Have been musing - as one does - about the purpose of Olwen.
Was she introduced to let Sheila Dillon appear (that’s another question, but never mind it for the moment) while providing a reason for the cheese that has swept all before it to date not winning a real award? That makes La Dillon look a bit vain and snitty, since the awards should surely reflect the quality of the product and not the sanity of its producers and their associates, so it wasn’t very kind to SD if so.
The SWs seem to have woken up to what the listeners have known for years, that Helen is quite the monster, so was her major purpose to wake Pat up to the selfish ghastliness of the Fragile-but-stabby One?
Or, is Pat going to go searching the highways and byways of Borsetshire, only to find, eventually, that Olwen has been admitted to hospital/died spectacularly of a pulmonary haemorrhage of tubercular origin, causing panic in Helen about the health of her brats and a snitty removal to separate, self-funded premises because her mother is Just So Irresponsible. OK, that one is unlikely - ‘self-funded’ sort of rules it out, I think.
Or does one of the brats sicken from TB?
I wold like to think that Olwen will wreak lasting havoc rather than simply spike Helen’s guns for the Cheese Award, but I doubt Alison Steadman is going to have much time to devote to TA and fear that she might not reappear. Shame. I liked someone getting under Helen’s skin. [Googles for a supplier of bilharzia wossnames as back-up]
I am all for Helen having her pedestal a bit kicked about – and if she has managed to be causal in the death of a friend of Pat’s, will Pat find it easy to forget?
It is perfectly lovely that Helen has been wrong-footed. It would be even better if Olwen is dead and Helen forever held responsible. My joy is only slightly alloyed by the fact that Helen had rather a point about Olwen, assuming that she was telling the truth about the hour long baths and the toe nails. But let’s call it karma for foisting Kaz and her brood on Pat and Tony and sticking them with the bill for it.
Typical Pat, when asking but not listening if Helen minded if Olwen came to stay, she mentioned that by the way Tony wasn’t awfully keen but clearly that didn’t matter. I’m so glad Pat ignored the Stabby One’s wishes and has managed to put her in the wrong. Pity about Tony but he has wisely kept out of the way and I’m sure he’s perfectly happy with his tractor and his Anguses.
All in all a fairly good result. I wonder the result might be a slight withdrawal of child care services as Pat becomes too busy with good works. Keep a low profile, Tony!
I don’t know if we met Olwen previously when she and Pat were being young and rebellious - but I don’t feel at all sympathetic towards the version of Olwen we are being shown now. Her purpose seems to simply create friction between Pat and Helen… I know there is a general feel of animosity towards Helen here, however, I would also be a bit hesitant to welcome someone into my home who doesn’t seem to respect those who already live there and the life decisions they have made. She’s a bit entitled in my mind for someone who doesn’t seem to have achieved much herself.
But you are right, Pat just steamrollered her in without taking into account Tony’s feelings (well, when has she ever, really) or listening to Helen (which made a most refreshing change).
I don’t remember ever meeting Olwen before, back when Pat went off to Greenham Common.
Helen cheerfully invited Kaz and her three children to stay at Bridge Farm and told her parents she’d done so; she also expected them to pay the train fares for them to get there!
I strongly feel that Olwen is an overdrawn caricature of a feminist activist. She’d need to be overdrawn about 100 times more in order to equal Helen in the “being entitled” stakes, though.
I also feel that a fair bit of Helen’s animosity only started to be revealed when Pat foolishly told Helen that Henry liked Olwen; he was created by Helen so that he would always love her, so she is probably more than a little edgy about his showing any fondness for anyone else.
