Sunday Comments, March 1

Lines of the week:

• Julie "I feel what people are going through" Kirk "Is it like a superpower?"
  
• Becky "Fireman every time" (I'm with you Becks!)
  
• Tina "I'm trying to have a crisis here!"
  
• Gail about David "He's had troubles" Tina "Everyone else has had troubles, he caused 'em "
  
• Audrey to Rita "You sounded just like my mother" Rita "You sounded just like a 16 year old"
  
• Gail to Audrey "Give up Mam, he's gay" Ted "Very elegantly put"
  
• Liam to Carla "If you didn't exist i'd be a happily married man" (and you just admitted Carla was right!)
  
• Liam to Maria "I didn't get much sleep either" (I'll bet.)
  
• Gail about David "He's done cruel, malicious, manipulative things. He's just been let down, mostly by me" (just when i thought she was finally ready to make David take responsibility)
  
• Kirk to Fiz "You and me, we're still Kool and the Gang?" Fiz "We'll always been Kool and the Gang" (awww)
  

Maria made it to the church on time at least. Don't church bells make it sound so much more mournful? It seems awfully brutal to get the parent to carry the wee coffin. Well, Carla seemed to have a hard time pulling herself away and there she was, sitting alone. And you know, i heard something in the background that almost sounded like a baby crying but i think it was ducks. So sad hearing Liam talk to the baby at the grave, about his uncle Paul, his namesake. Maria almost made it home. Liam was pretty stroppy the next day though. He's biting Maria's head off and it's clear he's still angry with her. So what does she do? more or less blame him because of the stress she was under due to her own jealousy. And then the object of that jealousy turns up at the door like she always seems to and in the end Liam admitted to kissing Carla before he and Maria were together. He's trying to be honest, she's just shot off into the stratosphere of Planet Unreasonable and no wonder, he's crap at explaining things. God this kind of contrived writing is painful.

What i really wanted Maria to do when Carla asked how the split came about was to haul off and slap her lol After Maria left, the sparks nearly jumped across the road between Carla and Liam even though he was glaring at her. No surprise he ended up at Carla's, dripping wet and even the rain didn't put out the fire. Maria cooled down when Fiz talked sense but it was too late. The deed is done and caught on camera by Rosie the Raptor. Now it's just a matter of time before that little escapade comes out. Rosie's got the upper hand on not only Liam and Carla but Tony too, made even more tenuous when Maria went grovelling back to Liam and his guilt is going to take her back, you can see that coming a mile away. She's a desperate little thing, isn't she? Yes Maria, you *were* playing games, wanting Liam to come running after you and it made you come up sharply when he didn't. And of course, Liam isn't going to tell her about his two nights with Carla.

Is it just me or do you think Becky and Jason make a cute couple? I'm not so sure Jason thinks so. He runs hot and cold though at least Eileen likes Becky. Makes a change. Poor Roy seems caught in the middle. He'd made a lot more sense if he spoke regular English LOL All Jason really caught was "You are a married man!" But after Jason put off Becky, (and you notice she went home and did the same thing Jason did, bath, tea, telly) Roy was ready to unban J. from the cafe. Too late. Not only is Julie way OTT when it comes to reigning in her emotions, or lack thereof, she's firing on all guns playing Mum to Chesney and that's not going over well with Fiz though i expect Ches loves the attention.

Why does Sean want Marcus to retrain all of a sudden? Why does Marcus want to? Contrived reason? So that Marcus and Sean can move in together. She'll be rolling in the dosh from all the rent. Tina's mother seems a bit brittle. No matter that we didn't see Tina and her mother together before now, you can tell they obviously have been at loggerheads a long time. Looks like Tina is going to be around awhile. Molly wants to take the stone cladding down!!! Eeek!!!

Gail hopes that most of the boys in the youth offenders will grow up to be upstanding young men. Not too likely. I do like Gail and Tina's rapport. Gail's made contact! With Ted, that is. I can well imagine how nervous she must be but he's lovely and it went really well, even with Tina in there as a gooseberry. I gotta say though Gail really went overboard on the mascara in anticipation. And what do you know and it's not as if you didn't guess, Ted is gay! His late partner that died was a James not a "Jane". Poor Gail didn't know where to put herself. You'd think working in a health clinic, having nearly had a gay son-in-law and living on the street with Sean, she'd come across all sorts of people and would know how to address one rather than say "i thought you were normal". Ouch. Tina just automatically accepted it but it sounded like she hadn't known anyone personally that was gay before either. She was bubbling with curiosity and enjoyed winding Audrey up. It was all quite amusing. I do like Ted, though. I think he's going to be an element of stability in all the Platt lives. He's got the measure of David too and I bet he earns David's grudging respect in the end because he's not going to take any of David's crap.

We keep hearing about Clarissa, the bookie's ex-wife. Now she's got a name, we're bound to meet her. Sally's already starting to pick apart the Peacock house, probably hoping to influence the evaluator to a lower price. 98K for the little house and 123k for the big one. The girls seem pleased with the switch as well. They'll have their own rooms! 25K difference but Claire doesn't seem too happy.

Natasha, a new stylist, and she's saying her last place of work was old fashioned run by a woman nearly 60. Um.

Sunday Comments, February 22

Lines of the week:

• Maria "I don't think I'll ever feel like a girl again"
  
• Claire "Will it be peas? will it be prunes?"
  
• Claire "Sally Webster You're a genius!"
  
• Maria to Liam "You're going to leave me aren't you?" (scuse me, who left who here?)
  
• Ashley "I told Claire what i think" Kevin "I told Sally too" (and it won't make a blind bit of difference)
  
• Carla to Liam "I can't believe she's doing this to you!" (neither can i!)
  
• Sally to Kevin "If we're moving across the road, i want you to make more of an effort. Cans of beer in a conservatory are just not right!"
  
• Kevin to Ashley "You get on with your little notepad and i'll get on with the wine cellar"
  

I don't understand why everyone, before they knew what was wrong, would automatically assume Maria is on a 3 day strop over a minor thing. The first day yes, but for her to overreact like this (in their eyes), wouldn't you think they'd start to worry there was something else going on? Apparently not. And there is
Maria, really wigged out, poor lass. But alas, Liam found out the hard way, from a midwife come to check on her. And Audrey found out from the certificate. And here the poor girl is, day after losing her baby, it's her birthday. Nice. Maria not telling Liam about it all is going to be very hard for him to forgive. That silly silly girl, all she can say is "don't leave me"... She's gone far beyond pleading grief and shock. She didn't tell him because she was jealous and insecure. And it was a stupid, stupid decision to make. All the times she "tried to tell him" she didn't try very hard. She didn't make him shut up and listen.

Even after it's all out in the open, she keeps ducking and diving and then throwing Carla back in his face. She runs back to Audrey and leaves him on his own in shock and grief. What else is he going to do? Turn to Carla. She was the first one that held her arms out for comfort. Should have been Maria. I'm sorry if i'm being harsh, i know in real life i would never presume, but it's a soap so i think i've got a bit more leeway. It's all contrived to push Liam back into Carla's arms, after all. She was even the one to drive Liam back to talk to Maria and Maria saw that and you just know it fueled the fire even more. I always knew Maria was thick and not very bright but she's proving to be a complete idiot. It seems like she's completely given up on Liam, letting Carla win and she's going to push him right into her bed. Liam really didn't want Carla once he'd married Maria but Carla has been there for him and Maria hasn't. That's going to make a huge difference in how he feels about her.

We do know that Maria is mad with grief but she's also mad with jealousy and insecurity. She's made it all about her and that's not what it is about. Well the vicar even assumed Carla was Liam's wife. That's got to be the most heartbreaking sight, seeing a parent carrying that wee coffin. The churchbells made it even more mournful. Maria made it at the very last minute and got an eyeful of Carla at Liam's side. Will she go through with it and say goodbye to her baby?

Carla really can be an unpleasant bitch, isn't she? Still, when it came down to it, she was the one that showed Liam more caring than his wife did. In many ways! Audrey told Bill to have a fry up at Roy's. But he's banned from there isn't he? And would Roy be open for breakfast on a bank holiday? We've seen that vicar before, you know. He married Jason and Sarah most recently i think. GAil's working up the nerve to call her long lost father. That'll be next week.

