The return of the tram

So, after two months, the Politanlink is once again running along the viaduct, in the week that seems to conclude most of the long running drama caused by the tram.

I am glad the tram is back up and running, it has always added more atmosphere to the area (especially since it's first on-screen appearance during Kelly's exit). I thought that Coronation Street would probably scrap the tram after the tram crash, but thankfully they have kept it.

Though, everytime I hear that rumble...

Steve Huison's Charity Auction Success

You'll remember reading here about Steve Huison's art show at  the Contemporary Six Gallery in the Royal Exchange Arcade in Manchester. He spent several months creating wonderful portraits of fellow Corrie cast members which were to be auctioned off for charity. He had each cast member contribute some autobiographical info for the portrait and the auction was held last night.

Keith Duffy was the auctioneer and all the portraits were sold with a total close to £6000, according to Steve's Twitter reports. Lots of the cast attended the auction and there's lots of photos of them arriving here. It looked to be a laid back, relaxing and fun evening! You can see all the portraits here on Steve's Flickr site.

Money was raised for a charity close to Steve's heart. It is a theatre project at Psychiatric Unit in Yorkshire that works with the patients giving them a chance to do drama and musicals.

Sadly, Steve's character, Eddie Windass, will be leaving the show soon, though not killed off. We at Blog Tower do wonder if the Powers That Be realize what a loss to the show this will be.

The Pillar box - A victim of the tram crash?

I noticed Corrie had a shiny new pillar box in Monday's episode of Corrie, after the previous one was taken out by the flying tram of Weatherfield. Which got me thinking, how long was the old pillar box on the street?

I decided to ask at the fantastic Back on the street blog, and they replied with a brilliant history of the prop and uncovered that the old pillar box might have been there since day one!

Look out for lucky Derek on Corrie tonight

Derek Dunn is a very lucky Coronation Street fan. He won a walk-on part in Corrie which will be screened tonight.

Derek beat thousands of entrants in a J W Lees brewery competition to make a guest appearance on the cobbles. Derek’s big moment will be broadcast tonight at 7.30pm.

He said: “I’ll remember my trip to the Street for a long time to come. I’m a huge fan of the show. We weren’t quite sure what to expect, but my wife and I had a terrific day. The cast were wonderful, and during a busy filming session, took time to talk to us and make us feel welcome."