dulcie grey

Howards’ Way – Series One, Episode Eleven

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Shellet comes calling on the Urqhuarts.  Polly doesn’t exactly take to him, telling Gerald that “there’s a sort of person” to see him.  Shellet needs money for expenses and he also seems deprived in other areas (mentioning to Polly that it gets very lonely when he’s all alone in his hotel room).  Polly might have an eye for just about anything in trousers, but I’ve a feeling that Shellet is a bridge too far, even for her.

Lynne’s glammed up for her evening meal with Charles whilst Ken calls on Jan.  He plainly feels threatened by Claude (or “that froggy dressmaker” as he calls him) and seems to be fretting about the business trip to Cannes that Jan and Claude will shortly be taking.  Far away from home, he no doubt envisages that Claude will take advantage of her in just the sort of way he’s not been able to do so far!

It’s a sunny day in Tarrant, something of a rarity.  This makes Charles and Lynne’s champagne and caviar seem even more intoxicating.  He learns that Lynne’s father is conducting an affair with Avril (uh oh) and then outlines his philosophy of living, which revolves around power and freedom.  “Power to act and freedom to choose.” They’ve hardly finished the meal when he casually mentions that he’d like to sleep with her – which is as good an example of power and freedom as you can get.

Abby decides she wants to keep the baby.  This seems to have cheered her up – for pretty much the first time ever she seems almost happy.

And then we go to Cannes, well sort of.  In later years the budget would actually stretch to foreign filming, but that wasn’t the case here.  So we have a brief montage of stock footage (people lounging on the beach, etc) before cutting to a pool obviously somewhere in England.  But they made a bit of an effort to suggest exotic climes by having two topless women walk past Claude and Jan’s table in a casual manner.  That was a tad unexpected I have to say, especially considering that the episode originally went out just before 8.00 pm on a Sunday evening.

Ken might be right to be wary of Claude, but at present it’s her business acumen he wants (Claude’s attempting to woo her away from Ken – suggesting instead that they set up business together).  I’m afraid his silly French accent is beginning to get on my nerves ….

And then Ken pops up in Cannes, casually offering to take Jan out to dinner.  And of course being Ken he appears at her hotel door with a rose in his teeth and a bottle of champagne in his hand.  After a decent meal (off-screen, which saved a bit more money) they return to Jan’s hotel room and you can probably guess what happened next.

When they meet up for breakfast the next morning, Ken demonstrates that he’s an unreconstructed Englishman abroad since he’s not willing to try any funny food (bacon and eggs is what he wants).  The arrival of Claude sets Ken’s antenna twitching, but he acts casually in only the way that Ken Masters can.

The highly recognisable Hubert Rees pops up as racehorse trainer Stephen Bettins.  Kate’s part of a racehorse syndicate (each owning a leg) but it seems clear that she’s going to struggle to pay her share.  It might have been these scenes which inspired Glaister to later develop Trainer, which unfortunately wasn’t the same sort of success that both The Brothers and Howards’ Way had been.

Polly’s made it quite plain to Abby (before she ran away from home of course) that she viewed her daughter as an extreme disappointment.  But not any more.  After opening her mail(!), Polly’s delighted to read a letter from an American student called Orin Hudson.  He and Abby were obviously close for a while (as Polly so charmingly puts it – “God knows what this boy sees in Abby but it all sounds very lovey-dovey”).  And since he’s a member of an incredibly wealthy American family, Polly sees it as her duty to reunite the two lovebirds.  This is mercenary Polly at her best.

Jack’s solicitor lays on the line exactly how serious things are.  If Shellet’s claim is successful then not only will Jack lose the yard, he’ll also forfeit his house.  Tom will lose everything too, as all the yard’s assets (including the new boat) will be Shellet’s.  That’s a suitably dramatic way to bring the episode to an end.

 

Howards’ Way – Series One, Episode Ten

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Tom and Avril have spent the night together aboard the Flying Fish.  For all that Jan’s been shrill and accusatory this year, it’s Tom who turns out to be the one who irreparably destroys their marriage.  Pledging all their money (including using the house as collateral) for his dreams of boat building started the cracks but when it’s revealed that he’s been conducting an affair with Avril there’s no way back.

