I have been waiting a long time to be able to write this post. I won’t keep you in suspense a moment longer. Heather and Minty got married!!! And it is for real… Here is what happened.
Heather and Minty were pretending to be sweethearts so as to win a big magazine contest. The winners receiving 20,000 GBS in cash and prizes. They had agreed to play the part of lovers when Hazel, the girl Minty thought he was in love with and had entered the contest with… took a powder (Split).
Along the way poor Heather desperately wanted to believe the wedding would all be real. OK we all know Heather is not the most comely lass but Minty is nobodie’s prize couch potato either.
Forward… For months we have watched Heather and Minty share very tender moments, culminating with a kiss. Minty denied the kiss was real and Heather went back into herself crying. Now the faux wedding day arrives and Heather has decided to tell Minty that her love just so happens to be real.
Problem is, Hazel has blown back into town and wants to marry Minty. For a fellow that is less than a perfect specimen he sure is in demand. hazel wants Minty buuuut only on her terms. She wants to leave Walford and live a life that simple fellow Minty could never adjust to. Minty realizes this and also realizes that he has never been happier then when he was with Heather. He chases off to find her.
Shes gone! When she found out about Hazel and Minty, Heather got on a bus home to her mum. (Albeit an evil mum).
Who would have thought that Minty could run down a tour bus? He huffs and puffs but finally reaches the glass door. He bangs on the door and tells fair Heather he loves her and wants to marry her …today! The wedding goes off and I am reminded of a little film from 1955 called “Marty”. Find it and watch it. Congratulations Heather and Minty on a fine EastEnders Wedding.

Steven and Stacey are ready to go forward with their romance and by forward we mean spend the night. Nervous Steven buys some essential gear at the convenience store. And presents himself at Stacey’s with flowers and heart in hand.

Stacey, obviously the experienced woman leads him up the stairs to her bedroom. As you see here Stacey was not thrilled and amazed. Steven was not up to the task and Stacey wants to know why she wasn’t his type.

Perhaps it wasn’t Stacey’s fault at all. Were wondering if Stacey really isn’t Steven’s type… not unless she changes herself from Stacey to Casey!

After choking him and throwing him out of his own flat Sean once again seems to have turned a new leaf. (Reminds me of Nick Cotton). He tells Gus all is well. And even takes good old Wellard out for a walk.

Why, look, isn’t that grand? Sean has made a fine meal for the two of them. Let’s start over, afterall were flatmates, friends to the end. Gus swallows it all whole as well as the huge plate of spaghetti that Sean has served him up with.

After Gus gets a down a few huge mouthfuls of the chow Sean shares with him a little dessert. The Spaghetti sauce is made from Wellard!
Read this backwards…. Sean from joke sick a just was It .fine is Wellard.

Roxie and Ronnie are deep into sibling rivalry when the two of them beat out Peggy as finalists for the Best Barmaid Contest. The photographer seems to have more than pics on his mind though as he claims to be the judge as well.

When Ronnie makes cute with the photograher Roxie gives him a close up he won’t soon forget.

Still,looking at these pics I think I am developing a pretty serious crush on Ronnie. The girl does have a smile doesn’t she?

Gus meets Keisha in the street and offers her a chance to be his flatmate. She needs a place and arranges to come by that evening. It seems Gus can do no wrong this day. Gus shows his mate the ring he carries just waiting to propose to the right girl. Of course he is convinced the girl is Keisha.

Gus gathers all his courage and confronts freeloader Sean. pulls the plug on the Telly and lets Sean know it is time to the highway. At first it looks lke the only thing that he will hit is Gus, but Sean being a coward at heart backs down and starts packing.
So Gus celebrates his victory with one pint too many in the Vic.
Keisha goes to the flat to meet Gus. Absolutely evil Sean gives Keisha a stiff drink and fills her head with stories of Gus as a cheap player.

Turns out Gus is waiting in the Vic for Keisha when she is waiting at the flat for him. No matter he thinks and tears off for home.
Zoom he’s in the door. There’s Keisha’s purse on the table. Gus bursts into the spare bedroom, (The one that Sean is supposed to have vacated.) Unfortunately Sean is not quite ready for checkout. He is in the bed with Gus’s true love Keisha!

After toiling away on the EastEnders Blog for three weeks I looked at what we had accomplished and thought “well done Lawrence of Florida”.
We have a nice new look, reasonably current content, and even a little revenue from those ads I stuck here and there. We do need to add many many more features as time permits and the chat room needs a serious upgrade. But all in all I would give us a solid “B” for the improvements.
One thing that puzzled me was that I didn’t seem to have any comments for all the posts I had written. Surely one of my smashingly faux Brit meanderings had given someone pause to smile and post. But no, not a single comment had been made.
Now, as Inspector Cloiseau would say… “The mystery is sol-ved.”
Did you know there is a little tab on the admin panel of this blog that holds all the comments posted in que so that they can be approved before they post. Well you might have known this but I didn’t. So there sat all manner of comments, questions and praise that had sat unopened until yesterday. Brilliant!
Rest assured that armed with this new understanding of how to operate my own website I will quickly post all your comments. (not the certificate X ones though.)

