They seem to be making rather heavy weather of the fact that Alf was blamed for the theft from the church. Are we about to find out that those of us who thought George was involved were right all along? He did have rather a lot of unexplained spare cash at the time, after all.
Cue another reconciliation and Alf moving to Ambridge to become replacement resident scrounging old codger? He’s a few years older than Eddie, if memory serves.
ETA:
Alf Grundy born 1944, so seven yeas older than Eddie. About right for codgership. Last played by David Hargreaves, who would be an excellent addition to the cast, but interestingly, according to The Book of The Archers he was originally played by Terry Molloy, who I’m sure would like to be reinstated after being unceremoniously written out.
George’s spare cash, the one example of it that there was, was explained as Will having given him too much pocket money as usual – this said in Emma’s perpetual aggrieved and envious tone of voice because how dare her ex-husband (with qualifications, a steady job and another source of income) have more money than her (with a menial part-time job or two and no qualifications).
The key point there is that it was assumed by Emma; Will denied it.
It was a singularly odd set of SLs that went absolutely nowhere then disappeared. The theft from Clarrie’s bag was definitely Alf, but the big one was just left hanging. I don’t think Eddie actually challenged him outright, just threw him out of the house. So it’s possible that he assumed it was for taking Clarrie’s money; I’m not sure it was made clear he was even aware of the curtain money going missing.
In any case, previously established history is no longer a reliable guide…
Eddie didn’t throw Alf out; Alf left the village suddenly and without a word. The money was not discovered to be missing until later that day, and Alf had been seen having a look at it the day before.
It was the running away just after the money must have gone walkabout that made Eddie suspect him.
Ah yes - it’s coming back to me now. I seem to remember there was some sort of confrontation, though; I’m sure Eddie said something about Alf never being welcome in Ambridge again. Was it a phone call?
Did no one else have any suspicions? The simultaneous disappearances of a substantial quantity of cash and a character with a well-known criminal record would be bound to lead to a few people putting two and two together.
Bunter seems to have it in for Eddie. The theft was nothing to do with him, yet he ended up paying for it. Before that, he was shafted over Vicki’s water feature in the promises auction—and wasn’t Clarrie out of work at the time?
Eddie rang Alf up and said that Alf was dead to him. There was no return call from Alf, and as far as we know Alf did not try to find out why, which to me suggests strongly that he knew very well what he had done wrong.
People did put two and two together, except on the board where they were determined that George was a thief. This on the basis of his “burglaring” a toy fire-engine when he was six or so, and owning up the moment he was noticed playing with it.
Eddie told Alan that his brother had stolen the money, and insisted on reimbursing him/the curtain fund.
The reason I originally speculated that Alf might not have been the culprit was because he was simply too obvious a suspect—there would be more dramatic potential in him being wrongly accused. George flashing the cash at the time suggested another possible explanation, especially in the light of his “hero worship” of Clive.
*Cue the cast and crew doing the rounds of the talk shows, WH and the rest, pontificating about the important work they’re doing highlighting links between criminality and broken families.
Oh, come on! George was admiring of Clive when he was a child; he was taken poaching by Eddie when he was a child; that doesn’t mean he would steal village money that was being collected like a charity.
It wasn’t that long ago, was it? George is still technically a child—wasn’t that the issue with the bus driver? More to the point, it wasn’t that far removed in time from Clive’s reappearance. That was tied in with AmEx, so the most it can have been was eight years ago. I’m fairly sure it was actually one of the later series, though. Not the last (that was the Russian nonsense) but maybe the one before? Now I think of it, it was post-flood (hence the need for the Village Hall repairs) so in the last five years.
And that also puts the theft in the SOC era, so anything is possible.
The fire-engine incident was in 2011, when George was six. People do change between six and fourteen! Clive reappeared in the village most recently in 2013, but only in Amex, and had no interaction with George: in The Archers he was reported as having broken the terms of his probation, and been removed by the police.
Alf’s thieving was during the SO’C era, it’s true. And we know he was stealing at that point because of the money he stole from Clarrie’s bag and then splurged on rounds for all at the Bull: he didn’t deny it.
The only thieving we know George has ever done was when he was six, back in 2011.
I always thought Alf’s guilt has been left open. He may not have responded to the ‘dead to me call’ because he was offended (“just coz I stole a tenner - or was it twenty? - from Clarrie doesn’t mean I’d rob the church”) or Eddie may have blocked his number. It’s possible the Grundys don’t have a landline and in any case I doubt Alf would expect Clarrie, the victim of his known theft, to stand up for him.
It wouldn’t mean necessarily that George had dunnit.
Didn’t Ed once come close to robbing the church collection box when he and Emma were so poor he was licking margarine out of the tub? Someone came in as he was about to? Or did I imagine that? The latter is quite possible …
But biology IS destiny and George IS a Grundy and if he doesn’t turn out to be a thieving little toerag, I will be deeply disappointed in him.
Meanwhile, who is up for killing Eddie NOW. Useless git. I don’t sympathise much with Clarrie because the stupid cow asks for it mostly, but really. It’s your dad that’s the stiff: DO STUFF.
Gahhhh!
This was all before my time - but now Alf has returned, and George has a voice, it may be good to have some idea of the past crimes we are talking about… There was a theft from the church and from Clarries bag? One was to do with curtains? What sort of sums are we talking? Either worth permanent expulsion?
I thought we heard him speak at one point recently, didn’t he say he didn’t want to see Will… am highly likely to be wrong!
Biscuit tin - was that church money or Clarries bag?
Expulsion from the village: if Alf stole “a tenner” as was suggested above, I think that’s probably forgivable by now, especially in the wake (pun intended) of your dad’s death.