Corrie Street Jan. 12/14
Snow for Christmas It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank An old man said to me, won’t see another one And then he sang a song, the Rare…
Corrie Street Jan. 5/14
and The Dreamers I think there are a lot of men like Dennis in the north of England, like Ritchie too. Those who remember the Mersey Beat, the British Invasion…
Corrie Street Dec. 29/13
Rock, Hard Place My husband and I bet on the decision Hayley would make about giving Christian the £5,000 he had asked for. He said that, knowing Christian was manipulating,…
Corrie Street Dec. 22/13
Weddings and Debts Peter and Carla’s wedding was fabulous – beautiful location, beautifully garbed guests, stunning bride, gorgeous groom. Tension everywhere, for viewers and characters alike. Would Peter succumb to…
Mom, Christmas Postie
In the early '60s, my mother worked at London’s postal sorting station during the Christmas rush. It was for a few weeks when the volume of mail overwhelmed the sorting…
Corrie Street Dec. 15/13
Like Bambi Discussing the week’s episodes, my husband said, “There’s a movie called Rancho Deluxe. A guy is watching this woman in a clearing in the woods. She’s dancing and…
Corrie Street Dec. 8/13
We don't need no education School underlay three stories this week. First, bullying children who find their supporters, and victims, by way of schoolyard friendships. Grace has to be the…
Corrie Street Dec. 1/13
Into the Vortex Every moment with Roy and Hayley on Tuesday was perfect. Roy learns to accept another’s choice or, as he sees it, to lie. At Jane’s funeral, he…
Corrie Street Nov. 24/13
A Time for Us A time for us: that’s what Roy and Hayley want, what they need. Instead, like Romeo and Juliet, they have intrusions. Impending death the biggest of…
Corrie Street Nov. 17/13
Steak and Burgers The week ended with a tentative, but lovely, reconciliation between Leanne and Nick. It was Gloria who pushed it, with some uncommonly sensible talk from her. The…
Ford Branding
Tobacco companies are probably heaving a huge sigh of relief. As far as we know, no cigarettes were smoked by Mayor Rob Ford. So they do not need to distance…
Corrie Street Nov. 10/13
Tea and Empathy Someone needs to tell Roy that Hayley’s decision is not about ending her life prematurely due to despair. It is about wanting to find an acceptable accommodation…
The Princesses Louise
Is Princess Louise Park in Sussex NB named for a British Royal or a horse? I’ve heard both answers. The person was daughter of Queen Victoria and patron of the…
Corrie Street Nov. 3/13
Houses of Cards One house of cards balanced well; one collapsing. If we extend the construction metaphor, Emily might say that’s because one was built on a foundation of rock…
Make-up Trade
Revlon tests products on animals, Facebook says. Huh? I thought Revlon was one of the few major mainstream make-up companies that did not do animal testing. On-line searching turned up…
Corrie Street Oct. 27/13
Backstreet Boozer Oh, the joy of seeing Liz McDonald come through the Rovers’ door! A real landlady back. And just in time, before Michelle and her ego have a chance…
Corrie Street Oct. 20/13
Make 'em count “Spit it out, Nick! Heave it out of ya, b’y!” String your few words together so they tell somebody something. That’s what I was yelling at the…
Corrie Street Oct. 13/13
Christian Circus Thursday, Hayley and Roy go to the Rovers with Christian, her long lost son. Hayley is Christian’s father, from when she was Harold. It has been very difficult…
Corrie Street Oct. 6/13
An Ant Farm So many scenes this week, most of them involving Hayley and Roy. But the one that got me was a story about a boy wanting an ant…
Coming Home
Coming home after an absence, you see it differently. When you leave one home to visit another, you get it both ways. Going back to Ontario after a year in…
Corrie Street Sept. 29/13
Sunita Redeemed Miss a few episodes and all hell breaks loose! We returned to two weeks of Corrie recorded, so feasted on two or three episodes a night to get…
$40 Beets
Several years ago, my husband grew beets and decided to pickle and can them. He had watched me bottle relish and tomatoes and thought ‘I can do that.’ So he…
Corrie Street Sept 8/13
Limbo (Cue organ music) Will David confess his wrongdoings to Leanne? Will Nick remember anything when he comes out of the coma? Which one of them is Kylie’s baby daddy?…
Corrie Street Sept 1/13
The Go-To Guy If ever an argument was made for the value of civics education in schools, it was Craig’s face as Karl told him what would happen if he…
Corrie Street Aug. 25/13
Facing Consequences David saw Nick, and saw what his vengeance had wrought. He likes playing out the nasty games he thinks up in his head but doesn’t imagine how serious…
Grilled Zucchini
If God has blessed you with so much zucchini that even the chickens run away when they see you coming, here is one solution. Grilled, for the freezer. Preparing Grilled…
Corrie Street Aug. 18/13