As Tom and Avril lie in each others arms in dawn’s early light, a young chap is making his way over to another boat.  Presumably he must be a little hard of hearing as he doesn’t seem to notice the red beeping danger signal on the dashboard.  He attempts to turn the ignition switch and whoosh, there’s a rather large explosion.

Tom plays the hero and rescues the boy but it means that neither Tom or Avril have time to return home before Leo’s up and about.  And Leo can’t help but notice that neither his father or Avril seem to have spent the night in their respective beds (he’s still doing a spot of paining and decorating at Avril’s).  Quite how he worked out that Avril wasn’t in her bed isn’t explained ….

There’s also a journalist sniffing about and he speaks to both Leo and Ken.  You can just imagine Ken’s delight when he learns that Tom and Avril spent the night together, whilst Leo is understandably perplexed and troubled.  With immaculate timing, matters come to a head just as Lynne returns home in triumph (her boat won their class in the FastNet).

Ken, of course, is on hand to stoke up the fire.  Meeting Jan off the train from London, he can’t wait to tell her the news whilst elsewhere Leo confronts Avril.  “You may have all the looks, Avril, but that’s all you’ve got. Any woman who goes after a man knowing he’s got a wife and family is damn well nothing.”  Edward Highmore doesn’t quite spark into life, but maybe he’s a little less wooden than usual.

Jan confronts Tom who tells her that it could have easily have been her with Ken.  This is an astonishing statement as there’s been no evidence – the odd tango apart – to suggest that Jan’s even considered breaking her vows.

Perhaps it would have worked a little better had this storyline dripped out over a few episodes, with the rumours about Tom and Avril slowly gaining momentum.  As it is, it feels rather rushed.

If you need a little light relief from the strife at the Howards, then Jack’s still ensconced at the clinic, playing gin rummy with Kate and reluctant to join in any group therapy.  Fair to say he’s not the easiest patient.  Jack finally makes an appearance at group therapy, although he doesn’t take it terribly seriously (“I don’t drink a lot, I spill most of it”) leaving the therapist – Louise Silverton (Christine Kavanagh) – mildly irritated.

Elsewhere, Ken and Charles have a business lunch at the yacht club.  Lynne waits upon them and is introduced to Charles for the first time.  Once again there’s the wonderful contrast between Ken – anxious to appear cultured and intelligent – and Charles – who breezes through any social or business occasion with ease.  The business of the wine is a good example.  Ken suggests a bottle of Mouton Cadet but Charles wonders if the Chateau Montrose might not be preferable.  It’s a subtle example of one-upmanship which sees Charles emerge victorious yet again.

But Ken’s convinced that he’s won the war, telling Jan later that he’s got Charles “just where I want him. If he doesn’t go along with me, there’s nowhere else to go.”.  I’ve got a feeling that Ken’s counting his chickens rather too early.

After spying Lynne for the first time, Charles clearly likes what he sees, so he sends her hand-picked flowers and arranges a dinner-date with her aboard his yacht at 8:30.  He’s a smooth operator, that’s for sure.

We finally learn that Shellet is Jack’s brother-in-law.  When Jack receives a letter from him, he’s perplexed.  Kate can’t understand why, after all it seems perfectly natural that he should want to get in touch.  Jack has the perfect riposte.  “He’s been dead twenty five years, that’s what’s wrong.”

And now he’s made a claim for ownership of the Mermaid Yard.  But the end of episode twist (Charles is the one who’s put him up to it) is a great moment which adds yet another layer to the plot.  Ten episodes in and everything’s ticking along nicely.

Howards’ Way – Series One, Episode Nine

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There’s a further example that Charles is a thrusting (and wealthy) businessman at the start of this episode – he arrives by helicopter.  I wonder if his comment that the weather in Geneva was even worse than back in the UK was an adlib to take account of the fact that yet again location filming took place on a gloomy day.  If the exteriors for series one were shot during the summer, then the sun rarely seemed to come out.

