I don’t know about you, but no matter how strange the plotline is that is unfolding on Isidingo, I’ve been utterly captivated by the gorgeous scenery that we are seeing in Ireland.
Apparently the Irish scenes were shot on location in Wicklow over five days of intense back to back shooting during May this year and the production team, headed by Executive Producer Gray Hofmeyr, were thrilled with the results.
Hofmeyr traveled over to Ireland in advance to look at locations and to cast the two Irish actors who are crucial to the storyline. One of them even returned with the team to continue the story in South Africa. Evidently this ongoing storyline will see Lolly having to make some hard decisions about her whirlwind Irish love affair.
Okay, so maybe my concerns that the show might be coming to an end are silly and premature. I’ve just been confused about the happenings that all seem to be pointing so nicely to parceling up everyone’s lives as happens in a movie or a novel. Maybe there is a whole new direction that the soapie is going to take that we could never have imagined.
So, how did this Irish stuff all start?
Well, Lolly got news that she is the benefactor of an Irish estate left to her by a long lost grandfather. Apparently her grandmother had a short fling with a charming Irishman who then went back to Ireland. Lolly’s mother was the product of that fling and now the old geezer has popped off and left his estate to his only living grandchild which happens to be Lolly.
Maggie decided that Lolly just couldn’t go to Ireland alone and after much hinting eventually decided to pay for herself and go along in a chaperone capacity. But at the airport, unbeknown to Maggie, someone slipped a bag into her unlocked suitcase. It turned out later that this was a bag of money being smuggled out of South Africa but somewhere along the way, the suitcase was cut and the money was removed.
By the time Maggie got to Ireland the airport police had been tipped off that she was carrying smuggled goods. Which she wasn’t because it had been removed, but she was subjected to interrogation and a strip search, which thankfully we didn’t see but heard all about. There are few worse things I can imagine than seeing Maggie strip searched. Hearing her whining has been more than enough, I promise you.
In the meantime Lolly went on ahead and was met by a rather dashing and handsome young lad called Liam Malone. He is the lawyer dealing with the estate and the two of them have really hit it off. The good news is the estate really does exist and it looks huge from the outside, and gorgeous too, although Liam has said it’s nothing fancy really just a place with six bedrooms. Lolly has thrown all caution to the wind, in the spirit of her late grandmother and fallen for the Irish charm and accent. She virtually pounced on Liam after about a day of knowing him, telling him that he is “rather tasty” and she promptly went on to devour his Irish wares. Man, what must these Irish think of these hot South African chicks?
Anyway Maggie finally managed to get out of the airport, only to be taken off by two men pretending to be Irish taxi drivers, but who were actually South Africans, wanting the money she had smuggled in. The guys told her to phone Lolly and say she was going to her aunt and would meet up with her later, which Maggie did. She left a message on Lolly’s voice mail. After much interrogation by the men and ranting, raving and begging by Maggie, the guys lost finally their Irish accents, realized the dizzy doll didn’t have the money and abandoned her on a country lane after throwing out her bags, but stealing her money and cell phone.
Thank goodness for the gorgeous Irish countryside. It was far easier on the eyes than watching Maggie schlepping along, puffing, panting and crying hysterically. She spent a night in an old ruin, apparently in ghost territory, a fact she only discovered later, and eventually arrived at an Inn where she was given a wonderful warm and hospitable welcome by a lovely Irishman called Flan O’Flaherty. He’s so sweet, nothing really to look at but with a heart of gold and a dram of the best Irish whisky at hand.
Strangely he’s become quite taken with Maggie, and sees her as a fine specimen of South African womanhood. In typical Maggie style she has exaggerated and deviated a little from the truth, telling him she owns a pub back home and lives close to Nelson Mandela. Why oh why does this woman do this? Anyway, Maggie has been unable to reach Lolly, because she doesn’t have her number since the number was on her stolen cell phone. She phoned the Rec Club and gave Tim a garbled and exaggerated version of what happened and asked him to phone back with Lolly’s number. But of course Maggie didn’t give Tim the area code in Ireland to call and so no further communication could be made.
