Predictions update

After 14 hours and 25 minutes of listening pleasure I am finished The Bay. In my last post I made some plot predictions. Anyone who is tempted to read The Bay STOP HERE. I am about to reveal all.

Prediction	Correct?	Outcome
Holly (town newcomer renovating a B&B) will realise she is being a selfish bitch by moving to the Bay when she should be supporting her husband Andrew (property developer who loves making money, ruining natural treasures and shagging his mistress) in Sydney.	No	Holly leaves Andrew and shacks up with her builder Mitchell. I am disgusted by this plot resolution. Do modern writers have no moral compass?
Holly returns to Sydney and does a leadlighting course to fulfil herself (turns out this is plenty).	No	Holly is emotionally and sexually fulfilled in her mutually supportive relationship with Mitchell. What kind of message does this send out?
Holly tries to be more alluring to keep her husband from straying.	No	See above.
Tina (spunky earnest lighthouse ranger) and Eddie (spunky earnest documentary maker) will get it on. Possibly on the lighthouse stairs.	Yes	Actually it was at a waterfall and then in the lighthouse.
Billy (possibly not gay hairdresser) and Amber (makes soap, hates her mother) will shack up. Soap and hair make for a great business opportunity.	No	Apparently Billy is not gay but happily married. Amber becomes even more successful at making soap and it is implied that she will become a millionaire. No man!
Kimberley (concerned mother) either doesn't need a man, or Ashok (Kimberley’s husband who went to India) will return and revert to being Tim, or whatever he was called before.	Yes	Ashok comes home. Still called Ashok though. Kimberley becomes more assertive by getting a job at the council and breeching public service values by blabbing confidential information to her friends. This is considered fine.
Bonnie (went crazy when her husband left her for his secretary. Has a daughter and a shop) will get a man who hasn't been introduced yet.	No	No man! Bonnie becomes less crazy and uses this new skill to help other people be less crazy too.
Bonnie will start being nicer to her shop (too late for daughter).	Yes	Daughter burnt to a crisp in a house-fire. Bonnie is sad but soon feels strong enough to start being nice to her shop on a part time basis.

That's only 3/8 but no wonder I was confused. Not everyone gets a man! Very confronting stuff.

The Bay

Getting deeper into The Bay now. The story is set in an idyllic spot in in NSW where alternative lifestyles are embraced and nasty shark-like developers circle trying to build high-rise on the foreshore. Apparently it's Byron Bay.

Intially I thought that 14 CDs at an hour a disk might be too much. But to give Di Morrissey her due I am hooked and powering through it. Up to disk 5 and I can't see myself stopping.

One of the most interesting aspects is who is going to get together in the end.

These are the main characters.

Holly: A Sydney socialite mother for 20 plus years she has just moved to the Bay to try to make something of herself at last. She bought an old house and wants to rennovate it and open a B&B.

Mitchell: Older gent. Spunky, but technically unqualified builder. Has a deep sense of purpose and spirituality in renovating Holly's bed and breakfast. Meets Holly on the beach where their dogs get along famously.

Andrew: Holly's husband. Wants to ruin the Bay by building a resort on the foreshore. Having an affair. As he says to his mistress,"We know exactly what the world is all about these days. Grabbing life by both hands and having a ball. Consolidating our futures as winners in the new economic era."

Plot prediction
Holly will realise she is being a selfish bitch by moving to the Bay when she should be supporting her husband in the new economic era. Returns to Sydney and does an leadlighting course to fulfill herself (turns out this is plenty). Tries to be more alluring to keep her husband from straying.

That much is obvious. Moving away from the main protagonists though it all gets a bit murkier. Here are sub-characters.

Amber: Makes soap. Troubled past?

Billy: Hairdresser. Might not be gay. (I was putting on the washing and missed his introduction to the story.)

Eddie: Very spunky film maker going around the Bay looking for stories and scoping the chicks. Has a bitch of an ex-wife who just doesn't get what he's on about.

Tina: Lighthouse park ranger. Climbs the stairs everyday, which keeps her toned for Eddie to perve on.

Kimberley: Concerned mother. Her husband changed his name to Ashok and moved to India.

Bonnie: Crazy lady. Her husband ran off with his secretary so Bonnie decided to become a mad, drug crazed lady. She owns a daughter and a shop and doesn't look after either of them.

Plot predictions
It's all a bit tricky because there don't seem to be enough men to go around. But this is my best guess:

• Tina and Eddie will get it on. Possibly on the lighthouse stairs.
  
• Billy and Amber will shack up, (if Billy isn't gay). Soap and hair make for a great business opportunity.
  
• Kimberley either doesn't need a man, or Ashok will return and revert to being Tim, or whatever he was called before.
  
• Bonnie will get a man who hasn't been introduced yet. She will start being nicer to her shop (too late for daughter).

We'll see.