As promised, here is tonight's second episode review of this Wednesday's Coronation Street.
So, the gruesome twosome have been discovered. Liz's alarmed face contorts to utter shock as Hannah Gilmore reveals the whole sordid affair. With Hannah still clinging to Jim, the fuming Irishman heads out to find his Elizabeth.
As Ryan and Ali weigh up Ronan's wreath giving and gangster tendencies, Michelle decides to meet Ronan at Cormac's wake. Michelle's emotional monologue has little effect on Ronan, it looks like Ryan is getting no recompense from Ronan!.
Will Steve suffer the same fate at the hands of his new wife?.
Revealing a secret honeymoon plan to Tracy, is a reconciliation on the cards for the newlyweds?.
With the evening guests gathering, Jenny (looking gorgeous in red) garners Johnny into the possibility of re-enacting their wedding vows. But with Hannah hanging around, Johnny surveys the wedding reception, and with a nervous energy.
At Katie's graveside, Liz is visibly fraught and cannot contain her grief. Fraught and enraged with Jim, Liz is emotionally drained upon discovering her ex-husbands macabre plan. Jim tries reasoning with Liz, but it falls on deaf ears, and he falls on the floor.
Back at the reception, Hannah is ready to leave, but not before bumping into Jenny. Decidedly beaten by Jim's ex-wife and a lack of money from Johnny, Hannah is true to her word and reveals Johnny's deception with Liz, to a shocked Jenny!!
What a lot of #SecretsUnleashed in this week's Corrie!.
In other news- Daniel announces Sinead's pregnancy and Ken discovers emoji's!.
As I am now writing both Wednesday nights episodes, I shall score this week 8/10. Secrets unleashed, cake fights, Leanne in a cupboard, and Kirks doggy ice-lolly dream. Perfection!.
What would you score it?
Anyway, that's me for another week.
I hope you've enjoyed my mid-week paean to the drama of Coronation Street.
I'm @rybazoxo - your self-styled 'Cobbles Connoisseur'.
Join me next time, for more Wednesday Weatherfield Wisdom!.
Continuing on the day of both weddings, the McDonald's reception at the posh hotel is in full swing, whilst Sinead and Daniel's pagan blessing in the community garden is definitely on. 'Count' Kirk(ula) is Victoria Street's comedic Master of Ceremonies, whilst Tracy, on the other hand, has an announcement of her own. We viewers know she must be planning revenge on Steve, but what?.
As an elusive Leanne escapes from a broom cupboard (classic Tracy), she immediately informs Robert of her ridiculously stupid confession. Isn't it long before they head to the dance floor, the dance we've all been waiting for; where Tracy proceeds to punch Steve!!. Nobody puts Tracy in a corner!.
Before we know it, food flies and a catfight enthrals. But, we know this is just the beginning, as Tracy swears full revenge on her new husband. Hell hath no fury like a Tracy Barlow scorned!.
Liz meanwhile, wants to reconcile with Jim. But, with Hannah's insatiable (and rather bizarre) appetite for the Irishman, I doubt love with run smooth for Steve's Mum either.
Exiting the reception, Jim heads to the hotel room, to reconcile with his ex-wife. But (rather like Tracy's dancefloor punch) a scorned Hannah entices Jim to one last lustily launched final kiss. Unbeknown to Jim, Liz is also in the room. Has Hannah ruined another McDonald reunion?.
I don't know about food fights, I think this could be fireworks.
At least Sinead and Daniels's pagan wedding was blissfully happy anyway... for now.
In other news- Ronan's wreath delivery for Ryan, forces a reluctant Michelle, to confront the gangster.
Keep your eyes peeled for my 8.30pm review, coming to the blog later today, and more
#SecretsUnleashed, on the @CoroStreetBlog
I am @rybazoxo your self-styled 'Cobbles Connoisseur'.
Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the first of two Corrie episodes covering the wedding of Elsie Tanner to Sergeant Steve Tanner. Conveniently, no change of surname was required!
