Last week was a landmark for Ruairi, as it was his 18th birthday. To mark the occasion, Jennifer decided to throw a small dinner party; just her and Brian, Ruairi and Ben Archer. I didn’t quite catch what the main course was, although it had to be cooked for two days, or something equally silly, but the dessert was Knickerbocker Glory. Be still, my beating heart!
Apparently, the event was as exciting as it sounds, as, on the evening of the party, Johnny received a text from Ben, which said “Dinner party doing my head in. Need stronger booze NOW!!!” Never ones to turn down a friend in need, Johnny and Jazzer leave some bottles of Jazzer’s home brew near the garden gate. It seems that this concoction is quite drinkable, as well as having a kick like a mule. Johnny says that craft beer is all the rage nowadays and that Jazzer ought to sell it.
If Jazzer were to go into the brewing business, he’d have at least one customer, as Ben messages Johnny to say that Brian loved the beer and said he’d like to buy some for himself. Ben told Brian that the beer came from a micro brewery in Felpersham, while in actual fact Jazzer has been brewing it in one of Adam’s polytunnels.
Before we leave Johnny and Jazzer, there was an interesting cameo when Johnny was bemoaning the paucity of his lovelife. Jazzer says that the way to be successful with women is to find one who knows what she wants and go for it, as he has done with Jade, who is one of his milk round customers. Jazzer goes further, saying that he will take Johnny under his wing and they will go out on the pull later in the week. Johnny can learn from the master.
He is obviously a very quick learner, as a couple of days later, Johnny is knackered and explains to Jazzer that it is due to lack of sleep, as he went home with Jade and one thing led to another. “What? My Jade?” asks a scandalised Jazzer, to which Johnny replies that he was only following Jazzer’s advice. Will he be seeing her again? Johnny thinks it unlikely, as she never mentioned it. He apologises to Jazzer, but he didn’t think he and Jade were an item.
Say what you like about Jazzer, but he’s not one to bear a grudge, or nurse a broken heart for any great length of time, as he says that Jade knows what she wants and it obviously isn’t him – it’s probably time he moved on and found someone else. Still, I bet he wishes that he had kept Johnny’s winning scratchcard now.
Earlier in the week, Ruairi and Ben have been despatched to find a specific set of crockery and glasses that Jennifer thinks will be ideal for her dinner party. Now I thought that, when the Aldridges moved out of Home Farm, they were downsizing, but I was obviously mistaken (either that or Jennifer has more dinner services than the average restaurant), as the boys have been looking for 20 minutes and still not found what they are looking for.
How can I be sure of the exact length of time? Easy – Ruairi took a call from his friend Troy and, when he returned to help Ben, the latter moaned that Ruairi had been on the phone for 20 minutes. Ruairi accuses Ben of being jealous of his friendship with Troy, but adds that there’s no need to worry, as Ruairi’s relationship with Troy is very different from his friendship with Ben. If Ben wants to know the truth, Troy is an Ex. No-one could accuse Ben of being lightning-quick on the uptake, as he asks “Ex what?” “My ex, idiot” Ruairi replies, adding that he knew that Ben would be OK with this revelation.
Ben is more than OK, as he describes it as “the best news ever” – when the two lads go out together, Ben will not have any competition when it comes to having his pick of the girls. Not so fast Ben! “I said I was bisexual, not gay” Ruairi tells his friend, adding that he might fancy a girl instead of a guy. “Now you’re just being greedy” Ben complains. That may well be the case, or perhaps Ruairi is working to the philosophy espoused by Woody Allen, who said ‘Bisexuality immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night.’ Has Ruairi told anyone else? No, but he’s sure that Brian and Jennifer will be cool about it – look at Adam, after all.
We will return to Ruairi later, but first let us clear up a couple of other stories. Lynda is extremely disappointed at the village’s reaction to Freddie’s appeals for people to join the cast of the Christmas show. Apparently, even Alan has refused to take part and he has never ever refused Lynda in the past. Something has to be done, Lynda decides, and that something is for her to go on Susan’s radio show and, without putting too fine a point on it, for her to lay a guilt trip on the whole village and shame the inhabitants into taking part.
This is probably one of Lynda’s best-ever performances; her voice is weak and faltering as she relates how it was only the thought of the Christmas show that gave her the determination to get better after the explosion at Grey Gables. However, it seems that her hopes will be dashed, as everybody seems too busy. Surely, at times like this, community spirit assumes even greater importance as we all pull together?
