Things I've heard more than enough about: Brexit. Trump. And now, Mavis and Derek's sex life. Mavis wanted a bit of the other, and started feeding parsnips to him in an attempt to arouse his flagging ardour. Soon they were cuddling in the Rovers and she was late for work. It all went too far and he got so enflamed he slapped his cleaner's bum. Poor Deirdre was reduced to telesales, but she hated every minute of it. When she spotted an ad for a sales rep at Ingram's she threw her hat in the ring. Mike took her out to lunch and promised to see her right. Jack got a decorator out to give an over the top estimate for the redecorating. His plan was to claim the money, then do the work himself, and keep the difference. Ivy and Audrey continued to clash at the Corner Shop. Their relationship didn't improve when Ivy said she could work a few evenings a week. Audrey was angry that Alf was taking on more work and heading for another heart attack; Don was annoyed that he wouldn't see his wife in the evenings.
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 22nd and 24th May 1991
A few months ago Liz disappeared off to Belfast to take care of Jim's mum. I'm guessing this was an emergency storyline as we'd just gone through the drama of Deirdre asking Liz to be her agent. Anyway, she's back now, and straight into a family drama, as Steve had decided not to bother with his retakes as he was hopeless. Liz was surprisingly ok with it (and time has actually shown she was right: Steve's become a successful businessman) but Jim was furious and told him to get out of the house. There were work related problems all over the rest of the show. Audrey boycotted the Corner Shop, annoyed at the extended hours and especially annoyed that Alf had employed Ivy even though he knew the two women had never got on. Jackie decided not to go with Deirdre for the sales job as she was too old so she had to go back to flogging kitchens down the line. At Pendlebury Paper Products, Victor arrived to do some streamlining, and sacked the cleaner to save some money. That would be the same cleaner whose backside Derek slapped; she assumed the two were related and slapped a sexual harassment suit on the company. Meanwhile the Wiltons became the laughing stock of the Street as, at Bet's prompting, Betty did a special hotpot for them... full of parsnips.
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 27th and 29th May 1991
Steve spent the night kipping in Des's boat. He was found by the Barnses', who took pity on him and let him stay in their spare room while he worked his issues with his family out. When Liz threw herself on Steph's mercy she promised to talk to Steve, but was fairly casual about it; she seemed ok with him staying. Until he dropped a hint that he wanted more from her. Both Derek and Mavis went round to see the cleaner whose bum he slapped, who turned out to be Lisa Dingle from Emmerdale. Mavis was rather more successful at persuading her to drop her case for the tribunal by flattering her ego. Deirdre was sacked from the telesales for not getting any results. She finally caved and took a job with Phil. He showed her his empire, the business unit across the way, whose dimensions and layout bore absolutely no relation to current-day Underworld, and said that he wanted her to be his partner in a new promotions firm: PJ Promotions.
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 31st May and 3rd June 1991
The insurance adjuster turned up to look at the Duckworth's flood damage. She was surprised to see that their tiny little bath had somehow managed to cause wallpaper to come off all over the ground floor. Steph was uncomfortable over Steve's attentions, though Des seemed to find it hilarious. She asked him to leave and he moved back home, but he continued with his stalking, buying her chocolates, loitering in the department store, and stealing her scarf. Liz thought that Steph was leading him on, little realising that this was just the start of a long career of Steve getting obsessed with the wrong woman. Alf's freezer defrosted overnight, destroying his stock. Audrey pointed out that Ivy had closed the shop and was probably the one who switched off the freezer. She completely failed to mention that Sarah-Lou had been mucking about in the shop and it was actually her who flicked the switch. When Martin mentioned it, she refused to back down, because she hated working with Ivy that much. Alf apologised but Audrey demanded that she was fired. When he refused, she said she'd do it herself. And Lisa Dingle dropped her sexual harassment case against Derek, much to Mavis's relief.
FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 5th and 7th June 1991
Jack and Vera began work redecorating their living room, using expensive wallpaper and paint they had mixed up specially. Unfortunately, halfway through the redecoration, a letter from the insurers arrived saying they wouldn't pay out because the damage was clearly not all down to the flood. Vera was furious, unsurprisingly. After a word from Gail Audrey decided not to sack Ivy, but refused to work with her. Alf said in that case she wasn't entitled to be paid either. Feeling thoroughly unappreciated Audrey walked out on him. Phyllis gossiped about Steve's crush in the shop, not realising he was lurking in the aisles. Steph had a quiet word with him and told him to find a girl his own age. Des finally got an engine for the boat, though the noise of him and Kevin tinkering with it ruined the Wiltons' pleasant evenings in the garden. It then got even worse when the boat toppled sideways, crashing through the fence, destroying their new sun lounger and nearly crushing Derek and Mavis in the process.
@merseytart will never look at parsnips in quite the same way again.
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2 comments:
One of the best bits of watching old Corrie is spotting actors in minor roles before they were famous. Not only Lisa Dingle this week but her husband was the guy who had the inappropriate inflatable in Phoenix Nights :)
Not as good as seeing the brilliant old characters though.
Long before there was Jerry Seinfeld's "show about nothing" there was Classic Corrie. And I mean that as a compliment. No explosions, no murders, just parsnips and mithering. What a joy.
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