Charles meets Gerald outside a palatial country house – one of a number which Gerald has earmarked as potentials for Charles to purchase.  Since they make no effort to inspect the interior, landing here doesn’t make a great deal of sense – apart from the fact that (like the helicopter) it reiterates to the audience that Charles Frere is a man of substance.  This is also subtly acknowledged via the incidentals, as a plaintive string melody plays over shots of Charles’ chauffeur-driven car moving away from the house.

Lynne has arrived at the Isle of Wight, keyed up for the FastNet race.  A barrage of stock footage is employed in order to create the illusion of a massed phalanx of boats, which isn’t entirely successful due to some of the clips being on film and others being on videotape.  Phil pops up to taunt Lynne and the others – since they’re just a bunch of girls, surely they’ll have trouble even getting to the start?

In the most unsurprising twist ever, the two boats find themselves head to head (curiously there’s no other boats around at this point) and the girls easily pull ahead, leaving Phil floundering.  Hurrah!

One oddity is that Tom, Jan, Kate and Leo never express any interest about how the race is going.  You’d have thought they’d at least have mentioned it.

Jack’s in the Jolly Sailor, bending the ear of the unfortunate barman, Arthur (Patrick Carter).  This seems to be a common occurrence – no doubt whenever Jack gets plastered he reminisces about boats he has known (in this case, the first one he ever built – back in 1948).  Arthur is plainly desperate to get away, but with the politeness of a trained barman can’t bring himself to tell a valued customer to stop chuntering away.  Perusing the delights on offer in the bar, I wonder what Badger Export Bitter tastes like?

Kate’s still acting as his conscience, ringing up the pub to berate him for hitting the bottle again.  Jack’s eloquent comeback (“you old teabag”) is priceless.  Things take a darker turn later when Kate finds him collapsed at his home – she takes control straight away and calls an ambulance.  Luckily, there’s nothing seriously wrong with him, so she checks him into a clinic in order for them to dry him out.  This is going to be fun ….

Abby discusses with Dr Malik (Renu Setna), the possibility of terminating her unborn child.  Setna, still working I’m happy to see, has played an awful lot of doctors during his career (episode one of the Doctor Who story The Hand of Fear is one such which springs to mind).

Several characters make their debut here.  A mystery man, who we later discover is called Richard Shellet (Oscar Quitak), is seen lurking about.  He’s clearly a wrong ‘un – the way that the incidentals suddenly turn sinister and Shellet’s peremptory way of dealing with the hotel staff are two obvious signifiers of this.  Although he doesn’t speak, he later fingers a picture of the Mermaid Yard, so it may not be too hard to work out where this plotline will go.   It’s going to rumble on for a while (into the second series) and will provide considerable entertainment, not least because of Quitak’s performance – Shellet always appears to be a man teetering on the edge of insanity.

Ah, Claude Dupont (Malcolm Jamieson).  The devilishly handsome, smooth-as-silk, would-be fashion designer crosses paths with Jan.  She’s looking for a designer, he’s looking for work, it seems a marriage made in heaven.  It’s hard to take Claude that seriously, since this is another example of plot contrivance (a potentially world-class fashion designer who just happens to fall – as it were – into Jan’s lap) but Howards’ Way never really bothered too much about realism.  And why should it?  Mind you, his silly French accent is a little irritating.

Ken, invited to a swanky party organised by Charles, runs into merchant banker Sir John Stevens (Willoughby Gray).  Sir John will be a regular throughout the six series and for all that time always refers to Ken as Kenneth (the only person to do so).  A subtle put down, possibly?  Sir John is always politeness personified, but the clash of different worlds that occurs whenever he runs into Ken is not only obvious but also an endless source of class-based comedy.  Ken, dazzling in a white dinner jacket with a rose in his button-hole, is clearly overawed by Sir John.

The episode ends with Tom and Avril enjoying an idyllic time aboard the Flying Fish.  But I’ve got a feeling that their joy is going to be short-lived.

