State of the Street - April

Faye had her baby daughter at the start of the month and didn't want to have anything to do with her. Anna despairs. At least the family of the father of the baby is aware in spite of the little jerk trying to deny it. If I was Anna, I'd be applying to them for some support payment and surely Faye would qualify for some Social Assistance payments as well to help offset the financial problems a baby's going to cause, especially if Anna gives up work for Faye to go back to school which of course she must because it's a soap, right? And she's too young to legally leave school.

I'd like to see more of Social Services' involvement as there really needs to be something in there about finding ways to keep Faye in school, not just let her stay home for a few months and go back in September. She's too young to fall behind and the bullying will be even worse than it's going to be already. And I despair, I really do. Miley? I know, I know. Faye's only 13 and they're probably the only age bracket that really does think Miley Cyrus is cool. It would have been nice to see Faye naming the baby after her late mother but that would probably mean she actually cares about the baby which she doesn't yet.

I'm a bit curious as to where this will go. I'd *like* to see it end up that they give the baby away for adoption but with soaps, it'll probably be the more uninteresting story of Faye finally finding that she does love the baby and couldn't possibly give it up. If Tracy Barlow can find it in her heart to want her baby back, Faye surely will.

Speaking of Tracy, she's leading Tony around, pushing more and more for him to dump Liz and put what money he has into buying Steve's half of the pub. What I haven't figured out yet is why she'd want to be Liz's partner because Liz still owns a share. Maybe she's going to push for that sale as well. Tracy would love to lord it over the Street but she'd end up with no customers at all or nearly so if she owned it. The rest would be Tony's mates selling dodgey goods in the smoking shelter!

But the thing is, Liz is starting to take Tony for granted as you tend to do when you're comfortable in a relationship and he's got a sexy chick beckoning from across the road. Surely Tracy wouldn't be slicking smelly stuff on her legs or leaving her bra and tights hanging in the bathroom. You don't think? Most people are attracted by the thrill and excitement of the chase and the forbidden pleasure. When they finally leave their partners for the other person, they find out quick enough that life isn't all that different with the new than with the old and in this case, Tracy is probably worse. I reckon Tony's just stringing her along about the money and the pub but if he plays her for a fool, he might want to hide the blunt objects and watch his back. She's got form!

Eileen has finally met a nice man through the dating site. He's not dynamic and he's not exciting but he's stable, pleasant and seems to be a good guy. Naturally, she's all in a tizzy about some other guy on the dating site that sounds a lot more hip and exciting and if she's not careful, she's going to lose a good man to a fantasy because that's exactly what it is. It's actually Todd playing mean games with his mother, and for what reason? Nobody knows. I don't know. I don't care, frankly. I've lost all interest in why Todd does what he does. I don't care what happened to him in London to make him turn so horrible. I don't know why his family keeps getting sucked in and then forgiving him.

I hope Eileen manages to keep hold of Adrian after disowning Todd yet again but I haven't high hopes. And people wonder why Eileen is always so bitter? You'd think she'd wonder by now why she hasn't actually talked to "Jeff" either by phone or on Skype and has Todd only sent one photo of Jeff? If he's sent more, and remember, this is supposed to be a random photo I think, how does he find more photos of the same random guy? Nick them off his Facebook site, I suppose.

David has found out about who Andy really is and by the end of the month, Luke has found out as well. For the life of me I can't imagine why Gail has continued to put flowers on Gavin's grave. Once, maybe that's marginally understandable, doing it for Michael's sake but over and over? It makes absolutely no sense and is the only detail in this storyline that's fallen flat for me. I've enjoyed it otherwise but this is stupid but there is a reason, now that I thought about it. The reason was so that David could follow her and find out. I doubt she's going to take any more flowers to the grave now. And him using Andy to try to get back at Callum was kind of stupid too. Callum has been hanging around Coronation Street for months, in the pub and shops and in the Bistro WHERE ANDY WORKS and he didn't recognize him? Really? I don't buy it, people.

