"The Story So Far" (archive update to 30 Nov 2020)

Bentley - up to 8

Bentley is an elderly train-loving man living on his own with his cat who he's re-named Covid. From his flat his life has been interrupted by a series of phone calls, bringing to light the erratic behaviour of his wayward son (Lawrence), causing friction with his ex-wife (Shiela), and bringing to light a previously unknown granddaughter (Natalie). Concerned about what’s happening with Lawrence, Bentley hires a private detective called Darren who then proceeds to take an alarming amount of money off him. While Darren is still apparently working for Bentley, the old man hires two other ‘dark web’ characters called The Vertibrain and Dark Shadow to check on what Darren is doing and find the whereabouts of Natalie. Meanwhile he uses his own internet research skills to locate his granddaughter. Mysteriously, The Vertibrain sends Bentley a package consisting of a pair of black shoes and £20,000 in used £50 notes…

Onwards to 15

Since receiving the package Bentley has been trying desperately to get out of his house in order to travel to the south of England to find out what his son is up to as well as to sure up his relationship with Natalie. Unfortunately all his attempts are beset with failure of one kind or another. He tries to go by train but is stopped by his old work colleague George. He then blackmails George into giving him a lift in his transit van, but this scheme is scuppered when the van breaks down. As the pandemic restrictions are further lifted Bentley is convinced he will be able to go where he wants. But the people he is dealing with have other ideas….

Onwards to 23

Further mysterious and possibly criminal activities are dogging Bentley. Having gone out for a drink in his local pub he is abducted by hired heavies and transported to Brighton (at last!) where he is suspected of being a sort of mastermind criminal with intentions on increasing his power. He is rescued from the clutches of these people by Lawrence, Natalie and George who claim to be the police. Bentley doesn’t believe or trust them, despite being saved and shot at by the ‘other side’. Back at his home he stands down all the other nefarious people he had engaged to investigate for him and now he tries to find out what is going on through his own actions. His trail begins at a jeweller’s shop where he bought his wife’s ring. He suspects this place is engaged in some kind of money laundering activity. Whatever is going on, the situation is by no means straight forward and Bentley must tread carefully.

Onwards to 33

Bentley discovers the reason why everyone is after him is because of a ring which he bought his wife some years ago. The jeweller’s shop where he got it from was part of a local money laundering outfit, incorporating a few local business people in Brighton including the owner of the crazy golf course. Having spoken with the son of one of these people, he is told that a quiet life will only return if he finds the ring and returns it. Both Lawrence and Natalie appear not to be bona fide police and it is Natalie who travels with him to York, hot on the trail of the ring. In York they manage to contact an old colleague and man in the know, Fred Thimble. Returning home, Bentley starts to put the heat on Fred to try and flush the whereabouts of the ring from him. But now Bentley’s cat has disappeared – possibly taken by his adversaries – and Fred is far from easy to pin down.

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Wayne - up to 8

Grime music artist Wayne is better known as ManzDown. He’s had a successful career so far, but this is under threat as lockdown has parted him from his support system, notably three PAs, one of whom was Cath. One day he goes for a run, has a collision with another runner and comes back bruised in body and spirit. Off the back of this he builds an unlikely relationship with Dave, a professional chef who lives in the flat below him. The two create a pulley system for sharing items between their flats and share thoughts, ideas and drinking sessions via video. When Cath gets back in touch with Wayne she’s keen to kick-start his career and get him out there again. But lockdown is changing Wayne, and he’s now on a path to finding what he actually wants.

Onwards to 14

While Cath is trying to get Wayne back into the grime scene, Wayne’s friendship with Dave has deepened. They are now a couple and not only does this relationship somewhat change Wayne’s outlook, but Dave has also leant Wayne an acoustic guitar which he managed to start playing and therefore embarking on a radically different direction. Initially it seems his old friends accept the new Wayne but others are less tolerant. While out running with Dave, someone throws a rock at Wayne. Then Wayne discovers Dave has been talking to Sandra through a dating app. Outraged by this apparent betrayal, Wayne smashes up Dave’s guitar and throws a decidedly old school undistanced party to re-establish his presence in the grime scene. Despite everything, however, Dave has bought him a new guitar.