Boy it didn't take Bookie Senior long to get his feet behind the bar did it? With all these phone calls from the ex, i wouldn't be surprised if we meet her soon. I gotta see the woman that's been leading Harry around by the wallet! I think there is going to be trouble, with Julie and Fiz both fussing over Chesney. Cilla's living in a trailer with an Elvis impersonator. I could have predicted that.

Ashley and Claire are feeling the credit crunch. How relevant! How on earth could they have money tied up in the house when the house was given to Ashley as a wedding present when he married Maxine? Insurance would have paid for the fire damage unless Ashley's taken out a mortgage on it to help the business but that wasn't mentioned. Claire has a part time job and Ashley would have got the money from the sale of the pub to Steve. If the business is that bad, having gone through all that money that fast, he should have declared bankruptcy ages ago, they wouldn't be just a little short of what they need to live daily. Contrived. Contrived. Contrived. Claire is just as annoying as Maxine was, you know? Squashing small soap bits into a ball? Sally comes up with the idea and now they're going to sell their house. I don't think it's going to go as smoothly as the women think it will. I can understand Ashley being reluctant to leave the house that was his dad's and Kevin? Well he never was one for change, liking things as they are. But when the women want their way, nothing is going to stop them. They know how to work the men. I'll tell you though, I'm heartily enjoying Sally's upwardly mobile snobbishness getting a fresh airing. The higher she soars, the harder she's going to hit when it all goes pear shaped. It was funny watching them trail around after the estate agent with Kevin and Ashley commiserating.

So Steve locked the keys in the car... how? And why doesn't the cab office have spares? Sean's back. I forgot he was away. He was gone an awfully long time for a sun holiday wasn't he yet Marcus said Sean was back early? No matter, Thank GOD Lauren didn't come back with him!!!!! Les has just sprung the news that he won't be back for another year and Ches pretends he doesn't mind. But he does, really. Julie really seems to be taking over with Kirk and Chesney and Fiz seems a bit jealous. She's certainly getting on Fiz's nerves if nothing else.

Tina actually did come to see David and his roomie Graeme is pretty impressed. I like Graeme, he's off the wall but a real breath of fresh air, too. David and Tina are back together. He promises she won't regret it. I'm dubious, meself.

Sunday Comments, February 15

Lines of the week:

• Vernon "Who is the greatest husband in the world" Liz "Gissa clue"
  
• Jack to Paul "You are your father's son all right! Get OUT!"
  
• Becky "Do you know what i don't get?" Roy "The London Review on Books?"
  
• Audrey "You did leave sommat behind" Ted "Something important?" Audrey "She is to me!"
  
• Janice to Leanne "You seem to get off on doing dodgey things." (pot? kettle?)
  
• Dan to Leanne "Panic over. No further action"
  
• Rita "It'll be like an Officer and a Gentleman" (remember this in about 10 months' time, k?)
  

Leanne is like a cat on hot bricks wondering what Paul is up to. He made his statement and implicated everyone and then he "confessed" to Jack and Ty and Molly too. The problem is it's the old little boy calling Wolf isn't it? Will they believe him? Jack has it spot on as usual. Paul only confessed to get back at Leanne, not because he felt guilty about doing it. How disappointed must Jack be!!! We've not seen him that drunk for ages, not even after Vera died. I'm rather glad Paul overheard Tyrone insulting him. It's not as if it was a surprise anyway. Well the police weren't slow in coming to talk to Leanne and Monkey Boy. Now, can Leanne keep her cool? MB probably can. They weren't arrested, just questioned. So how come they were "released on bail"? It didn't take long for the gossip to ramp up, between Lloyd and Blanche. Good God, because Paul went to the police, the insurance isn't paying out. Nobody gets anything! Damn straight Leanne will make sure Paul fries and she gets off. I would really enjoy seeing Paul's spoiled smug face looking sideways behind bars. I really would.

Now Janice has found out about the whole scheme too. Leanne can lie but she can't lie to Janice. I don't understand how Janice can be on such a high horse about Leanne doing dodgey or illegal things. She's certainly not above it herself. And ok, she's not as bad as Cilla was and maybe Janice really is an honest person .... wayyyyyyy down deep! Paul's charged with the arson and Jack seems to be speaking to him again, even willing to pay for a solicitor. If Leanne can hold her nerve, she might get away with it. And she did!

Audrey got hold of Ted and they are going to meet up! She's so preoccupied that she forgot she was taking Gail to get her plaster off. Anyway, we get to meet her long lost love. Ted. He seems quite nice and very dapper. Poor Ted, though, what a shock he got. And afterwards, Audrey's imagination was threatening to take flight, comparing him to blue collar Bill. Are you picking up any hints yet? Because you should be but i won't say what the conclusion you should be drawing is, in case you don't already know.

Liam, Maria, Carla and Tony almost seemed like they were mates at the start of the dinner party, making jokes and that. Maria didn't even stay though and what happened? Liam passed out on the sofa. Carla should have rang Maria, even if it was late. Didn't Liam get his self out of Carla's fast in the morning but he had to face the music when he got home. I think Ozzy agreed with Maria's ranting too. Maria probably wouldn't be so upset if it hadn't been Carla alone in the flat, given their history. Well she's soon got something more important to worry about. Marcus seems awfully worried about Maria's baby not moving much. That's his job and he knows whereof his speaks. And the scan proved the tragic news, the baby has died and Maria had to give birth to it anyway. It must be the worst nightmare, poor kid. I can't imagine how awful that must be and she never told Liam! Problem is, her jealousy is making her think Liam was *with* Carla, and possibly blaming Liam and and Carla was just winding her up further. I just hate it when you watch this sort of thing and know it's an obvious plot device. Any other time, the row would have been over in 10 minutes but they had Carla continuing to wind her up and having her moan about Liam and then when she finally found him, he was all sweet and contrite and loving about the baby and she *couldn't* tell him then. And the next day, after she slept on the settee, he got all growly again and didn't give her a chance.

I think she's just blinded by grief and not thinking straight and Liam being so defensive isn't helping her get any words out. It's contrived, i know. And Poor Marcus in the middle, he nearly let the secret out. Did you see his face when Liam said he thought Maria overreacted (until he realized Liam didn't know what was going on)? Naturally Marcus would go so Maria would have someone there. Another jerk of the heartstrings... did they have to show that wee little hand? *gulp* She couldn't even go home, she went to Audrey's.

There's definitely cracks in the Tomlin union, when the wife can't stand the idea of spending three weeks on a cruise boat with her husband. Now, while the cool cat's away, will the little mouse play away? Hmmm Claire's finances don't seem to be in very good order. Ashley was trying to keep the business going and kept it quiet so she wouldn't worry. What is it with these people that keep crucial information secret from their spouses???? There's a vast difference, and i do mean *vast* between seeing Jason in his boxers and seeing Jerry Morton in his.

Becky and Jason definitely going to give it another try. She's a bit cautious after last time... for about 10 seconds. She really likes him, you can tell. Becky got away quick in the morning, nearly as fast as Liam. Guess she didn't want to face Eileen. She didn't know she was going to have to face Roy's disapproval though. She stayed out all night and with a married man!

Sunday Comments, February 8

Lines of the week:

• Rick "A walking talking creamcake" (All over your face)
  
• Audrey to Gail "One day darling, one of them (relationships) will stick"
  
• Becky "Tripod. Dog. Three legs"
  
• Dan about the bread "White. Thick sliced. Like me"
  
• Roger "The place is a burned out hollow shell!" Leanne "You always look on the bad side!"
  
• Leanne "I always land on me feet" (you hope!)
  
• Gail to David "I forgive you" (well you never thought she wouldn't!)
  
• Dev to Betty "Would you say i'm more like a choclate eclair or a marshmallow?" Betty "Neither! A bar of fruit and nut!"
  
• Kirk to Fiz "Why would i want to get back wi'you?" (um, up to 2 weeks ago it's all you wanted!)
  
