Alice In Blunderland

Hollie Chapman (Alice Carter)

The main event of last week was Nic’s funeral. All her family were there, except for one brother who lives abroad. Of course Will said the previous week that he and Poppy won’t be going, but on Sunday he is nobbled by Shula, who tells him that that was how she felt when Mark died. In the end she was glad that she went – and also to Caroline’s funeral, which showed how loved Caroline was by so many people. Shula tells Will that he has to make the decision himself but, whatever he decides, she hopes he finds peace.

Will thinks it over and, much to the joy of Clarrie, he says that he and Poppy will indeed be at the church. On the day of the funeral, he is late arriving at Grange Farm and the way he is feeling is evident from his comment to the family: “Let’s get this over and done with.” He then breaks down in tears as they enter the churchyard. From all accounts, it was a moving service, with the music that Will and Nic danced to at their wedding and a touching eulogy from Emma. Emma did very well to hold it together, but she dissolved in tears at the end.

Then there’s the Wake, with Emma remarking to Ed that Alice never made it to the service, although Chris did. Ed is having trouble with Joe, who can’t get Nic’s last words out of his head. “I thought we’d sorted all that” says an exasperated Ed, adding that that should be an end to it. Joe agrees, but still says that it should have been him that died, not Nic, as she had so much to look forward to. “I’d swap places with her in a heartbeat” Joe tells his grandson.

Although Alice never made it to the service (pressure of work) she did make the Wake and wastes no time in getting stuck into the booze. She wants to go and speak to Will, but Emma says best not at the moment, as he’s taking it badly. Eddie distracts Alice with a glass of red (“Make it a large one” – Alice) but she spots Will and moves in on him. “You must be devastated” she slurs and then bangs on about how, when Chris got kicked by a horse, she thought he was a gonner. Will wasn’t as lucky as she was, as Chris recovered.

Alice then tells Will that he’s not to blame himself because he didn’t notice that Nic was dying. This infuriates Clarrie, who comes over and says “I think you’ve said enough.” Alice protests that she didn’t mean to offend anyone and she notices Beverley looking at her. “What are you staring at?” Alice asks, belligerently, then “Who are you, anyway?” Eddie says “That’s Nic’s mother, Beverley” and leads Alice towards the door. Clarrie tells an apologetic Alice to leave – now. “We don’t want you here – get out” she spits, then, when Alice has been helped out by Eddie, Clarrie says “How dare she do that to Will? She’s ruined an already impossible day. Where does this leave Will now?”

The following day, Alice is mortified when she realises what she has done and asks Chris to go with her when she apologises. He says that she should go by herself and suggests that, in the future, she might think of moderating her alcohol intake. Alice goes off to Grange Farm and, as she tells Chris later, Clarrie all but slammed the door in her face.

Clarrie isn’t the only one upset with Alice; Jennifer tells her that she’s ashamed of her and even Brian, who usually has nothing but admiration for his daughter, says that she behaved badly. When Alice moans about her job, he changes tack and says “we all make mistakes.” He adds that there might be a job for her at Home Farm in the future. I’d get a better lock on the wine cellar first, Brian.

Over at Bridge Farm, the atmosphere in the dairy between Susan and Clarrie is a bit strained. In fact, Clarrie is despondent and, when the talk turns to Rex working with Neil’s pigs, Clarrie remarks that, with Neil as unit manager at Berrow, he and Susan “will be rolling in it.” Susan says it won’t be that much, but Clarrie says, self-pityingly, “Funny how things never work out for us as they do for other people.” Susan remarks that she knows how hard it has been for the Grundys recently and Clarrie replies that it doesn’t help, people making ignorant remarks. “I don’t know what got into her” says Susan, which makes Clarrie laugh hollowly. “Oh, I think I do” she says. We do too – about a bottle and a half of Shiraz is my guess.

I sincerely hope that Alice is not expecting an Easter card from Clarrie, who describes her as “a very selfish young woman” and adds that she doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to forgive her.