Howards’ Way – Series One, Episode Eight

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This one opens with Charles steering his yacht en route to a business meeting with Ken.  Size, of course, isn’t everything, but it’s fair to say that Charles’ craft dwarfs most of the others in the marina.   His yacht serves several purposes – not only does it tell us that he’s a man of substance but it’s also a handy device to impress others.

And Ken is very impressed.  Dressed in a gleaming all-white outfit, he’s obviously a little overawed.  A breakfast meeting with champagne?  It’s a small taste of the high life that he’s incredibly anxious to sample more regularly (and no doubt Charles would have been well aware of this, so the location would have been no accident).  Charles suggests a joint venture – Ken builds the new marina, Charles runs it.  Ken asks for time to consider, but still seems confident that if he refuses then Charles will be stuck – since Ken owns a prime piece of property bang in the middle of the proposed location.

Charles isn’t bothered though, in true Thatcherite spirit he declares that “we live in a commercial world, Ken. Everything’s for sale.”

Time has clearly passed off-screen, as Jan and Ken are practically ready to open the boutique, whilst Tom’s prototype boat has passed its tests with flying colours.  We saw a brief moment of testing in the previous episode, but Tom’s boat has still sailed off the drawing board with unseemly haste.

As for Jan, she’s suddenly turned into a hard-headed businesswoman, easily able to gain very favourable terms from tailor Bernie Rosen (Harry Landis).  Bernie’s Jewish of course (this scores a full ten on the cliché ratometer).

Tom’s delighted to hear that his prototype is developing well and, in a moment of sheer joy, embraces Avril in the office.  Alas, Leo walks in at precisely that moment and if looks could kill no doubt both his father and Avril would have disintegrated on the spot.  I’m not sure whether Leo’s more annoyed that his father’s in the arms of anther woman of if he’s simply miffed not to be the one enjoying the embrace!  Edward Highmore continues to essay a performance which is low on subtlety, but perhaps that suits Leo’s character.  Whereas most of the other characters are capable of hiding their true feelings from time to time, Leo is very much a WYSIWYG type.

Leo tracks Abby down in Southampton, which is the cue for another burst of Abby’s theme (the plaintive guitar melody which, along with the theme, must be the most familiar part of the incidentals) and a somewhat surprising revelation – she’s pregnant.  Charles formally meets Jan for the first time, Lynne is offered a place in an all-women crew in the FastNet, whilst the other main point of interest concerns the continuing travails at the yard.

With the loss of the German contract, the bank are ready to foreclose but Tom is able to persuade them that his prototype will turn their fortunes around (but he needs Jan to agree to use their house as collateral).  Jack is still insistent that plastic toy boats have no place in his yard, but is shocked and stunned to realise that he no longer owns fifty percent of the company (and therefore is unable exercise a casting vote).  Tom has 25%, Avril had 25% but then bought an additional 5%, so she and Tom are able to outvote Jack.  The look on Glyn Owen’s face is priceless.  Presumably Jack must have been pretty drink-addled in recent months not to realise that Avril’s increased her shareholding.

Jack later articulates his feelings to Kate.  “I’ve fought for that yard, Kate. Lost sleep, sweated blood for it. And what’s it all been in aid of? Nothing. Everything I’ve specialised in over the years is gone.”  In her own way, Kate is as much of a traditionalist as Jack is – but she can see that everything has to change, nothing can stay the same forever.

Later Charles plays Avril another visit.  She’s still not interest in his proposals, this time he tells her he’s interested in buying the yard.  Whilst he claims he’s prepared to do it in order to help her father, she’s far from convinced.  “The only person you’re willing to help is yourself”.  This helps to ramp up the tension surrounding the Mermaid (plus Charles’ recent arrival also continues to shake things up nicely).

Howards’ Way – Series One, Episode Seven

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Polly tells Jan the truth about her sham marriage to Gerald – Abby isn’t his child and his numerous affairs aren’t conducted with women.  It’s something of a storytelling weakness that best-friends Polly and Jan have never discussed this before, but it does make dramatic sense for the viewers to learn about it at the same time that Jan does.  These revelations help to chip away at Polly’s self confidence, giving us a glimpse of a lonely person lurking underneath her bravura exterior.