• Julie "I'd been batting off lounge lizards all night (looks at Dev) No offence!" (*snork*)
  

David's gone down and Gail's turned 50! What a day! Claire and Deirdre bringing the party to Gail? Strange pair. I think it was kind of insensitive to schedule a party on that day when it was almost a certainly that David would be convicted. Even stranger that Eileen would be invited and a few other of the guests seemed out of place too. I mean... Dev? But he was the one that got her to smile when it was all done and dusted. And the most obvious person that should have been there was not to be seen. Sally, Gail's best friend! Gail's probably right, if she did swan off to Milan, David would take it very personally. Sarah getting mother's attention yet again, getting one up on him. Audrey thought she should stay there overnight in case Gail got drunk, as she poured herself another drink and made her own drunken speech and put her foot right in it. Meanwhile David is using his one phone call to leave a message on Tina's answering machine. At the end of the day it was Gail consoling Audrey and David was in tears in the dark.

The new cellmate, Graeme, seems a bit "sandwich short of a picnic" doesn't he? Is he really a psycho or is he just winding David up? You wouldn't think Gail would be allowed to visit the very next day that David was incarcerated. Nice of Jerry to rescue her from a lack of a cab even if he nearly gassed her with the stench of onions in the car! I like Jerry and Gail, they could be good mates. David actually seemed genuinely glad to see his mother, too. It was pretty emotional and then it was over and Gail was in the house all by herself. No David, no mother, no half-hearted partiers. David also seems to have had his eyes opened quite sharply, hasn't he? He seems to genuinely realize that though he's had some rough times (Hillman, divorced parents) he really hasn't had it all that bad and it seems like he really does realize he has to take responsibility. His apologies seem genuine. Something tells me he's not going to be a completely changed person mind you, but we won't see the out of control David of old I don't think.

Harry keeps has these acrimonious phone calls with is ex-wife. I wonder if we're ever going to meet this woman that seems to be able to tie Harry up in knots all the time. Paul's got a new job. Frying in a kitchen. It's made him even more angry at Leanne for robbing him of a good job. She shouldn't have pretended "it just didn't work out" meaning her and him as a couple when it wasn't even on the table to start with. it was insulting to him, really. Mistake! He's demanding all of the insurance payout! He figures he has Leanne up against a hard place. Dan wasn't helping matters, goading him so he's made the call. Talk about throwing your rattle out of the pram! I don't think you're going to see big things out of that actor that plays Paul Clayton. I don't know what annoys me more, his eye rolling or the way he turns his head and looks sideways at the person in front of him. Anyway, Molly's figured out Paul has feelings for Leanne. Tyrone isn't bothered.

Oh heck. That bloke Becky's "dating" has a girlfriend and a kid but at least he told Becky. She acted like it was none of his business but boy didn't she give him a good pasting! or Cream caking! It looks pretty clear that Becky and Jason still like each other. Audrey's skeptical, but it doesn't look like Sarah is coming back. Still, Becky could be Jason's rebound and she could get hurt just the same. Leave it to Betty to hit the nail on the head every time. What the heck is it with Dev these days fawning all over everyone???

Tony finally gave in to Roy and contributed 10,000 to a preservation society. Liam and Carla seem to be getting along well. Having a laugh and all that. Kirk came back from the sun and it's Fiz that has a tan. Fiz was so worried about Kirk coming back and look! He's got a new girl! And she seems to think Kirk is deep, clever, dry sense of humour.... and if you didn't know he was like that you might think... um... well she's going to realize it sooner or later but she genuinely seems to like him for his good heart and that he does have.

Ryan doesn't want to share the family holiday with Michelle and Alex. I just want them to go away. Vernon is still whinging. Cold sores. and lets everyone know. There has to be a better way of getting his wife's attention. He's offering to work? Vernon? Or just want to redesign the menu. He's on a roll. Is he developing a gambling problem? Or just giving Liz another excuse, i.e. gambling, losing and then making sure nobody tells Liz. And i'm surprised that Dan lets Lloyd in the shop after he had all that trouble getting Lloyd to pay up when they first took over the shop. I'm surprised Lloyd would want to give them his business. He's all over town in a cab all day, it's not as if he couldn't find another bookies to use. Conveniently forgotten i guess. Liz and Harry are doing some heavy flirting, too.

Ted Page, an old flame of Audrey's from 50 years back. Gail's 50. We have already heard that name before when Audrey told her that was her father's name. Looks like we're finally going to meet him! His name sure had ruffled Audrey's feathers. Ted never knew Audrey was pregnant. Boy is he going to get a surprise. Audrey's telling Rita and she's telling Maria but not told Gail yet so she'd better do it herself or it's going to get back to Gail anyway.

Tony's going to China. He doesn't figure Jason and Becky are a good match. Becky's got no class? Maybe that's the attraction! Anyway, he's invited Liam and Maria to dinner. Huh? Liam and Maria both looked a bit taken aback at that. Dev's a marshmallow, all fluffy and no substance. A fluffy ditherer. I'm with Amber. He's exactly that. We did get an update on Sunita and the twins. Blooming and 2 and a quarter year old. So now there's a basketball net in the Rovers back yard, a kiddie table and chairs and a smoking shelter. Nice.

Sunday Comments, February 1

Lines of the week:

• Deirdre "We had a very steep learning curve with Tracy" Ken "it was more of a direct ascent"
  
• Tony "Do I look like a murderer?" Carla "Frankly, yes" (you might want to remember this conversation, Carla but I'm saying nowt)
  
• Truck driver to Roy "Is that your final word?" Becky "I can think of two more!"
  
• Paul "I may be a loser but i'll still take the money" (as long as you know)
  
• Roy "Jason's not the brains behind this operation." Becky "Jason's not the brains behind anything"
  
• Foreman "We're going to have to call the police" Roy "Feel free to use the phone inside the cafe"
  

Gail skwawking at the judge isn't going to do much good. It's not as if it was a trial where people give evidence. She's just desperate that he doesn't go to jail but it seems he knows or at least needs to in order to finally take responsibility. After all that, i don't suppose he'll *still* get the councilling he needs. You can understand the neighbours being annoyed at the destruction but does Janice *have* to gob off at the top of her lungs like that every time? It's as if they don't know what else to do with her. You'd think after all the stunts Les has pulled over the years that had her hiding her face in shame, she's be more understanding, like Ken and Deirdre. I loved Claire putting her in her place, bringing up the fact that her own (step) daughter was a prostitute. David is doing the right thing, he knows it but he's still scared about going to prison and that's a good thing. He might actually realize he's got to turn his life around. There's something you don't see very often, David hugging his mother... sincerely. He seems sincere all around, leaving a letter for Tina and apologizing to Ken. He even remembered his mother's birthday! Can't blame Gail for not being in the birthday mood but look, Tina's back but not for long. She broke up with David. Didn't she already do that? No really, I mean it this time? Anyway, he got four months, which means he'll be out in half the time as per usual.

So Roy and Becky have compromised and she' promises not to have lads overnight that are one night stands. And the very next thing, she's having that Rick fella over as soon as Roy's left for an evening at the pub. Well, it *is* the second date after all. She still didn't quite get the concept of respecting his space, did she? But that served to have Roy on the street when Jason came by after the smoke-out. Odd, Roy remembered seeing Jason but he didn't remember smelling smoke on him and by rights, Jason should have been reeking of it. Jason shouldn't have reminded Roy he was "just out for a walk". That only serves to put it in the front of Roy's mind. Now that the bats have been shifted, and the inspector knows something funny is up, Roy is on one of his classic missions starting with a sit-in which lasted about 30 seconds but parking Hayley's Woody car across the site was a much better plan. it was quite neatly executed, wasn't it? I"m willing to bet not too many people can get the better of Tony Gordon. Roy insisting on cash, for a charity, was SO Roy! Hayley will be proud!

We went through all that palaver for a smoking shelter that looks little more than a picnic table with a cover over it. Ok, it's a brick wall up the back and a trellis on the side. Doesn't look like it could hold more than two people back to back and i bet it's going to film like it's the size of the entire yard! Apparently they built another door out into the yard as well. Pretty clear that Bookie senior has taken a liking to the Rovers landlady. If he wasn't such a smooth operator and an obvious ladies' man, i'd say he and Liz were well suited. He's certainly more her type than Vernon is. I'm a bit surprised that Liz would be so shirty with Vernon over the bet he won but with all the aggro he caused over the smoking shelter, i suppose it's understandable. Still, when more and more things start to irritate you about your partner, there's a problem. So will they work it out or will it be the end of them?