Someone else whose week was spoiled was Jill, when Shula told her (in church on Sunday) about her leaving Alistair. Jill asks if she has really tried to save her marriage and, when her daughter says that the marriage has been going downhill for some time, Jill responds by telling her that she and Phil used to row occasionally and Shula mustn’t throw it all away. “I don’t love him anymore” Shula says and reveals that she has been staying at The Bull (“running away” Jill calls it). However, they want the room to put up Nic’s family, so Shula will be returning to The Stables. Jill, who is definitely a glass-half-full person, is pleased – perhaps this will be their chance to get back together? Shula must be feeling like banging her mother’s head against the pew (or did they change the pews for chairs?) and she says, slowly and clearly “I know it’s not what you want to hear, but Alistair and I are over – for good.” Even then, Jill urges her not to tell anyone else about the split in case things change. “They won’t” Shula replies, no doubt wondering whether or not she should bang her head against the pew. Jill gets a bit nasty, when she asks “Didn’t your marriage vows mean anything?” “That’s unfair – of course they did” a hurt Shula answers.

You have to hand it to Jill – she’s not one to give up easily. On Friday she learns that Alistair is coming to Brookfield to look at a cow, so she waylays him. Alistair doesn’t really want to talk about his private life, but he breaks down when she says that she has always thought of him as her son. “It’s been a complete nightmare” he admits. He had no idea that Shula was so unhappy and he wants her back, but is it even worthwhile trying? Jill urges him not to give up hope and once again demonstrates her (seemingly illogical) super optimism when she tells her son-in-law, whatever Shula says, Jill is sure that this isn’t the end. We’ll see.

It was a mixed week for Brian. There is a significant meeting of the BL board about what should be done about developing the old cattle market. Justin’s proposal is for a mixed retail development, but Martyn Gibson favours a mega agri store as a better option for the community. Justin makes it clear to Brian that he expects his support and, while he doesn’t actually say ‘you owe me, pal,’ Brian is aware that he is under an obligation, given Justin’s recent support of him.

Martyn Gibson makes his point, but Justin says that his proposal has greater potential and calls on Brian for support. Gibson puts it to the vote and Justin is victorious. Afterwards, Brian tells Gibson not to be a sore loser. Gibson expresses surprise that Brian didn’t stand up for the farming community; “Justin’s pockets must be bigger than I thought” he says, nastily. “That’s an outrageous slur” Brian retorts and the argument starts to heat up until Justin comes to break it up. An annoyed Martyn leaves and Justin suggests that he and Brian celebrate. “You know Brian, this could be the moment when your fortunes start changing.” Justin says. “That can’t happen soon enough” is Brian’s heartfelt response.

It turns out that Rooooth is another person surprised at BL’s choice, as she thinks the agri store would have been better for the community. Brian explains that it is all down to footfall and BL needs to make a profit, not run a community centre. “I suppose it comes down to which one you think will make the most money.” Rooooth says brightly. Give this woman a degree in business studies! Of course it does, you numptie.

Actually, if I were Rooooth, I’d be wary of antagonising Brian. She asks him if she can be present when Brian explains to Ruairi what has been going on at Home Farm while he has been walled up in boarding school. Specifically, what is Brian going to tell him about the contamination at Low Mead? Brian says it’s none of her business and all Ruairi has to know is that it is being dealt with and hopefully the end is in sight.

Brian tries to change the subject, but Rooooth reveals that Bert told her that, back in the 70s, a couple of brothers visited a number of farmers, offering them money if they allowed the brothers to bury waste on their land. He particularly remembers because they approached Phil Archer, who quickly sent them packing. Rooooth muses that it might be worth Brian’s while to carry out an investigation into the brothers online – he may be able to find out something useful. Brian is a bit short and says a curt ‘no’. “I was only trying to help” says a bemused Rooooth. “Well, we don’t need you to, thank you all the same” Brian tells her and Rooooth departs.

Perhaps Justin was right when he spoke about Brian’s fortunes changing, but they might be changing for the worse.  Maybe Brian can feel the net tightening, as he is clearly rattled by what Rooooth said. Later, he tells Jenny that Rooooth could be on to something – what if she decides to investigate herself? Brian describes her as “like a dog with a bone.” “If Rooooth works out what’s been going on, we really could lose everything” he tells his wife. Watch your back Rooooth; if you start getting too close to the truth, Brian might be tempted to do a Nic Grundy on you.