I can't wait

When  I'm watching Coronation Street, There are storylines that really engage me. I watch with relish. I anticipate. I wait for the next thing that's going to happen. I speculate. I really look forward to seeing some things such as...

Phelan is now a murderer. He will be taken down and will have to face the music.
I can't wait.

Will his vendetta against Anna ultimately be his downfall? Or will he kill her? Maybe he will and then get caught. However it happens...
I can't wait!

Nicola is having Gary's baby. Sarah will have to find out at some point because these things never stay secret for long. I like Gary and Sarah together, and I don't think Gary and Nicola suit as well. So what's going to happen when this all hits the fan?
I can't wait!

Rita finds out tonight if the tumour operation was a success. I've got a good feeling  about this. But she sold her flat to that odious Colin so she'll still have to contend with that. Surely her being under the influence of a brain tumour is a legal enough reason to back out of the contract. Come on Adam, you're slithery. You can sort it out.
I can't wait!

Mary's finally got the family she always wanted but it's off to a very rocky start. There's a lot more going on between she and Angie than she realizes with Angie having trouble bonding with baby George and upset that her new mother-in-law seems to be taking over ably. Poor Jude is getting stuck between a rock and  a hard place. Her new BFF, Toyah, is a councillor, maybe she'll be a help?
I can't wait.

Sally is now the mayor of Weatherfield. What does that make Tim? Surely there will be a lot of conflict when she needs him by her side at formal functions. If last week's episodes are anything to go by, she's going to have to make sure she doesn't let politics overrun her family life. She did say she needed to keep her priorities straight. Someone's going to have to keep her grounded. I hope we get to see a bit of Sally the Politician and see her be successful at it.
I can't wait!

The factory is in ruins. Will it ever rise like a phoenix again? Surely it will. I'm hoping when Carla comes back, she'll put that factory back on the map.
I can't wait!

The whole Connor family seems to be in disarray. Maria made a fool of herself over Aidan who made a fool of himself right back and Eva played them both for fools and she ended up with a flat and a car. An empty victory, I think. Johnny and Jenny got married but starting up the factory seems to be too much for him to think about. Kate's in love with a married woman. They all need their collective heads knocking together. It bears repeating...

Carla's coming back!!
I can't wait!


Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

The Ruination of Anna Windass

Anna Windass has been on our screens since 2008. Right from the start, she and her common law husband, Eddie, were portrayed as people that were a bit or a lot dodgey, from a rough background. They hired Jo McIntyre to build their kitchen then refused to pay for it, leading Joe ultimately to bankruptcy. Anna has always been shown to be a fiercely protective mother though perhaps hasn't always made the best judgements but she'll do anything for those she loves. She'll also turn on anyone she may previously shown friendship for if they so much as look at her or her family sideways.

No, Anna has never really been a sympathetic character overall. Just when you think she's showing signs of improvement, doing kind things for friends, and being generally nice, something will happen and she'll be cold-shouldering, shrieking and slapping. The object of her anger will then be her enemy for life,  until of course, she realizes the error of her ways and then butter wouldn't melt. She will apologize but I don't know how anyone can trust her not to lost her temper again and go off on them.

Ah yes, that temper has got her into trouble more than once. She'll regret it but it doesn't matter. She doesn't learn. And she can be vicious with it, even towards her beloved teenage daughter who has been the cause of Anna's temper on more than one occasion. She'll let her mother down and end up being shut out, screamed at, even slapped. It's no wonder Faye thinks Anna hates her. It doesn't take much for Anna to turn her back on Faye on a regular basis. She certainly wasn't too nice to Faye after discovering that surprise pregnancy, calling her names and all sorts. Remember, she coldly turned against Roy, her friend and employer, after he assaulted Gary knowing Roy had been tested to his limits by teenage bullies. Roy shouldn't have resorted to violence, but Gary shouldn't have broken into the cafe to try to rob it but Anna didn't see it that way, assigning no responsibility to Gary at all.

We know that Phelan used her badly, forced her by blackmail into having sex to let Gary off the legal hook. I'm not making excuses for Phelan over that. She didn't deserve that treatment and did what she did because she didn't think she had a choice. Phelan knew she wouldn't let Gary go to jail. She has told a few people over the years. Some believed her. Some have not. Phelan has groomed everyone into believing he's a nice guy, just misunderstood so Anna looks like a vindictive liar. She's at it again, this time revealing the past to Phelan's newly found daughter, Nicola who seems to believe her, or at least, is smart enough to consider that it's the truth. She doesn't know Phelan well enough yet to trust him 100% so Anna's story hasn't fallen on stony ground this time.

