It's great being back and living with your parents again, (temporarily of course). Especially when your dad's just retired and the pair of them are off cruising around the world, Wallace Arnolding around the country or just popping around the corner at every opportunity - just because they can. Mind you, as my parents reach their leisure age, their hearing has started to go, just a little. "Eeeh, me and yer dad, we never argue any more these days" says my mum, and it's no wonder... they can't hear each other properly any more! This week they've taken the grand-kids to the seaside and I've got peace and quiet in my old room again while I wait for the new place to be ready. Before my folks set off this morning, they left a little gift for me in return for using my car (which is for sale... if anyone's interested - I have to finance myself through the next 2 years of the degree course somehow!! It's a '96 P Reg Honda Aerodeck with leather interior, gorgeous. Only 24,000 miles and one lady owner!) Anyway, yes they left me a box of Stella Artois. A whole box full of bottles of the lovely stuff all to myself. Cheers dad! Well, here we go with this week's Coronation Street update.
It's been a strange old week for Ashley and Fred after last week's revealation. Although Fred begged him not to get his "mum" involved, Ashley called the woman he was brought up to believe was his own mother, and who in fact turns out to be his aunty Beryl, Fred's sister. It's too much for Ashley, poor lad, to take in and he tells both Beryl and Fred he doesn't want to see either of them again. Realising how much he's hurt Ashley, Fred calls round to see him, explains that he's left everything to him in his will, and in a scene which had me in tears, begs: "I've loved you, Ashley, since the day you were born. Let me be your father." Ashley tells Fred he wants him to lay off a bit, it's too much for him to handle while Fred fancies the family business name of "Elliot and Son".
Mire hires a private detective to track down Julia Stone. However, the guy doesn't find anything on the missing Julia but still charges Mike for his services, which Mike isn't best pleased about. Meanwhile, Alma stays with Audrey who tells her to look after her own interests and go after a divorce settlement from Mike so she can throw away her Freshco apron and go shopping with Audrey every day instead. The two ladies of leisure have a night on the town and start off in the Rovers where they bump into Mike. Alma feels strange being out without Mike but he tells her "S'none er my business anymore, swee' har..". Oh, he's also cancelled her credit cards.
In the Rovers, Jack struggles on in pain lifting and carrying things up and down t'cellar. Natalie realises what's going on but doesn't want to offend Jack by putting him on lighter duties and he doesn't want to complain for fear of being sacked. So, Natalie asks Gary if he wants an hour's work each day doing the donkey work behind the bar and tells Jack he can think of Gary as his assistant. Jack's both pleased and relieved about the new arrangement. So is Vera, who warns Jack: "Don't die on me, Jack Duckworth, or there'll be trouble if you do!".
There's fear and loathing over in the Welsh caravan park. Les sets himself up as the DJ in the social club and shows what a good sport his lovely wife is by throwing Janice into the swimming pool, fully clothed. As you can imagine, she's not best pleased. Indeed, she's wondering what on earth she ever saw in Les now that she's having a bit of a holiday fling with the camp owner's son, Owen. Now then, Toyah has a crush on Owen but he doesn't fancy her, it's Janice he's after and the two of them cop a snog behind the awning at every opportunity. Gail and Martin are enjoying their family holiday apart from having to share their vacation with Les, and Sarah-Lou has taken it into her head that she wants to be Toyah Battersby when she grows up. Meanwhile, over at the social club, Les wires his microphone up wrongly and ends up giving himself an electric shock right in the middle of his Status Quo. Well, Martin is there like a flash, as it were, and gives him mouth to mouth resuscitation (you try spelling THAT after 2 bottles of Stella!) while Janice and Owen are doing their own mouth to mouth behind the caravans. As Martin tries to save Les, Toyah wails and everyone wonders where Janice could be...
