Day 2 of our 50 day countdown of Coronation Street - written by blogger Sunny Jim.
Until 1962, Minnie Caldwell had lived on Jubilee Terrace with her mother but when she died, Minnie decided to take the tenancy of no. 5 Coronation Street with her cat, Bobby. She always had trouble finding enough money for the rent so she supplemented her pension by taking in lodgers. The first of these was a friend of Dennis Tanner’s, Jed Stone, who she came across sitting on his suitcase in the Street. He’d left his native Liverpool when the police had grown too interested in him and hoped to put his past behind him by moving to Weatherfield.
A wheeler-dealer he was full of get-rich-quick schemes and used Minnie’s front parlour as a warehouse to store the merchandise he acquired, which he would sell on the market. A lovable rogue nicknamed ‘Sunny Jim', he was never without his trademark flat cap, not even in bed. Minnie regarded him as the son she never had and in return he looked out for her and called her ‘Ma’.
His dodgy dealings finally caught up with him in 1966 when he was sentenced to nine months in prison for handling stolen blankets. When he was released he vowed to go straight and opened a double glazing business, moving in to a house on Nightingale Terrace. He kept in touch with Minnie and would send telegrams to the weddings of his friends on the Street but he wasn’t seen again until 2008.
Tony Gordon was planning a multi-million pound development and the only fly in the ointment was an old man and a cat who refused to move out of their house. He may have grown old and be less healthy than he was but Jed Stone wasn’t the sort of man to be bullied by anyone. Tony tried menaces and money but Sunny Jim wasn’t about to budge. Unfortunately he suffered a heart attack during a visit from Tony and while he was in hospital his belongings and cat were thrown out onto the street.
Emily Bishop recognised him in Weatherfield General and when he was discharged she offered him a place to stay. He visited Tony in the factory to demand money for the loss of his home and accused him of the murder of Liam Connor. Tony strangled him with a negligee he had bought for his wife and dumped his limp lifeless body in a clothes hamper. When he returned the following day to dispose of the body Tony found that Jed was still alive but rather than finishing off the job he packed him off to a flat in Wigan and gave him £3000 to keep quiet.
August 4th 1962 saw the first wedding for Ken Barlow. His bride was Valerie Tatlock, niece of his next door neighbour Albert who would Ken would refer to forever more as Uncle Albert. They moved into no. 9 which Ken had bought for £550 and installed the first inside toilet on Coronation Street. Valerie closed her hairdressing salon on Rosamund Street and transferred the business to the front parlour and the cobbles were dug up to install the first telephone on the Street. Ken considered giving up teaching to become a full time writer but when his novel was rejected by a publisher he decided to keep his writing as a hobby.
Also in 1962: Christopher Hewitt is born; Christine Hardman marries Colin Appleby; Colin Appleby dies; Baby Christopher Hewitt kidnapped; Jerry Booth makes his first appearance; Len Fairclough is sacked for carrying on with Elsie Tanner so he sets up his own building business on Victoria Street.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
50 Years Of Corrie In 50 Days - 1962
Labels:
50 years in 50 days,
jed stone,
ken barlow,
sunny jim,
valerie barlow
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You might also like...
-
Good evening. This evening's events happened on a completely different Street to last week's as there is no sign of Abi/Carl/Kev, ...
-
Friday 3rd October EVERYTHING GETS ON TOP OF CARLA When Betsy announces that Becky’s coming for lunch, Carla forces a smile. But when Becky ...
-
Monday 6th October DEV IS CRUSHED BY ASHA’S ACTIONS Having finally enjoyed their wedding night at the hotel, Bernie tells Dev that she’s wor...
-
Wednesday 8 October 2025 ABI FIRES A MESSAGE TO THE WRONG MAN As everyone gathers for Ronnie’s birthday party, Carl finds himself awkwardly ...
-
Wednesday 1st October THEO’S DARK PAST COMES BACK TO HAUNT HIM Todd’s surprised when Theo agrees to a night out in the gay village with Sean...
-
ITV bosses have revealed that the momentous soap crossover episode, in which the worlds of Coronation Street and Emmerdale come together for...
-
The week starts with Carla being unsure about leaving Lisa alone with Becky. Do you think Becky is a threat to Lisa and Carla’s relationship...
-
Here are the major storylines for the week ahead on Coronation Street, all wrapped up nicely in 50 words or less. Monday 13 to Friday 17 Oct...
-
At the top of the episode Dev says that Asha is as good as gold, so you know by 8.27 p.m. that she's going to be lying unconscious som...
-
Here are the major storylines for the week ahead on Coronation Street, all wrapped up nicely in 50 words or less. Monday 6 October to Friday...
1 comment:
Handling stolen blankets - ooh! them were the days! (liking these posts by the way)
Post a Comment