Wartime on Coronation Street
Page 24
‘So there’s no need for you to take it off,’ Bob said. ‘Ever.’
In that moment Vera thought of Pietro, thinking of his wise words and she knew that she could find it in her heart to forgive Bob in the same way her Italian friend would forgive his Sophia.
It was too easy to waste one’s life, she decided, misinterpreting or misunderstanding. Far better for everybody that she should be willing to give Bob the benefit of the doubt and always forgive him.
Epilogue
December 1943
Vera thought that it was fitting that their engagement party should be held not only in Weatherfield, but at Coronation Street’s Rovers Return. She was surprised, however, when Annie Walker offered to collect ration coupons so that she could put on a little spread for all the neighbours from the Street, for that was more than her own mother was prepared to do.
Ena had dismissed the whole idea of holding an engagement party as foolish and ill-advised as the wedding was never likely to take place, and she had frequently said so whenever she was in the Rovers. But, almost as if to spite her, there was a good turnout on the night of the party and even Ena’s reputation for spitefulness and meanness didn’t prevent the neighbours of Coronation Street from wanting to wish Vera and Bob well and to drink the couple’s health.
The Lomax family were also grudging in their recognition of the event, but as it was being held well away from the Mission they were willing to attend. Vera was not surprised when Ena arrived late. She was only glad to see her at all and she was immensely relieved that her mother hadn’t invited Eric Bowman or his rag-and-bone father to join them.
Martha and Percy Longhurst were there too, welcomed by Vera and Bob despite Martha’s role in their temporary split, and Lily had travelled up especially for the weekend from Kent and she had swapped her land girl’s uniform for a particularly pretty blue dress with a full skirt and fashionably enlarged shoulders. Vera couldn’t help smiling when she saw her friend chatting up Elsie Tanner’s airmen friends as they all stood together at the bar. It was a shame, Vera thought that neither Margaret nor Jenny had been able to join them for the party though they had sent their good wishes.
As the evening wore on, Ena seemed to recede into the shadows and showed no sign of proposing a toast to the young couple. Eventually Elsie stood up and tapped her glass for silence.
‘Bob and Vera, might I say how happy you look tonight?’ Elsie began. ‘Vera, you look radiant in your lovely pale pink that looks like it was made for you.’
‘It was,’ Vera laughed and nodded towards Martha.
‘Then let me say that you couldn’t look prettier or happier if it was your wedding day,’ Elsie said. ‘I’m sure we all want to welcome you back home to Weatherfield, however briefly, and to drink to your engagement and I know I’m speaking on behalf of everyone here when I say may the engagement rings quickly turn into wedding bells.’ She lifted up her half-filled glass. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, friends and neighbours, please raise your glasses and drink a toast to Bob and Vera.’
‘To Bob and Vera!’ the general shout went up as Elsie lifted her glass once more and noted, with some satisfaction, that even Ena deigned to raise a glass of sherry to the happy couple.
THE END
Violet Carson
The force of nature behind Ena Sharples
‘If you’ve owt to say, spit it out before it flamin’ well chokes yer’
Violet Helen Carson OBE, who brought the character of Ena Sharples to life in the 1960s in ITV’s soap opera Coronation Street, was herself born in the 19th Century on September 1st, 1898. She was born in Ancoats, Manchester to a Scottish father who ran a flour mill and a mother who was an amateur singer.
As Coronation Street developed in the 1960s and 70s, Ena Sharples’ legendary piano playing and hymn singing were much mocked by her Weatherfield neighbours but maybe it is not surprising that Violet Carson began her show business career as a singer and pianist herself and that her musical ability and voice had already established her as a radio star. She was much-loved particularly in the North where she frequently appeared, her repertoire ranging from comic Music Hall-style songs to light operatic arias. Initially, she worked mainly on the radio, later adding much-acclaimed stage and television performances to her curriculum vitae.
She began performing with her younger sister Nellie as The Carson Sisters, then in 1913 Violet became a cinema pianist providing the musical accompaniment for silent films. In 1935 she joined the BBC in Manchester where she became well known to listeners. Most notably she appeared in Songs at the Piano, but she was also a regular contributor to Children’s Hour and became the star of Nursery Sing Song. During the Second World War she worked with the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts. In addition she spent five years presenting and interviewing on Woman’s Hour, six years as the resident pianist for the perennially popular Mabel and Wilfred Pickles radio show Have A Go, and made regular appearances on the hymn programme Stars on Sunday. She also acted in numerous radio and stage dramas.
In 1926 Violet married George Peploe but sadly he died three years later. They had no children and she never remarried.
