September 1996

Monday 2 September 1996
Kicking off with the unholy union of Nicky, Becky and Jamie. It was a surefire recipe for trouble as Nicky recounted his wondrous tales of London to a captive audience. He told of tales amongst the stars at venues like Planet Hollywood and the like and Becky and Jamie swallowed it hook, line and sinker.

Claire was settling in at Des's house and as a result was helping him make the place more suitable for her and Becky. Firstly Des vetoed some unsuitable videos while Claire rooted around upstairs and discovered a mysterious spiky leafed plant.

From that moment onwards there were jokes between them about pot plants and the like. To make matters funnier along came Mavis for a nosy, and to check out her new neighbour. Des quickly explained Claire was a keen gardener. Claire was shocked but quickly dropped in on the impending joke. Claire offered Mavis the plant as a gift and she unknowingly accepted the "dodgy" plant.

Alma was in a somewhat agitated mood following being kept in the dark over Stephen's arrival back in Weatherfield. She was unwise to bring the subject up in front of Gail, who was in highly strung form over Nicky's behaviour. Things were about to get worst for Gail as she encountered a volatile Trish in the street. Trish's problem was with Nicky filling Jamie's head with fanciful ideas about running away to London. Both of them were brewing for an argument over the matter, with young Jamie not making matters any better.

Just before things came to blows Martin turned up to play peacemaker. Both he and Gail were annoyed that Nicky had not told them what he had gone through in London yet he had seen fit to tell Jamie. The interrogation of Nicky began, Jamie was asked to relay what Nicky had told him about London. Nicky panicked and decided to come clean. When Jamie and Trish had gone he revealed he had not stayed in London at all. He had grown tired of the place very quickly so he carried on by coach to Torquay.

Martin and Gail were relieved to say the least to the point where they even found the situation funny. Nicky of course didn't get the joke and stomped upstairs.

Meanwhile Derek celebrated his new plant and commented on it's aroma. Becky finished off the night with a row with her mother over a poster.

Wednesday 4 September 1996
A few developments tonight especially for certain members of the community in particular. Nicky was showing his usual lack of interest in everything which was driving the rest of the Platt family to distraction. Martin in particular was at a loss of what measures to take next and he was in favour of the trip to Canada offered by Stephen Reid in an effort to fuel his interest in life again.

Elsewhere Sally was preparing for work and was getting a few tips on being boss from husband Kevin. She set off for the day which would today involve running Mike's factory single handedly. Naturally there would be people who would see Sally as a soft touch and as a result try and play her for the fool. The first to make an attempt was none other than Trish.

Trish decided to roll into work obscenely late and palm Sally off with an excuse that she had a bad stomach and had been to ill to attend the morning shift. Sally didn't wear the poor story for a minute and Trish's cards were duly marked. Retribution arrived later on when Sally was handing out overtime to the staff. Trish thought she could jump on the bandwagon and make up her lost hours that way. Sally coolly turned her down and gave her overtime to someone else instead.

Norris Cole was hunting high and low for Alf Roberts on a matter of some urgency. He was even going as far as a lunch invitation. He got Alf and took him out for lunch and began speaking of an offer he and some others had in store for him. The conversation had thinly veiled overtones which mentioned the Square Dealers.

It would appear from what I could gather that there was two separate camps looking to fill the void of leader of the Square Dealers. Following the previous leader's ("Millennium") death. Fred Elliott looked like a candidate for taking over the position but Norris appeared as a messenger for an opposing force who wanted Alf to be the new leader. He told Audrey roughly about it, although she seemed a bit non-plussed about what was going on.

Des was having trouble of his own with his relationship with Claire. Her troublesome in laws from her first marriage were a problem. Mainly her ex mother-in-law who was using methods of emotional blackmail to get to Becky. The methods involved leaving a photograph of her father in a prominent position around Des's house. This didn't bother Des at all though, for the simple reason he understood the importance of Becky remembering her dad. He could reason with that because of his own experience with Lisa.

The episode more or less ended with The Platts arranging with Stephen to finally go to Canada for a break. They were going to have to go that week though. Nicky was finally happy about something.

