Mon, Nov 21, 1966
It's orange blossom time. Spring. And the air is vibrant with birdsong and the squeak of Jack's squeegee on the windowpane - at least until he uncovers the wrinkled prune of Mort's face. Mort is suffering a decapitating hangover. But he survives - especially when he remembers that last night's excesses included an arrangement for today's picnic with a couple of sorts. Mort's plans for a picnic with a couple of sorts goes astray. Jack is convinced that he is being invited to attend a rural orgy, and it would seem that he is not far wrong - for irate Edie comes on behalf of her younger sister teenage Flossie's alleged dishonour. But suddenly, Jack's gloom becomes a rhapsody, for Edie is his sweetheart of long ago, and in moments, twenty years is compressed into the promise that Jack has waited for. Eddie is none other than the light, the life, the laughter of Jack's youth.
Wed, Nov 9, 1966
Mort comes to the dreadful realisation that his birthday has taken him 'over the high jump' into a new decade from which youth is fast-departing. To Jack, Mort's birthday has a rather more sinister meaning; the annual visit from Aunty Vi who is determined to slice a section from the Hamlin property to suit her own ends. Jack retreats to the packing shed and the sorting machine, only to find himself cornered by his third cousin, April. Her aim is not to acquire a piece of Jack's property, but rather more the sum total of his virtue - which, at Jack's age is precariously held. At the same time, Mort's security is being threatened by the sweet syrups of maternalism as practised by a practiced Auntie Vi.
Wed, Nov 16, 1966
Bath night is a relaxing ritual for Jack Hamlin - the merry huffing of the chip heater, a good magazine and cosy flannelette pyjamas to follow, are among the simple pleasures of life. Or they were, until Jack finds his access to the bath room barred by Mort. Never one to take Mort's intransigence lying down, Jack barges in and catapults a lurking Rosie into the tub. But then, what better way to wait for drying clothes than taking a proper bath? Which is all very well until bank manager Mollis arrives for music practice. Well, so Mollis is a man of the world, he claims, eyeing the lingerie that is slung across the stove - and he doesn't mind, so why should they? The only trouble is that Rosie's mother does. And Ada Withers is more than a match for the lot of them.
Wed, Dec 7, 1966
Secretly, Mort has always fancied himself in the role of a bloated capitalist. When Ferris of Factormat arrives to discuss plans for a vast juice-extraction plant to be set up on the Hamlin property, Mort is convinced that his pinch-penny days are over. Dreams of untold wealth proliferate until Jack tips Ferris off that a double mortgage is involved. The mask falls from genial Ferris until he realises that he has to spend the night with the brothers - which is all very well, except that the upstairs bedroom is one part of the house from which even the white ants have fled. And Mr. Ferris is no feather-weight to add to three men in a bed.
Wed, Feb 1, 1967
By way of change, Mr Mollis brings glad tidings - an oil company is prepared to drill and compensate for the use of the Hamlin land. It is the first touch of fortune that has come to Mort and Jack,. Mort immediately embarks on his long planned dream to live the lush life. Jack, rather more of a realist, discovers that he now has to run the property as a one-man show, which includes night shifts. But oil exploration is not as straightforward as it looks - especially when they discover that the capital outlay is underlined by cool deception.