Onwards to 21

Trying to decide which way to turn in his life, Wayne visits Phillis, the woman who he knows as mum, although he also knows he was adopted. As a result of this and his general feelings he starts to engage with music making again and lets Dave back into his life. When his closest competitors BarnStromerz get embroiled in a racist Twitterstorm, Wayne finds Cath coming back to him and a newfound energy to do what he likes. Following a difficult dream he decides to confront Phillis over the identity of his real mum. He doesn’t get an answer but he is inspired to write a new track as a result and this song sky-rockets his popularity. And then he gets a phone call from someone who claims to be his real mum. 

Onwards to 32

After some wrangling Wayne starts seeing the person who claims to be his mum. She has a story that sounds plausible and photos, but Dave is still wary that she really is who she says she is and isn’t just after money. Wayne is desperate to believe her and does so, finally giving her the money she says she needs to survive as she’s currently an out of work classical violinist. Meanwhile Cath is trying to manage Wayne’s profile and has created a ‘gig at home’ scheme whereby Wayne will perform in the front living room of the highest bidder. She has also lined him with an appearance on celebrity Mastermind for the Christmas season. As the second lockdown hits Dave’s work is under pressure and the two move in together. And then one day Wayne goes for a run and is snapped and hassled by a paparazzi. He’s now waiting for the story to hit the fan.

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Sandra - up to 9

Sandra is a one woman business PR machine and has been finding new and imaginative ways to engage her clients with their customers despite lockdown and the current state of the business world. At the same time she has to deal with family stress when Rob, her brother-in-law, is hospitalised with Covid. Rob recovers but his near death experience seems to have made him more certain of what he wants to do next – get rid of his wife (Frankie) and kids (Sukie and Freddie) in order to marry Sandra. Sandra refuses to entertain this and tells Frankie of Rob’s intentions, only to find Frankie is well aware of this and will turf him out if he ever make overtures to Sandra again. 

Onwards to 15

Sandra’s working life switches towards a great new app which she and her friend Trinny decide to create and launch. Together… Apart is a dating app for the Covid age. It not only links you up with your other half, but it also tells you what you can and can’t do together, where and how you should meet up. Using her own contacts as guinea pigs for running the app, the technology suggests she and Dave (who she met via a virtual cocktail party) should couple up. With the app launched and work increasing, Sandra meets Dave just as Dave’s split with Wayne. It’s a relationship which is clearly not going to get off the ground.

Onwards to 22

The Together…Apart app goes from strength to strength until they discover their data has been targeted through a ransomware scheme. The team’s tech specialist manages to extricate themselves from this situation only to find their users targeted with an apparent phishing weblink. Although worried about this, Sandra finally clicks to discover it actually links to pages about cute kittens. This turns out to be something which attracts more users and attention to the app. Meanwhile Rob has returned, parking himself in a camper van opposite her home. She gets rid of him, however, by enlisting the help of Daniel, who in turn gets a heavy to tow him away. Finally Sandra’s low level celebrity leads her to an appearance on a morning TV show to do some cooking, but when Rob phones in to contact her everything goes wrong. For a while she thinks her career is over, but then Daniel calls her up again.

Onwards to 33

Sandra’s career is being pulled in diverse directions and her personal life isn’t much easier either. She becomes a ‘sounding board’ for Daniel’s innovative ideas while also trying to balance her work with the Together…Apart app. However, Frankie then enlists her help with childcare within her house while she (Frankie) is entertaining clients in her office shed in the back garden. This become more complicated when their mother (who now goes by the name of Yolanda) decides she’s not going to live with their heavily drinking father Eric. As everything become more and more complicated Sandra sorts everyone else out and leaves them to it as she takes a full time job with a logistics company. However, while this may have solved some problems, working remotely for this company also presents challenges.

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Daniel - up to 10

Daniel has found himself accidentally locked down with Daisy, his six year old daughter. He’s working for an app-making company which is going through some difficulty, but it’s nothing like the drama Daniel is experiencing as Daisy’s play time usually inflicts destruction on some part of his home or belongings. Daniel is working on an app launch and ends up with Sandra doing some PR work for him. His daughter also ends up testing the app to make sure it doesn’t crash. Daniel is in regular contact with his new girlfriend Nadia, and these conversations are generally going better than the ones with Chrissy his ex-wife, who immediately heads off on a work trip when lockdown is lifted sufficiently. Daniel accepts Daisy will be part of his life for some time to come. 

