Hotfooting it back home from the bash at Viaduct Bistro, Daniel Osbourne says the event stood comparison with the last days of Rome. If we take the works of the satirical Roman poet Juvenal as an indicator of debauchery levels in the ancient city, Daniel’s exaggerating somewhat. The Bistro do was hardly a hedonistic cesspit of orgiastic vice, although Steve McDonald did drink too much and some customers griped about the set menu. Peter Barlow has quite a different European city on his mind, after his wife Carla buys him a one-way ticket to Bilbao, Spain. Carla sees the gift as an opportunity for Peter to experience a much-needed change in his life, but he thinks it signals the end of their relationship. Ken Barlow tries to put things into perspective with a quote from Saint Augustine. ‘The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page,’ he contributes sagely, only to be undermined by Tracy Barlow’s observation that Ken has hardly ever set foot outside the cobbles.
Peter attempts to process his thoughts by wandering around Weatherfield for a while. He returns home to find Carla watching Love Actually. She says she has The Great Escape lined up next, but Peter prefers to talk about his desire to stay. If he were Steve McQueen in the POW drama, he wouldn’t be jumping over any barbed-wire fences on a motorbike. However, Carla thinks he should heed one of Ken’s favourite aphorisms. ‘Carpe diem,’ she says. Later, with Peter having decided to go, the pair enjoy their final meal together. ‘So this is it, The Last Supper,’ he says. There’s no mention in the New Testament of Jesus and his disciples tucking into a Kathmandu special and Gorkhali naan, but it’s conceivable one of them griped about the set menu and ordered a takeaway instead. Probably Judas Iscariot. He always had to be different.
The next morning, Peter’s family gather to say their goodbyes. Toyah Habeeb offers an Irish blessing. ‘May the road rise up to meet you,’ she says. ‘Open your heart,’ Ken tells his son, almost certainly not quoting Madonna. Peter departs on a tram for his new life in the sun, with Nick Drake’s Time Has Told Me playing on his earbuds. As well as being a beautiful song in its own right, Time Has Told Me’s lyrics also gave The Cure their name. Let’s hope Peter can find a cure for his ills by leaving the cobbles behind.
Coronation Street episode 11146. Originally aired 26th Dec 2023.