Father of the Year "I can feel it across nations – people wanting to give Gary a good smack." Such is the opinion of my husband about Gary’s reaction to…
Corrie Street Aug. 11/13
C is for Coping If I ran Corrie, I’d have it in the contracts for some actors that they could never ever leave Corrie no matter what. Julie Hesmondhaigh would…
Corrie Street Aug. 4/13
Mother Sylvia Despite her pointed observations (usually accurate if not tactfully phrased), Sylvia is a truly warm-hearted person. A woman who acknowledges shortcomings, including her own, and recognizes a person’s…
Spoilers
I hate spoilers. It’s like walking into a movie as someone walks out of the previous screening and says “I would have never guessed it was the good guy that…
Corrie Street July 28/13
Race Row I avoid on-screen tv guide programme descriptions. Too often, they give away the whole plot: “there, saved you the trouble of watching the show, you’re welcome.” Wednesday, I…
Baby Prince George
In the past three days, the royal baby has been born, brought home, had pictures posted on Facebook, and been named. A boy named HRH Prince George Alexander Louis of…
Corrie Street July 21/13
Best Served Cold David is trying to abide by the proverb ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’ – meaning take your time in avenging a wrong, it will be…
Queen’s Secret: Review
Last week I saw a book called The Queen's Secret by Charles Templeton. Curious to see if it was by the late Canadian journalist of that name, I pulled it…
Corrie Street July 14/13
Creepy People Brilliant scenes this week with Roy’s sleepwalking OCD, Emily’s convalescence and Norris’ fears for his future and especially a Gift of the Magi moment with Tina and Izzy…
Corrie Street July 7/13
Solomon Redux In Peter and Leanne's fight over Simon, I thought of the Judgment of Solomon in determining which of two claimants to a baby was the real mother. On…
Corrie Street Jun. 30/13
Understanding Changes Another week when it’s difficult to choose one scene only. Are changes due to the new producer or just timing of storyline arcs? Or, with student summer holidays…
Rhubarb Jelly
This year, with a lot of rhubarb, I wondered about making jelly. It is more time consuming than jam, so I hadn’t done it in a long time and never with…
Corrie Street June 23/13
What happens with Rita “What happens with Rita stays with Rita” is what Tina wanted to hear. Tina needed to hear what she'd said moments earlier when they talked beside…
Frissell’s The Viking
The Newfoundland Museum, when still on Duckworth Street, had a small collection of films to screen for visitors. The first one I ever showed was The Viking. I had never…
Corrie Street Jun. 16/13
Four for Four The first four episodes this past week each had more than one contender for “the scene.” I cannot narrow it down any further than one from each…
Corrie Street Jun. 9/13
Rovers Return I got quite teary-eyed during Stella’s speech at Friday’s reopening of the Rovers Return. I was as pleased as she to see everyone returned, with pints and large…
Corrie Street Jun. 2/13
The Legacy A two-year-old letter from Roy’s father has produced amazing scenes. A long overdue legacy, of sorts, for Roy. It began with Sylvia going to the hated Home to…
Corrie Street May 26/13
Workin' 9 to 5 My ‘aha’ moment this week was Wednesday, when Rita wondered why David was so exhausted. “But he’s a young lad, he should be able to manage…
Corrie Street May 19/13
Horses for Courses With the longshot Oxbow winning yesterday’s Preakness over the favourite Orb, it’s time to think about betting. Peter and Rob are using the betting shop as their…
Corrie Street May 12/13
Friends Friday episode, Eileen in despair. Paul is leaving for Yorkshire. There’s nothing she can or will do about it. Jason asks Deirdre to see her, maybe cheer her up.…
Coronation Street May 5/13
Other People's Kids Friday, in the café Anna comments to Tina about both of them having "other people's kids, hope you have better luck than I’ve had." The story of the…
Coronation Street Apr. 28/13
Local Hero Karl the local hero, having a hard time with doing everything right while really he’s done everything wrong. He has been hailed as a hero since he attempted…
Coronation Street Apr. 21/13
Reefer Madness Tuesday, Dennis asks Sylvia about the effectiveness of her hash brownies for pain relief. Works a treat she said as she swiftly cleared and cleaned tables using her…
Coronation Street Apr. 14/13
Unravelling Tuesday, Kirsty's face as Ruby cries upstairs. You know that this is the end of the storyline and the end of the road for Kirsty. She is unravelling. The…
Coronation Street Apr. 7/13
Devastated I’m going against the tide of what I’ve read this past week. I’m picking Dev, with the doctor who tells him the seriousness of Sunita’s condition and with Karl…
Coronation Street Mar. 31/13
White Cliffs of Dover A lot of stories coming to a head this week – Katy and Chesney, Sunita and Dev. But the big one is the Rovers’ fire. Karl…
Coronation Street Scene (Mar. 24/13)