Friday 6 September 1996
Tonight saw the departure of the Platt's as they headed off on their sabbatical to Canada. Gail seemed to be packing everything bar the kitchen sink in the suitcases. The trip had fired up some enthusiasm in Nicky, which Martin and Gail were finding to be a godsend.

There was rumblings in the Mallett household as well as Judy confided in her mother Joyce about how she still felt worried that Gary's potential roving eye. Judy was sure that because she didn't want children that Gary would go and get them somewhere else.

Joyce had problems of her own, namely Alec Gilroy, her concern was over his lack of interest in her physical attributes. Despite the fact she had offered herself to him on a number of occasions now. She decided that it was time to broach the subject head on. She told Alec how disappointed she was in the fact he had resisted her advances. Alec explained that he held back partially on account of his age, and partially his experience with Bet. He explained he was too old to get "a kick in the guts" like that now. He reminisced about his ex-wife for a while until Joyce understood what he wanted from their friendship. In layman's terms friendship was all he wanted.

Jim was at loggerheads with Bill Webster, his day kicked off with a letter from Liz's lawyers demanding money. Jim's mood was hardly improved when Bill announced how disenchanted he was that Jim wasn't pulling his weight in the partnership. Also he wasn't happy that Jim was intending to include Steve in the partnership when he got out of prison. All in all it looked like the Webster and McDonald partnership could be on the rocks.

Judy had a change of heart in the Rovers about her decision to be a mother. She told Gary about this and he wanted to get practising straight away. Judy insisted he show restraint and wait till later, she was sure she would get pregnant straight away.

Trish was becoming the bane of Sally's life by coming in late and giving grief at every opportunity. Namely the problem was with her lies and rabble rousing amongst the staff. Mike was all set to give Trish the sack but the ever forgiving Sally insisted that she have one last chance. Mike agreed but only begrudgingly. Unfortunately after work Trish stormed round to Sally's thinking she had been "grassed" up. Trish along with Jamie got very mouthy without realising that Sally could have been her saviour.....

Monday 9 September 1996
The episode continued in more or less the same vein as recent ones with the addition of a new storyline involving Derek and Mavis tonight. They had been contacted by the local historical society who were of the opinion that the house had some historical value.

Derek and Mavis viewed the idea the idea with some enthusiasm but Derek began to concoct an idea that this sort of thing might influence his position locally and get him inducted into the Square Dealers.

Alec Gilroy was fancying himself in the role of promoter again. Despite gainful employment at Sunliners he cheekily used their office to interview potential acts that he would have on their books. He confidently predicted he would have five special acts signed for Friday night for a local night spot. In fact he was so confident that when Maxine offered her services as a singer he laughed at the idea.

Little did he know it was going to be tougher recruiting than he anticipated. He ended up eating humble pie and taking Maxine on her own terms when he found he couldn't meet the roster.

Jack was of course keeping in close with Fred Elliot with a view to getting into the Square Dealers. The odd free drink here and there appeared to be having no surface effect, but who knows what was going on beneath the surface. A short time later Derek tried to influence Fred with the knowledge that his house could have historical value and he could become prevalent in the community. Unfortunately for Derek it cut no mustard with Fred.

Bill and Jim's working relationship was going through a frosty patch as they said as little as possible to each other whilst working on Maud and Maureen's house. The situation remained unresolved at the end of the day. Bill was still annoyed at Jim's lack of commitment to the business partnership. Jim attempted to defend himself on the grounds of his marital breakdown.

Kevin tried to convince Trish that Sally was on her side at work. However Trish didn't believe his story and was sure Sally was one of "them". Speaking of the Websters things seemed to be on the up as Sally's position in the workplace seemed to stabilising. Also Kevin and Tony were enjoying the fruits of their labours as the garage was working out again.

The Mallett's were redecorating the house in the hope in preparation for the baby they would soon be trying for. Gary was more eager to get on with the "practice" rather than the wallpapering. However Judy put her foot down and Gary retreated upstairs brush in hand.

Alma quizzed Dreary on her date with Stephen, you could see the old affection was still there but she was keeping it under the surface. It was obviously painful for her to listen to Dreary.

Wednesday 11 September 1996
Tonight started with Maureen on the phone to someone whom we didn't know the identity of. The call was somewhat fumbled on Maureen's part as she arranged to meet someone later that day.