Lawrence

Shirley has set her cap for Phil Mitchell. She goes for a quick snog and who turns up… VINNIE! Vinnie has just turned a few quid at the dog races and thinks, that, will make everything well with Shirl.

Ricky tries to take out his fury at Bianca for not mentioning she happened to be homeless. Ha! Bianca tears into him letting him know that he’s been an absentee Dad and it’s a little late to complain about how she has mucked things up.
Bianca rings the buzzer at social services and parks her self in the social workers office until she finally relents and admits she has a place for Bianca and the kids to live.

A mysterious post card arrived at the Branning’s Abi thinks its from Dad, Max… We shall see. Sean has a burgeoning business dealing drugs over the bar at Scarlet but Jack has an eye on him.

Open microphone night at the Queen Vic and a sorry lot of entertainers put on a show. Except Keisha who amazes everyone with a fab performance of a song written by Gus. Gus gets a kiss and is quite smitten.

Shirley calls Phil out when she catches him jealous of Vinnie. Shirley, ever the shy coquette lets Phil know her feelings straight away. “I don’t want Vinnie, Phil. I want you.”

The police wake Bianca and the kids up with flashing blue lights. She manages to soft soap them into thinking they are on their way to Margate.

Diane, Ricky, Pat and Janine meet in the Vic for the reading of Frank’s will. The solicitor hands out a few personal effects and lets them know that Frank died pretty much broke so there is nothing to inherit.

Janine pitches a small fit!

Ricky, Pat and Diane got to the square to follow Frank’s wishes and scatter his ashes in the garden. Janine takes the ashes and pours them over the flowers genuinely heartbroken and in tears.

Bianca thinks she’ll trick a punter into thinking she is a streetwalker. She goes for a bit of a ride in his car and tries to grab his wallet. He knocks her out of the car with a fierce slap.

The police see Bianca’s children in the park and not on their way to Margate. When she turns up with a battered face they ask her a few questions. She tells them to shove off and manages to give the one copper a pretty good punch. That’s it! They throw a screaming Bianca in the police car and haul her away for assault.

Janine is back and right off she is in row with Pat. In front of all the world and everyone in the Vic she calls Pat a “passing fancy” of Frank’s. She even threw Peggy’s name in for good measure. Janine is tough but she might not want to take on Peggy Mitchell!

Bianca and the four of her brood are evicted from the flat! She takes Whitney, Tiffany, Liam and Morgan to her friend’s place, but there’s really no room at that inn. Social services gets ready to take the children so she skedadlels before they can interogate her.

Ian has a talk with Diane trying to understand the nature of Lucy’s dissappearence. Diane of course was a teenage runaway. She explains to Ian that the streets aren’t always a tragic ending. But Ian finds no solace in her words.
Peggy gets Pat aside upstairs in the Vic and assures her that Frank deeply loved her. Sure they both went through a bit of hell but life and love are like that. She reminds Pat that Frank was good fellow and they who are left behind have a firm friendship.

Chelsea decides to track down her father. She is ready toread him what for but that doesn’t work out when the address she goes to is a church And her Da, lucas is the preacher. Chelsea let’s him know she is his daughter but breaks down and runs away before he can talk to her.

Bianca drags herself and her children through the streets looking for a place to rest. Bravely she installs them all into a bus stop tucking them into blankets and such. She cries as she looks at her children homeless on the street.

I just finished watching the episode for Frank Butcher’s Funeral Service. As much as I would like to remind myself that this is only television I have to admit I was more than a little moved. The episode was to say the least beautifully done. All denizens of Walford were present and accounted for. It seems all of us liked the twinkle in Franks eye.
Janine as promised returned and was truly greived.
Phil and Peggy Mitchell were respectful as well.
Ian sat in attendence somberly.
Dot Cotton looked… well like Dot Cotton.
Pat allowed us to travel twice into the past with her and Frank to their newlywed days.
What I am wondering is… where does television stop and reality begin. These people, our extended EastEnders family are real to me. For the most part I like all of them. And those few that I don’t like are still alive in my mind.
When characters on the telly and actors on the stage converge like this the loss felt by the community of Albert Square and the loss felt by ourselves is real. So we say goodbye to Frank and to Mike, and I have no photo montage to offer. Surely you can imagine this EastEnders day more blissfully than photos can show. Instead I place for you that same thing that Pat Butcher left for Frank… a single rose. Godspeed Frank and Mike.