- Burns Night: where was Jazzer?!?
- At least Helen didn’t lock Annette up in her flat/attic/cupboard/car boot …
- Commence the farce that will become Jim’s new shelving
Burns Night: where was Jazzer?!?
It’s not obligatory, but after Jazzer’s contribution to the Antony Gormley Ambridge Plinth’s was playing the bagpipes (Ah! – I get it – it’s because he’s Scottish), I expected some sort of haggis/whisky/Burns’ love poetry combo rear attack by Jazzer on Fallon.
Or is that done and dusted, never to be muttered over a pint of Shires again?
If so – what’s Tom going to think and talk about?
At least Helen didn’t lock Annette up in her flat/attic/cupboard/car boot ...
Not sure if there is still time and opportunity for Helen to stop Annette from having an abortion, but they passed the first hurdle without Helen making any murmurings.
Has she stopped thinking about having a baby through Annette? Is she thinking about ways she can have her own? Did she find one (for a very reasonable price) on ebay?
Commence the farce that will become Jim’s new shelving
You gotta love Joe’s loyalty to his son Eddie – but taking on anything with/ for Jim is never a straight forward task.
Prediction: it all goes bottoms up, with Eddie subsequently unable to get to the pub because he’ll be spotted from Jim’s window.
Ah well. There’s always the cider in the shed.
- Hang out with Helen or sit in a village hall?
- Tom and Helen: thank-you for being a friend
- Pat comes right in the end
Hang out with Helen or sit in a village hall?
Each to their own Brenda, but you must’ve known that Cheesestraw and a bottle of wine does not often make for a fun evening …
It was obvious that some sort of baby-story was about to happen (Helen babysitting for Nic and Will – you can always tell something is afoot when someone suddenly starts helping/spending time with folks you wouldn’t have thought they were on speaking terms, let alone have each other’s mobile numbers).
My bet was on Helen, but (shock and horrors), of course it’d have to be more twisted than that.
And, not satisfied with a mere ‘will Helen ever find out it was Leon’s?’ – I reckon we’re going to experience the deepest and darkest days of Hellin yet. And that’s surely saying something.
Helen will have to first ‘persuade’ Annette not to have the abortion, then cajole and nag until the baby is handed over. Or will she just grab and run?
Seriously - just how far can that rather neurotic woman be pushed? Mike better stay off the roads, and Leon best keep clear unless he wants to be an unwitting father for the second time (if all else fails).
Tom and Helen: thank-you for being a friend
Maybe it’s just because neither of them have seen much of life outside of Ambridge – but Tom and Helen are simply awful confidantes.
Not sure if they’re trying for a middle-England version of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, but every secret or personal titbit from the lives of their ‘mates’ tends to be exposed to someone (anyone!) else the moment they can spill.
Did Pat and Tony skip the lesson about how to keep a secret?
Pat comes right in the end
Odd, but what changed Pat’s mind about Susan being a committee member?
“Your offer to stand would be gratefully accepted.” Since when?
Or is she trying to water down Brian’s influence?
- What did we do to deserve Tom?
- Abortion: rushing into it without thinking properly
- Jazzer goes all Walter Raleigh
What did we do to deserve Tom?
Tom the Son: First he only buys his mum a bunch of flowers for her birthday – then he admits that they’re just from a supermarket. Hardly appropriate considering Pat is not one to be supportive of en-mass production methods.
Tom the Boyfriend: And he’s hardly supportive of his girlfriend Brenda’s efforts to get her career going. You’d think he’d be a bit more understanding considering he’s also self-employed – and has he forgotten all the help she’s given to Tom’s Sausages?
Tom the Brother: And no offer of more wine to his sister Helen – no offer of Helen joining them on their night out – and a typically snotty reaction to Annette possibly coming along. Considering he was there when Leon showed his true colours, you’d have thought that booze and clubbing would have been on offer to his big sis
Tom the Mate: Seriously, his obsession with Jazzer and Fallon is very, very creepy. Constantly gossiping about it, and what sort of a mate heads along, with his girlfriend, to join his pal on a ‘date’ (as Jazzer sees it)?
What a class act.
Abortion: rushing into it without thinking properly
Hmmm. Good advice from Helen, but maybe a tad ‘bolting the gate after the boar has fled’ …?
Jazzer goes all Walter Raleigh
“There’s a wee draft”
Bless him.
Even if Fallon doesn’t eventually fall for his charms, he’s learning a who new set of pulling skills which will put him in good stead. Lovely to hear him even talking about respect for a woman.
The Odd Couples
Jim and Kenton
Confusing – but it sounded like Kenton didn’t want Jim to settle in the village. Not sure if it was just the place that Jim’s thinking of buying (‘utilitarian’ doesn’t sound, to me, like a particularly homely home), but it actually took me a moment to realise that it was Kenton talking rather than Alistair.
I do find the whole set-up between Kenton and Jim rather odd. It was understandable that they bonded over Jim’s search for a sports car, but it hardly fits in with the mid-life crisis Kenton was having pre-Jim (his tattoo). Of course, Kenton might just be in it for Jim’s investment …
Either way, Kenton’s battle for ‘tapas and 5.1 surround sound’ is a worry when there’s already a highly recommended tapas restaurant (even Cheesestraw was happy to eat something there). Bless – it’ll all end up as yet another reason for David to be disparaging about his brother’s ambitions.
Helen and Annette
From tonight’s episode, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Helen hasn’t actually met Annette. On talking to Fallon about Annette, and how she’s been quiet and unsocial, Helen mentioned ‘You know what Annette’s like’.
Yes – I think we do – but quiet and unsocial ain’t Annette!
Snort-worthy was also the idea that she needed space to herself. Are they talking about the same young woman who crashed into Helen’s life, deposited herself in Helen’s flat, then took off with the (hardly shy and retiring) Jazzer?!?
How long do we think this one will rumble on for?
Will Annette confess?
Will Leon return and reveal all (though attempting a reconciliation with Helen by trying on a ‘all friends together’ session)?
Will someone else discover Annette’s secret?
Or, will Annette take herself onto somewhere else, which might be a good idea considering she’s a slip of a lass who doesn’t need to bury herself in a life with a mother-figure who, at 30, seems to be obsessed with staying in and watching DVDs. Not that I’m saying there’s anything wrong with that, but, unless Annette takes more time to find friends of her own age, she’s in for a very dry time …
Jazzer and Fallon
Is this storyline setting up to be the big love of 2010?
Do we think that Jazzer, if he wins Fallon, will actually be happy settling down?
I think what we do need to keep an eye on is Tom’s growing obsession with Jazzer and Fallon – and his rather distasteful need to watch proceedings, and comment on it to all and every. Is this a signal that he may be hankering for his own chase? Do I sense a jilting at the alter???