And that's about that for this week. Glenda :-)
Read my on-line newspaper - THE DAILY .DOT
Well, not too much to waffle on about this week (you'll be pleased to hear). My 18 weeks of summer vacation are filling up pretty nicely, thank you for asking, kicking off with a huge family party this Friday night for my parent's 40th wedding anniversary. Oh there'll be cake, there'll be dancing, there'll be beer and karaoke and cheap sausage rolls and a good time will be had by all, or else. I've just dived into the new Maeve Binchy novel as a way of relaxing after the academic text boks I had to read all year long. It's the first novel I've read for over a year and I'm not half enjoying it. Whenever I read a novel, I always think one of two things. 1) This is brilliant; I wish I could write as well as this, or 2) This is awful; I know I can write better than this. With a Maeve Binchy, I think neither. I just let it wrap itself around me. It's like pulling on a warm woolly dressing gown after a hot bath. Anyway, here we go with this week's Coronation Street update.
Mike wants to talk to Alma about the future of their marriage but he doesn't really seem to think it has one, and tells Alma he's going to divorce her, the cheek of it! Well, let me tell you Mr. High and Mighty Baldwin. There have to be grounds for divorce and you don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to divorcing Alma. She however, has every right to divorce you, you nasty little man. Factory girl Linda has her eye on Mike, now that Alma has left him. Alma has sort of officially moved in with Audrey and insists on paying her rent.
Over at the Welsh caravan park, Janice has to prompt Les to thank Martin for that little thing he did.. now what was it again? Oh yes, he saved his life. Martin accepts the thanks but wonders what on earth people like Les are doing on the face of the planet in the first place. Owen tells Janice he loves her and wants to be with her, but she feels obligated to the big lug she married and says her heart is with Les. Now the happy campers are back in Weatherfield, Janice receives a letter from Owen spelling out his feelings for her. She rings him straight away and tells him there's no future for them. Unfortunatelty, Toyah finds the letter and confronts Janice about her relationship with Owen. There's accusations and tears across the dinner table and Janice tells Toyah the truth, but says they should both forget him. Just then, the lovely Spider (whom we've seen too little of recently) comes in to give Toyah a celtic good luck charm to help her through her English exam at school. Bless him, what a love.
There's a celebration in the Rovers when Rita tells Natalie that Betty has been working there for 30 years. Natalie sticks some candles in a cake and Betty smiles appreciatively.
Sharon is now the new owner of the Kabin - official. Rita strings some ribbon across the Kabin door and lets Sharon cut it and then the pair of them drink to the future with a bottle of champagne.
Nita starts work at Freshco, much to Ravi's disappointment. However, he tells her, he will always be her father and she will always be welcome home. (That's more than my dad said to me when I asked if I could move back in the other week! It was more something along the lines of "bloody hell woman, you're 34 years old, when you gonna start looking after yourself girl? Me and yer mother cannut tack this much longer man, pet. And tek that dog wi'yer an'all". Huzzah and Hurray though, I'm moving out at the weekend...!!) Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, this leaves Vikram in charge of the shop, much to everyone's dismay, especially when he puts a price tag of £1.79 on a tin of beans.
Ashley isn't best pleased that Leanne is having Vikram to stay overnight, especially as she hasn't been paying rent for the last 3 weeks. Maxine tells Ashley he's too soft so he storms back home and asks Vikram to leave. Leanne tells Ashley he's not leaving and she'll do whatever she likes.
I'm not too keen on this new Danny person who's helping out Sally at the market, but there you go, it looks like he's going to be around for a bit longer. Suffice to say he was around a bit this week and got to meet Gail and Martin in the Rovers.
And that's about that for this week.
Glenda :-)
Well, here we are again, another week over and another update to write. I've still not moved into the new place yet, there's been little men in fixing the gas supply this week and then another little man doing something with the toilet then the nice people from Cable & Wireless are coming round next week to connect me to the world at large. (They did offer me one Sky TV channel for an extra 2 quid a month but as a poor student, I had to decline. I mean, 2 quid a month - that's a pint of Guinness I could be missing out on!). Not that I feel like drinking at the minute - I've still not recovered from the weekend's festivities of my parent's ruby wedding anniversary party. My word, those old fogies know how to party. I enjoyed it tremendously, drank far too much (as usual) and by the time midnight had rolled around and disappeared, it was time. After 5 glasses of champagne and goodness knows what else, I was ready. Yes indeedy. I became queen of the karaoke! Oh yes, after an evening of alcohol I became, indeed I was, Patsy Cline. Crazy? I blinking well must have been. Anyway, on with this week's Coronation Street update.