But that whole Callum and David fighting over Max storyline is boring the life out of me anyway. I know they had to do something while Kylie was away but geesh this is getting on my nerves. Kylie should be back (by the end of May?) and I can't wait for her to kick Callum all over the place for trying to take Max from David. I'd love to see her find a way to put Callum back in jail for a very long time or at least she needs to back David up with the courts. She's Max's mother and she should have a lot more say in whether Callum gets to take Max from David. She'll have to prove that she's got past the drugs, though.

Sally continues to be a joy to watch! I love to see her sniping at Jenny or trying and failing to lord it over Alya at the factory and being a slave to her own snobbery in other little vignettes. Now that Tim is a grandad, she'll have a superior attitude about her own parenting skills compared to Anna's when really, the only reason she might consider herself a better mother is that neither of her two got pregnant as teens! They caused plenty trouble otherwise, especially Rosie!

As for Jenny, it's becoming more and more obvious that she's got some really big issues to do with children. Did she have a child and lose it somehow? Illness? Accident? It seems likely she's a bit shaky, perhaps had a breakdown. I expect her to go completely doolally and walk off with Jack, convinced that he's her child. Nobody will be surprised when she goes off the rails. By the end of April, she's quit her job but lied that she got fired, and will be looking after Jack while the child minder is off with a broken leg. It also felt like there was a little thaw between she and Rita but Rita certainly won't be surprised when Jenny goes over the edge and Sophie already thinks there's something off about Jenny. Sally will have plenty of I Told You So's, too! I am enjoying this storyline quite a bit, though. Great performances all around.

Steve's recovery has been quietly subtle. He still has good and bad days but he seems to be coming to grips with it all. I like that it took Lloyd awhile to really get his head around it and he still seems to be slightly suspicious that Steve hasn't just found a new and different way to skive. Michelle has been supportive as I expected but I had hoped she'd and Liz both would be a lot harder on themselves for how they treated Steve than they were. Liz didn't seem to take any blame at all when she was just as bitchy as Michelle back before they knew Steve was ill. I think Liz still believes in tough love to help him get over his illness but she's coming around.

Sinead is also recovering in the first realistic storyline ever with a paralysed-from-accident character. Even Peter Barlow was up and staggering 2 months after the tram crash. Sinead has now been in hospital since early January, inching her way along the parallel bars with the encouragement of her new mate, Sam, who I think has a lot more feelings for her than he's letting on. I also think Chesney spotted it even if he doesn't know why he's jealous. Sinead doesn't seem to have the same feeling though but if Chesney starts acting out, it could spell trouble.

Steve and Michelle are going to get married and Liz is trying to get Tony to help pay for the wedding. When really, you know, if you're broke, you shouldn't be planning anything elaborate. It doesn't cost much to get married at the registry office and I'm sure Michelle can find a nice dress that doesn't cost hundreds. Gail probably knows where you can get a good deal on a dress. She's had to get 6 wedding dresses (so far!) and she hasn't always had much money to splash out. A few sandwiches and sausage rolls in the pub you already own and job's a good'un! Wedding on the cheap!

Speaking of Gail and weddings, round 2 of her sixth wedding and though she had a wobble at I Do, she did. She's the leader in the soap wedding/partner race, having had six full legal weddings (and a seventh that she missed by minutes) and five husbands. Steve is runner up, heading towards his sixth wedding but one of them didn't go through because the bride was too drunk and he's only had four wives among the six wedding ceremonies, including the upcoming one, providing there is one, of course. It's a soap, that's never a given until they actually say those two little words. Deirdre and Ken both had four ceremonies and three partners as a commendable Also-Ran.

I like Michael, I like that he's emotional, not all stiff upper lip like all the other men. I think he's a lovely man who made a mistake out of desperation and now he's got his life back. Well, sort of. That heart condition may kill him yet. I'd like him to get a heart transplant and be ok because after all her dead husbands and divorces and disasters, Gail deserves to be happy. 

And that, folks, is the State of the Street for April