Blaming the Victim Kirsty’s mom listening to her tell about her situation with Tyrone. At first Alison believed her daughter, wanted to believe her. Then you could see her face…
Chinua Achebe
Today, the great Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe died at the age of 82. If you have never read his books, this would be as good a time as any to…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Mar. 17/13)
Backfire You do something enormously stupid. So you come up with a plan that gets you out of it and, even better, makes it seem somebody else’s fault. You will…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Mar. 10/13)
The Family Way The scene: Sylvia and Norris discuss Kylie, who is drinking her pregnant face off. Sylvia says she shouldn’t be drinking if she’s in the family way. Norris…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Mar. 3/13)
Counting Cards Sylvia has found her Rain Man and her rainmaker. Having developed a liking for games of chance while in America, she realizes Roy’s odd and heretofore embarrassing mental…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Feb. 24/13)
Mother-in-law Forgive me for reminding you of this song, Mother-in-Law (click to hear). But it popped into my head while Gail was pleading with Nick to take her in. She…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Feb. 17/13)
Pay Off Amount of money needed to pay off debt: £9,000. Vengeance exacted while getting that money: priceless. I still don’t think Lewis is justified in his outrage at Gail…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Feb. 10/13)
Open to Persuasion A Joan Armatrading song mentioned by Jenna this week applies to three characters in two different storylines: “I’m not in love but I’m open to persuasion.” Jenna…
Hampton Court House
The 140-year-old Court House in Hampton, New Brunswick has heard its last case. Court cases for Kings County will now be heard in Saint John. The town knows a new…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Feb. 3/13)
Teleflorist My husband’s guess was that Kirsty would show up at her wedding with a hidden gun. After seeing her wedding dress, I asked where would she hide it? Teleflorist…
Jack 1998-2008
Five years ago today at 2:15 pm ET, my beautiful German Shepherd Jack died. We had his vet euthanize him before his body did it by itself. It was getting…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Jan. 27/13)
True Romance Love, sex, relationships and marriage all featured this week in almost every storyline. Tumultuous, even histrionic, tales of intrigue, deception and secrets and, amid all of it, one…
A Nation’s Songs
Whatever one might think of the US of A, they got good national songs. Watching Monday’s Presidential Inauguration, the high point for me was the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir giving it…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Jan. 20/13)
Fly Fishing Fly fishing is an art and a craft. It requires skill in preparation and execution, an eye for beauty, the ability to reproduce nature, and patience. It is…
HRH Baby
With the expected Royal baby, there will be a kinship situation that hasn’t existed since Queen Victoria reigned. There will be 3 generations of direct heirs apparent to the throne:…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Jan. 13/13)
Heartbreak Hotel Probably Kylie could do better than Nick, but he’s a vast improvement on David. So this was my favourite shot of the week. The repercussions of this will…
Idle No More
Our ancestors wanted this land Canada so damned bad that they crossed the ocean, crossed the country in wagon trains, fought each other, fought the indigenous peoples, and cleared forest…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Jan. 6/13)
Kirkys Turkys Interspersed amid the turmoil, a little tale of giving and goodness unfolded this week thanks to our Kirk and young Craig. The cardboard sign he made - Kirkys…
The Christmas Gift
This Christmas, I got lots of nice presents but my favourite is a list of stores written on a scrap of paper. It’s about the gift that didn’t happen, but…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Dec. 30/12)
The Job Offer A week of people not making sure secret talks are secret, of sturm und drang with our newly minted Californians and of the hideous sight of another…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Dec. 23/12)
Rent-A-Womb Maybe the whole thing coming out in the Rovers about Tina being a surrogate mother for Izzy and Gary was just a build up to Tina throwing a pint…
Newtown CT
When smoking was still permitted in restaurants, you’d sometimes see signs: “No pipes or cigars.” That was because the smoke from those is much stronger. To me, this is a…
Newtown Kids & Dogs
A lot of dogs in Newtown, Connecticut will be working overtime in the solace department. There are children and adults who will need the love of their pets to help…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Dec. 16/12)
