Cosy crimes and gritty sagas by Corrie Blog editor Glenda, published by Headline. Click pic below!

Friday 9 September 2016

Death, Grief, David, Gail and the bloodied jacket.



I am amazed at and not a little cross with Gail. If David chooses to keep the jacket he was wearing when he held Kylie in his arms as she lay dying, then that is his business and the business of no one else.

Yes, it is soaked with blood, Kylie's blood, the blood of the woman he loved, the mother of his children, the love of his life and his best friend. Who in fact has any right at all to decide what a grieving person should or should not retain as a keepsake of the deceased? A blood-soaked jacket is neither a conventional nor a traditional souvenir, but for a man drowning in grief, it is no one else's place to criticise.

She may be his mother and want the best for him, but Gail's attempts to console and advise are no help to David. Why is she so freaked out that he took the clothing out of the bin? Grief is powerful, it's raw and people in the grip of profound grief will not act wholly rationally. What's more, Gail must have a short memory as she was deeply affected by the death of husband Joe.


Gail tells him that he will not be able to 'move on' if he holds on to the bloodied jacket. Move on?! What? Kylie has only been dead for five minutes! It would seem wrong, somehow shoddy and insensitive for David to 'move on' just yet. and what does 'move on' mean in this context anyway? Find another girlfriend/wife/best friend? Or simply put the whole business behind him as if Kylie's brutal murder in the street in broad daylight was just  'one of those things' - and therefore not to be made a fuss about. 'Pick yourself up, dust yourself down and start all over again!'

David maintains his silence as Gail pleads, and after she finishes talking, he coolly tells his mother to 'Put it back.'

Then, he cuts off Lauren's hair and sends a friend message to Kylie's killer. Excellent! Bad David makes a return.

Ruth Owen, twitter @ruth1722
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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

it wasn't up to Gail to decide what David was doing was right or wrong. She isn't a trained grief counselor - actually she isn't a trained anything, except a meddling mother whose counsel is neither heard or heeded. Rightfully so.
I commend David (or should I say Jack P.) on the way he is handling the storylines so far - he really has risen to the occasion. That young lad certainly has grown up into the role & will someday become the new corrie icon. Bravo.

Ruth owen said...

I couldn't agree more, Anonymous at 22.39.

Anonymous said...

Anon 22.39 well said! As we all know Gail is an idiot. As per usual though, no one ever gets counselling. In my humble opinion David and Max should be in counselling after what they have been through. Gail should for once in her life, shut her mouth.

Humpty Dumpty said...

Gail's comment about 'moving on' was totally insensitive, I agree, and none of her business what timescale David puts on his grief. However, from her perspective, keeping the bloodied jacket is like keeping the corpse of a loved one. She might have suggested that David carefully clean the jacket, smother it in Kylie's favourite perfume and put it under his pillow. He would have pleasant memories rather than traumatic ones. But it's clever writing in that we see David deliberately holding on to the unpleasant memories to ensure that he doesn't move on until Kylie's death is avenged.

Beth said...

Gail moved on pretty fast from each of her husbands. Leave David be. She's such a meddler.

Unknown said...

Counselling was suggested by Gail and completely rejected by David.

Anonymous said...

realistically the jacket soaked with blood would stink to high heavens after three or four days, so no one would be able to have it as momento under the pillow.

GRITTY SAGAS BY CORRIE BLOG EDITOR GLENDA YOUNG, PUBLISHED BY HEADLINE. CLICK PIC BELOW!

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