After receiving a telephone bill loaded with calls to Canada and not receiving any rent from Leanne, Ashley puts his foot down good and proper with Leanne, who puts her feet down, one in front of t'other and walks right out of his house, across the road and moves back in with the Battersby clan. Leanne's being a bit irresponsible lately, asking Natalie for a £50 sub on her wages which she gambles away at the casino with Vikram. Fred is pleased Leanne has moved out but Ashley feels he's lost a good friend. In the Rovers, Leanne bitches about Ashley behind his back but Maxine and Fred defend him and Leanne gets a telling off from Natalie No-Sleeves* (*copyright M. Plowman).
Gary's out cleaning windows when he spies a burgler going through a woman's drawers in the bedroom of a house he's cleaning. Quick as you like, he's jumped through the window and chased the burgler outside, just as the woman who lives there arrives back home. She sees Gary, assumes he's a burgler and screams the place down. And I mean -screams- the place down. Gary sits and waits in the house, rings Judy and eats his sandwiches, and sure enough, the police arrive to hear Gary's story. Finally they believe him and before you know it, there's a reporter round to see Gary who puts a photo of the hero of the hour on the front page, being kissed by the lady of the house, Mrs. Hardy. When Mrs. Hardy's husband sees the picture he goes round to the Malletts, thumps Gary and tells him to stay away from his missus. How sweet.
Now then, over at the factory there's intrigue and mystery. Well, no there's not really. There's a sad old git and a randy factory girl who's no better than she ought to be. Linda finds out where Mike's flat is and calls round to see him with a bottle of whisky, saying the girls have bought it for him to cheer him up over the business with Alma. The two of them have a couple of drinks and then Linda leaves, after telling Mike the girls didn't buy the whisky at all, she bought it for him. The next night, Mike sits at home in his dressing gown, waiting for Linda to call again but is disappointed when his only caller is a pizza delivery man at the wrong address. Fred offers to take Mike out the next evening but when Linda turns up at the flat, Mike rings Fred to cancel the arrangement and instead, has a night in. Linda promises Mike she'll be discrete, "discretion's my middle name" she says. (No it's not... it's 'slapper', surely?). Over at the Rovers, Mike tells Alma there's still a chance for their marriage but when she says she doesn't feel she could trust him again, he calls her 'pathetic' and storms off. Alma and Curly enjoy a drink together in the Rovers and he invites her for dinner at his house, where there is the most heart wrenching scene at Curly's dinner table. Talking about trust and the ingredients needed for a happy marriage, Alma gave such an incredible speech, I was in tears. Me mam was in tears. The dog was in tears. Even me dad sniffled a bit, wiped his eyes and said "It's crap, this, innit?".
The lovely Spider has been on hand this week to offer support to Toyah in coping with her exams at school. She confided in him about Welsh Owen, and he advised her to forget him.
Meanwhile, in the Rovers, Steve McDonald spies the lovely Spider buying what he assumes is dope from a guy in the pub. When Spider tells him it's tobacco brought from abroad which he buys for ethical reasons (like not giving the Government any tax), Steve thinks he could be on to a winner on a 'baccy run from Europe too. He asks Jim to loan him the money and at first Jim isn't so sure, after all, it is illegal, but in the end he offers to help out. Steve's hoping he'll make enough money to cover the tax bill he's received after fiddling his tax returns.
Sally gets a call on her mobile phone from the headmistress at Rosie's school to say she needs to speak to Sally asap. Now, before I go any further, I just want to rant, thanks. I hate mobile phones. I mean, you're out with someone, having lunch, looking round the shops, having a drink, whatever and off goes their bloody phone. Am I the only person left in the world, the universe, who refuses to have one of these pits of hell instruments? Anyway, she goes to the school only to be told that Rosie has turned into an evil Devil child (spookily enough, Kevin now sports an evil Devil beard..mmm. curious!!). Rosie is bullying other kids and her pictures and stories are revealing she's not coping at all well with the trauma of the recent seige. Sally tells Kevin, who blames it all on Sally for not giving Rosie enough love and attention. Bloody men. I almost hate Kevin Webster as much as I hate Sally's mobile phone. Almost.
Anyway, that's about it for this week.