In Vitro Veritas On Friday, a drunk and pouting Tommy Duckworth actually made a lot of sense. Not the part about suggesting – no, demanding - that Tina abort this…
Library Science
Sometimes a simple thing happens that makes you realize what you should have done. One day at the library, I was reshelving books that had been left out. There were…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week Dec. 9 2012
David Prat So many scenes this week in a story quickly developing in the mind of a silly boy. David thinks a baby is just what he needs. Yep, David,…
Santa Bunny
The cosmetics sections of stores have beautiful Christmas displays. Toiletries, creams and bath oils are lovely and easy gifts to give almost anyone. You can do it in one stop…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Dec. 2/12)
Trouser Press Like others, I didn’t see the point of Eva Price when she first appeared on Coronation Street. But over the months I have come to see that there…
Mr. Otto Kelland
A while back, I was looking online for a family in response to a query. I found them. A note on their kinship chart said the wife was sister of…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Nov. 25/12)
It's all about Maria! Monday, very first scene: Negligee-clad Maria comes slinking out of the bedroom to the couch where Marcus sits looking fretful. Hey big boy what’s the problem,…
Reading History
Well-written and well-researched historical fiction gives the reader a two-fer: a good story and a history lesson that you may have slept through during school. Recently, I’ve been living in…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Nov. 18/12)
Mrs. Guy Fawkes I love Lewis when he ceases being Mr. Suave and Urbane. Oh, I love him when he is Mr. Slick too. But this week, he showed himself…
Hens movin’ on up
Hens movin' again. That’s what happens when you’ve got wheels on your coop, you get itchy claws. There have been some awfully cold days and nights the past couple weeks.…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Nov. 11/12)
Greek Night Tuesday: Roy looking through the debris of Greek Night, picks up a broken object. It’s a model train car – a 5th anniversary gift from Hayley. Mary says…
Poppies
My dad had a whole collection of poppies. Mom kept the ones that we bought every year and pinned them on the top of a wallhanging in the dining room.…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Nov. 4/12)
Visuals There were a lot of great visuals this week. The end of the week, of course. Sophie with coked-up, pity-partying Ryan on the highway as traffic whizzes past. Then…
Happy Hallowe’en
Mouse batteries dead in my usual computer, and not a new battery in the house. But luckily I have pets in costumes pics on my laptop. As if there aren't…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Oct. 28/12)
Doctors Cat and Zhivago A cat talking stick and the hope that Dr. Zhivago - oh sorry, Lewis - would burst through the café door as if he’d just crossed…
Austin Anger, a story
My cousin Lynda Sykes wrote this story about our grandfather Austin Anger. She and her mother had dug out some old family pictures. Among them was the one here of…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Oct. 21/12)
Marcus Confused An actor and character this week instead of a scene. Charlie Condou has been fabulous, in my opinion, portraying Marcus Confused. It’s been clear for some time that…
That Good Night
I have always loved Dylan Thomas’ exhortation to his dying father: Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Yes, I thought,…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Oct. 14/12)
Roller Derby Classic. Fifty-two years of Corrie ethos and culture illustrated Monday in a few brief moments by Michelle and Tracy - in rollers. Comedy, family history, strong women, intergenerational…
Ancestry Search
Thirty-three years ago I started doing Newfoundland Mi’kmaq genealogies. Over the years, I’ve added and corrected information and marked changes in families. This weekend, I sadly updated the database with…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Oct. 7/12)
Tick Tock A quiet build up of scary tension in four parts Thursday. Kirsty, wound tighter than a clock on a time bomb. Wait – that’s just what she is!…
The Cluck Sisters
The girls are moved in! Sunday evening they were put in their new coop. They’d waited in the back of a truck and, by that time, were pretty much pointing…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Sept. 16/12)
Good Parenting Maybe it’s having only half the episodes to which we’ve become accustomed. Maybe it was a week of filler stories – updating us on characters we haven’t seen…
Stompin’ Tom Revisited
Thank you CBC Radio! Just when I think I’ll never hear anything that I haven’t heard at least once already in any given day or week, you give me a…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Sept. 9/12)
Love Hurts It’s the story of Kirsty and Tyrone I guess, more than any one scene this week. Although every scene where Kirsty gets or might get annoyed or has…