As regards character interactions, something similar happens when Lynne finally realises that Phil is a male chauvinist pig who only wants her for her body and would never have considered her as crew for his FastNet team because, well, she’s just a woman.  Both have lived in Tarrant for some time, so it stretches credibility that she wouldn’t have realised exactly how he operates by now (and lets be honest, the viewers probably twigged some ten seconds after he first appeared).  Leo sums him up perfectly.  “Self satisfied berk.”

One of my favourite comedy moments occurs with Jack and Kate.  Jack’s two days into his month long pledge of sobriety (he’s got a fifty pound bet with her) but is clearly weakening.  A his hand slowly stretches towards a bottle, the phone rings.  He picks up the receiver – it’s Kate.  Shamefacedly he then hides the bottle behind his back!  It’s a lovely bit of business, which is developed further when Kate tells him that even over the phone she’ll be able to tell if he was lying about his drinking.

One technical observation is that the difference between the film exteriors and videotape interiors is glaringly obvious, mainly because of the weather.  For example, Tom calls on Avril (on film) and it’s a gloomy day but once they enter her living room (on videotape) the sun is streaming through the windows.  Normally, the film element of the episode would have been done first – if this was the case, I wonder why they didn’t attempt to replicate the weather a little more accurately?  If they’d shot the studio scenes first, then fair enough – nothing could be done – but if it was the other way around then it’s something of a missed opportunity.

The main interest in this episode though is the introduction of Charles Frere.  When we first meet him he’s nattily dressed in a tuxedo, like a cut-price James Bond.  He bumps into Polly and views Jan, from a distance, with interest – but he’s really in Tarrant to speak to Avril.  Yes, Charles is the mystery man who broke Avril’s heart and now he’s back.

He’s only interested in business, or so he says, but the mere sight of him is enough to send Avril into mild hysterics.  So when Tom later calls at her cottage and finds her in a distressed state, the inevitable happens ….

They both comfort each other and as the credits roll it’s fairly obvious what’s going to happen next.  Indeed, the only surprise is that it’s taken them seven episodes to make a move on each other.

Jan and Ken have yet to advance beyond their professional relationship (despite what a poison-pen letter delivered to Tom might say).  Although Ken doesn’t have a great deal to do in this episode, his character is nicely developed – although it happens when he’s off-screen.  Jan and Lynne discuss him, with Jan nailing him as something of a social climber – he may have money, but he really wants to be accepted amongst the upper classes.  But his barrow-boy persona seems doomed to ensure he’ll always be an outsider.

Howards’ Way – Series One, Episode Six

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Ken’s had enough of Dawn.  “This is my pad and I want it to myself”.  I didn’t know that anyone in the eighties still called their flat a “pad”, or maybe it’s just more evidence that Ken is trapped in the seventies.  He’s no new man that’s for sure – handling Dawn roughly and making it certain she knows that after six weeks of cohabiting he’s had enough of her.

He treats Jan differently of course, but then she’s still of more use to him (certainly professionally and maybe personally).  His relationship with Dawn shows how beneath his affable exterior something nastier lurks, although he doesn’t feel he has anything to reproach himself for.  “Well I play ball with them. Show them a good time, plenty of laughs, treat them like royalty, and bingo, after a couple of weeks they think they’re home and dry and running the show.”  I love Ken, he’s so delightfully horrible.

Jack’s all-day drinking binge concerns Avril.  “The whole day, the whole night’s just one long drink to you”.  Can he change? Does he even want to change? Kate’s certainly keen to see him dry out but it’ll be no easy task.

Gerald Urquhart makes his first appearance, meeting with Ken to discuss a possible business venture.  The fact that Ken’s never met him before ties into Abby’s earlier comment that she hardly spent any time with her father as a child.  Of course from now on things change somewhat as both Gerald (and shortly Charles) take up permanent residence.  This early fencing between Ken and Gerald is just a taste of what’s to come.  Ken has some real estate which Gerald and Charles would like to acquire, but Ken knows that if he hangs onto it then he might be able to make himself a player.