The effect of this virtuoso performance can be seen when Jennifer tells Alice later that she must give Lynda a telephone call, as she wants to volunteer her services for the Yuletide extravaganza. I tell you; listening to Lynda’s speech damn near made me want to sign up, and you know what I think of Lynda’s festive offerings.
Over at Kirsty’s gaff, Helen has dropped in for a catch up. Kirsty reveals that she and Philip are considering upping sticks and moving to Wales. There is much talk along the lines of ‘I’ll miss you’, but Helen says it will be a great opportunity for Kirsty and Phil. Have they made an offer on anywhere yet? Kirsty says no – they will have to sell the Beechwood house first. Helen says that should not prove a problem, as Philip has done a great job inside the house and the garden is fantastic.
Helen says that whoever moves in would also have “the joy of Joy” as a neighbour, to which Kirsty replies that she’s not bad once you get to know her, and she would be a willing babysitter for anyone with a family. Now there’s an idea – why doesn’t Helen buy the house? After all, she’s always saying how nice it is and has said that she’d like to get away from her family at Bridge Farm. Not only that, but she could move Lee in. Whoa! Slow down, Helen says, but she admits that she is very interested in the idea. Of course, she’d have to redecorate totally and concrete over the garden, she teases Kirsty. This conversation was fuelled by a bottle of Prosecco, by the way.
Let’s return to Ruairi. A couple of days before the dinner party, he is opening his birthday cards. One, from his auntie Naimh in Ireland, contains a CD and a note explaining that the CD was recorded by Siobhan (Ruairi’s mother) who died when her son was four years old. Siobhan asked Naimh to send it to him for his 18th birthday. This news affects Ruairi deeply and he is not sure how to react, as he has few memories of his mother. Is he ready to hear what she has to say, he wonders?
Next morning, after a sleepless night, Ruairi tells Brian about the CD, adding that he hasn’t played it yet. Brian is very unhappy about the whole thing and condemns Naimh for sending it. In fact, he wants to ring her to give her a piece of his mind, but he cannot find his address book. In vain does Ruairi protest that Brian will just make everything worse, but Brian is losing it big time and says that Naimh has never liked him. Let’s see – Brian had an affair with Siobhan and got her pregnant, all of which directly contributed to the breakdown of Siobhan’s marriage and an illegitimate son for Jennifer to rear. What’s not to like about that?
The noise of Brian and Ruairi arguing attracts Jennifer’s attention and she demands to know what’s going on? Ruairi explains and Brian tells his wife that it’s nothing for her to worry about and she doesn’t need to get involved. Jennifer’s answer to this is to tell Brian to go and peel the carrots for tonight’s meal, which he does, without a murmur.
Jenny calms Ruairi down and tells him that the CD is a wonderful gift from his mother, but she advises him not to play it until he feels he is ready. She reassures him that she will always love him and that will never change. It appears to be a bonding time for the Aldridges, as later on Alice tells her mother how, at the time that the story of Brian’s affair was revealed she (Alice) saw Jennifer leaning over the kitchen sink, sobbing and how much she (Alice again) hated both Siobhan and Brian. “So if you want to slag her – or him – off to me, I won’t mind.”
But that’s not in Jennifer’s nature. During the meal, Ruairi tells her that he thinks he is ready to listen to the CD now and he asks his stepmother to stay and listen with him. It is Siobhan’s voice – Ruairi is four years old and Siobhan says that he is so beautiful and he makes her laugh. She wonders what his life is like now – has he got a girlfriend, or even a boyfriend? She just hopes that he is happy. “Be whoever you need to be” she tells him from beyond the grave, adding that she loves him “fiercely”.
The CD ends with Siobhan saying “Happy birthday my darling boy – be happy my love” and Ruairi has to choke back a tear. The CD was exactly what he wanted to hear. “That was pretty amazing” he tells Jennifer, adding “I’m really glad you listened with me.” “I’m really glad too” Jennifer replies, tenderly.
Meanwhile, while this touching scene is being played out in Ruairi’s bedroom, down in the dining room Brian and Ben are rapidly getting blotto on Jazzer’s home-made beer, and the Knickerbocker Glories have melted…
Your summaries are fantastic. I felt that the announcement of Ruairi's sexuality was shoehorned into this episode and spoiled what would have otherwise have been a powerful piece of writing. The recording from Siobhan was very powerful. The scene with Ben and Ruairi did not quite come off.
ReplyDeleteI have missed a few days and turned in today after a bad day at work for some light relief. Landed right in the middle of Alice and Chris screaming at each other, which has done nothing for my nerves.