The Liver Birds

- Season 3

(1972)

The girls move to a bigger, more salubrious flat in the block 'Beech View'. They attend a poetry reading session at a local pub, where Sandra is smitten by the readings of Neville Kane. Back at the flat a snooty woman asks them to sign a petition to evict a supposedly noisy tenant but when this turns out to be Neville, the girls stand by their principles as he is black and they will not be party to racism.

The girls are out of work and their efforts to find jobs are not helped by the presence of a mouse in the flat. But the rent is due so it's down to the dole office to sign on. Sandra goes incognito, seeing it as below her dignity, but Beryl has no such qualms. She even meets two uncles and a cousin there but they cause a fight and all end up in court.

Beryl has a new boy-friend, the cultured Robert, who is several years older than her. He is returning to London the next day and asks her to spend the night with him. On Sandra's advice Beryl agrees, but is very nervous. To loosen her up Robert goes to the local casino to buy some alcohol but bumps into Sandra there - she's an old friend. Beryl meanwhile, back at the flat, has some unwelcome visitors in Robert's flatmate and his 'bird', who proceed to get all cozy with each other while Beryl hides!

Beryl takes the day off work in order to go on a date and uses the excuse that she is off sick with tonsillitis. On her return the next day she sees there is industrial unrest and a union leader asks her to address a meeting. She is, however, far from happy to oblige and wonders whether her lie about being sick will ultimately be exposed. It also clashes with a date which she'd much rather go to!

Beryl declares that she's a "Fella-a-Day" girl, and Sandra is smitten with her new man Paul. Sandra soon goes off him though when he doesn't ring her as promised. Robert phones Beryl - he's up from London and wants to meet up in David's flat (he's in Majorca so won't bother them)! Then a very pregnant and depressed Gloria turns up, so Beryl puts her with Sandra - they can cheer each other up! Unable to really leave the flat, Beryl invites Robert over, though her evening goes from bad to worse when her mother turns up as well.

Reading her horoscope in the local paper Sandra sees that a proposal of marriage is forthcoming. Added with Beryl's that says a close friend will get married, Sandra dresses up and goes shopping for men! All she comes back with though is a huge chest on wheels - her 'Hope Chest'. She has decided to start collecting items in time for her big day. Out shopping in the sale, she gets herself into trouble with the handsome store detective and the store manager - for stealing!

Gloria comes around to the flat, and asks both Sandra and Beryl to be Godmothers to her new baby, whatever she's to be called! Beryl decides she doesn't want to go though, when they decide they are not going the Catholic route. She says she's "not going to an Anglican Church"! Beryl and Sandra then find themselves holding the baby when she is dropped off by their mothers. Then the vicar arrives to check them out, and falls for Sandra.

Sandra is being courted by a rather upper class boyfriend and she decides that, in order to give herself some credibility, she would be as well to take riding lessons. Her boyfriend, Giles goes fox hunting, and Sandra hopes that he might ask her along too. Beryl comes with her, literally for the ride, but after Sandra's horse end up in a lake, the girls end up buying it to save it from being made into cat food. Unfortunately they cannot afford to keep it.

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and Beryl is feeling unloved because she has no boy-friend to send her a card or present. Sandra decides that her friend needs cheering up with a night on the town but, as is so often the case with her well-intentioned plans, it does not go as it should do, providing surprises of a different nature.

Sandra has been dating rugby player Rupert and is asked to represent the club in the local Miss Hot Pants competition. Beryl, on the other hand, is not happy with the attitude of the lads at the club, whom she regards as beer-swilling morons. She decides that they would be better off getting chatted up by footballers instead. Sandra gave her measurements as 35-24-35 but when she discovers that her bottom is 2 inches bigger than she thought (37, due to her constant eating), Beryl pushes her into a regime of dieting and exercise.

After not returning from her tandem bike trip to Rhyl with boy-friend Johnny until gone midnight, Beryl thinks it is high time the girls invested in a car and stumps up for an old banger. Aubrey, the boss's son who is dating Sandra, agrees to teach them both. However, whilst he is happy to let Sandra use his swish new car, Beryl has to learn in her old heap.

Whilst Beryl is a die-hard Everton football fan, Sandra's newest boy-friend Joe supports Liverpool so the battle lines are drawn, especially after Joe's works team, which he captains, is thrashed 7 - 0 and Beryl mocks him. He challenges her to come with a female football team to take his boys on. It's up to Beryl's Uncle Dermot to get them all into some sort of shape!

Animal lover Sandra decides to support the RSPCA as well as becoming a vegetarian. Her mother brings her pet parrot Bonaparte around for Sandra to mind whilst they go away on holiday. Beryl is not happy though, she is afraid of it, and fears that she might catch something. Then the suicidal Jake turns up. He rang the girls earlier by mistake, meaning to phone the Samaritans. Trying to prove to Sandra that humans are more important than animals, Beryl stuck her neck out and invited him around.