Summerabbacat

Mother is a crafty devil isn't she. Her modus operandi is slightly manipulative, but her heart is always in the "right place". Alex is well wise to her orchestrations, and secretly relishes her interference, without ever letting on. She has done wonders for Charlie, and through her acceptance of Neil in Alex's life, has done wonders for Neil too, moreso than his own mother. Speaking of Anne, I think she needs to take a Bex and have a good lie down, or a glass or two of sherry with her dinner followed by some of your favourite operas @Robert Hugill and/or @Gary L.

They both appear to have undergone industrial-strength dermabrasion to give them a youthful appearance, although Naomi appeared to be the more "natural" looking of the two. I don't think I have ever heard them sing before, and still haven't really heard Naomi sing as Wynonna seemed to "hog" the vocal duties in that song.

I can't but help wonder if diplomatic Richard will be the one to convince fascist Jane to allow same-sex couples to attend the school dance. Whether Richard achieves this by remaining Kofi cool remains to be seen. I would like to see him follow Maggie's suggestion and throw a tantrum, and what better time to exercise his teenage birth rite to rebel. Perhaps with encouragement from high jumping Harriet he might release his inner activist and tear Mr Jane a new one.

I was trying to work out which Judd is which. Am I correct in identifying the lead singer/guitarist with the pudgy face is Wynonna, and the slender one who you barely hear singing at all is Naomi. Naomi looks younger than her daughter if I have identified them correctly, and looks more like Ashley who was stunningly attractive.

Naomi Judd co-wrote it and the Judds recorded it in March 1990. Cher, Chrissie & Neneh recorded it and released it in March 1995 for UK Comic Relief.

You are welcome @weinerdog. I was only aware of it because it is on a Cher compilation I have on CD. What really pleased me was how good it sounds when Cher and Chrissie’s voices follow each other. Whilst I like The Pretenders and admire Chrissie greatly for her animal rights advocacy, I have only ever thought her voice pleasant. I think she sounds great on this song.

It was probably a bloody Cold Chisel t-shirt.

Given Shayna’s conversation with Aunt Bertha I assumed it was Uncle Buford as he is in hospital. Might this have been a red herring @Vcs. @drsawzall will not be amused.

The same one in which they keep their bibles, guns, amphetamines and sex toys.

Surely you jest @Vcs. LOL.

Another Microsoft "gremlin" I think @Vcs with "She's" becoming "Sher's". OMG I had forgotten it so badly, that I even got the acronym wrong. LOL.

Never, I will get into trouble for making political statements or naming current political persons, at least American ones.

Casey! What a CFB. And what's with the "So what, you’re going to run back to your church and your two fag dads and play happy family again? After everything? After you kissed me back?" Is Casey really such a self-hating closet case? Another Roy Cohn? Enough of the "fag dads" from this tiresome and trivial Thompson twat. And Casey's response to Levi's "hasta la vista baby" made it abundantly clear that rape was the name of the game he was playing. I seem to recall several commenters including @Ivor Slipper and @Philippe strongly suspected this; I did not. I thought humiliation of Levi, Matt and Luke was his motivation. Clearly you lads were a better judge of character than me. "I trusted you, Levi,’ Matt said, his voice quiet but firm. ‘After everything we’ve been through these past months . . . you lied to us. You stole the car. You could have been killed. You could have killed others.’" As I expected, Levi's safety was paramount to Matt and Luke, moreso than anything else I believe. "When he looked toward the gates, he noticed Matt’s black Navara parked by the edge of the road, with both his dads waiting inside." This thought of Levi's hit "hard", it had me feeling all gooey inside. Levi thinks of Matt AND Luke as his parents now, his dads. And a comment by me is almost incomplete without a musical accompaniment. On this occasion, the title of the song is something which will happen between Levi and those who love him and for whom he feels the same, Matt, Luke, Jimmy and Dan, to name but a few. I've never seen this video before, love the song, especially the blending of Cher and Chrissie Hynde's voices, but WTF was Neneh Cherry thinking with that hair?

I was very impressed with Bass in this chapter. His compassion for, patience with and recognition of Jo’s worth as a human being, set him apart from others such as skanky Shayna. Bass’ treatment of Jo enabled Jo to question him about Kidd being a “bino” without fear. Jo demonstrated that although he may be intellectually challenged, he is acutely aware of being sensitive to the challenges others face. He was very conscious of not offending Bass or Kidd for that matter, with his curiosity regarding Kidd’s albinism. I envisage Jo and Kidd will forge a very close bond. Jo's natural desire to please without being ingratiating and to protect will benefit Kidd greatly, and Kidd's love of animals and quiet nature will suit Jo well. Shayna’s referral to Jo as a “retard” was perhaps the most despicable put down she has uttered yet. Her racist comments towards Bass were highly offensive, but he was able to dismiss her comments with wit and superior intelligence, something which Jo is not likely capable of. This chapter confirmed it was Shayna’s Uncle Buford who attacked Kidd.

CFB's? I had not heard this acronym before @Vcs, and it took a little bit of digging on Google to find the meaning of it. I assumed it was not an acronym for College Football, and when I eventually found its meaning I was overjoyed; such an apt description of Shayna. I was thinking whilst reading this chapter that she was not just a salope, but a mega salope; then it occurred to me that referring to her as a MAGA salope was probably even more apt. CFB I think covers it too, and I won't forget what this acronym means given it includes one of my favourite descriptors of those whom I detest. BTW, I have already forgotten what SML stands for.

Marjorie, Lauren and Sarah ring any bells @Charles26? And that is just the female of the species known as Republican?

Dickoless is so yesterday.

That will be a sublime moment, but I doubt it is coming any time soon as Richard continues to defend the indefensible.

Nicholas is a bigger arsehole than what many readers, myself included, thought. He shows up for coffee with Richard 30 minutes late, is hungover, admonishes Richard for wearing a shirt he deems "too gay" because it is "purple", talks about himself constantly and what he did the night before to cause him to get drunk, and asked Richard one question only, that being if he is going to the school dance. He also criticised Vicky for having a backbone and principles and told Richard she is "not doing him any favours". I would have told Nicholas to fuck off and go home, but Richard is so desperate for Nicholas' attention that he excused him for everything. Harriet who barely knows Nicholas recognised his poor behaviour immediately, and suggested to Richard he not let Nicholas treat him like a doormat. Richard repeatedly defended Nicholas, once again accepting the blame for not telling Nicholas about his parents separating so Nicholas could have supported him. I suspect Richard's mother at least may believe he is gay. She seemed very surprised a girl was calling him at home when Harriet telephoned. If she does know she does not appear to be bothered by it, which leads me to speculate that she and Richard's father may have separated because he, Richard's father, is gay.

Perhaps your diet is lacking in those brain-boosting chemicals which are only found in champagne and dark chocolate. I would suggest Rick needs to pay you a visit heavily laden with Krug and dark chocolate Tim Tams. And if you are expending too much time and effort on domestic chores, perhaps he could bring Butch with him.

Nothing wrong with your memory @Paladin. It probably helps that you are the author. LOL.

The pigs I remember, but not Hamish. I had also forgotten Maria calls Shane and Lisa (?) Mum and Dad.

Thank you @Paladin. I do recall this now that you have refreshed my memory. Perhaps I am lacking in champagne.

Love it, love it, love it. My beloved Zelda used to do this when she was alive, and her sister Frida, has kept up the "family tradition", albeit without the same degree of elegance, finesse and insistence as her sister. She, Frida, is also just as likely to sneeze on me as "tap" me gently. LOL.