Abby’s run away to become a social worker.  And that’s not a sentence you type every day.  It seems a little far-fetched that she could just roll up to the office and start work shortly afterwards, surely a few checks would have been sensible?  Or possibly the fact that Abby had been to a posh Swiss finishing school was deemed to be good enough.

Phil Norton continues to lust after Lynne.  Since Phil made his first appearance it’s been plain that he has only one thing on his mind and it’s not how good Lynne is as a sailor.  Antony Head’s performance can’t really be described as subtle – cartoon wolf sort of sums it up.  Luckily Lynne is more than capable of resisting his oily charms.

Leo continues to follow Avril around like a puppy dog, devotion shining in his eyes (I love Edward Highmore’s goofy grin after he pops into to see her at the yard).

Tom and Jan seem a little closer, although you can always rely on Ken to put a spoke in the works.  He’s discovered that Avril, via an intermediary, bought the Flying Fish and delights in sharing this news with Jan.  Jan, already feeling a little threatened by Tom’s close working relationship with Avril isn’t impressed …. cue dramatic cliffhanger as Jan confronts a puzzled Tom.

Howards’ Way – Series One, Episode Five

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Jack’s still stomping about the yard in a right strop.  Avril attempts to talk some sense into him but has no more joy than Tom did (both Susan Gilmore and Glyn Owen play this short scene at full throttle).  And then Jack disappears ….

Avril knows what will happen next, whenever her father is upset he goes on a drinking spree (last time he ended up in a police cell).  This time he doesn’t fall into the hands of the police, instead Kate’s the (un)lucky one who runs into him.

Not literally though, although it’s a close run thing.  Jack’s staggering down the middle of the road whilst Kate is driving home.  After avoiding crashing into him, she forthrightly berates his stupidity (blind drunk, he earlier dumped his car into a ditch) and his lack of manners.  Glyn Owen and Dulcie Gray are wonderful here with Owen giving us some magnificent drunk acting (telling Kate slowly and deliberately that he had to swerve to avoid a hedgehog in the road, Kate acidly wonders if it was actually a pink elephant!).

She takes pity on him and gives him a bed for the night.  He pours out his troubles to her (he’s unable to pour himself any more drinks though, Kate puts a stop to that) although Kate is unaware that the hated partner he describes in such loving detail is actually her son-in-law.  Tarrant’s a small place ….

If you want more evidence of this, then earlier we saw Jack nearly collide with Leo’s bike.  Later, Leo tells Avril about his close encounter and he volunteers to help her try and find him.  Just seconds before, Leo confides to his chum Nick (Tim Faulkner) that he tends to obsess over unobtainable women.  And then Avril turns up.

We’ve seen Leo make googly eyes at Avril in an earlier episode, so his continuing unrequited passion is pretty obvious.  Poor Avril remains oblivious though, simply treating young Leo with kindness (he listens to her troubles and she gives him a peck on the cheek for being a good listener).  But it’s plain that if Leo expects anything more he’s going to be disappointed.

More sexual frustration is on show later after Nick walks Lynne home and forces himself on her (unlike Leo he’s not content with a goodnight kiss).  Poor Lynne, she does have to fend off more than her fair share of lusty admirers although some, like Nick, bitterly know that they’ve little chance of making any headway with her since they don’t own a boat.

This leads into one of the series’ most famous lines (or infamous, depending on your point of view).  Lynne tells her father about Nick and she agrees about being boat-obsessed.  “I don’t think I could ever love a man as much as I love the Flying Fish”.  Well done to Tracy Childs for keeping a straight face.

Our next port of call for sexual frustration sees us over at Ken’s place, where Dawn is more than a little miffed to learn that Ken’s taking Jan out to dinner (Tom’s none too pleased about it either).  Both Ken and Jan are togged up to the nines, Ken in a white dinner jacket and Jan in a backless dress.  Dawn wonders what she’s going to do all evening by herself, Ken tells her that he’s bought her some new videos.  Dawn responds that she doesn’t fancy watching blue movies on her own, but Ken counters that it might get her in the mood for later.  The dirty dog!