Jason went ahead and smoked out the bats to keep his and Bill's jobs. He looked so funny didn't he? Now he's done Tony's dirty work, though, the ice is broken. Poor Jason isn't bright enough to really stand up to Tony and he's not bright enough to withstand direct questioning. I hope he's not getting in too deep. Doesn't look like Michelle has learned any lessons and she's as single minded as ever. Making plans with Alex and leaving Ryan in the dark about it. You can be sure Nick is rubbing it in Alex' face that he's spending time with Ryan but Michelle wouldn't be doing that, it would only be common courtesy but she had blinkers on. You might say Ryan and Alex would never be friends but i figure, over time, they could get along ok, once they realize Michelle loves them both. But it will be a very long time. She finally told her mother and father about the situation, months after it happened (wouldn't you tell your mother first thing?) and what's the first thing Mammy Connor does? Want to make sure Ryan's ok. At least someone thinks of Ryan first.

I thought Lauren was only working at the pub on trial? The way she behaves and with her slack timekeeping, you'd think the trial would be abruptly over. Liz didn't find out Steve gave her and advance after she said no, but Lauren swanning off on holiday did at. One can only hope. Poor Darryl, he's managed to get shot of Lauren but figures it was his fault for not being cool enough. I don't think it was that. You don't need to be cool, just need to have a steady stream of cash. Her next target is Sean, wanting him to go on holiday, meaning he pays. And as soon as she's bled him dry, she'll drop him too. How many places of business will let you have time off at the drop of a hat? Most of the businesses on Coronation Street apparently. Sean and Lauren are going on holiday and Michelle is swanning off to Ireland and nobody blinks. That's pretty much all the staff isn't it? It'll just be Liz and Betty. Vernon's no help and Steve has two businesses to run. Meanwhile, poor Darryl doesn't see much future for himself. All that upset over quitting the shop came to not much at all though Jerry *says* he'll be more considerate. That'll be the day.

Paul's getting pretty worked up, isn't he? It's all just festering inside. He's got as much to lose as Leanne does and probably more since he lit the match. We know what a good liar Leanne can be but if Paul decides to take them both down, will she be able to get out of it?

Sunday Comments, January 25

Lines of the week:

• Steve "I know you can be a colossal pain in the backside, Michelle misses you" (I don't)
  
• Vernon to Liz "You're missing the bigger picture" (and it's visible out the back hole in the wall)
  
• Lauren "Can i just say i don't pay my rent for cold showers?" Eileen "Can i just say you don't pay your rent full stop!"
  
• Roy "Going on is one of the things I do"
  
• Gail "I know you did it"
  
• Norris to Kevin about David "What did you do to him? Fail his MOT?"
  
• Rita "Now the whole Street know i 'm not a natural red head" (ya think?)
  
• Eileen "Another day in paradise eh Gail?"
  
• Blanche about Gail "Never happy unless she's got someone else's hands round her throat" (*snork*)
  
• Audrey to Gail "I might have left ya, but i always came back"
  
• Blanche about Lauren "Pauline's Seconds? With the way she dresses, what's Pauline? A lap dancer?"
  

Gail remembers. she does. David's running scared, putting off the inevitable. Tina can't handle it and she dumps David. David thinks his mother is going to think he deliberately tried to kill her which he didn't. And didn't i tell you? Gail isn't going to turn him over to the cops, she's blaming herself. David's plan is to just continue to deny, deny, deny. Mother's gone, doesn't believe him. Tina's gone. David is very alone. I have to admit Jack P. Shepherd went a bit over the top with that dead eyed look at his mother, he's a pretty good actor most of the time but that just didn't work for me. Gail pushed and pushed and pushed until he broke. For once, he didn't have the bravado, the anger to get up and walk away. His guilt made him sit there and take it and he finally admitted it. She thinks she can help him, that they can work it out but his guilt just won't let him. He needs help and he's hit bottom. You know, David wreaked havoc across the street and all those men just stood around and watched him. He was just sitting downthere for awhile, they could have had him easily. Yes he had a pipe or something but sheer numbers should have been able to overwhelm him and he wasn't in *that* much of a wild frenzy. The only one brave enough was mild mannered Ken at first and the only one to really try to stop him was Jerry until the police got there! They all looked ridiculous stood there watching.

Gail in the aftermath. Blaming Audrey because she overcompensates? Blaming Audrey for her bad choices resulting in her own. She and Audrey drinking gin and arguing over whether a mother's love is unconditional. It probably is but you don't have to like your kid. I'm going for the reincarnation of Ivy Tilsley, meself. Some excellent stuff between mother and daughter. Gail should be getting help for David yet she really doesn't seem to want to believe the worst, even when presented with the evidence. And all the things he admitted to, she still never asked why! I don't understand Gail. She insists to David that he pushed her down the stairs. Now when he's admitted it, she wants to know why he did because nobody else had to know and she's not going to testify. She continues to be the problem and she wonders why David is the way he is. David pleaded guilty and wants to give it all up and Gail was still fighting him every step of the way. He knows he needs to pay for what he's done wrong and maybe he really will start to turn his life around. If Gail will let him. What's she going to say in court? Stay tuned.

Dev gets disrespected by Amber because he's an idiot, not because she's trying to look cool. uh oh, i think Harry's got eyes for Liz! Roy's taken to examining poo. Apparently, bat poo. Nobody should be surprised he's got bats in the belfry. If they're working practically next door to the cafe/ butcher shop, then will those buildings have bats too? If the bats are going to stop the building project, Tony is going to have to find a way to circumvent the problem. Looks like he's hoping Jason will tak up his suggestion to smoke them out. Why do the builders seem to behave as if Tony is the site foreman or owner of the new building when as far as we know, he's just an investor. Fastest way to embarrass Roy? Either talk about women's problems, or confront him with evidence that you're having sex right under his nose. Roy was a good man and extended the hand of compromise to Becky and Becky will be willing to give a little as well. We hope.

The builders have gone and got a gig and are leaving the job half done. Vernon has thought about the consequences. Not done anything about it, mind you, but thought about it. He just figures Karma will come up with an idea. I think someone else is going to come up with an idea and he's not going to be happy about it.

Michelle is missing Alex. Steve goes to find him and he makes Steve pay him a tenner for talking to him. Noooooooooooooooooo! Make him go away! He's a nasty little skeeve. It's a wonder Michelle can move her fingers with that huge black ring on one of them. Steve takes a lot of advantage of Michelle, she takes a lot of the responsibility for Amy and now she's doing his VAT forms. Michelle is well on her way to being the same sort of mother Gail is and Vera was, making excuses for bad behaviour.

I bet Roger is very glad he got his money back before the restaurant went up in smoke. Janice is funny. She's not got a lot of morals but she does have some. She was very against Leanne's hooking and she might do a scam for money but she wouldn't contenance Leanne burning a restaurant for money. Leanne wasn't long without a job, should have guessed Monkey Boy would give her a job, much to Harry's chagrin. Leanne needs to be really careful with Paul and she's not being.

Lauren sure backed off quick after moaning about no hot water when Eileen pointed out that she'd not paid her rent anyway. Jason couldn't keep his eyes off that towel! She moans and complains, and wraps everyone around her manicured little finger and the sooner she goes away the sooner i'll be happy. She couldn't walk all over Liz for an advance and she's bled Darryl dry. She tried to get him to steal from Jerry and when he wouldn't, she dropped him cold. She's like that, she only uses people for her own means and i hate her i hate her i hate her.

Sunday Comments, January 18

Lines of the week:

• Vernon "Let's get some chuffing work done! I'll come up with a cunning plan" (that precludes the assumption that any of them have a clue between them)
  
• Blanche "That house is shaking so much the smoked haddock jumped off the table" Builder "You should have killed it first"
  
• Carla to Tony "That was untypically nice of you" Tony "You never know when you might need a favour"
  
• Deirdre to Dev "Someone once described you as charming and witty. Hold on.. .it was you!"
  
