Sandy the barman went down a storm with the ladies in the Rovers but Jack and Alec were disgusted. They wanted a dolly bird and were angry they couldn't get one. He proved useful when Jim came in demanding a drink. They refused to serve him, because they knew he was on medication, and when he became abusive Sandy kicked him out. Jim bought a bottle of whiskey from the shop and got drunk at home, only to topple out of his wheelchair to wallow in his own self-pity. His therapist tried to get him to move on but instead he tried to drive his chair into the street for Mike to run him over. Fortunately - sort of - Mike avoided him. Audrey made the election battle even dirtier, telling a journalist about Spider's protests with Toyah - but framing it as "hippy lures underage girl to Red Rec". Fred and Alec were scared he might sue so they demanded she write a retraction. Spider confessed to Emily that he didn't want to take the Council seat if he was elected - he wanted his principles to remain unchallenged. Alma took Roy to the airport with his passport for his first ever trip abroad. I don't know why because I would've thought he'd have jumped at the opportunity to get the train to Manchester Airport station (yes I am a station nerd). He found that Hayley was living on a houseboat with a man called Johan but he was relieved to hear she was only renting a room and Johan was actually gay. They awkwardly reconnected and it was delightful.
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 1st and 3rd July 1998
Maxine was struggling to raise a deposit for the flat above the shop. Greg suggested that he negotiate instead - then he took on the flat himself. Emily and Ken persuaded Spider to take his council ambitions more seriously and to take his seat if he's elected. They also persuaded him to cut his hair and wear a suit to create the right impression. Roy and Hayley went sightseeing together in Amsterdam, and she opened her heart to him, telling him that now she felt like a full woman and she was looking at her future. Roy was predictably awkward and couldn't confess how he felt. He went to the airport and Hayley waved him off - but when she discovered he'd left her a watch as a gift she rushed off after him. She caught up with him at Schipol and said she was returning to Weatherfield with him (it's so delightful to see Roy smile by the way). However, she was detained by the immigration authorities because her passport still listed her sex as a man. Maud let herself in to Jim's and gave him a good talking to as a fellow wheelchair user. She told him he needed to be brave and surprisingly, it worked. Alec signed Sandy up for his escort agency - I doubt he was offering Ken Barlow-level intellectual stimulation on his dates - and he took the night off sick for his first job. When Vera realised what he was up to she sacked him from the pub.
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 5th and 6th July 1998
Audrey's campaign for councillor reached new levels as she put up posters around town with her headshot on it. Unfortunately the headshot was roughly twenty years old. (Incidentally there was the first appearance for a while from a poorly looking Alf). Spider's poster meanwhile showed him as a polite, well-dressed young man; he was ashamed that he wasn't being true to himself and tore the posters down. Emily was upset that he resented her advice and passed him on to Curly to be the new campaign manager. Rita, meanwhile, was annoyed when Audrey got her paperboys to deliver her leaflets. She was actually feeling incredibly rough, with a terrible headache, and she gave Leanne a set of keys and asked her to do the early shifts. Leanne was thrilled. Greg moved into the shop flat - without Maxine - saying that he wanted some space. He then tried it on with Fiona, because he's awful, and when she tried to warn Maxine she got it thrown back in her face. Natalie brought in her niece, Lorraine, as a replacement barmaid, and she immediately caught Curly's eye even though she looks old enough to be his daughter. Roy and Hayley were eventually released by the border authorities with Roy incensed. Hayley calmed him down, saying she wanted to put it behind her, and ended up kipping on his sofa. They went to Heaton Park's boating lake and, in a lovely scene, shared their first kiss. Awwww.
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 8th and 10th July 1998
Alec had a brilliant idea to get in customers during the World Cup: a TV in the bar. Being Alec though he bought a cheap portable and so everyone fled to the Legion, where they had a widescreen telly. Vera and the ladies ended up watching The Lovers on it instead (that's The Lovers starring Paula Wilcox and written by Mr Maureen Lipman, Jack Rosenthal). He ended up having to buy a big screen telly anyway. On the advice of his support worker Jim claimed Disability Allowance and he offered it to Liz to pay her for her help. She was upset, explaining that she helped him because she cared, and even more so when he asked her to stay away. Rita got more and more ill, eventually collapsing in her flat. Roy helped Hayley clear out her dad's house, and she opened up to him about her sad past; he was encouraging to her and caring. Audrey and Spider attended a hustings at Nicky's college, with Spider appealing to the students with his youth and passion. Audrey managed to fight back by peddling her feminist credentials and her love of a good time, but then she spoiled it by saying she wanted to bring back Miss Weatherfield. It went down with a lead balloon with the modern youth and when they booed her, Audrey went on the attack and insulted them all, criticising the appearance of the hecklers. Her campaign team legged it.
FRIDAY - Episode originally broadcast 12th July 1998
It was the World Cup Final and the Street gathered in the Rovers to watch it (on ITV, which is unlikely). Kevin wanted to watch it in the pub but it was Sally's birthday so he thought he'd best make a fuss. They'd just returned from holiday though, so she didn't want to do anything special - plus she was a bit sick of his company. They went to the Rovers where Greg flattered her. When Alec couldn't raise Rita, Sally and Greg rushed over, with Greg kicking down the door. They found her unconscious and she was taken away in an ambulance. The campaign team wondered if Audrey was a liability and she considered quitting. Alf said that would be a good idea because she'd be a terrible councillor - so she decided to stand just to spite him. Alec and Fred though had a better idea to get her a win, and offered Spider a bribe to quit. Michael, Jim's therapist, encouraged Liz to help Jim out and not leave him to fester. She told Jim not to push her away because he was in love with her, and he said he had no feelings for her at all.
There was way too much football talk in that last episode. @merseytart watches Corrie to get away from that kind of nonsense.
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