Violet continued to enjoy radio stardom where her cut-glass accent and perfect ‘received pronunciation’ was a world away from the gruff, Northern vowels she later adopted in Coronation Street. It wasn’t until the latter two decades of her life that she became a television star when she brought to life the razor-tongued martinet and gossip Ena Sharples. Ena was the widowed caretaker of the Glad Tidings Mission Hall and mother of Vera and Madge. Her straight-talking and caustic character, complete with her ever-present hairnet and double-breasted overcoat, quickly became a national treasure. She and her old school friends Martha Longhurst (Lynne Carol) and Minnie Caldwell (Margot Bryant) invariably sat drinking milk stout in the snug of the Rovers Return, criticising Coronation Street’s residents and squaring up to Ena’s long-standing nemesis, Elsie Tanner (Pat Phoenix). From the airing of the first episode of the soap opera on Granada Television in December 1960, Ena Sharples became a firm favourite with viewers and the character who was meant to appear for only thirteen weeks became a stalwart for twenty years. Violet had mixed feelings about the part and said, ‘Violet Carson was destroyed the day Ena Sharples first appeared in Coronation Street’ feeling that it had overshadowed all her previous achievements. However Violet immediately inhabited the role, saying of Ena, ‘I’ve known this woman all my life.’
Wherever she went she was stopped by someone asking her if she was ‘the lady that’s on t’telly?’ Violet, an accomplished actor and performer through and through, had much in common with the formidable busybody, Ena. ‘I’m like her in that neither of us suffer fools gladly.’ The series creator Tony Warren had worked with her as a child actor and remembered her as an imperious figure. It is reported that she once introduced herself to a new director on the show with the words, ‘My name is Violet Carson and my train leaves at five o’clock.’
Despite Violet’s grumblings, Ena Sharples came to embody the show and presenter Melvyn Bragg said of her, ‘She was the rock on which Coronation Street was built.’
In 1962 Violet Carson was named ITV Personality of the Year. In 1964 she had a salmon-pink rose named after her and in 1965 she was awarded the OBE.
The character of Ena Sharples was firmly established in the 1960s though she appeared less frequently during the 1970s as Violet’s health declined and in April 1980 Ena had to be written out of the script though with an option enabling her to return. Sadly, Violet’s health did not permit it and she died on Boxing Day in 1983 in Blackpool at the age of 85. Ena Sharples may have slipped quietly out of Coronation Street, but she will always remain one of its best-known characters – the sharp-tongued harridan who viewers loved to hate.
Maggie Sullivan
Acknowledgements
When I first began writing this book, Covid-19 was not in my vocabulary and no one wore a face mask except at Halloween. And yet, th
is is the second book I have completed while being confined by varying degrees of constraint and lockdown. My thanks, therefore, go to all of those who have helped it come to fruition despite the difficult circumstances under which we have all been working. Special thanks go to those who have adjusted their work schedules and modus operandi so that through the use of modern technology, the book writing process has been able to continue. Who would have believed we would be holding meetings in the comfort of our own homes and producing books without the writers and members of the production team ever having to meet face to face?
To all those who have facilitated the birth of The Land Girls of Coronation Street through this newly evolving process, colleagues, friends, family and supporters, I would like to say a huge thank you. To Kate Bradley, Editorial Director at HarperCollins, for her help and guidance throughout every step of the process; to my ever supportive agent Kate Nash for her belief and encouragement at this difficult time; to my fellow authors and Zoom colleagues for taking time out from their own busy writing schedules to offer support and to share experiences; to Sheila Creighton (author Daisy Tate) for her assistance regarding farming issues; to Sue Moorcroft for her help with military matters, and for her and Pia Fenton’s (author Christina Courtenay) weekly support chats; to Jannet Wright who was always available at the end of a WhatsApp chat; to Ann Parker, who deserves to be awarded shares in BT and to all my family and friends, in particular the Finlay family, who have provided more support than the word ‘bubble’ could ever suggest.
As ever, grateful thanks to Dominic Khouri and Shirley Patton from ITV for their endless knowledge and advice regarding Coronation Street.
Maggie Sullivan
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About the Author
MAGGIE SULLIVAN loves to travel, is an avid reader, and her abiding love is watching football. She is also a freelance university lecturer and has a keen interest in drama and theatre. Maggie was born and brought up in Manchester, where she acquired a lifelong passion for Coronation Street and its legendary matriarchs. After living abroad for several years, she settled in London where she still lives.
Also by Maggie Sullivan
Christmas on Coronation Street
Mother’s Day on Coronation Street
Snow on the Cobbles
The Postmistress
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