Right, I know I said I wasn't going to do an update this week, but that was before. Since 6am this morning I've been wrestling with furniture, unpacking boxes and trying to keep the dog from sticking her nose down the back of the trousers of the man from Cable and Wireless who came out to fit my telephone for me, bless him, then 10 minutes later there's a knock on the door, it's a customer service rep from the phone company with a long list of questions for me. Number 1: Was I happy? I asked him if that was a general, was I happy with life, the universe and everything, or was it more specific, was I happy with my new telephone line. He just gave me a Paddington stare, so I told him, yes, the phone line worked okay and that made me happy. So, then I went and did my part- time summer job all afternoon, arriving back here at the new place to unpack more boxes and put stuff away. After that, I rang as many people as I could to tell them how happy my new phone line was making me and then I thought, right, it's 7.25pm and I'm going to sit down with a glass of Julio and Ernest's finest and watch Corra. So, that was the plan. However, being a girl and all that, I don't know how to tune me telly in. So all I could see was Mike and Alma talking through a blizzard of snow and gremlins. I sighed, poured another Julio and Ernest (just who are these two people anyway?) and here I am with no telly, writing this week's Coronation Street update for you, after all.
Audrey has a word with Mike and tells him Alma has had dinner with a young man, someone blonde and well-travelled. When he finds out it's Curly, he sneers that way he does and Alma isn't best pleased that Audrey has told Mike her business. Audrey advises Alma to get to the solicitors and start divorce proceedings, getting as much out of Mike as she can, and sadly, Alma agrees. Meanwhile, Mike takes factory girl Linda away for a dirty weekend but when he remembers it's his wedding anniversary, he has the decency to look a bit downcast and takes a lonesome stroll around the grounds. However, Mike's little secret looks set to be discovered after Hayley thinks it odd when she spots Linda getting out of Mike's car around the corner from the factory, and then sees Linda squeeze Mike's hand on the bar in the Rovers. At the factory, Linda sees factory girl Jean nicking knickers and makes sure she knows exactly what's going on, presumably before reporting it to Mike and earning herself some brownie points.
Sally continues to have problems with Rosie bullying the other kids at school and tells Danny what's going on. It's Father's Day and Kevin takes Sophie out for the day, but Rosie is grounded because of the bullying. However, the kid drives Sally to distraction so when Danny calls round, Sally suggests the three of them go out for a walk. They go to a park and Rosie ends up throwing someone's teddy bear in the water (the sight of which made me spurt milk out of my nose, which was odd, as I was drinking wine at the time). When Kevin returns to drop off Sophie, he's not best pleased to hear Sally has taken their daughter out after grounding her, and won't listen to Sally's explanation, instead causing an argument with Sally in front of the girls. Kevin decides he's going to move out of Curly's into his own place and assumes (without asking her) that Alison will be moving in with him. She goes all Mavis Riley onhim and tells him 'that'll be lovely' or something equally naff.
Out cleaning windows, Gary spies Mr. Hardy in a pub with a young blonde bit. Later, the nice Mr. Hardy comes round to the Mallett's and gives Gary another biff on the nose, telling him to mind his own business. Turns out that Mrs Hardy found out about her husband's girlfriend and when she told him, he assumed Gary had told his wife about seeing them in the pub. Poor Gary.
Loveliest story of the week time. Maxine decides to decorate her flat and Ashley offers to help, saying she can stay overnight in his house if the smell of paint is too much for her there. Anyway, she stays, they kiss, they're going back out together and this is one couple that is just lovely to see together. Lovely lickle Ashley, bless him.
Natalie offers Leanne a room in the Rovers, and Leanne jumps at the chance of staying there, anything but stay with Les Battersby.
Steve McDonald is back from his European 'baccy run with a bag full of cheap stuff he's certain he's going to sell. He first offers some to Vikram but when Ravi finds out, he takes it straight back to Steve and tells Vikram he won't allow his shop to sell it, (unlike the newsagency around the corner from here, which has it advertised in the window!). Spider buys a couple of packets but Steve knows he needs to shift more than that to make his money on it and offers some to factory girl Linda but she's having nowt to do wi'him. When Betty finds out that Steve is trying to sell illegal tobacco in the Rovers, she barks at him to get out before she throws him out.
