Guest blog post from Coronation Street fan Rob Coates.Rob his on twitter @abfabrobcoates
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On 3rd November, Liz McDonald turns 60.
That’s not too surprising, is it? After all, she has twin sons in their 40s. But what’s more surprising is that in a matter of weeks, Liz will be more or less the same age as Ena Sharples was in the very first episode!
Let that sink in.
Just look at the difference.
Things have certainly changed since the not-so-swinging sixties of Weatherfield. Back then, you’d never have caught Ena or Minnie popping to the hairdressers for a nutrient-rich hair repair and some blonde highlights and then over to the cafe for a skinny Frappuccino.
On their pensions in those days, they were hand-to-mouth. For those of you living comfortably in the Home Counties, “hand-to-mouth” is a northern saying. Roughly translated, it means you spend a lot of time moaning about the cost of a quarter of potted meat in the corner shop but then spend every evening in the Rovers snug supping stout.
But it wasn’t just the cost of life back then that hindered our poor pensioners. It was their sense of strong Victorian values. You’d never have seen Martha queuing for a bus in stilettos and a Handbag with a strap made from a chunky gold chain.
That would quite literally have been a years worth of gossip on the cobbles and probably have resulted in a citizens arrest to preserve the morals of the street.
These days, grandmas don’t look like grandmas. Grandmas used to have white perms, walking sticks and shopping bags on wheels.
These days, they have low-cut blouses, toyboys and a heck of a lot of bling.
I have it on very good authority that in the 60s, it took three strapping lads to lift Ena’s heavy woolen coat over her shoulders.
These days, it takes three strapping lads to locate Liz’s skirt.
So Ena, Martha and Minnie became Liz, Eileen and Audrey.
But that’s understandable. After all, in the 60s, we all knew an Ena. And I suspect, these days, we all know a Liz.
By Rob Coates.Rob his on twitter @abfabrobcoates
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4 comments:
Surely Eileen isn't 60!
The problem I have with this comparison is that Ena Sharples and Liz MacDonald are apples and oranges. Regardless of their age or their era, they are not cut from the same cloth. Elsie Tanner roamed the cobbles long before Liz MacDonald arrived. But, by the time Elsie left in '73, she was already 50, a mere decade younger than Ena Sharples. When she left the second time in '83, the character was 60, and always regarded as the Street's siren/tart.
Eileen must be well into her 50s though. I seem to remember that her meeting the fireman was something to do with her celebrating her 50th, and that was a good few years ago.
Perhaps the difference is post-war Ena and post-1980s Liz... these struggles leave different marks on us all.
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