It doesn't seem to matter that she's been a good and loyal friend, or a caring mother figure. She can flip personalities like a pancake on a griddle, soft and puffy one minute, sizzling the next. This is not a new thing. This isn't a new aspect of her personality since her encounter with Phelan all those years ago. It's one thing to get angry when someone you're trying to help rejects you, it's quite another to be seen screaming vicious insults at someone in public but that's what Anna does.

Therefore, it annoys me when people say that The Powers That Be are ruining Anna because the actress is leaving.  This is an accusation you hear often when actors decide to go on to other things. They make you dislike the character so you won't protest so much when they're gone. Lately, we've seen Anna going up against Seb and Faye after trying to help Seb's family. When it all went wrong, she was accused of calling Social Services. She didn't, but nobody involved believes her and because of that, Faye and Seb are in "I hate you" mode. Anna has begged them to believe her and when that doesn't happen, she pushes and pushes until one of them lashes out. What does Anna do? shrieks and insults these children and SLAPS them. Yes, the teenagers that she considers vulnerable and needing support feel the heat of her fingers across their faces. Nice.


But Anna's also being accused of causing Seb to fall off a ladder and Phelan is manipulating the evidence in that direction. Nicola might uncover another devastating truth about her mother and Phelan that will reinforce Anna's story and realize that he's not the man he's led her to believe he is. He'll lose the daughter he was so proud to have found, the one for whom  he thought he could redeem himself. If that happens, he'll have nothing to lose.  Anna's been a thorn in his side for a long time and this might be the way to get rid of her. He'll make sure Anna is ruined, a pariah until she's in jail or has to leave town.

I've never been a fan of Anna all that much. She's had her good moments when she's been loyal but then she's also had so many moments when she's been disloyal or unnecessarily harsh. She didn't call Social Services, but if she hadn't badgered him trying to convince him of it, Seb wouldn't have lost his temper and shouted at her. When Seb insulted her in the cafe, his heart broken after losing his siblings into Care, his mother back on drugs and assumed she called Social Services causing it all, Anna changed from begging him to believe it wasn't her in one breath to screaming at him and slapping him in the next. A 16 year old kid who needed support, not abuse. And she wouldn't leave it alone, she practically chased him out of the cafe trying to drag him back inside. It's no wonder he was so distracted, he was careless on the ladder and fell. You could lay that blame at her door even if she didn't actually push the ladder.

Has Anna been ruined? I don't think so. I think she's just been revealed. She might have a good and kind side to her but she's also got a streak of nasty inside like Blackpool Rock. Always has had.

I rest my case.



Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

When children have children

I, like everyone else, sighed and rolled my eyes when I first heard about Faye's pregnancy storyline. Knowing this storyline has been done before on Corrie, back in 2000 with Sarah Louise Platt, I couldn't think how they could do it differently enough to keep me interested. I have been proving very wrong. This storyline has kept me coming back for more every episode in which it was featured.

The Conversation Street podcasters this week hit it right on the money. Sarah Louise's pregnancy was told from Gail's point of view where Faye's has been told from the point of view of a 12 year old. You will recall that we viewers knew that Martin was having an affair in the run up to Sarah's pregnancy reveal and the marriage was on the rocks even though Martin stuck by Gail while Sarah went through the pregnancy. It was still Gail's story.

This time, it's all Faye's story. A little girl terrified that her adopted mother would decide she's too much trouble and unadopt her. She got along to her seventh month before she even figured it out herself. She'd gained weight and had been bullied for it at school. Dieting to try to lose the weight kept her size small and baggy clothes hid the rest of it. I've known women who were petite and barely showed at all when they were ready to give birth so it's credible to me that Faye was never obviously showing a big bump.

Ellie Leach who plays Faye did a fantastic job and the other star turned out to be Colson Smith as Craig who supported her, tried to be her voice of reason and did everything he could to help her. Every girl wants a best friend like him! Craig is 16 but he's not one the more mature 16 year old boys, all raging hormones and sweaty gym socks. He's a lovely, sweet lad and Colson is revealing himself to be a talented actor. I was watching his face while Faye was in labour and saw the flicker of relief when she asked for her mother. He was finally released when Anna arrived and he ran home to the safety of his own mother in the wake of Owen's anger and suspicions, too traumatized to defend himself at that point.

I hope Craig continues to be there for Faye regardless of how this plays out. The young actors have made this story infinitely more watchable.

