It's Kick Kenton Time!

Richard Attlee (Kenton Archer)

Poor old Kenton – it hasn't really been his week, has it? Fresh from his triumphal opening of Jaxx's, he is getting the cold shoulder from Kathy. Not only has he been sent to the doghouse, I wouldn't be surprised if she was making him sleep there.

The latest foot-in-gob moment from Mr. Considerate came when he revealed his plans for a treat for Kathy and Jamie, which was – wait for it – a trip to New Zealand at Christmas. Not only can Kenton catch up on seeing his daughter, but presumably Kathy and Jamie could amuse themselves by visiting Sid's grave and seeing how much the flowers have grown in the six months since they planted poor old Sid there.

Way to go Kenton! This storyline also led to the front runner for "most obvious truism of the week" when Kathy told Pat "Kenton is still not much help". Put that phrase on a loop of tape and play it instead of the theme tune. Pat's answer? For Kathy to go and visit Jaxx's so Kenton can see that she is really concerned about the efforts he has made. Sorry Pat, but you appear to be confusing Kathy with someone who gives a toss.

Then Kenton got an earful off David for allegedly encouraging Pip to swan off round the world (please God, make it the Solar System). Now here I must make a stand – I'm right behind Kenton on this one and I'd even drive Pip and Jude to the airport. When Ruth vetoed the idea of setting up an emergency account for Pip, on the grounds that "it might encourage her to go" I bet the BBC switchboards were jammed with people wanting to know how they could give. It took me an hour to get through.

Sadly, I can't help thinking that this trip is doomed to failure, as we keep getting Pip becoming increasingly intense and Jude backing away. Note how worried he was when he thought she was pregnant and how lukewarm, bordering on the slightly chilled, when she revealed that she had left college and could go all the way with him, so to speak.

Jude was also less than thrilled when invited round to Brookfield to discuss things like sensible adults, although I reckon it's going to be hard to talk with David gripping you warmly by the throat. When Pip said "it will show them how serious we are" you could hear Jude thinking "what does she mean 'We'?"

Going on the nastiness of the writers' recent track record, what's the betting that Pip will get to the airport and Jude will tell her to get lost? Watch this space.

And finally, a correction. I said last time that Alice and Chris were going on holiday to Somerset, whereas their destination is, in fact, San Francisco. Easy mistake to make. Good luck to them. Why not take a few friends along, such as Pip and Jude? Better still, hire a Greyhound bus and fill it with people from Ambridge (make your own list)? I know there's no such thing as an earthquake season, but if we were all to pray hard enough…