• Lauren to Eileen "I give it (the rent) to you as soon as my brain gets going" Eileen "That'll be a long while won't it?"
  
• Steve to Vernon "Is Jerk Chicken named after you?" and (about Vernon wanting to get rid of hotpot) "If Betty gets wind of this she'll clean the gents with your head. While I watch"
  
• Paul to Leanne "I wanted you. for the rest of me life"
  
• Monkey Boy to Leanne "He loves you? *I* don't even love you!" (and your point is?)
  
• Gail "Did you push me, David?" (gulp. will he or won't he?)
  

David rescued Tina from Audrey's grasp just in time eh? And he's doing anything he can to make sure nobody prompts Gail's memory. Will Tina manage to keep schtum? She's not a liar like David and isn't very good at it. Gail thinks Coffee will help better than tea, because caffiene gets her mind racing. She's been drinking tea non stop so what does she think is in that? Guess the coffee worked though, she remembered what happened with Jason. It won't be long now! It must be frustrating. It's odd seeing Gail and Eileen be so civil to each other when they really don't like each other all that much. But of course, it's because Eileen wants to clear Jason. Gail never really thought Jason pushed her. When Gail was trying to get down the stairs, and David was behind her, i thought for sure she'd have a memory flash. But she is starting to remember. Gail knows Tina knows what happened and Tina's running for the hills. David's let his mother down yet again, pushed her down in fact though it wasn't on purpose. He really didn't mean to but he also didn't call for help. I bet She Who Wear's Blinders will make more excuses for the lad and yet again let him off the hook. It's no wonder he's so screwed up.

So the guys that Vernon hired to do the smoking shelter turned out to be worse than the ones he asked to paint and paper the pub. So what are they doing? knocking through another door to the back? And i bet they didn't get planning permission either and Deirdre working right next door (she that works in the planning department). Uh oh. Vernon's bored with hotpot and wants to make it a gastro pub? If he's bored with hotpot, he must go! That's sacriledge! Did you notice that when Harry grabbed Amy from in front of that car, the car swerved in the same direction as Harry was running yet it didn't hit him? And what kind of grandmother lets go of a small child's hand while standing in the street! Liz, if there's a handsome red blooded man to chat to. And yes, i do think Harry's handsome and i like the character too.

Leanne played Paul like a fiddle! She stuttered and hesitated and prevaricated and pretended to back out and he got sucked right in. She's lurkign around corners with Monkey Boy, surely Paul is going to figure out he's been had. She's really walking on July ice. Now if we can just get the fella that plays Paul to take a few acting lessons, this story might even be easier to watch but eye rolling and chin scratching just isn't cutting it for me. Harry could be the fly in that ointment, seeing as he knows Leanne and MB are playing games of some sort. Amber was underfoot too, carring her crush on Paul on a platter. Oh he really did it though. Let a pot of olive oil boil and catch flame. Wouldn't it have been better to let it go more slowly so he'd have more time to get far away before the smoke detector went off? Well it's done now. Leanne has an alibi for her whereabouts. Paul is smug and she's nervous. Not a good combination. Leanne is a very good liar and she's used to handling men, let's face it but ewww just the thought of slimy Paul.... just... ewww....

Harry seems to have suspicions that Monkey Boy is involved in the fire, he's not but he knows what's going on but he still corroborated the story that Leanne was with MB which of course she was. Leanne told the police she was with her "boyfriend", even though she keeps telling Paul that he isn't. now is Paul going to hear that? Well he didn't have to did he, because Dan didn't leave when Paul was coming to talk to her and Dan didn't help matters did he? Paul knows now. Is he going to shop her to the cops because he'd have as much to lose or more, since he was the one that actually lit the fire. And he's an owner as well so he has as much to gain financially from the insurance. Paul's really bitter now. Dangerous.

OH ugh Lauren's back and swinging the lead as usual to get out of paying the rent and taking money from Sucker Morton to pay it. Marcus is back too! I do like him especially since he can't stand Lauren! Eileen must be doing well though, collecting rent from Sean and Jason and Lauren when she bothers. Tina took Gail out for a walk/roll and you could see the rain coming down!

Maria found just the right words to convince Kirk to go to Cypress, Fiz needs some time with Chesney. Carla doesn't laugh, she literally cackles. Becky and Roy seeming to rubbing each other the wrong way since they've been roomies but she's flirting like mad with the builders. It seems like Scrabble will be the instrument to keep the peace. Michelle and Steve are going off for a few days? After she's just spend months not working because she was running around after Alex. It's a good job she's shagging the boss or she'd never have a job waiting for her. Tony is an investor in the new buildings, he must be a very major one if he can dictate to the foreman.

Sunday Comments, January 11

Lines of the week:

• Monkey Boy "Just burn the place down"
  
• Fiz is moving back in... Kirk "Result!"
  
• Becky to Lloyd "From what i remember, Roy's twice the man you are!"
  
• Roy "I prefer well defined ground rules" (don't you just!)
  

The DI is pretty clever. She has David sussed out pretty well. She's got no proof, just a pretty good hunch. And she picked away at him and then Tina but she lied for him. The DI won't nail him but Gail will remember sooner or later. Gail might not be hungry and she might not remember, but she managed to get a full face of makeup on including a pound of mascara! Boy David is in major suck up mode isn't he? Cleaning?? Gail is racking her brains worrying about her memory. She doesn't think David pushed her but let's face it, she must have doubts. David is damn lucky Tina is sticking by his story. Gail's memory is bound to come back, probably sooner than later. But for now, she's home finally. David will be scurrying around bending over backwards and Audrey will grill Tina to see if she can be tripped up on the story and Jason goes face to face with David.

Of course Fiz was able to convince Social Services that she would look after Chesney. Of course Cilla wouldn't mind relieving herself of the responsibility. I didn't expect Fiz to move in with Ches and Kirk though. So why couldn't Kirk look after the dog? He's got nowt else to do and Chesney is only across the road.I guess it was more about Chesney wanting to be in his own familiar surroundings and not have to leave Kirk and the dog as well. A bit contrived to get Fiz and Kirk under the same roof naturally since we know he still adores her. So Fiz is moved in. That means Chesney and Kirk are back sharing bunk beds again, not that Kirk's happy about it. Sharing comics too. Which he is happy about. Didn't take him long to try to get back into his old habits but Fiz wasn't too keen on him taking advantage and bringing tea to her in bed. Gosh will she really make Kirk leave Number 5? Maria is getting upset because her brother is being done over, his feeling played with. Can't blame her. So instead, she asks Liam to pay for a flight to Cypress for Kirk to visit their parents. It's not that big a deal, not with cheap flights, so it's not like Liam is paying first class to Australia or something. Still, nice of him.

Bill wants to work for the new building site that Tony's invested in. Handy, right across the road. Of course they'll get the job, everyone works within feet of Coronation Street. The cafe is nice and busy with all the extra builders wanting food and tea breaks. They're run off their feet but the money must be cashing in. Cilla's going out with an Elvis impersonator. Fiz says she couldn't make that up, but let's face it, Elvis impersonators are a dime a dozen in Vegas. So now it's all about Ryan spending time with Nick. I guess we have to assume Emo boy is still freezing Michelle out for making him go home.

I suppose since Vernon had the interior of the Rovers redecorated by mates, he figures they could do a builder's job just as well yet he calls Bill a cowboy builder. Dev is still moaning about Amber having a second job. When Kirk brought Fiz tea, he was wearing a tshirt with dog paw prints on it. A little later, he's seeing Chesney off to school and he's wearing a blue striped tshirt. I guess the first one might have been something he sleeps in but it seemed like a jarring continuity stuff up.

