Barry
Farrimond (Ed Grundy)
Ed and Emma's plans to buy
George a puppy for Christmas went nads up when they drove to the farm where the
litter had been born, only to be told that they couldn't choose one before New
Year, as the farmer had promised another family first pick of the litter and
they were abroad till early 2014. Presumably they are farmers as well, as they
seem to be the only people who can afford foreign holidays.
One wonders how closely Ed
and Emma have consulted Neil and Susan (with whom they are living) about the
puppy plan, as later in the week, Susan talks to Helen and says how down Ed is
about the whole thing but, if it wasn't for George she (Susan) wouldn't have a
puppy in the house anyway. Yes, I foresee tension when the puppy arrives at
house-proud Susan's des res. Perhaps all will be resolved if they get the puppy
and Will shoots it – we wait to see.
Ed finds Darrell in the
cider shack (amazingly, he hasn't drunk their stock for the year) and Eddie
shows his caring side by saying to his son that "Darrell is our
responsibility now" and lets him stay in the hut. Not only that, but later
in the week, Eddie brings Darrell eggs and bacon for breakfast and some old
jumpers of Joe's (he quickly tells Darrell that they have been washed). And
good for you Eddie – you've gone up in my estimation.
Even better, Eddie cajoles
Darren to accompany him in the van when selling turkeys and Darrell – who was
reluctant to even leave the hut until Eddie tells him he won't take 'no' for an
answer – scales the heights of making up for the satnav's failures and even
giving a turkey to a customer and taking money and giving change. However,
Eddie pushes it a bit too far when he persuades Darrell to drop in on Rosa and
mend a few fences with his daughter. He agrees, but it ends badly when she
calls him 'smelly' and 'tramp' and 'thief'. OK Rosa, but apart from that? Well,
plenty, really, as she accuses him of being "disgusting" and "you're
shaming all of us." Showing a bit of spirit, Darrell hits back, saying:
"You're still my daughter, whether you like it or not." Rosa's
seasonal reply to this is "You know what Dad, whether you like it or not,
I wish you were dead." Sharper than a serpent's tooth, indeed.
What to think about the
relationship between Jess and Rob? The 'if you can get here and live within 100
miles of Ambridge' party arranged by Jennifer for Jess and Rob – well, for
Jess; Rob would rather stick pins in his eyes but he's been presented with a
fait accompli – is arranged for Thursday. Even worse, Jess has decided to get
Ambridge Organics to supply the food. Even worse than worse, when Helen and
Kirsty turn up with the food on the night, Jess asks them if they'd mind
serving it to her guests? The woman is either totally innocent or a sadist on
par with Torquemada if she knows what's been going on.
Suffice it to say that the
party does not go with a swing and Helen and Kirsty take the earliest
opportunity to make an excuse and leave. Rob and Jess bicker when it's finished
(no-one had Jess's salmon, even though she had borrowed Jennifer's fish kettle)
and it fell on the floor. Rob tells his wife: "Your party, your salmon,
your mess" and he goes upstairs with a large whisky, telling her not to
follow him. The frosty atmosphere didn't pass unnoticed, even by Susan, who
didn't even go to the party, and she prattles on to Helen about how Jess seems
to be "a bit of a cold fish" and how nice Rob is.
The same day, Rob turns up
at Ambridge Organics and apologises profusely to Helen about the hard time she
must have had at the party. Rob says it was the most ghastly night he's ever
spent since coming to Ambridge and he blames Jess for being in a foul mood and
blaming him for the "whole sorry mess." He also thanks Helen for
being so nice (the conversation is very formal) and says "I don't deserve
it." The jury's out as to whether Rob is a nice bloke with a manipulative
wife or she is a nice person with a cheating dirtbag of a husband – if Helen
believes the former, I can foresee a New Year of adultery, deceit, lies and
jewellery making.
Our worst fears were
realised when Leonie – who has been moping around at Ambridge Hall and being
generally like a wet weekend - let slip to Lynda that she's pregnant and that
James doesn't know. Let's be honest – if James did know, he probably wouldn't know how it happened. Lynda was all
concern, but there was a glimmer of hope for us listeners, when Leonie replied:
"To be honest, Lynda, I'm not even sure that I'm going to have this
baby." Anybody know how you get one of those e-petitions up and running?
Mind you, the site would probably crash within minutes.
Finally, to all our
readers: have a good Christmas and it's probably best to keep away from any
meeting involving Will and Ed Grundy!
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