Preparations are underway for the Freshco ball. Ashley invites Maxine as his guest but uncle Fred isn't best pleased as he's lined up Belinda Beech, heiress to a slaughterhouse fortune. Ashley tells Fred not to interfere in his love life, now that he and Maxine are a couple again. Nita asks Ravi to accompany her, but he's more interested in going along with Alma (so is Curly) and of course Fred asks Audrey to be his fragrant lady at the dance.
And that's just about that for this week.
Glenda :-) Read my on-line newspaper - THE DAILY .DOT
There is a down side to being single which I'm not entirely sure I like. You have to buy your own beer. Here I am, ready to go with the update and there's nothing in the fridge but orange juice and posh water. I've settled in here quite well although the little man from Cable and Wireless had to return today when the phone line went dead. Books are on shelves, kitchen things are where they should be and no longer in boxes in the bathroom, and pictures have been hung. Which reminds me, my parents are coming round in the morning for a look-see and they bought me this, well, bless them, they thought it was a lovely print and they thought I'd like it too. Suffice to say it's stuffed in the cupboard under the stairs but I'll hang it tomorrow before stuffing it back under the stairs until their next visit. The dog, she's settled in very well, gets walked in the park twice a day and a has a wee on the neighbour's lawn before bedtime. Anyway, without further ado, here we go with this week's Coronation Street update.
Hayley tells Roy she knows there's something going on between Linda and Mike. At first, Roy dismisses the news as nonsense but has to believe his wife after he sees Linda and Mike drive off together in Mike's car. Alma's been to see her solicitor, who advises her to go after half of the Baldwin estate. However, Mike makes Alma feel guilty for prying into his business and tells her she'll be responsible for putting the factory girls out of work. If she goes after half of the business, he'll have to sell up to pay her off. Fred advises Alma to be tough and tells her that Mike was away in a fancy hotel for the weekend all this time he's been crying poverty. Meanwhile at the factory, Mike tells the girls it's Alma to blame if he has to put them all out of work. Linda tells Mike that Jean has been nicking knickers and he sacks her. Linda gets a ticking off from Deirdre for coming in late to work, but she doesn't really care.
It's the Freshco ball and Maxine has her leg is plaster after falling down the stairs in the salon. Maxine, being Maxine, has the plaster tied up with pink ribbon. Anyway, after smooching away on the dance floor for a little while, Fred gets all mushy and proposes to Audrey. She's too shocked to reply and Ravi steals her away, stunned, for a dance before she can give Fred her reply. At the same time, Ashley tells Maxine he doesn't want to lose her a second time, and he proposes! This time, there's an answer. Maxine says yes and lickle Ashley's happy. Audrey tells Fred she was pleased he asked her to marry him but she doesn't yet feel ready. 'Another time, perhaps?' he says. Aww. However, Fred gets more bad news when Ashley tells him he's going to marry Maxine, especially after Fred had lined up Belinda from the meat factory as Ashley's beau at the ball. He tells Ashley in no uncertain terms he doesn't like the idea, doesn't like Maxine and does his best to put a damper on the whole idea. Ashley comes clean with Maxine and tells her he's Fred's son, which doesn't do much to cheer her up at all, knowing how much Fred dislikes her anyway.
While Alma and Audrey powder their noses in the ladies room at the ball, they have a bitch about Nita, saying she's only in her job 'cos Curly fancies her and that she'll be taking over the store next. Unfortunately, Nita overhears everything but all ends well when Alma later apologises for her insecurities and Nita accepts the apology.
Danny wants to be more than just friends with Sally but she tells him she's not ready for anything more, and that her daughters must come first. He walks out, embarrassed and Sally sits alone and wonders who's going to buy beer for her in future. Anyway, Sally gets a call from school to say Rosie has been suspended after locking another kid in the school cupboard. (Does anyone else chortle over this child's antics, or am I alone in finding this really funny?). Kevin and Alison think about taking Deirdre's old flat about the bookmakers but Kevin wants Sally's OK on the idea first. Although Sally's choked to hear Kevin and Alison will be moving in together, she wishes them both well and says it'll be good to have Kevin nearby to give Rosie some sense of stability in her strange, weird, beans on toast, warped little life.
And that's about it for this week, not much happened, honest.
Glenda :-) Read my on-line newspaper - THE DAILY .DOT