It was interesting to bring Sophie into the mix. I don't quite understand how she couldn't hear Faye screaming over head but could hear little bumps as Faye and Craig moved around but never mind. Faye very much appreciated her presence while Craig was frantically looking for Anna and Sophie is always one to reach out to be a friend to the younger kids when they need it. You may not realized it but Brooke Vincent and Ellie Leach are cousins so I'm sure they're tickled to finally have some proper scenes together.

I enjoyed Beth and Kirk's reaction to Craig's news, too. Beth, like pretty much everyone else on the Street is going to do, suspected Craig is the father of the baby but she also believed Craig when he swore it wasn't his and Beth is always fierce in her defence of her own chick and everyone knows it!

Another bit that I thought was a wonderful touch was Tim telling a labouring and scared Faye how he felt when he first held her in his arms. I think it reassured Faye a little bit, knowing how much her father loves her.

I'm not especially looking forward to Anna's hand wringing and teeth gnashing, awash in guilt for not suspecting and berating herself because Faye was too scared to talk to her. I am looking forward to Sally lording it over Anna. For all Sally's parenting stop and starts, neither of her children have put her through something like this! She will conveniently forget Rosie's affair with John Stape! I'm looking forward to Tim relishing his new role as a granddad, something he's already delighted with. I wonder if there will be clashes between Tim's protective instincts and Anna's.

I really hope that Sarah Platt finds a few minutes to bond with Faye. I really hope the writers/powers that be don't drop the ball on this one. Gail could be a support for Anna and Sarah certainly could provide Faye with some insight.

Time will tell.

Linda Armstrong's return, Falling flat for me

First off, you're right. There was no State of the Street for January because my PC packed up just before the end of the month. I had a document saved that had all my thoughts and I can't get to it. No point in reviving it when I get the data copied over to a new machine so we'll just skip January. February's State will be posted, though, at the end of the month.

Now that's out of the way.

What I really wanted to write about was the current storyline with the Wind-Strongs and the return of the native, Linda Armstrong as was.

A bit of back story: From what we've been told to date, Owen's ex and the mother of his two children abandoned the family when Katy was a baby, a toddler perhaps. She has no memory of her mother at all. Izzy, a few years older, remembers her mother. She had just been diagnosed with the syndrome that has disabled her and mainly keeps her in a wheelchair. She, as most children do, thought her mother left because of something she did or because of her illness. Her father, greatly hurt at his wife's departure, allowed her to think that and stepped up to the plate to be as good a dad for his girls as he could. He might be a bit strict, a bit over protective of Izzy and a lot rough around the edges, but his daughters knew he loved them very much.

Still, Izzy grew up feeling guilty that she was the reason her mother left. She's got confidence and a lot of bravado but some of that is to cover that insecurity and guilt.

Now, out of the blue, Owen's ex, Linda has appeared. She has decided she wants to get to know her daughters. That's an uphill battle with Owen doing everything he can to undermine her with Katy and Izzy. Katy, though, doesn't have that guilt and was too young to remember her mother leaving. Katy wants to get to know her mother. Izzy is horrified and has too much resentment and guilt to want anything to do with her mum.

But now the truth comes out. Right from the start of her visit, we the viewers could see that there's more to this story than meets the eye and recently, Linda told her girls the truth. She took Izzy's diagnosis badly, had an affair with her boss and left. She soon regretted her actions and wanted to come back but Owen wouldn't let her. He wouldn't even let her see the girls and returned every card, gift and letter she ever sent. He was determined, mainly due to his own heartbreak, that they would either forget her or see her as the villain of the piece. Katy and Izzy believed their mother's story, mainly, I think, because she said she had the proof of the returned letters and cards. Katy has the added experience of something similar, having a fling with Ryan Connor when she was with Chesney but it didn't mean she couldn't be a good mother and Chesney agreed to that concept.

Owen is now the villain of the piece and Izzy's reaction in particular is heart-rending. She accused him of letting her feel bad about herself so that he could be the hero. That's how she sees it and even if he wasn't thinking that specifically, that is in effect what he did. And the truth hurt. Good! I hollered at the telly. You deserve what you get. It's a big betrayal, isn't it? It is going to be difficult for the girls to forgive this one in a hurry. Maybe they never will or if they do, it will be a long time coming.

The storyline, as a whole, is good soap fodder. But I do have one thing that dissatisfies me. Suspending disbelief, I can accept that even though Owen has lived in two different homes since he left the family home where Linda would have lived, Linda was able to find them with no problem. Presumably she either asked at a nearby business and we didn't see it on screen or there is information online available that she could find or even more likely, there are still relatives in the area she could contact. The thing that makes it a bit more difficult to buy into the storyline is that I don't think I like the actress that plays Linda, or at least, don't like the way she's playing it.