Elsewhere in the Street things were more or less ticking over as usual. The Mallett household was in the throes of decorating. Judy was getting sick of Gary hanging around her all the time now that she had decided to go ahead and try for a child.

Joyce was trying as hard as she possibly could to get the amorous attentions of Alec Gilroy. However he was about as responsive as a brick. With Judy's help Joyce booked a holiday with the intent of wooing Alec into perhaps joining her for the duration. Alec wasn't responsive though and Joyce was deflated.

Becky was the cause of complaint with The Wiltons tonight as she kept playing her music way to loud for their tastes. As a result they complained twice and it was Des who initiated the peace talks. He offered Becky some advice on how to weedle her way around Mavis and Derek.

As a result Becky went around to The Wiltons and "apologised" for her loud music playing. She then started cooing over Mavis's budgie. This impressed the Wiltons no end and thus began an impromptu session of teaching the budgie to speak. In essence, the upshot of this made Derek look very silly indeed. Eventually Des came round to break up the meeting and Becky went away having won the Wiltons over.

Stephen was on people's minds as well tonight as he prepared to go home to Canada. Dreary was on eggshells watching the door for him all day at work. However to her dismay he didn't show up at all. However Alma did bump into him and indeed embarrassed the two of them again as she mentioned her attraction to him. Stephen told her that all people have such attractions. They parted with a kiss as Stephen went home.

Bill Webster was the subject of an invite for tea and gossip at Maud's house. There we discovered that Maureen was going out for a drink with someone whom she had contacted through a lonely hearts advert. The man she met however looked like he was something of a geek.

Friday 13 September 1996
Tonight dealt a good deal with Alec's little foray into the world of the club promotion. He went around checking that his acts were all good and ready for tonight's performance. Maxine had prepared herself by buying a backless number to wow the crowds.

Elsewhere there was still speculation over the Square Dealers and who would become the latest member now that there was a vacancy. Alec was stirring up interest for Jack by telling him secrets of the Square Dealers, which he had learned from his time on the seas. Apparently he knew of a sea faring bunch who adhered to a similar ruleset.

Jack absorbed this information like a sponge and began letting little bits of it slip into conversation with Curly later. Curly was shocked to hear such profanity from a non-dealer and recounted this information to Fred Elliott. Fred was concerned that their was a mole of some kind in the midst of the community.

The entertainment at Chirelle's got under way but was proving to be unsuccessful in many respects. Namely the magic act which kicked the night off was going badly. Maxine followed but her singing left a lot to be desired. The surprise attraction was Fiona who got up to do a karoake spot and surprisingly impressed the audience despite being a bit ropey. The owner of the club wanted Fiona to do a regular stint and Alec was secretly trying to arrange something.

Monday 16 September 1996
More of a return to form in my opinion tonight as we saw a mixture of comedy and a bit of drama come to the fore. Amongst the more comedic moments was the slow but sure relationship building in a most unorthodox manner between Maureen and Bill Webster.

Bill had volunteered to play a form of secret chaperone while Maureen went out on another blind date. He was there to bail Maureen out of trouble if the situation in the date got out of hand. As they were talking it seemed blatantly obvious to the viewer that Bill held something of a king size torch for Maureen. He had noticed a great many details about her but Maureen didn't seem to have a clue how he felt about her.

Meanwhile Alec Gilroy was following up his attempts to woo Fiona into the life of showbiz. Fiona was very wary as to Alec's attempts to win her over. Maxine however overheard their conversation and was very hurt that her "talent" was being passed over for Fiona's.

In fact Maxine voiced the opinion that Fiona always seemed to be the winner in situations between them, Fiona responded by claiming that wasn't true. What followed was like a scene from the mutual appreciation society as the two of them reeled off each others good points.

Trish was more than a little concerned as she found out that her estranged husband, Carl, was being paroled from Strangeways prison within the next couple of weeks. Trish was concerned he would show up and give her a punching when he found out she was in the family way again.

As a result of this she called a "family meeting" with the Duckworths. Jack was understandably nervous about Carl being on the scene as he had being punched by him in the past. They all agreed that they might be safe from Carl for a while as Trish had left no forwarding address. Jamie was briefly upset about his dad being held in a nearby prison when his mum had told him he was being held a lot further away.