Onwards to 16

Being with Daisy changes Daniel radically. Even though his small daughter seems to be a force for destruction about the house, he finds she does fit into his life, both personally and work wise. She inspires him to do things differently and look at the world differently and while he tries to find ways to place her out of the picture as work picks up and he needs more time on his own, when Chrissy finally takes her back, he misses her terribly. He therefore strikes a deal to have Daisy for the majority of the summer. However Chrissy disappears, taking Daisy with her, leaving Daniel desperate and, having been made redundant, on an increasingly destructive path himself. 

Onwards to 23

Daniel takes to staking out Chrissy’s house in an attempt to get Daisy back. The house is empty and then one evening a man Daniel doesn’t recognise turns up and lets himself in. Daniel follows him in and after a tussle in the kitchen he discovers Chrissy had sent this man to pack a bag for Daisy. Daniel places his old work phone in the bag too in order to track where they’re going. Meanwhile he discovers that his old boss is now using the idea that he and Daisy put together with puppets in order to promote their app. He investigates the legal position but finally he and his boss engage in a bizarre puppet-led showdown, at the end of which he is offered the job of Chief Innovation Officer. With this in his pocket he contacts Sandra for help and gets in touch with Chrissy to get his daughter back.

Onwards to 33

Daisy returns to live with Daniel. In the end it seems her mother was really quite happy for her to return to Daniel and give her some extra time and space. Daisy goes to school locally but experiences some difficulty in settling in and being a co-operative part of the class. She swears (in French) which Daniel takes up with Chrissy, believing it to be a bad influence from her and her new boyfriend. Meanwhile as Chief Innovation Officer Daniel tries but mainly fails to bring new ideas to his company. His best initiative is the idea of mailing out biscuits to everyone working remotely, but this backfires when the person who originally suggested the idea to him doesn’t get the credit she feels she is due. As the biscuit scandal threatens to engulf any positive message he can create Daniel leaves the company, and shortly after is contacted by Sandra who suggests he works for Together…Apart. He takes up this challenge but there is still the question as to whether he can balance work and Daisy.

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Jenny - up to 10 

When Wayne went running he collided with was Izzy, who is one half of a a couple with Jenny. The two of them work at the same engineering company in accounts and have been together for some time. They have two teenage children, Helen and Peter. Following the running accident, Izzy self-isolates worried she’s caught the virus and while she does so she sorts through the loft. This leaves Jenny keeping the household going while also dealing with their increasingly irate employer. Peter is monosyllabic although he does make a banana loaf at one point. Helen, a couple of years younger, seems to bear a grudge against Jenny and the world in general. It doesn’t look like Peter is going to be allowed back to school and if that’s the case Helen’s going to refuse too. Jenny, however, returns to some kind of work. As their relationship undergoes further stress, Izzy moves into the loft.

Onwards to 15

As the pandemic eases and people can go back to work, Jenny is the first to try returning to the workplace. Izzy is less keen on the idea but as time goes by she realises she needs to make positive moves and help with the running of the house and management of the kids. She can’t hide away all the time and while Jenny’s relationship with Izzy isn’t entirely patched up they are at least being more positive towards each other. As both Helen and Peter need their support to get through this time, perhaps the two will be a couple again.

Onwards to 23

Peter goes down with Covid and is sent to live in the loft where he recovers. It also emerges that he is going to be a father as his girlfriend Jude reveals she is pregnant. Jenny and Izzy’s workplace is undergoing a reorganisation and Izzy suggests Jenny take redundancy and do something different with her life – maybe get back into cycling which was something she always enjoyed. However, when she discovers Izzy discussed this at work with their boss without talking to her, and will get promotion as a result of her redundancy she becomes very annoyed with the whole situation. The kids go back to school, however, and she still leaves work and goes on a bike ride with their old club. While on this ride she meets a female plumber and this starts her wondering about taking up a brand new line of work…

Onwards to 33

Jenny does indeed decide to pursue the idea of becoming a plumber. She goes on work trips with Claire to discover what the work is like, she tracks down courses and online resources. Alongside this she has to deal with her home life as Izzy is sent to work from home, Peter worries about forthcoming parenthood and Helen is sent back home due to Covid cases in her school. As the second lockdown kicks in, Jenny throws a sort of party to celebrate (just because why not?). While trying to make sure everyone is alright and happy, Jenny’s own life is more disjointed and she still has yet to find her way in the ‘new normal’.