I have no previous experience of the actress and don't know if this is her usual acting style. It seems to me she's a bit too bland and low key. She's not really getting shouty and angry like I thought she would, fighting back against Owen's bullying. She's not cowering but she's not putting a lot of obvious anger in her reactions either. It doesn't even come across as an under-the-lid simmering, like someone really trying to hold it in, avoiding losing their temper else be reduced to his level. It just doesn't feel like anything at all. She ought to have eyes a-snapping and teeth gritting, telling him in no uncertain terms where to go and where to shove his attitude. She doesn't have to scream and shout, but I would think most women in that position would be a bit more passionate in their response, too. It doesn't feel realistic in my view.

The other issue I have with this is another reality point. I read a comment on the Coronation Street Blog and fully agree. Why didn't Linda ever try to gain access via a solicitor? There was no reason for Owen to withdraw access to the children. Was she an abused spouse? Was she afraid of him? Did it take her this long to return because he had browbeaten the confidence out of her? It can take some people a long time to work their way through it and get the confidence and strength to face their past fears. We haven't been told that was the case but seeing Owen's temper and sometimes violent outbursts, could that be the case? It would at least make more sense as to why she finally fled and didn't take legal action.

I do think the reactions of Katy and Izzy are spot on. Katy has been cautiously giving her mother a chance, a small foot in the door but ready to shut it if her mother didn't manage to say the right things. Izzy has been resentful and defensive, with grief and guilt mixed together, trying desperately to keep her walls up and armed. Now, finding out what Owen did, Izzy is crushed. Katy is furious because she can identify with her mother to an extent and she's protective of Izzy, too. Anna is just shocked and I do agree, that Owen's showing signs of never having got over his hurt, it's resurgence a worrying sign that he could still be teetering on that love/hate borderline.

Without spoiling it, I do know the end result of all this but it will be interesting to see the rest of it play out, including watching the girls finally get to know their mother.

Is Anna Windass channelling Vera Duckworth?

You know how Corrie fans and the media alike tend to refer to various characters as "the new...." whoever? For instance, several characters have been touted as new Elsie Tanners including Denise Osbourne and, currently, Carla Connor. A number of couples have been likened to Stan and Hilda Ogden or Jack and Vera Duckworth, especially if they're scrappy, with gossipy women and feckless fellas.


Eddie and Anna Windass were likened to Jack and Vera, as well, back when they first arrived. With talk of Blanche's ghost haunting the street and watching Anna turn on faithful Roy for his attack on Gary, I'm starting to see a lot of Vera coming out in Anna. Perhaps Vera's ghost is haunting Anna Windass? Seriously, though, Vera was a much loved character but if you think back, Vera could be a right nasty cow, taking against people she's known for years in an instant and thinking her husband, Jack or her son, Terry, could do not wrong, even when, deep down, she knows both of them were a screw up.

Sound familiar? I think the worst of Vera is living in Anna, especially these days. Anna and Vera both had big hearts but they could/can also turn on anyone indiscriminately, at the drop of a hat, especially if they're defending their loved ones, whether they deserve defending or not.  Vera was allowed to castigate poor, feckless Jack or shout at her beloved son but if anyone outside the doors of Number 9 did then it was war. That's what you do, right? Support your family through thick and thin. There might be a harsh word for your loved one that's disappointed you or even worse, betrayed you, but in public, it's us against the world.

I guess in some respects, that's a good thing. You want to know you can count on your family being there when you screw up. It's different if your loved ones are wearing blinders, ignoring the worst things you do, things you really aren't sorry for like many of the things Terry Duckworth has done over the ensuing years. Deirdre Barlow is famous for this where Tracy is concerned. She's calling Tracy on her stuff a bit more these days but if push came to shove, she'd back Tracy all the way. The difference is that Deirdre isn't as likely to turn on a friend, either. Gary isn't a man that does things out of malice, he just has a volatile temper and a very strong impulse gene.

Anna has gotten a vicious and spiteful attitude towards Roy since this whole incident happened. Be angry, but understand where Roy came from. Carla knows. Roy has punished himself far more than any long arm of the law could and Gary himself takes all the blame. What I want to see is Gary call his mother on the carpet for her lousy attitude.

When Anna's life crashes down around her (again), and it will, she'll expect Roy to be there for her as if nothing happened. The sad thing is, he will be because he's decent and Anna's got a very short memory.