Wednesday 30 November 2011

Ambridge Extra Tuesday 29th November 2011: A shock from the past for Alan

(which isn’t fair. Alan deserves only sunshine and happy faces)

  • Daniel shall go to the ball
  • When salmon isn’t fish
  • Welcome to Ambridge Extra, Usha and Alan!
  • Letters from the past
  • Just middle aged ego?
  • Usha reckons praying isn’t going to solve it
  • Egypt isn’t well
  • Daniel’s going to get the parental sex talk
  • The truth about Catherine



Daniel shall go to the ball

Daniels’ mate Gav wants to go to the New Year’s Seniors ball. And he wants them to have dates. So he’s pushing Daniel to ask Erin. As Ellie Henderson blew Gav out. And Gav will have a better chance of finding another date if Daniel has a date. (or something like that)

[Gav] “I went out on a limb and she took a chainsaw to it!”

So Daniel asks Erin.

She at first reckons she might be away with her folks (skiing), but later tells him that they’re going in February, so she can with Daniel.

He’s over the moon.


When salmon isn’t fish

[Erin] “I didn’t think you ate fish due to the threat to the global fish stocks”

[Daniel] “Eh. This is salmon,. It’s farmed. Although there are some environmental downsides …”


Welcome to Ambridge Extra, Usha and Alan!

Excellent.

If Ambridge Extra achieves nothing else, it has at least given us back a bit more time with Usha and Alan (especially Alan).

Thank goodness someone did think to stop having so many of the hidden microphones pointed at just youngsters …


Letters from the past

Alan’s looking through letters from Amy’s great aunt (who recently died). They’re all from his first wife Catherine (who died a fair while back).

He at first thinks Catherine was writing to her aunt while she was on holiday. The letters had Falconwood at the top, which Alan reckoned was probably a holiday camp or a B&B.

[Usha] “You don’t feel it’s prying a bit?”

Usha – to herself - into you late wife’s business … I wonder if he’d be as keen to read my childhood letters?

(eh? Is Usha jealous of Alan’s dead wife?)

As Alan reads on, Catherine makes mention of some girls getting into a fight, and one of them ending up in hospital. Then how she was punished for not making her bed right. And then how one of the girls tried to run away.

[Alan] “This Falconwood place must have been some sort of institution .. Catherine must have been there for at least a year … I had no idea … what on earth could have happened to her?”

Oo-er. Very mysterious indeed.


Just middle aged ego?

[Alistair to Shula] “I’m a bit concerned about Erin”

Alistair – to himself - and what she’s up …

He claims that he’s worried about her taking time off school to go on his rounds.

[Shula] “She’s not been a nuisance, has she?”

Alistair – to himself - not that way …

[Alistair] “Would you say she’s a bit over attentive?”

Shula thinks Alistair means Daniel, which leaves Alistair wondering whether he has to spell it out to her …

(um, yes!)

Alistair – to himself - or is this just middle aged ego. Do I want her to fancy me? Should I show her  (Shula) that text. Or, would she just laugh at me? Get a grip on yourself. It’s your imagination. If she’s going to that with him …

In fact, Alistair is so (outwardly) delighted that Erin and Daniel are going to the ball, he even offers to pay. And to help Daniel choose his first dinner suit.

Alistair – to himself - thank goodness for that 

Hmmm. Does any one of us believe Erin has any intention of focusing on Daniel over Alistair? It’s all just a game …


Usha reckons praying isn’t going to solve it

Alan’s still pondering Catherine’s letters.

[Alan] “Whatever it was, it must have been a huge episode in her life”

[Usha] “What are you going to do?”

[Alan] “Pray, obviously”

[Usha] “And speak to Mabel …”

[Alan] “I’m not sure about that. It’s what I need guidance on”

Alan’s worried that Catherine’s spell in (what he assumes was) an institution might have been down to some sort of failing in Mabel as a parent.

Usha – to herself - this is going to eat away at him. I don’t think just praying is the answer


Egypt isn’t well

According to Shula, Egypt is “out of sorts”.

Lucky horse to have Alistair on call.

Daniel’s going to get the parental sex talk

Alistair and Shula think Erin must be serious about Daniel.

[Shula] “I’ve been wondering about sex …”

[Alistair] “Well, that’s a better offer than a cup of tea!”

[Shula] “I wonder if it might be an idea to have a little talk with Daniel about taking precautions”

Alistair tries to wriggle out of it by saying that Daniel will surely have done that at school.

[Shula] “I’m sure Daniel understands”

[Alistair] “The mechanics …”

[Shula] “So a gentle reminder about being sensible …”

[Alistair] “Not getting carried away in the heat of the moment …”

So Alistair is tasked with (talking about) doing the deed.

Poor Daniel. That’s going to be quite embarrassing, really.


The truth about Catherine

Alan comes back in from work to find Usha asking him to sit down.

She’s been doing a bit of research on Falconwood (in-between getting her client a ‘not-guilty’ )

[Usha] “This is going to come as a shock Alan. It was a children’s home. But it was a secure home … I’m sorry Alan … I don’t think Katherine was simply taken into care”

[Alan] “What are you saying? That she might have committed a crime?”

Usha reckons (in her solicitor type way) that Catherine must have been found guilty of something, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she did the crime. Mistakes happen.

She suggests they look into old newspaper articles to see if they can out what happened.

[Alan] “I don’t want to learn about Katherine through some ancient press cuttings. I need to see Mabel”

Blimey.

Any guesses?

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