The Archers Monday 15th August 2011: Eddie staggers on … in a good way

• Clarrie couldn’t even face the nettles by the ferret run
• Chris needs to bet the house
• Hope Nic’s mum’s dog is okay
• Nic feels guilty
• Pound shops or not?
• Folks couldn’t get enough of Alice’s punnets
• Hurrah for the Grange Spinney woman with the Jack Russell!

Clarrie couldn’t even face the nettles by the ferret run

Eddie’ seems to be doing all of the earning at the moment. He’s working 2 mornings with Will. Has his job at the Market. Part-time at Brookfield. And does the odd patio job.

Which is what partners do – pick up the slack when the other is not up to par.

Clarrie can’t get motivated to do the simplest things, and sounds very down.

[Eddie] “What’s dad been up to now?”

[Clarrie] “It ain't Joe. He’s been good as gold. I left him smoking his pipe in the lean to, before he tackles Bartleby’s stable”

(actually - what has Joe been up to? Looking more and more like a Sid-gate ...)

But, Clarrie couldn’t even bring to sort out the nettles at the back of the Ferret run.

Imagine that.


Chris needs to bet the house

Chris has been to see the Bank Manager.

They’re very happy with him. They’ll give him the £40,000.

BUT only over 5 years. And he has to put Alice (and his) house down as security.

So – business goes belly up – they have to put a £40k mortgage on their house.

Which is still pretty good going, considering what a lot of other folks have to cope with.

However, I do think Chris needs to get a new business bank manager. Mine would have given him 10 years, and wouldn’t have even mentioned the house …


Hope Nic’s mum’s dog is okay

Doesn’t sound too good. She’s had to let down Nic in looking after the kids, and take her dog to the vets.


Nic feels guilty

Not about having to dump the kids on Clarrie (though she does feel a wee bit bad about it – but what can one do when there’s a sick dog?).

Nic reckons she feels guilty having to work at The Bull during school holidays.

So wonders if Clarrie could do some of her shifts.

Bless.

More about helping Clarrie than feeling too guilty about the kids (quite right too!).

But Clarrie isnae daft. She knows what Nic is up to and, while appreciative, also knows that the Bull is more than just a job to Nic:

[Clarrie] “You said yourself, the Bull is a bit of an oasis … a woman needs a bit of independence”

(especially when that woman is living with Will Grundy – he’s sweetness and light at the moment, but it only takes one wrong look … I also thought Clarrie was about to launch into a rendition of Woolf’s ‘A Room of One’s Own').


Folks couldn’t get enough of Alice’s punnets

At the Farmers’ Market.

But she still had enough to give a freebie to Clarrie. Very nice of her (though a tad patronising as well)


Pound shops or not?

Alice doesn’t seem to approve. She reckons it costs more in petrol to get there than it saves.

But Clarrie’s having a go. Needs must. And Clarrie is believes in buying in bulk.

I reckon it depends on what you’re buying. I recently discovered that it’s cheaper to buy 6 rolls of Andrex toilet paper than a 12 roll of cheap stuff. Andrex has more sheets per roll, you see.

And who’d have thought we’d ever see the day where Alice could sympathise with Clarrie Grundy about trying to get work.

Of course, Alice isn’t quite skint. She does own her own home. And has a husband with his own business. And a dad who’s minted …


Hurrah for the Grange Spinney woman with the Jack Russell!

Eddie quoted her weeks ago, has given her a chase, and has persuaded her to do it now rather than in the Autumn.

[Eddie] “So, if we can stagger on a bit like this, you’ll have found a proper job before we start feeling the pinch”

Phew!

All Clarrie need to do now is find a job.

That’ll be easy enough …