Corrie Comicals week ending 10 April 2020

Sorry for not popping up last week.  I had planned to spend the weekend changing over to a new PC but it all went wrong and I failed to have the time to write the article and to be honest I was not feeling too humourous last week.  This week I think I still have a sense of humour by-pass but the Director on this week's Monday and Wednesday episodes was Matt Hilton, so I thought we might take an unusual look at the Street through his eyes.

Imagine you are Cathy or Rita above, standing just to Brian's right - this is your view of the Kabin from behind the counter.  An excited Chesney is reporting on Aled's ability to hear his parents for the first time.

Later on Monday came this shot of Yasmeen running around looking for Geoff.  The only way of seeing this angle normally would be to be peering in through Yasmeen's front window.  The next shot was from the location of the spy camera which Geoff placed in the house and as we have come to expect he is watching the farrago on his phone whilst enjoying a pint in a pub (oddly I am surprised that Yasmeen's cleaning regime has not found the camera).  I know that I do not normally say much about this story - but Geoff's "madness" or "distorted view on life" is generally being expressed by the directors through unusual shooting angles and getting very close in people's faces.

Wednesday opened with this unusual vista, which took me a few moments to identify as being Number One where Emma can demonstrate her talents in being a dummy run as she explains to Eccles, recalling her fling with David before being discarded for Shona and they are now married, her time with Chesney who preferred Gemma and they have managed quads whilst her latest conquest Seb seems overly attached to his past flame Alina.  The shot is from the kitchen area.

Yasmeen arranged to meet two police officers in a darkened Jamila House, the community centre, which we have not seen recently.  This shot was used - with the officers invisible behind the door leaving only Yasmeen in shot as they talk to her.  It demonstrates her isolation from society that Geoff has engineered quite magnificently.  Can she find her way into the light again?

The second half of Wednesday opened with this shot - it is a goldfish eye view of Emma in the vet's waiting room.  Just remember the next time you get close up and personal with the goldfish that this is what you look like, if you look like Emma!

For Friday there were some great lines but as two writers were credited I cannot be sure who was responsible although I think Chris Fewtrell probably was.

Roy is praising the spread  of re-usable cups - in which R'Toyota has just been served a soy latte - but then laments the size of one cup brought in by one customer (as an aside even if coffee shops were open now would anyone want to pass a cup back and forth?) - Nina overhears and educates Roy in the need to levy additional charges in such cases pointing out that more water requires more electricity etc to fill the pail!

Poor Emma is having a tough time from Tracy McD over Eccles - Ken has an even harder time when Claudia gets sight of the invoice from the vet; inevitably well into four figures Claudia has a far from welcome observation (above) - it amused me if not Ken!

Norris has just been recalling the story of "Old Shep" and his sight growing dim - which is a problem Norris is also encountering - apparently he cannot distinguish between Freda (above) and an ironing board.  I am enjoying the Nearly Dead Waters break out; I fear it cannot be long term but I am surprised that so much is currently away from the Street.

Writers: Sam Holdsworth (Monday); Alasdair Morrison (Wednesday); Chris Fewtrell and Susan Oudot (Friday)
Director: Matt Hilton (Monday & Wednesday); Mickey Jones (Friday)


Kosmo
@Kosmo100

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Spoiler: Kabin Wars begin

There's a Coronation Street spoiler in The Mirror that suggests The Kabin will be getting sold off when Norris Cole returns to the show.

Don't read on any further if you don't want to know who Norris sells it to.

Still reading?

Ok.

Here we go.

The Mirror says that Norris will sell the Kabin to Brian and Cathy. 

Where this will leave poor Rita is anyone's guess.

Mr Curry Sauce told The Mirror: “Rita is the Kabin. She’s been behind that counter serving the residents of Weatherfield for decades. Even when Norris bought it off her, she remained working there and has been holding the fort all these months while he has been away.

Brian and Cathy tell Rita they have done the deal to buy the Kabin. But until she has seen the contract she’s having none of it. Let the Kabin war begin.”

