Who Said Sundays Are Boring?

Graham Blockey (Robert Snell)

A couple of weeks ago I said of Robert Snell “when it comes to understatement, he has no equal.” Well, dear reader, I was wrong, but I’m afraid you are going to have to wait a bit before the new understatement champion is revealed. Sorry to be a tease.

But let’s go back to the beginning of the week; Tom and Natasha are celebrating her birthday and their first wedding anniversary, with the cake that Tom baked. As we predicted, the ring that Tom thought he had lost turned up inside the cake and he almost broke a tooth on it.

Over at Grey Gables, Emma mentions to Aunt Tracy that she and Ed are thinking about a divorce. Tracy is horrified and leaves her post at Reception to run after her niece and argue with her. Tracy tells Emma that she and Ed belong together, and Emma leaves the hotel, still arguing with Tracy. And it was lucky that she did, as in mid argument, we hear a loud explosion and the pair run back in to see what has happened and to help.

Meanwhile, Lynda has been desperately trying to apologise to Freddie over the misunderstanding over Johnny’s hair-thickening pills. Freddie is still very anti-Lynda and won’t listen when she says she wants to apologise. When she says that she will clear the air with the staff, Freddie asks how can she do that without giving Johnny’s secret away? We never find out how she plans to do that, as she is distracted by a noisy workman (they are repairing the soil pipe) and she opens the kitchen door to tell him off. It is at this moment that we hear the explosion.

The story continues on Monday, where we find Roy organising the evacuation of the hotel and stopping a guest who is trying to get back inside. Inside the kitchen, Freddie, who was caught in the blast and knocked unconscious, comes to and sees Lynda and Blake (the workman she was going to tell off) lying silent and motionless. Freddie realises that their exit is blocked and he looks for another way out. Throughout all this, he talks constantly to her and says that he accepts her apology.

Roy realises that Lynda is missing and starts to look for her. Freddie is shouting for help and Roy hears him. Roy spots the unconscious workman and, somehow, he manages to drag Lynda out of the wreckage. He asks Roy if Lynda is breathing (paramedics have arrived by this time) and Freddie is scared that he didn’t get her out in time. And thus Monday’s episode ends.

While Roy is coping extremely well, despite a nasty gash on the head, Oliver emerges from his office in a state of shock and is seemingly incapable of movement. Tracy takes charge of him and leads him to Grange Farm, where the Grundys look after him.

On Tuesday, Robert is at the hospital. Jim has gone along too and Robert tells him that the doctors won’t let him see Lynda. Freddie saved her and she has been operated on for a collapsed lung. Robert is concerned - he says that when Lynda was leaving for work yesterday, she said something to Robert and her husband is vexed because he cannot remember what is was.

Freddie has also been taken to hospital and is quite the hero - a journalist from The Echo has interviewed him. Even better, as he tells Elizabeth and Shula, the hospital are discharging him today. Elizabeth is concerned, but Freddie assures her that it’s not as bad as it looks and he’s looking forward to going back to Number 1, The Green. In your dreams Freddie! Lizzie says he is going back to Lower Loxley and a disappointed Freddie reluctantly agrees, but warns his mother that he won’t be staying for ever.

Robert, meanwhile, has been spoken to by a doctor, who tells him that Lynda will be having skin grafts tomorrow, plus she has a fractured pelvis and severe burns, as she caught the full force of the blast. Robert wants to see her and the doctor is reluctant - she’s not a pretty sight. Jim tells Shula that he will be staying in case Robert needs him, but he doesn’t think that Robert is in the mood for other visitors. Shula takes his advice and leaves.

Robert returns and tells Jim that Lynda “is broken”. Jim’s response is that she’s still alive and Robert needs to stay strong for her. Robert has remembered what it was that Lynda said to him before she set out for work (she wasn’t scheduled to be working on that day). She gave Robert some French Toast and said “Don’t let it get cold” - what if they should prove to be the last words she ever said to him? Hardly likely to make the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, is it?

On Wednesday, rumours are starting to circulate round the village. Kirsty was in the shop and heard Jennifer say that, if the explosion occurred in the kitchen, it must be the fault of the workmen. Kirsty and Roy talk - Roy says Oliver has taken it very badly; he didn’t bring any clothes of his own and is wearing Eddie’s clothes and not seeing visitors. Actually, if I were wearing Eddie’s clothes, I don’t think I’d want people seeing me either. Could be worse, I suppose - he could be wearing Clarrie’s garments.

