21 December 1978 - 16 January 1979
3068 - 3082
Christmas has come and gone at Xrds and we’re now into 1979.
I was all geared up for Nolly’s iconic, fourth wall breaking rendition of
We Need A Little Christmas, (which I’ll always associate with
@Angela Channing) and while it was marginally disappointing that it didn’t come, the scales were balanced by her heartfelt interpretation of
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (meaning that Meg pipped Karen Fairgate Mackenzie to the post by more than a decade). It’s a song that needs to be sung by someone who can transmit the song’s sadness to the audience, and Nolly does this beautifully.
Jill’s truly back in the thick of things now, being in the throes of a bitter divorce and custody battle with Stan in Germany. Her phone calls including some German phrases, and her dramatic flights back and forth to try and resolve matters bring a touch of the exotic to Kings Oak, but it’s a shame that in Edward Clayton’s absence, Stan’s character is being somewhat assassinated with him being portrayed as the villain of the piece, persecuting Poor Jill. I suppose we’re mostly seeing the story through the eyes of Jill and her mother, so perhaps I shouldn’t expect balance, but this one-sided story arc serves as a reminder of what the series has lost.
In good news, the chemistry between Jill and Adam is good, and I’m enjoying the pursuit angle of their slightly tempestuous meetings, with Adam keen to know her better and Jill having no time or inclination and airily brushing him off at every opportunity.
Adam continues to support Meg, particularly in the series’ current major storyline of Mrs Crisp trying to get money from her now that Hugh’s child support payments have stopped, with Mrs Crisp trying all she can to prove Hugh is Wendy’s father.
Unfortunately, the arrival of Yvette Dotrice (daughter of Mrs Crisp actress Kay Dotrice, and sister of Michele and Karen) is a good argument against nepotism. Of course, the pair being played by a real-life mother and daughter adds a novel layer. But Yvette, frankly, is not a great actress. She delivers all her lines in rapid monotone as though she’s in a school play, and the character swings between sweet and tedious or angry and shrieky. We’re spending far too much time with them for my liking and what should be a dramatic goldmine is a bit of a drag to watch at times. Noele Gordon’s had some terrific scenes, though, and it’s wonderful to see Tish supporting her dear friend Meg.
Benny, Doris and Mac are a joy to watch in any scene. In recent episodes Benny’s discovered the Morris Minor he bought and has lovingly renovated with Mac’s help is stolen, and needs to be returned to the grumpy old man who threw casual racism into the mix when challenging Mac. I did enjoy David Hunter stepping in to smooth things over. Let’s face it, there’s no end of smooth when it comes to Mr H.
Poor old Steve Cater seems to have been written out with a throwaway line from Diane about him being transferred to Wolverhampton some time ago.
Bernard and Helen are twitterpated once again and have bought a flat. Could this mean their days on the series are numbered?
Sandy's been offscreen for quite a while now. I'm guessing this was due to Roger Tonge's illness.
Oh, and Shughie has fallen for a waitress in a greasy spoon. Which boggled my mind somewhat.
I do hope you can get to see Call me Nolly - Noele Gordon in her own words
I hope to see it one of these days, but your descriptions have brought it wonderfully to life. Thanks for this.
Im also very grateful to someone on a Noele Gordon / Nolly archive on Twitter who posted this and put of me out of my misery as I love this piece of music ever since i heard it when Noele/Meg was in Coventry cathedral
Oh, that's great that you've managed to solve the mystery and track it down. It is a really beautiful piece.
but thought Id share
