- Tony’s savoys are a bit scrappy
- Susan and Vicky: the village megaphone
- “and she catches turkeys too!”
- “Lily is in a complete paddy”
- Jill has another go
- Helen’s not impressed with Kenton
- Helen explodes at Tony
- Where’s Kenton’s Mystery highway man going?
- Pat has no answers for Tony
Tony’s savoys are a bit scrappy
Oh dear.
What else could go wrong …
Susan and Vicky: the village megaphone
Tony’s talking about how well Vicky and Susan are getting on in the dairy.
Vicky is no Clarrie (well, who is?), but I suppose half the battle with keeping your staff productive is to keep them happy.
Susan and Vicky are most certainly never more happy than when they can have a right old gossip.
“and she catches turkeys too!”
Nic’s certainly winning over a lot of Ambridge resident fans with her genuine care for Clarrie during her time of need.
She’s practical, she’s on-hand at the right time – and (as Tony said) she can even catch turkeys.
What a lady!
“Lily is in a complete paddy”
Lily’s upset because Freddie’s a rat in the Panto.
Freddie’s upset because he failed a mock maths test, which Lily nailed.
So as all good siblings, they turn on each other.
Jill has another go
As per usual with our Jill – once she’s decided her opinion, there’s little chance of shifting her, or encouraging her to stop preaching.
[Jill] “But Lewis, if he’s this upset if he fails a practise paper, how will he feel if he feels the real thing?”
For once, I think Jill is quite right. While it’d be nice for the twins to go to the same school, is it worth Freddie having an utterly miserable schoolife?
Elizabeth doesn’t actually seem that keen, but she’ll have to get Nigel to drop his very fixed ideas that only Private schools can deliver a decent education.
Helen’s not impressed with Kenton
Kenton puts his foot in it at the best of times, but he really didn’t deserve the roasting Helen dealt him.
[Kenton] “I wish I had a bump like yours, I could just stick it out in front and barge my way through”
[Helen] “What? Believe me Kenton, it does not work like that!”
Helen then seemed to be annoyed that Kenton was even in the baby department in the first place. The poor chap was only using it as a shortcut.
Kenton makes things worse by then assuming the steam steriliser kit Helen was buying was for the dairy. Oops.
Helen refuses Kenton’s quite nice offer to lug the steriliser to the till for her, but he just won’t leave it:
[Kenton] “I’m good at this. It’s like some kind of extreme sport – till barging the baby department, dodging these yummy mummies with their strollers, broody couples lugging cot mattresses …”
[Helen] “I don’t need your help … we don’t want them to think we’re not just another ‘broody couple’, do we?!?”
Ouch.
Kenton needs to learn when to shut up, but Helen is most certainly not full of Christmas spirit at the moment.
Helen explodes at Tony
Kenton’s run in with Helen was nothing compared to what then happened with Tony.
As Helen struggles home with her shopping (dropping a bag as a rather noisy and fast care went by), Tony happens to be passing and offers to help.
Tony was genuinely concerned that Helen seemed to be carrying a lot of shopping, but Helen was having none of it.
[Tony] “You shouldn’t be lugging that stuff in your condition”
(as he tries to take one of the bags, it drops)
[Helen] “Now look! You idiot!!!”
[Tony] “Sorry, I was only trying to help … I was just doing my best. I hate to see you like this”
[Helen] “Like what?”
[Tony] “Seven months pregnant and struggling all on your own, with no-one there to help you”
[Helen] “Oh right, here we go, that’s what it’s really about isn’t it? Me and this baby. You think it’s a crazy, bad, selfish idea. You made that quite clear from the start …”
[Tony] “Helen, no …”
[Helen] “You think it’s wrong, I’m totally naïve, I can’t do it, I’m not strong enough without a man there to support me”
[Tony] “I didn’t mean that at all”
[Helen] “Oh come on, why deny it? I’ve had to put up with your snide comments, your negative attitude for the last 6 months, why stop now?”
[Tony] “Come on Helen, that’s not fair!”
[Helen] “Fair!?! I’ve had nothing from you. Not a word of support or encouragement. You’ve been against me every step of the way”
[Tony] “I’m not against you Helen …”
[Helen] “So why don’t you show it? Why don’t you just give me a chance, believe in me, be supportive? … Well, isn’t that what a father’s meant to do? Stand by me, be on my side?”
[Tony] “Yes and I do. I am ..>”
[Helen] “Oh please, don’t lie to me dad, it’s pathetic … I don’t need this. I can do without this. I can do without you.”
[Tony] “No please, calm down …”
[Helen] “Just go. Just leave me alone please!”
Phew!
That was the sound of Helen’s ticking time bomb finally going off.
I had a bit of debate on Twitter about this – but I think Tony utterly deserved that verbal bashing, even though I felt sorry for him as he had to hear it.
He hasn’t been remotely supportive. He’s put Helen down behind her back, then avoided her, and any topic of the baby, as best he can.
Yes, Tony is entitled to his opinion – but I can shake the feeling that his opinion is utterly hypocrisy. He wouldn’t be like this if Helen did have a man.
Actually, he’d even be happier if she’d got pregnant by some random bloke, who then didn’t stick around.
It was horrible to hear Tony so hurt by Helen, but he had it coming. He is her dad. He is about to become a grandfather. And he has done nothing but make Helen feel even more alone.
The truth sometimes hurts like billy-o …
Where’s Kenton’s Mystery highway man going?
Kenton’s now got his costumes for his Mystery Highway Man stunt at Deck the Halls.
[Kenton] “The mystery highway man stands again!”
So what’s the plot?
He terrifies a small child? Is sued for causing a heart attack? Shoots someone by mistake?
It’s Kenton. There’s got to be a catch.
Pat has no answers for Tony
We can normally trust in our Aunty Pat to have good solid advice.
But this time, when it comes to her own family, she’s stumped.
Tony’s understandably still reeling from Helen’s rather harsh words.
[Tony] “She was at the end of her tether, I was only trying to help … then she just exploded and it all came flooding out … She meant every word … it just took that one spark to let it all off”
Pat can only say that they need to leave Helen to calm down, then try and talk to her in the morning.
But knowing he’s in for a sleepless anxious night, Tony’s all at sea:
[Tony] “I can’t leave it like this, I feel terrible … but what am I going to say? Will she even listen to me? I don’t know what to do Pat. I don’t know where to start.”
I have my sympathies Tony, but maybe you could have tried to not be so bloody-minded and stubborn in the first place?
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