At Lower Loxley, Lily shows Freddie the Echo article, but Freddie is not in the mood to receive congratulations. Russ comes in and asks Freddie if he needs help tying his shoelaces and is rudely rebuffed. Russ tries to distract Freddie by giving him things to do, but Freddie is preoccupied - what if he made things worse by dragging Lynda out? Russ replies that at least Lynda and Blake are alive. Lily asks Russ if Freddie is ok and he replies “No - but he will be; just give him some time.”

Oliver decides he should go and see Robert at the hospital and asks if there’s anything he can do? Robert is not impressed and gets very angry, telling Oliver that Lynda wasn’t down to work that day. Furthermore, it is Oliver’s hotel and, therefore, his responsibility. Robert screams at Oliver to get out, and take his flowers with him. “If anything happens to my Lindy, I’m holding you responsible!” Robert rants.

Thursday at Grange Farm sees Eddie bringing down Oliver’s (untouched) breakfast from his bedroom. Clarrie says that he’s got to eat, but Eddie points out that he can hardly force-feed him. Oliver comes downstairs and says that Robert was right - the buck stops with Oliver. Emma goes to work in the tea room and sells Lilian some food to take to the hospital. Lilian is worried - what if Robert won’t see her after the row about the pub name change and the fiasco over Lynda’s demonstration?

We learn here that Lynda is in an induced coma, which prompted some cruel remarks from friends, along the lines of ‘perhaps they’ll forget to wake her up‘, and ‘maybe it will last ten years or so.’ People can be so cruel, can’t they? Robert does not turn Lilian away, but confides that he has been reading to his wife - Moby Dick (which was probably what induced the coma). Lynda gives Robert some fresh clothes and tells him to go to the washroom and freshen up. Have a shower and a shave so that he will look presentable when Lynda comes round. Oh yes - ring Leonie and Flat Leaf Parsley, as they have been frantic, not being able to contact their father.

As Robert goes meekly away, Lilian sits with Lynda and talks to her. She’s brought some magazines for her (smart move, Lilian). Lilian becomes quite emotional and tells Lynda that she and Lilian have had their fair share of squabbles over the years (not to mention padlocking Lynda to the pub signpost) “and we’ve got many more years of squabbling to look forward to, haven’t we Lynda?” Personally I reckon that if Lilian said that she is going to revert to The Bull’s old name, Lynda would suddenly spring out of bed and tap dance down the corridor, completely healed.

And so to Friday. Philip is worried that the incident is being talked about by the Grey Gables staff and fingers are being pointed at him. Certainly Tracy is blaming the workmen. Roy happens to mention how Robert had a real go at Oliver and Tracy immediately leaves to find her boss. She tracks him down, sitting on the Caroline Sterling memorial bench at Grey Gables. Oliver is mortified - on the day of the explosion, all the staff reacted superbly, getting everybody outside in 13 and a half minutes. He, on the other hand, was paralysed and couldn’t move. Tracy says he was in shock - that’s what the paramedics said - and he mustn’t be too hard on himself.

Let’s just duck away for a few minutes and go back to Roy and Kirsty, who are talking in the Tea Room. She cannot believe how happy she was a week ago and now all this. Roy points out that disasters seldom provide advance warnings, but she wonders if this is a good time for a wedding? Roy says that they are talking some time in the future and “You can’t put your happiness on hold.” Besides, what about his feelings as joint Best Man?

Back to Tracy and Oliver. She notices that he is carrying an envelope. He confides that it is the final Investigation Report, but he is reluctant to open it. She encourages him to do so and he reads it, saying please excuse him; he has to go and see someone.

That someone is Phil and Oliver asks if he has seen the report yet? Phil says ‘no’ and Oliver tells him that the cause of the explosion lies with Phil’s workers. It seems that Blake was using petrol to remove the adhesive on the floor tiles and, for reasons unknown, the grill was on. When Lynda opened the door to remonstrate with Blake, the draught brought the petrol fumes into contact with the flames. “This is not the way I work” says Phil and, while Oliver says that he knows Philip is a good man, the same cannot be said for Gavin and Blake (who were the workers on the project), although Gavin wasn’t there when the accident happened.

Oliver is sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but thought Philip should know before the news got out. The Police and Health & Safety Executive have been notified and procedures will be put in place in due course. Philip promises to get to the bottom of it all and, when Oliver has gone, he calls Gavin. It goes to voicemail and Philip says “Gavin, where are you? Call me when you get this. The Investigation Report is in - it’s not good.” You can say that again. 

And so, a mere 1,852 words after we first spoke about understatement, ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you the new champion - let’s hear it for Mr. Philip Moss.