See also: Coronation Street A-Z: K is for Kabin

See also: Christmas gifts for Coronation Street fans

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Dev vs Rita - The Battle for the Bottom end of Coronation Street

Something’s got to give. With the arrival of all the new shops and businesses in and around Coronation Street, I’m afraid to say Rita’s Kabin and Dev’s corner shop can’t both survive much longer.

Corrie writers have achieved the almost impossible over the past couple of years, finding a way to make the old cobbled set seem less unrealistic and actually quite relevant to the part of the real world it’s set in. Coronation Street has gone from down and out industrial backstreet, to bohemian Chorltonesque hub, flowing with cash, crime and loads of character. (If you don’t know Chorlton, it’s a conurbation just south of Manchester city centre, known for its small, independent, and yes sometimes pretentious little businesses and eateries, and as a magnet for media and arty types as well as hundreds of property developers. The only thing keeping it anchored to gritty Manchester reality is the fact it’s nestled between Salford and Moss Side and it’s full name is Chorlton-cum-Hardy).

L.S. Lowry's vision of Salford in 1956

Coronation Street and its surrounding areas like Victoria Street now actually represent real areas of Manchester and Salford. But before the recent changes – a thriving pub, bistro, two shops, takewaways, busy factory employing lots of locals, and a very glam group of residents just wasn’t believable. Corrie has always been true to life(ish), more so than other soaps, and the type of neighbourgood Coronation Street started as still exists, I grew up somewhere very similar, but the show itself had left its setting behind long ago. Even as far back as the Bet Lynch years. Someone recently suggested that it would have taken Bet two hours to get all her makeup on – just to go and work in the backstreet pub where Ena Sharples drank. It wasn’t realistic at all, but we suspended our disbelief. But you can only do that for so long. In the real world Coronation Street would have been demolished decades ago and replaced by an industrial estate. Or if it had survived, it would likely be a picture of severe poverty and neglect as we see in many parts of the country today. Of course being originally set in Salford, it could have been knocked down to make way for the fancy new studios of a famous TV soap opera. In any case the street survived, and the smallest businesses in the area survived; Rita’s little “toffee shop” and Dev’s corner shop. But now it could be time for one of them to fall on their sword and shut up shop. Sad though it is, they couldn’t both survive even if one is offering tins of beans and the other magazines. There’s a Co-op round the corner that does both. It’s a sign of the times.

Victoria Street

In the place of Dev’s, the hardware shop Brian and Cathy were plotting to open up would fit perfectly. Or another niche business – a tropical fish shop would be nice and colourful. But not very ethical. Electrical goods? Too boring. Thinking of small businesses that are still open back at home in Rochdale – there are so few. Locksmiths? Sun bed shop? Perhaps…

And instead of Rita’s Kabin, it could simply be turned into a house or more flats – for new Corrie characters to move into. Sean could finally get his own place and stop leeching off his neighbours. Or Kev could expand the garage and take on more business.

The Kabin and the Corner Shop have both played a significant role in Corrie over the years. Who can forget those iconic scenes with Rita guiding Mavis through her troubles behind the counter of the Kabin, or Alf Roberts grumbling at the lack of custom in his corner shop to a disinterested Audrey.

Legendary double act

Legendary double act

Whatever the changes, I’m sad to say – Dev, Rita – time to fight it out. Whose business is worth more to residents of Weatherfield? Who should reign over the bottom end of Coronation Street?

@StevieDawson

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Where have all the Corrie customers gone?

Guest blog post by Dolly O'Donnell
Fancy writing a guest blog post for us? All details here!  

Watching Classic Corrie I’ve been struck by the generous number of extras and not just in the Rovers and the shop, but more of them in the actual street too.  Nowadays we seem to get customers or extras in The Rovers, the Bistro, and in Audrey’s salon, sometimes Roy’s Rolls has a few, but the Kabin and kebab shop always seem devoid of customers. 