Jim was all fired up as Liz came waltzing back into the Street. She strode cockily down the cobbles as Jim let his fury vent forth on the doorstep. He yelled about the injustices he had been dealt by Liz, who was attempting to get some of his inheritance to cover her costs. As usual Dreary was backing Liz all the way.

Judy Mallett was in another world tonight as it dawned on her that she might in fact be pregnant. She had been ill that morning and now she spent the night behind the Rovers worrying about her lack of knowledge about kids. Naturally Sally was cooing about the possibility of another baby on the Street.

At the local school Ken was witness to the short temper of his colleague, the headmistress. She was looking for another teacher to fill in for a sick one who was away at the moment, leaving a gap to be filled for school panto rehearsals. The headmistress seemed to be very stressed out but no real reason was given.

Alec hadn't given up on trying to win Fiona over for the club turn at Chirelle's. Fiona was still resolute not to have anything to do with the club scene. However Alec seemed to be quietly working his way around her.

Maureen's date was going well with Bill sat in the background looking on somewhat hurt. Her date was none other than a somewhat oily dentist who seemed to win Maureen over completely. As they went off for dinner at the restaurant a dejected Bill went home.

Wednesday 18 September 1996
Maureen was irritating the hell out of Bill by going on about Mr Wonderful, the dentist, with whom she has a second date. She is clearly starstruck, going on about "how much we have in common". She told Bill she wouldn't need him to chaperone. Maud had got wrong of the wrong end of the stick and assumed Bill and Maureen were dating - she was put out when she found out the truth.

Much discussion of Jamie's dad and whether he would discover Tricia's change of address when released from prison. She seemed to think she was safe since she'd had "two changes of address" since she'd last seen him. However Jamie was using the school dinner break to write his father a letter - presumably with the new address on - and we saw him post the letter (I think).

At the school Ken finished teaching the rehearsals for the school play and the headmistress apologised for her bullying behaviour and invited him to her office where, to Ken's surprise, she got the sherry bottle out. It turns out that her husband had left her eight days ago after twenty years together. She seemed to be taking quite a shine to Ken although it didn't seem that mutual to this viewer.

Alec persevered with Fiona, trying to persuade her he'd put up the money for her to have singing lessons and get professional backing tapes. As the day went on she decided she really wanted to do it and agreed if Rita would give her singing lessons. However Rita saw straight through Alec, assuming he was pressurising Fiona, and turned him down. Then Fiona, rather excited at the idea and assuming it was a fait accomplit, thanked Rita and said how much she was looking forward to it so Rita agreed. On asking how much she would be paid Alec replied that she would be paid handsomely ... in terms of good feeling.

Alec was approached by Foghorn Leghorn to become a member of the Square Dealers but turned it down. He thought they'd all want travel discounts and couldn't afford it. He seemed to revel in letting Jack and Derek know he'd turned down the offer and there was still a vacancy - they are both obviously even more agitated than usual about the whole thing.

Jim McDonald has been getting more and more bitter about his wife and told Andy he couldn't visit Stephen in prison because Liz would be there. Liz turned up to try and play the "we shouldn't make Stephen suffer and should try to be friends and leave the financial matters to the lawyers" card but Jim was having none of it. After a long diatribe about the evils of the woman who had already taken half of everything he had and how now he would have to hand over half of everything he earnt until the day he died he approached both Liz and Bill in the Rovers to say there was no way she was getting another penny out of him. He told Bill he was going to laze around all day and earn nothing so that she could have half of nothing - and that Bill no longer had a partner!

Friday 20 September 1996
Tonight brought a mixture of humour and heartache to the Street, kicking off the day with Jim McDonald. Now no longer working with Bill Webster and effectively spending the day idling away at the Rovers. Of course give a man like Jim too much time on his hands and he always seems to get up to mischief. This time he fell off the wagon, after a couple of months sober he decided to get back into the old habits really heard.

He managed to upset Maud Grimes on his travels for a bottle of whisky, in fact his manner was down right unpleasant full stop. No matter what his provocation from Liz, he was out of order tonight.