At the time, it was the most talked-about event in the history of Coronation Street. In fact, the episode broadcast on 6 September 1967 was the first in Corrie to show the wedding ceremony itself.
It was such a big event that the nuptials spawned a special ‘Coronation Street Wedding Souvenir’ magazine published by the TV Times on 7 September 1967. This was the first ever Corrie magazine and, apart from some records and jigsaws, one of the first pieces of Coronation Street merchandise.
For one shilling, Corrie fans that had enjoyed the wedding on TV could relive it all with a 32-page souvenir mag packed with photos of the ceremony and reception – a lavish do in Warrington.
I have never seen the Tanner wedding. However, having recently acquired a copy of the TV Times supplement, I feel like I know a lot about the big day!
It’s a great historical document and one interesting feature is a copy of Dennis Tanner’s speech, which was not heard on screen. It was printed along with his supposed hand-written amendments.
Other highlights include an artist’s impression of the lounge in Elsie and Steve’s new luxury flat in Altrincham. The flat was decked out with wall-to wall carpeting and a craftsman-designed fireplace in natural stone, with a built-in gas fire and a slate hearth. It was a far cry from the sparsely furnished living room of 11 Coronation Street.
Elsie was going up in the world, you see – from the cobbled back streets of Salford to the tree-lined avenues of Manchester’s stockbroker belt. The wife of an American GI, she could kiss goodbye to cooking on a stove in the living room and her tiny scullery with a sink and larder. Now Elsie could enjoy a real kitchen with all mod cons: new cooker with eye-level grill; stainless steel sink unit; plenty of cupboard space; Venetian blinds and a transistorised clock – plus, a refrigerator!
According to Corriepedia (read more here), the photos in the magazine were not taken on set because recording was too close to the TV Times’ publication date. Instead, the cast assembled at St Margaret’s Church in Whalley Range, which looked like the church designed in the studio. The back cover featured a photo of the Tanners at Manchester Airport, staged as if they were about to board their honeymoon flight to Lisbon.
The Coronation Street Wedding Souvenir magazine was given a second print run and is thought to have sold over one million copies in total. Not surprisingly, the TV Times went on to publish more special Corrie magazines, for example to mark the tenth anniversary in 1970, the wedding of Len and Rita in 1977, and the 2000th episode in 1980.
I came by this wonderful relic thanks to a friend of a friend, Scarlett, who found it when clearing her Aunt’s bungalow after she had passed away at the age of 92. It was sitting inside a folder of Royal souvenirs and cuttings; alongside some old Cadbury Creme Eggs and Woods of Windsor talc sets.
Scarlett’s Auntie Alice was an avid Corrie fan from the very start and actually passed away peacefully as the opening bars of the theme tune could be heard from the residents’ lounge in the care home where she spent her last eighteen months. Alice hated Len Fairclough and Annie Walker and she thought Ken Barlow was a womaniser. She would have liked to have tried Betty’s hotpot. Me too!
It’s amazing to think that someone I never met spent many happy hours watching Coronation Street, just as I, and many other millions of people have, all of us formulating opinions about the same set of characters. It made me think of the wonderful ‘Coronation Street: Then, Now & Forever’ promo produced by ITV to celebrate 57 years of our favourite continuing drama. For us Corrie fans, we’ll always have iconic scenes and storylines by which to remember major milestones in our own lives.
My first child is due soon and I look forward to sharing many Corrie moments with her. I’m sure she will grow up to love Coronation Street, just as her Daddy always has – Then, Now & Forever!
Carla and Nick are going to get married. They are going to live by the sea near Devon, leading idyllic lives, untrammelled by the complications of children. Carla, now a welcome addition to Nick's family, has reassured her mother in law to be that there will be her very own room, just for her, in their new place, thus softening the blow of Gail's precious first born disappearing down south. Michael is down south too - Brighton allegedly, and though a good distance, Gail might take a detour and stop him, buy one and then lure him back to Weatherfield.