Paul isn't too happy that Leanne is going out with Monkey Boy. Valandros is only open 7 days 12 to 3? What about the many evenings we've seen people there? Oh dear. Monkey boy joked about Leanne burning the restaurant for the insurance. But it started her thinking about it and it looks like she's going to do it, or at least talk Paul into it by letting him think he's got a chance with her. Poor Leanne, she's never going to live down her past with Blanche around. Janice and Roger are going to Formby. That leaves Leanne without her moral conscience looking over her shoulder. I never thought i'd see the day when i call Janice a moral conscience, mind you and it's not that she's all that ethical. She doesn't mind doing iffy things herself, but she doesn't like Leanne to be doing them. Leanne's actually going to user her feminine wiles to talk Paul into torching the restaurant for her! It's safe, i suppose, he's got investments so he's got just as much to lose if the restaurant goes under and just as much to gain if they do it right and the insurance pays out. Meanwhile Monkey boy has to lay low and his daddy is already suspcious of Leanne. Boy didn't she take him by surprise with a smack, designed to put Paul off the scent. It's funny watching Paul getting all aggressive with Dan. I think Leanne would cause him more harm if she tried a little violence than Paul could do.

Poor Roy... He asks Becky to be a lodger and she winds him up something terrible, pretending she thinks he'll be after her. My God. It would never happen. A. Roy is afraid of women in general especially after all that business with Tracy. and B. Becky would leave nothing behind but a few toast crumbs if she got hold of Roy *in that way*. I think he's regretting it already, especially after she got a good look in the bathroom that first morning after. I can't understand how she could not hear the shower running though.

Dual timelines, other blogs and sites

As you know, this blog is for the Canadian timeline for Corrie. I don't or rarely post spoilers but i do keep up with them. In fact, i have to. I write for Corrieblog which is a UK based Coronation Street blog and i couldn't do that if i avoided spoilers. I also post the upcoming spoilers for Corrie.net and with the advent of figuring out how to download tv stuff from the UK, i am now writing an episode update once a week for the UK timeline. Because i was downloading Monday night's episode for that, i started getting into the habit of downloading all the Corrie UK episodes as they are broadcast. So there i am, watching UK Corrie and Canadian corrie and trying to keep them all straight!! We're now seeing shows in Canada that aired in the UK in March i think and seeing shows that i have written the updates for.

I don't really have a problem keeping it all straight, i was just joking. But what is mildly frustrating is the fact that i can't break my own rules and blog about what's going on in the UK now and then, when a particularly funny or sad or annoying episode/storyline airs. Oh i can sometimes blog it on Corrieblog, for sure, and i do. If i ever stop writing for Corrieblog, though, i expect i'll start up another general Corrie blog on Blogger that's not restricted to Canadian timeline, just general thoughts and rants and news on my own. Glenda Young, who writes the weekly updates from the UK has her own Corrie blog and it's fab, but of course, full of UK spoilers so don't go there if you don't want to know. Otherwise, indulge yourself!

Another new blog that's started up is called "Back on the Street" and is all old Corrie history and trivia, news articles and photos and it's really good for long time fans and fans that want to learn more about the show.

For Canadian timeline episode updates, which are more detailed than what I do with my Sunday comments, check out Corrie Canuck. Their team of writers are always sharp and funny!

Those are the sites that really stand out and the ones i check regularly. Of course you can always have a look at my own website that has a Corrie section but the content doesn't change a whole lot. It's mainly a portal to other sites, and talks about my own personal Coronation Street experience. There's also links to write-ups for the Corrie star event shows we've had here in Halifax. Next Halifax show is March 31 at the Halifax Marriott, by the way and we don't know who's coming yet, but someone definitely is and the show is always good!

Sunday Comments, January 4

Lines of the week:

• Amber "You're just trying to embarass me!" Dev "I haven't even started!"
  
• Carla to Tony "The nearest thing to 'close' me and Liam get is when we're about to throttle each other" *uh huh*
  
• Betty to Vernon "Get out of my way you useless lump!" and "Which of his two gears is he working in, Slow or Reverse?"
  
• Jason "She slapped me" Eileen "Did you slap her back?"
  
• Liam "We don't want a pickled baby do we?"
  
• Roy "Some people claim to remember being inside the womb" Sean "'appen that's just showin' off!"
  
• Audrey "David. Did you push your mam down the stairs" (get right to the point, Audrey!)
  
• Steve "That is the beauty of having sons. They don't want you to wear lipgloss"
  

Boy, Gail really did take a tumble didn't she? David almost called for help but then he panicked and ran. and ran right to Tina. Lucky job Audrey went to talk to David and found Gail. Only thing is, she doesn't remember and David is absolutely bricking it. I know he didn't really mean to push her down the stairs but he *is* responsible. Tina took him back without much persuading but then she didn't want to break up in the first place. She should have been suspicious when he wanted to leave town right that minute, or at least after she found out about Gail's accident, knowing how angry he was with his mother and the police think she might have been pushed. All anyone knows, and it was Claire again who spilled the beans, you might know, is that she had an argument with Jason and now he's bricking it too! Poor lad, you know he's one man that really would never hurt anyone. Eileen had a good point. Why would Claire be so anxious to help the police after she was dismissed by them over the fire/Freddie incident.

Gail doesn't remember and Audrey now has an inkling that David could very well be involved. But you just know darn well that Gail has the Vera Duckworth Maternal Gene and when she does remember that it's David's fault, she'll excuse him, not shop him to the cops and David will yet again escape taking responsibility for his actions. I wonder if David would have been so contrite and tearful and upset if he didn't have that big bad cloud of guilt over his head and on his conscience. David really put on a good act when Audrey confronted him and told him about the abortion, where he pretended that was the first he'd heard of it. Very convincing. But should he have told Tina? She won't lie for him. Will she? He made a big mistake telling her that it's her fault he's in that mess. See? Still not taking responsibility. And waiting for the police because he knew someone would grass him up. But I think the police figured it out for themselves.

Michelle just needs to give it a rest. She's all over Ryan now that he is getting to know Nick. I bet Alex is giving his parents a brutal time in retaliation. He's certainly giving Michelle the business, not taking her calls. Nick has upped his game, inviting Ryan away for a week at Easter. So i take it that means Alex won't be going. Tony senses some closeness between Carla and Liam, and she just passed it off. All she had to say was that they are family and go back years but she told him about the kiss. He said it didn't matter but it obviously did so what does he do? Spring a surprise dinner party and then propose to Carla. I'm getting creeped out by this guy, he really is controlling and manipulative.

Posh flats on Victoria street. Odd place to put 'em. Dev was a real plonker, embarassing Amber like that in the restaurant. I am surprised Leanne didn't give him hell for harassing her staff! Now Leanne is ready to sell up but Paul doesn't want to. She's looking for investors and thinks Monkey Boy might be touched for a loan. Gotta give her points for being honesty, telling him about her recent past. No luck trying to sell the restaurant to that businessman though.

At least Kelly did finally own up. And didn't i say? She didn't lose her job after all. It was always thus with the factory, even with Mike Baldwin owned a factory. People got sacked all the time and got their jobs back most of the time. You know, Carla is nearly as ruthless as Mike was! Rehiring Kelly to cut her wages and use her for free overtime lol!

I loved Betty giving Vernon hell for just sitting around doing nothing. He thinks he's entitled because he was the "brains" behind the refurb. His next vision is a smoking shelter in the back yard. I suppose it's better to have it there with facilities for ciggy butts than hanging out on the street. Tony's a U2 fan (who knew?) and Steve loves Springsteen (that i can believe).

Fiz sure got a surprise welcome home. I don't know what they would have done without Roy's voice of reason helping with Social Services. Poor Kirk. If he's afraid of the dark at his age, it's no wonder he couldn't handle bringing up a kid. We won't see Chesney come home until next week but it's not really spoiling it to say he will. You knew, didn't you? I won't say how it all works out for those of you that don't do spoilers.

Sunday Comments, December 28

Lines of the week:

• Gail "Was i a bit hard on Jason?" Audrey "No more than usual"
  
• Mel about Lauren "There's nothing like Class. And that is nothing like class!" (you got that right!)
  
• Leanne to Monkey Boy "But will the pizza be as cheesy as your chat up lines!"
  
• Kelly to Vikki "Why didn't you deny it?" Vikki "Why didn't you tell the truth?"
  
• Gail to Tina "It's all right to be frightened" Tina "Not today it isn't" (tough little kid isn't she?)
  
• Steve to Lauren "You'd better get a top from Michelle. We haven't got a license for that (showing her bra)." .... "Flippin' ought to get one though"
  
• Gail "I did it because i love you!"
  
• Kirk "What am i gonna do?" Becky "I'd start with a new identity!"