Emily had to face grim recollections from her past as the Historical Society began parading tourists up and down the street. Unbeknown to her they had made Mavis and Derek's house a public monument to the fact that Ernest Bishop had been killed there in the wages snatch years before. We had to listen, as did Emily, to the tourist guide explain that where Mavis and Derek's house now stood was the very spot where Baldwin's Casuals had once been. It was the place where Ernest had been gunned down which gave it some notoriety.

Emily was more than understandably upset about this and let a tearfully apologetic Mavis know her true feelings on the subject. The truth of the matter being that Mavis had meant no harm but had simply not bothered to research the reason why the Historical Society had wanted to use their house.

Fiona performed her set at Chirelle's that night after something of a build up during the day. Her singing was awful, but to the crowds she went down a storm. Chirelle enjoyed the set but found it a little too short for her liking. Alec promised he would arrange for Fiona to learn more songs and a regular booking could be in the offing. However despite success in the club Fiona looked unhappy about continuing. I think it looks like she is going to back down.

Norris and Jack were essentially playing games with each other as they tried to trade information about the Square Dealers. Neither seemed prepared to give in to the other's need for information so no ground was gained there.

Trish's husband was out of jail and looking for his wife, Jamie had effectively left a blind man's trail with the letters he had been sending his dad in Strangeways. Luckily when Carl turned up at Trish's flat she wasn't in.

Monday 23 September 1996
Jim started the episode off with a heavy dose of remorse over his weekend spent in an alcoholic daze, he was on the receiving end of a bout of moralising from his do-gooding son Andy. The house looked like a bomb had hit, with a mess of empty cans and bottles. Jim sat nursing his hangover asking Andy if he had done anything silly such as hitting people or the like. Andy reassured him that he had only managed to make an arsehole of himself indoors over the last few days.

There was remorse yet again in the Wilton household as Derek and Mavis considered their upsetting of Emily Bishop with the recent Historical Society debacle. Derek sought to make the peace with Emily, but annoying Percy kept sticking his oar in to make matters worse. Later in the Rovers Derek told Mavis of his encounter and advised her to steer clear of Emily till the waters had calmed somewhat.

Alas Mavis seemed a tad short of common sense tonight, and wandered round to see Emily with a box of chocolates under her arm to use as a pacifying tool. This led to nothing but a frosty reception from Emily and in turn a stern lecture. Emily let Mavis in on a few home truths about herself stating how selfish she though she was and how she never considered anyone but herself. Mavis could only stand on the doorstep open mouthed taking this verbal lashing that Emily was so effectively dishing out.

Trish implored Jack and Vera to allow her to live at the Rovers Return when Carl was released from prison in the near future. Jamie was in something of a confrontational mood as his mother chastised him for giving out their address details in letters to Strangeways Prison. Jack was very much the voice of reason and told Trish to confront Carl and see how he reacted. They would take action if it was required and only if it was required.

Alec was wheedling his way around the somewhat hesitant Fiona over her career as a club singer. Fiona was consider quitting her fledgling career as a singer despite the fact that Alec had taken the time to go out and get some tapes so she could improve her repertoire somewhat. There was the usual horseplay from Maxine who did her own terrible rendition of "Hey, Big Spender". Rita later nipped in to the Salon, almost as a pep talk for Fiona encouraging her to keep on the path of her career. You could almost see Fiona's brain ticking over as she considered her options.

Maureen's dream date with the dentist appeared to have gone less than swimmingly as she seemed cagey to say the least when it came to explaining what had happened. She told Maud they were simply incompatible and left it at that. The truth was later told to Bill when Maureen explained that her dream date had stood her up. She confided in him that her loneliness was a burden and the two of them tenderly hugged. Maureen broke away somewhat embarrassed and left Bill looking somewhat hurt.

Meanwhile Jim had let himself go again and was now sliding back down into the bottle again, he was becoming rowdy with Andy and the general commotion attracted the attention of Sally who was trying to put the kids to bed. It almost looked like it might end in blows, as Sally threatened to call the police, but luckily Bill turned up to break things up.

Smaller rumblings occurred in the Square Dealers as Norris and Fred suspected Curly of taking bribes for information. The truth of the matter was Jack simply asked Curly to put a bet on at the local bookies for him as Vera wouldn't let him out of the pub.

