Friday 3rd November 2006

Now to answer your biggest question of the week: yes, Peter's son is hot. So you can all calm down a bit (or get excited, whichever you prefer). Amanda reveals to Dan that she knew all about it, and that the boy has never wanted a relationship with his biological father (who stopped being just a twinkle in his daddy's eye when Peter was just 15). Dan is left reeling - how is he going to tell his nephew that his father snuffed it in the unlikeliest of circumstances? Well, Andrew - who wishes to be called Drew (well why waste syllables?) - doesn't appear to be the slightest bit arsed by the revelation. Dan is deeply saddened by Drew's lack of emotion, but presses the issue of Peter's memorial and requests that he put in an appearance. However, once Dan is out of sight, Drew reveals to us all that he's clearly more upset about his dad's demise than he was previously letting on...

Oops. It's Alf's birthday. And we didn't send a card. However, it's not as though he's mentioned it. Cassie and Ric are saddened that he's refusing to celebrate, but he insists that it would be inappropriate to do so at the moment. Besides, his 60th was a bit of a blow-out (rather than a blow-up, which seems to be the norm, although we seem to recall that he had a smashing time). Ric and Cassie come up with the idea to create a collage of pictures of the family as his birthday gift. And, ten ruined photo albums later, their eyes meet and a moment of unresolved sexual tension leads to the inevitable. Thankfully they remember to put the scissors down before moving in for the kiss. That afternoon, when Sally, Pippa and Alf arrive home, Ric and Cassie reveal their labour of love. And do you know what? They've actually done a pretty good job. Alf is overwhelmed by the gesture and smiles for the first time in weeks. Aww.

"Peter Baker was a great man", Dan begins, as his brother's memorial ceremony gets underway. "He loved his job. He loved this town. And together, despite everything that happened, they really brought him an immeasurable amount of happiness." We're misting up a bit you know. "He was a great brother and an even better friend," Dan continues, as we begin our hunt for the Kleenex. "We're going to miss you mate." However, as soon as one person is dispatched to that great Brisbane in the sky, another one arrives. Dan is surprised to see Drew loitering in Amanda's doorway, but he turns and flees before he can offer him a vol-au-vent or a party egg. This brief meeting fills Dan with hope, and it's not long before he arrives back at the boarding school to see if there's a chance of building a bridge. Unfortunately, there isn't. A teacher reveals that Drew has packed his bags and left school for good. But we doubt we've seen the last of him...

Meanwhile, Rachel continues to stagger down her drunken path of self-destruction. And she's not just been knocking back the grog. When Leah confronts her with an empty bottle of sleeping pills that she discovered in the trash, Rachel practically rips her lips off. Sally attempts to offer some comfort, but her advice - "All you can do is keep trying to get through to her, I guess" - doesn't look as though it's going to do the trick. That afternoon, Rachel begins trashing the house when she can't find another bottle of knock-out drops and later accuses Leah of hiding them to spite her. Leah denies having done any such thing, but Rachel is way too sloshed to be reasonable. She lunges for her car keys, determined to go and find some more, before knocking Leah to the floor and racing in the direction of her car (as well as towards yet another untimely death). Don't try this one at home, will you?