Finally. Alex is gone, and left in an almighty strop. On then was Michelle all over Ryan begging forgiveness. Alex is gone and he's still obsessing Michelle. Now Ryan decides he does really want to get to know Nick and Michelle is wound up. Maybe she thinks that Nick and Wendy will take over Ryan the way she took over Alex! I think Ryan has a bit better head on his shoulders.

Don't know why anyone thinks Chesney would be in any better nick if Cilla was around. And Claire is crossing over from being a caring neighbour to sticking her nose in and look at the trouble she's caused. Granted, Kirk is a bit out of his depth. Poor Kirk, he felt so bad! And they took the dog!!!! There was no need of that! And Claire didn't think they'd take Ches away? What did she think they were going to do? Wonderful stuff getting Roy and Becky involved. You can tell Becky's had a rough life and doesn't have a good view of Social Services. Let's face it, Fiz and Chesney don't either. They've been in care their fair share too. Poor little Chesney just breaks your heart doesn't he? I loved Becky coming up one side of Norris and down the other, though even though he wasn't the one that contacted the Social. Kirk didn't have the nerve to tell Fiz so she's sure coming home to a surprise. I expect Fiz will end up being Chesser's guardian and the social will be happy with that as she's pretty responsible.

David must be wondering why his girlfriend and his mother are all pally all of a sudden. Gail's very good about that subtle pressure though isn't she but Tina knows what's going on. She said that she was conflicted about advising Tina to a termination after Sarah but Sarah was too far gone the first time to have one and the second time, Gail did actually encourage it. It all blew up though and look what happened...David's jealousy got the better of him,and he dumped her before she could dump him because he jumped the gun. He really did show up his immaturity. Then poor Jason got the wrong end of the stick because Becky got the wrong end of the stick and when that all kicked off, (excellent confrontation between Jason and Gail!) David figured out what happened. We all know he's got a hot spot where termination is concerned and it shouldn't be surprising that he snapped and shoved Gail down the stairs. Now, he's got every right to be angry and totally pissed off with his mother for keeping it a secret and helping his girlfriend behind his back. He hasn't, of course, got the right to be violent but considering David's past and instability, it's no surprise either. Gail sputtered and uttered futile excuses but really, even though she had valid concerns, she never should have kept it secret.

How sweet is Jack? As much as Paul has disappointed him just like Terry has, Jack can't see him in trouble. Maybe he thinks there's still hope for Paul to turn himself around. Looks like Sarah is cutting off Jason well and proper. I see Kelly is still nicking knickers. What is it about Underworld? So many people do things that would be firing offences yet they either keep their jobs or get hired back on. It wouldn't happen in real life. Liam figures out someone is stealing seconds and they do know Vikki is doing home parties. I'm surprised they don't know Kelly is as well since she's been gobbing off about it, or she was at first when she thought she'd make her first million by 35.

Dev is only ticked off that Amber wants to work in the restaurant because it's Leanne. Why shouldn't she work two jobs? She would make more money as a waitress anyway, with tips though if the restaurant isn't doing that well, it's debatable. Tony is investing in a new development. Posh flats on Victoria Street. Now, posh flats that Richard Hillman invested in caused him so much financial trouble that he ended up being a killer. How much do you want to bet this is a rerun storyline? Would *you* buy a posh flat in a backstreet of Weatherfield? The neighbourhood is hardly going upscale, is it?

Ah so Tony wants to buy out Liam's share and he didn't tell Carla about it first. Maybe she doesn't want Tony as a boyfriend and a partner. Liam has refused anyway but i don't blame Carla for being angry. That seems to be typical Tony. He's pretty ruthless. Anyway, Carla and Liam said they'd just let the staff overhear them talking about the theft but then they turned around and confronted them straight out and sacked Vikki. Will Kelly come forward?

Sunday Comments, December 21

First off, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!
Lines of the week:

• Steve "There's not many plusses to living in a pub but one of them is Betty's Hot Pot." (Yay!)
  
• Sean "Why couldn't i have been happy playing Uncle"? (that's it in a nutshell, really)
  
• Lauren "I'm not much use, am I?" (You really want me to answer that???)
  
• Harry "Monkey boy is late as per usual" (that's it. He's going to be called Monkey Boy from now on!)
  
• Ashley "Me dad'll be turning in his grave" (I thought he was cremated?)
  
• Tina about David "I couldn't lie to him" (Um, isn't that what you're doing?)
  
• Ryan "Everyone has turned into a flaming social worker!"
  

And they're gone. I have to say, i know Sean overstepped his boundaries a lot, but really, i personally feel that Jamie and Violet were very selfish. Surely they could find a compromise and all three of them could help raise the baby? Poor Sean's heart is just shattered! Aww Marcus is such a star, isn't he? He's right, though, even if they figured out that Jamie and Vi went to London or Essex, what are they going to do? They won't talk him around and it would only make them run again.

Alex isn't gone. I don't know how Michelle can justify it all really i don't. You can get to know your kid without shoving your other one out of the way or making him feel like it at least. Alex is going home but Michelle does everything she can to stall it. She says he feels more at home with "us", but she's the only one that's welcoming him. She's driven Ryan out, Steve to distraction and i don't know why we don't have Liz coming up one side of her and down the other. Well i do know why. If i recall, the actress was out sick so they had to film around her for awhile. And Steve can holler at her all he likes. She's got shiny hair, his words just slide right off instead of penetrating that head. She's so obsessed she has to accompany him to the dentist like he was 6 instead of 16. Liam's a really good uncle, isn't he? And i can't believe she had the nerve to get pissed when Nick wanted to contact Ryan after the poor lad already feels like she doesn't want him around. Steve *finally* got through to her. Alex is going home. Or is he? I guess we'll have to wait and see but very likely he will be. I bet he'll still be skulking around though.

Kirk mentioned Boris but where is Boris? If the business is so slow, i'm amazed Ashley can afford to employ two assistants. He's going to lay off Kirk. But we still never see Boris. Hmmm Seems neither Kirk nor Chesney is much of a cook or cleaner. Once Claire gets her big nosy nose in there, things are going to go all pear shaped. Roy's back and he's gasping for a cuppa!! Did you catch Becky dropping major hints to be able to stay at the flat?

Well David's tattoo didn't melt Tina's heart, did it? His jealousy is rapidly spiralling out of control, especially after Tina dissed the tatt. She didn't dump him, though i bet she thought long and hard about it. She doesn't realize how psycho David can be though. And he's going to take it all out on his mother, since she's the only one left around. David really hasn't grown up much and his grip on sanity was not that tenuous to start with. That lad could whinge the ears off a statue. Anyway, so it turns out what she wanted to talk to him about had nothing to do with dumping him, she's pregnant!!! Now Gail knows and David doesn't. The scenes with Tina and Gail were really good. Looks like Gail really thinks David couldn't handle fatherhood. She's right of course. But also, he'd never stand for Tina terminating the pregnancy. Tina could probably manage as a single mum but it's tough on your own especially at that age with few prospects. She doesn't think she could lie to David but not telling him she's pregnant and having an abortion behind his back is a real whopper! It takes a week to get one with private insurance, Gail will pay. No pressure though. (no of course not) If David finds out, considering he's already found out Gail seriously thought about a termination when she was pregnant with him, well.... just stand clear of the volcano!

Monkey Boy is enjoying making Paul squirm and making him pay. Did *you* figure on Paul being a Superman boxer short kind of guy? Talk about taking the shirt off someone's back! Kelly figured a few bits of ribbon and lace would disguise the stolen seconds not to mention that she's selling substandard stuff. Why would she think that's going to sell any better than the official product she's *supposed* to be selling? Darryl didn't even manage to stand the pain of even one full letter! And with the size of that one half a letter, the whole word ENGLAND is going to reach round his back to his other hip. It's only an L now, L for Loser! So let me get this right. Kelly is dating Monkey Boy and wouldn't look twice at Bookie Senior, too old, unless, of course, he's rich? That sounds about right for Kelly. I bet he'd treat her better than MB would. Tell you what, though, i quite like Bookie Senior.