Line of the night "If I Can't vomit and throw up in the comfort of my own home then where can I ?" from Jim.

Wednesday 25 September 1996
Starting with Jim enduring a nasty bout of the shakes following his drink fuelled week 'off the wagon'. He was in the grip of the DT's as he sat on the sofa sweating profusely whilst hardly capable of keeping still for more than a moment at a time. Andy showed obvious signs of concern but Jim seemed aware of what was happening to him and knew how to treat it.

Des was plotting to use the unwitting Wiltons to his advantage as he planned a night out for him and Claire at the theatre. They needed a baby sitter for Becky, so Des figured he would use his charm to work wonders on Mavis. Off he toddled to the Kabin where he presented Mavis with a decent sized box of chocolates and then he began dishing out the flannel. Des charmingly explained how happy Becky had been since moving to the Street. Especially as Mavis and Derek had made her feel so welcome with their introduction to Beauty the budgie and all.

Rita smiled wryly as she could see Des's motivation behind this little ruse but Mavis was falling hook line and sinker for Des's little plan. She told Des what a lovely child Becky was and how she would always be welcome in their house. Des then furtively asked if they could baby sit tonight allowing their theatre trip to go ahead. However Mavis revealed they had other plans that night so it was out of the question altogether. Des it would appear had been foiled.

The Platts were back from Canada but minus one of their number, Nicky may have been the cause of the Canada trip but by no means had he returned. This of course led to shock and surprise who had been anticipating the return of a full family. It transpired Nicky was staying in Canada for the foreseeable future as he continued his education in a private school outside Toronto. His inheritance would be paying his fees and Steve would be keeping a close eye on his progress. Audrey was upset, but could we ever expect any different reaction from her. However the Platts in themselves were strangely accepting.

Bill and Maureen were still a mess of uneasy silences, whenever circumstance threw them together Maureen quickly managed to escape from the potential conversation. Eventually when Bill caught up with her Maureen began speaking to him. Bill anticipated that she was going to give him the brush off so he turned frosty.

By this time Jim was sober and making an effort to get back on the wagon, he apologised to Sally and tried to make amends with Bill. Jim asked if he could jump back into the partnership with the building team they had created. Bill announced he had found someone else short term as Jim was too unreliable. Jim retorted by taking back the keys to the van leaving Bill vehicleless. Later the two of them sorted their differences which ended with Jim being given a last chance by Bill. During the night Liz strolled into the Rovers cockily flashing off some new clothes she had bought. Jim didn't rise to the bait surprisingly enough.

Jamie was on the look out for a letter from his dad, Trish was resolute that she didn't want him in their lives again and although she was nervous she looked to be planning a trip to see him and tell him to ship out for good.

Mavis and Derek were so affected by Becky's fondness for budgie's that they went out and bought Becky her own personal pet. Becky of course put on the little angel act that she has perfected for their benefit. Des however still looked cheesed off about not being able to go out that night.

Fiona spoke to Alec about signing a contract for her singing career, Alec was in agreement and later confided in Rita his motive for seeing Fiona succeed was merely to see someone make it to the top. A rather touching sentiment actually.

Curly was the subject of the plotting of Norris and Fred regarding Square Dealership business. Poor Curly went about his business complete unaware of any problems.

Friday 27 September 1996
Don learned that Nick had gone off to Canada so was round to the Platt's place real sharpish, basically accusing Gail and Martin of ruining Nick, Martin 'cos he always wanted rid of Nick (understandable) and Gail for no reason apart from being a bad mother. It turned into a blazing row and it soon became apparent that what was getting to Don was that Nick's school fees were being paid for out of Ivy's inheritance money, which Don thought was his. Very heated exchanges with the conclusion being that Martin threw Don out of the house. Quite dramatic really.

Curly was sat in judgement at the Square Dealers, accused of telling outsiders about the oath. despite his protestations of innocence he was found guilty by Norris and Fred. It looked at one point that his tongue would be cut out and quartered, but no, punishment was the 7 x 7 acts. What this means we're not sure, but it looks like he has to do 49 acts of penitence or something.

Jack had a bit of a man to man talk with young Jamie while they were tending his pigeons. Jack seemed to be trying to bring Jamie down to earth about his dad and that once he was out there wouldn't be much chance of him Trish and Carl getting together as a family.