In the meantime, Maggie has made herself right at home at the pub in the Inn, serving beers and charming the patrons. Flan has decided that Maggs is in need of some TLC and Maggie has responded with enthusiasm. We haven’t seen it, but it appears they are even sharing a bed now. A fact which was made clear when out of the blue, the young lovebirds, Lolly and Liam pitched up at the country pub because Liam had offered to take Lolly touring around some of the countryside.
It’s a small world, even in Ireland and the girls have met up. Maggie has
immediately tried to get back into chaperone mode and keep Lolly away from Liam by suggesting that she and Lolly share a bed as they are staying the night. But it’s a bit late Maggs dear, since everyone has been getting a little action, and for once you haven't been quite so prissy yourself. I wonder if these two have now found true love with the Irish charmers. As we’ve heard, one comes back to South Africa with them and the story is set to unfold from there. My sense is that it’s Liam the lawyer, who is totally captivated with Lolly, “his African Goddess”.
I do wonder what Len will say about all this.
Unfortunately for the people back home things have not been as exciting or positive.
Rajesh has got wise to the idea that Lee and Alec are involved and has confronted Lee with it. It’s been a tormenting time for Rajesh because as much as he wants to believe Lee when she says it’s over and that she loves Rajesh, he is acutely aware of the obvious attraction Alec and Lee have for each other. In an uncharacteristic move, Rajesh dented Alec and left him with a black eye, but it provided only temporary satisfaction. The reality is, as Alec pointed out to him, if it wouldn’t have been him, it would have been someone else. Clearly Lee is not as committed to Rajesh as she would like to believe she is. It’s been agonizing and Rajesh has taken to discussing his situation with Frank, who is hardly an expert on matters of the heart, being somewhat of a philanderer himself. But the bottom line has been that the relationship is in deep trouble and maybe it’s time to walk away.
Alec in the meantime has not given up on Lee and confessed that he cannot keep away from her, that “they fit,” and “as sure as the world is round, they will be together.” He has said "he will wait for her, no matter what.” The scriptwriters have definitely come up with some fancy dialogue for him, but his feelings for Lee seem genuine and he is even stalling with regard to giving his superior feedback on how things are going. He obviously doesn’t want Lee implicated in anything he is uncovering so he must be feeling real conflict. At some stage he is going to have to come clean with her and tell Lee that he is not a journalist but a special investigations agent investigating both her and her father. I’m amazed that Rajesh has not spilled the beans out of spite. It just shows that he is a man with integrity.
On the subject of Alec’s superior, Saul; where did the Isidingo casting people find that man?
He looks like a smarmy hood and what I imagine one of the kingpins in a car hijacking or heist gang would look like. And it’s not just the way he looks. He’s extremely difficult to understand and a lot of his dialogue is lost on me unless I concentrate very hard to hear what he’s trying to say. If he was the best they could find for the part, then I really fear for the standard of upcoming South African talent. I hope we get to see less and less of him because the strain of trying to decipher his inarticulate ramblings is too much to bear.
The Matebane’s woes continue with Zeb becoming more irritable and depressed. Confined to a wheelchair and unable to recruit a suitable person to take Bean’s job and continue with the contract at Horizon Deep Mines, the future of his business looks bleak. And the bad news from Captain Niemand is that Zacharias has definitely fled the country with their money. Ma Aggie continues to press on and to hold the family together while Zeb’s state of mind and spirit declines. Parsons has even had to give his father some serious revving about feeling sorry for himself and being miserable. It’s a tough situation and one which will take nothing short of a miracle to improve.
So there are a lot of love lives on the line and I look forward to seeing how it will all pan out. I’m not so sure I want Lee and Rajesh to stay together. They have become a bit boring and predictable and there is no doubt that it’s more exciting to watch Lee and Alec. They definitely make a very attractive couple, as do Lolly and Liam.
I can’t say I’d mind Maggie being packed off permanently to Ireland though to live happily ever after. But then what would happen to the guesthouse and who would shout at Mavis all the time and boss Tim around?
What do you think?
***Catch Isidingo on SABC 3 AT 18h30 on weekdays.