Wedding Blues

The brides looked really lovely in fairytale frothy dresses. The house and the church were decorated in white flowers, white for innocence. But one of the brides had doubts and in the face of God, couldn't manage to get the words out. The father of that bride spoke up. He knew his daughter had some collywobbles. So did her friend/employer, even more than her father. And the bridesmaid who was at the root of the doubts knew that the bride was making a mistake.

I think the guests at Coronation Street weddings must be getting used to weddings getting interrupted and not coming off. We had two this year alone! No wonder Rita hasn't bought a new hat for one in awhile. She's worn that black furry thing for most occasions in the last few years.

Sophie might be over her crush on Amber, but it served to show her that maybe she's not ready to settle down. I do believe she loves Sian and loved her all through everything else she was feeling but at 17, is that enough? Kevin didn't think so. He tried to talk to her in the conservatory with that sad Adele song in the background and then he was the one that stopped the wedding when Sophie was hesitating.

Sophie herself tried to talk to Sian but Sian overwhelmed her with loved up words and gifts. Most of us grownups have been watching this unfold and thinking that we knew 17 was far too young to get married and it will all end in tears and that's what happened. Kevin and Sally both felt that way about it but when the girls tried to elope, they backed off and went along with it. Sometimes  you have to let your kids make their own mistakes but faced with them running way, they were in a hard place. I'm sure both of them felt it was a mistake, too, even before Kevin discovered Sophie was having doubts.

And it most definitely did all end in tears. Wailing, crying, sobbing, shrieking on the street. Should Kevin have interrupted the wedding like that? Did it hurt him like a knife through his heart to see his little girl in a white, frothy, soggy heap on the pavement with her heart in pieces all over the cobbles? I bet it did but I also think he did the right thing.

Sophie had a crush on Sian and she had doubts. By the time she got to the altar, she was over it but the doubts were still there and before her God, she couldn't say the words. She's 17. She's a kid no matter that she wants to be considered grown up. Sian was her first love and it was difficult because coming out as a lesbian is not going to be easy for anyone much less a teenager. All of that is a lot to get your head around at the best of times but at 16 and 17 when your hormones are all over the place and when you aren't as mature as you think you are, marraige a disaster in the making.

It's telling that Sophie wanted to hurry along the wedding to prove to herself that she didn't love Amber. Amber was only winding up Sophie at first but she knew Sophie was making a mistake. I think she just went about it the wrong way, trying to play on her emotions. Or maybe that was the only way she could have done it to really make Sophie think.

Sophie and Sian were a really good couple, I'm not saying thatthey weren't. Best friends turned into lovers and they were really sweet together. But they were still kids. I think the same way about Chesney and Katy, moving in together and planning a baby. They really aren't equipped to handle the really tough times that are going to happen. Relationships are hard work and even harder at that age. Chesney might be more mature than Sophie because he's not had a sheltered life. He's had to learn how to survive in spite of Cilla so maybe he's grown up a bit faster but Katy has been most definitely sheltered even though Owen has brought her up on his own. I don't know if they can survive as a couple, as sweet as they are together.

But this isn't about them, I only mentioned them to point out some similarities and so you know I am not approving of one and not the other as "too young".

I still felt bad for both Sophie and Sian and had to swallow hard a few times watching Sophie in a heap on the ground and Sian crying her eyes out in the car. Sophie is blaming her father but down deep I think she'll realize she really only has herself to blame. She's got to find a way to pick up and make a future for herself. She's had a bad year, too, what with the revelation of her parents' breakup, the tram crash, dropping out of college, falling off the church and now having her relationship blow up. I'd like to see her go back to school and maybe university. She always had the potential before and would have been ok in college if her life hadn't got on top of her.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Streeters!

Wishing everyone that visits us here a very happy holiday season, whichever holiday you celebrate! All the best for a peaceful and happy New Year!

Defending Peter and Carla...sort of

I've been reading a lot of really negative reaction to the pairing of Peter and Carla and I'm here to defend them. Kind of. I am not a fan of the couple. I really prefer Leanne and Peter together but I don't think this is the worst couple "ever", as I've read some people declare. One person even said it was worse than Kevin and Molly.

At the risk of coming over all Panto, Oh No It Isn't! Nothing could be as cringeworthy as "Molvin". That had to be the most ill-conceived pairing every and that is most definitely pun-intended.

I think Peter and Carla do have a certain chemistry and and I like both characters as well, just not as a romantic couple but you have to have triangles on soaps, it's a stape plot device. We could see this one building up for over a year so at least it didn't feel like it was thrown together. Kevin and Molly should never have been a full blown affair. It would have been understandable if Kevin had developed a middle age crush on a cute young woman but all the rest was repugnant even if it did provide storyline fallout and fodder for another whole year.

Some people don't like Alison King as an actor. I didn't at first but she seems to have relaxed into her character and they've written some vulnerabilities into her character as well. I've long been a fan of Chris Gascoyne and I find he has chemistry with whoever he's on screen with. I do find it a bit out of character that Peter would disappear for 24 hours without letting anyone know he was ok, mainly for Simon's sake but he's an addict and I think he's about to replace booze with Carla.

I don't think they'll end up together long term but this will again create a catalyst for the storylines without which we wouldn't have much to watch, now, would we? With Leanne fighting her corner, and Ken lecturing Peter on his failures and Simon's disappointed little face tugging at our heartstrings, we will ride this one out as we do everything else, waiting for the outcome and fallout.

