Comings And Goings

Will Sanderson-Thwaite (Chris Carter)

Lots of planning of holidays in Ambridge last week, with Alice and Chris looking forward to a month away on a US-style road trip, but in Somerset. Going on past form, this will turn into a 30-day love-in and there must be doubts that one or both of them will not survive the strain.

Incidentally, did you hear Jennifer telling the weirdos from Rodways that "my daughter is going out with a lad from the village, but there's no future in it"? Ha! You wish, Jennifer! Alice doesn't appear to be looking for intellectual stimulation and seems quite happy with Chris's own brand of stimulation, thank you very much. The future's bright, the future's Carter.

When Pip went to see Jude and he told her that he was otherwise engaged in preparing his assignment, I thought "good, now she'll realise what a selfish git he is". After all, when Pip had work to do, it was all "do you have to do that now?" in that annoying, whining voice that Jude has (and doesn't he sound like a teenager, rather than someone approaching 30?), but when he is under the cosh, it's all "leave me alone, this will take ages." And what does she do? Instead of telling him to get stuffed, she cooks him breakfast (having first bought the food), to which his response is "any more bacon?" Then, having again been told to leave him alone, she offers to clean the kitchen. I'd have her round mine tomorrow, if she promised to keep her gob shut.

Still, it's an ill wind, as although they aren't splitting up, they are planning a long holiday away. At first, Jude didn't seem too keen on Pip accompanying him, but he's obviously realised that, when money gets short, he can send her out to work. Having both quit college (and what's a near-30-year-old doing at college anyway?) I hope they set off soon. Preferably to the Galapagos Islands. On foot.

Speaking of mature (ha!) students brings me, with heavy heart, to Kate's academic ambitions. Her telephone interview with the Admissions Officer went well and it's all looking horribly inevitable. Will it do any good if we all send letters to the AO (c/o the BBC) pointing out the downsides to Kate's character? Probably not, but if you should write on this subject, please try to keep your letters down to 8,000 words or 10 sheets of A4.

Finally this week we return to the subject of Brenda and her job. Having got rid of her from the airwaves for most of the week, bloody Matt Crawford tempts her back to work for Amside Properties (or, as seems the fashion nowadays, it's probably AmSide). The job description seems a tad ambivalent – to Brenda, it was "marketing, sales development, making contacts" and so on, while to Lillian it was "someone to do the photocopying, stapling and answering the phone". If I were Lillian, I might be tempted to remark that £19k p.a. of my money was rather a lot for an office drudge. I don't think she can even type, can she?

When Brenda got the job in faraway Leicester, there were celebrations by her and Tom. This time? I don't think so.