I'm sorry to say that I have not relished the lovey-dovey goings on with Carla and Nick. Carla is not suited to this happy clappy love life. The declarations of love, frequent and apparently sincere, for now at least, rings hollow. That is because I find it impossible to believe in Nick and Carla as a couple. It doesn't matter how many times they declare undying love to each other or tell each other just how wonderful their life will be away from Weatherfield, just the two of them. For me, they fail to convince. I have tried hard to believe in them, but the effort gets me nowhere.
I cannot picture Carla fitting in to a semi-rural, village-like existence. She is a city girl with bells on, an urbanite. She is a hardworking business woman who enjoys the cut and thrust of the challenges facing her daily. She loves her work, which has in several ways saved her from herself. Her business is what gets her up in the morning and has outlasted any man with whom she has been involved. She has considerable respect from her work force, largely due to the example she sets and her innate skill at being firm but fair. The business meetings, the work jargon, the hurrying through orders, the offers of overtime - all gone.
And what about Carla's sartorial choices? All black clothing (mostly) stiletto heels, snazzy bags. She will need a whole new wardrobe. What beckons for her is a sensible outfit, a windcheater maybe and a flat-shoed future. Carla is far more suited to London, Paris, Milan, New York.
And what of her friends? Michelle and Roy in particular. Having Gail as a house guest is a poor substitute for friendships such as these. There'll be a few tears shed from Carla, Michelle and Roy as she departs the cobbles, waving farewell.
How the actual wedding will go is anybody's guess. This is, after all, a Coronation Street wedding. The catalogue of wedding disasters may add a page soon, or it may not.
The uninvited guest? Oh yes, well that would be Nick's reincarnated brain injury. Has the injury been resurrected in order to cause wedding chaos or will it lay dormant for ever more? We will soon know...
(Please note - I do not mean to be flippant in any way about real and often devastating brain injuries. Here, in this post, I am talking about a fictional character with a fictional brain injury).
Here's something you probably won't see too often, a wedding theme that mashes up Coronation Street and Doctor Who! We got married last weekend and we are fans of both shows. I'm Canadian and my new husband is British and after 11 years, we've finally made it to the altar!
Our wedding invitation had the Rovers on the front and a steampunk version of Hilda Ogden's ducks on the back and our thank you notes incorporated the suggestion of the interior of the Rovers along with a Cyberman. (my fella is an artist!)
At our wedding, we acquired a Rovers Return backdrop from the Downeast Streeters and added in stand up cardboard Tardis and Dalek figures and the wedding cake looked like a Dalek! Our procession back down the aisle after the ceremony was to the Doctor Who theme tune and Coronation Street's dulcet tones ushered us into the reception. We even received a few Corrie gifts (Mugs and the Coronation Street Treasures book) and some Doctor Who gifts as well. It was an awesome day!
For a real dedicated fan of any genre or someone with a strong interest in a particular culture or hobby, any event is a chance to indulge in one's fandom. I know several people that have had themed birthday parties and weddings including a wedding not that long ago where all the guests dressed up as super heroes!
I have always had a strong interest in the British culture due to a wonderful history teacher. Thus, Great Britain has been a favourite holiday destination, a frequent source of reading material (both fiction and non-fiction), I have many friends there and I really enjoy lots of movies and television shows from the U.K. Obviously, as this is a Coronation Street blog, Corrie is one of my favourite shows.
For my upcoming wedding, there had to be elements of Coronation Street. My fiance likes the show though isn't as much of a 'fan'atic as I am but we both love Doctor Who as well. Could the two be a successful mix? We say yes! My fella is a talented artist and he created this cartoon as our wedding invitation. There are also elements of steampunk inside and on the back is a mechanical "steampunk" version of Hilda Ogden's famed ducks.
We will be incorporating the theme tune to usher us into the reception and my fiance is even contemplating an attempt to mash up the Corrie and Doctor Who theme tunes together (he's also a musician).
I will *not* be wearing a pinnie, head scarf and hair curlers over a Bet Lynch beehive. I have to draw the line somewhere.
Have you incorporated special "fandom" themes in a wedding or event?
