maria to get back at Carla. But Carla is probably using Tony to prove something to Liam judging from her less than squishy demeanor the morning after. Spending the night with Maria seems to have lifted Liam's spirits. It's done the opposite for Carla. Does anyone worry about Tony, going so far over the top with the roses? That seems a bit excessive. Liam seems to be turning as green as a green thing. Carla wears the trousers in the relationship but she also dropped everything as soon as Tony beckoned. Unless that was just to get a dig in at Liam. I dunno. Their attraction seemed to come out of nowhere. They really didn't like each other for years and years and yes i know, sometimes that masks attraction. Well, it always does on soaps. I can't see them as a couple though. I think Carla would chew Liam up and spit him out.

Oooh is Candice really going to come for the wedding? I think Blanche is basically getting paid for sitting and listening for any and all gossip. Ok, I officially like Vicki, she doesn't look it but she is a little spitfire isn't she? I love it when she winds up Kelly or Janice when they make some predjudiced remark about Poland or the Polish and shows them up for the ignorant cows they are. Aww Jodie and Lloyd make a nice couple too, don't they! And Eileen got to go to a Pirate party for her birthday! (And Finlay's!) Jerry really *really* takes advantage of Jodi. I think Lloyd is going to get fed up waiting for her and fed up with her ranting about her father. Jodie needs to go on strike. I think Jerry had more fun at the party than the kids! Heyyyy Jerry and Eileen stayed over night! Jerry told Jodie she could have the weekend off and within hours he's making plans to go to Milan with the lads and dismissing her as "Oh she can have the next weekend off". She keeps complaining that she's responsible for the two small ones, too. What about that brother and sister she's got?

Looks like Sean's new relationship is going to make him feel guilty Since Violet having to work his shift seems to have had an ill effect on her. She's ok though, don't worry. I think Sean has snagged himself a really lovely bloke though. Marcus seems really nice!!

Audrey's letting both David and Sarah work there. I expect it will be the sounds of sniping, then. Actually, i quite enjoyed seeing Jason rough up David a bit. David does seem to be making inroads with his mother towards forgiveness. I suppose it would take an awful lot for your mother to hold it against you forever. Sarah, that's another thing. Is she being over the top? Probably not. If the situation was reversed, David would be every bit as vindictive. In fact, he's been that vindictive for less reason than Sarah's got. Gail was very honest with David and she's in a difficult position, caught between two children, one of whom she loves but really can't trust and David really isn't mature enough to understand. You do realize Sarah's wedding is only about a month away and they're just making some of these arrangement decisions now? Most people would have had almost everything sorted this close to the date and all she can think of is a chocolate fountain and even at the big family meeting, that was the main topic of conversation. Swopping chocolate for champagne for a toast? ugh! Oh for heavens' sake, David, standing at the window like a 3 year old and staring inside, left out! Why didn't he just press his nose against the glass and have done with it? Grow the heck up! (Sheesh, now i'm saying it!) You know, if Sarah hadn't told David he wasn't invited so aggressively, he probably wouldn't have decided to ruin the wedding but now, you know he's on a mission. So much for being sorry. And his first trick? mailing Todd an invitation, hoping that he'll show up and stir the pot a little. Don't you think Sarah's leaving sending the invitations kind of late? it's only a few weeks until the wedding!

Very surprised that all the noise from 20 kids and a few adults on the other side of the wall didn't seep through to the Platts. Surely that's just as much noise as one stereo! Nice touch having the same song on the radio in both Jerry's and Audrey's. Odd that Jerry would have invited Kevin to Milan. I thought he seemed more matey with Lloyd.

Will Cilla move in with Frank? She's not sure she wants to leave "all her friends". Hah! He's trying to lure her with promises of inheritance. I'm surprised Cilla isn't jumping at the chance. Seems he wants a companion not a live in housekeeper, not if she's going to demand a cleaner come in. She's not going to get the chance to find out. Poor old Frank popped his clogs. At least she was on the phone to the ambulance straight away, somewhat un-Cilla-like. And oddly, she must have been quite fond of him because even though she was putting on a bit for the paramedic, you could tell she was a little sentimental at Frank's passing. Kirk and Fiz think Cilla nicked that necklace off Frank but she figures he left her everything. She looked like a dog's breakfast dolled up for the solicitor (as did the other woman waiting! Looks like Frank had a taste for the common-as-muck women!). She got quite a shock but an even bigger one when she found out how much the necklace was worth! She was so disappointed when she thought it was all for nowt, thinking she could finally have a good life for herself. Well, with the money from the necklace, that will help, at least. If she doesn't blow it all on fags, booze and trinkets first.