Why Peter and Carla won't work out

Right. So after that blog post from a few weeks back about who Peter will choose and who he *should* choose, he's now gone after Carla. He loves her, he thinks maybe marrying Leanne was a mistake and is going to leave her.

One of the things he said on Friday night's episode was that he was treating her like he did booze, like a bad thing he had to stay away from. That is it in a nutshell. That's why this isn't going to work in the long run.

Peter is a man of addictions and I think Carla is one of them for him. It may or may not really be love but then he really loves booze too, in a love/hate sort of way. He thinks it makes all his problems go away but really, they only make them worse and that's what is going to happen with Carla, too.

Carla understands him in ways that Leanne doesn't because she's flawed like he is. So is Leanne but it's different. Carla has a drink problem and can identify with Peter's. Pity the writers seem to have forgotten that Leanne was once addicted to cocaine but then, that was only a flash in the pan thing anyway and probably best left in the past.

If I was Leanne's friend, and Simon wasn't involved in the equation, I think I'd tell her to leave him and let him stew in his own boozy juices. Love him she may but he's going to drag her down eventually. But Simon is involved and if he's going to have to watch his father's ups and downs like this, at least he's got Leanne to hold on to and help keep a little normalcy in his life. If she can stick it out, that is. And if she can't, then she might almost have a case for getting custody. Too bad she's not formally adopted Simon yet. I know there was talk about it but I don't think it went any further than that.

You know all this business about Leanne having trouble getting pregnant, already having been assured by the doctor that though it may take a bit longer, it could still very likely happen? Don't you think it's pretty obvious that she's going to get pregnant and quite likely Carla will as well? Standard Plot device. They used it before with Maria when Carla nearly took Liam off her. Maybe that's Weatherfield's cure for infertility, have your fella fall in love with Carla and bob's your uncle!

I really don't think Peter and Carla are suited, not for the long run. I think Peter needs Leanne and Simon a lot more than he realizes. I really don't think this relationship with Carla is going to go the distance but whether he and Leanne will manage to salvage anything is still up in the air.

State of the Street - November 2011

Fiz was sentenced but don't worry, She was later released pending an appeal which of course, she'll get. Meanwhile, Chesney lost his beloved dog and nearly put him and Katy in the poorhouse. One question was answered, I see Ches and Katy did in fact give up their flat to move into Number 5 because that's the flat that Brian and Julie are now renting. I guess they're all sharing the house now. Gonna be a bit crowded when the baby comes along!

John's funeral was appalling, only in that Sally really made a show of herself. I can understand her anger but for someone that thrives on appearances, she sure made a nasty scene. The man is dead, for whatever he did, his funeral is not the time to muck rake. She didn't like Rosie airing the dirty laundry all over the newspaper. Was doing this any different because she wasn't paid for it and there was no photographer? And the Vicar asking for memories? Surely Chesney who arranged it would have given him a heads up to keep the service short.

It's not even as if John really did threaten Rosie's life, ever. Both times he kidnapped her, he never harmed her. It doesn't make it right and of course Sally was scared witless but she really did blow it all out of proportion but that's typical Sally. At least she finally backed off and realized what she'd done but did she apologize? Of course not, she had time to think about it and when Fiz came back to the Street, she started right up again until Fiz found her inner Cilla and nearly put Sally in hospital and she'd have had it coming if Fiz actually did hit her! I kind of wish she had really. Sophie, Rosie and Rita brought Sally up short and maybe made her think even if she never will change her mind completely.


And nobody really thought Fiz would leave the Street, did they? So what happens next? Surely Fiz must be able to get some job seekers' benefits now she's out of prison, at least until she gets a job with the rapist. Does she know about Frank and Carla? Surely someone has told her. But she's desperate for a job at the moment. Even so, I really don't think she would ever consider working for Sally who's the supervisor nor would I ever believe Sally would actually hire her, having to work under the same roof as the woman who was married to the man that kidnapped Rosie twice, and who she believes knew all about it no matter what she says or how she may have backed off a bit. Sally did recommend Fiz check at Fosterworld but we haven't seen Fiz since. Did she apply for the job? Is she working?

Speaking of flats, Jason's and Tina's flat went forgotten since it was rebuilt in January/February. No word about how difficult it was to sell. Why didn't Jason just move in there since he's been paying mortgage anyway? Rosie might not have liked it but surely it was better than staying in the Grimshaw Boarding House? Besides, rebuilt, it isn't really the same flat he stayed in with Tina. And why doesn't Tina ever mention it? Why didn't she stay there instead of Tyrone's? She must be contributing to the mortgage too so would be equally entitled to it. Now, neither of them have can use it since it's Chris and Cheryl's love nest. For a minute. It was hardly worth them moving in, they moved out again so quickly. I consider it my  Christmas miracle that they were gone before then.

Eileen has been dragged into Pitiful Paul's life again. He wanted her to help him find his wandering wife. But he had the police on it and he could have had the whole Fire Department at his disposal. I guess he really does care for her and I'm sure is a very lonely man. Tugs at your heartstrings doesn't it? I'm sure it's a tough position to be in. The lady playing his wife Leslie is very believable.

Michelle and Ciaran are back and it seems Michelle has got her degree from the S.S. Carribean Cruise line, that offshore floating college where you sing for your qualifications. She's running the factory and loving it and Ciaran's feeling like dead weight. He likes life on the high seas and it just wasn't meant to be. I think even if they had got married, he'd have ended up hating Weatherfield and feeling tied down. It wouldn't have lasted.

I've already blogged about the exit of Cheryl and Chris and Lloyd's hearbreak here.