Jim was trying to get his act together again and had some big job on but Bill didn't seem too interested, clearly put off from seeing Jim as a reliable partner after his drunken binges of late. Can't quite remember what happened as this got a bit boring, so I went to make myself a cup of tea until the next scene came on.

Fiona was getting ready for a singing spot that Alec had arranged. Best bit was when Alec walks into the salon to see what she has bought to wear with his money, a slinky black outfit. As she came out in it, showing a shapely leg it must be said, a customer said "If you've got it, flaunt it", to which Maxine said, "And if you've got too much of it, get out your exercise video!!". "You cow" says Fiona. It's great when these girls get bitchy.

Anyway, Alec's a bit gobsmacked that the dress cost £120 and tells her to turn around so he can see the other 60 quids worth, definitely the funniest line in the show, his comic delivery is truly brilliant.

Big finish was when Trish went to see Carl in jail. He was busy telling her how he's changed, which is soap code for he hasn't, but she says he can see Jamie when he likes but she wants to be on her own with her kids. Big mistake that, using the plural, just lit Carl's fuse. Took him a few seconds to twig but he got there in the end and just lost his rag, calling her a slut and then gets up and delivers quite a neat right hook to Trish's chin. Not Tyson standards, but better than Bruno it was.

Monday 30 September 1996
Centering to an extent around the troubles of Trish Armstrong tonight as we got to see the results of her husband's handiwork in the cold light of day. Her face was visibly marked and her lip had swollen quite nastily. This left Trish in the unenviable position of having to explain to Jamie what had happened to her the night before. Trish made up some cock and bull story about getting accidentally smacked in the mouth by an over enthusiastic dancer as she picked up her handbag as she left a night-club dance floor. Jamie swallowed the story somewhat but with his usual savvy you could tell he was a trifle disbelieving.

Dreary throughout this situation was very supportive of Trish, she took Jamie to buy some new jeans when he felt unable to go shopping with his bruised and battered mother. Trish confided her worries in the Duckworth's and in doing that enlisted their aid in starting some form of divorce proceedings against her husband Carl. Jack, despite agreeing to help, was expressing some worries about how things could soon turn difficult for them and not just on a financial basis. Although saying that there were hints laid about how Jack was feeling the monetary pinch at the moment.

Tonight saw the return of Raquel to the Street, but it quickly became apparent that this was not the same Raquel who had left 10 weeks earlier. She emerged from Curly's car sporting a new sleeker less fussy hairstyle. What she had also brought back with her was something of a new disconcerting attitude. She instantly began commenting on how "small" the Street seemed to her now she had been away for a while. In fact throughout the episode she seemed more than a little dismissive of her surroundings and even her husband. Curly took her for lunch at the Rovers where Vera immediately tried to apologise her for their differences in the past. Vera stated how much she missed Raquel behind the bar, and how she would like her back if possible. The idea seemed out of the question to Raquel and when Vera left the room where they had been talking she even whispered under her breath how glad she was to be out of the Rovers.

Meanwhile back in the Rovers, Rita was sat chatting to Fiona about her budding career in singing, Rita recounted how despite playing at some of the dodgiest venues available when she was on stage the thrill of performing was second to none. Fiona whilst being on the same road to stardom as Rita (allegedly) seemed only to be going through the motions. The desire to perform didn't seem to be in her blood and without that you could see Rita frowning in a most concerned fashion.

Andy was making the big move today as he got the final remains of his possessions into the car and prepared to set off to his new home with Anne. Upon arriving he discovered Anne had got all her gear ready to be unpacked. If I were Andy I would be a touch concerned though, she had everything in numbered boxes and wanted to unpack stuff *in order* .

Bill and Maureen were on friendly terms, chatting in the shop much to the confusion of Maud who could only look on at their conversation in bewilderment. Bill confided in a curious Jim that it was Maureen who was the object of his affection. Needless to say he was happy and it showed.

As for Jamie he was left at the end of the episode still labouring under the impression his dad was something of a hero who would come and make life alright again when he got out of prison. Still Trish hadn't told the truth over how she got bruises.

 

Back to updates index page		Back to corrie.net