Is it the shops themselves that are driving them away? To me the shops in Classic Corrie seem more realistic; Alf Roberts seems to have had a proper fully stocked shop whereas poor old Dev seems to have an emporium where minimalism has triumphed. Rita and Mavis ran a realistically small shop crammed with good, whereas the Kabin is larger nowadays but seems to sell less.

Surely they can afford to pay for  some more extras and, as these are local businesses, it wouldn’t matter if we were seeing the same customers come and go?In the street, where are the postie, the milkman, the parcel delivery service, the bin men?

I love looking at the extras practising their much ender-estimated skills; I think it started in the 1960s when I was told the chap ( Burt  somebody?) who produced our local town’s professional Christmas pantomime, and played the dame, was an extra to be seen drinking  in the Rovers Return. After that, spotting him in The Rovers became a family game.  

Guest blog post by Dolly O'Donnell

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Where would you like to work on Coronation Street?

By 'eck Mavis, that new girl's taking her time putting the kettle on

If you could choose where you'd like to work on Coronation Street, where would it be?  It could be anywhere on the Street, past or present.

I would go back in time and prop the counter up with Rita and Mavis in the Kabin.  I'd be the one who sorted the papers, ordered greetings cards and stationery from the wholesaler. I'd put the kettle on and keep them both happy. I'd also, of course, listen in on all the gossip.

Where would you like to work? And in what role?

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Bring back the Kabin paper round to Coronation Street

Who's delivering the papers for Norris and Rita in the Kabin these days? I think we should be told.  It's time to bring back the paper boy or paper girl to Coronation Street.

As far as I can recall, the last time we heard someone doing the paper round in Corrie was 'Chelsea Trainers' when Norris was on the phone to them.

And according to Corripedia, the first paper boy appeared in 1976.  Credited simply as Paper Boy he was an employee of Rita Littlewood’s in the Kabin who in response to sarcasm from her hoping that he would actually deliver 75% of her papers, made a comment about her “wig” before hurriedly leaving the shop.

So that's the first and the last of those working the paper round. How many of those who have held this most esteemed of jobs can we remember? Do please prompt me as I know I will have missed loads out.

Paper boy Craig Russell was played by actor Stuart Wolfenden. He returned to Corrie as Kevin Webster’s grease monkey sidekick Mark Casey and can currently be found on Corrie playing Greig Hodge, granddad to Faye's baby Miley.

Ramsey Clegg, Norris' brother, worked as one of the oldest paper boys in town.

Priscilla Millbanks was a young girl who delivered newspapers for The Kabin in 1988.

Jenny Bradley worked there as a papergirl in 1986 and that's how she met Rita.

Another OAP, Harry Ashton worked there as paperboy in 1988.

Pensioner Keith Appleyard worked there too as a paperboy in 2005.

Louise Clayton was the chirpy but outspoken papergirl who was promoted by Mavis Riley to be a full-time assistant after Rita Fairclough walked out on Len Fairclough, her marriage and her job in early 1980.

Dennis Tanner even delivered the papers but managed to get it wrong. On his first round, Dennis got a little muddled with the deliveries. Rita told him there had been a complaint and that "Mrs Barnett's phoned to say her Jewish Chronicle went to Mrs Khan."

Michael Le Vell (Kevin Webster) played paper boy Neil Grimshaw in 1981.

Curly Watts worked as a paperboy too but we never saw him delivering papers.

Chesney Brown once did the job too.

As did Candice Stowe.

In 1988 Jason Stubbs asked at the Kabin if they needed anyone. They didn't, but the polite lad made an impression on Mavis Riley...

... who two days later decided to sack unreliable Wayne Pickles and give Jason his round. On his first day in the job, Jason was beaten up by Wayne for "stealing" the round.

Craig Tinker once worked as paperboy, for just a few hours, after he was caught stealing the Kabin's paperboy statue.  Watch the scene here.

Also:
Lindsay Gilmour appeared in Coronation Street in March 1981 as papergirl Penny Shaw. 
and
Gary Carp played paperboy Jimmy Haggerty in 1976.

There must have been more... please leave a comment below if you can remember any of the Kabin's paper girls and paper boys and I'll add them in to this blog post.

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