Baby Blues

Violet made it clear that Sean was a donor onl, right from the start, and he was doing her a favour as a friend. He wasn't long becoming attached to the idea of being a dad. She restated the plan several times through the pregnancy when he started to get overbearing, making sure he knew he was only the donor and it was her baby, not theirs or his. Even then, he didn't let it go. She should have known this would happen, though, because she knew he would love to be a dad even before the pregnancy idea came up. Even though it was laid out clearly, when she realized he was getting emotionally attached to the idea of a baby, she also should have known he wouldn't let it go no matter what she said.

I know they had an agreement but i still feel Violet was a bit selfish and it didn't really kick in until she and Jamie got back together. Jamie was the one that pushed to leave more than she did, Jamie was the one doing more of the whinging about everyone knowing that Sean was the father and not him. Violet probably would have settled down and allowed Sean to be a daddy if Jamie hadn't been in the picture and really, the baby would not have suffered for having an extra parent in the picture as long as they all agreed that Violet and Jamie were the main decision makers. Sean learned the hard way that he was sticking his oar in too far and realized he should have been content to be a favoured uncle. I know Violet was within her rights to set the boundaries and Sean wouldn't take any notice of them but i still feel bad for Sean and feel Vi and Jamie were selfish.

But, you say, Sean would have interfered to no end and wouldn't listen, so they *had* to leave. Probably, in some ways, yes. But would it have been so difficult to have the three grownups sit down together and set out the boundaries, maybe even have a legal paper drawn up for access etc. so there's no misunderstanding? I don't think any of them were very grown up about it all, to be honest and that's where it all fell down. I think they could have made it work Instead, we've got sad and broken hearted Sean and have seen the back of Jamie and Violet, no big deal after they've been pouting and moaning ever since they got back together. In true Coronation Street tradition, i wonder if Sean will ever mention the baby again?

Sunday Comments, December 14

Lines of the week:

• Michelle "He's only staying the weekend, i promise" (yeah, right)
  
• Jamie "It'll always be the four of us" (it's cruel, but he's right)
  
• Amber about Dev "When I was born he wasn't walking on air, he was hiding round corners!"
  
• Gail about David "It's his body but he's been taken over by aliens"
  
• Steve "Less carrot, more stick!"
  
• Michelle about Ryan "He'll realize there's enough of me to go around" (You *are* joking?!)
  
• Ryan "He's a spoiled snide brown noser and I'm not sharing a room with him"
  
• Audrey about David "he'll probably flip over to his dark side any minute" (be careful what you say! It's closer than you think!)
  
• Steve about the boys "It's not a competition" Vernon "I don't know. It looks like Alex has won"
  

And it's a boy called Dylan Wilson. Good name! They did miss out on one thing, i would have thought Violet would have been sweat drenched but she wasn't. This isn't the first baby born under the Rovers roof though the last one was born in the back room when Betty helped Vera deliver Trish Armstrong's baby by Terry. Sean really shouldn't have squealed about his being the first face the baby saw. It wasn't. It was Marcus's! and saying that is only going to add more resentment in Violet. See, now, if Violet hadn't decided to leave town, Jamie wouldn't have been on his way to London and would have been there to see the baby born! After all Violet was skriking at Sean all these weeks, she let him come to the hospital and let him hold the baby! Instant bond, now. You won't be able to keep him away and taking that baby away now is really going to tear his heart out if they go as planned and she knows it. When Jamie was making his excuses to Sean, it certainly looked as if Marcus had ideas about Jamie's sincerity and he sussed out a bit more info from the midwife. I think he suspects something's up. Everyone is making a big deal out of Sean as new daddy "Who's the daddy" tshirt and all! It's definitely putting Jamie's nose out of joint and a major knot in his face. Cripes. Steve made a point to include Jamie in the "fathers" remark and he *still* wasn't happy. Whine whinge moan. Get over it and go away already. The pair of them (Jamie and Vi) are really getting on my nerves and i'm ready for them to leave now even though i'm going to be very sad for Sean. Lauren stumbled on the fact that their flat was going to be empty. Uh oh! Busted! Who's going to have her loyalty, Violet or Sean? At least Sean has one picture of the baby on his phone.

Given Jamie's history, i really think that down the road, he and Violet aren't going to make it last. He's never going to forget that it's not his baby even though he's raising him. Violet is going to feel more and more guilty. She's basically an honest person. Someone needed to show Sean the proper way to feed a baby. he was holding the bottle at an angle where the baby wouldn't have got hardly any milk! I really hated the way they outright lied to Sean about the birth certificate and that they weren't moving away.

Kelly and Junior Bookie? Well you know he's pretty much just after one thing. Looks like Senior Bookie has been tossed out on his ear. But he was staying there before she tossed all his stuff out anyway wasn't he? Is it me, or is the fella playing Paul actually inherited something else from Terry Duckworth? The actor's inability to act. The childrens' party went pretty much as expected. Nothing like a baby to bring out every woman within a 500 foot radius, all clucking and cooing!

What did you think of the new Rovers decoration? Booooooorrrrrinngggg! Pale covering on the benches, pale print wall paper, it just fades away! The old stuff was dated and tired for sure but it was at least colourful! Did you see Jamie and Sean passing that baby around and his little head going all over the place? tsk! Harry kept his own furniture and stored Junior's. How is that a "sofa"? it's barely big enough for one person! It's not even large enough to be called a love seat!

Michelle really is a bit pompous and smug with Wendy wasn't she? She knows nothing about Alex and Wendy seems like she's got a whole lot more about her and her being older, i think her maturity is far more reaching than Michelle's. And Alex wins again with his whining and playing Michelle off against Wendy. Michelle didn't think it was fair on Ryan but she still let Alex stay and then he decided to swing the lead and play sick for a day except it didn't turn out very well when he didn't notice Amy wandering off. Steve sure let him have it but as usual, Michelle didn't dare criticize her new golden boy. What does he do? throw a temper tantrum and lock himself in the empty pub! And he says things have just been getting to him lately? He's been living in the lap of spoiled luxury with Michelle lately. Fair enough, divorce is hard on kids, and he's not had that easy at least, but he's looking for something better and thinks he can find it with Michelle. Not only is Alex a spoiled brat, he's got ugly clothes. Looks like Ryan is going to move in with Liam for a bit. Vernon really hit the nail on it, saying that Alex had wone the competition. He has.

Tina got talking about her ex. Was that a little green glimmer i saw in David's eye? Most definitely. And he let Tina think that Maria and Tracy were his exes when neither of them would give him the time of day. Can't admit that he's never had a girlfriend in his life. Surprised he didn't mention Mel too. And then he decides he will prove he loves her by getting a tattoo of her name on his arm. I can pretty much guarantee you she's going to take it badly and it's going to blow up in his face. Kelly isn't very good at selling at home parties is she? lol telling people they were time wasters because they didn't really want to buy. Instead of giving up what does she do? Steal Underworld knicker knockoffs!

Happy Birthday Coronation Street

Today is the show's 48th birthday and not many tv shows can say that! There's a couple of daily soaps on American tv that have it beat but Corrie is an evening show so probably doesn't count in the same category. Bill Roache has played Ken Barlow since episode 1, continuously. There is one American actor that has played his role continuously for a few months longer and one American female actor that has played her role continuously since the mid 1950s. Both are from American soaps, Guiding Light for him, As the World Turns for her. Another woman has played her role for longer but she's not had a continuous run, and has left her show a couple of times over the years. Pretty awesome really.

Eileen Derbyshire has played Emily Nugent Bishop for almost as long. She started on the show in January 1961 in episode 15 though her character was on the show much earlier! In that episode, Leonard Swindley came into the vestry to see Ena Sharples who had had a "spell" and he ordered Miss Nugent to see to her. This photo is a screen capture of that moment. It is distinctly not Eileen Derbyshire. It was a non-speaking part. I wrote a character study of Emily over on Corrieblog if you should wish to read it.

The show certainly has had it's ups and downs but they must be doing something right to last this long. People say it's not like it used to be but in order for it to survive, it's had to change with the times to bring in new, young viewers that will stay with the show as they grow up. We'll definitely see the 50th anniversary of Coronation Street in 2010. Will it last longer? Who knows. But 50 years in anyone's books is a damn good run!