Regards to Tromsø

Writers and crew made good use of their location shoot in Liverpool. Last week it was David’s story. This week, it’s Lloyd and the boys having Steve’s stag night without Steve. Then, as it turns out, without Lloyd. A little detour – Tromsø way.

Nothing is going as Lloyd hoped. He wanted to show them his Liverpool, so planned a minibus excursion. He forgot about Steve’s last minibus trip, when it crashed. So the stag of honour bowed out. The rest go, but it’s not the same.

The great music and party bar he remembers, The Horse and Cart, is not so bangin’ now. It is depressing, even dead. An old man asleep at a table pretty much typifies the place. Oh, I hope we see him again – just prop him up in a corner anywhere anytime.

To the harbour

Lloyd goes out for a smoke, and keeps going to the harbour front. He buys himself a bottle and sits there feeling sorry for himself. Tyrone finds him and they talk and drink.

Back at the bar, the boys talk about relationships and Jason bemoans his lack of one. Things look a little more promising when a pretty woman comes in and visibly eavesdrops. She’s meeting a friend who would be great for Jason, she tells Gary. Whooee, Jason’s interested!

A Norwegian trawler

Back at the wharf, Lloyd and Tyrone go aboard a Norwegian trawler and feel the wind in their hair. The bottle is almost gone by this time, and so are they. When it’s nearly dark, they realize they should go back to the bar. Only Lloyd can’t walk. He falls and tells Tyrone to go get the others and come back for him. Off Tyrone staggers, not sure which direction is which.

At the bar, the girl’s friend arrives – name of Leon. Jason explains he’s not gay. They don’t believe him. Sean verifies that Jason is telling the truth. “So what’re you doing in a gay bar?” Well, who’d have thunk it. I wonder if it will be a surprise to the old fella whenever he wakes up.

Trawler heads for Tromsø

Next we see our boys staggering along the harbour apron in pitch black, looking for the trawler. Finally they find the gangplank, and Tyrone sees only open water at its end. They look up and see the ship steaming out.

On board, Lloyd wakes up in his nest of nets and hears the engines. He gets up and staggers to the deck. He sees the lights of Liverpool receding. A crew member comes out of the cabin. ‘What the -?’ he probably says when he sees Lloyd. Next day, on the Street they’re piecing together Lloyd’s disappearance. He won’t be home for a while. The trawler’s next stop is Tromsø.