Episode #1.2 (20 Jan. 2008)

Dorcas Lane is apt to say that all secrets are bound to come out in Candleford and that seems to be the case with Mrs. Macey. She's been living in the village for five years with her son ... See full summary »

Director:

Charlie Palmer

Writers:

Bill Gallagher (deviser), Bill Gallagher,

Stars:

Beans El-Balawi, Linda Bassett, Claudie Blakley

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Beans El-Balawi	...	Freddy Macey (as Beans Balawi)
Linda Bassett	...	Queenie Warner
Claudie Blakley	...	Emma Timmins
Brendan Coyle	...	Robert Timmins
John Dagleish	...	Alf Arless
Fergus Drysdale	...	Frank Timmins
Dawn French	...	Caroline Arless
Olivia Grant	...	Lady Adelaide Midwinter
Olivia Hallinan	...	Laura Timmins
Victoria Hamilton	...	Ruby Pratt
Mark Heap	...	Thomas Brown
Gerard Horan	...	Mr. Paxton
Oliver Jackson-Cohen	...	Phillip White
Karl Johnson	...	Twister Turrill
Thomas Rhys Jones	...	Edmund Timmins (as Thomas Jones)

Storyline

Dorcas Lane is apt to say that all secrets are bound to come out in Candleford and that seems to be the case with Mrs. Macey. She's been living in the village for five years with her son Freddy, who is a bit of a hellion. Her story has always been that her husband is a valet and away traveling. The truth is that her husband, Dan Macey, has been in prison but a letter brings her shocking news that is soon spread to every corner of the village. Caroline Arless has a date in court when she fails to pay for the barrel of beer she bought. With no husband, no money and another baby on the way, few are convinced that she will land anywhere but in debtors' prison.

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Plot Keywords:

village | letter | court | gentleman | british | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 2008 (UK)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Interesting small town virtues and values

The people in the two towns are very different. Candleford considers itself more upper class and looks down on the poor. There are many good people though, one is the head of the Post Office Dorcas Lane, who tries to help people. She knows their business from getting their mail and telegrams and tries to be a helper with their problems. There are a couple of legal proceedings in this episode. One involves Caroline,a woman from Lark Rise which is a town with poorer people. Caroline is a drunk & fat with about 6 kids. She comes across with no sense of responsibility toward her children. In regard to her drinking she said in Debtor's Court "it makes me happy and when my children see me happy they are happy too". The Court did not accept her excuses but, she pleaded ignorance to owing a beer debt.

Mr Timmins knows how she is and told her son to hide the money he makes because his mother does not pay her debts and will end up in jail, yet he testified for her "good" character how well she is raising her kids and feeding them. In the course of the previous episode it shows Caroline goes to Mrs. Timmins looking for food. Mrs Timmins told her she had to take responsibility for her children and feed them. It appeared this was a habit of Caroline.

I hated the reasoning and excuses for this fat drunk. In the end the Court did what it could, She did not go to jail, was put on probation with a an amount she has to pay back to the beer company.

The Court also told the beer representative he could see the woman had no money to buy beer on a regular basis and the company took advantage of her.

Being poor cannot justify being a drunk. Children get neglected and "poor" or "lonely" is some times an acceptable excuse in this episode for some people and in society.