Ken and Jan’s meal goes swimmingly.  Jan tells him that rather than expanding into general marine goods they should specialise – designer yachting clothes for the well-off.  Ken is a little dismissive (muttering that Jan might read Vogue, but she’s no fashion expert) but the seeds have been sown.  And later they dance a tango for good measure.

Finally there’s a release of sexual frustration as Jan returns home, changes into a most becoming negligée and manages rapprochement with Tom.  Although the fact she later tells him that it wasn’t the meal with Ken which put her in the mood somewhat puts a damper on things. Any mention of Ken grates on Tom since he’s no lover of medallion men.

Away from this thriving hotbed of repressed and not-so repressed feelings, Abby continues to feel isolated.  She does manage a fairly decent conversation with her mother, but it doesn’t seem to be enough and the episode ends with Abby slipping out the house, bag in hand ….

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Howards’ Way – Series One, Episode Four

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Episode four opens where the previous one left off, with Abby floundering in the sea.  Luckily Leo is at hand and fishes her out.  When he mutters to the coughing and spluttering girl that her misadventure “was a bit stupid, wasn’t it?” you have to admire his powers of understatement.

Although Abby is grateful to Leo, she still won’t tell him what’s troubling her – which is reasonable enough as it’s the sort of plotline that should (and will) run across multiple episodes.  But we do learn a little more about her wretched homelife and how she feels totally unloved by both her parents (as well as the fact that given Polly’s generosity in spreading her favours, Abby isn’t even sure whether her father is actually her father).

Abby tells Leo that when she was young she kept a diary and logged all the time she spent with her father.  When she added it up it came to seventeen hours over the course of two years.  She’s spent much more time in her mother’s company, but that’s probably more of a curse than a blessing.  Abby is convinced that her mother doesn’t love her (something which Polly is happy to admit to others later).  Abby tells her mother that “you don’t even like me. You can’t show me off, you can’t wear me, so I’m useless to you.”

Tensions continue to simmer away in the Howard household.  Tom demonstrates quite clearly that he’s an unreconstructed male after he’s more than a little put out to find out that Jan’s been too busy working to get the evening meal ready.  Luckily Kate comes to the rescue, but no-one ever stops to ask if possibly Tom could have lent a hand.  Given this stifling pressure, it’s a wonder Jan hasn’t reacted against being a housewife and mother before.

Whilst I love Maurice Colbourne, he sometimes feels a little out of place in the series.  Possibly it’s got something to do with the fact that his voice had considerable power and gravitas, so when he’s arguing about relatively trivial matters (such as who should cook dinner) it feels a little jarring.  As Tom and Jan launch into yet another argument, Leo pops his head round the kitchen door.  Leo’s supposed to register dismay and disgust, but Edward Highmore doesn’t quite manage this (although he does pull a strange face and exits).  Perhaps another take would have been advisable.

Lynn’s looking for another boat to crew on, now that the Flying Fish has been sold.  The ultra smooth Phil Norton (Anthony Head) could be the answer to all her problems, but by the way he’s eyeing her up and down it’s plain that it’s not her sailing ability he’s interested in.  Elsewhere, you have to admire Tracey Childs’ hardy nature – wearing a bikini in a scene that was doubtless scripted as the height of summer, but instead looks rather chilly.

It’s always fun when Jack’s on the warpath.  He and Bill continue to grouse about Tom poking his nose into every aspect of the yard’s business but that’s merely a prelude – Tom, backed by Avril, explains that he wants to design a fast cruising, ultra light displacement boat.  Jack’s baffled – how can you build a boat like that out of timber?  Tom agrees and tells him that it’ll be a high-tech cord-structured hull.

The blue touchpaper is ignited and you can stand back and watch the fireworks.  Build a boat that’s not made out of wood in the Mermaid yard?  Over Jack’s dead body. “I’ll see this yard in hell and me with it before I have anything at all to do with them”.  Colbourne and Owen are on fine form here and whilst it seems inevitable that Jack will have to bow to common sense eventually, there’s the promise of more fun and games to come.

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