Geraldine is the embodiment of all the bigotry that
should have been consigned to the 1950s. She espouses the senseless, ignorant
attitudes which were, I thought, already left behind in the 1950s.
But no, here is Geraldine Moffat – a mother and a grandmother, who holds onto those heinous, cruel, abhorrent attitudes, even though her own son, her own flesh and blood was a gay man.
It almost feels as if she is pleased, or at least relieved, that Drew, her son, is now dead, as the embarrassment that he has caused his mother is no more. Her son’s heartfelt, final wishes she chose to ignore. Drew is an ex of Billy, and a man who clearly has sound judgement when it comes to selecting an adoptive father for his daughter, Summer. His choice is Billy - Billy is the man Drew wants his 13-year-old daughter brought up by, along with Todd. And I can see exactly why he would want that. Billy is the absolute opposite of Geraldine – he is the embodiment of goodness.
Before Drew died, it was a joy to see how well Billy, Todd and Summer got along together. Despite Todd’s initial doubts, it was undeniable that the 3 of them had a connection and a certain alchemy was taking place. But, Geraldine refused to allow Summer to be brought up by Billy and Todd, clearly believing that, as gay men they would be a detrimental influence on Summer. Geraldine’s vehemence in this matter was profoundly troubling.
She banned Todd and Billy from the funeral, but Todd persuaded Billy that they most definitely should and would attend. And to Geraldine’s utmost outrage, they did. Even the vicar had been put on alert to prevent them coming in.
In conversation with Todd and Billy, concerning Summer, Geraldine said, ‘This is becoming tiresome. For the final time, Summer is none of your concern.’
In response, Billy says, ‘We want what’s best for her.’
‘For a so-called man of the cloth, your arrogance is mind-boggling. How dare you claim you want what’s best for my granddaughter. You have spent a handful of hours with her and you presume to know what’s best for her,’ replies Geraldine.
Billy continues, ‘Drew wanted me to be part of Summer’s life for a reason. Can’t you respect that?’
Geraldine fires back, ‘You speak of respect, yet you have no respect for God or your own soul! Whatever my son said, there will be no access, no visitation. I will not let you drag this innocent girl into the filthy cesspit you inhabit.’
Billy tells her he pities her for all that she has missed, which is the saddest part of it all. And Billy is absolutely right.
Silent throughout this exchange, Hero Angus, Drew’s dad, says, ‘I denied my son in life, I will not deny him in death.’ He fetches the will.
I cannot imagine for one second that Geraldine will not appear again, and try to reclaim her granddaughter. I just hope, principally for Summer’s sake, that Geraldine does not succeed.
But no, here is Geraldine Moffat – a mother and a grandmother, who holds onto those heinous, cruel, abhorrent attitudes, even though her own son, her own flesh and blood was a gay man.
It almost feels as if she is pleased, or at least relieved, that Drew, her son, is now dead, as the embarrassment that he has caused his mother is no more. Her son’s heartfelt, final wishes she chose to ignore. Drew is an ex of Billy, and a man who clearly has sound judgement when it comes to selecting an adoptive father for his daughter, Summer. His choice is Billy - Billy is the man Drew wants his 13-year-old daughter brought up by, along with Todd. And I can see exactly why he would want that. Billy is the absolute opposite of Geraldine – he is the embodiment of goodness.
Before Drew died, it was a joy to see how well Billy, Todd and Summer got along together. Despite Todd’s initial doubts, it was undeniable that the 3 of them had a connection and a certain alchemy was taking place. But, Geraldine refused to allow Summer to be brought up by Billy and Todd, clearly believing that, as gay men they would be a detrimental influence on Summer. Geraldine’s vehemence in this matter was profoundly troubling.
She banned Todd and Billy from the funeral, but Todd persuaded Billy that they most definitely should and would attend. And to Geraldine’s utmost outrage, they did. Even the vicar had been put on alert to prevent them coming in.
In conversation with Todd and Billy, concerning Summer, Geraldine said, ‘This is becoming tiresome. For the final time, Summer is none of your concern.’
In response, Billy says, ‘We want what’s best for her.’
‘For a so-called man of the cloth, your arrogance is mind-boggling. How dare you claim you want what’s best for my granddaughter. You have spent a handful of hours with her and you presume to know what’s best for her,’ replies Geraldine.
Billy continues, ‘Drew wanted me to be part of Summer’s life for a reason. Can’t you respect that?’
Geraldine fires back, ‘You speak of respect, yet you have no respect for God or your own soul! Whatever my son said, there will be no access, no visitation. I will not let you drag this innocent girl into the filthy cesspit you inhabit.’
Billy tells her he pities her for all that she has missed, which is the saddest part of it all. And Billy is absolutely right.
Silent throughout this exchange, Hero Angus, Drew’s dad, says, ‘I denied my son in life, I will not deny him in death.’ He fetches the will.
I cannot imagine for one second that Geraldine will not appear again, and try to reclaim her granddaughter. I just hope, principally for Summer’s sake, that Geraldine does not succeed.
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4 comments:
She was all of those things. So much so that she became a 2D caricature that I had trouble believing in. Seriously, who thinks - let alone talks - like that in 2017 Britain?
I know plenty of people who would be like Geraldine, unfortunately. As much progress as we'd like to think we have made, there are still people stuck in that mindset, and not all of them old. Homophobia is still very much alive, even if it's not a popular line of thought. I'm glad Coronation Street showed this side for a character instead of it being all happy families at the get go. I love this storyline, and I look forward to seeing how it moves forward in many aspects.
Yes, Geraldine was true to life unfortunately. But what wasn't true to life was that will. If you're named in a will, isn't the solicitor supposed to contact each named person, by law? Summer, as an adopted daughter, would have been next of kin though his parents were her guardians, temporarily at least. I thought that legally, the next of kin and anyone named in the will was supposed to be present for a reading of the will. The solicitor should have notified Billy rather than hand over the will to Drew's father, Angus, which is apparently what was done. He did say he received the letter from Drew's solicitor and that it was drawn up a few days before he died. Since Drew's parents had disowned him, it's not likely Drew would have used a family friend for his legal work so I can't see Angus persuading a stranger to hand over the will without notifying anyone else.
Nope. Corrie, you dropped the legal ball on this one.
I can't see anyone surpassing Ivy Tilsley in the role of bigot.
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